MY Birthday!! (a few days late)

When I was a little girl, I thought I knew how things worked (I'm laughing at such juvenille thoughts as I type), girls grew up and married boys, their fathers walked their daughters down the church aisle...and there was an order to things, first came love, then came marriage, and then came an overpriced rediculously complicated baby carriage.

But when I grew up I realized that is not necessarily how things worked. Girls can marry girls, boys can marry boys, people can get married in the Bahamas, and kids can come before love and marriage.

It took me 27 years to figure out who I wanted to be...and what I've learned is it's a choice that you make EVERYDAY about who you want to be and who you want to be it with. I had to learn to appreciate what has happened in my life to bring me to this point and let go of it. And it means to be willing to comit with no guarantees. It means by knowing and accepting my reality, I got that fantasy I had always dreamed of :)

I like this place in our lives. It's nice to have something to be so proud of, and for people to be proud of what I've accomplished.

Thanks for all of the Birthday wishes, it means a lot to know you still remember :)

Love, Love, Love
Paige

From Tobes to Rock-Dawg

We here at the Atkins house have a medium to large place in our hearts for our nephew-dog Rocky. I spoke with Mommy today and she told me you were turning the big S-I-X. Toby had to jump online immediately to dig up old pics of you from past visits.  Found one! And, we wanted to thank you for taking care of all of your girls this past year. Being such a big man in the family takes a lot of work...maybe that is why you need sooo much sleep.  Know that we love you, no matter what old spaghetti fragrance you supply to the room, and we are thinking of you today. Loves to the Rock-Dawg   :)

You are a beautiful, stinky creature. Happy Birthday, friend!

Our Family's 4th

I love Missouri! Yay! Those words tasted a bit funny coming out of my mouth/head....who EVER would have thought, right? Yep, I admit it, it's growing on me.  Just looking at how much there is to do here, and all of the new nice developments going up all around I am really starting to feel at home in the err-huh, Mid-West.  Laugh yee all who doubted me :)

As we appreciated our rights and freedom to live a life of just liberties, we also played at a "Water Pad" after a morning full of park fun in the sand and climbing rock walls. Man that was exhausting to type, I can't imagine how tired the kids were! We enjoyed our weekly Saturday Farmer's Market visit (where we pick out our freshly butchered cow yummies and organic veggies), took a wagon ride with Toby, and grilled hamburglers with a side of homemade ice cream and Fireworks...and by fireworks I mean Party Poppers and snapper throw downs. WHOO! The Atkins really know how to party. Maybe one day soon we can have REAL firecrackers, and let me just say these folks do it BIG. If you have ever been to Rockets Over the Red, you know how awesome a show can be...this state has a "Rockets" show in every neighborhood! We put the babies to bed and just sat in our papasan chair together to watch everyone's show. Thanks Mid-Missouri for the free fireworks :) Needless to say, the babies slept until 900am on Monday.