Surprise! Christmas Came Early

This year Christmas came early in the Nielson household. Blake and Debbie's kids decided to go in on a present together - a puppy.

Jake texted all of us when he found the perfect one - a miniature Australian shepherd with a blue merle coat. We knew it would be just what Blake and Debbie wanted for Christmas. We gave it to them early because we needed to pick the puppy up before Christmas and with all of our busy schedules, today was the only day that would work. Plus we were all so excited for them to have their puppy and we wanted to avoid Blake or Debbie deciding to buy themselves a dog (which was not out of the realm of possibility.)

The excitement was killing Alison. We actually stopped by the breeder in Axtel, Utah on our way home from Disneyland so we could meet little Blu. He was adorable.

We are so excited the puppy is home and part of the family. Blake and Debbie had no idea this was coming. It took a lot of coordination among the sibs to make this surprise gift work. Jake and Meg picked the puppy up on Sunday afternoon and drove with him to South Jordan; Kristin and Dan delayed Debbie's Christmas letter (so she will be able to include something about the puppy), tied a bow around his neck, and wrapped up a box for him to sit in under the Christmas tree. We made sure the Christmas tree was up and decorated, we also drove to church with Blake and Debbie so we could warn everyone else when they were on their way home. Blake and Debbie were in quite a hurry to get home because we had tickets to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. Little did they know we would be a little preoccupied to attend this evening. When we pulled into the garage I cued up the song, "Bobby wants a puppy dog for Christmas" by Merle Haggard. It was perfect. Blake walked in heard the song and immediately headed for the front room, looking for Jake and Kristin. Debbie headed to the kitchen to start making dinner and we had to ask her to come over to the front room. The moment Blake saw that dog sitting in a wrapped box with a bow around its neck he had a look of pure joy. He asked if it was his dog, and we all replied yes. Debbie took a little longer to warm up, but it didn't take long for this puppy to melt her heart. Welcoming this puppy to the family was a great way to kick off the Christmas season. We are so excited about the memories we will create with him for years to come.