There's a new puppy in town!

Meet Rudy, the newest addition to our fam! Erik and I took him home with us last night and we couldn't stop taking pictures of him...isn't he adorable?! He is a mini goldendoodle and should grow up to weigh about 30 lbs or so (so hard to tell)! He is a mix between a golden retriever and a poodle, which means he is hypo-allergenic. Great news for me! Anywhoo here are some pics of Rudy during his first night with us. The overnight part was just the opposite! Pure little stinker didn't sleep and neither did we...I felt so bad for him. We did take him out of his crate at around 5:00 and slept on the couch...I needed a little shut eye...we weren't going to take him out but hey....we did great 70% of the time ;) Let's hope little Rudy sleeps better tonight!

This was just a great pic of Erik basically saying "Yup..I like him!"

I think he was checking out Sammy - my parents cat..looks a bit scared in this one

He is a ladies man what can I say!

BLESSED

Tonight Erik and I watched a touching documentary called "God Grew Tired of Us". It was a pretty tough movie to watch but it meant so much to us. It is the story about the journeys of Lost Boys from Sudan coming to America to live. You may already know about who they are but I have found that many people do not.

For the past 4 1/2 years I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know a "Lost Boy" from Sudan. He has really changed the way I look at life and has taught me so much. He is 27 and not so much a boy anymore and in my opinion, he lost that title years ago at the young age of 6. He was forced to flee his village on foot because it was being ambushed by enemies of war. He was working in the fields at the time and they were told to run..to flee..to get away because they were killing everybody. So he ran. With all of the other young boys (ranging from 5-13) he started a very long journey from their village in Sudan to Ethiopia and then arrived at a refugee camp in Kenya...with no food and nothing to help them survive. Their stories were filled with death and starvation, and not knowing what the next day or even hour would bring. Some have been able to come here to live, which hasn't been easy! Many of them are still in the refugee camp waiting to come to America. They are very strong people and understand what loss/misfortune really is. Never have I seen Michael complain and often times I find myself complaining about such small issues that are pointless to complain about..does it really matter that some of my flowers have died in my yard or that the coffee might taste burnt in the office sometimes??

I have been meaning to write about this for awhile but after watching the documentary tonight I couldn't ignore it any longer. We are so blessed in America to have opportunities and have the chance to know at least ONE family member, an experience many of them do not have. I am not going to get into the whole "I am proud to be an American" thing, but I am thankful to know that my family is living and I even to get to see/talk with them regularly. We are all so blessed here in America and many ignore that..I am guilty as charged sometimes. We take so much for granted..like a trash can, shower, house, running water and something so small as a pillow. So I don't really know where I am going with this but I know that sometimes those rude awakenings (like tonight) can lead to very long blog posts! Check their story out. They need our prayers and our encouraging words...Erik and I have been touched and have learned so much! Here is a link to the documentary website..there are several websites out there that explain details but this one talks about the documentary that we saw tonight..God Grew Tired of Us.

On a lighter note..Labor Day weekend has come and gone but it was awesome. Filled with family and friends! I never got around to posting about about it! The VanDeRiet girls went to Chicago this weekend and we had a great time. Pics to come! Thanks for the past couple of weekends..we are blessed to be able to celebrate and enjoy time with people we love:)