his and hers

this is the scene at my house today...

his and hers puke bowls. his and hers sides of the couch. his and hers cups of sprite. his and hers high fevers. tate missed 4 days of school last week with the same thing, so i'm thinking this may be the scene at my house for several days to come.

in almost 18 years of marriage, we only had cable tv for two of those years, which was many years ago. but in a shocking turn of events, for christmas this year, our gift to the kids was getting satellite tv. since then, i have second guessed that decision many times because my older kids, if left to themselves, would freeze their brains for hours on end. but on a day like today, when they are sedentary and miserable, i am so very grateful for extreme home makeover, cake boss, and even hannah montana.

dear dish network, you complete me.

career aspirations

she said, "mom, i want to work for TOMS shoes when i grow up. i'll get to travel around the world giving shoes away to all those kids in need...(in a quieter voice)...and i'll get a lot of shoes for myself too".

that's my girl. help change the world and accumulate shoes. and if you can do both at the same time, all the better.

speaking of TOMS, this may be old news (i live in midwest, you know), but have y'all seen these...

seriously? a knock off of TOMS called BOBS? that's just plain laughable. maybe it shouldn't, but that bugs me. they also donate shoes to those in need, but it feels more like a business ploy than altruism. get your own idea, skechers.

it also bugs me how cvs stores always build right across the street from walgreen's. it may be a smart business move, but in my non-business mind, it seems kind of lame. i guess i don't like copy cats.

unfortunately, this makes me think about how i can often live my life trying to "knock off" others strengths or style or spiritual maturity by comparing myself to them. whose the copy cat now? ouch.

when it's personal

hard things happen all over the world. but when they happen close to home, the simple truth is that it affects you more. maybe it shouldn't, but for most people, that's just the way it is. so here's the deal...

my daughter was an orphan. nevermind that before the idea of us adopting ever entered my consciousness the bible had beckoned me (and all reading it) to care for the needs of the orphan and the widow. over and over again. but god specifically moved us to respond in a certain way to that call in 2008. to adopt. and he led us to adopt from ethiopia.

and so there are two things i take very personally now. the plight of the orphan (though it should have been personal all along) and what happens in the country of ethiopia. ethiopia is a part of us. forever. it is my daughter's homeland. her heritage. therefore our family will always be tied to it. it is part of our HOME. i've been there. i've seen the faces. and one of those beautiful faces naps upstairs as i write this. that face, along with all the others, motivates me to keep on writing this post.

if you are reading this and are unfamiliar with what is happening in the world of adoption regarding ethiopia, you have an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than yourself. basically, there have been abuses related to international adoption in ethiopia. it makes me sick. but i know it's happened in other countries and it has been happening in the one that's closest in my heart. in part to deal with these issues, the ethiopian government is reducing the number of adoption cases they deal with by 90%. though it is very good for the country to seek an answer to these abuses, it means that children who are waiting for a family, children who are medically fragile, children who are in NEED may end up waiting and waiting and waiting to either be matched with a family or be united with the families waiting for them.

my heart goes out to families who are waiting for children. less than two years ago, i was one of them. i know how this news would be so heartbreaking. but my utmost concern is for those children. those faces, like the one napping upstairs. about 5 million faces like hers. the answer for all of them is not international adoption. but for those who it is an answer, a good and right and pure option. what about them?

you can sign a petition TODAY asking the ethiopian government to consider other options to resolve the current crisis. there is something we can do about this. please click here.

for whatever reason, i don't see myself as much of an advocate. my passion in life is pretty basic, plain and simple: to love. but sometimes (maybe all the time?), they are really just one and the same.

i think now is definitely one of those times.

don't like it, can't change it

i don't like the new look of my blog, but i can't quite figure out how to make it look the way i want. oh to understand computers and the complexities of the internet! i used to have a free background from the cutest blog on the block, but somehow my blog doesn't fit with that anymore. and though i appreciate all the options blogger now offers as templates, i am flat out confused.

so here i am with my polka dottie blog. for now, anyway. if you have any tips for me, that would be greatly appreciated. please don't suggest i actually read any directions or anything like that. ick.

enough of the whining. bill just returned from a short trip, so we are all smiles around here (though i may have whined a bit about him getting to go to orlando). this is how we felt about him being gone...

and this is how we feel about him being home...

we missed you, babe.

this was going to be the time bill was gone that i was going do the dishes, make real meals, fold laundry, and get up early to get the kids off to school.

gentle readers, do you think this happened?

not exactly. i had a nasty cold while bill was gone. the good news about this cold is that i was in bed every night at 9:30pm (usually when bill is gone i stay up way too late). the bad news about the cold is that i was able to care for the basic needs of our family, but dishes, meals and laundry became relegated to the category of "luxury items". but the kids were at school on time every day and i didn't even have to yell "RUN! RUN!" after them. that may not be impressive, but it shows improvement. though i often find myself short on time, patience and self-control, one thing i seem to have plenty of is room for improvement! :)

so even though there are many things about me that i may not like, they can be changed. i can be changed.

...be transformed by the renewing of your mind...romans 12:2

that's what i'm talkin' about!

emmie loves to dance. but in past dance performances she was either:

stone-faced in concentration like this...

or looking at one of the other girls to know what to do next.

but not so anymore! at a recent performance, she stared straight at the audience with a smile pasted on her face the entire time...

this time, other girls were looking at her for what to do next...

go figure.

i loved it because it showed growth, maturing, and confidence. though her smile during the performance was not her most genuine, this one was...

she had a great time. and i think she was proud of herself. and that makes me smile!

growing old(er) gracefully

in life, i have been given some great footsteps to follow in. namely my three older sisters...

my sister, amy, celebrated a big birthday this past week, bringing us all together. i won't tell you what number it was, though i might show you...

she is a great example of enjoying the benefits of growing older like wisdom, while not sweating the other stuff like wrinkles or "old eyes". but even with old eyes, she saw well enough to appreciate her gift from the etsy seller junkposse...

amy travels to zambia to teach pastor's wives there, so the heart is over zambia. thanks tracey!

even with her advanced age, she also had no trouble blowing out her candles (and helping lulu with the last one)...

at a family dinner, we shared our list of 50 things we love about amy. from her sacrificial care for our parents (through both alzheimer's and cancer) to her passion for jesus and his word to her pumpkin pancakes to the slightly deranged look in her eyes when we wake her up. it was shockingly easy to come up with 50 and the list could have gone on and on.

she may be growing older, but she is running harder after jesus and gaining speed with time, rather than losing it. thanks for the example. and the memories. and the pumpkin pancakes. i love you, sis.

laughter and tears

four little valentine's all in a row...

i love them.

we had a full day of valentine-giving(thank you very much, walmart!), party-throwing, and a date...

a family date. bill and i celebrated valentine's with our little people instead of out on a hot date just the two of us. with fruit kabobs (made by em)...

and chocolate milk in waterford crystal...

we ate so-so steaks and the pioneer woman's smashed potatoes which are definitely not so-so! we celebrated what romantic love has born: a family. and we laughed.

i'm so glad for laughter as we have also had some tears around here too. i've said it before, i'll say it again: i hate cancer. i hated cancer when i sat by my mommy's side as she breathed her last breath. and i hated cancer when i sat by the side of my mommy's dear friend (my dear friend too) as she is ending her journey in this life.

so there have been tears mixed with a lot of sweet remembering. and this is what i remember: a passionate, gifted, competent, intelligent, loyal, driven, compassionate, witty woman who loved fiercely and gave generously. a sacrificial mother and a devoted friend. a friend i don't want to say goodbye to. i will miss you.