Fall and the terrible teen

We've been really enjoying fall this season. So much so that I forgot about the blog. Oops.

September recap: I turned 26 and celebrated by taking a cooking class with Steve and going camping with friends, dogs, and Dad :) Camping was great although it rained one of the two nights. I felt a little victorious driving home though thinking we did it, we survived the rain, the wind, the cold! Also, we visited Steve's family in CA and PA, my cousin, Ryan, and his gf visited, and I started my new job at the church. The job was slightly overwhelming at first because there was so much to learn (and I'm still learning!), however I have had an incredible amount of encouragement and support. I love the church. I love the people. God has certainly blessed me. He's opened my eyes to see the various ways he's moving in and through the church, and he's taught me (and is teaching me) a ton about myself. I'm the kind of person who likes to 'get things' quickly and be efficient, and the reality is there is a learning curve in this new role and it's taking some time to transition and come up with a system of doing things. And I'm never going to be perfect at it. I've had to be patient, take things slow, and give myself some grace! which is not easy for me to do. What a relief though to realize that no one else is holding me to these high expectations except me. God has met me in this, and he has made it easy to see the purpose in what I'm doing and given me joy to carry out my responsibilities. I enjoy the balance in my job as well -- the balance of administrative tasks and relational opportunities. It really is great. I am thankful.

Are you wondering who the terrible teen is? Wonder no more, it's none other than Penny Norris. She is currently in that adolescent stage that the puppy books keep telling me to persevere through. She can be fearful about some things that she's usually carefree about, she's seemingly forgotten some of her training, and boy, does she have her nose (and tongue -- she's a licker) in everything. This is how it transpired: she was spayed in mid-September. Surgery went well although she was quite sick the day after. Quite sick meaning I came home that day for lunch to find Penny pitifully curled up in the corner of her crate trying to avoid the mass amount of diarrhea and vomit on the other side. The smell literally smacked me in the face when I walked through the front door. Thankfully she recovered quickly after that, and I think the surgery enabled her to settle down especially at the end of the day. I'm like, "Finally! You're taking after your big brother, Riley." And slowly, gradually she began testing the waters and acting out. Paws up on the counter one day. Barking like a mad woman the next morning... at the crack of dawn! And licking anything and everything... faces, feet, dishes, you name it. While camping, my dad made the comment, "This dog has licked everything I own this weekend!" Also, I'd been singing her praises for not destroying a thing then sure enough, she chewed her first sock. R.I.P. sock. We've had to give ourselves pep talks in order to persevere and be consistent and remember (well, hope) it will only last for a time. Then we turn around and she's counter surfing again, desperately reaching for a measly crumb. Persevere. Persevere. Don't get mad at Steve, he is not the cause of her misbehavior. Persevere. Don't lose your cool. Endure. Persevere. This is hard.