A Fun Dat At Gram's!

Alice and Jay bought a couple of thoroughbred ex-race horses. They are BIG and beautiful. Did I mention they were BIG? Safa looked like an ant on top of a mountain. They all loved it, especially Ava.

Even Mima and I Didn't Get This Drunk On Halloween

This is Tilly, Mima's eldest. We decided we'd probably see this picture repeat itself in another 15 years...

A Halloween House Full Of Flower Fairies

They posed all by themselves. They were all so sweet and beautiful...

Ava's Songs

She came to me one night with these in her head and asked me to help her write them down quickly so she wouldn't forget them...

"No One Touching the Sky"

When I was walking in the middle of the road
I saw lots of people
They were all saying,
"I'm going to do it, I'm going to be
the very first one to touch the sky"
When I got into the crowd I yelled,
"No one will touch the sky, just no one
No one can touch the sky!"

"How Different it Used To Be, Sailing Out to Sea"

How different it used to be,
sailing out to sea.
With all the sea rushing around
And the seaweed floating up and down

A Small Step for Womankind

I took Eden and Safa with me to vote and after we got in the car Eden wanted to talk politics. So we talked about it for a bit, then she said, "Mama, can only men be the president?" I could feel my heart break. We talked for a bit about that. Thirty minutes later I'm in Target getting Eden new panties when Safa spies the Thomas (whom she LOVES) boy underwear and asks if she can have them. This country may not be ready for a female president, but I'll be damned if my girl isn't gonna get those Thomas panties.

Even Erik and I Didn't Get This Drunk At Octoberfest

We drank beer. We ate sausage. A mediocre time was had by all...

Transracially Adopted Children's Bill of Rights

Every child is entitled to love and full membership in his or her family.
Every child is entitled to have his or her heritage and culture embraced and valued.
Every child is entitled to parents who value individuality and enjoy complexity.
Every child is entitled to parents who understand that this is a race conscious society.
Every child is entitled to parents who know their child will experience life in ways differently from theirs.
Every child is entitled to parents who are not seeking to "save" a child or to make the world a better place by adopting.
Every child is entitled to parents who know belonging to a family is not based on physical matching.
Every child is entitled to parents who have significant relationships with people of other races.
Every child is entitled to parents who know transracial adoption changes the family structure forever.
Every child is entitled to be accepted by his or her extended family members.
Every child is entitled to parents who know that if they are white they experience the benefits of racism because the country's system is organized that way.
Every child is entitled to parents who know they cannot be the sole transmitter of the child's culture when it is not their own.
Every child is entitled to grow up with items in their home environment created for and by people of their own race or ethnicity.
Every child is entitled to have places available to make friends with people of his or her race or ethnicity.
Every child is entitled to have opportunities in his or her environment to participate in positive experiences with his or her birth culture.
Every child is entitled to opportunities to build racial pride within his or her own home, school, and neighborhood.

President Obama!!

I've intended to comment on the election and Obama's win, but time has been escaping me lately. We are thrilled. We are thrilled as the liberal democrats we are, but even more thrilled that we as Americans have elected an African-American as President. We feel this victory deeply for our future children and what it will mean for them to grow up with Obama's presidency in the backdrop of their lives. I read something that moved me deeply on my forum. I don't know who wrote it, but it spoke to me:



Rosa sat so Martin could walk

Martin walked so Barack could run

Barack ran so that might children might fly





Beautiful...