And here's the whole gang at Kennedy Space Center

 

 

Immigrants & indignation

I received an ignorant mass email this morning about immigrants and the language issue here in the states. The subject of the email was "Hip hip hooray! Go USA!" and left me awaiting something upbeat, announcing how Americans had come together to do something great. Something proclaiming the positive impact Americans were having somewhere. But instead, the email did the opposite - it berated the Hispanic population for wanting to sing the national anthem in Spanish, dividing rather than building up our nation.

This country was built by immigrants, and we wouldn't be where we are today without the immigrant work force. The vast majority of immigrants in this country do the jobs Americans don't want to do, they're peaceable, and with a handful of exceptions, they do learn our language. If they want to express pride in our country (their adopted country) in their native language, why is that a bad thing? As this email says, this is a country where freedom of choice reigns. Why shouldn't they have freedom of choice as well? They contribute to the economy, they bring diversification of ideas and they enrich this country's history and culture. Furthermore, thousands of them serve next to 'our' boys and girls to defend this country, putting their lives on the line daily to serve and protect.

As a US citizen, I am in this country now for much the same reason as the immigrants. When my husband and I got pregnant overseas, I wanted exactly what the immigrants want - something better for my children. I didn't want to give birth in a country where the infant mortality rate is higher than that in my home country. Can you blame me? If not, can you blame them? If anything, we should be thankful that the Hispanic population loves this country enough that they have a desire to sing our national anthem in the language closest to their heart. Who are we to criticize their dedication to our (our being inclusive of immigrants) country?

This country was founded by immigrants - more specifically, by conquistadors and colonialists that came in and pillaged the Native Americans. To point a finger at the immigrants is to point a finger at our own ancestors (who do, in fact deserve judgment for much of what they did). Not one of us (other than Native Americans) can claim to be different from the immigrants - we all descend from people who immigrated to this country and worked hard to make a better life. To turn against the immigrant population (who, by the way, work their fingers to the bone daily to contribute to our economy) is to turn against the very values our nation was founded on.

When ignorant Americans who think of this country as the center of the universe make claims that immigrants are ruining this country, it reflects poorly on all of us, drives a wedge between us and does a disservice to the nation.

Priorities

So, parenting is about giving your children what they need, not just what they want. What they want is for the world to revolve around them. For the people (and things) they love to be ever-present. But what do they need? They need to know that they are loved, and they need examples of proper priorities and values. They need character development, and that comes, in part, from not always getting the things we want.

Therefore, it just might be that my upcoming trip to Bangkok is good for them. Explaining to them that mama's going on an airplane to help people somewhere else, and explaining to them that God loves those people too, will teach them certain values. And long-term, it's an example of how we, as their parents (I include Eugene in this, because I couldn't do this without his strong support), place our values and see our parenting responsibilities. God always first, then our marriage, then our kids. And let's face it... with my kids at their current ages (Liam will be 13 months in Janary, Sofia will be 3 months shy of 3 years old), it's the perfect time for me to go somewhere. Traveling without them will be much harder when they're old enough to remember that mom missed their piano recital or soccer game. Or, when they have so many activities that they need a full-time taxi driver (a.k.a., "mom").

I worry about them and how they'll manage without me for a week and a half. And I worry that whoever is caring for them won't remember to give Sofia her vitamin, or to tell her a story at bedtime, or watch how Liam treats his ear. Or the obvious, that something bad will happen while I'm away. But, I have to remember to trust in God (and trust in others' abilities to care for my kids...), and most importantly, that God is sovereign and loves my kids even more than I do.

Thailand...

Tickets are bought. I'm headed to Thailand this January, and couldn't be farther from my comfort zone! I'll be there for 10 days, working with NightLight. I'm going with a small team from Perimeter, and there are so many reasons for me to be hesitant! The first, and most important (to me, that is), is that I'll be leaving my kids behind for 10 whole days! I've never left them for a night! Even when I was in labor with Liam, I made sure Eugene stayed home with Sofia until she fell asleep... Then there are the issues about culture shock - I've never been to Asia. In fact, I've never been anywhere except N. America and Europe. It's going to be so very incredibly different. I'm not sure I'm ready for that. And, I'll be visiting the red-light district of Bangkok. That is something I'm definitely not prepared for. I need to find a way to get over my indignation and anger (regardless of how righteous my indignation will be - it won't get anything done) about the way these women are treated and dig deep to focus on compassion for them. As if that isn't enough to consider, I'll also be ministering to women who have been trafficked from Eastern Europe, specifically Russian speakers. My Russian is so rusty, it's almost non-existent. I have a lot of studying to do! Pray that God would bring back my Russian proficiency miraculously fast!

The big news of the day, though, is that you can now (finally) buy NightLight jewelry online (click here)! Use your consumer dollars to rescue women from exploitation!

Parallel Play

They're starting to play together and entertain each other! Success!


Check out my green hat - my very first crochet project!

Baby-proofing

I've come to realize that baby-proofing means different things for different babies. For Sofia, it was taking minor measures to protect her from danger. For Liam on the other hand, I think it's making an attempt to protect my house from the baby. We still have the gate up at the top of the stairs. It's drilled into the studs in the wall. But it won't be for long - Liam pulls at it every chance he gets, and I'm convinced he's going to pull it out of the wall very shortly. He can already pull one corner far enough away from the wall that he could feasibly wiggle through if he really wanted to. And there were all sorts of things that I never needed to baby proof for Sofia - the stove, the TV buttons, the lazy susan in the kitchen, outlets that were behind furniture. Liam's favorite past time is to move the furniture. The kid isn't even 11 months yet! I don't think I'll be able to protect the house from him, but if I try really hard, I can probably (hopefully) keep him from doing permanent damage to himself.

Teeth, pulling up, and other developments

Liam has become such a little explorer recently! He's pulling up on the furniture and trying to cruise along the edges of the furniture. Yesterday he knelt in front of Sofia's baby doll stroller and pushed it across the room on his knees. He thought it was pretty cool!

His 3rd tooth came in, top right. You can't see it yet in his smile, but soon, he'll be a toothy kid! He's eating more than I could ever imagine - up to 12 jars of baby food a day. I've started cutting back on the baby food (at sometimes $.79/jar it gets expensive, especially when you add in formula) and substituting regular table food. I think one of his favorites is scrambled eggs. When you put him next to a girl his age, the difference is striking. The girl (usually) picks up her food one piece at a time, puts it in her mouth, chews, swallows, then goes for another piece. Liam, on the other hand, shovels handfuls at a time into his mouth, doesn't bother with chewing, just continually shovels, occasionally chews, and somehow manages to swallow.
Sofia is doing better with him - she went through a phase where she was afraid of him. But she's much better now. She still gets upset when he goes for one of her toys, but what do you expect from a 2-year old? Now they entertain each other - they laugh at each other, make faces - it's fun to watch. And it makes my job a lot easier. I don't have to be their entertainer. And Sofia still isn't much of an eater, except when it comes to corn on the cob or pomegranates (go figure!).

Here are the kids at the pumpkin patch, edited with Picasa. We tried to get a picture of Sofia kissing Liam's head, but she was pretty quick - she'd kiss and run!

Halloween & developments

This was the first Halloween that Sofia was old enough to enjoy, and enjoy it she did! Now a week later she's still asking to put on her costume and go trick-or-treating. We went around the neighborhood with the Kinker family - Jack and Ben and mom Hollie. It was good for me - Hollie's a good role model as far as mothering goes. I would have just told Sofia to say 'trick-or-treat' and 'thank you' - but Hollie (how wise is she!) told the kids to look everyone in the eye when they speak to them! So, by the end of the evening, Sofia was looking each person in the eye, saying her trick-or-treat and thank you, and then bye-bye with a wave, all on her own! I'm probably biased, but I think that makes her a child prodigy. So, here is a family picture from Halloween (check out Sofia's cute bumble-bee costume and Liam's little pumpkin outfit!), a picture of Sofia with Jack and Ben Kinker.

Poor Liam had an ear infection for Halloween. The doctor put him on amoxicillin - I had some issues with that, but how am I supposed to know what's best - but the ear infection never really cleared up. So now, we saw the doctor again yesterday and Liam's on a new antibiotic. This antibiotic cost us $100! I'm not even sure that he should be on antibiotics for the ear infections. But the information out there is so confusing! I re-iterated that I don't want him on medicine unless we're sure that it's necessary, and the doc said it was. And since I do like this doctor (the one who told me Liam had a big head, and by the so does mom), I'll take his word for it. Liam does seem a little better today than he was yesterday. So, stats on the kids:

Liam: 20 lbs 7 oz
Sofia: 25 lbs 2 oz
(notice - less than 5 lbs difference between them!)