Sharing The Dream

Today I woke with just one kiddo in the house, the other 2 were having a sleepover at their grandparents house. I had been thinking about this day all weekend. This MLK Day. It has always been a day of appreciation for us, appreciation for a man who showed us all that if you know it's wrong, if it doesn't sit well with your soul, then share it with any and every one who will listen, without violence, use your God given talents to communicate and do something about it. That takes EXTREME courage, and Dr. King paved the road. So this morning, with my little guy in my lap, we pulled up YouTube and listened to Dr. King's speeches. Ty enjoyed the videos, and at times I believe he either thought that we were Skyp-ing with Dr. King or he was joining in and agreeing with the message, he was anxiously sharing his thoughts with the video. I watched and listened, and today I heard his words with new ears. I will not pretend to know what it is like to suffer, for though I haven't walked without obstacles, my hurt is no comparison to those Dr. King felt led to fight for. In his We Shall Overcome speech he says" The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone." Their Freedom IS Inextricably Bound To Our Freedom...powerful. I couldn't be there then, but I am here now and I know that equality among all of God's Children is still a work in progress, and it is crucial that I continue to recognize it and help to correct it. Nearly one year ago I had the opportunity to meet 10 other families who were led to adopt, all of us from Ethiopia, meeting our sweet black boys and black girls soon to join our families as our sons and daughters. I know that Dr. King, and the others who believed in the message, helped pave our way to them. No doubt about it. I am grateful, beyond words. So here I sat, at 8:30 this morning, with my sweet little boy, his skin darker than mine, approx 230 miles from the location of his assassination, and I am so glad he shared his dream with the world!

"Deep in my heart, I do believe, WE SHALL OVERCOME. And with this faith, we will go out and adjourn the councils of despair, and bring new lite into the dark chambers of pessimism. And we will be able to rise from the fatigue of despair to the bouyancy of hope..and this will be a GREAT America!"


"I have a dream that one day,....little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

Love this poem...

BY E. E. CUMMINGS

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Summer 2011...

Before the year ends...thought I'd squeeze in a sweet little summer clip I recently found. Love my little family! More to come soon..and so glad for that promise!

Opry Fun!

Minute to Win It Christmas!!

We had a few family friends over and led some friendly competition, Minute to Win It style! I had found a great link to someone's blog that had done this same type of party...so since they were sharing... kind of. I have to tell you, it was the MOST fun! Feel free to hijack the idea and spread a little laughter this weekend with your crew!
Minute to Win It Games (for those who don't know..all Minute to Win It Games are to be competed in one minute..thus the name..aha!):
Balancing Act Objective: Partners try to hang as many ornaments as they can from a yard stick that is balancing on an empty paper towel roll.
Hanging Ornaments Objective: Partners attempt to hang ornaments on a suspended string NOT using their hands at all.
Rudolph Nose Objective: One partner applies Vaseline to their nose while the other comes armed with pompoms and a good aim! Separated by 6 feet or so, the goal is to land a nose on your partner and for the nose to stay there for the remainder of your minute. Our winner won by landing the nose in 14 seconds and keeping it on the rest of the time..way to go Suzanne and Grace! (Another way to play..attach a pompom to a string, have the player put the string in their mouth and attempt to flip the string and land the pompom onto their nose)
Snowball Fun Objective: one person per team plays..toss marshmallows through a wreath, into a bucket (or large bowl)on the other side of the wreath from a distance of 4 feet. We propped a wreath against a baking bowl, set it on a chair and had the players sitting on their knees.
Cookie Face Objective: Place a cookie on the forehead, without using your hands (or any aids) inch the cookie down to your mouth and take a bite..Jenn rocked this one!
Christmas Tree Cup Stack Objective: Using 28 Solo-style cups, player uses one hand to stack cups in a pyramid with a seven cup base. Other hand must be kept behind their back.

We also played:
How well do you know Christmas Carols?
The MC calls out a line from a Christmas Carol with a missing word... the kids really liked this too!
Example: Song: Santa Baby Line: Santa honey, I wanna -----, And really that's not a lot. Answer: Yacht

Here's a fun video of some very competitive friends! Too cute!

Holiday Cheer

After MONTHS of using a stand-in computer, I think I may have all of the links to start posting again..yay! So much has been happening at our house, I am going to try to get more pictures up soon. Until then..a little holiday sweetness. This was Ty's first encounter with Santa, and he was not at all scared. Brian shot this clip right after they took pics of the kids on Santa's lap and at this point Santa started asking about their wish list. In the background you'll hear a fan of Ty's, Olivia. I'm sure Ty will get that sippy cup she is so concerned about! It was a great day spent at the Opryland Hotel with our sweet family and friends.

Post Adoption Report #2 is due!

This week we meet with our adoption counselor for our Second Post Adoption Report. These reports are required to be completed every 3 months for the first year, then once a year until he is 18 years old. The report is sent to our placing agency, then forward to the Ethiopian agencies. We understand the importance of the follow ups and are glad to comply. Any chance we can have to brag about our happy little guy!

Here are a few pics we will be sending with our report, just wish I could include the stories that go along with them:

Ty enjoying a little rest on our tour of the Chattanooga Aquarium. Obviously, he never really 'rested'!

Wish I could send a video of him swimming, he loves the water so! I'd also like to send a thank you note to the nannies...their speedy baths didn't include shielding the eyes or carefully pouring water over their heads...and Ty has NO problem with the water on his face or in his eyes. Such a gift...wonder if they know that?

We've moved from cars to trains. He saw this shirt at Target and began crying as we pulled away from it. Between tears and little gasps of "ChooChoo" I was quick to back track and buy that boy his shirt!

Now we have to hide the shirt or he'll wear it every day!

The Roy clan enjoying an afternoon together. When Brian comes home all of the kids faces light up, and Ty now says "Dada or Dad" and runs with open arms to him. I don't know who I'm happier for!

My dad helped me to realize my heart's dreams, my husband is protector of my heart and my son (and daughters) fill my heart daily. He is momma's boy right now, and that's ok with me.

This is his 'no...I didn't just put my truck in your pitcher of water' look. Yes..that is a slight grin...and yes he's about to run!