Jeremy and Zachary Day!!!

A year ago today, our sons were placed in our arms and we became a family!

And here we are, one year later! What a difference a year makes! 

Jeremy and Zachary, we love you so much! You brighten up our world so much, and it's hard to remember our lives without you! We're so glad that God placed you in our family. Hearing you call us Mama and Daddy is brings us so much joy! Happy Jeremy and Zachary Day!!!

The Starshine Report: It's Back On, Baby!

The other day, my own dear Mother wrote this on my Facebook wall:

"Missing you on the starshinereport :("

When Mama comes calling, I try not to disappoint!

I was very excited when I found out that the theme for September blogging over at NaBloPoMo was "Return".  Here is their explanation:

September's theme for daily blogging: RETURN. Returning -- or turning again -- is about reflection, about going backwards, about revisiting a spot or memory. Sometimes people think that it can be a negative thing to live too much in the past, drowning in nostalgia. But a lot can be learned by mentally returning to a moment, replaying what happened in your mind, especially if lessons are learned in the process.

That seemed like good inspiration for me. So check in during September! I'll be writing! xoxo

The Help

Last night, I stayed up suuuuuuuper late to finish reading The Help. I really wanted to finish it before I see the movie. Can't wait!

As I mentioned in a previous post, we have had a nanny this summer (who is an old friend of mine), and she has been a huge help with the boys, not to mention a wonderful friend to me. Her name is Rebeca, and the two of us often find ourselves rolling our eyes/snickering at Jeremy because, oh my stars...the boy is so BOSSY!

"Mama, me ketchup!" he demands if he wants ketchup for his fries.

"Beca, me get down!" when he is ready to get out of his high chair.

We are constantly letting him know that bossing around any adult is a no-no, but as Rebeca says, "He is a real "jefazo" (bossy dude).

Hearing my black son boss around his white nanny struck me as such a wild juxtaposition against the scenes I've been reading in The Help, which is all about the black maids of the 1960s and the white families they served/the white children they raised. I'm so thankful for the courage of the civil rights activists of the '60s. It is not at all lost on me that our adoption of our beautiful African-born boys would have been absolutely unheard of just 50 years ago, and very likely frowned upon by our society.

I know that we, as a country, still have some serious strides to make in terms of overcoming our racial prejudices. Looking back, though, I'm so thankful for how far we've come over the past 50 years. My sons are growing up in a different America, and I hope with all my heart that no door will ever be closed to them because of their race.

I can't wait to see Jeremy's journey unfold before him. He such an amazing boy--loving, smart, communicative, and handsome! Now if I can just get him to stop bossing me around!

My 37th Birthday ~ ¡a la española!

Before I get too far into this post, I need to introduce you to Rebeca. I met "Beca" 8 years ago while I was living in Spain. She was just 10 years old at the time. Now she is nearly 19, and she's about to start her second year of university. She contacted me a few months ago to see if I knew of any families who might like a summer nanny, and I told her that I did happen to know of one...MINE!

Rebeca has been so wonderful to have here for the past month, and we're thrilled that she'll be with us through early September! She's great with the boys, and they just ADORE her! And of course, this Mama is very happy to have had some free time on my hands to do things like complete our 2010 family photo album, etc!

Since Rebeca has been with us, it's been so much fun to reminisce about my time in Spain, and we decided one night that to celebrate my birthday, we would prepare a traditional Spanish dinner, complete with red and yellow (Spanish flag colors) streamers and balloons!

My extended family came over for a tapas style dinner of gazpacho, sangria, tortilla de patata, olives, salad and Spanish rice pudding for dessert. ¡Delicioso!

When it was all over, we had a balloon launch! FUN!

Zachary is Walking!

One Year Ago Today: Meeting our Boys!

One year ago today, we were in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia meeting our sons for the first time! It was one of the most JOYFUL moments in my life! 

Zachary was so laid-back and sweet. He warmed right up and then fell asleep!

Poor Jeremy was so upset! He had been taken out of his room where he was having fun, and he was not so happy about being introduced to Mommy! Eventually, he wore himself out with the crying and then he fell asleep. Then Mommy cried tears of joy to be holding my son!

We are so thankful to God for entrusting these boys to us to raise and love. They are wonderful sons!