First off, I’d like to thank the “family” of NOH readers who entered the Refueling Power Moms Giveaway this past weekend. What an amazing response from your all and I absolutely appreciate all the support and love you have not only shown to me, but also to all the sponsors. You guys totally rock! Well over 400 entries in just 5 days really blew my mind. So thank you all and I’m glad to have you as part of this family.

In case you’re wondering, the US winner is Anji Beane & in Europe it was Piret. They’ve already been notified and confirmed their excitement about winning, so there’s no second chance round.

In other news, the topic this week for You Capture is Family (although Beth is still fully enjoying her hiatus which I would never begrudge her) but You Capture will most likely be back in full effect next week.

Since we’re here in Germany, we don’t have that many family members around (Stefan’s parents are about 4 hours away) and so our immediate little family is very important to us. And every weekend when Stefan gets to be home with us, there’s a scene something like this as we all get ready to take Ayla for a walk…

Ayla is sitting and waiting with anticipation, we’re getting our shoes on, and Mack is stalling. It’s not that she doesn’t want to go on the walk — there are just so many other things she “needs” to do before she can go. And yes, it is necessary to have that umbrella open at all times inside the house. 😉

Indeed, Ayla is an integral part of our family, and she basically was our testing ground for having a child. We knew if we could manage a huge dog, we could handle a kid. I know, I know; they’re not the same. But honestly, anyone who has had a dog over 100 pounds knows that they are more like perma-toddlers than dogs. Because in my mind, a small dog (not mid-sized, but a Chihuahua or something) is far more like having a cat than a dog.

And speaking of cats…

I could only get one of them to appear for me, but this is really the critter that started our entire little family. My mom found her one day, half starved and barely big enough to fill your hand. Stefan and I ended up keeping her, even though we’d only been together for about a week, and she basically pushed us toward domestication a whole lot faster. But don’t let her fluffiness and cute pink-speckled toes fool you: she’s got a lot of evil in her.

Her name is Princess, and she certainly acts like one. And if I had to compare her to a cartoon character, I’d say she’s The Brain from Pinky & The Brain, because I’m pretty sure she’s planning world domination…

With that being said, as an expat, there are a lot of people outside your husband, kids and pets that become a bit like family. We find common ground from living in a foreign land where we don’t understand what is going on around us for at least some part of our stay. And many times, you just have an instant bond that would otherwise never exist.

This week, we got to catch up with some expat friends of ours. The oldest daughter is a few months shy of 5 years old, and Mackenzie and she are like too peas in a pod. I can just see Mackenzie maturing and evolving every time they play together. It’s incredible!

So that’s my take on family this week. It’s not the most traditional of families — but for us, it’s a pretty great group!