We got SHOT by BIG STAR!

The super-talented Big Star photographers took these pictures of our family last weekend. They specialize in fresh, contemporary images and were a ton of fun to work with. We had a blast. Thanks, Garry and Emily!

Miss M's First Day of Kindergarten!

Today was Miss M's first day of kindergarten! Kindergarten at our school starts a couple of days later than the rest of the grades, to give the children a shorter first week and help ease them into the whole school routine. Great idea! Our entire family needs to be eased into the routine! Getting out the door by 7:30 a.m. is no small feat for us! Our Miss M was so excited about "real school". She could hardly contain herself when we were walking across campus yesterday during orientation and she heard a "real school bell!" She is especially looking forward to her class' first field trip when she will be able to ride on a "real yellow school bus". We have been so impressed with everything about her school so far (even though it was one of the biggest sports rivals of the school Hus-B and I attended), we adore her teacher and feel so blessed to be able to provide our children with a private Christian education. To kick off this special day, we woke up early enough that we would have time to all sit down together for Miss M's current favorite breakfast, which she calls the "Texas cowboy breakfast" of "bacon and mush" (she spent several rainy afternoons this summer watching old westerns on the Hallmark channel with her grandparents and she doesn't miss a detail)--also known as maple and brown sugar oatmeal with a couple of slices of bacon on the side. Then it was off to school! We arrived and found her cubby and followed the bear tracks (everything in her teacher's class has a little bear theme) to her classroom and her sweet teacher's welcoming embrace! WOW! She's growing up so fast! We know she's going to do great in school and pray that it's a fantastic experience for her--full of learning, worship, new friends and fond memories. Mrs. Henley on the Horn, one of my favorite bloggers, always has such wonderful ideas! Earlier today, she shared a "Teacher Survey" that she asks each of her children's teachers to complete to help her bless them with little surprises during the school year. Click (here)to read her post and see her suggested survey questions. My teacher friends have shared with me how much it means to them to be thanked and know their hard work is appreciated. I created a survey tonight to slip into Miss M's back-and-forth folder for delivery to her teacher tomorrow and encourage you to make a point of thanking your child's teachers during the school year.

Thoughts in the Ninth Month...

Pass-A-Grille Sunset August 23, 2009

As I sat on the beach last night, my mind was 7,700 miles away. I was thinking about a woman. My Ethiopian daughter’s first mother. The one in whose body she was conceived. The one who gave birth to her. While I have yet to learn “the other side” of my daughter’s story and while there are many things I might never know, I’ve spent a lot of time wondering about it lately. In all likelihood, right about now, my daughter’s birth mother may be having to do the most sacrificial, heartbreaking thing I imagine a mother can do. I wonder what circumstances are leading to the relinquishment of our daughter at an orphanage? I hope that it is not due to death, hunger, sickness or stigma, but I realize that statistically, one of those reasons probably applies. As I eagerly await our referral, giddy with excitement, counting down the days until we reach the top of the list and I see her picture, another woman is probably agonizing over her desperate situation and dreading the day she has to say goodbye. It shouldn’t be like this. It’s not fair. I know it’s not God’s will that this woman is suffering, but I am just as certain that it is His plan that this baby girl join our family, as I know without a doubt that He has called us to adopt. It was an easy call to follow in the beginning. From a logical standpoint, it just makes sense: family wants another child, child needs family. We’ve been open to the abstract idea of it since before we were married. Now that we’re in the middle of it, we understand that, for us, there are many aspects of this calling that are much bigger and way more complex than a simple equation. We weren’t prepared for how deep our love for our daughter would be before we’ve even met her, how difficult it would be to wrap our minds around the path by which she is coming to us, the intense brokenness and despair we would feel when, just for a moment, we try to picture ourselves in the shoes of her birth parents, or what a heavy and gut-wrenching burden we’d feel to make a difference in the continent and country where she was born. This whole experience has brought about changes in our hearts, our priorities and our understanding of family--from the spiritual down to the molecular aspects of it. We realize that the journey we are on has been part of God’s plan since the beginning of time. Our souls and the soul dwelling inside that baby girl’s body in Ethiopia were meant to be united as a family during our time here on earth. God could have brought her soul into our life by way of another biological child. But by God having our daughter be born on the other side of the world and leading us on a twisting, turning, roller-coaster of a journey to be united with her, we have been changed. While biological processes helped bring our older daughters into our lives, we now realize that we were not really responsible for it at all. The perfect timing, the joining of each bit of DNA, and the creation of the souls and the development of the physical bodies, were all orchestrated by God. He is in control of ALL things. This is no humanitarian act or good deed we are doing. We were the ones with the selfish prayer—more children, more joy. Our daughter’s birthmother is the selfless one, the one whose prayer is simply for a better life for her daughter. By following His call to pursue this adoption, not only is God answering prayers. He has prompted changes in our hearts. We, not our daughter, are the ones who are being rescued. Traveling this road is opening our eyes and stirring our spirits like nothing else we have done. We no longer have a self-centered view of our family. Our view of the world as simply a big playground to satisfy our sense of curiosity and adventure has turned into discontent with our sheltered, safe lives and a burning desire to do more to change the lives of others. Others like the women who have to choose between malnourishment or possible death of their treasured children or leaving their children at an orphanage. Parents who are sick and who know that, if they die, their children’s future will be a life of begging in the streets. In a few months, another woman’s daughter will be placed in my arms. My heart breaks for this woman. I cry that she is going through such pain and sorrow. I am undeserving of the honor of parenting her child but I am committed to devoting every ounce of my heart and soul to that task. I pray for healing and peace for the broken hearts on the other side. And I am already completely in love with this little girl. Our daughter.

Our Anniversary!

On August 2, 1997--twelve years ago today--Mr. B and I were married! I am astonished at how fast time has flown by! I am so thankful to be able to share life with this man, and especially to be able to raise children with him. He is so authentic, honorable, generous and hard-working. What you see at church, is the same as what you see at the office, and the same as who he is at home. He is super smart, but humble about it and not a know-it-all. For example, someone can be talking to him about something that he is practically an expert on and unless they actually ask for his input, they will walk away from the conversation thinking they actually taught him something! I’ve seen it happen so many times! He would never embarrass someone or try to one-up them. He can talk to anyone and has a gift for making people feel important and good about themselves. I can think of several treasured friendships and once-in-a-lifetime experiences that can be traced back to Hus-B taking the initiative to start a conversation with a stranger. He’s a loyal friend. He is a leader, and is passionate about seeing those he trains succeed and reach their goals. I am so proud to be his wife! And he is hilarious! Hus-B is the one that always takes the lead in getting the laughs going when our family gets together. There is so much laughter in our home—and I love it! I often feel like I am living in a good old 80’s sitcom because he can find the humor and the life lesson in just about every situation. And he has definitely helped me, a take-myself-too-seriously, Type A perfectionist, learn to laugh at myself and look at my glass half-full. He’s taught me how to catch trout with a fly rod, drive a golf ball, eat jalepenos and play poker. And in an effort to share more of my world, he’s devoted many, many weekends to attending horse shows, has developed an ear for country music and has acquired an appetite for grits. I’ve got naturally curly hair but am going through a straight-hair phase--although he loves my curls, my wonderful Hus-B FLAT IRONS MY HAIR every morning! Talk about pampering! He is a gem! He is my best friend in the whole world and my one and only love. He is truly the spiritual leader in our home, leading our family devotions and prayers and giving our girls a personal example of what a Godly man should be. He treats me the way he hopes our daughters’ husbands treat them (we haven’t yet told them that they can’t marry their Daddy—they both want to!), and I must say that it looks like the bar is being set pretty high for our future sons-in-law!

Here are a few pictures from our wedding that I scanned this week: