Hi everyone,
Here, finally, we announce the winners of our Silly Shower Games!
Rearrange The Boys' Names generated several creative entries by all you verbally skilled and imaginative people. It was hard to pick a winner, but Rev. Rachel was selected for her entries
"Agegnehu Daniel - Need a Genial Hug
Kibru Samuel - Rumba Like Us"
which were really appropriate for this family (Can't you just picture them all doing the rumba, the samba, the group hug, and more?)
Rachel wins the grand prize of. . . the boy's photos emailed directly to her mailbox (and boy, they're cute!), suitable for posting on a fridge so she can think good thoughts and prayers their way as they meet their parents, hopefully very soon!
The Random Evelyn Trivia Contest also generated many good, and many, um, creative, answers, plus a three-way tie that was broken only by the fact that Regina guessed #1 correctly. For her willingness to dive, metaphorically, into the potty chair, she wins a copy of Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions From Around the World, celebrating that other universal rite of childhood, the loss of the first tooth!
And here are the answers to the Evelyn Trivia contest (best not to be eating supper while reading them. . . )
1. Who is Samba and what does she look like? BONUS -- what did Evelyn and Bill discover about Samba (on a waiting-time camping trip with us, actually) that will be important to know once they start potty training the boys)?
Samba is their wonderful black dog, about 50 lbs of wiggling fun. But, um, she has been known to confuse a potty chair with a supper dish :)
2. What did Evelyn cook on Day 1 of her blog?
Some delicious INJERA!
3. Who began The Blessing Way? What happened on the day after Evelyn's beads were strung?
Courtney Rose, and the day after the beads were strung, Evelyn got her referral!
4. Evelyn and Bill are not the first in their family to adopt a sibling group. Who was first? From where?
Her mom and stepdad, who adopted a sibling group of five from Brazil two years ago.
5. Related question -- How and where did Evelyn and Bill celebrate New Year's 2008?
In midair, on a flight back to the U.S. from Brazil, --and they shared the flight with Evelyn's new brothers and sisters, who were traveling to their new home with their new parents. Much to celebrate!
6. What recipe connects Julie, Evelyn, and myself (Laurie)?
See Nov. 24, 2008: Crystallized Ginger Scones, and Julie's comment. I can't remember at this point whether Evelyn gave me the scones recipe or I gave it to her, but it's the connection!
7. How did Evelyn celebrate the Two Years of Waiting anniversary?
She lit candles and celebrated the things she and Bill were learning in their long wait.
8. On Evelyn's A Day In Photos photo-essay, what creature did she see while walking Samba that really impressed her non-SC blog friends?
A dozing 10-foot 'gator.
9. Name one job/employer where Evelyn worked really really hard during her waiting time. HINT: She hated it.
Slicing fruit, lots of it, at Earth Fare Supermarket. Though she was eventually promoted to cutting imported cheeses and recommending wines (she made me add that last part :0).
10. What is the name of the organization Bill and Evelyn work for (or Evelyn did before she took her "two to three months off before the kids arrive" . . . in January 2007. . . . )? BONUS: Name something this organization does. . . .
Metanoia Community Development Corporation in the Chicora-Cherokee neighborhood of North Charleston, SC. Metanoia does youth leadership programs, home ownership programs, entrepreneurship training, and lots of innovative problem-solving partnerships with local government and civic groups: www.pushingforward.org
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Okay, just one more thing -- tell us about your books!
Couldn't resist -- I see those books all over the floor and want to know more about them! Can folks who chose them so lovingly tell us about them and why you chose them?
In my case, I chose Faraway Home by Jane Kurtz because I know she's one of Evelyn's favorite children's authors. I also really appreciate its theme of returning to a homeland that is foreign to you. I've seen already how much it helps my kids to use fiction to process major life traumas (at our age it's dentist and doctor visits), and it will be so good for Agee and Kibru to read this when they're young, so when they are living it themselves it won't be as much of a shock to them.
I also chose the Global Babies board book because I remember when my kids were newly adopted at 15 months old and unfamiliar with books and being read to. All babies like to look at other babies' faces, and baby face books helped us get the idea of what books were for. And the rest was history. . . . Global Babies is great because of all those beautiful babies from all over the world.
Okay, others want to chime in about your books? And don't forget you can visit older posts and still play the Evelyn Trivia Contest, make up words from Agee and Kibru's names for a chance to win an emailed photo of the guys, and contribute to Evelyn's shower memory book too!
In my case, I chose Faraway Home by Jane Kurtz because I know she's one of Evelyn's favorite children's authors. I also really appreciate its theme of returning to a homeland that is foreign to you. I've seen already how much it helps my kids to use fiction to process major life traumas (at our age it's dentist and doctor visits), and it will be so good for Agee and Kibru to read this when they're young, so when they are living it themselves it won't be as much of a shock to them.
I also chose the Global Babies board book because I remember when my kids were newly adopted at 15 months old and unfamiliar with books and being read to. All babies like to look at other babies' faces, and baby face books helped us get the idea of what books were for. And the rest was history. . . . Global Babies is great because of all those beautiful babies from all over the world.
Okay, others want to chime in about your books? And don't forget you can visit older posts and still play the Evelyn Trivia Contest, make up words from Agee and Kibru's names for a chance to win an emailed photo of the guys, and contribute to Evelyn's shower memory book too!
Thank You Everyone!!!
No Need to End the Party Just Because Laurie's Headed to Preschool Pickup. . . .
. . . so please feel free to browse the party games and keep playing as you stop by throughout the day. We'll announce the winner sometime this evening after my kids are in bed and before Evelyn and Bill retire for the evening (think around 10 pm sometime!)
More Presents ... UPDATED
I have received more presents, one just a little while ago! I am uploading the videos, but it might be much later before they are posted.
Untitled from Evelyn Oliveira on Vimeo.
Silly Shower Game #3, the Kids' names, and another Bill and Evelyn Award!
So now that Evelyn can officially share the boys' names, let's have some fun. How many words can you make by rearranging the letters from Kibru Samuel and Agegnehu Daniel? Winner will be judged on creativity as well as output (that's where the bubbly might help. . . .or not. . . . ). Post your answers as a comment to this post
The winner of this game will receive the Grand Prize of . . . the latest photos of Kibru and Agee, suitable for ooohing and aaaahing, emailed right to your inbox!
Oh, and yes, here's the real link I tried to post in a comment below, to the latest award Evelyn and Bill have won, which was just announced today (how fitting that Evelyn is named an Angel today!):
Secretary of State Names Angels, Scrooges
The winner of this game will receive the Grand Prize of . . . the latest photos of Kibru and Agee, suitable for ooohing and aaaahing, emailed right to your inbox!
Oh, and yes, here's the real link I tried to post in a comment below, to the latest award Evelyn and Bill have won, which was just announced today (how fitting that Evelyn is named an Angel today!):
Secretary of State Names Angels, Scrooges
Help us fill Evelyn's shower memory book please! (Not-so-silly shower game number 2)
Aren't these pages beautiful? LeAnn G., who just threw a real-world shower for Evelyn, presented Evelyn with this personalized book for saving shower memories. Guests at all their real-world showers will each fill out a page during the shower. We want to make sure the online friends are included!
How to participate? Two options:
1) Email Evelyn your real-world address, and she'll mail you a real page to fill out with your wishes, hopes, and doodlings for the boys, which you can then mail back to her to include in the book.
OR
2) Answer these questions as a comment to this post, and Pre-Travel Evelyn will cut and paste them onto your page in her shower book for you. (Post-Travel Evelyn will glance vaguely at your comments as she's giving Kibru a bottle at 6 am and cuddling Agee and think, "Wasn't I supposed to do something with these?" So best to do it now!)
BOOK QUESTIONS:
1) How do you know Evelyn and Bill?
2) Wishes for the new family:
3) Your special message for the boys:
4) Suggest fun activities and/or traditions for the new family:
5) Wisdom: share advice for Bill and Evelyn as they begin the adventure of parenting:
Thanks!
Laurie
Random Evelyn Trivia Contest (aka Silly Shower Game #1)
Okay, here it is - there's one question I bet even Evelyn doesn't know. . . if you need to do a little research, use the Search feature the upper left corner of Evelyn's blog, or search through the specialized archives on the right side of her blog: www.threecontinentfamily.blogspot.com
Winner will receive a copy of the book Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World by Selby Beeler and G. Brian Karas. Now you and your child(ren) can find out how children in Ethiopia and elsewhere celebrate losing a tooth!
1. Who is Samba and what does she look like? BONUS -- what did Evelyn and Bill discover about Samba (on a waiting-time camping trip with us, actually) that will be important to know once they start potty training the boys)?
2. What did Evelyn cook on Day 1 of her blog?
3. Who began The Blessing Way? What happened on the day after Evelyn's beads were strung?
4. Evelyn and Bill are not the first in their family to adopt a sibling group. Who was first? From where?
5. Related question -- How and where did Evelyn and Bill celebrate New Year's 2008?
6. What recipe connects Julie, Evelyn, and myself (Laurie)?
7. How did Evelyn celebrate the Two Years of Waiting anniversary?
8. On Evelyn's A Day In Photos photo-essay, what creature did she see while walking Samba that really impressed her non-SC blog friends?
9. Name one job/employer where Evelyn worked really really hard during her waiting time. HINT: She hated it.
10. What is the name of the organization Bill and Evelyn work for (or Evelyn did before she took her "two to three months off before the kids arrive" . . . in January 2007. . . . )? BONUS: Name something this organization does. . . .
Oh, and how to play? Just post a comment with your answers. We'll actually play all day long to give those who had real jobs and all today a chance to contribute. Winner will be announced sometime this evening . . . .
They Passed Court -- Laissez les bon temps roulez! And let's Party, um, Shower!
What a reason to celebrate online -- Evelyn is now officially a MOM!!!!!
I will admit here -- as we were planning this shower I looked at the blog shower for Julie for inspiration (Evelyn shared it and I loved it and shamelessly copied some of its brilliant ideas). But scattered here and there throughout that joyful party. . . I saw Evelyn's posts, and posts about Evelyn, who on July 9, 2009,was still in that eternity of waiting in limbo.
**************LIMBO IS OFFICIALLY DECLARED OVER NOW! ********************
Let's begin the party by breaking open your favorite bubbly, grabbing your indulgence food of choice, and toasting Bill and Evelyn, Official Parents!
I'll start -- with a fair-trade latte (some of which is Ethiopian, certainly) and some Nutella toast (to be followed soon by some eggnog and dark chocolate truffles. . . . ) --
To The End of Limbo, and the Beginning of the Countdown to HOLDING YOUR BABIES!
So feel free to share your own toasts (and what you're drinking/eating if you like . . !)
I will admit here -- as we were planning this shower I looked at the blog shower for Julie for inspiration (Evelyn shared it and I loved it and shamelessly copied some of its brilliant ideas). But scattered here and there throughout that joyful party. . . I saw Evelyn's posts, and posts about Evelyn, who on July 9, 2009,was still in that eternity of waiting in limbo.
**************LIMBO IS OFFICIALLY DECLARED OVER NOW! ********************
Let's begin the party by breaking open your favorite bubbly, grabbing your indulgence food of choice, and toasting Bill and Evelyn, Official Parents!
I'll start -- with a fair-trade latte (some of which is Ethiopian, certainly) and some Nutella toast (to be followed soon by some eggnog and dark chocolate truffles. . . . ) --
To The End of Limbo, and the Beginning of the Countdown to HOLDING YOUR BABIES!
So feel free to share your own toasts (and what you're drinking/eating if you like . . !)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Pre-Party Game: Finish the Sentence "I think Evelyn will be an awesome mom because. . . . " (include Bill if you like)
Hi -- thought I'd get the ball rolling here -- please finish the sentence as you see fit :) Here's my first entry:
I think Evelyn will be an awesome mom because she knows how to really enjoy children. But she's also sensitive to those times that just aren't fun. She'll be the kind of mom who nurtures their hearts and souls. She will model a practical everyday communion with God for them. And she'll have a ball exploring a foreign culture: Boy World!
Oh, and I think Bill will be an awesome dad too, because I watched him teach my 4-year-old to play chess this summer, and watched her teach him how to play pretend with the captured pieces on the side of the board :)
I think Evelyn will be an awesome mom because she knows how to really enjoy children. But she's also sensitive to those times that just aren't fun. She'll be the kind of mom who nurtures their hearts and souls. She will model a practical everyday communion with God for them. And she'll have a ball exploring a foreign culture: Boy World!
Oh, and I think Bill will be an awesome dad too, because I watched him teach my 4-year-old to play chess this summer, and watched her teach him how to play pretend with the captured pieces on the side of the board :)
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Who The H... is Laurie?
BTW, Evelyn suggested that I answer the question "Who the h... is Laurie?" I'll be glad to as long as the rest of you follow suit :)
I've known Bill and Evelyn for wow, is it 7 years now? Or almost? I first met them when I chaired the search committee that called them to their ministry positions in N. Charleston. That one act was quite possibly the most significant impact I will ever have on issues of justice. Wow.
Anyway, we became friends as I was going through the process of adopting a daughter from China as a single mom. They (Evelyn especially) walked with me the entire way, including being with me when I saw my daughter's face for the first time in the referral photos, and vetting the guy I met in the process who ended up going to China to meet Lydia and then becoming husband/daddy to us.
And I've walked with Evelyn in turn, sending her lots of unsolicited adoption/parenting advice and lots of hand-me-down baby gear (and 27 quite superfluous toddler dresses that did eventually find a good home).
So now I'm celebrating! Okay, since I know the blog sisters know each other well but some of the rest of us don't, can others now answer that question "Who the h. . . is ______?"
_______
*** Please note some folks have already answered this question as a comment to the last post!
I've known Bill and Evelyn for wow, is it 7 years now? Or almost? I first met them when I chaired the search committee that called them to their ministry positions in N. Charleston. That one act was quite possibly the most significant impact I will ever have on issues of justice. Wow.
Anyway, we became friends as I was going through the process of adopting a daughter from China as a single mom. They (Evelyn especially) walked with me the entire way, including being with me when I saw my daughter's face for the first time in the referral photos, and vetting the guy I met in the process who ended up going to China to meet Lydia and then becoming husband/daddy to us.
And I've walked with Evelyn in turn, sending her lots of unsolicited adoption/parenting advice and lots of hand-me-down baby gear (and 27 quite superfluous toddler dresses that did eventually find a good home).
So now I'm celebrating! Okay, since I know the blog sisters know each other well but some of the rest of us don't, can others now answer that question "Who the h. . . is ______?"
_______
*** Please note some folks have already answered this question as a comment to the last post!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
You are invited to Evelyn Oliveira's Blog Shower!
Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Time: 9:30 - 11:00 am EST
Location -- Right Here :
www.celebrateevelynsboys.blogspot.com
(Evelyn will be celebrating
at home in Charleston, SC)
Theme: Books, Books, Books -- and More!
Hosted by Laurie Berry-Dorroh
How does one attend a blog shower? Simply
(1) have fun selecting (or making) just the right book or other gift for A. and K.
(2) mail it to Evelyn so it gets there by the 19th
(3) check back here periodically for sneak peeks and party prep
(4) lay in a supply of your favorite indulgence food -- and some beverage of choice to toast the new family, bubbly or otherwise :)
(5) gather here on the 19th to take part in the requisite silly blog shower games. Oh, and ooh and ahh as Evelyn posts her reactions while opening your gifts (maybe with pix/video if we get the tech right that day).
To RSVP, please leave a comment below.
Any comment you like ;)
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