I was watching the debate about Obamacare that are going on this week.

Let me rephrase that.

My son was watching the Obamacare debates that are going on this week.  I was listening to them while doing stuff.

I had no intention of doing that.  Quite frankly, I can't care too much.  If I do, I will go insane.  I will get so angry and frustrated and the ignorance and stupidity of the choice we, as a nation, made on election night.

I get so angry at the double speak of our politicians.  At the 'look how good we are doing as a nation.' ( Yes I know I said good, it is what they were saying.  :P )

Still, I was glad I listened to it.  It kind of inspires me that maybe DC is not completely full of foolish/what's-another-word-for-idiot people. Mind you it is full, but not completely full.

Unfortunately, the majority weighs in.

Oh well.

Anyway, moving on.  I am teaching Spanish 1 to my son.  I dreaded it when I taught the older children.  One learned it, the other probably can't say 'Hola!'

This one, on the other hand, well... it has been quite fun!  WhO KnEw??!??!  Maybe because he has been wanting to learn it for so long.  Maybe because he wants to impress his grandparents, and saying his first sentence ( Can I please have food?) makes him feel like a million bucks.  No matter why, it can only get more fun as time goes on.  He is proud of his hispanic heritage.  Actually, all my kids are.  I made sure.

Let me back-track here a little bit.

I have a multi- cultural family.

People ask me how I can possibly raise an African American child?  Will she feel black?  Will she support her people?  Will she understand her heritage?  The same people never ask those things about our Chinese daughter.

To which I say...duh.

Our goal with our kids is for them to love their heritage, be identified by it, but NOT defined by it.

See obviously you are identified by it.  Look at us!!  But they should never define us.  Our faith should define us.  Will she support her people?  Of course!!  As will our Asian child.  They will support the human race.  Those are their people.  Will she feel black?  I don't know.  I have yet to figure out what feeling hispanic feels or looks like.  Is it prejudice that will be experienced?  I have had prejudice thrown at me for being hispanic/Christian/a stay at home mom/homeschooling/holistic/not thin.

Whatever.

The girls will learn to discern stupidity and move on.  Prejudice people will hate and if it is not your skin color/eyes/gender/whatever, they will find something else.  Prejudice comes from insecurity and ignorance.

AND not for nothing, the girls are also learning Spanish.  They are so excited every time they go to my parents.  They are chomping at the bit to learn it so they can converse with my mom & me.  And watch the soaps with my mom and actually understand them.

Seriously...

What kind of hispanic-chinese-africans will they be without it??!!??!



Moving on.

 The Emmys were last night!  Right??!!  Am I wrong?  To tell you the truth, I don't even know what  kind of award that is.  Music?  Tv? Broadway?  Who knows.  Who cares.  Last night, we had pupusas for dinner and life was good!

I went to my daughter's new house and once again, thought..."GOD is good!"

I laughed at the girls' 5 & 6 year old made up jokes, and laughed, not because they were funny, but because they couldn't stop laughing and that was funny.

SO, politicians?  They need our prayers.

Obamacare?  Maybe it will drive us to our knees.

Heritage? Love it, but don't let it rule you.

Life?  GOD is good.

Vision.

Our brother in law gave us a vision about 14 years ago.

We had no money, and had not thought that this idea was even viable for us.

After all, we were(are) on the bottom half of the middle class American family status.

Adoption is not cheap.

Nor is it a fun process.

Plus, who did we think we were??!??!

Did we have what it takes to parent a child not of my womb?  Did we want to take the time to learn to love this child? bond with him or her? Take the good, bad, ugly, tears, frustration, resentment, joy, laughter, delight, love, tenderness and issues that they bring.  And they ALL bring issues?

Of course the answer is...

no.

BUT

GOD does! 

In HIM, we are able to take the good & bad.

In HIM we are able to handle the process, both in the paperwork, which can I say, is horrible, the bonding, which is hard, the work involved once they come home.

HE provided the finances, or at least the resources/possibility to pay it off.

Slowly if need be.

In HIM we can look at these faces and not 'see' the differences. 

In HIM we see the eyes of hope and yes, sometimes fear that they will be shipped off some place else if they do not behave.  

In HIM we remind them they are with us FOREVER.  They cannot get rid of us.  And we get to hear the laughter of relief, shaded with a little fear, still.

We have 2 baby girls that are not of my womb.

We have 2 girls that ask hard questions, like why did the mommy who had us in their belly not want us?  Why do you want us?

We have 2 girls who laugh with abandonment.  Cry with hopelessness.

We have 2 girls who remind us almost daily, of GOD's love for us.

At the end of the day, we would not change any of it. 

Why am I randomly talking about this??!!?

Every year,  I want to do an Orphan Sunday event.

Remind the church of the simplicity of remembering.

Remembering orphans.

Remembering our life is not about us.

Remembering the American dream is really a nightmare in the faith.

Remembering our abundance is not for us to keep, but to bless.

Remembering we, too, are adopted, grafted and became part of the Family.

Will I do it?

Probably not.

People don't want  to be reminded.

They want to be encouraged in their lifestyle.

:::sigh:::

Maybe we will attend a church that is doing it!!!

Maybe we will attend an adoption event at a park somewhere, where we parents can come together and rejoice in the joy and yes, even the pain.

Regardless, if nothing happens, if no one remembers, we will.

We can't help it.

They come tumbling down every morning.

They remind us skin color/eye shape/nationality has nothing to do with love.

GOD does.

It is a good reminder.

First Day of School

Today is this Family's 1st day of school.

It is actually this Family's - 23rd first day of school.

By my calculations I have 11 of these to go before I can retire!!!!

Which got me thinking...HoLy MosEs.  I try not to think too hard on this, but I will be...57!!!!

57.

That is a pretty darn high number if you ask me.

Probably the reason no one is asking me.

I would really like to have a moment of silence as we think about this, and I would like to have a 'woe-to-me'  pity party.














Thank you.  I appreciate it.

On to bigger and different things.

Samuel is in high school.

Who knew this moment would sneak up on me so quickly.  I was driving the other day and passed a far from home pharmacy, which reminded me of the year when he turned one year old, and we spent the day before in the hospital because he had pneumonia.  It honestly didn't seem like that long ago.

:::Sigh::: now he is taller, stronger, more snarky than I am.

Sheesh.

Randomness:

I am thinking of taking up drinking coffee.

Seriously, my husband is a morning person.  I am not.

So he wakes up and starts conversations, discussions and arguments as I am trying to focus my eyes to the ceiling above my bed without my glasses on.

Obviously he 'wins' these conversations and arguments.  :P

It's like if I did that while he was snoring on the couch at 9pm.  I could run circles around him and don't even have to make sense!!!!  I could prove my point without much effort.

But if I drank coffee...!!!!!!

Still thinking on it, though.  I tend to be addited to it, which is why I haven't had any is 24 years.

We will see.

I have been thinking about coloring my gray.  I think I am almost decided that I am going to pass.  I think I will let the gray take over. For now and probably a few more years.

 Right now, it is just in the front.  Maybe I will color later, maybe not.

But...who needs that kind of maintanance??!!??!  I have friends who go every 6 weeks to get their roots done or a totally new color.

If you know anything about me, 6 weeks of maintanance for the rest of my life is just not my cup of tea.  Or my cup of anything for that matter.  I should take better care of myself, but I think I will take better care of myself in the health department.

Speaking of...

I am praying about doing a small-ish triatholon.  WAY smaller than the regular one.  My crazy daughter is all excited about it.  We will see.  If I do it, I think the swimming part is going to be the worst. Who am I kidding?  I don't have to think it, it WILL be the worst part.  I hate swimming.  More than running.

Why do I do these things??!!??!

Because I can't.  So I make myself.  And I gripe all through the training.  And I scowl at people when they talk about it, refusing to add anything to the conversation. And I blame said daughter for my misery. And I curse myself for signing up when I wake up at 6am to go to the gym. And I drag Samuel out of bed to go with me because misery loves company, doggone it, and someone should be as miserable as I am.

And then I cross the finish line.

And it was all worth it.

Even if everyone else finished long ago, I still did it.

SO...starting Monday, the training begins.

Ending on this note:


FOOTBALL STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!

WOO-HOO!!!

GOD is good.  All the time.