Favorite Photo Friday

We looked alot better this day 12 years ago... course we hadn't been in the yard all day either! :)

Our neighbor flies a hot air balloon so all summer long we get "fly by's". This was awesome with the sun setting.

Hey Alex M., look who's rockin' the big boy shorts! :) This one is for you!

Tantrum Tuesdays (on a Thursday)

Hey Michelle, this one is for you!

So Michelle and I tossed around the idea that we should have a summer-long blog carnival called "Tantrum Tuesdays" in which we document and highlight the biggest tantrum of the week (even if it happens to be our own.) Well, as luck would have it, I actually caught a major tantrum on camera this week... and it was actually happening on a Tuesday, lo and behold.

Also, I want to just take a moment to thank all of you who might have been concerned that I was grossly misinformed about the name of "duct" tape. I realize that the tape is intended for duct work, but I think the name "duck" is so ingrained in my head that I typed it subconciously, but I really and truly appreciate you not wanting me to continue on in my ignorance, because when it comes to me, one never knows if I might be actually dwelling in the dark... hahaha... now that we have that straight, we can take a look at this collosal tantrum, as only Connor can throw them. And what better (more embarrassing) place to exhibit his self-assertion than a swim meet, in front of not only OUR entire neighborhood, but the entire neighborhood we were swimming against as well. These images are straight out of my camera, I have not even bothered to edit them yet, such was my excitement to share them with all of you so that you could develop a deeper and more meaningful appreciation of my parenting prowess!

Waiting for his turn to swim...

Being PULLED into the water by his coach....

Being pulled through the entire lap of the relay by his coach...

Immediately after the race, with his crush cup.... totally fine!

Now before you feel sorry for the little fellow in the photos above, keep in mind that a) he had already swam one race, his hardest, the backstroke, and did not complain one bit, b) his main complaint about not wanting to race was that the water was cold, but not ten minutes after his heat he was asking if he could get back in (to which I promptly replied NEVER because you might get too cold!), c) this was a relay and if I had allowed him to pansy out of it there would have been three other kids getting the shaft because of his stubbornness, d) he does stuff like this all the time and it's more about control than it is about fear or him not wanting to do it, he just has to have everything on his own terms and e) "We're not quittters!" Which is what I tell ALL four of my kids all the time, Harrisons don't quit things, we finish what we started and we'll reevaluate next summer if you don't want to do it. (Though in truth, he's probably doomed to have to do it because the other two are doing it and I want him to be busy like them. Plus I believe it's good for him.)

So....

Where do they get this stuff anyway?

This child.... (that's a bee-bee gun by the way)

who was still in his pajama bottoms with no shirt on at 5:00 on the afternoon... could also be seen THAT SAME DAY with his head hanging out the window of the truck yelling, "New York City, here I come!" What the?

These three just would NOT shut up yesterday... and since it was our anniversary, Brian and I really really wanted some time to ourselves. They wouldn't leave us alone, but it was sure alot quieter once we got out the duck tape.

No, that didn't really happen. It sort of evolved to this from Jack betting his friend Justin that he could hold his breath longer than Justin... then they got out the tape to somehow prove Jack was, indeed, holding his breath (don't ask me, I don't "do" nine year old boy logic), and one thing led to another and all of a sudden I had three mute children. I will say, it didn't hurt coming off nearly as bad as I warned them that it was going to. What in the??

You would never, ever, see girls standing on the see-saw in order to slam her friend into the ground harder on the other end! Seriously, why do boys feel the need to take a beacon of wholesome childhood fun and turn it into a death trap? Every piece of play equipment is a potential trip to the ER... if you are just now venturing into the land of boy parenting, consider yourself warned!

"Now you see, little boy, this here is the safety rig. You put the riggin' through this eye-loop and you secure it to the thing-a-ma-bob over there and you got yoreself a real...." or at least I know it was something like that.

Just another day in the trenches of suburbia.

The question of the day is this... why are my photos getting WORSE since I started trying to teach myself more photography techniques?

AND

Mac or PC?

Happy 12th Anniversary Honey

I have to take a brief moment to walk down memory lane here in what has truly been the greatest blessing of my life. I met Brian in February of 1994. I still remember what I was wearing the day I met him, I still remember what HE was wearing the day I met him. I remember exactly where we were and exactly the position he was sitting in at his desk, in his cube, in the State of Tennessee office building. He was wearing an olive greenish suit. (I will spare you - and myself - the embarrassing details of what I was wearing. I was only 23 so I'll just leave it at that, but let's just say that I was NOT wearing an olive green suit... but I think a banana clip might have been involved somwhere.) He had one leg propped on the other and his hand was resting on his knee, and I was immediately attracted to him. I am a hand person. I notice people's hands. I have always been attracted to guys, or not, based on their hands. And when I saw Brian's long fingers, his awesome hands that day, I was immediately interested in knowing more about this cute guy. I still love his hands.

I'm a country girl, I grew up on a farm, I never wore shoes until I left for college (I even went to the County Fair barefoot one time... ewwww), my dad is the Marlboro Man incarnate. I was raised in a Southern Baptist church where people who didn't think like us and believe like us were suspect. I had only met one Catholic in my entire life before I left home. I was 4-H'er of the year in 1984, for goodness sake... it doesn't get much more rural life America than that! I grew up going to rodeos and playing in the barn.

Brian is a city boy. He won't even walk across the yard barefoot and he hates it when our kids leave the house without shoes too (though to me, it often seems pointless.) Brian's parents grew flowers in their back yard around the pool. He went to Catholic schools from Kindergarten through undergrad. (There wasn't even a private school in my town, much less a Catholic one.) Brian's parents live on a golf course, my dad can shoot deer out his bathroom window, and in fact, has done so. Brian grew up playing little league games, going to the arcade, riding bikes in the neighborhood, and doing other citified stuff like that. I doubt his school even had 4-H, heck, his county probably doesn't even have an extension service, being a metropolitan county and all... there's probably not a farm in his entire county, other than the one near the prison where we used to walk the dogs. :)

Brian's family has memories of vacations to Florida. My family didn't take vacations, but we went trail riding with our horses where we often slept in the front of the trailer or the loft of the barn. Brian grew up going to college basketball games with his grandparents, I grew up spending hours on the fence of the hog lot watching the baby pigs that my grandparents had every summer. Brian's grandparents did have a garden on their Mississippi farm, but my grandparents plowed their garden with a mule and made their own soap.

Suffice it to say that we were not likely candidates for a relationship, much less marriage. Again, further proof that God has a sense of humor and a plan! :)

I wish I could tell you that I knew early on in our relationship that I had found a man who would be a caring and tender husband and the perfect father to our future children. But I am sorry to say that I was nowhere near that smart. I was 23 and wrapped up in myself and I can honestly say that God was simply protecting me from myself. If you could see the string of ridiculous choices in boys I had made before Brian, you'd understand. I think God went into crisis intervention mode when He created Brian and set him on a course to become my husband.

Brian has taught me so much in our life together. He is truly my best friend. When I see something new, visit somewhere I've never been, attend an event, or eat something tasty without him, the experience is always less than it could be if he were with me.

Brian has a joke that our marriage makes every year seem like two, but in reality, the years seem to have flown by for us. When I look around at our life, and everything God has blessed us with in 12 short years, I'm amazed at how quickly it's flown by. We've visited seven foreign countries together, almost every state west of Pennsylvania, owned multiple houses, been through job and career changes for both of us, and parented four kids. We've packed quite a bit of living into 12 years (and quite a bit of junk into our attic too.) But every moment of this journey has been better because I was sharing it with Brian.

Brian is an awesome dad. He doesn't spend his Saturdays on the golf course, he spends them coaching the boys or attending performances. He has given up pretty much every personal interest that does not involve our family or our children, and for that I am so grateful. He comes home from a 10 hour day at the office and he does whatever the boys want to do until they fall asleep. He has deep reserves of patience and energy and enthusiasm for them... whether it's pushing them on the swing, throwing the ball, or playing dinosaurs with Connor, he never says, "not now." ( I guess I can skip the Father's Day post I was planning now, huh?)

So, now that you're all gagging (or more likely, not reading... hello, are you actually asleep...) HEY, YOU, WAKE UP!!!! we can return to our regularly scheduled blog about nothing in particular. Happy anniversary honey, I love my life at the "Fun Factory."

Goodness Gracious, where has the time gone?

Oh goodness, I have SO many things I need to want to blog about that I don't think I'll have time. Plus I have to leave here in like 15 minutes because I'm supposed to take Jack (and okay, me too) to confession. Man is that one easy aspect of the faith to ignore. But boy do I always love it when I come out all cleansed and forgiven! :) Don't waste your time telling me I'm already forgiven, I know that! Duh, I know Jesus and what He did, but it feels really good to fess up to another human... so why do I dread it so much? Anyway... I'm digressing... chop chop... lots to say... little time.


First, let me update you on my fav. photos of the week. Actually, I can't show you my favorite one because it's of another persons kid and I'm not sure how she would feel about having it plastered on the internet (even if I am only viewed by two people daily, still.... ) Why, you might ask, is my fav. photo of someone else's beautiful child? Well, I'm so glad you asked because I couldn't wait to tell you anyway. I'm very distracted this week by all things photography and I'm playing around with a trial version of Photoshop Elements. I think I'm addicted and I think I have to have the real deal (only, it costs $149 and I have to finish my yard-sale clean out before I can have the money... more on that later.) So, for now, I'm playing with tons of photos of other folks kids while I learn photoshop, because, you know, I wouldn't want to accidentally screw up a great picture of my own offspring! :) So... here are my favorite un-Photoshopped photos of my chillen's this week....


We had our first swim meet of the season... my boys rocked the house! Seriously, Liam got the Sportsmanship award for the meet because he's such an amazing sport, and, um, he is a great cheerleader for his teammates. He gets real worked up about the heats, but he does great. He won several second place ribbons and a couple of third. Look how serious he is on the starting block... all focus! What a little stud muffin he is going to be in a few years. And by the way, with PSE I can totally take that girl's butt out of the background of this photo! :)


This photo is probably one of the best I took of the week from a photography standpoint. I love the composition of this photo, with the directional lines and all. I told you warned you I was off on a photography binge... I'm feeling all technical about my shot compositions this week for some reason. ?????

My father-in-law was off this week so he came into town to see the boys swim in their meet. I had originally planned to post a photo of him at the pool with the kids, but then I decided that I could possibly incite some serious inquiries from all you single ladies out there if I were to display his granite-like abs and enlarged biceps... so in the interest of keeping the competition down from my mother-in-law, I've removed the photo I had originally intended to post. Sorry ladies!

But speaking of amazing physique.... is there ANYTHING on earth cuter than this back-side? Seriously, my girl has such a tan already that her swimsuit looks like it's actually glowing. And that is not color enhanced. Please note the matching bow.... no outfit is complete without it!

And, this Tuesday, my yummy little nephew hung with us at the pool for a little while. He's very fair (I mean, he is Irish after all) so he's not going to be a sun worshipper anytime in the near future, but dang, I could just eat him with a spoon! Especially when I see him in that little hat, which was actually Connor's once upon a time. Umph!

This was Connor's first meet ever. He only swam in one race because he got pretty freaked out about making it the whole 25. I think they should start the little tikes in the deep end so that by the time they get tired they can actually touch. We'll work on the confidence and have more ribbons next week... but he did get second place in the race he swam in. Which is pretty good considering he held the rope for a good 50% of the way! :) Here's our little tuckered fellow, safe and sound in Daddy's arms!

One of my favorite things about swim meets is seeing them with all their markings! Here is Jack's back with his name and number. I know someday (when I don't have kids on swim team and I'm not sitting in the sweltering heat for hours of practice and meets) I will look back on these days with regret that I don't get to go to meets anymore. Or maybe not, but when I look at these body markings I know my heart will melt because there is something really precious about it to me. And it's representative of summer, which in our neighborhood, is the best!

Okay, you'll have to come back tomorrow if you want to know all the OTHER stuff on my mind, like:

Photography classes

Bible Studies

My man... and my 12th anniversary

Right now I have to run off and confess all my sins and cleanse my conscience!

"Orphan" The Movie

I received a disturbing e-mail yesterday from a friend of mine who is a pastor and a fellow adoptive parent. First let me say that the movie industry as a whole has just started to get on my ever last nerve. I LOVE... L.O.V.E. going to the movies! Brian and I dated and spent the childless portion of our married life practically living in the cinema. I would often see a marginally interesting movie just for the popcorn, Coke and movie theater experience. So for someone like me to become largely turned off to movies is not like someone (like my dad) who could take or leave movies anyway. I'm a movie lover, but am just totally over Hollywood and their oversensitivities to certain groups while seemingly TRYING to offend others!

If you haven't yet seen the proposed trailer for the movie "Orphan" (scheduled for release in July) then you should probably check it out before reading further! Here is a link http://orphan-movie.warnerbros.com/ I think it speaks for itself why this movie is a concern to parents who have already or are considering adopting. It portrays older child adoption, in particular, in a very disturbing and extreme light.

The following release is from a domestic adoption advocacy group (italicized comments are mine):
Voice for Adoption Expresses Concern About Release of Movie, “Orphan” June 8, 2009 – Voice for Adoption (VFA), an advocacy coalition of state and national organizations, is concerned about the movie “Orphan” and the negative perceptions it conveys about the 130,000 children in foster care who need permanent families.
“Orphan” is not scheduled for release until July 24, but its marketing has already raised deep concerns because it is premised on the notion that an older adopted child is profoundly troubled and it portrays negative stereotypes about the families formed with such children (“It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own,” says the adoptee in the film). Organizations dealing with adoption and foster care – along with parent and family groups and individuals around the country – are criticizing the film and its trailer as offensive and potentially undermining to children in need of families. “It has been a long time since a movie caused this much angst and worry in the adoption, foster care and orphan care communities, even before its release,” said Adam Pertman, Executive Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. “And I think their concerns are well-founded.” Efforts to date have resulted in a promise by movie executives for a new trailer. Scott Rowe, senior vice president of communications for Warner Brothers, admitted the company "messed up" in promotions for the film and that they will change the trailer. Possible Next Steps for adoption advocates:

• We ask that you please forward this statement to all of your networks, professional and personal.
• We also urge you to include the information in newsletters, updates, or announcements.
• Seize the opportunity of the movie’s release to portray the positive stories of successful adoptive families.
• Continue to monitor publicity for the movie to assure that changes have been made.
• Continue to contact Warner Brothers (Susan Fleishman is the Vice President of Public Affairs; Sue Kroll is President of Worldwide Marketing) to express your dismay that the movie was ever produced. (I could not find phone numbers of e-mail addresses for these two women, however, I did find a Warner Brothers spokespersons contact information: Scott RoweVice President, Corporate CommunicationsWarner Bros. Entertainment (818) 954-5806 or scott.rowe@warnerbros.com)
• While this movie is distressing to all adoption advocates, let us try to turn the negative into a positive, i.e. a chance to focus on the wonderful families that have been formed by adoption!

For more information please contact Executive Director, Nicole Dobbins, voiceforadoption@gmail.com or 202-210-8118. To visit our website: www.voice-for-adoption.org"

Right now I happen to be reading the book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. Taking on Warner Brothers for any issue certianly seems like chasing a lion to me. I simply cannot understand, with all the horrible evils that we face in our culture today, why a company such as Warner Brothers, with such a wide audience and large voice, would want to degrade an institution such as adoption, particularly domestic, foster care, orphanage, older child adoption (which already faces such difficult stereotypes) is beyond me. Is it the degradation of all that is humane and loving in our culture that they seek? Why such liberal organizations, who profess to push for the equal rights of every citizen, would choose to portray adoption in this light is simply beyond me. Whose brilliant idea was it to make a horror movie about an orphan in the first place? There is some discussion on the matter taking place at http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/why-did-warner-bros-have-to-change-the-trailers-for-orphan. You can read what some are saying, although I warn you that some of the commenting is over-the-top stupido! Here is a link to the ABC piece on the outrcy: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=7702341&page=1.

I, for one, will be researching advertisers for the film and contacting them individually about my displeasure over the entire situation. Unfortunately, adoption, orphans, and foster care are not a "protected class" that has become so sacred to our society. You can argue with me that this is "just a movie" and that it's "fiction", but there are groups that could have been attacked to Warner Bros. total demise. And I'm going off the PC train here for a minute, so bare with me.... Can you imagine if the movie was titled "Muslim" and portrayed demented zealots running around killing Americans (oh wait, that actually happened, never mind)? What if the movie were entitled "Homo" and pictured a demented homosexual running around killing people? Wouldn't there be public outcry? Would there be ANY defense of Warner Bros. and artistic freedoms? Would there be a place to hide from that? Angelina and Madonna have made adoption vogue lately, but apparently it hasn't done as much to further the cause of the fatherless as one might hope. Please don't misunderstand me here, I am NOT advocating that anyone or any group be attacked in this fashion; I am simply pointing out that there are groups that are protected from this sort of insensitivity, and often when the adoption community rises up in defense or outcry, we are largely dismissed or marginalized. Again, we are not a "sacred" class to the liberal culture.

Okay, stepping down off my soapbox now! Resting in these promises....

Exodus 22:22-24

"Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless."

John 14:18

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

Not Me Monday

We are two weeks into summer already??? I mean, we are two weeks into summer already! Oh, I meant to say, we are NOT two weeks into summer already. Whew!



It's actually time for another Not Me Monday.... the THIRD one of the summer! Do you get that the summer already seems to be slipping away from me... busy, busy, busy.



Hop over to MckMama's to see what all the fuss is NOT about... after reading what I haven't done this week, of course!







I did NOT work in my garden ALL day on Saturday. I would never need to spend an entire day weeding and hoeing because I keep such a tidy garden and that means that I never have to spend vast amounts of time in one day trying to get it where it should be.



If I actually HAD worked all day in my garden on Saturday, I would certainly have worn plenty of sunscreen on delicate parts of my body. I would have realized that my T-shirt was riding up in the back just the tiniest bit and I would not have ended up with THIS across my back.

This painful stripe does not hurt one bit when I am trying to carry Meg. Her legs do not hit me right where this stripe is. And of course, I am not having to wear the lowest rise undies because, of course, as I already mentioned, it doesn't hurt at all for things to touch this. Now if only I could find my Britney midriff shirts....

I do not have a daughter who likes to disrobe. I mean, I know that my boys were nudists (and maybe still are) for a great period of time, but I would never allow my daughter to run around buck naked. There is just something WRONG about that when the girl has SO many clothes. She did not a) answer the door for the lawn guy, b) greet company in the driveway, and c) gallivant out to the garden au naturale this weekend.

We do not have our first swim meet of the season today. It's not today, because if it were today, I never would have scheduled to have dental work done in the morning and a physical in the afternoon just one hour before the boys have to be marked and ready for the meet. And that would be really dumb of me considering this is Connor's first meet EVER and he will definitely be a bit nervous. So, this can't possibly be the first meet of the season, can it?

Now, what have you not been up to lately?

Isaiah 17:7-8
"Yes, the Day is coming when people will notice The One Who Made Them, take a long hard look at The Holy of Israel. They'll lose interest in all the stuff they've made - altars and monuments and rituals, their homemade, handmade religion - however impressive it is."

Bible Study

Okay, I think we have enough interest in the Bible Study to make the next move.... so far there are 11 of us interested. I am still trying to figure out the best way to do it. I think the best thing would be to have some sort of on-line discussion capability.... would we use some sort of Messenger and IM each other or just blog about our lessons or what?

Also, obviously, we have to figure out what study we are going to do. I think there are probably several different denominations represented so I want to be sensitive to any specific needs anyone has. I am Catholic (as you likely already figured out), but I am really open to anything as long as it's based on Biblical truth. I've done Beth Moore and loved her, but she usually has alot of homework and I don't know if summer is the right time to tackle that level of work??? If this works well, maybe we could shoot for a Beth Moore in the fall.

Another thought is that we could all get a book and read through it at the same pace (say a certain number of chapters/week, etc.) and then discuss it (or blog about it) on a certain day of the week. Maybe we could do a Mr. Linky type thing where anyone who wants to join could just link in.

OR... what if we set up some sort of discussion group either through something like the Blog Frog (like the MckMama forum) or a Yahoo e-mail group like many of our adoption agencies have.

Anyway, if anyone has any great ideas for studies, let me know. Some I have been interested in doing but haven't found the time are Esther (that's a Beth Moore), the Good News About Injustice, any of the Priscilla Schrirer (I did "He Speaks" last spring and loved it) and there are a few others I can't think of off the top of my head right now. I am not good at making final decisions, so if anyone feels strongly about it, please let me know. Otherwise, we'll just sort of go with the majority. Please feel free to throw out your thoughts on studies you have been dying to do and we'll all chime in and see where we land... yay! I am very excited to get this going. I just know that I am getting ready to grow and God is getting ready to open my mind to some plans He has for me through all you awesome bloggers. I just love how He is using all of us as a community of believers, even though we've never met in person.

Lots of little ideas

First, I had an idea today to do a Blogger Bible Study. Would anyone be interested in working through a study together? We could possibly find one that does on-line video (like Beth Moore) or just get workbooks (like Five Conversations You Must Have with your Daughter) and do the lessons in sync. Then we could just chat via Mr. Linky or some other way if someone has ideas.... anyone?????

Also, just want to say that I had a tiny tiny part of planning the dinner for Katie Davis today. I am maybe going to sew about 300 yards of fabric for table covers. Anyone who wants to come for her dinner, please feel free to seriously consider bunking with us. It won't be the Waldorf, but you're welcome! Karyn? You might share a bed with a kid in a Pull-Up, but it's free! :)

**** Information, per Jan's request.... Katie is speaking just south of Nashville at The Factory on July 17 at 6:30 PM. Definitely worth the drive! The tables seat 8 and are $500 per table. There are only 12 tables left so if you are interested in coming, I really would love to know now so that I can be sure you get a seat!************

And I am thinking that I just want to have a Blogger moms and kids meet and greet. Anyone for a lake house over the summer or possibly meeting up at the beach for a weekend with all the kiddos? I am needing some time with my peeps! :)

Love you guys, e-mail me privately if you have my e-mail, or you can always comment if you like any of the above ideas and want to encourage me to make it happen. hehehe

Peace out, as they say!

Favorite Photo Friday

When several of you left me comments congratulating me on my new cat, I very smugly thought, "Oh no, I'm a sucker for dogs, it's true, but I will NOT be keeping this cat." But then, the cat started doing things that I don't think normal cats do. He is long suffering. Have you ever known a long-suffering cat? I personally have not. When I say long-suffering, I mean like he will tolerate (grumbling) the kids packing him all over this house, holding him upside down, making him "dance" around on the couch, and he has even convinced the 90 pound dog that he is not a force to tangle with (the dog literally puked last night from stress over having to be near the kitten.) See, this kitten, Mickey, will growl and meow from the near tortuous things being done to him, but he doesn't run away. When they set him down, he just snuggles up right where they are and sleeps off the stress of being loved by a four year old.

And this is one smart kitty. Almost instinctually, it's as if he knew who in our house would be the real opposition to his residency. He knew automatically who it was that he needed to win over, who to show special affection for, who to cozy up to and melt with his cunning kitten charms. I think I had sucker written all over me from the moment I picked him up off the asphalt, but he chose Brian. Do we ever really choose a cat, or do cats choose us? So in a very non-Christlike fashion, you have to earn the love around here (at least if you are not human) and this kitten has earned a place in this family by sheer patience, tolerance, and survival skills. He's cuddled up with a child every night and stayed where he was put. He has not gone outside the litter box this whole week (though admittedly he had a couple of accidents the first week.) So, Brian and I have agreed that he can live OUTSIDE and we will feed him and love him. Anyone want to take bets on how long it takes us to boot him out the door?


Swim season is upon us. We have our first meet next Monday and Connor is doing great in his first year of swim season. True, he's in it for the glory. He asks me every day at practice if this is the day he gets his trophy. But in working for that golden cup, he is getting good exercise, strengthening his swimming skills, and building community for himself. But one hazard of our pool is what we call "cherry toes." You can't see it too well in this photo, but the kids get these little raw spots on the ball of their big toes from the rough pool surface. I suppose it's from bouncing around on your big toes where you can barely touch??? I tried the aqua socks last year and they literally had holes in them after ONE DAY at the pool. So it's a right of passage that everyone in this family (and this neighborhood for that matter) goes through when they are around 3.5 feet tall.

I talk alot about my awesome brother and his precious wife, but I don't know if I have ever shown you how beautiful they are on the outside. Here is a photo of them from her graduation. Notice that she graduated with HIGH HONORS, not just any run of the mill beauty here. My brother is very smart to have chosen a mate who is more gorgeous inside than out (and obviously, as you can see, that's a pretty high bar to reach) AND she's smart. Seriously, I am so crazy about these two people and I can't tell you in words how incredible they are as human beings.

Last but not least, this is definitely the number one favorite photo of the week. After 9 years of parenting, I have learned one thing for sure.... kids would rather play with a box than almost any other item you can find.

Do you see anything weird about this verse?

2 Samuel 23:20

"Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion."

What's wrong with this picture?

I am saddened to hear that someone shot Dr. George Tiller (known as Tiller the Baby Killer.)　He was shot down in church. Ｉfind this so hard to believe...first of all, I don't understand how someone who attends church can also perform over 60,000 abortions in his lifetime, but I also don't understand what makes someone walk into a church with a gun and take a life. I don't understand what makes the shooter feel that he is any different than the doctor in the first place.

I'm saddened because it also gives a bad name to pro-life advocates. This is exactly what the pro-life movement DIDN'T need and I'm ashamed that there are people associated with something I am passionate about who don't respect life.

But what saddens me the absolute most about this entire situation? Really, it's that reportedly, Dr. Tiller had killed over 60,000 babies in his lifetime. He took the life of 250 babies who were beyond 21 weeks into their pregnancy just last year. And guess what, he made over $1,000,000 last year for his efforts.

What's wrong with a world where killing babies makes you a millionaire and saving them makes you poor? What's wrong with a world where the Dr. Tillers of the world get rich while Katie Davis has to beg for money to feed children who are already here? Satan is a total JERK!

Not Me Monday

It has NOT been months since I participated in a Not Me Monday. Nope, not me, I would not lose attention for something fun like a blog carnival and then suddenly remember that I enjoyed it... oh look, there's a chicken....

If you aren't familiar with Not Me Monday, then you have got to head over to take a look at MckMama's blog. You might find that there are alot of other folks out there NOT doing all the same stuff you're not doing either! :)

I want you all to know that I absolutely DO NOT check all the comments on my blog BEFORE I read my other e-mails. I mean, how silly would that be? The folks who are e-mailing me directly probably have something to say in relation to something of relative reality... not just comment on what I have been thinking about. So really, it would be pretty vain of me to care more about what folks think of my thoughts than what they are reaching out to me for directly, right? So I would never do that, I just wanted to assure you all of that.

I did NOT attend my sister-in-law's Pharmacy School Graduation last Thursday. My sweet sister-in-law, who really, I am so lucky that my brother fell in love with so I could have a sweet sister to go along with my rockin' little bro! And while I was at her graduation in Memphis, I did not sit next to one of the most useless people on the planet. He did not yawn VERY loudly several times during the ceremony and he did NOT stay seated during the prayer AND the pledge of allegiance, as if he just couldn't be bothered to make the effort. And I was not thinking the entire time that I wonder what person there was lucky enough to be so important in his life that he gave up a whole two hours for them (apparently very reluctantly at that.)

And, speaking of my rockin' family, my brother and sister-in-law did NOT take, oh, say, 15 people, to Texas de Brazil for dinner after the graduation and PAY FOR THE WHOLE THING! (It's like they think she's getting ready to have a paycheck or something.) Seriously folks, they plunked down some major dough on this meal, but I think I found all the weight I lost when Meg came home while I was there. I'm pretty sure it had been left under that very table that I sat at this week. I'm still not sure how I left it there (or how it snuck back up on me), considering this was my first trip and all, but I assure you, that was, in fact, my weight. How do I know it was mine and not the previous patrons? Well, because it jumped right back onto all the exact same spots it was before Meg came home.... as if to say, "I've waited SO long for you to find me here." It's very happy hanging out right there on my butt. I can't say I was as happy to see it as it is apparently to see me, but it seems to be here to stay. Now, I think someone was doing a blog diet recently, maybe I need to go find them.

We did not go to the lake yesterday and take these fun photos. This is not the second time this season that we have had the boat out. I can't believe we've made it to the lake two weekends in a row, that's some kind of new record for us. Big fun, though.

Connor testing the waters

Liam and our buddy Luke, playing on the tube

It must be tough to be THIS cute!

Our sweet nephew, Brody, just chillin' on the boat

So much beauty in this photo my heart can barely look at it... Meg and our niece, Reilly

Have a great Monday. What have you not been up to this week?

Randm Thoughts Thursday

Okay, I'm leaving for Memphis in one hour for my fabulous sister-in-law's Pharm. school graduation (Congratulations Grace, I can't wait to share this moment with you that you've worked so hard for!) so I have to be quick. Here are some random thoughts floating around in my head that I just have to get out....

Can a cat die from too much love? Seriously, if this little guy survived the heart of stone that abandoned him, can my children now love him to death? They don't put him down. Ever!

I went to the African Children's Choir concert last night and let me tell you, it was a peak into heaven. Because only in heaven will I be able to move with as much rhythm as these children have. They were moved by the Spirit, clearly, and we were ALL blessed beyond measure. You should check them out and if they are in your area, please don't miss a chance to take the kids to see them. The children sat up front and danced along with the choir and it was a real blessing for young and old... and their stories are amazing. And you will realize that no matter what your situation, you are blessed if you are sitting in a house reading this blog! Of course, we had to represent our girl, Gwen, because you just know every one of us was thinking of little Joseph. So we were wearing our blue or orange T-shirts. Yes, we were matchy matchy, but it got alot of folks asking questions. What a great night!

My kids didn't attend the concert because they had a flag football game last night and LIAM ran for a 55 yard touchdown! Way to go Chiefs! :) (Sorry I missed it buddy.)

Yesterday we were in the car and I threw out a banana peel. The kids went nuts about littering and I told them it was okay to throw out food because it's bio-degradable. The car went silent for a minute and Connor said, "I just call it litter." :) Touche funny boy!

I cried all the way through the concert last night, my heart aches for the orphans of the world and all the pain! Why did God make hearts like mine and then bottle them up in a paralyzed world? There must be SOMETHING I'm supposed to do that's bigger than what I am doing. I'm telling you, people who think I'm doing a good job (and I know all three of you say that because you love me) have no idea how tiny my world is and how little impact I am making. I want to do MORE MORE MORE for Christ!

I'm going to leave you with the quote of the night. My friend Amie asked how to get involved with these kiddos and the most simple and philosophical response was given, this is my quote of the day.

"All you have to do is raise your hand!" Awesome!

Wordless Wednesday????

There are several blogs I follow who participate in a "Wordless Wednesday" carnival where you show a photo and say nothing... no thing! But I could NEVER be that wordless... once I thought there were no words to express how I was feeling, but then it turned out that, indeed, there were actually words. So, I gave up after that one attempt and decided to be the person God meant me to be... a blabber mouth!

I have a new favorite, cherished possession. My mom gave me Granma's Bible this past weekend. My grandma was the closest person I've ever known to the heart of God. Seriously, I couldn't name a fault the woman had and I heard her praying night and day my entire life. She walked with God in a way that only those who know her could understand when I say that. Her Bible is taped on the binding and there is a WEALTH of notes in the margins of this Bible. It will take me years to get through the notes, I'm sure, but it's become my new referrence material. You can be sure when I look up a verse in my NIV, I will be looking up the notes in Granma's King James. Mama, thank you so much for sharing this with me! It really means so much to have it.

Which reminds me, with all the excitement over the kitty (now being called Mickey) I didn't get a chance to mention that we had our family reunion this past weekend. Once a year, my two brothers and their families and my sister and her family all get together at my mom's house for Memorial Day. I think my oldest brother (still younger than me by one year) had the best description I've ever heard this year when he said, "This weekend is always like you crammed a family reunion into a cannon and shot it out." There are four of us kids, plus spouses (8 total), my parents (making 10) and 10 kids. So that's one adult per kiddo and my youngest brother doesn't even have any children yet. So the days are coming when we will be far outnumbered in the kid to adult ratio. And the oldest child is 9, so you can imagine a bit of the chaos. Well, maybe you can't imagine the chaos that surrounds sleeping 20 people (most of whom my mom can put in a bed, but five of those beds are in one large room, so you can imagine, maybe, what that looks like.) I have the funniest photos of the day on Saturday when the kids were all shiny and clean and cute at the beginning of the day. Then by the end of the day, I'll just show you a photo of my nieces feet and maybe you can get an idea of how much fun the kids had being together that day. I will say, for only getting together once a year (we are all pretty scattered around) the kids pick up right where they left off and there are rarely any tears, even from the littlest ones.

So, the kitty got a clean bill of health, more or less, from the vet. Brian, would this be a good time to tell you that the little u-turn you made on the interstate cost us nearly $100 with Dr. Jim? Anyway, he has an eye infection and some parasites, both of which are being treated with meds. He is only FOUR WEEKS OLD and the vet thinks someone threw him out of the car that wasn't quite still yet because he has some pretty deep little gouges on his face. Can I just take a moment to tell you how WORTHLESS these folks are! Seriously, if you can throw a four week old kitten from a moving car, you are completely dead inside. There is nothing in you that is tender or loving! Particularly, if you even have a four week old kitten in your possession you probably own the mother, which makes you a complete LOSER that you could love one cat and dispose of her offspring like that. Seriously, I really get teary thinking about it. I know that there are PEOPLE who could have been helped with that $100. But I also know that God did KNOW that kitten was on the side of the road. 100's of motorists had already passed him and no one had stopped. I was passing by at 75 mph and I SAW this poor creature, who was the same color as the road, I might add, and that is just the heart God put in me. It's not in my nature to let anything defenseless suffer. And I would have still been wondering what happened to this kitten. So in my book, I was just doing what God expected of me. If He knows every bird of the field, then He knows this kitten and He also knows the scum who dumped him and He would love to redeem that person too, so hopefully, the loser who threw Mickey out will have some pretty sleepless nights. I won't hold my breath. Besides, I think it's Deuteronomy that specifically says that if your neighbor loses and oxen, it's your JOB to care for this animal until your neighbor can return for it. Boy, am I totally the OPPOSITE of wordless or what? :)

I want to give a shout of congrats to my friend, Kristi, who has the most amazing heart. She and her family are now the proud parents of Lucy Lane, a little baby in an orphanage in Africa. They passed court yesterday and will be leaving to pick up this precious baby on June 13th. Congratulations Kristi.

Also, please check out Gwen's blog. She has some new shirts on there that are rockin' cute AND they are LOVINGLY hand sewn. I wish you could have seen Gwen, Suzanne and myself yesterday, with about 20 kids running around Suzanne's house, sewing these shirts on her dining room table and precious Maggie Oatsvall, sitting with us, cutting up the left-over shirt fabric with a pair of Kindergarten scissors. Seriously, that vision alone is worth the money for the shirt! So, if you're looking for some new "in your face" wear, check out the Oatsvall Village. By the way, the brand of shirt is actually called "In Your Face!" :)

"We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows." Lamentations 5:3

Where's Amy when you need her?

Okay Amy, I helped you out with cat names (even though you didn't use any of them.) Now where are you when a sister is in need?

Today on the way home from the lake (more adorable photos on that later!) I was on the cell phone and out of the corner of my eye, literally, at a glance, at 75 miles per hour, no less, I see this TINY kitten balled up on the shoulder of the road. I start begging Brian to turn around. He goes one exit arguing that the mama cat is in the vicinity and the cat does not, in fact, need a rescuer. But then the backseat pressure kicked in and he had no choice whatsoever. We got to the next exit and he turned around, drove about 8 miles round trip back to the scene of the abandonment, and sure enough... here he was!

As you can see, he's in pretty bad shape. He was so tiny and so weak that he literally did not move his head when I walked up to pick him up. I had a beach towel and just scooped him up. He never even acknowledged that I had picked him up.

Then my soft hearted husband, who didn't want to rescue the cat in the first place, stopped at Wally World and bought some kitten milk and a tiny little bottle for this little fellow. He was so hungry that when I put the nipple to his lips he started chewing on it so hard he chewed the end of the nipple off. :( He ate about .9 ml three times (whatever that is, I'm really bad at math.) I'd say he was hungry.

My neighbor, who's a cat lover, told me to keep him out of the carpet until I take him to the vet to see if he has fleas or not. So right now he is in the boys bathroom in the bathtub with a tiny shoe box full of litter, a cup from Meg's tea-set full of water, and a feeding schedule of every 2 hours. Ask me how much I love this kitten at 3 AM! :) Anyway, I'm such a softy and I couldn't leave the poor thing on the side of the interstate to be eaten by an owl, which is surely where he was headed.

Brian already gave the kids a big lecture about nursing him back to health and then finding him a home and for us not to get too attached. This could present a problem for this household, but I'm sure that someone out there, who actually KNOWS SOMETHING about cats, will be a great family for him. I don't want the shelter to get ahold of him, after all, I didn't rescue him from the owls just to turn him over to the gas chamber. So... anyone in the area who is a cat lover and who is up for the task of nursing this little fellow to health, please let me know.

And in the meantime, if any of you have nursed a little kitten like this into a healthy cat and you have some superb advice for a cat lover, but not a cat knowledgable person, please feel free to lay it on me!

Proverbs 12:10

"A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel."

Favorite Photo Friday

I have so many favorites this week I don't know if Blogger will accept them all... so without further delay, let's get started on a fun week in review, via my camera lens. By the way, I want you all to promise not to be jealous of our new pool. I know it's gorgeous and I know you all wish you had one, but not everyone can live the dream. Just try to enjoy the photos without the ugly jealousy part! :)

"VINCE! Get out of that pool, RIGHT NOW!!!!" He seems to be saying, "Who, me?"

I can't decide if this photo of Meg....

or this one, is funnier. What do you think?

As promised, here is a photo of some of the forks from the covert birthday celebration in my neighbor's yard this week. It's not the best shot because it was a drive by shooting, but you get the idea.

"For the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering."

Judges 2:18

Thank you friend!

Kristine gave me this award so I am going to do it right now before I forget... because Becky tagged me a long time ago about picking up the closest book and turning to page 50 and writing the first sentence on the page, and I never got around to doing it because I put it off... yeah, I'm like that, if I don't do the thing RIGHT NOW, it won't get done. So, for Becky, here's page 50 of the CLOSEST book to me... (actually the book only goes to 48 pages so this is from page 48) "No one is going to catch me, lady, and make me a man. I want always to be a little boy and to have fun." James M. Barrie, Peter Pan. Also, sweet Barb over at Holm Sweet Home gave me a Lemonade award a long time ago and I never got around to that one either... SOOOO, I'm doing this one from Kristine RIGHT NOW!

Kristine has four kiddos just like me. And like me, three of them are adopted. And they are Russian. And she just discovered that she likes colored undies... so you'll have to go check out her blog if you want to find out all about that craziness. But she's a fun gal and a friend and I appreciate being named in her all-adoption list of award winners!:)

So now I have to name some blogs that I think you should check out, and I have to tag them too!

It would be my first inclination to nominate Gwen and Katie, but of course, they would not have time to participate and in fairness to those of us who have a little less of a life than these two warriors, I think I should nominate people who can actually pass it on. I want to nominate people, though who are doing a work for orphans, so who to call on? Well, who advocates more than those who have lived by example through adoption?

Nicole is a precious friend and she has the most adorable little Russian princess. She has a heart for orphans and her heart was stolen for them when she adopted Miss Ava. I'm expecting more exciting news from her in the future, go check out the photos of her little tsarina.

Lindsay has one of the most thoughtful blogs I have ever read. I hesitate to nominate her because her blog is private, but many of you may have access and she is an amazing mother and writer.

And because I love A Thorn Among Roses blog, I am adding them to the list. This is what a family should LOOK like... I mean, literally what it should physically look like... all different sizes, shapes and colors, because, you know, that's what God's family looks like.

The Carolina Girl and her family are getting ready to head off to Moscow on June 1st to meet their baby girl in St. Petersburg on June 3rd (who will be joining two big brothers when she comes home.) Stop by her blog and wish her well and maybe a few prayers to go along!

Get a little bit of This and That, but mostly you'll get a woman living for Christ, loving orphans, and pursuing God's dream for her life. She found my blog by pure accident Divine intervention and we have commented back and forth to each other since. It's exciting to see what God's doing in her life!

Okay, I could go on and on and on, like I love to read the musings at "This IS the fun part" and Heather at Highly Caffeinated has me cleaning my house, which is no small feat, but it's probably wrong of me to keep rambling on and on while my daughter sinks further into her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse addiction, so I am off to get her into the sunshine and water my garden. I promise to post photos of the forks VERY soon! :)

And don't forget to "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed." Proverbs 31:8

I'm not a doctor, AND I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night!

I know I'm turning into my mother, who always has a bit of medical advice for me whenever I have an ache or pain. Although I haven't told her yet, I do have poison ivy (first time in my life) and I don't know how to get rid of it. Although my mom works for a doctor's office, she's full of HOME REMEDIES. And she believes a good round of anti-biotics can kill anything in the world! :) So... mom, how the heck do I get rid of this poison ivy?

On another note, my friend told me today how she has been having certain unmentionable symptoms for like six weeks. I have her convinced that she might have Hepatitis A (I had it in 2001 and it sounds alot like what she's experiencing) so she went off to the acute care clinic to have her blood tested. I really am becoming my mother, aren't I?

If you ever click on any of the blogs links I follow, you might have noticed a recurring theme last week... my friends are CLEANING their houses... yawn, sigh, GUILT! So, my friend Kristine had me really inspired and I actually spent a good part of Sunday afternoon cleaning and decluttering my downstairs. My problem is that I am absolutely obsessed with floors! So whenever I start to clean, I get bogged down in the hours I will spend trying to make my wood floor shine! The carpet, on the other hand, gets NO attention because I hate carpet and no matter what I do it never looks good... but my wood floors... oh yeah, right, I was decluttering. So anyway, Heather posted about how much FUN it was this week to do her five minute per room tidy, so I am thinking that I might be missing the boat. Never one to let a little thing like peer pressure go unyielded, I am determined to start this 5 minute miracle clean tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

Last but not least, three neighbors and I relived a little of our high school mischief tonight. A friend and neighbor is turning 50 tomorrow (happy birthday Janet) and the bus-stop moms all did a little yard decorating tonight! It was tons of fun. We hung 50's all in her bushes and trees and forked her yard. We used 500 plastic forks and wrote a big 5-0 in the grass and lined her front walk as well. I will try to get a photo tomorrow morning so you can see the maturity level happening in my neighborhood. I hope we didn't give any of the teenage kids any ideas... school's out on Thursday, they are probably prime for some mischief of their own.

Shearing Day at the Farm

We went from this....

To this....

Signaling the official arrival of SUMMER! at the Harrison household! And just for the record, my son's hair is so thick that I might need to invest in an actual shearing set because the $8 set from Wally World that has worked so beautifully for MANY SUMMERS (see proof from 2005)

with my other kiddos, bogs down multiple times on this kiddos head and has to be cleaned and restarted! On another note, I think this might be the only photo I own where Jack and Liam are spontaneously showing any sort of affection for one another... they are holding hands (AND SMILING?) What!?! It must have been a full moon or something!

Happy Thursday!

"...that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." 2 Corinthians 4:10

Life is crazy here....

and it's about to get crazier. The boys officially have seven more days of school. Today is Connor's last day of Pre-K 4 and in one short hour I will pick him up from The Little School to which he will NEVER return! :( Next year it's off to Pre-K for him. My baby boy is getting too big! I will also have a FOURTH grader and a second grader... along with a little Mother's Day Out diva... take two. Remember last year it was just too early for her to be apart from me, but this fall I will officially start to have some free time after nine years of mothering the masses.

These two are thick as theives.

Meg decided to get a head-start on her painting skills for next year. Yesterday she asked if she could paint. Luckily, I had the foresight to set her up in the garage because she thought it might be fun to dump ALL FOUR paint bottles into a pile and rub it with her hands.... multiple times... she came inside to wash her hands several times before I realized that she had walked through the paint too and was putting little green footprints on my new area rug... gasp! Needless to say, that was the end of the painting session. Sorry to thwart your creativity, little Picasso.

And making a rare adult appearance on the blog, here's a photo of my amazing hubby with the main lady in his life... Oh, I know that I have him forever and she will eventually leave him for another man, but he doesn't seem to acknowledge that right now. He's thrown his heart under the bus completely! And he can't say "no" to her. Seriously, he will say yes to her ten minutes after telling the boys no to the same request. Oh, brother, are we in for a long road to adulthood with this one!

Meg and I celebrated our last day of just the girls by taking a nice long walk. I rewarded myself with a breakfast of half a loaf of Hawaiin bread! YUMMY! :) Hope you have a great day....

In honor of Mother's Day...

Because I "de-Mommed" my own ride yesterday (otherwise known as cleaning out the car), I thought you other mothers out there might think this was as funny as I do....



Enjoy!

And Happy Mother's Day

Favorite Photo Friday (or Saturday???), I hope...

Okay, I am going to attempt to upload a very short compilation of photos that plays more like a movie than a slideshow. Let me set it up for you.... I think I posted a few weeks ago about the robin that built a nest in the Birch tree right off our patio. We have had a great time watching her feed her babies, etc. However, I wasn't prepared for how quickly the babies would leave the nest (or maybe this was the pesky brother and his sisters pushed him?) At any rate, he wasn't very smart to hit the ground at my house without proper flying ability... uh, did anyone mention that I have a 90 pound RETRIEVER... of.dead.birds! Anyway, survival of the fittest right?

After us trapping Vince (the dog) in the house ALL MORNING so that the bird would be safe, and Googling what to do with Fledglings that leave the nest before they can fly, and BUILDING THIS FLEDGING A FALSE NEST and nailing said nest to the tree and lining said fake nest (also known as a milk jug with the top cut off) with paper towels and cotton balls, and fetching the ladder, and catching the baby bird while his mother (or father) swooped down on us and tried her best to distract us away from her infant, and then climbing the ladder using NO HANDS because, uh, my hands were gently cradling the baby bird who was trying to screech at the top of his lungs to let him go.... after all that... the ridiculous bird would not stay in the new nest either! Turns out he had not actually fallen from the nest, he had left voluntarily and no amount of coercion or frustration or pleading was going to keep this determined little fellow away from the big wide world that awaited him. So what was left to do but have a little fun at the poor birds expense? Like I said, survival of the fittest. And I'd say this little bird can survive anything after living through this day.

By the way, turns out the dog isn't much of a hunter of live birds... it seems to be the lifeless kind he prefers to retrieve. Since this day, we've had two others from the bird family land in the yard and he seems not to have noticed them in the least. Oh well, good news for the birds, I guess. Now if I could just figure out how to keep them out of my garden....

This is the truth...

I am cautious about posting this because I don't ever want to deter someone from adoption. However, if the truth deters you, the reality is that you probably should be deterred. You don't do anyone any good if you bring a child into your home "just to rescue a soul" and you aren't prepared for the reality. The truth? It's HARD sometimes. The older the child is at the time of adoption, the longer the child has been in the orphanage, the degree to which the child was parented or not, all are factors in how easily the child will transition into your home. But this is something that not many agencies are talking about and I don't really understand why. I know there are SOME agencies out there that are presenting the information and some of the ownership of this is on the family to seek and find the probability of what adoption is going to look like, but in the end, not many people are talking about the hard stuff.

There are tough issues to deal with no matter how old the child is, but if a child is very young (say, under three) the likelihood that you are going to deal with prolonged attachment issues is greatly decreased. There are exceptions to every rule and some five or ten-year-olds come home and hit the ground running. But the reality is that not everyone can be an exception to the rule and it's better to prepare yourself to fall into that statistic and be PLEASANTLY surprised rather than the other way around and be shocked when you are not the exception to the rule.

So many agencies and families want to focus on the exciting and glamorous part of the adoption process. We want to talk about how much we are going to love the child, how we are going to deal with well-meaning (or not) comments from folks in the grocery store line, we want to make sure the family has working smoke detectors and safe stair railings, we want to talk for hours about what to take when we travel and what to expect in court. But the real rubber hits the road when you've been home three weeks and your new child is totally overwhelmed, scared, angry, sad, confused, grief stricken, and immature in her/his ability to deal with emotions that even adults don't know how to process. Add to this the fact that you, too, are overwhelmed, exhausted, confused, angry, worn OUT from both adoption and travel, and you have this stranger who is DEMANDING EVERY OUNCE OF YOU because they are scared, confused, etc. and you have a combination for a complete mental breakdown. If you aren't prepared, if you don't see it coming, if you don't have a strong support network (not of birth parents, but of folks who have done what you're trying to do SUCCESSFULLY... you know, don't take financial advice from broke people, and don't take parenting advice from people who haven't successfully navigated what you are trying to do either), if you don't REACH OUT when you FIRST start to feel overwhelmed by it and if you aren't prepared to totally batten down the hatches, circle the wagons, and BUCK UP, then you are going to fail.

It's okay to fail to an extent. It's in our failure that God can be glorified, but here is the important part, when you fail, you HAVE got to be ready to cry out to the Lord, with your face in the dirty fibers of your unvaccuumed carpet and let Him know that you CANNOT love, parent, care for, protect or heal this little wounded one. You cannot do it, it's not humanly possible, and this is the place where God steps in and fills the gap. What I am telling you is this... you CAN'T do it! You CAN'T!!!!!!! But it CAN be done! It CAN and it will be the greatest blessing of your life. It will change you forever and you will never regret it for a moment. But you have to know that you CAN'T and it can't all be done perfectly and you have to give up some of yourself to do it well and you can ONLY do it if you are willing to let the Lord do it through you. If you are one of these people who has it all together and can't function if it's not all together, I can tell you from experience (not personal experience, but counseling experience) that you are going to have a much harder time than the people who are sort of willy-nilly to start with. That is not in any way to say that you shouldn't adopt. That is to say that you should walk through that door with your eyes WIDE OPEN and know that you are going to hit a wall and you will hopefully see the wall coming way off in the distance and reach out for help before you hit it. And you will already know who you are going to call WHEN you see the wall coming so you're not looking around for the rescue boat while the storm is raging!

I am a passionate advocate for orphans. I am PASSIONATE about adoption. But I am also fiercely opposed to people adopting for the wrong reasons or becoming so bogged down in the forest of transition and attachment that they lose their way and can't get back. "Saving a child" from an orphanage and then abandoning them either through disruption or continually abandoning them through little abandonments day after day is NOT "saving a child", it's abusive and they would have been better off in their home country. (Gasp, I dared to speak the unspeakable!) It's not a noble thing to bring a child into your home in a foreign country for ANY reason other than a desire to parent a child. If you are motivated by the "romantic notion" of being part of this glorious rescue, boredom, or missions, then I would question whether or not you can sustain the level of energy that is going to be required of you to wade through the thigh high muck of attachment parenting and the bog of transition!

I am not writing this to discourage anyone from adopting. I think we are ALL called, EVERY ONE OF US, to serve orphans. But that doesn't ALWAYS mean you are called to adopt them ( though clearly, many are called that never answer the call because I know it's not the will of our Lord that any should languish in orphanages.) My point is, know that it's going to be hard, knwo that you are most likely going to need to spend some money on an attachment therapist, know that you need to reach out to other parents and be VERY closely involved in the daily stuff with someone who knows. If you don't have that support network, find one! If you're call IS to adopt, then by all means, PROCEED in the total light of truth in knowing that it is the most rewarding, life-changing, blessed, amazing and beautiful experience that anyone anywhere has ever been part of. But walk through that door aware of the reality and seeing the valley you will be required to traverse if you are to experience the glory of that promised land. The Israelites wandered for 40 years.... there is no prescribed time for how deep the valley is that you will have to cross, but if you are persistent and prayerful, you will come out the other side and your reward will be greater than you ever expected. God is abundant and extravagant in His love for us. But His burden is not always light and children don't typically come into your home thankful for every single thing you give them that they never had. They don't say, "Wow, I'm so lucky that I was plucked out of poverty into prosperity and I just want to be the most obedient and thankful child that ever lived." It just doesn't happen that way in real life. So by all means, ADOPT! ADOPT many! Live, eat, sleep and breathe adoption, but don't be fooled and don't be dismayed when you are asked to empty yourself into this child. To whom much has been given, much is expected!

Luke 4:25-26
"Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner...."

My Ebenezer

As of today, May 5, 2009, I have known my daughter for one year! What a tremendous blessing she has been for me. What a gift and privilege God has bestowed on me to allow me to parent this precious little feminine soul. She is everything I had hoped a daughter would be and more. I could never have hoped or asked for a child as beautiful to the eye as my daughter. AND I could not have been given a more "girly" little girl. She loves all things girly and feminine. Her favorite color is pink. She likes Hello Kitty band-aids and plays sweetly with her Polly Pockets. She can play dolls for hours and is already asking me to "babysit my grandchildren" (she brings the babies to me when they are crying.) She also has girly fighting habits.... she will pull your hair faster than you can say "scat" and she likes to pinch and scratch if her brothers fall out of line. Even that is a reprieve from the fist punches and full-body tackles I am used to with my boys.

One year ago today, this is the little girl we met at Baby Home #12 in St. Petersburg. I will never forget that day. She was shy and cautious. She eyed us with suspicion and wouldn't get anywhere close to us. She stayed close to her physical therapist, who is in the photo with her. We only got to visit for about 15 minutes because this was our "unofficial" meeting. She's gorgeous and healthy and still such a baby in this photo. When I look at her now, it's so hard to believe she has grown SO much in a short year. I don't have a "baby" anymore, she's growing up TOO fast!

Today, I am so filled with emotion for what God has done for our family. This "thing" for the children He has given me to fuel my life and form an instant bond with so many other mothers and blog friends. The way He chose to build our family has taught me so much more than I ever would have known without this plan. All these things that God has done, He did for OUR good, which is the thing that blows me away. In the end, all the blessing, all the struggles, all the money spent, all the time away from individual children, all the frustration of dealing with foreign governments, all the pain and all the joy, it was ALL for US... not to rescue a child, not to serve Him (although those are certainly by-products of adoption), not to save anyone but Brian and me. The mind-boggling truth is that God does all these things, allows us to serve Him in a way close to our hearts, so that WE could be changed and saved and blessed. He does it for us, out of His great love for us, and out of His desire for us to know Him in a deeper way. I'm blown away by the tender and extravagant way my Lord loves me!

And today, this is my baby girl. She talks up a storm, is still cautious with strangers and eyes them suspiciously until she is sure they are not going to try to peel her away from her mommy. She is watching "Barbie Fairitopia" right now, which is the first girly movie we've watched in our house, maybe ever. And she wanted her hair in pig-tails today that look like this....

It would have been "enough" to parent a little girl who wasn't as beautiful as Meg. But in His abundance, He saw fit to go overboard with His blessings and I want to let this post and my whole life even, be a monument to how far He has brought us and how richly and overly blessed we are.

1 Samuel 7:12

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."

Not one to live in the past....

but it's hard to resist remembering that this time last year, Brian and I were sitting in the Cincinnati airport watching the Kentucky Derby at a little airport pub. We were edgy with excitement and also alot of nerves as we were on our way to Russia to see our baby girl for the first time and explore a new foreign city. I'll never forget that trip. I'll post more over the next few days as we relive the one year marks of the days we experienced on that first trip. My favorite moment from arrival in St. Petersburg was when the driver saw our massive amounts of luggage and his eyes got HUGE! Brian and I rode all the way into the city with large suitcases on our laps because for some reason, Nina had thought it might be okay to pick up the Americans in something close to a "Smart Car". :) Remember that Brian? Funny!

While you enjoy this brief intermission (also known as the last weeks of school when Mom's are running to and fro trying to over-achieve the other classroom moms! :) please enjoy this bit of musing from a fellow blogger... Granny in FL. It's so funny I laughed out loud through many parts of it. By the way, Granny and others out there, for some unknown reason, I cannot comment on blogs where the comment section is set up to make you choose an identity to go with your post. For some reason, it will recognize my log-in, accept my comments, but never post them. It always says, "Error Loading Page." Could this be yet another problem with my aging computer? Or maybe more like a user error?