Wow. A whole month has gone by and I haven’t posted!!!! August was a fun month filled with last chance summer trips, together time and prepping for school/volleyball.
Here are a few shots to sum it all up:
While September is in full swing and our calendar is filled with all sorts of goodness, posts to come include a new adventure for WonderGIRL, some intentional steps in our marriage, and some thoughts on the hard job of growing up. Intention is my focus for September and that includes what I document here in this space…..hope you are having a great transition to Fall my friends!
Soooo….just to be real transparent, August 1st kind of gives me a panic attack. School starts back again, tons of meetings, and volleyball tryouts are right around the corner!! Every year, I have to try and settle my self-talk down about the 2-3 weeks I have RIGHT NOW to relax, enjoy time with my family, camp and relax a bit….but the looming 2-3 weeks after that kinda freak me out.
I already shared this graphic on my social media, but I really do love it. In all areas of my life whether it’s my chosen profession or a few of my little fun side hustles, I hope to have a purpose when showing up to all of them, including parenting my littles. Sometimes, the purpose feels big and world-shaking, other times it feels super intimate and inside family walls only….but I like that divergent part of our world and our tribe…keeps things from getting too boring around here.
And just to end this post but start August on a CUTE note, look at Rexie Roo cuddled up on my legs. Not quite a lap cat YET…..but baby steps (right after this flash went off, he realized he was being somewhat cuddly and nice and quickly abandoned ship…..grrrrr).
Back when our wonders were still in foster care, we tried to create memories that they could cherish once they moved on or back to their forever family. We wanted to fill their worlds with wonder and joy and the innocent excitement of childhood that they had missed out on in their early years.
BraveGIRL calls this shot “couple goals” and made us stand in front of the beautiful sunset for her (awwww teenagers).
It was a joy introducing our new BraveGIRL to our camping tradition…..she entertained us nightly at the campfire with beautiful singing and scary campfire tales that had WonderBOY completely enthralled.
I love watching Scott and his love of all things nature spill out onto the kiddos as they go exploring (sometimes my anxiety and dislike of messes keep me from enjoying these moments but I am working on that).
P.S. If you have never gone camping at Deception Pass…..it is seriously the best. The lake to swim, the ocean to explore, the bajillion of trials in the trees????? It’s awesome and super close to us!!!
She is a 4th of July baby which means most of our holiday is dictated by what she wants to do. Lake time and a deck party were on the agenda which our neighbors did a pretty good job lighting the sky for us!
A few months back, WonderGIRL brought me a very detailed list for a beach bonfire party she had envisioned for her 16th. Although her wishlist included friends upon friends, we opted for a family dinner at 
This next picture literally takes my breath away with love for her and her maturing personality. With a lot of complicated stuff going on in her world and thus, in ours, this night to focus on her beauty and spunk was a wonderful way to kick off her 16th trip around the sun!!!
Dear WonderGIRL,
His amazing chess skills and how this game has produced some academic and social outcomes we are so proud of (also this Mario chess board is the coolest).
He is still very much interested in the restaurant business. This week, he is setting the stage for a different style restaurant each night. Tonight was fancy (even Rexie got in on the action) with his restaurant named “Da Da Daaaaa!” complete with placemats, candles, and upbeat Disney tunes.
He found a butterfly barely moving at the archery range this afternoon and wanted to “save him” and has been tending to “Flappy” all night long. The poor thing is still barely moving (if really at all) so we’ll see how this little adventure plays out.
My sweet WG is amazing in so many ways and I don’t want to take that away from her. She is loving, nurturing to others, a bundle of joy, and the list goes on and on. Many who meet her probably are baffled at my stories based on her behavior in public and social settings. And I am okay with the sometimes divergent path of this parenting journey with her…..it’s part of what we were called to do. And it’s also extremely helpful when 
What you don’t see erased and written over in my Mother’s Day card: Will you please let me see my real mom???? At school this week while his classmates (some….lots of our kiddos have trauma) are simply writing a card to a mom that they have done for 9 years before, he is confused and struggling and wishing perhaps things were different for him. That someone didn’t love him and guessing at reasons why…..
I got to attend a conference at Great Wolf Lodge for the past two days which meant a very special solo trip with me and Dad to play all day and night to honor his special day. This last picture is so incredibly forced but also does he not look like a full fledged teenager?!?!? (Full bribing to get his dippin dots here – no shame)