Blogaholics Anonymous

We've been playing games together. Card games. Silly games. Games with Grandma, because Grandma likes games.

And I've been taking photos. Lots of photos. Getting out of my comfort zone and shooting a lot of candid, indoor shots. Capturing Christmas memories.

This morning we're off to a local state park for breakfast in an old Spanish sugar mill. Note to self: Don't forget your camera!

Here are a few links I found this weekend that I thought you'd like.

Giving the baby back - A foster mom shares her thoughts. "I give them back because they are not mine. And this is not about me."

Learning to Measure Time in Love and Loss - written by an adoptive father, this is a beautiful piece about accepting the constraints of our lives.

this Christmas - Stefanie, from Ni Hao Y'all, shares how her family celebrated Christmas a little differently this year. I love what they did!

Anyone else still in Christmas vacation mode?

Look Who's Curled Up With a Good Book

This makes my heart happy. Really happy.

Wenxin, adopted from China at age 7 1/2.

No spoken English. Zero. Nada. Zip.

He spoke Chinese, of course, but he'd never been to school in China and couldn't read his own language.

So for the last three years, I've had simple educational goals for Wenxin -- goals that will set the stage for a lifetime of learning.

1. Bonding and learning to be a family.  This was really a goal for all of us, not just Wenxin. At first glance, it doesn't even seem educational. But if there was no attachment, no becoming a family, then nothing else would really matter. So for the first months home, while we did dive right into academic schoolwork, it wasn't all that important to me. Doing schoolwork together was just a means to another end. We were getting to know one another. We were growing to love each other. We were becoming a family.

2. Fluency in spoken English. Not much to add here because immersed in a family of big talkers, this one happened naturally.

3. Literacy. I wanted him to read fluently, and I wanted him to love to read. It was kind of like pushing a boulder up the side of a mountain.

So this morning, when he curled up in a chair with one of his Christmas books and read it from cover to cover, I ran for my camera to record the moment. OK, I'll confess that he only did this after I banned the new XBOX until everyone read a little. Still, he read the whole book in one sitting.

I see the doors of learning swinging open wide for my boy, and I can't help but smile.

BTW, did you see my Christmas in Photos post? Click here to take a look.

Our Christmas in Photos

As December Rolls Along

Nathan turned 14 yesterday.

I love the man I see him growing to be.

He's a good son, and he's adored by his siblings, too.

We celebrated with a low key day at home - just presents and a yummy four layer chocolate pie that was easy on all those new braces!

Ready or not, December keeps rolling on. I'm keeping my sanity with lots of photography breaks, trying new shots and editing in Lightroom. I'm beginning to think Katherine may have a future in modeling. My sweet girl can work it for the camera!

December's thrown us a lot of curves. First there was the car accident. Yesterday, we got the news that our van is totaled. So here we are, van shopping just days before Christmas. Just. Like. Last year.

Then our heating and air died. Totally died. We got a brand new system yesterday, and it's amazing. 

Our whole house used to vibrate when the air came on. No more. This system is like stealth air conditioning. You'd never know it's running, except that you feel refreshingly cool and comfy and sweat-free. That's really important because where we live it's been in the mid-80s much of December.

One birthday celebration down. Most of our 300+ Christmas cards sent. Most presents ordered and shipped. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

Sharing today at Little by Little and The Long Road to China.

All is Calm. All is Bright. At Least in the Photos.

Anyone else stressed?

Wenxin greeted me this morning just like he has every morning in December. 

"Hey Mom, it's 11 more days til Christmas. 4 more days til Nathan's birthday. 9 more days til Grandma comes. And 17 more days til my birthday." He'll repeat the message at regular intervals throughout the day.

Maybe he's just excited. . . or maybe he's realized that there is real reason to be concerned that Mom's not going to get it all done in time this year.

Here are a couple of links for those of us who find that Christmas looks more calm and bright in our photos than in real life. (The second one is a post I wrote last Christmas for my older child adoption friends.)

Dear perfect Elf on the Shelf people, an open letter.

It's Jesus' Birthday and He Doesn't Mind

Hang in there, ladies!

Sharing at The Long Road to China, Ni Hao Y'all, and Little by Little.

Relationships

There are a lot of good ways to educate your kids. Public school, private school, homeschool. Most kids turn out well.

But for our family, one of the side benefits of homeschooling has been the relationships.

Relationships are so hard. I spend a lot of time coaching my kids on how to be kind and encouraging. . . how to communicate and ask forgiveness. . . how to work together. The process isn't usually pretty.

But yesterday, when I didn't feel well, Julia jumped in and helped Wenxin with his schoolwork. And he let her help him with his schoolwork.

I had to grab my camera.

Simple Things Sunday and Our Car Crash

Simply beautiful.

Photography is good for my soul. I love taking beautiful shots, and I love the nuanced work of editing.

I love that there's so much more to learn and that I can get better at this for years to come.

It helps me relax, and just like blogging, it's something I do just for me.

Yesterday, we were in a car accident.

We'd had an amazing, relaxing day of 3v3 soccer. Outside on a gorgeous, Central Florida, December day -- which is like a mid-summer day in lots of other places -- we laughed and cheered and celebrated with good friends. Hard fought games went into overtime, and in the end, both Julia's team and Katherine's team brought home first place.

Packing up Katherine with friends for the hour or so ride home, we stayed for Julia's sixth and final game of the day.

Late afternoon as the sun was going down, we pulled out of the fields, really tired and really happy, reliving the victories and talking about how really good burgers would hit the spot for dinner.

I was looking down as Mike got a green turn light and pulled into the intersection.

That's when we were hit.

An SUV, going fast, ran the red light and crashed into us, spinning our van 360 degrees. When we stopped spinning, we saw the SUV driver slow down and look back for a moment, before driving away.  We were left stunned and confused and pretty upset. Our back bumper and other pieces of our van littered the intersection.

Here's what we didn't know at the time.

Julia's teammate, Ainsley, and her dad, Ron, were driving behind us when we were hit and saw the whole thing. When the SUV driver didn't stop, Ron and Ainsley followed him. As Ron drove, Ainsley took photos of the SUV with her phone. Ainsley dialed 911 so her dad could report the accident. Unfortunately for the hit and run driver, the road he was driving on dead ended. Ron spoke with the man, encouraging him to return to the scene of the crash.

All of us initially thought the other driver was intoxicated, but the police told us later that  he was a man who'd had several brain surgeries, and that while he was confused, it wasn't an issue of substance abuse.

Ron and Ainsley were the heroes of the night, giving a statement to the police, playing soccer with the kids on the side of the road, and eventually taking them all to get something to eat.

It was a long night of police officers. . . and a tow truck. . . and an ambulance. . .and of course, the fire truck. Piling the contents of our van on the side of the road -- soccer chairs and a tent and a foldable bench and a cooler and soccer goals and a bag of balls and a sleeping bag and a pillow and a few blankets and backpacks and all the CDs and phone chargers and jumper cables and various tools that live in our van -- we waited for a rental car that never showed up. Finally, the five of us and our. . ummm. . . belongings, joined Ron and Ainsley in his five seater car, as he gave us a lift back to our house.

No one was seriously hurt. We got home safely. And Katherine, delighted to get a surprise sleepover with her friend, still doesn't know what happened.

Missing my van and hoping to have a driveable car - soon!


            

Not Too Late for Your Best Christmas Card Ever!

Festive Four Ornament Card with Luxe Ribbon for Hanging

It's not too late to make a beautiful Christmas card at Minted.com.

The folks at Minted contacted me last week and asked if I'd take a look around their site and let you know what I found. 

The first thing I noticed upon arriving at Minted was lots of original, fresh design. That's because Minted showcases the work of a community of indie designers from around the world. For the past few days, I've had fun browsing Minted, playing around and creating beautiful cards from my family photos.

The sheer number of design choices can be overwhelming, but I discovered something that really helped. I went ahead and uploaded the photo I wanted to use this year, and clicked the "Find it Fast" button. Minted magically inserted my photo into every one of their designs so I could see how it would look in each one. Each time I saw a design that looked promising, I clicked the little heart beside it which saved it to my Favorites. When all was said and done, I had five or six serious contenders out of the hundreds of possibilities.

Cards come flat or folded with your choice of a variety of shapes. Minted offers several options for the back of your card, from leaving it blank to adding a fun color or print or even more photos and text. Envelopes can be standard white or something a little more fancy. You can even add liners to up the WOW factor. More than any Christmas card company I've used in the past, Minted offers a truly custom experience.

Now here's the jaw dropper. As you check out, Minted gives you the option to upload your address list so they can address your envelopes - for FREE. 

Minted, you had me at beautiful custom design, but the free addressing thing. . . that pretty much seals the deal! I'm ordering my Christmas Cards from Minted tonight!

There's about a nine day turn around, so I'll have my cards in plenty of time to pop them in the mail for Christmas. 

If you decide to use Minted for your holiday cards this year, click through this link to get $25 off $50 at Minted.com. It's not too late to have a beautiful card this Christmas. Getting $25 off $50 on your most beautiful card ever? You might even say that it paid to procrastinate this year. 

BTW - Does anyone else obsess about the actual Christmas card photo? Is that what's holding you back?

Here a some tips to get you past your perfect photo inertia:

1. Use a photo you already have. Look back over your photos from the last year and pick one of your favorites.

2. If you MUST take a new photo at this late date, enlist the help of a friend who's a hobby photographer.

3. Don't obsess about the perfect wardrobe. Pick some fun clothes that don't clash from everyone's closet. You can even pull things out of the dirty clothes. We did! 

4. Have fun and get that Christmas photo marked off the list! 

Sharing at Little Things Thursdays and The Long Road to China.

Disclosure: I received credit at Minted.com for this review. All opinions in this post are mine alone. The $25 off $50 link is a referral link. Minted. com will give me store credit for all purchases made through this link making it a win/win for all of us! Thanks!