it's a girl...

meet olive izabelle...


so, assuming God performs a miracle and the columbian (yes, you heard me right - long story) lady who owns her gives us an amazingly low price, little olive will be coming to live with us in january 09.
i cannot believe that it has been ten months since we had to put daisy down. i can still feel her litte paw in my hand at the last doctor's appointment. but i told mel that i didn't want to have another bulldog for at least a year. when we were kids and a pet passed away mom would just get us another one. i know it was her way of comforting us, but i think there is value in allowing yourself to grieve.
so, yes i do think it is providence (come on, you know you want to sing old school michael w. smith) that little olive was born in columbia (yes, the country), that mel just so happened to be working in the office that the mother of the woman in columbia cleans at night, that they happened to see daisy's picture and hear the sad story of daisy's brain tumor, that a native columbian works in the office with mel fell in love with olive's sister and is working to get the price lowered. the fact that she will be ready to come home at the exact time i said i wanted to think about another is just the cherry on top.
moral of the story: God gives good gifts. and yes jen, a slobbering bulldog IS a good gift.

**Edit... apparently there is a difference in being from puerto rico or columbia. so, yeah the girl at mel's work is actually puerto rican. whatever, angie. lol.