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Thanksgiving

I was pretty bummed out about missing any and all family thanksgivings this year until I talked to some people in my family and realized that I had indeed been blessed to have missed out at least in part...I know what your thinking now....Is she serious? Is she jesting? Oh, what a sense of humor? or could she really mean that? Hmm....you shall never know!!!!





We had a terrific time with friends and the Moose learned that he could actually run, dive, and surf down a stair case. See, had we been with family he may not have learned this oh so important right of passage for young boys.


Black Friday was hysterical. Sarah and I were up and out a little after 3:30am, battling the crowds and laughing at ourselves until we were shopped out. I was hoping all the walking would help me get this baby out, but alas he is still snug as a bug in a rug.


I have not really been blogging much, more posting pictures. I think it is because my days are really consumed with motherhood and the last thing I want is to be on my computer. If I were to blog my writings would probably also consist of the same basic themes right now, so I am sparing you readers of that. Here are the themes, condensed, for you:

1. When, oh when, oh when, will I ever have this baby?
2. I want to move to Portland, Oregon. For oh, so many many reasons.
3. Seriously, I am smitten with the Moose.
4. Seriously, I am smitten with my hubby.
5. Puka drives me crazy.
6. I adore my Christmas tree.
7. Repeat (add in a few ramblings on social justice and dark chocolate too just for good measure).

A Holiday Confession of an Adoptive Momma

I am far from an artist. In fact, my current art projects closely resemble those that I proudly took home from the third grade. Sometimes, the Moose will ask me what in the world I drew as even he can not decipher my work.

"That's a spider.", I say, "Just like you drew."
"Sure, Mom.", he replies cautious yet sweet, "If you say so."

Yep, my artistic ability is that poor.

So, why then did I spend an afternoon with paint brush in hand, bending closely over my project even through the occasional painful contraction and back spasm?

It is simple~ because Jesus was not white with blue eyes and blond curly hair.

Tomorrow our family is hoisting up the Christmas tree and decorating the hearth. We are doing it a bit early just in case little Finn decides to show up. As is tradition here in SuBRABia the very first decor to come out of storage is our nativity scene.
I bought it at the Dollar Store when Jason and I were first married. It cost me eight dollars, which included a pretty wooden manger decked out in moss. To this day I am proud of this little purchase as it reminds me of my first married Christmas and the moment it is set out I feel that the Christmas spirit has truly entered our home.

But, one thing has always bothered me about it. It is not that all of the statues look a bit too ethereal or that Mary looks nothing like a woman who has just given birth. It is not even that Jesus has this golden blanket wrapped around him like a heavenly cloth diaper. I can deal with all that, it was after all a Dollar Store purchase.
What has always bothered me is that each and every statue is white, with blond hair and blue eyes. What bothers me is that this universal scene which represents something grand, timeless, and boundless has been confined in untruth in order to appeal to the largest purchasing audience.

Now that one of the greatest loves of my life, my first son who has skin the shade of perfectly roasted coffee beans, is old enough to see color differences in the skin of people around him painting this nativity became so important that I could not begin decorating for the holidays until it was complete.

As I am not a good artist the coloring turned out a bit off. Jesus may not have been white, but I am certain that he and the rest of the gang did not have a purple tint to them either. Ah, well. At least when Moose asks me if Jesus was purple I can tell him no. I can proclaim to him that Jesus Christ was neither purple or peach or dark chocolate brown, but that he most likely had olive skin and that he came into this world to live a message of freedom and deliverance so powerful that two thousand years later even on the shelves of the Dollar Store his life and story would live on.

All Boy

The Moose and I just finished lunch. I took the opportunity to share with him why we are going to be celebrating Thanksgiving at our church this evening.
I told him the story of the pilgrims and the Indians. We talked about the harvest celebration. We talked about the festival of Sukkot and the similarities between this and our Thanksgiving celebration.
The conversation led to a more serious topic of some of the negative and hurtful things that happened between the pilgrims and Indians (or as he says, the peach people and the brown people).
He even said a small list out loud of things he is thankful for. This list included eyeballs, life jackets, and that he did not have to eat an avacado today.

The conversation took a turn, based on the information he learnded about the peach people not always being nice to the brown people, to a role playing excersise.

I asked him what he would do if he was on a playground with a lot of other kids and he saw them being mean to a child.

After some thought he said, "I would tell them to STOP IT!"
He then explained that he would be nice to the kid that everyone else was treating poorly.
I asked him what he would do if all the other kids then started being mean to him too.
A very thoughtful look crossed his face. He shook his head in a up and down motion, as if agreeing with his own thoughts.
"Mom, I would bust out my sword and challenge them to a dual.", he said.
"Really?"I asked.
"Yep, really.", he replied as he shoved another bite of lunch into his mouth.

This just made me appreciate the all "boyness" of my little guy. He is compassionate, sensitive, caring, and insightful...but mixed in with all of that is a three year old knight in shining armor.

GoD And DoG by WJ Francisco

Turkey Day Table Toppers

I am not very crafty. In fact, for the most part I despise crafts. But~ I do love to see put a whole bunch of supplies onto the table and see what the Moose and I can come up with. Sometimes I have an idea on my own and other times I resort to the wonderful resources on the net. This time around, after collecting dozens of pine cones on our afternoon walk, I turned to the net to help me find use for them.

What you will need:
Pine Cone
Some kind of base (we used glade scented candle holder with candle so that it smells pretty)
Pipe cleaners
Hot glue
Paper (to make eyes) or plastic googley eye balls
feathers



Here is what they look like:

Baby G Update

Finn is due in three weeks. I can't believe this and yet know without a doubt that it is beautifully inevitable. The Moose talks about his baby brother all the time and with genuine interest and hope. However, he has also commented that he will be glad when "Mommy's tummy is small again" so that he can sit on my lap and I can participate in dance fests and running wild down our sidewalks. Honestly, I am looking forward to this as well and being able to put on my own socks.

When I first found out about my pregnancy I spent many a day and night in tears. This was in part to hormones, morning sickness, and a general fear of the unknown. I also was mourning the fact that we had to put our second adoption on hold. I have three specific memories of sobbing, like gut wrenching sobbing, in the stalls of public bathrooms.
Then a few months into the pregnancy, the day I wore a rubber band around my pants for the first time, I entered another stall and accidently shot myself in the face with the band that was supposed to hold my britches closed. This resulted in a smile.
A few months after that I again went into a stall and looked down only to notice that I was wearing my first pair of maternity pants completely backwards, pockets facing front. This resulted in laughter.

Since then, there have been no tears in the bathroom stalls of random restruants and stores. You could say I accepted the pregnancy itself, but what I really think happened is that I accepted the blessing of a child that I had not planned for. My mindset, which had been set firmly on our family looking one way, was remolded and shaken up. When people ask now what the plan is for our family growth I can happily shrug my shoulder. I don't know, but I am excited to see what happens.

Three weeks, give or take, Finn will be joining us. Wow. Just like his brother did even before we brought him home from Ethiopia Finn has entirely and completely captured us heart and soul. I sit here today thanking God that those tears turned to laughter and that I did not miss out on this child that he had for us.

We are still adopting again. We are officially on hold, meaning only that we are not activity filling out paperwork and progressing our case at this time. But, give us time to find some equalibrium with the newest addition to our family and we will begin moving forwards in the process once more.

With all that said, I wanted to remind everyone (especially here near the Holidays!) that we are still selling those beautiful Bolga Baskets from Ghana as way to raise funds towards our adoption. There is an account that we have that has not been on hold, rather slowly growing and preparing as we wait.

I have no idea when Finn will actually be here.
I have no idea when or who we will adopt our second time around.
I have no idea about a lot of things.

But, I do know that the Lord has already blown our minds with the blessing of Samuel.
I know that once again we are in awe at how our hearts grew and expanded to love our Finn.
And, I know that he has more in store for our family as we trust in his ways.


So~ if you want to see, check out, buy, pass on information about, etc our Bolga Baskets check them out here. In the meantime, pray for all of us as we anticipate and hope for Finn's official arrival in our arms.