Finally...

... a topic of interest to Littlest One and, of course, she excels.  #keepitalltheyear

Ready, Set, Surgery

*Update 11/26: Surgery went well and even a little better than expected.  Recovery was hard.  Big girl is finally feeling much better this morning.*

We're ready to go for a longer outpatient surgery this afternoon to repair and correct some orthopedic issues.

Please keep this brave girl in your thoughts for the next hours and days.

Bestie Movie Night

Oh, to be a preteen again.  Tonight's double feature at Martini Basement Cinemas: My Girl and Home Alone.

Emilia Together Forever Day 2019

Eight years ago today, I traveled through a snow storm and held on my lap a little girl who had just lost and gained everything. She was frozen not because of the biting cold, but because of deep fear.  Little did I know during those six long hours in a bumpy van the pain and love, heartache and joy that would lie ahead for her and our family.  And yet, even if I'd had that crystal ball, I would do it all again for this child because as she and I sing together...

... all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more...

(Christina Perri)

Nine Years Ago Today

Nine years ago today, I held my son for the first time.  I treasure this photo of our first moments together because I can remember exactly what I felt and I also remember what the caretakers told us through the translator, "He never lets anyone hold him close, you must be his mother."

I still have the privilege of holding him close and basking in the purity of his love.

Sometimes On Our Pillows...

... little notes of love.

In The Neighborhood

I grew up happily bouncing between my grandparents' small farming village and my parents' small town in East Germany and among my many wonderful memories is a feeling of community.  The mail carrier knew you by name as did the clerks at the small grocery stores.  We invited neighbors to our birthday parties and lent a hand to those in need.  If you were doing something you weren't supposed to do, you could be pretty sure that it was going to come to your parents' attention one way or another and if you were out and about as a kid, it was not uncommon for a neighbor to give you a piece of fruit or candy to sustain you in your childhood adventures.

I have missed this feeling of community since moving to the US, but in our current neighborhood, I am getting more of it than in any other place we had lived previously.

For example, when our lawn care person had to cut hours due to long-term illness toward the end of the mowing season and our yard was slowly overgrowing, a neighborhood teen showed up and mowed it for us.  When Ella went to visit our semi-retired neighbors to meet their new kitten, she came home with a huge box of fancy chocolates in fall shapes (leaves, acorns, pumpkins, etc.) and instructions to share them with her siblings.

In late summer, we watered a neighbor family's flowers and tomatoes while they were on vacation and we shared our enormous basil harvest with several neighborhood friends.

In mid-October I started the "Boo" and then excitedly watched the signs spring up on our street's front doors as the tradition was paid forward until we were booed ourselves.

When another neighbor found out that Ella likes Frida Kahlo and was going to dress up as the Mexican artist for Halloween, she appeared at our door right around that time with a piece of Frida-inspired art for Ella's room.

And when I mentioned in passing to a neighbor that we have an outpatient surgery on the calendar for one of our family members later this month, she immediately offered to bring us dinner the day of the surgery.

I remember quite well the sadness I felt when we moved from our dream home to this house in order to get closer to the services our children need.  The house is still not my favorite though we have made many improvements (more on that in another post maybe), but one of the unexpected silver linings has been this colorful assortment of neighbors of all ages and from many different backgrounds who are trying their best not to let closed doors and electronic screens stand in the way of real community.  And for that, I am thankful.