Redemption

THE Princess has taken to calling us and just about anybody she is playing with "Sweetheart." It took me awhile, but I figured out that it means to be the child. She'll say to me, "Mom, you be the sweetheart and I'll be the mama." Or, "Daddy and you are the sweethearts and I'll bring you a bottle if you cry."

Every night we read books after we crawl into bed. Lately, it's been one of my very favorites. Love Song for a Baby by Marion Dane Bauer.



"You came into our world like a comet,
Like birdsong in the silver silence of dawn.
And, oh, how we love you!"

So now, after a bad day. Redemption.

My comets, my birdsong, my sweethearts. Oh, how I love you!

Share the Magic

A few weeks ago, I signed up for facebook and began reconnecting with some of my high school friends. BTW (by the way), in case you are not on facebook, it is awesome. Not only have I found friends from high school and college who are scattered all over the US, but I also found Vika, who was one of our translators while in Russia.

I was very happy to learn that my friend Dale (from high school) also lives in beautiful, sunny central Florida. We have been talking and decided to get together so our families could meet. My family loves Downtown Disney, so I thought we could meet there. Well, Dale and his friend Travis have both been working for Disney for several years, so they invited us to join them at the MAGIC KINGDOM!!!!

From left to right, we have Travis, Dale, me, Alex and my husband Charlie.

Dale and Travis's invitation is one of the nicest, grandest gifts, and it came at just the right time. I am like most other people. From the outside, I'd like to think that other people think I am happy. I would like for them to think that I have my life under control and that things couldn't be better. Again, like most people, that isn't exactly the truth. We all live with secret pain and suffering because most of us want to keep our pain and suffering a secret. The same is true for me. Even though moving to Florida has been a dream come true for my husband and I, it has come with a large price tag. To accomplish that dream, we had to use many of our financial and emotional resources. We are like the Corinthians that Paul is writing to in 2 Corinthians 4:8. "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed,...struck down, but not destroyed."

The beauty of Dale and Travis's gift to us is this: it seemed small to them, but gigantic to us. It was so amazing see my son having the time of his life when there was no way I could provide that for him right now. It was also great to see my friend Dale again and to have our families meet.

Your challenge for this week is to share your magic with someone else. It should be something of a small cost to you like Rachel's paper clip. Maybe you could smile to a stranger or hold the door open for a frazzled mother. Our good deeds could start here in central Florida and hit the US and beyond like a Tsunami. I hope you join me, and I really hope Dale and Travis get hit by some great acts of kindness this week to repay them!

God even blesses my messes...

...and boy is my purse ever a mess! After a day of my deal chasing it is full of coupons, receipts, torn-apart store ads, lists, and anything else I might need including but not limited to tissues, Hot Wheels cars, snack containers, pens, pencils, crayons...just all kinds of probably-not-necessary stuff. Add a few layers of obvious trash, ten pounds of coins, and scattered dollar bills, and it's a real jungle in there.

That day I realized that I was practically weight-lifting when I put the bag on my shoulder, but I had one more errand to run for French class before I could go home and play "Clean Sweep" with it. I grabbed what I needed at the store and headed to the check-out in the Garden Center (after a sometimes strenuous trip through a super center I find being surrounded by flowers and Christmas trees helps my mood a bit).

My phone rang just as I was getting close to the cash register, so I stood back and took the call. While I was talking I noticed that the cashier was flustered. She was searching the area for something. She eventually threw her hands in the air and called over her shoulder to another employee, "It was just here, but I can't find it." I finished my call and started piling bread and food coloring on the counter, but this normally really friendly person was obviously agitated about something.

When she told me the total, I began rummaging through receipts, coupons, and lots of other messy stuff to find the cash I planned to use for the purchase. I pulled out a folded bill as she waited and I was embarrassed to see that a paper clip had fastened itself and some other non-cash stuff to my money. I put on my trying-to-be-funny smile and said, "Need a paper clip?" in my best caught-in-an-embarrassing-moment tone. Her eyes grew wide, her jaw dropped, and she just nodded.

After her initial shock, she shook her head, nearly jumped across the counter, and said, "That's what I've been looking for! I need a paperclip!" Instantly her cheerful demeanor returned and she started smiling for the first time. I stood there staring, a little shocked myself.

"See," she said, beaming and turning to her co-worker, "God provides!"

So, to make an incredibly long, drawn-out story short, my prayer for you today is that you would see the fulfillment of Maria's verse from earlier this week in your own life. Also, if you're able, try to look for unexpected ways to bless others this week. Finally, if you are in need of paperclips, well, you know who to call.

Coca-Cola: An Economic Indicator?

I bought a 2-liter of Coca-Cola today at the grocery store. In our house, Coke is a treat we (the grownups) rarely indulge in, due to the sugar and sodium content, and switching to the Diet variety is just not an option. It has to be regular Coke.

So, Friday night being Pizza Night here, I thought a little indulgence after a long week might be nice. Let me just say, I am still in sticker shock over this 2-Liter of Coca-Cola. Remember when it was 99 cents for a 2-liter? And even cheaper when it was on sale? Like, four years ago???

The regular price of a 2-Liter of Coke has now reached a whopping $1.79!!! That's almost double the price of only a few years ago! Wow!

I know this is only one tiny indicator of inflation and the effects of fuel prices, but for some reason, this really made it all hit home for me. I have felt really bad about how much I spend at the grocery store lately, but I bet if I compared a receipt from today with a receipt from four years ago, I would see a LOT of differences in prices for basic items. So I'm gonna go a little easier on myself about the grocery slice on our budget pie...

I'm sure there are still a few slivers I can take off and add to our slice of savings, but it's a work in progress (just like me!).

Edited Saturday at 9:45 AM: I looked up the Consumer Price Index for some common household staples and took a 10-year view of these items to see how they've increased. Items I included are: ground beef, whole chicken, bread, gasoline (unleaded, regular), milk (no data was available for some reason for milk), electricity, and coffee. Click here to select items and create your own table of consumer prices. Unfortunately, Coca-Cola was not included. Apparently the government does not agree that Coca-Cola is a good economic indicator...maybe I'll write my congressman.

Ethanisms

Today my son locked me out of the house. They were both in the kitchen and I went outside just for a minute to get the recycling buckets. I said, "Ethan, do not play with the door. Mommy will be right back." Then he locked it. Go ahead, laugh. I could see Micah through the window, cracking up in the high chair. I would've laughed, too, if I would've seen myself banging on the door, yelling, "ETHAN JAMES YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!" I'll admit it- I lost it when he finally did open the door. I gave him a spanking and a time-out. Ethan has been right squirrelly this week. After a month of being sick, he's had a course of antibiotics and is feeling much better. The following are a few of the funny things he's said recently. I call them "Ethanisms" and I'm making a list.

While taking a bath: "Mommy, sit potty. Mommy, you sit on big white oval."
Daddy asks, "Ethan, do you want to wear your Wall-E shoes or your Lightning McQueen shoes?" Ethan's response, "I no wear shoes. I wear Ethan feet!"
"Daddy run naked!" No explanation needed.
From the den, to me on the other side of the house, "MOMMY I WATCH ROBIN HOOD DADDY TURN ON ROBIN HOOD FOR ME DADDY GOOD MAN YOU NOT MAN YOU LADY!" All one sentence.
"Kota [our pet cat] can't dance. Kota a kitty. Kitties don't dance."
On the phone to my friend Erica, "I watching Thomas. I probably see a silly engine."
"It dark in my shirt!"
"I want another big cookie!"
And the kicker:
"Ethan, did you toot?" my friend Lori asks. "No! I don't toot. My mommy toots."
Thanks, Buddy.

Be Encouraged

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow

or reap or store away in barns,

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not much more valuable than they?

Who of you by worrying can add

a single hour to his life?

Matthew 6: 26-27

NIV Women's Devotional Bible

The Miracle of Sleep

We have sleep issues. I have spent countless hours waiting for Alex to sleep and trying to figure out just where things went wrong, but I really can't blame all of our nightmares on one particular reason. In the orphanage Alex shared a bed with two other babies, so I was afraid he would be lonely and scared when we got home. In our defense, we were warned about this in our pre-adoption training. In fact, our trainers recommended we share a bed until we were all used to the new family dynamic. We got home in November, and by December, we were all sleeping in one room with a lamp on and the TV turned on a music channel with the volume turned all the way down. Although it was quite a hassle, I loved having him in our room. The first few nights we were home, I would just lay there and listen to him breathe. Finally by the start of the New Year, he was in his own room all by himself.

One afternoon a few weeks after we came home, Alex would not take his nap. I sat right beside his crib with my back to him, just like I saw on the Super Nanny and waited quietly for him to fall asleep. He walked from side to side in his crib just playing and laughing. Then he tripped and fell into his aquatic mobile/noise maker. It was his first ever bloody nose, and I felt awful.

Over the years, we have tried numerous different tricks to make bedtime and nap time easier and longer. For a while, I had a small mattress beside his bed. Then, we tried a CD that played a comforting lullaby over and over. We have read stories, established a "routine", soaked in a relaxing bath, nibbled on a small snack, called our doctor so many times that I'm sure our file was color-coded, and faithfully said our prayers. Short of hiring a witch doctor, I have tried it all - all with very slow, snail-like progress.

Transitioning to a toddler bed was a gigantic nightmare. My good friend Stephanie said to put a baby gate by his door to keep him in his room, but how to keep him in his bed? When I called the doctor for advice, they said to just ignore him, so I did. This is how that theory worked for us. For the record, ignoring him on any occasion has never resulted in the desired behavior.

In Alex's defense, he did have to adjust to a nine-hour time change and a whole new life, but that would account for only some of the problems. He has always fought sleep, especially while riding in the car. He just keeps himself awake fidgeting or humming. He will do anything to stay awake longer. We have just gotten to the place where we can usually put him in bed and stay with him for a few minutes until he is settled down. When he is very calm and quiet, we will stay with him longer. I love those days when I can spend quiet time with him. Even now, when he starts to drift asleep, I am afraid to look at him or move a muscle. I am so curious to see what it looks like when he falls asleep, but I just can't risk looking. There I lay next to him, holding my breath and praying to God for relief. He is silent for several minutes, but I am still afraid to look. Finally, I slowly move a bit, just to test him. If he isn't asleep, we start all over again, but if he is I have once again been blessed with a miracle.