Puppies

Long story a little less long: We adopted a dog from the Cache Humane Society on April 13. Her name at the shelter was Precious, but we quickly renamed her Lucy. Lucy seemed like the ideal dog, quiet, mellow, and very sweet. We kept wondering why her owners would have surrendered her (which is what we were told they did). It could be because of what we found out 3 weeks after adopting Lucy, she was pregnant!

Yes, Lucy was not spayed at the time of adoption and when we took her to the vet on April 15, we were told we had to wait to have her spayed due to the kennel cough she had. We noticed her gaining weight and sure enough, on May 4 when I took her back to the vet, they saw 7 little puppy bodies and gave us an estimate of 5 days until they were born.

On Monday, May 11, Lucy showed signs of being in labor, digging and not eating, so I waited and waited and waited... Finally, I just had to run an errand and when I returned an hour later, there was a squealing puppy and sorry, but also a placenta, on our living room floor. Lucy was in her kennel looking like, "What are you going to do about THAT?!" By 8:00 p.m. Monday we had 8 puppies, 7 black and 1 brown. Crazy!

I wish I had chronicled the next 47 days, which consisted of a lot of trips outside, introducing the puppies to mush, later feeding them every 4 hours and the countless visits from neighbors and passers-by who wanted to play with the puppies.

The puppies are now 11 weeks and 1 day old and we kept 2, Percy (the brown one) and Winston and of course we have Lucy! I started out saying we would not keep ANY puppies, gave in with Percy pretty quickly, but Winston was the one Steve really wanted and when his family had to change their minds about adopting him, he became ours.

So we went from no dogs to 3 in less than 3 months. And of course, we still have Jada, the cat, who has quickly learned to show them all that she is the queen!

Time's Been Flyin'!

I have no photos to post, because I cannot find our camera! Yesterday we took Sophie ice skating, only her second time ever, and I wish I had some pics. She did great and even let go of the wall a few times to skate all on her own. We're finally comfortable enough in our parenting to let Sophie fall and realize she'll be fine, so she fell quite a few times, got right back up and even laughed at herself. The first time Sophie went ice skating I believe she was only 2 or 3 and I ended up nearly carrying her halfway around the rink. They now have these great walker things that kids can hold on to and scoot around the rink.

We're almost to Sophie's birthday, 9 years, and it's hitting me hard, because she'll be halfway to 18. I remember bringing her home and as most people know, I had pretty severe postpartum depression. I had no idea how I was going to take care of a child and wondered what I'd gotten into. Now I wonder where the time has gone!

Sophie and I went to Salt Lake City Friday for an MLK luncheon and it was good. My favorite part was the energy and excitement regarding Tuesday's inauguration. I am so grateful to be a witness to such a historical event and to feel like my daughter is growing up in a world that is getting better in some ways.

Accentuate the Positive

Happy 2009! One really great thing about living in Utah is the lack of humidity and the result if a bag of chips is left open.

Often, Logan also reminds me so much of the small town in which I grew up, Oconto Falls, Wisconsin. Today was gray, much like many of the winter days in Oconto Falls and the sights and scents send me back to that time of comfort and youthful innocence.

We had a fabulous time in Colorado with Steve's parents. We played a lot of Wii with Grandpa and I got in a few walks in their area, which is beautiful.

Only two more days until we're back into the routine: school, work, school.... I'm going back to USU to work toward a degree in education. I haven't signed up for classes yet, but I have been officially accepted. I'm not enthusiastic about it yet, but I feel it's a step in the right direction. Sophie's almost 9, we're settled, it's time to put some focus on my goals and even though they shift from day to day, heading in one direction is a good idea.

Here's to a great year!

From Sophie

Sophie sewed these beautiful hearts herself, and she did it weeks ago, and gave them to us for Christmas, with the wonderful note. I don't even have words to express how much I love them!