Look Out World...

Luca can read 3 letter words!!!!!

(Did I mention the girl's a genius?)  :-)

When Life Gives You Snow...

GO SLEDDING!!!

p.s.  Life gave us snow.  Lots and lots of snow. 

Tonight we're off to dinner with some friends, and then the hubbies are going to a basketball game and the girls are going to hang with the kiddos (oh they'll pay...they'll pay dearly).  (wink)

Happy Friday everyone!!!!

This week in our Native American studies, we learned about choosing a "camp name" and the ceremony involved.  We decided to choose a Native American name and hold a ceremony of our own! 

Here's my Ethiopian daughter playing a Ugandan drum in a Native American ceremony in my kitchen (phew...chalk that up to yet another sentence I never imagined myself saying/typing!)

Ni-da-wi (Fairy Girl) taking herself VERY seriously during the ceremony. 

Beautiful Whak-cha (Flower)

When Brenin is fully immersed in what we're learning, it's all over her face. 

What a gift to witness these moments with her!

In case you're wondering, the chief mama's name, Wate-win, means "victory woman," and the chief daddy's name (chosen by the female population) wasn't revealed to him until the very end of the ceremony and means "little turtle."  (hehe...still funny.)

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Today was a bit of a harrowing day.  We took my dad to the hospital for a procedure in a rather unexpected snowstorm, and when we arrived the EMT starting his IV invited the kids to watch.  A moment later, Brenin started to feel sick and thought she might throw up!  The nurses ran for a garbage can, some towels and a cool beverage.  We moved the party (wink) into the bathroom where she proceeded to become limp, PALE white, cold and sweaty!  The girl was about to PASS OUT!!!  In came the nurses (my sister included...thank God she was there to tell me what was going on!) with blankets.  She laid down and elevated her legs and before long was back to herself.  She's never done this before, so it was quite a shock.  It was a little cute though because it's exactly what my dad would do if he closely observed someone getting an IV.  Definitely Grandpa's girl! 

Meanwhile, Luca was in a crisis of her own (yes, at the very same time!).  When she saw the room Dad was waiting to go to surgery in, something in her was triggered and she was overcome by fear.  She stopped dead in her tracks at the door, and when I picked her up, she desperately clung to me to the point I had to loosen her grip around my neck.  She was obviously terrified and looked like she was going to cry the entire time!  I kept asking her why she was scared, and all she would say is, "I don't like it here."  I thought she was afraid SHE might get a shot like Grandpa was and tried to reassure her, but nothing seemed to help.  When we got home hours later, I asked her again why she was so scared at the hospital, and she hugged my neck and looked up at me and said, "I just want to stay with you." 

Wow. 

Something in her set of memories correlated the clinical setting with a goodbye...a very big goodbye.

It was a "smackintheface" moment (am I ever 'gonna see these comin'??)

It's so easy to forget that Luca has lived a lifetime before she joined our family because it really feels like she's been here forever. 

It's simply not natural for me to assume the things she thinks about or goes through emotionally at any given experience because what she's already experienced shouldn't be natural for any child.  I'm working hard to create an open dialogue with Luca so she can feel safe to share these feelings with me so that I can begin to carry some of their weight.  I can't say I'll always (or even often) have that great piece of wisdom she needs to hear at the moment, and I know I won't always remember all the wonderful tools I've spent hours reading about from other mommies and daddies who have traveled this road before me, but I will hold her close each time and remind her of these simple yet life altering truths, that I am hers and she is mine and that will ALWAYS be.  If I deliver this message a million times, I will never tire of it. 

It's the end of the story and also the beginning. 

On a side note, school was called off early due to the snow, and since we were in town already, we offered to pick up my nephew Tucker from school.  After picking him up and heading back to the waiting room, I set up some coloring for the kids to keep them busy. 

A while later I examined the kids' creations and had to smile when I saw Tucker's version of Huckleberry Pie. 

He's brown. 

Not because Tucker's brown and everything

he creates has to look just like him. 

Not because he's learning about diversity

and has to complete a project. 

Not because he's making it for Luca or

other person with brown skin. 

But because it's beauty in his eyes. 

I love that kid. 

New Year's Day

We've been trying to plan a fun activity for each day of Christmas break, and New Year's Day we headed to the roller-skating rink!  We all had a blast (Danny even surprised himself by making it around the loop without clinging to the wall or severely injuring himself!  hehe)  

My sweet girl slowly making her way around the circle

Luca, as usual, was DETERMINED to conquer the task at hand and wouldn't leave the floor for a second the entire time we were there.  She progressed from wall-hugging to a slow crawl on her own!  When this girl sets her mind to something, there's just no stopping that train! 

Pulling out the dimple on me, eh?  Ruthless!

Daddy and Brenin

Lovely Lukes

I'm usually not a big fan of new year's resolutions, but this year I am going to take a stab at it.  With life as busy as it is, I'm constantly making "to-do" lists for myself, and they're filled with items like "clean toy room" and "shampoo carpets."  At the end of the day, the list is filled with productive tasks which have very little to do with me and which take up all my days.  This year my resolution is to regularly add some items to the list which feed my soul (fiddling, scrapbooking, writing), and I can't wait to start checking some of them off!  Looking forward to 2010! 

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve was full of fun!  We took the kids out sledding and even for a spin on the snowmobile before heading out for a nice dinner.  The kids all wanted to dress up for dinner, so that's the reason for the fancy attire.  After dinner, we headed home for a movie, and probably half of us made it through the movie and rang in the new year AWAKE (myself NOT included!)   

How can I stand these children all bundled in their snow gear??? 

Could you not just gobble this girl up????

Brenin & Uncle James

I watched Luca ride off into the woods with her Uncle James, and a little ways down the trail I saw her little pink arms curl up around his arms like this...she returned a while later in the same pose.  :-)

After the outside activities, it was time for some hot cocoa by the fire!  Never tasted / felt so good!

Luca all dressed up for dinner.  I tried something different with her hair too which turned out pretty cute, but the picture doesn't really do it justice). 

Princess Brenin

Happy New Year!

Cool cat...

Garret looking oh so cute in his New Year's hat.

Happy New Year everyone!