Dried Up

Everything is just kind of drying up right now. My beautiful mums are wilted and dry (maybe that's because I neglected to water them this fall, ha!). The soft dirt in our flower beds is cold and hard. My girls' fish tank has almost no water and needs a WHOLE lot more, (once again, probably because I neglect that poor lil' fish). And all 3 of my kids' skin has eczema patches dispersed throughout their lil' appendages. The dry season has arrived.

Holidays are such a fun time-- and such an important time to cherish people, valuing the minutes, hours, days we have with them.  It's not always easy to do that. This year, for the first time in my life, I'm now realizing what it means when people say that holidays can be the hardest time of year. It's a reminder. It's a reminder for many people that life goes fast. It's also a reminder that there's a LOT to do; type A people are in their prime (and still stressed), and the type B people are effectively putting off the to-do list (also still stressed). This time of year is also a reminder that we have lost people, and maybe even feel dried up a bit/numb because of that.

Tonight I was at the YMCA for my kids' swim lessons. As Emma was showering, she tinkered with the water temperature: first too hot, then too cold, then "ahhhh, perfect mommy." I couldn't help but think about the kiddos in Ethiopia who, in their own homes, clean themselves infrequently with a bucket of cold water. My sweet pea tonight got her shower for today "just perfect." What a drastic discrepancy. Thought about what it means to be dried up again, as I was watching my kids swim and shower and put on their layers of clean clothes to stay warm.


My family is experiencing a new taste of dryness this season. We are, we can't deny that. Losing someone close to you is hard and comes with a whole new level of "DRY." But we are blessed, there's also no denying that. Emma and I talked about her "just right" shower tonight and she said she is just so happy that she will get to bring a little person home to share her food so they don't have yucky food. (In many third world countries parents have to feed their kids something called "cookies" as a source of nourishment. This is made of water, salt, dirt, and vegetable shortening). She said she also wants to give those kids things because she wants them to have warm showers.:)

We got great news from our agency today that we have moved up 8 spots on the waiting list! We are thrilled...because we are moving. That brings refreshment and life to dryness. And it breathes life into us as we dive into the season ahead. We are thankful.

Dreams that DO come true??

Disney World. That's where we are. So very thankful my parents had this idea to all come here as a family together. So grateful to them for this opportunity. Fully aware at the cliche line that this is, but..."it's been magical." Our kids have never been more excited for the next turn to go around, the next line to stand in, the next princess they might bump into...or, the next bed to sleep in!




Everything just seems easy at Disney. People are smiling (maybe it's the funnel cake in their hands?),  folks are happy, and everyone seems to enjoy spending time together as a family. I would beg to differ that Disney = "vacation" for the parents though!! As fun as it is, my bedtime has been earlier this week than when I was in elementary school!

While walking Main Street USA in good ol' Magic Kingdom (in addition to other parks), we have indeed seen many trans racial families with adopted children. It has made me smile every time we walk by. Yesterday, a little Caucasian 4 year old girl had her arm around her Ethiopian brother for a picture, about the same age as her. They looked so happy in front of Nemo and Dory and I got the chills thinking about my kids with their arms wrapped around their brother.
Honestly, it looked normal, to me...
It was fitting.
Other passersby smiled at the scene as well.
But is that scene really Main Street USA?

I had a dream last night while I was sleeping. In it, I was telling friends about the numerous trans racial families we saw in Disney. As I was excitedly sharing my story with them, one of my buddies said to me, "Libby, please stop talking about this," as one of her acquaintances had joined the group. I asked why and she said I was making people feel uncomfortable because I was talking about adoption and different looking families. My response, "Well, it sure will get REALLY uncomfortable for people when I have my son standing next to me then." And I kept talking.

I woke up with tears in my eyes because the reality is that my dream last night may indeed come true. I will have conversations like that with people. They will be hard and they might make my blood boil a bit. Main St USA won't look the same for our family as it does for others.

But we will always have an awesome opportunity to show the world that we adopt because we only have one life to live. We adopt because God has adopted us into his family, and it has changed us. So, even if that dream last night DOES come true, I'm okay with it.

The Tortoise and The Hare

Everyone knows the premise of this fable. I read it as a kid in my English classes. I taught the difference between fables, folktales, myths, etc. to my 7th grade Language Arts students. I discussed the moral of this particular fable with my enthusiastic students who always liked derailing me and getting me off the class lesson for that day! What is the moral of this oh-so-famous fable?

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

The Hare did everything in HIS OWN power to get to the finish line first. He was rude, impatient and egotistical. And, as we all know, the poor rabbit didn't win.

Oh but the Tortoise...!! The Tortoise...he kept on plugging away despite the exhaustion, desire for a nap, and his slow moving legs. He never got distracted and he didn't stop on the long path. The good ol' Tortoise won the race, and he felt proud when he did!

So, I'm sure you can see the comparison in my mind. Of  course our family is in a "race," or better yet, we're hiking a super long trail. We may think we have control over the twists and turns of this trail, but we would be joining the Hare in his foolishness if we did. We received our monthly update from our adoption agency today and it was indeed much more fruitful than last month (see post from Sept. 28). We moved up 6 spots on our waiting list, and additionally, saw that 5 special needs children were placed with families! Encouraged. :)
So, indeed, we keep on plugging away with the Tortoise. We have to be patient and know that the trail ends with our son's face someday. There's always a need for our hearts to be checked so as not to become like the Hare: distracted, impatient, arrogant, entitled.

 So please continue to pray for our family as we press on-- and hike. Thanks for rejoicing with us and checking out what's new in our world.