Friday May 14th ~

 Whenever I am missing you, I also remember

how fortunate I was that you were in our lives.  I

 wouldn't trade those moments for the world...

Yesterday we walked on the beach.  So much to see and

 always very entertaining.  One girl was jumping rope 

like a maniac.  She had good coordination and style.  

When she took a break I told her so, and we chatted a 

little.  No clue who she was but our chat was interesting,

 and she said was OK to take the pictures.  She's a good rope

 jumper.  With a lot of style.  She made it seem so very easy.

The island also has a lot of chickens running around.  

Now all the mama chickens have babies.  Of course now

 I am going to start taking food for the mamas and their babies

 as well.  The homeless population of animals is sad.

The other day Arvid could not get the TV to work it 

was stuck.  Everyone who knows Arvid, knows he loves his

 TV time.  He tried everything, unplugging, hitting the 

TV, hitting the remote, but nothing worked 😂.

  Finally he checked the batteries and what do you know. 

 We just needed new batteries for the remote.  The night

 was saved.  I just watched waiting until he realized why 

the remote was not working.  Pretty entertaining because 

Arvid got all worked up. Then he was happy again 😂.

The day is sunny and of course warm.  The waves are

 splashing, the skies are blue.  Life is good and we are

 grateful for the time we have here in Puerto Rico.

The heart remembers most what it has loved best...

~Nadiya~

Monday October 26th ~

Don't let the sun go down without

 saying thank you to someone, and without 

admitting to yourself that absolutely

 no one gets this far alone...

 A new week is here again.  The days are going by so 

very fast, and that means that our time here in Puerto Rico is

 coming to an end.  Not right away, but it's happening.  We love

 it here, but we also have a beautiful home in Fort Lauderdale.

In life, there is always something to be thankful for. 

It’s easy to complain about how chaotic the world is and how

 people can be so evil towards one another, but complaining 

without action just doesn’t change anything. If we start to be 

thankful for everything we have, instead of what we do not

 have, we’ll start to appreciate our life on this earth more.

I try to always focus on the good in people.  I know

 in life that there is "bad" all around us, but I

 also know that there is more good as well.  

There are days when I feel like nothing is going right,

 I feel as if the burden of the world is on my shoulders,

 but then I think of  my mom.  A woman who has

 gone through more than most, yet has never in

 her life complained about anything. Never.

 If there is anyone who I can learn from, it is her. 

 My mom lives in CONSTANT pain, and I don't

 mean pain like what you and I have.  

She endures it without ever complaining.  She never

 has a day "off" from pain, yet she's always there to offer

 us advise, unconditional love and to listen to us.  My

 mom never judges, she listens even when sometimes

 she disagrees with us.  She listens.  My mom is

 the definition of kindness and compassion.

I feel a little sad today.  I would have loved to be there 

with my parents right now.  I am also feeling sad because,

 my thoughts are with Brutus, who died too soon.  Soon it will

 be five years without him.  I miss him so much right now, 

but life goes on, and in my heart there stirs a quiet pain.

We all have someone we miss.  I am not unique in that.  As we

 all know some days are more difficult that others, but most

 days are good days. Today is one of those not "good" days.

Sniff on the other hand is patiently counting down

 the days until Halloween.  Then he can rest again.

I miss you in ways that not

 even words can understand...

~Nadiya~