Our special Christmas guest

Just a few days before Christmas, I offered to help the rescue by fostering a young GSP for a few days around the holidays.  Her family was losing their home and, while I am not able to take in a long-term foster at this time, I was happy to be able to help out and give her a place to stay for a few days before she would make the trip to her permanent foster home in Illinois.

She came into rescue on Tuesday afternoon, and I made the drive to the Ionia area to pick her up and bring her home.  She was very excited to be in the car and a pretty vocal passenger, but luckily the drive home wasn't too long. 

Roxi settled in quickly on her first night here, and while she wanted nothing more than to play with Peaches and Maddie, neither of them wanted anything to do with her.  She was cute and well behaved and very lovable...and full of energy.  

And since nobody else was up for the challenge, I spent most of Tuesday night playing with her until she finally crashed for the evening.

When she was done playing, she happily climbed up into my lap and was soon snoring away.  I didn't complain because who wouldn't want to snuggle up with an adorable sleeping youngster while enjoying the lights from the Christmas tree?!?

Wednesday morning at work was busy, but I was able to finish several projects, and after 2 long days of work on Monday and Tuesday, I earned some time off Wednesday afternoon.   We had made plans for a little geocaching adventure with Vanessa for the afternoon, and Maddie, Peaches, and Roxi were all ready for an adventure.

We visited the Owosso and Corunna areas and took some short walks to keep Maddie happy.  One of our stops took us to the banks of the Shiawassee River at Curwood Castle.  

We also stopped at McCurdy Park for a longer walk along the river with Peaches and Roxi while Maddie napped in the car.  After we returned from our walk, Maddie joined us for a quick walk around the historical park which was beautifully lit for the holidays.  I can never resist taking a picture of this beautiful little church.

We headed back to Lansing in time to place an order at my favorite taco truck in the last hour that they were open for the year.  I can't tell you how happy it made me to get my tacos one last time!  I then dropped Vanessa off at home and made a quick drive to see some lights at a local residence which I had heard were spectacular.  No picture can do just to the number of lights at this house  It was insane!

We then headed home where we all ate dinner and the girls curled up for the evening.  It had been a great day of fun for us all.

Christmas Eve arrived and I had one final day of work before I was off for the rest of the year.  I don't mind working on Christmas Eve because it is quiet and I can always wrap up my projects for the year before I start my year-end vacation.  The day went quickly and I finished everything I needed to get done for work.  I felt relieved that I had made it through the last few weeks and I was ready for a break.

Since Nicol wasn't coming for Christmas Eve this year due to Covid, I took the girls downtown for a walk to enjoy the peace of the city at rest for the holidays.  We strolled through town enjoying the music and the window displays.

It was a cold night and Maddie slowed down quickly, so we headed back to the car to head home.  Once home, the girls ate dinner and then it didn't take long before everyone was settled in for the evening.

We traditionally open our Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve when Nicol is home with us and I think Maddie knew that something exciting was about to happen because she laid herself right by the tree.

I made the girls sit nicely for some pictures with the tree before getting their gifts out for them to open.

Normally Maddie is a pretty enthusiastic gift opener, but wasn't as interested as normal this year.  Maybe that was because Nicol wasn't here to share in the excitement.  But Roxi enjoyed opening her gift and eventually all the gifts under the tree were unwrapped.

Peaches and Maddie relaxed with their gifts while Roxi played for a bit.  And then we all settled in for a viewing of White Christmas followed by the Nutcracker before heading off to bed.

A quiet Christmas morning arrived with nowhere for us to go and nothing to do.  Maddie was happy to snuggle up in her cozy cave and at one point Roxi joined her for a bit.

While I spent the day busily doing meal and veggie prep for both my Christmas dinner and for later in the week, the girls occupied themselves with naps or watching the world go by out the window.  They also each enjoyed special treats from their stockings.

Finally, I put the turkey breast in the oven to cook and decided that it was time to head out for a walk with the girls before dinner and before it got dark.  We took a nice walk through Fenner Nature Center and I was glad to see others out enjoying the day too.  

We had an enjoyable walk, but I wonder how funny I must have looked as I walked with one arm stretched out behind me pulling Maddie along, one arm stretched out in front of me with Roxi excitedly walking along like a gopher on her two hind legs, and Peaches sommersaulting through the snow every few feet.  It was definitely an adventure.   While I didn't get any pictures on our walk because I had my hands full, I was able to take a quick shot from the car before we left.

I came home and had a nice dinner and then sat down to relax and enjoy a peaceful Christmas night.  It had been a good day, and while I didn't get to spend it with family, I did get to spend it with my girls and that made it special.

Saturday morning arrived and Roxi would be leaving us later that day to head to her foster home in Illinois.  She may have only been with us a few days, but I fell in love with this sweet girl.  I was happy she decided that we should spend some time snuggling before she left us.

When the time came for her to leave, we all piled into the Jeep for the drive to Ionia.  We were there in no time and before I knew it, she was off on the rest of her journey with a bag full of toys and treats from Santa to keep her busy on her long journey.  I have since seen updates from her foster family and she is settling in well.  She has two doggy friends to play with her and a family that will love her until she finds her forever home.  I'm just glad I could be a small part of helping her along her way to a new life.

We took advantage of our drive to Ionia to get out and visit a new trail and see some new things.  We did some geocaching along the way and made the most of our afternoon.  Before we left, I picked up some Mexican food from a local restaurant and found a quiet place to park and enjoy my meal before making the drive home.  

Sunday morning started out slowly and I was sure we were going to have a lazy day at home.  Peaches was patient for awhile, but finally she'd had enough of being lazy.  The weather was mild for late December with temperatures in the upper 30s and I reminded myself that we need to make the most of days like this because January is coming and with it will come colder temperatures and more snow.  So I took the girls for a ride to East Lansing and a visit to Patriarche Park.  

We all enjoyed the walk and the fresh air and Peaches appreciated exploring a place she'd never been.  There were lots of good smells for her there.   

We had all enjoyed our holiday with Roxi and a nice quiet weekend.  It had been nice to stay close to home for the most part and to just enjoy spending time together without work or other commitments to get in the way.  I'm looking forward to a quiet and relaxing week off as we prepare to ring in the New Year.