Our Sweet Kramer

KRAMER

3/16/08 - 7/28/12

This past July, we had to put our lovable lab to sleep.

It had been a few days since I had been able to take Kramer for a good long walk or play hard with him outside.  He loves the outdoors and needed his exercise.  So one morning Justin woke up super early and took Kramer with him to Herb Parsons, a beautiful lake and trail area close by.  Justin knew Kramer would love to run behind him while he biked the trails.  It was cooler so early in the morning, so Justin didn't think much of the July heat just yet.  Kramer ran behind Justin to his heart's content.  Being outside, playing hard, and being with Justin, are probably Kramer's favorite things in the world to do.  Well, after a while, Justin noticed Kramer wasn't right behind him.  When he saw him, Kramer was still trying to follow Justin, but he was pulling his back legs behind him.  Kramer laid down at the bottom of a hill, and Justin knew something was wrong.  Kramer would not get back up.  Justin immediately took him to the vet, and soon we realized that Kramer had a severe case of heat exhaustion.   

We got to take him home later that evening to monitor him.  At the vet, Kramer had been rehydrated, and hopefully we would see a turn around overnight.

Well, that did not happen.  He continually got worse and we stayed up with him all night long.  We took him back to the vet first thing in the morning.  They ran some tests and realized that the heat exhaustion was more of a heat stroke and he had some internal damage.  Kramer's health continued to decline despite everything our kind veterinarians did, and we had to make the decision to let him go.

It was the hardest thing Justin and I have been through since we have been married.

These were our last few minutes with Kramer.

It's so hard to say good bye to someone you love.

I thought it would be nice to take a look back and see our beautiful memories of our "first born". 

Here are some moments from the past four years of Kramer's life :)

Justin and I drove to Fulton, MS to pick out a pure bred chocolate lab.  There were five male puppies left to choose from.

It didn't take Justin long to find that special puppy that would become a part of our family :)

Kramer was 47 days old when we took him home with us.

First family picture :)

Any time we took Kramer in the car with us (which was often), he would have to climb up on our shoulders for the ride.

We knew Kramer would be an inside, family dog so, Justin started training Kramer immediately.  We used the book Family Dog by Richard Wolters.

It is a fantastic book and right away we learned to effectively teach Kramer to sit, stay, lie down, drop it, shake, and high five.  

We loved how he slept in unusual places around the house.

Sometimes Justin would take Kramer to school with him :)

You just know the kids LOVED coming to math class at the end of the school year!

Yep, getting bigger, but still making the shoulder thing work.

Kramer went everywhere with us.  Even to the lake :)

Yes, we became smitten with him :)

Kramer definitely got bigger fast.

This puppy could have lived at the trails near the water.

Loving any opportunity to go for a walk.

We spelled that word a lot at home- "Hey, Justin, are you up for taking you-know-who for a

W-A-L-K?"  haha

Trying to be a lap dog

Can't get enough kisses

Even on the boat!

And you can guarantee that if Justin got in the water, Kramer followed.

Justin with Kramer, his own dog, and Belle, his family dog he grew up with :)

This dog would do ANYTHING for Justin.

I love this picture.

It just shows how much Kramer looked to Justin for "command".  Justin was the "alpha", and whatever Justin told Kramer to do, Kramer did.  There was a bond there, that I did not even have with Kramer.

Hanging out at home.  Boy, Kramer LOVED a warm fire.

Buddies

Kramer was the greatest running partner you could imagine.

This always cracked me up.

We caved and let Kramer sleep in the bed with us, but he is supposed to be sleeping on a blanket at the end of the bed.   I never could understand how Justin could sleep with a paw in his face!

And then James was born.  :)

And a loving friendship began.

Kramer was so gentle

One of my favorite pictures

James could do anything to Kramer and Kramer didn't mind a bit.

They hugged...

Had lots of kisses...

Sometimes Kramer was a step stool..

Other times he was a great big pillow ;)

And then Reese was born, and another bond was created.

Once again, Kramer was so sweet and gentle.

We could not have asked for a better pet, a better companion.

There will never be another dog like Kramer.

We miss him greatly and will treasure his memories in our hearts forever.

Mighty Might 2012

On Saturday, July 21st, Justin competed in his third Mighty Mite Triathlon.  It's always held in Forrest City, Arkansas.  We dropped the kids off at my parents house the night before the race, and my parents graciously watched them Friday night and Saturday so that I could go with Justin to his race and support him!  We left super early Saturday morning and drove to AK!

We parked on a field and Justin unloads everything from the car.

We have a long walk up to the first transition area where Justin picks a spot and gets his bike ready.

Lake Dunn is close by and is where Justin will start the race.  He will swim 1/3 mile.  I never get to see his start because I usually walk the distance back to the car and drive to a good spot to watch him bike by.

This little church was right outside the park area.  I parked here and set up my chair and camera to wait for Justin to pass by :)

Here he comes!

He looked strong and fast ;)

He biked 13 miles to East Arkansas Community College, and from there would begin his 3 mile run.

I hopped back in the van, passed all the bikers on one road, and then went a different route to the finish line in Forrest City where he would end his run.

Justin runs the final mile.

Finishing strong!

Justin finished in a time of 1:15:06

(I know the time in the photo looks different, but the competitors didn't all start at the same time)

He beat his last time by over a minute.  PR!!

It was so much fun to see him compete and I know he loves triathlons.  Biking has become one of his new hobbies and one that I think he will continue for a long time!

Time with Daddy

Ok, so don't get me wrong, I LOVE football season.  I am super proud of Justin and how far he has come as a coach and mentor to those boys.  I love Friday night lights, and the kids running around, and maybe even a pumpkin spice latte (if I have a gift card to use at Starbucks!)

We just don't get to see Justin as much as we would like :) So when Daddy is home, we treasure the moments!  

Kramer, James, and Reese, waiting on Daddy to get home!

Cuddling on the couch :)

Putting some fun things on James' walls

Doing a little yard work together

Hanging out in the front yard

(James loves laying on Justin like this...cracks us up!)

Sweet Reese

Riding some more on the truck!

Being adventurous and taking a stroll with Daddy and Mommy down the street!

I love this kid ;)

Such a sweet heart.  Can't get enough of her!

Watching the sun go down

Some good lovin!!!

The New Truck

Another thing we do MOST days is ride in the NEW TRUCK!  

I figured the kids just couldn't squeeze in to the one seater truck any more.

I found this one at a consignment sale and cheap!  Sometimes the reverse decides to stop working, but everything else about it is great!  I think it even has a radio, but we haven't even tried it yet.

um, can you tell how happy they are?

Reese is telling James which way to go :)

I am very happy that this truck comes with velcro straps (well, one side is broken, but the other side still works!)  If Reese wasn't strapped in tight, she would go flying out!  James likes to drive fast and turn fast and go over bumps and down hills and cut corners close.  You name it, he does it!

I am so thankful we are in a cove where the kids are able to drive around without too many cars to worry about!  I usually just prop my lawn chair up in the driveway and read my Bible or cut coupons or catch up on a phone conversation.  A very good investment!

Finding Things To Do

Toward the end of July, Justin starts to have his 2 a days.  He coaches football in the morning, and then again in the evening.  And football "talk" and meetings in between.  So I have the kids all to myself for long periods of time, and as much as I love them, I miss having my "summer" helping hand.  This is always the time where my adjustment period starts setting in.  The kids and I get so spoiled in the summer seeing Justin more often.  So when he is gone, we can't stay cooped up in the house for too long, so we find other fun things to do to keep us entertained:

We play outside LOTS!

Sometimes we have played outside all evening, so what a better way to end the day, than to have a bath in the swimming pool! (saves time and energy :)

When it's too hot outside, we go to the library!  The kids love reading books and checking out new ones to take home.  If I could only figure out how to keep them a little bit more quiet while we are there ;).

And of course, we HAVE to go visit the train tracks from time to time.  If James had his way, he would walk down these tracks every day.  We always pray we are there at the right time to see the train rush by!  

Just At Home

Some random pictures of the kids while we hang out at home :)

Reese loves her shades ;)

a little tv time

One of the new fun things that Reese and James do:)

Reese LOVES sitting in the radio flyer wagon.

Such a sad face :(.  Still have quite a few time outs during the day.

As of July, James is still having time outs in the chair in the middle of our kitchen.

Just some silliness!

Reese helps me with the dishes :)

hmmmm....a little experimenting with writing on skin.  You can be sure he got a lecture on this one!

Reese's "crazy" face ...haha

James imitating Reese

Buddies :)  Reese is finally sitting through a little bit of tv when mommy needs a break :)

I love how James wants her so close.