Ssekos: These shoes are made for changing the world...

If you were reading my blog around Christmas last year, then you know that I love giving/receiving gifts and making purchases that help someone in need. Fair-trade items, items made by artisans living in poverty-stricken counties, or by ex-prostitutes coming out of the sex trade, or by widows who are being taught a trade to provide for themselves and their children. Those kinds of purchases just bless my day and I love when these items (usually clothing or accessories of some kind) act as a springboard for conversations with others about caring for the poor.

courtesy of the Sseko website

I recently heard about Sseko shoes and desperately wanted a pair of my own. A cute pair of shoes that I could style in endless ways and that helped some young ladies in Uganda - yes please! I happened to have some "just for fun" money that Devin had given me to spend on myself, just for fun (that's hard for the practical, frugal, giving side of me to do sometimes) and the Sseko purchase allowed me to spoil myself with something fun and help someone in need: ha! win/win (and a little bit sneaky).

courtesy of the Sseko website

My favorite thing about Sseko as an organization (besides that they are in Uganda) is that they hire recent high school graduates to make the shoes, not in order to learn the trade of a shoemaker, but so these young ladies can save money to go to college and become the next generation of doctors, teachers and leaders in their country. During a nine month paid internship program, Sseko automatically puts 50% of the girls' fair-wage salaries into a college fund and whatever the girls save for college out of their remaining 50%, Sseko matches at the end of the nine months. It is an awesome program that encourages these young women with so few opportunities to pursue a positive future.

When my Ssekos arrived, I immediately started trying out some of the different styling options (not an easy feat while heavily pregnant, I'll tell you that!) The possibilities seem truly endless, but I've only tried four different ties so far. Here's how I wore my Ssekos the first few weeks:

I varied this one a little because my foot wouldn't stay in them when tied like the photo.

The shoes are really well made and I think that when I can easily reach my toes again, I'll enjoy styling them a bit more. I also got an additional pair of red straps so I can really change up the look of the shoes when I feel like it. Some of the styles I tried were more comfortable or stayed on my feet better than others (I also think I got a size too big, which might be part of the problem), but over-all they seem like a good product with a great purpose! So go ahead, put a pair of Ssekos on your Birthday/Christmas/Just For Fun List!

Goal #59 COMPLETE: Encouragement

More progress on my Project 101 in 1001 list. Read about my journey here.
 

Goal #59: Send hand-written notes of encouragement to five friends/family members. COMPLETE 

Using words (written or spoken) to encourage another has got to be the second-most perfect way to use the git of language. The first way being to use words as an act of worship, prayer or praise to God. There is just nothing quite like words of encouragement and praise to bless the person receiving them, which I think is interesting since Jesus said the greatest commandments are to "love God, love others." Should it come as any surprise then that the greatest way to use words is also to "love God, love others"?

For me at least, there is something extra special about hand-written, snail-mailed words of encouragement, which is why I wanted to include this goal on my list. Through this goal, I had the joy of using the gift of words to (hopefully) encourage some special, wonderful women in my life. 

Honestly, my negative/positive word ratio needs some major adjustment. It's so easy for me to use words to complain, argue and express the negative, but I know that is not what words were created for (James 3:9-10). And it really doesn't do me or the person listening to me much good. How much better to use words to encourage and to create a joyful atmosphere? This takes practice and discipline though doesn't it? It certainly doesn't come naturally (for me anyways). Hopefully this goal and what I realized about words as I completed it is a small step in the right direction.



What about you? When was the last time you used words to encourage another? Or, when was the last time your received a personal word of encouragement that really blessed your heart?

Goal #65 Complete: Birthday Giving

More progress on my Project 101 in 1001 list. Read about my journey here.    

Goal #65: For my birthday one year, ask for cash and donate it to House of James Orphanage - COMPLETE 

Generally speaking, I enjoy gifts (especially when they are made or thought-out with me in mind by a perceptive giver). But I say "generally" because even though I like getting gifts, I often have a hard time accepting them without regret when I look at my own vast abundance in comparison the deep needs of the world around me. It seems so frivolous in light of the suffering of so many. At the same time, I have to understand that people enjoy giving gifts and sometimes that is even their love language (my husband for example), so to demand that they stop can be hurtful to a well-meaning, loving gifter.

More recently, especially since last Christmas, the gifts that bring the most joy to my heart are those which also bless someone in need. So for my birthday this year, I asked for something that I felt would bring the most thrill to my heart - donations on my behalf to House of James (an orphanage in the Ukraine that many of my friends and family in Tucson are involved with).

House of James (HOJ) was founded by a young man named Sean who had been content to spend his life getting rich, partying and "living the dream". He was young, good-looking and what the world would call successful. Somehow, his dad convinced Sean take a mission trip with him and visit some orphanages in the Ukraine. Sean was absolutely broken and transformed by what he saw. Not only did he give his life to Christ during that trip, he became overwhelmed with a desire to do something to help the vast population of Ukrainian children with no one to care for them. When Sean returned to America, he sold everything he owned, paid off all of his debts and moved to the Ukraine to open a home for orphans.

House of James now runs two, soon-to-be-three, homes for orphaned and abandoned children in the Ukraine. Each "family home" has a set of foster parents and HOJ strives to create a warm, loving, home-like environment for the forgotten children in their care. 

From the HOJ website: "Our vision, as we grow, is to open up various family homes located throughout Ukraine and even the world. It is a vital part of our ministry to show orphans and the forgotten children the same love and compassion that Christ gives." Learn more about HOJ here.

(Sean, pictured center, with some of the HOJ kids)

I received a very kind, personal thank you message from Sean letting me know that my birthday donations would be going towards the registration costs for the new HOJ van. A van that will not only ease the transportation burdens of the foster parents, but also be available to transport the children to a hospital in case of an emergency.

Happy birthday to me - my heart is very blessed. :-) 

Verse on the HOJ website: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” - James 2:14-17 

What's in a Name? (part two)

(read part one here)

Soooo... where was I? Oh yes, I was getting ready to tell you the names we've pick for the twins. Thanks for your patience. (Not that I gave you much of a choice.)

Not only do I really love the names we've chosen, I also like the fact that Devin suggested one twin's first name, while I suggested that twin's middle name, and I suggested the other twin's first name, while Devin suggested his middle name (did you follow that?). It was not on purpose that we so evenly shared the naming of the babies, but I'm glad it worked out like it did.

Now, I think you've waited long enough. The names of the Hanson twins will be...

(The little game we played to announce the names to our families)

Weston Scot Hanson and Isaac Knight Hanson!

(I bet you can guess which middle name caused all the drama ;-))

"Weston" was the name Devin had liked for so long and "Scot" is my dad's middle name and what I have always wanted to use as a middle name for my son. (It is also the middle name of both of my brothers, and the first names of my cousin and his son.) This was our "easy" pick for a boy's name.

Isaac's name was my suggestion for a number of reasons: 

1) It means "laughter" which is absolutely what we did when we found out were having twins (the kind of disbelieving, baffled laughter that Abraham and Sarah expressed when they were told they would give birth to a son in their old age). 

2) The story of Isaac in the Bible is one of God's astonishing provision, which is something we've seen so much of in our lives since finding out we were having these babies. 

3) The pastor we primarily served with in Uganda is named Papa Isaac (I wrote about him here and here) and while our son isn't exactly named after him, our time in Uganda (while pregnant with the twins) was very significant to us and Isaac's name is an important reminder of all we learned while preparing for and serving in Uganda.

And then there is "Knight" - the middle name I rolled my eyes at, laughed at, refused to even consider, and made Devin vigorously scribble off the list, but then ended up loving in the end. Not only is it cool (let's face it -it's awesome), it means "noble soldier" which I think is a wonderful title to christen a son with. 

So there you have it! The names and the reasons behind them.

What's in a Name?

On occasion, there are things that Devin does or suggests that make me think he is crazy, but that eventually grow on me. (This is because he has a visionary, spontaneous, adventurous spirit while I have to take time to process, plan and analyze every little angle of each little detail.) The naming of the twins was no exception.

I didn't care for his favorite boy name when he first shared it with me (this was before we were pregnant). I didn't think he was crazy, I just didn't like the name. Problem was, Devin really, really liked the name and had since before we met. Fortunately, I ended up falling in love with his name, he ended up really liking my "always been a favorite" middle name and -voila!- we unofficially had a boy name should we ever have a son (which, of course, we did - times two).

Then, we discovered we were pregnant with twins boys and the task of finding a second boy name (and a middle name) that we could both agree on and that sounded good with the previously elected name became... shall we say, challenging? Emotional? Tension-filled? Take your pick- they were all there at one time or another during the early stages of the process.

The Process: For about a week, we separately poured over thousands of baby names (until I was just about really to poke my eyeballs out) and each made a list of our favorites.

The Criteria: Strong, solid names that weren't too common, but not so unique that they couldn't be taken seriously in a boardroom. (This is how we felt about the first baby name we had picked.)

The Moment of Truth: We compared lists. My list was short, Devin's list was about three times as long. Between us, there was only one name that appeared on both lists and I was baffled by some of Devin's name choices. Apparently, our definitions of "strong and solid" were completely different (he didn't like my name choices either by the way). I honestly wondered how on earth we would ever pick the second twin's name. It seemed our preferences were so at odds that I would either have a very disappointed husband when I refused to choose one of his recommend names, or I would have a son whose name I would quickly mumble upon every new introduction out of sheer embarrassment.

There was one name in particular, Devin's top choice for a middle name, that was so poorly received by me that it was scratched out beyond recognition on the sheet of paper where it lay. But the more I stared at that scribble of ink, the more I thought about the name and why Devin liked it so much, the more I started to be attracted to it. Before I knew it, I had agreed to this "crazy" middle name and liked it more than any of the other three names we had (finally) decided on. Miracle upon miracle - our boys had names that we both really loved! (By this point the process had become really fun and we couldn't help but grin when we whispered our secret names to our little buns in the oven.)

Then Devin proclaimed that he might want to wait until the boys were born to announce their names - which I thought was completely ridiculous. However, the more we talked about how much that decision meant to Devin, the more I realized the idea didn't really bother me. (Isn't it strange how often we hang on to something, not because it's necessarily what we want, but because that's just not the way we are used to having things done?) I agreed that we would announce the names whenever Devin decided the time was right and I was genuinely content to wait until the birth. (Some friends and family were a little less eager to wait that long and tried very hard (::ahem:: Megan) to wriggle it out of us.)

Recently though, Devin came to the conclusion that he was just too excited about the names and wanted to share them pre-birth after all. So at my birthday dinner this past weekend, we did just that!

Hmm... this post has gotten much longer than intended, so I'll save the name announcement for tomorrow. (Don't hate me too much...)

Goal #47 COMPLETE: 1.21 Gigawatts of Fun

More progress on my Project 101 in 1001 list. Read about my journey here. 

Goal #47 - Have a "Back to the Future" party with friends and watch all three movies in one day. COMPLETE 

I've always been a big fan of these movies, but I've never watched them consecutively and I thought this would be an entertaining goal to complete with a few friends. (On a list of 101 goals, I've got to give myself a few that are 100% frivolous and fun.) We had a great time watching these classic (and still very funny) films while enjoying pizza, popcorn, brownies, donuts and - Great Scott! - home-brewed beer made by our friend Martin. 

Obviously I didn't have any, but I hear Martin's blueberry wheat beer was quite tasty and I think it's pretty cool that I have a backyard moonshiner as a friend. 

Baby Matty wanted in on the beer-fest too, or maybe he was just thrown off by the bottle shape. (No worries, he didn't get any booze - I promise.)

We all had a good laugh watching the "future" scenes (set in 2015) and comparing the film's portrayal of future technology, clothing, etc. with the realities of today (or the today of four years from now). I found this amusing article that outlines the things that have and haven't come true from the movie.

Thanks to Martin, Susanne, Ben, Jamie and Matty for joining us in all the paradoxical, time-traveling fun! It was such a nice break from our crazy lives - thanks for giving us a reason to relax for a whole day!

And thank you Michael J. Fox, Christiphor Loyd, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson for creating so many memorable, versatile characters for us to enjoy! (17 different characters or variations of characters were portrayed by just these four actors.)

(Side note: Devin and I were so grateful to spend time with Ben and Jamie and their little boy Matty. Ben and Jamie live their parenthood with such joy and are incredibly positive when it comes to advice, stories and experiences about being parents. It has been a bit discouraging (for me anyways - Devin tends to be able to let stuff roll off his back pretty well) to try and joyfully prepare for this new life stage in a world that is full of such negativity towards children/parenthood. Not to mention (except I'm gonna) feeling a bit bombarded with horror stories of the new baby stage. It is such an encouragement to Devin and I to have such an example of parental enthusiasm as we prepare to embark on our own journey as new parents.)

Jamie and Matty

Goal #17 In Progress: Top 100 Movies

Goal #17 (In Progress): Watch ten movies off of the AFI’s list of 100 Top Movies

  

I just finished choosing my ten movies to watch off of the AFI’s Top 100 Movies list (maybe I'm subconsciously preparing for the possibility of bed rest?) and kicked it off this weekend with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Below are the ten films I plan to add to my classic movie repertoire (Devin helped me put together this list as it's just no fun to watch movies by yourself... Rocky was his choice - just wanted to clear that up): 

#1 - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)  [check!]
#2 - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) (love me some Jimmy Stewart)  [check!]
#3 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)   (because I've always wondered who Nurse Ratched was)  [check!]
#4 - Rocky (1976)
#5 - Tootsie (1982) [check!]
#6 - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) [check!]
#7 - Swing Time (1936) (also love me some dancin', singin' Fred Astaire)   [check!]
#8 - Sophie's Choice (1982) [check!]
#9 - Ben-Hur (1959)    [check!]

#10 - Chosen by my readers. What movie off this list do you think I should see?

Edit: Based on the suggestions I've received, I'm going to go with Blade Runner as #10. This list needs a little Sci-Fi Adventure. ;-)   [check!]

(the movies I've already seen are: The Godfather Parts I and II, Casablanca, Singin' in the Rain, Gone with the Wind, Schindler's List, The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, It's a Wonderful Life, Some Like It Hot, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, To Kill A Mockingbird, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Sound of Music, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, West Side Story, Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, Titanic, 12 Angry Men, The Sixth Sense, Toy Story, Raiders of the Lost Ark)