Radical

If this video doesn't get your heart pumping, nothing will!

Radical by David Platt from Taylor Robinson on Vimeo.

Adoption Low- THE POUT

THE POUT has descended.

Are you an adoptive parent? Then you KNOW what I am talking about. I don't think I've ever met an adoptive parent who has not encountered THE POUT.

For those of you unfamiliar with THE POUT, let me attempt to describe it.

What THE POUT looks like:

Child presents with mouth firmly shut with lower lip protruding. Often, arms are crossed. Head, may be down on tabletop or cocked to the side. Eyes emitting either look of death at parent, or oddly vacant with zero eye contact. In younger children, tummy may be pushed forward. In tween, hands on hips, hips forward, or arms crossed, hips forward. Feet are firmly planted to the floor.

Origin:

Child's expectation of how adoptive parent should or should not respond to their desire (desire may be spoken or unspoken) has not been met in part, or in full.

What THE POUT is meant to communicate:

You brought me all the way from _________ (fill in country of origin) for THIS?

Psychological effect on the adoptive parent:

Irritability, helplessness, loss of rationality. THE POUT may cause all prior adoption training to go out the window.

Suggested Treatment:

During seasons of chronic POUTing, primary caregiver must take regular breaks for times of refreshment with whatever fills you up, i.e., coffee with friends, exercise, Bible study. It also helps if you can find the humor in the midst of a particularly potent POUT. Find a friend who knows the POUT and can talk you down. You may not want to hear this, but if you take the time to find out what is fueling THE POUT, you will, in time, eliminate THE POUT. Remember, there is more to THE POUT than meets the eye. It represents something- grief, loss of control, fear, etc. Good news- THE POUT is NOT fatal to child or parent (though at times it feels like it might be!).

Heart Update

After consulting with several cardiologists, it looks like Therese's heart will be fixed via open-heart surgery. We had hoped the coarctation could be fixed through a catheter procedure, but after careful evaluation, that does not seem to be the way to go. Using the catheter would require two or more procedures and still might not fix the problem. We like the idea of fixing the problem once and for all, which should be the case if we go the open-heart route.

We will most likely hear from the surgeon this week, set up the consultation and get a date on the books for the procedure. Therese will have the same surgeon as Carter had for his surgeries, but the surgery will occur at Hope Children's Hospital (part of Christ Hospital) instead of Lutheran General. We were looking forward to seeing our old buddies at Lutheran and taking comfort that we know that hospital like the back of our hand, but Hope is where they do this particular surgery.

We don't know yet if Therese's surgery will be in February, but that would be another cool heart connection if that turns out to be the case. You see, four years ago this Valentine's Day, we brought Carter home from the hospital for the last time after six heart surgeries.

Four years ago I would have NEVER predicted that this Valentine's Day we would be celebrating four hospital free years (for heart surgery reasons anyway!), but also LAPS of Love. My two fourth grade daughters and their classmates walking the school yard together to raise money for a new classroom and supplies in Burkina Faso. SO much has happened in these four years. The number of our children has doubled, as well as the size of our hearts!

L.A.P.S. of Love

I couldn't be more excited to share this news with you!

The Fourth Grade students at Freeman School will be celebrating Valentine's Day by sharing their love with students in Burkina Faso, West Africa, by hosting L.A.P.S. for Love. L.A.P.S. for Love stands for Let's All Provide Supplies. The students will be walking four laps around their school yard to raise funds to build another classroom to Therese's former school in Yako, Burkina Faso.

Some items they are hoping to provide include:

A desk shared by two students- $16

Text book containing math, reading, science and history- $24

Temporary wall made of Seiko (woven grass)- $100

Teacher salary for one month- $120

You can sponsor a student per lap, or a flat out donation. If you'd like to contribute, leave a comment on my blog or email me at esolgos@gmail.com

The children in the photo are Therese's former classmates. Let's show them that we care!

Note: Parents of Freeman fourth graders- don't worry, you didn't miss anything. You'll be getting all the info soon!

A Wild and Crazy Family

How fun is this? Taught my girl to knit! She picked the orange- nice and cheery for this time of year!

They Get It

Evelea turned ten last week. For her party, she decided to invite her friends to a packing session at Feed My Starving Children. Together with the other volunteers, they packed enough meals to feed 30 children for a whole year. Amazing!

When I tucked Evelea in bed that night, she said, "Mommy, I get it, I think we live so we can help others live". We proceeded to have an incredible discussion about her plans to spread this message to her world. I LOVE this girl. I am amazed, and yet not, because I know her life is fully surrendered to Christ and that is what happens with a fully surrendered heart.

I have no words to express how I felt watching Therese enthusiastically pack meals that will feed children who are desperate, just like she once was. It was holy ground. Holy.

EASY Activism

Did you know that Starbucks offers a re-loadable gift card that every time you use it, 5 Cents goes to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa?

Now, of course it would be better to forgo your latte and just donate that $4 directly to a cause that fights AIDS, but let's face it, we all crave a latte once in awhile. Plus, when you register your gift card online, you get free soy milk and/or flavor shots when you order your beverage- how cool is that?