Around Here: Week 30 2023

 {July 23-29th}

Happy Birthday dad!
(Sorry your eyes are closed mom!)

Let's be friends on Goodreads!

My friend Theresa always shares the most beautiful art on Facebook.

Celebrating... my sister's family as they adopted my sweet neice Daphne Tallulah. That girl- her smile is magic and she is just the sweetest little spirit. The way she says, "Shally" melts.my.heart.  I bought her a purse, color crayons and notebook for her big day and just as I suspected, she loved it.  She's just like her Aunt Shelly that way. 
It was a beautiful day, full of family and laughter and joy, just as it should be. After the ceremony at the courthouse, where the judge shared the most beautiful adoption quote that hangs in his office since he is also adopted, we went to lunch which was so much fun. 

Here is the quote he shared:

Not flesh of my flesh,

Nor bone of my bone,

but still miraculously my own.

Never forget for a single minute;

You didn't grow under my heart

but in it.

Enjoying... visits from ladybugs in my parents backyard and feeling sure it's my Grandpa Jerry visiting us to say hello to his newest Great Grandbaby. 

Tearing up... at the quote my sister wrote on my parents' white board in their garage. "If two cookies are stuck together, that's one cookie." -Grandpa Jerry

Talking... to my counselor who I aim to see every two weeks or so.  We talked about some family things that have been going on and the anniversary of my BFF break up.  I still think about her. About us. It's hard. I feel bad that I broke it off, but I also know it was the only option. So that's a hard place to be. 

Sending... the twins to sleepover at my sister's house for two nights and she took them to Slidewaters in Chelan. That was their birthday gift- we were just waiting for the space to open on our calendars and the weather to be good.  The boys had a great time, and (bonus!) they were in town for my dad's birthday. So that was happy. My mom and dad have our cat Molly (we had to get rid of her because she was eating our clothes- so bizarre) so when we go there, we get to see her and love on her.  She goes absolutely NUTS for my boys, licking their hair and rubbing her head all over their heads when they're on the couch.  

Attending... book club at my friend Crystal's house and feeling so grateful for that group of girls. Crystal is so nice and welcoming and those girls are so sweet. 

Doing... homework, homework, homework. After this class I have one more single class, then a set of doubles and one more single. Then I'll be student teaching. So all this work will pay off.

Still working... on improving Carly's eczema on her hands and wrists. They're doing better, but it's a long slow process. 

Wanting... to build my friend group on Goodreads. It's so fun to see what other people are reading and listening to. I'll put the link HERE for you! Let's be friends! Sometimes it's easier to find a friend by their email address so here's mine: rcunningham18@hotmail.com

Laughing... at Carly putting some fabric stuffing on George, thinking it made him look like his namesake, George Washington.  (The twins named him when they were in third grade after our first president.) 

Spending... our days swimming in the afternoon (I try and do homework in the mornings so I can spend time with the fam in the afternoon) and it makes me so happy. 

Getting... more zucchini and tomatoes (there's never enough!) and the cutest silverware/paper plate caddy from my mom. I love it! 

Making... homemade bread, tortillas and zucchini bread. The strangest thing happened, though, when I was done processing the zucchini and squeezing the water out, my hands felt weird and red and almost swollen.  Josh looked it up and I guess Zucchini Hands is a reaction lots of people get from Zucchini's. Strange! I'm doing all this cooking and baking in an attempt to stretch our groceries.  Food is so expensive now, we're just doing whatever it takes. There are for sure perks to making homemade food, though. Josh made french toast with some of the homemade bread and holy goodness was it delicious!!!

Loving... as always, Carly's play set ups.  They're so cute. I also love her new thing of making food for her babies that matches whatever we're having for dinner. It's precious. Also loving Wyatt helping Jack on FallGuys which is Wyatt's favorite game. He's super good at it. It was a sweet moment. 

Ordering... Carly some mid-summer swimsuits as she outgrew the ones we started the summer with. I also got the cutest swim towels on sale ($4 each instead of $10) at Walmart and we needed them. 

Swapping... kids with my sister and bringing Ferris here while she had Wyatt.  Jack made pancakes fore everyone (he's the best) and they went to ride at the land. So fun! Meanwhile my dad was in Vancouver and got to see my little brother, Dallas. So that made me smile. 

Spending... special time with Carly playing ice cream shop and building things. My mom always says "Five will get you ten" and it's so true with Carly. If I get her started on an activity, her imagination takes off and pretty soon she's playing and I can go get my stuff done. 

Laughing... at Josh, who went to watch the fight in Wenatchee and joked he couldn't keep up with the other guys drinking. He ended up sleeping over and coming home the next morning and I am so glad that we can set a positive example of drinking for our kids. It's okay to drink in a safe environment with no risk to anyone else. As long as you know when to quit and you can have fun without it. 

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Therapy Mantra: Feel Deal Heal

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