Doggy Dash & Chocolate Birthday Cake

I like to think that the day we go home to Heaven is a celebration to beat all celebrations; A day that trumps any earthly party we could ever imagine!  So sometimes, I wonder if it's silly to celebrate the day our loved ones were born to Earth after they've gone to Heaven, because, to me, the day they returned home would be the true celebration.  

But... a earthly birthday is all I've got of my son.  And it's important to me to celebrate his birthday in whichever way my heart needs to each year.  I'm sad.  I'm always sad.  I used to think that the sadness would eventually go away.... but I'm learning that it never will.  That's alright though, I don't mind it anymore.  

But I didn't want to be sad this year.  So to celebrate my baby's earthly birthday Eric signed us up for the 'Doggy Dash!'  A Doggy Dash is a 5K fun-run with your doggy!  Cute, huh?!  But they also had a military working dog demonstration, and lots of adorable contests like the best barker/howler and pet/human look-alike contest.  Can you think of a better way to spend a morning?!  Me neither. 

Journey got LOTS of attention and made lots of new friends!  With a face like his we were pretty sure he'd be the most popular dude there.

It was tough getting good pictures of anything since there were dogs & leashes everywhere, I forgot to change my camera lens before leaving for the Doggy Dash, aaannd because dogs don't care about getting a good picture, so I just had to go with it.

Journey is pretty tiny still- we didn't know that he'd be able to keep up or even complete the run, so we signed him up for the 1 mile fun-run rather than the full 5K.  He was too busy smelling other doggy's butts when the gun went off, so we were almost dead last before he actually got in his groove.  But even so, little Journey completed the entire mile!!!  

Journey was exhausted after meeting so many new friends, getting lots of love, and walking an entire mile all by himself!  So Eric and I took him home for a nap and then we went out for a sushi lunch in downtown Kaiserslautern.  After lunch we walked around the town center, I bought a new runner for my dining room table and a large picture frame that I've been wanting to put some of my nicer pictures I've gotten from our travels in.  I made a birthday cake for my son's 12th "angelversary," Isabelle is having a sleepover tonight at our house with her best friend, and now Eric and I are relaxing with a bottle of wine (each), and Journey is still napping.  

I wasn't sad today!  Or more sad than usual, anyway.  
I could give you a hundred reasons why having your baby die in your tummy is sad unbearable.  I could tell you how the memory of holding my dead baby is in my head every. single. day.  
But, I could give you a hundred reasons why having my baby die in my tummy has made the life I have now meaningful.  And that holding my dead baby is one of my most precious experiences I was so lucky to be given.  
There are a lot of reasons I have to be sad, but there are the exact same number of reasons I have to be happy.  Good comes with bad, bad comes with good- it's the Universes' way of keeping us humble.  I admire that.  


The Universe also has chocolate birthday cake.... and I think that's pretty great too.

{Have I mentioned, yet, that I am not crafty/creative/artistic?  It tasted good, and I'm happy with that.}