If you are a radical Environmentalist, please stop reading.  Skip this post and come back on Thursday. ….waiting….waiting….. OK, they’re gone. It’s safe. Me: “Hi.  My name is Christine, and I’m a Tree-cutter.” You: “Hi, Christine!” Every year, we visit a local tree farm and cut our own real pine christmas tree. In my head, this happens on the day after Thanksgiving.  I think we’ve actually hit that schedule a grand total of once.  This year.   But growing up, the Day After Thanksgiving = Holy Tree Acquisition Day, so in my imagination, that’s still when we get the tree. […]

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Sunday was my one-month anniversary at RiverOfThoughts.com and Monday was my 100th post related to Adoption. To celebrate these milestones, and to wrap up National Adoption Month, I want to give away my favorite moment of peace:  a good book and a frilly coffee! This means I’m giving away a copy of Infinitely More by Alex Krutov, along with a Starbucks Gift Card!!!  Enter yourself in the drawing by following three simple steps between now and next Tuesday, 6 December: 1. Find your favorite post on my blog site.  How? Visit the Adoption Story or Portfolio pages for links to some key […]

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Raw honesty is rare in the adoptive community, and when I find it, I just want to share. In her post “After the Airport,” blogger Jen Hatmaker says: “…if you ask me if these are the happiest days of my life (which a ton of you have), and my eyes kind of glaze over and I say through a tight-lipped smile like a robot, “Yes. Sure. Of course. This is my dream life”…I am lying. I am lying so you won’t feel uncomfortable when I tell you, “Actually, I haven’t had a shower in three days, I lost my temper with my uncontrollable […]

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Every blog has to have a Thanksgiving post.  It’s the law. Ever since we finished the kitchen ceiling (and many other renovations), we’ve been honored to host the Niles Family Thanksgiving Extravaganza at our house (that’s Mark’s family, for those of you playing along at home). Over those years, I have honed a very carefully choreographed project plan for the morning (shocking, I know….).  The turkey goes in at about 8:30 AM, and we hit the table with all food hot at 12:30.      (if anyone wants a copy of the plan, I’d be happy to share it. it’s magical. […]

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I carry you with me Tess O’Day 2010 Copper, Tree Moss, Cherry Wood. A tribute to Ari’s birth mother and all of the suffering mothers of Africa. In Africa and other places in the world, a starving woman is not likely to survive a pregnancy and birth, so many terminate the pregnancy without any help from a doctor. I honor, love, and respect those who take a leap of faith and TRY to hold on. That is true true love right there.   I admire artists who can evoke visceral reactions and tell stories through imagery. In this piece, Tess […]

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