Our Second Family

Adeline and I were blessed to have a visit from our second family this past week--Wally, Bunnie, and Dawson. When we were stationed at Ft. Hood they took us in from day one and taught us the meaning and value of a neighbor. Our puppies became family too, as we got them one day apart. Growing up, we were never close with our neighbors (although I do recall a neighbor who made us cool Ninja Turtle memorabilia) so it was a foreign concept for me. They had us over for dinner every week, watched our dogs while we were at work and on vacation, drove us to and from the airport on several occasions, took us out to eat and to the theater, and on and on and on. When Tim was deployed I felt safe because I had them so close by and they took EXCELLENT care of me and the pups! Moving from Belton was difficult since it meant leaving them, but we knew they'd be family for life. Luckily, we've been able to see them a few times since we moved, with the most recent trip being a stop off on their annual trip to Colorado. Thursday night they came by bearing gifts (one of which is the shirt I'm wearing in the below pics) and visited after Adeline was asleep. Then we met them for breakfast on Friday. My favorite comment was Wally saying, "Wow, she can really put away the groceries," as Adeline stuffed her face with just about everything at the buffet =). Afterwards Adeline got to spend some time loving on Dawson who simply delighted her and then we said our "see you soons." How God has blessed us with these beautiful people!