Summer Fun!

I have had a great summer so far.

But for those of you who live near me,

BEWARE.

This is how my face looks right before I spit water on you!!

I love my little swimming pool.....

Last weekend, my friends Liza and Annie Claire got to go to a movie with me (Toy Story 3), have dinner, AND sleep over! How lucky was I?!?!?

At dinner, I was being very silly with Liza!

The next morning, we all snuggled on Mommy's bed and watched BOZ. Once again, I was a silly boy!

When we went downstairs, Liza showed me how the slinky can walk down the stairs. Pretty cool!

Is there anything better than early Saturday mornings with mom, still in our jammies, playing in the pool? You know it's hot when....!

Mom isn't sure what I was after up here, but I was determined!

See how tall I am? Wow!

Happy summer everybody! Off to the Biddles this weekend for some FUN!

Seth

I was inspired reading No Greater Mom's story about their daughter who does not speak. (See her blog on the right margin.) No, Seth was never in an orphanage. No, he was not abused nor hurt in anyway. I was blessed to have him straight from the delivery nurse's arms. But nevertheless, as I've written, he has some little issues.

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I got a note from his Occupational Therapist yesterday that read as follows:

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"Seth used some spontaneous language today. He said, "bye, birdies" and answered the question, "What color is this?" He completed an alphabet puzzle and repeated the names of words beginning with specific letters. He spontaneously named objects on a number puzzle as well (baseballs, tooth brush and stars). Seth also enjoyed coloring and helping Joan erase what had been drawn on the dry-erase board. He identified which face was 'happy and sad.' Hope all is well. Seth is doing SO WELL! :-)" Joan

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I was thrilled to see this note when I got home. And then, No Greater Joy mom reminded me that even the small victories in development are victories nonetheless.

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Seth and I celebrated with ice cream. Ahhhh, summer. I won't tell you where that sherbet scoop was just moments before.... (sigh)

Race in the U.S.

I have had some interesting discussions and thoughts on race in America lately. I thought I would share some of those thoughts, mostly because I'm interested in getting more resources from anyone who might be reading!

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To begin, I receive tons of emails from my adoption attorney here in Chicago, providing articles and book reviews and gatherings of other multi-cultural families. It has allowed me to stay up to date on issues and thoughts (some of which I agree with and others, not so much). A few months ago, I got an article that was discussing the way we talk to non-white children about their future. The author made the point that, when raising little girls, we repeatedly tell them that they "can be anything they want to be" when they grow up. See, we aren't afraid of gender. The boy/girl distinctions are ones that we are comfortable discussing and even confronting.

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But it is different with race. The referenced study showed that parents of non-white children are much less likely to talk with their child about their potential in life (unlike in the gender distinctions). The author made the point that we are afraid (read: terrified) to point out and discuss race. Hmmm. I think she has a point.

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Right after I read that, I started to talk to Seth about his beautiful brown skin and mommy's peach colored skin. He looked me like I was crazy, but I know it's all sinkin' in there somewhere! I want Seth to know that his skin is beautiful and that he can "be" whatever he wants when he grows up!

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Then, I had a great conversation with my friend, Kathy, about race. We discussed how it is a good first step when our kids say, "Mom, the color of their skin doesn't matter," but it's only a first step. See, unfortunately, the color of your skin DOES matter in this country. Still. Even with a black President. It matters. So how do we go the next step with our kids?

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I started reading "I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla -- Raising Healthy Black and Biracial Children in a Race-Conscious World" by Marguerite A. Wright. I'm only 40 pages in (so I can't completely endorse it yet) but there is a quote I want to share:

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"Make no mistake: this book would not be necessary were racism irrelevant. Since racism remains very much a fact of U.S. society, responsible parents and caregivers need to reduce its impact on the development of the children they love and care for. Tragically, when they misjudge children's responses to "racial" issues by relying on their own adult views, they run the risk of magnifying the significance of race problems in their children's lives and of reducing their children's initially high capacity to handle these issues in positive ways as they mature."

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Based on my reading of the first few chapters of this book, she is right! We think when a two year old says he "wants to be white" that we have failed to identify with his race, when in reality the child does not understand race identity and may want to be white because he just spent time with his best friend, wearing a white shirt!

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Lord, help me to teach Seth (and any future kiddos) appropriate beliefs about race and loving people the way Jesus would. Help me to protect him from racists views and to comfort him when he is hurt. Thank you for creating us beautifully in our skin -- no matter what color. Amen.

To GOD be the Glory!!

Today at church, I was talking with Katie and another new friend about health issues that arise and how they may impact our faith. As we shared about the way "sickness" has challenged us in our walks with Christ, Katie mentioned that she thinks of me and how I've handled (or not) health challenges. My mind immediately jumped to Seth and I gave a nice little speech about how his issues showed up slowly and then got scarier and now are on the down swing. Just a quick side note: we learned last week that after his December check up, he will only have to see the eye doc once a year. Yippee!! He only sees the endocrinologist twice a year, doesn't have to see the neurologist any more, and is weaning therapy needs, other than speech. Truly, to God be the glory!

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But the funny thing about Katie's remark to me and my diatribe about Seth's health is that she turned to me when I stopped rambling and said, "I wasn't talking about Seth. I was talking about YOU." Wow. I totally missed that. It was far from my mind, which, after the last 8 months, is pretty hilarious. My health issues are far from my consciousness!! I feel great and healthy. I rarely have bad days anymore. I'm truly blessed to be healed and improving further everyday. Isn't it sooo totally awesome how God healed me?!?!? WuhHOOO!

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I want to always remember that time -- the last eight months -- when I was taken to my knees and forced to rely on God and God alone. I wept and prayed and wrestled. I trusted and questioned and, yes, doubted. But my faith (greater and smaller at various points) remained. I'm grateful to many people for prayers and to my doctors for patience and to my nutritionists for thinking outside the box. But mostly to my Heavenly Father.

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That's why, to GOD be the glory!!! Great things He has done.

HIV and Development

Last night, while I'm typically emailing with Betty's agency at 2 in the morning, I got an email with her measurements, which I had requested. She is 19 months old and just 28 inches tall and 22 pounds. While she is chubby for her very short height, she's a tiny thing! I looked up the growth percentage charts and she is in the 3% range, which I'm guessing is not uncommon for kiddos in an orphanage and certainly not unusual for HIV positive babes. I wonder if there is a different growth chart for Ugandans? (They are shorter on the whole, I noticed....)

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Anyway, I'm reading a new book called "Red Letters -- Living a Faith That Bleeds." Tom Davis wrote it. There was an interesting section on HIV that I read yesterday and thought I would share:

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"The following are blatant lies about HIV: You can contract HIV by sitting on a toilet seat. You can get HIV from a water fountain or from someone else's saliva. (You'd have to drink a five-gallon bucket's worth of spit to stand a chance. Any takers?) Only homosexuals or drug users get AIDS. You can tell by looking at people if they're infected by HIV. Debunking lies is easy. The truth, on the other hand, is not. Yes, the majority of people with HIV got it through sexual contact or because of drug use. But does that make them less worthy of compassion? It seems as if we have taken a hands-off approach to this disease because people classify it, at best, as a dirty disease and, at worst, as a curse from God. But how might Jesus have responded to AIDS?

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Obviously, AIDS is a new disease, not something Jesus would have encountered when He walked this earth. He did, however, encounter leprosy, which was considered a dirty disease at the time. Sure, there are some differences, but let's not get tripped up by that. Take a moment to look at leprosy. It doesn't require a time machine to see what it's like -- leprosy is still with us today . . .

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[When encountering leprosy] Jesus didn't walk on the other side of the road. He didn't scrunch up his face in disgust or withhold his hand. He reached out with love and compassion."

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Aren't we called to do the same?

Betty and the Doctor

Last week, Betty's doctors wrote me somewhat of a nasty email informing me that they would "absolutely not" provide me with her medical records to "decide" whether to adopt her. I can be sensitive and the truth is, it hurt my feelings a bit. But that's okay. I graciously responded that I intended no harm to Betty -- in fact, I care about her quite a lot. My intention in seeing the records was to understand the full scope of her issues. Not to be unfair to her.

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In any event, my Ugandan attorney had suggested from the beginning that I hire a doctor to evaluate Betty, so that's what I did. On Monday, Betty met with "my" pediatrician. The doctor reported that Betty is in good health and is developing normally. Praise God! She has dermatitis (which she had when I was there) and because of this visit, she is getting medicine! Yippee!! She also has an upper respiratory infection, which made me think: hey, that's going around over there too?

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All of that to say, things look good with Betty. Next up, chat with infectious disease doctor and meeting with my sister. :) Almost there! (Decision time, that is....)

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"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

1 Peter 5: 6-7

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Every-Dad!

We went to Uncle Joel's for the day.

Swimming was first on the agenda.

It was slippery in the little pool!

I like to follow Ruben.

Aren't I a good jumper??

Boy was Grandma a good sport!

Peyton even had fun swimming.

Uncle Joel did some grillin'

Check out those ribs!

I tried to talk to Peyton....

She just wanted me to lift her up!

Second day, no nap.

I was near disaster by 4.

Playing with bean-bags

Does anyone know how tired I am???

Ruben was NOT tired.

HAPPY FATHERS' DAY TO THE BEST DADDY FIGURES IN MY LIFE! GOD, PAPA, UNCLE JOEL, UNCLE DAVE, UNCLE TIM AND MORE!!

LOVE YOU!

Prairie Fair

On Saturday, we got to see Grandma Janet. I haven't seen her for a long time! It was great to catch up. Then, I went to Miss Shana's house to play with Bryce and Nathan. And Emma too. :)

We went to the Oswego Fair!

Nathan shared his hat with me.

Hey! Where have I seen that before... Hmmmm.

Nathan and I did some bonding over common interests:

We drove cars together

And I drove a really fast one with Nathan and Bryce together. It would go nice and slow around the circle and then WHIP the turns. I laughed hysterically. (Mommy thought I was delirious from no nap)

Then there was my obsession.

I was exhausted and with my paci, but I still found the energy to take it out and tell mommy "ding, ding, ding" every time I passed by her!

We also saw this really cool BIG truck.

And, partly because it was 100 degrees in the sun, and partly due to my obsession with water, I REALLY wanted this!

Strange, eh?

There were lots of animals there that I hadn't seen before.

This camel licked my fingers!

What in the world is that?!?

Love the zebra....

And the goats are very determined, per usual!

I thought maybe they would like to eat my train.

Or at least say hi to it.

But they were a little much!

Um, dude, your head is stuck.

Emma and Bryce did a great job breaking some wood with only their hands. Nice!

By the end of the day, I was done for sure!

Thanks Peake Family for a great day!