If you know me at all, you know I’m a t-shirt kind of girl. So much so that t-shirts comprise roughly 96% of (the upper half of) my entire wardrobe. (Which is probably why my shoulders are FREAKING OUT and peeling like snakeskin after a few days at the pool. “Easy, girl!,” they scream. “We have never even SEEN the sun!”)

Anyway. My favorite kind of t-shirt is one that means something, that supports some kind of cause (I’m hankering to do a post one of these days showing off all my tees.). And as of today, I have a new favorite:

My friend Megan and her husband Pete have two beautiful children and feel God leading them to adopt (domestically–North Carolina specifically). They’re raising money to cover the adoption expenses, and a friend designed these beautiful t-shirts to help their cause.

And may I tell you everything I love about them? Because there is MUCH to love!

1. This shade of gray is my FAVE.

2. I LOVE blue and green.

3. I LOVE trees.

4. I think “blessed by adoption” is just the coolest phrase to put on a t-shirt, because who hasn’t been blessed by adoption in some way? I have cousins who are adopted and friends who are adopted and friends who have adopted (or are hoping to). And I’ve been adopted into God’s family.

5. The shirts are only $12. I know!

Here’s the first take of my t-shirt modeling.

Poor Gabe. So, his camera’s broken, and he’s been doing all his 1photoperday.com stuff on his iPhone. He uploaded this pic to Flickr from his phone and didn’t notice I looked drunk. I told him I’d use it anyway, but he insisted on taking another one (the one above where my eyes are still half-closed but only because I’m staring into the setting sun).

So, hop on over to Megan’s site and get yourself (and your friends) a t-shirt. They come in kids’ sizes too!

And here’s how Ava chose to spend her Day #1 of her Multiple Birthday Celebrations (she turns 8 on Sunday). Her friend Madison spent the day at the pool with us, then we made homemade pizzas and went to Dave & Buster’s with FREE and BOGO coupons. Madison won FIVE stuffed animals in the claw game. Fun times!

Have a great weekend, friends! And if you have a minute, I’d love to hear how you’ve been blessed by adoption.

p.s. I have 5 more Restaurant Super-Saver Books for $15 a pop (all proceeds go toward our Cambodia trip). First come, first served! Let me know if you’d like one!

I jump around a lot (topic-wise) here on the blog, but I don’t know that I’ve ever blogged about a dog. Well, it’s high time I did.

A couple weeks ago (back when I had grand dreams of going for a jog every day), I was pushing Nina in the jogging stroller around the block while the other two rode their bikes. We passed an older lady walking a dog (a large brown and black dog, maybe a boxer, but I’m not sure), and I said hi. Honestly, I kind of expected a brief acknowledgment at best. Our neighborhood is a melting pot of nationalities and personalities. Some people are friendly, others keep to themselves. I love it, but it’s no Oklahoma or Alabama.

So imagine my surprise when this dear woman says, “Well, hi there, sweetie. How are you today?” I told her I was just fine thank you and continued my snail’s pace jog with a grin on my face. We were going in opposite directions around the block, so I passed her again, and she was just as outgoing and friendly the second time.

A couple days later, it was just Nina and me jogging around the block. We saw her coming toward us again, and I said to Nina, “Look, there’s our friend and her dog.” I said hi and she repeated her familiar greeting, “Hi there, sweetie. How are you today?”

As she passed, Nina asked me what her dog’s name was, and whether it was a boy or a girl, and I told her we’d ask the woman the next time around. (We guessed boy.) Sure enough, there she came, and this time I stopped. “Nina would like to know your dog’s name.”

“His name is Rohan,” she said. I told her he was a very nice-looking dog, and she said that he was very sick and had lost 40 pounds. I told her I was so sorry and asked what was wrong. She said he had a condition called Megaesophagus where the esophagus is enlarged, and he can’t swallow food. So everything he had eaten in the past 2 months just came right back up. “I ordered him a special chair though,” she told me. “It’s like a high chair but without the tray. Hopefully if he can eat sitting up, he’ll be able to keep food down. He’s starving to death.”

I told her we would pray for Rohan, and she was so appreciative. I asked her what her name was and she said Connie. Then she told me how I run circles around her, and she doesn’t know what I’m trying to accomplish, because I look great. I should’ve pulled up my shirt and shown her the problem, but I didn’t.

We saw Connie and Rohan again when we passed by their house. We waved and said hi and then prayed for Rohan. I went home and looked up megaesophagus and Nina and I watched a video of a dog using the special chair. We prayed for Rohan again.

We prayed for him again at bedtime. I forgot, but Nina remembered.

Then I didn’t run for awhile. Then when I did, I didn’t see Connie and Rohan. Today, Nina and I went for a jog. After four laps of pushing the stroller, I was toast, so Nina rode her bike while I walked/ran. We had just passed Connie’s house when I heard her garage door go up, so we went back.

“Hi, Connie. How’s Rohan?” I asked.

“Oh,” she said, with such a sad face, “we had to put him to sleep last Wednesday.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you,” she said. And she told me how he just wouldn’t have any of the chair. He was just too weak to stand up. Last Tuesday she took him home (he actually belongs to her son and his family 40 minutes away, but she’d been taking care of him for 2 months, because it was really a full-time job). Her son took his 11-year-old son out of school, and he and Rohan snuggled together under blankets all day and played video games. The next day, they put him to sleep and ended his suffering.

She said she was getting teary-eyed telling me about it, and I asked her if I could hug her, even though I was sweaty and smelled nasty. She gave me the sweetest hug. Then she told me a story.

Her son was mowing his grass the day after they lost Rohan, and out of nowhere, a bird flew in front of him and landed right beside the mower. The mower that was running. Her son kept mowing, and the bird just hopped along and followed him the whole entire time, for almost an hour. Then when he was done, the bird flew over to the deck and perched on the exact spot where Rohan used to lay and dangle his paws over the edge.

“Wow,” I said. “That’s amazing. I’ll bet God sent that bird to comfort your son.”

“I think he did,” she said. “It’s almost like it was Rohan’s spirit.” I wouldn’t doubt it.

And I think God sent Connie and Rohan so that I could make someone feel valuable. And when Connie tells me that I’m a fast runner and don’t look like I need to get in shape, I feel valuable too (even if I know deep down inside that it’s not true).

On the outside, Connie and I are very different. She’s older; I’m younger. She’s shorter; I’m taller. She’s blacker; I’m whiter. She has a beautiful yard; I kill plants (not on purpose!). But I like her so very much, and I’m so glad we’ve met. Thanks to Rohan.

We’ll miss you, buddy. Thank you for giving me a new friend.

I apologize in advance for this lazy, self-indulgent post. I think I said yesterday (see? too lazy to even look) that I’m working on something. And here’s the thing–I can’t really tell you what it is yet. For a couple reasons.

The smaller (but the one I feel the most) of the two is that if it’s going to get rejected, I can save myself a lot of pain by not telling you what it’s all about first.

The bigger reason is that the person guiding me through the process asks that I not divulge details until things are a bit more concrete.

Vague much?

I can tell you this. The project is involving a lot of research on my part. But not the kind of research where you go to the library and use the card catalog on the computer and find books about dolphins or giraffes. No, it’s the kind of research where you look back through old journals and e-mails and blog posts and comments on those posts and comments you left on other people’s posts and whew! It’s wiping me out.

But I’m having a ball.

And the words are flowing.

And I am h-a-p-p-y about that.

So. Some of you have the power, THE POWER, to save me minutes (maybe even HOURS!) of thinking and sleuthing by answering one or more questions for me. If any of these apply to you, and you have a free minute (or six) today, would you help me out? Pretty pretty pretty please??

Here we go:

These first 2 are for my oldest blog friends who were at Xanga Fest 2007 and/or 2008 (was that when they were??):

1. What feelings were going through your mind when you got there/while you were there?

2. What is one conversation you remember having, and who was it with?

This one is for people I met online and then in real life:

3. When/how did we meet online and when did we meet for reals?

And this one is a free-for-all:

4. In your experience, what kind of thing has instantly bonded you with an online friend? (i.e., a shared parenting struggle, a tragedy, a similar belief system, her sense of humor, common interests, etc) And give an example.

Oh, thank you, friends. You complete me.

Have a terrific, if not tantalizing, Tuesday!

p.s. I have plans to write some posts here in the next few months that will merit a click of the “Like” button. (see below) In the meantime, if there’s a post in the past that you liked and want to share, feel free to go Like it (is it just me, or did that sound like a veiled insult?).

Last year at this time I was freaking out about our taxes and praying my eyeballs out that we’d still get to do the Texas leg of our Zoo Trip. This year, I’m freaking out about taxes (not really–just finished at 12:20 am!) and wishing we were headed to Texas!

God worked out every single detail last April, and while we loved every bit of our Zoo Adventure, there was just something crazy-special about the Texas (and Oklahoma!) Trip.

Seeing all my Texas friends‘ bluebonnet pics this week is killing me. Crazy, since I hadn’t really even known or cared about them before this:

Here’s a pic from each zoo we hit on that 11-Day Trip of Sweetness:

The Tulsa Zoo w/Elizabeth and Marina:

The Oklahoma City Zoo w/Megan and Jenn:

The Fort Worth Zoo w/Amy:

The Dallas Zoo and then on to Kaye‘s:

The Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, then on to meet Amanda and Kelli:

The Houston Zoo w/Kelli, then on to meet Mary:

Sea World San Antonio w/Kimberly:

The Alamo (what, not a zoo?) and staying w/Jim, Sandi (who actually had to fly to CA hours before we arrived!), and all their pups:

The San Antonio Zoo w/Emily and then on to meet Mel:

And last, but not least, the Memphis Zoo with Rachel:

This is what happens when you’re 3 years old and your parents drag you to 9 zoos in 11 days.

Click on the name of each zoo (like you don’t have Easter eggs to dye and Good Friday services to prepare for) to see more pics of that particular zoo.

And if you’re extra bored:

1. If you’re from Oklahoma or Texas, give your state a shout-out.

2. If you’ve ever visited one or both of those states, tell me when and why.

I got to see Kelli, Amanda and Mel again in January (so awesome), but it’s been a year since I’ve seen the rest of you!! Sniff, sniff. Love you all, my special Okie/Texas friends!

Do you ever feel like you’re not really in a position to make much of a difference in this world?

Maybe the only person you have any real contact with on most days is your 17-month-old who neither communicates with you clearly nor appreciates you appropriately.

Maybe you dream of having this amazing ministry that reaches thousands of people but don’t have the slightest idea where you’d even start. Or if anyone would even care.

Maybe you have a blog but only six people read it.

Maybe you think you’re dispensable, replaceable, unnecessary, invisible.

Last weekend at the women’s retreat I attended, a sweet gal (whom I know personally but don’t see often) handed me a note. Here’s what it said:

Marla–so many times we are used by God and we don’t realize… I want you to know He has blessed me through you this weekend. I came into this gym a very broken spirit last night, and you were a light! A warm smile, a knowing God was here… through you! Then again this morning. I am so grateful to know you and call you friend. Thank you for being the beautiful spirit that God has grown you to be. Love ya!

Notice she didn’t mention any of my books. Or my blog. Or any speaking things. Or the spelling bee I won in 6th grade.

So, what in the world did I do that was so impactful??

I smiled. I hugged her. I asked her how she was doing. And I genuinely wanted to know.

Can you do that? Can you smile at someone? Hug them? Ask how they’re doing?

Of course you can. And while most people won’t think to take the time to thank you in written form, you have no idea how far-reaching your gesture of love might ultimately be.

When you’re tempted to feel like you’re too insignificant to make a difference, just reach out to one person. Be there.

It will make all the difference in the world.