a bag of chips

Happy Birthday, Pop!

My grandfather, Charles Champlin, had a birthday last week.  He turned 80 on the 23rd.  And on Sunday the whole family and several of my grandparent's closest friends decended upon my grandparent's house to celebrate this amazing man.  And what a lovely celebration. 

Happy birthday, Pop.  I love you with all my heart.

So sweet.

Tonight at bedtime I rocked Aidan and sang for him "You Are My Sunshine" over and over again.  When it was time to put him in his bed, he asked me why I sang him that song.  I said that it was my favorite song.  And then he said, "You're my "Wheels on the Bus," mama."

(Sniffle.)

I love my boy.

POTD

So, I'm a big BINGO loser.  I've been playing for years, although sporadically, and I've yet to win.  Not even a door prize.  And let's not even talk about what happens when I hit the slots on my way out the door.  Oh well.  Better luck next time, right?  Yeah.  I thought so.

Anyway, here is a photo I took of Aidan playing peek-a-boo through the letter "u".  Okay, so, technically, this should be the "Picture of Yesterday" since I took it yesterday, but I'm posting it today so it counts.  So there.

B-I-N-G-O

Hubby's letting me go play bingo tonight.  Me and the blue-hairs and chain smokers.  Wish me luck!  And thanks, honey.  I love you.

POTD Make-up

Okay. So my POTD roll lost momentum.  But I'm making it up by posting several photos I took today of Makena.  She was a great little model, sitting still and being adorable.

The other day I bought this bright pink/red velvet on clearance at an upholstery story and I just had to try it out.  I think I like it!!! 

(Camera details:  Manual setting, ISO 800, 28-135mm at f4.5, natural light, SS 80 - 125)

I won the "green" challenge!

Remember the green photos I posted here a while back?  They were in response to a challenge on 2Peas to photograph something green.  Well, they announced the other day that I won the challenge with this below.  HOW COOL IS THAT?  To be recognized by the amazing photographers on the 2Peas photography message board is such a honor.

And, in addition to the heart-swelling pride of winning the challenge, I get to come up with the new challenge color.  So I chose white.  I don't know about anyone else, but I find that white is an awfully hard color to photograph.   What is white in real life ends up looking blue-ish or dingy or too blown out.  So this ought to be good.

Woohoo!

On infertility and adoption.

I've had something on my mind lately and I've been trying to sort it out in my head before writing about it here for the greater world to happen upon.  It's about our place in this world as adoptive parents, as a couple who has known the heartbreak of infertility and indescribable joys of parenthood through adoption.

I believe that it is no coincidence that there are people who are unable to conceive a child and that there are babies and children in this world who need parenting.  I also believe that God knows our children long before the idea of having children even enters our radar, and probably long before that.  I guess what I'm sorta trying to say is that God has a plan for each of us - yes, that old Christian adage.  I am feeling that God didn't give us the gift of pregnancy but gave us the gift of parenthood nonetheless.  By our infertility perhaps God was trying to lead us down the path to our children, the ones meant to be ours.

Now, I'm not saying that those who have conceived through fertility treatments don't have the children God intended.  But when we didn't become pregnant, we listened with our hearts to what God was trying to tell US and adoption was His answer.  We prayed to God to make us parents, to give us children.  He just chose to answer our prayers a little differently that we might have expected.  And answer them he did.

And even this wait for our third child, which is now going on its eighth month, I know God's plan will present itself according to His timing and His will.  If it takes another week or another year, I'll be okay with that.  Really.

It breaks my heart to hear how sad, frustrated, and angry (and sometimes divorced) some couples are after years of fertility heartbreaks.  Some of these folks are angry at God for not answering their prayers.  It breaks my heart that these people are so hung up on genetics or so set on believing the myths about adoption that they continue to be childless and miserable.  Yes, adoption may not be for everyone, and adoption - whether international or domestic - is not without its risks.  But neither is pregnancy. 

Did I have these same convictions when we were in the midst of our infertility treatments?  No.  Did I get angry at God then for not answering our prayers for pregnancy?  Yes.  Would I trade getting pregnant for the children we have been blessed with?  No way.  Will some people say that my little epiphany is just a way of justifying or reasoning with the hand we've been dealt?  Perhaps. 

So maybe this all didn't come out as eloquently as I had planned, but I think I've said what's in my heart.  Thanks for listening.

Meow.

POTD #2.  I'm on a roll.

Picture of the day.

So, I've decided to try to do a "Photo of the Day" entry here on my blog.  At 2Peas they have a POTD thread and I'm sporadic about posting, more like "Picture of the Week"  or "Picture of the Fortnight."  So, to encourage regular, daily photography and to help me find something beautiful in each day, I'm going to start to do this POTD thing here.  Okay?  Okay.

Here is my beautiful thing of this day.  My gorgeous girl looking all warm and happy and furry.  Enjoy.

Tagged.

By Cynthia, scrapbooking goddess.

1. Legal First name?
Christina Margaret.
2. Were you named after anyone? 
First name, no.  My middle name is from both of my grandmothers whose names are Margaret.
3. Do you wish on stars?
No.
4. When did you last cry?
Watching Steel Magnolias a few weeks ago. 
5. What is your favorite lunch meat? 
Turkey.
6. What is your birth date?
April 18th.
7. What is your most embarrassing CD/tape? Britney Spears
8. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you?
I guess so, since we'd have so much in common.
9. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Who, me?
10. What are your nicknames?
Mama, Teena Beena, Love, Honey, Sweet Pea, Sweetie Pie, T.
11. Would you bungee jump?
Hell no. 
12. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Depends on the shoes.
Where's number 13?
14. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Vanilla.   
15. Shoe Size?
9.5 or 10.  See #12 for rest of answer.
16. Red or pink?
Pink. 
17. What is your least favorite thing about yourself?
Just one?  Hmmm.  My toes.  Yup.  That's it. 
18. Who do you miss most?
My daddy. 
19. Favorite past-time?
Scrapping, taking pictures, being with my kids and my hubby (in varying order).
20. What color pants/skirt & shoes are you wearing?
Black lace teddy and Shrek slippers and I haven't shaved my legs in two weeks.
21. What are you listening to right now?
The click of my nails on the keyboard as I type.
22. What did you eat for breakfast?
Haven't had it yet.
23. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Cerulean.  (Do they make one in that color?  Well, they should.) 
24. What is the weather like right now?
Frosty but warming up.
25. Last person you talked to on the phone?
My hubby.
26. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
His face. Really.  I swear.
27. Coffee or tea?
Coffee, or better yet a Vanilla Latte.
28. Favorite Drink?
Gin and tonic.
29. Hair Color?
Greyish brown.
30. Do you wear contacts?
Nope.  Thank God for Lasik.
31. Favorite Food?
Japanese or Italian.  It's a Thai.
32. Last Movie You Watched?
Hitch.
33. Favorite Day of the Year?
Christmas Day.
34. Scary Movies or Happy Endings?
Happy endings!
35. Summer or winter?
In California there's usually not much of a difference, but I'd say Winter. 
36. Hugs OR Kisses?
Hugs.   
37. What Is Your Favorite Dessert?
Cheesecake.
38. Have you ever won any awards?
Student of the Month in 4th grade.   
39. Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
My ears are  pierced.
40. Living Arrangements?
In a house with my family.
41. What Books Are You Reading?
Just finished "Saving Fish From Drowning" by Amy Tan and "The Time Traveler's Wife" by a talented writer with a really long last name that I can't remember, peppered with Curious George and Dora books. 
42. What's On Your Mouse Pad?
Jack. As in Jack in the Box.   
43. What did you watch last night on TV?
"Cheers" and "All in the Family"
44. Favorite Smell?
Baby.
45. Favorite Junk Food?
Chips and salsa.  Good, hot salsa.
46. Rolling Stones or Beatles?
The Beatles.  Mick Jagger's lips scare me.
47. What's the farthest you've been from home?
Trinidad, West Indies.

Everyone who reads this is hereby tagged.  Gotcha!