Enlightened by a care package

This week it was posted on the Acres of Hope discussion board that the orphanage was in need of several supplies. Always eager to give to underprivileged children, I quickly made the arrangements to mail a shoebox sized care package to an adoptive family who will be traveling to the orphanage in August. Off to Target I went with my list in hand, cheerful to have the opportunity to give to these needy children.

Somewhere between the summer closeout onesies and the medicine aisle, it hit me. I was filling a care package for my son. My son is the needy, underprivileged child that will benefit from our charity. Of course, we know this, but it resonated on a deeper level. I checked my cart. Suddenly it became very personal. Are these supplies "good enough" for our child? What if our child is teething - will the orphanage have pain reliever for him? What if he gets a cut - will they have ointment for it? A cough - cough medicine?

Clearly, I could not fit everything my son would need in a shoebox. I would have to rely on the charity of others. So, when I really think about it, our family, separated by an ocean, is both privileged and underprivileged. We are giving to charity and accepting charity at the same time. As a recipient, I have a new gratitude for people who give, and specifically for Acres of Hope, who is faithfully providing love and care for orphans, including our son.


Disclaimer: Brett probably is not at the orphanage yet, but when he gets there, he will probably be there for 6-12 months while his adoption is completed. Note that we cannot send things specifically for Brett, other than a small photo album, as everything is considered community property. We also hope that Brett will not be wearing the pink sandals pictured above!

Finally Finalized!

Our homestudy was finally finalized on Friday! We got it in the mail today, and it has already been sent to USCIS! So, now we are officially waiting for approval of our I600A petition through US immigration! We are praying for a quick approval, but it can take up to 4 months.

Playing "Orphanage"

We had a fun filled family reunion at Lake Okoboji last weekend (22nd annual!) At the reunion, we learned that people actually read our blog! And my cousin told me I need to update it more often.

So, this post is dedicated to Ann, since the adoption is moving very slooooooooooowly right now, and we have nothing to report. (There will definitely be a lot more "nothing to report" posts coming...)


My niece (7) and nephew (4) came to stay with us for a few days after the reunion, and we had a blast! We hit the playground, the library, the pet store, the pool, the zoo, and the history center all in 2 days!

During the times when the kids weren't completely overstimulated, I would catch them playing "orphanage" which was absolutely adorable! One time, they even invited me in the fun to "play the mom", who was coming to "dopt" them. In my counselor way, I must confess, I did attempt to change some of their language..."How much does this one cost?" and "I'd like to buy this one", I molded to "How much does the paperwork cost?" and "I'd like to adopt a baby who needs parents".

After reading "I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla", a book about the developmental stages of race awareness, it was also interesting to see how the kids responded to our diverse city. They live in a small predominately white community. When we were at the pool, there were many different races represented. I told the kids, "Let's go over and play by the basketball hoop" and my niece commented, "All the kids over there are brown." Not in a judgemental way...she was just stating the facts!

Later, I asked her if she knew the baby we were adopting was going to be "brown".

"Yes," she said, "but why don't you adopt a white baby?"

I love how kids are so honest! I'm sure there are a few adults in our "circle" who are thinking the same thing!

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

...then what do these say?

responsible parent?

trust me with your child?

law abiding citizens?

Not bad...if we weren't in a restaurant bar...

Does Bryan ever NOT wear a cap?

So, we needed a family picture for our dossier that would communicate to the Liberian government that they should allow us to adopt a child. Considering our options, we ended up taking our camera to church and having a friend snap this shot...

We even match, as if that is important!