• FILLED part one

    Warning: long post. This weekend I spent four days and three nights in Atlanta, Georgia at the Created for Care retreat.   It was such a kick for this pacific northwest girl to be in the south!  Knowing that the first year home with an adopted child is usually pretty rough, a friend told me about this retreat for […]

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  • The sass is strong with this one

    The sleeping situation in our itty bitty house has been a bit of fruit basket-upset over the last 6 months.  Currently Asher is sleeping in his crib in Sydney’s room, her bed is empty, and she is sleeping on the bottom bunk in “the boys” room, which we still call Carson’s room.  This leads to […]

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  • The NAME

    I remember watching the news about the Columbine shootings from my college dorm room.  I was so sad.  So very sad.  But hearing the news about the school shooting today–in an elementary school, many of the victims being from the same kindergarten–I felt a stabbing grief that was unlike anything I’ve experienced.  I can only […]

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  • Dress Up

    I don’t know if there are any blog readers who did not see these pictures on f@cebook, but I wanted to post them here just in case, because they are super fun.  I honestly don’t love halloween, but we do enjoy dressing up.  It’s just fun, darn it.    In the morning, Sydney’s school had […]

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  • The Ashman Update

    I know I’ve been pretty honest in previous posts that transitioning to a family of five is challenging.  But I want to give Asher a fun update like his siblings.  (Carson’s was here, Sydney’s, here. )  It’s not always about adoption related stuff, not always difficult.  Much of the time, he’s just a normal little boy doing […]

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  • Sydster update

     Four years old is such an interesting and fun age.  It’s another one of those ages where your kid is kind of straddling two worlds.  Right now Syd has one food in little girl and one food in big girl.  She still sucks her fingers and needs her special lovey, but also wants to be […]

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  • Classic Blog Fodder

    Thanks everyone for your encouraging words after my last post.  I heard a story recently about a mom of a newly adopted kiddo who posted online that she was having a hard time, and someone responded “This is what you asked for.”  Yikes.  Thank you for having more compassion for me in my honesty than […]

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  • Big picture

    OK, here is the blog post I’ve been sitting on for a few weeks.  I didn’t post, b/c it is very complainy.  But I was encouraged to post it by a fellow-adoptive mama who is going through trials that make mine pale in comparison. She encouraged me to keep it real and not sugar coat parenting or adoption for […]

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  • A shot of adrenaline and a mouthful of sand

    Of all the things I wanted to blog about this summer, but never got around to it, my birthday adventure was at the top of the list.  Went went to the coast with some friends in late July, which happened to be my birthday weekend.  The husbands went golfing in the morning, 18 holes, which […]

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  • Presenting…

    OK, here’s part of the reason why I don’t blog more.  I always feel like it’s been SO long since I blogged, that I have to include an update on everyone in the family and everything that’s happened.  Or I feel like I need to crank out some really deep thoughts, like a manifesto on my parenting […]

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