As an only child with a mom who worked all the time, my growing up years were spent largely playing with friends. I had one close friend growing up who was like a sister to me, she has 3 siblings and we still remain somewhat close. We went to the same undergrad and our friendship pretty much fell apart for a while after living with each other for 3 years, she transferred to another school for our senior year. That was very hard on me as I loved/love her so much. Time has mostly healed that wound though.
As I have gotten older and matured (I sound 100 as I reflect here, I know), it seems that I have made friends, select and few that they may be, through the major experiences of my life. I have a couple from undergrad, a couple from grad school, some from work, some from the adoption world (although most are crazy...inside joke J!), and even some from the internet! I have come to rely on these friends, mostly women, to fulfill that role of a sister for me. Yet, given that they are not family family, the holidays and such typically don't leave me spending that extra quality time with them.
I have two friends in particular who have been in my prayers lately as they are going through some challenging personal times. I wish that I could fix their aches and solve their problems, but I cannot, but I do hope that they know that I am praying for them daily and hope that things turn more rosy sooner rather than later.
So this is my sappy post for Thanksgiving, my thanks to those who have filled the sister role for me. I love all of them for very different reasons, I rejoice in our shared joys and sufferings, and I long for success, happiness, and health for all of you.
Much Love,
CC
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Harbour Grace
I can't believe I haven't chatted yet about Miss Harbour Grace. She is our new puppy, yes, we have lost our minds, but she is a really sweet and good dog. She is a Newfoundland and will get to be approximately the size of our house, but her disposition and beauty will make up for her size, Newfie drool, and shedding in the spring - at least I hope so.
We named her after a location in Newfoundland, Canada, no other explanation, except that I don't like traditional names very much. She tends to potty in her crate while we are gone, but I am hoping that as she ages that will get much better... She goes the entire night in her crate in our bedroom sleeping soundly with no issues, so we know she can hold it, I think it is just an anxiety thing with her...and hey, we are a cool clan so I would miss us too.
And now the election, wow, am I ever stoked....and Indiana....WE WERE BLUE ON THE MAP!!! Every single other member of my family voted Republican so I attempted not to gloat toooo much when I texted several of them yesterday! President-elect Obama has a very tough road ahead of him as does his family. I sincerely hope that the activism and enthusiasm that captivated the nation during this time will not wane, but will continue and that civic pride and involvement will increase. As for me, and D, we will pray for he and his family daily, for wisdom, for discernment of the truth, for the ability to make the US the beacon of hope again globally, and especially for his safety and that of his family. I can't help but see a tiny morsel of my own story intertwined with his and has helped hook me enthusiastically to his candidacy. He and I both grew up raised by single moms, lots of grandparents help, and despite a complete lack of money, we managed to find ways to become educated. The huge discrepancies begin to appear around intellect and public speaking...he is light years ahead there!
So, welcome Harbour Grace to our family and welcome President-Elect Obama!!!
CC
We named her after a location in Newfoundland, Canada, no other explanation, except that I don't like traditional names very much. She tends to potty in her crate while we are gone, but I am hoping that as she ages that will get much better... She goes the entire night in her crate in our bedroom sleeping soundly with no issues, so we know she can hold it, I think it is just an anxiety thing with her...and hey, we are a cool clan so I would miss us too.
And now the election, wow, am I ever stoked....and Indiana....WE WERE BLUE ON THE MAP!!! Every single other member of my family voted Republican so I attempted not to gloat toooo much when I texted several of them yesterday! President-elect Obama has a very tough road ahead of him as does his family. I sincerely hope that the activism and enthusiasm that captivated the nation during this time will not wane, but will continue and that civic pride and involvement will increase. As for me, and D, we will pray for he and his family daily, for wisdom, for discernment of the truth, for the ability to make the US the beacon of hope again globally, and especially for his safety and that of his family. I can't help but see a tiny morsel of my own story intertwined with his and has helped hook me enthusiastically to his candidacy. He and I both grew up raised by single moms, lots of grandparents help, and despite a complete lack of money, we managed to find ways to become educated. The huge discrepancies begin to appear around intellect and public speaking...he is light years ahead there!
So, welcome Harbour Grace to our family and welcome President-Elect Obama!!!
CC
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Redistribution of Candy...A Tiny Bit Political
One thing I love about my friends is that they are a varied lot, many don't know each other, and each one brings something enriching to my life in one way or another. One of our couple friends who are truly near and dear to our hearts, you will not find better people if you searched long and hard. They are the second-in-line couple to receive our cherubs should something happen to both D and I and our first guardians select could not or were not able to take care of the cherubs. This couple have raised 2 fantastic boys of their own and he sits on the school board, is a volunteer firefighter and she has taught elementary school for many years, and they are both fabulous Christians - and we enjoy spending time with them. The he of the couple is VERY REPUBLICAN, I bet he only has undies with elephants on them in fact. He knows that I am voting for Obama and he just has a hard time believing it, so he devised a little joke...
On Halloween we went back to our previous town where we have lots of friends and it is just a small town where the worries are far fewer. So we made our home base at one house and then our friend K, the female of the couple above, joined us to walk around with the kids since hers are getting too old to trick-or-treat. Well, before we left to trick-or-treat, she called my kiddos close to her and said that Uncle B (her husband) had told her that according to Obama, when the kids got home from trick-or-treating, that they had to take all the candy they had walked around and earned and would have to give some of it away to other kids who did not want to go trick-or-treating, so that it would be "redistributed" evenly. My kids took her so seriously while the rest of us were just laughing because we knew B had stooped so low to try to convert me, even through my poor children. We all had a good laugh and told the kids that she was just joking.
But, here is the thing, my kids WANT to give some of their candy away. How awesome is that?! There is a local dentist who is collecting the candy tomorrow and he will be paying kids $1 for every pound of candy they bring him and he will then be sending the money on to the troops. I explained this to the kids and they were ecstatic about this thought. Doodle even proceeded to make 15 drawing/coloring papers to go along with the candy. I have already explained to the kids that we should not be paid to help others, especially since what we are giving had been given to us freely and without reservation, and that we will ask the dentist to keep the money to help pay for the shipping to Iraq. So, we will be redistributing...why? Because our kids want to given that they had soo much candy that there was no way they could ever eat, it was only right that it be sent to those who might need it more. Not such a bad idea huh?
It was all a good laugh and my poor kids will definitely be raised conservative Republican should these wonderful friends ever have that much influence on their lives, but there are worse things to happen to them...my D is voting Republican, so we respect each others' wrongness and we move on:)
Just a funny little diddy...I will try to get some pics posted soon.
Oh yes, one funny...Doodle was dressed as Cleopatra, apparently it was a hot outfit from T@arget this year because we saw 3 others Halloween evening while we were out and about. Well, it just so happens that Doodle has the jet-black adorable hair very similar to Cleopatra. As we passed one of the other Cleopatras, with blonde hair, I heard her whine to her mom..."Why didn't mine come with a wig! We all had a good laugh over that one. It was such a beautiful night and the weather could not have been more perfect for a mom, a Cleopatra, a Darth Vader, and an adorable monkey to take on the town (D stayed back and passed out candy at the friend's house as he is not as much into the evening).
CC
On Halloween we went back to our previous town where we have lots of friends and it is just a small town where the worries are far fewer. So we made our home base at one house and then our friend K, the female of the couple above, joined us to walk around with the kids since hers are getting too old to trick-or-treat. Well, before we left to trick-or-treat, she called my kiddos close to her and said that Uncle B (her husband) had told her that according to Obama, when the kids got home from trick-or-treating, that they had to take all the candy they had walked around and earned and would have to give some of it away to other kids who did not want to go trick-or-treating, so that it would be "redistributed" evenly. My kids took her so seriously while the rest of us were just laughing because we knew B had stooped so low to try to convert me, even through my poor children. We all had a good laugh and told the kids that she was just joking.
But, here is the thing, my kids WANT to give some of their candy away. How awesome is that?! There is a local dentist who is collecting the candy tomorrow and he will be paying kids $1 for every pound of candy they bring him and he will then be sending the money on to the troops. I explained this to the kids and they were ecstatic about this thought. Doodle even proceeded to make 15 drawing/coloring papers to go along with the candy. I have already explained to the kids that we should not be paid to help others, especially since what we are giving had been given to us freely and without reservation, and that we will ask the dentist to keep the money to help pay for the shipping to Iraq. So, we will be redistributing...why? Because our kids want to given that they had soo much candy that there was no way they could ever eat, it was only right that it be sent to those who might need it more. Not such a bad idea huh?
It was all a good laugh and my poor kids will definitely be raised conservative Republican should these wonderful friends ever have that much influence on their lives, but there are worse things to happen to them...my D is voting Republican, so we respect each others' wrongness and we move on:)
Just a funny little diddy...I will try to get some pics posted soon.
Oh yes, one funny...Doodle was dressed as Cleopatra, apparently it was a hot outfit from T@arget this year because we saw 3 others Halloween evening while we were out and about. Well, it just so happens that Doodle has the jet-black adorable hair very similar to Cleopatra. As we passed one of the other Cleopatras, with blonde hair, I heard her whine to her mom..."Why didn't mine come with a wig! We all had a good laugh over that one. It was such a beautiful night and the weather could not have been more perfect for a mom, a Cleopatra, a Darth Vader, and an adorable monkey to take on the town (D stayed back and passed out candy at the friend's house as he is not as much into the evening).
CC
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