What a Long, Strange Trip it's Been.

Can't believe it is November 8th already!  Spent the whole entire summer in Texas and LOVED it!!  Can't wait to move back home at the end of this school year!  215 days, 13 hours, 25 minutes, and 51 seconds until we move, to be precise!  YAY!!

It is sort of the end of an era.  Jode retires from a 21 year and some change career in the Army.  Emily graduates high school.  And a new day is dawning.  There is a mixed bag of emotions.  Bittersweet.  

The Army has been good to us, despite a few crazy neighbors, deployments and bouts with PTSD. (that is for a whole 'nuther post) We have lived in Korea and Hawaii, along with other beautiful places stateside.  We have made lifelong friends.  And now we pass this time.  

We wonder about where we will live in San Antonio. What job will he have?  Where will Em go to school?  Where will Mia, Gary and Ace go to school?  Ace will be starting kindergarten...another change. And we are all excited and ready to jump in, but it is a little bit scary too.

One of the brightest spots in our future for me is Shug's.  My mom and I have had a business together for 4 and a half years. (It is named for my Great Grandmother.  Her nickname was Shug) We have somehow kept it together across the miles and it is flourishing.  I am excited to get back and have fun working with her on Shug's and growing it along with Gypsy.

I am now making some things exclusively for Shug's.  Ornaments and banners along with some other fun things. We are in 3 locations in the San Antonio area, so if you are poking around down there, you should check us out in person.  Our website can show you the way (Shug's Online) or through our facebook page  FB Shug's.  

I have decided Gypsy will not participate in any events this year out here in Pennsylvania.  It is enough to prepare for this retirement, college applications, basketball for both girls, chess club for Gary, back and forth and up and down and on and on...

My work will be on creating fun new things for Shug's and custom orders, and launching our new website.  (*can't wait!)  

And now, 215 days, 8 hours, 55 minutes and 29 seconds til we move home...

Pressing on with JOY!

XOXO
Stef

Penny Lane

Meet Miss Penny Lane!!  

She is the newest addition to our family.  We didn't know much about training a dog or our kids because Hurley has had us spoiled.  He is a piece of cake.  The chillest guy I know.  For real.  Her, not so much.

When we got her, she was called Zoey and she was a trainwreck.  Matted from head to toe. Smelly.  Loud.  Hyper.  Her crate had scratch marks all inside that made us wonder how she had lived. The family who had her before had gone through some really hard life-changing stuff and weren't able to care for her anymore.  Jode and I brought her home and bathed her, then immediately called Ali to get her groomed.  She had to shave her pretty close, but we could tell she felt better.  She had a new life and we felt a new name was in order.  

She terrorized Hurley.  He hated her.  Feared her.  We all did. She took over his bed and he didn't dare ask her to move. She nipped at us all a few times. She was protecting her stuff.  She was getting used to us.

Each day I could see her relaxing a little more.  I knew she loved us from that first day, and we really loved her.  Still, it took us some time to adjust to each other.  She came from a family with one child to one with 4.  None of us knew that it takes a dog about 6 weeks to adjust.  We had given her 2.  I was struggling with the commitment I made to her previous owner and my fear that she would really hurt one of my children.  The boys are 5 and 7 year old rambunctious boys. They have that right.  

I talked with Ali.  She has a lot of experience with dogs.  She encouraged me that these behaviors could be changed, but I didn't really know what to do.  We waited with our breaths held until another incident occurred.  

So we put an ad on craigslist for about an hour and a half, and I talked with a few candidates.  I also told most of them I didn't feel it was going to be a good fit.  I hated giving up.  And we loved her.  On the day I was supposed to meet a possible caretaker, the light in the truck came on and we needed to take it in.  Jode and I talked.  We researched and learned that we needed to learn each others boundaries and teach these to our kids.  Duh!  We decided to make it work.  I called the lady and told her it wasn't going to work out and what we had decided.

From that moment, something changed in all of us.  She became a true part of our family. She and Hurley are the best of friends.  Now, she lays in my lap at night for a belly rub, something her brother has taught her.  We are still working on boundaries.  She has a permanent place in our household. She is a wild child.  And she is fabulous.     

XOXO
Stef