4.30.2009

What a Glance Can Do









Since getting our new puppy Willow (aka will-bomb, willster, willhimena, willie, and any variation hence forth...) life has been a little bit different...who am I kidding, it has been A LOT different.

She is a puppy, so there is quite a bit that she still needs to learn about being a good house dog. (read: not pooping on the floor, chewing on my scarves, biting my toes, chewing/playing tug-of-war with my pant legs, or trying to jump up on me while I am going to the bathroom). We are training her with this method called "clicker training." The clicker is a unique sound which helps her to realize what she is doing right faster than just saying "good dog." This is Pavlov at his best. You reward the dog for good behaviors by clicking a metal tounge thingy and then give her a treat right afterward. To sum it up, you click and treat the dog for the good behaviors and ignore the bad behaviors.

Willbomb is really smart and picked up "sit" and "down" fairly quickly. She is also, for the most part, potty trained. We still have to keep a pretty close eye on her, but she can go for several hours with out having and accident and she notifys us that she needs to go by sitting by the back door. The next big thing to tackel is "stay." I have been trying to teach her this command and she just follows me to where ever I go (even if it is just one step) and sits between my feet. It's pretty cute, but I am at a loss at what to do.

It's so funny to me that this little pup, who has only been with us for 2.5 weeks can be so loyal and attached to me and Josh already. We get one step away from her and she has to come and sit between our feet and stare at us. Even though she is not understanding what I am trying to teach her, and is "misbehaving" in a way, my heart melts when her little furry paw reaches out and sets on my foot. Kind of an obvious spiritual lesson to take away there.

If my heart melts at a puppy, putting her paw on my foot because she wants to be close to me, how much more does God's heart melt when we come and want to spend time with and be close to Him even if it is just for a few minutes a day? He loves when we look at Him even if we did just mess up and are coming to him dirty, broken, and sinful! The more we look at Him the more we realize how much we love Him back and the more we become like Him.

This is a reminder to myself that even though I have a little pupster now, and life is busier and more hecktic with her I still need to make time to spend with God, no interruptions, no distractions. Who knows, maybe in that time God will click and treat.

4.14.2009

Since the last one...

It has been a while since my last post and I feel the need to let my avid readers know that I am still alive. I didn't get sucked up in a Tennessee tornado last week, which is good (This is not a joke, and I am not making light of the tragidy that happened last week. I am just stating a fact). Unfortunately, there was some massive destruction from the crazy tornadoes just 20 minutes from my house. I feel blessed to not be "hit" by one of these massive twisters.

Since we last met a lot has happened. Here are some of the highlights
  • Our Church moved to Sunday mornings AND Saturday nights. It's making weekends quite interesting for me and Josh because we can't seem to decided which service we want to attend.
  • My friend Megan is about to pop with twins and everyone is on pins and needles waiting to hear from them when she goes into labor.
  • My husband, Josh, ran his first marathon. 26.2 miles. He looked good at mile 5. Started to fade at mile 14. Looked like he was about to die at mile 19 and got a 2nd wind at mile 20 and cranked out the last 6 miles. The last 6 were either a direct result of the 12 bagles and massive amount of spaghatti Josh ate to carbo load the day before or it was because he heard the song "Take a Chance on Me" from Mama Mia on his iPod. Either way, I am so proud of him.
  • I have decided to lose 20 lbs. I state this like it's not big deal. I think the bigger deal you make out of things, the easier it is to revolt and not do it. I am gunna see if the laid back "no-biggie" approach works. I will let you know if it does. If it doesn't, don't ask.
  • I traveled 6 hrs to Bloomington, IL . Spent a lot of time with the in-laws. Had a glow-in-the-dark easter egg hunt. I got my butt kicked.
  • In Bloomington went to Maggie O'Mileys for drinks with Matt and Chelsea (who are from Nashville).
  • My Family visited me and Josh in Nashville. We had a blast playing cards/settlers, watching movies, eating out.
  • Last but not least.....I GOT A PUPPY! She is a cocker spaniel/poodle mix. Her name is Willow and she is the cutest little thing you will ever see. Driving to pick her up was an adventure with Josh. We ended up having to cut through some back hills in KY and met the breeder in the middle of nowhere in MO. On the way we saw a horse on the side of the free way (weird), a wild pack of dogs with about 6 puppies trailing behind them(cute/weird), a car up on a hill on the side of the free way(weird), a bridge that resembled a roller coaster(scary), and the Mississippi River(BIG!) among other things. I will put up a picture of willow when I can figure out how to without using my broken computer...
That's all for now.