Our Angel Has Arrived...

i know, i am as shocked as you are. i have been a self-professed animal hater for most of my life. i grew up with cats, but only let them get but so close to me. i had horrible interactions with big dogs growing up and have been so fearful of any dog or animal. (let's not recount my african safari adventure!) i always thought all animals stunk, were needy, and just not really a necessary factor in my life.

but around christmas-time, i started considering a puppy for the first time EVER in my life. brian grew up with dogs and has been begging for one forever. it was never even a consideration in my mind. i told him *maybe* when our youngest child is 5 years old, i might consider it as long as i didn't have to do anything with it. well corban is 3.

my dad said i am feeling this way because i want another baby subconsciously. which could very well be true. with 2 of my sisters pregnant and what seems every single friend had or will have a kid this year, a part of me must have been yearning for something new and little. but a baby is definitely out of the question, as our family now feels complete (at least the human part of the family!).

when christmas came and went, i just put the puppy idea away for a bit. and then there was facebook. and my friend jen now in charlotte posted a video of 10 black lab/french mastiff puppies who needed homes. normally, i would not even view a video of this nature. i would never give a hoot. but i clicked on it that day. and it showed those 2 week olds set to emotional music in the background, and i was sold. she then put up more recent pics (at 7 weeks) for our viewing pleasure. and in an instant, i was replying to pics and picking out my puppy. WHAT????

of course brian was all for it, but said it needed to be my choice so i wouldn't blame him for it down the road. such a smart man to a degree, but i will find a way to blame him i'm sure. hahaha. so we picked out the large male of the litter through the internet, but he was spoken for. and as my kids puppy-shopped on the computer screen, they each fell in love with the black female with the white fur collar around her neck. and we were all sold.

and my kids, my friends, is why i am getting a dog. i have somehow passed down my fear of dogs to my kids, or they were traumatized at the park last summer when an unleashed pit bull young dog decided to "play" with them by chasing them down and knocking them to the ground. my kids are ridiculously petrified of any animals and it's quite embarrassing. we have to leave parks if there are dogs there, we can't visit friends unless their animals are put away, my kids scream, cry, hide, stay in the car, etc. it's just no way to live.

brian and i decided that the only way for our kids to warm up to animals is to have one of their own. we contemplated getting a 2 year old dog, one that is house-trained already and all, but our kids would still be so scared if it was remotely large. corban and brian are allergic to cats, so that was not an option. so i go and pick out a puppy that will grow up to be massive :) i always did say, if i ever got a dog it would be a big one.

the kids and i are warming up slowly...i too still have fears i am getting over. and the kids are doing exceptionally well. they still get on the couch when it gets to be too much, but Angel is just so sweet and they are in love. i have hold her occasionally and pet her, clean her piss, take her pics, play with her. she is even my profile pic, which is something i thought was just utterly ridiculous before. but as of now, Angel is obsessed with brian! she just follows him everywhere, whines when he is out of the room. it's just priceless! he even slept downstairs with her last night, as he didn't want her to feel alone. she is sleeping in her crate as we speak and is doing really well!! yay :)

one of the cutest moments last night was when we had all the lights out and i was in the office. she was snuggling with brian in front of the tv, and i must have startled her when i came out of the office and emerged from the shadows. she was barking up a storm in protection over brian!!! she hadn't barked once since her arrival and she was going to town. she did the same thing when i came out of the bathroom. maybe she just doesn't like me? who knows. but it was sweet.

i laid in bed last night starting to really question if this was a good idea and if i could really do this. this is not my gifting. so if you guys think about it, pray for me. i mean it :) and pray for my kids and their animal fear, that this will help us overcome that obstacle. we are very excited!!

and to all of my friends who feel it's animal abuse to have a puppy in my house or that i don't know what i got myself into, fear not. i won't let you down. please visit and love on her too!

check out some pics of what Angel could potentially look like at www.mastador.com. we shall see :) :)