Family Gardening

Sometimes I think my husband just might tie me up & hang me from my toes -- thanks to me & my big ideas.  This month my big idea started with an ad in the utility bill for free compost.  It sounded like a great idea at first, but I am known for getting in way over my head.  

I have always loved gardening and have been working each year to improve my garden beds.  Recently I was introduced to the idea of "square foot gardening" and really wanted to give it a try.  It involves making raised beds, filling them with a mix of topsoil, compost and peat moss, and then marking the beds off by the "square foot".  Supposedly the hard work on the front end means a great crop on the back end.  (At least that's what I am telling my husband after all of his work!)  

Thankfully I am married to 

the most amazing and supportive man, who loves me in such practical ways, and since we are forever on a budget, he is game for saving a dollar if I convince him I've found a great deal.  He and the girls got busy building the

raised bed boxes and we all went to get a load of compost.  I think the point things started heading south was when I asked him to get the second load of compost.  (Note to self:  stop while you are ahead, or at least not too far behind!) The pile of stinky compost filled almost our entire patio during the week of spring break & I couldn't work fast enough to move the pile from the patio to the garden beds & anywhere else I could find.  It got a little comical trying to explain to our recently adopted daughter why I was constantly moving dirt from one place to the next.  She was trying to understand, but I am sure I must have looked ridiculous carrying 5 gallon buckets of dirt for days on end.

We had a lot of great help on the beds & the girls are excited to each have their own garden.  They even think Dad should have his own garden.  What do you think?

We had great weather for all of our work & not only do we have 7 amazing little raised beds, we have also been able to add compost into all of our landscaped beds as well.  The best news of all is that our patio is now clear, we've planted seeds in our soil, and I am, in fact, not hanging from my toes somewhere. My whole family still loves me - despite my big ideas. I think they are actually really excited to see how their labor will pay off in the end.  

Thanks, Mom & Dad, for "making" me work in the garden.  I know I complained a lot at the time, but it's one of the favorite things I learned growing up & it's great to be able to pass it on to our kids!

The One Month Mark

We have now passed the one month mark of our daughter being home from Ethiopia. I have to be honest and say that there have been moments during the past month that I have found myself questioning what good could come as a result of bringing our daughter home. In the moments she feels desperately homesick and unsettled, I doubt myself and I doubt God. Sometimes I feel so ill-equipped to be her mother and walk her through this difficult time. In the moments my biological children look & feel completely stressed and sick, I feel like a horrible mother. I want to apologize & make their life easier again. But I am reminded that we did not stumble into this adoption by accident. Out of the millions of orphans in the world, God led us to adopt our daughter - on purpose and for His purposes. Although it has not been one of our easiest months on record, I can say that I think it has been a defining one. I have seen a strength and a bond in our family that I honestly didn't know was that tight until now. I have thanked God for my husband and each of my children more in the past month, because there is no doubt that He placed each of us together on purpose.

With all of that being said, I realized tonight as we were all pitching in to put dinner on the table, that in just one month's time it feels so normal that Tigrai is really in our family. I am not quite sure what struck me, other than the fact that she knows the routine, she knows where things are in our house, and she just really pitches in like one of the family. I think she is beginning to have those moments, too, where she really does feel like she belongs.

We have enjoyed so many "firsts" with her this past month and I think we have been able to slow down a bit.  She makes us laugh a lot & highly values family time. We have been enjoying the Disney classics we haven't seen for years, reading several of our favorite picture books, and we were so thankful to have one decent snow so we could all go sledding. Tigrai absolutely loved the snow and the kids had a good time showing her their favorite sledding hill. 

Just this morning Tigrai came in and announced to me, "Mom, 70!"  I replied, "No, honey, it's going to be in the 50's today. It will feel a little bit cooler than it has been."  "No, Mom, 70! Come look!"  Come to find out, she was referring to her weight on the scale.  She was so excited and proud to show me that she had gained 4 pounds in the past 3 1/2 weeks.  When we measured on our growth chart we could see that she has also grown 1/2 inch in height. (She is also very proud to note how much her hair has grown). With each new day we have with her we know that we will have growth - sometimes visible, and sometimes the kind that can only be seen by eyes of faith. We are grateful that God is allowing us to see glimmers of His bigger plan by having her in our home.

Highlights of our Ethiopia Trip

I am not sure that words could adequately explain what it was like to fly half-way around the world to meet a child who was a complete stranger, and yet, our daughter.  We were so grateful that we could travel as a couple, and knew it would be a life changing moment for our family.

Travels went well and we were eager, yet nervous, to meet our daughter. We had to wait several hours on the day we were supposed to get her, as her medical exams had been delayed. (We determined pretty quickly that we did not want our first moments as her parents to be holding her down for blood work!)  We got a call to come to the office to pick her up, and off we went. I have to admit that it was all a bit anti-climactic, as we thought that we would have a bit of a "briefing" with the staff and then sort of a small "ceremony" to meet her. Instead we showed up at the office, met with a handshake, handed over our camera for the staff to video, and then in came our daughter from the other room.

The next few minutes were amazing, as the little girl we knew only in video & photos was now right here with us. She immediately came to us & just melted into our arms.  In some indescribable way, she already was our daughter.

One of our fun firsts was swimming at the Hilton pool.  Although we were staying at a local guesthouse, we could buy a day pass to swim.  Tigrai loved her new swimsuit and quickly grew to love the water.  It was interesting to watch her as she progressed in just a few hours.  It seemed she was completely unaware of buoyancy and just experimented with it.

Tigrai loved playing soccer with Dad in the courtyard.

An unexpected HUGE blessing was staying at the guesthouse with other adoptive families. We felt like we made lifelong heart friends overnight.  We couldn't thank God enough for this gift!

Here we are on the flight home.  I thought there would be tears as we flew away from her homeland, but she was just SO excited to be coming to America!

Design on a Dime

If there ever was a thrifty one, it would be my Lou.  She is as good as gold & truly could be the modern day Kit Kittredge. Resourcefulness comes as naturally as breathing to her, and I love to see her ideas come to life.  On Valentine's Day she decided to make little handmade books for her friends.  Using scrap paper, paint chips, scrapbooking paper, a hammer, nails & needle & thread, she literally made her own hand-bound books.  Each one was made with a special friend in mind, so the color and print suited the personality of the recipient.  It was so much fun to see how great these turned out.  Here's a peek at her pennies of supplies and hours of labor turned into sweet little personalized books.

Another recent project Lou has been busy with is a purse she designed and made out of Amy Butler fabrics.  She saw an idea on the Country Living website and came up with her own design.  I loved watching her scratch out her ideas on a paper bag & just seeing her stick to it until the purse was as she wanted it.  She carefully laid out & cut her fabric in such a way that she could make multiple items from just a few dollars of fabric.  Way to go, Lou!  I'm proud of you!