Memorial Day

Today is a special day. Even though we use this day for bar-b-ques, picnics, family reunions, and trips to the lake, we need to take a moment to remember what today is about. Memorial Day is a day to honor those soldiers who sacrificed their lives for us to keep our freedoms. Even if you don't agree with a war that we have been in, those soldiers still fought and died for you to have the right not to agree. So lets take a moment of silence for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Until Next Time,
Tillitson Clan

3 Years

Since tomorrow will be the three year anniversary for the Tillitson Clan being what it is with mine and Lauren's marriage, I thought I'd do a brief overview of the past year.

This time last year, I had just been hired by the school I am currently working at and preparing to change careers. Lauren was finishing up her first year as a full time teacher. Lauren went to training for AP training as I was finishing up my last job. As I finished up, Lauren and I took a vacation to see her parents brand new house they just bought, which I love. I then began my new teacher training, which ended with me getting pneumonia. Fun. Lauren and I were then went to our district trainings together as we prepared for the new year. My 26th birthday came up where us and a bunch of friends basically had a night on the town in down town Ft. Worth. This was a blast.

The fall was a rough start for both of us. In At the end of August, Lauren's uncle was shot and killed. It was a hard funeral, but I'm glad God put me there to be for my wife and her family. At Lauren's school she had to deal with a classroom that should not have been a class room. She is still in there today, but with God on her side she has made it work. I on the other hand went through culture shock. As much as they try to prepare you for in teacher training, they can't really train you for what I went through. I entered my school, and my kids for the first 6 weeks tried to push me to where I wanted to leave. Thankfully I had God on my side. He gave me the strength to endure and when the kids realized that I wasn't leaving things greatly improved.

In November, Lauren's brother came to live with us for a month. This had its ups and downs. On one hand it was nice seeing him, on the other, we got burned out by having him here. We celebrated Lauren's 25th birthday at the start of the month as well, we went to The West End with a bunch of our friends as well. The West End isn't what it used to be, but we still had fun. Lauren then went to a conference and she had fun. Unfortunately I did as well. I spent over $300 on comics, movies, and video games. Thanksgiving was a blast. We saw most of my family out in East Texas.

December was a month with some ups and some serious downs. My favorite time of the year is Christmas which always raises my spirits. We had a wonderful Christmas with Lauren's family, as I knew we would. While we were gone, I had gotten word that my Papa had a heart attack. On our way back home, Lauren and her family dropped me off at the hospital in Tyler to be with my family. When Lauren got home our dog Darrel was hurt. You don't want to know the details, so I won't say them. On December 29, that morning Lauren had to put Darrel down, his injury had led to a serious infection. On top of that, my Papa passed. This was one of the hardest, if not the hardest Christmases for me EVER.

January was a month of joy which was needed, but also some frustration. Our friends, Tommy and Crystal told us they were pregnant. We are so happy for them. Not going to lie, we were a little jealous, because we have been trying, and when God says it's time, it will be time. Lauren's brother came to stay with us for another month. His struggling to get a job turned into frustration and he ended up putting a whole in the wall of our house. (which he repaired) In February I went to Austin for a convention, which I enjoyed. I also met Lauren's dad in Austin to drop off her brother. In March my school gave me another hat and I began working on school schedules. Good thing I pick up computer programs well, because I had no training on how to do this. This was also a time when Lauren was having frustrations at work again that had to lead to some serious considerations, but Lauren put her kids first and will be gladly teaching them again next year. In April, as teachers we had to deal with TAKS testing. I'm not against a testing for accountability reasons, it is just difficult to test kids all day long.

We are now in the month of May and closing up the 3rd year of marriage. A week and a half ago, Lauren's dog Iris was hit by a car. Thankfully God was watching her. Two complete strangers saw her and called the vet number that was on her tags. You can read the "Iris Updates" for further info on this. She is doing wonderful now, her meds have been cut in half and she is as peppy as can be. (And no she's not on that kind of medication.) Well tomorrow is our 3 year anniversary and here's to many more.

Until Next Time,
Tillitson Clan

Wearing Kilts, 'Cause That's How We Roll

So today we went to Scarborough Fair. We had a blast. We went with Pop and Kathy, who brough Caden with them. So Lauren made kilts and sashes for us two and Caden , this was a lot of fun. The kilts were in the Tillitson clan colors, but I'm not sure if it was the right plad. I don't think it really matters though. But we had to wear kilts, 'cause that's how we role. We will have pictures for you later, but I'm waiting on Kathy to email them to me. (We forgot to recharge the camera batteries ;-p ) We also bought some stuff, that is a lot of fun.

Update on Iris: She is doing even better, she's walking around (not as graceful as I'd like, but I'll give it time.)

Until Next Time,
Tillitson Clan

Taking Care Of The Pup

So taking care of Iris has been interesting. Especially the waking up every 2 hours to feed her (I guess this is God preparing me for my future.) (Not now, but at some point.) We have some awesome friend that do help out in this during the day. The awkward thing is giving her fluids. The have to be injected into the skin, which creates a bubble that she gradually absorbs. The other hard part is her pills. She HATES pills. She bit me today while I was trying to give her pills. She didn't mean to bite me, but she was trying to keep her mouth shut, so fighting it she would end up biting me. Then she would still spit out the pills, URRGGG!!!! Ok, must remember to be patient, just like the doctor said. You know it really seems like God is preparing me for something through this ;-p .

Until Next Time,
Tillitson Clan

Iris is Home!!!

So we brought Iris home today. YAY!!! She is doing ok. Her eye is stitched shut at this time, but they will be removed in about three weeks. She is on quite a few medications, and she is still pretty low key, but she has improved so much. We will have to do some nursing duty on her for the next few days, and thankfully we have some awesome friends who are going to help out on the next two days. We will have to take her up to the hospital for day boarding a couple of days over the next week, but the day boarding costs are much lower than everything else. The doctor told us that in about 3 months, we most likely won't be able to tell the difference between how Iris will be, and how she was before the accident.

In other news, on Monday we are taking the day off to relax and celebrate our Anniversary (3 days early) which will give us two 3 day weekends in a row ;-p . And after this week, we will only have 2 weeks left of school (SWEET!)

Until Next Time,
Tillitson Clan

Iris Update 2

So we went to see Iris today. She ate a little today, and she is not strapped down anymore so that is good. Her right eye (the side the car hit) is not blinking though. They are having to hold her eye lid shut with a piece of string and lubricate the eye. Because she hasn't been blinking in that eye, she has developed an ulster in the eye. But on the bright side, there is a chance that we can take her home tomorrow. We'll keep you updated.

Until Next Time,
Tillitson Clan

Iris Update 1

So we went to the animal hospital today, and Iris is doing better. The swelling on her head went down so she looks better. She is also a lot calmer, and is blinking now. So we are more optimistic than we were yesterday. She is still on oxygen and pain medicine at this time. The vet said if she continues the way she is going we should be able to take her home in a couple of days. Iris will become an inside dog though, we are setting up the kitchen to be her area.

Until Next Time,
Tillitson Clan

Iris

Today Iris was hit by a car. Apparently she undid her chain hook, and escape. She walked down Matlock, and began to cross Country Club. As she was crossing, a car clipped her on the side of the head. Fortunately two people saw it, and went to her. She had her tags on, so the people were able to call the vet and animal control. Animal control took her to the vet for me.

At the vet, the could not find any broken bones, but she was bleeding from her nose and inner ear. The vet fears that she may have neurological damage, but at this time there is no way to know. They did ask us to take her to the 24 hour vet place so they could keep an eye on her.

The 24 hour vet told us the fact that she survived the hit is a good sign, but there are still a good chance of problems. Fortunately she is not feeling any pain unless she starts flailing around. The brain is almost in a off state, but it's a coping mechanism for her pain. But when she would hear Lauren or my voice she would start coming out of it and go into pain. So we are leaving her at the hospital so she can get some rest. They did say that the could not find any broken bones so far, but they are doing x-rays just to be sure. I will keep you posted.

Until Next Time,
Tillitson Clan

End of a Long Month

Can I just start off saying April was a loooooooooooong month. I don't really know why, but Lauren and I are both thankful. It wasn't all bad, we got a new car. But a LOT happened this past month with this last week being TAKS test. We are so glad those are over, it makes school weird and there is no perfect way to handle it because the students don't really know how to handle when they are not testing. Anyway, here's looking to May with only 4 weeks left of school and then a break. And as we are in May, Lauren and I are not bringing any work home with us. Honestly, I think this might be the hardest one for us because it has become so second nature. We'll see how it works out.

Oh yeah, Lauren said I can get an iphone as soon as we pay off the credit card, YAY!!! (And yes, that is a realistic goal. Only a few more months.)

Until Next Time,
Tillitson Clan