Candles and Story

If you know me or follow this blog, you may have heard or seen me speak about connecting with our children.  

Connection: the melding of hearts after a hard-fought period through muck and ugliness and heartache to get to a place where you are on the same side, the same team.

Easier said than done, right?

I have an amazing opportunity this weekend to share with some Created for Care adoptive mamas who I know struggle, as I do and have, with this whole connection thing.  As I have been thinking and praying about what it is that I am to give them, my story is what keeps coming to the surface.  Few things are more powerful than story.

Jim Gaffigan says it best when he talks about being a parent of multiple children, "Imagine you are drowning, and someone hands you a baby!"  We became parents of three- all at once- no time to get used to holding just one child up in the pool, much less all three :)  While this sentiment is hilarious and mostly true, it also sheds light on the reality of the feeling of overwhelm I had when my children first came home.

All the thoughts were swimming.  Can they heal?  Can I heal?  Will they be able to read/learn/calm/write/be social?  Will we find and grow into a connection with each other?  Would I ever feel sane again?

Amidst all of this time of floundering and struggling, there was a small voice that answered, "Yes" to all these questions.

And this is my hope for you, if you are in this floundering time, this time of overwhelm and fatigue, know that He also has a "Yes" for you and your children.  This is not the end of your story...

And as a testimony to His "Yes" for me and my children, we had a fun, relaxing day where directions were followed, laughter had, eye contact was celebrated, and relationships deepened between me and my two girls.

And we made candles!  These we really easy and I let the girls pick out which oils they wanted in their own candle.  And we thoroughly enjoyed each other :)

diy candles

Makes 4 1/2 cup candles

• 2 cups natural soy wax (a bag of this is usually available in craft stores like Hobby Lobby)
• 1/2 cup small mason jars
• 4" free standing wicks (also available in craft stores)
• Essential oils for scent- you do have to use a fair amount per candle- we used 10-12 drops per candle.  Here were some combos the girls came up with, but the possibilities are limitless:
• Spearmint and Peace & Calming
• Joy and Forgiveness 
• Peppermint & Thieves
• Grapefruit and Peppermint

Instructions:

• Melt all the wax into a double boiler
• When liquid, dip the bottom of the wick and press into the bottom of the clean mason jar
• Then fill with liquid wax
• Add essential oils to each individual candle
• Cool in refrigerator or freezer for faster cooling time
• Trim the excess wick with scissors and light
• You can dye them with natural dyes.  I used beets for these, but next time I think I will just do white ones