happiness is a warm puppy. - charles m. schulz

disclaimer: if you are not a dog person (or treat your dog like your child), you may want to skip this.

"happiness is a warm puppy" are wise words spoken by the creator of peanuts and the famous beagle, snoopy.  on july 5, 2010 jake and i brought home our very own puppy, dug.  we had just been married a month when i saw my mom's neighbor's sister (whew, did you get that?) had set up a stand with her beagle puppies for sale.  i made the huge mistake of picking up the most cuddly puppy in the bunch.  despite the nebraska heat, this little guy snuggled in for a little nap in my arms instantly making me call to convince my new husband that we needed a puppy.

we researched and discovered beagles are a friendly breed and the characteristics of a beagle were something we were fond of.  so a call was made, date arranged, and in 2 days we were off to pick up our beagle.  we had to drive about 45 minutes to ravenna to pick him up.  when we arrived she let out the beagle puppies from their pen and they instantly started running all over the place chasing each other.  we quickly wrangled ours from the pack, paid, and were off.

as soon as we were out of the driveway, our new beagle was upset.  do you blame the poor puppy?  he was just ripped from his mom, his siblings, and the comforts of his pen.  he cried (shrilly and loudly) for the complete duration of our drive home.  there were several times jake and i looked at each other and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into.  i'm pretty sure i even suggested taking him back.

but we didn't.

we arrived home and he instantly calmed down.  he was finally warming up to us.  a few minutes later, we showed him his shiny new food bowl, and fresh water, as well as a green, fluffy, squeak bone with tug ropes coming out of it (his first toy).  that sealed the deal.  he was in love with us.

there's so much more i could add to the story about raising a puppy (potty training!), sneaking him into our bed while jake was on a camping trip, teaching him tricks, his hate/fear of cats, etc. but it all comes down to the fact that our home is so much better with our dog.  i couldn't imagine life without him.

as many know, one of my favorite books to read with my students is "where the red fern grows".  i'll close with a quote from the book.

“Men," said Mr. Kyle, "people have been trying to understand dogs ever since the beginning of time. One never knows what they'll do. You can read every day where a dog saved the life of a drowning child, or lay down his life for his master. Some people call this loyalty. I don't. I may be wrong, but I call it love - the deepest kind of love."

After these words were spoken, a thoughtful silence settled over the men. The mood was broken by the deep growling voice I had heard back in the washout."It's a shame that people all over the world can't have that kind of love in their hearts," he said. "There would be no wars, slaughter, or murder; no greed or selfishness. It would be the kind of world that God wants us to have - a wonderful world.”
― Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows

and what a wonderful world it would be.

our third anniversary

june 5th was our third wedding anniversary.  i wanted a low key night so we headed to yanney park with jimmy johns and chocolate pudding!  we had a cozy picnic while watching a little boy and man fly kites.  jake and dug ran around and then we took him on a little walk around the park.  yanney is where jake and i had our first kiss as well as where he proposed so it holds a special place in my heart.

henry doorly zoo

a couple of weeks ago my mom and i took a mini vacation to omaha.  we ate and shopped in the old market, stayed the night, went to the zoo, and finished the trip with some more shopping.  it was a great getaway and i enjoyed the time with my mom.  i made a little video for our trip to the zoo.  it's not perfect, but i learned a lot making it!  enjoy!

Henry Doorly Zoo from Holly French on Vimeo.

happy valentine's day!

1 john 4:8

⁷ Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. ⁸ But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

¹¹ Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

¹³ And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. ¹⁴ Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. ¹⁶ We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.  God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 

happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day... a week late...

jake and i had a low-key evening.  i hate going out of valentine's day.  our evening consisted of homemade cards, breakfast for supper, and sharing a candy bar all while watching dexter.  probably not the most romantic show to watch, but it was nice to have an excuse to relax and do nothing other than hang out with each other.

i made this overnight paula deen baked french toast.  it's seriously more like dessert.  it was so good.  you can find the recipe here.

ok, seriously... i didn't get a single photo of us on valentine's day.  i fail.  hope your day was full of love and thankfulness.

psalms 32:8

i was doing my devotions yesterday and read psalms 32:8

"the Lord says, "i will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  i will advise you and watch over you." -new living translation

i also liked the new international translation.

"i will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; i will counsel you with my loving eye on you."

i've been contemplating applying for a teaching position in my current town.  this would be no more daily 2 hour commutes, but it would also mean i would leave a school i adore.  i'm torn.  i know that i am meant to be a teacher and i can't live without teaching, but where does God want me?  i will be meditating on this verse this semester.  Lord Jesus, guide me on the best pathway you have ready for me.

our weekend

this weekend was busy.  i've almost completed my to-do list!

10:00 pm saturday night i decided to make those 2 ingredient banana-oatmeal cookies i've been seeing on pinterest.  jake was at work and it was rainy.  i added some chocolate chunks and cinnamon to the mixture.  i like them.  they're different, but curb my sweet tooth.

every week i contemplate if i should get groceries at target or wal-mart.  and every week it seems that whatever location i choose, i end up having to go to the other store for one or two more items.  this week was the same.  i went to wal-mart for our groceries. they were out of french bread and quinoa to i had to go to target.  and yes, i got out of target without buying anything unnecessary - score!

this year i'm taking the easy route and giving soda to my students for valentine's day.  we have our party on thursday.

oops, i guess i did get these adorable stamps at target - but they were in the $1.00 section so that counts for something, right?  i have some valentine's cards i would like to make with these stamps.

my sunday school work time partner.  i work in bed and dug is always ready to join me.  he naps.  i grade papers and catch up on school work.  it's a good system, but sometimes i would like to switch roles.

i hope the weekend was ultra-productive and relaxing for you.  i know i'm not ready to go back to work, but it should be a good week.

friday night

love you swore, john mark mcmillan

i'm typically behind the times when it comes to music.  i have a few artists i follow and love and i mostly just stick to listening to them.  pandora also makes it easier for me to just listen to artists i like and similar artists without having to pay attention to when a new album comes out.  

i have a john mark mcmillan station on pandora, but last week a friend in our Bible study loaned us one of mcmillan's albums, economy.  it played in our car for the whole week.  i loved it.  this song, love you swore really spoke to me.

here are the lyrics:

Chase me down like a lion
Like a bird of prey
Lift me up from the ashes
Of my hearts own shallow grave

Cause I know that I love you
But sometimes I’m afraid
Whoa oh…

Spare my body from the wolves, God
That crouch down at my door
Lift me up above the waters
And the sharks that guard your shore

Cause I know that I need you
But sometimes I know it more
Whoa oh…

Harbor me in the eye of the storm
I’m holding on to love you swore

the lyrics cause i know that i need you, but sometimes i know it more are so true of my life.  it's almost convicting.  there are times in my life where i haven't had a close relationship with God because my life was going well and what i thought, according to plan.  and when troubles would arise i would be there begging to God.  what an awesome remember to always be in need of God.

here's the song if you're interested.

saturday

just a couple of snapshots from today.  it was spent snuggling with a sun-tanning beagle and making heart garlands for valentine's day.  i also rearranged our teeny-tiny kitchen, but that was a disaster i did not feel like documenting!