Wednesday, February 29, 2012

29 things you have to know about adoption ( L E A P year!)

1.  adoption is magical in every way
2.  it is miracles come true.
3.  it is answers on prayers - 10 years worth of praying
4.  it is more than anything we every dreamed off
5.  it is true - children change your world! :-)

 6.  there are no co-incidences.  bella and kellen have the same surname.  we have 2 court orders. with both children, when i held their adoption court orders in my hands, I quickly opened the letter (because i knew what it said and just wanted to 'confirm') and read:

  '"According to the provisions of Section 242 of the Children's Act (Act No. 38 of 2005),  your adopted child is now for all purposes regarded as your child as if born to you and you are now for all purposes regarded as the parent  of the adopted child."

my eyes filled with tears and the emotion of really being their mama, pushes up to my throat, and i cry and laugh at once, experiencing how great our God is.

                                        first time we met kellen - he put his arms out to 'his daddy' to pick him up.
                                                                             instantly bonded, as if he knew.

7.  you don't 'need time to think about it'. just do it. it is huge and scary and amazing and challenging
and it is love.
8.  adoption is love.
9.  it is a journey. your journey.
10.  nobody really understands except fellow brave hearts going through the same process.
11.  you don't have to say anything. just love and smile and praise God.
12.  show up, and be there. be happy with us (them).
13.  the process is not that long. it takes time, but it is not that long. by the time that you realised you still need this document and that document, you've been so busy trying to be the most amazing mama, that time would have passed and your little ones will be 5 or 6 months older.
14.  from the time we heard of kellen, getting the adoption order and changing his surname to malan, was
5 months.
16. adoption is not tiring. parenting is. :-)
17.  there is no difference whether they came through my body or through adoption...after a hard day, i feel as if i have birthed them.
18.  as a parent, you 'forget' you adopted them.
19.  you think they look like you, you see similarities and you are in such awe of this awesome miracle that is a little boy and girl, that you forget that other people see the difference.
20.  adoption makes you feel loved.


                            

20.  there are sad adoption stories too, but it doesn't need to be your story.
21.  people pity the children (maybe the parents too) when they hear they are adopted.
22.  adoption (and parenting) can be scary and uncertain.
23.  adoption (and parenting) can be bright and happy and absolutely the best thing in your life.
24.  adoption is not a big deal.
25.  it can be, but it's not. it depends on your social worker and where you are in your journey.
26.  adoption is awesome.
27.  adoption is life changing.
28.  adoption is a dream come true.
29.  it is taking a 'leap' into the unknown, it's taking a 'leap' into opening your heart, not half way, all the way, so big and wide that all you have for that little boy and girl, is love, it is taking a 'leap' into loving 'your' child (and yourself) with all that you have.

on this wednesday, this 'leap' day, the 29/02/2012, i sat in the home affairs office in somerset-west, with a court order in my hand, stating that this world  has just 'birthed' a baby girl (adn boy) into my(our) life. sitting alone, with little bella squeeling with joy, with only me knowing why i was there, i felt like any other parent waiting at home affairs to register their child's birth certificate. my heart felt overjoyed with emotion, filled with gratitude towards even just the possibility of adoption, in this moment i surrendered into love.

(surrendering into love for a*)

Saturday, February 25, 2012

adventure*



“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins
adventure...
[noun] a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful)
Synonyms:
escapade, risky venture, dangerous undertaking

Since Kellen was 18months old, I showed him maps of the world. I told him about all the 'adventures' we are going to go on and the far away places we are going to explore and discover. I told him stories of all the places we have been to and how i'm going to show him as much as possible of our beautiful world.

today we went to the airport to pick up his daddy.  early morning we had this conversation:

he: mommy, can we go earlier to walk around in the airport?
me: of course. do you want to walk around in the airport? that is a great idea.
he:  mommy, to fly is such a big adventure. i love adventure.
me: 'gasp'... my heart racing.. he understands... yay!!! he is going to be world traveller!
me:  yes, it is big adventure. mommy loves adventure too. and i love that you think of flying and travelling as an adventure.  just imagine all the places we are going to see... smell...experience...
he:  mommy, when can we fly again. i want to go to malaysia.

me:  be still my heart!

we are going to travel the world.
we are going to meet new people and experience how they live.
we are going to help people in other countries.
we are going to interact and learn from other cultures.
we will taste all their traditional foods.
we will drink their traditional drinks.
we will partake in this grand adventure that is life!

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.

Anais Nin

Monday, February 20, 2012

how to love 24/7*

open your heart
               i dare you.

"She followed slowly, taking a long time,
as though there were some obstacle in the way;
and yet: as though, once it was overcome,
she would be beyond all walking, and would fly."

   - from Going Blilnd,
      Rainer Maria Rilke
  (translated by Stephen Mitchell)

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

tips on 'how to ignore grief' *

Happy birthday mom. We love you xx

1.  what grief?
2.  smile.
3.  stay busy. 
4.  act as if you don't have time for yourself. 
5.  ignore any other birthdays/anniversaries of friends/family who have died...
6.  'forget' special dates
7.  definitely don't speak to your siblings.
8.  don't phone your dad.
9.  act strong.
10. put a cheer in your voice.
11. smile when someone phones you.
12. don't phone anyone.
13. change the subject when they get too close for comfort.
14. don't cry. jump up and do something totally different... like cleaning something.
15. breath deeply... and even deeper.
16. don't look in the mirror at yourself. you'll see straight through your masks.
17. celebrate something.
18.  have a picnic.
18.  be ruthless and wild (total give-away!)
20.  keep on telling yourself 'i'm ok' :-)
21. on a second note, don't answer any phone calls.

PS: tomorrow will be part 2 of the grieving thing..hehe

PPS: 3rd birthday of my mom since she died

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

how to love 24/7

How would YOU love 24/7?
Can one love 24/7?
What is 24/7?
Being present, what's that?
Being present is the equivalent of loving 24/7.

24/7 |ˈtwentēˌfôr ˈsevən| (also 24-7)
adverb informaltwenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; all the time you just can't afford to let things get you down,especially when you are on call 24/7.
it means to love all the time... is that at all possible? to love being aware that you are loving? i believe you can and this is how to love 24/7:  



Watch something extraordinary! 


Spoil yourself with a package with YOUR name on it, 
(from Amazon...) 


believe in a better world


always have little umbrellas to celebrate 
this ordinary extraordinary day. 

get wet, laugh & take a photo. 


light candles... celebrate beautiful summer evenings
celebrate love... 


Grow something


Get messy. 


Make flapjacks, stack them so high that they tumble over. 


(most important):  Open your heart! 


Go to a wedding. 



Take family photos in the mirror.



Cut and paste hundreds of hearts for every mirror 
in your home. Love yourself too. 



Sit, close your eyes, smile and let them draw on your face. 
(It washes off easily). 


Love with ever fibre in your body. Forget about everything else, 
in this moment, you open your heart and you love. 

24/7 

Monday, February 13, 2012

14 tips on savoring THIS moment*



1.  open your eyes & move slower
2.  look around you
3.  when something 'catch' your eye, sit down
4.  watch (them) it
5.  keep still
6.  smile
7.  touch your heart...take it all in
8.  keep on watching...wanting to touch and feel (them) it
9.  'thinking' you want to 'remember' THIS moment for ever
10. jump up and get a camera..anything that can shoot a photo
11. remind yourself to do it quietly
12. snap...snap...snap...
13. continue your day with a smile on your face, a warmth in your heart and memory that you can go back to when ever you need to s l o w d o w n.
14. treasure (them) / it / your life.