This post has described just so perfectly where we are at in our parenting journey right now.
This day.
Today.
It’s days like today that remind me that we are raising broken people into health.
Sad little hearts into joyful ones.
Lost little souls into Princes and Princesses of the King.
Lonely hearts into members of a forever family.
It’s good to be reminded of why we do what we do sometimes.
Just a little note.
We are long home. The oldest 2 are at camp this week, Stephen is working on some projects from home and we decided to move some bedrooms around and create a playroom. In the photo Steve is holding all of the debris he could reach inside of Garnet’s duct work. blech So now we know what was lurking under the floorboards at night. lol
Pie Anyone? Marionberry pie in the van in a downpour.
Stephen's favourite: watching processes in action
The view from the top of a cliff in a windstorm.
Heceta Head Lighthouse: Do you know what I had to go through to get this photo? A tonne of laughs.
Sea Lion Caves - Wow! These guys were so loud & really entertaining to watch. We just made it in time to catch the last elevator down 200 feet to the cave floor.
Hanging on for dear life! (I told you the wind and rain was strong!)
Okay. Now this is a new one for us land lubbers!
5 of us ate an incredible family sized pot of local clam chowder and then went for a swim in our motel's pool. Grace's first time in a pool with us. She asked Daddy to help her learn to swim - a great first for her to ask Steve to help her with something important to her.
Soon the storm came indoors and as the swimmers ganged up on Daddy.
If you were in our van today, you would have heard the following conversation:
Shelley: Hey kids, look at that cow in the trailer over there!
Kids: What? Where? Oh cool!
Grace: That’s not a cow. That’s a kangaroo!
Stephen: Sorry, honey, that’s a cow. Kangaroos have longer ears. (Said in a wry tone of voice at the end of a long day.)
Faith: Actually Grace, kangaroos live in Africa.
Insert the sound of chirping crickets and the banging of the children’s teacher’s Mom’s head on the dashboard.
Followed by an impromtu animal science and geography lesson.
Ahhh homeschooling. 😉
Just super busy with a broken down van (now repaired), lots of extra spring appointments and activities (the check list is shrinking though), a travelling husband (coming home tomorrow), 2 sick kids (on the mend, the last days of our homeschool year (1 student down, 3 to go), getting organized for our upcoming road trip (more on that soon), a broken washer (new one coming next Tuesday & a new understanding of what was so great about those wringers of old. Did you know it takes 3 times as long to dry clothes that have been hand washed and then wrung by hand? News to me!).
Hope you all are well!
Stephen and I had really and truly hoped that when our two youngest finally were united, they would find fulfillment in the shared experiences of their early years.
Today I saw it fulfilled.
There they were, in their fort under the school table. Chatting away over Garnet’s photo album about “Their China”.
It was all I could do not to shout, “Yippee!”.
Faith and her friend J have been very busy for the past 6 weeks or so. They decided to hold a show in our backyard for their friends and family. A script was written which consisted of two dance numbers and one drama. They created a backdrop, chose costumes and wrote and delievered invitations. A snack booth and a tag sale area were also set up. And then they practiced.
They practiced almost daily. The most amazing thing was seeing their excitement and teamwork. I mean these two 9 year olds really dedicated themselves to putting on an amazing show, dress rehearsals and all. I know Faith prayed for good weather. She hardly slept all night. And then yesterday dawned rainy and cool.
In the afternoon, we saw a clear break and we set up our yard and placed the chairs. I set off to deliver Garnet and Faith to their classes and that’s when I drove into it. A sheer wall of rain. It was a downpour and it was headed our way. I quickly called James at home and begged him to quickly take down the show area and bring everything inside to the schoolroom. I felt sick. Off I went to pick up Faith early from her class and let her know we’d had a change of plans.
As I picked Faith up, we were still hopeful that it would pass us by. We talked about how God could make the rain go by us and into the draw just behind our house. We talked about trusting Him to know best and yet asking Him as our Daddy to do the right thing for us. We drove down the main road toward home and only a few hundred feet away from our turn-off the rain stopped! Our hearts soared and Faith was cheering in the backseat! And then we turned the corner onto our road and were hit by another wall of rain.
I pulled the van in to the driveway and Faith was off to call J. Would anyone still come? I didn’t know if the neighbour kids would be here but I knew their family would (including Stephen who was currently driving over a mountainous highway through that same storm to get to the show on time). Duct tape in hand the back drop went up on the school room wall. Faith gasped! Oh yes she did. Tape on my wall is a huge taboo around here. She told me, “You must really care about my show Mom if you are using duct tape on your walls!” Sigh – yes I am a a bit, umm particular about my paint. Anyway, back to the main story…
We ran around and set things up the best we could. The girls were so nervous and excited. The energy was very high around our house.
And you know what? Kids came, quarters in hand. My schoolroom was full with neighbour kids, grandparents, parents, siblings, an auntie and cousins. Popcorn was popped and purchased. Lemonade was drank and bracelets, books and knick-knacks and treasures were purchased.
Act 1: Here We Go Again
A hit. Some nerves, but they pulled it off with smiles. Lots of popcorn refills from the crowd.
Act 2: Cheetah Sisters
They hit their groove. Extra flair. Again more purchases made – handled by their two stage managers (and yes, they thought of everything!) – one sister and one friend.
Act 3: The Country of Doom
A vampire drama (ahem, not my choice of content, but very funny). Three songs were sung (written and again, choreographed by the two girls). Smiles and laughter were shared. Two Moms cheeks were a bit pink. As J’s Mom mentioned, I don’t think either of us would have had opportunity or nerves to put something like this on. And the neighbour kids? The best part was a comment I overheard from one of the older boys as they headed out the door. That was SO cool!
Flowers from Daddy
Watching the video I took afterwards. Healthy Pride.
One more thing. Something for me to treasure in my heart. Faith announced last night in an off handed way. You know, I think it worked out better having it in the house. I’m so glad!
Yes honey, that’s right. Your Daddy knew all along.
Oh, not the one most parents would think of. No birds or bees here. Well there was some of that, but – oh whatever.
The talk I’m referring to is the story of my youngest daughter’s beginnings. She was baby role playing with me (a normal thing for her and I that I believe is giving her a chance to catch up so to speak.) and I had the opportunity to take it one step farther and once again bring up her birth parents.
Before now she would always look at me with that look. You know the look. The one that says, “Haha, aren’t you a funny Mommy. I like make believe, but can we move on to a new subject?”
But this time, I again recounted as much of her story as I have been told and I took it a step farther. I drew pictures. Ahem. So I’m not a brilliant artiste. She really engaged with me in the drawing. She helped me with details, asked me questions and then we had an opportunity to talk about her coming to Canada, her feelings, the works. But the best part? The fact that she and I were finally able to talk about it.
You see, I had broached the subject previously. I’d rehearsed openly with her as she was in the early stages of English Vocaulary development. I’d spoken of other babies in our family. I’d used all the correct (or should I say, consciously chosen)terminology in front of her. And then all of a sudden, tonight she had that curious sort of look that said, “Tell me more, Mom.” Finally she got it.
And you know what she told me? No one had ever told her this story before.
While I am delighted to be the one to engage her on this level, I am pretty sure that she has a variety of ideas as to how she came to the orphanage. I’m sure she heard plenty. Was it her own personal story though? I doubt it. Did not knowing about the fact that her life is on a path and that her destiny was to be more than the orphanage life as she knew it affect her determination not to want to meld with our family? Yeah. I’m pretty sure it added to it.
But (and this is a big BUT), I am so glad that I got to be the one to talk to her about God’s bigger plan for her. God didn’t create the trauma in her life, but he is definitely the redeemer and the ultimate healer of wounds. I can’t be the balm she needs, but I can keep leading her back to the One who has a special plan for her.
It was a good talk.
Thanks to this post on Rumor Queen, many of us in the China IA world have been racing around the web in order to locate new photos of our kids.
Here’s a new one of Garnet.
At this point, this is probably the youngest photo we have of our little man. Would I normally be joyous over a simple photo of a regular old exam? No. But, this is post surgery. This is his history. And I am delighted to see it.
We’ve also found a few photos of the baby rooms in each of the kids’ orphanages. Both kids have had a lot of questions about their babyhood lately and I’m so pleased to have the photos to show them.
I’m so thankful for the internet and for the generosity of the many other IA parents we’ve met or been exposed to over the internet.
Off to search some more…
