Any of you who know me personally have probably already seen the news elsewhere, but we have a new member of the family: Copper!

Let me just say: this little guy was quite the surprise. Back in May, Darryl (our dog we’ve had for about seven years now) had surgery to repair his ruptured CCL. This was supposed to be our Christmas present this year, and not having to watch him limp or hop around on three legs has been completely worth it. Dear old Dad has been scheming though. Back in September, he started thinking of a way to make this Christmas really special without spending a ton of money (upfront, anyway). After years of firmly sticking to his One Dog Only policy, he got the bright idea to show us that he is not becoming a grumpy old man, and to do so by rescuing another pup. After looking around at various rescue organizations, he found the one we got Copper from, and found Copper himself. I have a feeling he was hooked as soon as he saw Copper’s little face. He managed to get away one afternoon to “run errands” and went out to the property to meet Copper and settle the deal.

Only my father and a few of the guys at his office new about all of this; he got us good.

Last Sunday afternoon, we got a knock on the door. Dad had already ensured that Darryl was in the back yard, and he conveniently disappeared into his office upstairs. Mom answered the door to a tall, bearded man with a puppy in his arms, hesitant to open it more than a few inches. He said that he was here for a home visit with Copper, and we were simply dumbfounded. This just was not computing with any of our brains. And I think I speak for Mom, Trent, and myself when I say we were all thinking “Dad is going to lose it.” So we all stood there rather awkwardly for a bit.

Then, from over the banister upstairs, we hear “HO, HO, HO, Merry Christmas!” The gears finally start turning, and Mom opens the door all the way to let the man in. Picture the typical reaction girls have to puppies: lots of high-pitched excitement and endless snuggles and exclamations of, “he’s so cute!”

Seriously though, just look at this face and try to tell me he’s not.

It’s been a bit chaotic at our house since bringing in a new puppy, but oh, is it ever a ton of fun. Darryl already brings us so much joy, and now Copper is only adding to that. I wasn’t sure about how well Darryl would adjust to no longer being a single-dog, but one week in, and he’s already starting to wrestle some with Copper. After witnessing that from the dog who doesn’t even get into playing at the dog park  (smells are where it’s at with that one), I think he’s going to do just fine.

It’s hard to believe Christmas is only three days away when we’ve already been having such happy times here at our household! God has truly blessed us this year.