The Williams: Update!

Friday, July 17, 2015

Update!

Hey everyone! It's been far to long since I've posted anything on here. Life has been crazy (who's isn't). SO many things have changed in since last time I posted. For on... I GRADUATED!!!!

I had my Senior Exhibit the week before graduating. My project was doing a beer company and designing a website, logo, and beer labels for the company. I had so much fun with this. My friends and family from all over came to see my show.

All my beer bottle labels were friends and family members that I turned into bearded ladies!

My sister-in-law Stephanie as the St Patty's beer.

My cousin Beth, her husband Stephen and their kiddo Anna came down to see!

Leslie (Life told by Leslie) came to see herself all dolled up as a bearded lady.

These two were also doing a show at the same time I was. They are both so very talented.

Most the women on my mom's side of the family (and Stratton) all in one spot. This doesn't happen often.

My professor even sent me flowers!

Stratton and I did our annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk. This was our 5th year doing it!

Stratton had to catch the Santa for his race. He caught him, and then lapped him.

Graduation was so exciting for me! This was 9 years in the making! I finally did it!! December 20, 2015 was the day I finally got to get that paper saying I had a college degree!

This lady here is how I got through school. She is one of my favorite professors and I attribute so much of my motivation to finish to her. She also likes wrinkly hairless cats so she is definitely a favorite in my book.

Cell phones for days.

During the commencement speech.

Seriously, the lady giving the speech was a nut job.

Hey that's my name!!!

The week before I graduated, Grandma B started to get sick. The Wednesday before my graduation she had a stroke and started to go down hill very quickly.

Mom and I played hymns for her, read scripture from the bible to her and talked to her that week that she was in hospice. I stayed with her as much as I could. I held her hand and I cried because my grandma was gone. I have one last voice recording of her saying I love you to me and I will cherish it. Grandma B passed away Christmas Eve morning. She went peacefully.

Christmas was a little less active than normal. Everyone was in a haze because of all the pain from the day before. Casey and Marcus went to the Humane Society on Christmas eve and adopted a new puppy. They named her Emma after our grandma. Grandma B's real name was Lucille Emogene. Emma is short for Emogene.

We decided to have Grandma's funeral on the 2nd of January so that it would allow family to come in town and attend. Friday after New Years we had grandma's funeral and laid her to rest. It was the hardest thing I have done in so long.

The day after Grandma's funeral, January 3, 2015, I noticed that Groucho was breathing really heavy and fast and I noticed that he had been losing some weight. I thought initially it was from it being such a cold winter but decided to take him to the vet anyway.

You could see his little back bones and this just wasn't normal.

I took him to the vet first thing Saturday morning. We got there around 10:30. They did x-rays and a heart scan. They told me that he had fluid around his heart and that he was dying. They told me I wouldn't have much time left with him. I didn't understand what that meant. A week, a month, a hour? They gave him some kind of injections and he just went downhill so quick. He snuggled on my lap for a good hour and a half. By noon he was hiding under the bench and was breathing from his mouth (which is never a good sign.) They told me that the only chance he had was to go to either the emergency clinic 30 min away or trying to make it to St Louis to a cardiac specialist. We wouldn't have made it to either place even if we would have tried. I took Groucho home and he couldn't walk. He cried out in pain and was so uncomfortable. Thankfully Stratton was at my in-laws and Derek was home with me. We put him in Stratton's bed and he cried and kept flopping from place to place. He got down from the bed and crawled to the living room where he went to Zoe's kennel. We knew he was trying to hide so that he could die. He laid in there for a short time and cried. He finally came out and laid in the middle of the floor of our living room. I pet him and loved on him until he started to lose control of his bowels. I was a mess at this time so Derek made me go into the other room. I stayed in Stratton's room while I heard him cry out in pain. Derek loved on him until his very last breath. I lost it. I had lost so much in one week and I couldn't understand why. My sister and my dad came over and we drove Groucho to the Humane Society to be cremated. I'm thankful that we were able to be with him until the very end.