Are We Really Surprised?

This ad was contracted to be shown during the Super Bowl. Then NBC pulled it. I simply cannot even imagine why (enter deep sarcasm and rolling of eyes here)*. Yet we will get to see commercials we will have to censor for our children.

I thought this was powerful...

*In the interest of fairness, NBC and NFL representatives state that the ad was pulled because they say they have a policy against "issue ads". They have the right to do so. I still think it is a great commercial.

Kindred Spirits

During the Christmas holiday my Father, Stepmom and two brothers came for a few days. It was bliss and I actually cried when they left, as our opportunities to see them are too few and far between.

Something neat happened when they were here however. Eazy found his "Grandpa". Since coming to our house Eazy has met various family members and has been polite and warm to all of them, but from the minute my father arrived for Eazy's first meeting, Eazy was ecstatic.

We were in an upstairs bedroom when my parents pulled up. Being silly and knowing that they could not hear us, I told Eazy that we should wave and say, "Hi". So we did. At that exact moment, my father looked up and spotted us in the window. Eazy happily exclaimed, "He heard me! He heard me!"

A little concerned about how he would feel with meeting four new people all at once, I asked him if we should go down and say hello. He bolted for the stairs and hit the door at the same time my parents did.

"Hi! I am big, tall Eazy!" he said to my Dad and instantly embraced him. He was just as excited to meet my stepmother and brothers.

For the next four days Eazy rarely left my father's side. He held hands with my dad when we went to a museum, was upset when my Dad did not go into the "Children's Room" at the museum, sat on his lap anytime my father sat down and wanted "Grandpa" to help him with whatever was urgent at the moment. It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen.

Eazy is a shy little boy. The six weeks or so that he has been here has opened him up quite a bit, but he still has a bit of a wall around him. Normally you have to invite him to sit with you and offer a hand for him to hold. My father was able to step right over that wall in an amazing way.

I have decided that these two are kindred spirits. Both had their world torn apart and were put into the care of "the County". Both were unable to live with their mothers and had a hard time understanding why. Both had to build a wall at a tender young age to survive reality.

My father was in foster care for 6 years of his life (from 8 until 14), and will tell you that it was the best thing for him. He had great foster parents and did very well with them. He grew to be a wonderful man. Despite this however, he was taken from 5 of his 8 siblings (three were with him in his foster home), not allowed to live with his family and suffered the indignity of being in a "welfare home". He knows Eazy's plight better than anyone. Eazy seemed to know that as well.

Eazy has found his Grandpa, and I could not be more overwhelmed with gratitude and amazement at how the Lord will use an unfamiliar face to enrich a little boy's life.

Will Angel Get Her Groove Back?

I have lost my groove. Not like Stella's groove, which I honestly can no longer define for you as it has been way too long since I have seen that movie, but my own personal groove. I am not sure where it went.

I had a routine once upon a time that worked pretty well. It needed tweaked a bit here and there, but for the most part, it helped my household run well. The routine has left the building. I can't quite put a finger on it, but frankly I have lost all ambition. I recently read a friend's blog where she talked about vacuuming before her favorite show came on. I chuckled. I vacuumed last week. One room. Then I was done. The vacuum is still sitting in said room hoping to continue its journey.

The one room that I had perfected and vacuumed has now re-exploded (because I erroneously let my children step foot into it) and despite my chagrin about the way it looked last week verses the way it looks now, I have done nothing to rectify the situation.

How do you get your groove back? Frankly I would love to have a touch of OCD when it comes to the laundry. And vacuuming. And dusting. Stella got her groove back. Will Angel?

36 Years Later...

No, it has not been 36 years since I have updated my blog (almost); although I cannot believe I have not logged on in three weeks.

It has been 36 years since the Roe vs. Wade court case in the United States, which legalized abortion. I need not say much more as Americans are passionate about this landmark ruling, one way or the other and know all the ins and outs of the debate.

I am passionately against it. Every year while I lived in the D.C. area I would head down in the bitter January cold for The March For Life. This is not something I try and push in people's faces, but I abhor abortion. In any case. Simply because it kills a life.

It hits a little closer to home this year as I think about my children. I would have never aborted my biological children of course, but what if the biological mothers of my foster sons had chosen this route? Little precious Iggy would have died and never had known just how much he was wanted, loved and adored. Eazy (3 1/2 year old foster son) would have never been able to take such joy out of the simple things he sees from his big, brown, doe-like eyes.

These two boys were once tiny specks in their mothers' wombs. Their hearts started to beat at 21 days. Probably long before their mothers knew they even existed. They were perfectly and wonderfully made by their Creator from the start. And their lives could have been snuffed out by a simple request. We would have never gotten the honor to serve these boys and love them as long as they may have needed us.

Today I think about how thankful I am that while their mothers may not be the best for them right now, and could have easily legally killed these sweet boys, they chose to give them life. And for that I am eternally grateful.

I Know Something You Don't Know....

This newscaster does not know this Canadian family's name, but I DO!!! And they are a great family! Have a laugh at this...

Stay tuned America. Inside Edition called him too!