I am alive

And I have fun pictures from my weekend of "the babies" Adrie and Madilyn, but they are at my new condo and I and my computer are currently at my old house.

The move went GREAT, I am having fun setting up house in every spare minute, but had a moment to process a senior pictures shoot from last weekend and sit in my now-empty-except-for-computer townhouse.

Stay tuned! But it might be a few days since I don't have internet (or tv, for that matter... another story) at my new house.

Lovin life!

Life. Stop. Busy. Stop.

In between working full time and saving my vacation days for actual vacations, I am madly packing to move on Memorial Day. (To a smaller condo in my same neighborhood, for those of you curious.)

Any of you who know me well understand that "packing" does NOT equal simply throwing things into a box. Because I'm starting my new life in a new house, (and losing a garage), I am carefully weeding through exactly what I want, and organizing it as concisely as possible. This = mega stress. Friends have offered to help pack but I wouldn't know what to tell them! It's a slow, painstaking process.

The fact I have become the most minimalist middle-class person you can imagine helps. I don't want even one single thing in my posession that I'm not going to use in the next few years. I'll re-buy it or do without rather than have boxes of junk I'll never think to look in anyway.

I did get to take a slow morning today and this is what we did to Adrie's hair. She has a surprising lot of it.

Happy Day!

Enough of that sad stuff

So, I made a trip to Oregon. It was a lot of fun. I mostly took Rugby pictures (see here), but here are the rest!

We learned to Play Ticket to Ride. We ate a lot of cookies. She found all sorts of mischief to get into at Grandma's house.Day One of Rugby: Raining. Adrie was not a happy spectator.
Day Two of Rugby: We worked harder at keeping baby happy. And harder and harder.
Life is good! I already bought my ticket to visit again in July :)

It's the End of the World as We Know It

Note - thank you to Raquel Allen for her beautiful photography.

Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God. Isn't the Plan amazing? That we complement each other and yet help each other to grow so beautifully (or in not-so-pretty terms, we rub each other the wrong way so often).

I think marriage is supposed to be hard, and you are expected to come up against hard times and struggles that knock off each other's hard edges. I believe that marriage and family are the best training ground for becoming more charitable, more compassionate, and more God-like.

That being said, there are a select few circumstances in life that warrant a parting of ways. We have come to that point, despite longstanding efforts to figure out another path. This has been a monumental decision we have not treated lightly, particularly because of our beautiful Adrienne Sage.

If such a thing exists, this has been 'the perfect divorce'. We have peaceably made every decision possible to continue the best parenting and quality of life for our daughter.

Thank you to all for your love and support.

Life at Home

• Watched two amazing games of Rugby (pictures to come after I get home to Photoshop)
• Feared for Mallory's life against the Amazons - girls twice her size!
• Wondered why people ever do their hair in rainy Seattle
• Tried out a variety of beds for my back (firm = ideal)
• Shopped on Craigslist, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Fraser Furniture.com for decor ideas
• Fielded lots of emails re: my house up for rent.
• Learned to play Ticket to Ride, and got a high score of 108 but could never beat Kendall.
• Ignored pages from work for the first time ever because DANG IT, I'm on vacation!
• Ate lots of good food - Chevy's, Mo's Chowder, Strawberry Milkshake, Mandarin Orange Chocolate Cake, Kendall's Lasagne, Black Angus Prime Rib, unlimited Orange Sodas (my mom loves me!), sharp cheddar Tillamook cheese... mmmm.
• Made lots of mini-shopping excursions with my mom, Adrie, and the dog. Consignment shops, the flower nursery, Ross, and the craft store.
• Purchased my first ever pair of premium denim jeans - Sevens. I won't tell you how much they cost.
• Discovered the magic that is Sephora and how it's going to change my makeup life forever.
• Sat in wonder and amazement at the reality of my little sisters driving me around, giving me music, makeup, and clothing advice. Who'd've guessed?