Garden of the Gods

With gas prices so high, and living in the beautiful state of Colorado, Steve and I decided not to go anywhere for Memorial Day but instead explore some of the beauty right here in our backyard! On Sunday we took a drive 65 miles south to the Colorado Springs area and took in the breathtaking Garden of the Gods. The weather (while looking cloudy in this first photo) was actually gorgeous - 80 degrees with just a tad of cloud cover. The rock formations were amazing...

Driving through the park - you can get up close to these incredible rocks. We saw several people rockclimbing to the tippy-top of some of them. There was a terrific christian youth choir from Florida performing in the visitor center, which made the view of the park from the balcony even more surreal. Many of the rock formations have been given "names" because of their likeness to something - or simply their unique qualities. Steve took the following photo of me (holding his Yorkie, Killer) in front of "Balanced Rock" - pretty cool, huh?

What you can't see in this picture is that the big boulder only touches the rocks beneath it in about a space of three feet. It just "balances" there.

After we left Garden of the Gods, we headed over to the town of Manitou Springs - which is a very cute little town right at the base of Pike's Peak. They were having their Memorial Day arts & crafts fair - so it was crowded with tourists.

Overall we had a very relaxing weekend. The weather was great and we had plenty of time to unplug from our cellphones and email and just "be" (just the way I like it!)

Now it's back to work for a couple of weeks before we head out on another Colorado mountain vacation in June. I'm looking forward to the next one already!

Fun Stuff!

I've been trying to restrain myself from buying a lot of stuff for Lia right now. Knowing that there is a long wait ahead and lots of time - as well as plenty of generous friends and relatives - and lots of other expenses for me to focus on. But when I was at TJ Maxx on Saturday looking for a fun bib for my May bib exchange, I not only found a cute bib - but also broke down and bought myself a little "Mother-in-Waiting" Day present - an outfit for Lia that I could not pass up - this super cute Calvin Klein cargo jumper! Regularly $37 and was only $12.99! I had to do it - can you blame me really???

Anyway, back to the bib shopping...so I belong to a Yahoo group with other CCAI families who have LID's in the March-April timeframe. We are doing a six-month bib exchange - which is a really fun way to get a new bib every month and also buy something fun to give to someone else.

So I did end up finding a great China bib to give my person this month (and of course also picked up one for Lia!) And I also received a bib from MY bib exchange buddy Amy, (which is pink, girly and cute)! I received SEVEN new squares for Lia's 100 Wishes Quilt and I also received this great book from my Secret Pal! Lots of fun stuff this week...

Mother's Day

I recently came across the following essay, and was so moved by it. I wanted to share it on this special weekend... please read and enjoy!

"Are you my child?," asked the woman, "My eyes are blue, and yours are brown."

The child looked up and saw the loving smile, and said, "Your eyes are blue, but they see far and they see near. They can see bright, and they can see soft. They can see me in all colors, in all places, and most of all, they like what they see. They have a twinkle that means you are happy. Yes, I am your child."

The woman nodded.
"Are you my child?," the woman asked, "My skin is ivory, and yours is brown. I am from near, and you are from far."

The child gazed at her and said, "Your skin is light, and mine is dark, but it covers our bodies perfectly, just the same. I am from there, but it leads to here, so our paths have merged at just the right time. Yes, I am your child."

The woman nodded.
"Are you my child?," asked the woman, "Though we are different, do we belong together?"

The child took the woman's hand and said, "We may be different in some ways, but we are the same in many others. We like the smell of flowers, and we like to giggle. We smile at each other for no reason, and we enjoy the same songs. You tell stories that soothe me, and I hold your hand when I'm scared. Yes, I am your child."

The woman nodded.
"Are you my child," the woman asked? "I am old, and you are young. I speak a language that is foreign to you. Can you understand me? Are you truly mine?"

The child smiled up at her and said, "I have searched for you for a long time. I think you are perfect. I love the sound of your words, and I can almost understand them. You think you are old, but you are ageless to me. I only need to see the love in your eyes, and I understand everything. Yes, I am truly yours. I am your child. And you are my mother."

The woman wiped a tear of joy from her eye, and nodded. "Yes, my darling, I am your mother."

We live in a world where divorce is a 50 percent possibility, where couples may or not decide to marry, where single individuals can choose to be single parents, where rules about traditional mothering, fathering, and parenting in general have been challenged. But despite the variations in family life that now abound, I think it's safe to say that Motherhood is precious, and worth celebrating.

So, Happy Mother's day to women everywhere - to mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, step-mothers, surrogate mothers, adoptive mothers, and friend's mothers. We all do the mothering, one way or another. It's a "girl" thing.

- Cheryl Saban

One month closer...

I've been logged in for one month today!

Reflections on Aging...

Yes, it's true - as these birthday candles indicate, it is my birthday today and I am turning 3! (okay, so I am turning 3+! But that's Ok too...

After the requisite pre-Cinco de Mayo Mexican dinner last night, I got up early this morning and went to my aqua class. I love my aqua class because I am the youngest person (by about 25 years!) in the class. There is no judgement, no competition - just a spunky bunch of older ladies who are "regulars" and always welcome me back with open arms, even when I've skipped class for weeks (if not months!) at a time. Thru my divorce, my single-dom and dating adventures, from moving to my new townhouse, and now thru my adventures in adoption, the ladies at the Montclair Rec Center are always there and happy to see me.

When I was a little girl I was certain I would get married at 22 and have babies by 25. Live in a house with a white picket fence with my doting husband. What I didn't count on was the demands of a fulltime career, not getting married until 28 and subsequently, a marriage gone awry. Now here I find myself, in my upper 30s, starting fresh again, with new dreams, many lessons learned, and a bit more perspective. Two years ago, the concept of an unknown future was scary and debilitating. Today, I welcome and look forward to it. I don't know what the next three years will bring - but I am excited about it. There is no doubt there will be hard times, painful stretches, and experiences which I cannot now even fathom - but I am up for it!

Throw at me what you will Universe - I am ready - BRING IT ON!

Congrats!

CODE RED People!!! Hooray for everyone who is receiving their referral this week! Six LID dates worth of referrals have been confirmed and baby announcements are taking over the blogs - how exciting!

In other news, my friends Dana & Jeff are leaving Seattle THURSDAY for China to pick up baby Mia - they have waited so long and I am so thrilled for them. They are indeed in for a wild - but amazing - ride!

A rough storm came up one night and left a sandy beach strewn with starfish.

The next morning, a child walked along the shore, stopping every few feet to pick up a starfish and fling it out into the sea.

An old man watching the child finally shouted at him, "Why bother, son? There are too many starfish to make a difference."

With that, the boy picked up another starfish and looked at it intently before heaving it out into the sea. Then turning to the old man he said...

"It makes a difference to this one!"