Sometimes you get caught!

       
        We have been having a very tough few days. Our lives are so full of schedules, meetings, doctors, hospitals, and living that I was surprised when I had a moment to just look. In that moment, I saw the most beautiful thing. In that moment I got to witness my sons being the hands and feet of Christ, literally.
         If you don't know, we have been so busy with the surgery of our daughters hand and arm. All of this running around, meetings, surgery and hospitals have been to help our daughter's arm be able to grow in a somewhat normal way. Our daughter, Blandis, is adopted from Cameroon, Africa and has been home with us about 5 months. We adopted her knowing that this surgery was necessary for her growth. Our children knew this also. With all of the time spent caring and loving on Blandis it was not on her that my boys showed Christ.
          This afternoon was an early release from school and I watched my sons show Christ's love. I had to pick up my boys but one is at a different campus and took a bus over to the younger sons campus for me to pick up. This was the first time, this school year, Santiago rode the bus. Today the bus was extremely late and I was getting impatient. I had to leave Blandis at the hospital when I picked up the boys.
           I waited on the side walk as Everett ran up to get his brother as he got off the bus. As I waited I  watched all of the kids get off and go their ways. All of I sudden, I was a bit afraid that Santiago had forgotten to ride the bus and I would need to spend more time to get him from his campus. Then lastly Santiago came off the bus very slowly and handed his brother a bunch of things. Santiago then turned around and walked over to the door as he held his hand out. Surprisingly, I noticed that he was helping another child off the bus. The boy had his arm around Santiago's shoulder and was slowly hopping down the sidewalk. Both of my boys were helping this boy hop to his father. One was carrying his things and the other was being his crutch. They came pretty far before the boys father realized what was happening and that is why i happened to see so much. I got to see my sons actually be the hands and feet of Christ.
           While I watched and waited for them. I was not fully aware of what was happening. When we got to the car Santiago thanked me for waiting for them. Santiago explained he was the last off the bus because a classmate was hurt. He said that the boy got hurt this morning but really started to be in pain this afternoon and could not walk, at all, on his foot. He was not really friends with the boy but knew he should help him because no one else was. Santiago asked Everett to carry the boys things when they got off the bus and he helped him to his father. The boy was in such pain that when he reached his father he was extremely relieved. I saw the relief on the boys face and was thankful for my boys.
             Today I witnessed my sons being the hands and feet of Christ. When others were to busy, or didn't realize the circumstances, I got to witness my sons being who God asked them to be.  I caught Everett following his older brother and doing what was asked when needed, as the hands of Christ. Just as importantly I saw Santiago be Christ's feet. He carried his friend to his father for the comfort that he needed. Just as our Christ carries us to our father for eternal comfort.
             I could not be more proud of who my boys grow to be than who they are today. This very minute they exude Christ to others. They have taught me that even though we are busy thinking we are helping Christ's hands and feet. God is in control and Christ is shown through us! We need to remember to always be Christ's hands and feet by helping others. Always, even when it is not in our time. Always, even when it is not our thought and even when it is not our want. Christ may use us to sit back and watch rather then be.
             Today,  as I was helping my daughter heal her arm and hand, I received the blessing of seeing my sons BE Christ's arms, hands and legs. These boys are amazing and I caught them being so!
             

New Experiences can be a Blast!

      I am sitting outside, going through my photography stock pile, and came upon these images.

 While it has only been 3 and a half months since Blandis came home it seems like an eternity to me. I wonder what it feels like to her. I will have to ask her in the morning but for now it is my thoughts. We have done so many things, had so many new experiences and spent meaning full time as a family that I assume she has seamlessly become a part of our family. It seems like she has always been with us, weather it be in a physical state or in our minds prayers.  As I look back at these photos I have to remember that she is still new to our family. I absolutely love how easily she handles new situations. She goes at them with gusto! To know everything about her new life and to have fun while it revolves around her. She grasps new experiences and treasures them as how God wants her life to unfold. As her mom,  I can only see these blasts of life through her eyes. These photos were taken in Belgium during the sunrise at the airport.

There is a First Time for Everything.

     When you adopt an older child you often think of all of the firsts that they are experiencing. Everything is new, strange and different than what they knew before. As a parent, we often take as many pictures of our children's first experiences as we can. These split second memories will hopefully recall happiness in our families time together later in our life.
       Last night I was going through some of the pictures I took, of our family, in the first week that Blandis was home. I remember taking these images and being excited that she was getting to do something purely childish. She was not working, cleaning, cooking or helping. It was a time she was getting to feel the blessings of being our child. Blandis was going to experience the joy of running threw the sprinkler. Oh, how I wanted to remember that look of excitement on her face.
       Only as I was looking at the pictures I realized there was something bigger. It is much much bigger. It was in God's plans for our adoption and I feel that I may have not held it in importance. How could I have missed it? As Blandis was having her first joy, so were her brothers. Santiago and Everett were getting to share in this first moment. I see so much happiness on their faces. As they get older they will remember running through the sprinkler together, all together.
       Even though Rob and I waited to bring home Blandis her siblings were waiting also. We adopted wanting to bring Blandis into our family. How could I forget that, as she had her first, we would all be having firsts.
       

     

My Time Could be Better Spent

    Oh how I would like to be quilting. See that quilt on the table there. I am making that for our fundraiser night to sell in the silent auction. Link here https://amatoadoption.squarespace.com/. That awesome blue and yellow fabric I bought in the street market in Bamanda, Cameroon. The problem is I am not quilting. I am fighting, urging and showing my children the proper way to vacuum. My time would be better spent vacuuming myself then quilting. 

    I decided at the beginning of this week, in my slightly delirious from a sinus infection state, that we would do more chores. Or rather the children would do more things around the house. I found the app Chore Monster and started to put in things to do. (Yubi is another great app) The kids were so excited because one they got to see a screen on the weekday, which is normally band at our house, and they can earn points or money for things. This started a frenzy of chore doing. They wanted to complete the chores ASAP! Only they never got to the vacuuming and I never insisted on it because of the headache from the sinus infection. That waiting meant that today after church we would tackle the vacuuming.

    Have you taught your children to vacuum yet? If not you should. It is a great way to spend 2 hours of your time moving furniture, demonstrating technique, waiting patiently and revacuuming your house. Also writing a blog post while it is happening. See this technique Everett is using here. It is the "I'm crying about how I can't vacuum because pushing the roller is to much work". Another technique that I saw today was the "you didn't say the laundry room was part of the kitchen" and the " I can't move all the stuff around and vacuum at the same time". While all these are perfectly valid excuses for someone who is three or just had a hysterectomy it is not for the massively tall and strong children that live in this house. 

    So the vacuuming is done, kind of. I washed my floors to pick up the extra dust and dirt, which is genius on my part. The kids are now playing and I get to quilt, yeah me! There is also piece in the house until Friday when Chore Monster says it is time to vacuum again. 

How much Leigha LOVES Andi!

        The other night Leigha and I went for a secret mission at Paul Cates Stable. Or as we refer to it as Leigha's second home. We absolutely love this barn and all the opportunities it gives to it's riders. The responsibilities of tending, cleaning, and caring for the horses are skills that will bring her joy for the rest of her life. While we were there i took the opportunity to capture her in the gorgeous evening light. She was missing her horse after one day of not seeing her. Andi is not really her horse, someday she will own one, i'm sure. She does love Andi like she is hers though! In Leigha's heart she will love that horse forever.

 

                            

A School is Where Imagination Grows

     My three bio children start their new year at school tomorrow. They are very excited to see their friends and get back to learning. It's probably more the friends than the learning. Their sister. Ina, is still on break for her year in Cameroon. I'm sure that I will be posting and sending new first day of school pics to family and on social media. Today, though, I was praying for Ina and the children in Cameroon. While children in this country receive free public education, in many countries education is not free for all. Ina and her center mates are sponsored by Americans but many of the children in Cameroon do not have the privilege to attend school. This is one of the great things that Shaping Destiny does for the children in the villages surrounding Batibo, Cameroon. (Here is the link about sponsoring http://www.shapingdestiny.org/sponsor-a-child/)   While I was visiting Ina I had a chance to see her school and Head Mistress Ms. Mary. I love these picture! The simplicity of the school, the saturation of colors, the beauty of the landscape where these children learn and the love of Ms. Mary are fostering the imagination of these children's growing spirit.

Image 1. Is the home of the 3rd & 4th form Teacher

Image 2. This is the elementary school. It is the equivalent of  k-6 grade.

Image 3. This is Ms. Mary, the children's Head Mistress. She is strong, fierce, brilliant and amazing! She has to be to grow these children and give them a future filled with knowledge. In her community she is an elder and is very well respected for the work she does. I talked to her a little bit about her role in the lives of these children. She feels privileged that God has entrusted her to this mission and she takes it very seriously. She carries the strength you would expect from someone who holds the title of Head Mistress. Even while sitting in her home and eating granuts I did not want to cross her.

Image 4. The sign explains that this school is certified by the Cameroon government to run providing basic education the the children in the village that can afford to pay. The P.S. stands for Protestant School of Batibo in the village of Guka.

Image 5. Some of the paintings on the walls of the school. They learn in English and French is also taught.

Image 6. The 3rd & 4th class form rooms

The Knot She Will Remember.

 

     

 I love Babies! It's as simple as that. I see them as God creating little drops made in the image of him. In America we feel it is so important to spend money on these elaborate baby carriers. This simple way of carrying a child using a few yards of fabric and a simple knot. When in Cameroon I was absorbed in photographing the relationship of a mother and child. The idea that the child is part of their mother forever is beautiful. A small treasure that she holds close until the child is big enough to be on their own. A bond created between a woman and her child that is love. The baby is tied, bound, to the mother until the mother is ready to release the knot that holds them together. As we go through our adoption of Ina (what I will call her in any public form but it is not her name) I have been aware that we were never destined to experience this contact together. She was another woman's baby. Another woman got to hold her close, she was bound to another, who got to love her, and care for her until it was time for Ina to be mine. For this other woman, Ina's birth mother, I am grateful, jealous, but very grateful. I am beholden to this other woman for the knot of love she was able to give Ina as a baby. I am in dept to her for teaching my child love. For teaching Ina the bond between a mother and child.
     While visiting I had a conversation with Ina's Auntie Jackie, the woman that is the caregiver for the center. I wanted to know what was an important custom, tradition or sight that I should incorporate into our family. I really would like Ina to remember the culture of her birth country. Jackie said there were only a few things that the center children would really associate with their culture. The fabrics and the mother carrying her baby on her back were what defined woman in Cameroon. This is what I would like Ina to remember, love and cherish. I have lots of pictures of this but I did buy lots of fabric too. Leigha and I are ready to play dolls with Ina and practice carrying them on our backs!