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.

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

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!

have yourself a merry little christmas...

just a few snapshots of holiday decorating at the french house.  

thanksgiving

another year is wrapping up and thanksgiving approached so fast!  i feel like every year i become more and more reflective on our day of thanks.  this year i felt so convicted about being so selfish and greedy!  i feel as if i always want more and need more.  thanksgiving was such a great time to realize how much i do have!  here's a couple of snapshots on thanksgiving day.  jake had to work, so it was just me and dug road-tripping to my mom's house.

it didn't take dug long to figure out who was carving the turkey.  uncle marlin and dug soon became fast friends.

i know this is a horrible quality photo, but dug was literally in a food coma the entire evening.  so many relatives slipped him a piece of turkey here and there.  in his opinion, it was the best day ever.

welcome fall...

dear fall,

welcome!  summer has long overstayed her welcome (at least in my opinion).  i'm so glad you finally have arrived in nebraska!  the leaves are changing colors and they become more and more beautiful everyday.

fall, we took a walk this evening.  i enjoyed hearing the crunch of the leaves under my feet... almost as much as i enjoyed my company for the walk.

i love these two.  they are so adorable.

the glowing sunset was beautiful tonight.  this pile of pallets makes me want to create all the pallet art and furniture i've seen on pinterest.

the wood piles around town are slowly, but surely growing bigger and bigger preparing for the crisp mornings and chilly evenings.  fall, you have to promise me you won't let old man winter budge in before your time is up.  he likes to arrive early in nebraska - sometimes bringing snow as early as october!

i'm enjoying the first crisp breeze nipping at my cheeks and pulling the long sleeves and sweaters out of storage.  fall, i love you and all the beauty you bring.  please, stick around for awhile.

love, 

holly

dug post

hi everyone.  my name is dug.  i'm a beagle.  life's been pretty good.  i went camping a few weeks ago.  i loved most of it.  my mom and dad took me exploring on the sandbars.  it smells amazing - lots of fishy smells and wet sand for me to run around on.  i liked chewing on all the drift wood, too!

i had a lot of fun sniffing around and exploring too!

my favorite part was the warm campfire.  i love to sun tan, but this was even better!  plus, mom and dad fed me a hotdog.  i was in heaven!

my least favorite part was sleeping in the tent.  i'm an indoor dog, but a tent dog.  hearing all the crickets and coyotes really scared me.  i stayed on watch for most of the night.  boy was i tired the next day.  welp, that's about all.  i'm gonna go sniff out some kibbles.  bye.