To My Hurley, My First Born.

I am not shy in calling Hurley my "first born."  I have two children but to me, I actually have THREE.  This "dog" is so much more than a dog to me - he is a tried & true best friend.  He taught me how to be a Mom, and he taught me how to love unconditionally.  There is no better gift in the world than the love of these THREE kids I have.  He has been there for me whenever I need him and always knows when those times are - without words he never fails to come sit with me when he knows his Mama needs him.  He just senses it.  He has been with me through so much, the love I have for him is truly indescribable. 

"You can't buy loyalty, they say,
I bought it though, the other day;
You can't buy friendship, tried and true,
Well just the same, I bought that too.
I made my bid, and on the spot
Bought love and faith and a whole job lot
Of happiness, so all in all
The purchase price was pretty small.
I bought a single trusting heart,
That gave devotion from the start.
If you think these things are not for sale,
Buy a brown-eyed puppy with a stump for a tail."

*Anonymous*

TO MY DEAREST HURLEY, MY FIRST BORN:

 ~ I love you for the most aggressive and wild bum wiggle I have ever seen.  You can knock over anything in your way to get to the target of that wiggle - whether a person or a toy.

 ~ I love you for always being so happy to see us...even if we've only been gone for 10 minutes.

~ I love you for being so loving and protective while I was pregnant, then being a team player and getting hurt in order to stress me out and send me into labor with Bentley.

~ I love you for knowing that your human brother and sister were coming and waiting so nicely for them.  You knew so well that on the day I went into labor with Bentley you sat in the chair in his room as if to give me a sign that was the day.  You sat for weeks by my feet while pregnant with Gracie and just shook because you could sense the time was coming.

~ I love you for loving Bentley and Gracie and being SUCH a good big brother.

~ I love you for your snaggle teeth & smile.

~ I love you for the way you smell when you sleep.  If I could bottle that smell I would.

~ I love you for being such an odd ball that your favorite place to hide out is in the back corner of our closet - and you let me share it and lay with you when I need to.

~ I love you for your drooly shoe strings, even when they gross out other people.  And you drool at the sight of "people" food.

~ I love how you always sneak in bed at night.  And when you get into something you shouldn't or sneak someplace else you shouldn't, I still love you.

~ I love you for snuggling with me in the morning after Daddy gets out of bed and heads off to work.

~ I love how you "own" the stairs.  You are the master stair guardian.

~ I love you for the funny noises you make - snoring, snorting, and other weird things when you're playing.

~ I love you for the way you destroy the sand box when the kids are playing in it.

~ I love you for your adorable yawns with the biggest curling tongue I have ever seen.
~ I love you for sneezing in anyone's face when you want something.

 ~ I love you for how incredibly handsome, good looking, and photogenic you are.  You even indulged me by letting me hire a professional photographer to take your pictures.

~ I love how you lounge around and let it all hang out like a true man.

~ I love you for being such a goofball and freaking out at things like tape measures, flames, moving funiture, a clicking pen...the list could go on. 

~ I love how you love the lint roller and every time I lint roll myself you stand there and wait for me to lint roll you - and like a crazy person I always tell you, "don't worry, I'll do you next." 

~ I love how you come prancing into the bathroom when I'm blow drying my hair so that you can get a little of the warm breeze, then run away like you're scared all of the sudden when the air hits you.  

~ I love how you want me to comb your fur as I'm brushing my hair and sit there staring at me until I give in.

~ I love how when you were a puppy (you still are to me) you always slept on your back.

~ I love you for being a team player and letting me do crazy things to you like dress you up in costumes for Halloween.

~ I love how you get runny noses like 'real people' do.  My boogie face!

~ I love that you are probably one of the only bulldogges on the planet that swims...and loves sun.  You could sun yourself for hours.

~ I love you because even though we (I) torture you with outfits sometimes, you still help around the house with things like cleaning up after the kids' mealtimes. I love you for that.

~ I love you for running this house like you pay the mortgage...and I'm too obsessed with you to care.

~ I love you for your big brown puppy dog eyes that melt my heart every time I see you.

~ I love you for being Bentley's "best friend."  Every day he tells me you are his best friend and every morning he greets you with a kiss and says "I missed you, buddy - I love you."

~ I love that because of YOU one of Bentley's first words was "dog."  You have had an amazing impact on your brother's life and brought him so much joy.

~ I love you for sharing your home with Hopie even though it caused you stress.  You knew that she was a bully in need and were strong and giving enough to share me with her for the time she had.  I believe everything happens for a reason and although I am struggling now to find a reason for your diagnosis I realize the reason Hopie found us and came into our lives was to prepare me for your diagnosis.

~ I love you for loving us unconditionally!

Pieces taken from my original ODE TO HURLEY on his third birthday.

Mommy promises that no matter how difficult it will be for me, I will only make decisions for you moving forward that are in YOUR best interest.  That is my job as your Mommy.  No matter what, I will always put your best interest FIRST, no matter how excruciating it will be for me.  Although many people don't understand, I love you more than life itself and would do anything for you.  I would take the cancer on myself if I could.

I love you from the deepest depths of my soul, forever and always.  You are truly my soul's fur-mate.  You have given me more happiness that I could ever imagine or repay.

~Mommy