Stranger Danger

Lately I've been trying to talk to Noah about what to do if he were to get separated from me in a public place. This subject is delicate and it's harder than I thought it would be. How do you explain to an innocent little boy that there are evil, horrible people in the world who would hurt him and take him from his family without thinking a second thought about it? How do you equip him for a scenario where he finds himself alone in a crowd? How do you explain the gravity of the consequences of the wrong choices in these situations without scaring the kid for life?

I made up a song that has his full name and his address in it. We sang it over and over and over and over and over until he had it down. Now when I ask him, "Who are you?" he sings the song. Next up will be the task of having him memorize my phone number. I've made sure he knows my name. I remember being a very little kid lost in an airport. I knew all the right things to do. I went up to a desk and told the employee that I was lost. She asked me who I was there with. I told her I was with my Grandad. She asked what his name was so she could page him over the loud speaker. I told her again, matter-of-factly "His name is Grandad." They ended up paging "Grandad" over the airport intercom and he came running. Paging "Mom" would probably prove to be more difficult. There weren't as many bad people in the world back then either.

I've been kidnapped. Thank goodness they didn't get very far - my Mama was hot on their trail. As a young teen, I had a strange man in wal-mart try to get me to come with him. These things happen and I just want them to be prepared.

So how do you address this topic? I mean the obvious "Hang on to your kids in the store!" thing is great, but the reality is, there are bad people out there; sneeky, bad people and I don't want my kid's face on a milk carton. What do you think?

Don't throw that away! It's soft!

A hoarder. Something I never thought I would be, but turns out, I am. Not for the things you'd expect either. I've gotten rid of all my old yearbooks. I don't have any team or class shirts. I didn't hold on to any old school papers or childhood trinkets. I've only kept 2 toys from my childhood with the intent of passing them down to my own children. (One was my very favorite polly pocket and the other is a GI Joe still in the box that I believe may hold some value.)

BUT

Seems I have trouble getting rid of other things; soft things and things that bring me comfort. Pajamas, pillows, blankets and jackets are among the worst offenders. WHY do I feel the need to hang on to that 100-year-old t-shirt that's 5 sizes too big, is older than I am and comes out of the wash each time with a new hole I could stick my arm through?!

It's comfortable.

As a Mom, this has become priority one. Why yes, I am cuddling up with this blanket in June. Don't look at me like that! IT'S SOFT, DAD-GUM-IT!

There was a reason that the Mama bear had the cushiest chair and bed. Motherhood demands cush. Speaking of cush, I'm feeling a little fluffy. June 1st has become day numero uno of operation lose-all-this-weight-I've-yet-to-lose-after-having-3-kids. I'll let you know how it goes. OORAH!

Grrr

Chris- "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!"

Me- "What!?"

Chris- "Can't a man growl?!"

Why, hello there.

I'm not sure how I am ending up with time to post a blog with 3 kids. It's 10:38 and we have just now won the bed time battle with a certain two-year-old who shall remain nameless.

I'm pretty sure our laundry is procreating. I leave it in a pile and when I come back to fold it, it's twice as high as it was when I left it there. For now, our laundry and dishes are mostly caught up - and all at the same time! Alert the media! Haley's comet comes by more often.

I've been really consumed with the adoption lately. I can't seem to think about anything else. I know it will be a while before we can raise funds and get paperwork completed. I just can't help it. I feel like a piece of my heart is somewhere half way around the world. Pray for me, would ya? I've got it bad y'all. I spend my time pouring over adoption blogs and looking up statistics. Chris thinks I'm torturing myself. Maybe I am. I just can't remember the last time I was really on fire about something like this.

VBS is coming up! I'm pumped! It's going to be great and the kids are going to have a great time. Memorial day weekend coming up! Do you have any plans?

Planning to adopt

Somewhere in the Republic of Kazakhstan...

 there is a child...

and this child doesn't have a home or a family...

but I do...

and why would I allow a child to stay over there alone...

when they could be here with us?

We're planning to bring them home.

Damage done

Sick. That's how I feel right now.

There was a 7-year-old Russian boy adopted by a Tennessee woman who kept him for 6 months and then RETURNED him. She says he had psych issues. You think?! The kid has grown up in an orphanage on the other side of the world all alone!

The story says that she's a single woman who just "so desperately wanted a family" that she adopted an older child from a foreign country. I guess she expected him to be one of the Brady bunch kids and show up perfectly rounded and well adjusted. International adoption can cost upwards of $30,000 and MONTHS of paperwork and red tape. People wait YEARS to adopt and get through it all. You would think someone who is willing to put all this in would do SOME research. This is pretty much the most publicized thing out there when it comes to the adoption of older children. THEY HAVE ISSUES!

The problem here is that people make a distinction between a biological child and an adopted child. There is none. When you adopt a child, they are absolutely as much a part of your family as those children you gave birth to. I want to know why people aren't COMPLETELY outraged like they would be had she sent a 7-year-old biological child around the world with a one-way ticket. I want to know why she isn't rotting in jail. She's done SO much damage. Not only to that poor boy but to THOUSANDS of families trying to adopt internationally.

Now, I realize that this is a sensitive issue for myself and I may be flying off the handle. Someone needs to fly off the handle for this poor boy! God calls Christians to care for the orphans. I know that I am particularly called to do so. I cannot WAIT until I can adopt, but all in God's perfect timing. Until then all I can do is raise awareness for good Christian people to take in these kids and give them a home and a family. DO IT!

Easter

Easter is always a holiday I look forward to. Not only is it a time when we all get to dress up and color eggs, it's a time to talk to my kids about the awesome gift that God gave in his son, Jesus Christ. What's even better is that my 4-year-old initiated this conversation:

Noah - "Mom, those bad people stuck Jesus on a big heavy cross."
Me - "They sure did, Honey."
Noah - "And they put NAILS in his hands and in his feet!"
Me - "Yes, they did."
Noah- "They killed him, didn't they, Mom?"
Me - "Yes they did."
Noah - "Mom?"
Me - "Yes?"
Noah - "Are you crying?"
Me - "It just makes me sad that they did that to my Jesus because I love him so much."
Noah - ::gets excited:: "It's okay, Mom! Jesus came back to life! He didn't stay dead! He's alive!"

I don't know if I've ever smiled that big in my life and I know I've never been more proud.