Wednesday

A quick update on the wee one (since that seems to be the question of the week), and then on to more mundane ramblings: 

The wee one is still with us.  The plan, if all goes smoothly (does anything that comes in contact with red tape ever go smoothly?), is for him to unite with his forever family next week Thursday or Friday.

And now the mundane:

During the past few weeks, beginning when the boys were all laying limp and lethargic around the living room due to a stomach bug, Wade read The Princess Bride aloud to all who cared to listen, which was all six of us who were home.  Time being sick never passed so enjoyably or quickly -- the story is a hoot!  Parental note: he did skip over the part about the starlet trying to seduce the author and the story lost nothing.

Now our days are filled with deep-throated calls of "Hello lady," nearly whiny exclamations of "Inconceivable," and musings on the art of sword-making and wielding.

And to top it off, we watched the movie on Sunday night.  And ya know, the movie was fun, but it left out so much (obviously -- Wade read for hours on end and the movie sums up the story in an hour and a half [but thankfully it does leave out the starlet part]), and had we not just read the entire story, I think we wouldn't have caught the significance of half the stuff in the movie.

Conclusion: read the book; watch the movie if you're bored.

A wee little thing continued

The wee little one is still here, and everyone is gaga over him, especially Elijah.  From all four boys come comments like, "Babies are so cute when they hiccup," "Everything he does is cute" and "I wish we could adopt him."  I think they'll have a sad day when he goes home with his adoptive mommy and daddy.

Will I have a sad day?  People keep asking me that: "Will it be hard to let him go?"

I won't miss the night awakenings.  I will miss the snuggles and sweet baby smell.  But what about my heart?  Will it hurt to let him go?

As sweet on him as I am, as utterly smitten, as gaga as the boys are over him, I don't think it will be hard to put him into his mother's arms and let him go.

Somewhere there is a family who has been waiting and hoping and praying for this child.  He is the answer to their prayers.  He will be a gift to them from God.  And to keep that gift for myself, however lovely it sounds, would be to deprive that family of what God intends for them to cherish.

I know families who are waiting and hoping and praying.  And I pray right along with them, "Lord, bring them the child you've chosen for them -- soon, please!"  I don't know whether a social worker or the adoptive parents will come to pick up the wee one from our home, but I hope it's the parents.  To get to be part of that first reunion, to place the wee one in the arms of those who have prayed for him since before he was born, would be to take part in a miracle.  Our parting will be their receiving.  Our goodbyes will be their welcome homes.  Our emptier arms will be their overflowing hearts.

Yes, my heart will miss the wee one, but it will also rejoice, knowing that his going home will be the sweetest answer to so many passionate prayers.

A wee little thing

As of yesterday, we've got a wee one in the house -- five days wee, in fact!  Unfortunately this little peach will only be with us for a week or two while his permanent adoption arrangements are made.

I have a wishful notion that perhaps God is using this little fella to get us ready for one we can keep -- practice at the whole getting up multiple times a night business.  Or, more likely, He's trying to remind me how poorly I handle sleep deprivation and that I should just be thankful all our kiddos are way past the up-at-night-stage and I should stop praying for those days to come back!

Before we picked him up at the hospital, I spelunked through what few baby clothes we still have and packed the smallest in a bag... and then packed the next size up, too, because seriously, babies aren't that small, are they?  Oh yes, they are!  The itty-bitty hat that I thought would never fit him sits all loosey-goosey on his head.  And those size 1 diapers fit him the way teenage boys' jeans fit.

For all his tininess, he's a whole lot of sweet though.  We're only 24 hours in, but thus far he's perfectly content to eat, sleep and poop and do nothing else.

I've got more thoughts on this little one and his future but bedtime and other duties are waiting.  Depending on my sleep levels I may or may not get around to expressing those another time.

An Advertisement

Disclaimer: I am not being paid, rewarded or bribed for making the following statements for the Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op.

Recently I began participating in a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets.  It's an on-line co-op, in which for $15 participants receive a large box full of fresh produce, about half veggies, half fruit.  You never know what will be in the box, but you do know it will be nutritious and a really good bargain for $15!

I calculated out what I thought the grocery store value of my first box would have been and came up with about $40 regular price.  However, I rarely buy produce at regular price, so I figured it again if everything has been on a pretty good sale and came up with $25 -- still a very good deal.

Here are two actual content lists (as best I can remember -- I may be leaving something out!) for two baskets I've received:

Basket #1

two heads of leaf lettuce

five pounds of potatoes

two pounds of carrots

one pint grape tomatoes

one pineapple

five or six apples

five or six pears

two lemons

one bag of grapes

Basket #2

three pounds potatoes

one head leaf lettuce

one eggplant

three avocados

one bunch of cilantro

one pineapple

four Asian pears

five or six oranges

two pomegranates

one large white onion

Besides the basic baskets there are extras available each week -- 20 pounds of oranges for $12, a five-loaf variety pack of breads for $10, a "harvest pack" including pumpkins, corn, gourds, etc, for instance.

The only thing I've discovered that would make these not a good deal is if a lot of the produce goes to waste, either a) because it's too much produce to eat before it goes bad, or b) because you don't like or know what to do with it.

Thanks to being "given" foods we don't often (ever -- eggplant?!?) have on hand, I've discovered that lettuce, cilantro and pomegranate make a fabulous salad, frozen pineapple is delicious in an orange julius, and even Wade doesn't mind a cracker dip made from eggplant.

Orders must be placed during a certain timeframe early in the week (usually Monday and/or Tuesday) and must be picked up at a designated location at a certain time on Saturday.  Some locations have deliveries every week, some have deliveries every other week.

So if you're interested in lots of fresh produce at a great price and aren't afraid to try a new or unusual food now and then, log on to www.bountifulbaskets.org and give them a try!  Happy eating!