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Welcome to Fresh Brewed! Each week, if I can, I will write about a topic that relates to families. Then, at the bottom of the post is a Linky Tool so that you can link up your posts related to the topic for the week. It doesn't have to be a new post from the past week, if you have written about it in a previous post, link it! The topics will be broad enough to encompass many avenues of thought, but do please only post related posts. Opinion posts are welcome, but not bashing ones please. Please keep it respectful. There may be posts with vastly different viewpoints, or addressing points on vastly different areas of the topic. That's fantastic as every family is different and struggles with different circumstances. If you are not a blogger, but you have an interesting article to share, or read something another blogger posted, please feel free to leave a link in the comments section of the weekly post and a short description of how it relates to the topic.  Fresh Brewed W

Here is another treasure from the backfiles. This started as an act of desperation on my part, I just needed her to be occupied so I could finish something, but it quickly became one of her favorite activities. If you have a chalkboard (we made ours on a half wall with chalkboard paint), all you need is a paintbrush, sponge, or washcloth, and a cup of water. Dip the brush in the water and have at it! Kit LOVES how the water turns the board black. So often, she will be at this so long that by the time she gets across the board, the first area she painted will be dry and a fresh pallet once again. You can get creative with the things you use as paintbrushes, but she has been completely happy with our basic art brushes from Walmart. I love watching her do this.

So I was going through old drafts, "cleaning house" so to speak, and I found this precious gem that got left behind. It was just the pictures, I hadn't written anything with it yet, don't even remember what if anything I was going to. Several things I love about these pictures.  One, she has baby hands and toes in them, her hands and feet are growing and looking like big girl feet lately, and usually have several colors of fingernail polish on alternating nails.  Two, the dress in these pics doesn't fit her anymore, but, we have the exact same dress in a size 5, which heartbreakingly, does not look as gigantic on her as it feels like it should.  Three, she still runs barefoot everywhere...at least some things haven't changed.

I know, I know...It's about time!! Well, here you go. A very picture heavy, explanation light catch-up post. Our handsome boy at five months old! He's a year now, can't believe it! Kit loves her matching necklace! Helping Kitty Bitty through a thunderstorm. He whizzed through Puppy Two class at only 7 months old! Story time and snuggles. Just dozing at IHOP. Snuggling on Mama's feet watching Kit jump at a bouncy house park. Winston's "You gonna give me french fries?" face. The blue strap across his nose is something many people ask about. It is called a "Gentle Lead". It is exactly like the bridle on a horse's face, but without any kind of mouth bit. The lead goes around his muzzle and be hind his ears where it clips securely, but he can still eat, drink, yawn, and bark if necessary. The leash clips on u

"It's not the fall that kills you." We've all heard this line. (Especially us Sherlock fans!!) I completely agree. It's not the fall that kills me. It's the summer. The unyieldingly hot, suffocatingly humid, seemingly endless Deep South summers. This past one, I experienced the worst mental emotional collapse I have ever had. I lost almost all function as a person. I was on the brink of a very ugly precipice. With the last possible energy I could muster, I asked for help. And help came. Well, I went to it really. I was referred to a psychiatrist, after a couple visits and some medicine trial and error, she is helping me get back on track. Away from the precipice, and up and moving like a person again. A very slow person, but a person again nonetheless. My battles with depression over the years were even less under my control than I had ever realized. It wasn't something I could fix on my own. I didn't know the

Caring for an aging and ailing family member is immensely hard. It consumes so much energy, attention, and yes, money as well.  Caring for a child with special needs can and often is just as immensely hard, and is often a much longer journey. While I primarily focus on caring for an aging parent in this post, almost all of the points apply to caring for a child with special needs as well, and the accompanying printable list is just as useful for these parents as well. Support can be a difficult resource to find at times, and respite even more elusive. It has been a year now since our role as full-time caregivers to an elderly parent ended. We have still not fully recovered. We are still floating in bits and pieces in the aftermath of a storm that pulled our family in so many directions at once we felt parts tearing and then smashing into each other again. For a family who has some time to prepare for a loved one's illness, it can be incredibly hard to care for tha