12 Years

“Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different.”    – C. S. Lewis

I came across the above quote when reading an article this past week, and it really stuck with me perhaps because I believe it’s so true.  I immediately thought back to the days when the girls were very young.  Mark was still travelling a lot then, and the days with a baby and a toddler, then a toddler and a toddler, could definitely be long and seemingly not that different from one day to the next.  The changes were mostly gradual, so when you’re immersed in the routine of life as you know it, those changes are hard to see.  It’s not until I would look back that I would really realize that so much had changed.

Mark and I celebrated our 12th anniversary on January 19th, and I’m confident that we would both say our marriage is very different after 12 years than it was after 1 year or 5 years or 7 years.  I suspect that I can expect the same of the future.  There haven’t been any earthshattering milestones that document a change in who we are or in how we approach our marriage and family, but rather the changes have been gradual, and when I look back, everything really is different.  My hope for this marriage year 12 is that we live each day to appreciate what it has to offer – not just looking forward to what’s in the future. I don’t want to rush our kids to grow up, our plans to be more stable (well, maybe), or more things crossed off our list of “to-dos.”  I hope when we look back on year 12, it’s a year that we learned to love God more, love the people around us more, love each other and our family more, and appreciated each day as a gift – doing our best to make the most of it, even in the routine of life because I know at some point in the future, I’ll look back and realize once again that everything is different.

Another Snow Day

Well, after spending some of yesterday playing outside without jackets, today brought us snow by the inches.  The kids had off school yesterday because of MLK holiday, today because of the snow, and school is call off tomorrow due to snow.  Needless to say, they’re not too disappointed.  Since the snow started around 9am, after lunch there was quite a bit to play in, so we headed out first to the back yard then sledding on the hills at their school.

The girls started building a “snow fort” next to the deck which really was just a big mound of snow that they piled up and Cayenne would run and jump through.  Snow play is exhausting work!

 

Like the last big snowfall, Cayenne loved being outside.  Despite her short hair, the snow doesn’t seem to bother her, and she played outside the whole time we were out there.

She even got into a little game of “who’s stalking who” with Mark and Lyla.  She gets in stalk mode, gets down low, and starts rocking back and forth.  Then she points, then she pounces!

After some play in the back yard, we went sledding, Cayenne got to run in the snow at the dog park with some other dogs, and we all enjoyed some hot chocolate and a hot dinner.  I think we’ll all sleep well tonight!

The Highs and Lows

Here I am thinking that life with this dog is awesome.  The sun is shining, I’m riding my bike on the trails and she is running next to me, I can’t help thinking what a cool and smart dog she is.  I love Cayenne.

Here I am not much later thinking that this dog better RUN FOR HER LIFE!  While left unattended for a few minutes, she simply chewed through the cord of my most favorite vacuum (thankfully for her which was unplugged at the moment) who I have a very longstanding and committed relationship with.  Yes, that would be the vacuum that I’m speaking of.  I love my vacuum – currently not so much the dog. 

Ugg.  The highs and lows of having a puppy…

Six Months

Yesterday Cayenne turned six months old.  It’s hard to believe that she’s been in our family for over four months!  Mark and I were commenting recently that most of all the puppy training is really behind us.  She is a super super dog as long as she gets exercise, so we keep her exercise at the top of the priority list.  We’ve gone for a walk in the pouring rain, in the snow, in the wind, etc., and it’s a very very rare day that she doesn’t get a long walk or a run outside.

She’s a very loving puppy, and if it were up to her, she’d probably want to sit on someone’s lap all day.  She is great with the kids, and they both really love her a lot.

She sits nicely and chews her bone while they comb her hair, she plays their silly chase games, and she always makes it up in the bed for books at bedtime.  Normally she falls asleep before the book is finished, and although it would be sweet to let her stay there, we don’t think she’s quite ready to sleep in the bed yet.  Maybe in another six months…

 

Some of her favorite activities include stalking squirrels, going on walks, snuggling on her dog bed with some member of the family, and one of her top favorite activities is going to the neighborhood dog park.  We’ve generally had good experiences there (some better than others), but Cayenne always seeks out dogs to play chase with her.  She loves to be chased up and down the dog park, around and around the trees, over the dirt mounds, etc.  Even at six months, she’s speedier than most dogs at the park, so chase is a fun game for her.  Once when we were there, a year old Vizsla was also there, and then she had finally met her speed match.  The year old’s legs were obviously longer, but when the two of them took off chasing each other, it was like a blur of brown.

While dogs definitely are a lot of responsibility, we’re really glad we have Cayenne, and she’s been a great addition to our family!