Hurray for Adoption!

Two of our close friends (whom I will leave unnamed since they just turned their blogs private, and I'm not sure how private they want to be!) have had more than one heartbreak along the path of adopting. They've been waiting for way too long. But just this week they received their daughter! We're so excited for them and so happy that they can begin the adventure of parenthood. Hurray for adoption, for those who give the joy of parenthood to those of us who are unable to become parents without their gift. Thank you, birth moms and birth dads!

Kiss Me, I'm (Part) Irish

David's birth father is part Irish, and so I couldn't resist the "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" bibs I saw at Babies-R-Us. (I know, most of the one-liners on baby clothes are marketed directly at the purses of moms. If they come out with a "Hug Me, I'm Vietnamese" or "Love Me, I'm Mexican", I'll definitely buy those too!)


It's one month before St. Patrick's Day, but here are a few photos in his "heritage bib"!

Currently Reading

I need to have a place wherein I can jot notes about what I'm currently reading -- and not have to erase my thoughts when the I've finished the book.

Note that a good portion of my "reading" these days actually happens on book-on-tape. This makes any commute bearable. I do also like NPR, but nothing else on the radio much interests me.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (listening): I was motivated to read this because a student said it was her favorite. I've loved it! Makes me want to listen to Angela's Ashes again, too.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (reading). I have read this in the past (unabridged!) but will try to read the abridged version in the next 10 days so I can lead this month's book club discussion. Anyone have any thoughts about this book?

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, edited by Mormon (reading). How many times have I read this book? My copy is one given to me as a child, and has a note: "Read by July 1985. Then reread." Yes! I have read and reread this book, and it is ever powerful and truthful.

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman (reading). I'm reading portions of this to my Communications classes on Fridays. I think it's an important book, critiquing "the effects of television culture on the manner in which was conduct our public affairs" (to quote the inside book flap). However, while some of it really sparks student discussion, other parts are going way over their heads...so I need to be pickier about what I read and what I summarize for them.

Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron (reading). I'd like us to make much of David's solids homemade: to save money and to cut back on little glass jars that will just have to be recycled. And because everything I read suggests organics for babies, but that's spendy. I can save or at least level out the cost if I make it myself. Thanks to Tia Brown Barth for this great baby shower gift.

What to Expect During the First Year (reading). Chapters on age 4-6 months.

Books I Mean to Read Soon!

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (read). Many people having been raving about this book. My book club discussed it last month, and I did begin the book. I hadn't been drawn in with the first 3 chapters, however. Then grades were due. And the day of the book club I got caught in traffic due to an oil spill on the 101 -- and spent 3 hours going 10 miles. I couldn't bear to turn around an hour later and head back down the 101 to get to the book club. Hopefully I'll return to this, though.

Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks (read). Sara's husband Rob was reading it; I have loved Oliver Sacks' books in the past.

The Florist's Daughter by Patricia Hampl (read). I enjoyed her Romantic Education while traveling in Eastern Europe two years ago.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (listen). It's on a list of options for my students, and though none have chosen it, I want to read it so I can recommend it to them.

Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery (listen). I loved listening to Anne of Green Gables last month, and now have the sequel on book-on-tape. I adored Anne when I was 10!

Voting: Damn Tootin' We Did!

This entry is belated (yes, I could back-date it but I won't this time). My sisters Anna & Sara both posted blogs about the experience of voting in the primaries. Like them, we felt a sense of community at the polls. Ours was a 10 minute stroll away at one of the neighborhood centers here in Redwood Shores.

I wanted to post an article that my Aunt Merrie Ziady wrote about my great-grandmother Georgia Henderson's commitment to exercising her privilege to vote. Whenever I feel a little lazy about the whole process -- trying to figure out who of the candidates I can trust, who I agree with, whether I finally want to commit to one political party (again this year the answer is no), and so forth -- I think of Great-Grandma Georgia. Or the Iraqis with the purple fingers after voting (despite all the other things that have gone wrong in Iraq, the moment of their elections was a beautiful one). I'm listening to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on book on tape right now and laughed at the conversations between men: "If they give women the vote, my wife's gonna vote what I tell her to vote!"

Here's my aunt's article (or letter to the editor), November 1, 2004:

"When she was 81, my grandmother, Georgia Henderson, recalled in a 1968 Election Day newspaper interview that she first voted in 1915- 'I was 28 before you darn men decided we women were smart enough to vote': - and cast her first presidential vote for Woodrow Wilson in 1916.

"At the time she was quoted, Grandma was confined to a wheelchair in a nursing home. She generally voted by absentee ballot, but that year there had been a slip-up and she hadn’t received a ballot. She called the county election department and was told it was too late to get an absentee ballot.

"Angry but determined to find a way to vote, Grandma called her hometown newspaper to see if they could help her.

"'I’ve just about used up all my cuss words,' she said over the phone. 'I’m 81 years old and I’ve been voting since I was 28. And they tell me down at the election department I can’t get one now.'

"Grandma was fortunate. The person she talked to at the newspaper had a sympathetic ear and took on her case. A few phone calls confirmed it was indeed too late for an absentee ballot, but a wheelchair cab service was arranged to pick her up and take her to the polling place, free of charge. Along with one of her roommates, they headed off to the polls.

"As she went to work on her punch card ballot, she apparently kept up a running commentary of the candidates and issues – from dog control to garbage levy to presidential politics.

"'My father was a hard-boiled Republican,' she said. 'It’s a good thing he died before I married, because I married a Democrat.'

"Back at the convalescent home, she proclaimed, 'I made up my mind that if ther was any way for me to vote, by George, I was going to vote. And I did!'

"Was she glad? Beamed Georgia Henderson; 'You’re damn tootin’ I am!'

"The moral of the story? From the figures I’ve seen, there are still many Americans who are eligible to vote but don’t exercise that right. The reasons range from 'My vote doesn’t matter' to 'They’re all jerks anyway' to 'I forgot to register' to 'Who's got time to figure it out. There are too many issues, too many choices.'

"Some Americans, like my grandmother, remember what it was like not to have the vote and therefore hold dear their voting rights and responsibilities. Others have, over time, let this value die for whatever reason.

"I would simply ask the non-voting readers of my story to take a lesson from Grandma. Will you be glad you voted? If I can speak for her: 'You’re damn tootin’!”

Great-Grandma Georgia with my Great-Aunt Marian & Grandpa Bob
(Georgia was probably about 28 years old in this photo,
the age at which she was first allowed to vote)

We Begin Solids (& Other Big Steps in Babyhood)

So I had been excited for the time to come when, 2 weeks before his six-month doctor visit, David would begin solids. Now I understand why a lot of parents said things like "Good luck!" Solids are work! David can gulp down 8 ounces of formula in 4 minutes these days, but to get a few teaspoons of rice cereal to actually go down his throat takes forever! But it is fun to see him try something new, especially when his eyes get excited at a new taste and new experience, or when he flashes me a cheesy grin because he knows that he actually swallowed something!





Here are photos from one of his first sessions with solids, as well as other recent photos.

I stand flat-footed in my exersaucer & jumpy seat
(for a moment, before I jump again!).

Sometimes I even nap on my tummy these days...
but now that I can roll, just try to keep me on it for long!

I'm easy. You can tell when I'm happy...
and when I need to sleep.

Being Loved by Two Sets of Parents

David has fabulous birth parents. They are thoughtful and kind and love David very much. I won't show photos wherein you can see their faces, out of respect for their privacy.

Ours is an open adoption, and so we write them weekly with photos and details about David's developments. They come to see him, too, and in their last visit gave him a wonderfully warm winter cap, a cute onesie, and darling overalls with one frog embroidered on the leg and another, on a string, attached to the front bib pocket.

During the previous visit, we'd woken David from a nap...which meant that after a short time he had a melt-down. So I was extra nervous this time, wanting it to be a good experience for all. (David's birth mom is a sweet tender-heart and it had made her cry when he cried.) So we planned around his nap (which is not consistent in timing) and fortunately he was in a good mood for the visit. He played in his exersaucer, jumped a bunch, and even cuddled his birth mom while she fed him a bottle.

That is until an hour or so had passed. It was late for him (nearly 8 pm) when we decided to try on his new clothes. I should have known he'd scream at the hat (he has worn it since, and it's kept him warm during our walks outside...but he does fight the idea of wearing anything on his head). So despite a great 60-90 minutes, he began to melt-down again at the end. Of course, he frequently breaks-down if I make him change clothes too much!

Cutest clothes on our crybaby!

Beloved David! You are loved so much by two sets of parents! That should be enough to keep any kid from a meltdown!

I Like Yellow Too, or: The New First Presidency

Sorry for the rather flippant post title. But it is fun to know that the new President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas S. Monson, has the same favorite color as do Taylor and I!

Yesterday my mom forwarded me the following email about the announcement of the new leadership of the Church:

Hi Kids,

We have a new First Presidency

President Thomas S. Monson

1st Counselor- Henry B. Eyring [a former Stanford business school prof!]
2nd Counselor- Dieter F. Uchtdorf

It's wonderful to think of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles meeting on Sunday morning and ordaining Thomas S. Monson as our new prophet. It is such a blessing to have this inspired means to maintain the infrastructure of the Lord's church.

In the news conference following the announcement this morning of the new presidency, President Monson made some important points in response to questions from reporters:

• Members should not be sequestered, but active in their communities. Work with other churches.
• Temple building will keep going forward because the church keeps growing.
• Yellow is Pres. Monson's favorite color because it is the printer's color [Monson was a publisher/printer before retiring to serve in the Church] and gives color to the other colors. Without yellow, our grass would be blue.
• Homes need to prepare youth for the challenges of the day by teaching them to call upon our Father in Heaven.
• Men and women need to be educated, highly educated.
• The Perpetual Education Fund is a hallmark of the administration of Gordon B. Hinckley. It is uplifiting people out of poverty. President Monson is always pleased to see in obituaries when it says, "In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Perpetual Education Fund."
• We are engaged in is the Lord's work and he has felt the Lord's sustaining influence.
• We need to put our arms around those who are less active and welcome them back into the fold.

I really liked hearing all members of the new presidency speaking of the "one" which goes beyond ethnic, racial, cultural, religious, backgrounds.

Love, Mom/Alice

I did feel the Spirit as I read the list of names; the Church is in good hands and led by men of God. One maybe should not supposed to have favorites in this matter, but Eyring has always been one of my favorites (yes, his connection to Stanford is part of that), so I'm super glad to have him continue on in the First Presidency. And it's amazing to see this change of leadership with no campaigning or jostling or mud-slinging (which I cannot say for another Mormon who has recently been hoping to lead this country!).

We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe that God speaks to prophets today as he did in former times. We sustain 15 men as prophets, three as members of the First Presidency (a President and two counselors) and 12 as Apostles. On Sunday the 27th of January, Gordon B. Hinckley, who had been the President of the Church for 12 years, passed away at age 97 1/2. Since 1937, he had served in important positions within the church (by and large, volunteer positions). A fuller account of his life reminds me that his was a life completely devoted to serving his God, and this tribute by Glenn Beck was touching.

The funeral service, held yesterday, reminded Taylor and me of just how much President Hinckley did for the Mormon church and for the world. He has spoken at every one of the General Conferences for the past 50 years! He was the prophet for 12 years, a member of the 1st Presidency for another 17 or something, and an Apostle for about 30. He has lived a life of complete honor, truth, and service. He has done amazing good, especially in more than doubling the number of temples and in beginning the Perpetual Education Fund. And he always spoke with humor, humility, and genuineness. President Hinckley was of the same generation of my Rampton grandparents, and soon my grandma will die; it's hard to see this good and strong generation slip away.


But it is wonderful to think of President Hinckley again holding hands with his wife Marjorie, being embraced by his parents (his mother died 70 years ago and his father a decade or so later), and greeted by the Lord with "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." That will be glorious moment!