The Very Sad of Fall 2010

On October 30, 2010, My aunt Denise Marie Afanador die at the age of 52. Loving wife to my Uncle Louie, mother to my cousins Greg and Steven, grandmother to Izabella and Alejandro, and sister to (my mom) Renee Schilling Mueller and Dave Schilling. It is so hard to believe that almost a month has past by without her here. I'm sitting here looking forward to a Thanksgiving Feast with my family but yet am not feeling as happy as I should. And it's because my Aunt Denise will not be there with us tomorrow enjoying her husband, children, grandchildren, sister and brother, niece and nephew. And enjoying the great food and drinks that we always have. Her presence will be missed greatly and so will her sense of humor and her love. We will all be thinking of you tomorrow Aunt Denise, we love you.

Our family has gone through so much in the last year and a half. My grandfather past in August of 09, my grandmother in December of 09, and now my aunt. Hopefully, 2011 will bring more joy to our family than sadness.

On another sad note, but not nearly as sad as losing family. I made the decision to put down my dog of ten years. Her name was "KOA." She was loyal and protective and probably the best dog I will ever have in my entire adult life. She was one of those dogs you could just let outside with you and she wouldn't go anywhere. She was a porch dog. She was the best. I took her everywhere with me before I got married. She loved the beach. She absolutely loved swimming. And she loved to go running with me. But then when my son was born, I made some bad decisions. I separated all of our dogs from our child, which of course we all know that is exactly what your not supposed to do. I couldn't help it. At the time, we had three dogs. I was so afraid of coming home with a new born baby and three dogs running around my ankles. I kept thinking.... I'm going to fall and trip with the baby.... One of the dogs is going to bite the baby when I'm not looking.....I am going to step on one of the dogs etc.... So anyway.... turns out, out of three dogs she was the last one standing. And after a while she became lonely. And then she started limping. And then she stop going outside to the bathroom. And then I made a very tough decision. And now she is not here. And I miss her. And I think about her all the time. But I know I made the right decision. I know you are at peace and happy now KOA. I love you.