Monday, August 31, 2009

Family...

"The love of a family is life's greatest blessing"
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~Dakota & Uncle Barry~

I can't tell you how dear and true I hold this saying to my heart!! Anyone can claim that their family means everything to them, but I firmly believe actions speak louder than words. I can't tell you how much I LOVE my family. And I'm not just talking about Kevin and Dakota. I mean everyone in my family, including, aunts, uncles, nieces, cousins, 2nd cousins, etc.

As much as I want to vent and rant about recent disappointments that I have endured with family, I won't. I'll keep this blog positive and uplifting, as I'm sure most people that will be reading this blog need no further explanation. Let's just say that the people who have let me down and disappointed MY family probably don't give much care to this blog and would never read it anyways. But that's okay, I just need to consider the source and remember that there are some underlying personal issues and problems.

Anywaaaays, this past weekend we had the pleasure of attending my niece, Clarissa's 17th birthday party. Dakota certainly enjoyed herself. She got to hang out with her cousin Danette who is just SOO sweet with her. I loved watching the two of them together. Danette loved blowing bubbles for Dakota, reading her books, showing her the fish tank, and of course the Koi pond. Dakota was practically glued to her hip the entire afternoon.

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Waiting for the fishies to come nibble their fingers...
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Uncle Barry also spent some quality time with his niece, and let Dakota feed the fishies in the pond. She got a kick out of plucking the pellets out of her uncle's hand and throwing them into the water to watch a feeding frenzy ensue in front of her. She even stuck her fingers in the pond for the fishies to nibble on. I don't think she really understood that they would do that, but she got the idea when one of the little ones nibbled at her finger. She was so surprised!! lol

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Dakota also loved following their dog, Roxy, ALL over the place. One would think, "that poor dog!" Well don't, because that dog ate like a queen with Dakota around. It all started when Roxy came up to Dakota and snatched a tortilla chip right out of her hand. Dakota had this puzzled look on her face, but soon realized what happened. That's where the feed-Roxy-anything-and-everything-you-can-find came into play....


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Later that day, we enjoyed a little water balloon fight. Dakota didn't really get to participate, but she loved holding them nonetheless. My brother nailed me good when I wasn't looking. Techincally, I don't think the water ballon fight had actually started, so in my book he cheated!! The bad thing about it, he nailed me right when I picked my camera up, which took the direct hit. And no, it wasn't my underwater camera. FIGURES! Luckily, it survived.

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It was a fun day for Dakota and I'm glad she spent some time with my brother and niece, Danette, who showed her nothing but love.

And one last thing....I try to excercise a great deal of humility when it comes to my life, but there is one thing I don't mind boasting about, and that is my optimism and positive outlook on things. I try not to let negativity come into my life, but sometimes that's hard. Especially when it comes to family. I've always taken pride in doing as the old saying goes... "do unto others as you would have others do unto you." And although, I can excuse people's selfish and immature ways when it comes to me, I will never accept, allow or tolerate any negative enery that directly affects my child. And now that things have come to light, there will be many changes in the future.

2 comments:

Nichole said...

I <3 your family too :)
What a great way to spend the weekend :)

Bradshaw's Buzz said...

Isn't the love of family one of the best gifts from God?? We too are blessed with amazing family. We're lucky that Austin's Grandparents (both sides) and his only Uncle/Aunt/Cousin all live within a 30 min radius and see him weekly <3 <3 <3