Tradition, tradition! Tradition!

I don't know why I'm humming the song from "Fiddler on the Roof", but I'm caught up with those little traditions in my life.

I just got back from a family vacation at Beulah. A Wesleyan church family camp. 10 days of spiritual and physical renewal. A place we have gone every summer as a family. I think since my marriage, I have only missed one family camp and that is the summer we drove out to Regina for Robin's training.

This is a tradition. The kids love it and look forward to seeing all of their friends and acquaintances once more. It has remained a constant in all of our lives no matter where we are currently living. But the crazy reality is constancy along with change. As kids grow up, they no longer come. My own teens were counseling camp and only made it on weekends. We once owned a cottage but now we stay in a tent. No matter how much we want things to stay the same, they change.

Even so, this year was great. Robin and I were innitially reluctant because so much has changed for us and it's hard to convey all that in superficial, "Hey, how's it going?" conversations. But we both needed that spiritual boost, dynamic singing and preaching. I for one, certainly received a boost.

Because we are still waiting for a referral in our adoption and it doesn't look like it will happen soon, I was expecting the Lord to hit me with messages on patience, waiting on Him, and leaning on His strength. They really didn't come. Instead we were encouraged to live out our faith in a bold and secure way. The message I heard loud and clear was to "act" and not "wait". Yes, I am waiting on our adoption, but my life doesn't have to be stagnant. I need to grow and live.

So, I'm going to lead a women's Bible study this fall. I'll probably be able to do another one in the spring but just one at a a time. I'm excited to be leading "Believing God" by Beth Moore. I'm just as excited to be doing it on Tuesday morning. With only Kaylin homeschooling, I think I can swing this.


Robin and I will also be focusing more on local outreach with our puppet group. I came back from Beulah and wanted to plan a trip to Haiti, of course. But after prayer and discussion, we're going to spend this year in our own area. Robin and I have been planning different themes and songs that would translate well to kids not use to a church setting.

Robin's big project will be another post. It's a doozy and it will involve all of us. So exciting to see God's hand leading us.

Love Thursday - yeah... we really do love each other

Joshua and Emily are only 2 years apart. I can remember the moment Joshua came walking down the hospital hallway right after Emily's birth. The big brother. And he certainly seemed like a big brother and not my baby. He was so good to Emily when she came home. He loved playing with her and trying to make her smile.

They haven't always been best friends. There have been frequent spats and squabbles through the years but there have also been times of laughter and play. Next week they will be the only counselors during the wilderness camp. They were both asked and it just warms my heart to know that no matter where life takes them, they will always have each other.

Owning my story

It's pretty obvious that my little girl belongs to me. She may not be the spitting image of me but her looks are close enough that nobody would even question her origin.

With our adoption from Haiti, that is not going to be the case. Everybody will see the biological differences. People will question. They won't always keep those questions to themselves but will voice them, often in rude ways.

I have been reading everything I can about international and transracial adoptions. One thing I have been pondering is the issue of privacy versus openness. With our own kids we will need to be as open as possible. I hope we are able to share information about their birth family. We will need to discuss pain and loss, and also joy and belonging. We will need to discuss racism because we live in the very white Maritimes. We will also need to provide our kids with boundaries.

The first time I heard the concept of "owning their story" was during a radio broadcast by Dr. Dobson. His children are adopted and during a discussion with his son he mentioned that phrase. He never broadcast the details of their adoption because it was their story to share when and if they wanted. It gave them a bit of control in a world where they had no control.

My kids won't have that control. People will know part of their story because of their skin color. But I want to save as much of their story as I can. I want them to "own their story". Because of that, we will not be sharing personal family details with our neighbors and acquaintances , only close family and friends.

I hope we can walk the fine line between clearly conveying our love and pride for our children and protecting their hearts and their stories. I hope that when people intrude on our family we can be gracious and yet aware of putting our children's needs first. I pray that our silence does not portray shame but that our concern shouts out our love. I'm sure this will all be a work in progress, but I hope that my heart and mind stays open to any and all the changing needs of my family.

Canada Day party

On June 20, 1868, a proclamation signed by the Governor General, Lord Monck, called upon all Her Majesty's loving subjects throughout Canada to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1^st.

As an American living in Canada for almost 20 years, I can say without reserve that July 1 doesn't quite have the oomph or emphasis that July 4 does. However, I think Canadians are starting to change a little. Of course, every community is different, but there seems to be more red and white every year. The flags are around and little kids have Canadian flag tattoos all over. Some cars even drive around with flags sticking out the window. There's still a long way to go before the patriotism can rival the good ol' USA. I think my head would turn if I saw a street with even half the homes bearing a real cloth Canadian flag.


So how did our family celebrate the beginnings of British North America in Canada? We went to church and then our puppet show entertained the crowd at our town's Canada Day festivities. It was a nice family friendly afternoon. We had a bbq with friends and then we all went down to see the town fireworks.

So party on Canada. It looks good on you.

Love Thursday - Newlyweds

My 44 year old brother married for the first time last year. He and his bride are in love. It is evident to all who are in their presence. He is a great guy and she is a beautiful sweet lady. Their love bridges an age span and a culture divide. With God uniting them, they seem to have conquered any and all differences. We are so happy for both of them.

Homeschooling an only

So hard to believe that after 10 years of homeschooling, I'll only have one at home this fall. Josh has graduated from our homeschool and is headed to university. Sigh!!! Emily will be in grade 11 at the local public school. Sigh!!! Kaylin and I will be home doing grade 8. Yahoo!!!

I'm looking forward to the time Kaylin and I will have together. I won't have any excuses about not getting subjects done. It will just be the two of us. We should be able to focus on anything we choose. We can be silly or serious, lazy or studious. I'm sure we'll be a bit of all. It really is up to us.

We pretty much know what our year will look like. I just have to decide how to do American History. It shouldn't be difficult for an American to teach her child that, but I've lived in Canada for almost 20 years now and this is the first time a child of mine has requested American History. We won't be able to utilize the library the way I would like, so I'm looking for a decent spine that will keep us on track. Still looking, but I enjoy the process.


But I also enjoy time with Kaylin. Even though we'll miss Josh and be a bit lonely, and the house will be soooo quiet, I know we'll have a good year.

Another adoption milestone

When our dossier was finally authenticated from Foreign Affairs and the Haitian Embassy, we drove the whole dossier up to Halifax and dropped it off with Janet Nearing. Then we waited to hear from our orphanage. Finally, on June 19 we received an email from GLA that our dossier had arrived safe and sound and they were taking it to 1st Legal the next day.

Well, that was exciting, but what did it mean? I had to look at my papers to see and I finally found a chart that explained it in terms that even I understood. 1st Legal just means that the Haitian Embassy signatures on our dossier are checked. That's it. It won't take long but it is a first step.

We now wait for a referral. Originally we had expected this to happen soon after our dossier arrived in Haiti. But for the past several months, there has been a huge delay in the adoption process. Dossiers are not being released from the last step before passports are issued. This means that orphanages are full and new children can not be taken in. So chances are, there are no children available for adoption that will match our family. Again, just a chance for us to rely on God and practice patience.

Love Thursday - sisters

One of the joys of motherhood is watching my kids at play. Yes, even teenagers love to play. We were recently going through our photos and it didn't take long to realize that my girls are posers. They may not sit down together with their dolls or beanie babies anymore, but they love to take a camera and POSE. I love to look at their pictures. I love the sisterly love they share and the fact that they still "play" together.

I am a runner

There. I said it. I am a runner. I am not fast. I don't run long. But I am a runner. An every other day, between 5 and 12 K, don't push myself, for the cardio, only as long as it feels good ... runner.

In 2005 Robin ran in the ING New York City Marathon. He tried to convince me to train with him, but remember my limits of 5 - 12 K. Not quite long enough for a marathon. But I wasn't going to miss the race. Our cheering section rode the subways all over NYC to see the race. It was amazing. Our first stop was 3 miles into the marathon. We got there early enough to see some of the disabled athletes race by. I wish I had taken pictures but at the time I could just stop and stare. They were incredible!


The next group to pass was the elite woman. Again, I was just in awe. Can you tell the difference between my stride and theirs? They are traveling a lot faster than I ever do. They flew by! And it all looked effortless.


Next, the elite men raced past. 3 miles is about 5K. I do that in about 27 minutes. They probably reached us in 15 minutes and they made it look easy. I just enjoyed watching them run. I know this sounds trite, but it really was beautiful.


By the time Robin reached us, the streets were full of runners. He looked so happy to have caught us and we were so proud of him. And isn't is just cool that runners of all shapes and sizes and backgrounds can participate in the same event? They can all call themselves runners. However only a few can truly be called athletes and only a select few can be called elite.

Love Languages

As a mother and wife, I'm always interested in showing my love in tangible ways. I want to express just how much I love my family and I want them to know that, always. Reading Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages helped me understand some of the different ways we all receive and give love. In a nutshell, I need "tangible acts of service". That's why my heart melts when my husband or kids clean up the kitchen without being asked. I hear loud and clear that they love me. Oh joy, oh bliss.

I think we need all 5 expressions of love, however, my kids each have strong preferences for the way they "hear" love. My son graduated from our homeschool high school this year and I was reminded once again of those 5 love languages. Two of my children lean towards "quality time" and the other child enjoys "thoughtful gifts". She's the one who coined the term "open now present". She loves to give and receive presents.

Graduation is obviously a time for presents and family time spent together. Our graduate received his share of awesome presents. My mother remarked on our time of celebration that she was thrilled to see her grandson so obviously enjoying himself. He certainly did light up the room as he was the center of attention. He was feeling the love as it was poured out to him with presents and time spent together.


Our son has already left home for the summer and he'll head directly to university. His time at home has come to an end. My prayer is that the love we have for him, empowers him as he goes through life. I pray that he in turn shares love with others. Not a selfish, what's in it for me, love, but a pure Godly love that looks out for others. Always wondering, what's the best way for me to show my love? I'm sure we'll continue to find ways to show our love. Care packages, money, gifts for no reason, phone calls, e-mails, ..... and on and on.