DINNER WITH A SHOW

"Mommy, Mommy, you have to come! Hurry!"

(Words familiar to my ears, so I grab my phone knowingly.)

 

 

My caramelizing onions just might have overcooked,

but there was another meal in the making worth discovery.

 

 

As Bea sips her tea I wonder, What must she be thinking of all this new?

 

 

I'm guessing she thinks her sisters are pretty fun...

 

 

...her fancy dinner with a show too.

 

"Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy."
Psalm 33:3

BEA'S RAINBOWS

It's sort of a right of passage around here. When you're big enough to put your Rainbows away when

we get home from an outing, you take a special trip to the Rainbow Sandals shop and get your first pair.

Yesterday was Bea's turn as we took a spontaneous detour on our way to the beach.

 

(At first she was unsure and held on tight to Mommy.)

 

When I was a little girl, I remember going to Buster Brown's with my mom to get new shoes.

Now, here I am the mom ('cause I blinked) and my kids will remember getting their Rainbows.

 

 

After Bea realized what we were up to, she had lots of fun looking for just the right pair. We went with skinny straps

for her dainty feet and since she's still learning to walk in flip flops in general, straps for her heels were mandatory.

 

We like to keep life simple...even in the small things like shoes. We have one pair of nice Rainbows and we put them away in their slot. The kids learn responsibility this way and I don't have to go stir crazy with thousands of run amok shoes. As the good pair gets old and needs replacing (which takes a really long time with Rainbows) or they're outgrown, they pass down to the next younger sibling and become their play pair. It's really hard to destroy a pair of leather Rainbow Sandals!

 

(Found this on my phone recently...Aida??)

 

If we're over at someone's house, it's likely there will be a line up of Rainbows by the front door.

We want to be respectful about how many of us (and therefore shoes) there are when we're around,

so we try to be orderly and not overbearing with even the way we stack our shoes.

 

We store our water bottles the same way with our Rainbows in a closet by the front door. 

Everyone is responsible to make sure their special things have made it in from the car when we arrive home.

 

It works.

 

 

It's an odd but necessary combination we keep of order, yet freedom.

Structure, yet whimsy. Organization, yet relaxed. 

It's a balancing act, a dance, but always, always...simple.

 

I love the rhythm of a large family! I love learning how to make it work as we grow.

I loved our impromptu outing yesterday, making our little girl feel special...getting Bea's Rainbows.

 

 

"I have set my rainbow in the clouds,

and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth."

Genesis 9:13

FIRST DAYS AT THE BEACH

 

We remember well Noble and India's first trip to the beach.

The sand was too much, the sun too bright, the waves too loud.

 

But the beach is our place.

And we knew they would learn...and they did.

 

So when we took Bea and Beck for the first time to the same cove, we set low expectations. (It's always a plus to start low.)
Though the sand was unusual, to our surprise the kids enjoyed their first beach trip!

 

 

At first they preferred to sit on the quilt with Mommy and scoop sand from afar...but then...

 

 

 

They dove in and got dirty, something this guy has mastered!

 

 

(Daddy the expert digger and his trusty companions)

 

 

 

So many sweet memories already in the making.

(Beck likes to eat sand.)

 

 

So much trust being learned, day by day.

 

 

 

 

 

They'll be surfing before they know it.

 

 

And we'll look back with fondness on their first days at the beach.

 

"Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.
Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands."
Isaiah 42:10-12

BEA

She lights up glowing when she smiles. She's deeper than an average four year old.

She's smart and silly, brave and timid, affectionate, relational, sweet, diligent, adorable.

 

Peek-a-boo Bea!

 

She's thoughtful, communicative, playful, joyful, nurturing, and careful.
Bea loves being part of what she has come to learn is family.

 

The other night I told Bea through Google Translate how much we love her. Communication inspires her.
When I told her, "We will take very good care of you always," she responded with a twinkle in her eye, a deep sigh,
and "Wo ai ni" (I love you) as she threw herself into my lap with an understanding and heartfelt hug for her mama.

Bea gets it. She's touched. She seems to have waited for this...and it's here, her family.
It's clear that her love tank is filling up and it's beautiful to watch the process.

 

There is so much to regain, so much to restore, but God is faithful and He's working in Bea. He's working in the rest of our lives too as we respond to tough situations, accept rejection through the bonding period, persevere and love and fill. It's an interesting dilemma to give without expectation for return. It requires perspective and that which only God can give through us, self out of the way.

But, oh, when the returns do come?? They are awesome!

Breakthroughs are coming and have already warmed our hearts and lives many times in just days.
Precious daughter, you're a gift from above. Beloved, we will indeed take very good care of you always.

It's a sweet thing to participate in matters of the heart as we sense
already some of what God has planned for our cherished Bea.

 

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified."
Isaiah 61:1-3 



BECK

 

He's funny, friendly, cuddly, reckless, all boy. He brightens the room with his contagious smiles.

He'll do anything for a laugh and tends to do so often. Beck is the life of the party.

 

 

He mimics and mirrors. He's animated all the time. He's more like a baby than a three year old, but we can see that
will change quickly as he catches on. Beck is smart. He's a people person. He's fun. And his siblings all adore him!

 

 

It's clear that Beck needs love, but also that he's had it. His spirit isn't broken.
It's also clear that our son needs attachment and fights with all he's got to get it.
And he'll get it. He's got us. We've got him. We won't let him go.
We just need to teach him these things...and it requires time. He will learn.

 

 

Beck loves his baba...

 

 

...won't let him out of his sight.

 

 

He's learning that he can trust his mama too. He can. I'll show him...and show him...

 

 

He's the "sweet pumpkin" we'd been told he was. What a joy it is to watch him learn and grow.
He's come so far already and we love him intensely already. We're smitten with our Beck.

 

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us,
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."
1 John 3:16