And then there were four.......

What a weekend....we now have two new boys! Not quite twins...but two of the sweetest boys I have met in awhile!! No, they aren't kids (although with all the effort Dan and I have exerted to add another to our brood, I understand any potential confusion :-) ) No.....these are of the canine variety!





Check them out:

Aren't they cute?!?! Okay, so how did it happen.....well, let me explain.

Abigail has been lobbying for a dog for awhile now and for whatever reason, we decided to explore it-casually. We asked her to think long and hard about WHY she wanted a dog--and suffice it to say, "because they are cute" wasn't going to cut it. The discussion topic sort of waned from there.

She kept asking about it, sporadically, usually at inopportune times, and we just kept saying, "we'll see...we'll see" One night, our we'll see was met with an extremely emotional response from our 10 yr old.

"You aren't ever going to let me get a dog!!" And she ran up the stairs in tears...hmmmmm. Is that what we were saying without saying it? I went upstairs and talked with her and told her it wasn't fair to hit Dad with things so late at night. She needed to think about the way he processes things and try to meet him on his level. (Was I serious?? I mean really.....she is 10!)

Well, she took my words to heart and made an appointment with her dad to discuss "the dog". He agreed, after dinner, he would make time to sit down and discuss things with her. Well, she was off! She had her window and she wasn't going to blow it. After school and after homework was finished she set off into the office and went to work. What was she working on???

A POWER POINT PRESENTATION to show her Dad on why she should have a dog! Yes, a POWER POINT PRESENTATION!! It was unreal! She meant business and I knew we were doomed! The presentation was followed up by a visit to our Vet to discuss what it meant to have a dog. This girl was serious!

I say doomed but really, why not? I am home most of the day, we love dogs, I know they are work but figured if my single mom friends who are WAY busier than me can swing it....I could swing it. Going into the weekend we still weren't quite sure if Dad was truly up for it---until of course Saturday morning, as we all lay in our bed watching cartoons, drinking coffee and generally goofing off! Dan jumped out of bed and exclaims, "so.....are we going to go get our dog today or what?!?"

After the screams settled down and the whirlwhind effect of our girls running upstairs as fast as they could to change died out....I looked at him and asked, "are you sure? are you serious" To which he replied, sure...why not!

Well, Abby had also done her homework on WHICH dog she wanted. She used the website, www.petfinder.com to review all the pets at local shelters, animal rescues and humane socieities---after all, why get a fancy schmancy breeder dog when sooo many needed a home?!? Right? (insert soap box here). He was a cutie, black lab "mix" and he was at the Corsicana City Animal Shelter, about 75 minutes away from our house. We loaded up, and off we went to get "Dakota"...our newest family member.

Before we entered the shelter, I told Abby: "honey, you may see some things in here that upset you or make you sad. Just remember, we are here for Dakota...okay?" Ummmm.....yeah.....have you been to a city shelter before? Nothing against the kind people working in Corsicana but this place was unreal. Cold, stinky, and sad. All the dogs on death row just kind of looked at you when you walked it, begging with their eyes, "please take us out of here" Abby was fine...I was the mess!

We approached Dakota's kennel, which he shared with his brother, Dodge (equally as cute). I was hooked instantly! I couldn't stay in the kennel area long, because well, the lump in my throat was the size of Montana and tears were about to come streaming down my cheeks, so we went back out to the office to fill out paperwork.

I casually asked about Dodge, could they let us know if he got adopted, or could we come back if he didn't and bring him home later? Well, the woman said, if you leave with an animal today, you can't adopt another until the one you have at home is spay or neutered. Not really getting it I looked at her and said...okay....she looked at me and says, well, Dakota can't be neutered for another 2+ months. Again, I said...okay.....so we'll come back. She looked at me point blank and said, "ma'am...our animals usually don't last that long here" Meaning, Dodge was on a short list and if he weren't adopted within the next couple of weeks...he was history! My brain finally engaged.....light bulb went on.......sucker sign lit up......and Dan told the woman, "might as well begin the next set of paperwork"

So we left with Dakota (our planned dog) and Dodge (our bonus dog). They are great with each other and a blast. Is it more work? Yea...probably but really, it was a choice and we are making it work just fine. More than fine actually---Abby is doing great and quite frankly, I just love them!

So, we are now a family of six---two girls and two boys! Go figure!