Never Say Never

I just wanted to quickly post a picture of our favorite Christmas gift this year. My "I will never have a pet" husband fell in love with a friend's puppies and decided we would be getting one for Christmas. We tied a big red bow around his neck and let him run out toward the Christmas tree this morning as the kids were waking up. Lizzy's reaction was, "Do we get to keep it?" and "I've been waiting for a puppy for a long time." There wasn't any jumping up and down or squealing with delight, just a calm "I knew it was only a matter of time before my dog came" attitude.
We don't know what type of dog he is yet. We do know that he is a WONDERFUL dog! Lizzy named him Max after the Grinch's dog. Turns out, it is the perfect name for him, as our Max seems to patiently endure the realities of his home as well as the dog in the story. As you can tell by the picture, the children have been smothering him with oodles and oodles of attention and love. He hasn't barked once and he has only whimpered if they have really hurt him. Lizzy has been carrying him around like a baby doll as much as possible and Ben has used him for lightsaber practice several times today. The kids will learn, I'm hoping, to be more gentle with him. Until then, I am on the Max Protection Squad.
We are grateful to have found this new member of our family. He seems to have found us, actually - and we are so happy he did.