It's Saturday and I'm Going to Share The Poem

The Poem

by Judith Barrington

It hides in my heart, waiting as if

in the small circle at the middle

of the labyrinth. I walk towards it

but the path turns away by a purple foxglove

and I must follow the windings that will

in the end lead me to the center.

It smells of cedars and honey'd skin,

cappuccino with grated chocolate,

the brine of its own body's betrayal.

Like a chestnut horse, it hides in shadow,

one white sock and the moist gleam of an eye

announcing its steady presence.

It has lodged in my heart like a stone in the shoe:

each time the great muscle contracts

I feel it rubbing the same tender spot;

there is no avoiding it -- no limping or hopping,

no shaking it to a more comfortable place,

no stillness that can ease the bruise

except the stillness of a motionless heart.

It is the door behind which somebody stands

waiting to kiss and be kissed.

March 14, 2014

There was Winter.

 

And then came Spring.

I don't really know where the time went. As a 10th anniversary gift, Oregon has given me full blown allergies. Spring has always been a beautiful and invigorating time of year (unless I was low on Vitamin D) and this year it is running me into the ground. I have had cotton-filled ears, a runny nose, congestion, occasional sore and/or itchy throat, and sneezing. Oh, the sneezing! I don't have the patience for this.

In full disclosure, I am not sure why I still have this blog. I haven't made it a priority to write here for such a long time. Once out of the habit of daily writing, it is extremely difficult for me to sit down on a random day and write--without providing context for everything. And it is daunting to think about how much there is to catch readers up on for context.

I read a book review recently on Christie's blog about I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales From a Happy Life Without Kids by Jen Kirkman, and in it Christie said a part in it also reminded her of Wonder Women by Debora Spar (I totally meant to read this book based off of Christie's rec, but, well, that has been added to the list of To Do....)  Christie noted when Kirkman addressed "...the idea of women's choice. How we were led to believe as young girls that we could have it all. But the all isn't attainable without sacrifice and once you start making those sacrifices, well, you don't really have it all anymore. You have a lesser version called the next best thing." 


I am contemplating this greatly these days. This is probably a stark contrast to my last post--announcing with great exuberance my new business venture and how satisfied I felt creatively and professionally to be doing well with it. 

It is just...There is only so much time in a day. And those days go by. And before I know it, a season has changed. And my son is 6 months older. I am juggling a lot of apples in the air and soon they are going to drop. We can only do SO much. Where is the balance?

I do stop and enjoy playing with Raine in the moment. I do stop and hold Dan close to me and close my eyes. I do stare at the gradient of fur on Rocco's muzzle and run my fingers over the soft pads of Hobbes' feet. I do admire a sunset. I do feel grateful that I can walk and not limp most of my days. I enjoyed that mocha this afternoon. But, still. I am caught up in all the motion and I fear it is too fast, too chaotic. 

Exciting Times

I have been pretty active on Pinterest, and the funny thing is that I saw a quote on it once and I have been living by it recently. Only, I didn't "pin" or "like" the image, so I can't show it to you now.

But it said something along the lines of "When you find what you are meant to do, you will never run out of energy or imagination to do it."

It spoke to me because I yearned for that sensation in creating my writing business. I don't know why I held onto it for so long, but it wasn't happening. Yes, I have education in training in writing. Yes, I can write. However I have been unable to successfully start a business for myself as a writer. For 10 months I walked around knowing that I had set up my business and I never did anything with it. It never got off the ground floor. Ultimately, something was missing. I didn't feel that extreme excitement that provoked my imagination and energy. I just had a looooooooong list of reasons why I didn't have time to market myself, and therefore, get any work.

And now. Now. An opportunity came across my path and despite my serious reservations about being involved in products sold by direct sales, I have started a new business that has sparked something inside of me that I didn't know was there. Suddenly, I find the energy and I find the imagination to push and build and grow this business. One of my best friends started her own company and she once told me something along the same lines---When you find something you love, watch out! You will be consumed by it.

I found that so hard to believe. And yet, here it is. LuLaRoe by Leah Ruth is my baby and I can not get enough of growing, shaping, exploring, and building our business. I could sit here and analyze it to death, but I won't. It is like I have been called to do it, and I am doing it. Dan is 100% behind me and we are having fun.

Here are some pins that I DID keep over the last year that are so applicable for me now:

Moorea Seal

Do people work really hard and amazing things do NOT happen to them? Sure. But you know what? I also think it is about the energy and intention you put out to the universe. I have had the good fortune of seeing this unfold positively over and over again ever since I left a job that was unhealthy for me and carved out something new. The new job/lifestyle is NOT perfect, but the more I focus on building and working hard at what can be better, I am getting back opportunities and positive interactions. It is tiny and occasional, and I only see it because I am on the look-out for it. (And really, isn't this whole idea all about whether or not we live our lives with the glass half empty/half full? I am living half full as best I can.)

I love this quote that I pinned because it is so against my nature. I do not want to be "vast" ---but I do want to be brilliant. :) I am focusing on this in terms of marketing and sales. I want to reach out to anyone and everyone that I can who would benefit from our products, and that means pushing past my "delicate" persona. I am soft-spoken and shy. This does not work in retail. In fact, I was just telling my boss recently that I have learned to develop an alternate persona when I am at work. I am 100% more talkative. I told her, "I'm like Beyonce," to which she replied "WHAT?" I explained, "Beyonce has a stage persona --Sasha Fierce." My boss laughed and told me she would use my Facebook name at work--Bangs McGee. That would be my persona. Anyway, whether it is me or Bangs McGee, I am being vast and brilliant, outside my comfort zone, and shedding my delicacy. The world of sales has no room for soft-spoken, unsure, delicate people. I try to channel my mother's chatty personality and reserve my father's quiet personality for other occasions. I am really the best blend of both of them. ;)

Design You Trust

In the same breath, let me say that I am not interested in being someone that I am not. I am using the strengths and abilities inside me and bringing certain ones out more than others when appropriate. I really believe that you lose people (friends, clients, customers) the second that you stop being genuine. So I really love this quote because it reminds me that my goal is to be myself---and the best version of myself. And so far, with the support of my husband, that is doing wonders for our business.

I also see these jewels of word wisdom in friends of mine who are exploring their own paths as business owners, whether they are collaborating with companies in direct sales like me or operating their own independent companies.

If you want to learn more about what we are doing, visit our web site LuLaRoe by Leah Ruth. We are also active on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. :)

Cheers to 2014. I am going to be busy.

HOLIDAY '13 RECAP - INSTAGRAM

FRAMED GIFT FROM HUBBY / 2013 ORNAMENT

     The framed gift was from a super cool new gift boutique in Newberg, Pulp & Circumstance. In full disclosure, Dan went there and picked out something entirely different and this is 1 item that we exchanged for. The actual gift he gave me was a necklace with a carved wooden bird. (Big points for putting a bird on it, and even bigger points for trying to buy me a present in a fancy stationary/gift shop with a toddler in tow, but it just wasn't something I would have actually worn. I will not suffer fashion to avoid hurting my husband's feelings. And really, he had no hurt feelings. He honestly said "I had to be quick! I had Raine!")

     The ornament was from a gift shop here in Carlton. I picked it because not only was it pretty...It lights up! That seemed fitting because Raine was so into THE LIGHTS! (MOMMY! THE LIGHTS!) this holiday season. ;)

RAINE & THE GINGERBREAD HOUSES / DONATION CARDS

     There is one business in particular in Carlton that is always fun for Raine to pass the shop windows on our way to the coffee shop every morning (GIANT HORSES! POODLE FIGURINES! FROGS ON THE SIDEWALK!) During the holidays Raine was extra enchanted by their festive items. GINGERBREAD HOUSES! GIANT SILVER PLASTIC SHEEP! NATIVITY SCENES! Not to mention a life-size retro SANTA outside the front door. Unfortunately, it is not a shop 'for minors.' There is wine tasting, just as there is wine tasting in practically every business in our town, so no toddlers. ;)

     I raised some funds and collected gift cards to send to five families in Washington that were affected by the tornado. These were the beautiful cards by Rifle Paper Co. that I bought and had the total pleasure of mailing the donations in.

CHRISTMAS MORNING / HOLIDAY BREWS

     It was absolutely hilarious to watch Raine open presents this year. He thought it was the most exciting thing, and yet was still a little bit unsure of it all, and what was happening exactly. He STILL doesn't know how to grab a present and just rip into it, despite three Christmases and two birthdays. But once you get the unwrapping started, he will certainly help finish! After his first few presents from Santa (including this clearly AWESOME Hungry Caterpillar puzzle --way to go, Santa!--) he started grabbing the presents from under the tree and proclaiming, "For me! For me!" After several more presents from family in Illinois, he started running around the room in utter excitement and stopping at the tree and screeching, "I am here! I am here!" And he would repeat grabbing presents and shouting "For me! For me!" Dude was jacked UP on Christmas! Ha!

     A favorite holiday brew of mine was Fireside Chat spiced ale by First Amendment. I also enjoyed one of Dan's gifts to me, the Experiment Ale (with Oregon marionberries) by Harvester, which was a welcome treat as I had changed by Christmas to a gluten-free diet. Additional seasonal brews we enjoyed this season were: Deschutes Jubelale winter ale

10 Barrel Pray For Snow winter ale

Fish Fish Tale Organic Ice Breaker winter ale

H.U.B. Abominale winter ale

Ninkasi Sleigh'r winter ale

Portland BlackWatch cream porter

 Widmer Brrr ale

Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean*

*Dan's favorite ;)

DINNER BY LORRI / RAINE'S FIRST SNOW

     The weekend after Christmas, we enjoyed celebrating with Lorri and Carmen in their new home. She pulled out all the stops to give me a beautiful, satisfying gluten-free dinner. :) We had slow-cooked pulled pork with barbecue glaze, smoky black eyed peas, and gluten-free ham biscuits with a homemade honey orange butter. Raine was a huge fan of those biscuits and butter and I have to say, after two weeks of no baked goods (going gluten free) it was the BEST Christmas present for me. :) They were delicious!

     Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Yamhill County saw a half inch of beautiful snow for one day. :) Roads were frozen and it was hard to drive anywhere (we don't salt in the Northwest) but the scenery was worth it. Raine woke up that morning and was excited by the sight of snow. It was certainly new to him. He is very good at telling me what we are dealing with each morning, weather wise... I enter his room, turn on the light, and open his curtains. He proclaims: "Fog!" (Sounds like "F*#!*") "Raine!" "Sun!" And that day, I taught him, "Snow!" We are looking forward to our trip this weekend to Illinois when he can actually play in real snow. ;)    

MY MOST SPAMMED POST

My lovelies. They are so good at looking lovely.

On a regular basis, I get notifications that comments are made on this post. They are always spam. It is my "most spammed post." I don't know why!? It is a post about a fundraising event for my friends who were trying to adopt internationally. It didn't work out, and a year and a half after that post, the spam has become extremely active lately.

I think that is ironic because new things are happening for my friends...

I never followed up on the status of their adoption (except a short note here, one year ago.) Needless to say, the international adoption fell through with a resounding thud. The country from which they planned to adopt closed ALL adoptions. Forever. Period. All of their hard work fundraising, planning, working with local and international agencies and offices, and preparing mentally and emotionally for receiving what would have likely been two children, was abruptly stopped. After the ban, the agency with which they had all of their files and funds declared bankruptcy and shut down. They lost everything. What money they had raised and was left in their own savings account, they donated to an orphanage in Poland.

Rome, baby!!!!

To my great surprise, but with my total support (!), they took a break from TTC. They took their first vacation ever as a married couple and went to Italy this past summer. They also planned a trip to visit us in Oregon wine country this fall, but in a poor turn of unlucky events, missed their flight. :(

I watched them spend the last five years trying endless medical interventions, exploring surrogacy and other forms of adoption. For each and every effort, a door closed in their face. Sometimes they had to painfully close the door themselves, and it has been absolutely heartbreaking to attempt to feebly support them as they face so many challenges in what is usually (for most people) the simple task of starting a family. I don't want to get specific and air their laundry all over the internets, but I love them and want to help them and I believe part of finding help from others and tapping into compassion is sharing part of the struggle. Things unfortunately got worse.  They tried one last medical intervention in November. That week the tornado hit Washington, including their home. They lost some belongings and one of their cats, Bert. The medical procedure did not work. They have been living in temporary housing and trying to regroup.

EJ and Bert

I remember a phone conversation that I had with Amy back in 2009, one dreary and rainy afternoon while I was drifting around Target mindlessly shopping. We were both so frustrated at being unable to get pregnant. We concluded our conversation by patting each other on the back and assuring ourselves that we would ONE day wish we were so lucky again to talk to each other without interruptions like our babies crying in the background. I am going to be honest here. When I talk to Amy on the phone now and my son is making noise or it is hard for me to hear or I have to cut the call short to attend to his needs, I feel awful. I want to hear that noise on her end of the line, so badly, and it isn't there. It is still silent.

In the aftermath of the tornado, a friend called Amy and told her about a woman who was willing to avoid abortion if Ross and Amy wanted to adopt the baby. Stunned, they discussed their options. She lived in another state and wanted a closed adoption. The state-to-state private transaction would cost them at least $15,000. They didn't know where they would come up with that kind of money, post-tornado and post-multiple costly medical procedures, but they decided they would find a way.

Visiting friends in Poland.

Please consider donating $5-$25 to help them adopt this baby. It is a boy. He is due in 3 months. He will be named Harvey. He deserves life and he deserves parents who adore him and will support him and take care of him no matter what. And Ross and Amy deserve the noise in the background of a home filled with the love and chaos of their beautiful child.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dan, April, Raine, Leah

Raine and Noah

We welcomed the New Year with April, Jason, and the kids. We hadn't been to visit for 9 months so we had a lot of catching up to do! The girls are growing up too fast. I keep telling them, STOP GROWING. Allyson is taller than me! Raine had so much fun with Nathan and Noah, running around and playing cars and trucks, jumping on the mini trampoline and watching "Turbo." April is a new consultant for LuLaRoe, which is a super awesome brand of maxi skirts, dresses, and leggings. Once you try on those skirts, trust me, you will never want to take them off! I didn't have time to shop but I'm sure I will next visit!

Our NYE was quiet and nice. I closed shop early at 4 pm and Dan and Raine met me for dinner at McMenamins. That evening, Raine played with his new baby-sitters, Isaiah and Becky, while Dan and I snuck away to the movie theater and finally saw Catching Fire. We were home by 11 and popped a bottle of champagne and tried our best to stay awake 1 more hour. It was rough! LOL. I finished up Christmas cards and spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to get digital copies of movies that Raine got for Christmas downloaded to our computer and portable devices. Trying to get stuff like that to work makes me feel old and cranky. I am so NOT tech savvy. I think I was in 1999 for a split second?

One of my goals this year is to figure out iTunes. I still don't know how to use it, and "sync" and the "cloud," etc. I haven't been able to listen to music for months or enjoy anything I listen to. I've just lost the love. I don't play much at home. We use Pandora at work and I hardly pay attention to it. And after the tornado, honestly, I preferred to drive in silence. I am confident if I can organize my old library (make sure all of our CDs are digitalized) and get it all in iTunes properly and then sync our devices, I can teach myself to love music again. We will see.

Any other goals for 2014? I asked Dan during our road trip yesterday and he just said "NO." We used to have "Family Goals" and every year he usually came up with something for himself personally, but I think we are just both so tired and exhausted from all of the change this year....It is hard to think about tackling anything new. 

If I had all of the time I wanted, I would clean up this blog. I'd fix the links and photos from the year that it resided at Typepad and certainly begin to show it more love and affection than I did in 2013. What a lowly post record of 17 posts! Yikes! I should have been writing and chronicling the mayhem of 2013 but maybe it was just too wild and crazy to digest and put into words for readers. I have a sneaking suspicion 2014 will continue to be a bit of a roller coaster, at least in terms of dealing with health issues and making some repairs from financial surprises we encountered since our move. I also continue to agonize on a daily basis about how to find the perfect work/life/parenting/spouse/friend/daughter/sister/artist/writer/spiritual being combination. IT IS ELUSIVE! LOL. I will just do my best.  

Much love to you and yours in the New Year!

2013 HERZING HOLIDAY CARD TIMELINE

December 2012

Decide to do holiday cards again next year because I got positive feedback on ours this year!

May 2013

Move to new house and decide to use a photo of us in front of our new house for the holiday cards.

September 2013

See a neat-o holiday card design on Minted.com that features a new house address on it. Perfect!

October 2013

Oh wait. I don't have a good photo of us in front of the house. When I ask our neighbor to take a photo, she keeps cropping one of us out. I ask awesome professional friend to help and try to schedule a time with her.

November 2013

Awesome professional friend comes to take our photo. Basically, I realize I have a toddler and sitting still in front of our house isn't going to happen. We go to Main Street and let Raine run around all over Carlton. Awesome professional friend follows us following him.

We did a lot of chasing.

And trying to pose.

But mostly let Raine explore.

Everywhere.

And be silly.

"Say Cheese!"

Flip Flop!

And there it is! Winner winner, chicken dinner.

November 23, 2013

Believe I am so utterly COOL to have my family photo done and my design ordered. 

December 1, 2013

I can send my cards out this week and everyone will have our new address in time to send us their cards! 

December 27, 2013

Wait!?!? Where did the last 26 days go!?!? 

After 13 Years, I Went to Church...

...and I took Raine with me.

Yikes!

My best advice for someone attending church after 13 years: Do not take your two year old with you.

I attended church from infancy until I was twenty years old. It was an integral part of who I became as an adult because of exposure from childhood. While my beliefs about the dogma of the churches I grew up in have changed, the desire to be a part of a community and hear some good ol' fashioned four part harmony has not.

Saturday, November 16th, I announced to Dan that I was going to go to church the next day. My years of isolation had taken their toll. I had friends, yes, but I needed the support of a community. I had not cultivated a new one for myself in all of the years I had been in Oregon. The best way I knew to find that, quickly, was a church. I Googled the only church I knew that would accept someone who didn't believe what *most church folk* believed, and that was the Unitarian Universalists. Luckily, they had a congregation a few miles away that meets for worship services at the senior center in McMinnville every other Sunday. Sunday the 17th was such an occasion.

The next morning, Dan was up early with Raine and dressed him in nice church attire. ;) He let me sleep in a little and went to get coffee. In the meantime, my sister had called us both several times but hadn't left messages. After I got up and got ready, Raine and I were about to go out the door, and I got a text back from her that it was an emergency and to call her. I froze. I called her immediately and she told me a tornado had just hit our parent's house in Washington, IL.

I soaked up as much information as she could give me, hung up and checked Facebook. Hattie had posted her parent's house was hit and wanted to know who was OK. Nick and Megan posted their house was fine but their entire neighborhood was gone and Nick was trying to help people get out from underneath their debris. Amy wasn't posting. Sarah called me and I cried. I promised to let her know as soon as I knew more. I still hadn't talked to my parents. Calls weren't going through. I looked at Dan and asked him what I should do?

He suggested I still go to church like planned. It was either that or sit at home and stalk Facebook and wait by the phone.

I buckled Raine into his seat and took off.

I didn't want to be late for my first church service in 13 years, but I was.

I suppose if there is a good excuse, it is the fact that a tornado just hit your family and friend's homes.

I was greeted by a sweet man with a generous smile and shown where Raine might like to play in a children's room. He was not interested, so I perched him in my lap while the service started.

They had an initial 'joy or concern' sharing session at the beginning. I boldly walked up to the front of the room and squeaked into the microphone "Hi, I am Leah. This is Raine. We've never been here before." Thirty pounds of wriggling in my feeble arms, and I don't know how I contained him, but I did. I stood in front of that room of a hundred strangers and begged them to think of my family and friends and former neighbors who just survived a tornado an hour earlier. Everyone gasped and stared at me. A few people started Googling "Washington, IL" on their smart phones. I thanked them and returned to my seat, where Raine let out a shriek and lunged for the floor. He was NOT interested in my lap.

As the sharing session ended, I took him to the nursery and tried to see if he would play with the toys there with the staff. He became engrossed in building a tunnel for a train, so I tip-toed back to the service. A stranger with kind eyes asked me more about my family. He said we were in his thoughts. I stood with the congregation as they sang a hymn:

May nothing evil cross this door,
and may ill fortune never pry about these windows;
may the roar and rain go by.
By faith made strong,
the rafters will withstand the battering of the storm.
This hearth, though all the world grow chill,
will keep you warm.
Peace shall walk softly through these rooms,
touching our lips with holy wine,
till every casual corner blooms into a shrine.
With laughter drown the raucous shout,
and, though these sheltering walls are thin,
may they be strong to keep hate out
and hold love in.

I shed a few tears at the words and then heard my son crying for me from the nursery. I went back to him and hugged him. He didn't understand where he was and why I wasn't with him. I brought him back out to sit in my lap but he was clawing at me, wiggling, scooting, stretching, coughing, murmuring in my ear, shouting, snorting, grabbing. I tried to give him my iPhone to play a game while the service message began, but the sound was on and I couldn't figure out how to get it off. Meanwhile, he balked and scolded me. The iPhone game chirped and chimed.

I was so embarrassed and hot and tired and exhausted. I realized that I was still trembling from when I stood up and spoke in front of everyone.

We made a quick exit.

As awful as it was, it was worth it. I think all those people thought of my friends and families and neighbors. And they thought of me, and my son, and they grieved for us and our loved ones and the unknown born out of that tornado that morning. And it was enough. For a few minutes, it was enough.

a wish list for washington

On November 17, an EF-4 tornado struck my hometown, Washington, Illinois. It decimated entire neighborhoods and struck portions of others. This included the street I grew up on, Gillman Avenue, where my parents still lived. So many people I know were impacted, not to mention loved ones and family members of the people I know. I have heard stories of former teachers, friends, family members, and neighbors about how they survived. Some of them were at church or out of town and came home to rubble. Some stayed in their basements while their houses were destroyed but they were unharmed. Others were trapped in their basements after their homes collapsed upon them and had to dig their way out of the debris or wait for others to rescue them. It is horrific. And it is horrific to see the photos and videos of my parent's home and the homes and streets of my loved ones now barren. We will not be back to visit for two more weeks and I already know it will be entirely more difficult to see it in reality than it is to look at photos.

Here in Oregon, I felt utterly helpless when I heard the news. What could I possibly do to help? My sister lives in the region and was able to help my parents remove belongings and settle into a temporary home. She helped clean up debris and move everything damaged out of the house to be hauled away. My friend, Megan, took to the streets of her neighborhood with a wagon and hot coffee for her neighbors who were doing the same. I did the only thing I felt capable of doing from 2,000 miles away---fundraising. I set up a web site for my parents to help raise money. In two weeks, I raised over $2,000. By 1 month we surpassed a new goal of $5,000. Next, I designed a poster and mason jar labels and asked local businesses to help. Next thing I knew, some of my best friends living in Colorado and Washington state were asking how to help, so I redesigned the poster for their community and/or businesses and sent it to them. Today I am so excited to say that between me and my friend, Allyson, 'A Wish List for Washington' raised over $500 in cash and gift cards to send to four families directly affected by the tornado. We used current/former employers and businesses to advertise and these donations came from complete strangers in Oregon and Chicago! After the New Year, we will have a second wave of donations to send from communities in the greater Tacoma area of Washington state. HOW AWESOME. Strangers helping strangers. It warms my heart.

Because of the success of my campaign, I created a web site for anyone who also might want to donate.

the 2nd birthday

Raine surprised by his cake and everyone singing "Happy Birthday." ;o)
Photo by Christie Glynn Photography.

It has been three months, so it is probably silly to talk about Raine's 2nd birthday now, but I could use some cheer! Years ahead, when I use this blog to go back and look at things, I will probably be in the habit of searching a few months ahead for a recap on a special event, anyway. I imagine myself remembering this as a time of chaos. I would like to think this is a phase, related to so many big changes in one year (my mother's illness, buying a house, renting our condo, moving to a new town, traveling, changing jobs, and the whirlwind of Raine growing up so fast...) but who knows?? Perhaps from here on out, the tempo will stay at this rate?

Anyway...

Birthday gear.
Train signs for photos of guests, a card Raine bought himself (HA!), birthday ribbon & cap, & birthday tee.

Raine turned two and I initially had no grand plans. I was a *pinch* obsessed with making his first birthday party absolutely perfect, so the following year, I gave myself a free pass. No party. He is only two and wouldn't remember a party or gifts, right? I planned a quiet morning with the three of us, and just giving Raine an art easel and train track. However, as the day approached, Dan tugged my ear a little bit about at least having a few of our friends over to share in celebrating. I agreed to check with them, and to my surprise, they were all available, as well as the additional people I started asking. ;) In the end, I had a last minute excuse to put on my super creative hat and couldn't resist giving Raine a little party with a small Thomas the Train theme.

Train ticket invites.

I browsed the internet to see what train tickets look like and made my own version as an invitation with Illustrator. I made sure every guest family had their own train (number and name) and that each family member had a corresponding seat on their train. I even made sure that the departure/arrival times were appropriate. For our family in Illinois and friends in Colorado, I sent an additional letter from the commissioner at the Island of Sodor explaining the weather in the Rocky Mountain Pass might make train travel that week unsafe. (This helped the adults explain to the kiddos that they couldn't actually use the train tickets we sent them.) Dan thought I went a little bit overboard, but it is my attention to detail that makes me 'me.' ;o) I also had a fabulous assistant to help me save time with stickers and addressing envelopes:

His birthday weekend was busy with trips to the park and pool Sunday morning, Dan and I sang 'Happy Birthday' when he woke up and brought him out to the living room full of balloons. We watched him open presents that were shipped from family in Illinois. He was excited about everything and so sweet. When guests started arriving around 10, he was shy at first, but quickly warmed up once he was playing with Carlie. ;o) He had a little orange juice and cake, which was more sugar than he normally has --especially in a given day--so that was probably HIS favorite part of the day. LOL. He played, played, ate cake, played, opened presents, ate again, played, and opened more presents. There was a lot of running, bubbles, and balloon animals. It was adorable.

Help from daddy opening presents. 2 years old and he still doesn't quite get it. LOL.

What a special boy we have! Custom Thomas artwork by Mark & Mel. Pretty cool, huh?

Party down.

Conductor Raine. ;o)
Photo by Christie Glynn Photography.

Raine scored some major awesome loot. And I can say that after three months he is STILL playing with all of it quite happily. In no particular order of awesomeness: A tool set, Dr. Seuss matching game, wooden barn set, trains and a track, matchbox cars and a monster truck, an art easel, a wooden train whistle, bandana, and conductor hat (embroidered with his name!), books, socks & shirts, wooden produce, felted pizza, puzzles, a soccer ball, and custom artwork!!! :o) The best part was seeing him play with his friends and loved ones. I am totally happy it worked out that way. *And a special thank you to Dan, who baked the cake, cooked brunch, and mixed my mimosa. XOXO

You can see more photos from his birthday weekend in my album or more beautiful ones taken at the party by Christie here! ;o)