Jack the Foster Puppy

Here are some more pictures of Jack the foster puppy. Isn't he adorable?

life's surprise blessings

Dug woke me up early today, so I have a moment to share about our week, which as been kind of crazy. Monday morning, I received an e-mail from Brad that a lady in his office, Talena, had rescued a puppy and they were all trying to find him a home.

I quickly passed along the e-mail to many of my dog-loving friends, and then I tried to find out more information about this little guy. Talena had watched Animal Control in Bonner Springs take him into a vet (who is lovingly known as Dr. Death, so apparently this is a common occurrance) who she knew had a three-day holding period for owners to claim their pets before he puts them down. I guess they don't have any kind of shelter in Bonner Springs? Anyway, Talena gave the vet her phone number and asked him to call her if the puppy wasn't claimed.

So, he called her on Monday morning at 8:45 AM and said "The puppy has until 11:00 AM." She couldn't convince him to hold him until after the workday, so she picked him up and took him to Wells Fargo's office. Everyone fell in love with him, and Brad and I offered to foster him if he didn't have a home by the end of the day. So, Monday night after work, we picked him up.

He is a very cute and very sweet dog. The office named him Jack after the Wells Fargo stagecoach dog. Talena had picked up some food, a new collar and leash, some treats and some toys. I grabbed a kennel/crate and food dish on my way home. He is a very curious puppy, very playful with a sweet personality. But, his paws are bigger than you expect. After looking on the internet with our friends Adam and Rachel, we decided that we think he's part Border collie. Not full bred, because he didn't seem to be fuzzy enough for that, but his markings were definitely pointing in the Border collie direction.

He really liked Dug. They wrestled and wrestled, and Jack tried to chew on Dug's curly tail. Ebert wanted to play ball (surprise!), and he growled at Jack when Jack tried to play, too. Jack made some good progress with potty training and was even starting to go to the door to go outside.

He slept through the night on Monday night, and on Tuesday evening we found him a forever home. A couple came to meet him, and I'm convinced that anyone who meets him falls in love. The husband had lost his boxer, and they were looking for a new dog for him. I'm really glad he found a family (with four kids, two cats, and another dog) to love him and spoil him rotten. Brad and I discussed keeping him, but to have three dogs, we would need an SUV! That wasn't in the budget plan . . . but other than that . . .

Dug and Ebert are glad to have things back to normal. I am, too, but I still think about that cute little guy. I'm glad we were willing and able to help one of God's helpless creatures.

Okay, so somehow the pictures went to the top! Sorry . . .

It's the little things in life.

Look at me! Two days in a row. While I'm waiting for the coffee to steep (French Press style), I thought I'd jot down a little update. Brad's parents were supposed to come up this weekend, but Janet is sick and plans were squashed.

So, it's just Brad and me for the weekend. But, we really don't mind that. We really enjoy having weekends to just hang out. He's my favorite person to hang out with! So, some errands to run today. Maybe look more at furniture. Old Blue, the best sleeping couch in the world, is about out of life in the basement. Getting pretty ratty and tattered (but the frame is still SOLID).

I need to take a quiz today, too. That reminds me - I should probably make a list . . .

Update

So, getting on the computer after I've spent almost all day in front of one is proving difficult. I'm even having a hard time getting motivated to get online for school. I really need to take a quiz today. Yuck.

Things are moving along in 2009. Still working on getting into that exercise routine, but the other stuff is going okay.

Brad gave Ebert some racketball balls that he had in the garage. Dug likes them, too. It's funny to watch Ebert try to chase them because the bounce. High. Definitely makes playing ball more fun. They also slip out of his mouth and start bouncing all over when he tries to bite down on them. The only downside is that they're small enough to roll under ever piece of furniture in the house.

It's been really really cold here the last couple of days. Bundle up! I don't mind the cold, but the wind has been gusting 25-35 miles per hour at least. Don't enjoy that!

so 2009 is here before we knew it . . .

Okay, so the blogging on a regular basis didn't go so well in 2008. Doing better with that is one of my goals for 2009. So is losing five pounds. Don't know where some of those came from, but two of them appeared in the last two weeks of 2008. (Very unwelcomely, I might add.)

So, here are the goals I'm setting for the coming year:

1. Blog on a more regular basis (at least a couple of times a week).
2. Lose 5 pounds.
3. Get into an exercise routine. This will help with #2 and also help get me back into better shape. And, I always feel better when I do.
4. Dress more professionally for work. I don't do horribly with this now, but I need to bust out the iron more and get more wear out of those button-down shirts.
5. Find a new ministry to serve in at church. You can only be a sponge for so long before you can't soak up any more. And, both Brad and I have felt a bit of a restlessness about our involvement with the church.

Five goals. I should probably stop there, although if I thought about it, I could come up with all kinds of things that I need to work on. But, five is reasonable to accomplish.

School is back in session in a week, so all of these things that I'm able to do now (blog, exercise, iron) will be a little harder. We'll see how it goes. But, I keep telling myself that school is not an excuse, and these things will only get harder when we eventually have kids. Now is the time to forge these habits!

Happy 2009!