The Low Down on Dublin

~He is Amish.

At least, that is the culture in which he was born. He and Big D had a nice long talk on our visit to pick him out and he said he was willing to join our pack...er, family... even though we do drive cars, watch t.v., and have more cell phones then kids. (At least it feels that way when the phone bill comes!)

~He is a Golden-Doodle.

Half golden retriever and half poodle for the un-initiated. Some might call him a mutt, but his price tag begs to differ. But this was extremely important to us to find a non-shedding dog (or low shedding...we shall see!).

~He is medium.

He was neither the runt nor the fattest in the litter. He wasn't the shy-est and he also wasn't the most extroverted and playful of the litter. He was right in the middle with size and personality. We have done the sympathy card before and we have fallen prey to the "cuteness" factor before. This time, we were calculating, observant, and purposeful in our choosing. (Oh, I sure hope he doesn't turn out to be a socio-pathic dog! We have done that before too.)

~He sure better be a good traveler!

'Cause we are about to spend 16 hours with him in the car and that is a heck of a long ride if the dog doesn't do motion well.
(Can I hear an Amen, Kellie?)

Dublin Dr. Pepper

This is quite possibly the cutest little puppy...ever!

And tomorrow we will be bringing him home from the farm to be a part of our pack...I mean family.

I CAN"T WAIT!!!

I am the hugest sucker for puppies. But there is actually one person worse then me, and that would be big D. He is the real reason we are taking the plunge into this house training/chewing furniture/up at night/kennel training expense of a fiasco. But I am so glad now that we have picked him out and will be bringing him home soon.

Oh that darling face! It just melts my hard, practical heart! (Oh, and the puppy's face is adorable too.)

From Mother to Daughter...Your Dad

* Your Daddy loves you so very much. He shows it with both his hugs and his discipline, and especially when he is teasing you about your crushes.

* Secretly and deep down, he really does mean it when he says he has a "beat down" list for the boys who are flirting with you at school. He just won't ever act out on that list...unless he has to!

* He will always see you as his little girl to protect. Don't feel suffocated, feel secure!

* He is proud of your many accomplishments, but his greatest hope for you is that you develop into a woman fully devoted to Christ.

* He is a fabulous Dad! So tell him that often with your words as well as hugs and kisses and backrubs!

Same Kind of Different As Me...

One of the ladies in my book club found this book, Same Kind of Different As Me, just by accident as she wandered through the bookstore. She read it, loved it, and it began to change her life.

So then she passed it along to several neighbors, non-believers, but people who enjoy a good story. They read it, loved it, and it began to spark great spiritual and social conversations that would otherwise never have taken place.

When our book club needed a book for the summer, she passed the book on to me to check out. Before I could even open it, my husband just happened to pick it up and couldn't put it down. He actually blogged about it on our church website. He almost never blogs!

Needless to say, we decided as a book club to read it together this summer. Only the summer has just begun and we have finished it.

So we have decided that instead of meeting over coffee and muffins next month, we are going to step out of our comfort zones and reach out to a community right next door to our church that has many needs. Our church has done other things there in the past, good things and helpful things. But short term kinds of things.

My hope, my prayer, and my dream is that this time, in the spirit of long term life change that can happen when we really let loose of our own comfort and insecurities and allow God to open our eyes and use our hands and feet for His purposes, our little book club will catch a vision to serve on a regular basis with this community and that this vision will catch fire in other people's hearts and that they will in turn find where God would have them serve.

Whew! I actually said that out loud and it was a really long sentence!

Please Lord, sustain this fire in our hearts and lead us forward!

I can't wait to let you know how God moves in this situation.