Celebration—first day I saw ManChild 14 yrs ago! (Newsletter)

Guess what today is?! The very first day, 14 years ago, that I laid eyes and hands on my sweet baby boy in Ethiopia!

I cry every single time I see this photo. 

In the gardens at the hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. BabyManChild was 7 months old and those jeans were size 3-6 months old. I was 38 years old.

First day with him. The eyelashes *swoon.*

At the airport and heading home. Ethiopia is about 36 hours door to door. He slept for most of it :-) I was just over the moon and look it lol

ManChild in July at our new house in NC, taller than his sister next to him—and even taller now, 6 months later!

I've been talking to some friends back in Colorado this week and hear that with the wind chill, it feels like -20 there! Today I'm enjoying the 65º rainy day with my windows open in my quarantined-guest-room-office! I have to say, I'm not hating this.
You can read about WHY I'm quarantined in the guest room in the blog post below 👇🏽

Quarantine! 
 

I came home from my trip yesterday to find ManChild with a cold, or what we hope is a cold. Home covid test is negative and we are waiting to hear back from the other. So I'm quarantined in our guest room which luckily has it's own bathroom. My office is normally in the loft area which is totally open to the whole downstairs so I've moved it into the guest room too as well as the art supplies I will need for this week's commissioned pieces...(click to read the rest of the story!)

Now that you've read that let me say, we've gotten the drive-up testing for ManChild and 4 home tests over 4 days and...nothing. No covid! So either I'm being played or he somehow caught a cold. I suppose that means I can go back to our real bedroom now? But I'm keeping my guest room office/art studio! :-)

And here's the other blog post I wrote this week—my thoughts about the religion I grew up in. 👇🏽
I keep expecting to see a faun with a red scarf.
 

My new farm came with a lamp post. I didn't think anything about it until late one night when I looked outside and saw it glowing and was immediately transported into my 8 year old body reading about Lucy meeting Mr. Tumnus the faun in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The book was just a book (no movie) back in 1977 so the look of it was all in my imagination. In my mind, the lamp post looked just like mine does, placed at the edge of a forest, lighting the dark and every time I go outside at night there is this tiny moment where I expect to see a faun with a red scarf waiting for me.

I was introduced to the book when...(click to read the rest of the story!)

This week's giveaway!
Welcome to all the new subscribers, I'm so happy you're here! Congratulations to Ginny Murnen for winning the 8x10 giclée print of my watercolor of our little mini donkey, Sweetness! Ginny keep an eye on your email!

You can see other prints here!
 
Next week's giclée print giveaway will be this 6"x12" of the Windy Piglet!
If you are subscribed you are automatically entered—but don't you have a piggy loving friend you want to forward this to? :-)
Thanks for reading :-) My blog is reader-supported—that's you my awesome friends! The best way to support my work is to: Commission a painting of your pet or to bring your logo idea to life, buy a tshirt or a print with my artwork, Zoom coaching (feeling anxious, stuck, or out of sorts?), or if you're local (Triangle area of NC) Equine Gestalt Coaching or NeurOptimal Neurofeedback. And remember to forward this email to a friend and Subscribe to my YouTube channel!

If a friend forwarded you this email, you can subscribe here!

Love to all from the Mother Ranch,

Julia

And just a few more pics of that special day... :-)