31 Days of Adopting Intentionally – Introduction

Adoption is an incredible journey. 

Andrew and I have walked through this adventure two times in two different ways. 

We have one little boy who looks a great deal like us, and a one who is Cambodian, conspicuously different in our Caucasian family.

We have one little boy who was taken from his birth family, and one little boy whose mother chose us from a book of couples.

One little boy who has no contact with his birth mother and one who was able to see her weekly.

One little boy that does not get to know about his birth family and one who is able to visit his half brothers and cousins.

One little boy with no health issues, and the other who has many doctors and will be undergoing surgery during these 31 Days.

We have two different little boys with different adoption stories. Every adoption is unique, every child has a story.

As adoptive parents we longed to be intentional in walking through this process with open hands. We enjoy sharing our story and we love hearing the stories of others.

We invite you to spend the next 31 days dialoging about Adopting Intentionally.

Here is what the month will look like:

Adopting Intentionally

October 1 – October 5, 2014	Introduction/Overview
October 6 – October 12, 2014	Intentionally Deciding to Adopt
October 13 – October 19, 2014	Intentionally Preparing to Adopt
October 27 – October 31, 2014	Intentionally Living as an Adoptive Family

Intentionally Be Proactive About How You Feel

Each Tuesday I write a blog post to share with you a way to be in more intentional in your day to day.

I love a to do list.  I love setting a goal and meeting it.  I have kept lists of things to do, reviewing and completing them, since I bought a Daytimer my freshman year in college.  I still use a to do list (one that I love, Busy Cal, because you can set repeating to dos).

But getting things done is not as important to me as living well.

One does not have to have just re-active emotions.  In fact we can be pro-active about the way we feel.

Often when I walk through my day I can be reactive to my environment, circumstances, and the feelings of others.  I can feel frustrated by the chaos of a disordered kitchen, annoyed by a slow driver in front of me, and uncertain about sharing with a friend.  These feelings are often reactive.

I can choose how I want to feel and focus my to-do list around the kind of day I want to have.

For instance I often want to feel productive.  I can feel that way if I am proactive by choosing well in the morning.  Instead of staring at a list of 25-30 to dos, I can choose what tasks would make me feel most productive.  Then I need to anticipate how I will get them done, and choose a time and tackle those two or three things that will most help me feel productive.

I may want to feel calm.  Before the day even begins I can choose actions that will help me to feel that way during the day.  I could choose to leave early for work, adding an extra ten minutes to my commute time.  I can choose to listen to my favorite podcast (The Lively Show), on my ride.  By making these choices about how I want to feel I am more likely to feel calm.

If you are wanting to feel connected to your spouse or your child, choose something small that will help you feel that way today.  Choose to Skype your spouse just to connect with them.  Set up a task for you and your child to accomplish together (it can be an art project or something simple like preparing dessert together).

Choose how you want to feel, actively name two to three things that will you help you feel that way, and live the life you choose.

Fall Mantel 2014

As we embrace a new season in New England, we look forward to a shift in our intentions and in our decor.  A new Fall Mantel is a reminder that it is time to shift and re-align.

We began with a chalkboard, and Andrew agreed to re-create this image.  Pretty lovely, I think.

We wanted to bring the outside in . . . simply . . .

so a couple of little pumpkins and three pinecones have added a great deal of Autumn to this tiny space.

I also brought back our Andrew Wyeth Print and the little ladder Andrew built to accompany it.  It is a reminder to keep on climbing.

Hello to Fall, and Hello to you, dear reader.  I know we have been away a while.

Autumn Adventures 2014

Each season we brainstorm a list of seasonal activities that we would like to adventure out and do.

Here is a 2014 list.

How many of these fun fall adventures will you participate in?

Download a copy here Autumn Adventures