Families R Built with Love

I won an award while I went camping!  LOL  Actually, I am pretty excited because Scott from World In Motion nominated me.  I love Scott's blog because he has some insightful, stimulating political and world views.  He also has some great travel posts from time to time and seeing Italy and Germany through his blog has been exciting. Someday, when the kiddos are grown, maybe I'll see some of those things for myself. . . right after I hike the AT end to end! LOL I have to confess, travel excites me but the AT thing has been a life long goal, it tops everything on the proverbial bucket list!

This award says I need to answer a few questions about myself, so here  goes:

Favorite color:  You'd think this would be easy, wouldn't you?  It is usually red, but I am really drawn also to teal  and yellow.  If it is sort of  tropical, I probably love it!

Favorite animal:  Horses  I used to want to be a jockey; specifically my 9 year old career path was to be the first female jockey to win the Kentucky Derby!  Darn the fact that I got very tall. On the plus side, I got Final Jeopardy right the other night because I knew the oldest sporting event in the U.S. that takes place in May.

Favorite number:  I guess it would be 5.  I have 5 kids, I was married in the 5th month, Kirsty moved in with me before our marriage was legal but when our commitment was originally made to each other also in the 5th month.  I don't love numbers enough to really think of them that way.

Favorite drink:  I suspect that this refers to alcohol.  I love vodka collins but rarely drink alcohol these days. If there is a chance it could cause a migraine, I try to avoid it.   Truly I adore iced coffee and that is my most favorite drink at the moment.

Facebook or Twitter:  I never Tweet.  I am not a bird.  Birds tweet.  Sorry!  I do love Facebook. I originally started FB to reach out to my kid's first families. It has morphed into more than that.

My passion: Kids, family,adoption, foster care--sort of a tangled spahetti like mix of the strands of our family members lives.  As I have grown and as my kids have grown, I have learned so much.  There is much we need to remember as adoptive parents, particularly that our children all have stories that started somewhere else, with someone else and we need to honor, accept and embrace those stories (and if at all possible the people involved.)

Giving or Receiving gifts:  Giving gifts is a gift, if you know what I mean.  This does not mean I don't love getting a present, but I really love the planning out  what special thing to do or make or buy for someone I love.

My favorite day:  Saturday, hands down! It launches the weekend and the time that I can be most fully present with and for my family.

Favorite flower:  Oh gosh, I have so many.  But nothing beats brown eyed susans.  Or maybe gladiola.  Or beach roses . . .   you see the problem! It is actually anything except gardenias.  I associate them with the tragic and unexpected death of a colleague and can not abide them.

Favorite food:   Anything spicy.  I have no sense of smell so that means that strongly spiced foods are the ones I taste the best. I adore foods from Ethiopia, Puerto Rican cuisine that I learned to cook when we visited friends there, and Schetchuan asian recipes.  I am also vegetarian and eating as locally as possible and as low on the food chain as possible is important to me.

And now--blogs that inspire me!  There are many but in all honesty my blog writing and reading time is limited these days. That may change a bit as the wheel of the year spins and we are indoors more.  And Scott and I read a couple of the same blogs so I am being careful not to mention any of the cool people and blogs he listed.  So, in no particular order. . .

Mother Issues: www.motherissues.wordpress.com  A great blog for those interested in fostering and/or adoption.  Thorn writes with a clarity and sensitivity about the topic and the work of maintaining a healthy relationship with her partner.

Big Mama Hollers: www.thebodiebunch.blogspot.com  Think my family is big?  Check out Cindy's!  LOL  But seriously she is an amazing parent, a fountain of gardening info and more.

To Tell the Truth: www.sundaykoffron.blogspot.com  Sunday's blog is honest and makes you think about what our present foster care system does to the children it is supposed to protect.  It challenges us adoptive parents to continually be mindful of what messages we are sending to our children.

Crockpot cooking: www.crockpot365.blogspot.com  Yummy recipes!  I can't or won't use all of them as Stephanie is not vegetarian but there are frequently gems that I tuck away to try.

Natural Hair Care for African American hair: www.beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com  I want my daughter to love her hair.  I don't want her to think that her gorgeous curly locks should even TRY to look like my pin straight hair.  So learning to care for her hair in ways she enjoys and keeping it healthy is a passion of mine.  This is one of my favorite blogs for ideas.

Feeling Crafty: www.flamingotoes.com  Cool craft ideas for those of us who dabble in such things.  My   favorite thing though is to check this blog on Sundays when she has links to lots of amazing ideas that others are doing on their blogs. There are these cute little thumbnail pictures that let you know what the tutorial will be about.

A great parenting/trauma blog: www.lisajordanpuddin.blogspot.com  I will be honest. It is hard to mention just a few foster/adoption blogs.  There are great ones out there that I read regularly and whose writers feel like good friends to me. People I would love to someday meet IRL if our paths crossed.  But I chose Lisa's Grateful House blog because of her great explanations and resources on tapping.

Great art:  Check out www.janemhoughton.blogspot.com  This blog writer really is a real life friend.  She was also my son KC's art teacher.  I love looking at her art and reading this blog and I bet you will too.

Great Food:  www.postmodernfeeding.blogspot.com Sarah is Cindy of Big Mama Hollers daughter.  She has some really delicious recipes but I confess that I am still screwing up my courage to try starting my day with that really REALLY green smoothie in her most recent post. LOL

Enjoy!