Into the Woods With Maeby Ray Magic

This past weekend found us home in Greenville with the family to see several of our talented sisters in school productions. While there, we gave Maeby a lot of play time outside. One afternoon she followed Vitaly into the woods, and the two romped around the creek (known by the family as Barely Run). She came back to us soaked, dirty, and happy as... well, a Lab in the woods. Here's a lovely picture of her, munching on her rawhide baseball, before I hosed her down. We hope one day to give her her own big yard in which to get filthy.

Four Rows Back from the Columbus Bluejackets

This past Tuesday evening Chip called me, completely out of breath. In the midst of his excited rambling I caught the words "Free tickets... Bluejackets... picking you up." Half an hour later I found myself downtown in Nationwide Arena four rows behind the goal. Chip and I could barely contain ourselves, and even though the Jackets lost 2-5 to Phoenix, we had a rockin' good time. Afterwards we met up with our good friend Greg Murray, also known as the voice of the Bluejackets. Greg took us down by the ice for some photo opps. Righteous!

The Luxury of Spring Break in 12 inches of Snow

Nick and I just retrned from a 10-day, 2000-mile trek that included Greenville, PA, Chicago, IL and Minneapolis, MN. (...One of these things is not like the others...) We left Oh, The Pooch with her Uncle Chip and Aunt Marcia, and started driving. Armed with our iBook, it served as our DJ and DVD player, and quickly passed the 28 hours of driving time we logged. All in all, it was a great trip; one that made me realize that vacation luxury is certaintly in the eye of the beholder.

When people found out that we were heading up north for the normal Beach-Worshipping-Holiday that is Spring Break, they snorted at the thought of going anywhere where there is the remote possibility of snow. But, visiting with our friends Jessie and Karl in their 3-year hometown was too good an opportunity to pass up! So what if the biggest snowstorm of the season blanketed them the day before we arrived! The luxury of endless good conversation in a Winter Wonderland trumps Florida any day!

Dear Lord, Help me be the person my dog thinks I am. Love, Beth

I'm sure many of us have heard this familiar bumper sticker- but I never realized exactly how true it is until we got Maeby. Though she has been nothing but a positive addition to our lives, it has placed more pressure on my moral character than I could have ever thought.

Maeby is a pretty smart dog. Now, I know, everyone's dog is the smartest dog in the world, blah, blah, blah...but she has started surprising us on a daily basis by the things that she is remembering and learning that we aren't even TRYING to teach her! I can't even IMAGINE how children are! The newest thing is her anticipation of my return from work in the evening. When I leave the gym to come home at night, I usually call Nick to let him know I'm coming. About 15 minutes later, I arrive home to a puppy on the brink of implosion from excitement.

Well, last night, Nick noticed something about this routine. The phone rang, and Maeby went and sat next to it to watch Nick answer and then say "Hi, Sweetie!" Remembering the previous nights and that Nick must be talking to me on my way home, she ran to the door, her tail wagging furiously and stared into the dark street, expecting to see me drive up any second. Nick just started laughing at the preperation this little dog goes through to greet me at night.

So, about 10 minutes later, I come onto the porch, and she almost breaks through the front door when she sees me. It is just about the most amazing feeling in the world. It makes me wonder if God goes through the same thing when we enter his house- but I suppose that line of thought might be too metaphorical for people to stomach.

All I know is that it makes me want to be a better person in order to deserve the greeting my little puppy gives me on a daily basis.