Problems posting comments

I've received several emails from people telling me that they have been unsuccessful at posting comments on the blog. I believe that's because they don't have Google accounts. I've changed my settings to allow posts from people without accounts, so hopefully this will solve the problem.
By the way, you can also subscribe to this blog, so that you'll get an email whenever there's a new post, by me or by anyone else. If you'd like to do that, scroll to the bottom and click on the link that says Subscribe to: Post Atom.
Post on!
Ann

Woman's Best Friends

This past February, our best friend of almost 15 years died. His name was Max, and he was a Beagle/Rottweiler mix. We had been looking for a Beagle when we came upon a pet shop that had him. The mix sounded so unusual we had to at least go see him. He was the cutest little puppy with some very big feet. We thought he'd be a huge guy, hence the name Max. Well, Max never did grow very big. He had a Rottweiler's personality - loyal, sweet, great with kids - in the body of a mutant Beagle - barrel-chested, short legs, and where'd he get those ears? Max joined our family when we found out that having children was physically impossible. He filled an enormous hole in my heart, often licking tears from my face when no one was looking. His favorite word was "Go", and so he was a very well-travelled dog. He rode across the country twice, and went to places like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Death Valley.

About a year and a half before he died, we began to realize that he wouldn't be around forever, so we began sizing up replacements. I had always wanted a Golden Retriever, and so Max got a new baby sister, Maisy. She's a honey of a dog, with definite "Max-ability". Max taught her the fine art of knowing your territory, and thanks to him, she never runs off - she knows her yard, even though we have no fences. She learned that obedience is well-rewarded, and that even though there's lots of people in the world, her people are the best. While they were never really playmates because of their age difference, they were nice companions. So when he died, poor Maisy was really lonely. She's been a very needy dog anyway, preferring any kind of touch from us to any other thing under the sun. But she got a little distructive - mostly if someone forgot to latch the trash cabinet. So off we went again, this time searching the pounds to see who we could rescue. We found Bailey (AKA Isabella, Bella, Sasha, and Jeff's favorite - "DOG") at a shelter. We know next to nothing about her, but at age 2 mos, she's completely house-broken and sleeps all night (soundlessly!!) in her crate. Maisy is beside herself to have this bundle of energy for a playmate, and Lizzie loves having Bailey's crate in her room so she has a roommate.

When most people think of our family, they see a family of 3, but really there are five of us: Jeff, Ann, Lizzie, Maisy and Bailey. The Dunlaps. A family.

I remember a commercial jingle for a pet store from a few years back. It went something like: "You gotta have a dog my friend, a D-O-G, oh gee you gotta have a dog".

Whoever said there's no truth in advertizing?!

Lizzie the Fish

This summer has been, well, weird. I had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands in June, and have been at home recuperating. So we haven't been able to do much, due to inability and shortage of funds. So Lizzie was enrolled in swim lessons at a wonderful facility here in Fort Wayne. She's been desperately afraid of swimming since a "near-drowning" incident at the tender age of 3 in the pool of a friend (remember that Teresa?). So the thought of swimming lessons was a little overwhelming to her, but she's been transformed and now can float (back and front), and can actually cover a little water "swimming". She's a whole new kid in the pool! She's gone from hanging on to my bathing suit to jumping in by herself. It's been so fun to watch her gain confidence and ability. Now she says "Yes!" to every invitation to a pool event, and doesn't even ask me if I'm coming along.

Motherhood is full of dichotomies. Our job as moms is to nurture our kids and help them develop new skills and confidences. But if we do our job well, we essentially put ourselves out of a job as we watch our kids become more and more independent of us.

The letting go wouldn't be as hard if the holding on wasn't as precious...

Great news!

Yesterday morning Lizzie told me that while she was cleaning her room, she prayed and asked Jesus to come live in her heart. And yes, there are two great news items in that sentence - a clean room, and a clean heart. We hadn't even been talking to her much about salvation (sad that we maybe talk to her more about cleaning her room!). This came totally out of the blue. There have been times that she's talked about stuff like this before, but it's usually been a conversation prompted by us or church or Vacation Bible school or some such thing.
So it seems that in one day, God chose to answer two of my most fervent prayers - Lizzie's salvation, and yes, a clean room.
Here's a poem, totally unrelated. Hope it blesses you!
Ann

Creation
The beauty of a sunset,
The vastness of the sea,
The splendor of the mountains
Cannot compare with Thee.
The riches of the monarchs,
All armies and their might
Are poverty and impotence
When thought of in Your Light.
And yet You have revealed Yourself
In Nature, great and small;
Your holy, perfect attributes
Are represented, all.
Help me, Lord, to seek You,
And when I seek, I’ll find,
Creator in Creation -
In majesty enshrined.

Welcome to my blog

Hi there. Got me a blog. A place to share my poetry, favorite stuff, family updates and whatnot. Hopefully it will be a place where you share stuff with me, too.
For my first entry, here are a few of my favorite quotes from some of my favorite writers. Hope they interest/move/touch you.
Ann

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."John Piper

"Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time." Oswald Chambers

"Resurrection is a far greater evidence of the power and love of God than the mere aborting of catastrophe." Elisabeth Elliott

"There is no pit so deep that He is not in." Betsy Ten Boom

"A cup brimfull of sweetness cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, no matter how suddenly jarred." Amy Carmichael

"I hold one single sentence out of God's Word to be of more certainty and of more power than all the discoveries of all the learned men of all the ages." C. H. Spurgeon

"Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God;But only he who sees, takes off his shoes..." Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"I lay my 'whys' before Your Cross, in worship knowing, mind too numb for thought, heart beyond all feeling. And worshipping, realize that I, knowing You, don't need a 'why'."
Ruth Bell Graham

"When did the validity of the Eternal Word rest on the mood of one of His poor children?" Elisabeth Elliott

"Only one life, 'twill soon be past;only what's done for Christ will last." Author Unknown