Organic Consequences

Nadia has a thing for eating grass...and sand...and mulch..and other organic material. I even had her tested for Pica, but apparently her love of eating non-food materials is not related to a vitamin deficiency.

We have tried various and asundry discipline tactics to get her to stop, but it seems she is bound and determined to act as if she's part bovine! 

So, once again I tried the, "Let's just let her eat her fill of grass and then maybe she'll get sick of it" technique to see if perhaps the 54th time is the charm.

Ahh...yes...I'm sensing a bit of discomfort with that last mouthful...



...which then led to some major gagging.  As I'm monitoring carefully I'm hoping that perhaps this will impress upon my little "cow" just how nasty this habit is.

Surely this cry of complete and total disgust over what she's just ingested will be marked indelibly in my little one's memory!!!  I'm feeling as if my little experiment has finally yielded it's desired result!  Woo Hoo!!!

Ummm...I guess we're going to have to look into the possibility of replacing all of our grass, mulch, sand, and stone surfaces with lots of cement.

(Adorable hairdo courtesy of my niece, Jessica)



From Fatherless to a Family!

Two years ago on this very day, I walked into this tiny courtroom to tell a judge why we wanted to make Nadia a part of our family.

He agreed, and so shortly after, we watched this little girl walk out of her 'home' for the last 2.5years into the arms of our family.

Two years later she is celebrating not only her 2nd year with us, but also her 2nd Father's Day with an earthly father who has promised to love and take care of her to the best of his ability.

I thought it would be appropriate since Nadia's 2nd Gotcha Day Anniversary fell on Father's Day this year, that  i would re-print something Jim wrote while we were in Ukraine.  It was his one and only 'guest' blog post and it was one God gave him in the middle of the night in our hotel in Zaporozhye.

I hope it touches you the way it did me 2 years ago, and again today when I re-read it:

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

A FATHER'S LOVE, FEBRUARY 11, 1998

“Send me Lord” she answered as she gazed into the eyes of the one whose way she would prepare, “she is so precious and beautiful. I can show him what he cannot now see.”


“He fears what he does not understand.”

“You promise that you will not ask of anyone more than you will equip them to give” she replied as her eagerness continued to grow.

“The world will not always look at you with love and acceptance because in their eyes you will be different.”

“Nor did they you Lord.”

“Yes my angel, you speak of the truth.”

“Then may I go Lord? May I be the one to prepare his heart?”

“Oh precious one, I would want no other. You will look into the faces of many in need and love them all. But, you will choose only the one I have shown you. You will point to her and call her by name ’Nadia’. Now go and show him how much I love him.”

“Thank you Lord”

(written by Josi and Nadia's earthly father)

Happy Father's Day 2012!!!