Things I am loving right now...

Well I am joining in with everyone else and doing the list of things I loving right now. Since this is my first posting of this, I give myself free rain to list anything!


1. Rudy - You know there is just something about that puppy smell and puppy hiccups. He has been so fun and has helped my heart heal from losing Remi. Plus he is just so darn cute! I just can't stop buying him toys - he could be up to like 20+ he is currently playing with, with about 20+ waiting for him!

2. Reading my Bible - Spending time reading this precious book and hearing fresh from God has been sweet. I learn new things each time I read.


3. Suisse Mocha - Ok, it is just stinking cold outside right now and on days like this I just love a cup of Suisse Mocha. It's a splash of coffee flavoring amidst a lot of chocolate flavoring. Yum. It's also been great to take to church to help warm up between services.


4. Summit - Speaking of church, I am so enjoying the privilege of attending an amazing church with amazing leaders. I have never been so challenged by a church weekly like I am at Summit. God is truly moving and changing lives there. It has been a blessing to go there. I help out in the sound booth, doing Media shout where I control all that goes on the screens during the service (words to the songs, videos, etc.) and I have gotten to know the pastors some. That also has been neat to meet these amazing men and their families - men that are just ordinary guys seeking God with all their heart. Great examples! Go check out their web site: www.summitlife.com

5. Gulf Coast Town Center and Coconut Point Mall - Yeah, shopping centers! Two of them! and so close to my house. For the longest time I had to go all the way up to Edison Mall but no longer!

6. My job and my class - I know I mentioned it in earlier posts, but I am just so grateful for my job. I enjoy teaching daily, touching and changing lives, plus having a 2-week Christmas vacation rocks! I am very blessed with 19 wonderful children who come to school ready to learn and are so well behaved.

7. Facebook - It's so fun to take a little glimpse into people's lives and what they are up to. I have gotten in touch with people I haven't talked to in years and literally decades. Seeing pictures of old and new friends has been great. And the status updates just crack me up.


8. Reading - I just love novels - I get lost in them. Recently I finished The Shack, which was a great book. I am now reading the new David Baldacci novel. I can sit for hours and read.


9. Sunsets - They are my favorite, anytime of the year and anywhere. I love the pic at the top of my blog - that was in Africa. This one was in Hawaii.

10. Swimming at LA Fitness - Not sure if I am technically "loving" swimming as it is exercise and I would much rather be sitting on my couch, but when I go I am enjoying it. I never knew how incredibly hard swimming laps was! oh my! But I have a goal each time I go and almost always meet it and sometimes pass it!

11. Fresh squeezed OJ - Mom gave me a ton of my favorite, honeybell oranges, and I have been squeezing them every morning (and some evenings). Gosh is it good!

Puppy graduation!

He did it! Rudy graduated from puppy class! We took an 8 week puppy training at Pet Smart and tonight was graduation.
Oh was it fun. First, he had to show off all that he knows:
There were a total of seven commands:
Come

Look.
Leave it.
Down.
Walking on a leash.
Sit/stay.
Sit.





He also did an eighth command - he was real good at: shake!
After all four dogs showed off their amazing knowledge - of course Rudy did the best (not that I am partial or anything), all the dogs got their graduation certificate. Each dog was called up to the "stage" (the chair I am sitting in the first picture), had a cap put on, congratulated by the teacher, and then given their certificate. While this was going on she had Pomp and Circumstance playing in the background. It was an absolute hoot!



Lisa came out to watch him graduate and graciously took pictures too. She even got him a graduation present! Thanks Lisa for coming - I appreciate it!


Next - intermediate class here we come!!!!!

Poor guy!

Yesterday it was time to take Rudy to get neutered. So Lisa, her girls, and I hopped in the car at 6 AM (yes, me on the road at 6 AM on vacation!) and drove over to Miami. Here you can see poor pathetic Rudy when he got home - drugged and with a collar.



Rudy has to wear the collar for at least a week so he doesn't lick and open up the cut. And I have to keep the two dogs, who love to play together, separate. He is doing better with the collar but he doesn't like it. At first, he had such a hard time, especially smelling the grass outside as it kept getting stuck in the grass and he had to back up to get unstuck.

Here's a picture of Lisa and her girls, Madeline and Katie. After we dropped Rudy off, we walked the beach for a short while and then went to Sawgrass Mills and did some shopping. It was such a fun day! (Just don't ask Rudy if he had fun!)