This Child....*SIGH*

Do you see what happened here?
Yes....my darling daughter...the sneaky one, remember her?

CUT HER HAIR.

She was mad at me at the time and had clearly been left alone too long in her room to figure it out. She chose to go into my bathroom, take scissors into her room and snipped off a ponytail just an hour after she was in the before mentioned homecoming parade.

I screamed and cried. And then she cried. And then Jasmine cried.
But I was grateful that Billy's mom was in town (this was the first night she arrived!) and was here for me on my crazy day!

The next morning I decided that I was not going to PAY anyone to cut off my daughter's darling curls. It took me four and a half years to grow that hair out!!!
As seen here just the day before:It doesn't appear to be that long, which just shows how short the curls make it. Wet, it was half way down her back. So I bathed her, washed her hair and scrunched her curls.
And then snipped away to even it up.

The results were better than expected:

She really is such an adorable child, that she can pull off any hair style.

Now if only I could tame her naughty personality....

Sometimes You Gotta Dance (And Cheer)

We put Isaac in a hip hop class as his extra curricular activity this year.
He LOVES it! It is 50 minutes every Monday night. We were told Hip Hop dance is great for overall fitness and helps the brain organize and process...perfect for him! He told me, "Mom I love dance because it is SO fast!" There are 9 boys in the class...so he is loving it!

Vivi's activity is cheerleading!
She is now a Pinkie (Pink Panther).
She loves it too and was even able to ride a float in the Homecoming parade!

Some Days...

In light of posting about my friend's blog where she talked about not letting the stares bother her with her daughter when they are out in public, I have to confess I am not so forgiving. Some days I really just want to blend in. I don't want to have to fend of the crazies...or the annoying remarks and questions. Here is just a taste of what I have heard in the past 7 days alone.

"Is she yours or is she adopted?"
My response: "She is mine AND she is adopted."

From a Dr. "Well sometimes you conceive after you adopt."
Ummm...no. There is actually no scientific data to support that theory AT ALL.

"Oh, Ok! For some reason, I thought they were yours!"
"They are mine."

"Are any of your kids yours?"
"Yes, they all are."

"Whose your friend?"
Oh...you mean, my SON? This is Jayden.

That is just this week, people.
*sigh*

A Gift From The Past

Way back in college I had a dear friend. We clicked the very moment we met and were pretty inseparable from that day on. I was the Maid of Honor in her wedding, hosted her baby showers, and was in the delivery room when she welcomed her second child into the world. I adored this friend. We were kindred spirits...sharing all of the same strong opinions about Christianity, politics, social situations, morality.
But something happened to me when I went through infertility.

I got really selfish.
I was hurting so deeply from my world having come crashing down on my head. And all I could think about was, "why wasn't she there for me like I had been there for her?"

My friend and I had a snag in communication, as happens in all of the best of relationships. But instead of allowing it grow us closer together, I took the easy route and wrote her an obnoxious letter. She called me. I ignored it. She wrote me an email.

We never spoke again.

Months turned into years and I never forgot how much I adored her. It was my biggest life regret that I let that friendship go because of my selfishness, my fear of rejection, and my laziness in dealing with conflict. Anytime rejection came up in my life, I cried all over again for this friendship lost.

I became a mother and a few years went by. I emailed her. She ignored it.

I never thought I would hear from her for the rest of my life unless our paths crossed randomly.
But they never did.

This summer, the day before Jayden's adoption...I was given the greatest gift.
My friend emailed me.

I immediately responded and a couple weeks went by with no response from her. Then one night in August, out of the blue, she called me! She said that she had contacted information for my number. We talked for over an hour and caught up on life.
My four kids....her three. The this...the that.

It was like 6 years had not passed in our friendship!
Kindred spirits once again.

I didn't mention why my friend was not there for me like I thought a friend should be.
Her world had come crashing down too. The baby girl she had dreamed of and birthed...that I was there to witness...was born with profound disabilities because of CMV that she caught in the womb. The day after she was born, the Dr's discovered the damage this terrible disease had done to this long awaited daughter, and told the family. We knew the baby was sick in the womb and would likely have many complications but we were not prepared for her to be born blind, deaf, and brain damaged to a degree that only gave her a 7-10 year lifespan. It was when her baby girl was one year old, that she and I stopped talking. We were both treading water at that time in our lives. I think our personal pain blinded us from really seeing the other's perspective and for that I have learned a great life lesson. Every one you meet and know is carrying around with them their own heavy burden. Some are more obvious...some are not. But we all have our wounds and we need one another.

I gave her my blog address and she said she loved it and had wanted to start one for a long time to talk about the journey God had brought her family on with the birth of their Elise. She just started her blog a few weeks ago, but has already had such wonderful response. Her recent post is about society's reaction to a 7 year old in a wheel chair, with a pacifier! It hit home for me as a transracial adoptive family as her perspective is not one of annoyance at the reactions of most...but of recognizing that the life God chose for her, He did for a reason. And that because her child who cannot see or hear, or even comprehend the huge impact her life has on others, is a testimony of God's love and provision even in the midst of what many would perceive as a nightmare. I am so very proud of my sweet friend, Ashley and her choice to be outspoken about her story.

Please go visit her blog at Life With Elise and give her some love and support from blogland!

Happy 32nd birthday to the best husband and father in the world!!!

9.11.01

How can it be that ten years have passed since the day we no longer felt so safe in the land of the free.

We will always remember.