Our winter table

I realized the other day that I hadn't taken a picture of our nature table all put together for winter! The girls have so enjoyed playing with it but it's hard to think winter when it's nearly 80 degrees outside! lol I guess I need to start thinking about a spring table huh? I joined a new toy swap and will be getting items for our spring table...it will be so exciting to get things not made by me!

They liked it! They really liked it!

I know it's kind of lame to take a picture of our dinner but I was just so excited! I got this new magazine in the mail that had some great looking recipes in it including a recipe for pizza dough. I gave it a try and it turned out great! The girls loved it and we didn't even have any leftovers! Woo hoo! Now I don't have to feel guilty eating pizza since I know what goes into it!

It was Fate!

The last week is a bit of a blur. Last weekend started with so much let down from not getting that puppy and confusion as to how a person could actually do that to us! I still haven't figured out what she had to gain from that but I do know that we were obviously not meant to get that dog! (Duh! Right?)

It was a wonderfully cloudy, gloomy day that I would have otherwise been happy about but we were all just draggin' and it was far from the Valentine's day that we'd planned for the girls (and us too). We all finally got around and headed out to the Humane Society (with no luck there) and then on to Petsmart. The girls and I went in ahead of Jason and we quickly found our way to the back of the store which was full of dogs in need of homes! The first dog I saw was a puppy curled up in the lap of someone else....The girls and I looked over the other dogs but came back to this little puppy. There was a couple trying to get a feel for her and I just kept thinking "just walk away" " please don't take her". We hung around in the store until the couple decided that she wasn't the one for them and then we proceeded to spend about 3 hours getting acquainted and filling out the paperwork to bring her home! My heart jumped into my throat when they said we wouldn't be able to take her home for a few days...and then a woman I recognized came over to us and I was able to remind her that we'd adopted a cat (Kaladi) from them before and she approved us on the spot! And so we brought a 9 month old terrier/dachshund mix that went by the name "Fate" home...

As I type this, our new puppy (now known as Miley) is asleep on the chair and inching ever so close to falling off in her sleep! She has worked her way into our home and hearts and is quickly finding her place in our family. There's sure to be more posts and pictures about her in the future! It was definately *fate*!

Worthless

1 ad on Craigs list for a puppy FREE
Price for said puppy $100
1 1/2 hour drive to Ft Worth and back $40
1 hour waiting in a parking lot waiting for owner of puppy....

WORTHLESS!!!

Yesterday morning I thought for sure my stalking avaliable pets on petfinder was over. I found an ad for puppies that were just O-so-cute, gotten emails back about them and even talked to the woman on the phone. We arranged to drive into Ft Worth just as soon as Jason got home and were supposed to meet this woman to pick out a puppy! We got within a half hour of the Home Depot where we were supposed to meet (she had offered to meet us part way) and called her cell phone to only get her voice mail....we got to the packing lot, called her work number ,cell number and even emailed her but never heard from her...after an hour of sitting there we finally gave up and came home. The poor girls were SO good and SO confused! We hadn't told them why we were going only that it was going to be fun. I felt so bad and am still in shock this morning. I just can't understand what happened or why someone would do this to us. By the time we got home the ad was pulled from Craiglist and I never had heard from her again....the only thing that gives me any comfort is that obviously we weren't meant to have one of these dogs ...that and what goes around comes around right?

In the quiet moments

My mind has been full of thoughts lately...hurt and longing...creative and overwelming feelings....needing closure and moving on to new chapters...It is in the few quiet moments like the one pictured that all these feelings give me a moment of peace. Something as simple as a baby in need of her daddy's snuggle time can make the world look so much nicer...This is my newest favorite picture. So dear!

Something's missing

How is it that a little dog, that I'd never guess I'd love, could take over our lives, hearts and home? It makes me smile when I think about her, more happy than sad...There is an unspoken feeling in our house today. Jason has given me more hugs than even usual and I find myself telling the girls I love them even more than usual too...like somehow that will make the hurt and longing go away. Last night, after they picked her up, my wonderful hubby even drove across town to get my favorite pizza. I feel this loss, but at the same time a sense of happy. Happy that she was so excited to see her owner, Happy that he seemed so sincere and Happy at the thought of a puppy that he promised us....I feel like we did a good thing taking care of her. She was brighter than anything I could have hope for coming back from vacation to a place we were far from excited to return. For three weeks, I was focused on happy things and not wallowing in the sad...that's how I want to continue my days...She gave us so much....

A moment of calm

I know you'll all be wondering and for the time being I am having a moment of calm and optimism...

I got a phone call last night from the owner of Remi (Ragamuffin) asking if he could come get her. It seems he had asked his sister (our neighbor) to come and get her a week and a half or so ago and he just found out last night that she hadn't. He went on to apologize and offer us a puppy for free if she has one. He explained that his family has been in housing limbo while his son has been in the hospital. The little boy was born with only half a heart so they have been in Ft Worth with him...he seemed genuinely sorry for us having her this long and was nice enough to let us keep her until this evening. Jason wasn't home last night, he had class, and I wanted him to be here for the girls sake (and mine)so he's coming this evening to get her. I still feel numb/sick and it was so hard to explain it to Janie. It's funny tho, while I was talking to her and trying to explain that we did a good thing taking care of her when she needed it and that sometimes we have to do things just because they are right and not because we are going to get anything out of it- giving her the pep talk I was giving myself one too.

Let night I was not in the frame of mind to look on the bright side, or to have faith that this all happened for a reason, I just needed to sulk and cry. Jason came home and I had to go over it all with him too and we talked it all out and all the reasons that this happened to us and to her. This morning I am feeling a little bit better about it and I'm trying to keep the faith that God knows why this happened and that it's always easy to have faith when things are going good. I am trying very hard to have faith when I don't understand why. God always knows the bigger picture and his plans for us are always bigger and greater than anything we can imagine....I kind of think that maybe we had to love her so we could be open to another little dog that needs us. I would have never even looked let alone considered a little dog. To be honest I wasn't even looking at anything that wasn't a yellow lab. I have felt this void and empty spot in our house since Koda's passing and I couldn't see that maybe that empty spot could be filled by someone smaller...Maybe God knows there is a dog out there that will need us and we would have missed out on it because I had blinders on. Or maybe, this is one of those things that just happens and we have to take it at face value- we had three great weeks with a loving dog that needed love...