First Family Hike

Our work offers a staff retreat over the course of a handful of weekends throughout the winter and spring. (The whole crew can't go at once, obviously, so we all split up.) Ryan and I initially chose this past Sunday through today because we didn't think Lexi would come to live with us until NEXT week. But then we ended up bringing her home sooner, so it ended up being a retreat for us AND the dog. :) 

We were told that the retreat is intended to allow staff members whatever they need, and for us, that need was time together and much rest. SO MUCH REST. 

The location for our retreat was Pokagon State Park in Angola, Indiana. It's about as far to the northeast corner of the state as you can get without tumbling right into Michigan or Ohio! We were here once before in 2015 as part of our Steuben County tour, and we actually came to Pokagon then, too, but we mostly hung out on the beach that day. It's a little chilly for swimsuits today. :) 

One of the really great things about this park and its lodging is that it's pet friendly! (We checked on this when we thought we might want to bring Lexi home sooner than planned.) There is a really beautiful lodge here, which is where everyone else from our work is staying, but the pet rooms within the lodge were already booked by the time we made our plans. But they said they could put us in a cabin just outside the lodge, because they're pet friendly, too! 

I'll come back to telling you about the cabins tomorrow. :) 

But today I have some more Lexi-in-the-snow pictures! We arrived on Sunday and took her outside in the evening, where we discovered she really loves playing in the snow! So yesterday we took her out two more times. The first time she seemed to get cold and tired fairly quickly, but that had been her farthest walking trip to date, so we brought her back in to warm up and rest. The second time she wanted to stay out about twice as long, and we were happy to let her! 

She's now officially hiked in the snow for the first time (which was also a first for me!) and she is loving the state park life. 

Heading out to hike:

Those were from the first walk, which wasn't nearly as far as the second one. After we rested for a bit, we headed back out for round #2!

We thought she'd be totally worn out after her hikes, but she still had a good bit of energy when she came back to our cabin!! Eventually, though, she wore out and took a good long nap. 

We were impressed with how far she wanted to walk and how hard she wanted to play in the snow! First family hike in the books! 

The First(ish) Snow

 I know it's a controversial topic, but I haven't hated the lack of snow in northeastern Indiana this winter. I haven't hated NOT shoveling, and I haven't hated NOT driving on snow and ice. 

But it was bound to come eventually, and yesterday was that day! 

Ryan spent much of the morning clearing WillowBridge of all the snow, but in the afternoon, we were able to leave for a mini-retreat at a state park! (It's just us...in a cabin...and the two hour crazy deep sleep nap we took last night has already made the whole thing worth it!)

Lexi came with us, and I have to show you her first snow experience. (Or at least her first snow experience with us. It did snow once before she came to live with us, and I don't know if she got to go play in that snow.)

You should know that in general, Lexi is very leery of anything new. To be fair, as soon as she realizes every one of those things is not her enemy, she has LOVED very nearly everything. But first introductions are always comical. The first time we gave her a treat, she pounced on it. She was not fond of our front yard last week when we introduced her to it. So we didn't have high hopes for the snow. 

You guys...SHE LOVED IT. She was made for snow. (Our first parting of ways in taste.) She was NOT happy when we told her it was time to come inside.

Sweet baby!!! It was such fun. And we are just so looking forward to a couple of days of being alone with nature, even if it's not tropical nature. 

Sunday Sentiments

 Tomorrow marks two weeks since Miss Lexi Grae came to live with us, and life has indeed changed dramatically in these two weeks.

This was the first time either of us has ever had a puppy (in our adult lives, anyway) and we've been working diligently to make sure she is well-trained and well-adjusted. We've also been working diligently to enjoy her cuteness and love on her every single chance we get. 

We're amazed at the things she has learned in two weeks. We're amazed that she knows "sit" and "down" and "drop" and can do them quickly. We're amazed that she has figured out her food puzzles and knows that the squeaky drawer of the freezer means her meal Kong is coming. We're amazed at how well she has adjusted to the leash after DEFINITELY thinking it was enemy #1 when we put it on her the first time. We're amazed at how well she does with Braeya as the two of them continue to work on some version of a relationship. 

Not everything is perfect. Potty training is a work in progress. (With some regression, but we're confident she'll get there.) She isn't fond of being apart from us, though she has made great strides in this department in the last week or so. Teething is NO JOKE.

But in those moments when she makes mistakes or just flat out rebels against us, I'm learning so much. God is actually using those moments of training Lexi to help me think about how He loves me. 

I'm sure that while I am quick to learn in some areas, I'm very slow to learn in others. I fall backwards when I know better. I forget what I should remember. And I know I am always grateful for His patience with and tenderness toward me. I strive to show the same to Lexi.

It's an imperfect analogy, of course. My rookie parenting of a puppy is not even close to the Almighty God's work in my life. But it is helping create a fresh perspective for me about His love and my own behavior. 

I'll also add that one of my favorite things is watching Lexi's tail wag with joy and her eyes sparkle when she knows she's done something right and a reward is forthcoming. Though she doesn't always remember what a good thing it is to make her parents proud, she often remembers it. And while my goal in life isn't to sit in wagging expectation of God's rewards, my goal is to make His heart glad.

Again, it's an imperfect analogy. But it's how He's teaching me. May I strive to learn and make His heart glad. May I put aside the bad habits and sins that cause me struggle. 

And may I never stop learning - from cats, dogs, or anything else in God's creation.

The Saturday Six

 

I know Valentine's Day isn't everyone's favorite, but if you need a few non-romantically-inspired ideas for the holiday coming up, maybe I can help you today!

One.

To decorate or not to decorate the home for Valentine's Day. That is the question, right? I enjoy having touches of acknowledgments to the holiday, but I don't love inundating our home with cutesy, girly, pink and glittery Valentine's Day stuff. I do think this little craft idea is SUPER cute and super easy. Like seriously...anyone could do this one! It doesn't take many materials and you can customize the colors to whatever fits your scheme! I may suggest to Sarah that we make some of these for WillowBridge! 

Two.

And then of course...there are the Valentine cards themselves. Last year I remember wanting to give little notes to our tenants and to Tim and Justine, but we didn't want to get anything too weird. Some are too silly, some are too sappy...it's a whole thing. These, though, which are free to print, made me giggle. I think they work in just about any situation! 

Three.

And if you really are a gnome fan and don't want to stop at just the cards, check out this adorable (and potentially easy!) dessert board. I mean, come on! How cute is this?!?!!?!?!?!?! This might have to make an appearance at WillowBridge. 

Four.

I am a sucker for holiday-themed coffee drinks, so I had to save this Valentine's Day themed coffee recipe list. I am a huge fan of the raspberry white chocolate mocha, myself. I haven't had one in a really long time, but I do love them! 

Five.

I'm also a sucker for Valentine t-shirts. I have one that I bought from Etsy back in 2020 when I was working at the church and wanted a cute t-shirt to wear to the office on Valentine's Day. But I also really like this one! (Bonus if said shirts can be worn year round, which I do with the one I bought!)

Six. 

And regardless of whether or not you like Valentine's Day, I think this cake is beautiful and would make a lovely dessert. But if you do like Valentine's Day, the color scheme fits right in. (I am literally drooling.)

Do It Tomorrow

Ryan and I are both consummate list makers. We have a giant glass board (upgrade from a white board) in the WillowBridge office, and it is one of the great delights of my week to erase completed lists and write new ones for the week to come. (Seriously. Makes me WAY happier than it should.) 

My meal plans are typed out on the computer, as are my grocery lists. 

My calendars are color-coded.

You get the idea. ;) 

I was raised to know and believe that there's no reason to keep procrastinating things you could do today. I've long been a dedicated practicing member of the club that wants to finish every possible thing so I could finally sit and enjoy a well-deserved rest.

As a general rule, I haven't changed my belief on that. But this job has taught me that in some areas, the work is truly never done, and if you don't allow yourself to sit until you're done working, you'll honestly just never sit. 

We had one of those days yesterday. We didn't start the day with a terribly long to-do list, actually. But we kept encountering all the little frustrations that make every task take way longer than it should.

* I went for a walk in the basement and found the carpet was wet in one of the rooms. After an hour of searching, Ryan could find no leak or anything broken. But we had to move a bunch of stuff out of the room to make sure it didn't get wet...and that was an hour we hadn't counted on using in that way.

* Ryan went to refill all of Lexi's meal kongs and discovered our new bag of dog food was the wrong bag. (Adult food instead of puppy food.) So he had to drive to town to get the right food. They had one bag left, thankfully, but that was another hour he hadn't planned on being gone.

* We ended up having an unexpected meeting with a tenant, and by the time all of that was said and done...well...it was another hour gone. 

* Right about the time I was going to start dinner, one of the tenants had a plumbing emergency in his apartment, so that was...well, not an hour, but it did add a load of towels I had to wash after cleanup!

Ryan and I were both exhausted by the time dinner was over, not just from the added hours, but also from the frustrations some of those hours caused. I asked him if he could sit and rest, and he said no - because he had too much to do. I asked what still had to be done that night, and he admitted most of it wasn't an emergency. So he did sit - and I'm pretty sure all four of us napped that hour away.

Sometimes it really is okay to do it tomorrow. Maybe you need to hear that today. Yes, it's important to be diligent and timely. But sometimes a little rest and a little sanity is worth a delayed list completion.

So on this Friday, I say to you...if possible, do it tomorrow. Don't be afraid to grant yourself a little rest today. 

What We Have Done

 

When I was writing my post yesterday about my gratitude for the memories we've made traveling and the dreams I have for trips (hopefully) yet to come, I had another thought come to mind that I wanted to share with you today. It's along the same lines...but a bit different. 

Just the other day I saw one of the gospel singers I follow on Instagram post that an overseas trip had been canceled by the trip organizers because of the rise in cases in the destination area. I saw an author post about her 25th wedding anniversary trip being canceled because her son tested positive and they needed to stay home to care for him. When I updated my "trips and tours" tab on the blog, I was reminded of how all our hiking plans in the Hocking Hills were thwarted because the park closed, even though other area parks remained open.

For those who love to explore and travel, this has been a disappointing couple of years. Plans that couldn't be made. Plans that were made and had to be postponed or canceled entirely. Plans that were cut short after arrival. Definitely hard, right? 

It reminded me of a letter I read probably twenty years ago in the Dear Abby column. Do advice columns even still exist? I don't know. Anyway. I used to love reading Dear Abby, and one day I found a letter that some young woman had submitted to Abby. She wrote in response to someone who had written in for advice, because she was getting older and not married. She feared she would die without ever marrying and her entire life would have been in vain because she never experienced the joy of a wedding day and life with a husband. I don't know what Abby said in response to that original letter, but I do remember the additional letter that came in from the young woman.

She was also single and hoped to one day be married. The thought had also crossed her mind that she might never marry, even though she wanted to. And one day, while she was stewing about that, she decided to make a list of all the other things that she had not done if she were to die that day. I don't remember the specific items on the list, but they could have been things like...never traveling abroad, never singing on Broadway, never climbing a mountain...you get the idea. 

If I remember correctly, she also included a list of things that she HAD done in her life to that point that reminded her she had lived well, despite all that she hadn't experienced. 

I thought about that letter as I looked over the list of adventures Ryan and I have had together. I thought of all the travel dreams we still have and how we don't know when or even if we'll get to take those trips. I hope we do, of course. But if we don't...

...I've stayed in a bed and breakfast with a fireplace in the room and eaten a delicious picnic dinner in front of said fireplace while wearing a fuzzy bathrobe.

...I've ziplined and lived to tell about it. ;)

...I've enjoyed an afternoon with Ryan on a completely deserted beach in Nassau, which is a place I never imagined even going in my lifetime, much less getting our own beach for the day.

...I've stood in the front row for the tree lighting on Monument Circle in Indianapolis, where I got the most amazing pictures because no one obstructed my view.

...I've flown a kite over Lake Michigan and watched sunsets from perches high atop the Michigan dunes.

...I've stood on the glass perch high up in the Willis Tower in Chicago.

...I've had a romantic dinner with Ryan on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building in Chicago, overlooking the bustling night life of the city.

...I've seen a bear in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and hiked trails to see waterfalls in that same park.

...I've seen the Atlantic Ocean, which is something I couldn't say until I was 32 years old! I stood with my feet in its waters, completely overwhelmed by the bigness of God.

...I've hiked Letchworth State Park in New York and seen breathtaking massive waterfalls.

...I've been to Niagara Falls in the autumn to see perfect foliage and stunning rainbows.

...I've walked across the border to Canada and seen the Falls from that side at night with all the light displays fading in and out.

...I've toured a huge working dairy farm and seen all the intricate pieces that keep it running.

...I've stayed on a Boat and Breakfast, falling asleep to the gentle waves each night.

...I've kayaked in Florida in a clear-bottomed boat and watched fish swim right underneath me.

...I've toured Mt. Airy, North Carolina and seen all the replicas from The Andy Griffith Show, and because we arrived on a snowy day, the place was mostly deserted, and we had it to ourselves!

...I've watched Ryan get a "haircut" from the real Floyd the Barber's son.

...I've toured the Biltmore at Christmas...in the snow. Breathtaking both inside and out.

...I've hiked dozens of state parks and conquered trails I never imagined I could do.

...I've driven through a Christmas light display in a cave deep underground.

...I've had dinner at rotating restaurants high in buildings with spectacular dinner views.

...I've been on two Caribbean cruises that took me to destinations I never imagined I'd see with my own eyes.

...I've ice skated on the pond at Kings' Island (and didn't fall)!

...I've stayed in a genuine tiny cabin with a hot tub - deep in the Hocking Hills of Ohio

...I've stayed in a loft above a coffee shop and done a chocolate tasting trail.

...I've churned butter and made rope - by hand!

...I've seen the stunning rock formations in Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park.

...I've gotten two stamps in my Little House on the Prairie passport book.

...I've stood inside the world's largest mailbox and sent out postcards from it.

...I've taken a boat ride inside the Opryland Hotel.

...I've stayed in my very own RV that we renovated ourselves.

...and so much more.

So yes. I do hope we have dozens - hundreds! - of travels ahead of us. But even if not, that's a pretty humbling and awe-inspiring list for this girl. Even if I never see the Pacific Ocean, the Grand Canyon, Haystack Rock, Route 66, The Appalachian Trail, all the national parks out west, Prince Edward Island, the lighthouse in Maine, and so much more from my dream list, I am so grateful for what we have done together. I am grateful for the list I have. 

If you're struggling with the disappointment of what hasn't happened or can't happen (which is valid!), I hope you are able to make a list of the beautiful things that have happened! 

Grateful Dreamer

Hey thanks for playing along with the picky eater game yesterday! I think even Ryan learned a few things from that post! :) Also, Tamar, I had no idea oxtails weren't...well...ox tails. LOL!!! I'm so literal. 

Ryan and I had the last couple days off for our weekend, and while the weather certainly was nothing compared to the snowfest so many had, it also was just - BLAH. So we stayed inside our cozy little apartment and did things like gush over poop and pee and say the words "sit" and "drop" more times than I think we ever have in our entire lives. Welcome to puppy parenting, right? 

But in the mix of gushing, training, and napping, we also did some dreaming! It was spurred on by the fact that I realized my "Travels and Tours" tab on the blog had not been updated since FEBRUARY 2020! So I went through and added all the links of places we've been since then, including a whole section just for RV travel. I really want to keep that updated, partly for my own archives, and partly because I know how heavily I rely on reviews and ideas I find on blogs when we plan trips, so I want to make sure those who read along here can find the same from us if they want. It took me over two hours to update it, but I feel much better now that this project is complete.

That led me to remind Ryan that we need to plan our next trip! Fun fact: even with the two weeks off we took last summer for our trip out west, we have not even taken a full week of vacation in the year and a half we've been here. I think we've used maybe four days of vacation? We have to start using it or we're going to lose it! It's just so hard to actually be gone for any length of time, so we never do it.

So we started dreaming and planning where we might want to go for our TENTH annual birthday trip, and I told Ryan I think we should just be gone for a year and see it all. :) He seemed to think we didn't have quite that much vacation time saved up. Sigh.

But all that aside, I came away from my reflection and dreaming time with a couple of thoughts, and that's what I wanted to share today.

First of all, as I scrolled through the "Travels and Tours" page adding in those more recent adventures, I just felt completely overwhelmed with gratitude for all the adventures Ryan and I have shared in our almost ten years of life together. This week he looked at my very first vacation scrapbook - made old-fashioned style - from my first grown-up vacation. I remember thinking during that long weekend trip that I took with a friend when we were still single, that I had finally arrived as an adult, because I'd been able to fund and plan for my first vacation. 

I wanted to go so many more places and never knew if I would be able to do it. I didn't know if I'd be able to afford it or have someone to go with - and a hundred other questions, too. To see the number of my dreams that have come true (and some I didn't even dare to dream) with Ryan in this last decade was such a sweet moment. I am grateful he loves to explore, and I'm grateful we've seen so many unique places! 

And then I realized how grateful I am to have someone to dream with about the future. I don't just mean that I'm grateful to have a husband to dream with, though certainly I am grateful for him. But I just mean...I know a lot of people who might not have a spouse who cares about dreaming up vacation plans. It's truly one of my favorite things to do with Ryan. We pick out our destinations together. I usually do the bulk of the research about what there is to do in each place, but he's the king of making the reservations and finding any discounts that exist on earth. He helps with packing (both of the luggage and the vehicle) and takes care of all the stuff that stresses me out - like driving in cities. 

So I'm grateful for both these things. There is equal joy to me in the memories of what I've seen and the dreams of what's yet to be. (I could easily spend a solid week dreaming about itineraries that I'd love to see come true, even if they never do!)

We did come up with some destinations for that tenth birthday trip, and I'm excited to see how it all comes together as we begin to add more pieces and parts! 

Those are the thoughts from this grateful dreamer today!

The Picky Eater Game

I got sucked into reading one of those picky eater games on social media, so I thought it would be fun to play here! How many of these are YES for you and how many are NO?

* MIRACLE WHIP: I'll give this one a yes, because it's not an "eww, gross" for me, but of course you know I have a story that goes with it. I grew up in a Miracle Whip home, meaning we ate it there, not that our house was made of it. ;) I remember the first time I discovered actual mayo, which is what I'd always thought Miracle Whip was. It revolutionized my hamburger eating experience, and I have been a real mayo girl ever since. 

* PICKLES: Absolutely! As long as they're dill and not weird. I prefer the super crisp, refrigerated dills to the kind you find on the shelf. Fun fact: I don't like sweet pickles. Only dill. Also fun fact: back before the pandemic, Ryan and I toured the Sechler Pickle Factory, and now we just live a county over from it! 

* CILANTRO: Yes! I love cilantro! Ryan just bought some today and I loved smelling it while I was putting it away. I did not grow up eating cilantro, so this has been something I've discovered loving as an adult!

* BLACK JELLY BEANS: No!!!!! To be fair, other than Jelly Bellies, I don't like jelly beans at all. And I only like Jelly Bellies upon occasion. My mother, however, LOVES black jelly beans. I haven't done so for several years, but I used to get her whole bags of them at Easter.

* PINEAPPLE PIZZA: Absolutely not. I love pizza, and I love pineapple, but I cannot abide for them to coexist. Unless, of course, it's a fruit pizza with a sugar cookie crust and a marshmallow cream "sauce." Then you can add some pineapple.

* SARDINES: Nope. To be totally fair, I've never had them, so maybe I actually would like them. I'm freaked out by all the stories I've heard about sardines and I cannot bring myself to try them.

* OYSTERS: NOOOOOOOOOOO. Actually, my story is the same as sardines. I've never tried them. But snotty sorts of food freak me out.  No can do. 

* CANDY CORN: Oh how I love candy corn! I don't really eat it anymore, since it's nothing but terrible for you, but I do try to have one good serving of a candy corn/peanut mix every fall. I do ONLY eat them in the fall. I know you can get them in all the color combos for all the holidays, but they're a fall food for me! 

* VIENNA SAUSAGES: I don't think I've ever had these, so I don't know if I'd like them or not. Probably? I'd at least be willing to give them a try over...say...oysters!

* BRUSSESLS SPROUTS: Yes! I never had these until I was an adult, but I do like them roasted!! I'm grateful one of my friends made them when we were visiting. I ate them to be polite and then found out I love them!

* MUSHROOMS: YES! I love mushrooms!! I prefer them cooked to raw, so I don't normally put them on salads, but I love them in eggs, on pizza, in sheet pan dinners, in soup, stuffed with yummies...you name it!

* LIVER: No thanks. My mom loves liver, and while I've never tried it, I don't like the smell of it. I have tried tongue and did not care for it. I can't imagine the liver would be any better.

* CIRCUS PEANUTS: No!! My dad loves these - or he used to, anyway - and so does Ryan's grandpa. I tried them as a kid and didn't care for the texture or the flavor. 

* BOLOGNA: It's okay. I grew up eating it quite often, because my dad loved it. Bologna sammiches with Miracle Whip! I don't dislike it now, but I would choose many other things before choosing this. 

* BLACK OLIVES: YES! I like all olives, but black olives are my favorite. I love eating them on pizza, on Mexican food, on Greek salads...just about anything!

* GREEN OLIVES: Yes! I do like them, but I can't eat as many as I can of black olives. They're too strong for me to eat a ton of them. My mom used to make some sort of spread that she'd put in celery. It had a cream cheese base and it had green olives in it. I remember really likin gthat.

* BLUE CHEESE: Yes! I did not like it for many many years, but I can now handle it on salads in small pieces. (I remember trying to eat it when I visited some friends of mine in Wisconsin. They did a proper Wisconsin cheese board for me to try some local cheese, and she got some blue cheese for me to try. She had me try it with a pear and with honey - but even that didn't help. So I don't like eating it just on its own, but I have had it in salads and have enjoyed it. I do not like blue cheese dressing, however.

* FRUITCAKE: Generally, no. Someone gave me a small loaf once, and I ate it mostly to be polite in case they asked and I ended up liking it! But I've tried other fruitcakes and don't find it to be a favorite. 

* SPAM: Never tried it, but I can't imagine I would like it. 

* CABBAGE: Yes! Now, this one I prefer raw over cooked. I love slaw, and I love whatever that Wally Sauce is that Penguin Point puts on its tenderloins and pairs with cabbage. YUM.

* POTATO SALAD: As long as it isn't too mustard-y, yes, I do like potato salad! This is an adult acquisition for me, too. As a kid, I didn't like cold potatoes. But I don't mind it now! Ryan's former boss (Phoebe's dad) makes a FABULOUS potato salad that has dill in it. I LOVE DILL!!

* EGGNOG: Nope. It's not for me. Not in flavor or texture. But Ryan loves it!

* BLACK COFFEE: Of course! It gives me a place to put cream! LOL! I actually don't like black coffee, but Ryan does!

* ANCHOVIES: No thank you. Probably have never actually had them, but I'm not interested. I've heard too many stories.

* GRITS: I don't like grits. It's a texture thing for me - but I also don't find the ones I've tried to be very flavorful! 

* SAUERKRAUT: NO. Just no on all the levels. Not on texture, not on flavor, not on anything.

* FISH: Nope. I like shrimp and lobster and crab...but not fish. The smell of it makes me sick to my stomach. I'm so thankful that fish fries now do tenderloins, too! (Not that I frequent fish fries. I don't. But if I do happen to attend one, I'm picking the tenderloin every time.)

* CHITTERLINGS: I don't even know what that is. But based on the name, no.

* BEETS: Well that's funny, isn't it? We just talked about this! If you missed it, my mom used to pickle beets every summer, and I hated the smell of that whole process. I also didn't like the taste of pickled beets. But just last week, Ryan and I had roasted beets for the first time, and we actually kinda liked them! And twelve hours later, he had kidney stones. We learned that beets can create kidney stone issues! So we may never have them again. So to my answer...roasted, yes! Pickled, no.

*OXTAILS: Probably a solid no. 

* FRIED PICKLES: By the bucket! I LOVE fried pickles!!!! Preferably dipped in ranch....

* FRIED GREEN TOMATOES: I've never had them, but I don't like just eating tomatoes, so I probably wouldn't like them. 

* OKRA: I do like fried okra, though I would choose many other fried foods before okra. Pickles, for example!! :) The first time Ryan and I ever stayed at an Airbnb, our hosts had a big garden, and they offered us some okra. We were excited to try it, and I cooked it in a pan on the stove. I had high hopes, but I didn't really like it. It was kind of slimy. Maybe I did something wrong? Or maybe I just don't like okra?

* MATZAH BALL SOUP: I've never had it, but I think when Ryan and I took that class on the feasts of the Bible, we had matzah balls. Just not in soup. If I'm remembering correctly, I did like whatever it was that we had!

* BRAINS: Nah. It's gotta be like tongue.

So for me....16 yes and 19 no. I guess I'm a picky eater? 

Puppy Parenting

For those of you who needed a puppy picture break, I hope you enjoyed the last few days! For those of you going through puppy picture withdrawal, today is your day!

Today marks a week since Miss Lexi Grae moved in with us, and what a week it has been! We have fallen head over heels in love with this sweet little furball munchkin, and we have been working diligently to train her well from the very beginning. She makes us laugh so much!! 

Lest you think I'm one of those puppy moms who thinks her baby can do no wrong...we definitely have to do some redirection with her when she gets too energetic and starts teething on us. LOL!! But she is a good and smart baby and we do love her!!! And now...some photos for you.

When she sleeps on the living room rug, she always has to tuck herself away under the coffee table. She can't actually fit under it, so she just sticks her head under and snoozes. (She probably only has a few more days when even that much can fit under.)

Leash training lessons!!! The first time we put the leash on her, she ate it. So we have definitely made progress since then! We are excited to take her on our favorite walking paths, so we are hoping she fully picks up this skill quickly!

Toys. Blankets. Naps. Repeat.

Ryan went to the gym one night, so she sat with me...zoned out.

All tuckered out at night. 

All tuckered out in the morning. She's actually sleeping like a champ at night. For the first five days, she went to bed around midnight and got up at seven every single night with no issue. Saturday night we let her nap too long before bed (rookie mistake) and she did have trouble going to sleep - and was up for a bit in the night. I laid on the floor next to her bed for about 40 minutes and got her calmed back down. So really, this picture is just a normal day for me, dog or not.

Learning to find her food in the toy.

When you can see the treats but not reach them...

She LOVES her some Ryan. (Don't blame her.)

Melting me.

Laying hands on me in prayer? Not sure.

All the toys. (She goes and gets them from the toybox if she can't find the one she wants.)

Learning to like her bed in the daytime.

She and Braeya are still working on the whole relationship thing. Yesterday was a very good day. They were both brave. They sat close like this for a while with no issue!

Ryan is amazing on training. 

I'm better with the snuggles. (But I promise I do my part with the training!)

And for the road...look how big she is since we first met her in December!

And so we head into week two, with high hopes of fun with our girl!! Happy Monday, everyone!

Sunday Sentiments

 

Earlier this year, one of our tenants moved out rather abruptly, leaving behind things she didn't want anymore. It was a tough season for us as we worked through all the what-ifs, whys, and...the cleaning up and resetting of her apartment.

One of the things she left was a small, sadly neglected plant that hadn't been watered in quite some time. Most of the leaves had shriveled up and fallen off, and how the whole thing escaped being taken to the dumpster is truly beyond me. 

Sarah decided it was worth a try to revive it, so she carefully trimmed off the dead pieces, cut it back to almost nothing, and watered the little bit of dirt left in the bottom of the plastic planter. 

And you know what? Over these last few weeks and months, that little plant has begun to thrive! New growth with bigger, shining leaves began to appear, and I realized that thing was really outgrowing its little plastic pot!

So last week, while Ryan and I ran some errands, we purchased a nice ceramic planter that will look perfect in the community room. And yesterday I repotted that little plant into its new home. 

I stared at it for a while after I cleaned up the runaway dirt particles. I thought back to that terribly hard season and the loss we felt after the tenant left. You see, the work we do here is very different than it is on a residential campus. In those places, the youth who live there can't just decide to leave. Most have been ordered to go there for treatment of some kind. But our building is different. Our tenants don't have to stay. No one is making them. We encourage them to stay so they can get be better equipped for total independence. But ultimately the decision is theirs, and if they find seemingly greener pastures elsewhere, they are free to go.

We know that when they leave, it's not personal toward us. At least to our knowledge, none of them have ever gotten up one morning and decided to leave just to get even with the team. It's not about us, and we know it. But when it happens, it still hurts. We pour so much time and so many resources into each tenant who walks through our doors, and when they leave, it's a gut-punch for sure. We grieve it. We question ourselves. It's not easy.

So as I stared at that plant and relived all those emotions and questions, I decided I was really glad to have that little plant here in our building. Each time I see it, it will remind me of her, yes. But I'm choosing to let it remind me of the life and growth that can come after the loss, the deep hurt, and the seemingly unsalvageable.

I'm thankful God helped me see that...all from a little repotted plant!