mymeanderings's Xanga

Meko

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:46:48 GMT

Do you remember him from this post? Tsega finally met Mekonnen for the first time!

I also got to meet Rachael's daughter Evie and regret not getting her picture.

Mekonnen is a dear boy, my boys whispered to me after he left, "Mom he is very polite, he said "Please" more than any other kid we ever met!"

I know this is so over used but it really did feel surreal to have Rachael and I sitting together watching all of our children play together.

This is her "I am very bashful" look.

And now this is her "You are going to do what?!" look.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:13:18 GMT

It already looks like it is not going to happen, I knew it would be such a long shot. It was nice to see all of our hearts were/are open to it. I am glad that I found out early that it is not going to happen because I was already daydreaming about Seg having a "twin" sister (they are only a few months apart).

She loves her apples.

She also loves to do whatever I am doing. I pull her right up to the sink and she does the dishes with me. She insisted on wearing this coat and still had her head wrap on from her nap. I love how serious she takes her dish washing task!

I made this years ago for the kids and was beginning to wonder if the kids were even getting anything from it, and then out of the blue they wanted to play "Who can find all the words first". " True, honorable, right, pure, lovely, good repute, excellence, worthy of praise, dwell on these things" from Philippians 4:8 We had so much fun and even if that is the only time we play it, the memory makes it worth it!

Trying to teach them about the battlefield of the mind.

She is getting so old.

Seven years old with eight right around the corner.

I have been trying to remember how old I was when I stopped playing with dolls and how much longer I have to make things for her and catch her in the middle of tea parties with friends (both real and crocheted).

That thought has sent me into a flurry of sewing things for her. I have two vintage dress patterns from 1960 that will not fit her next year so I have been busy with that.

I have this happy reminder on my desk:

"Don't cry because it is over

Smile because it happened" Dr. Seuss

It is not over, I think Jeff is at the very best age, I love him at 12, and Éti is a trip at 9, Coco is wonderful at 7 so full of imagination, and Seg is still a baby..these are all the best ages I think and I wish I could just freeze them!!

Mother's Day

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:52:30 GMT

This was one of the best Mother's day in my memory.

The kids made me breakfast in bed, sloshing coffee all the way up the stairs and big proud smiles handing me the plate.

What I loved this year was how much work they put into what they gave to me.

Chloe made me a pop up card with a handwritten song she wrote for me.

Forever hungry Étienne, made me a Lego flower and a card (using quite a bit of puffy paint on the cover) I knew it was his even when there was no signature because after the cover which said "Happy Mother's day I love you Mom", I turned the page and read... well I will let you read it for yourself.

Jeff wrote a 20 page comic that ended in the Mom adopting a sad fish who had no parents. He spent the entire afternoon Saturday working on this comic.

Steve grilled shrimp and plantains and served it with a side of avocados. While we were eating in the backyard Seg wanted to sit in one of our camping chairs and I looked over and saw that she was trying to sit just like Daddy!

Steve called all the kids together in the afternoon and told them that someone asked me, today, Mother's Day, if i would be willing to adopt a little baby girl who needs a family.

When I was asked I said "Yes" knowing Steve would agree and then asked Steve. He said "Yes" without hesitation, and later all the kids said "Yes" before he was even finished giving the details.

It would be beyond a miracle if all the details work out and we really do adopt this little baby, but it was the most wonderful Mother's day gift to hear the kids say "Yes, we want to adopt again".

Even if we never adopt again, knowing that my kids believe in adoption, understand it, and support it is beyond incredible to me. They share our heartbeat.

I looked at the boys, because they are all asking for an older boy, and I said "Really, you mean it?" and Jeff said "Mom, look at her" and he nodded to Seg "Look how happy she is, how could we not give that to a baby who needs it".

blossoms

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:42:51 GMT

Recently we had a different car. A car borrowed from a friend. More importantly, a car with a sunroof.

I drove the car on Monday and knew, right away, what I wanted to do with it.

I thought about it all week.

On Friday I asked Coco, "Do you want to go somewhere with mommy?"

It was a last minute decision to ask her, I had envisioned a quiet drive alone.

It was a long week where I felt selfish and impatient, and as though I spent all my energies correcting and redirecting the kids with no real progress.

She looked up from the Calico Critters she was playing with and said, "Where are you going?"

I stretched out my hand and replied "Do you trust me?"

Off we went in search of high blossoms

I was the driver. She was the scout. Sitting up in the front seat like a big girl, looking down side streets.

"I see one Mom, I think it's a pink one!"

I would park under the tree as close as I could get, and then lean our seats way back. We held hands and commented on how beautiful the view was.

I opened the sun roof and let her reach up and touch the blossoms.

She brought a few home, carrying them in her hand with the greatest care.

"Oh Mommy, wait until you see the view from my side!" she said and reached for my camera.

I watched her trying to steady the heavy camera over her face, squinting into the view finder.

I was wondering if someday we would have this in common...

"Can I have a copy of this for my room?" She asked

I smiled, and she knew that meant, "Yes, baby you can."

I smiled too because having her with me was so much better than being alone.

Today

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:08:37 GMT

Feeling so very important with her pockets.

Sedar

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:15:01 GMT

I did not think I would be able to focus.

There were forty school age kids in the room and Seg was being so loud. I was worried that she was distracting. I was worried about what other people were thinking and if they were judging me for keeping her in the room.

I was worried because Coco was making a dramatic face concerned that she was going to have to eat what was on her plate.

I was worried because another boy said the Charoset looks like vomit and my boys would not stop laughing.

I was hoping they would look at me so that I could give them my best "Take this seriously!" look, like the kind my dad used to give where I could see his jaw clenching.

But then the speaker told us to dip the parsley in the salt water and think of the tears the Israelites shed.

and I forgot all the things I was anxious about.

Ritual

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:44:17 GMT

When I put you to bed at night you hug your crocheted lovey, close your eyes, and whisper so softly I have to lean in and strain to hear:

"Daddy

Mommy

bobee (Jeff)

TT (Eti)

Coco

Gaga (Tsega)."

And then you start all over again:

"Daddy

mommy

Bobee

Coco

Gaga"

This is your little ritual, where you repeat to yourself the members of your tribe, your mother, your father, your brothers, your sister and you.

What gets me is that you are not saying it to anyone but yourself, as if the last thought you want to have before you fall asleep is that you belong.

That you are home now.

When you wake up, you let go of the whispering. You hold onto the side of the crib and jump, jump, jump and yell at the top of your lungs, demanding:

CoCo!!! TT!!!! Mommmeeeeeee!

It is really the greatest sound..hearing you call out your people.

We trip over each other to get to you.

bees

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:21:42 GMT

That moment when you are driving through farm lands and you say "Oh, please pull over I see something!" because you love exploring,

and he does because he loves you...

Sentiment

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:55:34 GMT

Steve and I had been planning a trip to NYC for a while now with his parents. The day before we left Coco hurt her foot by falling off her bike. The pediatrician was sure it was broken and sent us for xrays but it was only badly bruised. I found the perfect stroller on Craigslist for $40 and that saved our trip.

The weather was perfect! Sunny and in the 60's!

In preparation for the trip I read books to the kids about NYC. I especially loved Fireboat . I am convinced that Maira Kalman is a middle child, her writing is so quirky and sentimental. By the middle of the book I was crying and so glad the kids did not notice because it is a children's book after all! The book is based on true events that took place on 9/11.

I love sentiment, when a thought is put towards something and as a result there is an emotional response. So SO much thought was put into the things we saw on this trip, it was everywhere.

Our first stop was Ground Zero.

The 9/11 museum is not open yet but through the windows you can see the remaining tridents from the original World Trade Center buildings that survived the fall. With the hints of the tridents behind the window you can see the reflection of the new Freedom Tower. When it is completed it will be 1776 feet tall.

I know it looks like your standard photo but I love it because it is not posed, this IS how I found them, her little arm around her big brother.

Steve's Dad brought his camera and I have included some of his photos (* below each one). This photo shows you the size of one of the two pools with the new museum behind it. To the left there will be the new Path station.

Daniel Libeskind is the master planner for the whole Ground Zero complex. He is working with the designer, Santiago Calatrava for the new Path Station called the transportation hub. I did not like the design when I first saw images of it, but then I heard about some of ideas behind it. The entire strip of the roof will be a skylight called, a wedge of light. Now get this, the first plane hit the tower at 8:43 the second tower fell at 10:28. They are going to orient the building to be directly in line with the sun, so that on every 9/11 at 10:28 a.m. the sun will shine directly through the skylight creating a symmetrical path of light in the middle of the room.

Both of my older children were very emotionally shaken here at the Memorial.

One of my sons was observing a women crying rubbing her hand over and over a name and then he heard her on the phone saying:

"I am here Auntie, I see his name"

Suddenly this was not a list of just random names but REAL people who died. Not stories read in library books but life, real life.

They could see the flowers left underneath certain names.

They could see people crying.

My other son was so heart sick over one name.

He did not tell me why,

he and Steve just brought me to it and I immediately understood.

Michael Arad is the man who designed this memorial. He said:

"I imagined this is the place where a grieving family might come... but they are not doing it alone."

Arad's desire was to make the absence of the twin towers felt. People can stand here and feel the permanent void. Both pools are carved into the earth where the exact footprint of the twin towers once stood. The waterfalls surrounding the pools drop 30 feet and fall down into a deeper void. From any vantage point I could not see the bottom of the smaller, inner pool. This made the absence more tangible. The effect is haunting, and powerful. As you walk around the pools and read the names of three thousand people you are humbled and moved.

The bronze is heated, so that when you feel the names it is never hot or cold but always warm.

I love how not a single person knew dad was taking a picture and as a result he got a true candid of us.

This is a picture of Steve talking to the boys about some of the things they were seeing and the meaning behind it all.

Our next stop was to the Statue of Liberty

Taken from Ellis Island, with a view of the Freedom tower.

One section of the Ellis Island Museum was dedicated to items people brought to America with them, each display case was focused on one country. How cool are these boots? Yeah I would wear them in a heartbeat!

Jeff tired and hungry and trying VERY hard not to smile even with brother hugging him.

Seg having no trouble smiling because she is not tired and very happy to be able to get out of the stroller and run around the great room at Ellis Island.

The very first room you enter when you walk into the building at Ellis Island has a collection of luggage on display that spans the length of the room.

There was a huge wall of photographs of immigrants from all over the world who came through Ellis Island.

On December 1891, Annie Moore and her two brothers left Cobh Ireland. They were coming to America to meet their parents who had immigrated here four years earlier. Twelve days later, January 1892 she was the first person off the ship to enter the newly built Ellis Island.

One hundred years later two statues were built to commemorate the event, one is in Ireland where she had boarded the ship and one is at Ellis Island. I love this! I read a handful of books about this event to the kids and could not wait to show them her statue.

I couldn't find her at first and asked a few of the employees. I finally found someone who even knew what I was talking about, I found her tucked back in the corner on the second floor.

Fraunces Tavern

Built in 1719, it is Manhatten's oldest surviving building.

The tavern was a meeting place for The Sons of Liberty

George Washington gave his farewell address to his officers here on December 4, 1783

I ordered Shepherd's pie

The seating for our table was old church pews, the floor was wooden (wide plank), one wall was a mural that over 200 years old.

Seg was by far the loudest person in the room, as the restaurant was filled with people 30 times her age, or older.

I appreciated the taxi cabs posing for me so that one could see the contrast of time periods.

Hermes store, I took the picture for Coco who loves all things butterfly. We were walking too fast and she missed it, so I stopped and took the picture knowing I could run and catch up to them.

The history of Trinity church began in the 1600's where yearly rent was 60 bushels of wheat. The current building was finished in 1846. During the attacks on September 11,2001 many people sought refuge in this church.

St. Paul's Chapel (1766) Part of the parish of Trinity Church

There was a giant sycamore tree that had stood in this churchyard for 80 years. During 9/11 the tree fell and as a result shielded the church and tombstones from being damaged. Sculpture, Steve Tobin, took the roots and cast them in bronze. Now called the "Trinity Root" More information is here . I saw this sculpture as we walked past Trinity church and could not understand why there was something so modern next to such an old building, but now it makes perfect sense. I wish I had photographed it.

On the gate to this church there is plaque that reads:

"Manhatten's oldest public building in continuous use.

Witness to the great fire of 1776

Host to George Washington on inauguration day

Survivor of the Terrorist attacks September 11, 2001"

On occasion friends will ask for information on a trip we took and I often forget the details so I am including them here for anyone who may want to take this trip.

We parked in NJ here and paid only $11 for the entire day

The PATH Train is right around the corner from the parking garage. Tickets were $2 a person and it brought us right to Ground Zero.

We pre ordered tickets for the 9/11 Memorial . It is free, but the day books up fast and you have to reserve a time slot to visit.

From the 9/11 memorial we walked just a few blocks to Battery Park. This was the PERFECT place to eat the lunch we had packed.

For the statue of Liberty it is also free but you have to pay for the ferry trip. We ordered the tickets from this site . This also fills up fast. When I say fast, I mean that if you are planning on being there on a Saturday you should buy your tickets a week in advance. If you do this you will have more time slots to choose from. The ferry takes off from Battery Park so we were right there.

When we came back from the Statue the last thing we did was Fraunces before walking back to the Path station.

The amount of walking we did was not too much for a six year old, or older, to handle.

Poppa Wheelie

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:14:45 GMT

Almost 80 degrees in March with no time to spare to put on sneakers when snowboots and PJs will do...