Welcome Home, Lucy!

((Still playing catch up with the blog, y'all))

On November 19th, we surprised the kids with an early Christmas gift surprise by placing a single wrapped gift with a question mark label on it under the empty Christmas tree. They were perplexed to say the least. See?

Can you just take another look at Squish's face? Literally the best. 😂

We gave them the option of opening the gift or not, and not surprisingly, they all agreed to go for it!

Inside they found... a book on beagle puppies! I also included a flyer with our new pup's info on it for them, too!

Here's the big moment on video:

So on Saturday, November 30th (the day after we informed the kids they would be getting a new sibling!), we loaded up the kids in the Suburban, temporarily dubbed the "Christmas Express," and hit the road. The kids each had a Christmas gift bag in their seats stocked full with Christmas coloring books, candy, popcorn, activities, and more. They also each had a cup of hot chocolate in their cupholders, a Christmas movies was queued up in the DVD player, and I even went so far as to (gag) put reindeer antlers and a red nose on the Suburban (TEMPORARILY).

Now we were ready to hit the road! Destination? North Carolina. More specifically: Shiloh Farm! We were surprising the kids with a MAJOR Christmas gift a few weeks early... their very own beagle puppy!

They were all instantly in love the second they met her!

Somehow they were all able to come to agreement rather quickly that her name should be Lucy. Her middle name is Opal. Our last name starts with L, and they purposely chose Opal for her middle name so her initials would be LOL. Aren't they crazy? They thought Opal would be a good fit because she was born in October, and opal is the birthstone for October.

She was so tiny!

The kids settled in with her at home in no time flat! They loved watching her sleep.

Without a doubt, Lucy prefers Chase's "nap lap" over all others. She will curl up with him and take the best naps!

LO has been the best mama to her sweet Lucy. I love watching her take care of her little four-legged baby.

As you might have noticed, one of her favorite activities her first month or so with us was SLEEPING. She slept all.the.time. And she still sleeps a good bit! She stays in her crate at night and when we're gone, she loves running and playing in the backyard, and she's so great in playing with the kids inside. She's really been a wonderful addition to our family! The kids all love her so much, and though I'm not much of a pet person, I've been pleased at how well the kids have taken care of everything (with help from hubs): feeding, bathing, picking up poop, cleaning up inside messes, keeping little toys/choking hazards picked up and out of her reach, etc. Lucy has been a wonderful addition to our family!

Welcome home, Lucy!