Della

Abby and Evie would like to introduce you to our dog, Della. Here is some information about her in their own words, plus some from Regis and I. 

E: She eats ice and snow.

And she is so cute, and runs around the house and has "crazy time."

And she likes to run around with us in a loop. 

And she is very cute.

And she likes to run around and have "crazy time" outside.

A: She's just the cutest thing in the world. 

She likes to play. 

She has floppy ears.

She has hazel eyes.

She likes to run! And play. With us.

She has a pink collar. 

E: And leash. And another red leash.

C: She's three and a half months old and very sweet. It's been very nice to have her around, since she loves to climb onto my lap and snuggle. Her little tricks and quirks have kept us amused from the day we brought her home. It's been interesting to be the primary trainer for the first time, and I've spent a lot of time poring through books on dog behavior and training. Despite my inexperience, Della already has more training than both of the dogs I grew up with, put together.

R: I'm so delighted that I'm even more outnumbered by females than I was before. And now I have to take this one outside three times before I leave at six for work, just to watch her pee.

C: He loves her too. Honest.

The Holly Bears a Prickle

The last few days have been really hard. At my most recent doctor's appointment, instead of finding out the gender of our unborn child, we had the agonizing surprise of being told that there was no heartbeat visible, and that our child had passed away at around 15 weeks. This was especially painful because we had had such a difficult time conceiving in the first place, and my sister had recently suffered the same tragedy.

While this has definitely been a time of suffering, it has also been a time of gratitude. We're grateful for the Savior, even more so than usual at Christmas time, and for our Heavenly Father's plan for us. We're grateful for the kindness of friends and neighbors, whose thoughtfulness and charity have been outstanding. We're thankful for the beautiful children that we do have, and for each other and the love that we share as a couple. We're grateful for the loving support of our extended family. We're thankful for Regis's bosses and coworkers who have been so understanding.

I hope that the broken heart this experience has given me will stay tender. I hope that it will remind me to be more loving, as a person and especially as a mother. I pray that it is not an experience I will have to repeat.