Coming Soon!

I have tons to post about, with pictures, and it's all coming soon! Right now I'm savoring every last minute with Nick before he takes off, and that doesn't include blog posting. For those of you wondering, his flight leaves very early Friday morning. That means a sad Lindsay with lots of time for blog posting this weekend. See? Now you and I both have something to look forward to.

I can't let any more time go by, though, without giving a shout-out to our TRUMC family. I don't think many of you read this, but for those who do, I am absolutely feeling bolstered today by the outpouring of love and support Nick and I received from you all yesterday. The full report will be included in this weekend's mega-post. I at least wanted to say THANK YOU, though, today. So thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you!

I hope you all have a great week!

Happy Camper

When Finlay came home to live with us almost four years ago Nick and I agreed that I'd do the snuggling and he would do the playing. We've always thought that we chose the perfect dog because Fin likes to do each equally. When Nick's deployed, though, Finlay simply cannot go an entire year without some good play time. The solution? Camp Bow Wow.

Camp Bow Wow is a doggy day care where Fin gets to play with other dogs, both inside and outside, all day long. I can even watch him on a webcam at any time! You have to have an "interview" and a "trial day" at camp before you're officially accepted. Today was Fin's interview and trial day, and we're proud to say that he passed with flying colors! Here's a picture of Fin with his daily report card and his acceptance certificate. Oh, and a special thanks to our friends David and Mary Beth Ely who told us about Camp Bow Wow. Their pug Pete has been a happy camper for months!Doesn't he look tired after his long day of play time?

Groomingdale's

Today Finlay visited a new groomer. He used to go to Diva Dogs, but they've apparently closed down. After our terrible experience with Petsmart in December we haven't taken him anywhere else - I guess we've been a little gunshy. We got a recommendation from our friends Kelly, Michael, and Mason (their precious pooch) for Groomingdale's, and I am so glad that we tried it out! Fin looks and smells great, and they gave him a discount because his birthday is this month. The even unintentionally dressed him up in Baylor colors today. I'm pretty sure the green and yellow bandana is in honor of St. Patrick's Day, but he's keeping it on for the game tonight. This picture captures his attitude this weekend perfectly. He's spent most of his time pouting since Nick i s in Texas visiting friends and family.

This is Finlay's new best friend, Bear. They love to snuggle.

Higher Ground

I love it when people name homes. It seems to give the house a personality all its own! Last weekend, Nick and I along with our friends Michael and Kelly visited Higher Ground, along with new friends (for us) Katie and Matthew. Higher Ground belongs to Kelly's parents, and it's in Lake Junalesca, North Carolina, in the Great Smoky Mountains. Higher Ground is a perfectly cozy and homey yet beautiful home with an amazing view of the lake.

Thanks to a heavy snow the previous weekend we had great snow on Friday and early Saturday. Now, the Smokies are not the Rockies, but with the benefit of good snow, I'd compare the whole mountain to a good blue run in Colorado, which is what I like to ski anyway! Despite some trepidation about how well we'd perform after a five year ski/snowboard hiatus, Nick and I did better than we expected. We had so much fun!! Below are a few pictures from the slopes. Enjoy!

Thanks, Michael and Kelly for such a fun weekend!

One month from today...

Nick leaves to begin 3 months of training in Indiana three months from today. After he goes this time, I only might get to see him for 3 or 4 days before he heads to Afghanistan. Truthfully, I'm feeling really stressed out by everything that's happening right now. Today when I opened up my Daily Light devotional, I saw this verse from Proverbs: " Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths." You may remember that I used this verse in my post on September 4th (see it here). It was a reassuring coincidence to find this verse waiting for me today, to remind me that God has a plan and He is busy working it out.