For rebecca

When my husband showed me this photo, it made me think of the one of Eli and the helmet. I bet our boys would have a blast together.

Summer Magic: Pinwheels

Our Family

Time for a tie

Friday we celebrated the marriage of my cousin Suzie and her lovely husband Brian. (They had a soft serve ice-cream machine at the reception, how great is that?) We are so happy that they have found each other and are so glad to have Brian in our family.

And Turo got to sport his first tie, so of course I had to document this.

Aren't these guys handsome? I'm one lucky gal!

Summer Fun: Cozy Coupe

2009 2010
2011

Tattoo

Inspired by

"i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)" - e.e. cummings

I now have

("heart" in Amharic)

DI (almost) Y front Yard

Remember my goal to keep my yard all natural? Well, I've pulled a lot of weeds from my grass this summer. A few weeks ago I decided that my lawn needed something to distract the eye from the weeds. So, I bought some scrawny apple trees (inspired by a book my sister sent about turning your yard into garden), bushes and flowers that were on super sale, hired a guy to pull up the sod and then created a little "island" in the middle of the yard.

This spring

Turo "helps"

Apple tree island

(maybe I can bake a pie in 15-20 years)

(the rocks in the border once resided under my yard)

Adoption Talk

A few months after we became a family, I put together a basic photo album of some pictures from Ethiopia and an assortment of photos of friends and family. This album sits in our big basket of books and from time to time Turo pulls it out when we are reading. We talk about the pictures and the people in them. Last night Turo took out a photo of him and A.G., a family member in Ethiopia. The picture was taken at our meeting with A.G. Our conversation went something like this:

Turo: There’s baby Turo, A.G. and mama’s hand. Why is A.G. sad?
Me: Because she was saying good-bye to you.
Turo: Why?
Me: Because you were going to live with Mama and Papi in Michigan.
Turo: Did I go to the gym when I was a baby?
Me: No, you lived with A.G. when you were a baby.
Turo: Was I called Buturo when I was a baby?
Me: Yes, your name has always been Buturo.

Because I am a mother
Because my son was born in Ethiopia
Because I have driven through the African countryside
Because the first photo taken of my son is of him looking skinny and scared
Because his family still lives there
The stories from the Horn of Africa remain
Long after I close my browser or turn off the radio.
I think about drought when watering my grass
I think about hunger when I clean out the refrigerator
I think about inequity when I’m shopping
I think about loss when laughter tumbles from my son.
We’ve given
But it isn’t enough.
I can see my child in these images
And I can’t imagine not being able to feed him
To provide for him
To keep him alive.

************
If you're interested in making a donation, here are some links for you:
Doctors Without Borders fundraiser (spearheaded by fellow adoptive mama)
Oxfam and UNICEF are also raising funds to address the crisis
Or check out this list compiled by Interaction.org for other NGOs working in East Africa

Summer Magic: Mountain hikes with Grandpa