The Benevolent Kitty

Toodles is a fierce hunter, brilliant in her schemes to get in the garage but most notably, she is a very tolerant cat.

There are the daily activities that Toodles endures. She actually keeps coming back for more.

But I knew Toodles was something extraordinary the day The Littles wanted her to be their baby.

Can you find Toodles in this picture?

Seven tries for a kitten this summer and one cat stuck around. Toodles is one very loved kitty.

Fall In Michigan

We spent some time in Michigan, connecting with friends and family.

It was great to see Nathan, Rachel and kiddos at New Tribes Bible Institute.

And then we joined family for a wonderful, long weekend!

Jumping in giant leaf piles

Mom and Dad’s home is one of the best places to experience the outdoors!

 

The Littles had the first of several birthday party celebrations.

Birthday Shopping

The Littles and Mama went shopping for Daddio’s birthday.  We hit up Dollar Tree and they each got a basket and instructions to pick out three things that they thought Jon would like for his birthday.

They were drawn in by a display of “magic towels” and each chose a dish cloth for Daddy, one with a fairy, the other with Minnie Mouse.

The Littles took their job seriously, examining, smelling soaps, digging through bins.

I think they could have spent hours there. Daddio received two dish cloths, a princess coloring book, a pink gushy thing (in Little J’s hand), gum balls and suckers.

Happy Monday!

Nature Bracelets

BSF is amazing and I would recommend it for at least 1382 reasons but especially the kids’ program! 

Today in the kids’ notes, there was a great idea to use on a beautiful day.

Secure masking tape, sticky side out on the wrist.

Then, as your littles find something that interests them, stick it!

Such fun bracelets!

The finished results: Mama’s, Little J’s, Little A’s.

Prayers About Separation

For the last several weeks, The Littles have shown anxiety and reluctance over social situations that they were previously handling without reservation. 

BSF was kind of a train wreck last week and we can’t pin down the reason for the social pull back.  We know it might just be a new stage.

Would you pray for them?  Particularly as we leave for NC for a two week training in the beginning of November.  They will travel with us but we will spend the days apart as they will go to a kids’ program while we are in class. 

They’ve been asking questions about their adoption as well. We answer them honestly and pray we stay in an age appropriate tone, but it has been hard to watch them process. Especially Little J.

Now He’s A Lumberjack

Jon seems to have unbounding energy and dreams for life. One that he jokes about has become a reality Jon will most likely work at with a woodmill in Ethiopia. He has always wanted to be a lumberjack (and I thought he was joking…but no…he’s legit). :)

Wood Mizer is an Indianapolis based company and Jon was able to train with a technician.

 

Jon, pre-training.  Just a wee bit excited and sporting a touch of plaid. (Yes, the emotion and use of props in these pictures may be slightly exaggerated).

While Daddio trained, Mama and The Littles got to live it up with Nick and Kristen!

We traveled around the world at the Children’s Museum.

All of this training and traveling has it’s advantages.  Nick and Kris, so FANTABULOUS to be with you!

Now, I best be off to see if I can make the honey some flapjacks.

It's Gonna Be A Good Weekend

 

Yes, This, Times Two

Just yesterday, I mentioned at preschool co-op that The Littles had potty trained themselves.

Remember our first round? We dove in the deep end with no floaties, no going back.  (Read Potty Camp for a glimpse at our efforts). We went back. That was then, this is now.

 

Thanks for this photo Stef, it makes me laugh every time I look at it!

So, maybe we are still having our accidents but it is forward movement.

Finally, The One About Hair

Thanks to Kori's prompting, here's our hair care post.  I've never done it because as a straight-haired, white mama, I am far from the expert of caring for ethnic hair. We've done research, asked questions and did some good ole' trial and error. As I reconsidered this post, I know I've benefitted from others ideas and hope it can help other curly heads.

 

The Littles have 3C or 4A (wondering how to identify curl type?) hair type.

 

Here is what works for us. Our products are all natural (yay!) sold at Target (yay!) and not too pricey (YAY!). Don't order these on Amazon, they cost more, almost double.

 

We detangle soaking hair, in the tub, twice a week. Our ESSENTIALS for this process are Kinky Curly Knot Today conditioner. This works great for co-washes as well.

We detangle with a Tangle Teezer and handle small sections at a time. Caution on this, if you grab too large of chunks, the under hairs will just be smoothed over but still tangled.

After a good detangle, with still wet hair, we use Kinky Curly Curling Custard. This may take a bit of practice. When the hair dries, it should not be crunchy, but if used properly, provides unmatchable definition. Warning on this product, it takes a MINUTE to dry and by minute, I mean a long time.

Shea Moisture is maybe my all-time, all-around favorite. We use this normally for 2nd-4th day hair. We spritz the hair with a spray bottle with just water and then with lightly coated fingers, I section off the hair and coat it as I stretch it up, so it gets a light covering. If there is still some white in the hair, give it a few minutes and it will soak in for a deep hydration. This provides moisture, shine and curl.

Every product from Shea Moisture we have tried, we have loved and because the products don't contain anything artificial, parabens, beeswax, etc, they mix well.  Kinky Curly usually doesn't mesh with other products but these two combine.

 

As much as possible, keep those gorgeous curls away from everything until it dries.

Especially helmets. :)

 

And just for the sake of speaking some truth and blessing you with pure genius, I have to post this again:

 

Noculators

Having just made a new craft at preschool co-op, I hear Little A outside yelling, “Mama, Mama, where are my noculators?”

It took me a second.

Oh yes, her binoculars.

Trim

I told them it wouldn’t hurt. Still, The Littles were wary of mama taking a scissors to their heads. 

I was kind of proud of myself in the end.  You wouldn’t notice, but about 1 1/2 inches came off and it left their hair looking healthier.

Were You Praying?

As we plan our travels, I can feel apprehensive how The Littles are going to handle the shuffle from different houses, meetings and groups. Last week, we had a three day blitz and connected with so many friends and The Littles flexed and stretched way beyond expectation.

Possibly in part because of the many new dress up boxes…

Sweet older cousins who devote their energy to playing whatever they want…

and new activities…

and kids…

(Welcome home Baby A.  So blessed to see you with your family!)

and cousins…

This is after wrangling the 4 kiddos in a restaurant for 2 1/2 hours.

While we had a wonderful time connecting with the adults, they joyfully transitioned and made new friends, which in our household IS A BIG DEAL.

Thanks for your prayers!