Picture of the Day

Here is the picture of the day - CrazyD style. I should mention that at the previous game Miss Bookworm scored a goal. She normally plays defense, but she was playing center mid when she had the opportunity to step up and hit a shot from the 18. It was a very nice shot.

Updated Sidebar Photos

I was just going to update the photos on the sidebar, but then I thought I should preserve the old photos in a post. This is not really for you, but for us, since this blog is the sum total of our family archive.

Picture(s) of the Day

I take most of the photos in our house, but these are compliments of CrazyMom. Since they are her photos, I am putting them on the blog "CrazyMom Style." I often call her over to the computer to show her three photos and to ask her which one should go on the blog. "All three," she will say. "Edit, edit, edit," I will reply. But then every time she finds a post on another blog where there is a whole cute and adorable series, she calls me over to show me what a good thing it is. Of course, in my mind I am wondering why they did not pick just one.

The Good Stuff About Adopting

In the subsequent discussion resulting from the post regarding the tough stuff about adopting, Anna Maupin said that she thought it would be good for us to share about the some of the pleasant surprises that we have had. It is hard to pass on a good idea like that, so hear are some of the things for us. Please leave a comment and share your good stories with us, too.

First, I have been surprised by the good it does ones heart to love yet another child. I know in my head that our hearts have an incredible capacity to love, but it is an entirely different thing to experience your heart loving more people. And when you experience it, you realize that it does your heart good.

I have been surprised by how much I like brown skin. In the past when I had thought about brown skin my thoughts were dominated by racism in America. Now that I live with brown-skinned kids, I get to enjoy the qualities of brown skin without always thinking about racism. Also, I love taking pictures of them and working with the richness of color that there is as light spills across their skin.

I also love seeing the things that are largely universal in kids. All of our kids are different, but all of them have some things that are the same. Seeing the things that transcend culture, race, and nationality is a real treat.

When I asked CrazyMom about this she said she loves the diversity of culture that is now in our home and the perspective that adoption brings to all of our children.

Also, when CrazyMom hears K.D. complaining about not having a toy or not getting a second piece of candy she smiles inside. It is just so satisfying to see that he no longer has to complain about a lack of food or a lack of clean water.

These are a few of our fun surprises. So how about you? What fun things have surprised you?

Soccer Season

We sat out soccer for the last year as we have taken time to settle in as a family. It is now soccer season again and we have come off the bench with four out of the seven kids. Ed and F.G. got to be on the same team this season, which is great since this is F.G.'s first time with an organized sport.

At the game last night, Ed and F.G. each scored two goals. This was certainly exciting stuff for them. Here is Ed taking advantage of a goalie who was a little out of position.


Each team has six girls on the field and one in the goal. Here is Ed with five of the six field opponents.


F.G. is an intense player as you can see here.


It is a little hard to tell what is going on here, but if you look close you can see that F.G. is scoring a goal.


Here are two sisters celebrating after F.G.'s goal.

Nighttime Prayer

K.D's prayer from tonight:

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for this day. Help all the kids who don't have a mom and dad to get a mom and dad. Help them to get food, too. Help us to have good dreams and no bad dreams.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Prescription Drugs

A few years back my father developed a sickness that was accompanied by a fever. His doctor diagnosed the problem and wrote out a prescription. “What would have happened if I lived before our era of prescription drugs?” my father asked. “You would have died,” replied the doctor. What used to drive us to the grave now compels us to go to the pharmacy to get our prescriptions filled.

All three of the children we have brought into our home from Ethiopia have come with some medical conditions. As the doctor describes what they have it sometimes seems serious because they are not the type of things we have here in the States. Then he writes out a prescription and instructs us to make sure they take a particular pill for a few days.

The simplicity of it all is amazing - take the magic pill for however many days and then this thing they have been living with for years will go away. It is far easier than dipping in the Jordan.

Not only is it simple, I get paid to do it. I drive to Giant Eagle with my $1-off-per-gallon-of-gas-for-a-new-prescription coupon which saves me $30 in gas. Sometimes the drug is on the 400 drugs for $4 list and I end up making $26 bucks on the deal. If not, I pay the $10 co-pay and only make $20.

When administering a prescription drug to my kids, I will tap one of the magic pills out of the bottle and into the palm of my hand. As I look at it I reflect on what good this pill will work in my child’s body. I also reflect on how our world has been structured in such a way that many people don’t have access to the medicine they need.

James tells us: If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? (James 2:15-16)

I am truly blessed to live in a home where I have access to the prescription drugs that my family needs. But I must not forget those who do not and I must find a way to try to get them “what is necessary for their bodies.”

Unsupportive Family

In a recent post many of you shared some amazing stories of the tough stuff about adopting . Carissa shared that the difficulty she is facing right now is having parents who are “unsupportive to the point of refusing contact.” That is tough stuff indeed.

Carissa asked for some advice, but I feel unqualified to give it. CrazyMom and I have been blessed with a supportive family and have not had to bear that cross. I have heard multiple stories of parents who were against their adult children adopting. It seems like they are concerned that the new child is not the same color, or the child will consume too much of the family resources, or the child is handicapped, or the child will have a negative impact on the other kids in the home. Fortunately, it seems that many of these parents who wish the adoption would not take place change their minds after it does and they have developed a relationship with the child.

That is about all I know. If you have walked this path, please feel free to leave a comment for Carissa.

Misc. Events from Tonight

The table was set for supper and I was just getting ready to take the steaks off the grill when I got the dreaded question for the second time – “Dad, can we eat outside? Pleeeeaaase!”

Now I like being outdoors, but dinner for nine on the deck can be a real hassle. As a guilt-alleviating consolation prize I suggested that we have dessert on the deck instead. After dinner I opened up Dad’s Sundae Shoppe where the sundaes were so good that F.G. spontaneously decided to give me a tip.






I told F.G. one time that she looked like a rock star when she got out of the shower and had her hair down. She remembered that and tonight after her shower she showed up with a guitar.


Anna liked the rock star role as well and took the guitar when F.G. was done with it. She is quite the ABC singing rock star.

Fake Ouches and Real Ouches

At school lately I have been promoting a phrase that our faculty came up with about a decade ago – healthy respect for self and others. Along these lines I told some of my students about the “ouch” system. If someone says something that hurts a little, say “ouch” to let them know. Sometimes people don’t realize when they are not being respectful to you and gently pointing it out can be beneficial.

Well, tonight CrazyMom was going out with her girlfriends but first she was helping me get out the door with the seven kids for soccer practice. I came bustling downstairs and happened upon CrazyMom tying Anna’s shoes and giving instructions to Ed.

CrazyMom: Ed, when you are getting ready for bed tonight, remind dad to give Anna her medicine.

Ed: OK, mom. I will.

CrazyD: Ouch. That hurts, hun.

(I feign competence in caring for kids and this was an attack on my feigned competence.)

CrazyMom: I knew you would hear, too.

CrazyD: I am not sure that makes me feel any better, hun.

CrazyMom lifts her head from Anna’s shoes and grins and gives me one of those you-know-you-love-me-and-you-know-I-love-you-and-you-know-I-need-to-tell-Ed-to-remind-you-to-give-Anna-her-medicine looks.

I can fool a lot of people, but I can’t fool CrazyMom.

********

I just got done putting the kids to bed and I am sure I would have remembered Anna’s medicine, but we will never know for sure. I had multiple surrogate mothers reminding me all night to give it to her.

When I put Anna to bed we snuggled a little and she wanted me to sing to her (very scary, trust me). She seemed sad. As I tucked her into bed she looked up at me and on the verge of tears she said, “Momma bye bye?”

Ouch.

I had told Anna that momma went bye bye and I now could see that bye bye to her was something much more serious that CrazyMom going out with her girlfriends. I wondered if “momma going bye bye” was a phrase that brought back memories of another mother that had gone bye bye.

I gave it another try by saying, “Momma went in makina (car) to see friends and eat dabo (bread). Mom will come home and sleep here.”

“Mamma night night?” Anna asked pointing in the direction of our room.

“Yes, Mamma night night.”

Anna’s face was no longer teary, but not peaceful either. As she assumed her sleeping position with her hands together tucked under head, her eyes were in a distant stare. There was some memory there which I could not see and which she could not tell. I bent over and kissed her gently on the head and quietly left the room. She was soon asleep.

There are fake ouches and then there are real ouches.