My Beef with Barbie (Part 1)

I know this comes as no surprise.  Most people take issue with Barbie.


Her completely disproportionate body.


Her plastic (haha) smile.

And don't even get me started on the mansion that she can afford in Malibu. On What Income, exactly??


But, after seeing Cupcake's face and immediately needing to buy her. something. anything!


I discovered that, what I really take issue with Barbie on?


Is her hair.


Yep, her long, flowing, straight hair.


Did you hear me? Her Long. Flowing. STRAIGHT. Hair.


How am I supposed to teach my daughter that God created her perfectly the way she is..perfectly with curly, natural, thick, hair...when she is surrounded by our "display" of beauty and it doesn't represent her at all??


I don't like to fail. But I saw no winning in that scenario.


There are virtually NO examples of beautiful naturally-curly haired dolls. Trust me, I have looked.


And looked.


And LOOKED.


And then? I found This.


What's that? You can make Barbie go Natural?


And I did. It took a couple of hours...but I helped transform Barbie into a doll that at least has similar hair to Cupcake (Don't worry, you'll soon learn about my Other Beef With Barbie soon enough)


Here's the Before and After picture. (P.S. I bought a cheapo Generic-Barbie in case this totally flopped)

Barbie's natural 'do is somewhere between Type 3 and Type 4 curls

And chronicling our journey...See, the evolution of Barbie's transformation..

Pay no attention to Naked Barbie. That dress is as difficult to maneuver with as it is ugly.

I can't believe how much fun I had doing a doll's hair!!!

Looking forward to a lot more fun playing with dolls over the next few years! =)

Coming Up...

We are busy BUSY collecting any donations people are willing to give for prizes in our upcoming puzzle piece raffle!

As many of you know, the final pieces (two trips to Ethiopia) are the most expensive chunks of money needed in adoption.

Please consider if you can donate anything towards our raffle to raise travel expenses AND be on the lookout for your opportunity to add your name to our "village" helping to bring our Cupcake home!!

For as my Pastor always said (and, okay, I suppse the Apostle Luke also said it) "When you give, it is given back to you...pressed down, shaken together, and running over...through the hands of men, so you can give again"  (The Pastor D paraphrase)

Thank you so much for your generosity! 

You can email me at smithfamilyjourney@gmail.com with donations!

One week.

I can't believe it's already been a week. It seems like just yesterday we were filled with anticipation waiting to see our daughter's face.

It still gives me goosebumps.

Sometimes people ask me questions about "my daughter" and it takes me a minute to register who they're talking to.

Oh. You mean me. =)

Things I have learned in the last week:

1. Although I committed to buy at least 80% of clothing and furniture used years ago (and have stuck to it)...apparently that rule does not apply to my daughters belongings. Either that, or I have suppressed some unrealized desire to SHOP and this is the perfect excuse to release that pent-up longing. Either way, it's a sad-- and more expensive-- realization...

2. Zulily is evil. Daily emails of cuteness? I have two trips to Africa to fund, folks!....this madness must stop! =)

3. Apparently people don't think you're serious when you talk about things like 'cocooning' and 'transition-periods' because I am having to re-explain myself to those around me like somehow it's the most unnatural thing they've ever heard. They must have thought we were joking six months ago when we introduced the idea??

But we are standing firm. =)

4.  Hair care is scary. and exhilarating. and exciting. I am considering buying a mannequin head to practice corn-rows and double-stranded twists. I want Cupcake to know she is perfectly created by God and that we wouldn't change a single thing about her. Cupcake's hair appears to be tight-coiled, maybe 4b, so going with natural hair care means learning a lot of styles..and I refuse to fail at this! =)  


P.S. Can I just give a shout-out to sites like HappyGirlHair, ChocolateHairVanillaCare, and NaturallyCurly for helping me not be completely clueness.

I *heart* them. 

5. My daughter is amazing and beautiful and we are so grateful to families who made it a point to take lots of pictures at the orphanage so we can get a small glimpse of her personality. We are in awe of how blessed we are. God must love us something crazy to entrust us with His most prized creation. I am walking in incredible thanks to Him for sharing her with us.

That said, we know our daughter's transition will be full of grief and sadness. Her little life has already experienced more tragedy than anyone should and we are constantly asking God to protect her little heart. To comfort her when we can't. And to love her through her grief in the way only He can.

We are not blind to the fact that while redemption is an amazing display of God's goodness, it does not erase the tragedy that caused redemption to be necessary in the first place.

Please, as you pray for our family, for speed and favor in the process...remember, also, sweet Cupcake's heart in this. And join with us in praying that God's hand is evident in her transition and that He comforts and heals her heart. Because only He can do that.

Thank you all for your prayers and continued congratulations!

We are blessed, indeed!

Here is a picture of the luvey I made Cupcake. I incorporate soft minky fabrics, knit, and colorful cottons. Currently The Husband and I are sleeping with it every night and praying over it until we can send it over to our Sweet Girl.

A great link: Bring out the tissues.

I am usually emotional watching adoption videos.

But I am certainly far more vulnerable to those emotions when looking at my sweet girl's face.

You'll know exactly what I am talking about when you link over to my friend Lauren's blog and check their video out!

P.S. I wonder who I could get to video us meeting Bedako for the first time? =)

Shock and Awe.

That pretty much describes my emotions yesterday.

First, shock.

We were 99% sure (the same way a pregnant woman might think she is) that our referral would be a boy. We hadn't specified and we certainly didn't care...but in the course of things, we had just assumed things would go a certain way (we should have known better since NOTHING in this process has gone as planned) =)

and we were 100% sure that nothing would be happening any time soon. Last we heard, nothing was expected to move for a while. Paperwork nonsense...clarification....bleh.

So, to get the call?  

To realize that in that moment our lives were changing?

Yes. Shock.

But in shock and awe....The awe is the best part.

We immediately felt immensely blessed as we looked at our daughter's big beautiful dow-eyes and small frame.

We were in love with her serious expression and what was described as her "reserved" personality.

And we were overwhelmed by the spiritual and natural redemption that adoption brings.

When we looked at her face and read about her story, all we could think was...

She is our daughter.

We hope to never take for granted how blessed we are that God has chosen us to protect, shepherd, and steward her life...even for a short time.

We may have initially been shocked. But it was the awe that changed us forever.