Puppies, puppies! Who wants a puppy?

Our dog (still very much a puppy herself) had puppies on December 8th. She was only 14 months old when she got into trouble with the next door neighbors dog. Despite Marks many trips taking their dog Lucky back to tie him up at his own house in the early hours of the morning that dog was persistent. On the 4th and last attempt Lucky cut through the pasture and beat Mark back to the house.

And that is how we got 10 puppies! Luckily for us, our next door neighbors dog was also a pure-bred lab and so is our Sammy.

We have had a lot of fun (and learned a lot of things) through this process. Mark has done an amazing job with the maintenance and care of all these puppies. He built a kennel for Sammy and finished building her a doghouse just 2 days before she gave birth. That was cutting it pretty close!

Those puppies love Mark! He cannot go out to the kennel without coming under attack with all the puppies seeking his attention.

The sad part has finally come. We have sold 5 puppies and have 3 to go. (We lost 2 puppies during the first week, but 8 puppies is still a lot!) It will be nice not to have the expense of puppy chow for the growing appetite of those little puppies, as well as the never ending job of kennel cleaning, but it will be sad to see them all go. (Mark even more so than me because of all his time and dedication to those puppies. Me, I tried not to get too attached because I hate saying goodbye, but a person couldn't help getting a bit attached.)

On a side note-it is crazy to me that Sammy got pregnant after me, but still had her puppies before me, nursed them the appropriate time, weened them and now has sent them on their way in the world.

We are very glad our niece and nephews are getting one of the puppies so we can watch her grow up. They too are super excited and can't wait to come back from Disneyland to get their puppy.

Puppy stats:
-4 yellow 6 black at birth
-2 yellow males 1 yellow female, 3 black males and 2 black females
-At 7 weeks the biggest yellow male weighed 14 pounds and our smallest black female weighed 9 pounds
-Last week alone, the puppies (and Sammy) went through 4 bags of dog food.
-First puppy sold was our favorite yellow male then our favorite yellow female. The black males will be the last to go.

Marks Roles

Besides the typical roles of a man in the relationship, here are a few others Mark has played or displayed in more abundance recently.

Comedian-he always makes me laugh, even when I want to cry. Lately I have to ask him to please not be funny or make me laugh because it usually results in a coughing fit, but truly I am thankful for his humorous way of dealing with my little slumps.

Daddy-One of the best things about finding out the sex of our baby was that we got to start using she when we prayed. I love hearing Mark pray with gratitude for our daughter and thank Heavenly Father that we are her parents. I kind of had the mind set that we were going to be her parents and that I was going to be her mother, but he prays thanking Heavenly Father that we already are.

I sometimes get a little anxious when I realize that in just a few months we will have a baby. I know, we have wanted and waited and prayed for this opportunity and responsibility for a long time, but when reality starts hitting a little close to home I get a little nervously excited. I often ask Mark, "are you nervous?" To which he always responds with a twinkle in his eye that he is not. He is excited. I cannot wait to see him hold our dear daughter for the first time. He is already so much in love with her.

Ambulance driver-Okay, not ambulance driver, although sometimes it has felt that I've needed one, but over the last 7 weeks, actually over the last 2+ years he had taken me to and from doctors appointments at all hours of the day and night. Even though he has been driving for years (and was a delivery driver for DHL for 10+ years) he continues to get better about going over bumps when my rib is dislocate, or I've just had some medical procedure or surgery. I don't particularly like doctors, or didn't (I'm getting better) and Mark had gone to every appointment with me.

Chef-He loves to watch the food network and has taken such good care of me-cooking often when I am too sick, too nauseous or too tired to cook.

I know I have said this before and I will say it again and again. I am so thankful for Mark. He is not perfect, but he is perfect for me.