a dream come true

this is not, as advertised, a post on my blog tour "hey, this is where i live". it was supposed to be a post about a room where dreams come true. sorry, i lied. that will have to wait. this post is better. it's about a real dream come true, in a literal sense. and it's beautiful. i can say that because the beauty is not in what i am writing. it's a story god has written. and those are the very best kind.

our friends, paul and anne, have been in a long, heart wrenching process of adopting from ethiopia. about year ago i had a vivid dream that i was at their airport homecoming. but we lived 1500 miles apart, so that was going to stay as just another dream.

until we moved 1500 miles. and their dear son came home weeks after we moved here. and that dream came true in a literal sense. though the REAL dream come true was having their son in their arms and home for good...

 (big brother racing for the meet and greet)

 (a family reunited...and forever changed)

 (momma and her boy. priceless.)

(brothers)

 (meeting new friends...like another ethiopian named lulu)

though i was behind the camera the whole time, it actually gave me an opportunity to connect in a unique way with this dear boy...

 

he kept stealing me glances, grins and even flashed that irresistible smile...

this post isn't about MY dream coming true. it's about theirs...

which is really god's dream for them. and oh, what a dream-maker He is! happy homecoming, you guys. now on to the home living. together.

it is now time for IKEA and an elephant's butt

oh yes, gentle readers, the time has come to return to my blog tour entitled, "hey, this is where i live". the second stop on this tour of home is my favorite room in the house. it's also the only room in the house that is somewhat finished.

this home, like so many others, has a formal living room in the front of the house. beings that we aren't the most formal people ever, we weren't sure how much it would be utilized as such. but we were sure we wanted to use bill's desk which was my daddy's and is absolutely gorgeous. so, my sister georgie suggested we turn the living room into bill's study. i highly recommend having brilliant sisters. i happen to have three of them, so i am triply blessed.

so, i present to you the study...

bill used to have an office in the basement with built in bookshelves. it was his own happy little book-infested man-cave. but basements are a thing of the past for us, so this is now a great mix of form and function. he uses this space every day and i love the way it looks (minus the random box, the candlesticks that need a new home and bill's unattractive desk chair).

the bookcases are from IKEA which is another little perk of moving to central florida. though i like the way they look, they have brought some marital disharmony. you see, i see a bookcase as a display opportunity. bill sees a bookcase as a case for books, or something weird like that. so we have had to practice some give and take. i am letting him house all the books (even the ugly ones or the ones with embarrassing titles) in the bookcases and he is letting me nix the memorabilia that once adorned his bookshelves. those things got kicked out to his real office. but a few things still remain, much to my chagrin...

actually, i am fine with the signed switchfoot photo (thanks melody!). and i am rather amused by the "oh no mr. bill" (thanks chad and v!). but it's the chick-fil-a chicken i object to. not for the reasons some are objecting to chick-fil-a these days at all. but because a stuffed cow does not belong in a room i am trying to beautify. end of story. period.

however, an elephant's butt does!  did you see it in the above picture? in between the two plaid chairs.  that's just the rear view. here's the front side of this little guy...

i heart him. of course, he is another item from my parents home. i have no idea what country in the world he is from, but i know i grew up setting my drinks down on him. with my mother probably saying something like "don't forget a coaster, dear!" in her lilting voice. oh how i miss that voice. somehow things from her home, like this crazy elephant, bring it back to me.

as for the chairs, i don't really love the look of them or the colors, but they were something that my mom specifically mentioned bill should have. bill used to spend time with the lord in at my parent's home in those chairs. he did it so consistently that they became known as "bill's chairs". already, we have had many a conversation in "bill's chairs". granted, some have been have gone something like...

me: get rid of that dumb chick-fil-a cow.

bill: no

me: why not?

bill: because i like it.

but others have just been sweet moments of interaction between various family members. which shows my true colors in the decorating world. i want things to be beautiful. but more than that, i want them to be meaningful. unless they are dumb stuffed cows!!

also from my parents home, the flokati rug...

it looks pretty smashing on the dark wood floors, and pulls the whole, eclectic room together. plus, it feels nice and soft underfoot. and the dogs really enjoy laying on it. which makes me wonder how the heck we are going to regularly clean the thing, but this is supposed to be a happy post, not a depressing one so i will happily repress that thought.

so there you have it. the blog tour is well underway. now i just need to resume my stalled unpacking so that i can do the next post...a room where dreams come true.

i could get used to this

still stalling on the ever-elusive ikea and elephant's butt post, but i am trying to get back to posting in real time about our lives. we may feel a little out of place in our new life here, but it is still our life. and i want to live it. and blog about it, of course.

and our real time involves some pretty sweet things lately. my nephew lane is our first house guest as he received a trip here for his 13th birthday gift. it was his gift, but also an incredible gift to us. my kids have lived most of their lives in consistent contact with this sweet kid. in fact, even though we have only been gone less than a month, that may be one of the longest stretches they have gone without seeing him.

it was a sweet reunion...

we wanted to go to disney quest at downtown disney, but i wanted to save some money. so i found out about some discount tickets online. when we showed up, it was this place...

no thank you. i drove in (snapped this pic) and drove out. i decided just to bite the bullet and pay the price at the door. but when we got there it was  even more than expected. i had excited kids, but could NOT do it. i wanted to cry. that's when god provided two FREE tickets to us through unexpected means. such a kindness! we had some fun times...

i sure could get used to having family around again. i think it's gonna be a hard fall when we have to say goodbye again. but it has been such a joy to have him.

it was also fun to head to the beach for the day. 'cause we can do that now!!! we came home sun burned and sand-filled, but what a fun day we had...

there have definitely been hard things about this move, but living close to the beach is not one of them. i can definitely get used to more days like this!

a joyous celebration

For those of you anxiously awaiting a post about ikea and an elephant's butt, you will have to wait another day. Today there is only one post-worthy option because today is Luci May Day. Also known as Gotcha Day. Three years ago today, we met our darling Luci May Rediet. I will never forget meeting any of my children. but the circumstances surrounding meeting Lulu were different than the other three. Not better, just different. And without physical pain or drugs (which, i guess in that way, made it a little better actually).

Today we celebrate this dear one joining our family...

On this day, I am mindful of the HOLDING ON and LETTING GO woven into the journey of adoption. It all began with "letting go". With Lulu's birth family having to let go of this precious one. And that dear little child letting go of all that she knew. There is no glossing over this reality in adoption. Adoption starts with letting go. She will always carry that with her.

But it doesn't stop there. Adoption is also about HOLDING ON. And this day is all about holding on. Because on July 27, 2009 Rediet ("Blessings") was placed in our arms and she held on for dear life. She didn't know us at all, but she held on in desperation...

We held onto the Lord in gratitude and awe...

And when we held our precious child for the first time, we knew we would never let her go...

And we won't.

In the letting go, there is a Hope to hold onto. There is a promise that upholds. And though we let go, we can know we are forever held. Luci May Day only happened because of letting go. But now we hold close our dear girl, just as we are held. And that is cause for celebration...

hey, this is where i live

scores of people (kelly and christine) have been asking for me to post again after my cliff hanger "i'm an emotional wreck" post. i think i am really doing pretty well. things are good here. not home yet, but good. i think i have been waiting to feel normal again. but i think that's just going to take awhile, so i think i should just go with not normal. as per usual.

throngs of people (kelly and christine and kim) have also asked for pictures. i am never one to disappoint the masses, so this post will begin my exciting new blog series entitled "hey, this is where i live". it doesn't get more exciting than this. i'm hoping this will help me to blog more. which may even help me in this transition.

we will start our tour with a great question i have been asked: what is my favorite part of my house? the first thing that comes to mind is the front yard...

it's not really our front yard, it's the neighborhood park, but it feels like our front yard since it's basically right out our front door. picturing our family out here playing tag and kickball is what sold me on the house...

but now it's not just a picture, it's for real...

it's pretty quiet during the day, but every night about 8pm, when it cools down a wee little bit, the neighbors (who we really like!!) come out to talk while the kids bustle about or play games with them in the grassy knoll. it is exactly what i hoped a community would be.

we moved from a cul-de-sac which was hard to let go of. but now we live on a circle that just loops around the park. so people don't really drive on the street unless they live on it. it's really nice that we don't have many cars, so there's plenty of room for shirtless boys to play in the street...

 some things never change. and boy does that feel good...

 

featured in the next post in the blog series "hey, i live in florida"...ikea and an elephants butt. get excited.

wanted: emotional stability

Lulu's prayer at nap time yesterday. "Dear Jesus, you need to help my mommy.  She is about to cry. She is crying."

Yep. That's what's going on here. One day will be great, an adventure with surprises awaiting us. The next will have me dissolved to tears over school registration or a drip from the a/c vent or figuring out the light switches. I know none of these are truly challenging circumstances, but I have a nagging sense of loss I carry with me into every circumstance. And an inner sense of unsettledness that strikes deeper than any of the unpacked boxes ever could.

I think this is just how it goes with transition. At least my overblown, emotional version of it. But to find inner stability in each day, I am recording my "El Roi moments". El Roi is my favorite name for God. He shows up to Hagar in her brokenness and forgotten state and tells her that He is the God who sees her. What a glorious comfort to be seen and regarded by God!

A few of my El Roi moments have been:

-Friends who bring dinner. And cupcakes...

-Friends coming to help unpack and arrange rooms...

-Jack's prayer has been to have friends his age in the neighborhood. One our third night here he met 3 other boys his age and has been with them pretty much nonstop since then.

-A family sat down next to us in church that just happened to be Ethiopian and invited us that night for an Ethiopian meal!

-At the same church service, we were invited for dessert with 3 other neighborhood families. SO much fun. We have a very friendly neighborhood and we are thankful for that.

The last two were especially meaningful since they happened at church on Sunday. The Sunday before was such a hard day as we were missing our church home so much. The next week, I had friends who were specifically praying for us to be encouraged on Sunday. And that we were.

Even though we left people that are dear to us, we are together. And together we will meet dear people here. And make memories here. And live out God's call on our lives here. I anticipate many more tears 'cause that's just the way I roll. But I also anticipate continued laughter...

(Those are my little white feet on the float in the last picture. Some things never change: like sibling bonding over dumping the Mom! P.S. They asked permission first, which I found adorable)

home sweet home...

or something like that.

after 1795.40 miles, we arrived at our new house. we've been in a week and all is good. well, if you call spontaneous bursting into to tears good. there are many to tales to tell from our travels and our first week here, but the bottom line is this: god is good. my husband is a rock. my kids are champs. and our lives are not our own.

we had a family motto growing up, "off on another one of life's great adventures". we were an air force family and this was my mom's way of rallying her own troops, her 4 little girls. even after my dad retired and we were settled, the motto continued on. and it proved effective. though none of her four daughters would be considered avid adventurers, we are best friends. and friendship is one of life's greatest adventures. thank you, mommy.

now it's my turn to have a family. and my little family is off on another one of life's great adventures.  here we are. a little weary and worn. still slightly surrounded by boxes. but grateful. and ready for the adventure that awaits...