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!

Happy November

Well, October flew by. It is hard to believe it is November already. It'll be 2009 before we know it. School is getting more demanding, and we've started leading a small group with church. Brad finished the shelves in the closets in the basements, so we had an organization-fest weekend. It felt so good to purge a ton, yes a TON of stuff.

I'm really asking God what it is I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I feel like something is missing, that there's something more that what I'm doing now. And, having that realization, it's hard for me to be patient for Him to reveal exactly what it is that I need to do or what change I need to make.

But, I'm very blessed. I have a FABULOUS husband, two cute puppies, a comfortable home, and a good job. I have family and friends who love and support me. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Brad got me a piano for my birthday. I have some pictures I'll try to post.

Dug the Pudgy Pug

So Dug is officially fat. We took Ebert and Dug to the vet yesterday, and Dug has been put on a doggy diet, complete with certain target number of calories and everything. I've already picked up his diet dog food, and we're transitioning him over to the low cal stuff. He doesn't seem to mind. It's all food to him. They told us he needs to shet 4+ pounds. That's a lot for a dog. And here we thought he was actually getting smaller. Not so much.

life goes on . . .

I had a sad moment today. I was listening to our wedding CD, with all of the music from our wedding and other songs we really like, and I was really enjoying listening to Pachelbel's Canon in D. I've really been missing my piano lately, and that was one of my favorite songs to play. Anyway, all of a sudden, I remembered that Aaron, Jen Ruth, and I and someone else I can't remember at the moment had played that song as a flute quartet. I really miss Aaron. It is still hard for me to believe that she's gone.

But life goes on. That's kind of been the theme of the month. Susan, my boss, has left MVP, so things are kind of crazy for me there. There's a lot going on, and hopefully I can post more about it later. All I can say is pray for me.

Brad has been battling some pretty bad allergies lately. He's even been home from work. That lets you know how serious it is. He never stays home sick.

Mom, Dad, Leah, and Micah came up for Labor Day. We had a great time, and Leah found her wedding dress. I really want to post pictures, but I don't want to run the risk of Micah seeing them. I'll see about posting the pictures of the dresses that didn't make the cut. She will be a beautiful bride. She looked stunning in all of the dresses she tried on.

More to come later.