This Christmas marked the first Christmas without Sherlock. My beloved little beagle left us on July 10, 2014.

It took me a very long time to find the words to pay tribute to the beautiful story of his love and his life. What do you say when a piece of your heart slips away from you? It is particularly hard because Sherlock was the last of our original three: Taco the Golden, Mozart the Cat & Sherlock the Beagle. Those three were our first little family and quite the trio. Taco & Sherlock were the very best of friends and it brings me much comfort to know that the same day my heart was breaking, Taco was jumping for joy because he finally has his buddy back. They are no doubt having quite a blast in heaven, which I imagine to look a lot like Grandma Hunt’s farm.

This Christmas, I gave Andrew a book I made about Sherlock, and at the nudging of my dad, I am sharing it here for those of you who knew Sherlock or knew how very much he meant to me.

I spent so many hours rounding up every photo I could find of Sherlock and that process was both wonderful and terrible. Poring over photos brought back floods of memories and the inevitable tears at the thought that there will be no new memories made. I worked in secret and poor Andrew came home on more than one occasion to find me clinging to one of our dogs, tears rolling down my cheeks. It took a lot to convince him I was fine and not having some kind of spontaneous breakdown.

As hard as the process was to sort through photos of Sherlock and write down the words of his life, it was a blessing to remember him in detail. To remember his silliness and playfulness and giving nature. Dogs are such special creatures. Their arrival brings such joy and their departure such pain. This is the unavoidable truth of dogs - their bright light of love shines only for a brief while and when it goes out, we will hurt and we will cry and we will feel as though the world can never be the same.

But we are the better for it. Always, always, always … we are the better for it.

Here is the link to Sherlock’s story: Sherlock the Sheriff

In case you have difficulty opening that, here it is :

Sherlock the Sheriff:

The True Story of the Greatest Sheriff Who Ever Lived

In a time not that long ago and a place not that far away, a sheriff was born.

And not just any sheriff mind you. The world’s greatest sheriff … who just happened to have four paws.

This sheriff was named Sherlock and he was every bit the brilliant investigator his namesake implied. He could always find the biggest stick, sniff out the tiniest crumb and know the vacuum was coming long before you did.

Sherlock was a smart little Sheriff. He knew the path to greatness was paved with learning. And learn he did.

He learned all he could from his chief deputy, Taco. Important things, like how delicious waffles and pancakes are, how to ride in a car like a gentleman and how to look noble.

He even learned from the cat. Mozart taught him the fine art of napping (and that cats will frame you for stuff if you’re not careful.)

He learned from his parents just how good it felt to snuggle and that even when he screwed up, they still loved him.

Sherlock learned and learned and learned. He learned so much, in fact, that he began to teach.

He taught new brothers and sisters how to play …

… and where the best spots for napping were.

When foster dogs visited, he taught them it was okay to trust his parents and that, yes, of course they could sleep on the couch.

When his best buddy and deputy Taco went to Heaven, Sherlock taught his parents that dog love always ALWAYS lives on and even on our darkest days, we still have tennis balls.

You see, Sherlock’s greatest love in life was a tennis ball. The dirtier and rattier the better. He took great pride in getting his tennis ball to a state worthy of being called ‘Rotten Ball.’

For Sherlock, that little ball held joy and fun and possibility. Even when that ball was at rest, Sherlock knew that at any moment, someone might pick it up and send it flying high into the air so he could run, run, run.

Sherlock lived every moment to the fullest, whether he was running his fastest or sleeping his deepest.

He taught those around him important lessons:

1. There is ALWAYS something to wag your tail about.

2. When someone you love is hurting, comfort them.

3. Live with your whole heart - don’t hold back. You never know when a tennis ball will bounce its last bounce.

As Sherlock grew older, he met many villains. Villains that might have defeated him. But Sherlock was a sheriff after all and he knew how to be brave and strong.

Evil knee operations didn’t keep him down. A nefarious heart murmur couldn’t stop him. Even a dirty rotten slipped disk that paralyzed his back legs couldn’t hold Sherlock back.

As Sherlock overcame each obstacle with his special brand of joyful determination, his spirit grew.

In fact, his beautiful spirit grew and grew and grew, until one day it was larger than the world could hold. God whistled to Sherlock to come home.

As Sherlock trotted off to heaven, he paused and looked back over his incredible life …

… at the adventures and love and laughs and peanut butter kongs and squeaky toys and neighborhood walks and snuggles in bed and visits to Grandma Hunt’s farm.

He looked at all this and saw that it was indeed a very good life. He wagged good-bye without sadness for he knew that he will see his family again someday. And in the meantime, he had a lot of catching up to do with his chief deputy, Taco.

Thank you, Sherlock, for loving so deeply and without bound. We carry your spirit with us always. Have fun with Taco until we see you again.

Hello again! The past couple of weeks have been filled with adventures as Andrew’s parents followed by my parents came to visit for the holidays.

* Warning: long post & a gazillion photos ahead*

Some of the highlights during their visits:

- Christmas: Since we don’t have kids yet, we are those crazy people who treat their dogs like children and give them gifts to unwrap. The dogs totally played along and were very happy with the treats Santa brought them. I was especially proud of the homemade toys that I sewed for them, since (A) I’m terrible at sewing and (B) my sewing machine tried to sabotage me while making them. Cinnamon rolls and coffee in front of the fire made for a cozy Christmas morning.

- The coast: We headed out in the rain to introduce Andrew’s parents to the beautiful coast of Oregon. Even in the drizzle and fog, it is such an incredible sight.

- Hiking in Dunn Forest: While Andrew’s mom snagged some rest to battle a stomach bug, we took Andrew’s dad on a hike through Dunn Forest, practically in our own backyard. A lovely view of the valley below caught us by surprise and I was reminded yet again that we live in a beautiful place.

- The Cascades - Equipped with snow chains and warm coats, we ventured into the winter wonderland of the Cascades. The trees are always magnificent but to see them decorated with fresh snow was nothing short of magical. We took a walk through Hackleman Old Growth Grove (which was more like a crawl), and it felt like we had the whole world all to ourselves.

- Mt. Hood - On the way to drop Andrew’s parents at the airport, a crystal clear day revealed Mount Hood. Thus far, every time we’ve driven to Portland, clouds have obscured this wonder, so we were thrilled to see it.

- Mary’s Peak - After my parents arrived and rang in the new year with us, we were blessed with several days of sunshine. We headed up to Mary’s Peak for spectacular views of the area, including Mt. Bachelor, Three Sisters, Mt. Jefferson and even Mt. Hood. (And I have to say I was so proud of my dad who had knee surgery a month ago yet hiked up without complaint).

- The coast (again!) - This visit was nice and dry as we ventured into Newport then further up the coast to Devil’s Punchbowl and Cape Foulweather. I am always blown away by how dynamic the coastline is, looking so different from day to day but always gorgeous. We tried a new-to-us place for lunch, the Deep End Cafe, that turned out to have excellent food and service.

- Into the Woods: We hit up the theater to see Into the Woods (and eat copious amounts of buttery popcorn). I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but I ended up loving it! I will say it’s not for kids at all but a very entertaining tale for adults.

- Powell’s City of Books & Deschutes Brewery: on my parents’ final day, we paid a visit to Powell’s Books in Portland. I have to say it’s a very good thing that I don’t live closer - I love this store so so much and I know I would spend way too much money there if I had easy access to it. After perusing the stacks and stacks (and stacks and stacks) of books, we walked down a few blocks to the PDX location of Deschutes Brewery, where we enjoyed a great dinner.

All in all, we had such a good time visiting with our families and showing them around our new home. There’s always a bit of a low after the holiday high, and I definitely feel it more keenly with the departure of our family. Going from a house filled with people and decorations to a house that, well, isn’t ... is a bit sad.

I’m reminded that there is an entire country that separates us from most of our family and that’s just plain hard. But relationships aren’t defined by geography - they’re defined by connection. And we can connect through phone and skype and even that almost unheard of and primitive method - letters.

I am so grateful that both of our families were able to come spend time with us during the holidays - there is no greater feeling in the world than to be surrounded by the love of family. Andrew and I are very blessed.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and happy start to the new year!

It’s been a bustling week over here in the Hunt household, making homemade presents, sending out Christmas cards and gifts to loved ones around the country and preparing for family arriving next week (!) I thought I’d share a few of my favorite highlights from the past week.

1. Finding our tree in the national forest - As I mentioned in my last post, one of the things we wanted to do as part of our 12 Days of Christmas Spirit was find our tree in the national forest. Last Saturday, we headed out into the Willamette National Forest to finally cut down a tree. We already have a Christmas tree inside but it’s hard to see from the road so we wanted to find one to put outside where people could see it easily. Annie joined us to help hunt down the perfect tree. We had a truly awesome day that I think Andrew and I will both remember for a very long time.

This is mostly because it was absolutely beautiful and everywhere we wandered, we found something to marvel at. But it’s also because in the course of our wandering, we drove up a gravel road that was abruptly bisected by a waterfall running over it. The road had washed out enough that our little Jetta didn’t want to risk crossing it, so we had to turn around. During this process of turning around … on a very narrow road … on the side of a mountain …. I may or may not have had a mild panic attack and heard things come out of my mouth that were utterly absurd. Andrew of course was totally calm and not at all worried. I was convinced that the road was not wide enough to do a 17-point-turn and ordered Andrew out of the car to assess the situation. I’m not proud of this but I believe the word’s ‘trust me, I’m an engineer’ came out of my mouth. I never willingly own up to my engineering background so you know I was freaking out (and also, word to the wise, if you ever hear anyone say these words, do not in fact trust them). Needless to say, Andrew was right, he turned the car around easily and we were all fine. We hiked awhile with Annie who now thinks she’s hot stuff since she got to go hiking with mom and dad all by herself.

We saw such incredible views of the Cascades and it was hard to tear ourselves away from the sweeping vista to search for a tree. !

But soon enough, our eyes landed on the same tree at the same time so after a little handiwork with the bow-saw, we had our tree:

I hope this is the start of a new tradition for us; it was such a lovely lovely way to spend the day together.

2. Seeing Andrew at lunch - The perk of living so close to campus is that Andrew can come home for lunch if he likes. The other day, we took advantage of sunny skies and took some of the dogs on a quick walk. I know that may not sound like much to you but it was just perfect. The air was crisp, the dogs were thrilled and we were happy to just be together for a short while in the sunshine.

3. Lazy hounds - Our dogs are hounds which makes them experts in sleeping. I am an unabashed hound-lover. When we lived in the South, nothing could get my blood boiling faster than to hear someone dismiss hound dogs as stinky or stupid. Hounds are intelligent, loyal and have an independent streak that though others might think is rebellious, I find endearing because it matches my own personality. Maybe it’s because we don’t have kids yet or maybe it’s because this is our first Christmas without Sherlock (the original Hunt hound) but I’ve caught myself just watching them, smiling at their interactions with each other, at the little doggie theater that plays out before me. My favorite is to catch them sleeping together - so much cuteness, I can’t stand it.

4. She Reads Truth devotionals - I’ve been following the devotionals posted at She Reads Truth and they have been a real blessing to me. They’re short which makes it easy to choose to start my day with the Word of God. The readings for this week really spoke to me, highlighting the simple but awesome truth that God is with us and to not be afraid. I feel like God is speaking the words ‘do not be afraid’ to me right now and He is leading me into a season of listening. I’ve been brewing anxiety and uncertainty over what to do next, who to be. A lot of worry that I’m not making use of the gifts He has given me and frustration that I don’t know His plans. And this week, it hit me that I need to just shut up, listen and trust. I think I’ve been too afraid to quiet my mind and open my heart because I don’t know what I’ll find there. It may be that God’s plan does not involve what I’d like it to but I’m ready to listen. I know all of this is probably a bit heavy for a Friday evening but it was weighing on me to write it. Ladies, if you’ve been searching for a good devotional online, give She Reads Truth a try.

 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, whether you’re traveling to visit family or finishing up last minute shopping!

Do you ever feel like the holiday season kind of whips through in a cloud of sugar plum fairy dust and disappears before you even know what happened?

There are only twelve days til Christmas. TWELVE, people!!! How did that even happen?

I have a bad habit of ‘looking forward’ to things at the expense of enjoying the present. We have family coming to visit at Christmas and I’m so excited about it - to the point that I catch myself wishing the days would hurry up so Christmas (and family) would get here.

Bad Heather.

I don’t want to rush the season along. Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year and I want to make sure that I enjoy each day fully. Each day is a gift, that’s why they call it the present, right?

To help with that, Andrew and I sat down and devised twelve things we could do (one a day) to enjoy the Christmas season. The rules were it had to either be free or cost just a few dollars, we had to do it together and it had to encourage our Christmas spirit.

We each wrote out six things separately and wouldn’t you know it, four of those things were exactly the same! Ha! Guess we have been together a long time So we came up with a few more together and hung them on tags on the little Christmas tree in our kitchen.

In case you’d like to do the same and need some inspiration, here’s what we came up with:

12 Days of Christmas Spirit

1. Go see Pastega Lights. This is a free drive-through Christmas light show at the fairgrounds right down the road from our house.
2. Watch a Christmas movie (with Christmas popcorn). What is Christmas popcorn, you ask? Well, you take regular popcorn and then throw in a half-ton of generic Christmas M&M’s …. delicious!
3. Make a Christmas ornament together.
4. Drink hot cocoa by the fire.
5. Listen to live Christmas music. There are quite a few free musical events coming up at local churches so it should be relatively easy to go hear some lovely caroling.
6. Bake gingerbread cookies. (Because how can you not??)
7. Take a drive to see Christmas lights. There’s always that one neighborhood that puts up a ton of lights. Since we’re new here, we’ll have to do a little exploring but I’m sure there are some great Christmas decorations out there!
8. Enjoy a holiday coffee at Coffee Culture. This is a local coffee shop that we’ve been wanting to check out for awhile - it’s such a cozy looking spot and I can’t wait to try it out!
9. Find ‘our’ Christmas tree in the National Forest. Remember how I mentioned we purchased a permit to cut down a Christmas tree in the national forest? We’re all set to go searching for it!
10. Buy a Christmas record at the thrift store. There are some oldies but goodies in there!
11. Have a Christmas music-singing-&-dance session (perhaps to above thrifted record?)
12. Stroll downtown and enjoy the holiday cheer of all the shops dressed up for Christmas.

As you can see, all the things we listed are quite simple (except for finding that dang tree …. that one will be a little difficult) but are guaranteed to put us in the Christmas spirit and hopefully give us some sweet memories.

If you’d like the whole season to slow down just a little bit so you can take it all in, then consider doing your own version of the 12 Days of Christmas Spirit. You certainly don’t have to use what I have listed. Maybe you put up your tree in a hurry and what you’d really like to do is spend a quiet evening looking at all the ornaments you’ve collected over the years, reminiscing about how you got them. Maybe you just want to put on your Christmas pj’s, drink eggnog and write your own letter to Santa. Whatever it is, I hope you make a little time each day to enjoy this wonderful Christmas season! (and let me know what you come up with … I need ideas for next year! )