What was I thinking/What a week!

What was I thinking? 

Jason stayed in Texas to work while Matthew & I traveled to Ohio to get Omri.  Scott stayed in Arkansas with my parents.  When I got home, the house was absolutely trashed!  (see my last post for more on THAT!) In case anyone is wondering, no, it still isn’t cleaned up.  I’ve been working on it, but I can only do so much every day after work & I refuse to stress about it on the weekends when I can spend that time with my boys!

I have been so focused on getting Matt’s Service Dog that I haven’t thought about things like how to keep Scott involved without breaking the bond between Matt & Omri. Fortunately, Matt likes Omri so much that he interacts with his SD more than I ever thought possible.  However, Scott is the ultimate animal lover.  As such, Omri picks up on that and wants to hang out with Scott every bit as much as with Matthew.  Oh, he knows Matthew is “his boy”, but I can tell he would like to hang out with Scott more.  So far, Scott has handled it pretty well.  I have promised him a Fire-bellied toad when I get paid next.  Does anyone have one or know how to take care of one?  Here is a picture of one I pulled off Google:

Omri is the greatest, smartest dog I’ve ever seen, but he is still a dog…a puppy really!  He’s only 15 months old, and he still has a ton of energy.  He makes mistakes, like pooping in the hallway at school, and not coming when called.  How do I keep my sanity???  In some ways, I feel like I’ve added another kid to take care of, although it was a lot easier getting him ready for church this morning than getting the boys ready, that for sure! I’ve really been stressing about this so I’m just going to share with ya’ll in hopes it’ll help me feel better knowing others know what’s going on:  I am so committed to keeping Omri under control & staying current on his obedience training that it’s about to freak me out.  Please pray for me to know feel like Omri and I have to be perfect in public .

When we got to church, we went into Matthew’s Sunday School room and introduced Omri, letting the kids come pet him if they liked.  Then we visited Scott’s SS room, doing the same.  After that, Omri and I went to our Sunday School room where we stayed for that hour.  Next week, I plan on sitting in on Matthew’s Sunday School with Omri so that his Sunday School teachers know what to do to keep Omri still & calm.  (I hope!)  We stayed for Service today.  We initially went into a pew, but there obviously wasn’t enough room there for the boys, me and Omri so we ended up front row…down front with Omri on his place.  I’m sure the pastor was surprised to see someone sitting there!  We go to a Baptist church, and for those who don’t know, the phrase “back-row Baptist” is pretty much our mantra.    To give Brother Ronnie credit, he didn’t bat an eye or stumble at all the whole time we sat there.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy.  ha!  If anyone is close to Temple, and is looking for a good, Bible-believing church, give Canyon Creek Baptist Church a try.  We’ve visited several churches in the area & like it best so far. 

This is Omri at church this morning.  I think he went to sleep during the sermon, but don’t tell Bro. Ronnie!  LOL

I am starting to feel like I’m slowly returning to my “normal” self…at least I’m not AS tired as I was.  For those of you who have Service Dogs from 4Paws, if your spouse couldn’t go to training, how did you train them to be the handler?  I’m trying to train Jason, but he’s not the easiest student in the world.  He knows so much more about dogs in general than I do, that a lot of the time he ignores what I tell him about how Omri was trained & how to handle him.  Do I just let him make his mistakes & then show him or should I interrupt him mid-stream to correct him???

 

I don’t want this to sound like I’m having a pity party, but maybe I am!  I really feel overwhelmed by everything right now like there’s more on my plate than I can possibly be expected to handle.  We’ve got Omri who is a blessing, but I don’t know how we’ll pay our rent.  Also, Matthew & Scott are so far behind in school that they may have to attend summer school.  Add to that Jason’s job may not be very stable & it’s a lot to deal with right now.  HOW DO I KEEP SANE RIGHT NOW???? Jason would absolutely FREAK if he knew I admitted that, but I gotta tell someone before I explode.

 

Love,

Dea