Sunday, January 20, 2008

Sam's Newspaper Debut

I promise to put up some new pictures soon--honest. But in the meantime, get a load of how Sammy made the paper. You gotta click on the pictures to see him, and he's visible for a brief glimpse in the video, too. We went to Sam's choir concert today and he sounded great :-). He told me that he plans to get famous as a pianist and trumpet player, then move on to Hollywood or Broadway. My very own Harry Connick, Jr.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Unanswered Questions

When we traveled to Ethiopia to get Molly, we had the chance to meet her birth mother. It was an incredible, emotional experience, and I feel like I did it all wrong. There are so many things I wish I'd said to her, and asked her about Fanaye, but I was too caught up and overwhelmed by the enormity of the whole thing.

Since we've been back, I think about Fanaye's birth mother all the time. I know she must be thinking about her baby, and wondering if she's ok. Our agency, Children's Home Society, has a program that allows us to keep communication with her family in Ethiopia. We can send picture and letters, and hopefully, get letters back. So I spent this morning writing a letter to Fanaye's birth mother. But what do you say?

How can I express my gratitude for the gift that she gave us? As I type this, Molly is asleep on my chest in her mai tai, completely sweaty and sweet, lovely and perfect. How do I convey that to her birth mom? How can I adequately tell her how smart and gorgeous her daughter is? what a funny little person she is? How she makes all of our lives better? And if I try, will that just make her sad? will it just underscore a tragic situation? Will I be making things worse?

I have questions, too, that I forgot to ask, which I think will be important for Molly Fanaye as she grows. I have no idea if they're appropriate, but I'm asking them anyway.

Yikes.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

But what about Bill Richardson?

Political analysis of Hillary Clinton during last night's presidential debates. Commentary supplied by Sammy (age 9) and his cousin, Isabella (age 8).

Sammy: "She kept saying 'When I win.. I'm going to do this.' It really stood out to me. It was like she was saying, 'I'm great and all of you are no good.' I didn't like that."

Isabella: "She seems so confident. I liked that. It's like she was Manifesting."

Sammy: "She's probably not my first choice. In fact, she's pretty much my last choice. But I'd much rather have her win than any Republican."

Friday, January 4, 2008

Words Her Way

The doctors keep asking whether Molly's saying any words, in light of her fluid-filled, plugged-up ears. But to my mind, her language is exploding. I can only imagine what'll happen when they put the tubes in her ears: SHAKESPEARE!

Here's a list of words Miss Fanaye likes to say (besides the obvious mama and daddy):

1. "Kitty." This is her favorite word. It's used to refer to cats, dogs, and her Grandpa Dennis. Today, we met my friend "Kitty"--oops! I meant "Katie" for lunch. Looking for kitties, she says "kiiiii-ttyyyyy" in a plaintive voice. And when she finds one, it's an excited/delighted "Kitty!" Sort of like "Eureka!"

2. "Nose" and "Eyes" She points to appropriate body parts and almost never pokes your eyes out.

3. "Hi." Kind of a no-brainer, that one.

4. "Yes" and "No."

5. "More." I'm trying to teach her some sign language, but I'm not sure she knows what this means. However, she can say "more" and make the ASL sign for it, too. But she she really wants more, she just reaches across the the table.

6. "Nice." We've been working really hard on not pulling the kitties' fur, so we say "NIIIIIIIIICE" whenever we gently pet the cats.

See? Not bad, huh?