Joys of the Newcomer

catching five fish, riding the zipline and swimming all before 7:30 am on the first morning in America Spin brushes Those little keebler elves driving a schoolbus

Inspiring Snoopy laughter

You know that part in the Peanuts cartoons when Snoopy is overcome with the giggles...One of my new little guys is seven years old. The other day his brother, age ten, having been out of the country for more than a month, needed a haircut in the worst way. Walmart was the easiest option, but I was concerned about taking my new little seven year old to a place like that. OK,he has never seen that much food in his life. We would get the haircur, buy some yogurt and leave. Suddenly in the aisle my seven year old is overcome with a case of the giggles. Like hold your gut and stagger kind of giggling! It was the Keebler Elves and their yellow cardboard schoolbus! These kids love cars and to see those dumb elves driving a bus full of cookies was too much. I will always get a case of joyful, giddy giggles as long as I live when I see one of those back to school displays! Adorable! Just as funny...mom playing on the playground equipment!

Hazards of the Newcomer

Do not open car doors when the car is moving Model Magic is not food Stay clear of swings

Catching fireflies...

Last night I was sitting on the bridge. Little girl was catching fireflies. FarmBoy was fishing. The big kids were swimming and eating watermelon. Seemed like the perfect place for our new kids to be. The blackberries are almost gone. Sure would like to share a bowl full with my waiting trio. Looks like their first fireflies will be next season...Wishing you were here on the bridge, on my lap with the weight of you grinding my ankle bones into thr concrete bridge rather than sitting here with the wait of you grinding into our hearts. If you are ok, then I can be ok. I wont know if you were ok for such a long time...praying for you always...

Carrying Eachothers Burdens

It took me quite a few years to get smart about the little purses ans other trinkets my oldest liked to bring with her on outings. "Can you hold this, mom?"I and then you've.the one ealking around at a party with Betsy-Wets-and-Pees, a silly puttu egg with six pennies in it and a half chewed but very special curly straw. Useless burdens, right? Distractiins. Annoyances. Almost like black flies, really. Pretty soon you really meamn it when you say "Leave Betsy here or carry her yourself. "I a" How about that big plate of food at the party? You were distracted ...talking...and your four year old has two drumsticks, 85 cheese puffs, 6 chocolate cookies and gobs of red jello with fruit cocktail sticking to his fingers, the side of his face and he's coming towards you in your cute white capris. You takethe the plate, right? Cause it's one of those stupid paper plates that you really need ten of, but he only took one cause he listened to that part and he was rying to be really big and get his own stuff. Besides you were talking again. Now he has more than he can handle and you take the plate, right? You wouldn't consider making him carry this teetering pile of goo. You sacrifice your cute white capris. You cut your conversation off. You find a place for him to sit. You stand. You try to get that jello off your pants with a babywipe. See, you're distracted again. Some kids are like this. Some of them carry big messy plates and we would never consider making them carry that plate alone. What if you took the same kid with you to the post office at Christmas time. He's 4coming years old. Your car is full of the bocce sets you are mailing to your nieces and nephews. He hasn't eaten. You're on the phone. You tell him to get out of the van and carry those packages for mommy. You get out, keep talking and roll your eyes that he's walking. So slow. You wouldn't do that!! Maybe he could carry one ball. You'd never expext more. You'd carry the rest. Even if it took several trips. Maybe you'd even ask for help. If you could see that floppy plate. If you could feel the weight of that bocce set, you'd never want him to carry even a tenth of what tou are. But he is. And you've gotten distracted and you've forgotten what it feels like to be a kid with baggage. Dear God, help me to love the jello stains. Help me to not buy those white capris. Help me to always see those burdens.

Now would be...

...a good time for a panic attack...if I had TIME!! Did I mention that we are in the middle of a musical that I am not sure we have advertised enough for ALL the kid while we will be bringing our three beautul new children home...soon...

It's a Boy!...and a Girl!...and another Boy!!!

Can you believe it??? We get to have more kids! Yeah!!!!!

A lamb is in my kitchen...

...because you only live once. And because you only live once, I said "yes" to Farm Boy when he asked if the lamb could sleep in his room tonight! My aunt emailed me at 2am that she had found a lamb on craigslist. I promised her I would not name it after her. Since it won't be Nadine, it sounds like it could be: Oatmeal, Skater or Cardigan. By afternoon we had worked out a trade: lamb for goat and drove out to make the trade. It is a cute little thing. I can hear the kids in the kitchen. They have the food scale out and are measuring and weighing formula for dinner in the lamb's bottle. This evening The Hero and I took a drive in the country and ate an early dinner at a country pub. He talked about his dahlia garden and his plans for some rock work around our place. That and a lamb in our kitchen are music to my ears . That means we are getting back to normal around here! We have weathered the storm and come out to singing! Constantly. I can hear four simultaneous songs and a lamb baaing right now: I'm a Believer (we are all so sad about Jones), Gloria, Theme from Aladdin. And On My Own...

for the past month...

...we have been praying over our adoption situation. We prayed at home and adoration and read books about aligning our will with God's Will. We are changing scenery here...new country, same need! God is holding the compass!!

While I am sure...

...that waiting is both noble and virtuous. I am really not in this to adopt good habits, I am really doing this to adopt some kids. I can work on those other virtues all day for the rest of our lives together: waiting for them to get in the car, waiting at the doctor's office, waiting for them to get their pajamas on...

It's not funny. I'm not laughing.

We have been in this process for more than two years now. Now all we get to do is our endless piles of paperwork again. And pay more money. And deal with other unforeseen complications. Wouldn't it be great if we were waiting because we were not needed? This is sick! I know there are millions of children who can not heal because they are living with open emotional wounds in limbo land. Enough of this beauricratic horror. I think of all the families who have quit because "God must be shutting the doors." NO, people! God is not shutting the doors. God does not want these children left as orphans. It is ugly. It is not funny. I am not laughing, but I am not quitting either.

Nissan NV3500 HD

Hello Fellow Reader (you know who you are) On a recent road trip I saw one of these! It is a new sweet ride for 12 passengers.

I can see clearly now that that burden is gone!

    We had to make some mighty big decisions in our family recently.  How God has rewarded!!  Peace and joy have bathed our fears and healed our wounds.  It is so much fun to trust GOD!  My children have experienced their father as a true hero and advocate for all children.  What more could you want as a child than to have a father like that?  It is incredible how much less is lost when you are not afraid to lose.  That is not to say that we have not all suffered with sadness, but an abundance of gifts has already been given.  Prune away, GOD!  Over the last few years I have felt this pruning going on:  letting the big house go, leaving my three best friends, shedding ourselves of material belongings.  Once again I feel so strongly that this latest pruning has been a very special way to prepare all of us to embrace our new children with UNCONDITIONAL compassion. My children had to leave their school last week.  They had mostly wonderful teachers at their school.  They have fantastic friends.  To tell you the truth, I was the saddest about them missing out on the two minutes here and three minutes there of their daily antics with their friends.  They love, love, love their friends!  I do, too.  We had been dealing with something unsettling for four months.  Unfortunately, the welfare of children was being put below the welfare of "the institution".  Unfortunately, despite great efforts on the part of the hero, our children suffered broken hearts.  The gift in this?  How much more compassion do you think they will have when their new siblings come home after having lost their parents, their culture, the familiarity of their surroundings and their new friends at the orphanage that they have made while waiting for us?  Losing a school is so much less than all of this.  Prune away!  We are ready to serve YOU GOD!

Rick Santorum

If I had readers, I would tell them to look up the Rick Santorum family on youtube ...