The 'Barkington Inn', a.k.a. The Stansell House

What do you get when you have four dogs:

two kids...

and one stressed momma? Why, utter chaos of course!

All joking aside...this past week, I played dog-sitter to 2 of the sweetest dogs you'll ever see (in addition to our darling pets, Sissey and Sara). Since my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were going out of town, Jason and I played dog-sitter to their dog, Benjita. What was really strange was that my dear friend, Amanda (a fellow teacher and friend from Mother's Day out) called that same day to see if we could watch her puppy, Rocky (a sweet Shih-Tzu and Poodle mix) since her husband was in the hospital for breathing problems. (Her husband, Ivan, has since been discharged from the hospital, but will still need prayers for a complete recovery). I, of course, agreed and took her sweet puppy to our house. Well...Ashlyn was over the moon!!!! Here she is holding Rocky.

Layton enjoyed having the dogs around too, but being the little boy that he is, he had a little difficulty being gentle with them. So, since he was barred from a lot of contact with the dogs (for their protection, believe me!), Ashlyn took to playing 'mother hen' over them. She immediately went to work, playing, holding and taking care of those sweet dogs. It was so funny because she thought Rocky looked like a guinea pig and she kept coming out of her room after bedtime to see the 'guinea pig'. :) It was so sweet to see her motherly, nurturing side come out as she watched those sweet dogs (she even read them books!). When Rocky had to leave the next day, she was sad to see him go, so she immediately focused all of her attention onto Benjita (I'm sure, much to Benjita's dismay! :) Here she is holding her 'second' baby, Benjita:

Its been so fun to see my two little ones share my love for animals. If you have pets, do your kids play with them, hold them, read them books, etc.? What funny things do your kids do with your pets?