Meet Desi Low!!!!!

Jeremiah Desalegne Low

This little guy STOLE our hearts while we were in Ethiopia. After a long wait, four failed court attempts, and lots of tears and prayers, this DELICIOUS sweety is finally coming home to his family. We couldn't be happier for the Lows!

Family, Finally

I know what you're thinking. "You've been a family since you got home!" Well, yes and no. We were a family outwardly because we had all the ingredients. We lived in the same home, we ate together, worshiped together, belonged to each other. But there was an alien in our house, a really cute, loved, amazing alien, but an alien non the less.

We knew he was ours but it took time to sink in, to feel whole, to feel natural. For Chad and I, the love was instant. We have adored Micah from day 1. For Devon, Micah was the competition who swooped in took all the attention and turned his world upside down. It's hard to be a family when one child does not love the other.

It was rough. We didn't FEEL like a family. The adoption roller coaster didn't stop when we got home. We got off the "waiting, traveling" coaster and on to the "waiting to be "normal" coaster. This was unexpected and hard to take.



But days went by and slowly but surely Devon began to love Micah, Micah began to attach to us, we began to feel a deep attachment for him, and the family began to emerge.



But it's a different family.



It doesn't look like it used to. I am not the Mom I was. There are fewer cookies, missed appointments, late payments, piles of dirty laundry that were not there before Micah. There are less play-dates, even less dinners out, and virtually NO date nights.


But this family has MORE. More love, more laughter, more joy, more fun. Two times the dirty faces, two times the smiles. Two times the screams, two times the laughter. Two times the laundry, two times the mud pies.

MORE JOY, MORE LOVE, MORE FAMILY. FINALLY.

Baby Tossing (and other various videos from July)

The Books I'm Reading (says MUCH about our life!!!)

I don't have time to tell you all that's going on in our life, so I thought I would give you a list of what I am reading. This will tell you much more than I have energy to tell you!

• The Psalms- This book has meant so much to me this year. I can't get enough of our Father's amazing poetry, so full of love, heartache, pain, hope, relief, comfort, and praise!

• "Why ADHD Doesn't Mean Disaster"- SUCH A GREAT BOOK! This is requiring a paradigm shift in my thinking in such a great way. ADHD does not have to be a disability, but rather a DIVIDEND. We are all made in God's image for His purposes. This book is going to help us figure out how to maximize the potential of our dashing, dreaming D.

• "Parenting the Spirited Child"- Yeah, that should be self explanatory. ;0)

• "Toddler Adoption"- We thought we were bringing home an infant. God had other plans. I obviously have catching up to do.

• "Good Night, Sleep Tight"- No, he's not sleeping through the night yet. ;-) A "how to get your kid to sleep without killing yourself" manual. So far it's working pretty well.

• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"- because I re-read The Half-Blood Prince and couldn't get enough, again.

• "A Wife After God's Own Heart"- This one I have read before. I needed a refresher. Somewhere between poopy diapers, Popsicle kisses, and sleepless nights I forgot about my #1 man. What can I say, I'm working on it, hence the book.

Holidays, Haircuts, and Happenings

Happy Birthday Mommy, spent at the lake and beach with two water babies, a hero hubby, and great MIL.

Two of my favorite pictures of Micah and Mommy

Gorgeous Night Sitting Along The Dam




Silly Family, Fun Days

The Unimaginable...Please Pray

Erica Reed is kind, sweet, encouraging, and has walked a difficult journey. Today, the worst news was given to her family. Their beautiful angel, Julianna, has gone to heaven. They were to travel in 2 weeks, they were to hold her in 2 weeks, they waited 2 years.

The unimaginable.

Please pray for the Reed family. They are strong and faithful but they are hurting. They need our prayers, our arms to hold them up as they release their sweet daughter to her home.

Please pray.

http://reedadoption.blogspot.com/2009/07/julianna-is-in-heaven.html

Racism and Reactions

Today is a really sad day in our house. Micah and I (Devon was thankfully at camp) were verbally assaulted at a grocery store by an evil, angry man who took offense when I placed Micah on the belt to change carts. I don't want to go into details of what he said but I have to say I have never been called such awful, mean, evil things.

Then he called Micah, my sweet baby, the "N" word.

Nothing prepares you for this moment, the moment when you realize that someone hates your loving, kind, sweet child because of His beautiful GOD DESIGNED skin tone. I don't understand it; I never will.

My heart is broken because I know this is not the last time THAT WORD will ring in his ears. What a sad, sad day for us.

I reacted well, I think. I asked him to stop, told him I was sorry, told him I didn't believe I deserved his reaction, told him I would pray for him, then threatened to call the police. At that, he left us alone.

Why? Why is my son's skin so offensive? What do you say to a man filled with hatred at a 14 month old baby?

I don't know what to say but I know this makes me long for heaven, for a day when we will all see God's creation as it is-- beautiful yet fallen.