For My Girls:

It's easy at the end of the school year to get so caught up in gifts and cards and thank yous and awards and field days and parties and the ever present person who still can't figure out carpool, that we forget something. Actually, someone. Or in my case, 3 someones.

I do not post this to take away from the teachers. This year, we have had super amazing teachers who love what they do, and they do it well. I cannot say enough good things about these amazing women, who teach with excitement, and I feel honestly love my girls.

It is easy, here in May, with 1.5 days of school left, to forget where we started.

Hadley started Kindergarten. She loves to learn, and of all the girls, would probably have been the easiest to continue homeschooling. Other than one year in a MMO program, she had never been in a classroom. I was pretty worried about dropping her in to a full day situation. She started looking forward to school in March, and asked and begged me often to just hurry up and let her go to Kindergarten. But looking forward to something and reality are often drastically different. The first day came, and I thought I would throw up dropping her off.

She loved it. Loved her new friends, her teachers, her lunch time, her book time, her songs, her projects: Everything. She dealt with a bit of home sickness and exhaustion at the beginning, but she overcame that (a big deal when you are just 5) and rocked the rest of her year. She made best friends, memories, and excelled at her learning. It's hard to remember the first of the year when she kept forgetting her 'new best friends' name.

Ava started 2nd grade. She had not been in a classroom since she was 3. Of the girls, I was most worried about her. Would her anxiety come back with a vengance? Would she make friends? Would she be overwellmed? Would she be able to keep up? She adored her teacher, but seemed to take her time making friends. She observed her classmates: always watching. She did finally start to make friends, and not just people watching.

Her teacher said her reading and math needed help, so twice a day she got pulled out and tutored with a few other kids. She was not embarrassed, and actually loved going. She enjoyed her math teacher, especially. She repeated everything positive he said to her, and was sad when she had improved enough to stop going. Her reading came up from below grade level, to 4th grade level. She loves to read now, and reads all the time. Her anxiety never got the best of her, and her confidence soared. It's hard to remember the beginning of the year when she seemed so shy.

Jadyn started 3rd grade. This was her second year in school. Last year, she was terrified and her teacher had to pull her off of me so I could leave. This year, she had friends, knew the routine, and knew her teachers. No tears on the first day; just a calm, confident hug and wave goodbye. She has learned so much this year, and her teacher has been able to get so much out of her. She likes to tell me all the classroom gossip, and ask advice. I love that we have those moments, and I hope she does that into her teen years, too.

It's easy, at the end of the school year, to praise the teachers (and YES, they should be- they do SO much and they ROCK at it).

But I want to brag on my kids, too, because they earned it. We underestimate how much they do all year, or think because it seems fun, that it's not work. My kids are awesome, and I love them, and I want them to know I'm thankful and proud of all they have done.

So, Jadyn, Ava, and Hadley:
Well done. You guys rock. And you make being your mommy fun and I am so glad you're mine.

Because my FB status turned into a rant, and the rant turned into a blog. My thoughts on World Vision's choice.

I was pretty much done with blogging for various reasons. I was just going to post a Facebook status. The status turned into a rant, and the rant got really long. (***see note at bottom) And here we all are. And here I go....

World Vision decided to hire people in a same sex marriage. And now people are dropping their child sponsorships in protest.

Um, what?

World Vision decides to no longer discriminate, much like every other company in North America, and now Christians (or those who oppose gay marriage and/or homosexuals in general) are dropping their child sponsorships to make a point.

So the child that had no say to be born poor and underprivileged, is now the bottom line of a point people are trying to make.

I think this is a horrible injustice. And that's putting it mildly. I am not sure people are thinking this through very well. Or at all.

Let's follow this logic:
A company/mission/non profit etc decided not to discriminate against a group of people. Adult people. And then we, other adults, decide to make a point by dropping a hungry child's sponsorship. Target hires gay people- do you shop there? How about Walmart? Quicktrip? The Longhorns franchise owner, the nail salon, the Super Cuts- do you frequent those places? How about the brands you buy? Do the owners of those companies hire homosexuals? Probably. How about the movie you just watched, or that show you watch weekly on TV. Did the creator/producer hire gay people? Are those gay people married? The post office hires gay people, are you going to stop buying stamps or shipping packages? Do I need to check the sexual preference of every waiter or cashier before I eat or make my purchase?

You can't possibly police everyone, everywhere, every second and only interact with those who you feel stand on Biblical principles (or your interpretation thereof). Gay marriage aside, you'd have to find out if any of them are drunkards, or liars, or gamblers, or have a temper, etc.

And if your reason for targeting World Vision is because they are a Christian organization, I'm honestly not sure where that fits in your equation. The reason you would sponsor a child, is so that they can grow and flourish and not go to bed so hungry they can't sleep. It's so they can go to school, and have a future. It's so they won't die of diseases that your child will never even be exposed to. It's because they are HUMAN BEINGS and they have sisters and brothers and mothers and fathers. They had NO SAY in being born poor and in a 3rd world country, and we have NO RIGHT to make them a political point.

NONE.

And if you're trying to soothe your conscience with signing up with another agency to sponsor a child, unless you are able to continue to sponsor the same child, the child you dump to make your point will be hungry next month.

If you want to only deal with companies that do not hire homosexuals, that's your call. I don't think you can actually do it, but you could try. That's not really my point today. My point to day is help you think through this a bit and not have a knee jerk reaction. So that children wont suffer just because you have an issue with World Vision hiring same sex couples. Children do not deserve to be hungry just so you can make a point.

I did see a movement on Twitter to call World Vision and ask specifically to pick up a child that has been dropped in this fall out. I think that's excellent. I'm including the link in case you are so inclined. Click HERE

***Note: I do not wish to argue about gay rights, or gay marriage, or any other aspect of homosexuality. That is not the point of this blog post. I will not engage on those topics.

Also? I am very passionate, especially about things related to children. That passion comes often comes off as anger or heat. Please keep that in mind when you read this, and try to hear my heart and not judge this post on semantics.

1 John 3:16-18 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

 

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

 

1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.