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!

Boys Will Be Boys

           Just as I was starting to miss my crazy, fun loving boys I ran into these hooligans. After meeting these boys I wasn't missing mine so much, they were just like Santiago and Everett. These boys were being quite rascally and then I asked if I could take their snap. We had so much fun snapping. If you look beyond their poverty and into their eyes you can see how amazingly awesome these boys are. Just like all boys.

         

We Have Never Swum Before

         All those sports and activities that kids do kind of make me anxious. Of our children, we have tried to involve them in activities that interest them. One loves horses and dance and another has a passion for football but the little one has been a great cheerleader. He goes to events, shows, lessons and practices without complaint. I think that maybe it is because he gets to use his tablet during the week. I was absolutely fine with all this so I am not sure why I was prompted yesterday to sign him up for swim team. I'm gonna blame it in those really cool PFPiranha signs down town. 

  

           Everett had surgery, last month, for double reflux in his kidneys. I think that I spent all my energy into making him well that I figured it was ok that he didn't have an activity of his own. Now that he is better he has been asking to swim. And then I saw the signs. They are just those cheep yard signs that call for registration but I liked the fish or piranha. Anyway it was in blue and looked cool. So we went by the city pool to ask questions and ran into Everett's old preschool teacher. She is on the board of the swim team. Oh how excited she was to see Everett and hear he wanted to be on the team. We immediately went home and signed up. I think we were a little affected by the chlorine? 

             In May he will start practices. I paid the registration fee, and read about commitment, how I have to volunteer and buying a team uniform. I did forget to read the fine print. It wasn't so fine but I just didn't read the whole handbook. Really, how hard can swimming be? He is only going to be seven.  Haha, we have never swum before. 

           Today we had our sat morning date while the others were at their activities. I thought it would be a great day to buy his practice gear. I hadn't bothered to look at what we needed so I asked the employee at the big box store. They claim to be experts in helping with all team seasonal sports. She new exactly what we needed. All $200 worth of stuff. For swimming. No, you can not swim naked. It turns out you need goggles x2, swim shorts, a cap, deck shoes, this special bag, 2 towels, and fins. After 2 hours or looking and trying on we left with this...

Some super special will make you swim faster goggles, the swim cap, and these skin tight training swim shorts. They were out of the fins so I will have to seek them somewhere else. He was so proud of his bag! I think my mom heart swelled a little when he showed his gear to his sister and brother. Then I went to double check on the website to make sure we got the right things and my heart shrunk. I had forgotten to actually read the handbook before signing him up. 

         My children have been swimming since they were 4 months old. I know he can swim. By swim I mean he can jump in the pool anywhere and get back to the edge without drowning. Turns out he needs to be able to swim freestyle, not sure what that was so I Googled it, the length of the pool, 25m.  Turns out doggie paddle does not qualify as a "freestyle" stroke. I guess we should see if he can do this now he is signed up. Does anyone have a pool he can try this out in? If he can't learn to do it than he will not be on the team. Couldn't they have a tryout before they took my registration money? Practice is everyday. Turns out it is not mandatory but if you want to be in the meet attendance matters. Upon further reading I noticed the meets start at 7:30am. Big question here but that is not even the best part. You need to check in before the meet, at 6am. 6am, in case you didn't get that. Why would any one want to be swimming at 6am? Shouldn't we all still be sleeping? What did we sign up for? 

        This should be a fun summer. My only thought now is it is a good thing that Everett looks so cute in those little swim shorts. Wonder if we have the next Michael Phelps? 

         

Coffee, Strangers and Being Late

       

         Once a week I bring the kids to school so Rob can have discipleship time. So I got up today to do just that. I put my hair in a pony and my slippers on, I had every intention of coming home and crawling back in bed. Then I made my bed as I waited for the kids to come downstairs dressed. As every morning I got my cup of coffee ready. We headed to school.
         Last friday we received two letters from our children's school informing us that they had respectively 13 and 17 tardies for our sons. Remember we have 3 kids, so it seems L is never late? I'm not sure if this is indicative of lazy parents or the traffic in Austin but i'm going with the traffic. I talked to Rob about how late they are when there is lots of traffic and he said at the most 3 minutes and the kids are still putting up their things. Now I see lots of discrepancies in this with times, walking to classrooms and going for a late slip but I don't need to fight this. As parents we decided that it is our responsibility and we will just get them up earlier.  We are going to make a conscious effort to leave earlier and get them there on time. The last line of the letter asks us to set up a meeting to discuss continuation at the school, what? I'm going to let Rob handle that!

           That is the reason we headed out so early. In the morning we usually listen to books or podcasts but this morning we got to talking about strangers. At the park yesterday there was a weird man walking around looking at kids so I was on alert. I wanted to make sure I have been a good mom and taught my kids about not talking or going with strangers. We went over all the goodies about puppies and candies. They assured me they knew all about that. I know I talked to L&S about it but E is much younger so I wasn't sure if I had been good about teaching the youngest .Then we started onto who can take you from school. Who is it OK to leave with and when you need to ask the office to see if mom or dad have called. They know that there are only 2 people who can pick them up without asking the office. Great, my kids are smart, but what if. So what if Gram came to pick you up? Yes! and why? Because we know she loves and cares for us and she is your mom. It was yes but also because Rob and I have discussed it with my mom and dad and given them that authority. What about aunts and uncles? No, because even though they love us you need to tell us we can be picked up by them. What about Grandma and Grandpa. This one they weren't sure about. I said no (i'll most likely get told off for this) but they haven't invested the time in our kids for Rob and I to feel safe if they ever just picked them up. Then we talked about safe words and what they mean. But I was assured that S knew who and what was OK. I'm wondering if I should test them this afternoon? It will be like they do on TV when they see if the kids really follow what their parents said. I wonder if that candy is to much to pass up? I do know that if someone offered me a puppy I just might see if they really have one. I'm scared to find out what my kids would do but at least we talked about it.