What would you do with 153 million? Of course, 153 million dollars is easy.  You could buy a Starbucks coffee every day for a year…for every person in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Or you could buy a couple of loaded Gulfstream jets. But what is 153 million, really? 153 million jelly beans?  They’d fill a pretty big swimming pool.  Or you could eat them.  Of course, you’d gain 180 thousand pounds.  Which is the weight of 938 people.  So maybe you couldn’t eat them. 153 million songs?  You’d be listening for a thousand years. 153 million words?  You’d have to read 1,500 […]

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To lay the groundwork for 2012, I’m resurrecting and revising some of the key posts from the past that tell our story. This is a summary of the three weeks in August 2006 when we hosted Masha. The group of host families gathered anxiously at about 11:45 PM in the hotel lobby to wait for the travelers. A unique combination of excitement, exhaustion, and nerves filled the room, as families practiced their greetings in Russian and clutched floppy stuffed animals. Right at 12:00, the call came out…”They’re HERE!” as the minivan pulled into the parking lot. The next three weeks […]

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Borsch. I know most of you immediately think of that jar of watery, vinegary pink broth with floating hunks of slimy ex-cabbage.  That stuff should be outlawed.  No self-respecting Ukrainian would even try to call that Borsch. No, real Borsch comes in as many forms as there are Russian cooks.  Each one makes their Borsch a little differently, and as an honorary Russian/Ukrainian (by the grace of my children), I am no different. My borsch is an amalgamation of at least three different recipes, taking ingredients and techniques from each, and getting a little better each time. The latest improvement: […]

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…A very good place to start. I have big plans for 2012 here at RiverOfThoughts.com, and I’m excited for you to be part of them! First, you’ll be able to enjoy three posts a week starting in mid-January! In addition to the random fun stories and occasional introspection that goes on here, I’m planning two series to get us through the winter: Adoption 101 — I’ll make my best effort at explaining the often overwhelming maze of choices surrounding adoption Mission in Action — I’ll profile people that are living out the call to care for orphans and make a difference in […]

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I carry you with me Tess O’Day 2010 Copper, Tree Moss, Cherry Wood. A tribute to Ari’s birth mother and all of the suffering mothers of Africa. In Africa and other places in the world, a starving woman is not likely to survive a pregnancy and birth, so many terminate the pregnancy without any help from a doctor. I honor, love, and respect those who take a leap of faith and TRY to hold on. That is true true love right there.   I admire artists who can evoke visceral reactions and tell stories through imagery. In this piece, Tess […]

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