Today

It's late, it's been a big day, and I'm feeling reflective. So, here's some highlights of a random day....

Today my Jo had her tonsils out. She was such a trooper.

All set for surgery...

Waiting, listening, and on deck...

And here she is an hour-and-a-half later, in Recovery 2, and attempting a smile...see what I mean? A total trooper. We were so proud of our little peanut - and so thankful for a successful surgery.

Tonight sitting right on Josie's armchair, I found this....

On closer examination it reads: "Dear Josie, Are you feeling good? I wanted to write a note for you. I put a balloon on the paper. I wanted to give you the magnet thing to you put on a smile! Love, Maggie."

Ok, so are you gagging with sugary sweetness and light? :) I'm so thankful for the times I witness my kids loving on each other and for the times they behave so well they're actually voted "best patient of the day" by all of their nurses, but seriously, is that real? All the time? ha ha ha.....

Remember this?

Well, these days, it's looking more like this...(that's my mom in the middle - she took the boys this morning while we were with Josie at the hospital.) Just check out Miles' expression...

Ok, to put it bluntly, the honeymoon is over. Yes, they're learning to love each other and have their moments of great bonding brotherly love, but they're working out life together too - and we're all finding that can be pretty messy and exhausting...

And tonight, a last word from my sweet little note-writer...

While other parents are teaching their children to save money to build REAL wells for REAL poor people, well, just check out what I found as I was tucking everyone into bed...

It reads, "Wishing Well, we are poor, donate a lot of money. Thank you."

Oh my.... :)

Yonas, Eva, and baby Misikir :)

Fall

It's been crazy around here lately. I feel like I've been dropping the ball constantly, chronically late, grouchy to my kids and man, and just generally not finding my groove.

Yesterday I was home most of the day with some sort of 24 hr. flu junk. (In amidst all of the colds, runny noses, coughs, etc. that have already struck...) ugh... But it was actually a blessing in disguise. The weather was beautiful - a sunny oasis to break up the constant, rainy, dreariness of the past couple of weeks. One of my kids came running inside so excited about the gorgeous fall colors on our bushes and trees, that it inspired me. I grabbed my camera and my kids, and rediscovered the beauty of being spontaneous, slowing down, really taking the time to look at and talk to my kids, and just enjoying the now....

Happy Fall!

Miss Betty

The day after I wrote my post about being convicted to witness, a really interesting thing happened.

First, a little background: About a few weeks after Yonas came home, we both had to go to the doctor. We waited for FOREVER in the waiting room. And it was nearly impossible to divert Yonas' attention in the sparsely decorated, not kid-friendly environment. Here I have my newly adopted 3 yr. old in this totally boring place, he has no idea where we are, why we're there, and why, in heaven's name I'm making him sit there....and at this point, I have no way to explain any of it. So, ok. I've set the stage for:

Betty. She too was waiting for the doc and could sense I needed a little help, if even just a distraction. So, this sweet stranger struck up a conversation with Yonas and I, having no idea he couldn't understand a word she was saying, but he was mesmerized none-the-less. She pulled out this little LED flashlight and gave it to Yoni. Whew. It worked. She was such a sweet lady and I was really thankful for her momentary intervention. After a little small talk, we got called back to see the doc. End of story...or so I thought.

A couple of weeks ago my doctor's office asked if they could give my phone number out to the lady who had given us the flashlight back in July. They told me that she felt bad that she didn't have flashlights for all of our kids (who weren't even at the office that day). So sweet. So after about a week of phone tag, we finally nailed down a date that she could drop off the lights.

She came to our door with a bag full of fun little flashlight keychains. The kids loved them. But then she asked if I had a piece of paper and some scissors. And then she really got to work.

Ok, long story short, she basically took that little interaction at the doctor's office and turned it into an opportunity to not only show love, but to share the Gospel with me and my kids. She took one piece of paper, folded it a special way, made one cut, and then each little scrap of paper told part of Jesus' story.

The kids were mesmerized. And I was struck at how such a simple, everyday moment could turn into this...

As I listened in and took these pictures (a blog post in mind the whole time) :) I wondered if she wondered why God had brought her to our house that day. I mean, our kids were reciting their verses to her, we talked of our relationships with the Lord, etc, so we really didn't need to be told what we already knew, right? But I know why she came. She came to SHOW me. Isn't just like God to not only convict the heart, but to then help us take that conviction one step further to action - and show us how it's done?! Pretty cool.

So Betty and I talked and she told me how really incredibly easy it is to take the simplest conversations and interactions and turn them into an opportunity to love like Christ. I don't know - just thought it was really encouraging and challenging.

How can we do the same in our everyday lives? I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Thinking of Fruit

Over the past few months I've heard Maggie exclaim, usually in times of distress, that she's "thinking of fruit." And she doesn't just say nonchalantly, "Mom, I'm thinking of fruit..." do-dee-do. She says it passionately and with urgency, like, "MOM, I'M THINKING OF FRUIT HERE!!!" As if that's supposed to indicate major seriousness - the world's about to end serious.

Perplexed and amused, but always in a huge hurry when this is happening, I've never quite understood what in the world she's talking about. Well, this morning, I got a better (I guess?!) idea...

So, it's my understanding that "thinking of fruit" entails a big castle table covered in a white tablecloth with fruit bunched together on top. Hmmm, ok...

And then I asked, "What exactly is the fruit doing on the table?"

To which she replied, "Sitting there looking pretty."

Trying to stifle my giggles, I ask, "And that's a bad thing?" "YES, MOM! It's totally bad!"

"But you like fruit," I say.

"I know." She says. "But that's just to eat. The fruit on the table is a different thing."

After more of this hilarious back-and-forth, I come to discover that "thinking of fruit" happens primarily when she's embarrassed, uptight, anxious, or over-stimulated. Hmmm....ok, again.

I'm bouncing between thinking this is hilariously funny, strangely weird and possibly problematic when Josie, who's listening in quietly to this whole exchange says, "Maggie, you have problems."

To which I retort, "Jos, we ALL have problems."

And she says, "NO, Mom, not just problems. Issues."

Just another day in the life...

:)