Christmas time is a special time for Shay and me!
I love to decorate the house to make if feel cosy and special
(I get it from my mom and grandmother).
This year I decided to go more modern in my decor.
I scrapped the traditional green and red and opted for blue and silver.
Shay said he loved how it turned out
(blue is his favorite color).
From the above picture you can see the covers sprawled all over.
Yes, it was niece's and nephew's slumber party night.
Each year I try to get the nieces and nephews over for a slumber party.
This year, however, had a twist to it.
Shay and I had been discussing the possibility of getting a dog. I am not sure what got into me (I normally am not a huge dog fan) but I all of a sudden thought it would be nice to get a puppy. I had owned a chihuahua before, named Bitzy, and loved having her as a dog because she was so small. I also thought, "If we ever get a dog I want a small non-shedding dog." Shay and I had seen a few dogs up to this point but didn't find the "right" one.
Well, as I was leaving my school the friday before Christmas break, a co-worker showed me her baby chihuahuas she had brought into school. We started to discuss my thoughts on getting a dog but not knowing if I really wanted to take on the responsibility again. She then came up with a not-so-brilliant plan...that of course I thought was brilliant at the time....to take home one of the puppies for the night to see if I would like the "work" they required. So I called Shay to get permission. Shay of course was reluctant....as he should have been. I reassured him that it would be for just one night. I thought that if I took the puppy home for one night it would get the desire for a dog out of my system.
My co-worker showed me two puppy choices. I requested the one she called Nutmeg, because she was so tiny, her ears flopped down, and she was too cute for words. I packed her up into a box and took her home.
WRONG night to take her home!
My nieces and nephews came over and instantaneously fell in love with her.
They spent most of the time arguing on who's turn it was to hold her!
The plan had been to make sugar cookies together, so once I put Nutmeg down for a nap, I herded them all into the kitchen. I had looked up a new recipe the day before and was super excited to try it with the kids. I got out my large selection of cookie cutters and allowed the kids help me mix up the dough......well, Aunt Winnie obviously had a different idea than the recipe book on what sugar cookies are. The dough that was made was not a dough you could roll out and use cookie cutters with. It ended up being a European cookie called "sugar cookies." They reminded me of the cookies you can buy that come in tin cans during the holidays. Well, it ended up being a bust! They were good but it wasn't super fun to make, compared to real sugar cookies.
My nephew saved the day though by making his famous brownies
(and I say the word famous in all seriousness---THEY ARE DEVINE!).
While everything was cooking we decided to watch a movie. We had set up a projector so that the kids could enjoy their movie in style.
When we went to bed I moved Nutmeg into a nicer tote so that she could see out when she was awake and I wasn't prepared to keep my eyes on her. Below you can see the floppy ears I was talking about. She was so tiny that the child's white snow cap, that is next to her, looks large compared to her.
During the night Nutmeg began to cry for her mother. I felt so sorry for her, yet I was too tired to do anything more than lift her up and place her on my chest and go back to sleep. Nutmeg slept like that all night. Only when she needed to use the restroom would she lick my face to wake me up.
Well, that night my heart melted for Nutmeg.....although I didn't tell Shay that.
Shay too became attached and loved that she already seem potty trained but didn't say anything to me either.
The nieces and nephews had been rooting for us to keep her from the very beginning.
The next morning I made the kids a yummy breakfast.
After breakfast, some were immediately back on the coach to watch another movie, while others were in off playing with the puppy.
You can see 2 of my nieces and nephews here. Two nieces and one nephew are missing in this picture.
After finishing up another movie, we pulled out the games.
Shay and I LOVE to play games, along with both of our families!
Our hearts have been very tender this year as we are learning that most likely we will not be having biological kids. We try to stay positive and know that God is aware of us. We decided that if we can't have biological kids we will just have to adopt. Either way we hope to have kids of our own some day....and the sooner the better in Shay and my opinion! :-)
Well.....we took Nutmeg back to my co-worker. I was sad when she was gone. That night we really missed her and discussed keeping her. Shay was still a bit hesitant. Nutmeg wasn't old enough to be taken away from her mother permanently yet but Shay and we both agreed that she needed to come live with us in our home. 2 weeks later, when she was old enough, Shay and I purchased her. We brought her home and tried to name her a few different names. Nothing seemed to sound right. My youngest brother, who owns a chihuahua, was insistant that we give her a Mexican name since her bread is from Mexico. We tried Mexican names, traditional names, etc. Nutmeg didn't seem to pay attention to any of them. Than one night Shay and I were in bed talking and I googled "popular dog names." At the top of the list was Lucy. I believe it was Shay who said Lucy Lou. Nutmeg turned and looked up at us. That was it, Lucy was officially named Lucy Lou that night. So our little family has just grown a little bit more. Lucy isn't a child, and we are not crazy dog owners, but she is a special addition to our family whom we love very much!
