The Ladies of The Backyard & Their Spot

You guys, I feel like I'm decorating the chicken coop as though I'm decorating a bedroom. If only I actually put the time and effort into decorating one of the rooms around here, something would actually look finished in the house. Instead, the chicken coop has been my deal. I love those little ladies back there...most of the time. The other times when they eat the strawberries and wreck the corn I planted is an entirely different story. Besides that, they are great. You all should have a pet chicken and maybe even a duck if you're husband will let you (Ty says no more birds, so I'm on to convincing him we should have a baby goat instead).

When I work on the computer on the table out back, the ladies like to join.
They obviously have some interest in blogging...

They also wanted me to share with you the happenings in their coop because they think you need to do the same for our chickens or at least take a few ideas and run with them. I humor myself when I think of it as a Ronald McDonald play place but for chickens...when really the only similarity is that they have food ready to them whenever they want in their little trough, we bring them snack packs of food similar to kid meals I guess, and they've got a few things to play with in their part of the yard (we recently decided to keep them in a certain area of the backyard to prevent so much poop everywhere when we have BBQs this summer because no guest wants to step in chicken poo).

Here ya have it...

*Less than a dollar Ikea pots...plant some nasturtium! 

If they don't eat the leaves, you will soon get some great foliage and pretty colored flowers that bloom. But most likely they will snack on them as they do with anything else. Good thing nasturtium is a natural wormer and antibiotic for the ladies! It becomes a treat for them and an added health bonus.

*Add a touch of lavender around the coop!

They love it. I love it. We all are happy. Plus it helps with insect repellent. Also a bonus!

*Plant pots specifically for the ladies in your garden.

All sorts of herbs, lettuce, fruits, veggies. You name it, they love to eat it. You can also add in some of the mint to their water or herb mixes to their lay boxes. They work as insecticides, have anti-bacterial properties, laying stimulants, and much more! Check here for more details. 

At the moment we have plenty of lettuce varieties, berries, chocolate and regular mint, parsley, cilantro, basil, rosemary, and sunflowers. Who knows what else will be added...I'm getting slightly addicted.

(pots from ikea, holes drilled into the bottom for drainage)

*Plant in the coop.

I can guarantee you that if you don't cover whatever it is you plant and allow them to grow, all the leaves and stems will be gone in minutes. Plant in the ground or plant in something like this...

We cut off the headboard from the spare bed frame we bought for the spare room, stained it, and then drilled soup and big coffee cans to the wood. Throw in some soil, plant whatever your heart desires, cover them with bird mesh, and let it all happen. Uncover the mesh when you're ready to let your ladies dig in!

*Snacks on snacks on snacks.

Our homegirls love watermelon and berries...placing leftover rinds in their coop to munch on keeps them busy.

(A little side note...the few things not to give them are avocado pits and peels, citrus fruits, 

& raw potato skins)

*Chicken tetherball.

String fruit and/or veggies on to something that will hold up with all the pecking that is attached to a wood stick of some sort. Our gals sure get into it!

*Chicken Pool

They don't really get in and swim, but they love their mini pool. They can drink from their trough, play in their pool. Perfect for all these hot days we've had!

Kathy didn't mind just hanging in the pool...

Cindy obviously wasn't about it...

And a few random chicken pictures because this is what life is like around here with chickens...

Sometimes just one will visit....

and sometimes they all think they've been invited in for coffee & snacks!

Double yoke eggs. Kinda like Christmas.

You plant for your ladies, your ladies will provide!

That's all we've got for now. Thanks for listening to the crazy chicken lady I've become!

♡

Adoption Update

I will apologize from the get go. The whole "adoption update" isn't much. It's just that we get the same question often lately..."how's the adoption going?" or "any news yet?" And our typical response...we've got nothing. So, sorry I brought you here for very little. Another month closer, but no word from South Africa. We continue to wait.

I remember connecting with a Mom who adopted a young boy from South Africa earlier in our adoption journey. And although we so badly wanted to announce the adoption plan much earlier on, something she mentioned stuck with us...the earlier on you tell people, the more of the same questions comes through, and eventually it can become a little discouraging when you have no news for what seems like an eternity. I am so glad we took that advice because only three months since the official "waiting" after the dossier was submitted, it's hard to continue to respond with the same answer..."still waiting," "still no news," or "nothing yet." Time and time again on the daily those frequent questions remind us...still waiting. So to our people who have come together through adoption we thank you for that advice. I sure know that if we would have announce this an earlier, I'd be close to pulling my hair out with those same responses for such a long period of time. We owe ya big time!

_______________________

As far as the adoption paperwork home front (I've decided we need different adoption categories because one area of adoption may have no news while another area just might and it can give us a little something to celebrate even if it's nothing at all), the most recent update at this point is that our "service plan" is now complete. The program our social worker uses shut down back in March and they said ours was to be the first to be completed once the program was fixed. We waited and waited as we always do until yesterday...we got our first portal message in a while to say it's all done! This was one of the missing pieces in our dossier that can now be submitted to South Africa. Thank goodness it was not mandatory for the service plan to be a part of the dossier packet when we submitted everything back in March or else we'd just now be starting that wait time for a referral. If you haven't already caught on, we have no control over all this and that alone can be one of the hardest things. So instead, you learn to give it up, let it go, and learn to let someone else take the reigns. Sometimes news like this is big news for us when we don't hear anything for a few months. We take those little wins, even if it isn't necessarily something that's getting us closer to our child.

________________________

As you all can imagine, we've had plenty of time to think. When I'm out on those 4 hour bike rides or 1.5 hour runs, I envision us getting that much closer to adoption day. I envision each mile I complete being that much closer to getting us to South Africa. And for every day, which turns into every month of living life around here...just that much closer. In all honesty, some days are easy but there are those few days in between that are hard to be patient, hard to understand why it takes so long, and hard to know that our child could be born at this point just waiting for us. (Not to mention, Case & Ev are excited to meet their cousin. They have been buying "him" things because "he should be 4 or 5" per Casey). Sometimes while I'm out, I pray for some sort of sign that indicates those last few things that need to be completed in our lives before taking on the rest of the adoption process. I wonder what the Lord has planned for us between now and then and what it is He wants us to do or work on as a couple before bringing a child into our family. I'm obviously still waiting on that sign because nothing has happened yet. I suppose I'll keep riding and running and praying and thinking until that day comes. Lord knows I've been doing plenty of each and every one of those things!

One of the more difficult things we've found lately is this feeling of not being prepared. Normally you get about 9 months to prepare for a baby. We have an unknown amount of months left to count, an unknown child to us across the world, two people sitting and waiting in our little home trying to do what we can to prepare for a big unknown. And yes, we do education hours and yes, we get practice with all sorts of kids. But we can't fully prepare ourselves for one child or another. One who is possibly new to life or maybe a child who will be 3 or 4. We can't prep a room with the right things because we have no idea if our child will be 1 or 4. We can't save up on clothes because we have no idea, again, how old our child will be. The room remains empty minus a small chest of random toys Casey, Ev, and Turner play with when they come over, a worldly beanie hat made big enough for a 3 or 4 year old because I didn't want it to end up too small when he arrives, an Ugandan doll we purchased after a group of Ugandan kids performed at my Grandma's church, and a little South African flag that hangs in the window to remind us each day of this special little body that one day will fill that room with more than he will ever know. And although there's this fear of being unprepared, there's also this cloud of calmness that covers it knowing that we may only have a month to prepare when all this finally goes down, but that child will survive without all the clothes, all the toys, or all the extra stuff. It's when you realize that, that you know all you need to do is fill your child with love, joy, life, experiences, and a family. I've found that sometimes getting thrown into the fire or riding into the rain is one of the best ways to do it. You can be fully prepare yourself for one thing, but it could all turn out to be something so completely different. So I guess that means we'll be riding into the rain and that's ok.
It will have to be.

Often enough, I dream of the moment we get the phone call. Will they call while I'm at work or will I receive a voicemail with the good news on my drive home? I can't tell you the feelings of excitement I get thinking about sharing the news with Ty thereafter. But as with everything else...who knows when it will all happen. Maybe we will be together when the call comes through or maybe they will just post something to our portal website. I guess we'll find out one day, some day. And I'll briefly mention it here because I could possibly lose it in front of you if I brought up my thoughts on the day we get to bring our child home. Now that thought...every time...gets me all teared up. I can kinda laugh about it because it's the same reaction every time....an instant tear-jerker out of nowhere when that thought of getting off the plane and being home enters my mind. Thank goodness I've been out on my own when that happens or else someone might wonder what's wrong with me. It's interesting, I envision the first time meeting our child, maybe one of the court hearings while in South Africa, and coming home. There's lots of missing pieces in between and maybe because we have no idea what the process will be like in between those steps. In fact, I've never imagined what the plane ride will be like on the way home (although I probably should start seriously thinking about various situations pending any one of them could happen on the flight home), but what I do envision is the three of us walking through the Portland airport after 6 long weeks abroad through our journey of becoming a family and finding our way to the exit to be greeted by our family. I visualize all the people there, the tears, the excitement, the love, the moments, and what one day will be a memory.

We made it. We're Home.

Now that sends a thousand emotions through my body. It's exciting, it's overwhelming, it's our journey. A journey that we will been living for who knows how long at that point. Our journey in which part will have been closed come that time and the next part opens up wide to the next part of The Stanley Life....There will be more to it, more layers, more pages, more of our life. And my oh my, do we ever look forward to that. We are ready for you little one!

We don't have anything exciting for updates, but maybe you can find a little update within our thoughts/emotions and mini paperwork update as part of the journey process enough to get you by for now. So while we continue to wait, you too can sit back and wait. Maybe think some good thoughts and say a few prayers for a little one to come our way sooner than later. Other than that, hang tight because one of these we'll have some sort of update for ya and hopefully it will tower of today's post.

We appreciate all you adoption journey followers and all of you who make our village!

♡The Stanleys

This Guy Of Mine & Why We Say "YES"

We get to choose who we want to do life with. Choose wisely. #stanleylife #mcm

Everyday we love, everyday we say yes to life's daily invite, and everyday this is what our mornings look like. A simple peace sign and a "love you." Every. Day. But on mornings we seek adventure, sometimes this man says yes to the unknown (my brother thinks he's nuts to saying yes to my ideas and is not sure why he still continues to do so). But Ty is an example of what saying yes means...That's the beauty in it all. Sometimes they turn out as great ideas and other times we chalk it up as an experience. By saying yes, it takes us places and open up experiences it wouldn't have otherwise.

A few weekends ago it meant driving 7 hours in total to bike an ironman course up at Lake Stevens. We experienced lots of firsts...I was pooped on by a bird and running over tar was definitely not in the plan, which made for an interesting, sticky ride. Words like "this is do or die" came out of Ty's mouth and were a first when he walked down a driveway to rink out of someones hose (I was only partly embarrassed) and cramping so bad he had to walk, twice. Biking 56 miles on new, tough terrain was not only a first but the highlight (well, finishing was actually the highlight for Ty since he hasn't been training). But after it was all said and done (he did survive, although he would've convinced you death was near), he turns to me and said "that was fun." It's why we say yes....to adventures, to life, to each other.

Love does. Everyday. Always. Say yes. Live.

Love you everyday!

Three Favorites

All I have to say is cashew pepper dip, organic chorizo, and Humm kombucha. I want to scoop up the cashew dip and eat it by the spoonful. I don't, so instead I dip veggies in it. The chorizo, better believe that gets all mixed up in some of our fresh eggs, courtesy of the ladies in the backyard. If you don't care whether it's paleo or not, add some goat cheese and put your chorizo scrambled in a corn tortilla. You'll want 5 more and I'm not kidding. And please, always get two kinds of kombucha...they are good separate but it is also so refreshing as a mixed kombucha drink.

The dip is in a giant container at Costco, but what isn't in a large container at Costco.

The chorizo can be picked up at your local Natural Grocers in the freezer section and by no means 

is it a deal, but sometimes these things are worth the few extra bucks.
Humm kombucha is made in Bend, OR so if you're in the area stop by and try all the samples.
If you're not, they are sold as individuals containers at Winco or at the Felida Market and
Battleground market on tap. That way you can keep it on hand always in your growlers because you of course need two to be filled at a time, right?

3 things and that's all I've got for our favorites at the moment.
Enjoy!

♡The Stanleys

A Fear to Start, A Goal Accomplished...Half Ironman Training Update!

During my lifetime, I'd say that many athletic type things have come fairly naturally. This whole biking and swimming piece was not exactly one of them. I had no experience and of course, a fear of the whole freestyle swimming. The skills, the endurance, and the abilities were much more of a steep climb to get where I am now...let me take you into my world of the last 4 months....

Nearly 4 months ago I swam laps with my head above water. I would panic if my head was under water for too long while attempting to free style swim. I never wore goggles, a swim cap, or ear plugs. Take a moment to envision the chick that shows up to lap swim and never gets her hair wet and breast strokes with her head above water for her entire training session. Trust me, I contemplated whether or not it was even worth trying to learn to freestyle for months. But I also realized I'd be the only one in a large half Ironman event that wasn't actually swimming like the rest. All that went on until the beginning of March and then, through March, I managed to do several laps without having to stop. April came and went and believe it or not...this lady can freestyle like she's never done before. By no means am I breaking records on my speed but I'm breaking records on my endurance! And now, instead of being a fear or a place I'd panic in, the pool is my place of peace. I look forward to every one of my swim workouts. It's where I have no thoughts, no projects building up in my mind, and where I zone in on gliding through the the water. It's where my back feels healthy and I leave feeling oh so good!

4 months ago I had only done one bike ride longer than 5-10 miles. I had never worn clip-in bike shoes nor did I have any interest in wearing them. I owned no biking gear other than bike shorts (mind you it was winter when I started all this) and a helmet that may or may not be a little bit small for my head. On top of it all, I had never gotten my bike fitted to me. I've since been fitted and feel a million times better during my rides! I can now bike for hours and hours, I wear clip in bike shoes (which are now my friend even after that accident), and I still own nothing other than the shoes, the shorts (I got by with wearing leggings underneath the shorts and a light rain jacket to help keep me semi-dry on the wet rides), and the same helmet. I've decided to be a biking minimalist, if that's even such a thing. Plus I don't want to invest in anything else. I figure I've managed this far, I can manage the rest. Biking isn't as bad as I once thought it to be and I thoroughly enjoy the places it takes me. When was the last time you biked around Vancouver and Portland/Gresham and back, used biking for not just training purposes but to stop and visit with family, and realized the views can be even better on a bike than in a car?! All of the above has me hooked. If only I could gain some speed, I would be one happy camper!

the REAL necessities of biking...forget the rest of the stuff!

There she is!...

in her helmet and not "biking approved" jacket, but doin' it!

Sometimes I take photos of the scenery and sometimes of myself to send to Ty so he

has updates as to where I'm at in case something happens. It's a great selfie game ;-)

All these bike riding views...they suck me into actually bike riding!

And 4 months ago I was coming back from nearly 2 months off of full on Crossfit, running minimally, and exercising lightly. Thank goodness the running never leaves me or else I would've given up on all this training. It's one thing to only be able to do 1/3 events in the race, but if the running wasn't there I'd be shit out of luck from the get go. And let me tell you, it sounds like a terrible place to start. BUT, what I will say is that running becomes an entirely differently thing after a bike ride...and for that matter, it becomes a whole new ball game for me following swimming and then biking. It's been interesting, difficult at times, but a good challenge. I needed that in my running game.

to the time this caught me running so fast ;-)

I'll be completely honest though...there are two things that make this all a bit difficult. One, training solo. I spend a lot of time, like many hours, alone on a bike or running or swimming with seeing more animals (mainly roadkill) than people. I've never had so many thoughts and projects that go on in my head while accomplishing each part of the training...all of which leave my brain by the end of it all so it was almost not worth thinking while training. Being such a people person, having to be silent for hours nearly kills me! The other difficult part are the days I can barely drag myself out and about to get the training done. I once heard someone say, some days you have to go to that dark place and train in that dark place. I have a hard time going to a dark place to train, especially after I biked and ran by the mural in downtown Vancouver that paints pictures of various wars. I realize I have no idea what a dark place is like, especially something like war. When you put it all into perspective, this training is nothing in comparison to what many have done or where many have been. Plus, a brighter place sounds so much better to train in anyway.

The mural in Vancouver...

Do you realize how amazing our bodies are?! Whether it be through exercise, aging, childbirth, etc...it leaves me in awe, always. Our bodies have always been an interesting thing to me. Probably one of the many reason I love nursing, but also why I love challenging my body in so many ways...mentally, physically, emotionally. My body has gone from being in Crossfit shape and toned to this less toned, but run/bike/swim for hours ability. I like to think my body can do whatever I want it to, which I think gets me through most anything I put my mind to. My dad said the other night, "nobody in this room is as motivated and driven as you are." However, the mental and emotional side to it all gets to be more rough than anything else. I haven't quite figured how I manage to get this training in some days, but it must be the motivation and drive my dad talks about. Whatever it is, I like it and hope it sticks around for my lifetime!

For those of you interested, here's a what a week's worth of training may look like. I randomly found the training document online, didn't do much research on anything else, and have stuck to majority of it. Essentially you build up for three weeks (similar to below) before you get one week's worth of what they call "rest." Although, you find yourself still in the pool, on your bike, and running during the week of rest. (not complaining because I love those weeks!) And mind you, I rearrange the days depending on my work schedule, kid watching, and normal life events...somehow it does get done!

One Week Training Schedule Example

Mon: swim 1500 yards in AM, bike 25 miles PM

Tues: swim 2500 yards in AM, run 60 min PM

Wed: bike 40 miles

Thurs: swim 1750 yards in AM, run 50 min PM

Fri: bike 20 miles

Sat: run 100 min in AM, swim 1000 yards (optional)

Sun: bike 60 miles in AM, walk 75 min PM

*In addition, I try to lift one day and WOD twice a week.

So what began as my fear and having no experience in the pool or on a bike, it became my goal. I like to think I've accomplished the goal for the most part, but now it's time to keep up the mileage and get after an event in a few months. Here's to many more miles...on bike, on foot, and in water!

♥Cori

Seasons of Life, Seasons of Blogging

It feels good to be back. I almost feel like I should clasp my hands together, fold them away from my body, and give myself a nice big stretch before I tackle this blog. Maybe even a pat on the back for getting after it because it hasn't happened in a while. And only because it would be a semi-nerdy thing to do and more than anything, I could use the stretch before I get back into all this typing. Seriously though, it's been a long while. I've got no real reason to have been off the blogging world unless you want to count all the hours of early swims that make me spend more time than I ever have washing my hair (and showering for that matter), 3-4 hour bike rides that take professionals like an hour to do, a few long runs that take longer than they should because of all the bathroom stops I have to make, playing with our free range lady-birds, trying to work on that green thumb in the garden, making up lame excuses to stay up late and spend time with family and friends, soaking up the last of our days as just us two until we get that phone call for a referral, and just possibly working on my persuasion skills (I'm trying to talk Ty into getting a couple ducks and a mini pig to add to the backyard...so far it hasn't worked). There isn't a day mixed in all of that that I would change. The one thing I would change is the number of hours in a day. So if that ever becomes possible, I'll be the first to ask and possibly beg for it with no shame.

On another note, I got to thinking that I use to blog like every day. Every. Single. Freaking. Day. Not kidding. How I did that...no clue. Lots of late nights, long hours of typing and editing (to a certain extent), weird persistence, and a driving need to do so. Then I slowly smartened up. I realized I was getting old and needed more sleep, that my eyes could use less computer time because they seemed like they were going bad, and I no longer felt that need for speed...aka blogging, which I imagine is nothing like speed. Although, I'd have no idea. I also realized that my blog isn't a money making blog, few people follow, and there wasn't a single soul out there making me do so. 

So I've decided the blog has its seasons...just like the seasons of our life. Since the Stanley life began, you've all been a part of those seasons: wedding festivities, travel/adventures, marriage, our niece and nephew date days, recipe making, DIY projects, home buying, the adoption process, day to day living, and now some blank pages between blogs. Those blanks tend to mean a busy time in life or a lack of interest in putting the effort into blogging. There's been a time, a place, a purpose, etc. to capture our life, our adventures, our story. Those will still remain, but the blogging will come and go as time allows, the motivation is there, and the need to capture it for ourselves is around. Otherwise, Instagram has made my blogging life way too easy so you can always follow there. Nothing like a quick pic, a little blurb, and a touch of the screen to post. Blogging made simple, really. It's been a life saver...Ok fine, maybe just a time saver. Same thing though, right?

So the blog isn't going away. In fact, I never want it to go away. There's nothing like looking back over the years to see where we were, where we've been, where we're headed and all else we've done in between. But what it will be is a place we may throw a lot at you in a weeks time (whether it be adoption related, food ideas, a little inspiration, or a moment of sharing just our life) or maybe it will leave you wondering where we are. And if it's anything to you, we're either out training, working on house projects, soaking up adventures, with our family, or maybe just eating some ice cream because we do that from time to time. It's a simple life and it's a good way to keep it. Here's to the old life of daily blogging and the new life of blogging whenever I decide. 

#seasonsoflife #seasonsofblogging

PS...this is what blogging life has been looking like as of late.

The ladies threw in their two sense about some blog posts...I'm going to include one of them.

♥The Stanleys