Storytelling {Baking Cookies}

I am taking a photography class and one of the assignments is to take a series of photos that tells a story. Here is one attempt at "telling" very common, everyday type of story.

Keith- Superkids Supporter Extraordinaire

You all know that I volunteer with Superkids Charity. We do a lot of wonderful and amazing things and we blog about it and post about it on Facebook. We even tried tweeting about it, but that has been a bit of a failure since Twitter remains a mystery to most of us. Anyway, you get the idea, you pretty much know what I do with Superkids.

But let me tell you about Keith. He is as dedicated to Superkids as I am. He doesn't mind that I spend hours every week on volunteer work. He always encourages me and often can be heard "bragging" just a bit about my involvement.

When I go on those wonderful trips to China that I love so much guess who takes over here at home so that I can go? Yep. Keith. When I need to speak with families or on a webinar guess who makes sure the house is quiet (no small feat, I assure you!)? Yep. Keith. He is the quiet supporter behind every single thing I do.

And now he is taking it further. He is planning to run in the New York City marathon in November to help raise funds and awareness for Superkids! We have a fundraising goal of $1,250 by the end of May. I should have started this sooner, but, um CHINA was happening! 

Any donation would be so appreciated! You can read what Keith wrote and donate here.

Thank you so much for helping Superkids in this way!

Post Placement Reports

It is that time of year. Time for Annika's post placement report to be filled out and sent to Gladney so they can forward it to Kazakhstan. It has become a fun thing to do as the years roll by. She helps me fill it out.

It starts with us typing in her Kazakh name. It is long with a lot of consonants. We try to say it, but we only know how to pronounce the part of her name she actually went by "Diliara".

We move on to height, weight, and health. Considering that she is a little girl and is healthy these are fun blanks to fill in.

She loves telling me all of her likes and dislikes and having it all recorded to be sent to people in Kazakhstan. She always wants them to know that her favorite food is burritos and that she doesn't like spicy foods. That her favorite color is blue and she doesn't like to be bored.

Another fun part to fill out is the "recent accomplishments". She has learned to swim, is taking piano lessons, and is learning to play soft ball.

She wondered what the "Changes/Stresses noted in marriage of adoptive parents" section meant. I told her "They are asking if Daddy and I fight." She thought that was hilarious! She told the other children that the people from her orphanage want to know if Mommy and Daddy fight! (Just in case you are wondering that was easily answered with one word, None.)

Every year we answer the same questions. Every year I am amazed again at this perfect, beautiful little girl who is our daughter.

I Just Have to Post It Here! {Grayson}

Is he your son?

Living With {MY} Reality

Yesterday we decided to tackle cleaning Freeland and Casper's room. It was a big job! Let's just saying they haven't exactly been great about keeping their room even in decent condition. They have a storage closet in their room, which made things even more difficult. We worked all day and by the end of the day the room was completed. W e had moved the bunk bed down and the drawers the closet was clean. It looked great!

But here's the thing, I was totally exhausted! So exhausted I could hardly function. And thus the title of the post. Most of the time I do so well. I know my limitations and don't overextend myself. But a day like yesterday reminds me just how limiting lupus can be. I'm not complaining. Most of the time we function very well. I have the help I need, my children know what to expect from my limitations, and we've adjusted our lifestyle accordingly. I can even do things like go to China when I choose to.

And I'm truly thankful for all of that! I'm thinking ahead to the rest of the week. Tomorrow evening I'm planning to take photos for a family. On Friday and Saturday I want to go to the home school convention in Harrisburg. And, of course, go to church on Sunday. On Monday I need to go to New York City for a meeting. That means today and tomorrow I'm taking it easy. As a matter of fact, right now I'm lying on the sofa dictating to my computer to write this blog post. Doesn't get a lot easier than that!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that lupus is limiting in a lot of ways, but we've learned to live with it and even thrive with it! I can't help but be very, very thankful for that!

Finishing Our School Year

We have worked hard this school year. We have finished most of our books. The achievement tests have been taken. I have watched as they have grown in so many ways! And now we are almost finished for the year.

Homeschooling is not an easy thing to do. It takes a lot of time and effort. It means that I worry and second-guess myself all of the time (2 AM thoughts- what if I'm ruining them for life!?). But it is also rewarding. I have watched Annika go from being a hesitant reader to being a confident, independent reader of chapter books. I have watched Douglas go from "unable to figure out" some of his calculus problems to working much more difficult ones with comparative ease. Casper has learned to diagram long, difficult sentences. Freeland has increased his mathematical abilities and is ready for Algebra next year. And Eliana? Well, let's just say I no longer worry that school will be difficult for her and I'm really excited about starting first grade work with her next year.

We are looking forward to a break. And I think we may be joining a Classical Conversations homeschool group next year, so we are changing it up a bit to give everyone a little different opportunity.

This week there is a huge homeschool convention in Harrisburg. We have attended the last 3 years. It is a fun place for the children to go. It is such an inspiring community to be a part of!

So here is to a restful summer and a great school year to come!
  

They Changed Me

You cannot look into their eyes, hold them in your arms, enter in to their world without being changed. You cannot enter in to their stories and then walk away and forget. You just can't. And I really don't want to.

I think of the older boy who said he "couldn't" smile when Gongzhan asked him to. With some time and the help of a bouncing ball he was smiling by the time he left. I think of another boy who loves to draw and drew himself with great attention given to detail. They changed me.

I think of cradling a baby boy who isn't doing well. He does not tolerate his milk for some reason and he is very malnourished. (Yes, we are working on helping him!) You cannot hold a baby in a desperate situation and not be changed by it.

I think of watching Andy's face light up as he learned that he has a family. He has waited so long and has been through so much! And the light in his eyes changed me.

I think of the little boy with the walker and the huge smile singing his heart out for us. He needs a family. He needs someone who will treasure his song and help him know he has no limits. Watching his little face changed me.

I sit here in the comfort of my home. I am so glad to be here, with my children, present in their lives. But my heart is in China too. And I wouldn't change that. They changed my heart, again. They always do. I wouldn't have it any other way.