"Brown Sissy"

Mother's Day.
I thought going through Christmas was tough without our sweet Ethiopian princess! Mother's Day might give it a run for it's money!! I'm so blessed. Like, super blessed. More than mere words could express or actions could show. As I press toward Mother's Day weekend I'm reminded of what rich treasure I have in my own Mom. She taught me the importance of The Word, not by forcing me to have a quiet time or dragging me to church. Rather, by being up early each morning with Bible already opened & poured over (Dad had his out too!). Recognizing the importance scripture played in her life gave me a deep love & yearning for the Word. I'm so grateful. And blessed.... Oh, I think I wrote that already. Anyway......
Mother's Day also makes me focus on these sweet kiddos who made me a mom!!! I often joke that the reason kids don't remember what happens before age 4 or 5 is because as parents we are still messing up so much, we need a few practice years. Of course I am kidding (mostly), but when I think about the blonde-haired, blue-eyed crew God has entrusted to our care I get weepy. Just today we were doing family devotions from our favorite kids devotional called, " Jesus Calling." In it we were asked to think about all that the world teaches us to "store up." then, we focused on joy, love, & peace & how we don't just store them up for ourselves, but we give them away. Then, they multiply! I love God's math.... By giving away, things multiply. Sigh. Back to my point. Brycen, Regan, Corbin, & Hudson have taught me so much about joy, love, & peace. Not because they are always joyful, loving, or peaceful, but because I recognize more tangibly how God loves us, me, as His adopted children. Nearly every night before bed I look at each of the kids and say, " you know what I love about you?" to which now they know & give the answer, "everything." I won't share everything about the kids that I love, but I want to honor them this Mother's Day because without them, well, I'm not a mom!
Brycen.... He is the only person I know who can give a ballgame play-by-play with as much emotion & drama as a Broadway play (ahem, and this is not an exaggeration). He loves to read & cuddle (shhh, don't tell!). Brycen would play ball 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week if I'd let him. So, when I go outside & play baseball with him (like yesterday) he gets a kick out of kicking my tail even though I didn't think we were keeping score! He is maternal in his instincts, often thinking about what I'm gonna need next before I do & often, he has already taken care of it. For instance, nearly every Sunday morning when I say, "let's start loading in the car," Brycen takes the little boys out & buckles them in their carseats. I've never, the first time, asked or expected him to. He loves scripture more than anyone I know & he is passionate about others knowing it as well. I'm so glad he's our first-born. I often whisper to him, " I'm so glad God chose you to be the one I'd first learn to be a Mommy to!" he just grins, hugs me, looks up at me, & hugs me again. I mean every word of it!
Regan......big things definitely come in small packages! She might be petite, but her personality & heart are the size of Texas!! If you follow the blog much at all, you know Regan has a huge heart for her sister in Ethiopia. She speaks of her often & always encourages me when she suspects I'm anxious about the adoption or sad about missing her sister. Regan asked me last summer if we could go buy backpacks, fill them with hygiene products, canned food, and a little money & keep them in our car so when we saw a homeless person we could give them one. Sigh. She teaches me so much about seeing people the way Jesus does. She also likes to dress up, wear make-up & big earrings (I have NO idea where she gets THAT!), & put on the best concerts you've ever seen (often times ending her concerts with, "Now please help me invite to the stage our pastor, Pastor Mark McKeehan, for a few words." cracks. me. up). Regan's creativity astounds me & her ability to love the difficult-to-love sets her apart. I'm so honored God chose me to be her mom.
Corbin..... FIRE BALL. I can't help but snicker just trying to think about what all to write. Corbin has his own language of which he gives us the privilege of understanding about every fifth word. He is energetic & super funny. As it turns out I believe he's gonna be our "class clown." He also happens to be the child who most longs for hugs, kisses, & quality time. In our adoption process I've had some very specific prayers. One has been that Corbin would never feel like we didn't have time for him & that he would understand the changes more than we thought a two year old could. Two weeks ago I was finding it difficult to put down a new book we'd found called, "Orphanology." On the cover are three pictures of children. The far left is a blonde-haired girl, in the middle is an Asian boy, & on the right is an African girl. As I read, Corbin was sitting on my lap. He pointed to the blonde girl & said, "Sissy" (Corbin affectionately refers to Brycen as "Bubba" and Regan as "Sissy"). I replied (half paying attention because I was trying to read while he was messing with the cover of my book!), " Yes, she does look like Sissy." Then he pointed to the picture on the right & said, "brown Sissy." My heart nearly stopped. I closed the book & said, "Show Mommy again." And again, he pointed to the blonde & said, "Sissy", then pointed to the African girl & said, "brown Sissy." We have never called our sweet Ethiopian princess "brown sissy", so I was taken aback. I quickly started videoing with my phone to send Mark a text. It was such confirmation to me that God is teaching him & he is understanding, indeed, more than we thought a two year old could. Thank you, Jesus, for loving us so kindly through Corbin!
Hudson..... Such a sweet boy!!!! His smile (with all 7 teeth) could light up any room. And his dimples? Oh please... To. Die. For!! Just recently he started wanting to play peek-a-boo again. However, he gets confused & when we say, "where's Hudson?" he covers his ears instead of his eyes! I get tickled every time. There's nothing like his little legs waddling as fast as they will carry him to me when he sees me coming to pick him up at church or when I come home from being out. Hudson loves to play in my shoes & he loves trying to keep up with Brycen & Corbin when they play play baseball with Mark in the living room. He doesn't look as much like the other three & his mannerisms are uniquely his. It has been such a joy to have all these "firsts" with our fourth! There is no other boy on the planet I'd want to be our baby!!

As you can see, this Mothers Day I have so much to celebrate & be grateful for. I'm asking for grace & supernatural comfort for my heart as I cherish these miracles & as I pray for our daughter who doesn't yet know she has a Mommy waiting, longing, coming for her. I'm humbled God entrusted me to mother Brycen, Regan, Corbin, & Hudson. And, "brown sissy."