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We were surprised when, less than five seconds later, the bear appeared directly behind us! It was amazing to be that close to the furry little creature!!
We then visited the prairie dogs, the Africa exhibit, the zebras, the giraffes, the wildebeasts, the wolves, the panthers and every other animal that is under the sun at the zoo! It was such an insanely busy day, but when we left, the smiles were still on our faces ...
... and our kiddos were happy (though one was more than tuckered out and he fell asleep as soon as we hit the road!), and that's what truly matters anyway!
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I recently received an email from my older brother, Jeremy, that brought me to tears. Jeremy has always looked out for me (as all of my siblings have) and has always wanted the best for me, and his letter proved exactly that. After some amazingly sweet words, he ended his email with the following:
"Just remember God loves you.
Monte, Claire, Iain, Ellis, and Colin Love you
You Mother, Father, Sister and Brothers love you.
And nothing else
No opinion
No criticisms
No nothing else will ever top that or take that away from you
In other words you and your family win
Love
Jeremy"
Nothing could have said it better. My family wins, and nothing else matters. Jeremy, my dear brother, I love you and thank you tremendously for this email. It came at a time that I needed to hear it.
It's wonderful the way that God works ... one of my favorite blessings that He has given me comes in a package of three - my three siblings: Tanya, Jeremy and Tory. Growing up with them and having them walk next to me through life - it has been so wonderful!
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My house is moving forward in the decorating department! I've added my "expressions" to a couple of different walls in the house, and thought that I would share! This one is in our living room:
The expression reads, "Sit Long, Talk Much, Laugh Often". I absolutely love it! The next one is in our bedroom:
It reads, "So in love with you". I love it. Phenomenally love it!" These expressions, in my opinion, have warmed up my two favorite rooms in my house. Let me know when you'd like to see them and I'll clear the calendar .. I love them that much! I purchased them from my sister Tanya who is an interior redesigner - if you're interested in getting some of your own, contact her!
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Finally, I leave you with the really fun story. This evening, when we were done with dinner, the kids were playing outside and discovered a turtle that was in our front flower gardens and it was laying eggs! The kids had a great time counting the eggs as they were layed (talk about no privacy!!) and ensured that they were covered and safe from any preditors when the turtle left. So now we're keeping our eyes on the "turtle bed" and are excited to see the day when the mini turtles hatch and leave our "nest"!!
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That's all I have for you - now that this insanely random post is complete, I wish you an absolutely wonderful evening, lots of beautiful fireworks (of which I am missing all of them - my kiddos are sleeping soundly, so the hubby and I are watching "P.S. I Love You" in our room) and dreams of all things happy and lovely!
Nighty night!
