COUNTRY LIVING:)

People who know me well will get a kick out of our life here in the country. I guess we really don't live that far in the country, but it feels and looks like country living and we like that.

The day we closed on our house here last June, our new neighbor introduced himself to us as we unpacked a carload before heading back to St. Louis. Our neighbor is a great guy, but one of the first things he said to us when he met us was, " I hope you like dogs." The crazy thing is, I have never liked dogs. I didn't tell him that of course.

Now I don't want to offend any of you dog lovers, my husband is one of you. I know most people like dogs or at least don't mind them. But when you grow up in a home where your mother is HIGHLY allergic to dogs there is no possibility of having a dog as a pet. I grew up in the suburbs, but strangely, having pets like a chicken, and many ducks that we hatched. I think we did end up with some mice when my oldest brother let hundreds of them go at school as a Senior prank... and my next oldest brother caught some and brought them home. I don't remember those mice lasting too long:)

Anyways, after seeing old family movies of me growing up Greg claims he knows why I don't like dogs. There was one movie where I am at the petting zoo feeding the goats. I was probably 4 years old. They were jumping all over me and I was crying hysterically. I know it is silly but I am just afraid of dogs, all dogs... Big, small, it doesn't matter. In my mind, all dogs have teeth, and all dogs can bite. I used to map out my runs, knowing where all of the neighborhood dogs were are and avoiding them at all costs, weaving up and down streets. Crazy, I know.

Well, back to our country living. The above picture shows what our home is like here. The neighbors 2 dogs like to hang out here during the day because there is a fair amount of action here with the kids. Doofus, as we like to call him, the black dog lives outside of the neighborhood but hangs out here everyday. And the newest hairy beast, Nigel, as the kids have affectionately named him, the big brown dog, joined the crew last week. He must have a home, but he hasn't left since he arrived last week. We even had a puppy that we think was dumped off near our home just before Christmas. We took him to a vet to try to find him a home. You would think one roamer might be it, but come on, 4-5 dogs in our yard... just hanging out on a daily basis?? It is crazy.

As crazy as this sounds, the dogs are actually growing on me... I never thought I would say that. They all trail me on my runs and it actually keeps me company. They are all really nice dogs, they don't jump on you or bark much. The best part is they aren't ours... the kids can play with them, but we don't have to feed or take care of them. And usually they go home at night:)

Kind of a random post... signing off and hitting the hay.

Loving my four kids here with me but missing my sweet Samuel in Heaven.

Sara