new title

Since we are beginning a new chapter in our family life, I decided to make a few changes to the blog as well. The new title, "We're All Yours", is something I picked up from one of my favorite adoptive mom blogs. When we become parents, whether through giving birth or adopting, it is so tempting to stare at that child and think, "Wow, he/she is all mine." But when Claudia wrote about the day she became a mom, she flipped that sentiment on its head and told her sweet little twins, "we're all yours." I love that.

For me the phrase is reflective, not only of our attitude toward our children, but also of our posture toward the God who made us and in whom we find our purpose, worth, and identity. We're all yours: no matter what characteristics, stories, strengths or weaknesses might threaten to define us, we are fundamentally defined by our place in the kingdom of God.

Our first week has gone as well as can be expected... I plan to write more later, but for now I will leave you with a picture that was taken at our guest house in Ethiopia. I have come back to this picture over and over, because it is a visual representation of the attitude I want to have toward my son. The process of getting to know each other is hard, especially when you add complete culture-shock for him and jet-lag for all of us. In the midst of these challenges I want to embody this image: crouched down on his level, giving him my full attention, smiling, and offering an open hand.