This photo makes me happy

 This is my friends little girl Addie...

Saturday she turns two!

If you all remember I took her one year old pictures last year!

I did a photo shoot for her on Wednesday. This top picture is my favorite from the day.
This photo helps me find my confidence as a photographer.

Yet another Birthday at our house

Yes, I know many of you will laugh(yes that means you Jenny) that I would even give pause..or paws to this. Portis and Charlie are important family members to us. Charlie has a birth certificate from his litter and his birthday is well documented. When Portis came into our life in early October the vet told us he was about 9 months old. The lady who had him before promised to send the paper work but she never followed through. We have always assumed he was born in late February and decided to make the 22nd his birthday. Yes, I know...we are a strange bunch. 

 That is probably why Portis fits in here...He is after all the only dog I have ever know to put himself to bed way before the rest of us...the bed that he thinks is his and is kind enough to share(a small portion of) with us. He is also the last one up in the morning. He has no problem staying in bed long after we have all started our day. 

 He is also the only dog I have ever known to pick out the pieces of food he likes from the dish and throw the yucky ones out. He is lucky his brother Charlie is kind enough to let him ravage though both dishes for his favorite pieces before leaving the less desirable ones for him.

He absolutely loves furniture. When Hannah was over the other day she made the mistake of sitting in his spot. He sat in front of her staring and whining until she broke down and moved. He promptly jumped up and took his spot back. Poor Hannah...now you know what it is like to live in our world...or the world of Princess Portabella as we call it. 

Portis should be be 7 today...

He is a royal pain...

He has to take three pills a day just to stay alive...

He is a very picky eater...

He is very persuasive..

He is a great dancer(true story..ask Hannah)...

He has the most personality of any dog I have ever known...

He and Matt love to argue...

He is the baby of our house...

He is the cutest dog I have ever known...

He is my once in a lifetime dog...

I love P dog and I am glad that he is around to celebrate his 7th birthday..

7 may seem young for a dog but for him it is miraculous...

and no...he did not get any gifts or a party...just a few hugs and a post. If you remember from a few posts back though..he loves to read and this post will make him smile:-)hehe!

Matt and Hannah

 There is one thing about my house that I just love. It is the sound the sliding glass door makes. I have missed hearing that sound. With all the snow and super cold temps the gate that connects us to the Cutcheon's was sealed off. The past few weeks have brought warmer temps and thawed out our beloved gate(Jenny before I move I want to carve stuff on it) With the thaw comes the sweet sound of a door sliding open and an eager young face looking for Matt. 

All the snow that had been taken away with the past few warm days came falling out of the sky again today though..

The only ones happy about this are the short residents of our houses. 

Jenny and I can only growl in disgust...as we both shovel our own driveways.

Matt and Hannah on the other hand do what I would consider torture...seriously Guantanamo should consider this. They buried each other in the snow!!!! Mercy! Mercy! I will tell you anything you want to know...Hoffa is buried over there...just don't make me lay here another second.

(FYI: I know this picture is not in focus but I still like it)

 How is this fun?

 Okay, Minnesota kids must be the toughest kids on earth...other kids get to do this with sand on warm beaches...in swimsuits.  

 Laughing???I would be crying my face off. 

 That reminds me...I still need to shovel...Unless Mark's offer to use his snow blower on our driveway is still good? (Jenny is laughing her face off right now..as I will be waiting a long time before they get a snow blower) If we had one Jenny I would will it to you when we moved...but for now I think you and I are the only snow blowers at our houses. 

Then it was inside for reading, beading and hot chocolate. 

In all of Matthew's life I don't think he will ever have another friend like Hannah. The two of them together amaze me. They never fight, they never argue, they always find something fun to do. They seem to have everything in common. They can just hang out and not talk and it is never awkward. Day's like today always leave me wondering...what if...

I would guess that Matthew and Hannah would challenge each other all through High School. They would be amazing friends and probably always have each other's back. Mrs. Hansen told Jenny and I that she predicted that Hannah and Matthew would probably be Valedictorian and Salutatorian of the class of 2020. 

There are moments I really hate the snow..I even had a few today. I would live a lifetime of winters if it meant keeping Matthew in a school that loved him as much as his does...and that is without adding Hannah in the mix. 

I want to say life sucks 

but really what I mean is 

kids complicate everything...where you buy a house, where you move to...who your friends are...when you can travel...

As I got out of the car yesterday with Matthew and Hannah they had this conversation

Hannah "I really like my childhood, it has been great...I am going to be a tween in two years!!!"

Matt "Yeah! I agree, I love my childhood"

I am so thankful for the wisdom I was given about my purpose in life. I love knowing that my only job is raising my son to be an amazing man. I don't care how big our house is, or how nice my car is, or how much stuff we have...but that conversation..I do care about.

Finishing up my facts

{my all time favorite picture of Mike and Matthew}

When I sleepily typed up my tittle this morning I had no idea how hard it would be to finish..
Don't get me wrong, I have a million things I could tell you about Mike. They are just personal;-)

Let me leave you with this..
I met Mike exactly a month before he turned 18. We were both just kids, bright eyed in the world. In the last 19 years we have grown together like two morning glories planted side by side. He helps me stand, he helps me bloom, he helps me grow tall. There are so many times when I thank God for not only sending him my way but helping me have patience in myself and my life to lead us to where we are. Mike's birthdays are a big deal to me. They are the day that I get to thank God for creating such a soul and sending it my way, then giving that soul the patience and grace to love me for 19 years. My favorite line of all time is "If you are going to love me, I want to be loved like that" Thank you Mike, for loving me like that.

I am not sure what the next year will bring for us but I will tell you that I am your biggest fan and no matter where we land, I am glad I am jumping with you.

I just want to point out that Mike has other fans too!

 Like his fur children who love him

And his son who dresses up like him on hero day.

Facts continued..

 11. Mike came into this world 37 years ago today. He was born in Havre Montana where Mike's mom and dad were attending college. 

 12. Mike lived in the same house in Great Falls his entire childhood. That is unless you count his grandma and grandpa's house across town that he practically lived in.

 13. This is a picture of him and his dad outside Dot and Clair's house. This house will always be much more than a house to Mike(and all the other Willits grandchildren...including me)

 14. Mike has an cousin named Heather that is a year older than him that was like a sister to him growing up.

 Yes, he even played dolls with her

 15. Mike sported this "Beatles" style haircut for many years...despite the protest of relatives and friends. 

16. This is Mike's 3rd grade picture. Funny to think that this was him when he was Matthew's age. 

 17. Mike has had more dogs in his life than girlfriends. This dog was his once in a lifetime one though. He got this golden retriever when he was in second grade after having to put a dog named "Rocky" down. The only time I can think of that Mike did not have a dog was the few years after we were married. Then we got Charlie and all was right in Mike's world. 

 18. Mike comes from a very outdoor adventurous family. He has been in boats since before he could walk. He has even won some racing awards.

 19. Mike was Mr. Athlete when he was a kid. His love for sports has continued through the years.

20. If Mike could relive any birthday I know for a fact it would not be one with me. I am pretty sure he would pick any of the ones that he got to be with his grandma and grandpa. I am more than okay with that.

If you have any Mike stories or well wishes please feel free to comment.

37 Things you might not know about Mike

 You all know that I am married to the hottest man on earth....but did you know:

1. We met January 17, 1992. The first thing I noticed was his crooked nose:-)

 2. Most of you know that he loved to hunt geese but did you know the first time he actually shot one and brought it home one of them was alive? He had to chase it around to catch it and ring it's neck...in front of the neighborhood bus stop! Well technically they could not see him but it does add to the humor of the story.

 3. Did you know that in the 19 years we have been together we have only been apart on his birthday twice. He however has probably been away from his parents most of those birthdays. That makes this birthday kind of special as he won't be with me but he will be with them.

 4. Most of you know that Mike loves to fish and he is a great builder but did you know that he got these skills from his grandfather Clair? 

 5.  Mike was born 15 days before I was. I love this time of year when I get to joke about being married to an older man. Funny to think that he has only been on this earth 15 days more than I have.

 6. Mike has been a Braves fan since he was Matthew's age and being with him at his first game was really incredible. 

 7. He loves his Braves so much that he even listens to them in the truck when he can't get the games on inside. He gets this from his grandfather Joe.

 8. Most of you know that I have a new scar on my top lip but did you know Mike has one too? About 10 years ago he and Charlie were wrestling when Mike got stepped on. Charlie's dog claw sliced his lip open very similar to mine. He however did not loose any teeth over it. I think it is romantic that we have matching scars:-)

 9. After two years of trying to convince Mike that he would really love photography he finally gave it a chance and of corse I was right! He loves it. He will be surpassing me soon in awe inspiring photos.

10. Most of you know that Mike is an amazing dad. Honestly an incredible dad. It is rare that a day goes by without Mike telling Matthew how proud he is of him and how important he is to him. What I want to share is how this makes one of the reasons I think my husband is the hottest man on earth.

If your good at Math you know there is more to come.