baking and skating and bowling...oh my!

I realize this sounds insane,  but I actually created an activity schedule for our Christmas break.  The last thing I needed to hear about from 5 girls for 14 days was that there is nothing to do.  So with that in mind we started with baking.  Margo loves to help in the kitchen and was all about putting on the apron and getting out the ingredients.  Mekdes, however, feels like the best time for her to become involved is when we make Grandma Tipton's frosting.

 Next up, ice skating.  I was already sweating by the time I got all the girls in their skates and laced up.  I sent the herd out on the ice and so began the show.  Emme and Kate took off around the rink adopting the ice names of Kane and Toews (Blackhawks players) furiously racing to see who could complete the lap the fastest.  Margo found an orange traffic cone and took off around the rink pushing the cone for balance.  That left Mekdes and Anna.  After about 5 minutes Anna made her way over to the glass where I was sitting to tell me her back and ankles were killing her from picking Mekdes up off the ice repeatedly and trying to hold up her rather "solid" youngest sister.  Having a complaining adolescent daughter coupled with my Ethiopian princess who was rarin' to go left me no choice but to lace up and go out on the ice--yikes!  I hadn't skated since I was a kid, but it was like riding a bike and Mekdes and I had a ball!  Every time we got to the side of the rink that had the benches like we see the Blackhawks go in and out of during their shifts, Mekdes loved to open the door and hop on the bench....just like the pros.  When enough time had passed, she wanted to get back on the ice and skate another lap.  Her resilience was amazing as she kept picking herself up spill after spill.  It was so dear as she declared to her sisters as they flew by..."I LOVE ICE SKATING!".  Her father was beaming with pride when he heard.  The hours of time spent watching the Blackhawks was clearly paying off!

Finally, our Manning cousins came!  We headed to the bowling ally for another Mekdes first.  She loved the shoes and wanted to wear them home!  Other than the shoes, Mekdes really had no interest in the game.  At least not until the disco balls, flashing lights and music started at which time she announced, "Now, this is fun!".  

2011 goes out with a lion...

I know I say it all the time, but....where does the time go?  It seems like only yesterday that our family looked like this:

Now as I sit on this cold and snowy January morning, our family looks like this:

Ahhh, but I digress....

another glorious holiday season has past and we were able to spend some cherished time with family.  My folks pulled up in the driveway on Christmas Eve just in time to celebrate our tradition with the Geary clan.  Before we could start our celebration, however, Dad had to unload the most MAGNIFICENT gift.  It is a gift that took him hundreds of hours to create and has filled my heart with such gratitude and love that it is overflowing!  How did this phenomenal piece of art come to be....you may ask.  Well, for an art course my father is taking at the university, he created a lion (a traditional symbol of Ethiopia/the lion of Judah) holding a double sided flag.  One side depicts the United States and the other Ethiopia.  He created this masterpiece to symbolize the birth of Mekdes into our family.  Every hammered piece of metal, every weld, every design nuance reminds me of how truly blessed I am to have such a loving and talented father.  

back seat conversations...

As much of my time is spent shuttling girls from one event to another, I spend many hours perched in the front seat of our minivan.  What I relish while in this front position is listening to the conversations that go on in the back of the vehicle.  Todays conversation between Margo and Mekdes was delightful and I wanted to share it with you.  It went something like this....
Margo:  Look how loose my tooth is.  Pretty soon the tooth fairy will come.
Mekdes immediately started trying to wiggle her tooth and then stops and asks:  What is a tooth fairy?
Margo:   The tooth fairy takes your teeth and then leaves you money under your pillow.
Mekdes immediately covers her mouth and shouts out:  I don't want the fairy to take my teeth!  I don't want money!  And I don't want them in my room!
Ahh, the nuances of cultural characters!  We will have to cover the tooth fairy with more detail when the time comes!  For now, we have Santa to contend with and the time had come to meet with the toy maker from the North Pole to discuss what we would like him to bring us for Christmas.   The excitement level was high for both Margo and Mekdes and they were squealing with delight as we drove to see Santa.  While waiting in line to see the big man, decisions were being made and changed....then made and changed regarding what they were were going to ask for.  This was obviously a crucial decision and you don't want to blow it by being unprepared when your moment comes!  As we finally approached the jolly fellow in the big, red suit their minds were set and they marched up to declare their wishes.  As you will see in the videos, the Smurf movie and purple boots are what we asked Santa for.  Let's hope he remembers...

There is a funny side note to this story.  As we were standing in line and the girls were trying to decide what to ask for, there was a man with two young girls who walked up behind us.  He was a little rough and clearly felt as if he had drawn the short straw when it came to bringing his girls to see Santa.  His irritability stood out like a sore thumb in a line of people glowing with the holiday spirit!  Shortly after he and his girls arrived in line he received a phone call that decidedly added to his "mood".  Within seconds the expletives were flying out of his mouth and people were literally covering their children's ears!  One father started to sing/shout "up on the housetop reindeer's paw...".  It was all I could do not to break out into hysterical laughter at being caught in this absurd dichotomy that truly warranted a spot in the Saturday Night Live holiday skit line-up!  Standing between the family who was  wearing matching outfits for their Christmas card  photo op with Santa and the man who had a vocabulary that would make a truck driver blush made for a very memorable first visit with the giant elf!

a norman rockwell thanksgiving....

If there is one time of year I look forward to the most, it is Thanksgiving.  Every year, we pack up our crew (5 girls, a dog, 2 adults, 7 suitcases and activity bags)  in the minivan and head to Ohio for a few days of Thanksgiving bliss.  My parents have a small farm in Ohio with all the bells and whistles that make is a fabulous destination for our entire family.  The tractor, the gator, chickens, turkeys, a cabin, bon fires, target practice, the work shop....the list goes on and on.  This was Mekdes' first Thanksgiving at the Davis farm and she was in heaven.  As she stated while we were on our hayride, "I really like it here!".  As do we all!  From digging up the potato harvest to making reindeer there were many first for Mekdes this year.  Here are some pics from our delightful Thanksgiving holiday.

Anna learns to drive the tractor this year....soon, a car...yikes!

our work shop project

we take our target competition very seriously!

all the cousins!

our annual hayride had the added element of a treasure hunt this year--great fun!

mmmmmm.....mama's pie dough!

the dreaded question...

This holiday season has been a real treat for me watching Mekdes absorb all of our cultural rituals and stories that surround the Christmas holiday.  We have watched Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with absolute awe and joy.  She is recognizing holiday music and lights up when she hears her favorites.  What has been so fascinating is to see how steeped in tradition and lore we all are since birth and how that effects our beliefs.  While Margo has no problem with the understanding of Santa, his job responsibilities on Christmas Eve and his sled being pulled by reindeer that fly, Mekdes continually asks.."So how does the sled fly?"  "What do you mean the reindeer are magical?"  "How does he see everyone in one night?"   We breathe these facts in from the moment we enter this world and are taught all the glorious stories that surround this miraculous event.  To see this child try to wrap her brain around our stories and beliefs has been pure joy for all of us!  

The other day we were on the front porch putting up the greenery and Mekdes declares, "This is going to make Santa so happy!".  I told her that he loves to see everyone in the holiday spirit.  She paused for a moment and asked, "What color is Santa?".  I froze!  I have prepared myself for this type of question for years....I taught in the inner city....I have a degree in African American Studies....I have a binder full of articles on how to respond to your  child when they have questions regarding color.....ARGH!!!!  Why is my mind drawing a blank?!  How do you see him in your heart?  I think he is the color of love.  What do I do?  What do I do?  And then Mekdes interrupted the silence.  "Oh, ya.", she said.  "He is red and white.".  YES!  YES!  I joyfully concurred!  He IS red and white!  I sure do love these moments of levity.  I truly feel they are reminders from our higher power telling us to relax and enjoy the moment. 

Happy Holidays, everyone!

a new hair do

hair...

We are now into doing hair once a week and trying new styles.  I am constantly googling African American hair styles for young girls and then trying to You Tube how to achieve it.  My favorite styles are the ones that take under an hour and I think Mekdes would agree.  Our least favorite styles are the two hour deals that leave us both cranky and annoyed!  We love her beautiful curls and I wish I had half the fullness of Mekdes' hair, but the amount of product and effort that goes into maintaining African hair is something we Caucasians cannot even begin to appreciate!  Hair is an enormous subject in the African American community as I can attest to via my inner city teaching experience as well as my African American Studies major.  I had entire courses dedicated to the subject.  It is multi layered and very complex and there can be a lot of self worth wrapped up in an African American woman's hair.  With all that said, I wonder if it will be the same for Mekdes.  After all, she is not African American.  She does not descend of ancestors with roots that go back through slavery.  She is American/Ethiopian  and from what I have read, many  Ethiopian American adoptees do not have the same feelings on hair and skin color that African Americans may have.  It will be interesting to see how our dear Mekdes feels as she grows and develops.   

This morning I was having feelings of guilt, however.  Guilt over not mastering all the wonderful hair styles that Medkes deserves to wear in her hair.  Somewhere in that sacred space between mother and child Mekdes must have sensed I was feeling low.  As I was working on her hair she whispered, "you are a good mom".  How dear!  How pure!  And oh, how I needed to hear it in that very moment.   

Life is good!  

40 minutes flat--new record!

We put the letter M in the back of this hair style...very exciting!

1 year....

Today is our "Gotcha Day" anniversary.  One year ago today we were able to walk out of Hannah's Hope with our Mekdes.  

While the proper thing to say here is, "Where has the time gone?" or "Geez, it just flew by!" the honest to God truth is that Shawn and I have aged 10 years since November 15, 2010!   Three adolescent daughters, rigorous athletic schedules, involved students in four different schools (preschool, elementary school, middle school and high school), boyfriends, social calendars, our youngest child still transitioning, our fourth child still figuring out her role...the list goes on and on yet they all contribute to our perpetual state of chaos here in the Geary household.  This is nothing that every other stay at home mom doesn't deal with on a daily basis and I do realize I am preaching to the choir here with some of you, but I do dream of a day when I am as together as those moms we see around town who look put together, who act put together and who don't have kids going to preschool with a maxi pad stuck to the back of her coat!   But the reality is,  as I look back at all that has happened since a year ago today,  I wouldn't trade any of it as it is the glorious realization of what a leap of faith can do.  

Now the aforementioned "put together" mom would have created a beautiful Ethiopian feast for her family on this special day.  But in our Geary chaos, Mekdes has decided that pepperoni pizza and Sprite would make her perfect dinner....what a change a year makes!   From bananas to pizza.  Perhaps I'll be put together next year...we can dream!

Gotcha Day!  Here is the outfit Mekdes wore when we left the orphanage.  My how we've grown!