Changing Hands

I'm speaking at a women's conference here in a couple of months and had to have pictures of me by myself for the flyer.  I didn't have any of me alone...imagine that!  Anyway, hence the goofy photo.  It went about as well as the picture below: "No, C.-look here!  And smile!" 

Since I returned from Burma 10 days ago, the following have been accomplished:
1. Loving, dressing, feeding, educating, disciplining, cleaning and cuddling my two boys.

2. Un-packed (once my luggage came home after it's scenic route home)

3. Re-packed a suitcase full of aid for Sunflower's orphanage and transition home in Ethiopia

4. Re-packed a suitcase for me (clothes, a backpack, shampoo, etc...)

5. Started to pack a suitcase for Sunflower and realized we had nothing to put in it!

6. Friends sent clothes, and we went shopping to fill the empty suitcase with these bizarre tiny outfits that are pink with flowers and bows and lace on them. Nope-no blue bulldozers on these onsies!

7. Re-located bottles, formula holders, portable diaper changing pads, the diaper bag, diaper rash creme, pacifiers, etc... that was stashed away since C. quit using them.

8. THEN I packed Sunflower's suitcase. Might I say too, it is strange to pack a suitcase to check on a plane for a child that will only be a part of the return trip. "No, I really am allowed this extra free luggage. No, the baby isn't here NOW, but she's on the ticket-see? And she's coming home with me in a week, so she gets the checked luggage."

9. Tried to grasp the fact that we have a DAUGHTER coming HOME in a WEEK!

10. Painted, stenciled, hung curtains, and put up baby furniture in the nursery.

11. Filled out the DS-230 and the I-864 for my Embassy appointment in Addis on the 29th. FYI, if you haven't done your I-864, give yourself a week for this one; it's a monster!

12. Changed thousands of dollars into "Smaller bills, please, and all 2004 or newer in good condition" because that's all Ethiopia will change due to counterfeiting problems. Try it out-that sentence will make your bank teller smile too!

13. Re-confirmed tours, hotels, and transportation in Ethiopia.

14. Make 140 Thank You bookmarks for members of my church who supported the Burma mission.

15 Recorded a Burma end report on video at church for Sunday.

16.Found childcare for the boys while I'm in Ethiopia. Rachel, "Thank You" doesn't even begin to cover it, but "THANK YOU!!!"

17. Answered C. reassuringly, all 100 times throughout the day, when he says, "Mommy, I'M your baby C.  I'M a baby!"  (So far, he's adjusting the least to the idea of a new baby, but we expected that.  He's a little...well... some say spoiled; I say loved!)

18. Attempted to convince my body that it's noon when it's noon, not midnight.

19. Finished Sunflower's baby blanket; I'm putting the finishing ruffles on it as I type-

20. Did NOT capture "little mouse" that has decided to make our fireplace his new home. That's what we get for building a house on an old tobacco field...

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I leave TOMORROW for Ethiopia to meet and bring home Sunflower! Please pray for safety, smooth transition, and quick attachment on her part. She has changed primary caretakers 3 times (about to be 4) in her short five months of life, so attachment strategies are soon to be implemented to the fullest to help guarantee that she attaches to us as Mom and Dad and avoids any attachment related problems later in life.  

Did you know that once a child truly attaches to a caretaker, he or she can then easily (with time) re-attach to another caretaker? But if the child never attached to anyone (some say by 6 months of age), then he or she may never be able to attach to a caretaker. Attachment is related to brain chemistry and neurological connections; not just emotion.

So ,it is vital that she attach to us quickly. That's why we may say, "I'm sorry, you can't hold and feed the baby." Only her primary caretakers, Tim and I, the people she MUST attach to, will be able to meet any of her needs until she "gets" we are Mom and Dad and attaches to us. It's not personal; it's just part of adoption! 

J. had an advantage here because even though he came home when he was older, he had fully attached to his caretakers at the orphanage and was there for over a year before he came home. He went through grief and loss when he came home, but then easily attached to us. Though, we welcome your loving words and gazes toward her, thoughts, prayers, and even gifts! :) Thanks to all of you who have sent stuff in the mail and who have prayed for this process and for Sunflower's health to hold until we get her home and evaluated here.  It's almost over! 

Of course, I'll update when I get home, and once again, see you in 10 days!

Burma Nargis Relief-in short

Burma-Orphanage Day

These children from a Burmese border town showed up at a Baptist church in Yangon several years ago after their village was bombed by the Burmese government.  Seven years ago, the first time I visited them and did a VBS for them, they were still very much against Christianity. Most of them told their parents that they wouldn't convert to Christianity; they would remain Buddhist for them.  While in Yangon, the church is able to provide the children-mostly orphans- with 2 meals a day, shelter, safety, and some Bible lessons.  There is one caretaker for all 95 children.  At the end of the school year, most return to the border village to see their remaining family members.  A different group of children, and some repeats, return to Yangon when school starts again each year.  The ones who don't return escape to refugee camps in Thailand, are killed by landmines along the way, are kidnapped by the Burmese junta to become child soldiers or slaves, or die from sickness and disease.  The months they spend at the orphanage are their only opportunity to know Jesus before they return "home."

This trip, we were able to purchase school uniforms for all of the chilren so that they can attend public school this year.  We fed them lunch, and taught stories about Creation and Jesus for three hours.  We played games, sang songs, colored, made "lost sheep" bracelets with cotton balls, etc...  I emphasized repeatedly that they should share the story of Jesus with their family members back at the border village.  The children were full of giggles and delight all day.  It was wonderful.  I was brought to tears hearing them sing, "Jesus Loves Me."  I pray they remember this song as they return home and teach it's hope and love to their family members who don't know the Son.

We were also able to set up surgery for one boy's cleft lip (less than $100 to repair at a reputable hospital in Yangon), and we bought nearly a year's worth of pain medication for a boy who was severely burned back at his border village.  The burn left his arm disfigured and unable to straighten.  He needs several surgeries, but we just couldn't save them all.  Here's a couple more pictures of these children and this day. Please pray for these orphans and their Buddhist families in a very tumultuous land.  More pics and stories about other days in Burma-with displaced cyclone victims, in the Delta, with the local congregation, and aid delivery later.  Thank you to all of you who prayed and donated funds to make all of this possible.  The children thank you!!!