Raisins and Kleenex

In the last five minutes I have explained to Sidney why we don’t throw raisins on the floor like dog food and later, that Kleenex is needed to hand Mom things out of her nose. Such is the life of a stay-at-home mom. Someday, when I am using my MBA, I wonder if I will have a hard time imagining all of this. 

I have tried posting photos and blogging this week, but I was having issues, so here goes…..

Like so many other adoptive parents, I am part of a yahoo group made of parents of children from Sidney’s orphanage. From time to time, we hear of groups going on mission trips to CCWI (Chenzhou Children’s Welfare Institute) in Chenzhou, Hunan. This was Sidney’s orphanage. Typically, it is a church or Christian based group. Babies are rocked, older kids do crafts and generally receive extra attention. Projects on the grounds are also completed. Another group is headed over in a couple of weeks. If you think of this group, include them in your prayers. This is an emotional experience but one which touches children who might otherwise be forgotten by the world.

I plan on going on one of the trips when the kids are older. I don’t say “if” I go on a mission to her orphanage, I say “when.” Tom isn’t convinced he could ever go. Only because he wouldn’t be allowed to pack the kids into his suitcase, throw an addition on the house, and smuggle his mother’s 13 leaf table into our kitchen. 

Someone is keeping a blog. I am drawn to it for obvious reasons. It is my job to understand as much as possible. Thinking about her environment and seeing are two different things. This isn’t easy stuff. A few months back, I talked about a professional photographer that went inside Sidney’s orphanage. It always takes me a couple of days afterward to snap out of seeing the photos.  I feel haunted by the images of the children left behind. I guess that is why I keep up the blog almost 2 years after our return. I don’t want to develop a complacent attitude.  

On a less serious, potty training is going very well! Sidney has given up some of the behavior in which she adamantly refused. 

OK, off to repot Eli’s proliferous tomato plants.