Mark your calendars for DECEMBER 8th!!! Today the secret planning committee for our NABS 2006 Christmas party met for the first time. Of course, for those who are at NABS, the details of our party is ‘top secret’. Well, I could tell you, but I would then have to kill you (kidding of course)!

Anyway, for those who are not familiar with our long-standing NABS tradition, the ‘new employees’ of the seminary are responsible for planning the annual Christmas party. What makes this tradition stand out is that the planners of the party are not privy to any details of past parties. Yup, this is the ‘twist’ which makes the event a surprise for all. We are given a budget, and ‘let loose’ to plan the event ex nihilo (for those non-biblical scholar/seminary types – you might have to look up that one )

I think that half of the fun will be planning the event itself. Fortunately, there are six of us on the committee, and I am the only male participant in the planning process. In a certain sense that works well! The women are surely better at aesthetics than am I, so the party will likely have a few nice touches that I would overlook if I had to plan the party by myself.

It will be a blessed time with friends and co-workers for the Kingdom

We had used the ‘crate training’ method of house-breaking which worked so well for our other dog Nigel. However, Sadie seemed to have no desire to avoid ‘messing’ in her crate. The principle behind crate training is that a dog, instinctively, does not like to ‘go potty’ (note the wonderful euphemisms I am employing here ) where he/she sleeps. This makes the dog ‘hold it’ until she is taken out of her crate and led outside. Well, it worked for Nigel, but not for Sadie. Sadie was what is called a ‘dirty dog’. This simply means that she had no aversion to messing in her crate and then stepping, rolling, and sleeping in it.

Sadie was also showing signs of being a bad ‘barker’ and was overly aggressive with our older puppy Nigel. Given that we will be having a baby later this summer, it seemed best to part ways sooner rather than later. We brought Sadie over to a nearby home of an individual who is part of a network of people who offer temporary ‘housing’ to dogs while they await adoption. However, after a morning and afternoon with Sadie, she decided not to keep her and look for adoptive parents. So, we had to bring her to the Sioux Falls Humane Society.

Krista and I were rather sad that we had to bring her to the Humane Society as they are not able to ensure that Sadie would not be put to sleep. However, she is a purebred puppy and we are confident that she was going to be adopted very quickly. Actually, today, the adoption lady emailed Krista and said that she has a family who know of the breed and would love to adopt her. So, from what I know, they headed down to the shelter to adopt her. Perhaps this sad story will have a good ending after all!