Tuesday, January 3, 2012

2012...a new chapter in our lives

& Happy New Year!!




I can't believe it's January 2012!!  We had a great Christmas traveling to spend time with family and friends!  I honestly can't believe it's January already!!  


We had the opportunity to be a part of a really fun Christmas surprise this year for my 13 year old niece.  My twin brother called about a month before Christmas and told us he'd found a breeder of Shorkie (Shitzu & Yorkie) puppies in Mount Vernon and that Morgan (my niece) wanted one.  We went and looked at the puppies and helped pick one out.  As well, we agreed (well really offered:) to bring the puppy to Oklahoma City on our way to Dallas for Christmas with Scott's family.  About a week before we were heading out of town, we decided to go pick her up so we could enjoy some time with her before leaving town.  We absolutely fell in love with Maggie!!  She was the most adorable little thing and we did not want to say goodbye to her.  I didn't realize it would be so hard!!  I took videos and pictures of her like I would one of my kids....it was crazy!! 


Isn't she cute???

Sleeping on Scott's arm while he was driving:)

The whole time we had her I had to keep telling myself, "she's not mine, she's not mine, she's not mine!"  I would have kept her if I could have, and so would've the rest of my family!!  I honestly think if it weren't for the fact that our dog, Max, really wasn't fond of having another dog around, we'd have been tempted to go get her sister:)  Of course, I do know puppies are a lot of work though.  It was definitely like having a baby around...I had to watch her all the time.  I had to take her outside constantly to try and get her to go potty...and she'd still potty in the house now and again.  If I wasn't careful, I'd step on her because she followed me everywhere and she was so tiny.  And she'd cry every time I put her in her kennel, which killed me!!  I really didn't mind taking care of her though, and as we drove away without her, as excited as we were for my brother and their family, we were really sad to not have her with us anymore.  I mean, we knew she wasn't ours to begin with, but we loved her!!

As I think about 2012 and what we have going on in the next year, at the front of my mind is Cody graduating and us having to drop him off at college next fall.  Honestly, I get teary eyed just thinking about it....I'm so not ready!!  I love having him in our home and being his mom...I'm so proud of the young man he's becoming!  I know that next year there will be a void in our family and it makes me so sad.  I hate to compare the thought of leaving my son, who we've raised since birth, at college...to leaving a puppy, that we had for less than a week.  It's obviously not the same thing, but bear with me for a minute:)  In much the same way that I had to keep telling myself that the puppy wasn't mine, I got to thinking that Cody, although my son, is really not mine either.  God gave him to us to raise him and help prepare him to go out into the world and make a difference.  When he was just a newborn baby, we stood before the church and dedicated him to the Lord.   He's a child of God, who's been entrusted to us for a short time.  I love my boys more than life itself and would do anything for them, but I know the time is coming (much sooner and faster than I'd like) that I'll need to release them and pray that they make wise decisions about their future as they venture out on their (almost:) own.  


So, although I'm sad to think that 2012 is the year that our family dynamics will change with Cody going away to college, I'm happy for him and know he's going to do great things with his life!!  I know God will use him to bless others as he has, and continues to, bless our family.  So, through spending a week with a cute little puppy, I have been reminded that all will be ok in the coming year...I just need to keep telling myself in the times when I struggle with letting him go, "he's not mine, he's not mine, he's not mine."   Happy New Year!!   

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful story, Katie. You've raised Cody well; he'll be prepared for being out in the world but he will always have a soft spot in his heart for home.

    Love,
    Ginny

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great perspective Katie! We struggled in August when it was time to take Sam to SNU for the first time. It is exciting to see them grow even more when they are away. And then they come home for breaks for the much needed family time (for all of us). Thanks for the reminder that "all will be ok".
    ~Pam Felter

    ReplyDelete