Bad Blogger

It has been almost a week since my last post - sorry! We had a very busy weekend and this weekend will be the same, so I probably won't be posting again soon...

Over the past weekend I read this book, based on the recommendation at the Dalai Mama's blog...

I read it in three days - even while having family in town. I loved it. It is definitely not for the conservative reader - just to warn you. But, I thought I'd tell you about it in case you want some good summer reading. The author also has a great blog - Girl's Gone Child.

I also finished the book Red Letters. I loved it. Someone wrote about the book on their blog, "There is no way you can finish this book and think, I'm doing enough." I think that's a good way to put it - this book will get you on the move to make a difference. (I'm sorry for not giving credit to the blogger I quoted - now I can't find who said that!)

So, now I'm off to get ready for our busy weekend - so enjoy some more cute pictures until I'm back in the blog world!

Cute Stuff

I feel like I need a dose of cuteness, since I'm feeling overwhelmed by the situation in Ethiopia. So, while I ponder what I can do to make a small difference, please enjoy...

These are from the park the other day - this is the face I was getting when I said, "Say CHEEESE!"

And another "cheese" face...

He is starting to get it here...

And then his Dad made him really smile...


Lately, Micah has decided that it is fun to put food on top of his head. I have no idea why, but he seems to think it's fun. He puts it up there and then looks around, as if to say, "Where did it go?" It's really funny. And kind of weird.

"Hey, has anyone seen my peanut-butter toast?"

This child makes me laugh.

Email We Sent Today...

Hi everyone,
About this time last year I probably sent you an email asking you to say prayers that our dossier landed in Ethiopia safely and that we would receive our referral quickly. As you all know - both of those amazing things happened.

Our trip to Ethiopia has left an imprint in our minds and hearts - the people of that beautiful country will always be a part of us. That's why I am sending this message. This time it is to ask for prayer for the people, especially the children, of Ethiopia. The rains that normally come in the past months did not, and now millions of children are at risk of death from malnutrition. According to the BBC, Unicef has warned that "Six million children in Ethiopia are at risk of acute malnutrition following the failure of rains." It is being called an "immediate crisis."

Bizunesh is 3 and weighs less than 10 pounds. "There is nothing ... I beg for milk," her mother says. (Source)

Please say a prayer that conditions improve in Ethiopia and that UNICEF gets the needed donations to help reduce the number of children who will die from malnutrition (which is currently proving difficult since many donors are understandably concentrating on Myanmar and China).

If you would like to read more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7409623.stm
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-05-18-voa15.cfm
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/05/20/ethiopia.children/index.html

If you would like to help:
UNICEF
A Glimmer of Hope

Thank you all!
Stacie, Kevin & Micah

Sorry Folks!

Today was a beautiful day - shining sun, blue sky... the whole deal. So for lunch we decided to have a picnic at the park followed by some playtime at the playground. Lovely. And, hey - let's bring the video camera so we can get some footage of Micah playing. Fun!

We had our picnic in a beautiful grassy spot next to the lake, then packed up the stroller and headed off to the playground. We then came upon a horrible sight - the playground was closed for repairs! Seriously? No slides? No swings? No cute video of Micah enjoying all that the playground has to offer?

Needless to say, we felt a bit like this...

But, hey - at least it was a beautiful day and we had a great picnic lunch! :)

Is Mustard Nutritious?

I sure hope it is because Micah has a thing for mustard...

This is Micah after he eats his beloved mustard (that's straight mustard, people - we don't want any turkey or cheese to interfere with the purity of his mustard)...

And this is Micah after Mom says no to his zillionth request for more mustard...

So, so sad. What a mean mommy - actually wanting him to eat something other than a condiment.

New Friends... Remembering those first few months...

Last week we met up at the park with the beautiful Norah and her mom...

(Norah & Micah were sharing a swing - Micah kept leaning back on her!)

You can barely see Norah back there behind my big baby!

It was pretty cute stuff watching those two share a swing. (By the way - swing sharing is the way to go - no worries about baby toppling out of the swing - he or she is completely balanced! :)

Norah has been home about 2 months - seeing her made me think about the time when Micah had just come home. Let me preface by saying that I never really posted about how hard it was because - well, I was afraid to sound like I was complaining - and it's really hard to feel like you'll sound whiny when you know so many people are waiting for their little ones to come home. So - I think I'm finally in a place where you all know that I'm not complaining - I'm just talking, so please don't think I am for a minute not eternally grateful for my son and for the great privilege of being a mom.

So, here it is - it was HARD. I had no idea what we were in for. There really is no way to describe it, but I really look back on those first two months and only see a blur. This blur included the following: extreme happiness, sobbing, exhaustion, elation, confusion, frustration, laughter and more sobbing. And that was just me - add to that little Micah's confusion at being in a completely new place with new people! It was especially confusing that I did not feel like I was walking on air ALL THE TIME! Wasn't that how it was supposed to be? I had waited for and wanted this for so long - shouldn't I be smiling instead of crying?

I should say that most of the time I was smiling. But, there were the times, I can't lie, when I felt so out of sorts. Being a new mom is so sudden - you're suddenly expected to know everything this baby needs and when - but most of the time you don't. It takes a while to figure it out. I used to agonize over the naps - the scheduling, the feeding - and how to somehow fit a shower in there without having my house look like crap.

I was lucky - I have a very close friend who has four children - ages 10, 8, 3, and 1 1/2. I turned to her a lot during those first few months and she would patiently listen, and then say, "Every day will get better, I promise." I clung to those words- It will get better. This doesn't mean that things were bad, or that I wasn't enjoying motherhood, I was just having such a hard time figuring it all out. It was hard to accept that I didn't enter mommyhood with the perfection I thought I would have. I remember saying to her, "I really thought I was going to be great at this, but I feel like I suck at it!" So, my frustration was more with myself than with Micah. I never felt frustrated by him, but more by my inability to figure it out.

Around this time I also found a really funny book that helped a bit called I was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids. That's kind of how I felt at first too! :) Before Micah came home I just knew I was going to be great! But, since that wasn't how I felt after he came home - well, it was good to see in writing that I wasn't alone.

The truth is - my friend was right - it did get better. SOOO much better. We started to fall into a routine that worked. The spit-up decreased (oh the spit-up!), the midnight pooping stopped, naps were finally on a schedule, and I started to understand my child and what he needed. Now, don't get me wrong - it isn't all buckets of cherries all the time - let it be known that I just ordered two books on toddler discipline because our son has started throwing massive fits and we're at a loss. We're still learning, still figuring it out - and I expect that will continue for about... well, forever really. But, I feel way more comfortable in my role of mom - I don't hold myself to super-high expectations that have no place in reality. I know that I'll make mistakes, but I also know that I'll learn from them and we'll move on from there.

So, why am I posting this? I think it helps other moms to not feel alone about this stuff. Some moms take to those first few months and actually do feel like they're walking on air all the time. I know some of these moms - and I think that's wonderful. But, it's not always like that for all of us, and it's good to know you're not alone in that.

Happy Mama's Day!

For Mom's Day I got a new car stereo from my husband. This is good because I have not had a stereo in my car for a long time - mine was not working. So now I have a super-cool new stereo that I can plug my ipod into and everything! :)

From our son I received a very special mother's day gift- FIRST STEPS!!!! That's right. He took two steps and Kevin yelled for me to come downstairs. I came down and he took two more towards me before he fell. SO CUTE! Of course we tried get him to do it again all day, but he was finished for the day. I'll try to get video or pictures tomorrow if he's in the mood. :) So, even though it was icky outside and I actually was sick (yuck), it was still a great day.

Happy Mom's Day to all the moms out there - and to the waiting moms-to-be. I hope that by this time next year you all have your little ones home to give you a special mama's day!

I'm a "Non-Mom"? *Updated

My head is spinning right now - I'm angry, but maybe I'm over-reacting. I have to leave for work or else I would be composing a very though-out email to the company who is hosting the America's Favorite Mom contest.

http://www.americasfavoritemom.com/mothers-day-2008/static/semiFinalists

Please check out the "Non-Mom" Category.

Are they serious?

(thanks Jenni for pointing this out)

Update -
Okay - so thankfully they changed it from Non-Mom Mom to Adopting Mom. They also sent out a nice apology - which has been posted on other blogs. I got this in an email from Jenni and I think she makes a good point about the change (she said it best so I'm directly quoting her):

"I appreciate they made a change, but they have missed some of the
point. I am a Mom. My son is not gonna call me Adoptive Mom and I'm
not gonna call him Adoptive Son. I'm a Mom. How about just honoring
Moms? Some children have a step mom who is the only Mom they've ever
known. Some children have a Grandmother who is the only Mom they've
ever known....Can you imagine if they had a contest for kids and
designated categories for adopted kids, etc?"

Well said. Anyway - I'm glad they changed it, but I still don't have any warm, fuzzy feelings about the Today Show or Teleflora at this point. (Which is the whole PR reason behind such a contest.)

I...

I (verb)

I am: currently searching
I think: this world can be a better place
I know: how strong the power of love is
I want: to have another child through adoption
I have: the most amazing child I have ever met
I wish: we could all just get along
I hate: close-mindedness
I miss: my Grandma & Grandpa
I fear: that I won't be a good mom
I feel: things way too deeply
I hear: my dog sighing in her sleep
I smell: rain
I search: for a church we can call home (more on this later perhaps...)
I wonder: who our next child is and where she will come from
I regret: not meeting Micah's first mom (although there is no blame)
I ache: in my heart for her
I care: about this world
I always: look for the meaning in things
I am not: a conservative person
I believe: that everything happens for a reason.
I dance: in the kitchen.
I sing: very loudly, but not very well
I cry: during the montages at the end of sports - superbowl, world series, etc.
I don’t always: find the right words at the right moment
I fight: social injustice (or try to)
I write: this blog because I love it
I win: when I let down my defenses
I lose: when I am defensive
I never: want to forget these days of Micah's babyhood
I confuse: myself when I think too much
I listen: to my heart (or try to)
I can usually be found: in front of the computer during naptime
I am afraid of: flying and sharks
I need: to find meaningful ways to channel my sadness at the state of the world
I am happy about: my life, my home and my family

Thanks to Tiny's Mom for tagging me with this one - I had to steal some of your answers (and could have stolen more!). I want to tag everyone, but then I know no one will do it... so I tag Jenni, Amy, Erica, Lori, and The Dalai Mama.

Pre-Union

We were lucky enough to meet up with several families this weekend - a Pre-Union to get ready for BU '08! (Have I mentioned we're going to that? CA here we come!) Anyway - we had a great time - it is amazing meeting people in person that I've been "talking" to through email and the blogs for almost a year now. I will let the pictures tell the story...

We started at the zoo...

We fed the goats...

We watched Pacey trying to nibble on her mom. :)

We took a group shot - look at all those little cuties!

We hung out with fake Lions...

We napped a bit...

So did this adorable girl...

And so did the hippo.


Then we went back to the hotel and hung out for a while. Had some juice boxes...

And some coffee. (Ok - not really coffee - I think that was water.)

And rolled around on the grass. Good times!

Then we went to dinner - yum!


Then we played some more...

(I think Micah was having fun.)

And, if that isn't enough cuteness for you... We finally got some pictures of Silas T. and Micah together - along with one of the cutest little girls ever! I present this portion of the post in a slideshow - I just can't choose out of all the cute ones.



Serious good times were had by this family. We are now even more excited for the Blog Union - to see some of our new friends again and meet all of the many families coming! Are you coming? You should!

Oh - and I forgot I wanted to list all the families that were there -
Josh, Amy & Silas
Jocelyn & Pacey
Amy, Sophie & Nathan
Kerri & Ruby
Steve, Danae, Isaac, Eli & Eva
Craig & Cindy
Joe, Christina & Habi
Ben & Rebecca

Guess...

Guess who we met this weekend?

More later - we're tired after our big weekend!