Mwangaza

Mwangaza is the Swahili word for "shining light", and it's also the name of a children's choir from Uganda that I got to see last weekend.  Oh, how my heart swelled throughout their entire performance full of color and life and joy.  I cannot think of a better description than "mwangaza" to describe them.  They truly shined.  I loved getting to see a stage full of beautiful children right from the very country (and some of them from the same city our baby will likely be from) singing and dancing their hearts out.  They were beautiful, so beautiful.  To see clips and for more information on these precious shining lights, visit their website at www.mwangazachoir.org.  And please, treat yourself to watch some of their videos at www.mwangazachoir.org/video.  Let their shining light spill over into your home and life, and then share it!  


Meanwhile, we're praying for our little Mwangaza...our shining light and his/her birth family.  Below is a poem I wrote one morning while praying for him/her.  

Dear Baby, a poem for you...

Sweet child of mine, 

I know not where you are.

Sweet child of mine,

You seem so very far.

Sweet child of mine,

I am so eager to hold you tight.

Sweet child of mine, 

I can't wait to experience your shining light.

Sweet child of mine,

You are such a precious gem.

Sweet child of mine,

I'm thankful for you to Him.

Let your light shine!

Bloom.

Bloom where you're planted...

Our lovely booth from Saturday's Garden in the Park

 


  

Trying really hard not to be cheesy...Heather and me.  This is the best friend who not only taught me how to sew and made much of our merchandise, but put in many long studio hours and helped set up and keep the whole booth inspired!  Bloomin' friendship, I tell ya...it's always spring. 

Adoption Aprons!

Funky Green!

Seersucker Explosion!

Little Miss Pink Poodle

Grillmaster & Grillmaster Jr.

Mama Cook/Daughter Cook

 

J. Bird Designs...my sister-in-law Jessica Andrus' beautiful crocheted items.

Soft bum ruffle onesie.

"Hold me." onesie...why, yes little baby, we will hold you!

lavender bum ruffle

                                                     

Pink spring flora bum ruffle onesie 

"Mommy rocks" little man outfit.

 

Noah David's favorite part of our Bloom booth was the pastel candy corn.

Why yes, a tie and vest can be soft and comfortable.  

"Burp Buddies"...one side super soft, vibrant cotton, the other side towel to catch dribbles!

Beautiful, soft baby blankets.

What baby boy doesn't need a super hero cape?

Candy corn + polish sausage + funnel cakes + lemonade + playing allll day = worn out DI

Bloom, Caroline, keep on bloomin'.  My beautiful God-daughter who is in full bloom and more than vibrant and precious!

Garden in the Park: BOOTH

This Saturday Keep Opelika Beautiful is hosting the annual "Garden in the Park" at the Municipal Park in Opelika from 8:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. and the exciting news (aside from all the great festivities and train ride and carnival-ish food being offered of course www.keepopelikabeautiful.com)...


We will have a booth there and will be selling...

• vibrant, colorful adult and children's aprons,
• precious, original baby and children's clothing, 
• bright, fun baby items

all handmade by Heather and I and all proceeds going to BENEFIT OUR ADOPTION!

Our merchandise make beautiful, one-of-a-kind gifts for babies, Mother's Day, Birthdays or "just because".  

Come stop by and shop!  And an added bonus:  Daniel will be representing Lifeline Children's Services at the booth next to ours and would love to share about the adoption, orphan care and birth mother ministries of Lifeline.


Come check it out; it's going to be GREAT!


For additional information or questions, feel free to contact me at littletaylorlights@gmail.com

Not if but when...

is a lesson that keeps coming up repeatedly in my little corner.

starting sidenote: ergo baby carrier = the most comfortable baby carrier ever

Not IF my boys fall and get hurt, but WHEN...
Not IF my boys mess up and make bad choices, but WHEN...
Not IF things in life are going to be hard, but WHEN...
Not IF we're going to struggle, but WHEN...

And rather than going nuts to prevent hardship or trying to "make" things right, I take heart in knowing Who to turn to. And the cry of my heart is that my children will know Who to turn to when they blow it....Who to turn to when they're struggling...Who to turn to when they are hurting. In my perfect little Mommy Dreamland, I will always get to be a part of loving them and soothing them. For now, when they fall and get hurt, they come running and crying (or just lie there and wait for me to come running) and I squeeze them close and wipe their hot tears from their rosy cheeks and shush them and rock them and kiss them and assure them that they will be ok and play "Dr. Mommy" if necessary. For now, when they fall down and I can tell they aren't hurt, I am there to cheer them on, "Hop back up! You're ok." For now, when they mess up and make bad choices, I am there to correct them...to teach them. For now, when they are exhausted and hungry and worn down and falling apart, Mama is there to hold them, to help them and get to physically have the opportunity to be the hands and arms of Jesus to them. To pour on them the Grace and Patience. To comfort them. To be a funnel of peace and love and hope. To teach them...to guide them...to help them grow. What a marvelous role I get to play in the lives of our boys. It is simultaneously humbling and exhilarating.

(He thinks he has to bend down to walk underneath this ramp...)

And as I think of my boys, my mind always goes to "who will our next baby be?" What will be his/her "whens"? And then the thought of getting to mother him/her just opens the flood gates of delight and glee and at the same time, my heart already hurts thinking of the possible "whens" that baby will have had before meeting our family's arms. I want to already be there for the "whens"....

when he/she is growing in his/her birth mama's womb
when he/she is kicking and hiccuping inside mama's belly
when he/she is born
when he/she is held
when he/she is abandoned
when he/she is spending his/her first night in the orphanage
when he/she wakes at night crying and alone
when he/she smiles for the first time
when he/she holds his/her head up...rolls over...
when he/she coos.

I can't be there for all the whens, but He can and He is. What an opportunity and privilege this role of Mama is. I'm in awe and in love with the Author of it all.

Cleaning with Meaning

Saturday was one of those total-purge-and-clean day, and Spring Cleaning never felt so good! You see, we were throwing away years of stored junk, but we were also accumulating this huge pile (2 truck loads to be exact) of "YARD SALE" items. I've never hosted a yard sale before, but I am very excited about our upcoming one. Every item that landed in the yard sale pile marked a little inch closer to bringing home our baby from Africa. Every item trashed marked a spot that was a little cleaner and a little more ready for welcoming our child home. I (with Heather and Daniel's help, thankfully) am "nesting" as Daniel pointed out, and it feels so good. Those of you who know me, know that cleaning and organizing is not my forte...to put it mildly. Give me the daily choice between making pillow forts, playing outside in this beautiful weather, doing art projects with my boys OR cleaning....and I pick playing every time. And I am fully aware that more balance needs to be brought to this area, and I'm working on it and working towards finding a happy medium between playing and enjoying and soaking up my boys and husband and then doing the mundane necessities of house keeping. BUT, Saturday was a grand start in the direction of getting more organized and cleaning out our home! And I'm thrilled to see the outcome of our yard sale to benefit our adoption. With that being said, here are the details....we need your help!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

7:00 a.m. - Noon (or later if we still have customers!)

414 N. 10th St.

Opelika, Alabama

How can you help?

• Donate items to be sold at the yard sale (we aren't selling any clothing but everything else welcome!)
• Volunteer your time to help us that day
• Come shop!
• Pray!

Email me if you would like to help out: littletaylorlights@gmail.com


Put some meaning into your spring cleaning, too! Every cent made will go directly towards our adoption fees. It takes a village....to bring our baby home, and we're thankful and excited to have you partner with us!

Lovin' Love Day.

I've always loved Valentine's Day. Ever since I was a little girl. Mom would always have a special outfit for me to wear to school. I'll never forget the red a-line corduroy dress that buttoned down the front that she made for me that I wore on Valentine's Day in the 5th grade. I also beat a boy at arm wrestling that day in front of our whole class....oops. Perhaps not the most discreet of my actions, but hey, I was strong and I was challenged and I rose to the occasion. I also have a special memory...I believe it was Valentine's Day in the 2nd grade, you know, back when bubble suits as we called them were a HUGE deal. Mom bought me a black one with little pink flowers on it and it even had a ruffle around the waist! For real...I just KNEW I was a hottie that day. Yes, I totally rocked those white lace-up Keds with it, too. And probably pink socks. And most definitely pig tails. And even aside from the outfits, those little cheap Valentine cards=wonderful. Moving along to middle school age Valentine's Day when I had that boyfriend I wasn't really allowed to have since I couldn't date until I was 16. Let's just say that was funny and I totally ate that whole box of chocolate all by myself. And how many gals get to say they've had Valentine's Days with their husbands since high school? That's just a cherry on top to the mighty good man I got. I'll never forget the Valentine's Day in college when I was student teaching at an inner-city Christian school in Chattanooga and brought little Valentine treat bags for the class. One of the most precious little boys ever stood up and said a blessing for me that went something like this, "Our dear most gracious heavenly Fatha. We do thank Thee for bestowing dese Valemtimes on us from Miss Sarah. Thank you fo bringin' her to us. In Jesus Holy Name we pray. Amen." Now THAT was one of my most favorite V-Days ever. Then there was the year Daniel and I listened to Norah Jones and slow danced and he gave me that beautiful diamond cross necklace. And last year he left at least 10 cards all over the house and car for me to find and hunt throughout the day. He'd written a page in every one of them. And this year? My sweet Daniel Isaac wrote his own initials in a card he dictated for Daniel to write for me that read, "Mommy, You are my Valentine. I love you soooo much. Thank you for making me hot chocolate and giving me those yummy vitamins. Love, Daniel Isaac and Noah David." Melting Mama heart. And my husband...wow. Really? I get to be his best friend, life partner, lover? He's so much more than a dream come true. He's the best daddy and husband and there really aren't words to describe all that I feel and know about him. And with Daniel, it just keeps getting better and better. I love being married to him. I love parenting with him. I just really love him.


Anyway, that's just a tidbit of my fabulous Valentine memory reflections. I could have (and maybe should have) researched the origins of Valentine's Day and given some insightful snippit, BUT bascally here's how it goes for me: I love a day that's declared to celebrate and declare LOVE. I'm addicted to love....giving it and receiving it. And oh how I long for and strive to love like Jesus does. So purely, so passionately, in truth and unconditionally.

And speaking of love....the love in my heart is growing and swelling for the baby who will one day be ours. I cannot wait for his/her first Valentine's Day with us. I can't wait to tell him/her how our love for him/her started so early and how I loved talking about him/her and dreaming about him/her and planning and hoping. I cannot wait to share how God, in His perfect love, adopted me into His family...I had nothing to do with it. Just like our sweet baby was born and made no choice of his/her own in his/her abandonment or placement into an orphanage, BUT (and this is a huge BUT) God in His beautiful plan chose US to get to LOVE him/her forever. To adopt him/her into our family forever and ever and ever. And the love our baby will receive....ah, just brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. FLOODGATES of love that have already started trickling and leaking and spilling and then once he/she is home....WHOOOSH!

Happy Love Day. Let's make every day love day.

Thinking.

Although I have multiple hilarious quotes from Daniel Isaac and several hysterical stories of my two little lights...I will save those for another time. I am really thinking about the baby we will adopt tonight....well, all the time and just writing about a sample of my thoughts tonight in our quiet home while my boys breathe deep, slow sleeping breaths.  I wonder...  


Will it be a boy or a girl?
Will it be more than one?
How old will he/she/they be?
When will we see him for the first time?
What will his given name be?
What will we name him?
What will his story be?
Will he be crying at night in the orphanage?
Does he have siblings?
What is his birth mama thinking and feeling?
Has he been conceived?  
Where will he be born?
What will be the day that I hold him for the first time?
Will my eyes ever dry in thinking and praying for this precious child?
What will the 24+ hour flight to and from Uganda be like?
What will we do while we're in Uganda?
What will my boys think about a foreign country?
What will it feel like to have baby home at last?
What will his/her birthday be?  
What will we do for their birthday party?
Will I ever stop staring at my children...all of them?
Will this overwhelming sense of gratitude for being on this journey ever cease...I hope not.  


I don't have any answers for my questions, hopes, dreams....I imagine many different scenarios, faces, paths.  And for those I am deeply thankful.  The greatest gift of all right now...


"My frame was not hidden from you 
   when I was made in the secret place, 
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 
 Your eyes saw my unformed body; 
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book 
   before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:15-16)


And my response...
 
"How precious to me are your thoughts, God! 
   How vast is the sum of them!" (Psalm 139:17)


He knows.  He cares.