08/27/2024
Hello Friends! 🤗 As you may have noticed, we've been silent for quite a while. Life has been very busy for us lately... thankfully, it's been in good ways for good things. But with all the busyness have come decisions and changes. So here's what's up...
Interest in puppies has quite dramatically slowed down. We've raised and cared for many sweet pups over several years, but with the decline in interest it's not currently something we see as a priority of our time, efforts, and funds. So... plain and simple, we will no longer be raising puppies for the foreseeable future.
While we noticed the slow down with puppies, other opportunities began to pop up, almost falling into our lap. We were able to purchase a contract for a delivery route with a major food company... which essentially was the start of our distribution company. Very quickly after the first route, another became available which we were also able to secure. This was an amazing opportunity but it also meant Mike was stretched to the limits with the hours required to run both routes. Time together has been barely there. But we knew it was a temporary sacrifice that we could push through and endure for a season. As time has passed, the wrinkles of starting something new are slowly smoothing. Mike has just recently been able to step away from the day to day responsibilities and focus more on the management, sales, and customer service side of things. We have hired 2 great young men to run routes. (Our oldest son and our soon to be son-in-law!)
We still have the vending company as well and it is steadily continuing to grow with locations.
With our oldest son running this route as a part time, 1-2 days a week job, Mike is again able to focus on management and customer service.
We also have our rental properties and we are looking forward to expanding that side of business as well.
Well... now that all the stuffy stuff is out of the way... let's talk about the fun stuff!
⭐️ A couple of times this summer we were able to carve out some much needed family time! A trip to STL Zoo and other fun stops was a great family day.
⭐️ We were then able to go to Silver Dollar City for a day of roller coasters, unhealthy food, and a million miles of walking. 🤪
⭐️ Our oldest daughter is recently engaged and we are so happy and excited for both of these kids. They aren't waiting a single second so we are planning like crazy people to be wedding ready in about a month.
⭐️ We started another year of homeschooling! Our first day was completed with minimal distractions or frustrations. 😁
⭐️ Football season has begun! The youngest has been begging to play so we made the sign ups and are looking forward to cheering him on!
I may be forgetting some little things here and there, but I think this covers it.
There won't be any more puppy posts (other than of our own, of course) and to be honest, I'm not sure how much we'll update here. I might throw something up every now and then. Nothing very farm-ish as there's certainly not been time for that. 🤷♀️ But please know we've always been so thankful for you all! We're excited for all the next things to come and are looking forward while holding in our hearts the path that got us here. 💟
