Thursday, March 25, 2010

Miss Spider

" For finding your mother,
there's one certain test.
You must look for the creature
who loves you the best."
-Little Miss Spider, By David Kirk
I consider myself well read, but I didn't realize until recently that the books and Nick Jr series, "Little Miss Spider," are pro-adoption. Little Miss Spider herself is adopted by a beetle named Betty! We're always looking for more adoptive friendly reads, and this was a happy discovery.
On another note, I'd be interested to know if any other HOH kids are afraid of their shadows. Literally. While in Rwanda, we were surprised to realize that Etienne hadn't ever seen his shadow and screamed in response. At the time, he screamed at everything, so we didn't think much of it. Last week we FINALLY, finally found spring time. Poor Etienne and Ezekiel haven't been in America for much nice weather, and while outside walking, Etienne found his shadow. Fear overcame him and he cried and cried as his shadow followed him. It took big brother Blake playing a lot of shadow tag for E to overcome his fear. We're thinking our big guy didn't know his shadow because the walls of House of Hope were very high, there weren't many windows in the rooms and he may have spent his afternoons in the dark sleeping quarters. Amazing to me still, after 6 months home, all the things that we don't know that he doesn't know. Does that make sense?

Monday, March 15, 2010

Nightly Event

For those of you waiting for your children, this is a summary of your evening routine once your newest family members arrive: 1. Dinner is loud and long. Using utensils is a bonus. 2. Post meal workout (see above) of wrestling match. Remove all shoes and extra layers for safety purposes. 3. Dance party! KLOVE, Michael Jackson or Kool & the Gang are a hit. 4. Hide most toys. Too many is overstimulation and not enough leads to hoarding. 5. All kids then strip naked and run screaming through the house.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

"He's my favorite"

Etienne is speaking in complete sentences! The above title is what he told me today, while pointing at my grandfather, "Mommy, he's my favorite." My grandpa, Marv, lived his life as a western Nebraska farmer and postman, and I can guarantee he NEVER imagined he'd fall in love with his African grandson! These two are hilarious to watch together, they giggle, snuggle and chat. To Ryan and I, this is an especially remarkable display of God's goodness. Prior to our bringing the boys home, we had reservations about how and when we would tell my grandparents that our newest kids would be African American. We should have known that God would use Etienne and Zeke's chocolate eyes and snuggly pudge to soften hearts.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Ode to the Ergo

Oh, Ergo,
I'd heard of you for oh so long,
Denied your neccessity was denying my back pain
My baby needed held, my baby needed touch
The wraps, the slings, the bejorns and such
I scoured the craigslists, cosignment stores and blogs
When attending a chili feed, another fellow adoptive mother
Gave me hers!
And my back and my baby oh so happy now!
To any adoptive mama with a toddler or a baby, you must invest in a Ergo! They are crazy expensive new, but if you can find someone to borrow one from, I can't tell you enough what a difference in bonding and in functioning they can be! Ezekiel can also be on my front, but he prefers the back (Rwanda style!) and even sleeps there. And it's a workout too!