I know what I need!

I have figured it out.  I realized today just what I need.  

Something that should greatly increase the storehouse of patience that is constantly depleted I have.  

Something that will make car trips much more enjoyable.  

Something that will allow Eric and I to actually have a conversation when we travel.  

The upgrade that I would gladly shell out mega-bucks to have in my next vehicle.

And I am sure that I am not alone.  

So all you inventor sorts out there, listen up!  

Here is what is needed....

a sound-proof divider between the front seat 

and the booster seats!

Lest you all think I'm a terrible mom who wants to neglect her children while driving, let me just allow you to experience a small tidbit of the conversation (can it be called a conversation if only one person is doing the majority of the talking?) between Markos and I in the car today.

******

(as we approach the van...)

"AHH!  Mom!  There's a spider on the door!"

(I use the paper in my hand to flick it off the van.)

"There.  It's gone."

"Where?!  Where did it go?"

"I knocked it off.  It's under the car."

"You knocked it off?  It's under the car."

"Did you whip it?  (no time to answer)  

Did you whip it...like Jesus?"

(Wow, that Easter program really had an impact on this wee one.) 

"Where we going?"

"Are we going to grocery store now?"

"I thought grocery store was that way."

"No, it's this way.  That's why I'm driving this way."

"But I thought it was that way....HEY!  Look, it's a UPS truck."

"Is that the UPS store?"

"No.  It must just be making a delivery."

"To who?  What are they getting?"

"Do we get deliveries?  Do they have a UPS store?  Where is it?"

"I don't know."

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!  (Markos just starts clapping as loudly as possible to some beat unheard by me.)

"Can you turn the music up?"

"sure."  (although I'm not sure why because who can possibly hear it when he never stops talking or making noise.)

"thanks"

"excuse me."

"EXCUSE ME!!  I said 'excuse me'."

"umm, ok.  what?"

"Only God can stop them."

"Stop what?  What are you talking about?"

"I burped.  But I can't stop the burps.  Only God can stop them."

"But I said 'excuse me'."

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!  'Only God can stop them.  Only God can stop them.  Only God can stop them.' (Markos singing some little song he just made up, while clapping along with himself.)

"WHAT'S THAT?!"

"what?"

"You missed it!!!  YOU ALWAYS MISS IT!"

"Markos, I'm trying to drive the car.  I've told you before, I can't always look when you ask me things."

"Oh - what's that truck for?"

"It's the cable truck."

"What are they doing?"

"I don't know.  Probably fixing the cable line."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

 Toot.  Toot.  Toot.  Toot.  Toot.  (Markos proudly engaging in his new found skill of whistling.)

"Mom, did you hear me whistle?"

"yes Markos.  You're getting very good at it."

Toot.  Toot.  Toot.  Toot.  Toot.

"Hey!"

(I'm trying to pull out into busy intersection so I don't respond right away)

"Excuse me.  EXCUSE ME!!!"

"What Markos?!" (obviously annoyed tone)

"Well, I SAID excuse me!"

"What do they do in there?"  (pointing to some random building)

"I don't know."

"You don't know every stuff?"

"No, Markos.  I don't know everything."

"I know.  You don't know a lot of things."

 "Hey Mom, know what would be funny?"

(For you to stop talking for 2 minutes?)  "No, what?"

"It would be funny if God made it morning when it was night time."  (hysterical laughter from the back)

"Yeah, that would be funny."

"God could do that?"

"Yes."

"God can do any stuff?"

"Yes."

"Can God make a tree house from a bush?"

"Yes"

"Can God make all peoples fly?"

"Yes"

"Can God lift up that building?"

"Yes"

"Know what?  Mrs Lucarelli said she doesn't have a dad anymore.  He's in heaven."

"Is he with God?"

"Did he come back to life in heaven?"

"Like Jesus?"

"Is it soft in heaven?"  (No time to answer any questions...)

"Hey!  How come some things are big and some things are little?"

"I don't know Markos.  Because that's how God made them."

"What's over there?"

"Where?"

"Over there!"  (Pointing over a random hill)

"I don't know."

"Is it Ethiopia?"

"No Markos.  I told you Ethiopia is far away and we'd have to ride in an airplane to get there."

"It's on the other side of the world?"

"Yes."

"are there other worlds?"

"Not that we can live on."

"Why?"

"Because that's how God made us."

"Would I have to get a shot?"

"For what?"

"To go to Ethiopia?  Would I have to get a shot?"

"Maybe one or two, just for traveling so it would protect you from getting sick there."

"I don't want to go back then.  Ever.  I don't want to get a shot."

"I thought we were going to the grocery store!  Are we almost there?"

"Can I play in the play room?"

"What are we doing after the grocery store?"

"Do I have soccer today?"

******

I kid you not.  That is how it is 24/7 with this boy.  

HE. NEVER. STOPS. TALKING!!  

EVER!

For some reason, when I'm trying to drive, and think, and listen to music (all at the same time), 

his incessant talking is all the more aggravating to me!

So I need a sound-proof back seat!!  Or a great deal more patience.  

(Or possibly some strong medication)

But frankly, the sound-proof backseat seems most likely at this point.

Excerpts from Second Grade Writing Journals...

Oh, how I LOVE when these come home from school with Daniel!  His teacher encourages them to write creatively, doing their best work and using their new vocabulary words, but they're free from correction or grading.  There are always spelling errors and grammatical errors, but they are priceless.  Each page has a box at the top for the kids to draw a picture to go with that day's writing, and a phrase to get them started.

Daniel is such a sweet, quirky, creative little boy.  He has surprised me with how he's excelled at reading, writing, and spelling this year.  He loves to include his 'robust vocabulary words' in our everyday conversations - which is hilarious at times.  I've found that his writing is no different.

My favorites from today are so numerous that I have to put them in a blog post to avoid numerous Facebook postings.   Some of my favorite quotes include:

In It's raining cats and dogs...,  

"stepped into the storm of raining cats and dogs, you step into a poodle!"

In If I were a giant...,

"I would be unstoppable!  If anything got in my way, I would smoosh them!   A lake would be a puddle and an ocean would be a lake!  I would step on trees, but except the spikey ones, they hurt.  They make me yell YOWSER!"

 In The sun...,

A fun fact is that the sun can go over one thousand degrees!  My favorite things to do are play with all my friends, eat lolypops or any ice cream and have water fights!

My favorite full entries are:

Recess
At recess you can play any tipe of game.  Its festive, and fantastically superb!  You can play a spacious amount of games.  I and you can play with your cautious friends.  Recess is a glorious thing!  Pretty much everybody likes recess.  That's a colossal amount of people!

Five Excuses for not doing my homework...

I'm sorry!

 If I were a book, I'd be...

If I were a book, I'd be a book about hockey.  I would have all the players.  Even the all stars players!  And don't forget the glossary, index, and table of contenints!  I would kinda like being a book!

 And last but not least,

Dear Mr. Leprechaun,...

Dear Mr. Leprechaun,
WHARE IS YOUR GOLD?  GIVE ME YOUR GOLD please NOW!  Then I will be nice. Oh sorry, you didn't here me.  GIVE ME YOUR GOLD!!!  WE'LL BE friends but first GIVE ME your GOLD!!!!!  Now I will be nice but give me your gold now or else you turn into a talking pizza.
From, Daniel

I wish I had time to scan all the pictures so I could post those as well, but alas, dinner calls. 

Your Second Chance...

OK, so if you really wanted a necklace, but missed out on the ones I was selling, here is your second chance!

Head on over to Journey 4 Hope - the blog of another adoptive momma who volunteers with an awesome organization in Ethiopia called FOVC - Friends of Orphans and Vulnerable Children.  FOVC works near the area where Markos was born. 

She is selling beautiful necklaces that she made from magazine beads which she purchased the last time she was in Ethiopia.  She is also selling beautiful baskets made by the widows in their Crops for Widows program, as well as some beautiful artwork made in Shanto, Ethiopia. 

Tamara is sharing her knowledge of agriculture to help the widows in the FOVC program learn how to grow their crops and how to manage their crops during the current drought and famine.  Her husband is a veterinarian.  He is also working with FOVC, helping to train the widows on how to care for their livestock, as well as training an FOVC staff person in veterinary medicine so FOVC will always have a hands-on person in Ethiopia to help.  This couple is doing all this traveling out of their own pocket, as volunteers, in order to serve the orphans and widows of Southern Ethiopia.  Your necklace purchases will help them with their travel expenses for their next trip.

So go buy a necklace...or two....or three.  They're beautiful.

 See?!!

Necklace Update!

I'm sorry to say that, if you wanted a necklace and didn't act quickly, you missed your chance.  

All necklaces are now sold.  

God is good!!  

Orphans and widows in Uganda receiving income.  

Orphans in Haiti receiving peanut butter, bed sheets, medicine, or whatever else I'm told to bring.

And you and I receiving beautiful, hand-made necklaces!

Thanks to all who purchased them.  I hope you love them! 

I know I love mine!

Buy a Necklace and Help Orphans in Africa AND Haiti!

The last week in July, we will be heading to Port-au-Prince with the Global Orphan Project again.   A sweet adoption friend, Erin, is leading the trip.  I can't wait to meet her in person! 

In the meantime, we're going to do some fundraising to help with our trip costs and with the purchasing of donations to take.  Our family alone will be taking three 50-pound  suitcases worth.  I don't generally like to sell things, but this is something that I feel good about and something that I've actually had people ask me about since our trips to Ethiopia.

Acacia Bead Necklaces!

I recently had the chance to purchase some from another agency working in Africa.  Widows and orphans in Uganda make the beads and necklaces.  The agency sells them for them.  I buy them from the other agency and sell them to you.

Win-win-win!

You get a beautiful necklace, hand-made by a woman or child in Africa.  They get a source of income providing them with a means to live!  And, I can buy loads of peanut butter to take to Haiti!  

I only have 20 necklaces - 2 each of 10 different colors - so if you want a particular one, buy it quickly!  I don't know if I'll be able to get anymore.  They are all $20 each, plus $2 shipping if I need to ship it to you.  If you're local, I'll get it to you and you won't have to pay for shipping.

Here are the colors currently available.  I will set up a pay-pal link on the blog, but leave a comment or talk to me first to ensure that I have the color you want before you pay.  Thanks!!

Blue & White
SOLD OUT!!!

Brick Red
SOLD OUT!!

Confetti
SOLD OUT!!

Cream & Pink
SOLD OUT!!

Hunter Green
SOLD OUT!!

Maroon

Mint Chocolate Chip
SOLD OUT!!!

Teal

Tiger

Large Bead - Red

BTW, here's a shortened video of our first trip.  If anyone is thinking that they might want to join us, get in touch with me and we'll talk!

A Preschool Wedding

This morning, Markos' preschool celebrated the wedding of Q and U.  I admit that when the invitation came home and I discovered that parents were invited to attend, I was not very enthused.  I have my women's Bible study group on Wednesday mornings from 10 - 11:30 and the wedding was starting at 11:00 so I was going to have to leave significantly early in order to attend the wedding. 

Truth be told, I planned to skip the wedding and just arrive a little early to pick Markos up until this morning when he was getting ready and I saw how excited he was for the whole event.  The kids were to dress up, so he wore dress pants, a dress shirt, and a tie along with dress shoes.  And he was very thrilled about it, although he kept getting confused and referring to them as "my wedding" instead of his wedding clothes or his dress clothes. 

Although I tried to leave Bible study in time to make it to the wedding, I was still a little late arriving for the event.  I was pretty disappointed that I missed most of the ceremony once I saw how cute it all was.  Regardless, I got a few pictures of the "recessional", the "reception", and the "farewell to the bride and groom".  Too stinkin' cute!

Presenting the new couple

Markos was in the wedding party

At the reception

Cutting the cake

Drinking punch

Eating cake

Doing the Chicken Dance

Their decorated "car"

Bride and Groom ready to depart - check out those awesome rings!

Markos doing a puppet show for me before we left

We're Going Back to Haiti!

A year without loving on some orphans is just too long.  

Plus, the first trip was so amazing for Mackenzie and I,
that we have to go back.

And we're taking Eric with us this time.  

Because little boys love for grown men to hoist them up on their shoulders and parade them around.

Because little boys love to be tossed in the air by a daddy
(even if it's not their daddy).  

Because older boys like to play soccer with men who are too old
to keep up
(but think that they might still have a chance).  

And because this Momma's heart hurts when I think about the longing in those little sweeties' hugs.  

And how they quickly fell asleep, feeling safe in my arms.  

And how much JOY their smiles brought to the deepest parts
of my soul.  

We're going back to Haiti.  To love on some kids. 

BTW, here's a shortened video of our first trip.  If anyone is thinking that they might want to join us sometime, get in touch with me and we'll talk!