Hidden Treasures

Tickle/wrestle time with Daddy and the 4 littles
Undoing the 'do' with a little help from B3
The first finished hairstyle (combined effort of Mercy and Mommy)


I am amazed how God orchestrates even the simplest of things such as receiving an article in the mail on just the right day to encourage my soul. He who cares about the sparrow and knows every hair on my head, lovingly directs all things for my good and His glory!
Yesterday afternoon, after a very challenging morning, I received the magazine "Shaohannah's Hope Today" which contains many articles regarding reaching out to the orphans of the world....this same organization blessed us with a generous gift toward the adoption of Mercy and Odesco. One article in particular caught my eye...it highlighted the following verse:

I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness-secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord , the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name" Isaiah 45:3

Mercy and Odesco are indeed His treasures who were hidden in the darkness of a war torn nation. How humbling to think that the Lord has chosen these 2 hidden treasures to bless our family in ways we've yet to experience and in ways we have already enjoyed! I needed to be reminded of this today and I was thanking God again for the vision of "normalcy" he gifted us with on Sunday! That keeps me grounded when we seem to take a few steps backwards!
After the bedtime fiasco on Monday night, Odesco was still not quite back to his cheerful self. Before Mark left for work, he was once again in tantrum mode and this went on from 7:30- 10:15 am. There were fleeting moments of 'connecting' with my little boy only to be followed by periods of total reckless anger...so, much of the morning was spent running interference between our little boy and the various household items that were kickable or throwable...we did spend a bit of time in bear hug mode in the glider as well. Finally, he settled and began playing with the others... surprisingly,by noon, we were able to venture out for our first grocery store run with all 6 kiddos on my own. I purposefully only had a few items to purchase...needed to restock on "chicky eggs" as these are a new favorite...thankfully, everyone did quite well. Odesco especially enjoyed "driving" the car shopping cart and Mercy was content to sit in the basket for the ride. You should have heard them shouting, "Mommy buy dis...bre..I wan bre" ...The bakery was chock full of fresh bread and our little Liberians were pretty excited to be surrounded by such delectable delights. Funny enough, the free cookie given at the bakery was not the treat it is to the other 4....Mercy even offered hers to one of the other kids! I didn't dare to venture near the deli as one piece of sample meat would not have satisfied these two!

Naptime/quiet time has been unsuccessful the past few days...Odesco and Mercy seem to be in giddy mode and can't help but talk to each other...I bed them down on blankets in the family room near the warm wood stove hoping it will lull them off to sleep...instead, I 'm the one drifting off to la-la land while these two are in hysterics...I have not tried to bring them upstairs to separate rooms yet(trying not to associate rest time with the occasional trauma of the nighttime routine) but, that day might be coming :) Even though they are giggling and entertaining one another, they are resting somewhat and beginning to learn the discipline of not running around all day long...it's a challenge to keep the other 4 out of the mix to calm things down a bit...

Before baths as some of us were folding a massive pile of laundry in the living room, I learned that Mercy is an expert folder since this was one of her jobs at the orphanage . In the midst of the noise of our busy home I could hear something else- which sounded like children... befuddled, I counted heads and realized all the kiddos were with me. Finally B4 realized there were carolers on our front porch! We were blessed by a surprise visit from 3 little girls accompanied by their very creative Mom singing at our door...they came bearing gifts like the 3 kings from afar...Rice Krispies& Cocoa Krispies because when you mix the 2 of these together, you get our family :) oh, and a box of clementines ...just because there were 3 kings and a 3rd gift was needed :)!! Thanks for the visit Catherine and girlies!! oh and interestingly enough, our little Liberians prefer the plain (white!)rice krispies and B1-B4 like the cocoa( brown) Krispies best!

Bedtime and bathtime were uneventful (Thankyou, Lord!!) and the girls loved wearing their matching princess PJ's we had purchased for Christmas and decided to give them early to alleviate some of the issues surrounding sharing clothes....

After they were all tucked in, I headed out to a B&N not local to us to pick up a "How-To" hair book for Mercy's hair. I was totally lost but it gave me a chance to pray and clear my muddled mind as I finally made it to my destination. If any of you reading this blog are experienced in styling ethnic hair, and you live locally, I would love a hands-on lesson in plaiting, zulu knots and basic hair care. Mercy's hair is much shorter than most of the pictures in the books so for this inexperienced Mommy, it is a challenge to do. I look forward to becoming equipped in this area and hope I will not have to resort to regularly visiting a salon and adding haircare to the monthly budget!!

Finally, some bits form the B's....
* Mercy can guzzle a huge glass of water in one gulp!
*The word for flatulence is the same in Liberian and English and emits the same response in children of both cultures!
*Chicken without the presence of "boon" (bone) has quickly become worthless in the eyes of our Liberian children.
* The blowdryer is a form of entertainment for our newest family members
* We used up an entire tube of lotion (or 'grease' as Mercy calls it!) in just one week of trying to restore moisture to our kiddos parched skin
* Mercy and Odesco love looking at AOH pictures and naming all their friends...today I received the phone # of one of them, a special friend of Mercy's (who is now adopted and living with her family in the Midwest) and I will call her mom later to see if we can have the girls correspond.
*Mercy has colored some pictures for me to send to one of the AOH nannies who is very special to her. This is the same woman who has taught Mercy and Odesco Bible songs, verses, and nursery rhymes
*A small breakthrough with Odesco...he willingly played the "obedience game" with me yesterday. I told him to run away and when I called him he was to respond,"Yes, Mommy" and come immediately...he did this a few times with a cheerful heart...hasn't put it into practice yet, but it's a start! :)
*I have heard Odesco call us Mommy and Daddy a few times in the past few days spontaneously :)
*The rice cooker, dishwasher, washer and dryer have never worked so hard!
*A king size bed does not hold 2 adults and 6 children as comfortably as we had imagined :)( Don't worry, we don't try to sleep this way...just cuddle early in the morning)
*Light switches including those in the refrigerator, van and oven continue to be a fascination(and temptation!) to Mercy and Odesco....doorknobs especially those leading to the great outdoors are equally tempting!
* I have resorted to locking the dead bolt on the front door from the inside for the first time since we have lived here for the reason mentioned above
*baby powder and beautifully "greased" brown skin make for an interesting combination!!
*Odesco has real rhythm...he can pat a distinct drum beat on any solid surface..we will have to try to get a set of African drums for this little man!!

Thanks for checking in and for your continued prayers...we are so very grateful for the many evidences of grace we see throughout these days of adjusting...and we are so thankful for His sustaining grace as we wait on Him to bring about heart change in ALL of us!! (Especially in Mommy!!!)

Clinging to Him,
Mama B