The Blended Life
Diversifying Your Shelves – Book Smitten
Book-smitten. A word I coined with my kids when we fall in love with a book. For me, that book must contribute to our bookshelf - in story, diversity, and beauty. The power of diversifying your bookshelf is found both in your children seeing themselves on the written...
Bereavement, Being Black, and Back to School
The day of Michael Brown’s funeral I stood in the bereavement card aisle. My three children danced and swirled about me pulling open cards that loudly played “We Are the Champions” or “Celebration” as I stood frozen, hands sweaty, with a card that read ‘We lost...
Crow, Hawk, and A Little Boy’s Pain
I was sitting in the hallway outside three classrooms overflowing with first graders. It was moments after morning exercise when it seems that the kids are most awake, engaged, and happy. Something about bopping along to 'Dynamite' together makes their brains release...
Helping Kids Through Trauma
The Blended Life has been quiet for the past month due to a serious accident in our family. All my time and strength has been invested solely on the home front to aid in the healing of my husband. As I look up from an intensely emotional and trying time I find that...
Science and Engineering Gift Ideas for Tween Girls
Image from GS Blog ELEVEN. My oldest turned ELEVEN last week. And because of this milestone birthday – as she is calling it – I started looking around at the toys in our house a bit differently. Clearly, times are changing. Always interested in building, creating, and...
The Happiest Memory
She slipped the photograph between sheets of plastic to protect it, careful only to touch the sides of the picture. This girl whose clothes, used tissues, and eraser bits lay about her room in heaps, held the image cautiously and lovingly, like a newborn, tucking it...
Spring Break Staycation
My expectations have always been set fairly high for spring break vacation. This year I wanted to flee south for spring break. To sip something beachside and watch my kids play in the surf. But my husband went east and we stayed put. No sipping, no surf. {Let's all...
How To Talk About The Hard Things {Or Eleven-Year-Old Sages}
I am the official Spring Break Chauffeur or “SBC” as I am enjoying calling myself. If you're at my house you might even hear me announce, “The SBC says it’s time to depart.” {Somehow using a title gets my kids moving toward the van instead of my usual boring mom...
A Blended Life
My house is full of birthday celebrations this week which has left me short on writing time. I wish you a great weekend full of spring sunshine! Here are a few reads to keep you company. Two interesting articles by adoptees on reunion. The first by Liz Fields and the...
The Truth About Reunions
This week one of the trending topics on Facebook (and everywhere else) was the reunion of the "Burger King Baby" with her birthmother. Awhile back Katheryn Deprill took this photo of herself detailing what she knew about her abandonment as a baby in the bathroom of a...