Wednesday, February 20, 2008

My dog must be...



demon possessed! These past two weeks have been a nightmare when it comes to Owen. Up until this point he has been so sweet, relaxed (for a puppy), and obedient. We had been going strong with the crate training. He had managed to go weeks without going to the bathroom in his crate or the house, and he wasn't chewing things up. Until about 10 days ago...

At first he just started getting a little crazy, like spontaneously running laps around the room, over the furniture and across people's faces (sorry Alison). Then last Wednesday he managed to break out of his crate. I know what you are thinking, "Smart dog, he figured out how to open the latch." Um, no. Actually he broke the entire side panel off. God forbid he should use the door and make it easy for us to fix! So, as I open the door after a long day of work, I am greeted by Owen, ever so excitedly wagging his tail, in a mess of ashes from the fireplace, shredded paper, and fruit, yes, fruit. I have a beautiful, plum colored, ceramic fruit bowl that was recently stocked with bananas, clementines, limes, pears, avocados, and one beautiful mango. I must say, I was grateful to see that the bowl was still teetering on the edge of the bar and had not fallen to its doom, but every banana was eaten with peels strewn about the apartment. I guess Owen decided he wasn't a fan of the clementines and the limes, but you better believe he tried every one of them! He may not have eaten them, but he made sure to mark them all with his teeth prints. As I walked into the bedroom I saw some more fruit and a little piece of gnawed plastic, which I soon recognized as a pill bottle cap. I won't lie, my initial thought was, "oh good, he overdosed, now I won't have to kill him," until I realized that my dog really is smart, because the bottle of pills he decided to devour was Pepto-Bismol, which is only appropriate after you have eaten SIX bananas!

Now as bad as this sounds, this was only the first time he managed to break out of his crate. I will admit the second time wasn't as bad. But, our third incident happened when Chris decided to put him in the bathroom so that he wouldn't destroy the entire apartment. First, he managed to lock himself in there. Now, I don't know how, because we don't have one of those locks that you push the button. You have to turn out lock, but like I said, he is gifted. Second, he smeared poop all over the entire bathroom! I am pretty sure that Chris spent 2-3 hours trying to clean it up, until he had to leave for his guitar lesson and I took over.

Yesterday he pooped in his crate, but at least it was inside his crate and not smeared all over my things. After Chris reinforced it with some electrical tape he couldn't manage to wriggle his way out. Other than that, Owen was actually decent yesterday. I am just praying that when I walk in the house today after work, he will not be greeting me at the door.


It doesn't even seem possible that a dog who looks like this could be so crazy!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Congratulations are in order...

Our wonderful friends Caleb and Alison got engaged last night! We are so excited for them. This is going to be such a fun time in their life, and we are so happy to be here for it. They have been such an incredible blessing to us in our first year of marriage. Not only have they been some of our very closest friends, Caleb is the worship minister at our church, and he and Alison are both heavily involved in the youth ministry. We have all been on this church plant adveture together from Day 1, and we just don't know what we would do without them! We can't wait to see what God does in their lives and in their ministry, and we are so blessed to be a part of it. Congratulations guys! We love you!


They're hilarious.

Caleb and Alison loving our Owen the first day we got him! He was so small! (Alison doesn't love him as much now that he is big...)

Christmas at the Gaylord Texan. (also...the last day my hair was blonde)

Monday, February 11, 2008

Canvas...

is the name of our Youth Ministry. With the help of our students we came up with this name and the idea that we are God's canvases and He is continually painting his story into our lives. Yesterday was a big day for our youth ministry. We have been meeting with a group of eight kids on a regular basis since May. We have had such a blessed time getting to know these kids, and getting to see them grow in their fellowship with one another, and most importantly, in their relationship with Christ. Last night we had an evalgelistic/ outreach night where the kids were encouraged to bring all their friends. Each student was an important part of the planning for last night's event, and with all their hard work and the help of their parents it came together beautifully! We had a blast and our attendance increased by 100%!!! Woohoo! Most importantly our eight guests got to here about the love of Jesus Christ! I am so proud of our students, and I am so excited to see what God is going to paint in the coming weeks! Please pray that we will continue to see growth in the lives our core kids, and that they will continue to reach out to their friends and be a light in their schools and their communities. Also pray that all of the new faces we saw last night will begin to experience a relationship with Christ, and the beautiful picture that is the love of Christ, if they haven't already, and that those who have will continue to grow (hopefully with us!).

Friday, February 8, 2008

We have officially...

stepped foot into the world of blogging. More accuratlely, I have officially stepped foot into the world of blogging, and I am dragging Chris along for the ride. With the people most important to us scattered across the country, and only continuing to become more so, it seems this is a great way to keep you all (I guess I'm supposed to say y'all now) posted on what is going on with the Haneys.


As of tomorrow, we will have married for eight months and I will have lived in Texas for two and a half years. It's hard to believe how fast it has gone, and how much can change in such a short amount of time! As of right now, we have absolutely no idea what we will be doing after Chris finishes up his last few hours of school. We are trusting the Lord knows exactly what he is doing, especially since we don't have a clue! For the present time, however, Chris is busy as can be juggling school, the youth ministry, guitar students, and his job, while I am working at a HR consulting company doing data analysis, account management, and client care services. Though its not my dream job by any stretch of the imagination, it is where the Lord has placed me for this time, and I am grateful to have a job that helps to provide for our needs. The Lord is good, and he continues bless us in unexpected ways.







Also, since we have been married, we have added to our lives Owen, who was, unbeknownst to us, the sickest dog in the world when we first got him. Don't worry, he's a healthy as a horse now...