The Long Way Home...

I am going to first introduce you to the newest member of the Eddins family...

Now that you have met our new dog, Tag, I am going to back up and tell you the story of how he came to be a part of our family! 

As you know, we lost our beloved Baxter in April.  Losing him was one of the hardest things in our lives thus far.  Both Mike and I still shed tears over the loss and we all, including Lila, often talk about how much we miss Baxter.  The one family member that isn't able to verbalize how much she is missing her brother is Luca.  I must say, she has really done a remarkable job adjusting, but we could tell that things just weren't the same.  You could especially notice that she missed her brother when we would return from being gone.  She would meet you at the door in an almost panicked manner, greeting you as if she thought you might never return home for her.  It flat out makes you feel terrible every time you walk out the door knowing that she is anxious until you return home.

We talked very little about another dog right after we lost Baxter.  What we did say was, if Luca seemed to act like she wasn't handling the absence well, we would consider it, but we weren't interested in running out and getting another dog immediately, it felt as if it was too soon.  Those that know us well know that our dogs aren't just "pets," they are truly family members, so with that being said, we wanted to be very careful that we also didn't get another dog to replace Baxter.  There isn't a way to replace him, he was a one of a kind dog, one that we will always talk about, always remember. 

As the days turned into weeks and we observed Luca and her behavior the discussions about another dog started to happen more often.  We loosely started looking at adopting and stumbled across a handful of dogs that we were interested in.  After a few adoption applications submitted and for one reason or another, no dog, we decided to just chill out and take it as a sign that we weren't ready for another dog just yet.  It wasn't until I got a text message from my dear friend Racquel about her Dad's dog in Texas, did we start talking seriously about another dog.

Racquel sent a text message with a few pictures attached encouraging us to look into this breed of dog as she was absolutely smitten with how good he was, both with the family, but with her little girl, too.  I asked her what type of dog he was and she responded, "a Black Mouth Cur," to which I quickly thought her autocorrect on her phone must have messed up whatever it was that she was trying to type!  But, nope, she was right, I Googled it, and this dog was indeed a Black Mouth Cur.



Racquel & Tag - our first introduction to Tag

 

Sloan & Tag

Racquel told us all about how sweet her Dad's dog was, so immediately, I was intrigued.  We went straight to the internet and searched and searched.  We wanted to learn as much as we could about the breed, trying to understand if this is what the breed is really about or if Quel's Dad just has the exception to the rule?!  We loosely joked about Quel bringing the dog home to us, but it wasn't an option...so we did the next best thing, we found someone with puppies!  Within a week of learning about the breed, we placed a down payment for a puppy that was to be born in early June.  So, according to that we would have a puppy early-mid August!  We were pretty darn excited!  I would be lying if I didn't share that there was that nagging at my guts that a) I am a volunteer for a local humane society, how would it look if we didn't adopt a dog and b) do I really, really, really want to do potty training again and potential chewing on furniture, etc?!  However, all the other indicators said that this is what we should do, so I was willing to go with it!

We quickly started making plans with the breeder to pick up the puppy.  It was going to work out rather nicely, Mike has a break in late August between summer classes and the fall semester, so he would fly to Mississippi, one-way, pick up the dog, and rent a car to drive back to Cedar Rapids.  Did I just say Mississippi?!  Yes, I did.  As ridiculous as it may seem, the breed is only found in the south, I am not really all that sure why, but it is the case, so we were going to have to travel to Mississippi to pick the puppy up.  Which again, I shared with you that our animals aren't just our pet, so it didn't seem like that big of a deal to travel to get the animal that we really wanted.  Now it was just sit and wait!  The puppies were to be born in early June, predicted sometime around the 3rd, but no guarantees on the exact date. 

On the 7th, I get a call from my girlfriend Racquel and she opens up the conversation like this, "I have something to tell you, but I am rather sure you will be frustrated," (or something like that).  She preceded to tell me that her Dad is looking to prepare for retirement which ultimately meant that they needed to sell their acreage in Texas.  They were fortunate enough to sell their property quickly and found a home that they really like and as they started to think about preparations for their move, they quickly realized that it wasn't best if they took both of their dogs.  So...she was calling to ask if we would be interested in taking Tag.  As I was sitting on the phone with her all of that apprehension I had about getting a puppy melted away.  I didn't want to speak for Mike and I, but I was rather convinced that the minute I called him and shared the news with him, we would be making plans to bring Tag home.  I was right, that is exactly what happened, we began making plans to bring Tag from Texas to Iowa.

It just so happened to work out that Mike could leave the following Thursday after class and be to Russ & Cathy's by mid-day on Friday.  So, we booked him a hotel in Joplin, MO and off he went to retrieve our new family member!  It was a long drive back and forth, but Mike got to Whitesboro, picked Tag up and then traveled to Oklahoma to stay with my Mom and Terry to help break up the trip a little -- and have some human interaction, it can be a tad boring driving like that by yourself!  While Mike was traveling, Lila and I were busy at home preparing for their arrival! 


Snuggling in his bed at Grammy & Terry's

Testing out the dog beds @ PetSmart

Mike & Tag pulled into town at about 5:00 on Saturday evening.  We were very sensitive to the fact that this is Luca's home and we wanted to be sure she didn't feel threatened in anyway, so we had Tag meet Luca in the backyard to start.  They did the traditional sniff down and the rest is really history!  They got along famously and have done a wonderful job of adjusting to each other, we couldn't be happier with the way the two are getting along.

"Why, hello there!"

Hi, I'm Tag!

Curious little girl!



Hanging out together!

Tuckered out meeting my his family -- it was a big day!

And then there is that darling little girl of ours, who loved her Baxter so dearly, well, it is safe to say that Tag has wiggled his way right into her little heart, too! 

Lila & Tag

We are beyond grateful to Russ & Cathy for asking us if we would be willing to adopt Tag.  The way he has slid right into our family is almost uncanny.  He is a perfect fit!

While we are still mourning the loss of Baxter, we have opened our hearts wide open for another sweet soul to climb right in and stay forever!  Welcome home, Tag!

Special Guy, Special Day

This weekend was all about that most important guy in our life...Daddy/Mike!  I decide to take a couple of days off work to make this a nice, long weekend and spend a little extra time with the family!  We had a big weekend planned!
Friday started with Mike and Lila meeting Brandon and Henley at the splash pad in Center Point.  This was Lila's first time at the splash pad and she had a great time, any time spent with Henley is a fun time!

Friday evening found the Holub's and the Hahn's at our house for a get together.  The guys just thought it was the gang getting together like any other time, they had no idea that there was  surprise in store!  The ladies had been planning their Father's Day surprise since around Christmas time!  A lot of thought went into this gathering, we sent lots of emails back and forth, got together for lunch, spent time searching for ideas on the internet, all for these wonderful men who are the best Dad's to our little ones.

After our wonderful dinner of homemade pizza, salad and fruit, it was time for the big reveal!  We took the kids down to one of our basement bedrooms where we had been hiding all the loot and got them changed into their outfits, grabbed the very special dessert and their handmade invitations and off we went to surprise the Dad's!

The Dad's were all enjoying themselves on the deck as the group of kids walked out and said "let's go racing!"  They took their invites over to their Dad and the boys, a bit confused, anxiously read what they were in for!  On October 6th they will be participating in the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience at the Newton Speedway.  Mike will get behind the wheel of a real life race car and he gets to share the experience with two of his closest friends!  The guys were shocked and very excited -- mission accomplished!

Surprise!!!

The drivers & their pit crew!

Happy (early) Father's Day!

Saturday night found us heading to Vinton to watch the highly anticipated alumni football game between Center Point - Urbana and Vinton-Shellsburg.  Mike couldn't have been more excited to play in the alumni football game this year with one of his good friends, Josh.  They started practicing 10 weeks ago and each time Mike woudl come home with less anxiety about what he was getting himself into at the age of 35 and more excitement about being able to play for his high school team again, under the lights!  We were a bit nervous that the rain would keep them from playing, but shortly after 7:00 they kicked off!

I would argue that Mike had the largest cheering section!  We had a lot of family and friends there to cheer him on!  If you know Mike at all, you know that sports are part of his soul and to be on the field again, not only playing football, but for his high school team, that was a big deal!  Not knowing Mike in high school, it was a lot of fun to watch him and Lila couldn't have been more proud of her Dad! 

 

I must be honest.  Lila was SO excited to go watch Daddy play football, but she was completely frustrated with me when we got there only to find out that Daddy was in full football gear with a big helmet on and when I would say to her, "there is Daddy, he is number 29," she would look at me like what the heck are you saying, I don't see my Dad out there. 

Enjoying a little in-game entertainment!

Lila & Henley, no their outfits were not planned!

Ruby enjoying the concessions!

Mike's littlest fan, Sloan!  Looking so cute in her black & gold!

The Pointers won the game 9-0!  We were so excited for Mike to come running across the field with a W!!!  Winning definitely makes the whole experience that much better and the bumps and bruises he was sporting the next day a little less painful!

Good game!

Way to go Daddy!!!

When Mike came over to his cheering section he looked so happy and Lila darn near jumped in his arms!  Everyone was so eager to hear whether or not this was a good idea after all or if he got out there and he decided that this was actually a bad idea?!  While he said he was definitely not as limber as he was when he was 18, he loved every minute of being back on the field and is already making plans to do it again next year!

Daddy's biggest cheerleader!

Dylan checking out Mike's helmet

Ruby's next!

Last but not least...Celia!

Our Father's Day was spent relaxing around the house.  We intended on going to Jason and Jen's to celebrate, but we have a little one who is under the weather, so it was best to keep her home.  So, the three of us made the best of our day, enjoying each other!  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband, but even more than that a wonderful partner.  Lila truly couldn't have a better Daddy.  From the moment we found out that we were having a baby Mike has been 100% devoted to his little girl.  Just when I thought I loved him as much as I could, he became a Daddy and I loved him more than I ever knew I could and as I watch their relationship grow stronger every day, I love him even more.

As I sit here and write, my Dad is half way around the world on a Baltic cruise.  So, it is important to me to be sure to send a special Happy Father's Day to him on this very special day, the day that is set aside for those most important men in our lives. 

Happy Father's Day to Mike, to my father, to our grandfathers and all of the other important men that have blessed us by being in our lives.  We love you!