Our Life Now

There are some seasons of life you don’t realize you’ll miss while you’re living them.

The sounds. The routines. The way a house feels when certain paws are padding across the floor.

For a long time, Mauer and Nisswa were woven into nearly every part of our daily life. They were there through ordinary mornings, late nights, changing seasons, road trips, celebrations, heartbreak, quiet moments, and all the in-between pieces that eventually become the fabric of a home.

Losing them changed our home in ways that are hard to fully explain unless you’ve lived it yourself. The silence can feel different. Certain corners of the house carry memories. Even years later, there are moments when grief quietly reappears without warning.

And yet, somehow, love continues to grow around the loss.

Nugget came into our lives differently.

He was a rescue, and truthfully, our journey with him wasn’t always easy. There were challenges, patience, uncertainty, and moments where we questioned whether we were doing enough or doing things right. But somewhere along the way, those hard-earned layers turned into trust, comfort, and connection.

Now, some of my favorite moments are the quiet ones.

Nugget stretched across the bed in the afternoon light. The way he looks back at me when I say his name. The peacefulness of simply sharing a home and life together.

These photographs aren’t just pictures of a dog to me.

They are reminders that healing doesn’t erase grief. Love for the ones we’ve lost doesn’t diminish when new love enters our lives. Our hearts simply make room for both.

Mauer and Nisswa will always be part of us. Always part of this home. Always part of the story.

And Nugget, in his own gentle way, has become part of helping us carry that love forward.

Maybe that’s what home really is:
the people and animals we love, the memories they leave behind, and the quiet moments that somehow continue holding all of it together.