Discrimination

We have to take 10 hours of online adoption training to pass our homestudy. We have read many adoption books, articles, and blogs. We have had long conversations with our homestudy case worker and watched a few films... most about transracial adoption. All these things are attempting to prepare us for raising black children in a white family. As if an online class could prepare us for a child who will be discriminated against strictly because of the color of his skin.

I have been judged harshly or discriminated against because...

I was a pregnant teen

I got married at 19

I had many children at a young age

I have never been judged harshly or discriminated against because of the color of my skin.

Until day before yesterday.

The Tanana Chiefs Conference has hired a dentist to come into the village for the week. We've known he was coming for some time and to say we were excited is an understatement. Joe and I have not been able to get to the dentist for quite sometime. We were especially worried about the way Macy's new teeth were coming in and looked forward to the explanation from a real doctor (not web MD). The dentist and his crew had Joe driving out to the airport picking up truck loads of equipment long before the dentist arrived. Now that they have arrived they have converted a classroom into a dentist office. And of course the school is providing them with warm, safe lodging. I planned all this weeks preschool activities around being a dentist, going to the dentist, and dental health. Yesterday was our chance to put all we learned into action. After lunch, the dentist planned to see the preschoolers one by one. So one by one they went. Until it came time for my children to go. When I walked down to talk to the dentist before bringing them in he tells me...

"I'm really sorry. I was only contracted to do Native dental care. I can not see your family." I, more than a little confused, sputtered, "because we are white?" The previously white dentist turned red and answered with a nod and more apologies.

I was so embarrassed. I couldn't understand why it wasn't mentioned before this incredibly awkward encounter. Earlier that morning I had an unfortunate conversation with a staff member... and now this. It was more than I could handle. I held it together long enough to get to the classroom to cry.

Explaining to my children that no, there had been a miscommunication, we were not going to the dentist wasn't easy. They were crushed.

We used this as a learning experience. We took some time to explain a bit about race and discrimination and how people may say or do things once their brother/s get home only because our new family member does not have white skin.

Becoming the minority in a village of this size has proven to be quite the learning experience if nothing else. Because of situations like this, we now have a base to build on. We have a foundation for helping our future children cope with racism and discrimination.

And folks just in case you were wondering... it sucks.

Mommy WOW...

...I'm a big girl now!

Arwen has been wearing big girl undies for a few weeks now! She is amazing. She stays dry during naps and she can stay dry overnight (up to 14 hours). Arwen was EASIEST, by a lot, to potty train.

Shortly after she potty trained herself she decided "I can do it" too. Oh my! It is oh so adorable (if it's during any time of the day except bedtime).

New camera lens

The DT 3.5-5.6/18-70 lens that came with my A200 camera broke. It took a long time to replace because I wanted one that was cheap. I gave up searching and was lugging my zoom lens around. The zoom is not a good one for portraits! Thankfully, we finally found one for much less than expected a DT35mm F1.8 SAM (or something like that). Here are some of the first photos I took. I am in love! The weather was in the high 20's low 30's (barely need a jacket!) and the sun was shining. I have to get much closer to my subjects than I am used to but it's worth it.

Thora is running through the snow there (at the base of the poll). I snapped the photo hoping to catch her running towards me... instead the wind blew ever so slightly and chunks of snow fell from the telephone wires. I caught the snowing falling in action. This photo is definitely not one my favorites (too much going on in it) but you can clearly see how frozen and white everything is. All that white is so darn beautiful!

once you start you just can't stop

Macy just said to me "You know how when people start smoking and they just can't stop?" Yeah... "Well, it's the same way for me and juice. Once I start drinking I just can't stop!"

Hahahaha!

When it was cold

While it was somewhere below -60 I decided we HAD to take a family photo. I wasn't sure if our homestudy case worker was going to need one... better safe than sorry. Our plan was to take a quick walk to the post office stopping at the front of the school to take a photo. Thankfully Mr. Handy Man was there terrorizing me so I asked him to snap it. We never made it to the PO... it was too cold .

My hair was frozen (that's why it looks grey!)

Joe's mustache and beard were frozen

We are all holding our breath (because you could see it and all of us breathing together was causing quite a fog).

And I'm pretty sure nobody could feel their legs or faces!

This week we have been able to walk to the school without our coats on. I hope it stays this warm-ish...

While Joe was fixing the new dresser for the millionth time he found this. Sometimes ice grows on the inside of the walls... I don't know why... it just happens. Well, the ice here is 'eating' Joe's socks! There were a few pairs stuck to the wall. I think we owe the dryer an apology... I've been blaming it for the lost socks.

Our little preschool friend had a birthday party (during one of those colder than -60 nights) that we weren't going to miss. We walked (more literally... we RAN) on over and had a LOT of fun! This is what we looked like on the return trip. Notice there is no ice growing on Arwen's little face? Her cheeks aren't even red! Looks like the coat works!

Macy loses a 2nd tooth...

...and it will be a third soon! She has a teeny tiny mouth so when that first adult tooth started battling its way through the surface, it knocked a tooth out and awkwardly claimed its rightful place. The 2nd adult tooth starting making its way to the top shortly after... it attacked from behind her row of baby teeth and is beating its way to the front now. She lost her second baby tooth while brushing her teeth (The attempt to pull it out was unsuccessful. As Macy put it, "It just wasn't ready to leave its home yet.") and has another loose tooth. I give it another week before those 2 adult teeth have won this skirmish and bully their way into a straight and orderly line right there in the front of her mouth.

02/03/12

A light dusting of snow in Stevens

Or rather a hundred 'light dustings' all added together. Here are some photos I took when it was colder and the sun was just returning. The sunlight coming back wasn't as noticeable as it was in Venetie either because A: we are busier here than we were in Venetie and didn't notice, B: we have been through an Alaskan winter once before, or C: it just wasn't as dark in Stevens as it was in Venetie.

This truck hasn't moved since we arrived in Stevens. The snow just keeps piling up on top and all around it. I love the saggy snow hanging around the windows.

Out our back window

Snow drift on the 'trail' from our house to the school

The inside of our kitchen window

photos from my walk

Trailer makeover-part 2-{up}recycling

I love to repurpose things! A good 'find' at value village (good samaritan or goodwill if we were back in TN) can really make my day. I love taking something old and unwanted and turning it into something new. Doing that is not so easy here. There is no shopping at all... No grocery stores, no gas station, and no value village. So I rummaged through all the school rooms, the attic, the kitchen, and our shed thing and here is what I came up with.

In the next 2 photos:

1. metal canning jar lids (from jars that were being used for other things and no longer needed their lids) covered in an adorable rain drop fabric (given to me by my sweet friend Sallee)

2. clouds made from this template out of art/scratch foam (from the buried art supplies in the school)

3. a metal cooling rack (we had 3 and I only use two at a time at most)

4. 2 sheets of wood something (found in the buried at supplies at school) painted with chalk board paint (I purchased this last time we were in fairbanks for a project with the kids)

5. a tiny cookie sheet (found in the pre-school room) and a normal size cookie sheet (found covered in gunk and all banged up); I scrubbed and spray painted the big one... It was painted much nicer on the other side but it didn't want to hang right facing that direction so I will have to paint the backside again soon.

6. Harry Potter, Princess Bride, and Fairy Tale magnet sets all purchased from etsy here

This dummy doorknob didn't work out in the bedroom door so I screwed it into the bathroom wall. It now serves as a towel hanger. (side note: this is what the wallpaper looked like in the kitchen. ew right!?)

I found this wood frame thing in the attic at school. I hot glued the colored burlap fabric to the back so I could hang earrings. I also hot glued two craft dowels to the front... one up high for necklaces and one down low for bracelets. The hat I wear most often hangs nicely on the corner.

Trailer makeover-part 1-the kitchen

After 7 hrs of non stop washing, tearing, priming, and painting, we have finished painting over the horrid wall paper in the kitchen! WOOO HOOO! Saturday morning after breakfast and coffee/tea, Joe and I got started on the kitchen. We only stopped for potty breaks and to throw the kids snacks (literally). We didn't eat dinner until bedtime! It ended up being quite a lovely day spent together as a family. We painted in an attempt to make the kitchen/living room look larger by lightening it up (before the homestudy!). I'm not sure it will fool anyone, but I do know that I don't really care. I am just happy the wallpaper is gone!

Before and after photos taken mostly by Gav while we painted. He had to stand on the far end of the house to get these because I haven't gotten a new lens yet... he was using the super zoom!

Before

During coat one of primer

Arwen proudly 'reorganizing' my recipes

"Hey, where'd Arwen go Joe?" Nevermind... I found her asleep in our bed!

DONE! It was dark. We used a zoom lens. The photos suck. But I AM SOOO PROUD of us :)

"Look I'm Papaw!"

This photo is for my Ma and Eric... and all the family that knows my step father tends to wear his pants up high. The kids get a kick out of it and taught Arwen the favorite phrase, "Look I'm Papaw!" She was saying it when I took this photo. *giggles*