George

Well, all this talk of puppies got to me, Katie happened to see a sign for lab puppies near by, we went a couple times to visit and we thought and thought and thought about it.  I eventually told the seller no, took a nap and woke up to realize i didn't feel relieved but i felt like i had made the wrong decision.  I decided this life is all about having experiences so a dog would be an amazing experience to have for the kids and us as a family!

We got him, brought him home and of course  named him "George" since max had been calling every living creature around "George" for the past 2 months (he would try and catch flies, spiders, everything to keep and name George)

He sure is a cute little thing, just barely 8 weeks old!

The kids loved him and were annoyed with how much he slept.

I thought max would love him most but Braden really took to him, George would wait to greet each kid every day as they got home from school and braden would spend every waking minute with him! Max liked to play with him but definitely not as much as Braden.

It took a little while for the kids to warm up and learn how to handle George.

This picture says it all, ha!

We knew we didn't want an inside dog at all but since he was a puppy we borrowed this crate and set to work training him that if he is inside he has to stay in this crate...oh it was frustrating but after a few days he showed big improvements!

Also, after a few days i realized how much i HATED having a dog.  He was cute and for a puppy he was super good but i just didn't "love" him.  I felt obligated to go out and pet him, i didn't really have any desire to do so.  I quickly learned that having him didn't "add" anything beneficial or positive to my life except the fact the kids loved him. 

I was so torn with what to do. I had a few good cries about it, called good friends and my mom to ask their opinion on what to do.  I couldn't fathom another 15 years with this dog! I really didn't mind waking to let him out early in the morning, feeding or giving him water...but i just didn't fall in love like i thought i would. And something happened that i never saw coming.  I missed my kids!!! Because George was an outside dog, the kids were outside all the time...which is great BUT they used to follow me around while i did dishes, laundry etc but now they were never there and that made me sad.  As much as my kids can drive me nuts but always being under my feet i was not ready to let that part of my life go.  There will be a day that my kids aren't bugging me, that know how to self entertain for hours on end, or that don't want to be around me...i am not going to rush that day because i love every little naggy moment.

So after talking to the kids as a group and each kid individually i learned that they wouldn't need therapy when they were older if we got rid of George.  That they would still be happy, healthy kids and we would be alright.  Carrie luckily had been looking for a new puppy and was so supportive of me choosing to do what was right for my family.  But it was so reassuring to know that if we so chose, she would take the dog and in the end she did.

She LOVES that dog so much and i am so happy with life going back to normal.  The kids only ask about George sometimes and they never seem sad about it.