colorful conversations

One day we were at the park, and we made friends with a "brown" family who was there. The kids were playing together and I was talking with the aunt when Ibra suddenly noticed something. "MOMMY!" he shouted across the playground, "You are the only white person! We are all brown here!" Which made me laugh. He was right, and he was delighted.

I hear people say all the time that "kids are colorblind". If people mean, "kids will accept people who look different if we model it for them", then I'll mostly agree. But if people mean, "kids don't know that they're different", then I totally disagree. We have become very comfortable discussing skin color around here because, let's be honest, the kids totally notice it. They notice when they're the only brown kid in the room, and they notice when I am the only white mama on the playground. We talk about how God made everyone different, and it's beautiful. Our kids are working it out in their minds - how they look and why - and it leads to some interesting conversations. Like the one tonight....

Ibra: Mommy, I'm going to be brown even when I'm big?
Me: Yes.
Ibra: Oh. But I want to be white like (my friend).
Me: But brown is so beautiful! I'm glad that you are brown.
Ibra: Well, maybe, but I think I'm white under the brown. I don't know why, I just think so.
Me: Hm, interesting... (what do you say to this?)
Ibra: And you, you look like you're brown under all the white.
Me: I do?
Ibra: Yes, see? You have little brown spots on your arm, that's where it is! We are both brown and white!

That prompted a few thoughts...

A) I want our kids to love the way that God made them and to know that He handcrafted them for His glory. He gave them their beautiful, warm skin and their tightly coiled ringlets. They are precious! So that part gave me a little twinge.

B) Does he think that we're all two colors at once? That's a pretty funny thought! But I love what I heard in the sentiment at the end. Obviously, we're not really two colors, but we are the same. And in that, I see the gospel. When they were adopted into our family, there's no more brown or white, Baganda or Ankole or German or English. We are one family, under the same name, with the same heart. When we are adopted into God's family through faith in Christ, we are one family, under Christ, with His Spirit living in us. Thank you, Lord.

C) I think about Martin Luther King Jr and the work that he did. I wonder what he would have thought to see not only our family, but so many families like ours. "I have a dream," he said, "that one day...little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." A beautiful, figurative phrase - but what would he, and all of those who joined hands with him, think to see this statement become reality? For people of different colors to become literal families? I like thinking about that, how their hard work and sacrifice has paid off and how we are living the benefits of it. Thank you, Lord.  

tea party

The kids and I spent the day baking cookies for a cookie exchange, and as a special treat, we had a tea party when we finished. The tea set was a gift to us from my aunt, who received it on her 9th birthday, and we hadn't yet taken it out for the kids to see. They loved it! The tiny cups made them giggle ("it's my size!"), and they felt very grown-up and important using them. They took turns playing the polite host ("would you care for more tea, madam?" and "allow me to offer you another cookie"), and told Andrew that they had tea with Mrs. Potts and Chip from Beauty and the Beast.

Tea set from Aunt Shirley, tea towel from Grandmom

christmas shopping win

A few years ago, we stumbled across a really neat Christmas gift idea: goats.

Goats!

I'm not talking about the best white elephant gift ever*, I'm talking about real-deal, world's greatest Christmas presents. The kind that you are so excited about buying that you just can't handle it - you have to tell everyone you know because it's driving you crazy that you can't tell the recipient until Christmas day. The kind of present that makes you so excited to give that you hope you don't get anything in return because all you want to do is watch them open it and jump up and down with them as they realize what it is.

YES. Goats are that present. And so are ducks, chickens, cows, rabbits, bulls, and donkeys.

Check it out at World Vision.




*The best white elephant gift is actually a live water-frog...they're super gross (they have long scratchy toenails), they cost only $.25, and you can let it go in the creek with a clean conscience. We know this because a) we took a live water-frog to a party once, b) the gift exchange rules were amended for the next year to include, "no live objects", and c) even with the amended rules, we have never ever had a white elephant gift exchange since (which some people consider a good thing - you're welcome).

some kids

Recently I attended a church event for moms, and as part of their program, a different member shares each month about a missions organization that they support. The woman who shared did an excellent job as she shared about an organization that is close to her heart - and ours as well - Living Water International.

Living Water works to provide clean drinking water for those places in the world where it's simply not available. They drill and repair water wells, and they teach the people who use those wells about basic sanitation to prevent illness and how to maintain the wells into the future. We love this organization and have been on partner trips with them to Africa.

The speaker gave a passionate presentation on their work, and part of her presentation was a slideshow of pictures of the children who are impacted by the organization's work. "Some kids," she said, "have to spend their days going for water instead of going to school...some kids have to walk 6 miles for water that isn't even clean...some kids have to carry 40 pounds of water every day...some kids..."

And as she spoke, it made me think.

Those kids she was talking about? Those were my kids.

My kids went to get water from the wells. My kids took a long walk with their friends to pump water into bright yellow jerry cans. My kids, just this week, were just showing me how they carried those heavy water cans through muddy streets, in rain and shine. "Like this Mommy," they said. "Boy, it was sure heavy! And don't spill it because then you have to go back and do it again and you'll be in trouble. Whew." And then they sat down to show me how they took a rest after bringing it home. My kids, just yesterday, dug as deeply as they could in the sandbox at the park - knowing that water comes from the ground and wanting to see whether America water is deeper than Uganda water.

Some kids....

I'd never considered that when we partnered with this organization, we were doing more than serving some kids. We were serving somebody's kids. Somebody who aches to see their babies sick and dehydrated - again - from the water. Somebody who knows that it's the water that is making their children sick, but who can't do anything about it. Somebody who is really grateful to see them enjoy clean, clear water for the first time ever.

I'd also never considered how it will sound to my kids when they hear about some kids...it's odd to me, so I wonder how it will sound to their little ears as they grow up. There will probably be a mix of emotions as they hear about some kids and connect that to themselves and where they are now. I hope that we will all be able to share graciously and with humor. (Still, note to self: I need to follow up with them whenever we hear these kinds of presentations.)

The speaker ended with an invitation to tour the Living Water office so that our kids can see what some kids have to do, as a way to encourage them toward missions and compassion. "They can even see the dirty water and try carrying one of those heavy cans like some kids do in other places," she told us.

"How fun! Are you guys going to go?" someone asked at my table.

"I think they already know about it," I told them, "so we'll have to see." Some kids may prefer to play on a tire swing that day.

:)

let's adopt them up!

Ibra asked a few weeks ago if we could adopt another kid.

"We'd like to," I told him, "would you be ok with everything that goes with it?"
"Like you and me - we'd have to get a lot of shots before we go over there?" he asked.
"Yes, we'd have to do that," I told him as he shrugged off the idea of more shots. "But it would also mean that we could have some hard weeks in store. What if the kid was scared and threw fits and cried and needed me to be with them all the time? I would still get to play with you, but maybe not very much for awhile."
He thought for a minute and gave me a firm, "that's ok."

Then he said, "Mommy. There are a lot of kids who need a mommy and a daddy - we need to adopt them up! And besides, I've never adopted a kid before, so can we please adopt another kid? Just one? A girl for Suma and a boy for me."

adoption day!

As of today, the kids have been official Browns for 11 days!

We went to court early on Friday morning to meet with our attorney (thank you, Kara!) and get the kids settled in for a long wait. There were a lot of things that we weren't sure about - whether we'd be able to do the adoption that day (we had to see the judge about other paperwork first), whether we'd be out by lunchtime, whether the kids would be able to sit still... but all of that vanished when the judge came out. I'd seen him once before during a pre-trial conference and saw that he could be a pretty tough cookie. But not on adoption day! It was obvious that he loves adoption day and is genuinely thrilled for the families who appear that day. The kids sat with us in the court room as we watched other families complete their adoptions. It made me really glad that we have them sit with us in "big church" - they were so good the entire 2 hours that we were there! It also made me really glad to have my mom there (hi, Mom!) - she helped us keep the kids occupied with snacks and books for those few minutes when they needed a break from the court room and snapped a few pictures for us while we spoke with the judge.

Our turn finally came, and after a nod from the judge, we got to proceed with the adoption hearings for both kids. A few testimony points, a smile, and a "so be it!" - and Ibra and Suma were officially and legally ours, for better or for worse, richer and poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as we all shall live. The judge gave both of them a stuffed animal and smiled for a group picture.

All the way home, the kids kept telling each other,
"My new name is...."
"Yeah? Well myyy new name is..."
"Well, mine is..."

They were so excited. And of course, no celebration in our family is really complete unless it involves a visit to the world's greatest restaurant: Chick-fil-A. And no great evening is really great unless we also get to put up a tent in the living room and watch a movie (Pinocchio) until we all fall asleep.

Happy adoption day, kids! We love you and are so thankful that God has made us family!

fun runnin'

Two weeks ago, we ran in the Run for Hope Houston 5k. It's a benefit run for Legacy 685 - the adoption, foster and orphan care ministry that we are part of - and it was fantastic!

Over the past few weeks, Andrew has been taking the kids for a run around our neighborhood - about a 1.25 mile loop - so we knew that they could handle the 1k. We planned to run the 5k afterward and debated whether to bring our little red wagon in case the kids got tired. (That plan was quickly shelved when I realized how that would feel the next day...) As it turns out, that was the right decision because the kids ran the 5k as well.

Whew!

Afterward, we enjoyed a Chick-fil-A lunch, dancing with the CfA cows, playing in the moon walks, and talking to friends. The whole event was fantastic, and we were especially thrilled to see our college friends, the Peeks (hi, Peeks)! We've kept up mainly through blog, so it was such a joy to see them and their sweet baby boys. That makes my heart so full!

Here are a few pictures from the day:

On a final note, it was so exciting to see how many people came out in support of the adoption, foster and orphan care ministry. All of the proceeds from the run went to a scholarship fund to help families bring children into their homes. I read about a family this week who believed that they could never adopt because they don't have the funds to do so. If you are in that boat, wondering how in the world could you ever afford it, please don't let that keep you from pursuing adoption! There are so many resources and organizations and ministries - like Legacy 685 - who can help provide scholarships/grants and interest-free loans. What is money to One who paves streets with gold? Seek Him, serve Him - He will lead you and provide for you.