a little blog :)

Merry Christmas friends...
Did you know I went to Thailand and Singapore? - it was fabulous! Check out Jen's blog. Did you know I've made a list of 30 things to do before I turn 30? I checked off 4 during the trip.
Meet A
New Countries in my passport
Ride an Elephant
Pet a Tiger

Work is good, I'm grateful to say that I've helped 14 kids be adopted in 2010. Today i moved two little girls into their new home. They were excited!!! The little sister last week was saying my name close to the resemblance of 'meatball', and today it was 'weesal', since she's 2 she gets away with it and it's pretty cute.

I got to drop off lots of gifts to kids this week, I also got to play tic tac toe with a 5 year old, sing jingle bells with many, I saw old friends.

I'm grateful.

12.8.10

Pray for kids. kids waiting. kids hurting.

national adoption month

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZhEBhk6F3Y
What a year, what a journey.
So on Monday was the heart gallery opening - the heart gallery is traveling photo gallery of kids pictures, kids that are waiting. Waiting to be adopted. Going to this event was so fun to see so many of the those who continue to do something for kids, so maybe they will wait one less day.
I saw a sweet P127 family, that was encouraging and kind in their words of the impact I had it their lives. Then later this week I got a call from another P127 family who after all these years said similair kind words. it made my heart happy and my desire stronger.
11.20 6 kids I've been working with will wait no more. 11.20 is National Adoption Day.

And then I go on vacation!!! :)

BSF, FPU, BA....

so updates:

we're half way through Financial Peace...

I just bought tickets for Singapore, Bangkok and St Louis - little hard on the financial peace.... but amazing for time to connect with beautiful friends and family. (and my passport has felt lonely)

I heard some pretty courageous women talk about forgiveness a couple weeks ago. It's a choice. It's a good one to make. Again and again.

November is National Adoption month.... I love this for my kids... 6 will be adopted on 11/20. Last night I worked late, but let 7 & 11 year old girls pretend to be the judge and make their adoption final. it was cute.

I have a full calendar. I don't get invited to things because my friends know how busy I am. A friend at work teased me today that I don't have time for friends so maybe the judge will see that I've lost weight because I'm at court more than being able to see people regularly... Dear friends, please keep inviting.

I hate that I have bad cell phone reception at my house... it makes it hard to connect with you.

I get to hold a 2 week old baby tomorrow :)

tonight was girls night - I like those girls!

Uncle Bernard

"Surviving are his wife of 62 years..."

my great uncle passed away this week. I was really impressed to see that he loved his wife for 62years, that's awesome!
I want to be married for 62 years. I better live to 100 :)

I talked to a 6 year old today that told me when he grows up he's going to have 6 kids and they're going to eat cookies for dinner every night.

The family has a pool that's dirty, sort of green the kids say, and the 8 yo thought it was hilarious when my coworker said that only leprechauns can swim in green pools.

I went cliff jump last weekend with some really cool people.


Live it up - love well, eat cookies for dinner, laugh hard, jump when you're scared :)

joel 2:25

redemption. joy comes in the morning.

hope. I planted flowers this summer in my black flower pot. it was a long time coming but this was the summer. little did I know.

grace. declares that we are still God's pride and joy.

forgiveness. frees me.

love. your enemies.

Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think impossible.

In my profession, these things aren't very common. You learn to not trust people, you don't always see the best sides of people or in them, you don't believe in justice, sometimes it's hard to give mercy.

Pray for my kids.
A&B&C
E&W
I&M
M&A
C
A
E&E&D
B
J&K
J
H
J

I love that adoption brings hope, redemption, love, forgiveness and grace a face again for each of these.

church was good today :)

messy

it's all around us.
people's choices.
i hate it when parents lie to their kids, about the big stuff. i keep thinking about ABC, it's a big week for them... it's just the beginning of the end of this miserable part of their story for them. and their parents continue to play games. REALLY? i get mad aout this.

what about being on this side of it all? when you are the orphan, when someone chooses not to love you, when people's fears block them from listening (really listening), when you've been fighting cancer and it's spread further, when kids die, when you're known for your mistakes?

why don't we fight for what's right, true, just, lovely?

i see people giving up.

jesus wants to give us more.

love is not a place to come and go as we please...

start of a tradition?

So my family likes to have murder mystery dinners... last year we had one to celebrate July birthdays, and had a great time, so we did one again this year.

Here are the July birthdays:
Desiree, Wellington and Bella

 

The rest of the dinner party:

 

Wellington, the Chef, Countess Nadya, Desiree, Jules, Bella, the Captian, Miles and Lucie

#7

I'm officially debt free today!! I love the feeling!

(#7 is the number I am checking off my list of 30 things I'm doing before I turn 30, there will be further posts about such list)

so close I can taste it...

I don't have a lot of money, never had, and don't expect to ever be rich monetarily, but let me tell you how excited I am to say that this week I will again be debt free as that I'm paying off my car!!!!

It's been fun to celebrate financial successes!!! (there aren't many) Ethan and Angela are my Dave Ramsey coaches and I may even try to get into one of his classes this fall.

This is #7

his eyes were cold and restless

the bulls and blood.. the dust and mud...

Today I'm headed to Cheyenne. We're going to the rodeo, we're going to Madeline's scents, hopefully see the parade, stop by sierra trading post, going to climb on the rocks out at Vedauwoo... a day full of my favorites!

I thought I'd sleep in more, but maybe I'm just too excited :) maybe the dog was barking, and I'm not sleeping in my own bed. So one of the last times I house sat out here, my CD player looked good enough to steal and someone did. Last night around midnight, some one's music was so loud as they cruised the streets it set off car alarms.

Today's my niece's birthday!!! Happy birthday Sweet Elyse!!

a blog before bed...

this week it's been full. its been good.

so camp was AWESOME, I really do love kids. I got to hang out with 22 of the most resilient kids around. 3 in particular, I fell in love with. in a couple weeks I will become their caseworker. I'll be praying for an amazing family for them. Camp helped me want to fight even harder for these children I work with.
One of my favorite things this little boy said was "I know where rainbows come from, Colorado!" there were several great rainbows this week at camp - the promise of the hope and future for each of these kids.

Then on Thursday I was back for an 11+ hr work day. I moved a precious little boy into his adoptive home. The family has already fallen in love with this little boy! He's got a forever family.

Later in the day I got to meet my kids that live out of state and see them reunited with their brother after a year.

Today I got to hear about a pretty amazing 5 year old birthday party - he got a Red remote controlled car with Yellow and Orange flames on it! But really my heart melted just when he walked in the room and when he saw me gave me this huge smile excited to see me. He's going to be a heart breaker.

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.
Psalms 68:5-6

So we've already set the dates for camp 2011, so maybe you should come with me and fall in love with these kids too!

happy weird minefields

To check in on us at camp, check out http://rfkcdenver.blogspot.com/

Claire and Jeff got married! and it was over a month ago, but here are some beautiful pictures from their day:
Claire and Jeff's wedding

other news...
July is busy! and I'm going to try and fit it all in.
I already got a physical. (get the important stuff out of the way)
I'm currently watching N&E's dogs, they are sweet dogs, Pedro is so scared of the fireworks though. So I like walking the dogs, but I still don't want one.
T is coming for a visit!
Maybe we'll go to David Crowder.
Rafting and camping weekend.
A reunion.
CFD (which has to include Sierra trading post and Madeline's scents)
I'm meeting 2 of my kids on my caseload that I've never met even though I've been their caseworker for the past 7 months.
Birthdays to celebrate!
2nd to last payment on my car.
Iowa wedding

I also hope to fit in:
rockies game, good conversations, pool time, making dinner, exercise, reading, movies, sleep...

Happy 4th of July! :)

"I will accept all the inevitable tumult and struggle… I shall follow wherever Your hand leads me I shall allow myself to be perplexed time and again perhaps, in order to arrive at great certainty." - don't know who said it.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves the crushed spirit.

I know lots of sad stories, it's part of my job, you could say I get paid for it. I know lots of secrets, many are really sad secrets.

anyway, that's sort of depressing...



I'm going up to camp for part of next week! It's royal family kids camp- which is a camp for foster kids. I went a couple summers ago and loved it, so I'm super excited to go again: see some of the same kids, meet the new ones, and even get to hang out with some that I work with. Here's where I get to be a Christian at work... well work isn't paying me to do this. So pray for us, it's 24 campers, 30+ staff up in the beautiful mtns of Colorado. Thanks for your support.

go to wendy's

So if you live in the US, you probably have a Wendy's within 5 miles of your home. So when you're around one this weekend, stop in and get a frosty! the ones with toffee in them look really good!

why?
support kids in foster care.
An 11 year will be adopted on Monday, eat a frosty for him. Or you can eat one for the 3 sisters that were just adopted this past Monday. Or think about the thousands of waiting children that are in your local schools, parks, churches, neighborhoods, etc.

be careful out there.

so my family members in the past 10 or so days
-My uncle fell off a ladder and dilocated his elbow, brke his wrist to the point of needing surgery, and hairline fractures to the pelvis.
-Gran spent the night inthe hospital a couple days later - maybe a mini stroke?
-A 2nd cousin broke his foot or ankle
-Found out tonight my mom is on crutches.
-I apparently close my eyes when bending over and now have a bruise under my eye.
-EP has upcoming surgery on his knee.

and we used to say I was the "special needs" sister!

Jesus Take the Wheel

I'm super excited, so 2 months ago about, I asked one of our local radio stations to give one of my little boys on my caseload tickets for him and his family to go to the Carrie Underwood concert tonight. So I even talked to the promotions manager there and he really made it sound like it might happen.
then I never heard anything back from him.... for the next 2 months. I had told the parents about it, but wanted to surprise this little boy. so today at noon I got the call that we got the tickets!!! And then the family invited me to join them since they have an extra.

But what is really cool about it, is 6 months ago this little boy didn't have a family. This month he turns 11! will be adopted! and get to go to Carrie's concert!

The cute part about this was when T was asked about what he wanted in an adoptive family he asked if maybe Carrie would adopt him. He thought she'd be a good mom and he was willing to travel and be on tour with her, it was precious! His parents are great and this little boys dreams are coming true!

this made today good at work!

Anastasia JOY

She's here!!! Check out the blog pictures because she is beautiful!!!

oh life, you sure can be messy...

so today I was supposed to hear back about the new job. no email. I still expect to hear back from them, just disappointed it wasn't today.

then my dear friend breaks the news to me that my former boyfriend is currently dating someone else, wow. I know I ended the relationship but the part that got me is that it sounds like this relationship has been developing over sometime, making the timeline a little sketchy.

Then another dear friend and I talked about our scars from former jobs, yep that's messy.

In court today and heard about this woman's codependent abusive relationship, that has now resulted in the loss of her children.. sad.

then there's all the relationships, expectations, families fighting - marriages hanging on by a string, parents writing mean letters, cheating...

Good thing I'm still reading my GRACE book, oh how I need it. and need to give it.

family reunion

 

cute cousins

week full of:
zip line
horseback riding
hiking
moose, marmots, fox, coyote, bear, deer sightings
4 wheeling
tacos
swimming
smores

uno, mexican train, telephone pictionary
frisbee, golf, football
rock climbing

family fun!

little painting with the bride

One of claire's showers:
 
 

yep I like it! :)

St Paul St? Ave?

I have a new address as of today! I don't know it yet, but please send mail.

A sweet little girl was adopted today! I love these days! Tomorrow we are hosting a big party for 150 foster kids, you should pray for them, it is National Foster Care month!

My cousin got engaged (don't know if it was today, but he announced it on FB today)

Who is Rita Harkless?

"the last best word"

I've been talking to several friends this week about grace. I even started reading "What so amazing about grace?"

When are the moments you've received great grace? Did you realize it? Did you soak it in? Can you now share grace with someone else? You can only share it with someone else because you've received it right? You at least have a glimpse or glimmer of what it is - I hope you do.

In college I took this class "youth issues" we mostly talked about teens and their stuff, as most of you know I'm not big into teen stuff... but for our final exam as we had all crammed for, the professor came in and asked if any us had any last minute questions before the exam. A couple people did, he took his time to answer them and them passed out the exam face down to each student. He them gave the instructions for each of us to turn the test over, make sure to read everything on the test, and turn it back into him when we were done. We turned over the tests and slowly started to read it. My name was already written on the test in red ink, every correct answer was already circled.
The last page said: "This is the end of the exam. All the answers on your test are correct. You will receive an A. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the A. You have just experienced grace." We then turned the test back in.
The professor then went around the room and asked each student, "What is your grade? Do you deserve the grade you are receiving? How much did all your studying for this exam help you achieve your final grade?"
"Some things you learn from lectures, some from research, but some things you only learn from experience. You've just experienced grace."

I want to give generously, I want to love deeply, I want to share honestly.

One friend and I were talking about with what we or our loved ones have lived through it's only by God's grace we're not crazy. (Maybe we're a little crazy, but I hope you know what I mean. :)

so this week I needed to go back and sit in grace. under the cross, watching a beautiful sunset, holding a baby, laughing with little girls, dinner with my siblings, making trip plans, remembering...

what a week.... or maybe month

break up. stink.
possible better paying job. i'm worth it!
was assertive. i had the courage to ask and I got a maybe!
getting ready to pack boxes. cute new place, ready to see my new room :)
snow on the last day of April. that's Colorado for you.
learned "twinkle, twinkle stoplight" from a 3 year old. she is cute cute cute!
sweet compliments. surprising and heartfelt.
tears. movies, life - it's good to let it out right.
i wore my cute boots again. every girl should have a pair.
couple good phone calls. thanks dear friends.
enjoyed my friend's sweet giggle. :)
laughed about fireworks shooting from the social services bldg. it didn't actually happen, but if it ever does I want to witness it!

April is over. I'm ok with that.

stand in the rain...

Rain and snow in Colorado today. Enjoying my cute boots! :)

 

soemtimes we can relate, right?

She never slows down.
She doesn't know why but she knows that when she's all alone, feels like its all coming down
She won't turn around
The shadows are long and she fears if she cries that first tear, the tears will not stop raining down

[CHORUS]
So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day, whats lost can be found
You stand in the rain

She won't make a sound
Alone in this fight with herself and the fears whispering if she stands she'll fall down
She wants to be found
The only way out is through everything she's running from wants to give up and lie down.

So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day, whats lost can be found
You stand in the rain

April flowers

 

So here's a couple pictures from Easter and birthdays.

I love vacation, why do I have to work again?

Aloha - hello, good bye, and love!
Katrina and I have never really traveled together, so that was one of our goals before life continued to bring changes where it may not be as likely. So in honor/celebration of her Spring break and my 6 months at my job we jumped on a plane and went to the beach. We stayed with my uncle who lives a block and a half away from the beach! He was a great host! Everyday was an adventure and we covered most of the island, but of course would love to go back.

Here's a couple pictures from our trip:

I don't think I've ever ate a crab, but I'll hold one :)

My dear friend! Great traveling partner! isn't she cute!?

It really was paradise! We went to a luau one evening, great food, and so fun!

I could live on a ranch on an island :)

I love water - any really you should probably get in the water even if it's cold! This is secret falls.

Some of the red dirt!

Spouting Horn


If you ever go:
1. Take me with you.
2. Drink pina coladas from fresh coconuts.
3. Hike the Nepali coast (wear good shoes, and expect to get muddy)
4. Enjoy the sunrises/sunsets!
5. Do your BSF at Poahole beach - it's a great place to do BSF!
6. The Coffee plantation is worth the trip even if you don't drink coffee :)
7. Don't eat anywhere you could eat on the mainland (that's sort of my philosophy for travel anyway) Places we liked: Toi's Thai, Hanapepe Cafe, Smith's Luau, JoJo's shave ice
8. Get a lei (we never did, although we tried.) If you don't get leid, wear a flower in your hair daily :)
9. Talk to the locals (Katrina's really good at this!)
10. Enjoy every freckle you get from being kissed by the sun!

Safe to Land

I know I know this should be about hawaii. I'll get to the greatness of the island life! but for now:

Lyrics:

Getting tired from all this circling
Not much grace left on a broken wing
I feel the wind trying to push me down
It happens every time I get to town

I search for shelter near the mines we swept
I guess forgiveness hasn't happened yet
There are no words that I can say to you
To turn this careless sky from black to blue
So I'm asking you

Is it safe, is it safe to land?
'Cause I'm not going far on an empty heart
Is it safe, is it safe to land?
'Cause the long fall back to earth is the hardest part

I'm in no weather for apology
I need your runway lights to burn for me
And if you say that I can come around
I'll love you right, I won't let you down
I won't let you down
'Cause I'm coming home, if these wheels touch down

I'm coming home, I'm waking you up
In the middle of the night, I'm not giving up
I'm gonna stay, till we make it work
We're not going down even if it gets worse
We'll work it out, yeah, we'll work it out
I need your light, guide me in

Is it safe?

good question! i got sick on the bumpy landing today.. i thought/hoped sick plane days were over since i had been good for over 6 months of flying. not yet. have you heard the most dangerous part of the space shuttle's mission is the reentry into the earth atmosphere? what if the ship is already damaged? yikes!

littlle reunion

So getting all the Harkless' together is always quite a feat, but we got all of the siblings (plus spouses and almost spouses) together this past weekend for dinner! It was so fun to see everyone! Here's a fun video of Elyse :)

it's almost here.

It's crazy snowing outside, but I'm going to Hawaii on Friday!

I had a case audited yesterday and pretty much the lady told my my tx plan sucked, I wanted to tell her a thing or two myself, but really I get to put my toes in the sand in just 4 days.

My sister had to push my car out of the crazy snow tonight (I have amazing sisters!) and yet I'll be seeing the beautiful blue ocean so soon!

I had a crappy Monday, but Friday- oh it's coming... I have a new swimsuit and sunglasses :)

I've endured 6 months with the supervisor I have a hard time loving, but everyday of this vacation will make it so worth it!

I never get to see my friends enough, but this trip is with my dear friend K! It will be so good to laugh, read books and finally get some sweet time in together. Finally the two of us globetrotters are trotting together! I wish you all could come with us! You're invited!

Somewhere I've never been and let me tell you I can't wait for the adventures, the food, the sun, the naps, the refreshment, the chance to clear my head, to pray, to just be.

courage

I get to hang out with some brave kids for my job.
Today I was doing a homevisit for a little 8 yo girl and her 4 yo brother. So first I got all the updates about school, recess, friends, not liking vegetables... Then I sat on the 4 year old's bed while he showed me his "video" of animals and superman. He called ostriches - ostrings. He counted to 10 for me and then made up his own numbers to get to 20. He told me he doesn't know what adoption means, but he wants to stay where he's at. He gently took the TV remote away from the toddlers who want it to be a toy. He's being a great big brother!
His sister showed me pictures of her bio family that she's starting for forget her cousin's names, so we'll write them down so she can remember. She asked me nervously if I ever heard back from her dad. Her dad never called. Dads you should call. Your little girls need that. She'll never probably see her dad again. She bravely asked me if this foster family could be her adoptive family, she beamed when I said yes! She told me she was going to Costa Rica! I told her I wanted to go. Costa Rica isn't really going to happen yet, but I love that she's dreaming of travel.

And then at dinner as I was talking to the grandpa, I overheard:
E - ....You weren't born when that happened.
W - I liked being born! I loved being born.
E - You don't remember being born and neither do I , but I love being second born.
W - I love being second born.
E - I love being born again.
W - Born two times? I like being born 2 times.
E - W, did you ask Jesus in your heart, are you saved? That's how you're born again.
W - I don't know. E, did you get baptized?
E - Yes
W - I didn't see it.
E - You must have missed it. Maybe I can do it again.

E gave me a hug on the way out.

Cute kids. Brave kids. Cool kids. Love these kids.

saturday morning news

I bought a little girl a goat. (my Everina who I sponsor through world vision)

I didn't hear anything back this week about the adoption recruiter job.

It's less than a month til Katrina and I are in HI!

I had my 6 month eval at work and she didn't say anything bad about me! She did acknowledge that I get frustrated with the system, it's true I do. I think the system could change for the better, for our kids, for the employees that work so hard for these kids, for the families. I like change. System, you don't need to be so afraid of change.

There was an article in the Denver post yesterday about the cool stuff happening in Colorado for foster kids being adopted... FOTF didn't do it all, P127 didn't do it all, but I do love that so may families are stepping up to adopt. It's great the numbers are going down... people are working together for the sake of of these kids. My part this week - 2 girls moved into their adoptive home! love it! The couple is younger than me, but are adopting a 7 & 10 year old. That's cool.

Megan will be getting back from traveling tonight, she's grateful I don't snore. I'm grateful I don't snore. :)

Delightful!

I had an interview yesterday for an adoption job in WI!
One month from now I will be in Hawaii!
I get to see my niece and sister in law tomorrow!
It's Friday!
I had my first case at this job finalize yesterday! And the little boy was adorable in his pinstriped little suit and bright green tie! He's almost 2.
I'm listening to country music.
I'm eating edamame for a snack before Mike and I go out to dinner together.
Breakfast here in Arvada tomorrow
Friends getting married, friends having babies!
Clean sheets!

you should be impressed

So I milked a cow on valentines day :) a perfect thing to do in wisconsin in february right?
I had some good friends in college that graciously allowed me to play on their farm to get away from school and hang out with their family... climb their silo (the tallest in the county), climb around in the barn, ride their four wheeler, hunt for mushrooms, help give a school field trip tour, etc. good farm fun! I do have that soft spot in my heart for all of this. I want to get cute rubber boots that I can stand in the mud but still feel cute even if I'm around stinky animals.

So this weekend Nate offered to give me a milking lesson. As you can see from the pictures I don't have the cute boots, nor really the proper milking attire but I still had a great time.

 

I was a little nervous.

 

I don't think I'd be a fast enough milk maid to get a job doing this, but maybe I should add it to my resume right?

 

And happy valentine's day!

grown up things...

-like working on Saturday (I think I'm going to be one of the best little adoption workers around..)
-hanging out at home on Saturday nights. (doing laundry and excel worksheets)
-dreaming about work. (about one of my kids being kidnapped)
-being responsible with my money. (taxes, 1st year I owe money)
-dealing with disappointment.(you don't want to know the number of jobs I've applied for in WI)
-eating healthy (plus a cupcake :)
-telling people to stop freaking out (working with the gov't sometimes causes be to freak out)
- encouraging people to keep fighting for their dreams (met a family that's been waiting years for an adoptive match; adoption isn't easy)
- having good communication (always can improve on this, but it helps when everyone is at the same table)
-

crazy dreams

I dreamt my aunt was our waitress when I was at lunch with all the P&P agents in WY.

I dreamt lots of girls from BSF were pregnant and we all went to an Avs game.

I dreamt that I was seated with all the P127 staff and we all had to share why we got hired, I told them they were lucky to have me.

I dreamt that M and I worked downtown and he had to wear business suits to work and I was having trouble finding my office bldg.

weird.

great friends

and great shoes...
unique and comforting all at the same time.
I went to Cheyenne and Laramie this past weekend to see friends! It was great! I've missed alot, but love seeing everyone there!
I talked to a friend tonight that we haven't talked in months - always so fun to catch up.
I tried on a pair of shoes that I'm supposed to be exchanging, but they are realy cute and I'd like to just wear them. can I hold out?

my kiddos

prayers for:
T- 10 year old, pray he adjusts well to his new adoptive family.
I,C,M - pray for this sibling group, their understanding of not seeing thier mom again, pray for C's medical condition.
D - 18 mo old that his cancer continues to shrink, praise for his forever family
M - (4 year old) pray that his adoption process won't be dragged out due to no fault of his own.
E&W - 8yo & 4yo pray for healing of their hearts as they just said good bye to their parents and are starting to get used to the idea of adoption.
F - 2 yo - praise he's in a Christian adoptive home! I met his birth mom (J) Friday, pray for her life, her choices, her salvation.
J&K - 8yo & 7yo, pray the Lord would take away J's anger and K's fear regarding their pasts.

accomplishments

I got new tires.
I'm getting a massage tonight.
I'm going to the gym after I write this.
I'm still flossing my teeth.
K and I bought tickets to Hawaii.
We're recycling.
I'm using my love language of personal mail.
I'm responding to emails (at least 2 today).
One of the computers didn't really crash.
I'm preparing for my first adoption in this job! It will be in Feb.
I held my tounge.
I let some tears slip out.
I hung out with my new friend.
I laughed with my sister.
I left messages for friends, trying to keep in touch. I even got to talk to couple.

crash

- 2 computers
- my good attitude
- long distance
- applying for jobs
- bad routing numbers
- bald car tires
- sad work days

I think i ordered a bunch of checks and some are going through and some are not, frustrating...

i will get new tires, I will get new tires... but we could have rain/snow tomorrow. awesome.

I wanted to let you know I've been flossing my teeth now on a regular basis - don't you feel so much better after reading this blog? ;)

some 2009 highlights....

January - my last month with M in Lesotho. We went to the beach, did the ladder hike, camping, finished my time at Beautiful Gate the orphanage.

February - back in Denver. No job, but job searching. Took a road trip - saw M&K in NE, M&M in MO, interviewed in Arkansas, visited R in KS.

March - shoveled snow, don't remember much of March I think I was pretty bored not working... visited with friends while unemployed.

April - turned 28! went to Nashville and Chattanooga, Got a job.

May - Hosted a photo day for kids at the zoo. S&N got married!

June - Mom and Dad in Colorado! Met M! Went to Mexico! Hung out with cool teens for work in Glenwood. EP moves in, NJ moves out. White water rafting! 10 year high school reunion. Women' retreat, new friends.

July - N&E got married, murder mystery dinner, K homeless and hanging out at the pool. Cliff jumping. Cheyenne Frontier days! T visits! C & M moved back to CO. hanging with family, playing with my precious niece.

August - More pool time. work trips around Colorado - moving the Heart Gallery, Camping with K & M in Buena Vista.

September - Went to WI and MI for the first time I could remember. M and I "became official." Went back to WI before starting another new job. Ice blocking! K&A got married.

October -S&M got married - beautiful wedding in Nashville! So fun to see college friends.

November - Weekend in Breck with M and family, so fun. Thanksgiving fun with family at J's house! National Adoption Day!

December - TSO, making cookies, Christmas Carol, decorating Christmas trees, matching a 10yo with is adoptive family, ending the year in WI.

happy new year!

2009 was full and wild!
2010 is already starting out great!

hurt feelings

what do you do with them? especially when the person/people have no idea that they hurt your feelings?

Mostly it just stinks to be forgotten... especially on the big things.

crappy apologies sure don't help hurt feelings either...

I just found out something I rec'd almost 2 years ago was actually a loan not a gift... I wonder if they thought I was stealing it, all along I thought it was a birthday present... this is not what hurt my feelings just a surprise I got today.