Meet My First Baby Boy { Animal Lovers Only!!}

It really does seem like JUST a short time ago, when I was begging my new husband for a puppy. Some friends of ours had an " oopsie" litter of lab pups, but just being married for only a month, in a rental that said NO DOGS, Jared said NO.
So, I did what any Shaylyn would do...I tricked him.
we went out for a 'drive'...right to our friends house with the puppies. And there in a sea of pooch breath, soft fur and pure adorable-ness, was just ONE chocolate lab, with all his black brothers and sisters!
Even Jared couldn't resist.
The plan worked.
We took home our first baby.
Now to name him.
We examined him and decided from his sturdy features and BIG paws he would grow to at least 120 pounds.
Nope. His brother, Buck did. But, he never tipped the scales past 77.
So, a Future - big - dog , needs a BIG name. Kujo.

You see, Kujo added a lot to our lives.
Mostly in the form of messes and trouble.
He would cry all night, so I would take him to the couch, read him "101 Dalmatians" until he would fall asleep.
He would poo in his kennel and walk through it. And in our couch cushions.
More than once he chewed through doors and trim and carpet, and toys and shoes. And...and, anything that could be chewed.
He humped more visiting friends legs than I care to recall.
He jumped from the bed of our pick up truck...while Jared was driving.
Must've seen a squirrel.
He was so much bad, it was hard sometimes to see his good...
until last night.
12 and a half years later...
I needed to get into a specific room in our house to do something,  and there he lay sleeping, infront of the door.
I asked him to move.
He looked at me.
I encouraged him again.
He shifted his weight.
I looked into His cloudy, old eyes, and surveyed the big patch of white around his muzzle, and it hit me.
Its not that he didn't want to move, it was that my dog, whom we called the 'Energizer Bunny", that never slowed down a minute of his life, couldn't.
I got down next to him, hugged him, told him I loved him and that he was the best dog ever, and that he didnt have to move, because it wasn't important.

It actually was, but it would wait.
The last couple years, as he's aged, my patience with him, has grown so thin.
He can't hold his bowels and has an accident almost every night in the house.
He can't see or hear well, so he barks at everything...and the neighbors complain.
He panics now when we leave and chews our house to shreds.

But, in my frusteration, I remembered some amazing things about him.

He follows my kids outside and keeps a close eye on them and lets me know if anything gets within a 100 yards of them.
He knows his left paw from his right paw, how to dance, crawl and speak!
All those nights he kept me up, all the poo and puke I cleaned up, all the things he ruined, weren't because he needed me.
He never did.
I needed him.
I needed him to teach me some patience. And that nothing here is eternal. You cant take beautifully stained trim work to heaven with you, so dont get mad when a dog chews it off the wall.
He taught me to worry. Because he found himself hurt more times than not, for his mischievous mind would wander him to bad situations.
He told taught me how to love something even when it acted like a hopeless fool.
He visits our neighbors almost everyday.
He actually dives off the dock, grabs the rope swing in the air and swings from it over the water!
He barks ferociously at the UPS man...never has bitten him, but also has never taken his treats.

He really, truly prepared me to be a mom to my five ( human!!) Kids.

Without him I would not have had all these, sometimes awful experiences to learn growth from.
He has pushed me to my limits, like kids can.
He follows me around, attached to my heal when hes scared. Like kids can.
He's always happy to see me.
Has a guilty look of wrong doings, before I even know what hes done.
He is obsessed with his tennis ball. A.K.A His Girlfriend.
He hates to be cuddled,  but hates to be alone.
Hes a constant fixture in the room, keepin watch over our house and keeping to himself, and suddenly I feel like he might not be there much longer, and it breaks my heart.

As much trouble as hes caused,  I could not imagine the last 12 years without his crazy antics and trouble making.


So, to the "Marley & Me" in my life, you're the best,  most energetic,  nutsiest, craziest, most protective, loyal, sweetest, smartest, naughtiest, cutest dog I could have ever been blessed with.
Thanks for letting me smother you, when I know you hated every human, physical touch we made you endure.
Thank you for peeking in the car seats, ever so gently, everytime we brought a new baby home from the hospital. And thank you for sitting quietly at my feet, while I cried, when our baby didn't make it home from the Hospital.
Thank you for being excited for all the Christmas presents I wrapped for you and made you open.
Thank you for snuggling the cats on cold winter nights...yep, I seen that :)
Thank you for being excited about me bringing home groceries, because you were certain I brought you home a treat too.
Thank you for Pre-wrecking my house, so I wouldn't get mad at my kids for wrecking stuff.
Thank you for being my first baby boy.
You would've been you,  no matter what home you ended up in, because you never really needed me.
It was me who needed you.
Never forget that old boy.
So, I'm gonna make sure you get rewarded for all the life you've added to our years, for the rest of your days.
I'm sorry in the chaos, your antics drove me nuts. You did a lot of good that got over looked.
I can't imagine what that day will bring when I kiss you good bye for the last time, so for every moment until then, I'm going to spoil your tail off. Because you deserve it.

How having children SAVED my marriage!

I am sure NONE of you have picked up on the fact that I am SELFISH.
Stubborn.
Greedy.
Rude.
Human.
SO, when I thought " I'm gonna marry this boy and he will surely CHANGE to better me!" You probably wouldn't have been surprised!
Well, when that plan didn't work, what was I left with?
Sure he's a frickin' stud. But, dang. He is TOTALLY missing the MARK OF PERFECTION, I had expected him to reach by NOW! * StOmPs fEeT!*
What's left to do when you finally wake up and realize this?
( Other than the OBVIOUS ~ I needed to change!)

Have babies. Right?

Actually, Right!

I'm not gonna lie, babies are hard. The hardest.thing.ever.
They push you. They drain you. They scream and POOP a lot! A LOT!
But, they grow you and teach you.

In our culture, television soley focuses on the fact that kids are what 'causes divorce'. Now, I am sure there are certain situations where this may be true. Very few,I would venture to say.

Children can add stress. So can a job. or a puppy. Don't go there with me.

Children can add chaos. But, so can relatives for Christmas. Or driving in Wisconsin snow.

Children can add challenges. But, so can everyday life. And if you're reading this, you haven't stopped that yet! ( So glad, by the way!)

But, here is something TV won't tell you when they are complaining that the old 'ball and chain' is too tired for sex and that the kids ruined something, yet again, or that they are sick of changing poopy diapers or that they are broke because Junior needs braces...

KIDS FREAKING GET IT!

They are simple. They are amazing. They are what you and Baby Daddy created together, with a big old helping of Jesus Christ making it happen. They won't tell you that when you have your first baby things get different, but thats because you see your husband in a way that causes greater love to grow between you. You feel closer to the heart of God. They are so pure in heart and innocent. You start to see the world through their big blue eyes...forgiving. Kind. Colorblind. Accepting.

Which in return, helps your marriage.

There are sacrafices. But, when you make those as a couple, you appreciate, so much more the impromptu date nights and the cuddling on the couch when for one blissful moment they are actually playing peacefully together, or as I like to call it, ' probably doing something they are not supposed too!'

Not to mention the laughter! Laughing as a couple is awesome, especially at your kids...that doesnt sound nice, but it is! Kids are hysterical! If you don't laugh about the things they say or do in public ( Like the time my daughter so loudly pointed to a man wearing a patch over his eye, in the grocery store and said, " Look Momma! A pirate!" He was not amused!) you will surely go insane. So laugh about these things ~ with your spouse!

And the nights when they are up sick, be thankful your husband sleeps right through the puking and diareha, as you wage warm against germs and bacteria...wait...just kidding. Poke him in the ribs, get elbow deep in the stuff together! There is no ' I ' in marriage...well, not that kind of I anyway :) (tEaM wOrK)

If I hadn't had kids, I would never have seen just how horribly selfish ( still working on that!) I was and how amazingly wonderful my husband was. We are BY NO MEANS perfect. We still have arguements and disagree. We still can bother each other, and get on eachothers nerves. But, theres no way he's getting rid of me! I'm in it for the long haul!

PLUS ~ I could NOT handle these crazy, five monkies on my own !!! Haha!

p.s. Note how I didn't pick the picture perfect family photos! This is the real deal, folks! Babies crying, middle child making grumpy, disinterested faces, first born lovin' up the camera! Oye! God is so good though! And my husband still has a few hairs left to boot! :)