A good point...

I appreciated this post at Rage Against the Minivan. We have experienced racism and bigotry in the past and it is not fun. Read the last part of the post if nothing else. It's important to educate your children about race.

bigotry, blindness, & basketball

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Country festival

We live in the outskirts of the city in a very small town, population around 300.  Today is the local festival to celebrate this small town, and embrace your inner "hick" or hillbilly as my kids say.  It's funny, since we do live very close to several major cities, but the feel out here is so country.  J. took the kids to the festival to see the parade, street fair, lawnmower races, car show, and hick olympics.  They will be missing out on the karaoke contest, since we are headed to a wedding this afternoon.  Bummer.

Cl. is amazed at how slow our internet connection is.  He also was wondering why we can't record his favorite shows.  Life is slower out here in the country, perhaps even slower than Haiti!  I was trying to explain that we don't have cable available, and the only way to get high speed internet is by a satellite provider.   Not on the top of our priorities at this point.  I also said we live out in the country, to which Cl. replied, "You don't live in the county, in America?"  Totally lost in translation!

"Lord I left you in mon high"

Cl. had a list of praise songs he enjoys.  The minute he got in the car to come to our our house he asked J. if he knew the songs.  The first one was written "Lord I left you in mon high" in carefully printed pencil.  I laughed when I saw it after he was in bed.  It is supposed to be "Lord, I lift your name on high".  Cl. is a joy to be around.  He is certainly a teen, and already knows how to push the boundaries, but it's been a fun day today.  The kids are all getting along wonderfully.  The only thing I don't get about him: he doesn't like chocolate.  Crazy.  

Joy

While cleaning up the dishes tonight I experienced an overwhelming sense of joy.  My hubby J. was playing his guitar and singing worship songs while all of the kids and our visitor, Cl. were singing along.  It was like the Lord was giving me a hug, and telling me we are doing the right thing with our lives. At times I feel restless, frustrated and unsure about our direction.  But really, what control do I have to change the coarse of things?  NONE!  It is all in His hands.  I believe He is glad that we took the time to get to know Cl. better.  I am so happy my children have had the chance to meet friends from all different parts of the world.  L, C and K are patient, kind and understanding to other people's differences.  It is good to know how much they learn from these experiences and see how blessed they are to share their love, home, parent's attention, bedrooms and toys.  We've experienced heartbreak too.  It's hard to see kids leave after we have formed a bond.  We have loved a child who has passed away in another country.  The positives do outweigh the negatives.  We personally gain much from the experience, but the overall goal is to see families reunite with a healthy child.  That is pure delight.

If your family is interested in hosting a child through the Medical Advocacy Team, contact smithjklc@hotmail.com to get a host family application.

A visitor

We will be having fun with a visitor this week.  He is coming today and staying for a while.  Cl. is here from Haiti with the Medical Advocacy Team.  He had surgery,  is recovering well and will be going home to Haiti next month.  His host family is on summer vacation so we are helping them out and will enjoy his company.  Cl. is 13, just a half year older than our L. and speaks English well.  I am hoping he will feel at home and have fun being here.  While he is here he will be experiencing:

a rehearsal dinner for a wedding

an American wedding

our church

a possible trip to the water/amusement park

life in the country

and more

A trip to the library

We headed out to the library today, after picking up L, C, and K at VBS.  L. was a helper for the preschool kids, and the two girls had a lot of fun playing and learning about Jesus.  The library was a bit busy being the first week of summer break, and a rainy day.  S. (17 months) ran right to the baby pool full of board books saying "booook" as loudly as he could.  He was pretty busy in the children's section with Papa, while I took Elijah to explore other areas.  He was loud and whiny for part of the time, but did well.  We got some good books, but my favorite pick so far was a magazine, Adoptive Families.  I checked out the Feb 2008 edition, mainly because it features articles about parenting AA children.  Here is a great article I just read called Our Blended Family

There are also great articles including some about ADD and girls.