A Family of Four

A friend called me this weekend to tell me that her husband's plane was supposedly coming in that evening. We thought maybe Tim was on it too. Since we were in town around that time, I went ahead and met my friend at the guys' work to wait for the buses to come in, just in case. And sure enough...Tim was on that plane! Nevermind that I had a wet head from the shower I just took and sweats on. NOT the usual look for picking up your husband from war whom you haven't seen in months! Oh well; it was better than a burka. The boys were elated. Caleb ran to him laughing, screaming, "Daddy! Daddy!" Judah took a little while to re-warm up to him, but all is well now. Tim is home for several months at least, we hope, and life is sooooooooo good! Thanks for all of your prayers during this deployment. Blessings,

P.S. Judah gave himself a very handsome haircut the other day. ;) So no, I didn't do that, and he isn't pulling his hair out in chunks. Evidently, giving oneself a haircut is fairly common for toddlers!

The Best Book You Ever Read?

Let's talk about the best books. The best books EVER. This topic caused great controversy in 1998 when the New York Times released its 100 Best Novels Ever (written in English). I think the overall consensus was-by literary agents, professors and the common reader-that this list sucked. Sorry for the crass word, but really. There are-count them-FOUR women authors on their list.

http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html

There's the Times list that includes Judy Blume's "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret". Hmmm.... Who made this list, third graders?

http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html

There's the Radcliffe Publishing Course's rival list to the NY Times list that also came out in 1998. It has women and minority authors. Imagine that... For me, if Zora Neale Hurston isn't on the list, it isn't a list, and Their Eyes Were Watching God made #23 on the Radcliffe list, just after Milne's original Winnie the Pooh series. MUCH better. Fitzgerald ranks #1 by the way with, The Great Gatsby. Even still, I've only read 37 of the novels represented here, and I think even it is missing a few of the obvious choices, like East of Eden by Steinbeck. http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100rivallist.html

Everyone should read a handful, at least, of the picks from these lists. Reading broadens perspective, brings understanding to conversations and allusions that mystified you before, and molds a person into deeper thinking in general. Read, read, read... Though some of the pics may be just so-so, or leave you and the rest of the planet saying, "I don't get it," at the end (Ulysses anyone?) Every now and again though, a work comes along-fiction or non-fiction-that HAS to be shared. HAS to be handed out, given as Christmas gifts, acclaimed and starred with notes that read, "Read this TODAY! It will change your life!"

Some of the books I've handed out just recently (fiction/non-fiction/English or translated) with a "Read This NOW!" sticker included:

* The Kite Runner-Hosseini (Novel about two best friends growing up in Afghanistan. Traces the time period from the Russian occupancy to the present.)

*The Bible-God (Genesis and John's Gospel, specifically.)

*Angela's Ashes-McCourt (whether you're Irish or not, this novel about Irish immigration during the potato famine is a must-read.)

*The Known World-Jones (Novel about the true events behind American blacks owning black slaves in the 19th century. No line in a novel has EVER effected me like, "I wonder if Moses done ate yet." Except for maybe, "I'm Watchin' God," from Ms. Zora, but that's a given.)

*The Question of God-Nicholi, MD (Compiled essays of C.S. Lewis and Freud in debate format covering God, sex, morality and society.)

*How the Irish Saved Civilization-Cahill (The title is clear, isn't it? ;) Historical non-fiction about St. Patrick and scribing monks.)

*Toddler Adoption, the Weaver's Craft-Mary Hopkins-Best (A must read if you are adopting a toddler.)

*Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal-Moore (OK, some would/have called this one sacriledge, but they are wound a little tighter than I am. Tim and I had AMAZING 2:00am talks about how mystism would have influenced Jesus; New Testament sociology; and Jesus' childhood while reading this together. And it is hilarious. Tim would be crying he was laughing so hard, and read parts out loud to me-even though I had already read the book!)

There is one more I will add to this list in the next week or two, and it will have a HUGE sticky note attached that declares, "Read This NOW!" I'm holding out because it deserves its own post; it's that important, and I haven't quite figured out how I want to present it yet. So, stay tuned to future posts. Especially the next post. It may be even more interesting than books! ;) But even if books have always bored you, read anyway! Start with Winnie the Pooh and work up from there! "Pooh Sticks", from the first Winnie the Pooh book, has me laughing just thinking about it now. I dare you to read it to your kids, with a British accent, and not laugh out loud.

I've been tagged

Tiffany Shaw Tagged me. (She's linked on my sidebar.) So, I'll bite. The idea is to list eight things about yourself-probably things that aren't extremely well known-and then tag eight other bloggers to do the same. However, I don't think I know eight other bloggers that don't have specialized blogs. Mine is one of the few I read that is a hodge podge of information. So, I'll list eight, as asked, and tag three. Is that cheating? Probably, but here goes:

1. I could eat nachos five nights a week and be happy about it. They have to be the kind I make, though: whole grain chips, cheese, grilled chicken with goya, jalapenos and lettuce. And a glass of milk. OK-when Tim is gone, some weeks I DO eat this five nights a week.

2. I mix my cereals together. You know, like 1/2 a bowl of frosted mini wheats and 1/2 a bowl of chocolate lucky charms. That was dinner last night, actually. Yummy. (My kids eat better than I do; don't worry!)

3. What else is Yummy? House. It's bizarre, I know. He's a little old for me, crippled, and mean. It isn't Hugh Laurie and his British accent that has me drooling, either-it's House-the character. So, when most of my girlfriends are going ga ga for McSteamy (who does absolutely nothing for me, by the way), I'm stuck on House. I think it's the tee- shirts.

4. I miss my Jeep. Terribly.

5. Though I learned it as a child in English, I can now only sing the New Testament song in Khmer. In English, I get stuck at Galatians and have to start over, and over, and over, until eventually I just switch to Khmer and sing the whole song. My children will grow up asking each other, "Is Reevoreenah in your Bible? I can't find it in mine."

6. My dream life would be to uproot the husband and children who I love, reposition ourselves into the developing world and start an NGO. Preferably something that utilizes both Tim and I's gifts in the fields of, say, orphans or diplomacy.

7. My favorite wine is Mirassou's Cabernet Souvignon. Unfortunately, studies came out last month that show as little as 2 glasses of wine a day increase a woman's risk for breast cancer significantly. On the other hand, one or two glasses a day lowers the risk of heart disease significantly. So, now I must choose my fate: heart disease or breast cancer? I think I'll stick to one glass a day, and pray for the best.

8. When I lived in Cambodia, I would catch geckos and let them loose in my room. They eat the mosquitos. And I think they're cute. Except when you lie down, turn on your aircon, and one-startled beyond measure by the sudden droning of spinning fans in his new abode-makes a flying leap out of said aircon unit and lands on your face. THEN, they're a little creepy.

Who am I tagging? Let's see...Jen Reijgers, Karen B. and Heather. You're it!

So much to do, so little time...

My memory is sketchy. It always has been. Some have said it's lacking selectively, as opposed to physiologically. Either way. If I remember your birthday, you are special indeed.

Therefore, I have a list many pages long on purple paper that I have kept for years hidden in a drawer of my desk. It is a list of many of the experiences I've had thus far in life, some good, some not so good. However, if an event makes the list, it's meant to be remembered for reasons that may only ever be known to me, though many of the lessons are obvious. For example, if I've seen the devil in a black cat sitting ominously on the top of a car, I learn to avoid cats. Remember that cat, mom? That was one evil cat.

I was adding to this list today, as I do every few months, and I couldn't help but to look back at old entries. I won't say that these are my favorite entries; they're quite random actually, and certainly less personal than many. But here are a dozen life events that struck me today-with a little bit of commentary:

1. I've watched the Millenium sunrise on the border of Mexico with my husband.

2. I've ridden a bamboo raft to the Golden Triangle.

3. I thought I was experiencing the second coming while sitting in a church alone in Japan reading my Bible. I wasn't. Just an earthquake. I did actually walk outside however, once the shaking stopped, and pondered how odd it was that in a land of Shintos, I was the one left behind. Oh you laugh, but if you were the one looking out into an empty street, you might have really regretted that time you cheated on a speed math test in third grade too.

4. I've held the cold hand of a dear friend in a coffin. Thank God that's only happened once.

5. I've kissed my husband at night on top of the Eiffel Tower. Everyone should do that once in their lifetime. Not kiss my husband, persay, but your own husband...or wife. Whatever.

6. I've thrown up into Lake Geneva in Switzerland with a friend after eating waaaaay too much Toblerone chocolate. Obvious lesson here: go easy on the chocolate, even if it is the best in the world.

7. I've been lost in the jungles of Thailand on a wayward elephant...and ended up getting very wet in the Mae Taeng River.

8. I learned how to cook from a dear French friend and our Vietnamese/Chinese housekeeper...in Cambodia. No, girls, I may not know what to do with cupcake wrappers, but I can make some yummy springrolls, mango shakes and poir belle helene for dessert! ;)

9. I've won a little money pool sharking in a few shady places. (Steve, I'll never be as good as you. I like to actually give the other guy a chance to scratch before I clear the table. But you know what I do better than you? Ski. Yep. I don't puke my way down the mountain. ;) )

10. I "meowed" with an old man high on opium outside of a club in Rangoon. Really, he was "meowing", like a cat, and together we made cat harmony. We meowed John Denver's "Take Me Home" (or is it titled, "West Virginia"?) It was bizarre, and yes I was sober, though probably a little high on second hand contaminates. I think my name is on a brick outside of a little dive called Mr. Guitar down the road from the "Tooth Pagoda", just in case I ever wonder, "Did that really happen?" I can go back and check.

11. I baptized a woman in a pig trough in South America after she came up to me and said, "I'm here for the free gift." My response? "Uhhhh...OK. Why, let me tell you about that free gift...I'm sure I have Romans 6 in your language here somewhere..." Funny how simple evangelism can be contrasted with how complicated we often make it.

12. I've pretended I was Princess Grace with a friend at the palace in Monaco, complete with haughty princess walking and British accents. Though, Princess Grace was American, and my friend and I both were fluent in French which would have been more realistic, but whatever. We were regal for an afternoon.

13. I've had a son come to me with an ouchie and ask me to kiss it because he really believed that if I did that, it would be all better.

OK, so that's a baker's dozen, and the python experience in Vietnam wasn't listed, but what are some of your stand-out memories? I know many of you have lived events that I could only dream of that I will want to add to my "Things to do before I die" list. Yes, I like lists. Speaking of great accomplishments, way to go on the ten miler this weekend, Kim and the lesson learned. You are amazing!

Peek-A-Boo, it's October!

October...

Thus begins my favorite season-autumn. Hopefully, the temperature will drop from the eighties we're still experiencing here, rain will fall, and we'll be blessed with some cool rainy autumn nights so that I can sit on my screened-in porch with a cup of tea and good poetry (Frost or Neruda or Yates...) listening to the rain until the wee hours of the morning. Ahhh...heaven.

(Side Note: baby gates are intended to keep babies out of rooms. This is an unmet goal in our house, except when they both try to climb over at once and realize that they can't swing their legs with the other one sitting there. They find themselves stuck. I won't tell you how long I let them sit there. Let's just say that I enjoyed lunch this day without any little hands reaching for food off of my plate...)

October is also AIDS Awareness month, Hispanic Heritage Month, National Book Month, and National Popcorn Popping Month.

We're in Ramadan right now; Eid is on the 12th. Happy Eid all you Muslims. I think the Jewish holiday Sukkot fell at the end of Sept. this year. We Christians have what this month...Halloween? And let's not forget Columbus Day. There's nothing like overtaking a country from the natives to show brotherly love. Oh, I crack myself up...

Good thing October is also Sacrasm Awareness Month. Finally, a month for me.

The 17th is the Day for the Eradication of Poverty. If that happens in a day, please let me know. I'll begin looking to the skies for Jesus' return on the 18th, which also happens to be Bald and Free Day.

While we're in the spirit of this, let's invent one called, "Don't Buy Your Kids Toys Because They'd Rather Have Fun in a Box Day".

The 2nd is Name Your Car Day; the 7th is World Smile Day, and the 21st is Count Your Buttons Day. Those are real. Really. Look it up.

The Full Moon is on the 25th, and Daylight Savings Time doesn't roll around until Nov. 4th this year.

With enough prayer and heavenly intervention, we may be able to add Burmese Independence Day to the list, though Gambari doesn't seem to be having much success with diplomatic negotiations as of yet.

What other holidays are in October? Timmy Comes Home Day! I can't say on the world wide web on which day we will celebrate this momentous occassion, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, we are in the final month of living as a family separated. There is a light shining brightly at the end of this lonely tunnel, and November will be met with a family reunited.



Enjoy your October, and don't forget to name your car, eat some tacos-after sundown or after the 12th if your Muslim, smile, read a book, count your buttons, kiss your spouse home from war, and oh yes...end global poverty.

Burma update

Updates for Wed: Protest numbers were down to about 10,000 from 100,000 in Rangoon Wed. Riot police were set up at several points along the route, and they blocked off Shwedagon pagoda. Live rounds were fired over their heads. Many-monks and nuns-were beaten, tear gas was used, and between 100 and 300 of them were arrested. BBC is reporting one dead.The monks strongly urged civilians not to march with them this day, though it is estimated that about 5,000 members of the NLD did. So....it could have been worse? However, the condition of the "bloody monks" is unknown, the general public is outraged that force was used against the Sangha, and the country is still far from freedom. The links below will take you to reports about yesterday's events. There are no videos of this, only pictures. There are no reporters in country right now, apparently. For this reason, it is still unknown what happened in Mandalay yesterday, and several other smaller towns where marchers numbered in the 10,000's, and crack down was expected. Regime violence will certainly be the most brutal where there aren't video cameras.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/09/26/myanmar.protest.ap/index.html

and http://www.bbc.com/ This is the BBC's top story. Click on video/listen, and you can watch their video.

President Bush announced more severe sanctions against Burma today. Of course, sanctions have put factories and market places out of business, leaving tens of thousands to starve to death. The military is funded by China.

AND it is rumored that Suu Kyi has been moved form her house to Insein prison. Insein can only be compared to , I don't know...hell.

Here is the copy of an AP article on http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/pm/weblog.php?id=P278
Burma regime planning to infiltrate demonstrations to spark violence
24 Sep 2007
Burma Campaign UK sources in Rangoon have reported that soldiers have been ordered to shave their heads, in possible preparation for infiltrating peaceful demonstrations. They would start rioting or attacking police, providing the regime with a pretext for a brutal crackdown on protestors. Sources indicate that soldiers from Light Battalion 77 in Rangoon have been given the order. Sources also report that the regime has ordered 3,000 monks’ robes from a factory in Rangoon. It is a tactic the regime has used in the past, including at the Depayin massacre in 2003, during which Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested. Regime militia dressed as monks were involved in the ambush which left up to 100 democracy activists dead. Despite the widespread expectations that the regime will use violence to suppress protest, the international community has been remarkably silent, with the French government being the only one to make a strong statement warning of consequences if the regime responds with violence. ASEAN has also expressed concern. “The regime has been held in check by the peoples’ respect for the monks andthe fact that the world is watching, but the scale of protests means they will be looking for options that allow them to justify a crackdown,”said Mark Farmaner. “The UN Secretary General and other world leaders must speakout and make it clear that a violent response in unacceptable. At the momentthe international community seems to be willing to watch from the side lines as the regime moves closer to a massacre. If the regime does attack protestors, this will have been one of the most widely predicted massacres in recent history, and makes a mockery any government’s claim to becommitted to human rights.”

The Beginning of the End?

UPDATE: LATEST VIDEO (as of Sunday, Sept. 23rd): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji_R-g8T-N4 The video clip embedded here is from Thursday. The protesters are now up to 20,000, the government is rumored to be ready to use violence against them soon, and a massive protest led by the monks alliance is scheduled for Wed. this week. This hasn't happened since 1988, and even then, not to this scale. In 1988, thousands were murdered in the streets and Suu Kyi was imprisoned for the first time.

For most of you, this clip won't put you in tears. I've been on the edge of my seat however the past couple of months watching from too great a distance as these events unfold in Myanmar (Burma). (Don't worry, Timmy. I'm not jumping on a plane. Yet... J/J!) Unfortunately, I have to utilize the BBC to get information as American networks do not cover the story. The only American in the public eye who seems overtly interested is Jim Carey, of all people, who put out a public plea on YouTube last month. I was estatic while searching videos on YouTube this morning because there were several clips of the Burmese monks' protest. This is in stark contrast to not long ago when atrocities happened here that no one knew of because no one saw them outside of "the black hole of Asia." Therefore, there was no intervention, and the terror got worse. Thank you, you brave souls who smuggled these clips out of Burma this week.

Many of you won't understand why this protest is such a big deal. I don't have the time to tell you about all of the starvation orders put on villages-especially the Christian tribes in the north of Burma. (A starvation order is when the junta comes in and says, "If you grow food here, we will kill you, your children, and burn your crops." The junta would rather they grow poppy, or die off.) Or about the thousands of political prisoners, the mass shootings in the streets during previous attempts at peaceful protest against the ruling regime, the rape, child labor, the stealing of children for the purpose of bolstering child soldier forces, the poverty, denial of democracy, etc...

Or how I've been followed in the streets of Rangoon, forced out of country for evangelizing, had the film ripped out of my camera, stopped in taxis and on foot for interrogations by plain clothes officers, been taken into "safe" rooms at tea shops so spies couldn't overhear conversations I was having with Burmese friends; how I've had all of my comings and goings carefully recorded by spies around the inns I stay in while in country, or how we would walk to church one at a time, staggered over the course of an hour, so as not to give away the church location and thus put its members at risk. I would classify all of these incidents as mere annoyances, however; nothing that even compares to what happens to the Burmese who don't have a little blue passport in their pocket.

Protest against the ruling militia in Burma has meant, and may still mean, suicide at worst; torture at best. What these monks are doing is the bravest thing I've seen done in a very long time.

The people's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who the junta has kept under house arrest since her election as president two decades ago, emphatically calls for peaceful overthrow of the regime. No commandos in the night, no weapons, no violence; simply use peaceful defiance for freedom as Ghandi utilized it against the British and Martin Luther King marched with in Alabama and Washington. The problem is that when the people have done this in the past-peacefully protested-they have been shot down in the streets. But now, for the fourth day in a row, hundreds on monks are peacefully protesting in the streets and claim they will not stop until "the enemy of the people" is removed from power.

So, why am I nervous? Well, I wonder if the regime will shoot at the monks too. It's doubtful; the militia is Buddhist as well, as is most of Burma. But everyday that these videos are released, more and more unrobed citizens are marching. There is more and more applause from civilians on the sidewalk. There are more ordinary people with children at their sides standing on their porches in protest like the monks asked them to do, more and more wearing yellow for Suu Kyi, more and more defiance in the streets. This in a country where groups of more than five are forbidden by the junta's law in order to prevent organized protest.

I'm nervous because these monks are marching right in front of the little house church I work with. I have friends and former students supporting this protest. What will happen to them?

I pray that they know that eternal freedom cannot be taken away from them. As the Christian song goes, "They can have my body, but they can't have me. Take away my sight and still my soul will sing..." nothing the militia does to them can take away what Christ can give, or has given, them. With that knowledge, I pray they have the endurance to continue marching peacefully in the face of the militia's weapons, to bring change and hope and life and the blessing of earthly freedoms, like freedom of speech and religion, to their starving land. If they succeed here, it will prove once again to the world at a time when such a reminder is desperately needed, that change-even to the point of government overthrow- must not always be proceeded by violence. That hope has me on the edge of my seat.
The Burmese people have never been as brave as now, so outspoken and defiant against the horrors they've endured. I'm tired of scanning lists of political prisoners online and finding the names of former students of mine. I'm tired of worrying about the safety of the members of the little house church. I'm tired of wondering why I didn't get a Christmas card from this or that student, like I usually do. Frankly, I'm tired of praying for compassion, peace, and humanity in Burma. But I will continue to do so until the regime's clenched fist lets go of my Buddhist friends and sisters and brothers in Christ who were blessed to be born in Myanmar at such a time as this.

See the links on the sidebar under Aung San Suu Kyi's picture for more information about how you can support the plight of the Burmese people.

Life Books

I know I've waited too long to update when I'm getting private emails from people requesting that I update the blog... Sorry. It's been busy.

I've been asked about Life Books by several people at adoption conferences, online, and from friends, so I'll use this post to address the issue.

A Life Book is basically the baby book for the adopted child. Any adopted child can have a Life Book, even if he or she did not enter into your family as a baby.

Life Books differ from baby books in that they include more adoption related pages. Any adoptive mother or father who has shopped Target for a baby book knows what I'm talking about. I don't need the "The Day We Found Out We Were Pregnant" page, the "The Story of Your Birth" page or the "Do I Look Like Mommy or Daddy" page. Though I DO need a "My Birth Family Family Tree" page, a "Why You Chose Me" page, and a "Tell Me About My Nationality" page. There are many other nuances that vary between a traditional baby book and a Life Book as well. For example, if your adopted child come home at age two, like J. did, then you don't want a blank page in a baby book asking for information about first smile, first steps, first words and first birthday parties. It's depressing enough knowing that we've missed these treasured moments with our children without adding a blank baby book page to the mix, and so blantantly reminding our children that much of their past lives are a mystery.

Life Books specific to adoption can be purchased online at

http://www.adoptshoppe.com/lifebooks.html

http://www.adoptionshop.com/

http://www.thedreamkidz.com/catalog/Adoption-Lifebooks-and-Adoption-Memory-Books-p-1-c-250.html

http://www.tapestrybooks.com/AdoptionLifeBooks.html

The Tapestry website is THE place to buy adoption related children's books as well. They even have board books for the little ones that address adoption clearly, simply, and positively. Check out classics like "A Mother for Choco", "A Blessings from Above" or "Brown Like Me." Those are some of J. and C.'s favorites.

Back to Life Books (also called Memory Books)... You can purchase one from the above mentioned sites. Some of them even have scrapbooking kits with adoption themes that will give you more creativity than a pre-formulated Life Book will. Though for some, having most of the work done for us is a bonus, not a hinderance upon one's creativity! I bought a Life Book for J. while I was waiting for him to come home. Eventually, I scrapped it and went out to buy a blank scrap book. I'm the kind of person that has to have FULL artistic freedom, and a pre-arranged Life Book didn't allow me that. I did the same thing for C., and I have begun work on baby number three's book. No, it's never too early to start one! Pages like, "What is Adoption?" "Why We Chose Africa" (or wherever), "Your Adoptive Family Family Tree" and "The Journey to You" can all be started before the child comes home.

Some of you are waiting a LONG time for God to bring your child home. His timing is the best timing, and that is easier to remember when we're busy. So, while you wait, start a Life Book for your new child. It is invaluable for him or her to have information about his or her past, choosing, purpose, and journey. He can look at the Life Book alone when he's ten years old if he doesn't feel up to having a face-to-face conversation yet. He can refer to it for school projects-yes, the dreaded Family Tree project.... He can pick it up when he's a teen-ager and read pages like "About My Homeland" when his normal identity crisis has reached new peaks, and he's searching for a sense of self. Life Books spur conversation, instill identity, and remind your child that he or she is here for a purpose. Not to mention, he can see that moments are, and always have been, treasured with that child, whenever they get to be celebrated, just as with any other child.

J. loves to get out his Life Book and bring it to me to read to him. From conversations through this book alone he knows that he grew in Mommy L.'s tummy. He didn't grow in Mommy's tummy. Both Mommies love him very much. Mommy L. went to Heaven with Jesus (I included a whole separate page titled, "What Is Heaven" for this); he knows he needed a new Mommy. I'm his new Mommy, Tim is his new Daddy, and we will be his Mommy and Daddy forever. No matter what. Like these simple sentences, write your Life Book at a child's level so he or she can read it and understand it.Our most precious Life Book moment was when we were looking at a picture on the "My Life at the Orphanage" page. There is a picture of J. on a blanket in the orphanage nursery surrounded by 23 babies-all significantly younger than him. J. is turned to face the camera and look very sad. We were looking at this page a few weeks ago and J. said to me, "Mommy, J. sad. J. miss C." Though at the time of the photograph J. didn't know C. even existed, but they are so close now that J. just KNEW that's why he was sad then. He didn't have his brother with him.

Is there information NOT to include in a Life Book? I'd say, "yes", but that's up to you. There are definately things that I left out of both J. and C.'s books; things that are better discussed when they are much older. Things that relatives and friends don't need to read about when they pick up the Life Book at a family reunion. Things that protect the privacy of your child.

"Your life and your journey is POSITIVE and God directed "was an ongoing theme in the books I did.

There's a lot more I could add here, but I'll leave it at that. If you have questions about Life Books, refer to the above links or ask me in the comments section below. Happy Life Booking!

The Reinvention of the Wheel

Isn't it odd how life can roll full circle? I remember listening to U2's Joshua Tree and the Rattle and Hum album until the wee hours of the morning when I was a teenager. It was a cassette, actually, and I'd lie in bed with my mon's old lava lamp, think about the famine in Ethiopia, those horrible commericials with flies in childrens' eyes and wonder why more isn't done "in the name of love"? It broke my heart. So, I went to Jamaica to serve on my first foreign mission. That broke my heart even more. Old women without arms and legs shouldn't have to rock in a rusted baby crib like Weeble Wobbles in rags with chickens pecking the bugs off of the floor. And that poor woman should not have had the joy to be able to sing Amazing Grace with me. Not when I was whining about the hot water running out in the shower at the hotel that morning. People were still dying. People were still living unequally. My heart was still broken.

I've learned recently from a friend that I could be described as a passionate person. When my heart is convicted, pricked of a need, an injustice, a desire to love, I have to do it. I have to go; I have to put out the fire. I have to heal my heart ache. Don't think I'm wonderful. This can be what is known in Shakespearean literature as a "tragic flaw".

Flash forward twenty years... Ethiopia's famine is over, though the land and people haven't recovered from its effects. Three years ago, I laid on my bed in Phnom Penh with the newest U2 album (a CD this time)-How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb-while finishing paperwork to assist on a medical mission several hours away the next morning. Pills for pain, dressings for landmine wounds that won't heal; rice for starving babies, numbers to hand out becuase only 150 people can be seen... All the while listening to Bono scream to God and people:
Lay down
Lay down your guns
All your daughters of Zion
All your Abraham sons
I don’t know if I can make it
I’m not easy on my knees
Here’s my heart and you can break it
I need some release, release, release
We need Love and peace
Love and peace

Sometimes I want to scream for release.

Somewhere in Ethiopia a soul is carrying a child that will become my son or daughter because she will die of AIDS, malaria, or can't find food. That breaks my heart. I don't want this to be a depressing post; I'm just expressing some thoughts I've had lately. I'll try to write something more humorous next week. I'm not drepressed; just not content with all parts of the planet. But I do hope you are passionate about something, and that that passion helps make the world a more equal place. I know this video has been around-especially among those interested in African issues, but it seemed appropriate to post it today. Just sharing a little of my passion (peace, Bono, ending hunger, establishing global equality, etc...) with you. And maybe when this wheel makes full circle again in twenty years all people will have been provided with a $10.00 mosquito net; they'll be a cure for AIDS that pharmaceutical companies choose to share with the poor; there will be no more orphans in Ethiopia, and my heart will find release.

The Productivity that Sprouts from a Dead Modem

I've been on sabbatical from the internet lately. Though not my choice (faulty hard drive, faulty modem, some other mystery problems...) it has been surprisingly pleasant to have the keyboard removed from my fingertips. There have only been a couple of real inconveniences about the situation, like helping Tim with his final graduate school paper of the semester and updating the blog, but other than that, there hasn't been anything that either can't wait or can't be solved using the...what's that invention called? Oh yes, the telephone.

I've gotten a lot done with my computer unplugged. During the first round of problems, I took C.'s crib down and set up a toy shelving unit in their room. And I painted a giraffe on the wall to measure their heights. Yes, it went just like that in my head: "Self, what WILL you do today without a computer?" "I think I'll paint a giraffe on the boys' wall." "Great idea, self." And here it is:

The boys started preschool this week. Can I get a "Halleluiah"? They only go there three mornings a week-9 hours a week-but what a blessed 9 hours it is! The planets have re-aligned and I have been able to get the tags for my car, go to the doctor, fill-out adoption papers, bathe alone, sit in a Starbucks parking lot with a grande extra hot hazelnut mocha and think, "Holy cats, it's quiet in here." Beautiful. And then I rush back to preschool, worried about whether or not C. ran out of diapers, if any ruthless toddler pummeled one of them, if they obeyed their teacher, how much paint they ate; I scoop them up, hug them, kiss them like they've been rescued from a burning building and tell them honestly about how much I missed them. I'm pathetic. Or just really in love with my babies. Here's another pic of their first day of school, showing off their new backpacks. C. was sooooo excited to go to school. He could have cried a little....just one tear would have been fine with me. I got enough tears from J. to make up for it, though and by the second day of school they were both running off to their classrooms with glee.

I also finished J.'s baby book since the demise of my internet connection. Yep-that is a year and a half late; go ahead and reprimand me now. But it is finally done, and I will do another post on that later.

In addition, I've reconnected with old friends via the...telephone, begun work on our homestudy for "new baby" (as the boys call him), started working with a travel agent (via telephone) on travel plans for our trip to Africa which is also serving as Tim and I's ten year wedding anniversary trip. Tim and I spent many hours in negotiation about a new job, and we are so blessed to have been given, "ordered" rather, a new job that meets BOTH of our desires. Those of you follwoing this saga know what a relief this is, and what a blessing it is to know that God listens and provides. Tim will be home much more with this new job, and the signing bonus puts us on a lifestyle that we feel strongly to be God's will for us-debt free with money invested for the future. Certainly, another Halleluiah is due here.

I'm currently at the county library using the internet, apparently to become a once or twice a week ritual for me until my computer is feeling up to par again. But feel free to leave comments and I'll read them when I can. Tim checks the blog everyday to see the boys. Or better yet, pick up the phone and call me. Human voices are nice. Have fun choosing joy this week,

Doss-ee-A

(Buzayan, 6, from Jinka, Ethiopia. Photo from the Bowers Museum. For more photos from the Bridges to Understanding Exhibit, go here: http://www.bowers.org/exhibits/exhibit_bridges3.asp)

Doss-ee-A. That's how you pronounce the word that means, "the big packet of papers that goes overseas when one is adopting a child." In addition to the dossier requirements, there are adoption agency requirements, and United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) requirements. Sometimes these papers overlap, or more often, three copies are needed and one goes to each place. Put together, the requirements for these three entitites are often lazily called "the dossier" (even though technically the dossier is only the legal part that goes overseas), and very often referred to as "the paperchase." Many of you have asked, "How is it coming with the Ethiopian adoption?" Well, this is where we are with baby #3's adoption: the paperchase.

One COULD complete the paperchase in 2-3 mon. Most families are very anxious and do get it done in about three months. We are taking our time with ours, however. Some parts of the dossier can't be completed until Tim gets home. And frankly, we aren't in THAT much of a hurry to bring home a new baby! We'd like to get Caleb out of diapers first, at least. So, we're looking at about five months of paperchasing.

What's involved in this paperchase, you ask? I'll list some of it below. But I can tell you that your best friend during this time is your notary! We are so blessed to have a sweet, wonderful, accomodating woman (yes, she will have to go with us to the doctor for notary signatures...) at church who is our notary. THANK YOU, KATRINA!!!! Not having a reliable, accessible notary was our biggest headache with J.'s adoption, and we are so blessed to have Katrina this time around!

In no particular order, here is some of what is involved in the paperchase for an international adoption:
1. Applications to an adoption agency. (Deposit/application fees)

2. Letters of recommendation including pastoral, family, friends, and work. THANK YOU, R. for driving down, with a toddler, a couple of states to have your letter of recommendation notarized in my state so that it passes through the state department check at the end of the paperchase process. I love our 3-4 day visits! You are a sister, a best friend, a Godsend in my life! And Jason, when I get yours at the end of August I'll have just as nice things to say about you! ;)

3. Bank statements from all accounts going back six months.

4. W-2's for the previous three years.

5. Letters from insurance companies stating that a "pre-adoptive child receives full medical benefits beginning the moment he/she is placed in your care."

6. Full physical exams, plus lab work. (fee for what insurance won't cover)

7. Autobiographies

8. Psychological examinations (possible fees)

9. The I-600A (the initial application to adopt an orphan, filed with USCIS) BIG fee attached.

10. Current passports (our were expiring next year, so more fees...)

11. Criminal background clearance from the State Bureau of Investigation (fee)

12. Fingerprints for the State Bureau of Investigation done at the local court house (fee)

13. Fingerprints for USCIS done at their office (big fee)

14. Pictorial essay with captions

15. At least ten logged hours of adoption classes/research/preparation to meet the new Hague Convention rules.

16. Copies of drivers' liscenses

17. Extra passport photos (fee)

18. Privacy Disclosure legal forms

19. Pre-placement/post placement Adoption Agreement legal forms

20. Financial statement (assets/debt/ savings, stocks and bonds, etc...)

21. Certified copies of marriage, death and birth certificates (fees)

22. The Home Study (at least 4 visits with a social worker, one of your home.) This is the big packet that evaluates you, your marriage, your children, your home, your medical, your financial habits, adoption preparedness, intimacies, fears, joys, annoyances and grievances. -BIG fee. A copy of this goes all the way up the chain from the home study agency to USCIS to Addis Ababa.

23. A bit more, and the bit varies by country, but I won't bore you with the details any longer. The Philippines required a dream anaylsis....weird...

23. Notarize everything. (Have I said, "Thank you, Katrina?")

Make copies of everything. Save everything. Things will get lost, and when tax time rolls around the next year, you'll want every receipt you can find to utilize as much of the nearly $11,000 federal adoption tax credit as possible.

I'm not complaining, mind you. Human traffiking is ugly and real. Did anyone see the Dateline special the other night on human traffiking from the Philippines to Malaysia? Many checks and balances are needed within the system to guarantee that legitimate orphans (NOT children who are coersed, bought, sold or borrowed from their birth families...) are placed in safe, capable homes. And honestly, when you take your adoption dossier checklist and go down it one point by one point, it isn't so bad. Compared to nine months of pregnancy, blurred vision, cavities, labor, delivery, stretch marks, the untamable baby tummy, and the realization that you passed your grotesquely large third toe on to another human being...what's a bit of paperwork? Especially when you leisurely give yourself five or six months to do it, and are content with the two blessings you already have. For today anyway.

The last of the summer exodus pics:

Congratulations, Steve and Melissa!

Anyone need a financial advisor? I know a good one! That isn't really the point of this long overdue post, though. We just got back from our nearly two month "midwest tour," and we're all a bit exhausted, not quite adjusted to the time change, and overwhelmed with all that has to be done here on the homefront. But bit by bit, things will get back to normal. One of the many wonderful events of the summer however was the announcement of Steve's engagement! He and Melissa have been dating awhile, and we are so excited for them.

We LOVE her, and I'm so blessed to be able to add this wonderful woman to my list of fabulous sister-in-laws! Congratulations, Steve and Melissa! This picture of you two at the museum cracks me up! I know you'll love it that I posted it here! ;Here's some recent pics of Steve with the family this summer:

P.S. No word yet on when the big day will be, but I know they're leaning toward a private island ceremony-just the two of them, the waves, some orchids, and maybe a ukulele...

Brothers

Thoughts from a Combine

Last week, Judah, Caleb and I rode in the combine harvesting mom's last wheat field of the year. I was struck during our time there by how God provides through the earth, how orderly and fulfilling is His creation; crops, seasons, rain, animals, fruits... beautiful as well as functional. I couldn't help thinking while sitting in the combine, watching the massive machine turn agile corners, though still leaving bundles of wheat behind in neat triangles at the end of every row, of this verse to the Jews from the book of the Law.

9 " 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God."

-Lev. 19:9-10; Deut. 24: 19

What mere leftover of God's abundance have I offered the stranger, the orphan, the widow, or the poor lately? Surely I have more to give than fallen fruit.

(More pics to come from this leg of the trip later)

Our Independence Day

Get Down, Get Down...

Wild and crazy times on our mid-west tour! Actually, the above picture was taken at Vacation Bible School last week, so not that crazy! Tim's brother is the education minister at the church here at Tim's mom's place, and he conducted VBS. The boys had a lot of fun in their classes, singing songs, and making crafts. Caleb got to go to the water carnival Friday night that closed out VBS, and from what I hear he jumped until he dropped in the moon jumper. Judah and I went to a friend's wedding in Missouri for the weekend. Judah was SO well behaved. He met some new little friends, and soaked up all of the one-on-one Mommy time. I think he was overdue for some of that. I enjoyed catching up with old friends from college and having a much needed mini-break. It was a blast to see who was balding, who was reproducing, who lived where, did what, and dreamed of achieving this that and the other. We need more reunions like that. I drug Judah off of the dance floor at a barn dance after the wedding at 1:00am Sunday morning (that boy's got some moves...), and we came back to Tim's mom's house after a short sleep. In fact, when he woke up after about 6 hours of sleeping, he said, "I want to dance more!" I wish I took pictures of Judah dancing with the beautiful bride. She carried him and danced with him for a long time. It was precious. If anybody did gets pics of that, send them to me. We're off to my mom's on the farm later this week for some bonfires and tractor riding. We are so blessed to have dear friends that span decades and family to turn to in order to help make the time go faster when Tim is away. Happy 4th!