Adopting in Ashburn

When Roosevelt said that "we have nothing to fear except fear itself," he was right. I was so scared last night. I was petrified. And all my fears, my distrust, my lack of faith ... it was pointless. Because although it was bound to be unpleasant, following the path I knew I was supposed to take was worth it. And it went better than I could have ever imagined. It's going to be a bumpy road for awhile, but I've got great company and as much support as a girl could ever need. Including from the big guy she was so afraid of listening too. Thanks for your prayers. Love always, ~Heather

A couple weeks ago on Facebook my status was that I was trying to figure out how to discern between my internal monologue and the voice of God. God has never really spoken to me in one of those booming voices or appeared in the form of Morgan Freeman or Alanis Morrisette. But, I've always felt the comfort of his messages to me in my soul. Now, I am either fighting the message or I'm not hearing it right. It's the perfect time of year to find a place to just go and sit with the blessed sacrament and yet I fear it won't help or that I'm shouting over it or that I'm generally just unhappy with the content of the message. Writing this out, it certainly seems that way. How do you make yourself feel better about God's plan for you if you don't really like it? I don't expect to understand it, but I never thought I'd feel bad about part of it. Sigh. Reflections, thoughts, prayers, ideas welcome. Love always, ~Heather

I'm behind in my letter writing and will have to make it up, but right now I have very little time (how surprising!). I should be able to share more tonight. In the mean time, I'd like to share a quote from Jim Henson that exemplifies my outlook on life. "When I was young, my ambition was to one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is still to leave the world a little bit better for my having been here. It's a wonderful life and I love it." Love always, ~Heather

...work is certainly giving me the type of cardiac workout I usually associate with running 3 miles. Outside. Mid-afternoon. On a Florida blacktop in late July. (If you've never lived there, think: 110% humidity before the afternoon storms roll in to block out the 100 degree sunshine.) Thank goodness it's Friday. Love always, ~Heather

I went "real" grocery shopping tonight for the first time in probably two months. I've been surviving on trips to Costco (limited selection) and random pop-ins to grab one item or another from the smaller groceries near my house. I'm not sure why, but grocery shopping is usually really serene for me. I like the idea that I'm pre-planning. That I'm controlling my diet with my purchases. That I'm managing my budget. Or maybe I just like food. This is an incredibly lame self-reflection, but it is true, and it is what's on my mind right now. I like grocery shopping. Now if only I could remember to go more often. :) Love always, ~Heather

Just found this through a friend from USC (who writes a fashion blog for those of us who are a little less inclined to be fashionable on a regular basis)... Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo . Totally adorable. Un jour j'espere que j'ai l'opportunite d'ecoute mon petit Martin (et Paul!) recit un histoire comme ca. En plus, j'adore les singes. Love always, ~Heather

(To the tune of "Mysterious Fathoms Below" from the Little Mermaid ) Oh this is a tale Of a glory-filled girl Who spent this nice day at home. Out in the yard With a spade and a saw She cleared up those weeds with a hoe. (Instrumental: "Heave-ho") While this was occurring Her roommie was stirring The makings of wheat bread, oh dough! Bagpipes were playing On King Street parading For St. Patty's, early, I know! Fantastical daytime, it's so! I just felt moved to write a little tuneage to describe today. If I'm really going to reflect on my self for this Lenten promise, I might as well relay it in the way I seem to think. Yes, I often make up little ditties in my head. Yes, I occasionally sing them aloud. I agree, you wouldn't want to be in my head. :) Love always, ~Heather

So, yes, it was a million, trillion years ago (um, January), but I wanted to show you some of the pictures from the South Carolina State Inaugural Ball. Mind you, I still haven't had my disposable camera developed (and then scanned in) but Hillary was kind enough to take some pictures of me after I got back to Lorien's house. This is me absolutely cracking up because they asked me to take a serious picture. (Not possible.) Unfortunately, none of the other (moderately serious) pictures of me came out too well (note: take them BEFORE the event next time). However, this one was worth showing you: This shot was taken for posterity, but posted for Marco - since he spent the whole time we were shoe shopping trying to convince me to wear sneakers with the dress. I didn't wear them to the ball, but as soon as I met Hillary at the Metro, I changed for the walk. Much more comfortable than the strappy sandals. The next morning, we headed out to the Mall for an amazing historical ...

The three cubic feet of clean laundry at the foot of my bed is put away. I changed my sheets so they are no longer germy with sickness. My stuff isn't strewn about the dining room table anymore and all of the flower stems and random compostables have been thrown in the soil bucket in the backyard. My bills are paid for the month and I have groceries in the fridge. There's something about accomplishing a number of household chores all at once that makes me want to keep working on stuff. Love always, ~Heather P.S. - Sorry about the delay (as this is yesterday's letter). No matter how important my other life tasks are, I've got to stay on top of this Lenten promise! P.P.S. - A ma famille francaise, je vous embrasse et vous me manquez. Passe une bonne journee!

As part of my self-reflection, I'm taking a moment today to mark the fantastic qualities of my roommate, without whom I would not be as happy. She's an incredible listener. She knows my quirks and is happy to let me vent basically whenever I need to. She's an absolute perfectionist. Although this is a characteristic that can be overwhelming, in Rachel it just helps her be more predictable. If she's doing something, you can count on her to do it until it is done right. She's thoughtful. Not much of a milk drinker, she always checks with me to make sure there is enough if she's at the grocery store. She's communicative. As a communications person, I appreciate someone who is so willing to make an effort to communicate about everything. Even when we disagree, she's more than willing to explain her whole side of the situation in a rationale way, which helps us from hurting each others' feelings as often as possible. She gets me. So to my dearest ro...

Above: The birds' nest in the front yard seemed a likely place for snow to stick. It snowed a bunch last night (well, a bunch for here). Therefore, luckily, the 2 hour delay for the federal government made my half sick/half work-from-home day less of an issue. My head cold from Friday hasn't really gone away, but I am feeling quite a bit better after resting today. This weekend was a bit of a whirlwind. I played volleyball on Saturday, which was good because it helped push my cold away and bad because my muscles were tired (though miraculously not sore). We played a really cool rotation that allowed me to play right side in the front row and middle and left in the back row. Quite fun. Afterwards, we had dinner (homemade lasagna) at Erin's boyfriend's Matty's house (where we had met to carpool). After a round or so of Apples to Apples (love that game), I went home. My date arrived just when I did (I haven't asked name permission yet, so forgive the genera...