A NEW YEAR

Dear Friends,

Once again we have fully made it around the sun and will be starting the ride once again. I have no idea what is in store for the 24 Paws of Love and I don't want to know.  I'll take the surprise.

 

Last year wasn't one of our better years.  Losing Brut and Luigi, our duck, was the worst of it, not to mention a good vehicle.  Hubby, Mark and I are still saying good bye to all of our losses.  It hasn't been easy.

But, we have been blessed with five dogs related to Brut and our cats, Boxer and Princess Leia.  At least Brut having cancer wasn't contagious or something that could have spread to the other dogs and cats, that we could've have lost one or more of them.  For that I'm grateful.  So very grateful, for I would be so lost without the rest of the paws to carry on Brut's legacy.  The Paws have held me up when my world was so heavy and hopeless, so many more times that I could hold them.  They are so patient with me, yet still give me that gentle push to keep moving forward.  And when I can't go on anymore, they stay and cuddle with me or find a way to make me smile and somehow the world is alright again.

 

I wish I had the magic to change life, but I always have the Paws to make the magic for me.

Thank you my friends for sticking with through this past year.  Thank you for your prayers, thoughts and good wishes.  We have needed every one of them.

 

And I hope when you look back at this past year you find all the bones of hope you buried to dig up and bring into the new year that is coming while bagging up the stinky poop of last year and getting rid of it.

Whatever comes we will have each other and our dogs to make it through.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Love, Mark, Patty and the 24 Paws of Love

As We Near the Holiday...

Dear FB and Pet Blogging Friends,

We have just past the 6 month mark of Brut's anniversary and it was tough.  I dove down into a deeply severe grieving period while making the Christmas card that is the header.  Three weeks of tears, sleepless nights, early mornings and vast sadness.

I don't know that it will get easier as we hit more 'first' without Brut physically here, but I know I still have Silver and all his kids that are here and out there in the world that are carrying on his legacy.   Slowly the pain ended and there was balance in my world again.  That boy always did carry me to the moon and back...

And it just wouldn't be Christmas without the infamous Brut snarl!

And while that's hard to top, I mean we are talking about Brut here, right?  You my faithful readers are right on his paws.  24 Paws of Love readers are the most  supportive, loving and understanding bloggers on this planet.  We can not begin to thank you enough for your care and compassion as we wind down this river, jutting a new course in life and having you there with us.

You have helped to brighten our sorrows when we felt alone and misunderstood by the outside world.  We have laughed at funny post and silly sayings when we thought we could never feel love again.  And you have cried with us, holding our pain in your hearts... 'thank you' just isn't enough, but please know it comes from the bottom of our hearts...

Thank you Friends, Thank you.

I'd like to take a special moment for those whom have lost loved ones this past year.  Forgive me, I know there are more, these are the ones I know.

Chronicles of Woos

Five Sibes

Oh, Corbin

Talking Dogs Blog

Cats of Wildcat Woods

Kenzo the Hovawart 

Gardening with Wyatt

White Dog Diaries

Please wish these friends a Merry Christmas and a soft woo for their pain this holiday season.

a sad Christmas...

Hello Friends and Bloggers,

I've been working on our Christmas cards for the last couple of weeks.  I make my own photo cards and it has been especially heartbreaking pouring through photos of Brut.  Knowing that all we have of him in the digital world is what we will ever have of our boy, and that is very sad.  

There hasn't been much in the way of Christmas spirit.  We are just taking each day as it comes.  Dec. 18 will be Brut's six month anniversary of being gone.  While each month has been a marker, there is something about not seeing or touching or hearing Brut for half a year that has broken my heart more than when he first died.  This will be on top of the year anniversary that our duck, Luigi, died three days after Christmas.

If it wasn't for the rest of the dogs and cats, we wouldn't make it through this grieving process.  The highlights of my day is taking the dogs for a walk.  I struggled this past summer, so heavy with grief, that I didn't have the energy to take them out.  Hubby, Mark did most of it, until his hours at work caught up and now I'm doing most of the walking.  Some days it's the only time I smile and laugh for that day.

It's taking a lot to keep our heads above emotional waters.  When I was creating our photo Christmas card par Mark's idea I burst unexpectedly into tears.  Brut is on the card and this awesome idea happened when I put him in a certain spot. That's when it hit me how perfect the card is laid out.  That's all I will say about the picture, but it was pretty awesome!  It was like Brut was right there with me, guiding me.  And he was.

But then the more I looked at it something was missing, something more than just Brut.  I don't know I couldn't figure it out.  So I started playing with the design and it was an emotional upheaval.  When Mark saw the cards, he went through the same feelings.  I tried and tried to fix it, but it was hitting too close to home, so I ended up starting over from scratch.  It was all too much.  The new card is better.  It doesn't hurt as much as the one before.  Not sure what we'll do, we either one or do both, but we'll make a decision this weekend.

Say a prayer for us.  Thank you.

   

Sleep Tight Bruter Boy

I covered up Brut's roses today.   The gesture only took a couple of minutes, but it felt like it sucked the life out of me.  My heart dropped to my stomach and I haven't felt right since.  Another turn of the season without my Brut and another about to begin. I swear nothing will ever feel right again.

WW- And a 1, and a 2, and a 3...