The Hamsters Go To Orlando!

They made a bit of a ruckus going through security, but the hamsters had a great vacation! Azer and Yama were camera shy - something about having recently gained a few pounds - but the rest of the bunch happily posed for pics everywhere we went ...


Here we go!


Rivet and Rocko checking out the view from our 10th floor balcony at the Renaissance Hotel at SeaWorld. Be careful boys!


A day at Discovery Cove. Swimming messes up a hamster's hair, but Stonewall and Rocko enjoyed the beach and complimentary snacks.


Party by the fountain!


Ahhhh, this is the life!


Drayko and Serge looking on at mini-golf.


Catching up on their beauty sleep.


Stonewall riding the carousel at SeaWorld.


Night two of mini-golf; Thorn and Drayko played this time.


Ladies man Rivet.

Swimming With Dolphins

If I could have one profession (other than Mom), I'd be a dolphin trainer. Seriously. I realize some of you may have guessed beekeeper, but no, it's dolphin (or killer whale) trainer.

As a kid, all I remember wanting to be was a veterinarian. I didn't really play with dolls, but loved "examining" our poor dog Frisky with my Fisher-Price doctor's kit. However, I soon realized that being an actual vet involved a lot of blood and biology (two things I wasn't good at) and occasionally watching animals suffer and perish. I let go of that dream, and somewhere along the way the dream of working with dolphins took over.

I'm the person after the dolphin show that rushes up and asks the trainer a million questions. I'd happily sit in front of the dolphin exhibit at SeaWorld or an aquarium for hours. My favorite place in Las Vegas is the Mirage's Secret Garden, which gets bonus points for having dolphins and tigers! So of course the top spot of my kind-of-non-existent-but-still-thought-of-bucket list has long been held by "swim with dolphins".

When I was diagnosed with cancer, my parents told me that when I got through all my treatments and was feeling better, they'd take me to Discovery Cove. The years passed and things came up (one of them being our big journey to Kazakhstan!), until this year when my dad said "it's time". I couldn't have agreed more.

A week ago this morning we arrived at Discovery Cove where my mom, Bob and I were told our dolphin interaction was scheduled for 2:10. That left a few hours to wait, but I was happy to be exploring the lazy river and snorkeling the coral reef with my family, and the day passed quickly. And then it was time to report to the Seahorse Cabana!

I sat in the short pre-swim presentation fighting back tears - it was finally here! Soon we were wading into the water as the trainer called in Madison, a young female dolphin still learning the ropes and not always thrilled to be the subject of adoration. Eight of us stood in a line as Maddie swam slowly by, allowing us to reach out and touch her. She was smooth and slick and beautiful (and a little spongy).

The trainer must have sensed my interest (or perhaps my rapt attention and rapid-fire questions tipped her off), and she let me cup my hands under Maddie's chin to gently raise her face out of the water so we could see where she once had whiskers - yes, dolphins are born with hair! A few more stokes of her tummy and then we each stepped forward to give her a kiss on the nose.

Maddie did a wonderful job, but when it was time for our ride, the trainer called in an old pro ... Dixie, the matriarch of the pod. You could tell she was older; her teeth were more worn, and her gray skin was more covered with rake marks (dolphins explore everything, including each other, with their teeth).

We swam out to deep water, and one by one slipped next to Dixie, placing one hand on her dorsal fin and one hand on a flipper, and then that sweet, intelligent, gentle creature brought us into shallow water once more. I wasn't permitted to ride with Dixie in a circle around the lagoon, although I did ask, probably much to Bob's embarrassment.


Yeah, look at my smile. I wish I could have been out there with Maddie and Dixie all day.

Thank you Mom and Dad for allowing one of my dreams to come true. It was magical to me and I will never forget that feeling. Thank you Bob, Cearra and Owen for joining me on this adventure!

So ... when can we go again??



The trainers were awesome - they allowed Cearra and Owen to come in and join us for a picture with Dixie.


Bob bought me a new charm for my bracelet ... dolphin's flukes are akin to our fingerprints; each one is unique. This charm is an exact copy of Dixie's flukes.

WILW

Suitcases unpacked, mail sorted, fridge restocked, four loads of laundry washed and put away; (sigh) the end of vacation. We had a wonderful time in Orlando and I'm working on a post, but today is Wednesday and you all know what that means!

I'm loving that this is my 400th post! Back when I started blogging it was to keep our families up to date on the adoption progress; I didn't know it would morph into Owen's baby book, our family photo album, a creative outlet, and occasionally, my soapbox. I'm sure glad it did.


I'm loving that Cearra is home! Watching her and Owen together always makes my heart soar.


I'm loving Owen's school picture this year! I don't know how they do it, but I'm glad we have at least one nice picture sans cheesy face.


I'm loving making and enjoying iced tea using my mom's long time trick - seven black tea bags, plus one mint tea bag for a little something extra.


I do realize that Owen is no longer a baby, but I'm loving the smell of this stuff so much I'm not giving it up yet! My big boy doesn't seem to mind.

Wishing you a happy Memorial Day weekend, and remembering those who gave their lives in defense of our freedoms.

The Age of Why

Oh, I remember this stage with Cearra.

She'd ask why the sky was blue; I'd try to give her an age-appropriate answer (okay, okay, I'd give her the best my non-scientific mind could muster), and she'd be quiet for a few minutes. She'd then argue with me that the sky wasn't really blue at all.

Owen asks me why it rains; I try to give an answer that contains real learning information on his level (and mine), and he's quiet for a few minutes. Then he asks me another question.

We cover many topics ...

Biology: Why do cats have whiskers? Why do hiccups hurt? Why does juice turn into pee-pee? Why do girls sit down to go pee-pee?

Earth Sciences: Why are rocks gray? Why is this a hill? Why is a rainbow those colors?

Philosophy: Why are people good? Why did you find me? And the question that has puzzled deep thinkers for years ... Why does SpongeBob live in a pineapple under the sea?

English: Why is "stop" spelled like that? Why does the letter "j" make that sound?

The World Around Us: Why do we have a red car? Why do the hamsters have wheels? Why does that (school) bus have stop signs? Why does red mean stop? Why does that boy have long hair? Why do our tires have spikes?

And so on ... and on ... and on.

WILW

I'm looking forward to a lot of wonderful things these next few days, and as you read this we are off making memories, but I didn't want to leave you without a WILW! Auto-post is a very good thing ...


I'm loving that tomorrow morning, one of my longest and most dearly held dreams will come true!



I'm loving spending days outside in this beautiful Spring weather and "collecting" roly poly (potato) bugs with my little explorer (note: no insects were harmed in the actual process)!


I'm loving celebrating a new friend's joy and flexing my creativity a bit by creating a personalized gift for their nursery.


I'm loving our new summer weight comforter and the fact that I got it for a steal at Marshalls. And of course, I'm loving my partner in photography for pretending to be asleep for this shot!

Happy Wednesday!

Don't You Dare Call My Family a Tragedy

I recently had the misfortune to stumble across an online forum dedicated to "snarking" on (primarily) Fundamentalist Christian families and their beliefs. The participants in this forum claim they monitor "fundy" blogs in order to stay up to date on hate groups and ensure the children in such families are safe, but from what I've read they mainly seem to enjoy insulting, bullying, gossiping and cruelly commenting on other's lives.

It all seemed petty and flat-out mean spirited to me, and I was getting pretty disgusted with this group as I read certain comments. Then I came to this one:

"Personally, I'd rather abort a kid than give them up for adoption".

and this one:

"Sorry - adoption for any other reason than abuse or neglect - is a tragedy. Babies shouldn't be separated from their mothers because of something like money, or lack of social support."

Yeah, it makes me a little sick just to retype those.

Obviously I'm emotionally and personally biased on this topic, but these people have my blood boiling. I am not going to dignify them by responding on their forum, but I need to vent.

I can agree that in a perfect world, there wouldn't be adoption or abortion. In a perfect world, there would be no unplanned pregnancies, economic limitations, unsuitable conditions, or abusive adults. In a perfect world, anyone who wanted to become a parent would be able to easily become pregnant and give birth to a child without intrusive medical intervention.

But it's not a perfect world.

Make no mistake, I am acutely aware that adoption is always accompanied by loss. By placing her baby for adoption, Owen's birth mother lost the opportunity to raise him. By being adopted by us, Owen lost the opportunity to grow up in the country of his birth and to be raised by his biological family. Despite my complete happiness in being Owen's mom, those losses hurt my heart, both for Owen and his birth mom.

However, I will NEVER believe that our adoption of Owen is a tragedy. To call it such is ignorant and cruel. How dare anyone determine that our family should not be? Owen - and all the children I know who were adopted - is being raised in a family that loves him unconditionally and will support him his entire life. He is being raised to feel safe and wanted and cherished.

We don't know why Owen's birth mother placed him for adoption, but I choose to believe she did so in love. I can only imagine what a difficult decision it was, and how it continues to affect her life. I don't celebrate her sacrifice, but I do celebrate her choice to give Owen life.

My greatest wish is that as he matures and comes to understand his life story (and it never crossed our mind not to be completely open and truthful with him), Owen will be able to process his feelings and be at peace with his past, present and future.

I am certain those people will continue to sit in anonymity and criticise families that they do not know. And I am even more certain that we will have greater joy as we continue to raise, love and support Owen; while thanking God each night for the privilege of parenting our son.

How To Walk Your Pet ...

... make sure it's stuffed.


Remy didn't think too much of her outdoor adventure - she's heading right for the garage door.




Puppy was much more cooperative.

WILW

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. I so appreciate all your kind comments here and on facebook, and I'm loving that a sweet new friend of mine celebrated her first Mother's Day this year thanks to the blessing of adoption!


I was lucky to spend Sunday with my mom (and dad), and I'm loving that the flowers I ordered for her turned out so cute! I signed the card from their westies Sugar and Nessa too, and I think she really liked it.


In addition to the "gifts" Owen wrapped in bath towels and presented me while I was getting ready on Mother's Day (I got silk flowers from the bathroom, nail clippers, a basket of cars, and several tractors), I'm loving the gorgeous key pendant Bob gave me! Yep, those are white and black diamonds folks - sparkly!

I'm loving too that Cearra called me from New Zealand to wish me a Happy Mother's Day!


I'm loving (probably a bit too much) the whoopie pies that Owen and I made Monday night. Cream cheese and coconut pecan filling. So easy; just broke out the Duncan Hines and followed the instructions my brilliant baking sis posted. Go ahead, check out her blog. It's posted right over there ---->


I'm loving how much this cutie makes me laugh every day!


I'm loving that in a little over a week I'll be swimming with dolphins (!!!), and thanks to this stuff I won't look completely winter white while doing so! It turns me almost the color I use to tan back in my baby oil and tin foil days, and it smells like almonds - one of my favs! Plus it's plant based and not tested on animals.

I will be sure to post about our adventures with Flipper when we get back. Have a great week enjoying old favorites and finding new ones!

On Mother's Day

I think I'm a good mom; I certainly put more effort and more of myself into it than any previous "job" I've held. Owen's recent declaration that he "loves me more than John Deere" made my heart soar, and would seem to support my belief that I'm doing pretty well on the motherhood front.

So if indeed that's true, it's largely (if not entirely) because I was blessed with a great mom who showed me every day of my childhood, and through her every act, how to be a mother. From her I learned how to nurture, shape, and encourage. How to create a safe place for Owen to grow, and a place to which he can always return for a hug. How to be present, how to be real, how to put aside the less important things to make time for family.

And if I am a good mom, I certainly don't do it alone. I'm lucky to be married to a good man, who was raised by another wonderful mom (who is, quite simply, the most supportive, creative, generous mother-in-law in the world). I am touched by the examples set by a sister and a sister-in-law who are both incredible moms. And I am supported and cheered on every day by friends who are fabulous moms.

Today I thank you, celebrate with you, and honor you all.

But I also pray for those for whom this day brings pain ... my friends who have lost their moms; and those moms who have children who are desperately ill or in heaven. Those suffering through the despair of wanting a child, and not being able to have one (yet). Those whose children are distant, or troubled, or free-falling.

And not least, a young woman in a faraway land who sacrificed a part of her heart forever so that I may have my forever heart.

Is That You Picasso??

Well, I'm not sure if his teachers told the kids to draw what they liked doing with their mom, or Owen just viewed it as an opportunity to drop a big hint, but I love the picture he made for me yesterday.

I've added labels as Owen explained it to me, and although I look like a big spider, I'm impressed with the details he included - there are indeed grass, water and big rocks at his favorite miniature golf course! He also told me he colored the border black, purple, yellow, and green because they are his favorite colors (Ravens and John Deere don't you know!).

Now ... guess what we did this morning?

WILW

Rather than several smaller things I'm loving this week, I'm going to share one bigger event I'm loving ... a visit from the Cole family!!

Scott, Susan, Jack and Brooke were on the East Coast for a family wedding in Philly, and we were thrilled they were able to drive down and stay with us for a few days.


I'm loving that we got to spend time with Scott and Susan! They are both such wonderful friends and we had a great time just relaxing with them, watching our kiddos play together, and laughing late into the night.


I'm loving that I got to spend time with my sweet friend Susan. She is so amazing - loyal, kind, smart, loving. I adore that she treats Owen like one of her own, and delights in being a mother.




I'm loving that Owen, Jack and Brooke had such fun together! Owen was happy to introduce Jack and Brooke to miniature golf and corn hole. All three played so well together and I think enjoyed the visit as much as the adults did!

Now we just have to convince the California Coles to become Maryland residents!