L-O-V-E

I asked my friend and sister in law Laura to guest post. I’m coming down with a bad case of writers block. I appreciate her willingness. She talks about my love for my dog, Louie Dog Pitcher. Did you ever notice that dog backwards is GOD? Louie has been a little piece of heaven for me and I feel God sent him to us while we wait for our human children to arrive. You can ask my mom I never was a dog person but I've always been amazed with animals. So a couple of years ago I really had a sense of wanting a dog maybe because I the children thing come easy. So there I was at one of Tim’s football games and someone came up to me with a lab puppy. I held him and I was in love instantly. I took him home. Put him in the bath tub ran to Walmart. I bought a kennel and all the dog necessaries and came home. There was a moment in that hour or so where I thought, what did I just do? But he really is a pretty good dog, we really lucked out.

 There are times I get frustrated with waiting and I will be sitting and crying and Lou comes and snuggles with me. Really. It’s the sweetest thing. He’s taught us a lot about how to take care of a living thing other than ourselves. Tim always jokes that when Lou passes away we are going to stuff him and put him by the fireplace. Don’t worry that won’t happen. First of all we don’t have a fireplace.:) Our love for our dog runs deep but I know it won't even compare to the deep love we will have for our future children. I can only imagine. I know Louie is just a dog but gosh he brightens even our darkness days!

Here's Laura's debut:

 Greta asked if I was willing to be a guest blogger this week. Honestly, I thought 'geez Gret, have you read anything I've written?It is the last week of school and Keith is on nights.' I don't have the gift of writing or expressing my thoughts in an eloquent manner. (Crazy-because I am a counselor-thoughts and feelings are my career!) I am going to set myself up for laughs and embarrassment. Sunday evening as I was in the shower, something came over me. For the last weeks in church my pastor has been speaking from the book of Colossians and emphasizing the"we over me" It hit me. I am putting my busy days and fear of embarrassment before we. By “we” I am referring to the community of Christ followers and above all. I then thought, really Laura, you are worried about how your poor writing will be perceived? Greta puts her heart and soul into expressing her journey with grace. Needless to say, she is a tough act to follow.

 So, it here goes...

Greta is one of my dearest and best friends. We share a lot of things in common, like; photography, importance of education, the value of a good nap, great memories and even boyfriends! (I am married to Gret's high school boyfriend) As a friend, I hope I am able to empathize with his or her struggles by listening and imagining myself in their shoes. Being a friend to someone with infertility struggles is a helpless feeling because I am not able to relate to her pain and mourning. My husband and I have two children and I had two healthy pregnancies without problems. I feel like I don't have the words to support when all I have to do is listen and validate. Once again, it isn't about me and what I feel comfortable or used to doing, but about we and above all Christ first.

At night, Ava and I pray for Aunt Greta and Uncle Tim's family. We pray the Almighty will be with their journey and have His light shine even during the darkest and toughest moments.One thing I am so excited about sharing with Greta is being a momma! I do this already! Louie dog and Ava are surprisingly on the same wave length-especially with their listening skills! We share with each other discipline techniques. I am not always able to use them because Ava can not go into a kennel! But we share laughs about being mommas, like when Louie Dog hides under the bed after chewing all of the toilet paper and when Ava may hide under her bed after chewing her books, or pulling all of the toilet paper off the roll. We also share the neat and new things we notice Louie D and Ava and Luca do. We talk about the transition our husbands go through when you anticipate an addition to the family. I don't have to be afraid to share with Greta anything about the world of motherhood because she is one!I can't wait to meet my niece or nephew. I am curious to see how much Louie dog is going to be pushed to the side to make room for the baby(babies). The love Tim and Greta have that dog is amazing, the love they have for their child(ren) is going to be outrageous and overflowing.