Sunday, September 29, 2013

Currently

I know that always relying on these "currently" posts is a little lame but for now, it's all I've got. My brain runs a mile a minute and I've always got so much on my mind (Harper turning 4, birth parents and adopted parents, babies, people I'm worried about, preschool, and so much more) that a simple outlined post is the only way I can keep up with a blog and make any sense.

A week from tomorrow, Harper will turn four and I just can't wrap my mind around it. I am still shocked at the fact that a kid lives in our house. She is curious all the time and always wants to be entertained. She thinks potty humor is the best and loves calling people silly names like Booger Brain and Diaper Baby. She is funny, artistic, loving, and fearlessly adventurous. And she's turning four. And I don't know how that is happening.

When I'm not playing, coloring, dancing, or arguing (usually over hair combing and tooth brushing) with Harper, I'm busy taking care of our dog babies, planning and teaching preschool, having fun with Colt, and trying to find time for reading and piano practicing. Life is crazy and sometimes, it's hard. But mostly, it's wonderful. The past few months have been good ones- life changing ones. Hopefully, I'll find the time and words to fill you in on everything. For now, here is what I'm currently...

Loving: so many things. Mostly, I'm loving the fact that Harper and I are spending time with my birth dad. It feels good to be with him and to realize that I can have relationships with my birth parents and my adopted parents. I can love all of my parents and appreciate their different roles in my life. Taking Harper down to Papa Dave's has been one of the best parts of this year. We went yesterday and enjoyed an afternoon of riding and visiting with him. Harper loves him and she loves riding. Yesterday, she rode two different horses and insisted on learning how to get on and off by herself. She also painted a picture for her Papa Dave. It's of Magic, one of his horses (see the photos at the end of this post).

Reading: I just finished The Grapes of Wrath. It gutted me. It inspired me. It made me appreciate having food to eat each day. It made me want to be better, to work harder. I don't know what I really want to read next. I'm reading book 4 in the Outlander series for now.

Listening to: I'm on a huge Mumford and Sons kick. I'm also listening to the Original London cast recording of Les Miserables at least once through each day. I've had the original Broadway cast since I was 12 and just recently purchased this one and I can't get enough of it. It's too bad I'm not a man with an amazing voice because Jean Valjean is my favorite part of all time and I'm quite sure I could sing it on stage tomorrow if needed.

Thinking about: a million things. Big things. Scary things. Exciting things. So much is going on. I'm just enjoying each day as it is and trying not to get too caught up in regrets, worries, and "what ifs?".

Working on: We are getting ready to celebrate Harper's birthday, which means a lot of cleaning and planning for me. She is having a pretty laid back birthday this year. I'm letting her choose everything and not getting to worked up about details. Harper is a girl that knows what she likes and she is having a lot of fun party planning. As of today, she is having a Pinkalicious Princess Pony Halloween Party. She has stuffed her Pinky Pie pinata full of all of her favorite treats and has requested doughnuts and root beer instead of cake. She also wants Ariel plates, Cinderella napkins, and Bell tiaras.

Looking forward to: Halloween! Harper is going to be Spider-Girl (like Spiderman but with a tutu) and I'm thinking of having a party.

And now, some recent instagrams (follow me: joyfullyabby)...



Colt, Harper, and I took a drive today.
We went to Strawberry Reservoir to explore the Kokanee hatchery.
It was so cool.



Monday, September 16, 2013

San Francisco 2013

San Francisco is a favorite spot of mine. I loved experiencing it with Colt and Harper. Neither of them had been there before so we made sure to hit all of the touristy spots during our two days in San Francisco: Chinatown, cable cars, Fisherman's Warf/Pier 39, Alcatraz (a first for me, too), Lombard Street, and Ghirardelli Square. The only places that I'm sad to have missed are Japantown and The Museum of Modern Art (we'll wait until Harper is a bit older for that one).





































San Francisco was great (lots of love and thanks to Colt's parents for taking us!). Do you know what was even better?

Home.

Home is always the best. Harper and I were both so glad to be back to life and routine. Now we can get busy planning our next getaway!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Summer Vacation, Part 1: When Harper Met the Ocean

We recently travelled around Northern California with Colt's family. We had a great time. Colt's family is super fun and Northern California is beautiful (it made me want to read Steinbeck so badly that I downloaded The Grapes of Wrath to my Kindle the first evening we were there), so it was basically the perfect end-of-summer-vacation.

We started out in Monterey, which was lovely. We stayed right on the beach, visited the aquarium, and explored/shopped/ate at the wharf. I loved every minute of our stay in Monterey, but none so much as the moment when Harper met the ocean.






When Harper met the ocean, magic happened (I've come to expect nothing less when Harper is involved). She loved it and she embraced it with a big smile and open arms, just like she embraces nearly everything in life. Her fearlessness and excitement never cease to inspire me. She has more enthusiasm in her adorable (and sometimes stinky) big toe than most people do in their entire being.

Also, hooray for crossing another item off of our 2013 Bucket List!

Here are a few more photos of our time in Monterey. I really did love it there and would like to go back. So would Colt. One drive past Pebble Beach and Spanish Bay and he was sold on the idea of a return trip.