sweet charity

 picture via

 

"perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other,

when we don't judge or categorize someone else,

when we simply give somebody the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet.

charity is accepting someones differences, weakness or short comings;

having patience with someone who has let us down;

or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped.

charity is refusing to take advantage of another's weakness

and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us.

charity is expecting the best of each other."

Elder Marvin J. Ashton

Ode to a best friend

Early Monday morning my favorite dog ever border collie Jasper passed away next to husband in our home. It was just a month shy of the five year anniversary of us being brought together with him in Oregon. I am so glad we were the car behind that truck that day as he proved to be my constant fluffy companion. He was there for me through everything including all of my recent illnesses the past two years. He would sense when I was sick and lick me to death and place his fluffy puppy paw on mine and stare at me with those brown eyes of his.
He was so gentle with the babies and Mr. E especially adored him and thought he was hilarious.
I will miss everything about my fluff.
It breaks my heart to think about it too much.
I remembered this morning one of the very first posts
 I had ever written on my family blog was about him.
I decided to share it.
(Izzy was our first dog, incase you are confused when you read the story below.)

Jasper, the gentleman

On Labor day of last year we were driving behind a diesel truck with his tailgate down and there was this cute fluff ball running around the bed of the truck. I was so upset that someone would actually drive on such a busy road with there dog in the bed like that; when the guy floored the gas and this puppy flew into our car. All three of us were in the car and in shock. Bryan immediately pulled over to chase after the dog while Izzy and I watched nervously. The guy in the diesel truck never turned around and he had no tags and hadn't been micro-chipped. We debated on giving him to a shelter. (Which if you know us we could never do. We attach way too fast.) And so we tried him out. Now we are so happy to have our little Jasper. He is so different then Izzy. Easy going, lazy and he prances as if he was an English Gentleman. I told him he's the Jude Law of dogs, with the cheating aside. Jasper could never treat Izzy that way he loves her too much. And we love Jasper.