January has come and past. I just released a brand new song! Fabian turned three! We also have a bit of sad news to share with you.
We had to say good bye to our dog Teka. It was way too soon. She was just under two years old. Our vet wasn’t fully sure of what made her sick and caused her death. We think most likely that it was cancer.
We observed that she was starting to get very lethargic after we had our baby Frederic in early November. We first viewed this as a blessing because we were able to focus more of our attention on our new baby. We thought maybe she was kind of hibernating and adjusting to the new addition in our family. But overall there was nothing about her that was of great concern.
We then had her spayed on December 20th. Following the surgery, she never fully got her appetite back. She had spurts of her old self but overall never fully recovered. She had previously been full of energy and joy, always eager to play with us and strangers.
We took her to the vet. First, she thought her lack of appetite was due to the surgery. Then Teka got a lot worse. The next time we brought her to the vet (a few days later), she was surprised how much Teka had taken a turn for the worse. She gave Teka steroids, antibiotics, and an IV. She also did a blood test and it was discovered that Teka had a very high level of calcium, which could either mean cancer or vitamin D poisoning. We did notice a lump near her throat/ear.
Two days later, I brought Teka to be put to sleep. She had not recovered at all. The vet did say we could bring her to Appleton to a pet hospital, but she was not hopeful that Teka would be able to fully recover. It was a tough and heartbreaking decision to put her down. She was the first dog that I had ever had. We miss her. My memories of her will be watching her run so fast and free around our house in every season, surrounded by the Northwoods. She was such a gentle and fun dog for our family. I put together a compilation video of Teka moments:
I do have a new song in the works entitled “Life is Short” that is inspired by the passing of Teka. I hope to share it with you soon.
The new song that I do have finished is called “Jesus Is My Savior”. In this song, I performed the vocals, keys (ambient sounds during solo and final chorus), and the acoustic guitar. I also put together the basic percussion using my Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) Logic Pro X. I have been using Logic Pro X since 2018 and it has been a good program to use for recording music. My first album I used the free version of Logic Pro X, which is called GarageBand.
On this new song, I had the help of a violinist Courtney Majors and banjo player Luca Teixeira. Luca also helped add the clapping sound that you hear at the end of the song. The song is another one that will be featured on my upcoming album, Fighting for the Kingdom. In these times, it is easy to be discouraged when we look out upon the world. Also, it is easy to look to the world to be fulfilled. This song hopes to direct the listener to find fulfillment in Christ, who gives us true joy and true peace in our hearts.
Our little boy Fabian turned three on January 25th. He is an athletic, funny, and clever kid. His siblings helped make his cake. He got snow shoes as one of his presents!
Our smallest boy just turned three months on February 4th. He is very joyful and sweet. He is beginning to communicate with us and is working on his mobility!
We had a bunch of fun this past Sunday visiting Conover Town Park just about a half hour drive from our house. They have a huge ice rink and a nice clear sledding hill!
I have been fighting through some back pain/problems, but nothing too serious. I am hoping to be consistent in 2023 lifting weights, playing sports, and doing cardio exercises. I had fun putting together this video of me playing basketball with Super Mario sound effects.
I was able to create this content thanks to my support team. If you are interested in joining or learning more about it: JacobRuddMusic.com/support-team