Hello Handsome

Home is Wherever You Are Happy To Be

One's home is like a delicious piece of pie you order in a restaurant on a country road one cozy evening - the best piece of pie you have ever eaten in your life - and can never find again.  After you leave home, you may find yourself feeling homesick, even if you have a new home that has nicer wallpaper and a more efficient dishwasher than the home in which you grew up.  ~Lemony Snicket

These are pictures of my last day visiting my childhood home before the new owners moved in. It was hard to say goodbye to a place so close to my heart. My parents moved to a beautiful home in Gig Harbor where my family will create many new happy memories. 

This home was...

- a place that always welcomed me.

- a place where I was completely myself.

- a place to shed my worries.

- a place where I felt peace.

- a place I always looked forward to returning to after days at school, college, or vacations.

- a place that cheered me up, believed in me, and supported me.

It was not the house that brought these blessings but the home my parents created with love and endless giving. It was the relationships our family has built and the blessings we received from God. These are all things we can carry with us. I will forever be thankful for the memories shared in this home. I will hold onto them and use them as examples to instill the same kind of love and happiness in my own home. When you are with the ones you love the most, you are home, wherever that may be. After all, "Home is where the heart is." :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad sitting on the floor in his usual spot since we took all the couch space!

Where we love is home,
Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Congratulations Vinnie!

"You is kind, you is smart, you is important."-Aibileen Clark

Puppy 101

When first meeting Harley he was very calm and shy. This continued to be true on his first day home. In 24 hours his nerves had diminished and he was in full puppy mode. 

Puppy 101: Lessons I have Learned

Puppies....

- really are hard work

- chew on EVERYTHING

- don't know the difference between your nice couch and the nice toy you bought him

- sleep a lot

- give kisses

- bite

- have sharp teeth
- chew the wood off your stairs

- smell everything

- are like people... don't want to be touched when they are super tired and will move away from you, get excited, cry, like to make friends, fight with you when they don't get what they want, love peanut butter, love to nap, love meal time, get tired from exercise, want to go to the bathroom inside instead of out (except we know to use the bathroom), don't like to wear a collar/harness, they like to cuddle, they don't like when people tell them what to do, they want to be in charge, they love family, they love treats, don't like to be put in a playpen

-are not like people... they want to go on a walk, they like to eat rocks, they like unpleasant smells, they like to chew on people's stuff, they don't like pedicures, think "tug of war" with your clothes is a fun game, they don't like baths

- don't know what "no" means

- aren't scared of my deepest voice 

- will not be scared of a can of shaking pennies when the can used to be filled with peanuts

- like to take you on a walk instead of the other way around

- like to run from you and lay on your rugs instead of the nice mats and beds you got him

- have big paws

-make friends easily

 

- are super cute

 - loves to celebrate 

 

- like to people watch

- loves his mom and dad

We love you, Harley!