Hello my social media people. I know it’s been forever. But something BIG has been happening.
I started a nonprofit. With my Bend people: @liv.roberts05 & @karen_bures
Growing up, school was a struggle. I didn’t fit the mold, and when you don’t fit, the system makes sure you feel it.
I didn’t learn the way everyone else did. I was quiet, lost in the wild universe of my own brain, and constantly confused because I hadn’t heard a single direction.
I felt misunderstood and left behind.
So I adapted. Elite masking strategy: if you can’t be “smart,” be funny. I became the class clown. (Still funny. Zero regrets.)
My entire career, I’ve been drawn to kids like that — kids who are misunderstood or overlooked. Kids carrying big feelings or invisible diagnoses. Kids being asked to fit into something that was never designed for them.
When I moved to Bend, I found my people. Inside an intensive behavior program — in what used to be what looks like a retired dentist office — I met Karen, Liv, and the rest of an incredible team. We were doing real trauma-informed work, and we saw magic happen. Kids who had been written off began to thrive.
But the same patterns kept repeating: We were fighting inside a system that wasn’t built for these kids-and wasn’t willing to change. Any time we advocated or questioned restraint or exclusion, we were shut down.
Eventually, after being told one more time to stay in our lane, we looked at each other and said:
“What if we stopped trying to fix the system… and built our own thing?”
So we did.
That day the dream of BEAM was born
A space where connection is before compliance. 💫 Where every child deserves to shine. ☀️ Where every child belongs. 💛
Right now, we’re $8,000 away from unlocking a matching grant.
💚we are currently featured on Central Oregon Gives. 💚 Donations go directly to scholarships + securing our own space.
💸 Donate: /nonprofit/beam/
Any amount helps and If you can’t donate passing it along would mean the world
Thank you for believing in us 🖤
Thank you for believing in them 🖤
P.S. if you donate, leave a ❤️ in the comments so I can thank you 😊
“Tiny Orange Things”
In pours in the morning light
I feel you near, soft and warm at my side
Your paw prints linger on the floor
Tiny orange things, forevermore
You’re in the sunlight’s beam pushing through
Everywhere I look, I see you
Tiny orange things
Are better than diamond rings
You’re in our hearts, forever to stay
In every sunbeam’s day dream
When the orange butterfly dances by I see your spirit fly
Through fields of dreams where we once played
In a world of tiny orange things we made
You’re in the whisker of the wind
Everywhere I go, you’re within
Tiny orange things
Are better than diamond rings
You’re in our hearts, forever to stay
In every sunbeam’s day dream
You’re in our hearts, forever to stay
In every sunbeam’s day dream
In the quiet of the evening’s glow
I’ll keep you close, I’ll always know
That tiny orange things, so sweet
In our hearts, will forever beat
Rest easy, sweet Khao (aka Cowboy, Bok Choy, Soi Bean, Nit Noi, Maak Maak, Tiny Orange Thing). Your spirit lives on
A few weeks ago, we lost our sweet little orange boy suddenly and tragically. Our animals are our entire lives, and the place they hold in our hearts is vast and infinite. As some of you may know, his name was Khao Soi (an orange noodle dish specific to Northern Thailand). His full name was Khao Soi Phet Nit Noi (Khao Soi a little bit spicy), but most days he went by Khao Soi Phet Mâak Mâak (Khao Soi very very spicy). And that he was—very spicy, very full of life, and very full of love.
The day we picked him up, all of his siblings were calmly drinking milk, while he was hanging by one nail, swinging (and screaming) from the top of the curtain. He perfectly matched our ADHD energy and fit perfectly into our little family. Even Dalton, who has always been known as your stereotypical “only child,” knew that he was family. A pet communicator we spoke to after Khao passed told us (in the most Dalton voice ever) that Dalton says, “I actually loved him the most, and even though I know you are both grieving, you should know that I am actually the most sad.” (Don’t worry, he has been getting even more love, attention, adventures, and treats than normal—if that is even possible).
Read more below 🧡✨ ⬇️
I hope you had a Whaley, shrimply fintastic birthday. It must have been pretty cool shellabration, pacifically since you sharkt your pants. Anyways you’re one shell of a human, one things for shore, I otterly love you. Congrats on finally making it to your lacrosse number! #28 @charzard10
#sharksandsharts
“Yesterday I was scraping some gunk off my wall sockets with a metal fork and I gave myself the nastiest shock. And when I came to, I had an epiphery. Life is precious. And if I die I want my son to know the dealio” - Michael Scott
