Four Years Ago...(and one day)

Four years ago today I was looking for an excuse to get out of a party. Four years ago today Ben willing obliged saying he'd love to be my reason to leave. Four years today ago I bundled up and left a party early nervously and anxiously walking to his house in the snow. Four years ago today our journey together started. 

(our first picture together. or second)

It is hard to believe how much has happened in the last four years. How these past few years have taken us through so much, teaching us, showing us, and amazing us in ways we would have never thought. I feel so privileged to be able to be with this man and travel with him and hold his hand through the journey.

Since that fateful day four years ago I've had more adventures and gone more places than I ever had before.  Our relationship not only survived the many stresses life threw at us, it blossomed and flourished through it all. Ben was able to love me at my worst and handle me at my craziest, and never because he had to, always because he wanted to.

I am completely head-over-heels. There are moments where it all seems so surreal, like I am stuck in some fantastic dream. How did I get here? How am I so lucky? Yes there have been struggles, as there always is, but those pass and I am left with this man, this fantastic man, who brings me pure joy. I am so blessed to be here, to be in love, and to be loved so completely.

I am very blessed and I am totally loving my life. 

"Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all your thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes and let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you never lived before" -Enrich Fromm

Choosing Happiness.

I sometimes feel that before I write things down on my blog I have to come up with some sort of wisdom. I have to figure something out, become wiser in some way, then write about it. Well, today I haven't figured anything out, I wouldn't say I am any wiser than I was yesterday, today I just wanted to write and so, that is what I am doing.

As previous posts have mentioned the last little while hasn't exactly been easy, in many ways it actually has been quite difficult. Ben has been so busy and stressed with school that I ended up taking on many of his feels and was also quite stressed. So the end of his final papers and first exam was greatly anticipated last week. Oh how excited I was last Friday to finally be able to have a weekend with my husband. Friday was great! We went over to my in-laws and spent the evening watching Christmas movies and eating lots of yummy food and slept over. Saturday morning was splendid, we went for a walk, had an amazing breakfast, and were finally able to sleep in. The afternoon was quite busy for me and my darling hubby promised that we'd have the day just the two of us on Sunday. Well lets just say Sunday didn't go as planned.

I was so irritable. Everything was bugging me, not only that but I had a wee-bit higher expectations than Ben did when it came to having a day together. Sunday was a bomb. I, in many ways, made it be that way. That said at the end of the day I was happy and crawled into bed with someone who loved me.

Maybe today when I get back home I can have a lovely evening with my hubby. Maybe we can watch a movie? Maybe he has planned something, if not we are still going to have a splendid time, I will make it splendid. Today I will choose Happiness. Because really that is all happiness is, it is a choice.

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. 

                                                                                  - Abraham Lincoln

It is almost over...

In just a few days I will be getting my husband back from what one may call the hellish cavern of finals. I am so looking forward to it. I feel as though it will be one of those hallelujah moments! The clouds will part, the sun will shine, angels will start singing, it will be beautiful!

I can't wait! I can't wait to have him back all to myself....if only for a week or two. Maybe in the midst of the angels singing unicorns will indeed start pooping rainbows. He is my best Christmas gift, and this Christmas Eve will mark four years of us being together. I just can't wait for him to be back to his normal self.

I feel so fortunate to have this amazing man in my life. I really lucked out. He is such a loving man who genuinely cares about people. He is so authentic and I love that about him, and in just a few more days he is going to be mine again!

Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.

-Mother Teresa

and now....

things keep moving. It is crazy how in one moment we can be completely distraught and lost and soon, soon life turns around and we are all better. It is as if mom has kissed our boo-boo and now we are 100%. I am a resilient person. I am brilliant at bouncing back. That said, as brilliant as I bounce back sometimes things take a little longer to patch up than I would like. Yes, I am pretty good at being Mrs.Optimistic. Yes, there have been a ton of moments where I can smile and laugh and pretend as if nothing is the matter....not even pretend, I guess more live in the moment but, at the end of the day my heart is burdened and I feel it again. This is going to take time, my mom can't kiss this boo-boo gone. This is a fight, this is real, and this is hard. It will be won though, and I will be smiling the whole time as I cheer on! While this race is going though I am going to savor every sweet drop! Oh, this will be honey. 

Things will get fixed. This boo-boo may leave a scar but, it will get better. And hey, what is the point of getting hurt if you don't have an awesome battle wound to show for it!

Things may not be perfect but really, who wants perfection, perfection is boring, there is nothing to strive for. I'm striving for something, I'm not sure what yet, but hey I'm striving!

I'll keep you posted on how that is progressing.

"Give me the comma of imperfect striving, thus to find zest in the immediate living. Ever the reaching but never the gaining, ever the climbing but never the attaining of the mountain top."

-Winston Graham

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the LORD,"plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."


These past few weeks have been difficult, to put it lightly. There has been a lot of pain and hurt (I am not going to go into a great amount of detail). It is hard not to feel broken when everything is falling down around you. 


Life's stresses have been climbing higher and higher and I have been suffocating beneath them. It's as if I am drowning in an ocean and there is a boat right beside me I just can't pull my body up into it. The thing that is even more difficult is I am just a bystander to this whole thing. I'm secondary in this fight. I am watching someone else suffer through the anxiety of life and I am taking it all on myself. And, there is nothing I can do to make it better.


So, why the passage? Why on earth would I pick a verse that talks about a future and a hope? Because I have hope for a future and although I feel broke I know there is wholeness in God. He is there and he is so willing to help, and does, I just sometimes am so broken I can't see it. We will get through this, we will learn, we will progress, things will get better, and in the end we will be better for this. 


Just sometimes it is hard to be positive when everything around you feels so negative. 


So for right now I will be the little engine that could, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." Maybe soon it will turn into an, "I know I can!"


People all over go through things like this, and so often they pass through them and succeed with flying colours. This to shall pass and soon I will be in the land where Unicorns poop rainbows and dragon tears turn into Jelly Beans! See you all on the other side of despair, I will be there shortly.

(If I had a picture of a unicorn pooping a rainbow I'd totally put it here....Instead, a picture that gives me pure joy! Aren't these girls sublime!)

ambition

Have you ever looked at your peers accomplishments and slowly feel as if your self-worth is depleting? As if what you've been pouring your life into hasn't been enough? This happened to me today. I was looking through some blogs and came across one by a girl who I graduated with, a girl who was a good friend of mine when I was in my primary grades. Suddenly I had that sinking feeling, how on earth did it happen? She is now a well-known personal stylist and I am a nanny. I had plans, idea's, I wanted to succeed. 


This is when I looked at my husband, almost near tears feeling rather worthless. "I've done nothing, I haven't achieved anything." He was quick to point out that I may not be accomplished in the sense of a career but, I have great worth and have accomplished many great things. I may not have spent the last four or five years studying to make a career for myself but, what I have been pouring myself into is extremely valuable and I have accomplished much. I have been pouring my heart and soul into people, specifically teenagers.
(a retro picture of me and some of my girls)


The past four (going on five) years I have mentored and built lasting positive relationships with young females. I have created a home that is a safe haven for both the girls I mentor as well as Ben's boys.



(Left- my twins I've been mentoring them since they were in grade 7. Right- me and two other leaders all dressed up from theme night...the them was "80's rock and roll")

Yes, I'd love it if those car seats in the back of my car were for my own children, but they aren't. I'd love to be an accomplished photographer but, that hasn't happened yet. I'd love many things but, that doesn't mean I have accomplished nothing. To some people having a career is really important, statues is important, making lots of money is important and as much as yes those things are nice, I've put relationships at a higher-archy and I've spent these last few years of my life investing in something that is incredibly important. I've invested in people, in teenagers. I have changed lives. God has changed lives and used me as his tool.

So yes, I may not be incredibly ambitious. I may not have the career of my dreams. I may not have finished college. BUT, I have helped people, and I feel so blessed to be able to say that my life has changed other peoples lives in a positive manner. 

I love what I have done and look forward to doing more.


 So for now, nannying gives me practice for parenthood so I'll be more prepared when we do get to put our own child's car seat into the back of our car. Mentoring gives me life and keeps me young. Investing in people....well people aren't ever out of style, what I do lives on. Trends may change, things may get worn through, but people are always important, people are always valuable, and the relationships I create are worth so much more than any career. It may not put money in the bank but boy does it feed the soul.


Do something today...that makes you happy. Do something today that will last through the trends and the changes. Feed your soul.

November. 24th 2010

Dear Husband,


Right now you are working away in our bedroom, typing, researching, reading. This past week has been so hard for you and you are stressing out. I've been busy working nine hours a day and have hardly seen you these last few days, you are such a hard worker. 


I just wanted you to know that I so amazingly proud of you and feel so blessed to be your wife. I am a lucky woman and I know that so much of what you are doing now is for me. You don't enjoy school but, you are going through it and finishing it for me, for us, for our future. 


Thank you so much for all you do for me. I truly have no idea where I'd be without you. You are amazing, and I know I am so loved by you. I love you darling, through and through. I am yours for ever. xoxoxxx.


-Wifey

Let it snow....

When we initially decided to move here I wiki'd Nanaimo to just get a little more in the know. I read about famous people who live here, history, industry,etc. Then I got to the bottom of the page where it talked statistics about weather. This is when I got excited. Where I used to live weather was typically pretty brisk in the winter. I remember as a middle schooler it once got down to minus forty and somehow the school was still open. So the fact that the record cold in January here was minus seventeen got me more than a little excited. I was thrilled. I would casually bring up in conversation the fact that the average temperature was plus two in January, you know just to make people envious. It was practically tropical! 


Yet, now I feel like I may have said too much all those months ago because it has been snowing here for four days, and there is no sign of it letting up. It isn't minus forty of anything...just a slightly brisk minus four. On top of that....we may have gotten used to the warmer weather quite quickly and well, we just aren't able to take this the way we used to. Hopefully this cold kick wont last too long because I would like to get back to being able to rub our warmth in peoples faces. That said, I am totally loving the snow and winter wonderland. I will try to get pictures up soon.

My New Home

Last time I posted I was still living in Cranbrook. What can I say? I've been busy, not necessarily with work, although with a start on Monday I am sure that will soon keep me fairly preoccupied as well. Trying to get our apartment feeling like home, putting up photos and getting things organized. I've been a pretty decent little housewife. On top of getting things organized at home I have also been busy finding my way through a new city. I can now say that I barely ever get lost, and even when I do I can, for the most part, find my way out. On top of that Ben has been going to school and we have both started volunteering with the Young Life here. With that here is a simple visual of my last few months.

(an Young Life event we did with our whole Young Life region of the Island)

(I live five minutes away from here.)

 (This may make me sound ridiculous but, when I first saw the glimmer of this shell I was so excited because I thought it was a pearl. I was saddened when I was wrong but, it makes for a great picture...or two)

Even though I have been busy figuring this place out there are still quite a few things I want to do. So...I think I will make a list and slowly cross things off.

1. Find myself a cute quite cafe.

2. Maybe find a knitting club of sorts...or make one myself.

3. Join a gym. (almost there)

4. Learn something new....maybe an instrument.

5. Go to Tofino.

6. Explore more of the Island with Ben.

7. Find a nice, inexpensive Hair Salon.

8. Build up my photography portfolio.

9. Try some new kinds of food.

10. Finish a knitting project. (Working on another new one!)

The world is full of wonders to be bored is self-imposed. 

The Simple Things...

That give me oh so much joy! Although the last week has been rather lonely without my other half, today I have found much joy! This morning my sleep was interrupted by the ringing of my phone, my mom answered on the other end "Oh Lainey, I'm glad you weren't sleeping." I guess I didn't sounds sleepy enough, it made me laugh.

After helping my parents with something I got home and went for a run. I don't know why I don't got for runs more often, I really do enjoy them. The fact that I actually accomplished that today, well that alone fills my cup to overflowing! Then to make my day even better, after purchasing an exterior fan for my laptop and now have a much more reliable computer. By that I mean that it has now lasted for over an hour without going dumb on me when typically it shuts down ever few minutes. I called my darling about my new found joy and gave him an air high five through the telephone! I am truly ecstatic!

On top of all that good news I also have some other even more awesome news! We have now officially sold the house and my darling Ben is down in our new place unpacking...all 14 hours away from me. It is pretty impressive seeing how the market has been. We are really happy things worked out the way they did.

Best Weekend All!

I've been gone...

In oh so many ways. My mind just hasn't been working the way it typically does. My brain just hasn't wrapped round the fact that so much is happening is such a little amount of time. It hasn't began to realize how in such a short time my world will be flipped and I will begin a new, uncharted, adventure. For this adventure there is no map, and I am scared. I know every new adventure is new, and doesn't present itself with a map but, this one, this one is different. With getting married there was anticipation, planning, and the fact that I knew Ben rather well - no duh - and had taken a good eight months planning the wedding and preparing my heart for what was to come. Moving, moving is scary. I am scared. I feel as though I am jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. I am scared therefore, I am procrastinating packing and whatever else needs to be done before we move. Yes, I do that.

Yesterday we had a "goodbye get-together" I had planned it, it was casual. I did it for Ben, because I think he needed it a bit. I am still in disbelief that there was even a need. Someone please tell me that I am dreaming that this is actually happening. I will let you know when the fact has actually sunk in; Until then I will be pleasantly pretending that nothing is changing.

So...for a months worth of updates I will give you some eye candy.

I took a bunch of teenagers (68 to be exact) to camp from July twenty-first till July twenty-eighth, and got to see my little brother for the first time in a month, he is quite the stunner isn't he. I almost began to cry when I saw his face, I have no idea what I am going to do when I move, I will be weepy for a good amount of time.

It was one of the most rewarding experiences ever. I've taken girls to camp before...this was year three but, I've never had a better experience. My girls were awesome! They really got along and got to know each other, I don't think I have ever experienced so much love in a cabin of girls. It is really going to be hard to leave this ladies behind, I've build relationships and it is hard to think that these next few years I am not going to be able to experience it in such a way. 

My girls where in love with the tutu's I made...which made the 16 hours of creation worth every minute! We were probably best dressed at the Volleyball tournament! They all looked amazing.

Needless to say, Kelly absolutely loved her purple tutu! Which is AWESOME! Boy will I ever miss this girly! She is amazing and fun and sweet! I love her to death!

What an amazing group of girls I had! I feel so blessed to have such an amazing experience and will probably draw on this experience many many times.  Then...after seven days of being away I went home. I hug my husband and cried as I was held in his arms because, as amazing as the experience was it was physically, mentally, and emotionally draining! Worth all of the exhaustion though! Soon, life hit. Packing was real, and I was scared. I escaped through photography. It was nice.

My baby sister! She isn't a baby anymore, at all!

Isn't she gorgeous! We had fun!

Oh, and of course we can't forget my brothers......

And with that I will leave you! Hope you enjoyed!

Enjoying.

Yes, I haven't posted for over a week, and last week I missed writing my letter and for that I apologize, please forgive me. I have been busy but, before I get into details I will let you know why I am enjoying the busy-ness.

I am enjoying the busy-ness because for once in my life I am in LOVE with my job! I am nannying the sweetest children. The youngest two have this spirit about them where you can genuinely see this love, I have yet to see them fight and I have been doing this for three weeks. The oldest is also very sweet, kind, and caring she is nine years old, and she has a lot of pizazz! She is dramatic and exuberant and well sometimes it can be a little difficult, most of the time she just goes with the flow and loves life.


I am enjoying because we may have found a place! We are moving to the coast in late August for my darling husband to finish school, and well having possibly lined up a place is a pretty amazing thought!


I am enjoying because even though it is time consuming and rather tedious I am making tutu's as the costume for my girls for camp! I have made eight and have two more to go until I am done! They are awesome! Rocco LOVES them.

I am enjoying because well, I have no reason not to enjoy! I may be busy but, busy is fun! I have gone for more walks this week than I have gone in the last month. I am enjoying because I am leaving this Wednesday we are taking 68 kids to camp and I have ten of them in my cabin! I have the opportunity to spend a week with these girls and give them an experience of a life time.

I am just enjoying.

July 5th 2010

Dear Husband, 

What can I say you made my weekend great, you make my every day great, and the fact that I am so lucky to be able to spend every day with you...well that just blows my mind every so often. It is hard to comprehend the fact that you choose me, and I choose you. What luck! You didn't decide to fall in love with someone else.

This weekend we went to my grandparents cabin and relaxed...boy did we relax.

it was pure perfection. We stayed up late and slept in late. We did what ever we wanted to without any sort of time line, it was a wonderful weekend. You were a total sweetheart the whole time, I would say my heart melted several times.

I totally fell in love with a little café and was so happy you took me there and let me buy gelato as much as I wanted! I just bathed in the awesomeness that was the Pink Cherry, I always feel as though I am one of the locals when I find an awesome place to eat that isn't McDonalds.

I am so happy that we were able to spend this time together and that everything worked out. I am also so happy that for once the weather decided to cooperate while we were at the cabin and that we were able to go swimming without being totally and completely frozen.  

I feel so blessed to be able to spend every day, even the normal mundane ones, with the man I love.If someone told me four years ago that I would soon meet the man of my dreams, and that I would be this happy, and this in love, they would have gotten a slap in the face because that just would have seemed like a cruel joke. I am so glad I can now say with complete honesty that I am head over heels in love, and although we have our struggles, I wouldn't change the life we have, or even a day we spend together for the world.

I Love you so much hunny!

Sincerely,

     

       Your Wife.

(Did I mention the fact that my grandparents have possibly the best few of the lake from their house?)

A Letter

I have recently decided that I am going to make it a weekly venture to write a letter to my husband here on my blog. Hopefully you will enjoy this undertaking if not, I do apologize but, I feel as though this is something I need to do.

Dear Husband,

Today I woke  up to a happy man, which has been quite unusual these last few days. I was so pleased to be hugged and held by you. Have I ever told you how pretty I feel when you hold me? Your touch makes me light up and for the time that I am in your arms it is as though the planets have aligned and I am just part of a perfect moment.

Today we didn't do much but, that is what you wanted. We have been so busy this last week. Yesterday you told me that today was going to be a day you spent for you. Today you spent much of your time in front of the T.V. playing "Prince of Persia" on your XBOX 360, and I didn't mind, I had a very pleasant and happy husband. Your content smile just filled me right up and I was happy with that. 


This evening Ryan came over and the two of you played video games together. It is as if this friendship you have built has become a part of your being, you two speak in a different language, many times it is hard for me to follow. Ryan joined us at my parents place for dinner. I think it is so cool that Ryan doesn't mind coming to my parents place, it isn't exactly quite, you know with my three younger siblings one of which has the vocal capasity of say a police siren! I am sure you appreciate a friend who doesn't mind being part of the family.

After dinner the we came back home and the two of you continued your gaming till about 10:00pm. I baked some Red Velvet Cupcakes. Now here I am writing a letter to you, my cupcakes are almost done and we are both relaxing. 


Thank you for being such a great friend, and loving me. I just want you to know that even though you have been slightly grumpy the past few days I am totally in love with you and care for you and love you in spite of your grumpiness....actually one might say that I find your grumpiness ever so slightly alluring. I wont lie though, I prefer the happy you.


Sincerely,


Your Loving Wife.

June...

Oh how I love it when the air changes and you know that summer is here...or at least arriving soon! I love being able to walk through the community forest and see all the Black-Eyed Susan's in full bloom glowing in the heat of the sun. I always look forward to the weekends away where me and my darling husband can cuddle and relax as if we have no care in the world. I love the weekends at the cabin where we go to the farmers market to buy our food, although if we had one here we would all the time, and spend our nights watching fireworks displays put on by neighbours and occasionally ourselves. Oh how I enjoy the walks in the evening where the sun is shining down on us as we march through the long grass and occasionally dance down the paths right near our house.

(taken by my husband at the farmers market's corn maze)

Summer brings me a new life every year where I feel as if I have a whole world of possibilities to breath in! So much potential...so many things that I have to look forward that lie ahead of me and all I have to do is live that moment and enjoy it for what it is and smile as moments pass and I am left with what I was looking for. Sometimes the most unexpected things are the things you never knew you were looking for until they are right in front of you and it hits you, "this is what I wanted!"


So I leave you with this summer blessing:
Enjoy each moment for that it is and breath it in and live it up!


Cheers!

Why I do what I do...

Why am I a Young Life leader? The answer to this question was ever so clear this week. I am a Young Life leader because I want to make sure no teenager is alone to question, "who loves me?!" . I am a Young Life leader so that when kids are going through a problem they can come to my house and feel at home while I bake them cookies and we talk about what they want to talk about. 


On May 22nd, a teenage girl I have gotten to know through the last few years took her life. I know there is no way I could have prevented this but, there is always going to be a tinge of guilt. This showed me how much I as a leader am needed, and how much these teens need a constant reminder They Are Loved. 


This past week my husband and I opened our house up to the teens that were mourning. Ben, my husband, has been a leader to many of the boys who knew the girl quite well and as I baked cookies and made dinner Ben played video games. We cried, I cried, a lot. Kids are not supposed to die. We attended her funeral, where I became inconsolable. I trudged through the high school delivering cookies to some of the rooms where the teens met to mourn. I brought a candle down to the candle light, and I cried. Oh man, I cried. I hurt, I hurt knowing how lost this poor girl was. I hurt seeing these boys weep and having them tell me their stories, and hearing the guilt in their voices and telling them, "There is nothing you could have done, what happened doesn't make sense and there is no way you could have changed it". 


This is why I am a Young Life leader. I love what I do, I love these teenagers! Ben often says things like, "How about Lainey and I adopt you and then you can have Honey Mustard chicken whenever you want it!" to the guys. The truth, I love these teenagers and I would love to adopt them but, they all have nice families. Sometimes  they need someone who isn't there mom to bake them dinner, and someone who isn't there dad to sit down and play video games with them, they sometimes need us. We go into the school and we see what they have to work through. We understand. We sometimes cry. 

What brings me...

JOY!

1. My dearest, most darling Husband. He is my companion. God picked him out just for me, God knew what I needed, what I longed for, and made sure that he made a man that fit that description. I am truly blessed in how perfect our puzzle pieces fit together.

He is mine and I am his

2. My large, unique, awkward, lovely family. I am the second of five children. I was blessed to be part of such a large a loving family. I have the most beautiful mother. She always allowed me to be me, my unique self. She is amazing. She is vibrant, enthusiastic, kind, caring, nurturing. Even with five children she was always able to make each of us feel loved, feel special, we were never just one of five, we were special, unique, we were hers. 

I was also so blessed to have the most amazing father. He loved us all so much. He is the most hardworking man I know. As a little one I always wanted to be just like my daddy. I remember when I was four asking for a tool box for Christmas just so I could be like my dad the carpenter. My dad used to make me porridge every morning, I would crawl up onto his lap and he would help me put spoonfuls of porridge into my mouth, and he would hold the raisins just for me, even though he loved them.

3. Letters. I love letters. My darling hubby and I still write little love letters to each other whenever one of is gone. There are times where I just sit and read through the letters and this downpour of love washes over me. I am so blessed to have the love I have, to feel the love I feel.

4. Children. I may not have my own yet, but I love taking care of them, playing with them, and watching them grow. This past week I was so lucky to photograph my friend and her little girl. I have watched this little grow from day one and here she is three and I can barely believe that I have been so blessed to be part of this littles life. I look forward to having my own someday and watching them grow and become people, with their own unique personality.

 

























5. Books. I love books, and not just any books, children's books. I have a huge collection. I can't walk through a mall without visiting the children's section of a book store. I love pictures, I love the words, and how this simple book can have so much meaning and tell an even greater story than a novel. Children's books can be amazingly profound and I love that.

6. Dancing. I don't do it often enough, but when I do I get this overwhelming sense of happiness. When I am dancing I know I am sucking the happiness out of the moment breathing in every bit of it and I love that feeling. It fills me up with those lovely endorphins.

7. My new chairs. At the moment they are filling me with joy. They just make this room so much more. They are super comfortable, and super elegant. And they look especially good with the nice blue pillows I decorated them with! Yes, these new chairs are amazing!

8. My nice, reliable old SLR. I got it out again to take some lovely photographs with film and I rediscovered me love for that camera. It takes such amazing photos, with such a lovely feel. Ones like this:

9. Thunderstorms. Today I was cleaning my house, getting ready for the big move, and suddenly my house was hit with a downpour of rain. It was sudden, and it was beautiful and by 3 pm we were in full throttle thunderstorm mode. It was beautiful. The feelings that thunderstorms create, a lovely sense of closeness and comfort, it is amazing. Curling up on my couch with a hot chocolate was just a bonus.

10. Rocco, my kitten. She may be the last on this list but, she is certainly not the least. My lovely little Rocco and her curiosity just warms my heart. She is always making such peculiar noises and is constantly finding things to play with. She is my day companion and I enjoy her thoroughly, she reminds me that sometimes I should let myself play!