In Celebration of Faeries....

Tori Amos--"We are all fairies living underneath a leaf of a lily pad."


W.B. Yeats--"Come faeries, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame."



James Matthew Barrie (Peter, in Peter Pan, act 1)--"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy. So there ought to be one fairy for every boy or girl."


Andrew Lang– “Of all the minor creatures of mythology, fairies are the most beautiful, the most numerous, the most memorable”



Lynn Holland--"Fairies are invisible and inaudible like angels. But their magic sparkles in nature."


P.G. Wodehouse--" She holds the view that the stars are God's daisy chain, that rabbits are gnomes in attendance on the Fairy Queen, and that every time a fairy blows its wee nose a baby is born.


Ida Rentoul Outhwaite--"Then clear on a flute of purest gold; A sweet little fairy played. And wonderful fairy tales she told; and marvelous music made. "

Unknown--"Once upon an enchanted evening, fireflies danced, and fairies made wishes come true..."

And mine certainly have.

Happy Thanksgiving...

Faith, Family, Friends....My cup runneth over. Hope your Thanksgiving is joyous!!

November is Adoption Awareness Month!

It is November, which means it is National Adoption Awareness month. I have lifted this article about its history, written by Margie at www.adoption.com:

"There's a fascinating story behind the history of adoption and foster awareness in the United States. If an adoptee was adopted internationally, take a minute to share the adoption history between the U.S. and his/her country of origin.

History Lesson

Sixteen years ago President Clinton proclaimed November as National Adoption Month but its origins go back further than that back thirty five years for that matter. Back to then governor of Massachusetts, Michael Dukakis who announced an Adoption Week for his state. Soon thereafter the event went national with Gerald Ford.

Adoption advocates realized, however, that more time was needed to raise awareness about the need for adoption and to hold adoption related events. So, in 1995, President Clinton made the event a month long observance.

Last year President Obama started off National Adoption Month with a proclamation: "Giving a child a strong foundation; a home, a family to love, and a safe place to grow is one of life's greatest and most generous gifts. Through adoption, both domestic and international, Americans from across our country have provided secure environments for children who need them, and these families have benefited from the joy an adopted child can bring. Thanks to their nurturing and care, more young people have been able to realize their potential and lead full, happy lives."

That statement about giving young people the ability "to realize their potential and lead full, happy lives" seems especially cogent after the recent death of Apple founder Steve Jobs. Most of the articles I read memorializing this man who changed the way the world experienced computers, listened to music, made and enjoyed movies, and realized the purpose of their phones, mention adoption only in passing. As an adoptive mother, I have asked myself whether Jobs would have achieved what he did, had the vision, confidence, and work ethic without the environment his adoptive parents provided during his formative years.

The iconic image of a apple with the bite out of it is such an apt metaphor for how Steve Jobs approached his life. I believe what the pundits have said about Jobs being remembered alongside the likes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

The theme for National Adoption Month for 2011 is "Build Capacity to Make Lasting Change". No doubt that adoption made a lasting change on Steve Jobs life, as well as the rest of the world. And so, we should all ask ourselves how we can facilitate adoption so all kids can realize their potential."

I hope that you find someway to acknowledge adoption awareness this month. If we think about it, adoption as affected us all. In this family, we consider it one of Heavenly Father's most precious gifts that we could have ever received. We are so grateful to Connor and his courageous birth parents.

If you know of anybody who is interested in placing a child, please refer them to your local LDS Family Services or any of the wonderful agencies out there. For my part, I would like to focus on a beautiful family that I know, who are searching for their "caboose". Here is their adoption website:
http://www.jeffreyandalison.blogspot.com/

I would also ask that if your life has been touched by adoption that you set aside a moment this month of thanks giving and acknowledge it. It is changing lives every single day. It changed mine forever.

Comin' At You Live!

We started Connor in a karate class today. He is a "Little Dragon". He has been so excited to go. We think he's going to be great! Here's our little Karate Kid at his first class: Hopefully he will continue to enjoy it (how can he not? He's BREAKING STUFF) and we will keep you posted on his progress. This picture was taken during class just minutes ago by a proud dad and the proud mom is already blogging about it. You gotta love parenthood in the age of technology!

Getting An Early Start on Giving Thanks

I just attended an awesome event at church the other night. It was a dinner and program that was designed to help us women feel the spirit of the holidays. A kick off if you will. It was incredibly powerful for me. Beautiful music, beautiful words spoken. It moved me so much.

Last year during the holiday season, I was pregnant with the girls and just hoping to make it to 34 weeks. That was not to be. So once I couldn't hope to reach that milestone, I set my sights on a new one. Next Christmas. "Next Christmas, my girls will be home and I won't have to drive to the hospital 2, 3 sometimes more times a day to see them". "Next Christmas, I won't have to leave my little angels behind at the hospital". "Next Christmas, I won't have to act brave and try to make Christmas still somehow special for the little angel I have at home, when inside, I am terrified that the phone is going to ring and one or both of the babies will be in some sort of distress". "Next Christmas my girls will be HOME. There will be chaos, the shrieks that only little girls can make, there will be togetherness and a sense of family I haven't felt in so long (because my own family is now gone) and oh, did I mention, the girls will be HOME". That is what got me through those difficult days.

So I felt compelled to get up and share this with my church sisters, many whom were there last year and who, well, KNOW. They gave gifts, time, prayers, encouragement..you name it. I felt overwhelmed and filled with heart joy that next Christmas is, basically, here (Or for those denialists, is close). And that it is shaping up to be all that I had hoped. I am so excited to express my gratitude. And yes, I have done this all year long (even through colic, lack of sleep, general crabbiness-mine and the babies, the slap in the face reminder that poopie diapers are well, poopie) but this holiday season, the one that I looked toward with hope and longing and faith, is going to be the best ever. And those tiny babies who weren't even 4 lbs last Christmas are beautiful and healthy and complete the family I have dreamed of for so very very long. I give thanks, from heart and soul, from as deep, far down as I can.

Rocker Gurrrrrrlz!!!

All attitude and sass....

Cute Kids!