The early days

When it was just Frodo and me. Eric and I started dating a few months later!

Abbey and Frodo

Our first Alcan trip that we did in 43 hours non stop and got engaged on!

Canada!

Me with long hair!

Eric with hair!

Eric and Sammy taking a nap! (We don't get too many of those any more)

Abbey, Frodo, and Sammy sleeping in the living room, that doesn't happen anymore ;o(

Eric and Jessica

Emily came to stay with us and the dogs shared their couch with her!

Sammy's first bath.

Frodo and Abbey

Abbey and Me when I was pregnant with Ethan.

Ethan with his dogs! Just a few weeks old! The dogs outside watching Ethan come home from the hospital.

Eric and I went to the movie Marley and Me for our 4 year anniversary. *this is longer than usual and for some reason paragraphs don't show up on the post. It's a true story about a couple and their dog who was with them through some of the most significant moments in their life. Marriage, kids, moving, jobs, life's lessons, to what in the end usually happens to a dog much earlier than a human. Sorry if you haven't seen the movie, but it is an obvious ending. It resembled our life with our dogs so closely that I cried like a baby half way through till the end. The couple had a boy first and watching that boy say goodbye to his dog that greeted him when he came home from the hospital was too much to handle. All I could see was Ethan. It almost made me wonder if it is worth having them only to have to lose them this way. But it so is worth it, they are great! They make you slow down and appreciate the everyday things, they always love you no matter what, they don't judge you, are always happy to see you, and just enjoy being with you. Honestly! They can tell when I'm happy or sad and don't mind being woke in the middle of the night to be cried on. These pictures are of when Eric and I were newly weds. Living in the not so great part of Anchorage, renting a place that allowed dogs, and enjoying juggling what life threw at us. Ah the days of used furniture and the thought that paint can make any item look a little better! Eric was working at Chili's and going to Seminary online, I was finishing up my degree in Elementary Education and also working at Chili's. The dogs got the run of the house since we didn't have a fence and spent their days lounging on the couch and chewing up their stuffed toys. Eric had lots of hair and mine was gloriously long! Even the dogs were skinnier! lol. I can't believe how much has changed in just a short amount of time. I can't believe number 2 is on their way, I sometimes wonder, we actually planned this? Obviously it is all God's plan as we try and make sure it is before we do it. I will admit however that Sammy our black lab was a very spur of the moment decision and afterward I wondered if we had made a huge mistake and she was actually not in God's plan. But we were very fortunate in that she really was great in so many ways for the whole family! Ethan of course came right in God's timing not too early not too late. No matter how much I begged. Although now we do look all responsible in waiting until two years after marriage, hehe. I am sure that whatever happens with this pregnancy and baby is in God's plan also. So while four years may not seem like a lot to some who have been married for a lot longer, it is fun to reflect on the past this early and already see so much change. I am sure it will still be fun to reflect with our kids when they are in their college years and they can laugh at the car we thought was cool, the furniture we unfortunatly still might have, the tupperware that we are still using, and the laundry basket they played in that still manages to hold their clothes in it. Eric and I say we will always have dogs, and I suppose we will look back on these dogs, Frodo, Abbey, and Sammy and remember these times as I do with all the dogs I had growing up. So I guess it IS worth loving something you know isn't going to be around as long as you would like. If only we could learn to love everyone that way and enjoy every moment that way also. Also as I looked through the pictures of us at our Glacier Bay house and I realized that just skimmed the first 6 months of our married lives. All three dogs followed us when we moved in to my grandmas house because they raised our rent and I was doing my internship, Eric lost his job at the bank and had to work construction, we traveled the AK highway to KY arriving having no place to stay or even a job. We had to leave the car running so we would have air conditioning for the dogs while we waited for a call on a place to rent. Then back on the road pregnant with three dogs to ND where we are now. Obviously I left out a lot there, but they really have handled a lot with us and were always there when we were worried or a bit scared. Thank God for ignorance though I look back and think maybe we should have planned better, lol.