I heart faces challenge: pets!

Meet Bob.  That is Bob the Bulldog.  B.O.B.= "best of the bulldogs"

So, while we are having all kinds of fun in Minnesota Bob had to stay back in WI because the lake resort doesn't allow "Bob types".  Bummer.  But I can tell you this, Bob is in "Bob Heaven" at home because he is staying there with Joe.  Joe loves Bob.  Bob loves Joe.  Joe is doing some work in the yard as we still recover from last summer's construction/septic system destruction.  Bob is hanging outside with Joe, he is sleeping with Joe and is loving life.  


So, it is perfect that this weeks i heart faces challenge is about pets....we are missing Bob, but are so glad we have him to come home to.  I love this shot of Bob.  It is so Bob.  He crawled into this big pile of leaves last fall and popped his head up at me.  Then stayed there long enough for me to capture it!  Notice that leaf on his silly head.  I love it!


To see more fantastic pet shots go to i heart faces!

Tessa meets our MN ladies

You know that feeling you get when you are surrounded by women?  Women that have shared important parts of who you are....friends that you grew up with, people that have been apart of your life since you can remember?  Well, yesterday I introduced my sweet girl to a group of these women in my home town of White Bear Lake, MN.  I also enjoyed reminiscing for a bit in WBL....driving my the "old house", having ice cream at Cup-n-Cone and then being with people I love.  I am such a lucky girl....

What will matter

I'm copying this from The Old Painted Cottage.  I love it...and want to live by it.

What Will Matter
By Michael Josephson 

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end
There will be no more sunrises, no days, no hours, or minutes.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass on to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevant.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will all expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won’t matter where you come from, or on what side of the tracks you lived.
It won’t matter whether you are beautiful or brilliant.
Your gender, skin color, ethnicity will be irrelevant.
So, what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built. Not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people knew you, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories of those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.

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play!

PLAY it's Monday!...and we don't have to rush out of the house and go to school!  It is summer!  yahoo!

In the spirit of play and the i heart faces challenge, I am posting my boys at play this morning.  The ironic part is the box in which they are playing was from the recent BIG birthday present of a peg pergo yard car!  The box is now being played with and is currently "a paper store" with paper products for all to purchase!  Hope you find some time to play today!
P.S.  That is a little red mail box.  ;)

3 months....

3 months....into our new life as a family.  3 months since we arrived home with sweet Tessa.  3 months of me trying to find the "new normal", juggling 4 little ones.  3 months....

How these 3 months have passed so quickly and with so much intensity.  I feel like I haven't been able to fully document it all, but I suppose that is the nature of real life when you are fully immersed in it.  What I can tell you is that it has been full of highs and lows.  Moments of insecurity as a mother when I wasn't sure Tessa was bonding.  Insecurity I have never experienced before, but I think is normal in this experience.  There have been moments of chaos....true and utter chaos. And then there have been moments of beautiful joy and love.

The truth is that it all takes time to find your way.  Isn't that true of any parenting experience?  And adoption is certainly no exception.  Bonding is truly a process, one that takes patience, time and nurturing.  Which is precisely why it is so unique and special.  The signs of bonding are there all the time now....and I feel a sense of relief.

3 months home....3 months of being Tessa's forever Mommy, 3 months of our family complete and moving into our future together.

barefeet- i heart faces

Barefeet....this is from our Memorial Day weekend with Auntie Margo visiting. Here Tessa is wrapped up in Auntie Margo's barefeet. How adorable is that!?