In May we added to our family. Cody and I embarked on a roadtrip to check out a litter of black lab pups and this little guy made the cut. It didn't take me long, as I gazed at the litter of 11 to decide which one needed to be ours. I just had to convince Cody of it. He had a harder time narrowing down the field of contenders to just one. I was relieved to hear this puppy came from such a large litter because I figured that if he was used to 10 brothers and sisters, then our home with 5 kids would seem like a walk in the park!! Once the choice was made, we received instructions and paperwork from the breeder. When the words "he was the fifth born" were out of her mouth, I knew he was meant for us. Am I the only one that sees stuff like this as an "it was meant to be" thing?? (the number 5 is pretty significant in our family!!)
So, this is a story about our dog...and our oldest boy. Hubble is his name. Most ask if we're into science since he is named after the telescope. It is then that I divulge the details of the origin of his name. It goes back all the way to Thad's childhood. He had a really good friend named Hubble (maybe his parents were scientists??!!) and always liked the name. As we talked about names for our children Hubble was regularly brought up by Thad as a realistic option for one of our boys. I could.NOT do it. We compromised and agreed that our first family dog would be named Hubble.
It suits him.
Dogs and boys just seem to go together, don't they? I just love this picture from our trip to Wallowa Lake last summer!!
Hubble is now 10 months old, weighs 84 pounds, and stands 28 inches tall (his back). He easily reaches his nose about 2 inches above the counter if he's in the mood to sniff around. We've got ourselves a rather large black lab. Luckily, he is really mellow, which I am SO grateful for!! He definitely gets wild with the kids and loves to run around the house with them. But he has such a sweet, laid-back nature. We love him.
He isn't solely Cody's dog, but there is such a bond between them. When Cody gets his coat and backpack, Hubble heads right to the window to watch him walk to the bus.
It is so sweet.
He will sit there for several minutes, even after Cody is around the corner. Such a good dog.
Already so loyal!!
Did I mention he is big??
I have no idea how this can be a comfortable position, but apparently he likes it. He likes to lay all stretched out like this. I had Cody get next to him so we could compare lengths.
There's just something about a boy and his dog.
Here are some of the out-takes from this year's Valentines Day card...
I enjoy making these cards...
Just a little extra love and attention to those who are so dear to us...
The front of the card...
And inside...
This year I had the kids make "mailboxes", and they made valentines for each other. Cody was included, but I spared him the task of making a mailbox. He was perfectly happy to simply put his name on the white icecream paper bag we got from the store. (10 yr old boys are like that)
They LOVED this project...
The teacher in me likes the fine motor skill practice this project provided...
A fun chance to be creative...
The finished products...
With a little balancing act on the side...
Bring-on the cards...
These are some of things that help make us a family...
Spreading the LOVE!!!!
