Coming Home

The day came to bring Vern home! I feel like the days leading up to it, I was running around doing as many house projects and errands as I could. While I knew life would move forward with a puppy just fine, there were some projects I knew would be easier without a puppy potty training time slot. And on the last school day, I was so grateful to be reminded that while "projects" are awesome to get done, nothing trumps a morning spent at the temple. A dear friend and I were walking out of a school performance Friday morning (we were set to pick up Vern Sunday afternoon, so it was my "last" Friday without the puppy) and in small talk I shared how I was catching up on things before getting the dog. She grinned and said, "or you could go with me to the temple." And of course I dropped all the lists and went. And guess what? Everything that needed to get done, got done, and everything else didn't really matter! Always grateful for the perspective and peace within the walls of the temple. Love the moments to meditate and reflect on Christ.

Once the kids came home from school, Sunday afternoon couldn't come soon enough for them. The anticipation of the new change had them all buzzing with questions and all kinds of energy. Those are moments I hold onto. The ones where so much life is happening within our walls, where the energy of the air feels so tangible you could reach out and bottle it up.

And like all things we live in anticipation for, the moment finally arrives. It was so sweet to visit with the breeders - such amazing people who offered all kinds of getting started tips and genuine love for their puppies.

Max had the luxury of holding Vern on the car ride home. He came home completely confused, but so full of puppy love and energy. It wasn't long before the kids had him running to keep up with them.

Then came nighttime. Yikes! His first couple of nights were well...brutal. I'm pretty confident in the fog of those first few days and nights of sleeplessness, attempting to crate train and cleaning up potty accidents, I called Mike at least five times to tell him we needed to return the dog (he was out of the country traveling for work). Of course, he was fantastic at leveling me back out, getting a longer-term perspective and hunkering into the short-term work. And to keep looking for those little moments.

Like the smile when Abby runs off the bus to get to Vern as quick as she can.
Or how she'll pull Vern close to start reading aloud on her own (prior to Vern, getting her to slow down for reading practice has been, well, challenging).
When Alexis jumps at the chance to take Vern outside and run with him.
Or Tayler who loves learning how to play with his puppy toys.
Or Max. Who smiles anytime he sees Vern and makes up new games to keep him entertained.
Or the prayers from Abby every day the first week "thank you so much that Vern came to our house."
Or the prayers from other kiddos of "thank you so much for helping us find the exact dog for our family."

So of course I couldn't even think to return him when I'd see those moments!

Puppy training videos have been a saving grace in this experience. And while we will be signing up for in-person dog training, it has been incredible what we have been able to find and apply from learning what is offered through videos. One video in particular helped me troubleshoot his overnight struggles and get him to actually start sleeping. It made all the difference!

We're at 2.5 weeks together. My phone is overloaded with puppy pics. He has grown so fast and every day we're learning and settling into a routine together.

Welcome home, Vern!