A Very Good Friday/How to Introduce Yourself to a Dog You Don't Know

Louie and Katie spent Good Friday doing what they love best (besides eating): Working!

They took turns teaching a lesson to second graders. The lesson of the day was "How to Introduce Yourself to a Dog You Don't Know."

Louie was such a patient boy and listened intently to my lecture.

I tried to make the lesson very simple in hopes that the kids might remember it the next time they meet a stranger dog. We used one hand to keep track of the five rules.

#1 Be quiet! (I told the students to be quiet and calm around dogs they don't know.)

#2 Do not stare into the dog’s eyes. (I explained a little bit about canine body language and how they perceive this as a threat.)

#3 Ask your parent!
Ask the dog owner!
Ask the dog!

(If the dog is backing away from you and acting reluctant don't try to pet it even if the adults told you it was ok. Let the dog come to you.)

#4 Hold out your fist for the dog to sniff.

#5 Pet the dog under the chin. (Don't reach over the top of their heads and don't come up behind them.)

After we reviewed the rules each child got to come practice on Louie. They had all met him back in November for reading day, so he worked out well for a first practice attempt.

Next Katie, a true stranger dog, came in the room. All the kids practiced again with her and everyone did a fantastic job! We had so much fun with this group of awesome students. It was a great way to spend our Good Friday.

A Touch of China While We Wait

Even though we have been very quiet at the Happy Haus about our upcoming adoption...

We are still thinking everyday about our precious daughter in China

Over 6 years of waiting haven't diminished our love and longing for a little girl we haven't met yet

The stork has been elusive

But finally we can see an end to our journey

It seems like forever since we have mentioned anything about our adoption, but there really hasn't been much to tell. We still don't have any concrete news, but it seems likely that our daughter will be home by the end of this year. After waiting for over 6 years to bring Natalie home, it's hard to believe that we are finally nearing the end of this journey.

Recently, in order to update our adoption paperwork, we had to get fingerprinted for the third time by the Department of Homeland Security in Memphis. The staff there was very efficient this trip, so we ended up having extra time which we used to visit the Memphis Zoo.

Our main agenda was to see the Pandas which perfectly fit the theme of the day.

This lovely lady had buried herself in bamboo and was enthusiastically chowing down the whole time we were there.

She looked so happy eating her 'nummy bamboo. I didn't realize that Pandas have to eat 40 pounds of bamboo every day and that it takes them almost all day to consume that amount.

Appropriately, our last stop at the zoo was to view examples of the iconic symbol of Natalie's future country.

For now we're going back to our hibernation mode on this subject until we have more news to share. 再见