Thanks Dad

Thanks to my Dad, I had the privilege of joining my Mom and sister at the US Figure Skating Championships.

Thank you Dad for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to watch our figure skaters battle it out for the Olympic team. But more importantly, thank you for giving me a great excuse to spend time with my Mom and sister.

Who's Hoo?

Like most toddlers, my daughter is very curious about everything...well...private...if you know what I mean. One day while Isaac and her were taking a bath she wanted to know what Isaac's was called. I don't remember what Hubby told her but when she asked about hers, Daddy told her it's a "hoo-hoo." The name has stuck.

Monday Jocelyn got her first baby doll for her birthday. Today she took off her baby's diaper to show me her baby's "hoo-hoo." I have added a picture just in case you are not sure what a "hoo-hoo" might be or who's hoo we are talking about.

Vacuum Etiquette

It is important when you finish vacuuming to properly store your vacuum.

Vacuum Etiquette...very important in our house.

And Now You Are Two

In January of 2008 you were born in a very small village in Ethiopia to a beautiful Mommy and Daddy. How do I know they were beautiful? Because you are beautiful. You are beautiful from the curly hairs on top of your head down to your adorable little toes. I fell in love with you from the first picture I saw of you.

While waiting to bring you home, we got to watch you grow and grow...

May 17, 2008...

August 2008...

October 2008...

February 2009

In April 2009 God continued working miracles when a lady I met through her blog emailed me to let me know she was in Ethiopia and would we like her to visit you.

She prayed for you...took pictures of you...and brought you gifts...

As we waited through 6 court dates you continued to grow and grow...

In September 2009 as we prepared to travel we received one last set of pictures...

Boy had you grown...

You were 20 months old the first day we held you in our arms...

And when we brought you home...

 

Then you were 21 months...

Before we knew it you were 22 months old...

And what joy you have brought to our home...

It's December now...your 23 months old...Christmas cards have been sent with pictures tucked inside...

 

Could it be?

Is it true?

Are you really two?

 

Yep...it's true...

You really are two...

We hope you enjoyed your cupcakes...

And presents too...

But more importantly may you always know how much we love you...

Living in Oblivion

Being a stay at home mother of twin toddlers has meant living oblivious to most major news events. We have a TV but we rarely have it on when the kids are up. We feel no need to begin the television war with our kids. We have plenty of years ahead of us for that battle. Besides who needs TV when you are busy building blocks on top of your toy box (aka laundry basket)?

But missing the news every morning and/or night has meant missing important events. I do mean major. This would not include Brittney Spears shaving her head or Paris Hilton getting released from jail. I’m talking about real news about the world around us.

Missing the news meant that I was clueless to the earthquake in Haiti until someone mentioned it last night. My heart aches for the people of Haiti. Their loss is beyond anything I could ever fathom. But my mind quickly shifted to the orphanages in Haiti. Haiti has a very large number of orphans approximately 380,000 according to UNICEF. I wondered about the teams of people leading the orphanages. Were they safe? Did they lose their staff? Were they able to get the children out? Were all the children safe? How will these small staffs be able to comfort each child as they process this tragedy?

Then my thoughts drifted to all the families in process of adopting a little one from Haiti. There are so many unknowns in adoption. Your wait can be heart wrenching. I spent 17 months holding a picture of our sweet peas kissing their faces as I wept and prayed over them. Many times I lay prostrate on the floor of their bedroom which had been perfectly prepared for them begging God to bring them home. So my heart stopped for a moment as I considered all the families who are praying for the safety of their child. A child they most likely have not met. But a child they know. They have studied every last feature in the picture they have come to cherish. Their little one may not be physically present in their home but their little one does live there. He/she lives in the heart of their soon to be family, in the bed that is ready for them to sleep in, in the yard ready for them to run in and in the anticipation of the squeals and giggles that will soon fill their home. These families are no longer holding their breath for the day they get to bring their little one home but they are holding their breath to know if their sweet pea is alive and safe.

Many of the government buildings are badly damaged or have been destroyed. One of the court judges was killed in a building collapse. Many of these family’s dossiers are in these government buildings. Families are being asked to contact their adoption agencies and government officials to push for exceptions on Haiti passports so children assigned to families will be able to leave Haiti and go home to their new family.

Will you pray for Haiti? Will you pray for the people of Haiti? The cook at one orphanage has lost 11 family members. I can’t imagine the grief this person is experiencing right now. Will you pray for the orphanages? Will you pray for the families who are adopting from these orphanages? Pray that our government along with several other countries will allow children who have been assigned families to be able to go home without all the usual paperwork. More than anything pray that God will use this awful tragedy to draw people closer to Him.

If you would like to learn more about how one orphanage is coping please go to:

http://www.glahaiti.org/blog_dixie_haiti

The Applause…Heavenly

My sweet peas love music. No they ADORE music. They beg for it to be on all the time. And if it is not on they beg for me to sing. Did you know that I love to sing? Ok well maybe not as much as they would like me to sing but I have always loved to sing.

So what’s the problem? It’s pretty simple. I can’t carry a tune to save my life. Every once in a while I will have a good day and can sing every song somewhat in key. But those days are few and far between. It is for this reason that I cherish my sweet peas begging me to sing. I know the day will come when with the honesty that can only come from a child, they will say, “Mama, please don’t do that.”

The other day they were begging me to sing Jesus Loves the Little Children. I have book that takes you through Jesus Loves the farm land children, island children, dessert children, etc… After about the twentieth time I was through singing the song. But there stood my two adoring children with their big liquid brown eyes staring so innocently into mine waiting for me to sing again. This time I sat down on the floor in front of them and began to sing the song one last time. I even warned them that this was the last time.

Jocelyn began swaying side to side and kicking her leg behind her with each sway while she sang “eeza, eeza …” over and over again. By the way eeza means Jesus. Isaac just stood there mesmerized by the song. It was like he was hearing for the first time instead of the umpteenth time. In fact it was hard to tell if he was even enjoying the song because he was so still… just staring deep into my eyes. But when I finished the song, I knew how he felt. He exploded with wild clapping while yelling “yay!” Jocelyn joined in with just as much enthusiasm. Nothing could have been better. It was like receiving the applause of heaven…and yes it was heavenly.

Did I sing the song again after their standing ovation? Hmm…I think you already know the answer.