Itsy bisty teeny weeny

Purple and yellow two piece that she wore for the first time today!

I must say that she was extremely darling in my $4 swimsuit choice.

Extremely Beautiful Spirit/Personality

Sometimes I look at my little sister, and I am truly amazed at how genuinely happy she is and sometimes, I wish that God gave me the same grace to be so contented and easygoing about life. What I love most about Tamia is the fact that no matter what happens to her, she ALWAYS finds a reason to smile. If she's being disciplined, she smiles right after the person is finished talking, if she's crying and you look at her with a smile, immediately she begins to smile as well. Tamia awakens in the morning with a smile, and falls asleep smiling. If she's awake out of her sleep for whatever reason, she makes sure to flash that smile full of teeth (including a few chipped ones) before going back to sleep.

I wish that I had the capability to see the world and life as she sees it and maybe I'd be able to relax a little and see all of the good in the world that she sees. I have a lot to learn from this little person who I now have the honor to call mine and I'm excited to learn it.

Braids, beads, and weave

OK, so the big question about how young is too young for weave has entered my head a few times and I can proudly and confidently say through my own personal experience that the answer is..... based soley on one's personal preference. I think as a parent, guardian, or caretaker, it is left to a person's own disgression as to whether or not they even choose to put weave in their child's head much less at what age. At present, Tamia is 2 1/2 yrs old and she began wearing weave at the age of one for two reasons 1: She pulled out her hair if there was nothing to protect is (and she still does) and 2: it allowed for more versitile hairstyles being that because she was a hair puller, she didn't have much to work with. I LOVE fixing and coming up with children hairstlyes and for that reason, I made that decision. I do however understand that some people don't agree with my decision and that's fine, people have the right to do with their children as they please. As for Tamia, she will continue to wear very appropriate hairstyles with weave since I am the one who combs and styles her hair but make no mistakes about it, she wears her natural hair as well and even moreso than weave and she is very happy either way, she just loves the end results if she can shake it! :)

 

The Power of Play

In this entire process, I've been extremely grateful to God for His attention to detail in all areas of my life but the area that has been most evident lately is that of Tamia. I don't think that coincidence caused me to pick this time in my life to persue a degree in early childhood education or to meet some of the people that I have been meeting lately.

The thing that has been most apparent to me in my degree program is the importance of play as it is the child's way of not only expressing themself or being creative, it is their way of learning the world around them and how it works. I find myself being stricter than I should be about a messy room but I find myself backing off when I realize that at this age, my neice and nephew and my little sister need the liberty to play for hours at a time if possible. I also find myself a tad too germaphobic these days so it's a little hard but I'm making time for outdoor play as well.

Sleeping Beauty.....Even on the floor

The thing that is most encouraging with Tamia is the fact that she know's when she has reached her limit of consciousness and is not afraid to put herself to bed which is a small but huge feat in a house where her counterparts (my neice and nephew) have to be forced to sleep. I also love the fact that she can sleep pretty much anywhere in the car, in bed, in someone's lap, in the light, in the dark, in a room filled with loud noise and recently..... on the floor if she happens to fall out of the bed. That's my girl!

Small problems

Making it back home on May 1st, my dad brought Tamia to me thevery next day. I was a little apprehensive because for the past two months, she had been spending most of her time with her aunt so I was afraid that she would have detachment issues. I couldn't have been farther from wrong. She's such an easy-spirited person that she just goes wherever the wind blows her which could potentially be her strength and weakness. Anyways, what I did have trouble with was the habits that she had. She was still on a sippy cup which wasn't the real problem, the problem was, she asked for it at night and expected to have milk. She was still not potty trained which I was actually expecting. What I didn't expect however, was the fact that she learned pretty much every curse word from the people that she had been exposed to. I was a little shocked admittedly but I couldn't be too shocked because taking my early childhood classes while I was away really taught m just how influential environment and actions are to the young brain. The very night that my dad brought her to me, we went to the store and her behavior was less than pleasing. She touched EVERYTHING that we passed and verbal discipline and warnings were so foreign to her that she didn't respond to them at all. As we approached the checkout line, Tamia asked for something and I informed her that as a result of her behavior, she wasn't getting it. I'm almost certain that the only thing she got out of it was "NO" and that was enough to set her over the edge. She proceeded to kick me and scream from the front of the basket and when I attempted to restrain her, she pulled down on the collar of my shirt and exposed my bra to anyone who was looking. I was extremely embarrased but what was I to do? There I was with a 2yr old who at the time, saw me every once in a while, had recently been exposed to some bad things, and was reacting to being told no. I restrained her and told her that she wasn't getting anything and I knew from that moment, she would not have the opportunity to embarrass me in the store that way ever again. That night when I got her home, we ate, I bathed her and gave her a cup of milk, and rubbed her back until she fell asleep. Once she was sleeping, I pulled out the big guns, I got on the phone and dialed up my professor who has a master's degree in early childhood education, explained to her the situation, and asked for advice. She advised me of how to handle such behavior and I'm happy to report that our outings have been much more successful and the cursing has almost completely ceased. Now to tackle the sippy cup and potty training problems O_o

Compassion

A week and a half ago, I was sitting in Chapel service as I do every Monday, when the speaker showed the picture of a little girl in a foreign country. He proceeded to speak about how poor the little girl's living conditions were and how she and her family believed in multiple (hundreds) of gods until one day, a college student heard about this organization called Compassion that brings hope through food, education, and knowledge of Jesus Christ to children all around the world.

He then told us of his conversation with this little girl and how she had so little and how none of her possessions or the things around her were the best of anything and yet, the little girl expressed how she has true joy and happiness because she now knows Jesus. The message touched and inspired me so much that I made a decision that very day, to be the person who brings that kind of hope to a child who is in desperate need of it. I was really (secretly) hoping to be given the information card of young African girl because that is where my heart for ministry resides but as God would have it, I was given the information card of a young Ethiopian male child named Filpos. I gracefully accepted the mission that God has set in front of me but somehow looking at the picture of Filpos stirred up a sense of "not enoughness" in my spirit. I found myself on the Compassion website searching for little girls in Africa and this time, my search was very deliberate and very specific. When God places a desire on your heartand a calling over your life, unless you decide to go with it right away, your heart will never be at ease until it's satisfied. I was searching for a little African girl who had the exact same birthday as Tamia and not so that I could sponsor her, but so that Tamia can. My desire is to teach Tamia that there are people int this world who are less fortunate than she is and that it is her responsibility as a child of God, born in America, to always consider others. So instead of allowances and thoughtless purchases, I want to make Tamia fully conscious of her decisions and how all acts of selfishness can become acts of selflessness and we will use the money that she would receive or spend, and provide hope to someone else. It's a big lesson to learn but I intend to help her learn it!

Little person lotta personality

Being that it had been about two months since I'd been home to Texas, I was really looking foward to going back and seeing everyone especially Tamia. I had no idea however, that in just two month, Tamia revaamped her vocabulary and boosted her attitude. She is definitely a character and here's the proof....

Run to fight

Today was the day that I amongst the hundreds possibly thousand of others, participated in the run to fight children's cancer. I had been looking foward to the event since registration because in some small way, I felt like I was going to be a part of something big. While preparing for the run, I was so excited and so looking foward to see the children that are actually battling cancer, run the race in a gold cape. To my disappointment, there were no children in gold capes anywhere in site. However, it was nice to see the all the people who represented all walks of life and all different families, come together and unite for a common goal: to raise awareness and provide support for the children and the families who battle cancer on a daily basis.

The run/walk was exciting, the cause was inspiring, the memories are priceless but more than anything else, I was reminded of a very important thing today. The small decisions we make today, can effect a life tomorrow and there was no better reminder than this little object with these 10 words

The hard question with an easy answer

Mostly everyone who I've informed that I will be taking custody of my sister ask the same question... "Why would you take responsibility of someone else's child if you don't have any kids?" So in other words, people are curious as to why I would take on the responsibility of someone else's actions. To that question I simply reply "because I am able to." The situation with Tamia and I, in my opinion, is no different than a single parent or a couple walking into an adoption agency and taking a child or children into their home. They simpy see a need and they meet it. That's exactly what I am doing for my sister only in my situation, it's a little more of a obligation that a decision. Since I am her sister and not some random person, there's a previously formed relationship and knowing the reality of her fate if I don't step in, I am that much more passionate and faithful about the decision that I've made. Some people may not understand or even agree with my decision and I totally respect that however, it makes no difference in the decision that I have made. I've realized and learned that in every aspect of life, some will disagree and to those people, I've learned to hear them out, respect their opinion, take in the information that I deem useful, and keep moving through life. My sister is MY SISTER, my obligation, and my responsibility. No other reason for taking her in is necessary in my sight!

Labour of LOVE

My dear, darling friend Chelsea recently taught me how to crochet and surprisingly, I picked up the method of te single stitch rather quickly. So with my newfound skill, I decided to crochet Tamia a blanket (it's the only thing I know how to create at the moment). I call it my labour of love because I add stitches to it every moment that I'm able to steal away between class, practicum, homework, volunteering, church, socializing, vigirous exercise regimens (including meal tracking), life group, Bible study, regular studying, eating, sleeping, and oh yeah, BREATHING! I still find time to carefully and meticulously wrap the yarn around the needle, pull it through one loop, repeat only this time pulling it through both loops before pushing the needle through the next stitch. This blanket has to be perfect for her but the only way that'll happen is if it's completed before she makes it to Arizona!

 

She remembers!!!

I made it back to Dallas, TX on Friday, December 14, 2011 but was unable to get to Tamia that day due to minor technical difficulties (I read my airline ticket wrong and my dad was waiting for me at the local airport while I arrived at the international airport). However, I was able to see mymia the very next day and to my delight, I was greeted when I walked through the door to a "Khekah" (Tamia's pronunciation of my name) and a huge smile :) She remembers me!