what a beautiful mess

Carl was such a good dog. The day he died was one of the saddest days my kids have ever faced. Maybe not the most tragic, but they'd never lost someone that they loved. We had tears for many days and Annabelle can't even listen to the song "See You Again" without crying or wanting to cry. Carl didn't have the greatest dog manners. He slept on everyone's bed, he ate human food as much as he could get away with, and he liked to chase chickens just for fun. He shed a lot of hair and would roll in chicken or cow poop a lot. But we loved him. He was such a good dog and is so very much missed! I look through our old photos and I see so many with Carl just off in the background or right in front of the camera without us even realizing it. He just became a part of our lives. I found this picture and I had even forgotten it had ever been taken. We have Maria now and we love her as well. But I think we will always, always miss Carl...

How have I gone so long without blogging about life with teenagers? It's fascinating and scary and confusing and fun. And sometimes there are bras just lying around the house and nail polish constantly on the kitchen table. They say funny things and insightful things. Stephen may not yet be a teenager but just the other night I was looking at a picture of our family and I mentioned how I thought I looked fat (not that I was fat, just that it was an unflattering picture- big difference) He said "maybe you're just standing by really skinny people." Touche. See? Funny and insightful. I've noticed that many times raising teenagers can be confusing. I can say something one day and it's okay, but the next day, it can cause many, many tears. You don't know this but I just took a break from writing this blog to go yell, I mean tell my kids to be quiet and to go to sleep. They argued with me and so they can no longer say another word the whole night. And yes, i...