amen

i've followed the Ivey family's journey for some time.  their story summed up in a five minute documentary is so beautiful.  an amazing example of faith lived out.  just makes me want to say "amen".  now, where are the Kleenex?

the first helmet

when AJ arrived home, two of my aunts blessed us with a gift card from Toys R Us.  i waited for awhile to see just what AJ needed and would enjoy as well.  so, a few weeks ago i went out to locate the perfect bike helmet for our little man.  not that he's ever done one full rotation of the pedals on a bike, but whatever...he'd rather shuffle along with his feet on the ground.  i know these days are short lived, and soon i'll be watching with nervous fear as he performs daring stunts, as learned from his older cousins (not mentioning L and D!!) and brothers.

yep...my aunts should be pleased to know the helmet is a hit.  a huge hit.  for the first week, he ate with it on....

he played with it on....

he slept with it on.......

actually, he didn't.  this is just a prank we're playing on you blog readers.  as you can see by the smile "AJ~ joking".  he probably would have tried to sleep with it on, if i thought it was wise and allowed him.  i decided against it, considering the potential need for physiotherapy after a full night with a helmet on.  even though i do know a super talented physio, who is also kind of cute.... :)  now that he has a "McQueen" helmet of his very own, he no longer needs to walk around wearing Joelle or Adam's helmet.  they are pleased about that. 

AJ's Easter dinner prayer

AJ asked to close in prayer after our family read the Easter story this evening.  we let him... 
now here's a kid who catches on fast. either his priorities are in perfect order (debatable) or he's been brainwashed by his daddy (likely)....you decide....
it went exactly like this:

"Jesus.........love you..........food...........wrestling................Amen"

oh boy....

happy Easter!

now what??

"Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand" Isaiah 14:24

Several months ago, shortly after AJ came home, our pastor (our family loves him and could go on and on, but i won't, cuz he's pretty humble and should stay so) spoke one Sunday on this very title, "now what?"... honestly, i don't remember many details, (more a symptom of my pathetic memory than his preaching skills, really) other than the fact that it was one of those Sundays when it felt as though he was preaching directly to me.  like God was trying to get my attention, and the message was meant JUST. FOR. ME.  well, i was listening, and i remember thinking that the message soooo confirmed what i'd already been stewing about since our return from Africa.  in a nutshell, i guess i'd realized that over the course of the past 37 years (ouch) i'd gotten really good at trying to orchestrate my life.  my type A personality (yes, i really am type A~ for all those reading that are completely taken back by that revelation! big news!) had the one year, five year and ten year plan all roughed in and things were generally going as planned.  it went something like this....grow up, stay focused in school and get good grades, (i'll leave out the four years where i tried to tame my curly hair by blow drying it "straight" without any hair products....not so straight....ahem.....) obey my parents, meet my dream guy, pray desperately long for him to notice me, wait for him to propose, accept proposal from my best friend and plan the fairy tale wedding with help from my dear mom, work for a time to help my dear husband finish school, have a family~ with the early number agreed on~ four kids (if we were so blessed).  so blessed we were, but not without the heartache of two miscarriages in between healthy pregnancies and babies.  those events certainly rocked the perfect scene i'd created in my mind, but God saw fit to give us the miracle of more beautiful deliveries that helped to mend some of the feelings of loss from the babes i never knew.  after the birth of Layla, we started down the adoption journey to Hudson, thinking fairly certainly that five was the final tally, the perfect number for our family.  all things considered~ the vehicle, the bedrooms, the bathrooms (or lack of, at the time), the mouths to feed, the post-secondary educations, etc....well~ it was easy to see that perhaps we were already biting off more than we could chew.  we felt led, however, that this was most definitely God's will.  we were excited and eager to walk this road.  well, then came AJ, and you all know the story of how he came to be ours as explained here over two days ....
so, by now you're wondering how i'll ever tie in the title of this post...I guess what i'm getting at, and learning through all of this craziness is that i'm absolutely certain that my life is not about me.  don't get me wrong~ there are many days when i forget this little nugget of truth and become selfish and absorbed in my own wants and needs.  however, the really super cool part of this journey is the realization i've had, over and over again, that my life is so much more purposeful and rewarding when i choose to hand over the control and let God's plans unfold.  without my meddling ways and perfectly carved out schemes.  because (and yes, i can start the sentence with "because", since it's my blog...) really, many people if truly honest would find this whole thing pretty "off the wall" and unconventional.  we couldn't agree more.  yet, if this is how my Creator, who knows me (us) best, has purposed to use me (us) in this world and for this season, then where else would i (we) rather be???  it has been most freeing for me, even in all of the chaos, to remind myself that we're here by divine design.  that is an amazing thing.
these days~ i guess i'm trying to position my heart and mind in the place where i'm regularly asking this question "now what?" and saying less of "next we'll do...." or "by the way, here's the plan God...." or "heads up, this is the long range goal...hope you're on board with that Lord".  not easy to keep myself in that place, but so freeing when i do...

weekend fun~ including the possibly annual "VS polar dip"

what a great day Sunday was...spring was alive and well here that day and there was a collective sigh of relief that we were actually enjoying the long-awaited warmer temperatures.  so beautiful and sunny and breezy and warm.  we went to church and then skipped over to the park and beach for some outdoor fun. 

bikes were soon on~ yes on, the play equipment as daddy had another one of his insane creative ideas~ this time riding down the slides by bicycle. uh-huh... it wasn't too busy at the park so Hudson and Adam were at liberty to explore and jump and be daring examples to their much younger brother.  AJ was all eyes, fully aware of what was taking place.  soon, he was saying "AJ's turn" so Jeff took his "bike" (not exactly, but currently his favourite vehicle) and let him ride down the sloped path of the play structure as well. 

so cute to watch.  so much excitement.  then we went down to check out the beach.  the sun was warm and feet were cold from dipping in the icy water.  below is AJ and grandpa Joe...or grandma Joe as AJ often calls him.  both sets of grandparents are all either "grandma" one day or all "grandpa" another day.  pretty confusing when you're three...

once home, Jeff pulled back the safety cover on the pool and threw out the option of swimming to any kids that were interested.  the pool is technically open, but we're obviously not removing the cover altogether, just yet.  the water is mostly clear and looked pretty inviting (if you're under 14, that is...).  well, that and the offer of loonies and toonies, depending on the feats performed in the pool was a pretty tempting proposition for some of our crew.  I don't know why i was surprised, but Hudson disappeared into the house and emerged a few minutes later in his bathing suit, wasted no time and quickly jumped in the pool.  then Joelle followed, then Adam, then our neighbour Nick and finally Layla.  for another dollar Hudson even swam a full length in the 43 degree water.  although, knowing Hudson it wasn't the money that motivated him.  he's all about the show.  and what a show it was!!! :) Hannah was smart and decided to watch from the sidelines, and AJ was happy to just cruise around in his briefs~ again, taking it all in.  speaking of taking it all in,  my family and I commented on how nice it will be to stare at the cuteness of his little brown self all summer long.  to see his bare feet and tummy and little arms and legs busily exploring in the warmth of the season.  bliss....

below~ AJ flexing, in case it isn't obvious... :)

the grand finale to the day was an ATV ride by Uncle Joe and then a few tears as i pried him away to tuck into bed.  i'm sure the dreams were vivid that night...

yonas update

no that isn't a typo...i think i may have been spelling his name with a "j" when it is actually a "y".  when i looked at the letter yonas wrote to our girls back in December, it really could have been either, but in correspondence with Ethiopia they seem to be using a "y", so there it is...
anyway, i spoke with Eyob again yesterday.  there is more to that story, however.  it's what happened before i actually reached Eyob.  kind of humourous....the long distance number i dial to reach Eyob actually has "911" smack-dab in the middle of the long sequence of numbers.  well, reaching someone in Ethiopia is always a challenge for me it seems, but yesterday even more so.  after attempting the number twice, i successfully managed to hear a real live voice at the other end.  only, this voice was saying "police, fire, ambulance?"..........and yes, "i know it is your policy to send an officer by to be sure that all is well in my home and that we aren't covering up a crime, etc...we'll be waiting"  i love providing entertainment for the Telfer Rd. neighbourhood...sigh.... a few minutes later a kind officer was at my door. he was high-fiving my boys and overall seemed really non-irritated, which helped me feel a smidge better.  then, his back-up officer decided to show up as well, so there was no longer just one cruiser in my driveway~ now there were two! :)  my sweet mom happened to see this as she passed by her window, and started to wonder if i'd been visited to receive bad news, so she popped over to be sure we were okay.  sorry for causing the elevation in blood pressure, mom!    after admiring our rink boards and size (he'll be making his ice rink at least a foot bigger next year! guarantee it:)) and chatting with Hudson about skating, they were off to fight crime somewhere else.  not without giving the boys a short test of the siren and lights.  all this because i just wanted to reach Africa.  good times...
once i sorted out the number issues i was having, i managed to reach Eyob.  he was clearly talking while driving in Addis, and the sounds of the streets made it so difficult to hear him.  we spoke briefly, and then again later in the afternoon.  here is the gist of what was discussed...
apparently Eyob met with Yonas’ guardians yesterday.   the short summary is that Eyob has given us permission to sponsor him!  he wishes to meet with Yonas once more and promises to be in touch within the month.  if I don’t hear back in that time, he knows I’ll be contacting him.  i thanked him for his efforts, and he said “this is what i do.  this is why I exist”….wow…i'm excited that Yonas has not been forgotten, and that soon he will have his basic daily needs met on a consistent basis.  i pray his heart will be lighter just knowing he will not be alone in the day-to-day task of survival.  that he is being loved and prayed for all the way from Canada.  i'll keep you posted when i hear more...

another first

such a fun weekend...still find myself thinking lots about our time in Ajax.  seriously, it is not lost on me that we are finally together and beyond the journey to AJ.  so many times in my week, whether i'm wiping his little brown bottom or listening to his feet toddle through the house, or looking out the window to the kids leading him around outside~ it hits me that he's here.  all over again! 
back to the weekend.  we had a mini break from the usual routine and spent the night in the Toronto area for a wrestling tournament (who knew i'd love this sport as much as i do??  seriously, four of the kids wrestled, and did so with such grit and improvement that it was hard not to enjoy watching the day unfold). 
back to the hotel...what's not to love about a hotel with a pool?!  the whole experience is still super exciting for our crew, likely because it doesn't happen all that often.  :)  for obvious reasons.....we managed to find a suite that mostly accommodated us, with only two sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor.  thankfully, we had willing volunteers.  layla slept in a double bed with AJ and had me smiling at bedtime with her usual gushiness.  she was settling in, AJ close beside her, and she was gently rubbing his back.  she said "mom, this is what i've allllwwwways planned, to get to sleep beside AJ"...so glad we could make your dream come true Lay, and all for just over a hundred bucks!!!!  it was almost believable and so sweet.  before bedtime we went down to enjoy the pool and hot tub.  funny, funny, funny....AJ could not wrap his head around the idea of getting wet WITH clothes on.  to him it must have looked like a giant bathtub!!  he watched us get in the water, and very quickly decided to go with Joelle into the pool.  he stepped out with his bathing suit dripping wet and kept saying "nooooo....AJ....pants.....wet" and shaking his head like this was pure silliness to him.  then he was back in the water, seemingly fearless (yikes!  backyard pool!) and just kind of flailing his arms and legs all over the place.  he didn't care if his face was wet.  at one point i told him he didn't have to go right to attempting the butterfly stroke on his first swimming experience.  the arms were halfway there, let me tell you...he loved jumping in off the side.  "one, two, three, go....."  splashhhh......"again!", and so the cycle went....then it was back to the room for an indulgent snack of some chips and chocolate (didn't think it was the right time to pull out the carrot sticks). 
it was pure, simple togetherness that was hard to beat.  as we drove home after the tournament, with most little people sound asleep, i looked in my rearview mirror, took stock and counted my blessings.