Shelton Shenanigans

Just over a week ago, we were invited to an Ethiopian Christmas party being hosted by good friends of ours, their first with their son, Abe, who has been in the States less than six months. I took the time to caution Tyler and Trevor on proper etiquette for an occasion such as this, harkening back to a phrase taught to my college choir just before we left for a European tour. We were warned not to be rude American tourists, not to call things “weird,” or “gross,” but to address uncomfortable situations by thinking, “My that's different; I wonder why they do it that way.” I told the boys to take a similar attitude to this party. We were dressing up a little, because that's what they do in Ethiopia. There would be no gifts. There was a good chance there would be music and perhaps even dancing. And, of course, there would be food made just for the occasion, recipes unlike anything the boys had ever tasted. I told them not to be rude, but to try new things, and that if they d...

What a week December 1-7, 2013 has been for the Shelton family! We celebrated the first Sunday of advent with a trip to get our Christmas tree, and wrapped up the week by selling Christmas decorations at a Christmas craft fair. But that doesn't even begin to tell the full story! Let me break down the highlights for you. You may recall that a year ago this week I underwent surgery to remove half of my thyroid. I wrote an emotional blog post a few days prior to surgery in which I detailed my fears and my hope in God, and ended with a verse from a Christmas carol which had taken on new meaning for me: Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay Close by me forever and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care And fit us for Heaven to live with thee there. I come to the manger this year with a deeper understanding of the meaning of those lyrics, and unspeakable joy as I have regained the ability to sing, “Glory to God in the highest andpeace to men of good wil...

In case you’ve been wondering if Pilikia has outgrown his adorable little nickname (a fancy word for trouble), allow me to quote that well-known philosopher and deep thinker, Jerry Seinfeld. “Having a two-year-old is like having a blender without a lid.” Little Mr. Trenton is nothing less than a twenty-five-pound tornado! Here are a few things he accomplished last weekend while the rest of us were cleaning for an open house and working on Christmas and Thanksgiving gift baskets. He learned to unlock the sliding glass door, thus making it necessary to monitor him any time he’s remotely close to downstairs to keep him and the dog from escaping. He has spent a considerable amount of time disrobing, making messes of all kinds, and blaming them on the dog. He can point his finger and scold like nobody’s business – even if it’s entirely unjustified! He discovered that if you climb up on the storage tote of the next season’s shoes in the laundry room, you can climb onto the washer, where y...

Okay. Forget everything I said in my last post about taking a break from fundraising! The time for being still is over and the time for action has come!!! We’ve made some decisions, we’re moving forward! Things are seriously in motion and we’re charged and ready to go!!! Steve and I are presently filling out our application to join an adoption agency, America World. We are asking to adopt from Haiti!!! From what we understand, to complete a Haitian adoption will take us about two years. We will complete a home study, which will take four to six months, and then wait for a referral. Sometime after that, we will travel to Haiti where we will spend two weeks being approved again by Haitian social workers and we will meet our child, although I do not know how much interaction we will have with her. After that, we will travel back to the US, without her, and eight months or so later, we will return to Haiti in order to bring her home to her forever family. Every country’s adoption...

Is it just me or did summer absolutely fly by? Perhaps it’s because our school year started up earlier this year, or perhaps it’s because the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activities, but I feel like it was just yesterday that we were planning the June 1 rummage sale, and now we’re preparing for the kick-off of the football season, apple picking, and all the other things that come along with cooler fall weather! It’s crazy! Here’s where the Sheltons are in our adoption process. Although we took a break from our own fundraising efforts, at least publically, a lot has been going on behind the scenes as we gear up for what’s next! I like to think of the last few months as “Heart and Soul Months.” They’ve been months where we have seen God work on behalf of orphans in lots of different ways, and months where we got to take a back seat in fundraising efforts and play a supporting role on behalf of someone else’s. But they’ve also been months where we’ve been given li...

I sometimes write a little adoption how-to guide in my head as advice to share with anyone else who may want to take this journey after us. It goes something like this: 1. Decide you’re going to adopt. Brainstorm a brilliant fundraising scheme and announce your plans to the world. 2. Have a medical crisis which renders your plan impossible just as you’re gaining momentum and realize you had no fallback. 3. Fall hopelessly to your knees and begin begging for wisdom from Heaven and providential guidance because you have no idea what you’re doing after all and everyone you know knows about your adoption plans because you’ve talked about it non-stop for weeks. 4. Open your eyes to realize you’re surrounded by a whole community of people who love children and that you’re actually not in this alone . 5. Learn to let go of your need to control your own universe and allow others to step in and help, offer skills, ideas and suggestions, and bless your soul in ways you could have never seen...

"Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: "Rejoice!" (Philipians 4:4) I try to make it a point not to mention people by name in the blog without asking their permission first; at least not those who don't live in my house or share my last name! :) Today, I wish I could break that rule of thumb, because I intend to thank a lot of you for your love and support over the last few months. So if you're reading along and you come across something that sounds familiar, yes, that's you I'm talking about, and thank you!! (I should also note here that I am one of those annoying people who overuses exclamation points when I'm excited. Yes, I know I have a problem, and my apologies in advance, but I'm going to do it anyway!!!!!!!!) Today is a day for rejoicing! There are some wonderful things going on in the Shelton world, and I am thrilled and overjoyed to share them with you! But as usual, we have to cover some back story before we get to the ...