Tuesday, May 1, 2012

poetry tuesday


I did not just like these poems as a child, I LOVED them.  Two of my favorite's Mom....thanks for  reading them to me over and over.  


Bed in Summer by Robert Louis Stevenson (A Child's Garden of Verses)

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way, 
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see 
The birds still hopping on the tree
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

One more, indulge me...

From a Railway Carriage

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.
Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
All by himself and gathering brambles;
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And here is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is a cart runaway in the road
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill, and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone forever!

Monday, April 9, 2012

a rich man's problem

This phrase has become vernacular at our church.  Pastor Randy used it in a sermon series on generosity last year.  It stuck with me.  I gotta admit I use it a lot.  Especially after being reminded that the "majority world" lives on less than $2 a day.  I am in the 25% of the world that is rich.  I have rich man problems.  I ponder things solely on the fact that I do not worry about where my next meal is.  I do not worry about whether clean water will flow from my tap today.  I have clothing without holes, cars that run well, and time for leisure in my life.  The list could go on and on.

Tonight I tackled a project I've put off since Tate's birthday this past weekend.  Yeah, I know it's only Monday, but we actually celebrated Tate's birthday with friends and family LAST weekend.  He got a lot of new things with which to play, and I've been meaning to "graft" them into his toy rotation.  Hee hee, I'm kinda one of those "superish" moms who sorts her child's toys into bins so that he can play with different things each week in effort that he would not tire too easily of his things.  I've been committed to this for a few months now.  It's a bit of a drudgery to get started, but the end product is so fulfilling that it fuels my obsessive compulsive energy to keep it up.  I get out the empty bin, put all the pieces to all the toys back together, and figure out the jigsaw puzzle of getting them all back in the bin.  Then I get out next week's bin and carefully arrange the "new" things in his toy closet.  It seriously rocks.  I highly recommend it.  Tate plays with things that he forgot about with vigor!  Also, it's a little restrictive as to how MUCH is out in any given week.  This adoptive mommy thinks about things like that to avoid over-stimulation, and I've actually noticed he plays longer with things as a result.  He can actually see what he has this way.  Ok, ok, I'll get off my "toy box" now.

Back to the reason for this post.  I was getting ready to write a Facebook status, and I realized I had more to say than is acceptable for a one or two line status.  As I was sorting all his new birthday gifts and adding them to what I already have in each bin, I was convicted.  Wow.  We have plenty, in fact we have more than we need.  Don't get me wrong.  My sweet boy has gone without in his life, and in a way it's easy to get sucked down the slippery slope of the "he deserves this" mentality.  But, I looked at his stash and thought of other boys and girls who have no idea what a toy rotation is.  They play with whatever is available, i.e. empty water bottles or patched up soccer balls.  In a lot of ways there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, it seems the photos I've seen, or the faces first hand from my travels are always covered in smiles.  They have joy.  They don't understand the rich man's problem of finding a place to put all of our stuff.  They shouldn't either.  If you ask me less is more in this case.  

I don't write these things to guilt anyone, I was just reminded to be thankful for the things I have.  Be content.  Try and live as simply as possible.  Avoid over-indulgence.  Let go of a mindset that our "minority world" here in the US has all the answers or has all the blessing of God.  The trappings of this life do just that.  They trap us.  Remember to hold these things loosely, they could be taken from us at any time.

The most important thing I want Mr. Tate to learn is his identity in Christ.

THIS knowledge will make him truly rich.



          

Friday, April 6, 2012

happy birthday temesgen

I love calling my little boy by his given name.  I'm so glad it will be part of who he is forever.  Temesgen means, "Thanks be to you God."  It was given for a special reason.  One that we'll share with "Mr T." one day soon.  I do thank God for him, I remind myself to do that a lot.  Especially when his temperament is sending me into the 43rd "tizzy" of the day.  By tizzy I mean internal meltdown.

I'm not sure who needs to grow up more, him or me.  He's got the obvious challenges of a NOW two-year old in front of him.  Finish getting teeth.  Learn more words.  Control that temper.  (In other words figure out a way to deal with anger that doesn't involve hitting the nearest person, beast, or thing.) Go potty on the toilet.  etc, etc.  My challenges are a little more involved.  Trust God to raise Tate through my feeble attempts.  Ask God to equip me daily with the patience and consistency I need to convey.  Tell myself I'm getting better at this every day, when it's all too easy to listen to Satan's lies.  (Low self-esteem just plain sucks.)

Anyway, back to Tate.  It was his 2nd birthday today.  A day I cherished and celebrated his life, while being utterly thankful and mindful of Christ's death.  It's so interesting that Tate's first birthday with us is on Good Friday.  It was a good Friday.  It's good because of the many blessings in our lives, material AND spiritual.  It's good because I live in a country where I can go to my place of worship and encounter a Holy God that allowed my sin to be placed on His Son's back.  (Whew, that's REALLY good.)  And, it's so good that we're together.  Family is good.  Family is important. Family is redemptive.  I'm proud of our little family.  Proud in the most humblest of ways. We've almost been home together for a year.  We're still alive.  We're growing in love, and it's beautiful.

Enjoy the pictures!

Tate's 1st birthday without him...


Tate just after coming home...


Tate at his birthday party last weekend...


Thursday, March 1, 2012

sensory bins

I am so excited!  Tonight I finally got to do some shopping for sensory bins for my little guy!  I've seen these EVERYWHERE, and have been influenced by my sweet friend Jill Discher who has created some of these for our preschoolers at church.  I'm hoping that Tate enjoys playing with these as much as Daddy and I will.  We will have to watch him closely as a few of these items will most likely end up in his mouth.  Most of the "filler" stuff is edible, but I would not let your toddler make a meal of it, obviously!

I plan on spreading out a beach towel on a table or the floor to catch some of the stray scoopfuls.  I thought I'd share some photos and short descriptions of what I put together.  In total I spent about $75 on all four bins.  Some of the items were purchased from a big box store, the dollar store, and from things that I had already.

1)  Bug & Amphibian Bin
(Split peas, salamanders, bugs, and even a small rat.  Ewwww.)



2) "On the Farm" Bin
(Rice, horses, ponies, and a fun little tractor.)  I would still like to find a little barn for this one!



3) "Oh so Soft" Bin
(Cotton, pom poms, alphabet & numbers, easter eggs, whiffle balls, and a squishy animal.)



4) Rocks & Trucks Bin
(Landscape rocks, lima beans and CAT Trucks, a little boy's dream!)




Let the fun begin! :)

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

How about a poetry Wednesday?

I'm not sure the spirit in which this poem was written.  It was included in a Bible study I'm doing right now.  It was suggested this would sum up the muttering thoughts of the crowd when Jesus invited the 'worst of sinners,' Zaccheus to dinner.  

Indiscretion

I do not hate You, God.
Please understand.
You are O K, A-One,
the Very Best,
second to none I know,
great and beyond
my criticism so
I say Amen
to You and all Your good 
intentions--but
I might be right about
Your indiscretion in
forgiving folks
gladly and shamelessly
upon the least
evidence of regret.
I think
You carry love too far.

Thomas John Carlisle, You! Jonah! copyright 1968


I prefer to read it in light of what I believe.  Shamelessly glad that God takes love too far, that he shows indiscretion in forgiving me.