Meet Sam.

I have to admit I was one of the naysayers. You want another big dog I said to my daughter? Why?

Adopting big dogs is not the easy thing to do. Having a home visit for approval by the local humane society is not the easy thing to do. Adopting a dog from out of province...out of country....definitely not the easy thing to do.

But when I saw Gracey Lou and Sam together I knew it was the right thing to do.

Both of these dogs had sad beginnings. Unwanted, unloved, mistreated, no permanent home and close to the end of the line.

But they are full of love. Full of adoring eyes, wagging tails, lean on you, sit on your feet so you don't leave, overjoyed to meet you, lick you all over, ALL CAPS LOVE.

They were sleeping side by side after one day.

So this is what adopting from a rescue or shelter is all about: giving a dog another chance at having a real home.

And I'm a naysayer no longer.

Hear and bless thy beasts and singing birds
And guard with tenderness
Small things that have no words.
~~Traditional

The Preparation of Pain

As I look back, pain was always a preparation for me. The Lord allowed pain before accomplishing anything He asked me to do. It made me more aware of my own weaknesses, my own faults, my own incompetence, my own lack of knowledge...it made me appreciate the fact that God must do everything.

~~Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality

Samson arrives soon.

Samson is going to be the newest addition to our family. His foster parents will be driving him here from Ohio. When it's not snowing.

"Sam" is a rescue. He had a hard start in life. He is a gentle giant who has a cute cowlick on top of his head. Luckily he's being adopted by a hairstylist. A little gel and no one will even notice.

Gracey Lou is excited. Well, if she knew he was coming she would be really excited. We're going to wait till he gets here to tell her.

Here's Gracey playing the tomato game. She won't take it till you tell her it's hers. And with those sad eyes you just can't keep her waiting too long.
I'm looking forward to taking pictures of Gracey Lou and Sam together. But until I have those pics to post, here's what it looks like with 2 big dogs in the living room. These are "The Girls". Maggie and Daisy are Gracey Lou's cousins. They all love to play together.

When they're lying down they look kind of little.

They look small enough to share a bed.

Until they stand up.

Then they look like horses. Or skinny cows.

And then they got closer...

Whoa...back up horsey...

Epiphany

...and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. One of my favorite Christmas cards of all time had a cartoon of a manger scene with the caption: "....diapers, blankets, donkey seat...finally gifts we can use!... The visit of 3 wise women..." In the last few years my Christmas visiting has stretched into January. And I look forward to this post holiday treat. The pressure is off and it's fun to get together with friends. And give "Epiphany gifts". It turns out this is a tradition in Ireland called Little Woman's Christmas. The men stay home and the women get to go to the pub for Epiphany. It doesn't involve gifts. I believe the pub beverage is the highlight. It's their reward for all work that comes with the holidays. I was surprised to hear a young man at the gym (me going to the gym also still surprises me) who acknowledged the work women do in preparation for the festive season. I definitely do less than I used to but in the past I've done my share. When I was growing up we called it the Orthodox Christmas ...considering we were Orthodox. I didn't realize it was Epiphany but it all makes sense now. That's when the gifts were brought to the baby Jesus. That was the tradition until the calendar was changed to celebrate Christmas on December 25th. I think we should all rebel against the secularizing of December 25th and give gifts on Epiphany like the old days. We'll hit the sales and everything will be at least 50% off. Just a thought. Happy Epiphany. Happy Orthodox Christmas. Happy Little Women's Christmas.