Best Christmas Gift To Buy for Kids

I've posted exactly 4 times in November (not counting today).  FOUR times, that's it!  So obviously November is eating me alive and flying by!  Christmas will be here before we know it! So, I want to get this out there in the hopes that it makes someone's Christmas shopping just a bit easier.

Do you have a child or children on your to-buy-for list?

Then I have 2 words for you.

Kapla Blocks.

Hands down, THE BEST, MOST PLAYED WITH toy we have owned!

Boys, girls, preschoolers, preteens -- all will love Kapla Blocks!

Do you know how some things you give your kids for Christmas they are excited about for about 3 days and then don't ever play with it again?  Well, not so with the Kapla Blocks!  Since buying these for my kids, currently ages 11, 9, 7, and 6 last Christmas, all of them have enjoyed the Kapla Blocks and played with them over and over again.  So much so that we've added to our set with 2 different kid birthdays and now have THREE BOXES of the Kapla Blocks for triple the building fun!

The simplicity is really the beautiful thing about these blocks.  No loud, bright colors!  No need for batteries!  Not even various block sizes to choose from!  Just a big box of all the same blocks!  Yet the building possibilities are endless!

The most recent creation (even the 6th grader joining in on the fun):

Lately my kids like mixing the Legos with the Kapla blocks.  It does make for double the mess but oh the creativity and hours of screen-free entertainment!  Plus, they can and do clean it up on their own when I tell them to.  Okay, the reality is they clean it up when I tell them they can only have or do something they want AFTER they've cleaned up the playroom!

***I am an Amazon.com affiliate and will earn a tiny portion of the sale should you use a link from this blog, but I am truly recommending this product because it has been such a hit in my home!***

Banquette Seating In Our Breakfast Room!

Our breakfast room now seats our entire family of 6!

Y'all, for years we've had just a 4-top square table in our breakfast room.  It was our old dining room table from when my husband and I were first married.

We ate all our meals in the dining room because the breakfast room table wasn't big enough for all of us but the breakfast room table was used a ton.  It was ground zero for homework, after school snacks, every project, pumpkin carving, cookie decorating, lego building, and countless crafts.

That table endured a lot but, it was still too small to really be best.  I had an extra folding chair off to the side that I'd set up to sit with my 4 kids while they had afternoon snacks and to look through their school folders with them.  But, we couldn't figure out how to make a bigger table fit in the space.  I certainly wasn't sacrificing the locker shelves we use for shoes/backpacks/jackets that also shares that breakfast room! 

Then, I started seeing all these pictures in catalogs of banquette seating (you know like a booth in a restaurant?).  And I thought how awesome that is for small spaces because you don't need to allow room to pull out a chair!  Also, often banquet benches offer extra storage underneath, which we could certainly use to stash kid sports gear. We debated trying to get something built-in, and then I found this sectional that seemed to be just the right size!  I choose an indoor/outdoor upholstery option, hoping to repel stains, and paired it with this table.

The long bench top flips up for storage underneath (it is not organized but hey, that's the beauty of hidden storage, right?):

We've been using the new set-up for a month now and we love it!  It is so cozy to sit on the couch and do work at the table!  It has become a prime gathering spot in our home.

And as you can see, it fits perfectly with the shelves still in the room!

(Madeline, the ever helpful dog that she is, was barking at me in that picture.)

***I am not compensated in any way through the links included in this post, they are just there in case this solution would help anyone else, you know where I found the furniture.***

Reading Together As A Family

For several weeks we've been reading a book together as a family.

A chapter after dinner on nights we could spare the time.

All 6 of us lingering longer around the table, one of us reading aloud, the others listening.

And then the conversations over what we had read.

It was a beautiful thing.

And something I'm now eager to do again and again.

The book we read was Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games.  It is the true story of a Sudanese child refuge and his journey to becoming an American Olympic runner.

Our family has a soft spot for Africa, so this book was especially up our alley, but I believe every family would be touched and inspired and changed by this book.  It's a true story that will leave you in awe of what God can do.

We had so many great conversations about perseverance, about our blessings, about life in America and the realities of life many other places, about success and achievement, and about God taking something terrible and turning it into something amazing.



 
I'm not sure what we'll read next, but reading together as a whole family is a habit I'd like to keep!

***I am an Amazon affiliate but I truly read this book with my family and loved it and that is the only reason I'm linking to it.***

I finished a book!

I loved to read as a kid and read a ton just like my kids now do.  But, me, now I read to my kids, and I read the Bible, but otherwise I do not set aside much time to sit down and read a book for myself, to myself.  And it doesn't help that I'm always "reading" about 8 books at one time, no joke.  There is the Bible studish book, the Christian living book, the solving world poverty issues book, the adoption-related book, the parenting book, etc., etc.  And I typically don't finish a book, I just read a bit of each of them over the course of months.

But, another lovely aspect to our week-long vacation a couple weeks ago, was that I actually read an entire book!

And it wasn't even in a book I read in during the car trip, there was another I read then.  This book I started on our first full day at the beach and finished it by day 5!  It was that good and it helped that I had the time to read while on vacation!

Here's what I read:



It is a fiction book, but based in fact, from the 1850s to 1920s there really were trains that carried orphans and homeless children from crowded Eastern cities in the U.S. to the rural Midwest in the hopes of finding homes for them.

The book was a fascinating read and right up my alley as a person with a heart for orphaned children, but this book would appeal to a wide audience.  

Reading this book cover to cover in just a few days was so enjoyable and inspired me to make reading more of a priority even in my non-vacation life!

****This post contains an affiliate link, but I truly did read this book and would strongly recommend it to my friends and family!****

What My Son DID Get for 5th Grade Graduation

Yesterday I blogged about what my son was NOT getting for his 5th grade graduation.

Today I'm sharing what he got instead.

First, he has been mentioning that he'd like his own bank account, so my husband came home from work early today on our son's 5th grade graduation day and before the ceremony he took him to the bank and helped him open his first savings account.  As our gift to him, we deposited the first $150 into the account.  My son is very excited about getting his very own ATM card in the mail in a few days!  This child has been a very responsible spender of his allowance the past 6 years, in fact, he typically gives large sums away to World Vision or Compassion International, so I have confidence he will use the money wisely.

Also, we gave my 11 year old the book, Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations,  with an inscription we wrote inside the cover about how proud we are of him, how we believe God has a plan for his life, and how we are always there for him.


The book was written by teenage twin brothers and it encourages young people to step outside their comfort zones and trust God enough to do hard things for the glory of God.  I am really excited to have my son read this book and also want to read through it and discuss it as a family this summer!

Really, that book seems to illustrate why we didn't want to get our son the iphone he wanted for 5th grade graduation, because we have bigger dreams for his life.  Better things we believe he can do if he is not glued to a 2 by 5 inch screen!

The graduate:

 

The Best Gift For Kids Who Love To Build

Christmas was over two months ago, so which toys are your kids still playing with?

We have a clear winner at our house from this past Christmas.  It was a gift my husband and I got for our 6 year old son who loves to build.  Of course he LOVES legos but we have many of those and I wanted something different and did a bunch of research on the Internet and came across Kapla Blocks.   I liked the concept of many solid wood planks all the same size to build with and hoped my little builder would like them, too.  Sure enough!  This toy has gotten played with a ton since Christmas by all 4 of my kids and I can see it entertaining them for years!  We started out with the 200 blocks set, but may add to it with another set for the 6 year old's birthday because he does sometimes want to build something bigger than our number of blocks allows.

Some pictures of the Kapla blocks in action:

Each plank is the exact same size so it is pretty easy to build towers and structures since the blocks stack so nicely.

Here the Kapla Blocks and the Legos are playing together!

 I loved the Lego guys sleeping in the side of that building!

There is no end to the creative possibilities!

(Please ignore the flour all over my pants in that picture!  It was Christmas morning and we always make homemade doughnuts!)

These blocks are a bit pricey, especially when you think they are just small, wood planks.  But, they are real wood, precisely cut, and perfectly sanded.  Also, I feel better spending money on something like this than a plastic toy that will break.  God willing, my grandchildren could be playing with these Kapla blocks some day!  The other thing that is great about this toy is that you as an adult will enjoy playing with it with your children.

****Disclaimer:  I am an Amazon.com affiliate and will receive a small portion from the sale should you make a purchase with one of my links, but I have not been compensated to endorse or review Kapla Blocks.  I only recommend products we truly love and use in our home.****

Never Run Out Of Spoons Again!

Where do the spoons go?

Does anyone else have this mystery at their house?

I have no idea where our spoons disappear to (although I do blame the kids), I just know that we had gotten down to 3 spoons in our everyday silverware and maybe 8 in our nicer silverware for our family of 6 (who happen to love our cereal and ice cream)!  And I can tell you from experience that it's just no good eating your cereal with a soup spoon!

I figured out I could buy replacement spoons to match our flatware on the Internet for fifteen dollars per spoon!  That seemed like a hefty price considering I needed like 10 spoons and also taking into account the hard truth that my children are most likely accidentally throwing my spoons away when they clear their spots after eating something in a disposable container, like yogurt or applesauce!

Then I found them -- good quality, elegantly plain, stainless steel spoons on Amazon.com for $11 FOR TWELVE SPOONS!  I wasn't immediately sold on having the mismatched flatware in my drawer, but considering the low price, I decided to try them.



The results after two months of the new spoons?

Awesome!

I can't tell you how much I love having a full spoon drawer again, and the quality of the Amazon.com spoons is really good.  They feel every bit as sturdy as my more expensive stuff!

Ah, don't you just love opening the drawer and seeing that stack of spoons!  Okay, maybe that's just me after doing without for so long!

Are you running low on spoons?  I know we are not alone in this, I polled some of my friends with 3 or 4 kids and we all have the same mysterious phenomenon going on with vanishing spoons.  Buy yourself a dozen new spoons.  It will change your life!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

***Disclaimer:  I am an Amazon.com affiliate and will receive a small portion of the sale should you buy using my link, but I only mention products that I have truly used myself, love, and would recommend to close friends.***

How To Teach Your Child to Read

My 4th child is learning to read and I am trying a different method than I used with my older 3 children and it is working great!

I wish I'd used this program with my 3rd child as I think it would help him now reading harder books to be better at sounding out long, unfamiliar words he comes across.

The book is Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.



I'm on lesson 40 right now with my 5 year old pre-kindergarten daughter who was adopted from Ethiopia at age 3 and began speaking English less than 2 years ago.  And get this, SHE IS READING!  Really, really reading! Sentences!  Words like "the" and "fast" and "she" and "feel"!

Honestly, I am truly amazed!  I began this book with Little Girl this year before she goes to kindergarten next year because I was worried reading would be a struggle for her only having been exposed to the English language for 2 years.  And I've watched public kindergarten get harder with more expectations even since my now 5th grader went through to what I saw expected of my son who was in kindergarten last year.  I don't completely agree with the rigor that has been added to kindergarten, but overall our local public school has been excellent for my older 3 kids so I do my best to help my kids rise to the expectations they'll have in kindergarten.  Also, it helps that I LOVE our kindergarten teacher.  The same teacher taught my older 3 kids and I love her teaching style and the way she interacts with the kids. 

Each lesson in this Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons book only takes about 15-20 minutes and really it is a sweet one-on-one time with my Little Girl each afternoon after her preschool and while the big kids are still at school.  She enjoys the lessons and reminds me we need to "work on my reading!"  I got a bunch of those gold, silver, green, blue, and red foil stars and I let her pick a star after she finishes a lesson and put it on a chart we made to show her progress through the lessons.

The lessons can be a little monotonous for you as the parent because the book wants you to follow each step exactly and tells you word for word what to say as you walk your child through the activities.  But, it works and it takes all the thinking out of the deal for you, which is nice when you are frazzled on a busy day!

I like that the book focuses a lot on letter sounds and sounding out words, sight words only get you so far and understanding phonics helps with spelling later.  Also, I like that the book includes a reading comprehension section where the child sounds out words in a short story and then you ask them questions about what they just read.  And there is a writing aspect, too, at the end of each lesson where the child practices 2 different letters.

We are not through with this curriculum, but even if I stopped now at lesson 40, I am a happy customer and believe this is a wonderful method to teach your child to read!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

***I was not compensated in any way to endorse this book.  I am an Amazon.com affiliate and will earn a small percentage of the sale should you make a purchase using my link.  I only recommend products I have truly used and loved.***

For The Love of Books and Oven Space

My 6 year old guy has finally turned an important corner in his reading.  He likes to read!  And actually chooses to read now some in his free time, as opposed to being forced/prodded to read like it's been for the past year.  What brought the turning point?

His reading got good enough for these books: 
 

The Magic Tree House Books are great books about the adventures of a sister and brother, Annie and Jack, as they travel through time in their tree house to different places in history.  In the series there is a book about dinosaurs, one about pirates, one about travels to the moon, one about ninjas, and on and on for 50 books!

We invested in the set when my oldest was starting out on chapter books and I'm glad we did.  The books are great for boys and girls alike!  As much as I love the library, there is something to having an entire series right there on the bookshelf in your bedroom, too.

My 6 year old first grader is so excited about these books that he's read about 12 of them in just 2 weeks!  Before that he never really wanted to read in his free time and I worried he was not going to love reading like my older 2 children, my husband and I do.  I actually told his first grade teacher at the beginning of the year that really my only goal for him this school year was for him to grow to like reading.  Goal accomplished in October -- not bad!

But honestly who could blame him for not liking books when the books went like this:

"Mat sat."

"Sam sat."

"Mat sat on Sam."

"Sam sat on Mat."

"The end"

That is a paraphrase, but really we were so OVER the easy readers!

The little guy reading in bed with his book light:

I love that sight!

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We got a new oven this week.  The old one was an oven with a microwave attached to it on top, a model from the 1980s.  The microwave stopped working a few years ago, but the repairman said it was too old to repair.  Since it was attached to the oven, which was working fine, we just never prioritized replacing it.  And life without a microwave was really easy.  Seriously, I can count on one hand the times I missed it.  We learned to pop popcorn on the stove and heat left-overs in the oven or in a pot on the stove.

But, then recently the oven stopped heating properly, only the top heating element would work.  The bottom heater coil would not heat at all.  So, it was time to replace the whole thing.  We debated over an oven/microwave combo again, but ultimately decided we'd more use a double oven in the space.  Of course, the new double oven was bigger than the old unit, so we had to get our handyman to cut into the cabinets below to make more room.

Hence my kitchen looked like this from Monday when the new oven was delivered until today when it could be installed:

Feel free to soak in the mess in the background.  That's real life, folks!

Fun does happen amidst the chaos, though, and that is the important thing!

Happy Friday!  I have no idea how I'll handle my new-found capabilities to cook 2 ovens-worth of food!  Oh the power and possibilities!!

Find more Friday fragments here.

Getting Out The Door Easier

Sometimes it's the little tips that can really make day to day life with kids easier!

Often I'm curious about how other moms do things like feeding their people and wash.  I think that's why I've loved Works for Me Wednesday over the years.  I don't have as much time as I used to for going through the tips every week, but every once in a while, I do find a gem.  Something typically so simple yet full of the wisdom that only comes from having lived it.

Whoa, so that's a heavy lead in for my super basic tip I'm sharing today.  But, do you want to know what's working for me lately, making my chaotic life just a little bit easier here in the season where school and activities are kicking off again right smack dab in what is always the the hottest month of the year?

Reusable water bottles, pre-filled with water and waiting, ready to go inside my fridge.  Enough water bottles for all four of my children plus myself!

We've only been doing this a few weeks and honestly I have no idea why I didn't do this sooner.  No more rushing out the door to get somewhere only to have 4 children decide they are dying of thirst and must get some water for the car ride and thus wait several minutes that feels like billions while various children attempt to fill water bottles from our fridge dispenser but mostly just manage to get water all over the refrigerator door and kitchen floor!  Really the whole thing made me so close to going back to disposable bottled water stocked in the fridge.

But, then I saw these babies on Amazon:
the girl version: 



and the boy version:



I bought one of each set to have spares.  They are super cute designs, BPA free, dishwasher safe, and have already been dropped more than once by my crew and not one has broken!

Also, what is certain to secure my award of "Mom of The Year", I grab a cold water bottle for each of my kids and take it with me to pick them up from elementary school.  Considering my younger ones have to wait with me for 15 minutes while my oldest finishes safety patrol duty, it certainly cuts down on the whining if I have a cold drink for them!

A key thing to remember and perhaps the only downfall of the water bottles I've found: they do not wash and refill themselves!  But, when you force yourself to do it, it is much better to refill the bottles and restock the fridge late at night when all is calm and quiet than filling bottles when you are 5 minutes late somewhere!

***Disclaimer:  I was not compensated to endorse this product and am recommending it because I truly use it and am happy with it.  I am an Amazon.com affliate and will earn a very small (think fractions of a penny) portion of the sale should you purchase something with my Amazon link.***

Find more Works for Me Wednesday tips here.

Yes, a vacuum cleaner is my best friend.

The entire 1st floor of our house is hard floor, either tile or hard wood.  Between the crumbs spilled by the kids and yard debris brought in by our super furry dog, the floor needs to be vacuumed daily.  I do not usually actually vacuum it every day, I just wear shoes inside the house (my "inside shoes") to avoid stepping on grit -- I hate the feel of grit under my bare feet!

We have a central vac. system that I use to do a thorough vacuum once or twice a week, but to haul out the long hose more often than that was troublesome and not happening.  Over the years I bought many different lightweight cordless, stick vacuums to use for quick clean-ups, but I've found their batteries stop holding charge after about a year and I got really tired of buying new ones or using one with a weak battery!

So, this time I decided to go with a corded vacuum, but stole a tip I learned from a beach house we stayed at last summer -- I hooked up an extension cord to the vacuum to make it a longer distance without unplugging/replugging.

And it works great!  The cord does not even bother me and it is so easy to whip out and do a quick vacuum or hand to a kid who is acting annoying and therefore earned some vacuum time!

Here it is, my new best friend:

See the extension cord in the background?

Here's the vacuum again:

  

Only don't buy it on Amazon, because it's $19.88 at Walmart .  I know, I know, I don't really like going to Walmart either (Target is my happy place but Walmart is too dark and crowded with stuff or something; it makes me feel claustrophobic) but it's worth it to save nearly $12.00!

***This is not a paid endorsement.  I paid for the item with my own money and truly do love it.  If you purchase it through my Amazon.com link, I will receive a very small advertising fee.***


Find more Works For Me Wednesday here.

Best Cream for Dry Skin

Skincare can be a big topic in transracial adoption, because you are caring for a child that may need a different skin care regime than you would do for your own skin and there is a learning curve to figure out what works.  I have had other moms ask me what I use to moisturize Little Girl's skin, so I thought I'd share what we use here.  

What I've found that works best to keep my black daughter's skin from getting too dry or ashy are the same 2 creams that work best for my white daughter's eczema-prone skin, only with my Ethiopian child, the lotion needs to be put on twice a day, with my other daughter we can get away with once a day.  

The 2 creams are Vanicream and CeraVe Cream.

 

   

 Now if anyone has any hair product recommendations, I'm all ears!  We have tons we've tried but the one we loved most -- Curls By Sisters Smith is no longer being sold on the Internet and I haven't found anything even close as our new go-to leave-in conditioner!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

Real Life Photos

 Infiltrators I found today while folding wash: a doll outfit (I have enough laundry to do with 4 kids, the dolls will simply have to do their OWN wash from now on!) and the scraps of a Kleenex, a little shred stuck to each and every piece of laundry in that load (This is a nearly every time I do wash occurrence.  If you think of it as confetti streamers then folding clothes = instant party!).

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The "dinner" my 7 year old made for me.  Must get that girl started using real food!

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I splurged a year or so ago and bought myself a nice pair of rain boots on sale at Nordstrom (Hunter brand - should last forever or at least until I have no more children in school).  Best purchase ever!  Walking through the drizzle or downpours to pick my kids up from school truly doesn't bother me at all because my feet stay dry and there are no worries about ruining my shoes!

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Happy Friday, Friends! 

Find more Friday Fragments here.

Real

Tonight I read The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams to the kids.  It's been a long time and I reflected anew on the classic quote:

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse.  "It's a thing that happens to you.  When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.  It doesn't happen all at once.  You become.  It takes a long time.  Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.  But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

And we couldn't help thinking of Big Duke, our 5 year old's beloved stuffed bulldog that has slept with him every night since he was 2 years old.

It gives me great joy to tuck my little boy in with Big Duke every night.  A faithful buddy for him to cling to and cuddle with.

Big Duke has been LOVED.  He's been washed many times, lost and rescued.  You can still buy a stuffed dog like this from Ikea (that's where we got Big Duke) but we have one that we bought just a few months after Big Duke to serve as a spare, but according to my son that other stuffed bulldog, "Is NOT Big Duke!"  He's never accepted the imposter!  But recently we were at Ikea and a little boy was getting a stuffed bulldog like Big Duke and my 5 year old and I smiled and talked of how happy we were that another boy was getting his own Duke!

To any outside person Big Duke looks dingy, worn-out, like he's seen better days.

But, we know the truth, Big Duke is Real!

Find more Thankful Thursday here.

Feety Jammies

Have I mentioned before how much I love feety jammies?

My 6 year old and 4 year old love them, too and absolutely couldn't wait for the weather to get cold enough to wear the "jammies that cover our feet!"

Too bad I can't talk my 8 year old into wearing them!

P.S.  I realize the technical term for these pajamas is "blanket sleeper" but in our house they are "feety jammies".

Find more Wordful Wednesday here.

Translation

Thank you, everyone, for your support and sharing in our excitement over the news that we passed court and the little girl we've been in the process of adopting is now officially a member of our family! We've gotten the message out to many friends and family and have been so blessed and overwhelmed by the response. So many people are excited for this little one to come home, and really it is overwhelmingly wonderful to me that one year ago this precious girl was all alone in Ethiopia and now she has so many pulling for her here in America, people who can't wait to meet her and watch her grow up! And I've seen a lot of evidence that she is changing hearts, too!

We are busy doing all kinds of preparations for her to come home, even though we have no idea when that will be. Recently we got the book Simple Language Amharic for Adoptive Families (from this website), and it is awesome! We have an English to Amharic translation book we bought for our first trip to Ethiopia and it was really useful, but also overwhelming. I love the Simple Language Amharic for Adoptive Families book because it just contains phrases you'd be likely to use with an adopted child, so it helps us focus our learning on the most important stuff! It also comes with a CD which really needs to be playing in our home non-stop until we get to go pick up our sweet girl!

And if I'm being honest, I don't cry easily, but this book got to me. A language translation book? I know! But just listen to some of the phrases from the book and think of getting to say them to your newly adopted 3 year old child:

I am your Mommy.
Eh-Nay eh-NAH-tish negn.

You are my daughter.
Ahn-CHEE lee-JAY nesh.

You are going to live with us.
Ahn-CHEE keh-GNAH gahr nohw yeh-mih-TNOHR-re.

We are so happy to be your family.
Yeh-GNH beh-teh-SEHB ah-BAHL beh-meh-HOH-nesh des bloh-gnal.

We love you so much!
Beht-AHM ehn-wuh-dih-SHAH-lehn!

You are so precious!
AHN-CHEE WUH-deh nesh.

Can I hold you?
Lay-ah-ZESH

We are going to ride on an airplane!
Beh-ah-roh-PlAHN nohw yeh-min-HEH-doh!

This is our house.
Yikh bay-tah-CHIN nohn.

This is your room.
Yikh kih-FLISH nohw.


And then there are the practical things like "Do you have to go potty?", "Stop", "Are you hungry?" and one every parent needs to be able to say to their child, "Please don't do that."

Terrific Summer Reading

In the past 6 months I've read two of my favorite books that happen to be by the same author. They are rather long books, but they were so good I was actually able to finish them in a reasonable amount of time. It helps that the chapters are short so it's easy to sneak in a chapter here and there as your children are occupied. However the books are so enjoyable you'll find yourself neglecting chores to read just a little more!

The first book I read by Melissa Fay Greene was There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Her Country's Children. It is a true story about an Ethiopian lady named Haregewoin Teferra who took in many, many orphans during the height of the AIDS crisis in Africa. Melissa is a journalist who spent a lot of time in Ethiopia getting to know Haregewoin.

The book does a great job sharing some of the fascinating history of Ethiopia! And, I loved the mesmerizing detail the author uses to describe the sights, sounds, scenes, and people of Ethiopia. I was truly sad when I finished the book because while reading it I could almost imagine I was there, on the same continent, in the same city, even, as my little girl!

There will be tears when you read the stories of how many of the children became orphans in need of Haregewoin's care, but the anguish later turns to rejoicing as the children are eventually adopted by loving families and you get to "see" them in their new lives with plenty of food and doting parents.

But, probably the biggest thing I took away from the book was the power one individual can have to bring light to the darkest of situations. And it almost didn't happen at all! When Haregewoin takes in the first orphan she was at an extremely low point in her life. She'd tragically lost her husband and a daughter within just a few years of each other, and she'd decided to leave the real world, to present herself to the Orthodox priest and ask to be taken into seclusion. However, God had other plans for her life! And thankfully Haregewoin agreed when approached about taking in an orphan, because that one decision snowballed into the saving of many lives!

It is a great reminder that God has a purpose for each of us and as long as we are still here on this earth we should be actively looking for ways to be used by Him, even when our immediate life circumstances are sad and seem hopeless.

The other Melissa Fay Greene book I read is her newest, No Biking in the House Without a Helmet. This one is about Melissa's own family. She and her husband had four biological children and then adopted five children, one from Bulgaria and four from Ethiopia. That makes a grand total of nine kids!! The book is hilarious, heart-warming, and extremely entertaining! It is a must-read for parents adopting internationally because she honestly shares the challenges and joys.

Be warned the book may leave you not only thinking it's not so strange to have nine children but that it's actually fun! Seriously, I have so many stories I loved from this book, I think I completely ruined the book for my husband because several times I had to read him passages out loud after I'd read them because they were just that good!




Find more Thankful Thursday here and Things I Love Thursday here.

****I was not compensated in any way or asked to write these book reviews, however I am an Amazon.com affliate and will receive a very small portion of the price should you purchase one of these books through the links in my blog.****