To the People at MSN Entertainment

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Dear MSN Entertainment, I know you have a job to do and the "Where are they now?" slide show is a great way to bring traffic and searches over to Bing. I see that whoever was assigned to do a quick search for me and the others decided to add "Pathways To Family Wellness" instead of the most current events. It was a great issue, and we were given creative control over it and deconstruct the original cover. We posed about a week after the Time cover came out, and we felt it served as an … [Read more...]

To Assume Makes an Ass out of (Yo)U and Me

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  Oh, I remember the days when everyone and their mother was writing articles about this blog without actually reading it. A total lack of understanding for the term “attachment parenting” caused very odd outbursts from journalists against my blog’s name. It was very creepy how they described it as some sort of weird mantra we “attachment parents” *must* have because *all* AP mothers "must stay home" and "refuse childcare"... Except, the name behind my blog is meant to be a … [Read more...]

over 8,000 people will receive access to safe drinking water for the first time – thanks to you

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Thanks to everyone reading, this is the message I am able to deliver to you: By the end of this week, Argisa, Ethiopia will have clean water! Most of you know that you all raised, over the course of one week, the money we needed for our first phase of the Ethiopia project. That, in and of itself, was a miracle. Jack, from Waves for Water, boarded a plan on December 12, and I have just been informed he has landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Jack will be bringing 80 Sawyer filters to the … [Read more...]

The Rose That Grew From Concrete

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Waterlink Africa: Water Changes Everything

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Did you know? $1 can give clean water to one person for over a decade. Why is water life-altering? Unsterile water is the number two killer amongst children. Around the world, fetching water is a woman’s task. Thus, one of the most crucial health issues for women in Africa is the clean water shortage. 1 in 5 children worldwide dies of a water-related disease. Water is a women’s issue. In order to get access to clean water, women and girls must carry up to 50lbs of water every day … [Read more...]

Christmas Stocking Project: Use Your Stockings for Good

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Did you know? $1 can give clean water to one person for over a decade. During the holiday season, there’s a lot of tradition in exchanging presents. We want to embrace our traditions and also be able to give back. Here’s our idea: instead of stocking stuffers, let’s put every dollar that would go towards those small gifts towards clean water for our friends in Africa. $10 that would have been spent on stocking stuffers could give life-altering water to ten people. Why is water … [Read more...]

Happy Birthday Daddy!

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My dad turned 63 this week! I've received so many lovely responses from his Valentine's Day letter to me. I know people liberally use the term "greatest dad in the world,"  but mine really is great. Here are some of the reasons I think this: The Protector When I was little my dad used to carry me all over the neighborhood.  I took naps snuggled up with my head resting on his shoulder. He would go socialize with the neighbors and point things out while I was safe in his arms. One … [Read more...]

Save a Mother, Preserve a Family?

Adopting from Ethiopia made us realize how vital it was for Samuel that we stay extremely connected to Ethiopia - not just the culture, but the actual country. We understand the importance of taking trips as frequently as possible, and to put as much effort into causes we find important over there, just like we do here. Philanthropy in Ethiopia Since having Aram, my goal has been aiding in reducing maternal mortality rates, particularly from hypertensive diseases of pregnancy in developing … [Read more...]

Breastfeeding! Again….:-)

I have found so many critics of extended breastfeeding are complete ethnocentric boobs (pun intended)... I just find it frustrating that people really are uneducated on the natural time-frame a human naturally weans. I hope by using my personal experience as a child breastfeeding until the age of six, and my experience breastfeeding my own children, will help people realize that it is quite natural and is not needed to be judged negatively. The lovely Dr. Katherine Dettwyler is a professor of … [Read more...]

Happy Birthday Mr. Aram!

Today Aram turns Three!!!!!! (and coincidentally it is the day we officially accepted Samuel's referral) This day brings back a lot of wonderful and scary memories. I remember getting ready to be released from the hospital when the nurses rushed in with a bag of magnesium sulfate. I knew what that meant- I was sick....as sick as I had suspected. The only good doctor I had during my week stay, came in and said that my liver enzymes had tripled and my platelets had dropped and were going … [Read more...]