SHE WON!!

Yep, my friend Janet's anti-bullying PSA won the national contest!  I'm so proud of her I could just burst.  Isn't it awesome to know there are people out there willing to put their time, effort, and expense into doing something just because it's worth doing?  Well, that's the kind of person Janet is, and I'm proud to call her my friend.  Her winning piece is below (sorry, it will make you watch an advertisement first).  Enjoy.  And for anyone who voted, thank you.

Gay Video & Lesbian Movies - Logo: Fierce TV

Anti-bullying PSA: "Born This Way"

My friend and budding filmmaker, Janet Dowell, has entered a contest where people made their own anti-bullying PSAs.  Hers, entitled "Born This Way",  made it into the TOP 5 of all entries submitted!  I'm pretty proud, and I think it's awesome and a great message.  She is the fantastic mom to two of the best kiddos I am proud to know, who also star in the piece.  The winner will be determined by popular vote, so please go to any of the sites below to vote.  You may vote on each site every day for one week.  Thank you for your vote and attention to such a relevant, important topic!  Enjoy -- and well done Janet!

Here is a link to her PSA: http://www.logotv.com/video/misc/613407/janet-dowell.jhtml

And here are the sites you can go to to vote!
Here
or Here
or Here

As Family Day approaches....

As our "Family Day" approaches -- the day we became a family (January 31st); the day we came home with Elliot, some thoughts have creeped into my mind and given me pause.  Some call the day you take custody of your child "Gotcha Day".  At first, I found this cute.  You know, the day we "gotcha!"  But stop and think about that for a moment.  That day was probably the second scariest day of his young life.  The first being the day his relatives, the people he loved and trusted, left him at an orphanage.  A strange place, far from his home, where he knew no one, didn't speak the language, was surrounded by different children, was hungry, dirty, and terrified.

We have photos of the day we picked him up.  Those photos will make you cry.  They are filled with smiles, tears of joy, and happiness.  But make no mistake folks -- that is one absolutely terrified little boy who knows nothing of what his future holds except that people are telling him that he is supposed to instantly love these strange white people who he is now to call "Mommy" and "Daddy".  Yes, he will now have the "best" of everything.  He will have new clothes, all the food he can eat, fantastic medical care, education, a warm bed to sleep in, and a new family to love him.  But all he knows is that it is completely different from EVERYTHING he has ever known, and that is terrifying for an up-to-that-point, still-breastfeeding, little 3 year-old soul who just wants his mommy back.

So please, the next time you see an adoptive family out and about, just smile and tell them how beautiful ALL of their children are (not just the brown ones!)  DON'T say this:

"He's so lucky" or this:
"What a wonderful thing you've done for him" or this:
"How much did he cost?" or this:
"What happened to his REAL parents?" or this:
"I bet he's so grateful for his new life"

I understand that you are curious.  I understand that you MAY mean well.  But the children are listening, and his heart and his soul are still healing from a trauma that I sincerely hope you will never have to endure.  So have some tact and be gentle and thoughtful with your words, because I AM HIS REAL MOTHER, and I will take you out if you harm my child any more than he has already been harmed.  Believe it.

We will acknowledge the day this month that, one year ago, we became a family of five.  It has been an unbelievably difficult year.  It has been a year of attachment issues, learning rules, health issues, behavior issues, bonding issues, learning each other, adjusting to new brothers, and the list goes on and on and on.  We will tell our children why the day is special, and we will celebrate it quietly and with honor.  There will be no balloons, no cake, and no party, for that would belittle the loss that Elliot has endured.  We will light a candle for his birth family, and he may not understand it now, but it will be special to him in the future, and isn't his future what adoption is all about?

I will leave you with this quote that I read today:

"Adoption loss is the only trauma in the world where the victims are expected by the whole of society to be grateful" -- Rev. Keith C. Griffith, MBE.

The first time Eli saw me.  What does his body language say to you?

Cute Eli Moments.

This weekend the weather was a little misty. Not quite the winter wonderland we were hoping for so the kids could try out their new snow saucers, but still rainy enough that playing outside was not the most fun. So, we were looking for something to do. We already made cookies on Saturday, so we decided to pile everyone in the car (dogs included) and head for the beach! We packed a bucket and a shovel for each boy, warm clothes, snacks, and movies for the car ride. It was awesome! The weather cleared as we drove westward, and the views were incredible. Mountains, Redwoods, and waterfalls, oh my! They boys had a blast digging for shells, rocks, and treasures that only boys of their ages can find valuable. Kai even lost a tooth on the ride home. Bonus!

I took some cute pics of Eli, which made me look through some recent photos of him, during which I found a few more postable ones! Enjoy....

Eli and his best buddy and big bro, Ian.

My boys, taking it all in.

 

On a hike with Mommy.  He wanted to show me a "superhero pose", but I think it sort of looks like "Stop, in the name of love."

Monkeying around.

Help my friend & maybe win a cool prize!

This is my friend Shannon's blog:

http://mythreeflowers.blogspot.com/2010/12/would-you-like-to-win-great-prize.html

She is in the process of adopting a little boy from Ethiopia, and is currently raising funds for the adoption. Check it out, make a donation, and you could win one of many very cool prizes!

Meet Sailor!

This is Kai's new puppy!  She came to us from a fabulous rescue organization called The Potcake Place.  www.potcakeplace.com  Located in the islands of Turks and Caicos, this amazing organization rescues island dogs, places them in foster homes, and then waits for a charitable tourist who is going the direction of the dog's future home to volunteer to be a courier for the pooch, and then they bring them to you!  Your total cost?  $100.00.

The breed, if you will, are called "Potcakes".  They are called this because they are usually fed what is left in the bottom of the local's pots after cooking their food, and it's usually a cake-like substance.  They are extremely healthy, very friendly, mellow, intelligent, shed very little, need very little exercise, aren't picky about their food, and are very attached to their humans.  Basically, the perfect dog.  Below are two pics.  One is of the puppy herself and the other is of Thanksgiving morning, when Kai got to meet her for the first time.  There was no courier going to Oregon, or any nearby airport, but there was one going to Las Vegas, where my brother happens to live.  He picked her up, held on to her for a week, and then brought her with him when he came to visit us for Thanksgiving.  You want to see what grateful looks like?  Just look at this little boy's face!  Happy Thanksgiving, indeed.  Enjoy.

Happy Halloween!

Phew!  Halloween 2010 is over and I feel like I need a great big nap.  Between decorating, pumpkin carving, costume gathering, parades, and trick-or-treating, I feel like it's been a marathon of festivities, but all very much worth it.  All you have to do is see the smiles below and you'll know what I mean....

First, the house.  Yes, we live in a pink house that we affectionately call, "Frankenberry."

Ian, the dragon.

Eli, the cowboy.

Kai, the astronaut.

The cast of characters, 2010.

Even Rupert got in on the action!  C'mon -- bowlegged, with an underbite and a crazy snaggletooth?  A pirate was the obvious choice!  Aarrgh mateys!

Kai and Sam, besties 4 ever.

The Ashland Halloween parade (about 1/100th of it!)  Halloween is THE big deal in our town every year.  We estimated that at least 15,000 people turned out for the parade and festivities, and 98% of them were in costume, kids in tow or not.  We live in an awesome place.

And who led the parade?  Jack Skellington on stilts, of course!  I want everyone to please make note of the fellow with his back to the camera in the bottom right corner of the photo.  This is Dr. Pete, our across-the-street neighbor.  I had to laugh because next to him is his 6 year-old son, dressed as Chewbacca, and Dr. Pete went as Han Solo.  But the reason I draw your attention to this otherwise not-incredibly-interesting detail, is that I want you to look closely at the weapon in Han's belt loop.  Yep, that's a potato ricer, or as he put it, his non-violent weapon of choice!  I love this town.

More parade fun.  We were standing right in front of a Starbucks to watch the parade.  When I went inside to get a coffee, I was served by a lovely male barista, dressed to the nines in a naughty-gay-pleather policeman costume, complete with a tutu!  Extra hot, indeed.