I know this isn't supposed to be a pet blog, but
I couldn't help myself!
Just in case you've ever wanted to know how a 6.6 lb cat can hog an entire loveseat, here's a lesson:
This is Rasputin, our pearly white princess of destruction. She's really sweet, but we aren't keeping her. She's looking for a forever home, preferably one with lots of canned salmon, and is willing to travel to the States. Ya wanna?
People wonder why I'm so upset to leave Barley when I start work next month:
How can I leave this face every morning? That's the exact face he gives me when he realizes I'm leaving. I'm not thinking about it...I'll cry. And yes, that is a laundry basket he's curled up in. He stood next to it and looked from the basket to me until I took enough laundry out for him to fit inside. Good Grief, Charlie Brown.
Our family
I've had many requests for pictures of our little family to be posted. By "many requests," I mean one. But hey - I'm here for YOU. You want, you get, capice?
Here's our handsome boy Barley.
We've been told he's the best lookin', best behaved, sweetest, funniest, lovin'est, most wonderful dog around and we're hard pressed to find fault with any of it. Of course, it's usually Ben telling this to me or me telling him, but when you're right, you're right.
Born Feb 21 2005, he's an Aquarius "on the cusp" with way more Pisces tendancies. The funny part is I totally pulled that out, but it's actually true for him. Huh. Anyway, he's super sweet, very sensitive and loving, and is so calm that we wonder if he'll need an i.v. after he "matures." He's our baby and every other dog we spend time with only serves to highlight Barley's near-perfection. You think I jest. I do not.
While Barley may be sensitive, do not think him un-manly. He leads a harrowing life. He subsists on 2 meals a day, plus 2 eggs a week (gotta keep the coat shiny for the ladies). He has only 3 beds in the house, only 4 toys, only 2 water dishes, and only 2 collars. His is not a life of choices. He has but 10 regular dog-friends, and only one regular weekly play-date at the beach with them. He works for meals, treats, the leash, and affection by...prepare for it...sitting down. He is nothing if not a survivor.
Can you tell we love him and dote on him. He's our baby. We also may have a cat...more on that later. Right now, it says enough about her that she's been christened Rasputin.
Alex
I wanted to give you an update on Alex. He is up to 10lbs now and has sarted baby food. He also amazed me yesterday by saying his first word...DaDa. Brad unfortunatly was not around to hear it but I am sure that when he gets it down he will not stop.
I hope that everyone is doing well.
Love to All,
Angela
Praise to The Provider!
Praise God, He gave me a job!!
I've been applying for jobs since we got to Japan, and I guess I finally found the one where He wants me. Come mid-September, I'll be the Secretary to the Commanding General of the 3d Marine Logistics Group. YAY!! It's a great job, basically my dream job. I said when I got out of the Corps that I'd love to be a CG's Secretary! I'll have plenty to do and enough responsibility to be fulfilled, but not enough stress to lose sleep...I hope! It's still technically "tentative" until my paperwork goes through. But, as I'm not a degenerate or outlaw, I have every expectation that it will.
God is good!
From Brad & Angela
Hi everyone!!! I hope that people log on this is a GREAT way to see what is going on.
Speaking of what is going on......we are moving to Minnesota around the 29th of this month. We just found a cute little house and I will send pictures as soon as we get up there. We will be living near Uncle John and Kathy. I am sooooo excited that my family will be a family agian!
Alex has a check up on Monday and I am expecting him to be over 8lbs!! I know it doesn't sound big but being almost 6 months and starting off at 3.5lbs, he is getting big.
Caitlyn is doing great also. She is starting to count on her fingers and if you ask her how many 4 is she will show you on her fingers. She is very much into counting and can get up to about 15 before she starts going all over the place with numbers. Reading is something else she loves. We are working on teaching her her letters so she is well on her way.
Bobby has been being Bobby. He is still catching bugs and lizards but has expanded to catching birds. He brought a baby quail into the house a couple of weeks ago and said that he had to keep it because it could not find its parents. Other than that he is doing good and cannot wait for the move and to start school.
Little Brad is a life saver!! With Brad gone and me with 4 kids he helps with the baby so much!! He will fix me bottles and feed Alex too. He trys to help calm him down if he is fussy and helps me get him into the car while I am trying to get Caitlyn and everything else into the car. I cannot wait for us to get up to Minnesota and him to find friends to go play with!!
Well I guess last is me and Brad. He is still up in Prescott Valley and his official last day is the 25th!!! He is doing well and I have told him that I hope he has had a good rest because the kids are all his!!;) I am trying to get things packed and going through stuff in storage so I can get rid of anything that I do not needd. We are both looking forward to being together agian.
I guess that I have covered everything so far and will get pictures out as soon as I get to a computer that will read my disk.
Our Love to All,
Brad, Angela, Lil Brad, Bobby, Caitlyn and Alex
Come On In!!
Hi! It's Ben and Ashley here, shouting out from Japan. You may be in California or Florida or Hawaii or....well, you get the picture. Speaking of pics, the handsome guy in that one is a Shisa Dog. The Japanese post them at entryways to ward off bad spirits and attract good ones. Since this is the kick-off of our family blog, we thought we'd put him here for luck. (Plus, I think he's wicked cute. -Ashley)
We created World Wide Atkinson as an easy way to stay up to date on each other's lives. To stay on top of promotions, new houses, new babies, and just the every day "you won't believe what the baby did" fun family stories, we invite you to join us online. Pop in with a story of the dog eating the couch. Log on and post a photo of the baby. Leave a post requesting prayer.
This is called a "blog, " which is short for weblog. In a nutshell, it's an online diary. In order to post, you'll have to create a
blogger account. Ashley uses blogger for her personal knitting blog (visit me
here!), and it's a great, easy-to-use blog service. With blogger you can leave links to other websites and post photos right in the middle of your text. It will even check your spelling, but you'll notice we rarely click that button! You can keep your own blog in your blogger account, or just use it as a way to post here. It's as simple as you want it to be, but, know that keeping your own blog is a great way to share with everyone you know who isn't interested in Ben and Ashley in Japan. Not that there are many of them, but just in case ;). Blogger has FAQ's, or you can e-mail us with questions at benandashley@hotmail.com, and we'll try to help.
We hope this becomes a great common gound for us all! So, jump on in, create a blogger account, and let us know what's going on with you.
