let me 'splain. no, there is too much. let me sum up.

100 points to anyone who identifies that reference.

either way, summing up is going to be a better idea than explaining the last few weeks.

of course, the holidays are always a busy time... and we've enjoyed every last bit.

the kids enjoyed the 2 ft of snow we got right before christmas - giving them just one day of school that week.  chuck and i had lots of fun shoveling and longingly watching our neighbors using their snowblowers.  thankfully, one of them helped out with the end of our driveway at one point.  still, i can't help but wonder if maybe that's on chuck's list for the future.

i really enjoyed watching the kids experience christmas each year.  we had everything ready to go on christmas eve, so we had lots of time to sit around and enjoy each other.  christmas morning was pretty stress-free, too.  the kids seem to be developing a true appreciation for watching everyone open their presents as well as opening their own.  they were pretty patient - and appreciative.  and that is something that takes time!

one of my bigger challenges this christmas was working and traveling with a 3 month old puppy.  parsley had been learning the ropes at our house but was not demonstrating the best manners when it came to other people.  as a puppy, she's full of energy - but beyond that, i have a feeling she's rather high energy.  she did well with all the traveling - and with being in different places.  i had to spend quite a bit of extra time walking her while we were away in an attempt to wear her out before putting her back in her crate, but it was kind of nice.  and... our many walks also helped to keep off those dreaded christmas pounds that usually find their way into my jeans.  all in all, a good deal!

experiencing the chaos of christmas and visiting friends with a puppy is a lot like experiencing it with a newborn - it takes a lot of extra time and effort.  and i came away from the last few weeks wondering if i was making any progress with this dog at all.  my multiple trips outside to have her use the "potty" were spent watching her eat snow... only to come inside and do her business on the kitchen floor.  frustrating, to say the least.  any little freedom would get her so hyper that i was keeping her crated as much as possible.  all the while, i was reading any advice i could find... only to see that i was doing all the right things.  such information should be comforting, but i guess i was just being a bit impatient.  (imagine that!)  thankfully, the holidays - and all their excitement - came and went, the kids went back to school, our "normal" schedule resumed, and parsley turned 4 months.  amazingly enough, that combination of events had a magical effect on our pup, and she seems to have turned a corner.  she seems to really "get" her housebreaking regime (with a few puddles here and there) and has even earned quite a bit of supervised freedom to run around in the house for most of the day.  as i write this post, she's on the floor with tucker and kyle and is peacefully chewing on a bone instead of chewing on them.  i feel so proud.

for all of you non-dog people, i apologize for all of the extra info.  anyone who has ever raised a puppy knows that these things are big deal.  and, regardless, i'm pleased to see our lives return to some sense of normalcy.

on another note, this weekend, my family will finally be celebrating our christmas.  nothing like getting around to it 2 weeks later.  ah, well, when you have 5 siblings with 5 different families and lives it's not as easy as it used to be!  my mother is trying to maintain a sense of humor about the whole thing... but this is a first for her.  i've decided that any christmas celebration that takes place after new year's will from now on be referred to as Festivus.  and there will be the airing of grievances.  a good time will be had by all, i'm sure.

i still need to upload all our christmas pictures... but i figured i'd wait till all the christmases were over.  we also, finally, had our family pictures taken - for the first time in 5 years, meaning that we now have a complete family picture.  complete with tucker, that is.

hope everyone is enjoying the new year so far... and that you are enjoying the return to normalcy.

a new era

well, this has been a long time coming.

i love dogs. i mean, i really love dogs. when we took our youth group on a missions trip to mexico, we made a border stop at walmart to stock up on gifts for the local children. the group bought crayons and candy. i bought dog biscuits for all the strays i had heard would abound.

early in our marriage i stressed chuck out every time we took a walk and i’d stop to talk to the neighborhood dogs. he was sure i’d get mauled.

suffice it to say, our 11 years of marriage has involved lots of pet-related debates, as well as on and off pet ownership. this time, it’s the real thing.

because, this time, i got MY dog.

i had been thinking about what i wanted. and what chuck did NOT like about dogs. he can’t stand the hair. and the poop. i told him there was not a bald, constipated dog breed out there. and if there was, we wouldn’t want it. but i know from childhood experience that there are small non-shedding dogs. (small dogs make small poop). so, a few months ago, i told chuck i had been thinking. and he totally surprised me by saying that he had been thinking, too.

so, i moved forward with the necessary research... knowing exactly what i wanted. and then, he shocked me even more by saying, “katie, you always loved that your parents actually bred dogs when you were a kid. why don’t you do that?” so, i did some more thinking. and some more research. (i like to research).

this week, we agreed that the time was right. i found the right dog... at the right place... for the right cost. and today, i made the drive with a wad of cash in my purse.

we joked about the fact that i was negotiating with a man whose last name was “stoltzfus” in lancaster county who had a distinctly pennsylvania dutch-sounding accent. but, i know from experience that not everyone named stoltzfus in lancaster is amish, thank you very much (i can just hear them now...) not to mention, what amish dog breeder is going to be advertising on the internet and taking phone calls.

well, i’ll tell you who - because i found him. tucker and i drove an hour north on winding country roads only to arrive at a farm. a farm that also had a one-room school house on its property. a farm with no electrical lines running to its house. and a buggy in it’s driveway. after a few minutes in the driveway, an amish woman about my age came out and told me that amos would be in from the fields in a few minutes. man, i can not tell you how much i wished i had brought my camera... except that, yes, i know that cameras are a no-no with the amish... but, come on. the irony.

so, after a few minutes, amos did indeed come along with a wiggly parcel wrapped in his coat. we chatted, i handed over the cash, he handed over the pup... and tucker and i made the hour long drive home... dodging buggies as we went.

the puppy is adorable, of course, but definitely smelled like an amish, farm puppy. the first thing we did when we got home was give her a bath. pictures and details will follow... but first, i’m waiting for my kids to come home from school and meet their surprise. they have no idea!

i’m still not exactly sure how the amish are on the internet...