Kings

I'll be honest with you upfront. This show has been cancelled, but you should still watch it.

Kings is a modern interpretation of the story of King David out of Samuel and Kings in the Bible, though it wasn't really marketed like that (and I think the vague marketing hurt it, honestly). The first season has aired, and the network has no plans to bring it back. You can watch all 12 episodes here on hulu. The production is movie quality and, from a creativity standpoint, the interpretation is fantastic!

The thing is, the story is brilliantly told and stands alone. You could know nothing of the Old Testament story and get enthralled in the plot and characters as they are displayed. But, if you are familiar, you'll find yourself smirking- it's just so good!

Though I'm a Christian, I often groan at "Christian movies" and the like because they're cheesy, preachy, or out-of-touch. Why is that? Ugh. Here, is a "non-Christian" telling of a historic Judeo-Christian tale and it is maddeningly good. Maddening, because it is original and like nothing else on TV (seriously, do we need 5 lawyer shows, 7 doctor shows and 5 police shows???!!!). Maddening because it will not continue!

The good news, is that I know how the story ends.

Lice.... not so nice.

Never as a child, nor since having kids, have I ever had experience with lice.

[Related story: I do remember loving the feeling of lice checks in school, though- having the nurse run those chopstick-like things through my hair was niiiiiice. Ahhhhhh. I'm not the only one, right? I also used to regularly get in trouble in class for playing with hair. My friends and I would make sure to take turns sitting behind each other in the same row and braid hair or just run our fingers through. On "movie days" we could successfully do this with the lights dimmed and not get scolded.]

When we get Dorothy, she will likely have lice. Many of the people I've spoken with who adopted from the same orphanage, have mentioned needing to aggressively and immediately treat the nasty little bugs in their child's hair.

It's less than ideal to put a frightened, adjusting, grieving toddler through head washing and intense combing. But, the reality is that we will need to stop the problem as soon as possible (provided that there is one). We don't want to have any spread to me or Eric, we won't want to bring them with us on the plane to pass on to the other kids. Like a Dr. Seuss book...

"I do not like lice on a plane"

"I do not like lice in the rain"

"Not in a car"

"Not near or far"

"I do not like lice anywhere"

My hope is that we can successfully treat the issue during our time in India in a hotel where I don't have to worry about sanitizing, vacuuming, and bagging up everything. I've heard the stories... and they sound exhausting!

I've done some quick research, and it sounds like a multi-pronged approach is best:

1. lice-specific shampoo

2. metal fine-tooth comb (especially for lice treatment)

3. electronic lice comb

When I speak with our pediatric office next, I'll ask them which lice shampoo they have found most effective. There are natural ones, and chemical ones. I normally try natural stuff first, but in this instance, I imagine I'll try whatever works fastest and best since time is of the essence. The more time you give these buggers, the more eggs they can lay.

Combing each and every strand with a very tight comb can also strip the hair shaft of the lice. Apparently plastic combs are not worth it- you've got to have the metal, rigid combs.

And, lastly, there is an electronic comb on the market that gets rave reviews. It "hums" as you comb until it hits a louse. I guess the current kills the lice, but also works like a lice detector to tell you how well you've done at getting them out with other methods. Amazon.com has a lot of reviewers on the Robi electronic comb.

Are you itching your scalp yet? :-)

If you've been through this before and have advice, do let me know.

Indian Cuisine

Lately, I've been making an effort to add Indian dishes to our meal planning. As a half-English girl, Indian food is nothing new to me, but I had never explored cooking it before. If I'm being honest, I never loved it; I've often shied away from spices and things that are spicy. None the less, Indian food is as popular in England as Mexican food is here in the States, so we had at regular intervals. As a vegetarian family, Indian restaurants were always appealing because they had a lot of non-meat offerings. Once married, though, Eric and I didn't have it except while in England on visits.

Dorothy is changing all that!

We venture to give her as much of her culture as we can so that she can explore it, find her own identity, and feel that she got the best of both worlds. I hope and imagine that she will be something like me. I grew up here in America, but half my family is in England. I am half English. No, I have no accent, but it is a part of me. Because of this, I enjoy many things English. And eating food is one of those experiences that involves a few of your senses- making it very important.

So, this past month, I've aimed to cook Indian about once a week. Most of our grocery stores have ready-made curry pouches that are quite good (checking the ingredients, they're additive-free, and mostly just the spices and vegetables... hooray!). But, I like to cook, so I went in search of authentic recipes online.

Recipe Delights has been a great resource. From that website, I made Butter Chicken and Dal (Daal) Makhni with great success. In fact, Grant is my biggest, most enthusiastic eater! Makes my heart happy. :-)

I'm also very blessed to have friends a few houses down that are from India. Namratha has pledged to be a help in any way and taught me how to make Pav Bhaji a few months back.

Last night, she and I were talking and she let me know about this website, Show Me the Curry. These ladies offer You Tube videos of Indian food preparation. It looks good, though I only quickly watched part of a creamy kebab video- haven't made it yet. Yum. Yum. Yum.

The funny thing is that Dorothy, apparently, doesn't enjoy any of this now (so cooking it as a "transition food" is ludicrous). I've found out that she mostly gets rice, boiled egg, and boiled potato. This makes my heart a bit sad, since I don't want her to be nutritionally lacking. However, Namratha pointed out to me that that is a "good orphanage" because they serve egg! Oh, it could be so much worse!

Sweet little baby girl, I can't wait to cook for you!

Three years ago

Really drives home the wait when I look back and realize that this is what our kids looked like when we knew God had called us to be adoptive parents (summer 2006). Grant was 6, Dean was 3, and Lael was 1 1/2!!! Grant is the only one who really remembers a time before this crazy journey began- Dean and Lael, so far as they know it, have always been waiting for their sister.

And here is what my kids look like now:

(minus one, of course)

Dorothy Update

Tami asked what the latest is with Dorothy.

The update is that there is no update. :-(

No new pictures. *

No new information.

The courts are absolutely open, and I suppose it is possible that the judge could grant us guardianship any day now- but we have no knowledge proving this.

Our agency's estimate on how long court takes is 8-16 weeks since the No Objection Certificate is granted. Could be less, could be more.

Us?

This Friday will be 15 weeks.

Asking our agency representative, she urged me not to worry. I believe her, I do. And I'm not "worried", just impatient.

My faith is not shaken. God is still my Lord, my Leader, my Rock. But, I'm not being honest if I say I'm not frustrated with the fact that He hasn't moved all the obstacles to my daughter out of our way.

It's been three years of putting one foot in front of the other in obedience. Three years of persistence toward a child that needs us. A child we, also, need.

I am weary, at times, but have no choice to continue. Nay, not just to continue! But to win the prize! Right? When you truly have no control, the only thing you have control over is your attitude about the lack of control!

Some days my attitude is hopeful, faithful, steady and sure. Some days... well, some days I just need chocolate.

Praying the "need chocolate" days are fewer in number!

* though a family is traveling in August, so we might get new ones then!

45 minutes on the dot

Today, I'm watching my niece and nephew. All five kids get along (mostly) well, but a whole day of togetherness dictates that we mix it up a bit. Too much of the same and you invite trouble.

Swim practice was this morning, so we were at the Y for part of the morning- boys in the pool, girls in the "nursery", me poolside with a book. Ahhhhhh.

We ran home for dry clothes and then off to go grocery shopping. I'm no dolt, I knew that I'd be a frustrated, less-than-thrilled mommy after parading all five boisterous children through the aisles. Instead, I took advantage of the Story Bus for the very first time. Our school district has a converted bus that parks twice a week during the summer in various shopping plazas and does story time with the kids. It is staffed by educators from the public schools (trustworthy adults) and you get 45 minutes to run into the store while the kids enjoy the read aloud time. It's AMAZING how much shopping you can get done in 45 minutes without children. I was fast! I knocked out my whole list and made it back exactly 45 minutes later. The kids seemed happy, and they were allowed to pick one free book, each, to take with them.

We came home and had a yummy lunch with fresh cherries (on sale at Kroger for $0.99/ lb. right now!) and might hit the park. I'm doing my best to soak up the summer, because whether I like it or not, it is disappearing far too quickly. The fireflies are nearly gone. August's heat is encroaching. And school will begin soon.

How soon? I don't know. We are homeschooling again, and I've just received all my books in the mail. The catch I find myself in is that Dorothy isn't here yet! She was "supposed" to arrive by now (You know, if I were running things, and if God had listened to my specific request. Yes, start laughing!). I feel like if we begin at the "normal" start of school (around here that is August 17th-ish), then I've used up time we might need for adjusting when we do travel. Essentially, I'm contemplating starting at the beginning of August so we have a greater buffer.

I have a little bit more time to decide, and I'm just going to allow today to be simple, glorious, and steeped in summer sunshine. After all, a person should have no worries when they've been able to grocery shop without kids in 45 minutes flat! Yippeee!

Might one of these girls be your daughter?

Our agency is trying to place two girls in India with special needs, and I'm simply trying to spread the word.

Baby Girl A was born in April 2008 and she was abandoned at one month. She is friendly, with smiling features and is able to respond when she is called. She holds and grasps objects in her hand and plays with toys along with the other children. She is an active and happy child. She had a cleft lip at birth and underwent surgery for that. She still needs surgery for the cleft palate.

Baby girl B was also born in April 2008 and she was relinquished for adoption by her biological parents at a few months old. She is friendly, has a small round face and bright eyes. She plays actively and is able to respond when spoken to. She plays with toys and mingles with friends. She also had a cleft lip at birth and underwent surgery for that. She still needs surgery for the cleft palate.

If you are interested, please let me know. I have extra information, pictures, and details about the India adoption program through our agency. These gorgeous girls deserve a loving family as much as anyone.

I will privately e-mail you if you contact me (replace caps words with symbols): tisra AT mac DOT com

Happy Independence Day to all Americans!!!

We're painting the playroom/school room today, going to a wonderful neighborhood party later, and enjoying the temperate weather. A nice relaxing family day. Ahhhh....

Earlier in the week, I got together with a dear friend, the kids played, and then, while we were making a July 4th craft, I read a book to them about the history of Independence Day and the birth of our country.

I love this book, and we've started to read it every year around the Fourth of July. That's for kids- but I also highly recommend the HBO series, John Adams, for adults, to bolster your historical knowledge of the birth of our country.

Eric and I borrowed the DVDs from Netflix about a month ago and watched the mini-series an hour at a time. Each episode that ended, I wanted to keep going but with 6 hours, it would have been impractical to accomplish it all in a single sitting. It's very well done, and I think that there are plenty of segments that are appropriate for kids as education snippets if you're willing to do some creative editing. When we cover US history, I know we'll get it again to make the subject matter come to life. Anyway, I recommend it!

Have a safe and splendid Independence Day!- 233 years since the first one! Amazing, huh? I'm going to go call my dad and rub it in. Hee. Hee.

(for those of you who don't know, my dad's family is English, though I am American)