I'm so excited about Disney's new movie "The Princess and the Frog"! It's going to showcase Disney's first African-American princess, Tiana, who is voiced by "Dreamgirls" and Broadway star Anika Noni Rose (who is just fabulous!).
How cool that there is now a Disney doll for nearly every skin color and cultural background (Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontus, and now Tiana)! I remember growing up in the 80's and thinking that a doll like Barbie didn't look like me (and I'm white!); but also, that this somehow meant that I was not beautiful, because I didn't look like her. It didn't help that my two younger sisters were the "classic" beautiful babies - blond, curly hair and big, blue eyes with pale white skin - I had reddish hair, freckles, and had horrible, huge plastic glasses! My sisters looked like Barbie...and Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, etc. It was rough at times.
Having the dolls you play and dream with look completely different from you (especially as a young girl) seems to send the message that beauty is quantifiable and something that you'll never be. When you grow up (if you're wise), you realize that beauty is multitudinous and broad in definition. Beauty can be found in nearly anything if one has a mind open to such things.
It's simply tragic that it's taken Disney so long to create a black princess (or lead character at all), but it's better late than never, I guess. At least Baby C will grow up in an America where is are so many options for toys and makeup and anything else that she will need to feel comfortable in her own beautiful, brown skin!
I'm a typical girly-girl. I love fashion and shopping; so, it's only natural that I've been searching all sorts of stores and online shops looking for goodies for Baby C.
Okay, so I know we've got quite a bit of time before she gets here; but I just can't help myself! I can't wait to get my hands on my precious, little baby girl and dress her up like the princess she is!
The only problem? Well, we don't know what size or even age she'll be! Well, not exactly. We decided to be really broad with our age range and put in a request for infant through 3 years old, leaning more toward the 2-3 year old range. I think, though, since we're younger, we'll probably get matched with a younger child.
To top everything off, I've been reading lots and lots of first-hand accounts of mothers and fathers who were shocked at their adopted Ethiopian child's weight/height as compared to an "average" American child of the same age. Obviously, the Ethiopian children were often healthy; but significantly smaller in both height and weight.
So, how do I know what to buy? Well, I don't. I am trying to keep myself from investing in clothes and shoes that most likely won't fit Baby C (at least not right away); but who knows how long I can keep myself in check?! :)
Here's some goodies that I absolutely have to get for her someday (or some day soon!):
I know these little tutus are becoming nearly cliche they're so popular; but I don't care, they're adorable!!! Lots of seamstresses and shops make and sell them, but I love these brightly colored beauties from Etsy seller Paisley and Posies! Her tutus are bright and uber-fluffly. You can also choose the color(s) of tulle for your tutu and if you want any embellishment (I know, as if it needs it, by why not?! :). Plus, her photos are so beautiful and bright; I would hang them in my house! Check this shop out at: www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6037124!!!
I'll say it again, I'm an owl NUT! LOVE them! So, these two items are right up my alley! The dress on the top is by Etsy seller The Classic Baby and has the most precious and hip smocking I've ever seen! (www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6865618) The tunic on the bottom is by Etsy Seller Earth Groovz and is just so cool; I adore the fabric! (www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5384509) What a hip toddler Baby C will be!
Are you sensing a theme here??? I told you I love girly things! :) This "can-can" dress is by The Retro Baby (www.theretrobaby.com)...let's hope Baby C's not too adverse to the idea of dresses!
Too Emo/Hipster? I just don't care! This "Lil' Berry" dress is by Kitsel (www.kitsel.com) - lalaLOVE it!
Last, but certainly NOT least, are these cool Rock 'n Roll lullaby compilations sold on www.crazybabyclothing.com!!! They have any mix you could possibly think of from The Beatles to Smashing Pumpkins to Tool to Coldplay - I know, I know! TOO COOL! I picked this one which is lullaby versions of No Doubt classics. Maybe I'll get myself one for those nights when I'm fighting insomnia! :)
I hope you had fun looking at some of these goodies. I know I did!
This is the last of these dollies, I swear! But today went so much better than the first time around that I had to share the final product with you all!
I used the sewing machine this time, and it was really the best route to go with. Also, I took The Black Apple's pattern and enlarged by 200%; which made it so very much easier to work with!
So, here are the final products; I have TWO dollies to send to Baby C one day! Hooray!
Her painted face.
A little close-up of her face when she's all done and stuffed.
Little dollie and big dollie, side-by-side!
Well, I'm not the best seamstress out there; but it really was rewarding to create this little beauties. How fab of Etsy seller The Black Apple to provide her pattern on Martha Stewart, too! Cheers!
Well, it hasn't been easy. It hasn't even been that pleasant - ha! But I have officially completed the first of Baby C's Black Apple dolls!
Unfortunately, my sewing machine is put away in a box since we're moving soon; but I think tomorrow I'm going to go ahead and bust that bad boy back out, because, honestly, sewing this doll by hand was a major pain in the back side!
To top it all off, when I printed out the pattern, I couldn't get it to enlarge the suggested 150%. So, my doll ended up being quite tiny, roughly the length of my hand (and my hands are small!) - no more than 6" from head to toe! Not really what I had planned! :( But, that's why I bought enough fabric to make two dolls, right?!
So, tomorrow I'll try again; but in the meantime, I'll share with you my less than fabulous Black Apple Dollie. However, I keep wondering if Scottie will notice or even care that I messed up; she'll probably love having a doll all of her own and close to her size. So, I'm probably worrying over nothing!
Inside out...almost done!
"Hooray, I'm alive!" I love her over-sized button and Aunt Grace fabric; but there's a LOT to be desired in my execution! :( Maybe the second time will be a charm??? I hope to send this to Baby C one day in her toddler care package in Ethiopia; maybe she'll see beyond the poor craftsmanship to the love that really was in each stitch!
Good luck to any and all of you who are attempting this project! Hopefully, it will go much more smoothly than my first attempt!
Okay, so I grew up in a household full of crafty women. My mother sews and is pretty much fabulous at anything crafty and sew-y that she even attempts. I, however, never really seemed to cash in on those "fabricreative"genes!
But, when I saw this cute, little plush doll pattern by Black Apple (visit her Etsy.com store here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=991); I decided to brave it out and try to make one for Baby C.
I thought, "Wow, how cute! And easy-looking, right?" Maybe I'm just naive, but tomorrow I'm going to venture out to get some fabric to make this little beauty-cutie! I'm going to try to make her look the way I think Baby C will look one day. I don't know, guys, this might just make me cry! Our agency was saying that you can send a "toddler care package" to your future child in the orphanage in Ethiopia (clothes, a camera, and toys); so, I just keep thinking about being able to send this to her one day in that package! It gives me goose-bumps!
Apparently, this pattern is very popular. I found tons and tons of precious little Black Apple Doll cuties all over the Internet. Here are some pictures of a few of my favorites (I'm sorry, I have no idea where I found them; so, if the photo belongs to you, please let me know; and I'll give you credit, otherwise, just know that I think you're fabulous!).
Adorable, right?! I think so. I'll let you all know how it goes; wish me luck! :)
Oh, the name game! I thought I'd go ahead and get this blog out of my system since I've been thinking about it so much lately!
For most parents, getting to name the child they've watched (or felt) grow in their/their wives' wombs is one of the most exciting and important tasks. Bestowing a name upon a child is bestowing a since of reality to the situation as a whole. Names can be a representation of who you are, where you come from, your family history and more. Some parents elect to name their children after a family member or close friend or someone they admire greatly. There is so much power in the name you bestow upon your child; for the meaning behind the name is poured out upon them every time you speak it to them. So important.
So, what then, should a parent do, when he/she does not share the same culture, language, or even biology as the child they are naming? What is the "right" thing to do? Is there a right thing to do?
For so many parents of children adopted from outside America, I have noticed that they feel overtly obliged to name the child out of common names from that child's own country heritage. Or, the parents choose to keep the name the child was given either by their birth parents/family who relinquished all rights to the child or that the child was given by nannies and care-takers at the orphanage where they were cared for until adopted.
To many parents, the child's name was (in many instances) the only gift that the parents and/or family could bestow upon the child; therefore, they feel an intense necessity to keep that gift intact.
I have, however, read a lot on the subject lately by adult adoptees from countries such as China, Korea, Russia, and Kazakhstan. I thought that their stories were very telling for anyone considering traditional names for their children. One young woman in particular wrote in a feature piece for the New York Times that having a traditional Korean name coupled with her American parents' dogged determination to keep her Korean cultural traditions intact actually made her feel like a constant stranger or long-lost cousin that needed to be accommodated with special food and activities. She stated that she never felt truly American, even though that's what she is, no matter what her biological background, she is American. This story broke my heart. It was certainly not what I had expected to hear from a 20-something, adult Korean adoptee! Quite the opposite, in fact!
Now, I want to say that this was only one person's experience! There are probably many adopted children that are now adults who have traditional names (to their own cultures) and are fine with them and love them! This was only ONE example of the many out there, but I cite it; because it was so very different from everything I had been reading and discovering throughout this process. So, if you have a traditional name or are intending on keeping your child's traditional name, PLEASE do not take offense to what was stated above! It was not meant to offend; only inform.
So, what to do? Dear Hubby and I have talked about this dilemma A LOT, and I think that we've come to a good conclusion - one that many, many families are choosing these days. Name the child as you wish for their first name and keep their traditional or country-given name as their second.
I am a HUGE name buff! (Is that even a term??? Ha! Well, I guess it is now!) I've always loved names and naming my characters when I wrote short stories and screenplays; so, the thought of naming a child is really exciting and probably overly-important to me. I even went all-out when naming my pets! (A rat named Roxie, dog named Eagan, and two cats named Seamus {Shay-mus} and Moira!).
My mother being Irish (as well as all of my husband's family - our children will have a VERY Irish last name!), I thought it would be wonderful to use traditional Irish names for our future children. But the more I've gone down this road toward adoption, the more I've started to question this.
We still have so much time before we adopt that we don't have to pick a first name rightnow!; but I would like to get it settled on within the next six to eight months, just in case I "need" to buy her something like a monogrammed pillow or something! :)
(*Oh, and as a side note, I realize that my naming sensibilities are drastically different than many other people's! My husband and I like odd names; so, if you don't like them, that's okay! We do! :)
Boy's Names:
Colm (this is my FAVE boy name EVER!)
Finnigan/Finnegan/Finnian/Finn/Fionn
Jude
Jack
Alastair
Gatsby
Grey
Angus
Rocket
Gambit
Jagger
Jett
Barrington
Hastings
Silas
Emmett
Emory
Seamus
Callum
Xavier
Girl's Names:
Layla
Tallulah (Lulu/Lulla)
Mahony
Fiona (Fi)
Bridget
Rogue
Arwen
Allegria
Gwennen
Piper
Penelope (Nell)
Coco
Charlie
So, those are the lists of my favorite names at the moment (I'm throwing in boys' names too, because like I said, I'm obsessed! :). What are your favorite names for boys and girls? Did you have a hard time deciding or was it a fairly easy process for you and your significant other? Did you have any trouble getting your significant other to agree with your name choices?
I love hearing about people's "naming journeys"; so, please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas!
So many serious things to consider lately; I want to talk about something FUN! :) So, I thought I'd put up some of my ideas that I've had for baby/toddler rooms!
Dear Hubby and I are building a new loft-type condo (should be done within the next two months, actually!); so, I've been thinking about decorating and how I want this new home to "feel" more and more with each passing day. We've done a lot of research, and all along the way I've been thinking of how I'd like our little girl's nursery to look one day as well.
I have tons of ideas, but I tend to gravitate toward urban hipster/shabby chic looks for her room. I love bright colors, though, so, her room won't be a straight-forward interpretation of either of these design esthetics but rather a sort of mish-mash of as many bright, vintage-y, girlie finds as I can conjure up!
Many of the pictures below are from one of my FAVORITE baby blogs http://www.spearmintbaby.blogspot.com! The writer is always finding so many adorable baby and toddler goodies; every day there's something new to oogle!
So, here are a few of my favorite finds that I hope to recreate in our little one's future nursery!
I love the big, beautiful "puff" balls made of tissue paper in this room! So, I went and bought these (below) in all different shades of pink for the nursery (one day)!
There's enough to make something like 10 giant puff-balls between the two sets; which is awesome! Both sets are by Martha Stewart crafts. (By the way, they were both on sale too! The small set on top for $1.50, and the bigger one on bottom for $3.50! Woo hoo!)
Remember "Little Golden Books"?! I used to LOVE them when I was little (still do)! I found these on sale for $1 a piece one day at a local store; so, I bought up all my favorites! All the classics are here: the Scruffy Lion, Tootles the Train, the Big Book about God, and the Pokey Little Puppy! I can't wait to share these stories with our little girl! (Oh, and Eagan, our Scottish Terrier wouldn't get out of the shot; so, he's the fluffy white thing looking up at you! Ha!)
I love the simplicity and modern design of this baby nursery! Oddly enough, it is a photo discovered by Spearmint Baby's writer and is from the 1970's! Who knew?! I hope to stay classic and minimalistic like this room...we'll see if I can make it happen someday!
I found this old advertisement page at a local flea market for only $3! It had all of the vintage colors and designs I was looking for; so, of course, I HAD to buy it! :)
Another featured nursery from Spearmint Baby that I LOVE! Look at those colors!!!!! So beautiful!
I love the colors of this room! It's neutral with a splash of bright, bold COLOR (which I absolutely LOVE)! I even love the robot, but I don't think we'll be following a theme like that for our daughter's room since we want to keep it pretty girlie. This picture also came from Spearmint Baby; and I love that the little boy who occupies this room is named "Jack Danger"(you can see his name in the banner hanging over the crib)! I love unique names; so, that takes the cake! Bravo to his mom and dad!!!!
No little girl's room would be complete without some dolls around, right?! The first doll is one that Dear Hubby and I bought from e-bay.com back when we were still thinking we were going to be adopting from China. We scoured the Internet looking for Asian Cabbage Patch dolls - ha! Good luck! Finally, after months of searching, we found ONE seller and bought this little cutie up! After we decided to switch countries to Ethiopia, I was given the second doll as a gift. It was fun for me too, because when I was a little girl, my first Cabbage Patch Doll was black and looked almost exactly like this one!
These are just a few of our ideas for our future daughter's room, and we're years away from this becoming a reality; but I have to say that every little idea and project invested in her (even this far in advance) makes me really excited! I can't wait til the day that we're actually painting the walls and putting a crib together - *ah bliss*!
Well, tonight was parent training class #2; and really this was the most exciting to us, because this class was specifically focused on adoption from Ethiopia! Hooray!
The information was really relevant, and the hostesses were more than willing to give their 1st-hand experience with adoption through Ethiopia, their travel experiences with the country and people, and the process of bringing home an Ethiopian child (everything! the good, bad, and ugly parts too! which was great!).
For us, it really solidified the fact that we want to continue not just with our Ethiopian adoption; but also with International Adoption Network as our agency. This is something we've been struggling with for a while, and I think I can speak for both of us when I say that tonight made it clear to us which direction to go! :)
I know for me, that it's always interesting how and why a couple chooses the agency they do; so, I thought I'd take some time to clarify why we are sticking with IAN, as well as some of the other options we looked into.
As many of you may or may not know, hubby and I first looked into China (as so many couples do!) for our adoption. The quintessential Chinese adoption agency is based out of Texas and is called Great Wall China Adoption (GWCA). Their founder, Snow Wu, is known all over the world for her efforts in child advocacy. She has worked tirelessly for the benefit of children in several countries (not just China); working for health care, education, and so much more.
GWCA is HUGE. It is respected world-wide, and has been a part of bringing literally tens of thousands of girls and boys to their forever homes in America and elsewhere. They seemed to us a most obvious choice for an agency. And honestly, had we kept our LID for China, we most likely we would have stayed with GWCA as our agency.
There are so many, many benefits to a large agency, that I really don't even have time to get into them all; but for us, we were drawn to IAN for the opposite reason - it is small. We liked that the workers know every family by name (and the children too!). We enjoy the fact that we are able to call them whenever we feel necessary and are given direct lines to their offices and cell phones. We like that they have strong ties to Ethiopia, and that their facilitators and workers have been in the program as long as it's been open - lots of experience means things go smoothly on both sides!
Overall, we are just so very pleased with our experiences with IAN; and we've only just begun! So, I can excitedly say that they're officially "the one" for us!
Now, this isn't to say that we only looked at two agencies and suddenly VOILA! We had an agency! Not at all! There are so many things that we looked at when considering agencies. Some of our concerns included the following (in no particular order):
1. Hague Accredidation - this is an international system set up to protect children from being mistreated or abused during the adoption process; this is necessary for international adoption; so, if the agency doesn't have this, it's pretty much a done-deal anyway
2. Years of Experience - we wanted to work with an agency that had been established in a country and knew the ins-and-outs of the adoption process legally, socially, and diplomatically
3. A Good Record - I scoured the Internet for first-hand experiences (blogs, chat rooms, forums, etc.) from parents who had used each of the agencies we were considering, if they had a good or bad experience, I would ask why and whether they would recommend their final agency or not, they had TONS of great information that I am so grateful to have heard
4. A Fair Service to Fee Ratio - by this I mean that I would hope that the agency's own "service fee" (which is different from the other legal and country fees attached to an international adoption) would be fair and on base with the services they are alledging to provide us as adoptive parents
5. An Informative and Helpful Staff - were our e-mails and phone calls returned in a timely fashion? were the staff members personable and kind? were we given the time and energy we needed to feel safe and secure in our actions during the process (within good reason)?
These are just a few of the criteria we considered before making our decision, but each couples' needs and requirements are different. So, obviously, while these were important to us, other couples may have had much more unique circumstances and needs than us. Everyone is different; which is why having so many options is ideal! Ask lots of questions (there is NEVER a stupid question when it comes to your future child and your adoption process!), search around, take your time, and think and pray about your decision. It will all come together in the end!
Here are some other agencies we looked at (including IAN), in case you are needing some starting points yourself. I know I found it really helpful when other moms and dads would share this information; so, maybe it will be helpful to you or someone you know!
All of these agencies have so many good things to offer. I encourage you, if you're interested in international adoption of any kind, to check them out (and others as well)!
I'll leave you tonight with a picture of some precious Ethiopian children who recently put on a special presentation for some Americans traveling to pick up their adopted children in Addis Ababa. Their energy and genuine love of performance burst through the image and leave me smiling. I hope they brighten your day as they brighten mine!
Wow! Here I am, actually DOING this! I've been talking about starting this blog for about two years...I know, I know, it kinda makes me look like a procrastinator, right? Well, actually, it's been a lot more than that. I won't get into anything too specific (because I don't want to give too much away about myself on this blog - mystery, mystery - ha!); but it's been a crazy past couple of years - moving to a new state, major career moves, and marriage too!
No matter what I've been going through, though, I've always had motherhood (specifically adoption) on my mind. Which brings me to the title of this first "real" blog post, "The Three W's - What? Where? Why?". So, I guess I'll get started:
1. What? - Adoption. To me, this really is interchangeable with the word motherhood, period. After I got married, a good friend of my husband's (a married, mom of two herself) asked me, "So, when are you guys going to have kids?" To which I replied, "Oh, we've already started the process of adopting a little girl. So, it'll be within the next couple of years." She looked at me blankly, then immediately blurted out, "No, I mean...not that! You've got to have some real kids!"
"Real kids"? What does that even mean?! So, when I go to Africa to pick her up, that won't be real? And when I hold her in my arms for the first time, I won't really feel her; because she won't be "real"? I won't cry with her, laugh with her, run and play with her? Tuck her in at night and tell her stories? Watch her with pride and a tinge of sadness as she grow up and becomes an adult? None of this, because it will all be illusion?!
Of course, this is ridiculous. Of course, she will be real. Of course, we will feel each other and love each other. I am not worried about us in this instance; I am worried about "them". The people who will respond like my husband's friend, claiming that our relationship is somehow invalid, unreal, something that cannot compare to a mother and child who got to experience their first nine months as close as blood and skin.
This is something to be touched upon in a later blog, but it is a very real source of contention for me - something that absolutely angers me. Perhaps it would be hard for this woman to love a child that was not physically born from her own body, but that doesn't mean that it is difficult for others. It is certainly not hard for me and my husband. I want this so much, and I will NOT allow anyone to invalidate the relationship I will have with my future adopted child.
2. Where? - When we started this process (before we were even engaged!), we started thinking of where we would want to adopt from. Not that a foreign country was important to us, but after researching all of the risks and benefits of domestic as opposed to foreign adoption, we were convinced that foreign adoption was for us.
Our initial interest was in China, and we planned and hoped and prayed for what we thought would be a little girl aged infant to 4 years old from that country. We knew it was going to be a long journey, first I wasn't (still am not) 30 yet, which is a major pre-requisite for adoption from China. Also, couples must be married for at least two years (which I am not certain, but may have been recently upped to five years). To top everything off, our contact at the agency we were planning on signing with (Great Wall China Adoption in Texas) contacted us to let us know that slowly but surely, China was closing it's doors to foreign adoptions.
After learning that the same was happening in Korea as well, we were really beginning to doubt the adoption as a whole. But then, the same agency contact turned our attention to some new programs that were just beginning to flourish in Ghana, Uganda, and Ethiopia. We did our research, and decided to focus our energy and emotions on Ethiopia!
3. Why? - Adoption is near and dear to my heart in most part, because my mother was adopted at the age of nearly two. Her biological mother was a young, Irish immigrant who had come to America to live with one of her two older sisters. She never became an official American citizen, never voted, never had a driver's license. So, my mother is a first-generation Irish-American. I feel I have been living with the ghosts of my mother's biological family as long as I've been alive. Adoption and adoption issues are very interesting to me, and I have known since I was a teenager that I wanted to adopt a child one day.
When I met my husband, one of the first things we talked about were children, and we realized immediately that we both were very interested in adoption. So, nearly as soon as we were engaged, we began talking about beginning our adoption process. Which brings us to present day, and our current stage in the adoption process - agency "shopping".
So, those are my three "W's"! I know this process will not be easy, but I am really looking forward to this journey. There is so much more to come, I can't wait to see what the future holds!
Names are VERY important to me, always have been; so, when I was choosing a name for this blog, you can believe it took me quite some time to decide on a name!
This being an adoption and baby-centric blog, the idea that kept popping into my head came from my favorite children's books (really, one of the best books of all time, period), "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Anyone who has read this book recognizes the brilliance of Saint-Exupery in imparting wisdom and life lessons in patience, loyalty, self-sacrifice, and ultimate love in a book full of humor, whimsy, and fanciful illustrations. It's just fabulous!
One of my favorite sections of the book is when the Little Prince is telling his new friend the Fox about his home planet. On the Prince's tiny planet, there is hardly anything at all; but there is one thing that the Prince considers very precious, a single rose.
The story of the boy Prince and his beloved rose is that of true love. During their coversation, the Prince reveals that he has discovered a whole garden of roses nearby. At first, he feels betrayed; his rose told him she was the only one of her kind, and suddenly, here are thousands just like her!
However, the fox begins to teach the young Prince about the concept of being "tamed" (this is paraphrased):
"What does that mean 'tame'?" the little prince asks the fox.
"It is an act too often neglected...it means to establish ties," the fox replies.
"I am beginning to understand," he replies, "There is a flower...I think that she has tamed me."
The fox then encourages the Prince to go back to the garden to give the multitudinous roses another look (this is from the book's English translation exactly):
"Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret."
The little prince went away, to look again at the roses. "You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world." And the roses were very much embarrassed. "You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on.
"One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you, the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose."
He then returns to get the secret promised to him by the fox, and one of the most important lessons that anyone of any age should
learn in life:
"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.
"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."
"It is the time I have wasted for my rose..." said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.
"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have
tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."
"I am responsible for my rose," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember."
Responsibility, loyalty, selfless love - such important and lovely lessons and so sweetly stated...
I am the Prince, young and still learning...and somewhere, out in the future, over 7,000 miles and an ocean and continent away, is my future child, my rose!
To love a rose is to put selfless time and energy into it's upkeeping and beautification, both internally and externally. So will be my love for my future child, my rose.
"I am responsible for my child"...I will repeat it, so that I will be sure to remember.
Blessings and More Blessings,
*mandie*
(Le Petit Prince and his rose by Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
I'm an Irish dual-citizen - a writer, musician, and artist dealing with infertility, international adoption, and loss due to cancer. I try to be as open and honest about my life journey as possible in hopes that my experiences with both sadness and joy will somehow help others.
After battling infertility and loss for four years, my husband and I were matched with a beautiful baby boy born 1/2 a world away.
Desmond was born in December of 2011 across the ocean; and we are eagerly awaiting the day we hear we can travel to his beautiful birth country to bring him home for good.
In March of 2013, we lost my mother after a long battle with Philadelphia positive, adult, acute lympoblastic leukemia. She was cancer-free, but her new immune system could not fight the infections she contracted. It was a terrible blow to my entire family; and I am heart-broken that my son will never know her here on this earth.
Even in the midst of pain and suffering, God continues to bless us and guide us on our journey to parenthood; and we can't wait to see how He will continue to open doors for us and blow our minds with his far-reaching and unfailing LOVE - it is furious!
Visit our adoption website www.lovesplosion.com to order our "LOVE WINS" t-shirts or donate to help us bring our precious wee one HOME! We are so grateful for all of those who can bless us in this way; so, THANK YOU!
Thanks for stopping by; your prayers and support are so very appreciated!
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