Fall 2012

Fall 2012
Instagram Fall '12
[learning to live a perfectly imperfect life]

Wordless Wednesday (Sand Angels)

Giving



Antonio (I mean Carter)... continues to be on our minds and in our hearts. Though he is not home yet, his parents are wading through the adoption process to get him home as soon as possible! I have loved getting to know his family through their blog, and feel as though his mom and I are becoming friends (through our blog comments and emails and such!)

I was very surprised when I visited their blog the other day and found pictures of something familiar.

I was reminded that giving is quite often more exciting than getting.

*****

Take a peek at some more recent pictures of Carter.

Yup... I just heard your "Ohhh!!! So cute!" from here.

Wordless Wednesday

A Boy...



and his bike.

A match made in heaven at the campground.

What She's Taught Me


#74. Don't look at something for what it is... look at it for what it could be.





Tell Her

What would I tell her if I could?



I would tell her that marriage is hard work.

I would tell her that there will be days when love is really easy, and other days when it will be challenging.

I would tell her that he's never going to want to fold towels. She will not be able to change that. Ever. The fact that he loves her will not change anything. He might love her a lot, but he will still hate folding towels.



I would tell her that the wedding day is, indeed, an important day... but that it's just the first of many incredibly important days they will experience together - both incredibly wonderful and incredibly tough.

I would tell her that he may drive her nuts by leaving his cup of sunflower seed shells in the living room, but when she watches him so sweetly try to teach their son how to wink, she won't care about the cup of sunflower seed shells.



I would tell her that they will not always agree... that she will not always be right and he will not always be right, but if they always respect each other, it will be okay.

I would tell her that he is secretly obsessed with cologne. He will own over 30 bottles of cologne at a given time, and she should not try to keep track of which ones she likes the smell of and which ones she doesn't.



I would tell her that being a step-mom will be challenging... but there will also be times it will be like being a biological Mom, and she will guide and model and inspire and teach and encourage and support and love.




I would tell her that she will need to make time for him. Life will get busier and busier and it will be easy to prioritize everything else above time spent with him, but she has to remember how their family began - their connection is at the root of their family.

I would tell her that she is beautiful... and when she finds herself in 9 years, not at all the size she is now, she will still be beautiful. If she thinks she wants to teach her children to feel good about themselves, then she better darn well not say things to put herself down.



I would tell her that in nine years, they will have been through a lot - births and heart surgeries and potty-training and balancing finances and tantrums and broken dishwashers and vacations and deaths in the family and house remodeling and camping trips and talks about teenage drinking...

they will survive. They will grow as individuals and as a couple and as a family.

I would tell her that she has, and will continue to have, a pretty incredible life.



(Happy 9th Anniversary Hon... only a few days late. Love you!)