Disneyland was great.  Everyone in the family loves it there and the crowds are generally happy.  And I always love places with good customer service.  Seriously it matters to me.  With a few days there, we weren’t in a huge hurry.  The girls love it and are so flexible with lines and walking.  Elijah was at the perfect age.  He was just aware enough of his surroundings to keep saying “WOW!” at everything.  It was so sweet.

He loved the little baby rides but was content to just hang out with Mommy and eat. 

But I was most impressed with my PTSD girly.  There was something about this weekend that revealed a depth and growth in her emotionally that I haven’t seen in our every day context.  There were obviously big crowds and lots of relatives.  She was calm, joking and regulated.  It was an awesome thing to see.  As a mom parenting kids from hard places, these moments are few and far between.  But they are dripping with hope.  She is healing.  Her future doesn’t have to hold what her past has.

HOPE

My inlaws took us to Disneyland last weekend.  We surprised the girls with a little scavenger hunt.  (this is the edited version. I’ll spare you the 10 min original) It was so sweet.

Right after this video, Elijah was jumping and screaming around despite not knowing what the excitement was all about. 

Yes, we are alive.  I probably haven’t taken this much time off of blogging since 2005, so you can imagine the state of our world right now.  It has been a little bit crazy.  If you think of it, pray for our family.  I’m dealing with some health stuff and your prayers are appreciated.

I’ll hopefully get caught up on blogging soon.

We have had some unexpected bills this last month. We would love to move the last few pendants we have to offset those costs and bless some awesome Mommas for Mother’s Day. They are all sterling silver and semi-precious stones. They were donated to us so we are selling them at cost. They are beautiful and would make fantastic Mother’s day gifts. Please email me at gatheredfromafar @ yahoo dot com to order.

 You can see the original pictures by clicking on the icon on the right
(note that some options have sold out)

You know the precious family that you have prayed for and donated to? Well, their son just came home!!!!!! Here is a video his new sister made of him. What an amazing blessing we have had to be a part of this little boy’s journey!

“I’ve just fallen out of love with you.”

The girls and I heard this in passing on the television this week.  They didn’t notice. All I could think, however, was how would I possibly explain such a flippant and all too common statement?  Do we allow these words to infiltrate our families, out marriages, our children’s tender minds? Do we even slightly entertain such thoughts in our marriages.  Have we thought about our children and dating?  Do we let them date when they are not ready for marriage?  Have we filled their minds with the industry’s ideas of multiple relationships and fickle commitments?  Will they think even subconsciously that there is always an out because of how often they hear statements like this?

How very unbiblical and as far from Christ as possible.

I will one day very soon, be pointing out such statements and talking to my kids about agape love.  Learning to love the unloveable when it seems impossible is a lesson that needs to start early because it will take a lifetime to perfect.

The discussion on FB was too great not to continue it here.  I think most families want to do right by their families and eat well.  I also don’t think that they have all of the information to make good choices all of the time.  Read this great post on ingredients for Chick-fil-a.  I know many people consider it a “healthier” alternative to other fast food.  In the discussion, was the complicated factor of wanting to support a Christian business.  It was suggested to, unlike removing business from other restaurants, to actually communicate your heart—one believer to another—about why you ♥ them but can’t eat there anymore.  Maybe it could change things.

***also, please check out the links from this article.  She has a healthier alternative to the Chickfila sandwich and other great recipes!

It is with great sorrow that I share the following information. I know many of you over the years have looked to our blog as a resource for hair products for curly hair. It is for that reason that I feel I need to share this here. In both of these cases, I noticed changes in the smell of the products as well as a decrease in effectiveness in hydration and protection.
Taliah Waajid’s Protective Mist Bodifier is the first. Nica’s hair has been a wreck for about 6 months. It has been super dry no matter what I do. In addition to that the PMB has smelled horrible to me. I ignored it, though, because I can be fickle with things like scents and assumed it was me. It was not. Preservatives. Grr.

The same has now been revealed about Miss Jessie’s Baby Buttercream. I count the miliseconds to December 1 when they hold their annual BOGO sale. With three heads of hair (5 if you count the boys who also use the Rapid Recovery), this sale is the only way I get through the year. I ordered a ton of product. When I opened my first tub, the smell was off. Not in a rancid way. It was just not the yummy, soft smell of cake. It was. . . I don’t know. Different. Last week, the ingredients were compared to a friend’s “old” tub. The formula is complete different.
Old one, top 5 ingredients: deionized water, acetylated lanolin, beeswax shea butter, cocoa butter
New, top 5: water, petrolatum, glycerin, mineral oil, fragrance

This is so discouraging. It feels like they both compromised. I will finish up the oodles of tubs I bought in December. I am afraid to say, though, I think we are on the hunt for new products.

We have a delightful 2 year old in our lives. He loves Evie with a special affection and his young age and advanced vocabulary keep all of us in stitches. His mom sent me this email a few weeks ago. Its tenderness made me cry, and I thought it was too dear not to share.

Parker has 1 cartoon show that he watches called Dinosaur train, he loves it because of his love for dinosaurs but it is a family of pteranodon – flying dinosaurs and they also have a son who is a t-rex. He started asking about why he looked different than his family and how a t-rex could be in a family of pteranodons, and we started talking about adoption… and no joke without missing a beat he says, ‘Mommy, is Evie’s Mommy adopted? I think she is adopted! I’m so glad that THEY adopted HER as their Mommy!’ [:-)]

He didn’t consider for a second that your children might have been adopted. And anyways he went on to tell me this whole story about how happy he is that the kids wanted to adopt you and how happy he was that you get to be their mommy. Then we had a long talk about your beautiful family and about the girls and Elijah, and at the end he told me, “God is so wonderful. I like that he makes families in lots of different ways! I miss them, can we see them when we visit Gaga and Grandpa?!”

Be still my heart. Seriously. Could he be any cuter? Of course, I am the one that was adopted because all of my children look alike. I love how kids process things. I love the way they decode things in ways we as adults couldn’t imagine. I especially love parents that teach their children the beauty of adoption.

may your time this weekend be reflective and celebratory

He is Risen INDEED!