ANOTHER puppy! (imported from Myspace)

First and foremost, let me say that I was quite content with two small dogs. They are good companions, clean and very easy to keep inside. Somewhere along the line my senses failed me and I promised Andy that he could get an bigger outside dog. Soooooo......Saturday we went with friends of ours to get a puppy from the breeder that both of our dogs came from. Andy and I had a talk before we went about how cute the puppies were going to be and how settled we were with two dogs, yadda yadda, yadda. The end of the conversation confirming both our desires NOT to get another dog, so I thought. Well, I thought wrong. We barely get there and Andy is asking about puppies! I tried to fight, arguing with him over our available space, the added expense, the burden of housebreaking (since he will be inside some of the time) but it did no good. The breeder smelled blood and went in for the kill, promising "such a great deal" and "she's getting out of the business" and a puppy came home with us.
That being said, he is a little darling! He is a standard poodle - will grow to be about as tall as your hip, maybe a little shorter. Beautiful caramel color dog with sweet little eyes. He is so funny. Only nine weeks old and definitely still in "full klutz" mode. So, I am already in love with the dog though I STILL think that it was an unnecessary addition to our home. Walker has had NOTHING to do with him other than snarling here and there. Joey has really enjoyed him when they are outside, but continues to snarl and hiss (?!! I've never heard a DOG hiss before!) at him whenever he comes near. This part of it I am not enjoying at all. I will post pictures soon though.
Otherwise, I've been struggling a little here and there with discouragement, which is a real oddity for me. Usually I am smiley and happy, and as I have bemoaned to Andy this past week, when you are usually smiley and happy, people expect you to ALWAYS be smiley and happy. No bad days, no irritating people, all of it is supposed to wash right off and not get to you. Gets really old. I can play-act really well, but at the moment I am tired of play-acting for everyone else's benefit. I want to be able to be quiet and introspective instead of talkative sometimes, without being questioned to death. Alas, that seems to be too much to ask. Having very few nearby friends doesn't help things either.
Wednesday night at church I got "chewed on" (sorry, still on puppy mode!) by a church member. A very grumpy woman who used to like me, but seems to have decided that she doesn't anymore. I don't know what I've done, but such is life. She just cornered me Wednesday night and acted SO ugly. I mean, if you don't want your kid to go on a trip, don't let them go......seems an easy enough solution for me. But that is church work, and that is a big part of the reason that I would not be heartbroken if Andy decided that he was a bivocational kind of guy with a different full-time position. Sometimes you just want to be able to tell people what you think about their attitude. But I know that if God wants him full-time in a church position he'll work it all out - HIS way, versus Rhonda's way.
But that combined with another two situations that have been building at the church has really led me to do some soul searching, which HAS been good for me.

Already into February? (imported from Myspace)

Prewarning - this is another rambling "diary-style" entry for Rhonda - probably on the boring side!
Saw a great movie this week - "Because of Winn-Dixie." Every had raved over it a while back, but I was afraid it was going to make me cry. (I don't like to cry at movies.) It turned out to be a great flick though - especially for those of us who are dog-lovers!
Finally got my youth newsletter started up again. A nice lady in our church took the preparation of it over for me, so that was a relief. It was hard to let someone else handle it though, it has been my "baby" in the past. I was really blessed by her attitude about doing it - she thanked me for giving her the opportunity to serve the Lord......wow!! What a great perspective. Looking for ways to serve and being thankful to have the opportunity......my goodness, how rare.
Last night Andy had a concert with the Chorale in Milton, Florida. I had a nice quiet evening at home alone, which was enjoyable. Listened to my Harry Potter book-on-CD for a while, took a nice long bath, talked on the phone, made myself dinner, and then sat down and studied for a while for my upcoming girls bible study. The relaxation was very nice. Wish I would make myself do that more often. Too much time is wasted in front of the television or computer while I am at home.
Regarding my girls bible study - I am excited about starting it again, but I am concerned more than ever with my shortcomings as a teacher. I did some reading last night that helped though - the book talked about viewing yourself as a "learning facilitator", rather than a teacher. When you are a teacher, the implication is that the pressure is all on you to impart knowledge. When you facilitate learning, you bring together components (skits, readings, outlines, etc.) that help the students to teach themselves the material. I really liked that concept and I feel that that frees me to give the students some responsibility in their own learning. We'll see. I am still really struggling between a couple of topics to study this "semester".
Otherwise, life continues as it has been for quite some time. No major changes, but some good things have been happening. I love the changes I have seen in Andy recently, he was wonderful before, but since Guatemala I have seen increased growth in him, which spurs me on to want to draw nearer to God also. Any guy who doesn't believe that Christian women want to be led in the home is crazy. There is nothing better than the security of knowing that your husband wants what is best for you and your family and is seeking God himself to pursue that goal.
I am also proud to report that I have lost 18 pounds as of last Wednesday. I feel so much better. I'd like to lose another 6-8 pounds, but I am pretty happy even as I am now. This has been the best diet Andy and I have ever been on. He's lost 27 pounds. It's amazing how much more energy I have had and self-esteem boosting also. I'd forgotten.......
I am also excited because I think we will pay off another credit card this month and that feels wonderful!! We are down to our last three and it seems to be taking forever to get them paid off. Slowly but surely we'll get there though. And then I want my new couch that I found last weekend with mom! (And new flooring too!)