kristaphillips 
No… it’s not a baby. (While I would love a baby and would welcome him/her with open arms, my childbearing days are over per the request of pretty much everyone who wants to see me retain at least an ounce of my sanity….)
Nope, we’re getting a baby of a DIFFERENT kind—the canine variety!
Yup, while it might threaten to take my sanity too, we are getting a PUPPY!
This is a big deal for our family. If you have followed our journey, you may remember that shortly after Annabelle came home, we had to say goodbye to our sweet part-beagle Emma. Honestly, Annabelle’s health was still VERY tenuous at the time, and she required a LOT of personalized care, and Mommy was going through a bit of post-stress emotional issues that necessitated us taking a step back and realizing that our sweet but very high-maintenance doggy needed a new home.
It is a sore spot with our family, because Emma was much loved by us all. Our children have been begging for a dog ever since, but Scott and I have stuck to our guns that we wanted to be sure we were in a place where we could physically and emotionally handle a dog again.
Well, on my birthday, my aunt’s black lab gave birth to a litter of NINE puppies! We went to see them and immediately fell in love!
Our kids are much older now, and while Annabelle still has her set backs, she is growing and doing great, and we actually feel like having a dog would be GOOD for her both emotionally and developmentally. The dog is mostly Labrador with a little German Shepard mixed in, both of which are highly recommended as companion dogs to people who have medical issues. While she won’t receive formal “training” for that, our hope is to be able to train her to be gentle with Annabelle and be a comforting presence during times when she is ill.
So yes, we are biting the bullet and getting a puppy. Our eldest, who is a dog LOVER and was hurt the most by our decision a few years ago, cried when we told her. This feels like a good time, as I feel like we’ve finally turned an emotional and physical corner of healing in our journey.
So yes, it is time.
We don’t have a name for our puppy yet.
She is a little girl though (because… well… we are a princessy household, it just fits!)
Isn’t she cute??
She will come home to us in June! We are BEYOND excited about this new addition, and can’t wait to welcome her into our home!!!
****ALSO****
We are doing a fundraiser for the CHD Walk in May! I’ve posted a link before where you can donate (which is definitely still open!) but we’re also doing a t-shirt fundraiser! SO if you’d like your very own TEAM PRINCESS ANNABELLE t-shirt… they are only $20 and proceeds go to research for congenital heart defects!
We had a black lab when Ashley was little, her name was Mandy but Ashley called her Mammie.. I can still see her standing at the screen door in her diaper calling "Mammie….Mammmmmmiiiiieeeeee" We later had Mandy's son "Sam", he was such a good dog after the first two years. I think we only had to buy one plane ticket to China to retrieve him…dig and chew were his middle names.
Annabelle will love love love a puppy…
Awesome! I am reminded of growing up… My dad insisted on a male dog to help out the male/female ratio in the household. (And it was just mom, my sister and I.)