tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47358223902137209672024-02-20T13:19:00.453-08:00Joy like a Fountain"You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever." Psalm 16:11Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-66080284014269703962015-09-15T14:52:00.000-07:002017-05-19T20:12:17.511-07:00Back to School: Our first attempt at juggling <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here's our cheesy first day of school pictures! Here's just a little bit of what our year looks like! </div>
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<u><b>Claire</b></u>: </div>
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Claire is enrolled, this year, in a Independant Study Charter School called Sage Oak. I was not sure about going this route and fought against the idea for a while. I was going to homeschool completely independent of anyone or anything, pick my own curriculum based on my own child's needs etc. But I found this "school" and not only are they letting me do my own thing and pick my own curriculum, supplies, activities and curriculum are paid for, within a certain dollar amount, by the school. Shoot. I pay property taxes. Might as well have some of that go back to my kid. And post adoption, we had a few unexpected financial issues that we were a little blindsided by. So enroll we did. Thus far, we've been very happy. Claire's TF (Teach Facilitator) is fantastic as we see her about every 20 school days. The online system is super easy to log our instructional days (including days I decide that a zoo trip is a better learning opportunity than sitting and working through a textbook. We can't use our funds to purchase our curriculum, however, since we use a religious publisher, BUT I can easily show what she has learned using a couple secular resources so it works out great. </div>
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She'll be doing My Father's World 1st Grade Curriculum. She started with their Kindergarten curriculum last year and it worked out GREAT for her. It was perfect since it was a very gentle approach to Kindergarten so I decided to move on to 1st Grade this year. It's <a href="https://simplycharlottemason.com/what-is-the-charlotte-mason-method/">Charlotte Mason</a> based, which I really, really love. </div>
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For Extracurricular and PE, Claire is doing her first year in an <a href="http://www.americanheritagegirls.org/">American Heritage Girls</a> troop as a Pathfinder. I'm glad there's an organization nearby that seems really good! She's also gotten more involved in her dance studio. This year, she'll be on the Mini Company Dance Team as well as starting her first full Ballet 1 class (she's been taking combo classes thus far). </div>
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<u><b>Ashlyn: </b></u></div>
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Ashlyn will start her first preschool homeschool year. Her school activities only take about an hour a day. After going back and forth with a few ideas, we settled on doing Before Five in a Row and then added some workbooks from Rod and Staff called "About Three" that help with tracing lines and teaching to cut and color and that sort of thing. Before Five in a Row is a program where you read the same book everyday and do activities surrounding that book. So far, we've done <i>Jesse Bear What Will You Wear? </i>and are in the middle of <i>Yellow Ball. </i>We talked about dressing for weather, counting, the color yellow, matching clothes, the letter "B", the letter "Y," art, the ocean, the story of Jesus calming the storm, rhyming words. . . just using those two books. It's been a lot of fun. </div>
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Ashlyn starts dance class this year. She's in the 3/4 Combo class and is learning to follow directions :-) and having a blast doing it. She can swim, not, so I don't have her in class, at the moment but we may revisit this when we have a little extra cash. </div>
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So our mornings look a bit like this. <br />
We start school at around 9am, after baby brother is down for his first nap and daddy has left for work. Ashlyn works for about an hour or so and Claire is usually done by 10:30 or 11 (if she gets involved in a project, she takes more time). Sometimes they are still in pjs. Other days they are not. Just depends on how the morning goes. <br />
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In the afternoon, when Ashlyn and Reed are napping, Claire usually gets a piano lesson. I am teaching her myself until she gets to a point where I can't anymore and then I'll see if her Gramma can help or I'll find her a teacher. So far, she seems to enjoy it and is understanding it. She's excited to work to the point where she can start playing the Christmas Songs in the Christmas book. <br />
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I picked the Alfred Basic Prep course since it's pretty all inclusive and great for a young beginner.<br />
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One day a week, we'll be involved in a Co-op program. Each kid will have their own class (even Reed!) We were supposed to have started that last week but Christian and I took Reed to Utah for a Convention so we skipped it to let the girls just be home and enjoy their grandparents who took care of them for the week we were gone. <br />
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So here we go! Happy School Year!Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-36696289875303392462015-09-15T13:51:00.001-07:002015-09-15T13:51:32.635-07:00Our summer. . .in a whole lotta pictures :-)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-55882719629140385212015-05-19T22:23:00.001-07:002015-05-19T22:31:41.109-07:00Choose Joy: Surviving Infertility and Adoption<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8lMpCp36wl2nRNvdJoW2438HfivCB9ffeGNTShWxFBAT1bdj_yyAIDR8ph1vqfMVu1qjbRiV8FSHx68PQZdGpSGT7065Vtm56Rnds0XFyVwqf2kUQn_bYuoiCtsl9DckrRYsHAwrFpA/s1600/20150424_181822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8lMpCp36wl2nRNvdJoW2438HfivCB9ffeGNTShWxFBAT1bdj_yyAIDR8ph1vqfMVu1qjbRiV8FSHx68PQZdGpSGT7065Vtm56Rnds0XFyVwqf2kUQn_bYuoiCtsl9DckrRYsHAwrFpA/s320/20150424_181822.jpg" width="240" /></a>So tomorrow it will have been 3 years since we were suddenly, irrevocably, infertile. A few weeks ago we attended Choose Joy: Surviving Infertility and Adoption, a conference put on by <a href="http://www.itsjustemmy.com/">Emmy Blakely</a> at Crossline Church in South Orange County. I didn't post about it right away and I'm taking the opportunity to do this today. . . the day BEFORE Ashlyn's birthday. Ashlyn's birthday will be about Ashlyn and the sparing of both of our lives. Forever and ever. But it also signifies the sudden end of my fertility and the change in our family's trajectory. A week or two before Reed was born and before the conference, I went to the gynecologist for a regular check up. I have tried, unsuccessfully, for the past 3 years, to go to that office without crying. Hasn't happened yet. This time, I felt especially stupid since we were weeks away from our little man's birth. Honestly, it crossed my mind that we shouldn't be doing this if this doctor's office and this event still makes me tear up. How could I be ready for another baby and adoption if this still stings? Why is it that, even after it's been shown that God is clearly not done with our family and we have this beautiful little man in our arms and our lives, that I haven't gotten completely "over this"? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2S5MtZ0Sb5rmPkiUtdQKiAdUM6D4pjPGuk8AujMHER7DC1MRLm1IbSDJG1tqaEJDbeaDDhV8zZfP7tPx1GaAII_gtEQOVsPsfdV3ueDivq4t26Hs-B12AKKHNx6vkhgT8SA9P5lxyJno/s1600/20150424_203053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2S5MtZ0Sb5rmPkiUtdQKiAdUM6D4pjPGuk8AujMHER7DC1MRLm1IbSDJG1tqaEJDbeaDDhV8zZfP7tPx1GaAII_gtEQOVsPsfdV3ueDivq4t26Hs-B12AKKHNx6vkhgT8SA9P5lxyJno/s320/20150424_203053.jpg" width="240" /></a>The weekend at Choose Joy truly helped me to answer these questions so that we can more confidently walk through wherever God will take us next and for whomever He brings into our family. The event was two days, Friday night and all day Saturday. It is good for anyone who has walked the infertility road (our story is a little different since we we very fertile and suddenly. . . not so no painful, frustrating treatments and waiting but we still found camaraderie and love here), considered adoption, want to make the jump from infertility to adoption or anyone who has adopted or is interested in adoption, infertility or not. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcDuHoTcAlHLaqSzvL0kQPLhY9t0Jd3cXzyUAcQFvwbr2PBBuY5j6xBOxIpId1bAoN5-uvdTcZkTML4y76clbW0i9NIj7yNf38WYnMaRYBcAEi1WJE_8uEyqZTCIl0zFz3ucWXKQA_Gc/s1600/20150424_190652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcDuHoTcAlHLaqSzvL0kQPLhY9t0Jd3cXzyUAcQFvwbr2PBBuY5j6xBOxIpId1bAoN5-uvdTcZkTML4y76clbW0i9NIj7yNf38WYnMaRYBcAEi1WJE_8uEyqZTCIl0zFz3ucWXKQA_Gc/s320/20150424_190652.jpg" width="240" /></a>Friday night we brought Reed along to the evening session and he was a huge, huge hit. There he was, this adoption miracle, amid all these stories. That night, I hardly held my baby since he was bring passed around through dinner (which was fine with me since I got to eat! :-) ). Friday night we fellowshiped, learned about ways we can help others overseas (the women helped cut up jeans to me made into shoes for kiddos in developing countries to protect their feet from burrowing insects called "chiggers") and the men had a LONG "guys only" session that lasted 2 hours and my husband described as "REALLY GOOD" (bunch of guys opening up about the challenges of infertility and adoptions, yeah, he said it was good.) <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvv8MagbREW50uMTCyarZ9eJ83-kpztMt9mQC0rgU-ud0JSGeqQqH3pTFR_oyAmoQuaiJ2Ij3-qc8N3pWaloHqZXgO6QYexBuHhCNWbFXeXHsw44BZaMIfUE2oo5l5njy_ZodDBte9Yk/s1600/20150425_093229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvv8MagbREW50uMTCyarZ9eJ83-kpztMt9mQC0rgU-ud0JSGeqQqH3pTFR_oyAmoQuaiJ2Ij3-qc8N3pWaloHqZXgO6QYexBuHhCNWbFXeXHsw44BZaMIfUE2oo5l5njy_ZodDBte9Yk/s320/20150425_093229.jpg" width="240" /></a>Saturday we had a morning worship session and then break away sessions on different topics. We went to: "Starting a Orphan Care Ministry at Your Church" which gave us some really interesting tips on how to really bring this issue to the forefront in our little church. We hope to be able to this year, gradually. Then, we checked out "Healing from the Hurt of Infertility" which was the only infertility session we thought might apply to us. It did. For the most part. And we took away some from it and mulled over how it could have been taken full circle and in our own discussion of it, we found more healing. After lunch, Christian headed to a men's session "The Maniless of Adoption" where some of the points from the night before were rehashed but new things were also brought up (seriously, folks, just for the way it got the guys talking about these hard issues makes this thing totally worth the time and cost and, just everything) while I went to a session on "Open Adoption" which featured two adoptive families and the ways in which they were navigating their own open adoptions with their children's birthparents, some more open than others due to situations the birthparents were in but open nonetheless. Our situation is an open one. We've exchanged numbers, we text but with K out of state, we probably won't be quite as open as some of these described. But we'll see how it goes as Reed grows and what she's comfortable with. The last session we attended was "Transracial Adoption" which we went to for obvious reasons. It was more of a discussion format as the leaders of the session's son was only a toddler but there were several other parents in the room who were parenting children of another ethnic background who were able to provide ideas for the group. As parents, we want to do things right for each child in our family, biological, white, black, adopted. . . just all of them. I think most parents do, so this topic is going to be a preoccupation of ours for a while, I'm sure. Not sure we'll get everything right but we love this little man so, so much and are so blessed to be his parents.</div>
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After breakaway sessions, we had dinner with the whole group. We listened to one another's stories and shared ours. There was a raffle for a huge pot of money that went to a family who was paying off their adoption (last year it went to a family who just finished infertility treatments and who used the money to adopt their little boy). But the keynote speaker, Courtney Lott, founder of <a href="http://www.faithfuladoptionconsultants.com/">Faithful Adoption Consultants</a> (our consultant who help bring us to Reed), said several things that made me release a breath I had no idea I was even holding onto. Courtney is the momma of 6 sweet kiddos, 2 biological and 4 adopted kids. Big, beautiful family. But her story was not without major pain. Miscarriages and infertility plagued their family for years. But as I watched her tear up when talking about her struggles, I breathed out. Because despite her abundant blessings, it still hurt. I was normal. It was ok to cry in the doctor's office (although, as much as I love that medical group, I'm pretty sure it's time for me to find a new practice, just to keep me sane).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us with other FAC Families at the Choose Joy Conference </td></tr>
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But God gave us the gift of Reed and it filled our hearts with joy. But I'll be real. The sting of that day doesn't just go away. I wish I could say it did. I see Reed and any other children we adopt as totally unrelated to the sadness of placenta accreta and unexpected hysterectomies and birth trauma. Adoption itself is always born of loss, in and of itself. Yes, he is the beauty from the ashes, for sure. But the fire still occurred and I believe that Job still mourned his previous life and family even after God restored everything to abundance. . . not in the way that undermines all the rich blessings you have been given instead, but as a natural sadness at the brokenness of this life. But at the same time, I recognize that, while we were open to adoption before we even knew this would happen, I know that little man may or may not have been with us had my placenta not, silently, grown into my uterus, had the doctor on call not worked quickly and wisely and removed my uterus before I bled to death. It's quite the paradox of joy and pain, this life. I have learned, in these 3 years to trust God like I never have before. For both Christian and I, this has been the most spiritually stretching, eye opening 3 years I have experienced in my life and made Hebrews 11:1 so much more understandable, as it says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." We placed our family in His hands and we wait for His work to unfold in our lives as we continue on our journey of faith.<br />
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<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-57979768797050692302015-05-07T21:14:00.003-07:002015-05-07T21:14:50.120-07:00Easter and Reed's first Sunday in church<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Reed's first Sunday in church also happened to be Easter Sunday, which I totally love, by the way. What better Sunday, the day God completed the adoption into His family, we bring this precious boy before Him. Thankfulness abounds. </div>
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This year I got three baskets together.<br />
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Made the girls wait at the top of the stairs before they ran down to get their baskets, anticipation going wild (I had to make sure I was ready to take pictures, of course! :-) )<br />
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He is Risen, so we celebrate with baskets and love and worship at church and getting dressed up. Easter's really one of my favorites. More hope than my heart can even hold during this holiday.<br />
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Of course, finding "dress up clothes" for a newborn the week before Easter isn't easy but I think I did pretty well. <br />
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After service, the girls enjoyed an Egg Hunt on the lawn with other kids at the church. </div>
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Happy Easter! He is Risen :-)<br />
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<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-71594201284459970272015-05-04T14:04:00.001-07:002015-05-04T14:04:31.034-07:00Our Trip to Reed AKA #roadtriptobaby3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCzvBaPbNHTPRVGFVuq2kvVO-bOeicj_7nPf7TytUWfsZ7peJmrvVJ-RLLNFMeQfU-H1uNVYTM6SZ9xsxGWcMZ_V-ynj18gb4xjGY9Ek6XI_E1xuvS0E6v9jRvfrltwSvXSU9olSAO4I/s1600/20150317_141352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCzvBaPbNHTPRVGFVuq2kvVO-bOeicj_7nPf7TytUWfsZ7peJmrvVJ-RLLNFMeQfU-H1uNVYTM6SZ9xsxGWcMZ_V-ynj18gb4xjGY9Ek6XI_E1xuvS0E6v9jRvfrltwSvXSU9olSAO4I/s1600/20150317_141352.jpg" width="240" /></a>So for a while, we didn't know, exactly, when little man was scheduled for his arrival. His birthmom was having a csection, and her doctors in her home state had told her "around March 26th" so we'd been planning for the 26th. However, because the agency is in Utah, she was going to have the baby in Utah and the doctors there hadn't given her a definite date. So we waited, and assumed the 26th. . .until we got word that it was going to be the 23rd. . . the Tuesday before. So, my weekend plans became the plans for the next couple of days and we were packed and ready to head out to meet our little boy on Saturday, March 21st. </div>
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First stop was a Starbucks for breakfast and coffee. Christian agreed to drive the first leg and I didn't end up driving until we hit St. George. The drive out was full of uncertainty, excitement, anticipation. . . all of it. We'd taken this route before, just a few months earlier, not knowing that we'd be making this same trip later to meet our little boy. During our first trip, there was a lot of fear and concern that the girls would have a hard time with the long drive and that Chino to Salt Lake in one day was entirely too much to take in. But we were wrong. We made sure they had something to look forward to, used coloring books, road trip friendly crafts, stories on CD, just about anything. We did save electronic games for the VERY last leg of our trip when we deemed it an emergency but didn't rely on it. Love how the girls were able to look out the window, engage with others and fill up pages and pages of paper with their drawings that I will cherish for years.<br />
We made it to Nevada with no major issues,<br />
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got to Arizona without a hitch. . .<br />
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drove through the Virgin River Gorge (probably my favorite 40 minutes of the trip) . . .<br />
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and finally made it to Utah. I remember crossing the border into Utah thinking, "This is it! We are here! Little man will be born HERE!"<br />
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Now, the great thing about when we finally made it to South Jordan, was the place we were able to stay. A little background, a friend of Christian's at work has several contacts in the Salt Lake area since he attended BYU Idaho and several friends from there or his Ward have friends there. One afternoon, he asked Christian is we had made arrangements for housing while there. We hadn't due to the fact that K's csection date wasn't set in stone. So a Facebook post and a lot of God working out details, we had a place to stay, for free, 5 mins from the hospital little man was to be born with a family who, over the course of their own marriage, had adopted 10 children. We were blown away by their kindness, generosity and care for our family while we were there. Claire and Ashlyn loved the drawer with all the toys and books and loved playing with Miss Arlene who had also taught preschool for years and was very tolerant and loving toward our loud, rambuntious, bickering (at times) little girls. </div>
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The second day we were there, my dad was able to fly out for the purpose of helping us with the girls as we met with little man's birthmom and hung out at the hospital when he was born. The girls LOVED having Papa there and we loved the extra hand and having someone there to be with them so we could be free to be with our new little boy. <br />
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The day before the csection date, we met K and her friend who drove her out to Utah for dinner. It confirmed in us the connection we had with her and God's hand in the match, for sure. </div>
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The next morning was an early one. I knew I needed to get some sleep since we wouldn't be shortly :-) But it was hard. . . too excited, nervous for K for the whole situation. Per K's request, we were supposed to be allowed into the nursery as soon as he was brought in. She was going to sign some paperwork allowing us to see him right away, but since the night staff forgot to give it to her and the morning staff didn't get a chance (her csection was early in the morning), we spent about 15 to 20 min waiting for the social worker to get a signature from K after her surgery. We could hear him crying on the other side of the door to the nursery. We wanted so bad to be on the other side. . . couldn't believe we were there, hearing him. </div>
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And then we were cleared to go in. . . </div>
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and he was here. . . </div>
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He was perfect, and sweet and . . .here. I remember being completely awestruck at the whole moment. The nurses and doctor who came to seen him were commenting on what a pretty baby he was. There was some concern from a nurse that one of his ears didn't have an opening, but the doctor assured us that it did. <br />
They kept checking his blood sugar. And we just held him. And rocked him. And fed him. And tried to send word and pictures back to family amid very bad hospital wifi. <br />
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After a while, the nurses asked us if we'd like our own room with him. We weren't allowed to have a hospital room but they had a room off to the side of the nursery with rocking chairs and a sink. We spent the afternoon there with him while his birthmom slept off her surgery that morning. And we got to know this new little son. And were amazed by the whole thing. <br />
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We named him Reed (after my grandma's family, who have handed down an amazing faith in Christ, love for music and grace for others) William (after my dad and also a mentor of mine who passed away the same day we matched with his birthmom, a guy who loved learning, travel and people) Caeden (a name K said she'd always liked). </div>
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Our two days in the hospital we spent, mostly with Reed and we'd visit K and her friend who helped drive her to Utah. We, luckily, got along with both of them and while the situation was a difficult one, it was also so, so good to have a good relationship with her through the difficult. We had prayed for a situation where we could feel totally comfortable with future contact with the birthmom we'd be matched with and God gave us more than we could have asked for with K. She came to see Reed in the nursery on Tuesday morning and then again Tuesday afternoon after we'd all been discharged and papers had been signed. We got pictures of her with him and us. It was good and hard and amazing and incredibly humbling.<br />
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We packed up to head out, Reed was so small in the carseat, the same carseat I brought his sisters home in and the last baby we will use it for since it will expire in a year or so.<br />
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We snapped a picture of Reed with the social worker we had in Utah through Heart and Soul Adoptions.<br />
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And suddenly, we were a family of 5.<br />
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The next several days were spent waiting out ICPC (Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children) to be cleared in the state of Utah and then in California. We had no idea how long this would all take. It could be a week or two depending on how fast everyone got everything done. We had heard Utah was fast and efficient. California, not so much. So we really were ready for anything.<br />
But this also gave us some time to breathe and enjoy this new life in our family before hitting the road again. My dad stayed through Wednesday night so we got to meet Reed first. Ashlyn, who I was worried would not take to a younger sibling and who I thought might be jealous, fell in love. I'm predicting they will be best friends.<br />
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Claire loved her brother from the start. She's been helpful, has learned to feed him, fetch diapers for me and likes to kiss and hold him. <br />
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Christian is loving having a "little buddy" after all the girls, </div>
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and I can't get over this snuggly, sweet little man.<br />
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Two days after he was born, we brought him to a pediatrician in West Jordan for his check up. We loved the doctor in the hospital and we got to see her in in office a few days later. Everything checked out great with him! <br />
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Another miracle in this whole thing is the speed in which we were able to go to court to see the judge. We decided, per agency recommendation, to finalize in the state of Utah. We are hoping to be able to have our lawyer and agency represent us on finalization day so we saw the judge while we were there. Both the court and the lawyer had cancellations enabling us to be able to go to court Thursday afternoon. The judge was very nice and the clerk gave the girls stuff to write on during the proceedings. After it was over, the judge said, "I was adopted and had wonderful parents and a great life." She was so glad to hear our case, as it was the first adoption case for her. That was amazing. <br />
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One Friday, we decided to spend some time at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. It was great for the kids and little man slept most of the time. He did perk up for the sharks. . . and promptly went back to sleep. :-)<br />
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The penguins were a huge hit.<br />
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We also discovered, in the South America exhibit, Ashlyn's hair becomes extremely curly in hot, humid weather. Who knew?!<br />
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We fully expected to be there through the weekend. But to out amazement, while we were sitting at lunch at the aquarium, we got a phonecall from a social worker in CA at Nightlight Christian Adoptions who we had complete our ICPC in CA. She asked if we had gotten the call to go home yet. . . we hadn't (and really didn't expect to). "Well, you should hear soon. Everything is done on our end. Let me know if I need to make another call." WHAT?! Sure enough, a couple hours later, our social worker in Utah sent a text message said we were cleared to travel. Mind blown. So the next morning, we said goodbye to the amazing couple that allowed us to invade their home during this adoption and who gave us so much encouragement during the whole process. We were so, so blessed by the Bartlett's and their hospitality. Thank you seems so inadequate. <br />
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Heading home, however, was going to prove to be the most stressful part of the trip. Leaving the Salt Lake area, the car started making strange scraping noises. Christian checked it, secured a few things and thought it was fixed due to the fact that the noise all but disappeared. <br />
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We continued to St. George where we visited the Dinosaur Discovery Site which was worth about a half hour or so for the girls to stretch their legs and see dinosaur bones. <br />
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We stayed at the CasaBlanca Resort and Casino for the night and expected to head home in the morning. <br />
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But we wouldn't make it home the next day. Leaving Las Vegas, the traffic looked like this. . .<br />
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it wound up taking us an hour to get from Las Vegas to Primm, Nevada (Stateline). And remember that scraping sound? It came back. . . so, so much worse. We finally made the decision to return to Las Vegas and stay at a Station Casino but when I told a friend who lives in Henderson with her family that we were going to be staying there overnight, she suggested we just come stay with her. Unexpected but it was GREAT to see her and her family and love, love, love that Danielle is a part of Reed's story :-) </div>
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After Firestone fixed the broken wheel bearing, we were finally able to make it to California,<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">and welcome this little guy to his new forever home. </span></div>
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F--4Rj6PilFa4%2FVS3reTmWrwI%2FAAAAAAAAVok%2FmgEr9h72dL4%2Fs1600%2F20150321_094057.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJn3lkfooosFSNdXvAhTF0Y79OoFDZgOG5CzsjoCKzEYGFSHr39DHtS-UtFLtw1ozO9n7F0vlU50EGR4TskTW36DuxZiGvunZwzRka2-6BX_x6svVe9b-y0Aj4QSl88biM2K_yuyxMUMk/s1600/20150321_094057.jpg" -->Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-57561685394798586882015-02-27T18:57:00.000-08:002015-02-27T18:57:00.674-08:00First Phone Call: Our introduction to little man's birthmotherSo we had a busy weekend and I really couldn't update but last Thursday evening we had our first chat with little man's birthmom on the phone. I spent the entire day totally nervous. I had no idea how it was going to go. I feel like I am, definitely, "so much cooler online" and probably not as interesting as our profile book. It was a very self-depricating day. <br />
But you know what? It went GREAT. Like, better than great. Turns out she grew up in our area and we had a lot of talk about and connect on so that we could talk about the harder stuff. We've exchanged phone numbers and have texted back and forth a couple times since. Sometimes, I find myself wanting to text her. When someone buys something sweet for little man or like today when my mother in law took us to get some fabic to make his crib bedding. I want her to be able to share in it a bit so that she knows he'll be going to a family that will love and cherish him so, so much at the end of next month. But I'm not sure she'd want that. In a way, it's like beginning a dating relationship. Don't want to come on too stong but at the same time, you want the person to know you care, you are very in love with the life that she is carrying and care deeply about her and how she is doing. So we keep praying we are doing the right thing in terms of relating to her. Because, from what we have surmised from the past couple weeks, she seems to be a pretty amazing person, who loves this little boy very much but knows her limits and when she has met them. We always want to present her this way to him and hope we can continue to be able to give him access to her, whenever he feels like he needs questions answered about his life. <br />
In the middle of this, we have been applying to grants like CRAZY in order that we might be able to be fully funded by the time little man makes his arrival. We've been anticipating this for so long, it's crazy that it's finally becoming real. Claire, at Babies R Us today, kept trying to pick out different things, "for baby brother." I had to hold her off, today, but will bring her back so that she can pick out something special to give to him. <br />
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I know this road is paved with twists and turns, but right now, we are enjoying the smooth highway and loving the connection we've made with little man's first mother. <br />
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<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-84111867092025402342015-02-12T11:21:00.001-08:002015-02-12T11:51:17.589-08:00News: The art of being cautiously excited :-)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ZSUu0FE4Z4mfS-SgACVxol_fT6WvjphyphenhyphenNXyrV1L228weZx7z3lmAVkCA-pLzGn8pCqg_f3E-eBYT8Z4We0SU5UoyKF17gNMLZikadSvRUIOXhes1fVGL4fsr0YLx17JD39t7zknltOc/s1600/1425570_10153092706507664_8112397209088951447_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ZSUu0FE4Z4mfS-SgACVxol_fT6WvjphyphenhyphenNXyrV1L228weZx7z3lmAVkCA-pLzGn8pCqg_f3E-eBYT8Z4We0SU5UoyKF17gNMLZikadSvRUIOXhes1fVGL4fsr0YLx17JD39t7zknltOc/s1600/1425570_10153092706507664_8112397209088951447_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a>So on Sunday, Christian and I were able to speak in church about our heart for adoption and our throught process in all of it and how God's really placed this on our hearts. We told them we didn't know when it would all go down. We could match the next day and have to fly somewhere right away OR it could be another several months before we heard anything. Turns out it was somewhere in between. Early Wednesday morning we got a call from our fantastic consultant. My phone has been on the fritz for months and it was downstairs attempting to charge when I got a frantic text message at around 6am. So an hour later, I call back and she doesn't pick up. I figure it's another situation, another question or update about a situation we'd presented on. I start making breakfast. She calls back. I pick up the phone and she says, "Sooooo you matched!" Um, WHAT?! REALLY? Us?! Since for the last several months the answers were, "nope, no, not you, another family, birthmom isn't placing, no idea what happened with that situation etc." So, at this point, we are "cautiously excited." We just finished up the paperwork for the placing agency and emailed it in. Not sure what the next step after this. <br />
So here are the details (well, not all of them ;-) ) But it's a little boy and his birthmom is due for a c-section at the end of March. We'll be driving to Utah to meet him. (At least, driving is the plan for now) Not sure the timeframe of that. Not sure what his expectant mom wants for the birth (some want the adoptive parents there, some don't. . . all personal preference) so we may drive up there after he is here or we may plan to be there for his arrival. Just not sure yet (noticing a theme here?!). He is African American so we are beginning to brace ourselves for life with a boy, life as an adoptive family, life as a transracial family. And we are feeling humbled and blessed that this person has picked our family to raise her precious little boy. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CgJ2GgL09Qy2haLB9FeYuM2tiUtX_Smuu-KrUWOi5NNwLkT2S8bunC8yBrLu_sbp3lQgf3Ms-_QN05GhW12ZQi3WdsLEZX4iN5B_4lM_wf5BsLmdh3BhzgjtuNEEQrUhuEfUepR_Oj8/s1600/20150208_113213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CgJ2GgL09Qy2haLB9FeYuM2tiUtX_Smuu-KrUWOi5NNwLkT2S8bunC8yBrLu_sbp3lQgf3Ms-_QN05GhW12ZQi3WdsLEZX4iN5B_4lM_wf5BsLmdh3BhzgjtuNEEQrUhuEfUepR_Oj8/s1600/20150208_113213.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>So now we ramp up our fundraising and saving efforts. One of the purposes of us speaking in church last Sunday, besides giving the congregation an update on our process was also to launch our baby bottle fundraiser that we have started. We call it "Baby Bottle Boomerang." You fill up the bottle with change and bills and then return the bottle to us (or we'll come get it from you!) Then, if you want, you can take another one and do it again as many times as you want! There's no end date on this. So far, people have been pretty excited about it but we do have several bottles to pass out so let me know ASAP if you'd like one! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmqI6aYIFbuncyWcmanJ6Nu359yb3DvS83QyJ9-tjGzHFqnRdmbkKALY1Sl3roa-pJOO08xWI0TCQcWQxZCFc4mu33RfVHyJENHSez5bOis6SQIVoweNAMss4UHxgUINzmRLJqiI6uoqo/s1600/OrigamiOwl_Featured.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmqI6aYIFbuncyWcmanJ6Nu359yb3DvS83QyJ9-tjGzHFqnRdmbkKALY1Sl3roa-pJOO08xWI0TCQcWQxZCFc4mu33RfVHyJENHSez5bOis6SQIVoweNAMss4UHxgUINzmRLJqiI6uoqo/s1600/OrigamiOwl_Featured.png" height="179" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a>Then, a sweet, sweet friend offered to give us a portion of the profits on a Origami Owl party. I'm excited to host this since I think the pieces are ADORABLE but I also think that it'll be a huuuge hit and a fun event for people. If you'd like to be included in that, I'll let you know asap as soon as we iron out dates and the details.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSYz2lHAqG8KBgn4-EUwNeJ21ku7dUCb5mDgejQtnNzksroVzZkS4o96Kj6ppAQbalfXC6qt93JUnLYsdI-Ee9Mt5fQOwiDmmGPKDrVt_yIK05Eai6cKQhWjzqBoLUaL8nZVOtGDYxvg/s1600/Lilla-Rose-Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSYz2lHAqG8KBgn4-EUwNeJ21ku7dUCb5mDgejQtnNzksroVzZkS4o96Kj6ppAQbalfXC6qt93JUnLYsdI-Ee9Mt5fQOwiDmmGPKDrVt_yIK05Eai6cKQhWjzqBoLUaL8nZVOtGDYxvg/s1600/Lilla-Rose-Logo.png" /></a><br />
THEN, I signed up to distribute Lilla Rose as a side business. Not only am I in love with these hair clips because they are SO pretty, but I LOVE how they work like nothing else in my stick straight hair. There are tons of sizes so they work on just about any hair type. So check out that when it launches, as well! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEc9fLItqmCSHQBIH1JlJAYpbc5CVV5Nt4RRkwqzsidMEwckS96exZi3fjbEUULe24iDUMI_1Yxlk8sptpgSjeo9-qFQxMjyMw0q6J0XXDrwmpiMjcvC2o0B95TLOMXDHZnJozqrD0RHg/s1600/music-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEc9fLItqmCSHQBIH1JlJAYpbc5CVV5Nt4RRkwqzsidMEwckS96exZi3fjbEUULe24iDUMI_1Yxlk8sptpgSjeo9-qFQxMjyMw0q6J0XXDrwmpiMjcvC2o0B95TLOMXDHZnJozqrD0RHg/s1600/music-2.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a>Later on, we'll annouce an event that we are working on. Christian and I are both pretty musical and have a few friends and family members who are as well. If you play, sing, have a band etc. and wouldn't mind donating your time and talent, we are working on a music/coffeehouse night as well! We are most excited about this and how it will be a fun way to bring friends together and help us bring this little boy home!<br />
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Most of all, we need your prayers for this little boy, his birthmom, our family, the girls, travel, funding and all the details that need to be worked out before the end of March. <br />
Already, even in the last couple days when we matched, things have been crazy. Ashlyn was diagnosed with RSV the night before we got our phone call so Christian filled out the agency paperwork while I took her to the doctor right after we heard. My brother was in a pretty serious motorcycle accident the weekend before and our minds and hearts have been with him since (he is, thankfully, looking like he is going to recover and we are very blessed that he is still with us). Since last night, my phone has been unable to hold a charge and is, now, completely dead which has made it difficult to inform family, communicate with our consultant and do things with my business or contact friends and doctors for the girls. Working on getting it fixed but this week, of all weeks, has been rife with issues. <br />
We'll keep you posted on how this journey unfolds. For now, we are excited about this new family member and focusing on the best way to work on the details to get him home. Oh, and I am, of course, scouring the internet for acceptable baseball themed crib bedding ;-)<br />
Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-15078272586946040752014-12-12T22:11:00.003-08:002014-12-12T22:17:16.934-08:00Adoption Update: Presenting, Funding and Riding the RollercoasterSo it's been a little while since we updated on the adoption so I thought I'd go ahead and post just where we are at in all of this. <br />
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We finished up our homestudy in mid-October. So since that time, we've been "active" with our consultant, <a href="http://www.faithfuladoptionconsultants.com/">Faithful Adoption Consultants</a>. Immediately, she started sending us "situations" from all over the country. Some were ones where, if our family is chosen by the birthmom, we'd have to travel immediately. Some were due in the months ahead and we'd have time to get to know the person on the other side of this triad before the birth. We have no idea when it'll all happen. So we live expecting just about anything. Once, we were out at a show with some friends and I received a text message saying there were 8 week old twins in AZ we'd have to pick up the next day if chosen. . . yeah. Stuff like that. (That birthmother did not return to the agency, we found out, so we assume she chose not to place). So it's a pretty crazy rollercoaster, considering that each and every "situation" and birthmom is a different story, a different need and each one is full of heartbreak in one way or another. You want to get emotionally involved but you don't want to since if we did with each and every one, it would be crazy BUT,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> like, our consultant said after a situation that seemed like it would be a good match for us didn't pan out, "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">So hard not to get too excited, but you almost have to put all your heart into it! This process is so dang hard...but totally worth it :)"</span> </span> </div>
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So that's about all we can give you on that. We aren't sure where. We aren't sure when. </div>
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We are continuing to do some fundraising. Lawyers, agencies, travel, homestudies, state fees all add up. In order to adopt we are saving, working to find ways to make extra money through organizations that help adopting families (if you like coffee, keep reading!) and, recently, we found out we got a matching grant! We are planning on coming up with creative ways to help fund the adoption as this continues as we wait and pray for the newest Herman, his/her first family and their situation and our hearts as we receive him/her into our home. <br />
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So if you are interested in helping us out with this, here are something we have going right now. I will post more events and fundraisers as they come up! But here are the biggest.<br />
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<b><u>Hand in Hand Christian Adoptions, Inc Matching Grant</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwXO4hTFSaCNkeZipCa_eVHXS2AFqktO2nPeFrVMvkxoMR0x2uJo-Q5abE-E8_7vDQpSp1kchYGZnBwugWTgAlQylBcQLWsPEKdEFW-tVfkGX4kWUENaYEoFcMl1u17C3EqpkHdRgAdM/s1600/HandInHand.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwXO4hTFSaCNkeZipCa_eVHXS2AFqktO2nPeFrVMvkxoMR0x2uJo-Q5abE-E8_7vDQpSp1kchYGZnBwugWTgAlQylBcQLWsPEKdEFW-tVfkGX4kWUENaYEoFcMl1u17C3EqpkHdRgAdM/s1600/HandInHand.JPG" height="107" width="320" /></a>We were recently
awarded a matching funds grant to help with the expenses of our adoption
through Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. a non-profit private operating
foundation. Hand in Hand will match any
funds that are donated through our friends and family for the expenses of our
adoption. All funds received through our
friends and family will be matched <b>dollar for dollar</b> by Hand in Hand up to our
awarded grant amount! AND all donations are
tax-deductible (awesome, right?!).<o:p></o:p></div>
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You can
find out more about Hand in Hand through their website at w<a href="http://www.handinhandadopt.org/">ww.handinhandadopt.org</a>.</div>
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All donations made payable to “Hand in Hand Christian Adoption” postmarked
by January 22nd to: (for tax purposes please include our name on the outside of
the envelope only…do not put our name on the check itself):<span style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></div>
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<b>Hand in Hand Christian
Adoption, Inc. </b></div>
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<b style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Chris<span style="font-family: inherit;">tian and Sarah Herman</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">18318
Mimosa Court</span></b><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gardner,
KS 66030</span></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<b><u>Just Love Coffee Roasters</u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju147ZWxWLLcb8M1aLqCvfMk4NSNfF7DshC-zbmFQa3vZ_fChBMr28EREhEzVvkfStxbWJwNmYWZhPy7iN3KafLWxRV8Ie3-sx5oiFCX_AygvOhK536jZePmx-R15jzFW-RunjsIbn5Jw/s1600/coffee-banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju147ZWxWLLcb8M1aLqCvfMk4NSNfF7DshC-zbmFQa3vZ_fChBMr28EREhEzVvkfStxbWJwNmYWZhPy7iN3KafLWxRV8Ie3-sx5oiFCX_AygvOhK536jZePmx-R15jzFW-RunjsIbn5Jw/s1600/coffee-banner.png" height="179" width="320" /></a>Here's an easy one if you are buying coffee for yourself or friends anyway. Check out our online coffee shop for Organic, Fair Trade Coffee. From people who have ordered already, it ships fast and REALLY yummy stuff :-) So, if you want to check it out and get coffee here rather than from Starbucks or the grocery store, that'd be great! They have hot chocolate, too, for the non-coffee drinkers :-) </div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Our link can be found here: <a href="https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/hermanadoption/">https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/hermanadoption/</a></span><br />
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The fundraising part of this is, certainly, the most awkward part of this for us but, because of the huge costs, we really wouldn't be able to consider it if organizations and supportive people didn't come alongside us and help! If you cannot give, your prayers are SO, SO valuable to us. Pray for everyone who will be involved in the process, our whole family, the consultant, the agency, the birthparents, the hospital staff. . . just all of it. I keep thinking about how this is all going to happen. We will keep you updated as it does! </div>
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Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-45351316032336681422014-11-22T16:50:00.001-08:002014-11-22T21:04:42.426-08:00Daylight Savings: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BombEvery year since Claire was born, I would bemoan the "Time Change" every. single. time. I would complain on Facebook and to anyone who would listen. My child would never "sleep in" and would wake up at the exact same time as she did before. . now and hour earlier. Or bedtime and naptime would get all screwed up. And I'd whine and post several comments about how ridiculous it all was.<br />
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This year, I thought about complaining again. I started my snarky status update, only to backtrack a bit. I erased and started over. And then gave up. Because, to be honest, I've made my peace. This year, I decided to see it differently. So for the first several weeks, the weeks I used to whine about, I get up at the same "time" I got up before. I got dressed. I made breakfast for my family. I'd read my Bible and I'd unload the dishwasher and start school with Claire. For several days, she was done with her schoolwork around 9am because of this. 9AM!!! I always wish I could be given more hours in the day to accomplish what I need to get done and, wouldn't ya know? Every year, until my body and my children adjust to the new time, I get an extra hour in my day. <br />
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My mantra for our adoption journey has become, "Find joy in the journey. . ." and we really have. Amazing friends, great conversations, unexpected blessings. So I decided to apply this mantra to more things. Sometimes this is not always easy, but Paul admonishes us in 1 Thessalonians to "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." So here's my time change joy: a clean house, joyful schooltime and business work done. <br />
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It's the little things. <br />
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Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-64475460820578875672014-11-08T21:36:00.003-08:002014-11-08T21:36:59.378-08:00October 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Happy Fall! Between finishing up or homestudy and getting our profile book ready to present to birth families, we managed to throw in some October traditions with the girls. One of my FAVORITE things to do with the girls is gut the pumpkins and cook the seeds. I have pictures of Claire pulling the seeds out of the pumpkin every year since she was 18 months old. I search Pinterest for the best recipes and cook the seeds and eat them for the next few weeks. The girls love them. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpsHtgL4jqMVpT5hK21_aS9Dl_M_dWnX0H6aP1MZylubjHPeDKd1sDj3mwJIH34mJ88doAoMNjA2sULRkBnnOV1GZ2pxQep92aAe4KWConSref2CiWxrzUiawOk-laT3LwzduIrEdtvg/s1600/IMG_10220031637500.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpsHtgL4jqMVpT5hK21_aS9Dl_M_dWnX0H6aP1MZylubjHPeDKd1sDj3mwJIH34mJ88doAoMNjA2sULRkBnnOV1GZ2pxQep92aAe4KWConSref2CiWxrzUiawOk-laT3LwzduIrEdtvg/s1600/IMG_10220031637500.jpeg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">17 months</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9P_eLNIPK5klkDQktfB_6rtUj5wGj1qeOjEv1rRRM0_eUuvUAa5YO72-PwwBonAcK2QUID68D72EaPZlqDbv05qBhrBIHDQ6tYnuGm3SWKWJgnBRtyVWdew7U87X4GJqquluZuDuT_Y/s1600/IMG_10443755855390.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9P_eLNIPK5klkDQktfB_6rtUj5wGj1qeOjEv1rRRM0_eUuvUAa5YO72-PwwBonAcK2QUID68D72EaPZlqDbv05qBhrBIHDQ6tYnuGm3SWKWJgnBRtyVWdew7U87X4GJqquluZuDuT_Y/s1600/IMG_10443755855390.jpeg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 years</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7UTiFH5nHc14ZrjtcIYOBizplq4aMoZ6YO-1-FDJ9V8VlVtmQigTj12-IppasUE2dkeGT-B-x6zexWhVeMEgfoT6QkoQuJLFj6OD1Of2zXIUykUFVJwakS1GzkOHf9d_PeUqp5o51d0/s1600/IMG_10359284102004.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7UTiFH5nHc14ZrjtcIYOBizplq4aMoZ6YO-1-FDJ9V8VlVtmQigTj12-IppasUE2dkeGT-B-x6zexWhVeMEgfoT6QkoQuJLFj6OD1Of2zXIUykUFVJwakS1GzkOHf9d_PeUqp5o51d0/s1600/IMG_10359284102004.jpeg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3 years</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8CQegYmi1w7tOcaSJImxW1gongOoRIRTyVKC9Ua8Y8N9cgqAMs44pDQLkiOg3OAfnJOOPLKX6hYDQRvehAoCUhBz5zcXqXNNol9bLG9TSs0hhy-PKQmuZmQK8M5FyrgRpxg9rN8061dk/s1600/20141026_150255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8CQegYmi1w7tOcaSJImxW1gongOoRIRTyVKC9Ua8Y8N9cgqAMs44pDQLkiOg3OAfnJOOPLKX6hYDQRvehAoCUhBz5zcXqXNNol9bLG9TSs0hhy-PKQmuZmQK8M5FyrgRpxg9rN8061dk/s1600/20141026_150255.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 years</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-h_eobUBx_FWshVDCZM50L1s_D627jT3L2MbLl55OoxJrJBQiAaSHYzzVEhTsHxZjN7LMDtrqp4a87QEwvBOr3daVTCb89v0Y2Rf930rWZ4n-Ky7Bp1YqQZNQEjKaLLrGCMKqGw2K8Q/s1600/20141026_152611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-h_eobUBx_FWshVDCZM50L1s_D627jT3L2MbLl55OoxJrJBQiAaSHYzzVEhTsHxZjN7LMDtrqp4a87QEwvBOr3daVTCb89v0Y2Rf930rWZ4n-Ky7Bp1YqQZNQEjKaLLrGCMKqGw2K8Q/s1600/20141026_152611.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashlyn 2 years</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijsUl5gbUqg0fIgZ1wxi7JEI6MKnEbpZbpllGFPqYo-7LPRht1jtRC-_E2lAV0viW6SgMfpvKxM0sWo1b_8NLGsRRdotPcCGwk5mmlYHERUIcBksieMG4MB0E4p4pF0WgqmbUbRYEy4A0/s1600/20141026_153334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijsUl5gbUqg0fIgZ1wxi7JEI6MKnEbpZbpllGFPqYo-7LPRht1jtRC-_E2lAV0viW6SgMfpvKxM0sWo1b_8NLGsRRdotPcCGwk5mmlYHERUIcBksieMG4MB0E4p4pF0WgqmbUbRYEy4A0/s1600/20141026_153334.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sister love!</td></tr>
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This year we used this recipe, which was different than normal years since I tend to do salty rather than sweet/cinnamon but it worked for us! <br />
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Christian always get creative with his pumpkin carving. This year we got a little bit busy but he was able to carve this for us!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivo00yweZAm6YeNtAGfwRFCLJqZPWmkAdxfbG7-wiR8K0XUmygocjqb-dXqVzWLv1kU1yVWoC_u2eg3b1Qvl4SXJBoXNwPPjKqc73VOL36_J0IKtmTAMIFgQkO4YeyzGTFliAOfohwEU0/s1600/20141027_083754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivo00yweZAm6YeNtAGfwRFCLJqZPWmkAdxfbG7-wiR8K0XUmygocjqb-dXqVzWLv1kU1yVWoC_u2eg3b1Qvl4SXJBoXNwPPjKqc73VOL36_J0IKtmTAMIFgQkO4YeyzGTFliAOfohwEU0/s1600/20141027_083754.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some doTERRA love this year!</td></tr>
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<b><u>Dance Class Costume Party</u></b><br />
Claire's dance class had their little Halloween party. The girls were ADORABLE. Here they are learning their dance routine for Christmas. . . in their Halloween costumes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmEaxeVjOTnlWSuns60QVK8Z9KPABW125ori2dWtVyfvkBPS-HuLvWky6RNUuZLdpwFUfetc0rBSElfUJn-p_86C6Llm-JJx41o9jM2PCbpSYFd5vnFzAyWfKC0kSpz7t-DqpsNvSW0g/s1600/20141027_162953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmEaxeVjOTnlWSuns60QVK8Z9KPABW125ori2dWtVyfvkBPS-HuLvWky6RNUuZLdpwFUfetc0rBSElfUJn-p_86C6Llm-JJx41o9jM2PCbpSYFd5vnFzAyWfKC0kSpz7t-DqpsNvSW0g/s1600/20141027_162953.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claire's dance class</td></tr>
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<b><u>A is for Apple Pie!!</u></b><br />
Claire spent a unit on her school work on A and Apples. To end our unit, we read How to Make and Apple Pie and See the World and, you guessed it, made an Apple Pie. She had a blast, although, momma did the apple cutting, no worries :-)<br />
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<b><u>Halloween Activities</u></b><br />
Thursday, the girls had their Halloween/Costume party at their Mommy and Me preschool in Fullerton. I took this shot before we left. <br />
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Then we had a stop at Adam's Chiropractic in Brea. Can I TELL you hope much we love this place and these people? The girls got to Trick or Treat, first at the office. Christian and I go once a week and we are SO BLESSED by them!<br />
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After the kids did some crafts, got candy from the Developmentally Disabled Adults who take classes in the same building as well as the office staff next door, they took this class picture (nevermind the annoying parent on the left who photobombed the class picture with her creepy "costume." O_o) <br />
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My mom was able to rearrange her schedule and be there for the class. The girls LOVED having gramma there!<br />
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That night, the girls Trick or Treated around the neighborhood. Christian's parents came over for dinner and it was a great night with family. The girls really got excited about seeing their neighborhood friends and filling their buckets. </div>
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Next year's couple costume? I'm thinking so. . . :-)<br />
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<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-34602968345116697112014-10-17T18:35:00.001-07:002014-10-17T18:35:47.877-07:00Adoption update. . . the end of the beginning Well, it's been a while since we actually updated on the state of our adoption process! Back in the summer, we had a second fundraiser yard sale but this time we had it at Christian's parents'. This time, things were a little different. We were a little more prepared since we'd done one sale before and we had more large items than little knick knacky type items. Christian's parents had friends donate to the sale so they were storing some things for us, we still had some things left over from the last sale, PLUS a number of large items we just couldn't transport to my parents' house the first time around. I have fantastic relatives in Murrieta (where our sale took place) and they came out a few days before, loaded up their truck with items and took a few things. It was better for us since we didn't have to rent a truck this time and could keep whatever we made from the sale.<br />
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We wound up making a prety good chunk of change at the yard sales went toward the Consultant and our homestudy costs. A group of AMAZING friends online spent tons of time and money on a online auction for us as well. Amazing people in our lives these days. Watch for a tshirt fundraiser coming soon. We are also hoping to land a matching grant. More on that soon. . . </div>
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But the biggest news is WE ARE DONE WITH OUR HOMESTUDY!!!!!!!!!!! All that paperwork, all those appointments and things to fill out, interviews and the home visit are all DONE. Just waiting on our adoption profile to get finished up and we are ACTIVE with our Consultant. Praying for our new little one and his/her birth family. Whoever they all may be. . . </div>
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"<span style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 28px; text-align: center;">An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." </span></div>
<h1 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #383838; font-family: Rokkitt, serif; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-shadow: rgb(247, 247, 244) 0px 1px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">--An ancient Chinese belief</span></span></h1>
<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-58427863807647734652014-10-10T16:46:00.001-07:002014-10-10T16:46:34.122-07:00School: Plugging Right Along <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So I've gotten a few questions from people about Claire's homeschooling. Mainly, how it's going and what we are doing. Last year I tried to figure out what the best course of action might be for Claire. She's smart kid, for sure. At 3 she knew her letters and sounds so I felt like a preschool curriculum might not be great for her 4th grade year BUT I also knew that I didn't want to push since, in many ways, she really is still a 4 year old. SO I was told, by numerous homeschoolers to check out the Kindergarten Curriculum put out by My Father World. I mulled over the decision for a long time and am really glad, so far, we went with this. It is a SUPER gentle Kindergarten curriculum. There are worksheets to do but it's definitely not worksheet heavy. There's a lot of art and coloring and reading stories and going outside. She loves the Classical Music component, the Cuisinaire rods, the letter activities, the outside activities and I love how she really seems to be absorbing everything. Our first week we talked about the Sun and the letter S. We practiced writing it, drawing pictures of things that start with S, learning about the sun and it's light. The theme was "Jesus is the Light of the World."</div>
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Claire is starting to pick out her own "outfits" in the morning. 99% of the time, we are "doing school" with her wearing some sort of costume she pulls out of her costume trunk. . .<br />
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The following unit was the moon and letter L. She learned about the phases of the moon, wrote the letter M, build a "rocket ship" under the kitchen table and learned that the moon does not have it's own light but reflects the light of the Sun. SO the theme was about how we reflect God's light and "I am the light of the world" because we, like the moon, reflect the light of Jesus. </div>
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Ashlyn likes to get in on the homeschool action. We aren't doing anything formal with her at this point, but she has learned all her letters and likes to point them out when we are out and about town. <br />
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We are still attending the Joyful Parenting: Music and Art class at N. OC Continuing Ed. It's free and two hours every Thursday. We love it. The Thursday class is so well done and gives the girls a chance to be with other kids and me a chance to meet other parents. Right now the theme is fall so we've done apples and trees and leaves and there is a new letter of the week. They do circle time, they sing, they dance, free play, eat lunch together and at the end of October they'll be doing a costume parade. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking to "Bear Class" (they always sing a song about a bear at the end of class so the girls call it "Bear Class")</td></tr>
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Claire is really starting to meet friends at the group and I love watching is develop with her. She wants to sit next to certain kids for lunchtime. Ashlyn is still pretty oblivious but enjoys the other kids and is starting to sit for longer periods in the circle, listening to the story. Last Spring, I would usually find myself in the hallway of the building with Ashlyn who was overdue for a nap and ready for it all to be over. Now, she is starting to really "fit in." <br />
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"Everything grows and grows. . . babies do. . . animals too. . . everything grows. . . "<br />
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<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-66483192651507833452014-10-07T17:43:00.000-07:002014-10-07T21:11:53.389-07:00Road Trippin' with Kids!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's been a couple of weeks but in mid September we were blessed with a new (to us) car. Our neighbor was selling and Expedition and we went ahead and decided to take the plunge and buy it. It's a 2003, 130K miles and, thus far, is running great. We love the extra room in the car, love that we can haul things, love that it represents new members of our family with every empty seat. On our last family trip to Arrowhead with family, we realized that we REALLY needed another car. Even with the two we have, plus luggage, it was getting to be, seriously, cramped. Couple that with our hope to adopt this year or early next year AND our desire to immerse our kids in God's amazing creation on vacations, we needed something bigger. The car dropped into our lap and we got it for a few thousand less than our budget so we have been very happy. </div>
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The only part of this that we haven't totally loved is the new price tag at the gas pump. . . but we knew that with anything we bought, we were looking at a bit of a change in that area. We did consider, however, how much less I'll be driving now that I'm not working at the school this year and figure it will even out. I do take the girls places for field trips, playdates etc. but not nearly the miles I was putting on the Honda everyday, back and forth from Placentia.<br />
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One the first things we did with the car (like, two days after we bought it) was take it on a serious road trip. Most of you know by now I'm a BIG believer in doTERRA essential oils. I bought a ticket to doTERRA's yearly convention and had no idea how I was going to swing going. I didn't know I'd be on a leave of absence from my job. I just took a huge leap of faith and grabbed aa ticket. After discussing options (including leaving the girls and Christian home, leaving just the girls home and trying to get Christian a ticket, etc.) we decided that the girls (specifically Ashlyn) were just too young to leave that long. So we decided to make it a family road trip. I would go to convention, Christian would take the girls on daytrips in Salt Lake City. Several times I questioned the sanity of our decision. . . but it ended up working out fine. <br />
The day before we left, however, I panicked a bit when Claire started showing signs of a runny nose, slight cough and the tell-tale bags under her eyes. Immediately, I made a roller ball bottle of:<br />
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20 drops Oregano</div>
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30 drops OnGuard</div>
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40 drops Lemon</div>
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20 drops Melaleuca</div>
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and topped it off with doTERRA's Fractionated Coconut Oil </div>
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Claire INSISTED on taking care of it herself and since I, really do, want to teach her to be a manager of her own health, I taught her to use the roller herself. She swiped it once on her feet every half hour the day before, and then throughout our drive to Salt Lake. You know what? Those oils truly helped her body fight off that infection and we weren't plagued with the illness the rest of the trip. She got over that cold in two days. No one else got it. We swiped Ashlyn's feet as a preventative and then the two of us did the same. Now I use the roller as a "hand sanitizer" when the girls are at Mommy and Me or out and about. <br />
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So here's how the trip went:<br />
Wednesday, we took the whole day and drove from the LA/Orange County area to Salt Lake City in one day. This was something we REALLY thought wouldn't go well and we'd just have to endure this leg. But it really wasn't bad at all. <br />
A few tips:<br />
1. My mom got the girls a gift bag of snacks, crafts, books etc they could open at our discretion. For the most part, the girls got a new thing every hour BUT if they were still playing with something or eating something, happily, at the time they were to open another gift, I didn't mention anything. I knew we had a long drive back as well and figured, whatever they didn't open on the the way to Salt Lake City, they could open on the way home. This worked out perfectly since at 4 and 2, they really have zero concept of time. <br />
2. Stories on CD. This is where I, actually, wish we had been more prepared. I mean, the girls were FINE but listening to the same three <a href="http://lifeatthepond.com/">Life at the Pond</a> CDs was grating on OUR nerves after a while (remember it was a 12 hour drive with all the bathroom and food stops). <br />
3. Bring music CDs the kids AND adults enjoy. We have a couple cds of kids singing hymns and a couple more of kids singing worship songs infused with classic hymns. We actually like listening to the CDs. I also brought along a few Elizabeth Mitchell (folk type songs for kids) that we enjoy as well as some of our own (classical music with nature sounds, jazz albums etc) that the kids like that would pass the hours in the car. This is what worked for us. But thinking in terms of what will make the hours go fast was crucial for us. <br />
4. If you subscribe to a kid magazine like Ranger Rick or some other, I suggest bringing every issue you have lying around. We subscribe to High Five (preschool version of Highlights) and I brought every single one PLUS books. We did bring the Leap Pad but used it a grand total of 1 hour on the entire trip (there and back). I fully believe that kids don't *need* this sort of thing and that that can learn a lot from just looking out the window, and doing the above mentioned activities. Now, I will point out that I don't have kids who get carsick yet. That would have been a WHOLE other blog post. But I had the DigestZen ready to go in case of any major issues.<br />
5. Bring a portable diffuser and pump your kids' and your favorite calming blend during the drive. Ours happens to be Citrus Bliss (I also use this one in church for the girls).<br />
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For the most part, we were pretty good at making potty stops at actual rest stops. . . but this happened twice between driving to Utah and coming home. . .clearly, it didn't bother our children. I suggest the Baby Bjorn potty for this sort of thing, but I'm sure any plastic travel potty will do just fine ;-)<br />
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Finally getting to the motel was a HUGE relief for the kids. (And for us, for sure). <br />
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We brought two Kid's Aerobeds (the BEST for small kids and travel. . . truly) and all the girls bedding so they had some familiar landscape around them when they went to bed. We rubbed Cedarwood and Serenity on them and put both oils in a diffuser for bedtimes and hotel bedtime went great for us! <br />
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During the next few days, I attended doTERRA's convention and Christian took the girls and various outings and did school with Claire in the hotel room. <br />
Let me tell you. I was in love with doTERRA and their oils before convention but, man. What a classy company. I love the way they source their oils, their transparency with their Wellness Advocates and the public and their impact on the economies they source and distill their oils from. I am even more impressed with the team of SERIOUS scientists on board with this company. I, now, understand why I've been able to get off my asthma meds, Christian has been able to manage his RLS, my girls can sleep better and sit in church for periods of time and focus on the Word (more on that in another post). The care and the integrity is amazing. I'll tell you. I'd NEVER EVER thought I'd be doing what I am doing now. I've been allergic to MLMs since I was little. But I have to spread the word. And, shoot, if it brings my family a little income and, maybe soon, replaces my income I lost when I quit working at the school, awesome. I get to teach classes about what I love and share what has SO impaced our family and not feel slimy about it in the least since I know, first hand, how amazing it all is. BTW, did I mention I was one of 18,000 people there? That we filled up the Enegry Solutions Arena for General Sessions (Utah Jazz Arena). Yeah. What a great week for me.<br />
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Christian, however, had a slightly different week. Although we were able to meet up for dinner one night at an upline's evening event that they let me bring Christian and the girls to, for the most part, he spent the daytime with the girls going on outings and napping at the motel while I learned all kinds of great information. First stop was <a href="http://www.hoglezoo.org/">Utah's Hogle Zoo.</a> Besides Christian commenting that it was really odd to the the only male with kids there by himself that day during a weekday, he said it was a good size zoo and that he and the girls had a great experience there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKK4ui0EPVp1YF5Fh8xrpfttOCT8MueBIrvNxgDKlTUh9iA3fXUn8_pp04BNbNo6xl6G_30HbrIjVUMtZTZRMLyU_n8Nzqc_joIOsQmKhTrl02Jd_TArxtK8IlhBLUhqIAcxWAgENaSjk/s1600/20140919_151040%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKK4ui0EPVp1YF5Fh8xrpfttOCT8MueBIrvNxgDKlTUh9iA3fXUn8_pp04BNbNo6xl6G_30HbrIjVUMtZTZRMLyU_n8Nzqc_joIOsQmKhTrl02Jd_TArxtK8IlhBLUhqIAcxWAgENaSjk/s1600/20140919_151040%5B1%5D.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trip to the zoo ended with ice cream which is always a plus for both girls. </td></tr>
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That night, the girls and Christian got to come with me to a dinner party for our doTERRA team. It was really nice to have been there and that they let them come. The girls did great with all those adults and, ironically, it was held at <a href="http://www.childmuseum.org/">Discovery Gateway</a>, the Children's Museum Christian brought the girls to the following morning.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wM-ngSXw4WDKqNI8a6wJWuGpPniv5xB_Lk0p5lzbAt53eQbEig_PmZKhAFk4nCyBkYUARIuDQV8WMhl3julhlNz5xYhWU-rljdaY5_VsskGD27lkTi62aGZUloFmxEAUCIWaelCqMDQ/s1600/20140919_201422%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wM-ngSXw4WDKqNI8a6wJWuGpPniv5xB_Lk0p5lzbAt53eQbEig_PmZKhAFk4nCyBkYUARIuDQV8WMhl3julhlNz5xYhWU-rljdaY5_VsskGD27lkTi62aGZUloFmxEAUCIWaelCqMDQ/s1600/20140919_201422%5B1%5D.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super blurry but you get the idea. . . </td></tr>
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Now, both the girls and Christian gave RAVE reviews of the Discovery Gateway. Amazing place. Claire kept saying she wanted to go back even after we were back in CA. </div>
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Two thumbs up, Salt Lake City. </div>
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One of my favorite stories was of the ladies Christian and the girls met a breakfast at the motel. These two were at the convention from Japan. Claire told them their mommy was at an "oils class" the ladies, who were already enamoured with the girls, got very excited and wanted to take pictures with the "Oil Babies!" </div>
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Our trip home was uneventful. I had to skip out of the final session of the convention so we could get on the road after lunchtime. We stopped in Mesquete, Nevada on Saturday night. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashlyn coloring before bedtime. </td></tr>
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The next morning we headed out and made it back to Chino (after having breakfast at the Casino we stayed at) at around 4 or so. <br />
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Although, at stop at the <a href="http://www.themadgreekcafe.com/index.html">Mad Greek</a> in Baker is always a must when coming back to Southern CA from Nevada. <br />
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Good to be home but after that experience, I'm ready for more road trip with this family!Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-55634171562440765302014-10-02T14:22:00.001-07:002014-10-02T14:22:11.942-07:00You might be a California homeschooler if. . . <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You might be a California homeschooler if...</div>
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You attempt to make raisins in your backyard in October. . . and succeed because it's 90 degrees outside. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZU_e1CdXA1_5SP7vtrZzoLgZD3mvPhZuolk5C2Li94A7nEXyjcKtOegFXrAbZl2iB2ycD3rRz98TWeJiTI_D6KsreqM7Bl3-Usnqwpmim8S3QaWrKnCwWNfAAlLXmYIskoGt1pVUKgQ/s1600/20140922_094534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZU_e1CdXA1_5SP7vtrZzoLgZD3mvPhZuolk5C2Li94A7nEXyjcKtOegFXrAbZl2iB2ycD3rRz98TWeJiTI_D6KsreqM7Bl3-Usnqwpmim8S3QaWrKnCwWNfAAlLXmYIskoGt1pVUKgQ/s1600/20140922_094534.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4WQlXan6xLVL2T1S_5rmSUTmxu4syU_NjbLI26_FZ4etlVpycEnzevW6P8FvB_RfRw1UUHOQKOf8UlOOnNB93OiMQBEkgYpuVvcIEHmEWotDWeA2ayDR1i3iO7MhDVhUy69jzxeS72o/s1600/20140922_094552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4WQlXan6xLVL2T1S_5rmSUTmxu4syU_NjbLI26_FZ4etlVpycEnzevW6P8FvB_RfRw1UUHOQKOf8UlOOnNB93OiMQBEkgYpuVvcIEHmEWotDWeA2ayDR1i3iO7MhDVhUy69jzxeS72o/s1600/20140922_094552.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Or if your kid goes outside in the mid-morning to check out her shadow. . . and you get to tell her all about it. . .<br />
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Or you feel like you should by stock in Hobby Lobby or Michael's because you are going through art supplies life CRAZY and you might as well get a few dollars back. . .<br />
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You make salt dough . . .<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7Do1NlfjfwPQ9hPno7mby6M5ajJP4szaD5Dzynw0OhOAz_P6HzhmCunRkIQBk_rMaOcu17Wy2Oi8-0mL1I_SHGdeUaEXKyvCS3URXWdqXaIm9LVo1wSpF9KpvtCIytbtXXlQeguU1M0/s1600/20140923_110236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7Do1NlfjfwPQ9hPno7mby6M5ajJP4szaD5Dzynw0OhOAz_P6HzhmCunRkIQBk_rMaOcu17Wy2Oi8-0mL1I_SHGdeUaEXKyvCS3URXWdqXaIm9LVo1wSpF9KpvtCIytbtXXlQeguU1M0/s1600/20140923_110236.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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so you can add a homemade sundial (complete with pencil for checking the time) to your backyard collection of odd things you may find in the backyard of a homeschooler. . .<br />
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Or you bake cookies in the middle of the day in order to do a sensory letter activity. . . and wind up baking your preschooler's whole name. :-)<br />
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All this to say, the first few weeks of homeschooling Claire have gone great! She loves activities, loves art, loves reading, and does pretty well with her introductory math assignments. She doesn't love handwriting. Yet. Daddy teaches her one day a week while I work as a tutor/teacher at a homeschool group and we are all learning how best to teach her and Ashlyn (who sometimes joins in). But we are blessed to be able to do this this year. Taking it one week at a time. Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-72410280673647861412014-10-02T14:08:00.000-07:002014-10-02T14:08:11.506-07:00Game Nights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just needed to make a quick shout out blog post to this group of crazies. There is a group of 8 of us who all still get together, roughly, once a month for game night. As of right now, the kids outnumber us by one (and a couple of us have indicated that probably won't be the end of it). The group made it to our house last event and a good time was had by all. I love my "computer friends," I really, really do. But am blessed to have these people who we have a history with, who share our faith and who have kids whom I'm so glad my kids get to grow up around.<br />
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Yeah. It's good. Sometimes goofy (like when all the guys get together to play Star Trek Catan. . . yeah, not going there) but good.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-82907085902181928232014-09-29T20:38:00.004-07:002014-09-29T20:40:39.102-07:00Starting School: Big Changes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<b><u>End of Summer=Big Decisions</u></b></div>
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So all summer long, a decision was brewing. I have loved most of my job for the past 3 years. I've been teaching "part-time" (you'll understand the quotation marks in a sec) Musical Theater and Vocal Music at a public middle school in Orange County. A good school in a good district. I had 35 kids in the audition-based musical theater class (I usually cut around 20 during audition season) and around 120 kids in the choral program. I was working early in the morning until noon but would, often, return to the school for rehearsals, meetings and concerts/productions, often dragging the girls with me. There are things I loved about it. The kids, the productions, the lights, putting together the story, watching kids blossom before my very eyes. . . but what I couldn't stand was what happened at home. How, before every major production or concert or show, I wasn't the only person who was completely stressed out and tired. While the girls loved the middle school kids and Claire even got her first musical production under her belt with my last Spring show, "Honk!," the everyday and the craziness was just wearing on all of us. On top of that, we ran into a major issue with babysitting when my mom decided to go back to work, nearly, full time this school year. After a lot of tears, math and prayer, we agreed to have me take a leave of absence this school year. </div>
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It's taken a lot for me to let go of this program, particularly the musical theater program that I've been building for the past 11 years. But it was one of those moments where we really realized we had to step out and do something different. The other part of this is that we really have convictions about our kids and their education. I have been homeschooling Claire for preschool while I've been working but we are really getting closer and closer to the time when the girls (and any other kiddo who becomes a member of our family) education needs to be front and center for me. So here we go. </div>
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So, for the first time in 12 years, my first day of school looked something like this: </div>
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Sometimes we play outside at the park across the street. . .<br />
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and have evening playdates with neighborhood kids. . . </div>
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or take field trips to PetCo to look at the animals. <br />
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Sometimes we have cooking lessons before dinnertime. . .<br />
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or lounge around in our elephant costume. . .<br />
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or complete bookwork in a Cabbage Patch wig.<br />
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I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the kids at my old job, the theater program I built and the notoriety I received. I loved the satisfaction of watching a group of kids go from barely knowing what they were doing, lacking in confidence to getting up there onstage and completely owning their moment. I will miss the lights, the costumes, the creativity. But I'm ready to pour into my family this year. I'm ready to start new things, educate my girls, learn more about the Classical model of education while tutoring at Veritas one day a week and so excited to share more of God's natural gifts of his earth through doTERRA essential oils and I'm excited to bring a new little one into our home through adoption, whoever he or she may be. Our family is standing at another watershed. . . so with the uncertainty and excitement of these changes, I'm reminded of this:<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rolling River God </span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Little Stones are smooth </i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>
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Only once the water passes through </div>
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So I am a stone </div>
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rough and grainy still </div>
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Trying to reconcile this river's chill</div>
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</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>But when I close my eyes </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>and feel you rushing by </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I know that time brings change </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>and change takes time </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>And when the sunset comes </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>my prayer would be just this one </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>that you might pick me up </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>and notice that I am </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>just a little smoother in your hand</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometimes raging wild </span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>sometimes swollen high </i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>
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never have I known this river dry </div>
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The deepest part of you </div>
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is where I want to stay </div>
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and feel the sharpest edges wash away</div>
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</i></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But when I close my eyes </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i></i></span></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;"></i><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;">and feel you rushing by </i></div>
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
I know that time brings change </div>
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and change takes time </div>
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And when the sunset comes </div>
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my prayer would be just this one </div>
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that you might pick me up </div>
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and notice that I am </div>
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just a little smoother in your hand</div>
</i></div>
Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-84494771969788295972014-09-26T15:04:00.000-07:002014-10-03T20:06:32.104-07:00Date nights: How we are making it work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Christian and I were told, over and over, before we got married, that we needed to make sure we took the time to date, especially after we have kids. The last 6 years have been incredibly busy. During that time, we've bought a house, had two kids, begun the adoption process for our third, I've finished a MA degree in English from UC Irvine, Christian finished a MS degree in Instructional Design and Technology from Cal State, Fullerton, I've taken over a musical theater and choir program for three years and then took a leave of absence, Christian has started a new job, we've started a business. . . I dunno. It's just been a little crazy around here. But we both had that, "leave time for dating" idea in the back of our heads. I have a few friends who get to do "date night" once a week. We'd love that. We really would. But it doesn't happen. We will send one of us out for Frogurt or smoothies or have date nights in, and that's great but living 45 min. from family (on both sides, in opposite directions) and not sure we can pay a babysitter once a week, we are pretty lucky if it happens once a month. But it usually does since we have a built-in date night through our season tickets to the Sergerstrom Center in Costa Mesa. Each year, we buy the Broadway Series. . . and definitely sit in the nosebleeds. But we go. Usually. And when we don't get to go, we either sell or give away the tickets or lose them entirely. This forces us to go. To not allow months to go by where we don't do anything, or go out, or let life completely ramrod our relationship. </div>
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Our last show was "Once." A. maz.ing. Amazing. I left me, really, wanting more. It was artistic, yet, not completely "out there" and it certainly didn't feel like it was trying too hard. But my favorite part about it was going out, with my husband and a few friends, talking about the show and just being able to pretend we weren't buried in some of the craziness. We didn't talk about training seminars or adoption homestudies or tantrums or bathrooms that needed cleaning. We were just a couple of music and theater nerds who like to go out to eat and talk and play. </div>
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And it was, seriously, good.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-43705398652481466782014-09-25T15:54:00.001-07:002014-09-25T15:54:29.683-07:00How to finish out your summer right. . . a wrap up. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><u>Dance Class</u></b></div>
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Claire kept up with her dance classes this summer. I'm considering putting Ashlyn in since I think she'd love it but, for a couple reasons, I'm thinking I'll try something different for Ashlyn this year and wait until she is 3 to get her going on the dance classes. It really is super cute to see Claire love the classes so much. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captured this sometime this summer. Love how they are watching the older girls and how impressed I've been with the girls my girls will look up to. </td></tr>
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<b><u>Skirball Cultural Center: Noah's Ark</u></b><br />
Now, this was cool. We really could have spent so much more time at the Skirball. I just had no idea. They really made the Noah's Ark story come to life for my girls. Claire still talks about this day. Wants to go back so, so bad. <br />
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Also at the Skirball, they had a replica of an Israeli archaeological dig site. We got our own sand pit and canopy and were given specific things to look for in our site. SUPER neat. The guide was so fun and helpful. <br />
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<b><u>Peppertree Park: Broadway in the Park </u></b><br />
Every year we go with some friends to Peppertree Park in order to watch that year's Broadway performance in the park. This year it was Peter Pan. The girls LOVED it and, thanks to the KidCo PeaPod and Ashlyn's ability to fall asleep when she's tired just about anywhere, we were able to stay the entire show (normally, we've left at intermission). <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashlyn snoozing during the show. </td></tr>
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<b><u>Chino Youth Museum</u></b><br />
One thing that's nice about summertime, I'm able to check out things in our area that I don't, normally, get to explore with the girls. I, actually, am just discovering what is out here 5 years after I moved here. One morning this summer we went to the Chino Youth Museum and had a BLAST. The girls had so much fun and didn't want to leave. Definitely a place we will be returning to soon!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claire's "I'm the bad guy" face</td></tr>
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<b><u>All Church VBS and Chili Cook Off (Summer Send-Off) </u></b><br />
The last week of summer, a friend and I pulled of a chili cook-off plus VBS afternoon at the church. The event was a hit (although the VBS portion was small, which I'm ok with considering our philosophy of training children and families). . . but I digress. The kids had a great time learning about Moses, wearing fake mustaches (who doesn't love THAT?!) and playing with the mini parachute I snagged on Zulily. <br />
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We gave the entire event a Western Theme and had a couple judges who picked the winner for the event (one of which turned out to be my husband. . . you know, the guy with the aversion to spicy food? Go figure.) <br />
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Aaaand here's our shocked winner of our cook-off. Serina was fairly certain she was just adding a chili to the pile, one that wasn't going to make much of a splash. And it totally won. Awesome. I love that.<br />
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Claire got hyped up on sno-cones. . . a treat we rarely allow at our house since we are a artificial flavor/coloring family. Never. Again. She couldn't sit still for DAYS after the event. She and Logan sure had fun, though, in the moment.<br />
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Good bye, summer! (Although, in California, I'm sure we have SEVERAL more weeks left. . . .)<br />
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<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-92178756117448372402014-09-15T14:48:00.002-07:002014-09-15T14:48:32.823-07:00Arrowhead: August 7-8, 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Our summer vacation this year was a trip up to Lake Arrowhead with my parents, grandparents, niece and my own little family. We loaded up the Mazda and headed up to the mountains on a Thursday and spent until Sunday morning at a cabin my mom got on, you guessed it, Groupon. Great thing about this cabin is that it had lake access which is, apparently, a huge deal in Lake Arrowhead. The cabin had no A/C which, at first, seemed like it was going to be a little crazy but the mountain breezes soon let us know why artificial cooling wasn't really needed! My parents and Soli slept on the first level/basement, my grandparents slept on the main floor and we were on the top level. Each group got their own space and bathroom, which was really nice. </div>
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Christian and I discovered, however, that we have outgrown our little sedans, even with the two kids and since we hope to add another little one to the mix in the somewhat near future, this trip to Arrowhead was the one that really pushed us to consider how much we are needing a bigger set of wheels. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All packed up for our trip!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashlyn and Papa Dick at the table. View from the upstairs landing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claire's first experience with a bunk bed. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashlyn was pretty excited about the lasagna.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain Sunset</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma, Soli and Ashlyn</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa on his guitar</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfNlOFcKOSqpcB1Na_2bm8pqUXcBuy4YJzXCtyUWbhKFe0-_i_M5QiBx8CkaDGIva5BcGHo0-hOWeOo_AduWujgo6SZhUK0q7kppFnuurwIgjwSqZSOsvYP5vpEL81epggI7FkV0zAWQ/s1600/20140808_113420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfNlOFcKOSqpcB1Na_2bm8pqUXcBuy4YJzXCtyUWbhKFe0-_i_M5QiBx8CkaDGIva5BcGHo0-hOWeOo_AduWujgo6SZhUK0q7kppFnuurwIgjwSqZSOsvYP5vpEL81epggI7FkV0zAWQ/s1600/20140808_113420.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheese! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynzXTK8QxsQLF7oQMoLA-3D9PYwWKkJSGCdcf0DgQVQnV1wUdpVdb0y7X3EEQySabkD1BKoTBXuNfiC5kWKUg0iAlwHvpq3C7ZLoke9khLC9VY1tZd4NE3D91fNp6UbfIeU6PWT1NLZs/s1600/20140808_110808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynzXTK8QxsQLF7oQMoLA-3D9PYwWKkJSGCdcf0DgQVQnV1wUdpVdb0y7X3EEQySabkD1BKoTBXuNfiC5kWKUg0iAlwHvpq3C7ZLoke9khLC9VY1tZd4NE3D91fNp6UbfIeU6PWT1NLZs/s1600/20140808_110808.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally found flip flops in Christian's size ;-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jwM1YXfvn8s0Zm9QTQyHDnzUD5JHlT8a4dONvtbJYxKSuiNoVSztPdxyyciY4dn9sPYdEy6KYO3vJMH_SXF3xOPTYHR03Lw-eqPJB7HMOdhwUAhSIKUorAItPbz0Z89v5ixvrBEEJks/s1600/20140808_114635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jwM1YXfvn8s0Zm9QTQyHDnzUD5JHlT8a4dONvtbJYxKSuiNoVSztPdxyyciY4dn9sPYdEy6KYO3vJMH_SXF3xOPTYHR03Lw-eqPJB7HMOdhwUAhSIKUorAItPbz0Z89v5ixvrBEEJks/s1600/20140808_114635.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claire's new pet. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiF-icRdet_nnJ2fiBSa7SijvqlJ8wIX4SbNCAqZBq1XCjiPkHtw2qGyHLbp6Pfnt2va2OaZ2j-aJdtEoagChU_FWq0dOfk4dm-Hx0FeuRZorzmRIFvSLJElMNSifZb_w2wmL807FdLk8/s1600/20140808_220703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiF-icRdet_nnJ2fiBSa7SijvqlJ8wIX4SbNCAqZBq1XCjiPkHtw2qGyHLbp6Pfnt2va2OaZ2j-aJdtEoagChU_FWq0dOfk4dm-Hx0FeuRZorzmRIFvSLJElMNSifZb_w2wmL807FdLk8/s1600/20140808_220703.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christian playing 5 Crowns</td></tr>
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I didn't get any pictures of us at the lake, I realized. A few fun things of note, Claire swam all the way out to the rope at the other side of the lake in her floaties. She's becoming a great swimmer and I'm super proud of her. Christian and I played card games with my grandparents at night and got to spend a little time on our own shopping at Lake Arrowhead Village (which was a big treat for us, since we don't get to do it real often anymore! <br />
I'm grateful for a great trip and blessed that we all stayed healthy. <br />
<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-33395617764243908162014-09-15T14:27:00.001-07:002014-09-15T14:27:12.424-07:00Summer Catch up- July/Early August <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><u>Summer School </u></b></div>
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I started with the best of intentions. I really did. We were going to be doing<i> Before 5 in a Row</i> every week this summer. We did it one week. Dang it. It wasn't like we were lacking activity and I do think she learned a lot despite my inability to get with the program this summer but it ended up being for the best. We started out with <i>Blueberries for Sal</i> and read the book and did some number and letter activities, ate blueberries and made freezer jam and fully intended to go blueberry picking but it turns out we were a week late :-/ We were bummed. But had a good week anyway. And the jam is so yummy. And I have two more jars in my freezer! </div>
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<b><u>Parent and Me Class (Joyful Parenting OC Continuing Ed) </u></b><br />
We did continue with the Joyful Parenting class all summer with both girls. For the most part, the theme in the summertime is Ocean and there are a lot of ocean stories and crafts. I've been taking Ashlyn to the class for the older kids since that means we'd only go once and, usually the crafts and stories are the same, although the older class does a bit more with letters etc. I like the other parents I have met in the class and the girls love to go every single week. Since we aren't really doing a "formal preschool" for them, this is their preschool class and it's been great for them! The class has music/movement, art, stories, letters and free play every week. It's a perfect complement to what we are doing at home!<br />
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<b><u>Splashpad</u></b><br />
Normally, I just take the girls to the Splashpad at the Shoppes but I completely forgot that one night a week they closed the pad for the concerts in the park in the evening. Guess which afternoon I had the girls all suited up and ready for waterplay? Sigh. But that meant we got to discover a new place to play and not far from our house in Eastvale. Super cute neighborhood with this park/splashpad right in the middle of it. Saved the day, for sure.<br />
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<b><u>Church</u></b></div>
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A chunk of the summer was also spent planning and doing summer activities with the church we attend. We had a movie night, summer Sunday School (during the sermon lesson) and roller skating. Christian and Claire were still learning how to skate, mommy had fun making laps around the rink and Ashlyn played with Pastor Cliff who was given strict orders not to strap skates on a hurt himself :-)</div>
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<b><u>Misc. Summer</u></b><br />
We spent a lot of time at the park and with friends and playing with the water table in the backyard. . .<br />
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transferred Claire to our bed for naptime since she only naps every couple days or so (this way she gets "rest time" even if she doesn't nap and won't wake Ashlyn and if she does need one, she can fall asleep easily). . .<br />
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learned more homekeeping skills such as shucking corn, folding laundry and taking care of the garden.<br />
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<b><u>Zoomar's Petting Zoo</u></b><br />
My mom is way into Groupon. I have resisted thus far but have started downloading the apps for both Groupon and LivingSocial. I can now understand the addiction. There are great deals on there! One of which was a discounted trip to Zoomar's Petting Zoo in San Juan Capistrano. It really was a fun day! We went with my mom and Marisol the kids pet and fed the animals. Ashlyn was pretty worried about the horseback ride at first but eased into it pretty soon after she saw sister high atop her horse and was fine for the rest of the ride. There were goats and guinea pigs, rabbits and sheep. Perfect summer morning.<br />
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<b><u>Beach Baptisms at Corona del Mar</u></b></div>
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One of our favorite church events was beach baptisms down at Corona del Mar in early August. We had quite a few baptisms that morning and a great time with friends and we got to learn at lot about others and their journey of faith. Ashlyn is a little leery of the water and the waves. Still working on it. She swims great in a pool but lake or ocean water completely freaks her out. </div>
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Post getting a little long. Working on another for the remainder of the summer! </div>
<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-31158838519477248002014-07-22T22:21:00.003-07:002014-07-22T22:27:11.089-07:00June/July events<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well, my summer vacation got off to a fairly rocky start. Our cat, who normally is very low maintenance, began to throw up. . . a lot. At first, I thought it might be her food. But after changing food several times, Tara was still throwing up after most meals. Then, the week after I got done with school, she started doing something she's never, ever done before. She started peeing outside her litter box. This was just not acceptable at our house. I was not going to have a house that smelled like cat pee AND it was clear that Tara just did NOT feel good. So we found a local vet through a local interest facebook page for our area and took her in. Turns out, a bunch of tests and $300 later, Tara had a pretty nasty urinary tract infection. Try giving antibiotics through an oral syringe to a cat for nearly a month. Yeah. Not my favorite. But as of right now, she seems like she is doing fine. I do need to make a follow up appointment at the animal hospital to make sure she is completely over her infection. We really don't have the money to spend on this cat so hoping we get the all clear. I don't want to have to make upsetting decisions about her if this thing has caused more damage, damage we really couldn't afford to fix. </div>
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In late June, our <u><b>neighborhood HOA</b></u> put on a fun <u><b>event</b></u> at the park across the street. Normally, I have no use for the HOA and the management company that controls it, but I will admit that they throw some fun neighborhood get togethers. They do a makeshift pumpkin patch in the fall and then this event in the summer complete with petting zoo, food vendors, face painters, jump houses etc. Ashlyn napped for most of it, but Claire enjoyed the whole thing and it was nice to get out and chat with neighbors we don't always see.<br />
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Claire performed in her second <u><b>dance recital </b></u>and third stage performance this year (her second one was her appearance as a Froglet in my production of "Honk!" at the middle school). It's crazy to me how comfortable she is with all of this. She has been going to concerts and productions since she was tiny so I guess it's not a huge jump for her to do this, but it's been really fun to watch her go from having to watch every little move her dance teacher was making in order to perform (and still only knowing a little bit of what she was doing. . . but she was so, so cute!) in December to being able to do some of her routine for me at home and then seeing her with confidence on stage in the Spring was pretty cool. I could never dance very well so hoping she gets her interest and talent from other areas of the gene pool. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6UaZpLPcbURsRmFoDAToJlLe-I5xkPHzqlW96UNEHmm1Xkt6Q-jSvoxvTwUvY0A4eJKHUpPefboW941TFgnIwQsHuExAW5_hhlNqbIGyhJ41mHb4jEoFAHD5bP-OynvXsSLWsPGV94M/s1600/20140621_205139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6UaZpLPcbURsRmFoDAToJlLe-I5xkPHzqlW96UNEHmm1Xkt6Q-jSvoxvTwUvY0A4eJKHUpPefboW941TFgnIwQsHuExAW5_hhlNqbIGyhJ41mHb4jEoFAHD5bP-OynvXsSLWsPGV94M/s1600/20140621_205139.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claire's teacher's assistant, Miss Emily</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claire's teacher, Miss Bethany</td></tr>
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<b><u>Ashlyn made the big move to Claire's bedroom</u></b> and her trundle bed, this summer, too. Having the girls in the same room has gone well for the most part. I am still nursing Ashlyn and, at times, she wakes up and wants to nurse at night. So getting through that was difficult since now she could, potentially, wake up sister if she cried. Sometimes Claire sleeps through her night wakings and other times she will awaken and I can hear her on the monitor say, "Ashy, mommy will come in the morning! Go to sleep." The last couple days, I've been night weaning her, though. It's been fine. I go in, I tell her she can nurse when the sun is up and, inevitably, she will get angry. I bring her out of Claire's room so Claire can sleep and rock her in her old bedroom. If she is too upset, sometimes I will put her in her crib and let her sleep there. She's never really been a baby you could rock to sleep like Claire was. Often, when I put her in the crib, she'll curl up and stop crying immediately. It's weird. It's like the crib is still a comforting place for her, even though she is doing so well sleeping with Claire. But her night wakings are less and less every night and I wouldn't be surprised if in the next few nights she'll be sleeping through the night with sister in her room the whole night. It has, however, made Claire, who used to sleep until at least 8am every morning an early riser since Ashlyn will wake up and then poke Claire and they are usually up and making noise now at 6:30am (when Ashlyn makes it the whole night in the new room. Not my favorite. Hopefully, the "newness" of sharing a room will wear off and they will start sleeping in again. But I love that they love sleeping together and that everyone had a roommate for now :-)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashlyn at Dunn Edwards swinging on the counter ledge</td></tr>
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<b><u>Ashlyn</u></b>'s personality is coming through more and more these days. She's goofy, sweet wants to kiss and hug EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. Including her peepee when it gets flushed down the toilet. I kind of wish I was kidding since it's kind of weird but that's just her. Everything and everyone needs a hug and a kiss and a "I yuh yuuuu!" She's also pretty impish. She's tiny and genetically I guess the Reed/Johnson genes took full control in that regard, but she's LOUD and seems like she's going to be a little passionate (also a trait of my family. . . both sides) and somewhat mischevious. If she wants something she'll say "peeese?" and give you this sidways half smile. You can practically see her batting her eyes. She likes to grab onto counter ledges, bars, really whatever is in front of her and swing (we are considering gymnastic classes). I thought potty training her was going to be insane and it turned out to be, really, pretty easy. But I couldn't really tell her "when" to go. I had her naked from the waist down and told her where the little potty was. After one accident the first day, she went on the potty every. single. time afterward. I was floored. After she did her business, she'd yell, "Yay! I did it!! I want jamameen (jellybean)!!" Week two, we put her in underwear. Same thing, few accidents and then she got that she wasn't wearing diapers anymore. She got brand new "'Punzel" undies as her reward for doing so well, and Lord knows she does NOT want to peepee on 'Punzel. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goofy girl taking a shower.</td></tr>
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The <b><u>4th of July</u></b> started with me having Christian plant a couple tomatoes in our garden. Late? Yes. Better late than never. Of course! Unfortunately, two of the tomato plants (same kind) didn't make it but our Beef Steak tomato plant is doing fantastic and we've already gotten some great tomatoes from that plant.<br />
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Our evening consisted of our church's barbeque in the afternoon and then a walk down to the city's fireworks show. The fireworks show seemed to have a little trouble (started 30 min late, couple issues with the fireworks themselves) but for the most part it was a good show and it was nice to have a meal with church family and talk to people I normally don't.<br />
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So far, one of my favorite things about summer is this. Here. Every morning, instead of hurrying off to work, I get to have breakfast with my husband and family before he heads off to work. This picture was taken one Sunday before church, but it's one of my favorite summer views most every morning. Blessed party of one over here.<br />
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<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-59237671425965411032014-07-02T21:37:00.002-07:002014-07-02T21:37:23.665-07:00So, how'd the yard sale go?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So people have been asking how our yard sale went. It was a LOT of work. I'll tell you that but you know what?! It wound up being totally worth it. People gave a TON so much that we rented a storage unit for some of the furniture items for the month. Now, after the big sale, we've been able to move those items into our garage. So, no. We aren't done selling things. If you have any interest in a little girls' bedroom set, kitchen table and chair set, 100 lb heavy bag complete with chains and gloves, a surfboard (we have two) books, dining room chandelier, wall hangings, three section folding mirror etc. let us know. It's all going to fund our adoption. </div>
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But the above picture is how our garage looked before the sale. I HATE clutter. So you can imagine how excited I was to be rid of all this stuff. We spent the week before the sale pricing everything. We have two friends from church, Rick and Amy, that we owe a LOT to who came over and helped sort on Wed, Friday and then helped us sell on the actual garage sale date. I don't even know how to deal with such amazing friend. It got to the point where I gave up on pricing things. I finally just put up a sign at the sale for clothing and books and the craft items. And we wound up having people bring their pile to the cash register and then we just quoted them a price for everything they could carry. It was awesome. For everyone.<br />
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We had our share of really, really bizaare donations including a certified, autographed photo of Janice Dickinson. <br />
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What we didn't anticipate were a few major bumps in the road prior to the sale. Christian took the day off on the Friday before the sale. That morning, I took a trip to Target to get more hangers and things for the yard sale and on my way home, my brakes went out on my Honda. Luckily, I was walking distance from home and nowhere near an intersection when this occurred. Christian drove the car home on the parking brake and it is still sitting in front of our house. Depending on how much money and work needs to be done on it will depend on what we do with it. We are planning on selling this car and getting a larger one but do need to make some money off the sale of the Honda in order to do so. So, side note, please pray for our car situation. <br />
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Now, the sale itself went great. We hauled everything in a Penske truck to my parents' house in Whittier. We ended up having to take two trips out there because the guy who had the Penske truck we wanted decided to extend his rental so we were stuck with a 12 foot truck when we really needed something like a 20 foot to actually get everything where it needed to go. </div>
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Amy, the cash register queen. She priced things and gave the customers rad deals that made us money and made the people who came super happy. </div>
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Rick was pretty excited about the yard sale. . .</div>
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My dad serenaded us all on the guitar. Several people asked if the guitar was for sale. He said, "Sure! $2000." He didn't get any takers after that. </div>
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We had a consistent flow of people from the time we put the signed up on Whittier Blvd. until we finally took them down. We sold everything that was worth buying, really. It really was a fantastic sale. </div>
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So there are a few special people we'd like to thank for their help. Obviously Rick and Amy (already mentioned), my parents for all their help and for allowing us to use their yard and my grandparents who allowed us to invade their house and spend the night over there the night before, who watched the girls for us the day of the sale all day and who brought us breakfast in the morning and bought our whole family dinner in the evening when it was all over. . . all the people who donated items, money and time to make this happen. We made very close to enough money to pay for the remainder of our homestudy and with the furniture items and big things we have left to sell, I'm sure we will wind up making enough to finish that homestudy very, very soon! Let me know if you want any of our remaining items! God was faithful with our yard sale and I know He will continue to be as we continue this journey. </div>
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<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-19475397354411142332014-06-12T15:47:00.002-07:002014-06-12T15:47:33.458-07:00Tangled Party!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQlQPUs4tr86tK2lsVb5tHCx6LhqPH4ShgIlLEYDpNbUGr3EeNjt1iZOmqF6urwVICVT7H0xt8kiEMjVnxCagQBzBe6pgaFPI7B-OH_nyqwhb7bPkBUssh1MMnvskXRuyiN2o88h_Yuw/s1600/20140524_072151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQlQPUs4tr86tK2lsVb5tHCx6LhqPH4ShgIlLEYDpNbUGr3EeNjt1iZOmqF6urwVICVT7H0xt8kiEMjVnxCagQBzBe6pgaFPI7B-OH_nyqwhb7bPkBUssh1MMnvskXRuyiN2o88h_Yuw/s1600/20140524_072151.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>So Claire and Ashlyn are 10 days shy of being exactly 2 years apart. So far, they love celebrating their birthdays together and, really, love doing just about anything together (Claire asks what pjs Ashlyn is wearing before going to bed so she can wear a similar or identical pair. I'm sure this won't last but right now I'm enjoying it.) So their birthday party date fell on the 24th (the weekend between their birthdays) which is also my dad's birthday, so he was a pretty good sport about attending a little girls' birthday party that day. We are planning something for him the following weekend.</div>
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Ashlyn did not really have an opinion about the theme of the birthday party this year. She likes lots of things- dogs, Life at the Pond, water, swimming, singing, stimulating converstion and fish. But Claire decided that she really wanted a "'Punzel Party" and Ashlyn didn't really seem to mind. </div>
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There were a couple things I wanted to make sure I didn't do for the party. #1. Make is so girly that the girls' friends who happen to be boys would feel uncomfortable. #2. Buy a bunch of plates and cups at Party City and call that a "Rapunzel Party." I tend to want to be a big more creative -and kind of hate the dipictions of Disney Princesses on most of the items marketed for little girls (can me a whack-job but it is what it is). I don't have the time or the creativity to go nuts with it but I decided to go with the Rapunzel colors (purple and yellow and a little pink) and then come up with games and activities around the characters.</div>
So here was a few things we did for the party. Some took a bit of work but the girls LOVED their party. I had a blast planning it, honestly. It came at a pretty stressful time at work but it was something I wanted to do, so I made time for it. Very little beats the girls' excitement over these things. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super simple gift bags for the kids at the party. Just cut out the Rapunzel royal flag and glued it to plain white bags.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ordered the invitations from www.belleprints.com and printed them at Walmart. The gal at BellePrints also sent me Thank You Cards and a banner so we put the banner on the front door of the house.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For dessert, I made cupcakes and Christian and I made a "donut tower" My dad was nice enough to create a little stand for the tower with a piece of wood an a dowel. The only issue was that the donuts on the bottom started to crumble under the weight of the other donuts on top. I have no idea how to remedy this problem.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I set up an art table where the kids could come and paint and draw like Rapunzel! Most of our kids were pretty little, though, didn't take advantage of it due to the fact that most were more interested in the bounce house ;-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kx3T698S-JQlZuWlYBSfzRfCkbTgXTCkcFygtmlCxUQ6IIUP_GAk0dW83AkmojwP_BVm-BTu56IuuA2GhY26ozVvrhpHz_XaYedmetGjbhqCVGD0QSspVofn4tXUThmPbFy2LVN3Uqk/s1600/20140524_114532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kx3T698S-JQlZuWlYBSfzRfCkbTgXTCkcFygtmlCxUQ6IIUP_GAk0dW83AkmojwP_BVm-BTu56IuuA2GhY26ozVvrhpHz_XaYedmetGjbhqCVGD0QSspVofn4tXUThmPbFy2LVN3Uqk/s1600/20140524_114532.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We are so blessed by our church. They have allowed us to use the Bounce House every year! The kids LOVE it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodt-5YytqAMh7VJKQi-zeZdIbdkzXd27I4jL0vLd31-t3mJSi0Au45qe0c_u7S9v8pN8f6gIL4uB0L3Klzqy6q_y8sx0tHPnNyOBJWRLupr76xoL-ExpROy4av4wVfGaamNVdhxXlmAs/s1600/20140524_120049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodt-5YytqAMh7VJKQi-zeZdIbdkzXd27I4jL0vLd31-t3mJSi0Au45qe0c_u7S9v8pN8f6gIL4uB0L3Klzqy6q_y8sx0tHPnNyOBJWRLupr76xoL-ExpROy4av4wVfGaamNVdhxXlmAs/s1600/20140524_120049.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls wore Rapunzel shirts I found for $10 each at the Disney store and a sweet friend made their tutus for the day!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claire's "Rapunzel Hair"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gramma and Ashlyn</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lined up to play "Pin the Frying Pan on Flynn Ryder" </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjan3nb2qzgO8ZbYi6lhp0LFqo76B0khNMIE1wVe9Vyjlrk8920GVnjRSCyQxL3qlUDITPVirtml7CA6AkQ1GJl9r7ZFDIt5YAmfYlbvhUHBb5XMVQz9vqz1FiRRoy0BTVWqjvk5G8stZE/s1600/IMG_1806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjan3nb2qzgO8ZbYi6lhp0LFqo76B0khNMIE1wVe9Vyjlrk8920GVnjRSCyQxL3qlUDITPVirtml7CA6AkQ1GJl9r7ZFDIt5YAmfYlbvhUHBb5XMVQz9vqz1FiRRoy0BTVWqjvk5G8stZE/s1600/IMG_1806.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathalie won! ;-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next game was "Maximus' Apple Toss" I got a great "Mini Corn Hole" set on amazon.com <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mainstreet-Classics-Micro-Bag-Toss/dp/B00417V520">http://www.amazon.com/Mainstreet-Classics-Micro-Bag-Toss/dp/B00417V520</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashlyn only lasted halfway though presents until it was time for a nap!</td></tr>
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The girls had a fantastic day. We are so blessed by our sweet girls! </div>
Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-1498247849334725312014-05-17T18:18:00.000-07:002014-05-17T19:05:50.518-07:00Big Decisions: An Announcement "<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, </span><i style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">and</i><span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"> rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19 </span><br />
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">So in the past several blogs and in a few posts on Facebook, I have alluded to something big going on with our family but have, continually, said I'd let you all know later. Well, it appears that now is the time to spill the beans. Not sure why I kept this quiet for so long. Although, in reality, we haven't necessarily kept it quiet. I mean, if it came up or if people asked, we told them, but as far as full fledged announcement, this would be the first. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">When I was really young my parents subscribed to the Focus on the Family Magazine. In it, there were usually stories of Christian leaders, answers to parenting and marriage questions and family interest stories. I remember reading a cover article about former baseball player <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Burke_(baseball)">Tim Burke</a> who had, with his wife, adopted several children from various countries. From my memory, I think the children were from Korea, Vietnam and Guatemala. I remember there were 4 children at the time of the article and most of them had some sort of physical handicap. I have no idea what happened to this family. All I remember was that Burke quit his lucrative baseball career in order to be with his wife and children. I tried to find the original article but all I could find was a LA Times piece from around the same time period which can be read <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1993-03-13/sports/sp-10473_1_tim-burke">here</a>. The article stuck with me and something told me that somehow this issue of adoption would pop up in my life at some point, however, when I, easily, became pregnant with both of my children, I thought that maybe it was a passing interest or one that we would be supporting from afar. While adoption doesn't require inferitility, for whatever reason, we put our interest in the idea on hold when we began to raise our biological daughters. Clearly, the seed was planted in my heart for a reason, however. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">Most of my readers know that, due to </span><a href="http://ceranchris.blogspot.com/2012/06/ashlyn-esther-birth-story-and-coming-to.html" style="font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">complications with my pregnancy with Ashlyn</a><span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">, I cannot have any more children, "the old fashioned way." For many, two girls is a "<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+127%3A3-5&version=KJV">quiverfull</a>" but to us, who always dreamed of and felt called to minister to many children in our home over the course of our marriage, we were a bit blindsided and bewildered by this series of events. While we discussed some technological options that we could persue (and my OB/GYN encouraged us to consider), neither of us felt terribly comfortable with those options at this time for several reasons I won't really get into here. Both of us felt that either God was calling us to focus on our two little girls or that He was steering us into a completely different direction. So for the past two years, we focused on the girls, I focused on my work at the school, homeschooling Claire, working through my own birth trauma. Christian worked through his own feelings about what happened and his own concerns and fears about the next step. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Last summer we went to Colorado for my grandma's family's family reunion. While we were there, we celebrated our own 5th wedding anniversary. We put the girls to bed and took the video monitor out to the spa behind our room at <a href="http://www.hideawayreservations.com/">The Hideaway </a>where our family was staying. We had a long talk about the past year and a half. Christian relayed how during our first night in CO, staying with my cousin at her house, all four of us in her master bedroom, he would hear the girls cry or make noise and his mind kept telling him "Oh, that's Claire," or "Oh, that's Ashlyn" but a couple times, he said, he thought, "Oh, that's the 3rd baby. . . " We worked through several issues found ourselves on the same page with our vision for our family and our desire to trust God with any future children he might have for our family and this conversation led </span></span><span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">to both of us saying, "yes, lets do this, let's adopt."</span><span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">It was confirmation for both of us that this is what we were supposed to do. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">So that's the big announcement if you haven't figured it out by now. <b><i>We're adopting. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">I have been following an organization called <a href="http://www.faithfuladoptionconsultants.com/">Faithful Adoption Consultants</a> whom I had been VERY impressed with just by how they presented themselves, their care for everyone involved in the adoption narrative (adoptive families, birth families, the children etc.) and their committment to praying for everyone involved. They came highly recommended by several people on several different adoption boards. I feel like I always knew that if we were to consider a domestic adoption, they would be whom we would call first. We considered other adoption options- international, foster-adopt but the more we considered it and the more we prayed about it the more we felt let to a "standard" domestic adoption. Our current family, life situation seemed to lend itself more to this than either of the others. In the future, we may go about it through a different route, but "baby Herman #3" will be brought to us this way. </span></span><span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">So late last year we signed up as clients of Faithful Adoption Consultants and began our homestudy with <a href="http://www.nightlight.org/">Nightlight Christian Adoptions</a> early this year. So on top of crazy work schedules, homeschooling a preschooler, starting up a <a href="http://www.thisessentiallife.blogspot.com/">business</a> (which I took the plunge in starting in order to help fund the adoption), involvement at church and just keeping our homelife together we've been filling out forms, answering invasive questions, writing autobiographies, getting doctors' appointments, attending adoption related classes at the agency, ordering livescans and ordering originals of most of our major family documents (marriage certificates, birth certificates etc). After most of this paperwork is complete we'll meet with a social worker from the agency who will conduct interviews and do a home visit. After all this is done, they will write up the homestudy and we can then be "active" with Faithful Adoption Consultants. From there, it could be a short wait or several months to a year. Our contract with them ends after a year. They work in several states, none of which is CA, so we'll, most likely, be spending some time out of state to bring home our 3rd child. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">So we are asking for a couple things. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">1. We REALLY need your prayers. A LOT. We have no idea how is whole journey is going to go and where it'll take us but we know that if the Lord goes before us we have nothing to fear (Deut 31:8) Pray also for this baby who may already be growing in his first mama's womb and for the whole situation we will encounter. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">2. We need your JUNK. You read that right. Our first fundraising effort for this will be a huge garage sale sometime around June 21st (after I'm done with work). We have already been collecting things from the awesome people at our church, from family members etc but would love more stuff to make this a huge success. So if you are local to Southern California and have items you've been DYING to get rid of (stuff you haven't used in years, furniture you'd like to get rid of, clothes, toys, games. anything!!) PLEASE contact me. We will gladly meet you for pick up or come by when it's convienient for you. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">To those of you who have already offered encouragement, filled out forms and wrote letters of recommendation for us, brought us items to sell and babysat our children during classes and just listened to our concerns about this whole thing, THANK YOU! We are only at the beginning and I fear we'll need even more encouragment as this goes on. Some days I wonder why in the world we have decided to take this on and how the heck it'll come together but we are reminded that somewhere out there there just might be a mama in a situation she doesn't quite know what to do with and there's a sweet baby whose life she can't fathom terminating but the prospect of raising the baby is nearly equally overwhelming. We don't know the details of the situation (since every single one to so completely different) but we are hoping our family can be the missing piece in this little one's life (and in our home) and be support and care for this mama too. The girls are excited about the possiblity of a new sibling and we are so excited about the possiblity of another blessing in our home. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Thanks again for all the prayers!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Christian and Sarah </span></span></div>
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Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735822390213720967.post-76179784513477303342014-03-27T15:22:00.002-07:002014-03-27T15:22:09.301-07:00Learning to Read. . . a Beginning<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruymKyAvkQR0cOr-plfsjYzeB3Xyr7AqcIZO597RsXOTD0fKAsoZxRLavmH4L6NThy5XEuNJUP_gF9BmbA3240UfkBXengvkN6ySge4QT5JIO-bf1QyDbS4UKd1o9dYssKJrtNanjMSU/s1600/20140317_194813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruymKyAvkQR0cOr-plfsjYzeB3Xyr7AqcIZO597RsXOTD0fKAsoZxRLavmH4L6NThy5XEuNJUP_gF9BmbA3240UfkBXengvkN6ySge4QT5JIO-bf1QyDbS4UKd1o9dYssKJrtNanjMSU/s1600/20140317_194813.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>I was going to add this to the last post, however, I decided to give this it's own post. This is a big thing for me, someone who has spend most of my adolescent and adult life consumed with analyzing and appreciating literature. Reading is a big deal to me. I never want reading to be something my kids are forced to do too soon and, thus, hate it. I want to follow their lead, even if it's not on MY timetable whether I was more than ready to begin or if I wasn't ready at all. <br />
During schooltime, the preschool curriculum I am doing with Claire has
us doing a new letter and sound everyday along with Bible stories,
counting activities etc. It's been fine for a 3-year-old, although,
much of it has been a little too easy for her. We've been practicing
writing letters and she has fun with the letter activities but she has
known her letters and sounds for a while now. I realized that we would
need some sort of early reading program when I could hear her behind me
in the with a book in her lap saying, "buh, aah, kuh, kuh. . . " etc.
Trying to sound out every letter in the book. So I ordered a simple
workbook system called <a href="http://www.christianbook.com/explode-the-code">Explode the Code</a>. There is also an <a href="http://www.explodethecode.com/">online</a>
system that goes with it, but I have not really delved into this. I
started her on it with the pretest and she aced it. I'm looking further
at it and I'm thinking this is exactly what she needs right now. She
loves the dorky little pictures and thinks the book is fun. She's
CONSTANTLY asking me what different words say. On signs, in books,
everywhere. So she's ready. I'm not a "pusher" on stuff like this, but
learning this will really open up a whole lot of self motivated
learning for her, too. Some homeschoolers use ETC by itself and then
just supplement with early reader books from the library. Others have a
whole phonics system and then use ETC as a supplement. I think we'll
go with using the ETC book and then reading from library books. I may
also add an Usbourne book set called <a href="http://www.usborne.com/veryfirstreading/books/books.aspx">My Very First Reading Set</a> and then I think that'll be enough to get her going. I'm nervous and excited to teach her this.<br />
I'm sure I'm being melodramatic about this but I keep thinking about how wide the world becomes when you can read. Hope big a deal this really is. I mean, her life won't change that significantly this year or even next but it will separate her from me one more step. She won't NEED me to read everything to her. Some things she will, of course, but not everything. Comes with the territory of growing up, I guess. Here goes. . . <br />
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Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385955912913977928noreply@blogger.com0