Can we keep him?

We're adopting a family for Christmas whose only wish is for a puppy/dog. So, for the past week, McKane and I have spent hours on craigslist looking for the perfect pup. We wanted a puppy, and it needed to be a smaller breed- shi tzu, maltese, etc. because of where the family lives. But, every dog we called on had either sold (within hours of being posted), or it cost $300+, which we just couldn't spend.

McKane called me yesterday afternoon saying he had found the dog. A 10 week old shi tzu for $160- that's more like it :). Someone else was going to go look at the dog an hour later so I told kane if he liked it, to buy it asap. He did and brought it home and little puffin/puff/muffin/tux/sonic/pup could not be more adorable. He is a tiny ball of puff, cuteness, and love- I cannot get enough of him. He is staying with us till he gets his shots and a check up, but secretly (or not so secretly) I just want to keep him forever.

The boys love having him around (except when he tries to play and nips at their toes, haha- his little teeth are sharp). Beckam started bawling the other day and, when asked what was wrong, said: "I don't ever want to give Puffin away". I don't either. But I will be happy to not be cleaning up pee all the time, and having two kids, two dogs, and a potty training puppy around the house does get pretty crazy.

We brought Puffin with us to the Davis' "Express" Christmas (TM) celebration we had last Saturday, and the Davis family loved playing with him.

Update: Last night (11/13/11) we took Puffin to the family we got him for. They were SO excited and squealed with joy when they saw him. They were freaking out over how cute he is. They were so nice, gracious, loving, and sweet and McKane and I instantly fell in love with them. While there, I was super emotional- I felt sad to be leaving this puppy who I fell in love with over the last few days; I felt overwhelmed by the family's story and suffering; I felt excited to give them this sweet pup who might help bring some joy into their lives, and I felt grateful for all we've been blessed with this Christmas season. I cried as we said goodbye, for all of those reasons.

I'm so grateful for this season- for the motivation it provides to give a little more, think about Christ more frequently, and continually count our many blessings. This opportunity was truly a blessing for me and our family.

(A shout out to wishuponahero.com where we found this family's sweet/sad/touching profile).