Shipping up to Boston!

Ok, let me back up just a bit and talk about things i still have yet to post about.

First of all church camp. It was amazing! We always say that Camp Olivet is the closest to Heaven that we will have here on earth and it truly was again this year! This was my first year without Crystal which was tough, but I'm glad that she didn't have to spend the week without Reed. I am so thankful to my counselors for helping this year go so smoothly! And the campers were once again great young souls who were there to love the Lord, grow, and discover themselves! The theme this year was around the movie Big Fish and that went really well. I don't think we could have ever run out of things to discuss! I know that my heart was opened wider that week and I think most everyone else there could come home saying the same thing! Praise God!

Next comes not as good of news, Stifler. Stifler has gotten sick off and on several times throughout the years. When I was living with Alyssa and then on my own for 2 years, I had to take him into the vet multiple times for emergency visits and stays. He would get a problem where he couldn't urinate or really go to the bathroom at all and this can be deadly to an animal if not treated immediately. Unfortunately, it was usually a few hours after he got sick each time that I would find out and then take him to the vet. Each time they were able to 'fix' him and make him 'better' but I still had to modify his diet from time to time and watch him like a hawk to make sure he wasn't eating something he shouldn't and that he was acting healthy. For around 5 or 6 years, he really has only had one other incident of this and that was very minor. I felt so blessed because we didn't have any emergency vet visits. But, even without that, Stifler has always been a cat who had a sensitive system. Even as a kitten, he vomited a lot and this problem just seemed to us to increase over time. He would vomit probably once a week or so or have 'accidents' on the floor because he didn't feel well enough to go in his liter box. For the most part Stifler has been an active and happy going cat, and I even think his energy has increased over the last 2 years, but there was always the threat of him getting sick again. On Sunday, I came home from church to find that he had made 2 huge messes in the hall and that he was hiding in our bed sick. He was plugged again and this was the worst time I had ever seen! He was making such horrible, painful sounds that I had never heard from him and his bladder and belly were cramping up so badly. Jacci and I took him to the vet on an emergency call. The vet was able to unplug him multiple times and give him medicine. Poor baby didn't even get to be given anesthesia for it and it was so painful for him. Even though she was able to help him and save his life, I still just kept getting this gut-wrenching thought that this was it. Not only could we not afford to keep up this lifestyle for him, but I also didn't think I could have him go through that again or just living each day maybe not feeling well and running the risk of vomiting, etc. I spent most of Sunday in fear of what needed to be done and ultimately made the decision to put him to sleep on Monday morning. I have never done anything harder in my life! On Monday morning, Travis and I were with him in his final moments and watched everything. I knew even though it would be hard that I needed to be holding him when it happened. I wanted him to know that I loved him. I won't go into details, not only because I'm crying again right now and am trying not to keep re-living it but also because I know no one really needs to hear or read that. But, Stifler is missed and loved and I honestly can't picture our house without him! He was not just a good cat and pet, he was also my friend and my son! The house is empty and quiet now and it will be a while till we can go through a day without missing him extremely and being sad that he's not there. This cat was like a person to most people in our lives and it was always just so incredible how much everyone talked about him and wanted him in their lives as well. Thank you to everyone for showing your love and care during this. I still can't believe it happened and wish I could turn back time and just bring him home.

We hope to do a celebration of his life possibly this coming Sunday evening. Maybe around 6:30pm before movie night. We will let everyone know for sure when we decide. You can bring pictures and stories of Stifler's life. I know this sounds so extreme and some people are thinking, he was just a cat. But, if you truly knew Stifler and knew his place in our lives, you would disagree. We know we need to do this and will love it if anyone can come!

Onto more positive stuff again! Travis and I left Tuesday morning (it's now Wednesday at 2:14am) to go to Boston for my birthday and our anniversary. We weren't for sure if we wanted to or were able to go somewhere for this week this year, but I'm so glad we pulled it together and made the decision to come here! Travis did a great job of planning this trip and picked out a cool hotel on the waterfront and has researched rad places to visit! This is just what we needed to be able to get out of the house for a few days and feel better. Today we mostly walked around, ate and shopped! Not bad for a birthday! :) We were over on the more north side of town and got to see some cool and famous places. We ate at a famous sandwich shop and got excellent ice cream and pastries at a famous pastry shop. There were a lot of interesting things to see today, from a historic church, to Paul Revere's house, to a cigar lounge, to street performers, to my favorite shopping in Urban Outfitters! (i know i have one in Bloomington, but come on! It was multi-leveled and filled with delights!) :) Tomorrow we will be touring Salem and witch town. I am super pumped for this because I am fascinated by the old witch trials and am anxious to see all the old houses that people still live in. We're also going to try and stop by JFK's museum. Then Thursday will be the movie mile tour and Red Sox game!

Ok, sorry this post was so terribly long but I wanted to get all of this out. Thanks for reading, or not if you skipped down to the bottom :)

love,
Morgan