Thursday, December 11, 2008

Thankful Time


LS :

This week I'm thankful for this story sent by a friend who thinks of me, knowing that I enjoy reading about dogs. I'm thankful for thoughtful friends.

After reading this story, I'm thankful for puppy size :-) Ok, my dog is not a puppy anymore. But she'll always be a puppy in my heart...

This is a terrific story. You will know what this little girl is talking about at the end.


PUPPY SIZE

"Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this," the mother told the volunteer.

"What is it she keeps asking for?" the volunteer asked.

"Puppy size!" replied the mother.

"Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for."

''I know... we have seen most of them," the mum said in frustration...

Just then Danielle came walking into the office.

"Well, did you find one?" asked her mum.

"No, not this time," Danielle said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back on the weekend?"

The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.

"You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply," the volunteer said.

Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. "Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend," she said.

Over the next few days both Mum and Dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular.

"It's this weekend or we're not looking any more," Dad finally said in frustration.

"We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size, either," Mom added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs.

Tired of the routine, mum sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted.


Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one.

One by one she said, "Sorry, but you're not the one." It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.

"Mum, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!" She screamed with joy. "It's the right puppy size!"



"But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks," Mum said.

"No not size... The sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed," she said.

"Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!"

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mum didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.

"Mum, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms," she said.

Then, holding the puppy up close to her face, she said, "Mum, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!"

Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day.

They are the sighs of God. Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear.


"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.'


Hope your life is filled with Sighs!!!




Happy:

I'm thankful that I can sigh! I'm also thankful that LS can always tell all my different sighs.

When I sigh in contentment, she'll cuddle me a bit longer.

When I sigh in boredom, she'll pay me a bit more attention. Of course, this sigh doesn't work all the time.

When I keep sighing after dinner, she'll know I want my dessert.

What do you sigh for?



Hope everyone is having a thankful time!

47 comments:

Jan said...

That is a great story. Kids might not always have the best grasp on verbal skills, but they know what they are looking for.

Denise said...

Thanks for sharing such a sweet story. I love you both bunches.

Huskee and Hershey said...

I love it when I cuddle Huskee and he sighs contentedly in my arms... but when I try to cuddle Hershey, she struggles so hard to esacpe, and I normally sigh in despair..
Heehee..

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

I sigh when I think how lukhky I was to have that lady khome by my kennel that day!

I also sigh about my furiends around the world!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

Darlene said...

This is a wonderful story!! I love it! I also loved the puppy pictures!
Thanks for sharing and Happy TT!
Have a fabulous day!
Darlene

Raising Addie said...

That was a wonderful story LS!

Thank you sooo much for sharing. I had not read that before.

Kisses
Addie

Misadventures of Widowhood said...

What a sweet, sweet story. Thanks for sharing it.

Levi's mom

Lorenza said...

Hi, Happy!
Thanks for sharing this story! It is beautiful!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Rambo said...

Happy and LS,
what a great story. Well, Midget sighs when G-Mom cuddles with her. I sigh when she doesn't.
love,
Rambo

Anonymous said...

This is perfect. Sweet, wonderful and full of love. Thank you for bringing this ray of light into my home tonight.
XXXXXXX

Unknown said...

Wonderful... wonderful story.

Thank you for this delight this evening. Oh that the world would sigh for Jesus. Hugs.Happy TT.

Peggy said...

Blessings LS & Happy...the perfect size...sigh...How touching! How sweet! How precious! Brings back sweet puppy memories of 6 from Jan. 5th, 2006...and my Chiquitita gave me that sigh...and now it's a growl
to tell me she's gotta go...out...
I think she was the only one...I'm so thankful Danielle heard the sigh
finally...and I love this perfect ending! May I pay better attention to the sighs of God! Thank you for sharing :)

Eric said...

Aw Happy,what a lovely story.I sigh at the site of the leggededs, the kittie,a stick, my dinner and of course everybloggie...

Wiry wags, Eric xxxx

Grammy said...

This is such a wonderful heart felt store. I am grateful you shared it my friend.
I put up a link to a pattern to make sock monkeys. And told a little more of my adventure. This fist cock monkey gives me a sigh. I think I will keep it for my self. It reminds me to take comfort in things we forgot we enjoyed as a child. They are not hard to make. But we have to make each one special. I added a tung to mine. and pipe cleaners to the arms and tail so I could bend them. I may do another post one them once I get them down pat.
Also yes, the hot chocolate with marshmallow and cookie are for you. if you come to my house, I will make some real ones for you too,
Big hug.
Have a wonderful week.
Grammy

Cocoa the Beagle said...

That's a really lovely story, thanks for sharing! We let out loud sighs before falling asleep! :-)

Wags,
Cocoa and Barley

Sarah K. said...

that was a wonderful story!

Anonymous said...

love the story and the pictures too. they're all so cute! sweet story... sigh ♥

Molly the Airedale said...

What a nice story, Happy! The black and white pup looks like our friend, Big Pupi!
Mom says that pizzelles have butter, flour, confectioners sugar, eggs, anise seed and anise flavoring in them. There is a thing called a pizzelle iron, sort of like a waffle iron, and you put a ball of the dough in the iron and in a minute you have a cookie. The iron does 2 cookies at a time! You have to stand at the counter till all the batter is used up - that's the hard part! Gram and mom stood in front of the counter for 2 hours making pizzelles!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Ruby and Penny said...

Hi Happy
Thank you for sharing this story. It caused mom's eyes to leak.
Mom sighs when she picks me up and I snuggle close to her and put my head on her shoulder. I sigh then too.
Love Ruby

Nancie said...

Thank you for sharing this sweet story with us :) Thanks for all your prayers and encouragements. Keeping you in prayers too. Take care and God bless!

The Musketeers said...

the puppy are so so so cute ! I am completely speechless !

~Tracy~ said...

My mom sent me this through email this week...

She said that when she read it she thought of me, because:

I was just in Texas for 8 days to mainly see my oldest son... When we moved, Trent's dad and I gave him the option to either move with me or stay with his day... He chose to stay in Texas. He is 13 years old and has lots of friends that he did not want to leave. However, my husband got a job in Indiana.. So, Trent and I see eachother when I can fly in or he flies in... It is very very hard...

Anyway - my mom said that after we dropped Trent off with his dad that Monday, and we got back to the hotel, that I let out the BIGGEST SIGH... I sit here crying now thinking of it because I love him so much and miss him...

With all that being said: my children make me sigh... God has used them the most to tear down the walls around my heart!

Love,
Tracy

Amber-Mae said...

This is such a heartwarming story. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Butt wiggles,
Solid Gold Dancer

Anonymous said...

Blessings this Thankful Thursday!

May your week be filled with His Spirit guiding you each day.

~Mrs.Cuddles

Tammy said...

A sweet story...one I have never heard before. It is always nice when someone sends you something that touches your heart. Blessings and have a wonderful Thankful Thursday!

Aisha said...

That is beatiful. She is so adorable and so is the puppy! I love puppies. It's amazing how kids just interpret the ways of the parents.

Bobby said...

Its a heart warming story, even for me.
Grumpy Bobby

bp said...

What a great story! I've not read it before.

BrandytheGreat said...

What a touching story, amusing yet soooo, makes me feel so thankful I have a forever home!

Grace said...

What a nice story.
And I like those puppies, too.
Be safe always... :)

Jennifer said...

I love this story! Thanks!

Happy TT!

Gus, Louie and Callie said...

That is a wonderful story. Mom never knew why we sighed. Now she does. We love her very much..


Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus, Louie and Callie

Cheryl said...

I love that story. How sweet! Glad you shared it with us. Happy TT~

God Chaser said...

What a nice story thank you for sharing- I will begin to listen for the sighs. Be blessed

Marsha said...

This is a precious story! Loved the application.

Happy, you are a lucky doggie to have a human that cares so deeply for you!

Have a blessed weekend.

Addicted to Beadz said...

Great story! Love all the puppies!!

Cheryl

♥Mona + Prissy + Angel Weenie♥ said...

The Mommy has always loved this story and always get leaking eyes when she ready it. Thanks for sharing it all of us.

The Mommy said we won't be getting a White Christmas but it sure would be fun!!

Love ya lots & lots....Mona

Mack said...

That is such a wonderful story! And what cute cocker pups!

Latte said...

Such a nice story :) makes me wanna hug my hoomans and sigh...

Love,
Latte

The Zoo Crew said...

What a great story!

Unknown said...

What a touching/beautiful story...and it made me smile..and sigh. Thanks for sharing.

http://makimeji.com

Anonymous said...

Hi Happy,

Sorry I haven't had the chance to visit for a while!

That is such a lovely story about the 'puppy sighs'.

Oh, and thank you so much for the awards! I can't wait to put them up on my blog when my humans get back home again -

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

on the Rock said...

Such a sweet story! My hubby always remembers his sigh of relief when he met me;)

parlance said...

That's a beautiful story and the pictures make it more lovely. When Penny sighs as she collapses onto the floor to sleep, it helps me to let go of some of the stress that we humans make for ourselves.

parlance said...

Thanks for asking for my email for an e-card for Penny. It's parlancedog@yahoo.com.au

I'm sorry, but I don't know how to do e-cards, so I won't be able to send one back, but I do wish you all the joy and peace and love of this season. (I know e-cards can't be all that hard, but I think my brain might just give up if I try to cram any more technology into it!)

"ME N MY MILLION DOLLAR" said...

l sighs and l sighs and hope the whole world sighs too. Beautiful story there thanks for sharing.

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