Gracious gifts. We all receive them. Much more than we deserve.
One of the best gifts I’ve ever received was and still is my dog Ella. Nearly 10 years ago, she was a birthday gift.
She was too young to live with us until after my actual birthday. So on my actual birthday in December 2001, I received two little stainless steel bowls. One for her food and one for her water. Sheer giddiness.
Mary, my dear friend of more than 20 years, believes Ella appears in my blog more than my son.
Jealousy may motivate Mary’s thinking. I’ve never mentioned her by name in a post until this one.
Just teasing about the jealousy part. You know I love you, Mary. Tried and true friendship is another one of those gracious gifts. Now back to Ella.
Today Ella the best birthday gift becomes Ella the first guest blogger here on everyday epistle. She weighs in with this short reflection about chewies.
Hello. I’m Ella the cairn terrier. I live with my best friend Aimee who writes this blog. I can read and type.
Chewies are my favorite thing to chew. If one is good, better are two. Rawhide, rawhide, rawhide three. Four, five, six, seven, eight chewies for me.
Proof that too much of a good thing is simply more.
Until next time, chew on this…
me & mary
From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. John 1:16 NLT
Again. Picture of Ella= three times bigger than the picture that should be featured in this post. Love you Aimee.
Lol. You’ve made your case, mca. Guess that’s why you’re the attorney. But I’m still the writer… Love you too.
Aw, great! My baby boy, Georgie, is laid up right now with bulging discs. On the steroids, pain pills, and muscle relaxers since Friday – George was party boy this weekend. No really, he was my first dog. I got him in 2006, he’s a shih tzu, but I got him because I promised my husband I’d quit bugging him for another baby if he got me a puppy!! Ha! Love the post today.
Ella’s best friend for years was Beau, a shih tzu. Beau moved away and Ella misses him. Tis true, shih tzus know how to party.
Hope George feels better soon. Ella’s been taking steroids too this past week for seasonal allergies. She’ll be glad to know she’s not the only one who has to resort to meds now and then.
Thanks for reading, Joy!
Aimee I did not know the story of how Ella became part of your life! Thank you for sharing such a treasured gift! I think Ella and T might be neck and neck in the blog tally. And those rawhides…
Ginger, I so wanted to post a picture of all the rawhides Ella spreads out across the living room floor, but I wasn’t happy with the shots I got. Funny how she seems to be able to tell each little chewie apart. They are all special to her!
And yes, Jeff got a truck that year and I got a dog, things we’d both been wanting and waiting to buy.
As Katie Pinke commented above, Ella’s my dog child. Theo is my real child and takes precedence now, but Ella is still a sweet part of my life.
Thanks for coming by, Ging!
Okay, this made me giggle. Her chant about chewies sounded almost like a cheer…..hmmmmmm?? :)
She’s a mascot in training. Glad this made you giggle.
I can’t believe Ella Bella is almost 10. Such a sweet girl and she doesn’t look a day over 7. :-)
I love listening to her scamper across the floor and drop a toy at my feet when I get to your house, as if she just KNOWS, I’m there to play with her.
Dogs really are a blessing and a reminder that unconditional love can exist. As the old story goes, lock you husband and your dog in the trunk of your car for an hour and guess which one is still happy to see you when you open the lid.
Thanks as always Aimee. From me, and my abundance of dogs.
Ella’s still such a puppy at heart. Great point about how dogs remind us of the existence of unconditional love. So glad you brought that up. Ella’s always happy to see me…and anyone else who enters her world for that matter, but I like to think I’m her favorite. Hugs to you and your abundance, Lisa.
Oh we call dogs like Ella “a dog child”. I married into one, Charlie, who was my husband’s dog since spring 2002. Blessings indeed. I took Charlie’s place next to Nathan in the bedroom. Eventually Charlie has gone to live mostly with my in-laws but he’s still a dog child to Nathan. I don’t think Charlie can read and type though like Ella. Thanks for the Bible verse today! “From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another” is just what I needed to hear today.
Ella is indeed our dog child. She can teach Charlie to read and type if you’re interested. She’s smart like that. Even wrote our family Christmas letter one year. It was a hit.
Glad you liked the verse. It’s a favorite and I needed it today too. Have a great day, Katie!
Again. Picture of Ella= three times bigger than the picture that should be featured in this post. Love you Aimee.
Lol. You’ve made your case, mca. Guess that’s why you’re the attorney. But I’m still the writer… Love you too.
Aw, great! My baby boy, Georgie, is laid up right now with bulging discs. On the steroids, pain pills, and muscle relaxers since Friday – George was party boy this weekend. No really, he was my first dog. I got him in 2006, he’s a shih tzu, but I got him because I promised my husband I’d quit bugging him for another baby if he got me a puppy!! Ha! Love the post today.
Ella’s best friend for years was Beau, a shih tzu. Beau moved away and Ella misses him. Tis true, shih tzus know how to party.
Hope George feels better soon. Ella’s been taking steroids too this past week for seasonal allergies. She’ll be glad to know she’s not the only one who has to resort to meds now and then.
Thanks for reading, Joy!
Aimee I did not know the story of how Ella became part of your life! Thank you for sharing such a treasured gift! I think Ella and T might be neck and neck in the blog tally. And those rawhides…
Ginger, I so wanted to post a picture of all the rawhides Ella spreads out across the living room floor, but I wasn’t happy with the shots I got. Funny how she seems to be able to tell each little chewie apart. They are all special to her!
And yes, Jeff got a truck that year and I got a dog, things we’d both been wanting and waiting to buy.
As Katie Pinke commented above, Ella’s my dog child. Theo is my real child and takes precedence now, but Ella is still a sweet part of my life.
Thanks for coming by, Ging!
Okay, this made me giggle. Her chant about chewies sounded almost like a cheer…..hmmmmmm?? :)
She’s a mascot in training. Glad this made you giggle.
I can’t believe Ella Bella is almost 10. Such a sweet girl and she doesn’t look a day over 7. :-)
I love listening to her scamper across the floor and drop a toy at my feet when I get to your house, as if she just KNOWS, I’m there to play with her.
Dogs really are a blessing and a reminder that unconditional love can exist. As the old story goes, lock you husband and your dog in the trunk of your car for an hour and guess which one is still happy to see you when you open the lid.
Thanks as always Aimee. From me, and my abundance of dogs.
Ella’s still such a puppy at heart. Great point about how dogs remind us of the existence of unconditional love. So glad you brought that up. Ella’s always happy to see me…and anyone else who enters her world for that matter, but I like to think I’m her favorite. Hugs to you and your abundance, Lisa.
Oh we call dogs like Ella “a dog child”. I married into one, Charlie, who was my husband’s dog since spring 2002. Blessings indeed. I took Charlie’s place next to Nathan in the bedroom. Eventually Charlie has gone to live mostly with my in-laws but he’s still a dog child to Nathan. I don’t think Charlie can read and type though like Ella. Thanks for the Bible verse today! “From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another” is just what I needed to hear today.
Ella is indeed our dog child. She can teach Charlie to read and type if you’re interested. She’s smart like that. Even wrote our family Christmas letter one year. It was a hit.
Glad you liked the verse. It’s a favorite and I needed it today too. Have a great day, Katie!