The Life of our Denali Dog

I've always said that we would never be those parents that talks about their kids (now pets) ALL THE TIME. I know that not everyone is a dog lover and I hate to be an inconvenience to anyone with my latest pet discovery. But since we've only had Denali for 3 weeks and my job is good, Adam's job is stressful as always, we haven't traveled anywhere fun, friends/family are the same, I've decided to update on the dog. The precious dog previously written about in the last blog is still precious, but much, much, much more "puppy-like" (ie: chewing, peeing, not eating, biting, etc). The biggest struggle for us as new parents has been getting this stubborn dog to eat. Another thing I said I would never do is have a picky eater in my house.... That too has been disproven. Denali came to us eating Iams dry food. He wouldn't touch that stuff with a 10-foot pole when he got here and we have since tried dry food with chicken broth, dry food with wet food, only wet food... you get the picture. Since he's underweight and having severe GI issues (I'll save you the details), the vet now has us feeding him a strict diet of homemade chicken and rice. Seriously? I don't even eat that good. He is crate-training and doing quite well with that, but still struggling with the concept of peeing/pooping outside. Does anyone know how long this "phase" will go on/ have any good tips for us? :-) He's also had numerous scares for me where he falls or runs straight into the glass door (which was hysterical might I add) in which I was convinced we were going to have to make a trip to the vet. I must say though, I think he is a pretty good dog. He loves car rides and has been to Williamsburg, the James River, and numerous homes and get-togethers. He is a people lover:-) I definitely advise anyone thinking about children to get a dog. It's excellent training:-)


Michael gave him this duck when he was visiting last week

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He loves his bed. He also loves to pee on his bed. Does that make sense to anyone?


First bath... Not quite the water dog. Actually he looks super skinny and sick when he's wet!

I'm in love....

....with our new puppy! I mean, I feel like a proud parent. I want to show him off to everyone and take him everywhere (Which is NOT a good sign for when we actually have children). We picked Denali up on Saturday in Fayetteville, NC. The breeders said that he was the calmest one of the 9 and so far we've found that to be true. He rode the entire 3 hours on my lap without making a sound! He's about 9 or 10 lbs right now (we think) and he's a big ball of fur. But the best thing is that he doesn't shed! That's right folks, he's hypoallergenic (because of the half poodle)... and also the reason we chose this breed. We are working on crate training and potty training and I must say that he is doing a pretty good job (We won't count the fact that he kept Adam and I up half the night last night with his yelps) But he really is soooo precious and loveable. So that's enough gooshing from this parent-- here are some pictures:-)

Back from: Lame Deer, Montana's Finest

Still trying to recoup here from last week. We got back from Montana Sunday night around 5ish and jumped right back into a full work week Monday morning. I can officially say that the trip was exhausting (especially being a leader), but I wouldn't have traded it for the world. Adam and another girl named Lindsey were the co-leaders and we took a total of 42 kids/leaders out to Montana for 8 days. Cornerstone has sent groups to the Lame Deer Reservation for about 5 years now, so the people recognize us and for the most part are receptive to us coming in and doing our thing. I think the population of Lame Deer is about 2000(?-- I could be completely butchering that number) and you honestly feel as if you stepped into a 3rd world country. That's not what you're supposed to see in the good ole USA, right? Everyone lives off food stamps, alcoholism is rampant, kids living with foster parents or grandparents, depression, you name it. So what we did for the week is we put on an outdoor kids camp, we mowed lawns, painted, prayer walked, hung out at the Boys & Girls Club, and just tried to show Christ's love anyway we could. The beginning of the week was a little rough with the lack of communication (no cell phones or internet on the reservation) but God really used all the negative things to create one of the best weeks ever. I learned so much and I'm so proud of every single teenager that went! I also slept in a real-life teepee! Here are some pictures of the week:

Lame Deer, Montana

Hi all--- for anyone who wants to follow our mission trip to Montana, I will be blogging through our Get Epic website---

www.getepic.blogspot.com

Have a great week!

AAA

And for the third time since we've owned Tammy Two-Tone, AAA would have been very useful. The first two times I could have used them, I forgot to turn off Tammy's lights resulting in a dead battery when I tried to leave work. I've since learned the magic of jumper cables. Then yet again, the non-automatic car leaves me hanging. I was on my way home from a vvvveerrrrryyyy long day of work yesterday when I needed to stop and get gas. Since I don't have automatic locks, to get out of the car, I had to physically pull the lock up and exit the car. Somehow when I was getting out, it managed to lock (totally on it's own might I add:-)), with my wallet in the front seat, my phone in the cupholder, and my keys in the ignition. Being exactly 30 miles from work and 30 miles from home, I attempted to pry open the door for a few minutes just in hopes that my super human strength would kick in. No luck. So I turned around and headed into the gas station where these two old men smoking cigarettes have been watching me the whole time. (sidenote: This is one of THOSE gas stations where people hang out all day because there is nothing else to do in the town). By the time I got inside, they had already called the police for me so I wouldn't have to call a locksmith. I can honestly say that was the first time I feel like I have been shown "southern hospitality" since I've moved to Virginia. Anyways, the policeman showed up about 15 minutes later and used his little tool thing to break in. My stomach was in knots when he couldn't get the first 2 doors open, but yet sucess on the third. He was super nice and I asked him to hang around until I made sure my battery wasn't dead since the keys had been in the ingition. Of course he did, and I was on my way home again secretly cursing myself again for not filling out the AAA application that has been sitting in my planner all month.

Deeters and Delbonis

This past weekend I had the wonderful privilege of being in Michael Delbonis and Katie Dietz's wedding. Not lying, this was definitely one of the most fun weddings I've ever been to (mine of course being the most fun for me:-)). The weekend started off with a beautiful bridal luncheon hosted by Arhmin's mom, Susie. Katie had 10 bridesmaids and it was nice since we all knew each other from Lee( with the exception for her two younger cousins who fit right in!). The rehearsal Thursday night went smoothly and Farmhouse catered the dinner afterwards. You gotta love coming to TN and consuming sweet tea at every meal! We were given the opportunity to toast the couple after dinner and the words spoken of Katie and Michael were precious. Later that evening, the bridesmaids decided to spice Katie's night up with her bachelorette party. Of course, I can't really share alot of details about that:-) After a couple of hours of sleep, we woke up Friday morning ready for the big day. We checked out the reception site at the Cleveland Country Club and it was absolutely perfect. Katie's colors were royal blue and green and it was so summery and cheery. Armed with Starbucks, we headed to the church to get ready, take pictures, and relax for a couple of hours. The wedding ceremony was perfect and I don't think there was a dry eye around:-) Katie and Michael have such a cool story of friendship and the wedding was tailored to that theme. The wedding reception was so fun--- Ricky, a friend of Michael's from NJ was the DJ and he really knew how to get EVERYONE dancing. At one point, you couldn't tell the difference between a club and Katie and Michael's wedding:-) I think everyone had a really great time, though, and Katie and Michael are relaxing and enjoying their honeymoon in Mexico! Thanks Katie for making me a part of your special day. You mean the world to me!
---There was no way to post all my pictures on here so check them out on facebook if you are interested:-)

The Fourth

We were invited to spend the 4th of July weekend at Brandon Baldwin's parents house in Urbanna, VA. We slept, ate lots of bad-for-you food, fished, sailed, tanned, played games, and achieved my Vitamin D quota for the week (aka sunshine).












This week has been insane at church (it's Discipleship Week which means the youth are there 24/7 for the whole week) and I'm leaving tomorrow night for Cleveland for Katie and Michael's wedding. When we get back, it's T-1 week for missions trip!
(July is WaaaaaaayyyyyY too busy..)