The case for two parents

Ok, so I know it's only a dog, and not really a child, so maybe parents isn't the best term... but I'm really understanding why it's not optimal to be a single parent. (I was never considering that as an option, btw.) Training a puppy is a 24/7 job that requires consistency at all times. There is no "down time". With babies you get to lay them down for a nap, and then be by yourself, and take an emotional break from always watching to make sure they're not overstepping the boundaries. With puppies, the minute you stand up to walk out of the room they're napping in, they immediately sense it, and are suddenly wide awake ready for the next adventure or rule to break. This is part of what I mean about the constant watchfulness required during training. So, I'm a little ashamed to say, that my 8 week old puppy is emotionally wearing me out. Good grief! I'm a wimp. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Joseph is at the campus from morning to night with classes and meetings, those are the long days. This past Tuesday night he got home, and asked if I'd taken Winston for a walk yet. No... I was waiting for help. (sound of the Hefty bag commercial in the background "wimpy, wimpy, wimmmpy").
Walking him is not just a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood as one might imagine. Since we are trying very hard to establish pack leadership with him, it is necessary to walk him properly to communicate this, which means that he has to stay beside or behind you, and not racing out in front, or darting off to the side to follow some distraction. To do this, it's necessary to keep a short leash on him, and be vigilant at all times... oh yeah, and the whole time project a calm-assertive energy to him. (really, it's a cinch!) To be honest, I just didn't feel up to it without help that night after spending the whole day one on one with Winston, trying to make sure he didn't pee on anything he wasn't supposed to. Fortunately, I have the best husband in the world who was very willing to help me walk him, and has taken a very equal role in "raising" this puppy, for which I'm very grateful. I was already sure he was going to be a good dad when the time comes, but now I'm even more assured that parenting with him will be a great experience. All of this to say, that I have no idea how single parents cope with the raising of children, along with the usual stresses of life without the help of a partner to provide down time when it's needed. My hats are off to those who can do it, turn out good kids, and still keep their sanity.

Winston Marshall Patterson

Big news! Here's the newest member of our family. After two years of Joseph wanting a dog, and me being tentative about what to get, and how much to spend, we finally have a dog. We're now dog people I guess, or will become... I don't know how it works exactly. Winston is a little Weimaraner puppy, born July 21st, and he's pretty cute. He's also pretty smart, and I'm glad for that. He's doing very well on his training, and I hope that he continues to pick up his new rules quickly.

In preparation for getting a dog, I recently read "Cesar's Way" by Cesar Milan (otherwise known as the Dog Whisperer on National Geographic channel). I've watched his show a few times, and I think it makes a lot of sense. His main mantra is to use calm-assertive energy with dogs, and to be the pack leader, and treat them like dogs, not people. He says that too many dogs in America have issues because their owners want to make them people, instead of recognizing they're dogs. So, I bought the book and read the whole thing. It's not really a how-to book for dog training, but more of a book explaining the psychology of dogs. Which I honestly have to chuckle about because who knew there was pychology to dogs... I guess there is, and I'm sure Cesar makes a good living off of it. So, as a test to see if his methods really work, we've been employing his techniques with Winston. So far, it's been very good, and I think it might be the way to go. A few of the more important points when introducing a new dog to your household is: 1) before bringing them into the house, take them for a long walk around your neighborhood to establish pack leadership 2) always enter the house, and the room first (do not let them enter first as that communicates that they are the pack leader and it's their domain) 3) always exercise first, discipline second, and show affection third (do not show affection after they have made a "mistake").

For example, the first night we brought him home, we took him on a walk first before bringing him inside. Then after dinner, we went on another short walk before bringing him in for the night. That night I fully expected to be up all night listening to him whine. However, I was very pleased when he only cried a few minutes, and calmed down quickly when Joe petted him for a little bit. He then slept until about 3:30 when he needed to go outside. Again, he calmed down right away when he came back in, and went back to sleep easily and slept/stayed quiet until morning. Everyone we know with a dog told us that he would definitely cry most of the night for the first two nights, and I'm happy to report that we just finished the second night quite similar to the first. The second night he had to go out more often, but overall not a bad experience. During the day, he stays on his pillow at my feet under the desk while I work - ideal. And as far as house-breaking him... only a few accidents, and nothing major. For the most part he's doing well to only go when we take him outside. We keep him in a crate at night so he'll learn to be crate-trained, and not pee in his environment, and wait for outside.

Ok, well that's probably more than any of you wanted to hear about training a dog. Since this is my first real dog committment, I'm just a little shocked that you really can train them. Hopefully kids will work that way too. :) Ha!

Fall... almost.

I know I'm two days early, but I can hardly wait, so I'm saying it now. HAPPY FALL, EVERYONE! I'm sure you already know that this is my favorite season, and even though I'm away from the gorgeous maple trees of the north, there are still signs to the coming season here in West Texas. The air has been refreshingly cool in the mornings when we get up, which goes perfect with a hot cup of coffee. This week the local grocery store set out all the pumpkins out front for all the little kids to start picking out which ones they want to take home and carve... and yes, I think I'll get one too. You can now find gourds in the produce section also. Apples are abundant, which of course calls for more baking. (I've already made two apple crumb pies- yummy). The daylight is fading earlier in the evening, making me want to come inside to read more books. And then there's the football. The next home game isn't until the 29th, but just the fact that the season is here is one more indication that Fall is in the air. Mind you, the last home game was over 90F, and we were all sweating, but I believe that cooler weather will come, even here.

I've started a new Beth Moore study: Living Beyond Yourself. It's specifically about the fruit of the Spirit, and the involvment of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Here's something I find interesting... I've grown up in the church always hearing about the fruits (plural) of the Spirit. However, Moore points out in the introductory lesson that the famous verse(s) listing them says "fruit (singular) of the Spirit". I think this is interesting because it means that if the Spirit lives within us, and we allow Him to direct our steps, then we should exhibit all of those qualities, not just the ones that come easily for us. Seems it's easy to say that we're not good at kindness, or self-control, and then think we're absolved from having to behave that way. Wrong. We're to exhibit all of the fruit, not just what we choose. The best part? His Spirit enables us when we can't find the strength to be self-controlled, etc. All I need to do is ask, and He provides.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

pics

ok, gang. here's the long promised pics of our vacation... at least some of them. Joseph has added more to our joint website which you can see by clicking the link here.

perhaps it would be best to just describe each photo posted...

1. This was our first morning in Santa Fe's NSF campground, which was quite nice. The air smelled of fresh pine, and it was intoxicating. We left by 8:30 and headed out of town towards Lake City, CO (of course we stopped by Starbucks first for my morning coffee... a girl's gotta have her coffee.)

2. Here's my man... hiking the trail together. This trail followed a large creek through the valley with a few crossover points. Fun! The water was about 45F if not colder, and very refreshing on hot, tired feet.

3. Here we are overlooking Lake San Cristobal. We camped in this valley the first night in Lake City, and it was beautiful. We had hiked out earlier that day, 5.2 miles in the rain, but we made it in just under 3 hours. This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip. I think it captured how happy we are together on our adventures.

4. This is the view from the valley outside of Creede, CO, and it was breath-taking. The privilege to see it together was awesome. God's handiwork is truly amazing.