This rollercoaster life.....

Up - down - up - down - spinning all around - upside down - fast and furious - never a dull moment - wow!

Such is the Burns household for as long as I can remember now....Coach Burns' illness is ever present - His body full of pain and aging quickly. For now the pneumonia is clearing up and we managed to avoid a hospital stay so far! (Thank you Lord for that blessing) Long term - we don't even talk about it anymore - we just go one day at a time - praising the Lord through the good and the bad days!

Levi's illness is so similar to Coach Burns' illness in that appearing to fine one minute and really ill the next. Bless both their hearts! I believe that they are good therapy for each other! I truly believe that a dog is man's best friend!!

Each day we wake not knowing what the day will bring but we thank the Lord for another day! We are armed with the necessary equipment to ride the roller coaster - we have the love of the Lord, the armor of Christ, each other, our family and friends, and our bulldogs! We are blessed beyond measure and we thank you Lord for reminding us that life down here is NOTHING like life will be in heaven!

If there are roller coasters up there - I am sure that they will be for PURE ENJOYMENT - not like the ones that characterize this so call life down here.

We will continue to pray without ceasing for healing for:
Coach Burns - 12 years and counting
Levi - as he works on his bucket list
Dave and family - special dear friends of ours that we love
Janice and Lewis - illness that wont go away

Precious Lord,
You know the needs of the ones mentioned above and Lord you are the Great Physician - we put all our trust in you! Please give peace and comfort to all who are hurting and Lord please give healing to those in need of it! We trust you completely and will praise you through the storm, through the good times and through the roller coaster ride - now and for always! In the precious name of Jesus - Amen!

NO not yet.....it is NOT time

Levi - listen to me - it is not time to go yet! We have so much more to do!! We have hardly made a dent in your bucket list....we are just not ready yet....Hold on sweet boy....rest all you want but please dont go yet.

You said that you would not leave until we were ready to handle life here without you - well we are NOT ready yet.

You see we enjoy so much the slobbery bulldog kisses that you give, the poor pitiful looks when you want something that you know that you cant have, the snoring, the lap naps, the way you love to eat....the list goes on and on.....

It is NOT time to go yet - rest all you want (I will be right here beside you)- sweet dreams my precious boy - tomorrow will be a better day!

Hugs and Kisses and all my love,
Mom

Be careful if you think you are standing.....

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
Wow - what a difference a couple of days makes - Just when I relaxed a little and just when I thought I could see the sunshine on the horizon - the dark clouds appear again.

The news from Friday on Levi left us smiling from ear to ear - we were maintaining -holding ground. By Monday - the appetite was gone and we spent countless time enticing him to eat. By Monday night - he was stressing, panting and pacing to the point that we had to sedate him for rest. All in the blink of an eye.

If you are familiar with the health struggles of Coach Burns - they you know how quickly things change there also - Pneumonia again (4 times last year) on a man with no immune system is horrrifying. No sick time and still trying to recover from the December/January monies missing due to his illnesses and now here we go again.

Each time I begin to stand again or feel slightly comfortable - the flood gates open and we are swept away with trials and tribulations that remind us of how unfair this world is in ALL aspects.

So what do we do?? We cling steadfast unmoveable to our Lord and we pray that these trials will be brief. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

And when these are over.....sign me Worn Out but Joyously Mature, Complete and Not Lacking Anything

Keep doing what you are doing!

As you probably saw on facebook, last night we took Levi to see Dr. Parker and get some lab work done. He was scared to death - bless his little heart! As we sat waiting to see the vet, Levi was giving us the dreaded "please dont leave me here" look....We assured him that he was not going to stay but the fear never left his eyes.

Long story short - Levi's levels had improved slightly. Please understand that his levels will probably never return to normal as the kidneys are so damaged BUT the word we heard were music to our ears! Slight improvement - KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!!!

Dr. Parker seemed to be relieved as we were that the levels were a little better! He cautiously reminded us that this was not a permanent fix and that Levi was going to require major care the remainder of his life....We understood....we listened and paid our bill and left hopefully for three more weeks. KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!!!

We were all smiles as we got in the car and headed home with our little ball boy! Nothing could wipe the smiles and grateful tears away! Lots of hugs and kisses for our brave little fellow!

Keep doing what you are doing is what we were told so we will keep praying, loving, feeding, medicating, playing, holding, kissing, growing everyday for as long as we have! You see what we are doing is growing with the Lord daily , watching unconditional love unfold before our eyes, taking responsibility for a little life, treasuring the moments and spreading the love with our family and friends, expecting less and receiving more, giving all we have got and reaping rewards unimaginable.

Thank you Lord for using Levi to strengthen our walk with You, our relationship with each other and our family and friends. You never cease to amaze me! I stand in awe of you!

Praising Your name Lord for you alone are worthy!!!!

A little nervous but we know the Great Physician.....

Well it has been three weeks today since we left the doctors office armed with Sub Q fluids, supplements, medications, dry food and wet food for Levi. We have turned our home into a regular monitored doctors office - sticking to the schedules and routines - paying extra attention to his every move. We are 100% committed to giving him the best that we can while we have the blessing of his presence here on earth.

Tonight we go back to see if what we are doing is holding ground - we will have the blood work checked again and compare the numbers to the last two times that they were taken and hopefully see that he is not getting any worse yet.

To say that we are nervous is an understatement - oh how we long to hear the words tonight that our precious Levi is completely healed and will be able to enjoy a long long bulldog life! Realistically we know that we are not going to hear those words - we know that the damage done to his little body is major and we know that his kidneys will never be able to sustain a long life without divine intervetion. But still we hope!

We believe that everything happens for a reason - there are no concidences! God has a mighty plan for each one of our lives and it will be His way. We will have hard times, we will hurt, we will battle many many temptations and sins, we will fail at times. Yet we also know that we are never alone and that each day he renews our strength in Him if we allow Him to.

We may never know why Levi was born this way or why his life will be so short but we do believe that the Lord is using Levi to slow us down and watch the unfolding unconditional love at it's very best! Lord we thank you for each and every moment of this - the smiles, the tears, the extra work, the bonds that we are making with new friends and family, the testimony of true love one second at a time.....Thank you Lord for Jesus!

So tonight we will load Levi into the car and visit our friends at Montevallo Animal Clinic and whatever we are told - it will be ok! We believe that he is doing better and that is enough for us!

Levi's Bucket List

Hey everyone - this is Levi! I am taking a minute to write down the things that I still want to do before I meet Arthur at Rainbow Bridge! I know that this is hard on mom and dad and Ash and Lex but I am going to be ok! They tell me that I have a wonderful brother there waiting for me - Arthur - their very first bulldog - he will take good care of me until they join us someday!

So here it is - my bucket list

1. Eat more double cheeseburgers - Mom says that they are not good for me now but I know that she will give in and let me have some more. She really really loves me and she know how much I love a double cheeseburger!

2. Go to church(Sunday School) - My mom teaches a bunch of kool teenagers on Sunday mornings and I know that I can help in a lesson on unconditional love - she has to clear it with the pastor first but I believe that it will happen because I can teach without using any words - I know my mom loves these teens and I want to love on them too.

3. Go to the Quad with Lex and pick up chicks - you may not know this but I am a chick magnet - Lex and me together - there will be no stopping us - look out ladies!

4. Meet Ms. Ashley's Gabby - the new grand dog as my parents call her - she is a tiny yorkie and I know that she will love me! How can she resist? After all I am a bulldog and that is enough said. Oh and ride in Mr. Mike's new car - heard it was cool!

5. Lots of hugs and kisses everyday from Mom and Dad and Lex - this being sick thing has gotten me lots of extra attention - it is good for me and I believe that it is good for them also! This world needs a lot more hugging and kissing in my opinion!

6. Go to the park and have a picnic - I have not been to the park very much since I am only a 1 1/2 years old but it was so much fun! Mom bought me a new wagon and I cant wait to try it out so hopefully we will have a pretty day really soon!

7. Play ball - love those words - I love to play with my ball - I don't have much energy anymore but I still have my ball in sight most of the time! Mom and Dad keep buying them for me and I love it but the white one is still my favorite!

8. Go to work with Dad (Coach Burns) and met the football players! I will wear my Jemison shirt and harness - I love football and my dad! He is the greatest!

9. Go see the grandparents (Mimi & Grandpa & Grandma Burns) - they all love me and I am sure that they will sneak me some snacks! They love my parents and me so much!

10. Make sure that Mom and Dad know that I love them and I will be waiting for them at Rainbow Bridge with Arthur - I am so glad that he will be there to show me the way and take care of me till Mom and Dad make to heaven!

I don't know how long I have left down here (people you don't know how long you have either) but I do know that I have been loved and loved and loved and I will be OK! When my time comes, I know that Mom and Dad will cry but this is not the end of the story - I am Levi Malachi Burns and I am a lucky lucky dog!

Later dudes - hey mom whats for dinner?

The reality of it....Day 20

Daily we feed Levi the special food specifically for his kidney failure, we administer his meds in the morning and in the evening, we keep the water bowls filled to the brim, we make sure that he has his ball in sight at all times, we give SubQ fluids as directed by our vets and we watch his every move....constantly reassuring ourselves that he is getting better. Everyday we say he is getting better - he is holding his own!

But the reality of it is - he is not. The past couple of days we have noticed that he is having difficulty with the stairs - he use to could run right up them much faster than we could...now he seems clumsy and takes them one at a time after he has tried to run up and failed...heartbreaking again.

This morning - he was starving for his breakfast - took his meds and proceeded to start eating his morning wet food on top of the dry. We have started feeding him separate from Lil Ben and Annabelle because of the food being different so Coach Burns carried his bowl into a quiet room so that he could eat without interruption from the others. I watched from upstairs as I was hurrying to get ready for work...

Suddenly in the midst of eating - things changed quickly - suddenly Levi was flat on the floor rolling on his side- shaking, salivating, and urinating uncontrollably. The look in Coach Burns eyes stopped me in my tracks and I was distracted from Levi for a few moments as I knew in that second that Coach Burns realized as I did that he is not getting better.

The episode did not last very long - Coach Burns got him in his arms and loved him through it. I cleaned up all the mess fighting back the tears and in a few minutes Levi was Levi again almost...Coach Burns took him to his favorite spot downstairs with his ball and he was sleeping soundly when I left for work.

Coach Burns said Levi was back to his normal self when he left for work about an hour after me. Again, the tears flowed all the way to work as all of this is so heartbreaking!

The reality of acute renal failure is death - bottom line - when the quality of life is no longer for Levi - the time will come when the decision will have to be made. The Lord will show us when it is time and episodes like this morning just serve to remind us that the day is coming....

Appreciate each moment, love with all you have and thank the Lord for all your blessings - this is how we choose to life and how we choose to die and always on bended knee praising your name Lord.