On Veteran's Day: Being a military wife

I didn't grow up knowing anything about the military. My mom is a pacifist and the military just seemed so far away and foreign. I remember being on a bus in 5th or 6th grade, after school, when I heard the announcement that the Gulf War had started. I think I felt scared at the time, but quickly resumed my daily norms and forgot all about it. On September 11, 2001 it hit a lot closer to home. Shortly thereafter, we were in NYC for the marathon and I remember the smell of death in the air, smoky and putrid. It made me want to vomit. Seeing the aftermath of violence on our turf brought me to attention quickly. As much as I want to live in my oblivious, comfortable world where "everything is great!" I now had seen first hand the global reality of discord and unrest.

A few months later I met a guy who captivated me. But he was joining the military. I don't "do" or "speak" military. I moved to CA and he moved to FL, as far away as we could be from one another in this country... Yet my heart couldn't shake him off, so on Veteran's Day weekend 2002, he flew to Oakland from Pensacola to come see me. And after that my staunch, stubborn heart was ruined for good- whether I liked it or not, I loved a man in the military.

Over 18 months we only saw each other 3 times. But letters and emails and phone calls flowed like wine, entwining our hearts together. On Christmas Eve 2003, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I cried. He lived in Corpus Christi, TX for flight school, I lived in WA, having started grad school. Nothing about our proximity to one another would have suggested our relationship would last- but God knit us together from afar. On New Years Eve 2004, he asked my parents for my hand in marriage. My step-mom said, "it's about time!"

So I took Matt Damon (aka Will Hunting's) advice, and packed up my stuff into my little Acura, moving 3,000+ miles across the country to "go see about a boy." I didn't know a soul in Jacksonville or the state of Florida, other than my boyfriend, but God provided me a wonderful job and community. And I learned, as it turns out, when you live in the same city, relationships are harder! The other person finds out you're not perfect and vice versa. I used to always straighten my hair at the salon the day I'd be seeing Los. He was dismayed to find out I have curly hair:) But God continued to grow us closer to one another, and one day, in the middle of a labyrinth in a gorgeous cathedral in France- for the first time, I heard Carlos say, "I love you." Which was immediately followed by, "will you marry me?" I sobbed. Amazed. Grateful. I forgot to say yes until he asked again.

So I married a military man. I had no idea what I was signing up for. I had no idea how many times I would fear for his safety and life, praying to God fervently. I had no idea 5 years ago how my heart would despair when he would leave me on deployments. We spent our first two Christmases and anniversaries apart. I wept like a baby when he left me and tried to bury myself in grad school books to ignore my broken heart. I lived for hearing his voice from Japan or the middle East, carrying my phone everywhere with me. One time I answered in the middle of a dental exam, shedding tears in the chair- that was awkward. Getting a dog was the best decision we made early on in our marriage. We call Burly the "glue that holds our marriage together." After finishing our 'sea' tour and starting our 'shore' tour, life changed once again. After having a rhythm of together-apart for 3 years of marriage, being together all the time was hugely unfamiliar. And not exactly graceful. But it has become so wonderful and now I can't imagine life apart. I have no idea how I will explain to our little girl next summer, in Japan, that we are not going to be seeing daddy for months at a time. Daddy loves us, but daddy is serving our country.

Being a military wife is hard, certainly not for the faint of heart. I am fiercely proud and completely in love with a man who has given his life to something bigger than himself and our immediate comfort. I am grateful that God is our rock and nothing, not life nor death, heights nor depths, can separate us from His love. He who knit us together watches between us when we are apart. I never imagined that this would be my life. I never imagined how proud I would be to call a military veteran my husband. I still largely see myself as a pacifist, and long for the day when war will cease. I don't know what will happen in the rest of my lifetime, but I am grateful to be married to a man of fortitude, strength of character, who serves us daily and serves our nation. I can not adequately or succinctly express my admiration for my Veteran on this day. Suffice to say, being in the military is hard and comes with great sacrifice. Your family, comfort, community, mental health and even life can be be taken. We live in a country full of luxuries and people (myself included) are spoiled and self-centered, forgetful of the fact that others are sacrificing on their behalf. So please thank a veteran for their selflessness today.

Pregnancy Schizophrenia and Tattoos

When I found out I was pregnant, no one told me not to be attached to my due date. So rather than putting my weight down on June 3 or 5, I even went as far as telling myself Claire was coming in May. Then May ended, and I was bummed. For a pretty superficial reason (I wanted her to be able to bring cupcakes to her classroom and to be sang to on her day), but I was bummed nonetheless.

I'm not sure schizophrenia is the proper term, in fact, it probably isn't; but I have felt like I had a split-personality lately. In week 38 I was positive I wanted to induce 10 days early, as early as the doc would let me:) Then Los and I talked and I took that stance back. It felt a little bit like we were trying to play God to pick her birthdate and force it to be early. "Okay, let's wait to her due date to induce," was plan b... However, when we reached that mark, I had started to lean toward letting Claire stay inside as long as she wanted... After all, what if she's small and needed the extra time to grow? We were hoping for an 8 lb. baby, and she certainly wouldn't have been if we'd taken her out early. That is, if the sonographers were right (she was predicted to be right at 7.5 lbs from her bone measurements).

Now at 41 weeks I don't want to be induced, I am not that uncomfortable and don't mind her hanging out inside a bit longer, but now the OB is saying it's time to get the show on the road. Funny how we've switched places from me asking her and her hesitating to me hesitating at her request:)

This is me at 41 weeks preggo. I never thought I would get to this place, but my due date came and went this past week, and apparently my body and Claire have zero interest in parting ways. Unfortunately for both of them, my doctor does have an interest in us parting ways. So since I have not progressed at all and am almost a week past due, we are going to induce TOMORROW. Woah. I am the highest candidate for a c-section possible, so that is a bummer... Let's hope that my body takes to the stuff it is given and progresses tomorrow night and Tuesday!


So this may be the last post- pre our family expanding... We have had a sweet time together, enjoying all these "extra" days before life as we know it changes... We've slept in, been to movies (UP and The Hangover), we've been out to eat multiple times, I got a pedicure (pink!) and massage, we've organized the crap out of our house (all those projects we were saving for "some day" got done), and we've had fun with Burly at the beach, see below. Also, Los took the first step of his long-time goal of inking himself. He took the monogram Joel designed for our wedding and had it put on his heart. When he first told me about wanting a tattoo, I was super anti, but over the years the idea has grown on me to the point that I was as excited as he was. It looks great and I like how meaningful it is.




Whenever Burly thinks we're leaving somewhere and he has to stay behind, he flops down like this and won't move, it is so funny. Sometimes (if it's on carpet) I literally push him with my feet and he stays flopped over like that.


But he LOVES going to the beach, the water is his favorite thing and he loves to run around like a maniac. We have enjoyed sunsets at the beach a lot lately, knowing that we won't get to do that for a little bit once Claire is here.





So wish us luck, pray for us, and we'll see you on the flip side of parenthood! And p.s. yes, it's legal to park on the beach here, everyone does. And yes, I find that very strange. But there's nowhere else to park!

Poop, Placentas and Pulled Pork, awesomeness...

If being the parent of a dog is anything like being the parent of a little person, I might need to rethink this whole parenting gig we have coming up the next two decades, because apparently we aren't ready to handle it. I hate bodily fluids. Last night, at our friends' house, we were more engrossed with watching LOST (I hate Ben!!!) and conversation, than paying attention to what Burly was doing. After wearing out their two big dogs, our little porker snuck over and gobbled down who knows how much of their dogs' food. At one or two points I said, "hey, I think Burly's eating?" But neither of us did anything about it... He was a little maniac on the walk home (Gabe and Meredith live at the end of our street) and we thought Burly would be fine all night, since he pooped and peed on the walk. Not so. When Los woke up this morning, Burly had pooped in our bathroom. We scolded him, and he looked repentant, so we thought it was over. I laid in bed feeling guilty that we had punished him when really it was our fault that we hadn't taken away the opportunity for him to eat last night. We talked about it, and I went back to bed. Not before joking, though, that if he ever pooped in our closet, I would sell him to the gypsies.

Two hours later, Burly gave me my chance. When I woke up again, he had decided that pooping on our Italian tile and white bath mat just wasn't enough. So he pooped on Los' side of the closet carpet as well. What a guy! I was furious. 3 times in one night! AFTER going outside twice?! Who does that? Not our angelic practically-perfect-in-every-way dog. I contemplated feeding him to the local coyotes or my previous threat of selling him to the gypsies for at least 5 minutes before deciding to forgive him and making up. When I took him outside this morning he promptly went again, so I guess he'd been showing restraint inside?? I don't know how such a little dog can poop so many times in 12 hours, but... what can I say, he's a pro.

On a completely other note, yesterday our birth coach came over and showed us two videos of natural childbirths. WAY graphic compared to any romantic notion we'd previously held. What ever happened to the stork- I just want a clean bundle of joy delivered to me?! Looking at cute baby girl clothes and picking out nursery furniture is stuff I can do. Stuff I like doing. But watching women sans medicine in painful labor for hours- rough. I don't know if I have what it takes for that! As much as we would prefer to go without meds, we felt queasy watching the pain that these strange women (whom we now have seen every (awkward!) body part of) were in as they went through labor. We both teared up watching the actual birth, that was just amazing. But lest we get too sentimental, then came the most disgusting thing ever, the "birth of the placenta." Cue gagging sounds, that was nasty... And our birth coach said, "yeah, in some cultures people EAT the placenta or at least bury it." We looked at each other in horror and silently agreed that when that day comes, the doctor can just go ahead and pitch ours in the trash asap! No thanks.

Which brings me to this morning and pulled pork. With my recent acquisition of a Southern Living magazine subscription, I have become more and more of a southern chef by the month. Today I was man-handling 7 lbs. of pork to put in the slow cooker when gross pig blood got all over my white (of course) tank top. This finalized my whole-hearted disgust in blood and every other bodily fluid. I have had enough of them for one 24 hour period, thank you very much. Just for the record, I hereby renounce any further career ambitions to be a surgeon or butcher:) I am preaching the first sermon of Lent this Sunday, and last Sunday I preached on Hebrews 7 and how Christ is the once for all priest and sacrifice. I have never been more grateful to live in a time period without animal sacrifice and the blood, guts and smell therein than in the past 24 hours:) Yet one more reason to be thankful for the Cross. On that note, happy Lent everyone.

Back back to Cali Cali

So my anal need to be chronologically accurate fights with my laziness in blogging amidst all kinds of life change. We are NOW IN TX! I feel crazy about it (highs/lows/disbelief/sadness/hope, crazy) But I'll write about that soon. First, I'd like to highlight some of the fun parts of our week and a half journey that spanned about 3,500 miles.





Our first stop in the homestate was with the beloved Flory's.  They took us wine tasting in the relaxed, beautiful Russian River Valley.  I had zero concept of how huge the wine regions in CA are, and I was really glad we went to some peaceful places like Lynmar, as opposed to the more pretentious and commercial places I've been in Napa in year's past. Leave it to the Flory's to always find the best places:) They also took us to a great restaurant and Burly loved playing with Peet, though you might not believe that from these 3 pictures.



We admire and respect the Flory's for multiple reasons, and always enjoy conversation with them as they are responsible stewards of the lives and gifts God has given them. Plus they are fun, smart, interesting, we hadn't been at their house 5 minutes when we started talking about politics and religion. Gotta love people who cut the crap and wrestle with the hard stuff! Joel wants Los to run for President of the US. What do ya'll think?

They also told us about this great, private first-growth Redwood tree grove that we visited near the ocean.
It was near sunset and majestic, all of those trees hundreds of years old.
I made my husband be a giant tree-hugger, his wingspan is 6'1" and it would've taken 5 of him to go around this tree.
Los trying to toss Burly to the top of the trees...
We heart California, and miss it like crazy. Coming up next, time with my fam.

Our Cross Country Trip Begins!

Saying goodbye to Los' parents- we'll miss you!
Seize the Day!  At the Grand Canyon today we saw the CA license plate with the same thing!
It had to rain on us in WA one last time for good measure:)
We'll miss the verdant Northwest
This almost naked (diaper only) girl in Portland cracked us up... 

The Pearl District in PDX is so cool!

We had a fab dinner (such good wine) at Piazza Italia, we highly recommend it!

Los was stoked to go to the Garden for the Blazers game, it was super exciting, I admit!
Wouldn't life be better if we all had people like this to stretch us out every day?!

We stayed at the Bishop's lovely home on a canal to Lake Oswego, very cool! 
Burly Evans v. Bear Bishop with the supervision of Tony Bishop
Los subbing in for Ian (who was in Alaska on business) with cutie Julian
We love you guys!  Grateful for you!
Sorry Puggy, back in the crate you go, for 9 days of good old-fashioned road-trippin...

Git Er Done… (our last week in WA!)

Well, it is finally down to the wire! T minus 6 days until the epic drive across our fair country begins. We have been conquering the longest TO-DO list in the history of my life (save for the pre-wedding TO-DO list, but that was full of inconsequential things like: borrow flower vase for gladiolas).

Can I just say AMEN for awesome customer service at Patagonia, REI, Super Jock n’ Jill, Williams-Sonoma and Nordstrom. We have made about $700 returning things we didn’t want/like/use without a hitch! Love that. We even MADE money returning 12 mugs we never use to Williams-Sonoma, and this is WITHOUT a receipt. They’ve gone up in price since our wedding 3 years ago, to $21/mug, pricy! So that’s awesome that we were able to continue paring down. We also sold the kitchen table and 6 chairs we got for free for $175, which is fun. On top of that, I brought back Saucony running shoes that are hurting my left arch (but have been used for a year!) and they exchanged them out for brand new shoes at no cost. YES!

So we are feeling good about what we have remaining. I’ve blogged before about Rob Bell’s challenge to his church during the God is Green sermon series. He said, “If you were to move tomorrow, what would you sell, donate, give away, recycle, throw away. Well why not do that today?” That mantra has been something we’ve tried to live by the past year and a half, simplify, simplify!!!

And so our day has actually come, we ARE moving tomorrow, and we no longer have piles of stuff we don’t want or need. Movers come tomorrow morning at 8:15, giddy up! We’ll be living out of suitcases for the next month, as we galavant around the country, taking our time to enjoy different people and places en route to our new home.

Though our TO-DO list is long enough to make any sane person dizzy, we have also been taking time to enjoy our last week in WA. We’ve been getting quality time with everyone we love, and are looking forward to having dinner at Canlis (Seattle’s best restaurant) with Erik and Monica on Friday night, after seeing Erika and Jodi for a last time. I also get to see JJ and Lisa, since I’m going up to the Couv on Sunday night, which will be fun.

We used our last free movie tickets (thank you Boeing!) and saw EagleEye, which was a fun action flick with Shia LeBeouf (I love saying his name) and Michelle Monaghan (I may have a girl crush on her). Yesterday we took our last ferry ride, on a beautiful morning. Then we had lunch in downtown Seattle with Erik at Palomino and shopped for grooming necessities at Aveda/Nordstrom, and visited the newest H+M. We went to Green Lake one last time, for our and Burly’s sakes. He goes crazy at that place, with all the other dogs/stimulation. Last night we had dinner at the fabulous local/organic Tilth restaurant, that I think every Seattleite should try, it is so amazing.

On Kiesha’s recommendation to “EAT AS MUCH FISH AS POSSIBLE BEFORE LEAVING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST!!!!” I had a pistachio-encrusted Cod for lunch that was fantastic. Then at dinner with Jonathan and Lynnea (love them, will miss them, we’re trying to talk them into coming to S. Africa with us for World Cup 2010), we had all kinds of awesomeness. The world’s best Halibut, pork belly, chicken, faro, quinoa, a cheese plate straight from heaven, and heirloom melon with mint, feta and anise hyssop, unbelievable. So creative, who thinks of that kind of stuff! Three hours and two bottles of Northwest wine later, we were quite happy campers.

I’ll miss that place, and everywhere that we have fabulous memories in Seattle, which will remain in my heart as one of the most awesome cities in our country, even if we never live close by it again. So if you’re wondering where I am this next week, it’s either checking off our gargantuan TO-DO list or being sentimental about this place I love so much and am sad to leave.

What am I going to do with myself?

As of LAST NIGHT, I am OFFICIALLY DONE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH SCHOOL!!!! (unless we go the Ph.D route in a few years)

I almost don't know what to do with myself. For the past 25 years of my life (read: QUARTER OF A CENTURY) I have been a student. No longer. I wrote 30 pages this week. I have massive carpal-tunnel and tendonitis in my left wrist and elbow. But I am done! Unbelievable. I have a list of like 30 things I want to do that I've been putting off, so I suppose I'll start chipping away at them until our move date in a few weeks. But so far, since I've been free, I have:

*Had an amazing (Jamie Oliver recipes I have to copy) dinner with friends Joey and Matt, who knew I could like beets so much?! They just moved to our neighborhood for Matt to be a yacht designer in Anacortes, and we like all the same games (Settlers and cards) and music and food; I am BUMMED they came right in time for us to leave!

*Gone to the world's best dog park: Magnuson in Seattle. I had never been there before and it is huge! We walked maybe a 1/2 mile or mile to the beach, where lots of dogs were swimming. Burly played around in the water with other dogs, but still isn't fired up to swim... we'll keep working on it. Afterwards, I took him to the expensive pet store to pick out some treats. I'm totally that kind of dog mom. It's funny, I can picture what I'll go through as a mom of children: as Burly was in the park, I wanted him to play nice, and make friends, and not be shy, and all this stuff... I can only imagine what anxiety or hopes I'll have when our kids go to pre-school and kindergarten!

*Now I'm at Starbucks in University Village, while Los is cycling for a few hours with some buddies. I LOVE people watching here. There are two sweet ladies in their 70s right across from me. I hope my friends and I do that when we're their age. There's lots of cute families crawling all over the place here too. It's fall here, the leaves are beautiful, and I'm enjoying wearing a down coat, knowing I won't be able to do so in TX. I'll miss cold weather clothes a lot! I love seasons, and I can feel myself starting to miss everything that I have loved about the northwest the past decade. I watched the Motorcycle Diaries for the first time this week (good movie)(Flory's, thought of you!!) and the main character said a quote I wish I could remember verbatim. They were on a boat between Argentina and Chile and he said something about having simultaneous melancholy for what he was leaving behind, and anticipation of what he was heading toward. That pretty much sums up how I feel. Seattle is such a gorgeous place (Corpus is so ugly in comparison) and I will miss all the wonderful people here. Yet I am excited for the new season of life right around the corner. I am excited to live on the golf course (LOW MAINTENANCE!) and go to the beach a lot, and wear tank tops whenever I want, and to work, and to have a baby eventually... Lots of stuff will be great in this new season.

But first, I'm just going to soak in the feeling of accomplishment that 5 years of graduate work is done. I love Jesus more, and have grown so much in this process. I am truly grateful.

Birthday Boy Burly

Just hanging out on his second birthday, we are thankful for his life as he has changed ours!

Read All About It!

Oh yeah, our famous dog is on the shelves of every grocery store in the nation today! See his cute mug while hiking in the North Cascades (amazing) in Budget Travel's June issue, page 64! Woo hoo, we are proud parents:)

Coming to a Newsstand Near You!

Keep a watch out for the new issue featuring our beloved puggybear! His money is going to earn him some new toys and treats (all his are gross anyway).

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Hi Casey,

Congratulations! Your pet’s photo was selected for publication in Budget Travel’s 10th Anniversary issue. The June issue will hit newsstands later this month, but in the meantime I wanted to touch base with you regarding payment for your submission.

Our rate is $50 per photograph. I’ll be delighted to send you an advance copy of our 10th Anniversary issue with the payment once I get all your information.

We appreciate your interest in Budget Travel, and I look forward to hearing back from you as soon as possible.

Best,
Sara
___________
Sara Morrow
Editorial Assistant
Budget Travel
Phone: 646/695-6713
Fax: 646/695-6707
BudgetTravel.com

Pugmania

This weekend is Seattle's annual PUGMANIA celebration... Complete with a parade, competitions and even an agility course- all benefiting the Pug Rescue organization. Burly has yet to be subjected to a costume such as this... but some day, his day will come... Yes, I am going to be that dog mom. When our kids trick-or-treat, Burly can go too:) How obnoxious am I?:)

Summarize Your Life in a Paragraph

I hate when people tell me to do this, I am way too verbose... But alas, this one is for the graduation brochure, so I'll do anything for that! Since most of you can't come to my Seattle or LA graduations, here's my lil snippet.

During my 5 (long) years at Fuller, I: lived in 3 corners of the country, went abroad 4 times, married my best friend Carlos, bought a house and the world's best dog, Burly. Needless to say, it has been a full, rich, stimulating time in life. I have been inspired, challenged, blessed and formed by so many professors, classes and readings. I am grateful. When I entered seminary, I had only a vague idea of what the future held for me. I heard God very clearly, while doing an assignment for a FNW class, and now I know and anticipate my vocation as a Presbyterian minister. Thank you all for your passion, wisdom, humor and grace.

p.s. If you DO want to come, LET me know, I'll get you tickets. And we'll have a party both places, yet TBD. It's so amazing to reflect on everything that's happened in 5 years! I grew up so much and am so stoked for the future now...

Burly's going to be FAMOUS!

I can't believe my dog is going to get published before I am, but here's an email I got this morning from New York. I had a good feeling about the submission, because I think Erik Torkells (the Budget Travel editor) may have a pug? So I sent one of Burly in Carmel with Los, and one of him on gorgeous highway 20 at Washington Pass when Erika and I were coming back from Winthrop. Both great vacations!

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Pet Travel Story- Important Info
Congratulations!

Your pet travel photos were chosen for our 2008 June Reader's Issue! We are excited to show off your adorable pets in this special issue and we are even more excited to have you be a part of the process.

Right now we are working very hard to finish our June issue and we are trying to pull together the last little details before shipping it to the press. But before we can seal the deal I have one last request. Our editors have decided to add your hometowns into the text that will run along the side of your pet's photo. Please email me back your hometown (city, state) ASAP. We are short on time, so the sooner you act, the better. You can call or email me at anytime. If I don't pick up, I will at least get your message.

Thank you again and have a great day!
Sheryl McGloffin
Photo Department
Budget Travel Magazine
Tel: (646) 695-6703
www.budgettravel.com

Lake Padden: It's a Dog's Life

Since we'll be moving at some point this year, I feel myself getting nostalgic about lots of stuff I'll miss. Today I even left my dentist thinking I am sad I may never go there again... One of the places I'll miss a lot is Lake Padden. We've had a ritual on Sunday's post-church of going to Lake Padden. We hang at the dog park for a while (sometimes there are no other little dogs, so Burly plays with the big guys- in the second pic he is being run over, click on it to make it bigger) and then we walk around the 2.5 mile gorgeous trail. For those of you in Seattle, it's like Green Lake minus the urban-ness.

On rainy days like this one, I let Burly off the leash and he runs into the water lots of times as we make our way around. There are designated dog swim areas, but he makes his own as well:)

Dogs-Part One: What the Crap!

Okay, so like most parents, I generally think my baby is perfect. Since we have no human babies (yet- more on the ‘Baby in ‘08 campaign’ later), our dog Burly is our baby for now… And we generally think he is the best thing ever, short of walking on water. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, he plays with people of all ages and stays by me when we walk anywhere… He’s fun to play with, but could sleep all day too, my kind of guy. I’ll be honest, I have often called him the best dog on the planet. He’s portable, he’s sweet, and could do no wrong. Even when we went to Australia and our friend Kirsty called Burly the stealth-pooper, I didn’t believe it. In one ear, and out the other. It must have been because they weren’t taking him out enough, I thought; it couldn’t possibly be Burly’s fault!

That was my opinion until this past month. That’s when he decided to start pooping in our house. Now, potty training ceased a year ago, and he’s been able to ‘hold it’ for a long time… But apparently our formal dining room now looks like the grass outside. I wish I could say it is an honest mistake- that I too, sometimes take my dinner outside and am disoriented when I don’t see the Thomasville table and chairs. But that’s not the case…

I don’t understand why, all of a sudden, that is the room of choice for these surprise poops. That’s our nicest room. Is it the crown molding? The chandolier? The South American silver candelabras? Does he just have that good of taste? About once a week, we find the surprise poops and are so aggravated. Yet he doesn’t seem to care that we are upset, this is like a game for him. Not good puggybear, not good. So anyone with wisdom or practical advice for poop-avoidance, please shed some light on our situation.

Our First Anniversary as Dog Parents

This Thanksgiving week we celebrated our one-year anniversary with Burlington Philippe Evans (call sign: Tornado), the World’s Best Dog. We reflected on how nervous we were at first (all the book reading in the world does not compare to reality…) to how grateful we are for him (he’s everyone in the neighborhood’s favorite dog) and for all that he’s taught us about ourselves… We cannot imagine life without him. He’s one of the best gifts in our lives and we love him, enjoy some photos of him.