Week Eleven - Our Shrinking Family

Fare Thee Well, Maximus
This past Sunday we said goodbye to a cherished family member, Maximus, Maxi-moo Ginn.

Over the last two months (basically since family left!) we have been in talks about rehoming the boys. At first when Greg made the suggestion I was adamantly opposed. I had always been a firm believer in providing a forever home and not being wishy-washy when it came to pack members. However, after much discussion, prayer and a big dose of humility I finally came to see the great benefits that it would afford to all. Here were our considerations: 1) Time- the dogs were a big burden upon Greg and his time (I basically didn't do anything with them except feed them and give them table food!). He would walk them both twice a day for about an hour per day which meant getting up early and taking a chunk out of his evening that he could have otherwise spent with Karis and me or studying. 2) Finances- We totaled up the cost of boarding, food, vet bills, flea and worm meds and things like treats, the dog park, etc. and realized we were spending about $150 per month on the dogs. That is our biggest expense besides our monthly mortgage and groceries and it just seemed like unwise stewardship at this time in our lives. 3) Happiness- with my time and energy reallocated to Karis the dogs just were not getting the love and attention that they deserved. I was thankful that they had each other, but I know both of them need to be petted and loved on. Plus they were basically relegated to the kitchen only since I didn't want to risk Karis being a casualty to their indoor roughhousing and couldn't handle having to constantly vacuum when I could barely shower myself! So it was with a heavy heart that we first posted the boys on Craigslist.

We got a lot of response, especially for Maximus, but a lot of people were definite "no's" because they would email us and say "I can come tonight" which led us to believe that they wanted them to either resell them (we are giving them away free), have them as guard dogs or even worse, use them for fighting. Greg sent each interested party a long list of questions because early on we were committed to only going through with it if the potential home was a better situation they there were in now. By no means did we want to rush such an essential process! After much screening, we had found the perfect home for Maximus, but unfortunately that fell through. Then we got an email from Jules and it ended up being a great match. Jules was familiar with the Rottweiler breed, has flexibility in his work and was plenty active enough for Maximus. After a couple of weeks of emails, questions, visiting, etc. we made the switch on Sunday.

At first I thought I'd be ok emotionally, knowing he was going to a better situation. However, as I started packing up his things I started to cry. Part of it is feeling like I failed both us and the dogs, part of it was sadness in not being able to explain to them what is happening and why and part of it was just sadness in knowing that an era has passed. It was bittersweet, but as I was in the kitchen picking up some dog toys both of them came over to comfort me and lick up my tears. Also, it was reassuring when Greg called me to tell me about how great an owner Jules would make. He had the same Rottie fan sign that we have on his front door and even had the ashes of his former rottie on his mantle. Maximus was a faithful, sweet, smart and wonderful boy and I know he will bless his new owner just as much as he blessed our little family, even for the 11 months that he was with us.

 
In Other News...
As part of our home "restoration" project after the flood, we took to painting our dining room. I have wanted to paint that room ever since we moved in and since our insurance was going to pay for one can of paint anyways, I decided this was the perfect time to do it!

We also had the opportunity to head to the campus of Southern Seminary for the annual Fall Festival. We had a great time stuffing our face with Chik-Fil-A, corn dogs, fried pickles, root beer from a keg, snow cones and our new favorite -- fried Oreos! More than all the fattening foods, we enjoyed an opportunity to catch up with old friends and introduce them to our little one who was all dressed up for the Wild West theme!

Karis-isms
Weigh-in- We split up her 2 month shots into two different days so we got to get her weight this past Wednesday. She continues to grow and is at 11 pounds and 5 ounces! 
Chatterbox- most recently Karis has become quite the talker especially when she's with daddy. She took to talking during the sermon on Sunday and loves to jabber especially after naps and meals.

Until next week!