Well, it’s Christmas Eve. We are getting a handle on this puppy potty-training, thanks to some great advice from Matt Libbenga at stillnothousetrained.com. I was so impressed with his write-up, I bought the book. I’m only half-way through it and it’s already been the best $15 I ever spent.

So it is 10 am and I am nestled in the recliner with my knit afghan and last cup of coffee. Both kids are next to me, snuggled together on the couch under a cozy fleece blanket, watching Home Alone. And Piper? She is passed out in her crate in the kitchen. Voluntarily, I might add. We keep her tethered with a leash so she can’t roam the house, and it’s working amazingly well. It keeps her confined to smaller areas at a time, but still with plenty of room to move around. And she loves her crate.

We don’t have much going on today. The kids and I plan to make some Rice Krispy treats and brownies later. Presents are all wrapped. Mike is working today, which sucks, but we are thankful he has a job that provides for our family. He’ll take us driving around tonight to look at Christmas lights. That’s been something we like to do every year, even before we had kids.

I’m looking forward to Christmas day. I’m happy to be where I am, even though it’s not necessarily a life I would have chosen. It’s still a life I wouldn’t trade for anything. I am blessed with a wonderful husband, amazing kids, and wonderful extended family and friends. And Jesus. He is, above all else, my strength and hope. He is my everything. I shudder to think where I would be without Him. Any of us, really. He is truly the best gift, and tomorrow we remember and celebrate that. Happy birthday Jesus, and a Merry Christmas to all.

I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to blog because I’m losing my mind taking care of this new puppy and with the kids home for Christmas break. At least 2 out of 3 are potty-trained.

And that is the biggest challenge. Piper is young, 9 weeks now, but I know it’s possible to have her housebroken. It will take some 24/7 commitment and patience, but she will get there. If it kills me. And at times it feels like it will. Kill me, that is. I suppose that’s better than me killing someone else.

Okay, so really we’re just hoping no one dies in this process.

I am still happy we got this puppy, and while she’s adorable when she’s not peeing all over the place, I’m most excited at how she will be when she is full-grown. I think she has some great qualities tucked away that will just shine once she can get the basic rules of the house down.

No, seriously, that’s all I have this week. I may have more to write in the days to come, but it’s not likely I’ll have time to get it down on “paper”, since Christmas is only two days away (gah!!).

Oh these days are flying by. Puppy care is ongoing (she never stops leaving puddles on the floor). Some days are better than others. Some have both good and bad. My attempt at cleaning up my language went out the window. At least I’ll have the children’s assistance for the next two weeks while they are home for the holidays. Luke is a big help with taking her out to go potty, and they are both great at playing with her, as well as showing me where she piddles (the nature of my vision loss makes it nearly impossible for me to see that type of thing).

I think evening will end up becoming my new writing ritual time, if I can manage to pull out the laptop before checking up on my Words with Friends games (Did you realize you can  ave like, a zillion games going at once? And still have zero chance of winning?). I had planned to write about where I went this afternoon, before getting all pissed off at the dog who pees everywhere. But now that I got that griping out of my system, I’ll move on with that original plan.

I thank you kindly for staying with me this far.

This afternoon we went to a family Christmas gathering for my stepmom’s family. I’ve known them since I was 9, so they are just as much family as my blood relatives. We didn’t make it out last year, what with all the health issues I was dealing with at the time. So I wanted to see them, but I had been saying we weren’t going to go, because it’s a huge family, and though my cochlear implant is a miraculous thing in small, quiet settings, I knew it wouldn’t do so well in a house full of umpteen loud Germans and their offspring. I just figured it would be too depressing for me to be with all these people I loved but couldn’t interact very well with.

Read those last few sentences again. Notice a trend? My cochlear implant… depressing for me… I couldn’t… Me, me, me. After giving it more thought and discussing it with my husband, I realized how selfish I was being in refusing to go. I was making it all about MY experience, and to hell with my kids or my husband, and never mind that my extended family loves us all and wants to see us.

So, we went, and even though I did not plan well with the battery situation and it died just before we left to go home (had to let the puppy out), we all had a wonderful time. I was able to have one-on-one conversations by reading lips and using the special *battery-draining* UltraZoom program on my CI. I forget that conversations go both ways. Just as I want to hear and understand what someone is saying, they want to hear what I am saying as well, which is totally possible with or without a CI. Just being with family, seeing them laughing and having a good time was such a gift – a gift I was almost selfish enough to pass up. Just another lesson in seizing the day, I suppose, and in cherishing every moment. Hug your loved ones, people. Go!