Saturday, December 29, 2012
Pictures
A picture is a worth thousand words. Well, actually a lot of pictures. =)
Marley on my shoulder
Marley & Maria playing
The man in the pic is my father-in-law. He & Marley became fast friends!
One of my favorites!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
A Transformation
In previous years, we've always scrambled to make sure everything was perfect for Christmas. A pile of Christmas presents for the kids, including matching Christmas pajamas to wake up in, a neat & tidy house, gatherings and parties, a family meal that was perfect. With me being a perfectionist, the holidays brought on stress and anxiety. I'd get everything accomplished, hoping that all these "things" would make everyone happy and we'd have a wonderful Holiday.
A few weeks ago, we adopted Marley/Yofi. Since then, I've gone through a personal transformation. As my husband and I discussed Christmas presents for the kids, we really thought it out. Do they need alot of gifts? Yes, they might enjoy a shiny new present for awhile, but then the attention moves towards Marley. He's brought everything into prospective for us. Material items have less significance as we think about our love for Marley and the joy that he's given to our family. Our lives feel full & the love of family takes center stage. In our society, it seems like Christmas has become more about "stuff" and less about God and Love. It has been very liberating not worry about Christmas and everything turning out perfect. In fact, I've been enjoying Marley so much this week that I have no idea what we will be eating for the Christmas dinner. I'll get the family's input and wing it.
As a first time dog owner, I bought a variety of items that I thought Marley needed. One of them included a pair of dog booties. Yes, I actually put them on him. He was a good sport about it and tried to walk outside. It was hilarious! The poor dog could NOT walk in the booties and they eventually fell off. He looked at me like I was crazy. It's a good thing that Petsmart has an easy return policy, because I've returned alot of items that realistically didn't work out. Another part of my transition has included the ability to not care about a spotlessly clean house. I do wipe Marley's feet when he comes in from the outdoors, but one look at that cute face and I don't really care how my floors look.
Here's to transformations and getting back to basics.
A few weeks ago, we adopted Marley/Yofi. Since then, I've gone through a personal transformation. As my husband and I discussed Christmas presents for the kids, we really thought it out. Do they need alot of gifts? Yes, they might enjoy a shiny new present for awhile, but then the attention moves towards Marley. He's brought everything into prospective for us. Material items have less significance as we think about our love for Marley and the joy that he's given to our family. Our lives feel full & the love of family takes center stage. In our society, it seems like Christmas has become more about "stuff" and less about God and Love. It has been very liberating not worry about Christmas and everything turning out perfect. In fact, I've been enjoying Marley so much this week that I have no idea what we will be eating for the Christmas dinner. I'll get the family's input and wing it.
As a first time dog owner, I bought a variety of items that I thought Marley needed. One of them included a pair of dog booties. Yes, I actually put them on him. He was a good sport about it and tried to walk outside. It was hilarious! The poor dog could NOT walk in the booties and they eventually fell off. He looked at me like I was crazy. It's a good thing that Petsmart has an easy return policy, because I've returned alot of items that realistically didn't work out. Another part of my transition has included the ability to not care about a spotlessly clean house. I do wipe Marley's feet when he comes in from the outdoors, but one look at that cute face and I don't really care how my floors look.
Here's to transformations and getting back to basics.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
A New Beginning
On December 1, 2012 a new family member entered our home! I would like to proudly introduce Marley, formerly named Yofi. Personally, I love the name Yofi, but I've been out voted by my husband, our 7 year old daughter and 5 year old son! I still secretly call him Yofi and might sway the family as I sometimes let it slip out. Oops! The minute he arrived to our home we all fell in love. The first week he was pretty shy, not leaving my side. Marley was my Velcro Boy! After two weeks, he now plays tag with the kids, chases the cat and timidly accepts treats from my husband. It's taken longer for Marley to accept my husband and he's been bribing him with food and belly rubs. It seems to be working!
The title of my first post is called A Family Blessing. I say this for a specific reason. For my whole life I've always wanted a dog. As a little girl I begged and begged my parents. My senior year in high school they were wonderful enough to give me a parakeet for Christmas. God Bless them and the parakeet, but what I really wanted was a dog of my own. So when my husband agreed to a family dog, I found Marley. I'm not sure who was the most excited, me or our elementary aged kids.
Today I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Marley's original owner. I found out more about Marley's history and was surprised to find that he has a following of people who love him. Plus, the most amazing piece of information ever: Marley's 1st Birthday is today, December 18. This day has special significance to me, as it's the ten year anniversary date of when my Grandma passed away. My Grandma and I were extremely close, and every year on this day I pay tribute to her memory and celebrate her life. What are the odds that Marley's Birthday would fall on this day? I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for Marley. In his short time here, he has brought so much love and joy to our family. I also have gratitude to Angel's mom, who has shown incredible grace, friendship and kindness to our family. I look forward to a Mother-son reunion soon! If there are other siblings, I'd love to hear from you too.
I will plan on sharing Marley's journey with you, as we document his new life and home. He is after all, our new baby.
For all those reading, may you find your own Family Blessings as we have.
The title of my first post is called A Family Blessing. I say this for a specific reason. For my whole life I've always wanted a dog. As a little girl I begged and begged my parents. My senior year in high school they were wonderful enough to give me a parakeet for Christmas. God Bless them and the parakeet, but what I really wanted was a dog of my own. So when my husband agreed to a family dog, I found Marley. I'm not sure who was the most excited, me or our elementary aged kids.
Today I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Marley's original owner. I found out more about Marley's history and was surprised to find that he has a following of people who love him. Plus, the most amazing piece of information ever: Marley's 1st Birthday is today, December 18. This day has special significance to me, as it's the ten year anniversary date of when my Grandma passed away. My Grandma and I were extremely close, and every year on this day I pay tribute to her memory and celebrate her life. What are the odds that Marley's Birthday would fall on this day? I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for Marley. In his short time here, he has brought so much love and joy to our family. I also have gratitude to Angel's mom, who has shown incredible grace, friendship and kindness to our family. I look forward to a Mother-son reunion soon! If there are other siblings, I'd love to hear from you too.
I will plan on sharing Marley's journey with you, as we document his new life and home. He is after all, our new baby.
For all those reading, may you find your own Family Blessings as we have.
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