Spring Break 2016

Ah, Spring Break...I think I'm in love.

Your timing was perfect as we were all feeling a wee bit burned out.

We needed some time just to chill,
not rush,
read and read,
discover beautiful bugs,
and get bored enough to spurn creativity...

Thank you Spring Break, I now feel I just might be able to finish the school year out now.

swiftly fly the years: Eli Cade turns 9

I can't let the month roll by without documenting that somehow my little tiny Ethiopian 3 year old with the huge eyes and frowny face turned 9?!!

Our first picture of Eli.

I get asked all the time if Eli is "that sweet" all the time.
My answer is no, he is only that sweet most of the time.
He can pick on his little sister with the best of them and knows how to instigate a fight out of Ezra...but he really and truly is the most laid back, easy going, sweetest little boy I have ever met.

And I'm so stinking glad he's mine.

He is typical 9 year old in that he loves legos, Star Wars, and soccer. He is atypical 9 year old in that he never has to be reminded to do his chores, is the first one out the door to help me carry in groceries, loves salads and vegetables and spicy foods, is super meticulous, and still sleeps with his beloved stuffed animals. (I hope he doesn't hate me for publicly admitting that one!)

He requested a few buddies to come up to the house to ride the go-cart and play lazer tag for his special day. His dinner of choice consisted of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and applesauce.
And his "cake" was a plain cheesecake with strawberry topping.

Eli Cade,

You are one sweet and funny and loved boy! We are crazy for you and love your gentle go-with-the-flow personality. You have grown so much this year, in all areas...and Daddy and I are so proud of how hard you work. You are my little hero and your life is such a strong testimony to the faithfulness of our God. 

Happy happy birthday! 

I love you,

Mom

p.s. I will forever frustrate you by telling you how much I just love your curls and cute button nose =)

Photojournal, Holy Week 2016

Even Zoe got involved in clean house, clean hearts day this year. 

And the Zooble was a big helper preparing our passover Sedar meal this year. She's getting so big...

Our new life seeds sprouted just in time!

The Easter fab four in all their finery.

Easter dinner was at our house with our Via family...and sweet Cohen celebrated his first Easter.

Happy happy Holy Week!

This week is Spring break for us...where I can properly recover from my holy hangover =)

Holy Week, It's Here

I'm pretty sure I've written more about this week than any other subject over all the years I've had this blog. (You can read about previous years here.)

What can I say, I love this week. This time of year. This holiday.

And I can't resist, I say it every year...

Who really cares about Christmas if there isn't an Easter?!!

My prayer this year (in the midst of an ever changing dynamic within our busy family) is that the Easter story will be found fresh in my own heart and in the hearts of my children and that these activities won't just be fun traditions we do every year, but that the significance of this week will come alive to all of us.

It wouldn't be Holy Week without our traditional planting of the seeds and re-creating a tomb scene.

Happy Holy Week from the fab four! 

to be seen

"Watch, Mom!"

"Mommy, look at me!"

"Did you see that, Mom?!"

These phrases echo throughout my day.
Any mom's day.
Over and over.

It's what kids do, this looking to see if someone is watching. Validation and shared excitement communicated in eye contact.

And yet, in the realm of adoption, this initiation of eye contact is more than just a normal childhood development: It's a mirror into the depth of attachment or bond between a parent and child.

A few months ago we were with a group of friends and there was a footrace among all the kids Ezra and Eli's age. They all started off equally, but by the first turn Eli has launched into full blown Ethiopian and dominated the rest of the race. What can I say? Running is in his blood.

I was watching the whole thing on the sideline.

As he came off the finish line I saw him looking around with a huge smile on his face.

As I realized what he was doing, this self-proclaimed non-emotional girl found a huge lump forming in my throat...He was looking for me. 

He wanted to know that I had seen him.

Our attachment journey had a rough start and we've hit rocky patches along the last (almost 6!) years. I likened it to a dance once, awkward and fumbling at first, sometimes taking a few steps backward before a few more graceful moves are learned. And like with anything, practice makes...not perfect, but better, oh, so much better.

And sometimes after all that practice I am given the gift of a glance shared after a win, between a boy who just wanted to know that his Mom had seen him and a Mom who just wants her boy to know that he is seen.

island of misfit photos: i-phone photo dump

I may not be finding time for words, but the pictures keep coming..

17 miles into the VA Creeper Trail bike ride will give you faces like this.

Only 6 miles in at this point and everyone is awake and smiling.

The kids are all uber interested in learning how to cook "alone." The boys made an apple pie pictured here that would make you want to slap yo' momma. Seriously.

Apparently you are never too old for homemade play-doh.

A peek into an Intro to Apologetic and Worldview class Jeremiah and I are teaching this semester at our co-op.

A peek into the mind of my sweet Eli, who picked to write about his adoption for his personal story in school recently.

My latest fabric for my re-upholstering the kitchen chairs saga. I think this makes #5 in 13 years of marriage.

This girl would throw rocks into the creek all the live long day.

When in Roanoke, eat like a Roanoker...my first time trying the infamous Texas Tavern.

the divine nod

We were getting out of the van at our church this weekend when Zoe acted exactly like the impulsive four year old that she is and ran out into the parking lot directly in front of an oncoming vehicle.

For a split second my brain was paralyzed as I saw the scene unfolding. Thankfully it only allowed for a split second of paralysis and then it kicked into gear and I ran to her, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back to safety. I may or may not have yelled? Loudly? Not sure.

Nothing can shock us back into the knowledge of the preciousness of life like the imminence of death.

And yet, in this mothering journey, filled with mundane and repetitive tasks (the dishwasher needs to be unloaded again?!) I am reminded that if I am not careful, the extraordinary can become ordinary to me.



I've been reading through the account of Moses start in life in Exodus recently.

The person of Moses' mom especially has challenged me. A mother who, according to the writer of Hebrews, states that, "By faith, Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they knew he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict."

When she gave birth, she had death on her mind, for she knew the death sentence hanging over his head.

Not much is written after this account about her. Without these few words, her actions would probably have remained unseen, unknown, and definitely unliked by anyone on facebook. Yet, that didn't make her actions unimportant.

I love the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:4, "Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

I serve the God who sees me.

Every quiet hidden mundane moment.

The importance of what I do for God is not contingent upon how many people see what I do. The promise is that what is done for God, even when nobody notices (including my children!) is seen and rewarded by Him.

"Self-righteous service requires external rewards. It needs to know that people see and appreciate the effort. It seeks human applause - with proper religious modesty of course. True service rests contented in hiddenness. It does not fear the lights and blare of attention, but it does not seek them either. Since it is living out a new Center of reference, the divine nod of approval is completely sufficient." - Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline

The beautiful and amazing story of Scripture is that all of the seemingly insignificant, painful, unexpected, and unseen parts of our lives are connected to what God is doing.

A baby floating in a basket was God's doing.

Connected to a bigger story.

My long days filled with referring fights, picking up toys, making meals, cleaning up meals, rinse and repeat, are God's doing.

I am raising children in an unfolding drama, who will go on to live their own bigger story.

All of us connected to the biggest story.