Today's Post Sponsored by the Letter "B"

"B" is for:

Baptism - Ilya was baptized today! I've been waiting for this day since we brought Ilya home. I am the communications assistant for our church (my part time job), and one of my duties includes making baptism certificates. Last Thursday I made Ilya's and call me crazy (or a sap!) but I got a little misty eyed as I created and printed his certificate. Norm & I took vows on Ilya's behalf this morning to raise him in a loving Christian home, to introduce him to Jesus, and to explain what this means when he is old enough to understand. I pray that when Ilya is old enough to take vows on his own to live a Christian life, that he will do so. Here is a very short, 7 picture slide show of the baptism:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Birthday - Today is Norm's birthday! He's 29 (again!). Seems like we've repeated that birthday a few times for him already but that's his story & he's sticking to it. After church we went out to a celebratory lunch with great friends and had a wonderful afternoon. I am so honored to have been with Norm for his last 13 birthday's and I hope we're able to celebrate many, many more together.

Bandit - "Anonymous" asked a few posts back what breed/type of dog my Bandit Boy is. My best guess is a mix between a German Shepherd and a Volkswagon! He's a huge dog, topping the scales at 135 lbs, hence the Volkswagon. There is most definitely Shepherd in there but we're not entirely sure what else. Perhaps Collie - - his nose is long & pointie like a Collie's, and some Collie's are black & tan with white stripes on their chests like Bandit has. We started fostering Bandit in 2001 when he was 2 years old. We didn't know much about his history but I can tell you that he came to us very, very sick and neglected. He also came to the rural shelter he was in with an absolutely BOGUS story that could have led to an automatic death sentence. Thankfully the shelter staff was too smart to believe any of that nonsense and contacted my rescue group instead. Anyway, he had to have surgery and when we nearly lost him, I knew there was no way I could let another family adopt him. After much begging and pleading, Norm finally agreed to adopt Bandit and he has been with us ever since. I LOVE the way Norm decided to let me know we could keep Bandit & stop interviewing potential adopters. I'll save that for another day though.

Bailey - our loving, entertaining, not-so-girly girl. She is such a goof and keeps us laughing all the time. I could write an entire book about her but I'll just leave it at I love her to no end!

BLESSED - for the reasons above and many, many more, we are so very blessed! These are truly days to remember, days to live and to love. I don't know what I did to deserve all that I have but I am eternally grateful for all that God has given me!