Happy Birthday Leo!

Today my sweet soulpup, Leopold, turns 4 years old! 

I truly can't imagine my life without him. Even more so this year during my cancer journey. He is with me every second of every day. He is there to listen to me rant and rave and be angry. He is there by my side when I am too tired and weak to get out of bed. He is there to soak up my tears when I am at my lowest. And he is there to share in on my good days when I am feeling more like myself.

I draw a great deal of comfort from him. He is my heart. And every day I thank the Universe for placing him in my life. 

Happy Birthday, Leo! 

With love,                                                                                                      Mama Hauck

We Built an Outhouse!

My dad flew in from NY the other day to stay with us. Our friend Nik, who came up from CA for a while to help out with transporting the kids and such while we traverse this cancer journey, is now heading back home. So my dad is here to step in and help as needed. He'll be staying in our guest cabin. I have always loved our guest cabin. I got new sheets for the bed, borrowed a nicer fridge from my mom, moved some things around, and tidied it up a bit. Lookin' good and all ready! 

Since he'll be here for a few months, probably until the end of July, we wanted to make sure we had a bathroom for his use in the evening. But truthfully, it's been on our bucket list to build an outhouse for a long time now, so my dad coming for a few months was just the motivation Sam needed to get the task done! 

Our neighbor Ted helped plan it out and get the frame made. Then Sam took it from there, with my dad helping to wrap it up shortly after his arrival. 

I think it turned out great! We hung a few things up, and even have a little solar light in there. It'll be fun to decorate it a bit more, and we also plan to cut a moon and star in the door. 

With love,

Mama Hauck

Leo and Mama Photoshoot

Just for fun, because I love him SO damned much, Sammy helped me do a little photoshoot with Leo. And then I was able to take a couple selfies. Some of them are pretty funny, lol.

Gosh, what a good boy he is. My sweet soul pup. 

Enjoy! 

With love,

Mama (& Leo) Hauck

Easter

I know I keep saying it, and it's probably getting old, but this year has just been different. And I know it'll continue to be. Easter was at the tail end of Spring break this year. It was also my chemo week. Knowing we weren't going to be doing anything for Spring break because of chemo, we allowed Molly to take a trip to Colorado to see a friend who moved there last year. So she was gone all of Spring break. This was her first time flying alone, and from what I hear, everything went smooth and she had a great time visiting her friend. Her return flight was Sunday late afternoon, which was Easter. It felt weird waking up Easter morning and not making a huge breakfast. And equally as weird not to be doing baskets and our egg hunt in the morning. But I really didn't want to do anything without Molly home. Easter would just have to wait until the evening. At least I was well enough to get out of bed! 

We didn't dye eggs this year, but I did manage to get the kids' baskets filled and all the plastic eggs stuffed and ready to hide. All the grandparents came over to hang out for the day while Sam was gone picking Molly up from the airport, and my mom was in charge of cooking. So all I had to do was relax until they got home. 

It was about 5pm when they arrived home, and we wasted no time diving into Easter baskets! 

Then we did our egg hunt....

....Followed by our delicious dinner of pork chops, rice and gravy, biscuits, asparagus, and salad that my mom cooked. 

And lastly, because the kiddos continue to be good sports for their Mama, our annual bunny ear photo! LOL

With love,

Mama Hauck