Welcoming the New Year

We will go to bed at the usual hour...because the New Year comes whether we stay up to see it in or not and the kids still get up at their usual early hour.

New Years Resolutions

I make New Year’s resolutions almost every year. I can be pretty goal oriented. I like making lists and I like organization and I like to journal, so writing my resolutions is very appealing to me. I like to make resolutions in some specific areas such as parenting, marriage, exercise and spiritual growth. And I usually add a resolution or two in other areas.

Here are some things from my list of resolutions for 2008:

-Read or reread 2 books on marriage and apply something from them. Journal about what I read and how I apply it. I have not yet decided which books to read.

-In regard to parenting, I want to read Teaching them Diligently by Lou Priolo and Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp. I also want to review the book Girltalk and journal about what to apply.

-I want to continue running/walking and if possible add a 20 minute Pilate workout 2-3 times per week. My core needs to be strengthened!

-Go through 2 Bible Study books-slowly and Bible in hand, journaling what I learn. I have a few options and now I need to decide which books to go through.

-Read through the entire Bible. This is the one that seems the most challenging to me.

-Be more purposeful in planning my time-get a good planner and include my resolutions in it for accountability, plan down time for myself, chores, baking, meals…so I am more productive and efficient.

Goodbye Christmas Tree

Many people keep their Christmas tree up for a few days or weeks after Christmas. Not us. December 26th comes and the tree is out! I am not sure why I am in such a hurry. I really enjoy Christmas decorations, but, I do find great joy in clearing off the tree and getting it out of the house. My mom called me about 10am on the morning of December 26th and announced, “Well, it is done! I got all the Christmas stuff packed up and put away.” I guess that may be where I get it.

I had aspirations of moving the tree outside and helping the kids “decorate” it for the birds with pine cones dipped in peanut butter and rolled in birdseed. Maybe it is the cold and wet weather but those aspirations evaporated once the 26th arrived. Frankly, I didn’t want to see the tree any longer. I still like that idea though, so maybe another year. But for now, I am ready to get my house back to normal and head into the New Year!

Curiously Delicious!

When you discover a good thing, you just have to share and these are...too good for their own good! My mom (aka the Altoid Queen) found these and has introduced them to our family.

She has been giving regular Altiods to the kids since they were very young, by two years old they could out eat me in an Altoid eating contest any day. How can they stand them? I don't know! I can hardly eat two regular Altiods one after the other-they are so strong. But these chocolate ones-yum, I think I could eat the entire tin!

Roasting Chestnuts...in a gas oven as opposed to over an open fire

Awhile back I was in Trader Joes and there in the cooler was a little package of "Italian Chestnuts." I decided that it would be fun to roast them in our oven and try them out, being as I had never tasted a chestnut, let alone an "Italian Chestnut."

They were a cinch to prepare. Just score an "X" on the flat side, roast for about 15-20 minutes in a 400 degree (I think that was the temp) oven, let cool a bit and then eat. They were pretty tasty.

M thought that they tasted somewhat like boiled peanuts. I have not had boiled peanuts so I wouldn't know about that. But they were good. They had a sweetness to them and a rich flavor so we didn't want to eat too many. And now we have eaten not just chestnuts, but "Italian Chestnuts."

Loving Our Families

Listen to this sermon, be patient, it takes a minute or two to get going, but it is worth it! Especially, if you have family members who don't know Christ that you will be around this season. Wow! It is excellent. If you don't have time to listen to the entire sermon, then even the last 10-15 minutes are worth your time, but may not mean as much without the context of the rest of the sermon.

In fact I highly recommend the other sermons on the book of John. The few that I have heard have been so good.

Yogurt Making

I have thought that it would be fun to make my own yogurt, but the opportunity had not come my way...until last week. I walked into a local variety store and they had this yogurt maker marked down to $15. Perfect! I bought it and figured we could make yogurt and if we didn't care for it much, at least would be a great science lesson.

I had no idea that making yogurt was so easy. It required some store bought yogurt (in the future we can use some of our homemade yogurt as the starter), 1 teaspoon was to be placed into each little jar, then fill the rest of the jar with milk-any type you prefer. I used whole milk. The milk should be heated before adding to the jars.

Then the containers are placed into this warmer. In 8-12 hours you take out your own yogurt! So cool, so easy! And you can use any container that fits into this warmer, but the jars that came with this are so cute, so we used them.

We placed the yogurt into the fridge to cool and here is our yogurt! We added some jam to it and then a bit more sugar as it needed more sweetness. It wasn't bad. Tonight I am planning to make smoothies for dinner with our yogurt.

Cookie Party

One of my favorite Christmas time activities is going to the cooking making party that a friend of mine hosts each year. On an evening in December she invites a group of girlfriends (actually I believe she now does two nights with a different group each night) over and we bake the night away. It is a wonderful time of chatting, baking and preparing for Christmas. Each guest brings preassigned ingredients and our hostess provides some appetizers. Cookie making with a group of friends is a blast as we chat and try new recipes and come home with a variety of yummy treats.

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

Soldiers, Christmas, a Good Story and Peace On Earth

A good friend gave our family a book entitled, The Soldiers Night Before Christmas by Trish Holland and Christine Ford (thanks Emily for the book). What a great book! It is written to resemble the poem 'Twas The Night Before Christmas ("...on Commet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen..." that was my line from my first grade Christmas program-yup, I still know my part).

I recommend The Soldiers Night Before Christmas for any family who has a loved one in the military (like us, but, M has not deployed so far) or for any family who has a heart for those who serve.

I like the last lines of the book:

"Happy Christmas,

Brave soldiers!

May peace come to all!"

Thank you to those who put their lives, safety, their all, on the line to do their part to preserve and bring peace. I have a "Peace on Earth" sign that I bought one year after Christmas. It stays up in our home all year long, as a continual reminder of those who serve and ultimately as a reminder to anticipate Christ's return, which will finally bring true peace on Earth.

Bathrooms and Cars: The view from a 3 year old

B: Cars are like bathrooms.
Me: Oh, and how is that?
B: (excitedly) Both have mirrors!

That is true, they both do have mirrors.

In the Spirit of Giving (and getting)

C had an orthodontist appointment today. The kids still needed to shop for presents for one another. I decided that, for the sake of efficiency, I would accomplish both of these tasks in one trip. So we headed to a small, locally-owned toy store where the kids could play at the play areas that are all set up while I shopped. I figured that would occupy a couple kids while I helped another shop. This toy store even has a gift wrapping station and super friendly and helpful staff. What could be better than that? Certainly a set-up for success and efficiency.

1st lesson learned-there is nothing efficient about taking 4 siblings shopping for gifts for one another. Nothing. And success, well, that is a relative measure of how things went. Yes, we successfully left the store with gifts for each sibling from each sibling. No, they were not wrapped. Simply surviving the shopping process was enough! My visions of walking hand in hand around the store with each child as he or she thoughtfully selected the perfect gift for his or her sibling flew out the window!

What was I thinking? The entire process was exhausting and chaotic! But, we did it! We purchased the needed gifts. I thought we were off to a great start when we walked through the door and I asked the boys, “Do you want to play or shop first.” They both replied, “shop!” Alright, so far so good, we were all on the same page, we were all there for the same purpose-to buy Christmas gifts. But the shopping quickly became lower on the priority list as the play areas beckoned.

While shopping for L, the boys decided to combine their money and buy one gift for L. This was a great plan, until we saw the inexpensive pink poodle rattle, that they thought was “so cute.” So cute that they both wanted it to be from each of them and then they wanted to pick another gift from both of them with the rest of the money. That, in theory is fine, but it meant that we needed to then find ANOTHER gift that they could both agree on. Finally they agreed on one of those baby bottles that looks like it has milk in it and looks like the milk disappears when the bottle is tipped upside down. Great, both boys had gifts for L.

Then we were off to shop for C. They agreed again to combine money and they agreed on the “Pain Your Own Dinosaur” kit. Well, it is a fun looking kit, but not for their 12 year old sister. Once their ulterior motive of having her paint it for them was apparent, we discussed the concept of gift buying. I explained, “We buy a gift FOR the other person so we get to consider what she would like, not just what we would want to get…” They listened silently, appeared focused on my words, it was a beautiful moment, until I took a breath and A exclaimed, “Hey look at that cool truck!” And off they ran to look at the “cool truck.” Hmmmm…so after roping them back in, we decided to walk around the art section and look at things that C would enjoy using. I really wanted to boys to make their own selection, but basically I coerced them into picking out some origami gifts that I really think C will enjoy. Is that manipulating or is it teaching? I am not sure. But they were happy, they “chose” a good gift out of the three options that I finally gave them. I conclude that it is not manipulating it is giving them age appropriate options =).

Then comes the shopping for one another which started with negotiating, “you get me x and I will get you y.” Apparently they were not listening to my previous talk about gift giving. I am sure there was a part in that talk that covered not just focusing on ones own self. Then the negotiating escalated to louder voices and exclamations of, “No, I told you to get me the horse that goes with THAT knight!” As the gift giver pondered a different gift option. Then it hit me, why was I having them shop for one another together? So, I remedied that situation by sending a boy to a play area while I shopped with the other. That actually went fairly well.

In the midst of all this chaos, C had accomplished all of her shopping and was sitting calmly reading a book. And the time had slipped away, right along with my patience so my previous visions of helping each child wrap gifts there in the store and walking out with bags of beautifully wrapped packages became me parking the kids at a the toy train play area while I paid for and shoved all the presents into my bag hoping to remember who had bought what for whom. Then we all piled in the van, buckled everyone in and I wondered why I felt so stinkin’ tired as we sped off to the orthodontist appointment.

Tiring, yes, it was. But it was totally worth it! Having kids who are excited to give to one another is so great. Even if it means an exhausting time of walking through the toy store discussing gift giving, helping them make selections, calming arguments…it is so worth it. The memories that are being made are hilarious, even now, and the tradition of joyfully giving to one another is invaluable. I am so thankful to be able to help them establish that pattern in their lives.

Christmas Season To Do's

Here are some of the things that I am hoping to squeeze in this season, some have already been accomplished:

go look at Christmas lights(we did this last weekend, but may go again)
set up tree(done)
send packages to out people who are away
finish shopping(about half way there)
finish and mail Christmas cards (the envelopes are all addressed, i just need to finish and mail)
wrap presents
make some candy or cookies or other goodies
get the large pumpkin off the front deck(it is too heavy for me to lift and rolling it down the steps might make a big splattered mess)
get out the little people nativity set (done! my kids love this nativity!)
decide where to hang the stockings
watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special (the kids have watched it about 3 times, I need to sit down and watch it myself)
watch A Christmas Story with M (we planned to start it last night but were too tired by the time we finished doing projects)
watch The Sound of Music between Christmas and New Year

I am sure there are a few more things to add, but this is what comes to mind...what is on your list this season?

Community Involvement and Christmas Trees

Our local Chamber of Commerce has a tree auction each year. Different businesses, clubs, groups and individuals decorate trees that are then auctioned off. This year a friend asked me to join her in doing a tree. I had been thinking about it, but her prompting put my thought to action. Our tree theme "For the Love of Chocolate," was my friend's idea. It was great fun to gather and make items for the tree. It is also good to be done because it became rather time consuming there at the end. This picture is not the best angle, but you get the idea.

Here is the "Feed the Birds" tree that B's preschool did. The preschool kids did projects such as putting peanut butter on bagels and pine cones and then dipping them in bird seed. Some of the moms strung popcorn and cranberries. His preschool teacher is amazingly creative. Notice the sunflower heads at the bottom, they still have seeds in them that birds can eat.

Each tree is simple, unique and great fun. It is so neat to see the variety of people, from a 4-H group to a church to businesses and more all working on trees, offering encouraging words and good conversation-I love super-small towns!

Yesterday

I had a full day yesterday. My plan was to post on that, but somehow posting was forgotten in the midst of all I did...set up shelves, arranged toys on the shelf (wondered how long my arrangement of the toys would last), corrected English school work, crawled on the floor with L, had a "discipline" conversation, built a fort with the boys, pet the cat, wrote a list, called the dentist, went running, called my mom and left her a message, finished ornaments for the community tree a friend and I are working on, washed and dried mounds of laundry-nope I didn't fold it, dug out socks for the preschool sock tree (the preschoolers bring socks and put them on a tree then the socks go to a local charity), read a story, set Christmas books on the coffee table, danced with B to "All I Want For Christmas is You," downloaded a Christmas album, ordered tickets for M and C's father daughter date in honor of the day she joined our family...that was where my list stopped...I think I started making lunch and never got back to it...a good day, a full day...

Remember

Note to self, remember the following as we are in the season of giving and getting...

"If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things."
~Norman Douglas

"Recommend to your children virtue; that alone can make them happy, not gold."
~Ludwig van Beethoven

Last Day of Adoption Awareness Month

At the beginning of the month I asked C if she would feel comfortable writing something about adoption, something from her perspective. Here are her words:

"This month my mom has been sharing things about adoption. Isn't adoption neat? I have experienced adoption so I can say that it is a great thing! When you adopt a child that's older than when people usually adopt kids, you take away this loneliness and hunger to really feel loved and safe. Many kids need that love and a safe environment. I can tell you that being adopted is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. So, I want to challenge you, think about taking a kid into your home, remember how starved for love all of those kids are!"

She dropped this on my desk as she was leaving to go and help a friend with her kids for the morning. As she left, she said, "it isn't very long." Well, short as it is, it is perfect. Perfect because it is the honest outpouring of her heart. Perfect because sometimes fewer words are better anyway.

We get funny looks sometimes when we share that Chrissy is adopted. I do share that openly. I share openly because I want people to see adoption. I want people to see what it can look like in a family. Yes, we have struggles, yes we deal with issues directly relating to adoption in parenting, but mostly it is just parents striving to raise a child to love and honor her God. And that is the same task we face with each of our children. Each has struggles and strengths and is a delightfully unique individual, regardless of how that child joined our family.

Adoption is a beautiful picture of a relationship with Christ. That is the best part about it! Adoption is a picture of what it is like to know Christ and to accept Him as Savior and Father. For more on this, click on this link, it is worth reading. It not only shows the similarities between salvation and adopting a child, but it ends with a precious letter from a husband to his wife concerning their decision to adopt a daughter later in life. Read this letter! It is shows a wife who took a desire for adoption to her husband and waited patiently on the Lord when her husband did not share the same desire to adopt.

Random thoughts for today~

I recently started running. I have been on an extended hiatus (having kids, allowing inertia to take over). Today was day two and I have a faithful buddy to run with, so I am hoping, planning to stick with this. But, I can not believe the sore muscles I have. OUCH!

Tonight I tried a new recipe for dinner and no one, except me, liked it. And I had forgotten the muffins in the oven, they overcooked and were barely edible. M is kind and ate the meal without comment, but I could tell he was not digging it. Then the boys each said, “thank you mom for dinner, it is really good.” M and I busted up laughing. They are well trained in that. Then A took a bite of his soup and the tune changed. He did not think it was so good. M politely finished his muffins and soup and then wandered around the kitchen trying to discreetly and a bit desperately look around the kitchen hoping to see something else that I had prepared to go with the meal. Something else that he could fill up on. Nope, nothing else. Just a soup and bread dinner. Then his eye spotted the box of doughnuts that my mom had dropped off earlier in the day. That was a bright spot in the meal.

A: Mom, B shoved me!
B: I did not shove you! I was, I was…loving you.
Just another “love shove” between brothers. Balancing that fine line between fighting and bonding or maybe the fights do bond.

One Year and 1st Pigtails

L turned 1 recently. This photo was taken just before she burned her finger on the flame that looked so pretty she had to touch it, in spite of various concerned onlookers who exclaimed, "no touch!" We were trying to quickly get a picture but she was quicker and stuck her finger right on that flame. Thankfully, no real damage was done. She also had a hard time with the birthday hat, she did not want to wear it, until the cupcake arrived and distracted her.

Today she had her first pigtails. B exclaimed, "She looks like a Beth!" To see "a Beth" click on the link and look at the picture on the top left hand side.

A Man Grooming With a Gift

Yup, there he is trimming his ear hairs...

Oh, here is a good nose hair trimming shot, notice the "i love my wife" tee (my favorite)...

Pictures posted with permission, he has no shame =)

As I have read the wonderfully hilarious responses to yesterday's post, it dawned on me that last Christmas, Mark did request a nose and ear hair trimmer. So, he did request a grooming item! And I bought him one!

He was excited to try it out, as the above pictures show. But then he sort of stopped using it, or grooming with it. Come to find out, yesterday, he does not use it often because he does not think it works well. And I have to confess, I bought the cheapest I could find. I mean trimming nose hairs is not rocket science, wouldn't the cheapest work just as well as something more spendy? Maybe not. Maybe men DO want HIGH END grooming gifts. Maybe my husband is really wanting high end grooming items in spite of his response to our recent conversation.

Maybe my buying the cheap nose hair trimmer and the cheap fogless mirror is the problem! Maybe I should have splurged! In fact I am still trying to be cheap. He told me his fogless mirror fogs and my response, "Why don't you pick up some stuff that makes glass not fog up (I know about anti-fog stuff from my brief scuba diving days-very handy on diving masks and his work carries some of this stuff, so I am thinking we should give it a try)?" As I am thinking, "Dang, here I wanted to save money and if I have to buy another fogless mirror, I should have just bought the good one to begin with!"

I think maybe I am the problem! Maybe I under appreciate high quality men's grooming items! Maybe women like me, who laugh at men's grooming products, hinder men from expressing their true desires-a really good nose and ear hair trimmer! I have to say that when I purchase a grooming item, such as a hair dryer or flat iron or something, I want a good one. I expect to have it for years and I want it to last, to do a good job and to have the features I want. Why do I assume men want any less when and if they choose to groom themselves in this way?

The whole topic of "men's grooming items" still makes me giggle, but maybe I need to be more open and accepting so M can feel comfortable admitting he wants such items. Of course, after such a request, I would then probably need to leave the room so I could crack up with laughter.

Thanksgiving Pie

Reading the recipe...

Making the pie...

Not so thrilled because the pie is supposed to have two layers, with the cheesecake layer being on the bottom and the pumpkin layer on the top. When the pumpkin part was poured in, it looked marbled and not right...but she is off to Nana and Papa's to bake it anyway...

It ended up settling into two layers all on its own, except the cheesecake ended up on the top, with the pumpkin settling on the bottom and the taste...super delicious! Lesson learned: some things that seem to go wrong, turn out just fine in the end.

Thanksgiving

Growing up, Thanksgiving was a somewhat non-traditional holiday for our family. We experienced several deaths in our extended family so my grandma didn’t care to spend Thanksgiving home, as it reminded her of how many people weren’t with us. My mom’s siblings all spent the holiday with their in-laws. So, I can recall several Thanksgiving meals at restaurants and going to the zoo. Pretty non-traditional, but we had a great time.

After I married, for the first several years, we spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws. Once we had children, travel was not always as easy. Then my in-laws started splitting their time between their home and Alaska, so they were not always around. Last year, having just had L, M and I spent the day checking out of the hospital and coming home.

So, here we are this year and in the final stages of finishing our upstairs, so my mom, bless her, offered to do Thanksgiving at her home. But, now that we are settling into our home and all that, I want to establish some Thanksgiving traditions. We do have a couple of traditions. I will probably make cinnamon rolls, like I do the morning of Christmas. And we have a book that my mom gave us a couple of years ago, Thanksgiving: A Time To Remember, by Barbara Rainey. I have been attempting to read it to the kids on a regular basis. And our final tradition is that C makes a pumpkin pie.

I would like to cultivate more traditions for Thanksgiving. So I welcome input and ideas! I have enjoyed your input on Christmas letters and other Christmas gift ideas so much. So, now I am throwing out a request for help for more ideas for celebrating Thanksgiving.

More of C's Curtains

Here are some more curtains that C made. I found the fabric at a garage sale for $1 several years ago and they are a great fit for how she has her room decorated.

One Bad Apple

Remember the cool apple art that B did at preschool? Well, in the midst of the busyness of my week, which included having my entire pantry unloaded and stacked in my kitchen. Which meant that the apple art was inadvertently hidden for a time. When my pantry was finished and I was able to put the items back in there, I found this. Gross! At least life is never boring, there are plenty of surprises to keep me on my toes.

Have a wonderful weekend! And here is a link to an older post on the topic of motherhood in honor of Adoption Awareness Month.

Writing a Christmas Letter

I have sat and sat at my computer…waiting for inspiration. I have googled “Christmas letter” “writing a Christmas letter” “creative Christmas letter” “Christmas letter tips” “Christmas letter examples.” And I still am at a loss as to how to go about this.

One year I used an online site that creates crossword puzzles and word searches. You insert your own words and it creates a puzzle. That was cool and way easy. Last year I had the idea for a “simple little booklet” that contained the birth announcement for L, our new address, a family photo… They turned out fine, but simple they were not. I had more than one “what was I thinking to do something like this” moment. But they were fun, in hindsight.

I used to work at Kinko’s and I remember copying Christmas letters for people. This was before they were so into the self-serve thing. There were the standard, traditional letters, the letters that include the “Top 10 List” for the given year…basically the same things I found when I did my google searches.

I want a letter that is easy to read, not too long, interesting… I want a letter that is suitable for those near and far away in that someone that I have not talked with in ages would get a good update from the letter and at the same time the letter would not be overly redundant to someone that I see regularly. I want to write a letter that is humble, but informative. And actually when I read letters, I believe I prefer informative over humble.

I want to know what people are up to and if by chance they won the Nobel Prize (btw the brother-in-law of a friend did win that this year along with a group of several hundred other scientists that he works with, just a little trivia since this is probably about as close as I will ever get to a Nobel prize) so I actually don’t mind semi-braggy letters. I enjoy reading about what people are up to and I don’t like it when people don’t share interesting things because they are afraid to share.

Truly, I want to know what is going on in the lives of those I care about. And a Christmas letter tends to focus on the good and positive things, it just isn’t the forum for sharing all ones struggles. Not that I mind reading about struggles, but honestly most of us aren’t going to share our deep struggles with 50-150 of our “closest” friends, family, co-workers, past neighbors, former roommates and classmates…in our Christmas letter. Or if struggles are shared, they are usually a passing comment as most people tend to keep their Christmas letter focused on the positive.

Well, I have not had any trouble writing about my trouble writing a Christmas letter. But any ideas, tips, suggestions would be helpful. I have got to get this done and ready to mail….hopefully before Christmas, or at the very latest, before the New Year...

You Got Your Girl

This summer I ran into a woman that I had not seen in years. I had baby L in the stroller and the other kids were in the pool doing swimming lessons. This woman asked about my family, and I shared a little about C and the boys. Then I mentioned L, and the woman remarked, “Well, you got your girl.”

Now this comment caused some indignation to rise up within me. I had just told her about C and pointed her out as she was doing her swimming lessons. I believe my response was something along the lines of, “I have had a girl for almost 5 years, but yes, my most recent baby was a girl as well.” Her reaction to my response reminded me of a Winston Churchill quote, "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened." As she appeared to have brushed off my words and moved on to tell me about her life. Maybe she felt embarrassed and simply didn’t know how to recover other than to move on. That happens.

Two of my cousins are adopted. My mom has shared with me how she, when trying to understand adoption, commented to my uncle (her brother) as he and his wife were in the process of adopting, “What if something is wrong with the child?” She has shared with me how her brother’s response was such a good one and how much she learned from it. He told her something like, “What do you mean? This is my child. What would you do if something was wrong with your child?” There are no guarantees with biological or adopted children. Both are precious, valuable and should completely belong to their family, come whatever may.

Laundry Surprises

Here are some items that have been found in my washer lately. Except the nails, they were confiscated before the clothes landed in the washer. But, I have found nails in the washer. The boys do building projects or find a nail here or there and stick it in a pocket. I am sure some day I will end up with a puncture wound-who knew laundry could be so dangerous.

Okay...about the boot...yes, I did discover it in the laundry yesterday. I went to unload the washer and felt something odd. Yup, it was the boot, all squeaky clean and sitting there in the washer. How on earth could that slip in unnoticed?

Here is my theory, I sorted the laundry and then asked the boys to go get their dirty laundry and sort it into the appropriate piles. I am thinking that that is how the boot slipped in. I think we need to work on more than just basic laundry sorting. We need to cover what items actually go into the washer and what things do not. The boot was not visible when I scooped up the pile and shoved it in to be washed. When I found it in the washer, I just had to laugh...the boot has never looked this clean, except when it was new!

Gratitude @ Largerfamilies.com

Today's post is a link to largerfamilies.com. My most recent post there is titled Gratitude For My Children. You may have to scroll down a bit to get to it.

Have a great day!

Adoption is...

"Adoption is when a child grows in her mama's heart instead of her tummy."

Goodness in My Life

This week has been a busy week, full of outside obligations and inside issues. Right now it is quiet time in our house (meaning that l is napping B is playing quietly in his room, C is doing school work in her room, A is at kindergarten...) and all I want to do is go take a nap, but something inside me is prodding me to take a little time to read and write. So, I am still tired, I still have tons to do, but my soul now feels refreshed. And that is a good thing. This post motivated me to list some of the goodness in my life:

the beautiful autumn sunshine, healthy kids, friends who watch my kids so I can get out for an evening while my hubby is traveling, our upstairs will be ready for paint this weekend, finally deciding on paint colors, having the upstairs closer to being done means that I should soon have a small space all my own to use to create in-I have projects that I can hardly wait to tackle-having a space for that will be refreshing, good friends, b signing "i love you" about 20 times throughout the day, finding just what I needed at a garage sale (I found two large glass bowls-my favorite one broke awhile back), back to the upstairs being almost done...I will finally be able to get fully settled into our home and unpack the rest of the boxes, and after over a week of having my pantry items sitting in my kitchen area-I will soon be able to put them back into the pantry-this is huge-traveling husband+construction going on in my house+limited counter space to use to prepare meals+4 children, that all means that it will be so delightful to have order back in my house again and that order is now in sight...

Beef and Black Bean Omelet

This omelet takes three eggs, a bit of milk, some dried basil, salt and pepper, a dash or two of Tabasco sauce whisked together. The filling is cheddar cheese, black beans and small bits of thinly sliced beef (precooked, I used some that was leftover from dinner). Serve with a dollop of sour cream and spicy salsa.

I started the omelet in the skillet, let it cook until the bottom was set, but the top was still a bit runny. Then I added the filling and folded it in half. I transferred it to the oven-I love my cast iron and that it can go from stove top to oven. Since I am in the process of changing some of my cookware to cast iron, this is still a novelty to me. I baked it at 300 degrees to finish cooking, but it could be set a bit higher than that, I had several things to do before we ate, so I set it low to finish cooking it without over cooking it. I was surprised by how much my kids loved this! In fact I made two of these and there was not a bit left over.

I am especially excited this omelet because I really enjoy omelets and this is the best I have ever had one turn out. Up until now I just have not been able to get the hang of it. I think I may be onto something here though.

Thankfulness

"Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality."
~Alfred Painter

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."
~Buddah

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others."
~Cicero

"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings."
~Eric Hoffer

"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving."
~H.U. Westermayer

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
~John F. Kennedy

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice."
~Meister Eckhart

"In the New Testament, religion is grace and ethics is gratitude."
~Thomas Erskine

Thanks for these quotes.

Apple Art

B did this at preschool, pretty fun.

I posted at largerfamilies.com today, so feel free to check out that post. It is titled, Think The Positive.

Have a great weekend!

November: National Adoption Awareness Month

C, with a sign that reads, "Adoption the loving option." This was taken a year ago, but I think it is the perfect picture to use for the first day of National Adoption Awareness Month.

For those who don't know, C joined our family almost 5 years ago, at the age of 7. Before she came to our family she had been in and out of foster care. She came to us directly from a foster home. When I read this: "Each year, November is recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month. While all adoption-related issues are important, the particular focus of this month is the adoption of children currently in foster care."

During this month, I want to highlight some things about our experience adopting a child that had been in foster care. Older child adoption is something that strikes a real chord in me. After C joined our family I became more aware of how vulnerable children are and how much they need a permanent and loving family. I guess I always had an awareness of this, but now I feel it in the depths of my heart, like never before.

Feel free to share your own thoughts, ideas or experiences concerning adoption. I would love to read them. Share on my blog or on your blog, but let me know so I can link to it.

What C Has Been Up To

This summer I found these old flour sacks at a garage sale. C took them to her sewing class and made curtains for me. She just finished them up and we hung them in the laundry room. I love them! She did a great job, along with the help of her wonderful sewing teacher.

Here is C making cookies. She used food coloring and shaped them like candy corn. Yum!

A Few Things To Share

Notice the new links on the sidebar. I have created links to the blogs of the bloggers at largerfamilies.com. These are women who are mothering families with 4 or more children (or families that will soon be 4 or more). Wow, do these women encourage, challenge and inspire me!

Maybe most people already know this, but for me it is wonderful new news. Costco.com photo department will not only print prints from digital photos that I email them, but they will mail my prints to me without a shipping fee! I could not be more pleased with this service. Now I can go online, order my prints and I don't have to make a special trip into Costco to pick them up. This saves me time and gas, what is not to love? After surviving a family photo session, it is nice to have something that is quick and easy.

And A has discovered a remarkable talent. Today he proclaimed, "Mom, I can hold my breath without breathing!" =) Is that so?!

Big Kitty

I received an email this morning with pictures of this cougar that had recently gone from stalking to the land beyond (do cougars go to heaven)? I don't know the guy holding it, but that is one BIG cougar! The estimate was 250 pounds. And it was a bit too close to where I live. I know we have cougars around here, in fact I saw one in the wild when I was about 8, and have not cared too much for them ever since. Although as I look at this cougar and know that given the opportunity he would likely rip me apart, I still can't help but admire the beauty and variety of animals that God saw fit to create. That cougar really does have a beauty, a beauty that I don't prefer to be acquainted with up close.

Larger Families and more on yesterday's conversation...

Go check out the new and improved Largerfamilies.com web page and blog. While you are there, check out the bios of the bloggers. You may see a familiar face, or for those who don’t know what I look like, you may see my unfamiliar face.

A big thank you to Meagan for all her work on this blog, it really is a wonderful support to many larger size families. Check out Meagan's book, Table For Eight: Raising a large family in a small-family world. A great Christmas gift idea. It is on my list! This book looks to be a good one for large families, smaller families that may grow into larger families, or anyone who would like to gain insight and understanding into how a larger family can function in this 2.5 child world.

I am still pondering Marianne Elixar’s comment from yesterday's Chocolate and Oppression post, “The world has become a complicated place where "love thy neighbor" is nearly impossible due to globalism, where EVERYONE is my neighbor. How does one care about the whole world?”
I welcome more thoughts on this topic. And I would love to hear more about other families who are on the journey of becoming more conscientious in their purchases. Both from those who have made changes, those who have just thought about it and from those who have considered the issues but are not making changes. I would love to hear where people are coming from on this.
An addition to this post:
Heidi just posted this, it is excellent!

Chocolate and Oppression

I was thinking about chocolate and oppression. Funny combination, but here is the context. I had just picked up some cocoa powder from our local co-op and the cocoa powder had a “fair trade” symbol on it. After attending a chocolate class, I became aware of the oppression that can take place in harvesting chocolate. So, I bought fair trade chocolate when that was an option and when it was not an option, I just bought whatever was available and met the desire I had.

Not long ago I read this post and this post. It hit me again and caused me to ask myself why I was willing to justify my desire to have chocolate (for cookies, or baking or drinking or whatever) in spite of oppression that took place in the lives of many who harvest the beans?

Then I read this. Proverbs 22:16 “Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his wealth…” And it dawned on me that I am rich when compared to the people that are harvesting cocoa beans and my purchasing non-fair trade chocolate is contributing in ways to their oppression. In my American “wealth” mentality, I think that I should be able to have my chocolate and not worry about where it comes from, if there is not a free trade alternative. But, buying chocolate that is harvested by oppressed people is having a part in oppression.

Then I read Psalm 146:5-7, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob…who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food for the hungry…” And I considered that oppressed people are often hungry. And not hungry like I am hungry for lunch right now, they are hungry, as in didn’t have an adequate breakfast and don’t have a meal to look forward to. God gives justice to these people, God cares about justice and when I buy “my” chocolate and know it may come from oppressed people, I am not caring about people the way God cares about people.

Reconciliation from The Valley of Vision

Lord God Almighty,

Thou art beforehand with men
for thou hast reconciled thyself to the world
through the cross,
and dost beseech men to accept reconciliation.
It is my responsibility to grasp thy overtures of grace,
for if thou, the offended part, act first
with the word of appeasement,
I need not call in quesion thy willingness to save,
but must deplore my own foolish maliciousness;
If I do not come to thee as one who seeks thy favour,
I live in contempt, anger, malice, self-sufficiency,
and thou dost call it enmity.
Thou hast taught me the necessity of a Mediator,
a Messiah,
to be embraced in love with all my heart,
as king to rule me,
as prophet to guide me,
as priest to take away my sin and death,
and this by faith in thy beloved Son
who teaches me
not to guide myself,
not to obey myself,
not to try to rule and conquer sin,
but to cleave to the one who will do all for me.
Thou hast made known to me
that to save me is Christ's work,
but to cleave to him by faith is my work,
and with this faith is the necessity of my
daily repentance
as a mourning for the sin which Christ
by grace has removed.
Continue, O God, to teach me
that faith apprehends Christ's righteousness
not only for the satisfaction of justice,
but as unspotted evidence of thy love to me.
Help me to make use of his work of salvation as
the ground of peace,
and of thy favour to, and acceptance of me
the sinner,
so that I may live always near the cross.

What joy, what comfort, what truth! The Valley of Vision, it was a Christmas gift from my husband last year. A beautiful gift that I treasure now and will long treasure. It is full of such timeless truth. A nice accompanyment to it is this music.

As Said By A 3 Year Old:

“Pirates are bad guys; they should obey God.”

We were reading a story and A was sitting in his pj bottoms and no shirt. B said, “A, I don’t care to look at your nakedness, you should go put a shirt on.”

When asked, "So how do you get money into the happy jar?" The expected-by-me reply was, "have a good attitude." But the reply I got was an enthusiastic, "Take the lid off!" Well, I can't argue with that.

Etch-a-sketch-"extra sketch"

After going potty and leaving the bathroom particularly stinky, he exclaimed, "That was a good one!" hmmmm...that is so stereotypically male. Why on earth does he think that, let alone feel the need to proclaim that?

Becoming a More Faithful Friend

My husband has had a huge influence on me in the area of maintaining friendships. A couple of times in the past I have complained about a friendship that I feared was fading away. He finally responded to me, “If you want to continue that friendship, keep pursuing it, keep calling on occasion, keep reaching out, no matter what the response of the other person.” Not only does M speak that wisdom, he lives it! I have watched his faithfulness, over the years, in many areas, this one included.

That advice he gave to me has been invaluable. It has motivated me to keep pouring into friendships when I did not feel I was getting much back. Now I look back and my heart overflows with gratitude for that encouragement. His perspective saved friendships that I might have allowed to slip away. What if I had given up? What if I had let go when a friend needed me to hang on? What about the times I have done that?

Sometimes friendships are challenging, sometimes they do feel one-sided, but if it is a friendship I am devoted to, keep pouring into it, keep pouring and don’t give up. I Corinthians 13 tells us that “love never gives up.” Thank you, M for strengthening me in this area.

Sometimes when a friendship is challenging the other person may be going through a hard time, or their life may be busy or… Is that the time to give up on someone? No! I am so deeply thankful for the friends who have stood by me when I was not able to give much in return. So deeply thankful for that.

Family Heirloom

I am in the process of switching some of my cookware over to cast iron. I like how well it cooks, that it is basically non-stick and since I am a huge fan of stoneware, the clean up is very similar-no soap, just hot water. All that to say, that I have had this little cast iron skillet for years and years. It belonged to my grandma when she was little and I remember playing with it when I was little. It is just the right size for a single egg. Here is an egg being cooked up for L. Someday I will pass it on and hopefully it will get many, many more years of use.

Some Thoughts on Diligence

"What we hope ever to do with ease we may first learn to do with diligence."
~Samuel Adams

"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."
~Thomas Jefferson

"Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it."
~Henry David Thoreau

"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built."
~Eleanor Roosevelt

"It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required"
~Winston Churchill

The Pathetic-Looking Bird Tradition

After the monkey came the bird, this bird, this homely looking bird....

It all started back with my grandpa and my dad, before my dad was married, and he has been married around 35 years, so this all started quite some time ago. My grandpa and my dad had a monkey, which I am told was equally pathetic looking, that they would exchange at random times. The point was to give the monkey to the other person without the other person knowing they had received it, until, by surprise they found it. Sometimes the monkey would turn up in a bathroom medicine cabinet, in a boot or various other random places.

At some point along the way, the monkey was lost and my grandpa picked up this bird while at the coast for a trip. So, my dad and grandpa continued on with this bird, hiding it in various places for the other person to find, until my grandpa passed away. Then the bird sat and sat and sat on a shelf.

Several years back the bird appeared in my house, it was my dad’s way of saying “game on.” So, since then, it has been passed back and forth between my dad and me. Sometimes it is passed on quickly, other times it stays in one spot for months before being passed on. Currently it is sitting in my pantry. My dad fed the animals for us awhile back while we were gone camping and I returned home to open a cupboard and find the bird sitting there.

This tradition is silly, but good fun. And it gives a wholesome new meaning to “giving someone the bird.”

The Great Milkshake Tradition

Here is the wounded A finishing off the last little bit of root beer.

.

Today I was reminded of another tradition we have. Here are links to more of our traditions. I dropped A off at kindergarten, came home and settled L and B in for naps/quiet time and was sending a quick email. The moment I hit “send” my cell phone rang. It was A’s kindergarten teacher. Hmmmm…that is not normal for her to call when she is teaching.

By the tone of her voice I could tell all was not well. She told me that A had split his head open and was bleeding all over, as head wounds tend to do. I left C at home with the younger ones since they were resting. I am so thankful that she is old enough to do that and that she has taken the Red Cross Babysitter's Training. I rarely leave her to babysit, but in pinch when I will be right back, it is nice that she can do that. Today it was very helpful of her.

By the time I arrived at the school, Miss Kelly, A’s teacher, and one of the other moms that happened to be there had the situation completely under control. A was bandaged up, and mostly cleaned up, except for the blood down his shirt and pants. He and I loaded into the van and came home. I called the doctor, got everyone up from naps and we headed in to have A looked at. Now this is the coolest! They glued his wound together and he did not have to have stitches! A huge blessing. I had stitches when I was 6 and it was a traumatic experience. What a blessing that they were able to glue his cut together!

One “side effect” seems to be that they got some glue in his hair and it is standing up and looks all funky in the front (see photo above). It is like some high powered gel. Wonder how long that will last. =) The other “side effect” is that he can’t get his cut wet for 24-48 hours. No bath for that length of time. He is thrilled with both the hair and not bathing.

Somewhere in the midst of the craziness of the events, I was reminded of our family milkshake tradition. Whenever someone has to get shots or any medical or dental procedure that involves needles, pain or great difficulty, there is a milkshake as a reward. Well, today it was root beer floats, at A's request. Our favorite milk shake place recently shut down, so we made floats at home. Sometimes I wonder if this tradition is getting a little out of hand since it started with only the involved party getting a treat, but it just seems better that everyone gets a treat. I guess we are learning to “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” a little bit by sharing in the concern when a loved one is in pain and by sharing in the relief in a tangible way when we share a milkshake...or a float.

happy jar, atom and such

Here is the "Happy Jar." After days of B having fits each afternoon when he wakes up, I found myself saying, "how about if we make you a Happy Jar?" The idea is that he gets to put some change in there for each afternoon that he does not argue and complain when he wakes up. He gets to save up to buy a doughnut from our local bakery. He loves this idea. We will see if it works. When I asked him, "Now, how do you get money into the Happy Jar?" He replied with great enthusiasm, "You take the lid off!" Well, I was thinking, "You have a good attitude," but I can't argue with his response. =)

One more funny from him...he calls the etch-a-sketch and "extra sketch."
C made a model of an atom. It was either make a model or take a test. She whipped this out and did a great job explaining the parts.
I love that we are getting our house painted, but I find it a little annoying to have men on ladders outside my windows. I had to take this picture fast and in a spot where I could duck. I would have felt really silly if he had seen me snap this. But the picture conveys my point.

Well, it looks like she is planning dinner tonight, but I am guessing that she may need a little help, so I had better go!