Do You Know Who You Are?

Friday nights are Family Night around here. For the last two weeks, we hung out together watching

Who Do You Think You Are? 

We have found a new family favorite!  The conversations it has generated have been priceless. My kids are asking about their ancestors, they are putting together our family history with what was going on in the world at the same time, and they are connecting with the things they learn in textbooks on a hugely personal level.  We've talked about racism, slavery, prejudice, hardship, perseverance and all kinds of other wonderful topics. The kids have asked when the next one is on and I even spent an hour hanging with Dr. D showing him a quick chart of what I know about all four of my grandparents' family lines.

Closely connected to the new NBC show, is a wonderful PBS gem I found called

Faces of America. 

It features Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and takes guests through little journeys of American history as they also discover their family stories and how they fit into the bigger story that America was building at that same time. It's a slightly more academic look at how America came to be, but certainly no less entertaining and captivating for THIS history buff! I recorded his appearance on Opr@h a couple weeks ago and finally got to watch it yesterday while I was laying around sick.  I found it IMMENSELY interesting that the officer who arrested Gates in last year's incident that led to the infamous "Beer Summit" shares a family name and geographic region with my grandfather's family. AND that both that officer AND Gates are distantly related via an ancient clan king in Ireland.  Mmmmmm, might we be related to America's foremost African American scholar?  Which, I guess would also mean that we were related to the officer, too. And you know what, I'm totally intrigued by either idea!

If you haven't seen these new shows, you really ought to check them out. Even if you don't care a lick about "where you came from" (which in my honest opinion would be a CRYING SHAME, almost a sacrilege!), I do think that you will find great inspiration in the stories of the strong, determined, self-sacrificing people who formed our nation. And maybe, just maybe, you'll come away from these shows with a greater appreciation for who you are and what your people have come through to make you who you are.

No More Monkeys Jumping On The Bed!

Except, it wasn't monkeys. It was LadyBug and Baby BlueEyes. And they weren't jumping on the bed. They were jumping on a Spider Man bop bag. (Yes, jumping on it. Not bopping it.) On Wednesday night.

On Thursday, the school nurse called to say that she thought it might be smart for me to have LadyBug's pediatrician take a look at LadyBug's left wrist.

On Thursday night, we visited the very-cool Dr. A. He sent us for x-rays. The x-rays showed a buckle fracture of LadyBug's left radius.

On Friday morning, LadyBug was getting ready to visit the orthopaedist.
Baby BlueEyes was groovin' with some "Crazy Hair Day" action.


Li'l Empress wanted to get some Crazy Hair Day action too.


Don't mess with the hair.
It's gonna take some serious shampoo to get out all that gel.


Being in pain and waiting in the doctor's office is exhausting.


The cart o' tricks.


Getting wrapped.
It was long a really long white toe sock for the hand.


She's got the blues.


The awesome casting tech gives this patient a thumbs up.


"I'm so blue-hoo-hoo-blue-hoo-hoo-blue-hoo-hoo-hooooo.
I'm so blue I don't know what to do."


And that, my friends, is how I spent my Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.


The Gang by the numbers, so far:
15+ stitches
7 sets of x-rays
5 visits to the ER
3 casts
2 over-nighter's at the hospital
2 out-patient procedures
and one helicopter ride

Stick a fork in me, I'm done.

I hope.

A Twist on The Favorites

First, let me say that your generous outpouring of prayer, encouragement and support to all of The Gang in these past weeks has been humbling and amazing. That strangers and friends alike have diligently sought the face of God on our behalf makes me weep with joy. This blogging community, (and where it intersects with my adoption community, with my church family, and with my friends, and other family connections) has been a pure joy to participate in and I feel blessed by you all. However I've come to know you, the volume of comments, private emails, phone calls (Classic Mama, you are amazing!!), and relationship during this season has been priceless. Thank you.

Over the past three days, several of you have asked me privately how you can continue praying for The Gang. The journey is far from over and, in many respects, we are embarking on a brand-new journey upon our return from China. So today's Favorites (there are more than 5 today!) are the things we are still praying for regarding the end of the legal and documentation part of our journey and the beginnings of the living and loving part of the path.

• Financial provision - We knew when we started that we did not have all the finances in place to make this whole thing happen in our own resources. But God told us this was the path He was marking for us. So we've walked by faith, literally every month, and He's provided every step thus far. Please pray with us that the remainder of the money needed will be provided. This includes things like the balance of the actual adoption fees, traveling expenses, and resources to complete the things here at home that must be done to welcome Aidan to her new home.
  
• Clarity of purpose - As you can imagine, the coming weeks are full of "to do's" and we are asking God to show us what HAS to be done so that we might be about those things first. Strength to put things we WANT to do in proper priority is a must, as my list of "want to do's" and The Boss's list are often different. We need God's mind on these things!
• School plans - We request that you pray with us regarding our plans for the fall for our kids. We aren't totally settled about one particular question and we really need to hear from HIM and feel HIS peace over what He's laying before us.
• Travel plans - The next steps are that we must obtain the LOA (Letter of Approval). This is followed by the TA (Travel Approval) and the CA (Consulate Appointment) from the CCAA. Many times, when a family has cleared the Review Room (which we have) those next steps come fairly quickly (we're talking in terms of weeks). We are also requesting that our file be expedited after what we've been through. Please pray that all those steps come in His time and that the plans fall into place according to what is best for our family. I don't relish the idea of leaving my kids for the whole trip, nor do I want to miss their first day of school or BBE's 7th (oh my!) birthday. But God knows my heart . . .
• Transition and Attachment - Please pray with us that even NOW Aidan's little heart be made ready to be loved and cherished by her new family. Pray that the Lord put an anticipation in her heart for being His and only His, forever. Pray that she attach to BOTH Todd and I quickly and deeply, and that her transition to our crazy Gang be smooth and peaceful. It's a lot for a little baby to take in and I want God to go before us in this area more than any of the others listed here!
• Healing - My sweet sister-in-law, Teagan's mommy, actually was the first to say this to me and since then, I've had quite a few ask about it. In the hustle of the week, it didn't occur to me to start pressing in for this and seeking God's glory on Aidan in this way. But if you are feeling pressed to pray for our sweet girl, please contact me by private email and we can talk about it. We haven't yet spoken here of her medical needs, really only because of the pace we've kept since Monday, but we will be soon. In the meantime, we ask that you pray.
• Finally, for Aidan's life - Our family anthem over this adoption has been Steven Curtis Chapman's song, "You Are Being Loved." It's ministered very deeply to me personally in the weeks since we bought the cd for The Boss. And each time I hear it, I beg God for this to be the anthem over Aidan's whole life. Not just till we can get there and hold her and sing it over her, but for her whole life. I want THIS to be the mark that all the world sees when they look at her.

In the coming days, we will be sharing more about what we've learned about our baby girl. Some of the anecdotal notes that come with her files that help us start to connect with her and "know" her. It's amazing to me, I cannot believe how in love with this little girl I have fallen. And fallen hard. Almost every time I look at the clock, I wonder what she is doing across the world. I wonder if she knows how loved she is.

Favorites Friday (not)

We interrupt regularly scheduled Favorites Friday to bring you an important message. Favorites Friday will (hopefully!) resume its normal programming next week. :)

I'm taking today to brag on The Boss a little bit. Last night, he and his team won the prestigious Human Resources Department Of The Year award for Excellence In Technology. This award is given by Human Resources professionals in the Philly region each year, to acknowledge significant HR advances and innovations and we are very proud of The Boss and his peers.

The award was given to recognize the HR Information Systems Department at Children's Hospital for their conversion to a more paperless and more user-friendly database (among other more technical gobbedly-gook that I really don't understand!). The team spear-headed the project to place kiosks all over the CHOP campus, allowing employees individual access to their own information (benefits, compensation, etc.) and giving managers/supervisors access to updating and managing their employees' information themselves. The Boss's team has gone from a data-entry environment to a database management environment and they are all to be commended on the very long hours, the new things they've had to learn, and the ownership they all share over this innovation. It's improving the lives of all the employees and helping CHOP do more to support the people who are all there to save kids' lives.

So, huge kudos to the HRIS team and the IT team at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Your hard work and long hours of planning, scheming, strategizing, and troubleshooting have been greatly appreciated and now widely recognized! You should all be very proud of yourselves and your efforts. And to The Boss's team: a very special THANK YOU from me, for all your support and participation and "buy-in" - you make it pleasant to be the wife of such a hard-working, focused and motivated Boss :)