Imagination

The beloved Mrs. Buster and I headed to Cincinnati a few weeks ago. We were lucky enough to hear Melissa Fay Greene speak on her new book No biking in the house without a helmet. Her stories were funny and sad. One story in particular stood out to me. She spoke of her son Jesse and meeting him. She had been told by a doctor to find out if he has imaginative play. That would be a good sign of what his life had been like. When packing for her trip she tucked a small plastic rodent (maybe a hamster) that had on heels and a dress. She said that surely this toy would provoke anyones imagination.

When the moment arrived for her to meet Jesse she sat on the floor playing with him and got out this little rodent toy. Jesse grabbed a broom and beat the thing. She knew then that he didn't have much imagination-he hadn't had time for it. The story made me very sad. I believe he was around 5 years old and didn't know how to play. It's hard to comprehend.

I think of this story all the time. Tesfa will "play" a string, macaroni noodle, mommy's hair. Anything that he can pretend is a guitar. It is so fun to watch. He is so silly and comes up with things I would not think of. He wraps his "ya ya" (aka lovie) around his back and says "coke" meaning coat. Or he puts it on his head and says 'hat'. He talks to the Santa figures we have-he dances with them. The coffee table is really a piano in his eyes. A cup becomes a microphone. He feeds his animals and puts them down for naps.

Tesfa is so very creative and imaginative. I am so glad that he is able to have the time to be expressive. I can't imagine a child not having that opportunity.

My Tsehai

Well I changed the name. Not sure if enough people still follow for it to really matter but it is done. I choose My Tsehai because Tesfa is my sunshine. And I thought it would be fitting to have a name that would fit for more then one child incase Doodle ever has a brother or sister.

The first time I saw my hubby he was sitting in computer class talking to another student. They were both super cute. I said to myself I want one of them. A few months after Joel and I began dating I bought him a key chain that read, URMY :-) (There was a sun at the end of that in case you missed it). Joel was really confused and a little upset at first because the other guys last name was Urmey and he thought I got confused. Anyway kind of a funny story if you able to follow what I just rambled about.

Blog Name

I feel like I should change the name of my blog. Because, after all, we did not get a peanut-we got a Doodle. I have a couple of ideas for a name and think I'll change it soon. Odd that I referred to him as peanut the entire time we waited but as soon as I saw him I realized my error :-)

Ethiopian Orphan Relief

Tomorrow several of my closest friends leave for Ethiopia. They have been planning this trip for years. I am so glad to see the day finally arrive. For most of the people travelling this will be there second trip to Ethiopia. Most of the adoptive mothers have had their kiddos home for years-back when Ethiopia was a one trip country.

I'm pretty sure I will be completely and totally emotional while they are gone. They get to see the finished orphan care center at FOVC and put the finishing touches on it. They'll see the van that EOR just purchased for Lola. It just amazes me what EOR has accomplished.