34

Another birthday, another year. Time really does fly!!

The last few years have been such a roller coaster for us. Birthdays have always been weird for me. But in 2008, on my birthday, we accepted the referral of our first baby boy!! We were so sure we would be traveling to get him in just a few months. I feel like that was so, so long ago. But the heartache that accompanies that loss still runs deep. And my birthday is always a reminder of the day that we said YES. The day we became his parents and he became our son. The day our family became a family of three.

Then it was a year and he still wasn't home. 2010 and 2011 ... In 2012 I was feeling pretty desolate.

Emilia joined our family early in 2013, and she and I celebrated together (Ryan was already on the road preparing for his new job that would take us to Montana). And last year we had a weekend away at a ranch, and celebrated together as a family of three.

We're still here, without our brother. Our first "big" brother, and now Little Brother. I hate that my birthdays are a reminder of that.

But today was a GOOD day. We started early and had OT evaluation for E. Then we went to breakfast at one of our favorite spots downtown. We drove around looking at new cars (not necessarily in the market, but it's always fun). Picked up the obligatory ice cream cake from DQ (of course we ate that for lunch!). And then had an awesome dinner prepared by our babydaddy. I ended the night hanging out in the hammock with  my best girl, and her best girl.

34 is going to be a good year. A GREAT year!

Of course MY husband would buy me fishing lure earrings ;)

Inked

In this day and age, tattoos are more popular than ever. No longer are they just for bikers and sailors. Our culture has evolved, and it's said that roughly 20% of Americans have ink. And of those 20%, more than 40% have two or more. Some say they're addicting.

We are part of that 20%. We are a tattooed parents. Which of course means we're the coolest, right??

On Mother's Day as we were celebrating at a local breakfast joint, we also talked about the loss that surrounds that special day. Our family's losses. Birth parent losses. The loss that all children without parents have every single day. The three of us are so fortunate to have each other. But I have two babies. One I get the privilege of being able to parent. And one that we have lost.

I've thought about getting another tattoo for a while. I wanted something simple. So we started talking about what I would get. E gets very excited about tattoos. It was a Sunday so not something I could do that day anyway (most shops are closed Sundays).

A couple of weeks later, after picking E up from school we had the following conversation:
E: Mamí, just go get a tattoo.
Me: I can't because they don't allow kids there.
E: Well I like it when you get a tattoo.
Me: Sorry hija, rules are rules.
E: Ok, so how about you just go there and get one and I'll stay in the car and play your phone.

We obviously didn't do that because, well, um, that's child abuse! However, this week I finally made the appointment. The small dots are birthstone colors for our family: Ryan, me, Akyl and Emilia. Each Chevron is for my two babies. Simple, but very special to me.

Do you have any ink?

Additionally, you can read about my all natural Tattoo Aftercare with Essential Oils here.

KABOOM!

Today I went KABOOM!

I've reached my limit. I am strong, Strong, STRONG ... and then KABOOM.

No news about our adoption and Little Brother. And then the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25, 2015 with a death toll of 7,000 (and rising) means we won't likely hear anything soon. We weep for Brother's homeland and all of the devastation.

I have a very sick family member, of which I am not able to help. And that's taking it's toll.

And to top it all off, E has been nearly kicked out of yet another extra-curricular. "Another parent called." "She's disruptive, and sometimes inappropriate." "This is her last chance."

I'm tired of fighting SO HARD for her to be able to do the things she loves/wants to do. She loves to be a part of things. But it's hard for her. She doesn't feel safe. And everything for her comes out in her behavior.

So, everything together ... All at once ... Was just too much. 
And I went KA-BOOM!

Catch Up

Lots of months without any posts. I suck. But let me make it up to you!

Still no news on the adoption front. Our paperwork has been in Nepal since Spring, so we're still waiting for a match. We're hoping for some good news in the new year!

Meanwhile, here are some photos to get you up to speed on the last few months!

Gallatin County Fair Rodeo

 

Half Marathon training with our new puppy, Tiva

Red Ants Pants Music Festival

Sweet Pea Festival

Road Trip to WI

QT with long distance cousins

Culver's, we've missed you!

QT with more cousins!

First Day of Kindergarten

Yellowstone Aerial Adventures, Ziplining

School playground and a new love for Monkey Bars!

Shaved side and purple streaks

Learning to ride a bike!

Killin it at school Fun Run

Halloween

Puppy's first snow

Grandma and Grandpa Scheel visit from WI

Christmas Tree adventure

Decorating

And of course the Birthday Bash!! Emilia had her party at Spire Climbing Center, and everyone had a blast!!

We also survived our first Christmas Program!

New Year - Fresh Start

Happy 2015!
I came across this, and really love the idea of a re-birth each year ...

"When I lived in Taiwan I learned a valuable lesson about New Years. The Chinese truly viewed the new year as a rebirth–a time to discard the old and start fresh. Following their tradition, (we celebrated the Chinese New Year, not Jan. 1) we began by cleaning up everything in the house. It was a bit like Spring cleaning, but even more intense. Everything that needed to be fixed, we fixed, everything we had put off, we got done. Every debt was paid. Everyone we needed to apologize to was approached. It was a wonderful way to start a new year with optimism and promise. Just something to think about this week."

  
While I don't have the resources to do it all, I will begin to tackle some of the things that keep getting put to the back burner. We began the the first day of the year slowly starting to purge and really get organized, including taking down all of the Christmas decorations. This is going to be a huge project, but I intend to see it through!

In additional to "things" getting done, we are also starting the year with a detox cleanse. If you're brave enough to join us, all the information can be found in this FB event, Healthy From the Inside Out, 30-Day Renewal. Or if you're not on Facebook, the protocol is also here. 

We're looking forward to a great year in 2015!