10 Thoughts on Whole Living

1.  "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." --Mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn

2.  We'll always love confident talkers, but we're appreciating confident listeners more and more.

3.  Animals bring a lot of joy to the world.  It's high time we gave them a better deal in return.

4.  Out: Perfumes that smell like eau de chemicals  In: Fragrances redolent of real ingredients

5.  Cool, misty, calm, peaceful: sometimes being in the fog isn't such a bad thing.

6.  Dogs, with their perpetual today-is-the-best-day-ever attitude, could teach us a thing or two.

7.  Resolve to remember how great we feel time we exercise--the next time we're piling up excuses for why we can't work out.

8.  The foods that are good for us actually leave us feeling good.  Love how nature does that!

9.  "The time is always right to do the right thing."  Thank you Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for being as relevant as you've always been.

10.  When life hands you lemons, roast them chickens and potatoes.

Where We Belong: A Review

From Goodreads:  Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her.
 
For the precocious and determined Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to re-evaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light. As the two women embark on a journey to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves—a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever.

My Review:  I was on the fence about reading this book since it is largely focused on adoption.  I have found that books about adoption sometimes gloss over reality and it all ends up in a tidy little bow by the end.  

The characters, while somewhat flat, are relatable.  They feel the emotions one would expect them to feel. I found myself empathizing with almost all of them, oddly enough though, not with the adoptive mother.  Her resentment of her daughter's birth parents is probably typical to some adoptions, but not to ours and so I had a tough time with her.  I could understand her hesitation, but I felt she should have been more supportive of something that was so obviously important to her daughter.

The story moved at a decent pace, but I can't say it was a page turner.  I enjoyed reading it slowly and thinking about the issues raised in the novel.  I liked how the author slowly peeled back layers of the story a bit a a time.  While most of it was predictable, it was still worth reading.

The book did have some short comings, mainly related to how adoption works.  Kirby was 18 when the story takes place, so things may have changed between then and now.  I am not sure how realistic it is that she was given Marion's address.  The way she just showed up out of the blue seems to be most people's worst nightmare.  I doubt either birth parents or adoptive parents would want to be surprised by someone on their doorstep.  

Also, the way Marion kept the entire pregnancy a secret from everyone, including the birthfather Conrad was deplorable.  It certainly made me think twice about a birthfather's rights, and I truly felt bad for his character.  

Long story short, each and every adoption is different, and this books tells one story.  

5 Months Old!

It doesn't even seem possible that LX is already 5 months old!  He is doing so great.  He is ticklish and has the best belly laugh ever.  He can turn himself over and he loves "standing" up when someone is holding him.  We think he will walk before he crawls.  He is working on sitting up with some help.  He still loves books, talking, and music.  He smiles so much and is still a great sleeper.  We took him to Pennsylvania this weekend to visit my sister and her family, and he had a great time playing with his cousin James.  He is super chatty and almost always is talking. He likes to sit at the dinner table with us when we are eating, and he talks away! 

He doesn't go to the doctor this month (unless he gets sick, so hopefully not!), so I don't have any height or weight this month.  He has been very healthy and we are so thankful for that!  He is showing a couple of teeth buds on his bottom jaw.  He drools a lot but seems to be OK with the slow arrival of his first teeth.

He is the best thing that has ever happened to us, and we are so happy!

What I Love About Sundays

~ sleeping
~ eggs and home fries
~ not rushing
~ football
~ staying in PJs as long as I want to
~ pot roast in the crock pot
~ knowing that I don't have to go to work in the morning
~ the calm that has settled over our house

I hope your Sunday is relaxing and refreshing!

Board Games

Dave and I are obsessed with board games.  For him, it is the competitiveness and for me, it is the social aspect.  Plus, they are just fun!  We are lucky to have another couple who loves to play games just as much as we do, so we get to play a fair amount.  

We've had quite a few favorites over the years, so I thought I would share them with you.