my little dream come true

You know how I’ve been dreaming of a white Christmas holiday for my little Aussie family?

Well, God has delivered.

This morning we woke up to snow. Glorious snow.

And in honor of this precious and beautiful snow dump, I’m going to do a precious and beautiful photo dump… mostly of my sweet son enjoying it for the first time, and my Aussie husband in his fleece superman pj’s. (He was too excited to change into something more “reasonable” - just one of the many things I love about him.)

This is the first white Christmas for the Booker boys. And boy oh boy, does their delight bring joy to this little heart-o-mine.

"i don't know what this is but i like it!"

"so many layers, i can hardly move!"

my gorgeous boys... including ryan still in his pj's. :)

"what is this stuff?!"

still snowing... still happy.

perhaps the cutest snowman to-date. :)

superdad and my flying boy.

"ta-da!"

Dear friends, seeing my family experience snow at Christmastime is so special to me. It’s an important part of them being able to relate to my culture, background, and upbringing. How do you bring elements of your childhood into your present-day family life?

snowed in and happy about it,

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010 
do not reproduce without written permission

an australian 4th of july

There are so many things I love about Australia: the beaches, the weird animals, the sun, the slang, the nicknames, the proximity to Asia, the free public health care, the surf culture, and the dusty outback…

But it’s times like these that I miss America. {Oh, July 4th, you are so fun... so beautiful.}

If I could just teleport my family to the Land of the Free for this weekend I would be elated. What I wouldn’t give for my hometown’s 4th of July pancake breakfast in the park… the Kids, Bikes, and Pet Parade… the Jazz and Blues festival… the Freedom Ride (where the streets are taken over with an informal mass of young people on their cruisers), and a BBQ and fireworks at the neighborhood block party.

But this 4^th of July is just another Sunday here in Australia.

{sigh}

One of the things that’s important to Ryan and I is that our children grow up with an understanding—and love—for both of our home cultures. This is why we try really hard to celebrate American holidays in our own way, even if we are in the Land Down Under. (Therefore Thanksgiving is huge in this little family’s household!)

I want to do my best to not only celebrate these special American holidays, but to impart the meaning of them to my children.

And as for Independence Day, my hope is that Levi grows up knowing how privileged he is to hold that American passport (along with his Aussie one!) and all that it represents: hard-working and determined pioneers, creativity, invention, civil rights, the freedom of choice, religion, and speech… and so much more.

So this was our 4^th of July this year... Just look at the ridiculous outfit I subjected my son to:

{I'm pretty sure he won't thank me later... 

but we all enjoyed a good giggle at his expense.} 

Because of our work with YWAM, we work with lots internationals... and many of them are American. A few of us piled into our little back yard for a good old potluck BBQ, some watermelon, sparklers for the kids, and a smattering of red, white, and blue. Even my Canadian friend Kate was showing the love:

Though it wasn’t the same as if we’d been in State-side, our version was fun nonetheless. No doubt Levi will be glad to get to celebrate two sets of holidays growing up. See how his daddy got into it with his special jello dessert? My America-lovin' rockstar hubs thought this up without my prompting and made it for all of us to enjoy:

  {Isn't that so cute of him?}

Happy Independence Day to you. Hope it's full of sparkly sparklers, cool cups of ice tea, bright stars and bold stripes, and some good times with your friends and family.

Dear mommy friends, do you have cultural heritage that you are trying to impart into your children? What does this look like for you?

Love us? Vote here!

levi, world traveler

Our son Levi was “made in Spain”, born in Australia, and–by the age of a month and a half–was the proud owner of two passports. (Ok, so his parents were proud at least… he was fairly indifferent still.)

When Ryan and I chose a cross-cultural marriage, we also chose each others nations and each others families. We knew that it would present both challenges and joys. The biggest challenge is–and may always be–the distance between loved ones.

As part of our commitment to our families, we thought it important that Levi get to meet the everyone (or everyone got to meet Levi:) as early as possible. Though some may not understand why we feel it important for a trip that he most definitely won’t remember… it’s our conviction that there’s long-term significance in the connecting whether he can yet comprehend or not.

Life. . . is. . . for. . . relationship.

Luckily the new airline — VAustralia — also cooperated and offered us a relatively cheap airfare. So, with only a couple of weeks notice, I took off for America with my 7-week-old newborn son. Crazy? Absolutely. Worth it? Most definitely. (Read about "Top tips for traveling with an infant".)

Ryan wasn’t able to come with us due to work commitments (not to mention the on-sale-yet-still-overpriced plane tickets), but Levi and I went for two weeks – a few days in Sydney to visit the Booker side of the family (and get Levi’s American passport!) and 10 days in America to see the McIntosh side of the family (including the Blackwells of course).

It was a quick trip, and so hard for our newly formed little family to be separated (daddy to be left alone without his loves, and mommy experiencing life as a “single” parent) but it was so worth while.

There were lots of wonderful moments like Levi meeting his uncle Andy and his great-grandparents, receiving prayer from the whole of Westside Church, Levi being bundled up in quilts for his first stroller ride in the mountains, and navigating LAX and other airports with all of our luggage and my own most precious cargo strapped to my chest in a sling.

Thanks to everyone who made our visit so great. The laughs, the lattes, the cuddles and the conversations, the photos and the food. Levi loved America and we all can’t wait for next time. x