Flashback Friday

Today I decided to flashback to the first day we got our dog, Samson. Brock and I always knew we wanted to get a dog someday. Once we bought the theatre and moved into the apartment above we could finally get one! We have been known for impulse buying and unfortunately Samson was no exception! We were walking through the mall and saw him in the pet store!! I have always wanted a great dane and Brock has always leaned towards a boxer. When we saw Samson we fell in love with him and he was a boxer/great dane! We didn't listen to the voice inside us that said - this isn't the time for a puppy, you are 3 months pregnant why don't you wait, you don't even have a yard better not get a dog etc etc. Our impulses took over and we came home with him. He sure is cute isn't he????

Needless to say, although we fell in love with Samson it didn't take us long to realize it was a mistake to get him. I was still not feeling well with pregnancy and dealing with a puppy added to it all. We had to take him out on a walk all the time to get exercise and burn off energy and also just to go to the bathroom. We lived right on main street with no yard for him to run in. I spent so much time walking him and picking up after him that I thought I would go crazy. Not to mention all mishaps that took place inside the apartment. One time he got down into the theate and ate some chocolate. He got really sick and lost control of his bowels on a regular basis. I was beside myself as I chased after him trying to get him outside as he peed all over the floor :-) It is funny to think about now but at the time - not funny!

Despite the problems (all brought on by our impulive nature not him because he was just being a typical puppy) Samson was turning into a great dog. He loved to snuggle with us and was great with Madison. He did well with his potty training and he loved laying around (the Great Dane in him was definately more prominant). He used to drag his blanket around the living room and place it wherever the sun was shining through - it was so cute!

Here are Brock and Madison on a walk with him. Thankfully, he only had 6 months without his own yard.

Samson is now 85 lbs and just under 3 feet talk (top of his head). He is such a nice mellow dog who still loves to play with us, yet loves to lay in the sun :-) He is amazing with the kids - plays so perfect with them and is very protective. We remember the rocky start we had with him and know that God used Samson as yet another way to bring to light our impulsive natures and help deal with it. We are glad that at the end of this lesson we get to enjoy our hyper yet mellow, spazzy yet lazy, protective yet friendly, cute as can be Samson!!

Just in case no one believes that people can actually stroll around the mall and leave with a new puppy here is another example of how bad we have been. In college we were getting our oil changed and to kill time we walked over to the furniture store. A short time later we left with a new couch and love seat! If you read yesterday's post you can see why God has continued to work on us in our spending/money department - He had a lot to work on :-) I am thankful to say that once we started the Dave Ramsey plan (about 5 1/2 years ago) God was able to deal with much of this behavior right off the bat. After the initial "ahah" stuff we were left with lesson after lesson from God to get rid of the deeper hidden problems :-) I am so thankful that God cares about every aspect of our life! He must so that all we do whether with money, our physical health, our relationship with others, our home our belongings etc glorifies Him. I agree completely with John Piper who said - People DO NOT see God in our STUFF!!

As God weeds out the non-essentials in our lives may people see HIM in us!