Welcome home, Sadie!

Well, our brief sojourn back to Christmas was interrupted by the birth of the newest addition to The P-Pod...sweet little Sadie Eloise.

Born on February 21, 2011, at 5:33 PM, Sadie came in at 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 inches long.


Her name is not only pretty (we think), but strong...meaning "warrior princess." (If that doesn't bring up images from Lord of the Rings, I don't know what does.) Her first battle was entering this world; she gave everyone quite a scare during those last six minutes. But we shall tell that tale in another post. For now, she is healthy, warm, safe, and snugly at home.

Christmas Cookies, Part I

Remember how, way back during the holidays, I wrote about practicing Advent this year? One of the elements of making Jesus' birth real is that of giving graciously, abundantly, with abandon...for this is how God has given to us. It is also giving sacrificially, that is, we don't give because we have so much that we wouldn't even notice the loss; no, we give UNTIL we see our lives being lived differently because we have given so much.

I need to practice this as much as my now three-year-old, but in the spirit of teaching said three-year-old in ways that are meaningful to him, we gave generously...sugar cookies. And that tale will be told in full in Part II.

For now let us discuss the making of the cookies. Of course, Benjamin helped to the best of his abilities. Because I got the hare-brained idea of making this a communal event involving other three-year-olds and their siblings, we had to make something like five batches. Of sugar cookies. This takes some time, as you can imagine, time during which the chief stirrer pooped out and needed to be put to bed.

On a bright and lovely Wednesday, we hosted ten or so cookies decorators. A few forgot that the purpose of the exercise was to make things to share with others and ate more than were planned for consumption. (Namely, Benjamin...I kept turning around to find a cookie in his mouth. And he would act all sincere in asking for one - "Are you going to decorate this one?" "Yes, Mama!" Uh-huh.)

This is Eli. He's my cousin's youngest. Every time I see him, I am tempted to snatch him up and hide him in the closet in order to keep him a bit longer. I mean look at him!

This is Max. He's the oldest of the little people and takes great pride in his work. While other munchkins are slathering icing on with wild abandon, Max is deliberately and carefully decorating his cookies. And while the others may have lost interest only three cookies in, Max completed a beautiful selection of confections.

Felicity looks older than the others because she IS much older! She patiently handled the bags and tubes sticky from the little people, and produced some very artistic versions of the cookies. She's Eli's older sister. I would probably have to fight her if I tried to keep him.

As you can see, we had some real chefs in the group. Amare came well prepared for any photo opportunities that would arise.

And, dear me! Matteo is every bit as huggable as Eli! I might have to hide him in the closet next time...

Stay tuned for Part II.

Why independent adoption?

Here's a little blog post from a family we know through our agency. It's so good to see this message spread through others' lives as well.

A rose by any other name...

So we know that names are important. And at the same time they are not really critical. Unless you name your child something obnoxious that gets him teased on the playground.

But even so, names carry meaning. When I lived in Zimbabwe, I loved learning the names of my students for they were often so pragmatic - describing the conditions of the child's birth or the parents' circumstances. Thus we had children named Seven, Enough, Never, Tatende (thank God), Forgive, Chipo (gift), Partly Cloudy, Shame, Last, Jealous, Farai (be happy), Shungu (effort), Kudakwashe (God's will), Netsai (be a bother), Panashe (where the Lord is), Increase, Shamiso (miracle), Tafadzwa (we are pleased), Tarisai (everybody look here!), Inconvenience, Shout.

Some names described the child's personality, or the qualities they wished upon the child:  Talent, Clever, Beauty, Precious, Trymore, Givemore, Lovemore, Hamunyari (you are not quiet/are you not ashamed), Nyasha (mercy), Dadirai (show off), Winner, Governor, Dudzai (tell it like it is), Kudzai (respect), Muchafara (you shall be happy), Congress, Letwin (let win), Tichaona (we shall see...), Tsitsi (grace), Million (his last name was pronounced "make" and in Zim, they always write last names first, thus...Meki, Million), Knowledge, Method, Marvelous, Big Brain (no kidding!), and Bigboi.

And then there were the flat out warnings: Temptation, Chenjerai (be careful), Itai (just do it), Pepukai (be aware), Tambudzai (trouble), Danger.

I'm not sure where Limited, Anyway, Nevermind, or Maybe should fit.  Perhaps the underestimated?

So now we are in the position of naming a soon-to-be-born baby girl. For the most part we are just looking at something we like the sound of and isn't at the top of the charts. As much as I like Madeleine and Sophie, I refuse to give my daughter a name that is assuredly going to land her in the camp of - Maddie N., Maddie S., Maddie C., Maddie G.  When I was growing up - the poor Amys, Heathers, Jennifers, and Lisas were the most popular. Jessica was not overdone until 10 years after I had passed through school. I only knew one Jessica in elementary school and one in high school.

What names are being considered in The P-Pod?  I won't bore you with the list, but let's just say that the name combo currently at the head of the pack is Sadie Mae.  (No promises, though...there are still  other strong frontrunners, and ultimately it depends on what we think when we see her in person).

You can imagine my chagrin when I heard that celebrity Christina Applegate just named her baby Sadie. Darn you, Christina, and your good taste! It's my hope that she is enough of a has-been celeb that all the trend following girls out there will not have her on their radar, and Sadie will not become the "IT" name of 2011. Yeesh.

Language Acquisition 101

Papa: (reflecting on his family)  I don't have a nephew.

Little P:  Why do you want to neff me?

Grandpa Jerry, Peacocks, and Snow Boots

Little P's Great Grandpa Jerry recently gave everyone a scare. Over the past month he found himself in hospice care and it appeared he was living his last days.  But he bounced back. Now he lives in a beautiful care facility on the edge of town, and today we went to visit him.

We started our adventure by donning snow boots.  Nevermind that the weather was a sunny 65 degrees. Little P spotted his boots in the closet, and he wanted to wear them.

We then picked up GG - Great Grandma Norma - and headed out into what feels like the country. This lovely estate is on 19 acres, surrounded by rolling hills and big sky. Grandpa Jerry did not rouse while we were there, but that was OK with Little P because on the property there were...peacocks. Fascinating peacocks. Two, in a very large cage at the entrance. A male and a female.

And there were also...chickens.  And visitors get to take a scoop of feed and scatter it for them. Little P giggled as he threw it into the pen. Several of the chickens were truly free range, wandering the property beyond the wire enclosure. The rooster performed for us as well, standing on the wood fence and letting flow a wild roo-a-roo-a-roooooo.

And there were also...goats!   One big daddy goat with a gray coat and long horns, several white female goats, sweet and gentle, and half a dozen little kids. Joseph, one of the main caretakers for the residents, brought out a bucket of scraps, took Little P's hand, and showed him how to feed the goats.

We sat in the garden with GG and experimented with the huge, handmade wind chime hanging from the gazebo. Little P wandered the property as we talked. And although Grandpa Jerry may not know when we visit, we will surely go back often.  Possibly wearing snow boots.