Facebook AND Pinterest

You all know that we have a Facebook community right?  What??? You're not  following the Love Makes A Family Facebook page?  Well for goodness sake.  Take your pointer.  Point it right HERE. I'm waiting.......  Now guide it in a Northeastern direction.  A little further......STOP. See the Love Makes A Family Facebook widget? Click Like.  Great job!  Now you're a part of our Facebook family!  Still a little nervous about being a follower?  Here's the deal.  I promise I do not flood your news feed with posts.  Just a little happy post here and there to remind you that life is awesome, and so are you.  Also, I absolutely adore it when others post their happiness on our wall. The more joy and happiness in our lives, the better, I believe.  Just do it. Hit like.  If for no other reason than I would REALLY love to not have the follower number read "69" anymore.  Just sayin'.

And if you want even more wonderfulness in your life, Love Makes A Family is now on Pinterest!  Yes my friends, Love Makes A Family is just all over the place. Follow me there as well.  The user name is, yep you guessed it, LoveMakesAFamily.  I've posted a Follow Me button just under the previously mentioned Facebook button to make it oh so easy for you. Again, you'll see that I pin inspiring and encouraging pins about surrogacy, pregnancy, equality, kids, family, and a pin here and there that's just for fun.  I'm looking forward to catching up with you there!

Speaking of Pinterest, I've added a Pin It button to the left hand side of the blog in case you think this blog is so awesome that you want to pin it on your boards.  Would you like me to guide your pointer to the Pin It button?  :-) Having people share my blog with others is such a huge compliment and I blush every time I learn that someone has done so.  Can you see that I'm blushing right now? Aw shucks.

Until next time...be well.

5 Very's

Upon leaving 4th grade, Skyler's teacher asked the students to write a letter to their 5th grade teacher.  Skyler's current teacher ran across Skyler's letter to her in her files and shared it with me.

It was a real awwww moment for me when I read this letter.  It took me right back. It seems like just yesterday and yet an eternity ago.

It also made me realize that I need to have a discussion with Skyler.  A discussion about her declaration that I am very, very, very, very, very social.
5 Very's?  Really?  And is she suggesting I talk a lot?  How could she have possibly reached this conclusion?  I'm baffled.

Prove You're Not A Robot

Ever wonder who the lucky person is that sits around creating the verification words for blog comments?

And yes, it's got to be a person.  I will never believe that these words are randomly generated by a computer. No way.

A computer DOES NOT randomly generate:

You just KNOW there is this very small group of people, sitting around coming up with these words.  Sure, they throw in a bunch that are completely random, but that's just so that nobody finds out their secret.  WELL, your secret's out!  And I want your job.

Seriously.  What a great job!  You'd get to laugh every day, wondering how many people are chuckling, or even better, offended by, the "computer generated words".  Hee hee!  I wanna know where I can apply.

Your Calling

Every once in a while, I find that there is a word or phrase that I don't care for and it is at that moment that I decide to remove this word or phrase from my vocabulary.

Recently, there is a phrase that I have heard on several occasions that I have tossed into the vocabulary garbage can and I'd like to encourage you to do so as well.

"YOU MISSED YOUR CALLING."

Think about it.  It's a pretty depressing statement.  

How wonderful it is to have a calling, or even multiple callings.  But to tell someone they've missed it, is simply wrong.  What a negative view on life to imply that you've missed it. It's gone.  It's not capable of happening.

From this day forward I vow that the message that I will send is this:  

You've found a calling!  That's fantastic! 

Tell me what's next, now that you've realized your calling!

I'm also choosing to embrace the fact that we can have more than one calling. We are complex creatures with many talents and passions.  Develop those talents and passions and you've got yourself lots of opportunity, and thus, a calling.  Over the course of a lifetime, our callings might change, or evolve. Embrace your calling or callings.  Be grateful that you have realized them and make plans to do something with them.  Life is short.  Live it passionately.

And speaking of callings, here's a great article about them:

EMBRACING YOUR CALLING

Fighting the Fight

Today, I had the honor of being present for a chemo treatment.  Yes, the honor.

Rick's Aunt Lisa has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Today's treatment was to be 5 hours long, so we decided we'd use the time to do a little bit of work and a lot a bit of chat.  As I walked into the chemo room, it was difficult not to feel a level of sadness and despair.  Here sat all of these people, hooked up to machines that were pumping fluid into their bodies.  Men and women of all ages who have one thing in common.  They are all receiving treatment for cancer. They are all trying to survive.

I sat down with Lisa and we began to chat.  I believe in honesty, openness and keeping things real, so I asked questions.  Lisa was really good about filling me in about what her treatment looks like and the effects that the treatment has had thus far.  At one point she informed me that this new treatment was more aggressive (thus the 5 hours), but that because of this, she would not have a treatment next week.  I asked her if that was a good thing...would she rather have one longer session, and then not have to go back the next week.  Her response floored me.

"I wish they would keep me hooked up all the time.  GET RID OF IT!"

That was when it hit me.  These people are fighters.  I was in the presence of an incredible amount of strength.  All of these people aren't just trying to survive...they are FIGHTING for survival.  They aren't wishing for a raise at work, they aren't hoping for a good night's sleep, they couldn't care less whether the house is clean, or if they have a "busy day" ahead of them.  They want to SURVIVE!  And they're willing to fight for that survival!  What an incredible display of strength.  It was quite inspiring  The original feelings of sadness and despair had definitely been replaced.


I left there with a greater appreciation for life.

I left there with a true sense of perspective.

I left there feeling honored to have been able to spend a couple hours in the presence of such an exceptional amount of strength.

Twins Make A Great Team

When faced with the challenge of  writer's block, I searched for help.  I asked you, my readers, for ideas.  You were no help whatsoever.  :-)  I decided to turn to my good friend Google.  And do you think Google disappointed?  Of course not.  One of the pieces of advice I found was to scour the Internet for pictures and write about them.  How they make you feel, what you think happened just before, during or after the photo was taken, etc.  Great idea!  I scoured.  

The photos were funny.  They were sad.  They were beautiful.  They were not spurring any writing.  Fail.  I had another looksie today.  Here is one that got me thinking.  Let's see if it'll get me writing.

Ok, admit it.  You're smiling aren't you?  Me too.  Many probably look at this picture and feel sad for little Miss Green Onesie Twin.  (I've declared her a girl.)  I see something different. Partners in crime.  A kick-ass team of sorts.  I see a little girl who, although on board with the plan to make a break for it through the doggy door, was unsure about how bright of an idea it was.  I see a little boy who assured her that he had everything under control.  I picture this boy giving his twin sister a huge 4-tooth grin after he succeeds in getting her through the door. He takes a quick look over his shoulder to make sure he's still in the clear, and then manages to squeeze his adorable chubby thighs through that same doggy door.  Freedom!  I can imagine the pure elation those cuties must have felt realizing that their escape plan worked.  I also imagine the looks on their faces when they realize....

NOW WHAT?  

 More proof that twins make a great team:

So...I suppose you could say the plan worked!  I am writing.  My hope is that this strategy will open up the flood gates and I will have loads of fantastic writing in store for me.  But just in case I run short again, I will always have this picture to write about...

Oh. My. Goodness. :-)

New York ~ February 2012

Where, oh where to begin?  What a wonderful, nice, long weekend I had in New York.

To begin, Milena and Gustavo are the

 CUTEST, SWEETEST, SMILEY-EST, MOST WELL BEHAVED AND HAPPIEST 

twins on the planet...absolutely incredible in every way!

I'll be honest. I was a little nervous that maybe they wouldn't like me.  I got SO much snuggle time with the babies and the good news is I think they like me!  :-)  I got to feed them, change them, put them to sleep and even see them get a bath.  The babies are very happy.  They smile all the time and even giggle every now and then.  They are very calm and content which is in large part due to how calm their daddies are. Yes folks, I'm sure it will not surprise you to learn that George and Farid are still incredibly calm and cool with the parenting duties.

George and Farid are amazing.  Seriously. These guys were made to be many things but parents is right up there at the top.  I continue to be so impressed at how natural everything seems to be for them.  Farid and George make sure these babies are well taken care of in every way. Gustavo and Milena are surrounded with massive amounts of love every moment of every day. It's incredible and inspiring at the same time.

Celebrating George's birthday with friends and family

Marianna. A dear friend I was so thrilled to finally meet in person.

May I also add that George and Farid have the best friends EVER! We had friends over almost every day that I was there.  It was fun to catch up with so many people I've seen before on previous trips and to finally meet in person the ones that I have developed relationships with online.  They are all truly exceptional people who make me feel so welcome and loved.

It was great to be in the city, nice to be able to spend some time alone with the guys, fantastic to get so much cuddle time with sweet, sweet Milena and Gustavo, and so much fun to spend time with great friends.

What else can I say except that I am a very lucky girl. My heart is full.