Vacuuming

I was sitting at the dining room table filling in today's schooling for Micah and Amelia, meager amount that it was, and Amelia walked by pushing the vacuum cleaner. Now, I know that life would be much less stressful if I just gave in and admitted that she is clearly the one running this household. So I decided to wait and watch.

Interestingly, though I was in the room, one of the teens sprang into action and let her know that she is NOT in need of the vacuum and tried to wrestle it from her. My hero. I pointed out that I was right there and asked said teen to let her be. "But she has the vacuum!" To which I replied, "I know, if only all of my children would see a mess that needs cleaning and actually do it!"

Now, I don't encourage Amelia to go near electrical outlets but she beat me to it and fired up the vacuum. Apparently she only needed the hose to clean some crumbs on the couch. Unfortunately she rested the vacuum on some socks, they got partially sucked in and the resulting smell of the overheating vacuum was not pleasant. Now I remember why I don't give in and let her run the household.

It is fascinating that my seven year old who has Down Syndrome can see a chore or task being done once and immediately knows exactly how to do it and how often it needs getting done. (Whether that is true or not.) Yet my teens who have been seeing these same chores and tasks for years still don't seem to understand how it's done.

Some days though, I wish she were more like them. So does Dante, when she decides he is done sleeping and strips him in bed to change his diaper. Her heart is right, the follow through needs some work! I guess we are all a work in progress.

Show Hope

Last night I went to the Michael W. Smith/Steven Curtis Chapman concert in Lowell. It is more accurate to say I was "at" the concert, rather than that I went "to" the concert. I did not have a ticket, but they let me in anyhow! I had the honor of volunteering at the Shaohannah's Hope adoption information table. I spent most of the evening handing out information and talking to ladies/couples/families considering adoption. I was able to stand in the back for one or two songs, which was neat. It was a sold out concert!

There were two other families volunteering also...one couple with their toddler son whom they adopted from Ethiopia, and another family with their teenage daughters; they are in the process of adopting a boy from Haiti. All of us have been blessed with a grant from Shaohannah's Hope, and that is how we came to be volunteering at the concert. It was a treat to share our stories with each other, and to be able to encourage others to consider adoption.

I pray that many families will consider adoption, and read the information we handed out directing them to the websites. They help know how to make it work; finances are what hold most people back. It is sad how many people say "We'd love to adopt but...." One woman told us she has been working on her husband for five years to consider adoption. I suggested perhaps she should ask the Father to work on her husband to change his heart.

A great website to check out: http://www.howtoadopt.org/ . Also www.shaohannahshope.org

Here is a picture from last night:

A Boy and his Dad

A Dad and his boy can be symbolized in so many ways, however I like this view. Here we have a Dad and his son: there is no indication of height, looks, or ethnicity. Both of these guys could be Cary Grant look alikes and live in a $500,000 house or two guys living in an apartment on $30,000 a year. We cannot tell if anyone has Down Syndrome, all we see is a boy trying to be like his Dad. Is this not the way we should look at these two? Both individuals are made in God's image, as the Scriptures say, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female he created them" (Genesis1:27) Thus both individuals are similarly priceless in the eyes of God and thus should be priceless in our eyes as well. We spend too much time judging people by how they look, what they can do for us, whether or not they are "useful" to society. This criteria is twisted and warped. We need to see all human beings as God's special creation with a destiny known only to God and not to man. We must respect the deep responsibilty that a Dad has to train his child in the way he will go. In our own lives, let us all walk with our children and show them the way. And let's not get in the way of others who want to do the same.

Trains!

When my teens were pre-schoolers, I had the privilege of working part-time at a small independent teacher supply store which also sold toys. Zach was a Thomas the Tank Engine fanatic, and we accrued quite a lot of the wooden sets. My dad even made a table for it all.

Last week Zach and Xander pulled the table out of the basement and we introduced Dante to the trains! They have been out in a bucket, but somehow having the table made it that much more exciting. Below are some photos.

(I wonder if he realizes I am getting him to stand independently at this table?)

Thank You!

Our Stone Soup sale was a lot of fun, and quite successful. While only 45-50 people came, we had fun together. Everyone was very generous, and many who were unable to attend donated to our adoption the next day in church. Thank you! Over $500 was raised to help us bring Sunny home.

I took my camera, and promptly left it on the counter. So, here are only two pictures:

Amelia is giving some last minute instructions to the girls before we put out the soup.

Everyone relaxing and playing Twister after the event.

I did not get a picture of all nine girls sleeping peacefully because I was out long before them!!

Fundraiser Coming Soon!

In two days we are having the Stone Soup Adoption Fundraiser! Yesterday Meridith, Amelia, and I went shopping for supplies. We will have Chili, Chicken Noodle soup, Broccoli Cheese soup, Potato and Cheese soup, Clam Chowder (New England of course), Vegetable Beef, Tomato and Hamburger soup, and Chicken Tortilla soup. Several friends are making most of the soups, and we are also having breads and desserts made! I am so thankful for the support being shown in this fundraiser.

That is why I am calling it the Stone Soup Adoption Fundraiser--and true to the moral of the story, we are working together to bring Sunny home.

Ticks!

We have been enjoying some beautiful New England weather. Since Jamie was home yesterday, we decided to all go for a nature walk. I wanted to collect some colorful leaves to scatter on the tables at our Stone Soup fundraiser this coming Saturday.

Unfortunately, we also collected some ticks. Alexander, Nikita, Zachary, and Dante each had one, and Pattie the puppy had two! I had Amelia take a shower while Jamie checked over Micah, but they were both tick-free. Thankfully none of the ticks had attached, so there was no trauma- or drama. Dante would not have done well with that.

There is a pond near our house that we walked by. Micah decided there is a whale living in it. I told him that whales are too big for a pond. So instead he told me there are penguins living in the water. Amelia told me he is silly. She signed it as she said it; she loves to call people silly. It was really quite appropriate this time!

They both love using their signs to communicate. Dante is starting to use more signs also. The other day I gave him an M&M and taught him candy, which he was quite motivated to learn quickly. Then yesterday he found a bowl in the living room, showed it to Daddy, and signed "ice cream"! Yeah Dante!! Of course, he was promptly given a scoopful.