One of the great joys of new, legal, adoptive parenthood is the blessing of name-giving. On Friday, we had to fill out a new Malawian birth certificate for Vasco, adding our names as his legal parents and adding his new, legal name: Vasco Fitzmaurice Mark David Possley Maury and I always said if we were to have a son, we’d name him Fitzmaurice (pronounced “Fitz-Morris”) and probably call him “Fitz” for short. Well, we were blessed with a son who... Read more
Malawi Flames superfans. It was a quiet Saturday in Lake Wo-be-Malawi … Our first real “down day” in this journey since we departed almost two weeks ago. This morning, our beloved Rob and Francisco departed for California. They were the very best traveling companions we could have prayed, wished or hoped for. The rest of our adventure here simply won’t be the same without them. While Mum had her first bit of “me time” in two weeks poolside at the... Read more
At approximately 2:30 p.m. Malawi time on Tuesday, June 1, 2010, the High Court of Malawi approved our petition to adopt Vasco. Today, the court issued it’s formal adoption decree. Vasco is our son. Legally and forever. Now to get him home to Laguna … I cannot tell you how full our hearts are, how amazing this adventure has been, how much we’re looking forward to being home in “the Shire” again – three American citizens, one happy family. Forgive... Read more
THIS IS WHERE A PICTURE OF VASCO STANDING IN FRONT OF A SIGN THAT SAYS “BEWARE OF THE HIPPOS” WAS SUPPOSED TO BE. ALAS, THE INTERNET IN BLANTYRE IN NOT COOPERATING. HOPE TO BE ABLE TO POST IT AND SOME VIDEOS FROM THE LAST WEEK TONITE. The flower Vasco picked for me @ breakfast in Zomba. Hi Folks, We had a wonderful weekend, getting out of Dodge (i.e. Blantyre) for the weekend, Maury, Vasco, Rob, Francisco, our totally lovely driver... Read more
Hi everybody. This is the part where I’m supposed to write that the adoption was approved and he’s ours forever and and and and… Well, we did, in fact, have our hearing this morning at the Supreme Court (High Court) in Blantyre. At 8:30 a.m. promptly, we arrived and were greeted on the steps of the courthouse by the one and only KIM DAY!! I burst into tears seeing her smiling, familiar face — that lovely, Laguna lady who was... Read more
From L-R: Vasco’s uncle Mavuto, his other uncle Esmie’s husband (never caught his first name), Maury, Me, Glen Halliwell (a Canadian missionary and pastor in Blantyre who is our friend and host here) and Vasco’s Auntie Esmie) We arrived safe and sound in Malawi on Wednesday evening. The only casualty in our epic 40-hour journey was my suitcase and one bag full of clothes and flip-flops for folks in Blantyre. Maury and Vasco’s bags arrived intact as did one of... Read more
Secret Church: Welcome home… For more than fifteen years, I didn’t go to church. I mean, I did — a lot, in fact — but that’s what I did for a living. The sweet Episcopal church I attended my last year of college and for a while after fell victim to the acrimony that continues the haunt the Anglican Communion. It split. Factions formed, sides were taken, harsh words were spoken, a biblical/spiritual/communal tug of war ensued. It was awful.... Read more
GODSTUFF HARD-WIRED FOR GOODNESS In the creation story in the biblical Book of Genesis, after God created fish and sea creatures, birds and animals — including the hilariously odd duck-billed platypus — and pronounced them “good,” God created human beings and declared that they were “very good.” If it is true that God thinks human beings are very good, indeed, what might it mean to our understanding of sin, evil, our relationship with one another and with God? God’s goodness... Read more
Hello family and friends! This is a private blog that we have set up to keep you all updated, as our Internet access in Malawi allows, on our sojourn in Vasco’s birth country. We depart for Malawi – via Dubai and Johannesburg – on Sunday. We arrive in Blantyre, Malawi on Wednesday afternoon (Malawi time, which is nine hours ahead of California, eight hours ahead of Boise/Denver, seven hours ahead of Chicago/St. Louis and six hours ahead of Connecticut/NY/DC, etc.)... Read more
Nostalgia Sunday … The Ghost in YouBy The Psychedelic Furs a man in my shoes runs a lightand all the papers lied tonightbut falling over youis the news of the dayangels fall like rainand love is all of heaven awayinside you the time movesand she don’t fadethe ghost in youshe don’t fadeinside you the time movesand she don’t fadea race is on i’m on your sideand hearing you my engines diei’m in a mood for youfor running away Read more
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