Blog - My Overthinking

He’s so stinkin’ cute.

But, he’s become a bit of an Eeyore, feel-sorry-for-myself kid.

Which, I confess, gets a bit tiresome.

Don’t let this adorable face fool you.

I hear a whole lot of “Nobody likes me!” “No one ever wants to play with me!” “Everybody hates me!” as he stomps around with a full-on frown.

Logic doesn’t seem to change anything. And, extra attention doesn’t either. We can get him to smile only to see him trying to hide the smile so that we think he’s still upset.

Today, when he started up with this type of talk again, I was inspired to use some creativity to address it this time. And, I was feeling pretty good about that.

“Drew, I love you so so much. I always love you. I’m never going to stop loving you. And, I want you to be reminded of that all the time. So, I’m going to make a sign that says ‘Mama Loves Drew,’ and we’re going to hang it up wherever you want to hang it so that when you see it, you can remember that I love you so so much.”

So, I wrote out the letters for the sign. Drew colored them. I cut them out. And, as soon as Lydia went down for her nap, he and I grabbed the masking tape and went upstairs so he could choose just where he wanted to hang his love note.

He wanted it right at his eye level on his bedroom door. Score.

So, we put it right there for him and everyone else to see. And, with one arm around his shoulders, I ran my finger across the letters and slowly read them to him: “See this, Drew? M-a-m-a l-o-v-e-s D-r-e-w. Do you like it?”

He was quiet for a second.

“There’s one problem,” he told me.

Really? I thought this was the best idea. What could possibly be the issue now?

With a full-on grouch face and arms crossed, “My name has ‘ew’ in it.”

Seriously. That is what the boy said. To which I could not control my laughter.

So much for my supermom strategy.

Guess he could always go by Andy if he really wanted.

I hauled myself and no less than 100 lbs. of loot down to Atlanta this weekend (the bags, board, and myself did arrive in tact). I was all energized to be with friends–some I’ve never even met before (I’m a blogger and I still recognize how odd that sounds)–and share about The Sparrow Fund. I confess I expected a girly fest with good food and a pep rally of sorts for orphan care and adoption.

With about 440 women there and about 1,110 children who are no longer orphans represented (amen and amen), that was just sorta what I imagined. I guess I sort of expected adoption to be glorified a bit.

I was wrong.

Someone else was glorified.

The sound of over 400 mother’s voices joining together in praise is some serious worship and perhaps a small glimpse of heaven.

And, we got schooled in responding to the call and then following the One who calls not the call itself.

Hmm…not exactly the adoption pep rally message I was expecting.

And, I realized the weekend wasn’t as much about adoption as it was about the One who adopted us and who called these 440 families represented to adopt to begin with.

I’m still processing a lot of things discussed this weekend–what it means to dwell in His love for me, how I represent Him in my home, how to parent children from hard places, the joys and challenges of parenting a child of a different race, parenting in grace and by grace, and what adoption is and is not and how to walk my children–adopted and biological–through that.

I admit that my throat is still a bit sore today from talking and late nights. But, it’s worth it.

Fine, cat’s out of the blog bag. I’m short even on tip toes.

Either that or Stefanie and Colleen are giants. It’s the latter, really. Such likable women (off their blogs as well as on) even if they are hugely tall.

With dear friends Ashley and Nicole (master photographer who I appointed official photographer since my very nice camera didn’t make the packing cut to make more room for beads and other goodies)