A Slow Boat to China

We are back. The unpacking has begun, which for us is a slow process that leaves unsorted piles of clothes, trip momentos, and reciepts all over. This is the bad part of returning from a trip like this. I want to put stuff away and get us settled back into Subrabia but I end up taking a few days moving piles of things from one end of the couch to the other just in order to sit down. Eventually the house will get back into order and our suntans will fade.

Jason and I found a lot of joy during out cruise simply in watching our son have a blast. We are not real big on promoting characters such as Mickey Mouse in our home, but instantly the Moose picked up on the air of excitement that surronds such character appearances. He clapped his hands, called Donald Duck by name, and we inevitably waited in line for our turn to meet, greet, and take a snapshot with these feathery furry icons.

We stayed up late. Danced on deck until we were dizzy. Had a date night at the spa. Paraded around as pirates. Stared at the ocean.

I like cruising and if ever we are handed a almost free Disney cruise for our family I am happy to go. But, I do have a few random thoughts that I would like to share. I had more, but the more I ate the more my brain had to shrink to make room for my stomach resulting in some mild forgetfullness.

Katie's Thoughts on Cruise Ships:

1. Despite the fact that cruise ships are on the ocean, rolling and rocking to the waves, and you can indeed look all around you and see nothing but water they do not satisfy my longing for the sea. I can spend all the time in the world on the ship and still not feel as though I have been to the ocean. This is a problem for me. I love the water. The movement. The salty smell. The atmosphere. When cruising the boat moves quickly from point A to point B, with a pluthera of activities to entertain in between ports. I want a small boat, slow enough that I can feel the mist of the ocean as we cut through it. I want the ocean and the voyage itself to be the entertainment. This would satisfy, if for a moment, my love of the sea.

2. When eating all of the delicious foods on a cruise ship it is vitally important to consider how that food will taste coming back up a few hours later.

3. There is a lot of waste and gluttony on board a cruise ship. I wonder how this waste appears to the international crew, most of whom are from poor countries, and just trying to make a living to send home?

4. Cruise ships are for tourists, not for travelers.

5. It is amazing how a few overpriced hair braiders, a street of tourist shops, background music and ice cream can make an impoverished island chain look like paradise.

6. Cruise directors are a funny bunch.


**********

As much fun as we had on the ship, which we truly did, we had an even better time getting to see family members that we have not connected with in a long time.
Here are a few pictures of some of our favorite moments during travel and aboard the Magic. It is good to be back home, now if you will excuse me, Moose and I have to go feed the ducks.
















I will post the rest on Brabson Family sometime this week.

A Moment to Remember

After I mentioned in my previous post that our cruise trip falls one year to the date that I left for Ethiopia I became a bit teary eyed. I flipped through pictures, cried more, and read the journal that I wrote in while in Ethiopia.

Here is a picture of me that Jason took the morning I left. I can play this morning over in my head as if it was a movie, every detail, every sensation. It was a powerful day. Unforgettable. Exhausting. Scary. Vulnerable. A day of faith, the genuine desperate type of faith.




In my journal I write that I am so happy I love my husband so much that there is terrible aching in our parting. I write, a cry and a prayer, for the Lord to give us an eternal perspective and confidence that He has his hand on our lives.

Jason writes about sadness consuming him. He writes about not wanting to sleep. He writes about fears, but mostly about hope for our reuniting. With great strength he wrote: "I will be remembering the joy that you will be bringing Mussie. I will take joy in that he finally has a Mommy. This is what I will focus on during our time apart, but most of all I will watch for the plane that will bring the two of you, my wife and son, home and into my arms."

There is a lot of other writing. Words. Prayers. Hopes. I like what I wrote while waiting in Washington, D.C. before heading to Rome and then onto Ethiopia.
I sat at a little coffee shop outside of the Ethiopian Air gate already feeling foreign. I like what I wrote during the sleepless night of flight and the next day. I wrote about seeing the Nile, the French Alps, the span of the Sahara desert, the villages of the Sudan, and breathing in the air of Rome.

"It is hard to believe that in just a few days I will have Mussie in my arms. I hope Jesus whispers into his little soul that his mommy is coming." After reading that I ran upstairs and gave kisses to a sleeping child that I still would cross the oceans for a million times over if need be.

Then, after reading my musings and longing for Jason I had to run into the living room and kiss him with great gratitude that he was pleasantly, happily, normally sitting on the couch laughing at the TV. He is here. I am here. Samuel is here.

I am struck at the spiritual journey that I went on as well. I write about the Lord satisfying me in the palm of His hand. This is a whole blog in and of itself. The Lord did satisfy me, keep me, watch over me, provide for me, hear my cries. He blessed me beyond measure.

Much of my worship now is done amid laundry, night night kisses, and early morning coffee moments when I take a deep breath and the day begins with a rush. And for these moments, this life, this love I continue to be blessed beyond measure.

The Lord is good. He will satisfy. He did.
During our adoption process and especially my travels I clung to the verse about God seeing all things through to completion.

I have to praise the Lord as I sit here remembering the depth of pain, longing, and hope that my heart carried one year ago today for this day, a year later, my son ran through our home dressed like a pirate followed by his laughing father. All those feeling are behind us and we are simply together, normal....satisfied.


Jesus, thank you.

Samuel taking a nap at Layla House. Our second day together.


Samuel and I in Ethiopia, going grocery shopping.

Pirates of Pee-N-Your-Pants

We leave tomorrow for a genuine road trip adventure that will take us from our home in Illinois to the sandy beaches of the Bahamas and back. We are making pit stops at my grandparents homes and my Aunt/Uncle/Cousins home. I am eager to see all of these people and honestly this visiting, long overdue, is as exciting to me as the actual cruise.

In addition to the family visits we are stopping in Atlanta, Georgia and hamming it up for the evening in the city. Then, we will be in Orlando an extra day and are going to visit Disney Village and all that fun festive stuff. My husband, the Priceline King, made these ridiculously low bids on resorts and won them! Our original plan was to stay the night at po-dunk hotels using his travel agent card. His curiosity and dedication on Priceline paid off and we are going to be enjoying robes and pools for less than po-dunk. Sweet!

On the Disney Cruise there is actually a...hold your breath...PIRATE PARTY! Tonight we totally raided our closets and put together costumes. We are going all out head to toe pirate. It took a while to get Jason's costume together. No matter what we did he either looked like a business guy wearing a bandana or a feminine thug. But, we got it and he pranced around in a manly-manner (can you prance manly?) with his mini-pirate in tow. Speaking of the mini-pirate~ Samuel looks adorable in his pirate costume. Like the kind of adorable that makes one think the world is at peace. He was strutting around hollaring "Arrr Matey" and flexing his muscles. And, then he said "uh-oh" and announced that he had peed his pants. The pirate costume is now in a last minute load of laundry rather than in the suitcase.

I think we are having as much fun preparing for this trip as we will actually going on it. The anticipation, laughter, and planning is exciting!

To save money and keep us eating healthy I have packed snacks (thanks to Target for having excellent Kashi deals) and even our lunches. We are burning a road trip tunes CD, including a few podcasts that we need to catch up on. The Moose has his backpack filled with books, crayons, cars, and precious little entertaining tid-bits that we sure hope will keep him occupied for the many miles we are driving.

I am taking a much needed technology hiatus and will not be near a computer during our trip.

Our family trip falls one year to the date that I left on a plane bound for Ethiopia. The simple fact that this time around I leave with my husband by my side and my son in my arms makes a world of difference that I think can only be expressed in one word~ joy.

Joy. Joy. Joy.

Joy. Joy.

Joy.


~ KLB

Shucking Corn in Subrabia

I love shucking corn. Someday, when we have our little home in the country I plan on having a bench, overlooking a beautiful view, simply to shuck corn. I decided to pass this onto my Moose yesterday. Here is how we rolled:







Now, go and shuck some corn! Don't do it in your kitchen.
Go outside and enjoy the evening.

KLB

Katie, Jason, and Samuel's Walgreens Showdown

We were so proud of ourselves. Ok, we actually made money tonight.
Here is how it all went down.

We spent $16 out of pocket.
We are getting back $19 in rebates.
We got $4.50 back in register rewards.
We made $23.50 tonight and received a lot of great stuff!


What are we going to do with all those bottles of cough syrup, you might ask.
Well, my friends and family, Merry Christmas.

Here is what we got by MAKING $23 bucks:
SIX bottles of Robitussum cough syrup
Two Dove Dark Chocolate Candy bars (big ones) *for our road trip!
Two Rocky road/turtle candy bars *for our road trip!
Two bags of chex mix *for our road trip!
One bottle of glade fabric freshener for pets (we need this!)
Package of four batteries AAA
Loreal Anti-Aging wrinkle cream (another Christmas gift for some lucky lady)
Two super nice toothbrushes
Crest pro-health mouth wash
and.....eight packs of seeds for spring planting (on clearance for .14 cents)

And again we got all this and MADE TWENTY THREE BUCKS. It would have been even better had I had the coupons for OUST but we do not use this product and I gave those coupons away. We also could have made more money buying pert plus, with full rebate, and coupons make overage but I did not figure this out until we were home.

Ah, Thanks Walgreens. Thanks supportive and excited frugal shopper husband. Thanks patient two year old son who was up way past bed time. Thanks Sarah and Alisha for kicking my rear into gear about couponing. I really like making money at the store!

Selam Shalom Shlomo

This is a song calling for peace, religious peace mostly in Ethiopia and across the globe.

Meskerem

Today, on the Ethiopian calendar is Meskerem. This is the first day of the new year, which for the Gregorian calendar is the year 2001. Enkutatash is the festival of the "gift of the jewel" commemorting the historic return of the Queen of Sheba to Ethiopia after her visit with King Solomon in Jerusalem. In addition this day marks the end of the serious rainy season and in the villages there is dancing, singing, and rejoicing.


In addition to dancing and a general spirit of excitement there are Enkutatash traditions that are country wide. The boys pick wild Meskel flowers, bright yellow wild flowers that are used to decorate everything!

Children beat on drums and sing ~ ABOBAYOSH! LEM! LEM! ABOBAYOSH! LEM! LEM!~ to any adult they can find. This singing is for money and it is a cheerful and much anticipated event.

On New Years Eve a lamb is slaughtered, which is a traditional meal for many of the important celebrations in Ethiopia. When I was in Ethiopia last year I ate bon-fire roasted lamb at the Meskel celebration and was happy to participate in this experience. (Although we will not be having lamb at our home Enkutatash celebration for a variety of reasons).

The men and boys who are of age take great pride in a historic tradition of setting up the wood for the chibo. The chibo is a large bon-fire and they can be seen all over Ethiopia during festivals such as Enkutatash. The chibo is very tall and built in a tee-pee style. The lamb, called tibbs, is cooked directly in the fire. Lucky boys are given the chibo sticks and given the honor of lighting the chibo.
Jason will help Samuel light the chibo in our yard tomorrow night. I look forward to the Enkutatash that we can officially pass this honor down to Samuel.

Now, here is where the magic begins. Imagine drums beating rythmicly. Imagine a bright, warm, bonfire of great height. Yellow flowers. Hungry tummies. It is time to dance. Everyone, but especially children, dance around the fire with jumping and esketa (shoulder dancing). One of the greatest memories of my life, that which I can close my eyes and truly recall every detail, is the night I danced around a fire with my new son in my arms under an Ethiopian night sky. Freely. Uninhibted. Joyfully. I can see the faces of the children glistening in the firelight and hear their songs ringing in tones I could never dream of making.

When the tibbs are finished roasting the dancing stops and the dining begins.

I received an email as a part of the yahoo group we belong to through AAI from the director. She wrote about the festivities that Layla House. The children proudly participated in a full Enkutatash celebration including dancing around a chibo, eating tibbs and Duro wet, a coffee ceremony, singing for birr, and more.

But, this is the part that blew my mind. Please read what she wrote here and keep in mind that these children she is talking about are Ethiopian orphans. They have experienced poverty and loss beyond anything we can imagine.


Merrily said:
"Now, I'll explain a little more about what the kids are going to do with the birr they earned from singing and drumming. They decided they were going to pool their money and wanted to buy more CD's and music DVD's. Since the drumming and singing to earn money started last week, the kids actually accumulated quite a stash of money. In last weeks health class, we talked about donating your time and doing volunteer work. We also talked about people who have less than you and how important it is to be charitable. With that said, the kids decided to take 50% of their earnings and donate it to those who need it more than they do. They also went through their clothes and put aside clothes they no longer wear to donate to those in need. Our hope is to have a field trip in the near future to the soup kitchen at Hope Enterprises so the kids can help out serving food to the needy and homeless. We will also donate the old clothes to either Hope Enterprises or another reputable organization. Holidays are lots of fun to enjoy and celebrate but when our children learn the joy of giving it makes them mean so much more."

In addition she mentioned that a volunteer brought a bag of balloons. When the balloons broke, as they are such as prized item, the kids would pick up the pieces of torn balloon and reconstitute them into art, braclets, and toys. They were so happy to have balloons, even broken pieces.

Tomorrow we are wearing our traditional clothing, lighting a chibo, and having a coffee ceremony. We will teach Samuel Mussie to sing "ABOBAYOSH! LEM! LEM! ABOBAYOSH! LEM! LEM!" and give him some money. I am so touched by the children choosing to serve others with their Enkutatash money that will be sending Samuel's to Layla House along with some DVD's.

Happy Enkutatash friends and family. God bless you on this important day in Ethiopia as well as this day of rememberance in America. And appropriate to say today whether we are here in America or in Ethiopia~ May you always find shade and water. May peace be with you.

Salem.

Katie

The Meal Planning Mommies

Friends and readers!

We have three weeks of excellent meals plans on our site: Meal Planning Mommies.
It is a little fun hobby that Alisha, Sarah, and I do to help us stay organized with frugal grocery shopping and planning.
There are excellent yummy meal plans with pictures, recipes, grocery lists and more. We are still working on a way to organize it all, but in the mean time check it out!

Once a week we do a give away. Last week we had to randomly select one winner out of 169 entries! javascript:void(0)

So, take an internet moment and click on over to the Meal Planning Mommies!

The Traveling Spouse Account 1

It is 10pm. I lay at an odd angle in a over fluffed hotel bed that promises comfort. My legs are boiling up under the down comforter and my arms are goose-bump ridden in the chilly air conditioned room, a rather interesting mixture of hot and cold. The TV is directly in front of me. I am aching to turn it on, to view all the channels we do not have at home, to watch the preview for movies that I could buy at the push of a button. Instead I see only my reflection in the blank screen. Jason is studying for a meeting he has tomorrow which means that the TV must remain off until he is through. The Moose is snoring around the corner, exhausted from using every ounce of self control he could muster during our car ride and Ikea shopping trip, content with himself for jumping into the cold pool and going under the water with Daddy.

It was hotel life for us last week. Hotel life for us this week. And, the following week, oh sweet business travel, we are heading to Florida and the Bahamas.

In the middle of all of this we are home. My jeep broke down. It is sick.
Poor Tortuga.

This has resulted in some of the most liberating days I have had in a long time. I know having a working vehicle is what may appear to be liberating as it can take you from point A to point Z and all those stops in between, but finding myself sans transportation actually freed me up at home. The Moose and I had the most productive, relaxing, frugal, creative, learning filled days we have ever had. We canned fruit, made home made peach-strawberry jelly, and started planting a fall garden. Beans, lettuce, radish (what is radish plural...radi?), and carrots here we come.
We "couponed" and kid you not made Jason so proud when we took our bill from $116 to an unbelievable $11 bucks.
We read books, cleaned the house, watched movies, and did an awful lot of playing trucks, snuggling, and endless fetch with the dogs. Staying home felt like vacation.

Although I desperately want my jeep back in full recovery, I am pretty sure that I will be content to have it parked in the garage a few times a week for rest. It is old afterall and needs to rest....can't go on crazy Katie adventures every day.

The only reason I am blogging right now is because I am avoiding reading my book...Life of Pi. I love it and if I read any more it will be over...through..finished. I do not want it to be finished. Maybe Jason will be finished studying soon so I can mindlessly watch TV and drag Pi out a little more.
Like stalling just to be near a good friend. "Oh, you don't need to go home yet, have one more cup of coffee, ok?"

Tomorrow Jason goes to work and we are here at the hotel. I am really looking forward to these next two day with my son in this somewhat cramped hotel room. What more do you really need than a sturdy bed to jump on and a swimming pool that overlooks Daddy's office?

Ok, this is the most boring blog post ever. Truly rambling. You know I have about 40 readers a day on this little blog? I know in the scheme of things this is nothing. There are blogs that have multiple millions of people a day visit. But, remembering that I spend the main part of my day talking about firetrucks, monkey butts, and poop with the world's foremost expert on the art of taking any food and turning it into a smear on the couch I would say that 40 is a pretty nice number of people that actually take time to read my words.

Speaking of reading...Pi is calling.



KLB

Stealing a moment...

Ok, no blog tonight. We were out painting the town until way to late and now we must watch Stargate! Yea baby. But, I had to document this. It's incredible for us. Our minds are blow.
Our son said today the following, each appropriately, each clearly as if he always says them and it was no big deal, but it was a huge deal!

1. While laughing with me about some cold mangoes he stated, "That is so funny."

2. While snuggling with Daddy he said, "I was just thinking...." and then said something about a big boat.

3. When he saw a fire truck in the Wal-Mart parking lot as we drove by he said, "Would you look at that."

4. During our evening prayer tonight he on his own said: "Thank you Jesus for little monkeys, for big monkeys, and for all the little people."

This is the face, the little human, the ever discovering mind, the sweet heart that has us wrapped around his finger.

Shades of Us

Ok peeps. I am behind on my blog, I know. I am going to blog tonight with a big speal about all sorts of things. Yea, I know you are on the edge of your seat!

As you can see if you look on the side bar there is a lovely little ad for "Shades of Us". This is a great social business that is helping us to do adoption fundraising for Baby G.

They have all sorts of really interesting, fair trade, international stuff that makes wonderful gifts....Christmas is coming up......

When people are checking out they can type in "Katie Brabson" and the end of check-out in an section that asks for an adoption code. We then receive 20% of all the profit.

If you have a blog and are willing please let me send you a copy of the banner ad to post on your blog. This way we can reach more readers and perhaps sell more great things which will help us bring this darling home.

The ad will link to the Shades of Us Store.

Any volunteers?

Katie

The Bike Ride

There is a type of adventure that leaves one breathless. Exhilarated. Proud. Shoulders are held a bit straighter. This is far from the adventure we had on our bike ride.

The adventure we had while trying to conquer a measly 2.4 miles on bike left us drenched with sweat, dealing with wounded pride, and smelling faintly of throw-up.

As I prepared for our trip by hitching the trailer onto the bike my son sat eating an apple. After snugly clipping our helmets on, strapping him into his seat and giving him an excited departure kiss we peddled forward. In my hand I held a map of the biking trails. I had chosen a short 2.4 mile trip that would take us through the back roads of Galena.

In my excited for adventure I forgot one very small detail: I hate biking.
I do not know what I was thinking attaching a sixty pound trailer with a forty five pound child in it. I do not know what I was thinking attempting to pull this weight and my own up and down hills. The entire start of our trip was a panting and heaving uphill ride. Even when I thought flat ground was before me there was an upward grade.

In trying to find the right gear I popped the chain off four times. We had not even made it a mile.

Once Jason and I biked Martha's Vineyard. He has a clear memory, one that he falls back on when he needs a laugh, of me struggling uphill with tears running down my face. I hated biking then. I hate it now. On Martha's Vineyard I would not admit defeat. We ended up biking sixteen miles around and through the island.

I kept asking myself if this Galena trip was going to be a repeat of Martha's Vineyard. Was the road going to be hard, but well worth the sweat and tears at the end of the journey?

From the aft of the bike I heard a terrible sound, one that every parent recognizes, cringes at and then promptly responds to. My son was throwing up. The bike trailer, my clothes, his little hands and legs all soon became drenched in apple chunks.

The ride was over. I have never been so disappointed and so very relieved in my whole life. The disappointment was more of a pride issue than anything else. I want to be able to do this ride, feel the freedom of cruising down the road with the Moose trailing happily behind me. This did not happen. We returned to our room, cleaned up and took a well-needed break.

Once we recovered from the ride we laced up our shoes again and headed out the door, on foot this time. I needed to walk the experience off.
I am proud to say that we completed a 1.4 mile hike together that spanned through dense hawk filled forest down to the edge of a Mississippi fed lake and back up through prairie land that overlooked miles upon miles of fields.

My pride was restored. That feeling of accomplishment, exhilaration, and breathlessness returned. Plus, I had a happy wonder filled two year year old who was grateful for his vantage point of wilderness snuggled right onto his Mommy's back.

~ Katie, who will not be going on an uphill bike ride for a long time.