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Showing posts from May, 2012

Children's Adoption Books

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I love children's books.  I have loved the excuse of motherhood to check them out of the library for the past 8 years.  I love the beautiful art work and the clever stories.  And my kids love them too.  There are a few books over the years that have forever lodged themselves in my heart - I still cannot get through "I'm a Big Brother" by Joanna Cole   without my voice cracking from emotion.  And I think some day you will find a copy of Good Night Moon and Brown Bear, Brown Bear in my room at the nursing home. There are so many great books out there, like "I'm a Big Brother", that help prepare siblings for the arrival of their new little brother or sister.  But what about when the new brother or sister is not coming from mommy's belly but instead through adoption?  There are two books that I just love for this.  The first is,  The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale by Grace Lin .  It tells the story of a King and Queen who have a pain in their

Her favorite color is Red

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Until yesterday, the last picture we had of Elie was from last summer.  The last update of any kind was from December 1st.  My heart was growing weary from the weight of the wait.  I wanted something, anything, crying for a crumb of information.  Last week was very hard.  The questions  and fears surrounding us going to China and Elie coming home, Kevin's upcoming busy travel season, all of my children's birthdays, the end of school, preparing Faith's postplacement reports and Elie's care package,  compounded the intense longing in my soul for my daughter.  And here we were at another change of season with no more answers then when we entered into the last one.  There were lots of tears, some moments of panic, times when the frustration came out as anger, times of questioning, times of pure exhaustion and  I was beginning to spiral and was desperate for God to throw me a line of hope.  Until yesterday... Three beautiful pictures of my daughter playing and smiling

Discovering a New Playground

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We love playgrounds.  And I love doing something new and different, always.  So not sure why it has taken us this long to find this awesome playground, but it has entered onto our list of outdoor fun things to do close to home.  Legacy Park in Brambleton (behind the movie theater).  In April, a mom at the kids' school was talking about this great playground in Brambleton and we just had to check it out.  If you haven't tried it yet, you need to go.  Multiple playgrounds, fun path that's great for a scooter or bike, tire swing, basketball courts and the best part for the hot, sunny days - it has shade.  Tyler and Faith have developed a great bond this year during their mornings alone together.  I hope it is not lost in the fall when T goes to school all day.  Hope to spend some mornings here this summer when we don't have to rush back home for afternoon kindergarten.  I cannot wait to not be on a schedule.  If you decided to go check it out, let us know, we would

our life with the big D

When Kevin was 16 he was diagnosed with diabetes.  It wasn't because he didn't exercise or eat right, it wasn't because of anything he did or didn't do.  He was just like every other kid and then for reasons scientist still don't totally understand, his body freaked out and his pancreas stopped working properly.  From that day until now, his life is dependent upon a precious life sustaining liquid - insulin. Most people who come in contact with Kevin never even know that he is diabetic.  He does well managing his symptoms and tries to live as normal a life as possible.  I didn't even know he was insulin dependent until we had been hanging out for about six months.  We had been out for the afternoon spending time together and I mentioned that we should grab a bite to eat.  His response shocked me, "I don't have my drugs, so I can't eat, but I can take you somewhere to get something." For some crazy reason instead of it turning me away, it ca

Goodbye 33

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When I was a little girl I used to dream of what my life would be like when I grew up.  I wanted to travel the world, work as a zookeeper, star in a talk show, smuggle bibles into the eastern block, be a famous recording artist, working in a third world health clinic and on it went.  And though my dreams of my life's occupation changed from season to season, there were a few dreams that always remained.... I wanted to be a mother to a house full of children whose faces were all different and whose father was my best friend and their number one fan and he would read them bedtime stories every night with kisses and i love yous. Today I say goodbye to 33 and my heart is full.  I am a child of God. From my first thought, my first memory I knew the name of Jesus.  This never meant that life has been a bed of roses.  There have been times of life when the darkness, loneliness and heartache have sought to consume me, but His love always rescued me from the pit.  When the nets and tr

Stuff Love

"There was not a needy person among them" ~ Acts 4:34.  During the first years of Christianity, followers of Christ would share all that they had with one another.  If one had and another did not, the one who had would sell and use it to share with the one who did not have.  Not only did they share all they had with one another, but they met together daily to encourage one another. Can you imagine what that would look like?  What if people truly desired to care for the lonely, the hurting, the poor, the hungry, the naked.  Not a government program destined to be corrupted and end in failure, but the body of Christ actually being His hands and feet.  Daily living out His teachings to love others as we love ourselves.  We are a nation of hoarders.  We love our "stuff".  We love it so much that once our houses are filled to the top we either buy a larger house to fill with more stuff or we rent a storage unit to keep all of the stuff we will never use.  Our things ar

Gifts that Give Open House

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Spring and Summer around our house = we need gifts for Mother's Day, Weddings, Birthdays, Baby Showers, Teachers Gifts, etc....   You have to purchase gifts anyway, why not make them count twice, or even three times over.  Many of you already know that I stock Pamba Toto inventory here at my house.  First thing you need to know is that I make absolutely NO money from selling these products.  I sell them not for monetary gain but for the chance to be a part of the lives of 23 orphaned children living at Sanctuary of Hope Orphanage in Kenya.  The children who live at SoH were rescued from living in the slums of the Mathare Valley with no one to care for them.  I cannot even begin to imagine my children no only being all alone, but all alone in a place filled with crime and disease. The products are beautiful and make lovely gifts.  A gift for the woman who made the item and is now receiving a fair wage doing honest work to provide for herself and her family.  A gift to whoever re

The Bittersweet of Birthdays

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There are times when my heart is so full and my mind seems to be processing way to much at once.  This has been one of those weeks.  My beautiful flower turned 3 on Tuesday.  Her birthday is a moment that is so bittersweet.  It is a moment of rejoicing in all that has been and all that will be for her life and yet at the same time a reminder of her beginning.  I realized in a casual conversation this week that I have no idea what time she was born.  You are probably thinking to yourself that this is an obvious fact that I should have already accepted.  But adoption is like that, all of the sudden, when you are least expecting it, you hit the next layer of grief.  And in all honesty, I hate that I was not there the day she was born.  I long to know what she looked like when she took her first breath.  My mind searches in futility for a memory that doesn't exist.  My mama's heart aches for myself, but also for my daughter as well.  With each passing season, she asks more and