In the meantime, I've been reading some great books. One particularly important book for families adopting from Ethiopia is There is No Me Without You by Melissa Faye Green. It is wonderfully written, and it balances history with personal stories about Ethiopian orphans and caregivers. A great book on the theology of adoption is Adopted for Life, by Russel Moore. It reveals God's heart for us and shows how adoption is part of God's design for mankind. I am now reading Radical by David Platt, which has nothing to do with adoption, but ironically has EVERYTHING to do with adoption at the same time. Its about American Christians futile pursuit of the American Dream, and the REAL life that is found in abandoning everything for the sake of the gospel; not the gospel as it applies to me, but the true gospel of Jesus Christ, our Savior. It's about living for the glory of God and making Him known throughout the world. And what it costs to do that. I think David Platt is really on to something with this book...it's definitely something I will be thinking about for a while. My next reads will be...
The Connected Child by Karen Purvis (awesome child development specialist from TCU),
Parenting By the Book by John Rosemond,
Thriving As An Adoptive Family by David and Renee' Sanford,
Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson,
I'm Chocolate, Your Vanilla by Marguerite A. Wright,
Castaway Kid by R.B. Mitchell,
The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, M.D.,
Ethiopia by Phillip Briggs,
Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child by Patty Cogen, M.A.
Please give me feedback under comments if you've read any of these. I need help prioritizing them. If you have any to add, I have lots of time I need to fill will reading! It keeps me from obsessing over the waiting list!
While we wait, we are also getting some ideas for a nursery. It is very difficult for me to choose a nursery theme or even colors.
On one hand, I love the calm, cool colors of a Restoration Hardware nursery like this one...
OR...
On the other hand, I love whimsical, modern looks such as this zebra-modern look:
Or maybe this oriental-modern look:
Even this fun, colorful whimsical look:
I'm not so fond of the boyish theme styled bedding, unless it's subtle:
SUBTLE...
NOT SO SUBTLE:
THANKS FOR THE HELP!
8 comments:
i vote for the green with the giraffe, or the restoration hardware with maybe something little to brighten it up. soooo cute!
Brent and I just finished Radical and has totally shifted our thoughts on life in America. It is making us dig into the word and DO more. Funny how we always hear We are "saved by grace through faith, not by works so that no man may boast" and we take that to mean a free ride into Heaven... we forget that works and acts of faith are pleasing to God while we are here and his specific command was to GO and MAKE disciples. You are living it, Cim! Proud of you!
Abbey
I'm praying for you guys! LOVE reading your blog! My team read Radical together this summer before leaving for Ethiopia and I loved it; it'll change your life! :)
Excited to find out what cute little lucky baby you guys get!
My favorite is the green with the giraffe. I like it with the dark wood, and that color wood for furniture could stay in his room for a long time before he "grew out" of it (like a boy with white furniture can only have it so long, right?...) I also like the restoration hardware baby blue... Looks like you're going to have to just adopt several children to occupy different nurseries :-)
I am so thrilled there is progress for you! With regards to your book list, you should look into attachment parenting books, especially ones by Dr. Sears. My parents practiced attachment parenting, before they knew there was a name for it, with us. My older brother was adopted around 3mths of age after being neglected and taken by the state. I was not adopted until after 6mths when they knew I was healthy enough. She swears that it helped bond us quickly and make us feel secure. You can google attachment parenting and adopted children and get a whole list of articles. :)
I'm so excited that Zane is getting closer to being home :)
my advice for the nursery is to pick something that isn't too busy. I love Brayden's nursery, but i swear it keeps him up during naps b/c there is so much going on :)
I'm Chocolate You're Vanilla. I loved this book! And it's on my bookshelf to pull back out when needed. I really learned alot through this one. Bringing up Boys. Liked it. But you could wait until your son was around 2 to read it. So you could prioritize this one low. It will be another one that I probably read and re-read through the years.
Love the nursery ideas. I like the modern, but they are all so cute.
So excited for you guys and the blessings that are in store!
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