Its bigger than us.

  This is a shout out to Etienne's Barber Shop, Cross Cuts, in Crossroads Mall, in Omaha.  Today, when they learned we had just celebrated our Gotcha Day, the entire shop celebrated.  I love these guys all the time because they embrace our family.  They are as real as an African American barber shop can be, and they don't care that I am a white mama struggling to maintain a healthy scalp and tight twisty curls.  Every time we come  in, they turn on something like "Drum Line," turn on some clean hip-hop and make E feel like a prince.  Today was no exception.  They all relived Etienne's first 2+hr visit full of tears, language barriers and kicking him; than showered him with praise at his big boy behavior now.  It makes me cry just to think about the love that these men give my son.
  After leaving the barber, we headed to the bank.  The teller, as always, from her little window, talked about to the boys.  Than she said, "I remember when you came in here, needing crisp, new $100 bills and I was amazed at what your family was doing.  We just adopted a dog and I told my boyfriend that he should no that someday I have to adopt a child."  I feel awful I can't remember the poor girl's name and she has witnessed some ugly reality of post-adoption life.  The leaky, giardia-filled diaper in her lobby, the repeated undoing of the seat belts in the drive-thru lane, the screams so loud we played charades.  But God  used our boys to place a longing in her heart. 
  I left our errands reminded at how BIG God is.  In my day-to-day struggles, I forget that our boys, our family, our look, they are still 'new' to the world. What an amazing opportunity to give   Him credit for the chaotic, beautiful mess of a life we live.