Saturday, November 28, 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! So much to be thankful for, and a great time was had with the family. Here's some shots from the big day:

Ready to go to Grammy and Papa's



Grammy and Andrew


All the grandkids had their turn on Papa's tire swing




Grammy had all the grandkids make Christmas ornaments.




The cousins had their Christmas gift exchange (we won't all be together at Christmas).



Andrew decided Papa's belly made a great pillow!


When Andrew woke up he was jammin' with the headphones.


Luke, wore out from all the excitement, decided to take a nap.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

How to parent a child of another race

I have heard lots of theories and ideas about how to effectively parent an adopted child of another race, and think some of them are very wise. However, what really stirs my heart is to hear from an adopted child whose parents are of a different race. I want to know what these kids think, feel, and say. I want to hear from them what it was like to be black and raised by white parents. We want to do everything we can possibly do to make Andrew rejoice in the fact that we adopted him, and I feel it is very beneficial for us to listen to older adopted kids in order to know how to do that.

We don't know any families that have adopted transracially and have older children, so I haven't had any older kids to talk to about this. That's why I was super excited to see the following two posts on the ABBA Fund and Together for Adoption blogs. Both posts had interviews with older kids that were adopted transracially. These kids both seem so mature and have great relationships with their parents, and their comments gave me a lot of really good insight into how we can raise Andrew. If you have adopted, or are considering adopting, I highly recommend watching/reading them.

The first one is a video that was posted on the ABBA Fund blog. It is an interview with a bi-racial young man and his white adoptive mother. I hope someday that Andrew and I can have the same relationship that this mother and her son have!

I loved what she said about not realizing how "white" her world was until she adopted bi-racial children. I have noticed the same thing, and it was nice to hear her wisdom on how to handle that.

The second post I found is an interview with Talitha Piper. (Talitha Piper is the daughter of John Piper.) You can see a picture of Talitha with her parents here. You can read her interview here. Her words are so wise for a fourteen-year old!

These two young people gave us many good things to think about and meditate on as we seek to raise our precious little guy. Adopting transracially has some added challenges, but after 11 months of having Andrew we can attest that is soooo worth it!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

My co-op class

This past semester with our co-op I have had the privilege of teaching the younger boy's U.S. Geography class. It's been lots of fun. Here's a group picture I took today:

Saturday, November 7, 2009

What month is it again?

We have been blessed with amazing autumn weather (the boys are wearing shorts today...on November 7th!!!)and we have been enjoyed lots of outside play time as a result. For a mom taking a photography class, this means lots of opportunities practicing with my camera! Here are some fun shots I took of the boys outside earlier this week.




Yesterday we took a field trip to the city zoo. We toured almost the entire zoo, which took us over five hours. It was such a beautiful day, and we really enjoyed the outside time with all our friends.



Andrew was quite a trooper for the long day, but eventually he gave in and took a nice long nap in the stroller.



We're trying to enjoy this awesome weather as much as we can, because we know that it won't last forever!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Why I Abominate the Prosperity Gospel - John Piper

I was flipping through the channels tonight and was saddened to see the false teachers like Benny Hinn on TBN asking for more money. John Piper explains why he is sickened by their false teaching as well.


Jude on false teachers

Jude 1:12-13 These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

Monday, November 2, 2009