Wednesday's social commentary

I came across an article today called "How to Save Your Marriage from Your Kids."

Really? Really???

I find it ironic that at a time in history when we are supposedly so enlightened, liberated and in control of our lives (and, interestingly, having FEWER children), that the divorce-rate is up, marital satisfaction is down, etc.

What if the problem has less to do with our marriages being invaded by small people and more to do with our attitudes towards marriage and children? What if God designed children to help make our marriages GOOD? And we're fighting His design? Is it possible that some global issues (the world-wide orphan crisis, the vast number of children languishing in US foster care, divorce, selfishness, abortion, etc.) have to do with a disjointed perspective on marriage and family?

Just some thoughts. It's a paradigm shift for sure. But no one can deny the fact that now more than ever, people are looking for meaning in their lives and fighting to "protect" their marriages. I just wonder if maybe they're going about it the wrong way.

(And speaking of babies, I think mine has the hiccups right now...boy is that an unnerving feeling!!!)

Go Ricki, go Ricki, go Ricki (does anyone else remember that show?)

Kevin and I watched a really neat documentary last night, The Business of Being Born. (Yes it's done by Ricki Lake, but it's good, I promise. :) ) Most of the general info I basically knew, but there were great interviews and if you're at all curious about maternal health in the US, it's worth watching.

I think our country really is in crisis when it comes to childbirth. No, I don't consider myself to be particularly granola, I've never used a midwife (though I might next time), and I really don't ever see myself having a homebirth. But the induction rates in this nation are ridICulous, and I think there are some major problems with the current system. And with the public, because ultimately it's up to women to be informed consumers, or at least as informed as they can be.

I'm really glad I saw the documentary because I'm starting to think about the birth more and it confirmed some thoughts I'd already been having. After the experience I've had so far this pregnancy (which has been completely healthy and normal even though they've tried to scare me THREE TIMES NOW about random stuff that turned out to be FINE), I'm actually thinking that the next baby I have, I would probably use a midwife at the hospital I'm delivering at (they have a midwifery practice there.) I didn't know about that until recently.

Anyway, I seriously cannot WAIT to have a little newborn again. We THINK we may have settled on a name, which we don't plan to share until the baby's born. (It's actually a name we've loved for years.) Yay for sweet little babies!!!!

Rambling blog thoughts

This blog is seriously all but defunct. It's not that we're not doing things that I could blog about, but I have no energy and I'm a big grump these days. :) I have such a love-hate relationship with pregnancy. I LOVE getting to feel the baby moving and I love anticipating the birth and labor and thinking about the sweet newborn we're going to have.

But I really don't like being in a bad mood, or being so exhausted all the time. Also food doesn't appeal to me past about 3 pm which makes dinner prep a pain. My meal-planning has so gone out the window (not that it was that great to begin with).

Isn't it funny how the best things in life don't come without difficulty or hard work? I think that's how God deals with us in general but we have a really hard time wrapping our Western minds around it. I want all the good stuff without having to go through any of the hard. But life isn't like that. Even if we expect it to be. I think we miss out on the richness of life when we make it our aim to avoid any and all potential sacrifice or discomfort.

So I keep telling myself that all my (minor, let's not kid ourselves) complaints are for a good--no, a GREAT--cause, and that all too soon the baby will be out and I won't get to feel her kicking around anymore.

Today I HAVE to make it to the grocery store and Costco and get some more food in the house. And figure out some meals for the next couple of weeks. And do some laundry. Basically figure out some sort of gameplan for life these days because my random attempts to maintain order right now is just not working!

Rocky Mountain pool shark

So I was bit in the pool today. Yes, bit. By some random kid who thought it'd be fun to swim underwater and bite my leg!!!(???) Here I thought the main danger of taking my kids to the pool was their water safety, but apparently I also now need to be looking out for myself and my extremities.

I gotta say I really didn't see it coming...I thought for sure that I left all the sharks behind in California!

Is this inflation?

Is it seriously nearly $7 for a large soda at the movie theater?! Today I took the kids to another free movie, Horton Hears a Who. We had a blast, and I was all prepared to treat myself to a big soda and maybe get us some popcorn, too, until I saw the prices. Sheesh.

Let's just say I may be making a stop at 7-11 on our way to the movies next week. Really, fountain drinks and popcorn are probably some of the cheapest snacks you can sell. And they're charging a small fortune! (I think Kevin may be in the wrong line of work.)

Is this what happens when you abstain from going to the movies for five years? I seriously feel like an 80 year old woman..."Back when I was your age, a drink at the movies cost $2..."

We like Mike

A few weeks ago our good friend Mike from California was in Colorado on business, and came over for an evening! It was great to see him, and of course we missed Kristen and their little ones. (And our usual games of cards.)

Our kids were also thrilled to have Mike here. They waited for him to arrive at the window, got to play games with him when he got here, it was awesome.

Then, the other night at the dinner table, one of my sons announced out of the blue, "I miss Mike."

"Huh?" I asked.

"I miss Mike," he answered. "He came and played with us."

So Borlands, you are missed. And not just by Kevin and I, but also by the kiddies!

Summer fun

So far it's been a pretty fun summer. It's been warm, but with lots of thunderstorms and rain. Which we love, in part because we don't have sprinklers in our lawn so unlike last summer, our grass is actually nice and green.

A few weeks ago we took the plunge and bought a 12-foot trampoline for our backyard. The kids (and Kevin) have had a ball on it so far. Sadly I have not been able to really get my trampoline groove on, being pregnant and all, but I'm thinking it might be a good cure for a late baby, should I become overdue. :) (Though I doubt that, both my other babies came right on time.)

My big kids also attended VBS in June. Here they are on the last day. They had a blast!

We've also hit up the pool a few times so far. Biniam is teaching himself how to swim and can hold his breath for a really, REALLY long time underwater. It's crazy!

And of course there's been lots of reading going on. Anna always has a willing audience.

The kids love eating lunch outside.

Kevin's parents and sister have been visiting this weekend, and the kids have been having so much fun with them. Last night we went out for pizza and then watched the fireworks. Yay for summertime!!!

Just us

We took this picture of ourselves on our 7-year anniversary a couple of weeks ago. I love being married.

We've been talking and thinking about marriage a bit lately. Kevin read something recently in a book by a Roman Catholic, about how God created children to be GOOD for marriage, even though society tends to believe the opposite. We have so found this to be true for us. The book has turned out to be pretty interesting actually, and has articulated a lot of things we've had rolling around in our heads for awhile. Just about marriage, and family, and God's purpose for families.

I also just read about a study that just came out that showed that thriving marriages tend to be the ones in which couples continually have to meet challenging goals together. So I found it kind of interesting that in some ways the findings of this secular study substantiated what that book was saying. The Psychology major in me likes studies. :)

Now they can prove it!

Over three years in the works, Yosef and Biniam now FINALLY have their Certificates of Citizenship. What a nightmare.

The United States is a great place for immigrants to come, but the CIS office is pretty ridiculous, and there are some really frustrating bureaucratic hoops you have to jump through for no apparent reason.

My sons became citizens of this country when their adoption was finalized in a local court about two and a half years ago. But in the US, it's not enough to BE a citizen, you have to have PROOF that you're a citizen. Aside from the court document showing you became a citizen. ???? We don't have their greencards, because their first adoptive family presumably trashed them/held onto them out of spite. So instead of just being able to get them passports as proof, we had to get these Certificates of Citizenship. Which cost hundreds of dollars apiece and lots of legwork.

BUT, it is done. Soon they'll have Social Security numbers and they'll never be drafted into the Ethiopian army. :)

The day the certificates arrived, Kevin presented them to the boys and we went out for Ethiopian food to celebrate.

(And really, it should be Kevin standing in the picture proudly holding the certificates, because boy did he have to move heaven and earth to get those things!)

Summer movies

This morning marked our kids' first trip to the movie theater! Throughout the summer, there are free kids' movies playing around Denver, and today the kids and I went to see Nim's Island. They--yes, all four of them--were completely transfixed for the entire film. Even Kaitlyn. The general concensus once it was over was that the movie was good, but "too long." :)

A fun bit of trivia: this was MY first trip to the movie theater since...wait for it...The Passion of the Christ. Which came out in February 2004. I lead a simple life. :)

This afternoon the kids and I are heading out to meet some good friends and play in a big fountain. SO fun! I love summertime!