Super Bowl Butterflies

Gotta love Super Bowl Sunday! We used to have a party at our house to celebrate the day. But then John had Sunday evening church services to facilitate so Super Bowl Sunday became just another Sunday night at the church. When the Sunday evening services were no more, we found that an interesting phenomenon had occurred; everyone else (insert teen reasoning here) had bought a big screen TV, leaving only the King household with dinosaur TV relics. Now no one wanted to come to our house to view the big game because on our TVs it just wouldn't be as big as at their own houses. So now we spend the evening home alone.

Which is nice in its own way. Actually the older boys had youth at church so they celebrated the big night by watching the game and playing too many rounds of dodgeball. Mariana played piano and sang beautiful worship songs. Isaac alternated between the game and homework. Eden played nicely by herself. The Good Doctor and Shoun were left to speak to the TV alone. Believe it or not but pastors don't always sound like pastors when the Super Bowl is on. Apparently there was a certain "stupid, idiot ref" who should have made a call but didn't. I don't know; I wasn't in the room.

HopeAnne and I were holed up in the sewing room. I was making good on that promise to both empty more fabric from my sewing closet and make her a pillow to match her quilt. And the game was just the right length to allow me to not only begin, but to also finish that project. Of course I had to surprise her with the end result in the morning since the littlest ones did not stay up for the entire broadcast.

While HopeAnne was a foster child we decided to make her a quilt for her first birthday. At that point in time, her goal was still reunification with her birth mother. When I thought of her life, I often thought of butterflies. Not only bringing hope and freedom to those caught in the cycle of addiction and single parenthood, but new life in Christ which I prayed over her life, not knowing in whose house she might be raised.

So we created a quilt with flowers, caterpillars, cocoons, and butterflies. Each family member participated. Then I sewed them together. I knew that there was the possibility she would be leaving our home, and I had resigned myself to allowing the quilt to go with her.

But that didn't happen and the quilt is here, on her bed, where both she and the quilt belong. But that's not where the tale of Hope and the Butterflies ends. Because for her adoption day, we left the courtroom, crossed the street, and stood along the river to release butterflies together. The weather didn't quite cooperate and it was a bit too chilly for the butterflies. That means we probably don't want to dwell too long on what happened to those creatures once they left our hands. But it also means that they weren't really into flying so we got to enjoy them for a little while.

Definitely a beautiful day with a beautiful little girl, celebrating the beautiful act of adoption.