My Sweet Oldest Boy

was laying next to me...he just woke up from a nap, and all ruffle-haired and blurry-eyed he said to me
'i had a sweet dream'
'you did?' i asked...
'yeah'
'what was it about?'
'i don't want to tell you... can i have some ice cream?'

oh, this boy can melt my heart! he is so so so stinkin' cute. my heart hurts, he's so cute. love love love him.

now...to go bribe him with some ice cream, and find out what the dream was about. :)

Are Women Born This Way?

Watch this tiny little video.
Oh. So funny. I love it. It gets funnier each time you watch...

The Spunky Coconut

How fun! I just found this blog the other day and love love love it.
And, what is even better than that is that she wrote THIS BOOK. I can't wait to get it in my hands...
And even better than that, I invited her to our homeschool group park day and she came and is wonderful. So excited about meeting her, and having her as a real life friend. We have a lot in common. Our oldest 2 kids are close in age (3 months apart, and 2 days apart, respectively) She is dairy free and gluten free and mostly soy free, too... she homeschools, is fond of adoption, uses Laptop Lunchboxes (you know how much I love those!)She's spunky... like her book. :)
So fun. Thankful today for the blessing of meeting her...and her recipes, too. ;)

Our BIG NEWS!!!

Introducing...

Sharing Their Story

Today is the first day of an exciting new season for our family! As of midnight, our faith-based network, “Sharing Their Story,” officially began! Since today is also our official "leave date" from Campus Crusade for Christ staff. We've been on staff with CCC for 10 years, and are OH SO thankful for the opportunities and lessons learned from being a part of that organization. God has called us to start something new!

Sharing Their Story will focus on three main things: education, vocation and connection. By education, we mean raising awareness of the world’s greatest needs. By vocation, we mean helping ordinary people like us discover what author Frederick Buechner calls “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” By connection, we mean bringing together ordinary people, organizations and individuals with expertise and experience in service, and, of course, people who are in need. The role of Sharing Their Story will be to serve as a catalyst for building bridges, opening eyes and hearts (even as our eyes and hearts are opened), and trusting God for His Kingdom reality to break into our lives and into our world.

In the weeks and months to come we’ll work on:

· researching the greatest needs that surround us locally and globally;

· developing our website and other materials;

· building our grassroots network by meeting with non-profits, churches, small businesses, local governments, families, etc.; and,

· raising funds to cover all our salary and ministry expenses.


Please pray for us during our transition!

Okay...Paranoia over... We are public again

:)
Go on with your life now...

Recovering

from a busy busy weekend.
We had our finalization of our adoption in court on Friday! Addie and Tony will celebrate their first '4th of July' as U.S. Citizens!

Dedicated Addie and Tony to raising them to know God's love for them in Jesus at the lake on Saturday with our church.

Maegan and Ryan were both BAPTIZED in the lake on Saturday! Pictures to come...

We had a good (although too short!) visit with our friends, The Sprouses, on Sunday, and then took the kids to Grandmas while Marrty and I went out on a (AWESOME and FIGHT FREE!) date. We ate dinner, went to a cheap movie (17 Again), walked in the park, laid in the grass and looked at the sky...cried over Mae's health at present, laughed over other silliness, dreamed, and enjoyed being together. Then we came home, put the kids into bed, and watched the first half of Twilight (again) before going to bed.

Today, Mae slept until 10:30 (a first!) b/c she didn't sleep much last night due to the bleeding on the back of her legs and itching all over... even with benadryl, she is a miserable mess. I feel so so badly for her, and have shed many tears over the last 24 hours b/c of the painful state she is in again. It seems that the baths, the Rx creams, the diet... all of it 'helps' but none of it cures. We've even tried bleach baths (I don't recommend it for someone as severe and sensitive as Mae). We are heartbroken for her, and cry out to Jesus to heal her, daily. I don't know why He allows this. I don't understand. She asks 'He healed the blind...why doesn't He heal me?" and I have no answers. Only, that He knows her suffering. And He cares. And...He is good.

Mountains of laundry, and loads of dishes are consuming our moments in between stories and workbooks this morning. Sometimes I wonder if the breaks I take on the weekends are worth the monday mornings. Maybe it would be easier to look at the weekends as work days, too.
What do you do? Do you slack on your housework over the weekend and play make up on the weekdays? Or do you work through the weekend? I am having a hard time with weekends. I usually feel like I deserve a rest, but then get bitter when the kids don't nap, or I see dishes in the sink and laundry piling up. I end up hating weekends, and preferring the 'structure' of the weekdays. I need to figure it out. Reevaluate my life. Appreciate what I have. Give more. Be thankful. Practice GRAttitudes. Advice welcome.

It's Final!

We had our finalization of our adoption this morning! Sugar Bear and Little Lion are now, in the eyes of the U.S. officially ours! Names officially changed, and they are U.S. citizens! Woohoo!
We were there early (write that down!) and this is how we spent our time waiting our turn...


Sugar making faces at herself in the mirror...aka:trash can. :) She really is my girl. I spent hours making faces in front of the mirror as a kid. How do you think I learned to do all those awesome tounge tricks?! :) HA!




Sisters! Sweet Pea made sure they had on matching dresses. :) She even wrote out their names on post-it notes and stuck it to the laid out dresses before their baths this morning. :) SO sweet how they LOVE each other!

They all tumbled to the floor right after this shot. HA!

We tried to get a good pic. Yeah. Emphasis on tried. :) Hold on...there are several 'tries'!














We LOVE you, Sugar Bear and Little Lion! We are SO SO blessed that you are OURS!

private again...

i know. i did it again. I woke up in the middle of the night, grabbed my laptop and snuck into the living room, where I quickly got online and changed the settings of my blog to 'private readers only'.
maybe it has something to do with the armed robbery across the street a few nights ago?

Does it count

Do the 32 laps I swam this morning still count if I ate as many Hershey's Nuggets tonight?

Happy Father's Day!

to the best dad our kids could ever ask for!! We love you!!!

And Today! The Denver Zoo... Happy Father's Day (to us?) :)

I knew the best present we could give Daddy was TIME ALONE. :) So...bright and early he was up and outta the house. We decided the Zoo was a good idea for the rest of us. We had a BALL. Really. No meltdowns (except the one I almost had when I realized as we were headed to the van that my keys were not in my bag! No prob. RyGuy remembered where they were...in the 'post office' (ehem...memebership office) We all joined hands and prayed that we could find them, and YES. They had them. Thank you, Jesus!)

On the way home I asked which animal was their fav. Here is the breakdown:

T- The Ambasah's! (Lions)

R- The Tigers! (Mizzou RAH!)

A- The Polar Bears!

M- "I don't have a FAVORITE. I like them ALL! (so diplomatic, dyt?) She did insist we see the flamingos before we left. :)

Me- Well, today my fav was a baby cheetah, who at one point stopped and pressed its nose against the glass, against Mae's nose. It was SO cute. No... I didn't get a pic. DARN.

Anyway, it was GREAT fun. I look forward to doing it again. I think we've reached the age where the cost/benefit ratio is on our side! Yay! I did it, alone, and we all had fun. Even me. :) They all walked. No strollers! And, each had a buddy to hold on to. Here are some pics.











And...time to go home! ;)

Bike Riding...

We have 2 Bike Riders!! (And...2 Trike Riders!) So fun.

Ruth the Mom

came to visit me all the way from Sunny CAL! (okay...so...she visited a few other people, too...but I got her first, and longest!) :) She stayed the night with me one night... we went out to coffee and had an awesome visit! Then, we spent the next morning with the kiddos b4 she was off to visit other friends. I cried real tears when she left. I LOVE this woman! We met in college, got married about a year apart,got our first babies (our dogs) within months of each other, had our first 2 kids both within 2 weeks of each other... She's awesome. I love her. We've lived in Missouri together, and Colorado together and moved away from Colorado (us to Spain and her to Iowa) at the same time. Now, we are back and she's in Cali, but...she is planning to move back here at some point. I can't wait! She is another crazy homeschoolin' momma, too. Can't wait til she's back and we can hit the zoo together, or whatever, whenever. Our kids LOVE each other, too. More like cousins than friends, really. SO.FUN.
She's SO funny, too. Have you ever checked out the link I have to her? Ruth the Mom is my daily dose of humor. I love you, Ruth!

My Girl!

M had her Kindergarten graduation awhile back, too! We were so proud of her!! Every student got an award...and M's was "Most Competant Student"! Great job, Sweet Pea! We love you, and are so proud of you, and are SO thrilled that you are OUR little Girl!

T turns 3! (continued from a couple of weeks ago) :)

Lots of pics coming... don't say I didn't warn you! :)

I've been doing some reading on vestibular processing stuff this morning.
Here is some of what I've found:

"However mild or severe the symptoms may be, the toll taken on a child's emotional reserves and quality of life can be devastating. These disorders are exhausting, and not activity, even sleep, provides an escape from them. The patient may feel worn down, frustrated, isolated, tense, and somehow "different." To add to their troubles, patients are often told it is "nothing." Self-esteem naturally suffers, especially with a label of "emotional problems" rather than an accurate diagnosis. Disorders of the vestibular system have been implicated in developmental delays, motor dyscoordination, postural abnormalities and learning disabilities.[3]

Children may take on a burden of guilt for being unable to control their feelings and the behavior that results from constant stress; they often feel helpless to stop the symptoms, such as the floor tilting, the room spinning, or the persistent nausea.

My experience with vestibular disorders and my hardwon knowledge about them will help to illustrate the impact of these disorders and the struggle children and young adults may face in trying to compensate and cope."

from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1053/is_n4_v18/ai_8001199/pg_2/?tag=content;col1

That Mom...

I've been thinking about writing a post for a long time (read a REALLY long time) entitled 'that mom' as in... Yes. I admit it. I am THAT mom who is always late. Who often hasn't combed her hair, or her daughters' or made sure that her kids are all wearing matching shoes. But...little by little I'm improving in those areas. VERY little, by very little. I give myself a lot of grace, b/c... well... i did double my children in one swoop. And they are all 4 between the ages of 3 and 6.
So. I guess that post is done. Admission is the first step, right?

Now I'm thinking I'm also 'that girl'. You know the one. The one who is always in crisis mode? "Seriously" my soul sister said to me the other day "if I didn't know you, and I just heard about you, I think I may think you are a hypochondriac...but I do know you, so I know you aren't"

So, yes. Once again. There is something 'up'. We took Sweet Pea into an evaluation today for her sensory stuff. Turns out she has problems with vestibular functioning. I don't really know what all that means, but I'm researching. She never gets dizzy. She likes to be carried. a lot. (way more to it than that, but there is a beginning)And, we will be starting weekly OT. I'd appreciate any prayers and insight you have to offer!

Big news (good stuff!) coming to the blog soon. I'll try to post within a day or two!

Fire Station Field Trip, May 20, 09

So...I have approximately a zillion photos to upload! It has been way too long in coming! Hold on to your seats. Here they come!
We'll start with the Fire Station Field trip, which for my kiddos, (and me, too) was a blast!

Why is it...

that when M and I get a chance to get out for several hours alone that we nearly always start off in a fight?
I don't know.
But it seems everytime we make the drive to his moms to drop off our angels (which isn't very often) we end up in an argument for the first half of our date. Maybe it is our way of getting some time ALONE before we can enjoy each other. I don't know. At any rate we drove to a mall, where we went our seperate ways for awhile until we could text each other 'im sorry' and come back together to go out for dinner. It was actually really great. (Not the fighting part, but the alone part was...i have to admit...bliss.) I spent it walking around Williams Sonoma. Yes. For an hour I walked around and around that little store and enjoyed every minute. They made me an espresso on this amazing new machine of theirs. (if you want one of those, you better plan to get a 2nd job to pay the morgage on that baby. ouch.)It was delicious, though. I must admit. ;)
Then I bought one of these since I make our own salad dressings now, and one of these since I won this. And...I was happy.
We went to BeauJo's where I got a tummy ache after eating their GF Yukon pizza. I should've known better. That is the 2nd time now that I've eaten it and gotten sick. Remind me to just get the salad bar next time!
Then we went for a drive, and found a spot to sit and look at the mountains and watch it rain. It was nice. I love rain.
And now we are at home, with 4 kids in bed. And I'm going to turn in early...
Night night!

Great News!

Thanks for praying everyone!! Maegan was able to go in to Children's today (thanks Luke for praying for perfect timing!! They had a cancelation and we were able to get in this afternoon!) and get a hearing eval and...everything looks GREAT!
She still has a profound loss in the one ear, but her other ear looks totally normal. It seems as though the hearing is coming and going, and they think that it is allergy related, or possible Eustachian tube dysfunction (like her ear is popping or something) At any rate, they don't think it is nerve damage, which is a huge relief!
In the meantime, the technology has changed drastically in the last year, and they think that a hearing aide may help her ear with profound loss! They fitted her for a loaner one today...she chose a pink and purple swirled one with gold sparkles... We'll see if it helps. She won't get it for a week or more...
Thanks so much for praying!! We are so so relieved right now! Thank you God! And...thank you who prayed, too!

Gettin' to it...

So. I just pulled off 3 weeks worth of my Motivated Moms chore list... all undone.
I'm gettin' to it today.
LOADS and LOADS of laundry to be done.
Kids to get back on schedule (BOTH boys had potty accidents this a.m. Tony has been regressing, refusing to go in the potty, hitting his siblings, pouring milk on the floor on purpose, telling us 'no'...OH! What happened to my sweet boy?! He turned 3. Ugh. Should've expected that!) Addie is doing AWESOME. I think she has really turned a corner, and has been snuggling and loving me and being very very sweet and obediant. Thank goodness! I can only handle so much... :)
Anyway, it is a day to get back on track. We sat and snuggled and read lots of stories this morning (thank you Sonlight!) and now the kids are busy cutting and pasting and working on filling out this calendar and I'm trying out my new Shaklee laundry detergent and laundry booster. :)
OH! And... Maegan learned to ride her bike Saturday night! And...she had her first violin lesson this week! She LOVES doing BOTH! So much going on...
Hopefully, I will get some pictures up soon! :)
p.s. still waiting on the call from Children's to get the hearing appointment scheduled. Please pray for that!

The Interview, Part 1

I mentioned before that I was interviewed for the Refuge blog.
I thought, for my own records (if I ever make a coffee table book out of this blog) then I should post it here, as well.
Here goes!

as part of our justice series this month we are focusing in on various issues & raising awareness of certain groups who are marginalized, under-represented, oppressed. you are passionate about orphan care. where did that stirring come from?



Well, it didn't come from me. I can't take the credit. :) It really was the Spirit of God at work in my heart. The book in the Bible that I go back to most often is the book of James. Over the last 15 years I have read and reread it. One fall day in 07, I decided to read it again. (You see, I struggle with saying things I shouldn't and the book of James gives some good encouragement in that area! That is why it is my go-to book!) This time, I didn't make it to that passage in Chapter 3. I couldn't get passed vs. 27 of Chapter 1!!



"Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God is to take care of widows and orphans in their distress, and not to be corrupted by the world".



God spoke directly to my heart as I read that verse. I knew that it was Him who stopped me from reading. I can't explain it, but I knew that He wanted me to do something about the current orphan crisis. At that time I thought my husband wouldn't be open to more than the 2 children we already had, and I hadn't really seriously considered adoption before.... I told the Lord that I would do anything He asked of me...but pleaded for Him to please tell Marrty so I didn't have to! What I didn't know then was that God was already at work in Marrty's heart as well. A few weeks later Marrty came to me (without me saying anything about my secret prayers) and asked me to listen to some podcasts...on adoption!! Less than a year later we were in Ethiopia, holding our 2 youngest children.



as you’ve been researching, listening, learning more about this issue, what are some things that stand out that most people don’t know about the plight of orphans domestically and abroad?



I think what continues to burden my heart is that there are so many children, both here in the U.S. and abroad that need parents. They are just little kids, who want a mommy and daddy to read to them and tuck them in at night. I recently attended the Summit Orphan Care conference in Dallas, TX. During the conference someone spoke who had grown up in foster care... They spoke about how they didn't care if their mom was black or white or purple...old or young or in between... they just wanted a mom to love them. Any size or shape would do. It breaks my heart that even here in the U.S. where we have every resource readily available to us, still there are kids in desperate need.



Overseas, the kids are the same. They just want to belong to someone. I think one thing that struck me is that it is the LUCKY ones who make it into orphanages...for every one child in an orphanage there are numerous more out there who are fending for themselves...alone, and without hope. They are in need of good nutrition, clean water, medication...and love.



There are children out there....young children...who have lost parents due to poverty, or the HIV crisis and are now the heads of their houshold. They are trying to survive, and often have to resort to selling their bodies for a loaf of bread to feed themselves and their younger siblings. They are getting HIV in the process of trying to survive. Who will speak for them? Who will give them voice? Who will stand with them, and love them?



most people will never have a chance to experience first-hand an orphanage in a third world country. describe what life there is like.







How did you decide to adopt 2 kids who are HIV+? After Marrty and I decided to adopt from Ethiopia, I began to read a lot of adoption blogs. One day I came across a blog of a mom with 10 kids. Her youngest was from Ethiopia and she was in process to go back for number 11, also from Ethiopia. These kids were really really adorable and I fell for their sweet smiles and spunk. One day she wrote about the fact that her youngest daughter had HIV. I was shocked. "What?!?" I thought. "How could this be?! I mean...she is chubby, and healthy, and full of life!! Shouldn't she be sick looking? And...I didn't even know it was legal to adopt a kid with HIV.... Isn't she worried about her other 9 kids getting it?!" I had a million questions and I immediately wrote her and began asking her questions about HIV and the possibility of adopting a child with HIV.

She graciously wrote me back, and answered my questions, and even put me in touch with a few other moms who had adopted kids with HIV. The more I learned, the less scary it seemed. In fact, the more I learned, the more I felt I had no reason NOT to adopt a kid with HIV. Afterall, there were people lining up and waiting for healthy infants and toddlers while these kids with HIV were standing in line for parents. It didn't make sense to me. Why would someone not want to step up for these kiddos. HIV, I learned, is a chronic but manageable disease in the U.S. The treatment is even better than the treatments available for diabetes or rheumatioid arthritis. I knew God was speaking again. When Marrty got home that afternoon I asked him "Would you consider adopting a kid with HIV?" to which he grunted a short "No." :) "Okay" I said and left it at that. The very next day he walked in the door and said "I'm not saying 'no'..." and we went forward from there.



What have some of the responses been, both negative and positive?

We have found that most people don't really know a lot about HIV, but they are willing to be educated. We haven't really had any negative responses yet, for which I am very very thankful. Most people are thrilled to hear how treatable the disease is now and how far medication has come in the last 10 years.



what scared you the most about taking this step?

Everyone will tell you that the stigma is worse than the disease, and I feared that. It turns out that for us, it hasn't really been an issue. It was scary to step out in faith and tell our families and friends, but everyone has been a huge support.



what has been the most surprising part of your journey the past few years?what is changing about how you live out your faith?

That is a whole other blog post! I have too much to say about that! :) Can we save this for Part 2? ;)


what are you learning about God’s heart as you dig more deeply into issues of justice on orphan’s behalf?

He is the Father to the fatherless...

to be continued...

Part 2...

social justice is when those who have a voice, power, leadership use it on behalf of those who don’t. what does “giving voice to the voiceless” mean when it comes to orphans?



I think it means that we open our eyes wide (and are arms wider) to learn about their stories. That we do what we can to be informed about what is happening, and that we both advocate and act on their behalf. Children really don't hold a lot of value in the world's economy, but in God's economy, they do. Lately, I've been spending time reading the first 4 books of the New Testament in the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and looking closely at the 'red letters' which were the words of Jesus. I want to live my life according to His teachings, and I think that as we follow the principles He lays out for us, then we will naturally be seeking out ways to give voice to the voiceless...



what are some small ways that people here, in broomfield, CO, can take a stand or work on behalf of justice for orphans?



I love many of Mother Theresa's quotes. One that stands out to me, and I think about almost daily is “There are no great acts, only small acts done with great love.” I love this, b/c I feel like it empowers us to do something. We aren't going to solve the world's orphan crisis, until we solve global poverty...and even then, there would still be orphans. The problem is huge. It is estimated that there are more than 143 million orphans world wide. That can be paralyzing. So... What can we really do about it?



Something.



We all can do something. That will look different for different people. For us, it meant adopting 2 kids that happened to have HIV. For others, it will mean adopting one child, or for some, 10 kids or more! For some people it will mean giving sacrificially so that others can adopt (they can give directly to someones adoption agency, or have a fund-raising event to help bring a child home) It could mean that you decide to bring a foster child into your home, or that you provide respite care for an adoptive or foster parent. You could pray for and encourage your local foster care workers. Go to their office and ask them what their greatest needs are. You could sponsor an orphan overseas...pray for them...visit them. You could gather a small group of friends and sponsor an entire orphanage. It doesn't end there, there is so much you could do... A friend of mine is in process of converting her basement into a rent free apartment for a homeless teenage mom and her child. Is she serving orphans? I think she is. She is reaching out to someone who is without a family... and becoming a family to them. My challenge would be that you would pray and ask God where He wants you to move. And how. And then, do it. Do whatever small act He calls you to. I'm confident, that He will have something to say to you, if you ask.



Book Suggestions for further reading about the orphan crisis and other social justice issues:

There is No Me Without You, by Melissa Fay Greene

The Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds, by Tom Davis

Reckless Faith, Beth Guckenberger
Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, by Shane Claiborne
(Okay, so that last one isn't just about caring for the orphan, but if you haven't read it yet, you must!) :)

Maegan learned to ride her bike tonight!!

her little bro Ry, who is 4 1/2 has been riding w/o training wheels for a few months and she has been green with envy...
well...tonight we took a long ride (with me walking the dog and the 2 littles on trikes!) and she was wobbling back and forth with both feet on the ground. Then...on the home stretch, she started peddling and peddled the whole length of our street...all the way home! I was running behind her crying and screaming "YAY! Maegan!" Makes me want to cry again just typing it out.
Aren't these the great moments we live for as parents?!

Sweet Mae...

Again, I'm here posting about Maegan. I have so many happy things to post, but haven't made the time... I have lots of pictures of her kindergarten graduation, for example. And, more of us playing in the backyard, and more of Tony's bday... but I come to you now asking for prayer. Again.
Maegan told me last night that she felt like her ear 'was collapsing' I didn't even know she KNEW the word 'collapsing' but whatever. She does. So, I asked her why and she said she couldn't hear very well out of it. I reminded her that she was born without hearing in one ear... "NO MOM... I mean in THIS ear" she replied, pointing at...you guessed it... her 'good' ear. She said it had been that way since Jenny was here (a week ago!) We took her to the doc this morning, hopeful that it was just wax, or an ear infection... (who hopes for an ear infection? a mom with a child with hearing in only one ear!) Unfortunately, no. It wasn't either. Her ear looks great. Which isn't great news. She said she couldn't hear any of the beeps in the little machine they stick in her ear... also not great news. We need to go back into Children's for another audiology appointment to get her right ear tested again. Please join me in praying for our sweet girl.
My heart is breaking, but I am trying to focus on the positives here, and hope and pray for the best.

Happy Birthday Tony!!!

Today my smallest big boy is 3!!!!
We went into his room singing Happy Birthday this morning, bearing a gift (which is a tradition we started years ago, after hearing about it from a friend) He's been asking for a Buzz Lightyear. He was thrilled!! He keeps hugging it and hugging it... wrapping its little stuffed arms around his neck and squeeeeeeeeeeeezing. So sweet.
Party at the park this afternoon. If you are local, you are welcome. :) Email me for details.

I was interviewed

on the Refuge blog...
Check it out HERE.

I was interviewed...

on The Refuge Blog...
Check it out HERE.

More Green...

Hi. My name is Angela, and I love Shaklee.
Okay, so...I'm not really addict, (yet) but you know me, and my love for anything GREEN. Enter: Shaklee Get Clean.

Watch it on Rachel Ray.



Get the Scoop from Oprah.

I could type it all out, but they say it so much better on the videos.

When you are ready to order, lmk. I'm here for you. :)

P.S. FREE LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP going on through tomorrow: Friday, May 22. Great deal. Do it. I paid for mine!

God and Foster Care...

I came home from the conference in Dallas with a huge burden for kids in foster care. I've been so broken for them. Often, when God puts something on my heart, it has an impact on how well I sleep. I can go to sleep quickly, but then I wake up 20 minutes later pondering and stewing and praying. Amazingly, every time I ask Him for rest, I am then able to fall asleep. That has been happening a lot lately. I digress...
Anyway, last Saturday another passionate mama and I got together to pray for foster care. May, is in fact, National Foster Care Month. (See HERE for more info and prayer guides)We literally cried as we prayed for those involved: kids, parents, social workers, foster parents, etc. It breaks my heart that we have so many orphans right here, too. I'm praying that God will show me what to do with this burden. Where He wants me to go from here...
Will you pray with me?

Coffee

to quote Jody, "is good. It has to be."
And, I'm agreeing. Because today, i called upon a cup of it at 3pm to make me through the rest of my day.
So sluggish. Exhausted actually, this afternoon.
Could it be that I stayed way too late at our Book Study last night? Or that I ran out of the house to buy toilet paper at 11:30 b/c I forgot to get it on the way home and although I am THIS CRUNCHY (if you want to know more read my previous post and jody's post and jenn's post), I'm not ready for THIS quite yet.
*edited to add: I actually do have a few cloth wipes that I do use for the kids when they need an extra special wipe... maybe I'm not too far off, afterall. Ewww?

I WON!

So...last night I went to a Free Do-It-Herself workshop at my local Home Depot. It was full of great info on lawn and garden care, and even taught me how to lay a stone or brick walkway (if I ever actually do that, you will be the first to know!) I learned some great tips, and more than anything, it inspired me to want to garden.
At the end of the class they raffled off this amazing herb garden and I WON!!! I couldn't believe it. It is beautiful! And it smells amazing!
Before the drawing, I prayed that someone needing encouragement would win the prize.
I had a hard afternoon with the kids, and was so encouraged by this little gift!
Thank you, Lord.
Do you like to garden? Flowers? Veggies? Have any great tips for a novice?

Spring Fever...

This time of year, I question why it is that I like to homeschool year round! :) I LOVE getting outside and enjoying the sunshine (as evidenced from the sunburn last week...I'm now peeling! ick.) The kids are enjoying the sun, too! They've been chasing butterflies (with a net from Targets $1 hotspot, and examining grass and bugs with a magnifying glass. (Wait...that IS school, eh? Let's call it 'science'.) We've also been planting flowers, and watching our veggies grow! So, sorry for the lack of posting! The sun is beckoning me outdoors...and away from my laptop screen.

More Summit Pictures...

I'm still thinking through and processing so much of what I heard in Dallas at the Summit. I cried AND laughed so so hard over those 4 days! Cried through the sessions, laughed with friends...cried with friends, too. But, oh. How we laughed! It was awesome. What was said in Dallas, stays in Dallas, right friends?

Probably my favorite breakout session last year, and this year, has been getting to hear Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it! You can also listen to some of her talks online HERE. She was fabulous. Firm, yet very loving.

A couple of the techniques she talks about I brought home and tried right away. Last year, I brought home the 'do-over' and started it with my bio kids. Basically, after being corrected, you give them the opportunity to go back and role play the situation, making the right choice. They LOVE the opportunity to get things right, and even ask me 'mommy, can i have a do-over?' So cute. Heck. I EVEN do do-overs with them for myself when I screw up! KP explains that it gives motor memory to the correct behaviour. LOVE it.

This year the tool I stuck in my belt is what she calls 'mirroring' or 'mimicking'. ..i can't remember. Basically, she just explains that you can help a child feel connected to you by mimicking things that he/she is doing. If they are standing there fiddling with the table cloth, you stand next to them and fiddle with the table cloth! If they are playing trucks sitting with their legs crossed, you sit down directly across from them, legs crossed, and play with trucks. They pick up a truck, you pick up a truck. They say vrrrrooooommmm you say vrrroooommmm. .. You get the picture. I've tried it with all 4 kids since I came home on Saturday and you should see the great big "you get me!" grins that I've seen on their little faces! Love it.

Already anticipating next year...

Despite the burn...

and the fact that miss Addie Kate rode her trike into the pond a few minutes after we arrived at the park, we had a great morning at our homeschool group park day!
Dawn brought these goggles for my kids. Can you tell if they liked them? ;)

It hurts worse than it looks...

...at least on this photo. It looks worse irl. what was i thinking? oh yeah. i WASN'T.

June 26, 2009

We have a court date for our finalization!!! I'm so excited!! :)
I know that A&T are already 'ours', but it will be SO nice to have ALL of the paperwork behind us and for them to be US citizens!! Yay!

No More Prejudice in the U.S.?

Read this article about a black family that adopted a white girl...
Interesting...

movin' on up...

fess up...what is your score?
60 words

Speed test

Guts and Good Reads...

Really, I am so thankful for the one day a week program that Mae attends on Mondays. Last week they talked about their bodies and made these amazing little aprons for each kid. Mae came knowing the names of all of the body parts on the apron. So cool!



Mae's class had a Read-In at school today. It was also pajama day...
How cute are these k'ers?
Here is the note that came with the pics Mrs. B took:
We just had a blast at our Read-In camping out. See the picture below. They mostly wanted me to read to them and some kids looked like they'd actually fall asleep. So so so cute. I'll never forget this day! Plus add a lot of food from A.'s family, we were set! What a blast!!!
Mrs. J. and MRs. B

Home!

Got home yesterday afternoon, and reentry hasn't been as bad as it normally is...The conference was good and the conversations were great. I had such a great time and was inspired once again by the amazing women I spent time with: Brianna, Jennifer, Jody, Steffany and Amanda. All fellow bloggers! :) And, yes...Ikea was that fun!
More on that later. For now, I'm going to go sit in the sun in the backyard with my 4 favorite little people and thier amazing dad...

So fun!

so...i just met steff. so fun. she lives in our old town! we know so much of the same people! very fun, this girl!

jody and i at dinner... love her.


jody, the crafty one... made us each these sweet journals! aren't they awesome!?
55 words

Typing Test

yes! we made it to Ikea! SO fun. And...I made it out without breaking the bank. Marrty will be so proud of my self control... Jenn pointed out that it helps that we aren't checking any luggage on the flight home. :) yeah. that.
The girls challenged me to do this test...ya...speaking of weaknesses...here is one! my first score was 13. ha! i obviously am getting better. :) can you beat jenn? she's at 104!
amanda is on her way...

Tot Food

It's that time again! Time to play... "What's on your tot's plate?!"
pepperoni, kiwi, oranges

orange, cashews, raisins, rice crackers, pb&honey

apples, roast beef and carrots

apples, pepperoni and cucumbers


applesauce, almonds, red peppers and ham
can you tell we are diggin' the pepperoni? when you find what works... if it ain't broke... something like that... ;)
So...what is on YOUR tots plate?

What She Said!

See what I'm talking about HERE.



Okay...so...maybe i'm a tiny bit concerned about the swine flu... and, my supplements are different: vitamin B2 and Magnesium (for migraine prevention) and SAM-E... but the rest, well, she took the words right out of my mouth! :)

And...I'm about to go out on a hot date with my hubs, too. Hopefully we will kiss and make up before I get on a plane in the morning! ;)

Good times...

Fashionistas...

i don't think we are in danger of winning any fashion awards...

Winter? Spring? Winter? Spring? Woo?

Our backyard this morning:
(click on the photo to enlarge and you will see that the ruler says 4" of snow on our back deck...and notice how BIG the flakes are!)



Our backyard this afternoon:


Seems I'm not the only one confused...woo...winter...spring... Who knows?! Glad it was GONE by this afternoon. Don't get me wrong, I like snow...but it is APRIL 27, people! I'm ready for SPRING!

Thursday

Oh, how I thought spring was here to stay! Last Thurs and Fri were amazing. We spent them outside eating, and schooling. We took our SONlight out into the SUNshine.









Don't you love how Ry is talking on his phone while riding the trike?

And the weaknesses...

So, the test doesn't really talk about those much, but I can tell you from experience that filling out paperwork is not.a.strength. I detest it. As a matter of fact, my heart even begins to race as I work through it.

This morning, after searching for info online, and printing off receipts, and making phone calls to various different school districts, and universities and depts of education in MO, I loaded up the 3 smallest ones (mae is at Options on Mondays) and went to the UPS store to work on my application for teacher certification for Colorado. (Can a paragraph really be made up of one big run on sentence? Apparently it can.)

I went and faxed 3 documents to 3 different places for transcripts, licensing, proof of employment, etc, got my driver's license copied and notarized, went to the bank and got a money order for 39.50 and mailed my fingerprints to CBI, paid $60 online for teacher certification, printed off the receipt... whew. Seriously. This all made me nervous. My palms were sweating and my heart was racing. Official stuff makes me anxious. I'm afraid I'm going to something wrong. Or forget something. Paper, it seems, doesn't verbally process. Hmmm... Stand me in front of a group and I'm fine. Put some official documents in front of me and I sweat. Go figure.

Now we just have to wait to get those 3 documents back, so I can mail everything in together with my application (which is done!) and wait for them to get the CBI prints back, so they can issue me a license.

Almost there. this feels an awful lot like an adoption! ;)

Why go through all of this? I mean, after all, I am homeschooling, and don't plan to teach for pay anytime in the immediate future, right? Well...it turns out that the state of Colorado doesn't require any kind of records or testing, etc for homeschoolers who have a certified teacher as a parent. They don't require a whole lot of parents who don't have certification, either...but sense you know how much I LOVE documentation.... :)

And...who knows. Maybe someday I will get paid for teaching...and if so...I'll be prepared! :)

Stengths Finder 2.0

I've begun reading this book and took this test this morning. Marrty had to read it for a leadership conference he attended last fall, and I was supposed to read it to. Life, however, was happening to me at that point in time and I just didn't get to it. (It was just a few weeks after we doubled our children.) :)


According to Strengths Finder 2.0, my Top 5 strengths are:

1. Communication
2. Connectedness
3. Woo
4. Activator
5. Belief

What in the world is 'woo', I wondered. Woo? Really? Is that even a word? ;)I've learned it means to 'win others over'.

I've taken a lot of personality type tests over the years...Meyers-Briggs, Birkman, are you a bear or a duck or a caboose...what? Yeah. If you are like me, you've taken a lot of them, too.

This one, I think, was the easiest and most helpful. I look forward to learning more about and working more from my strengths after doing this. No surprise: it says I should be a teacher, or in ministry, or speaking from up front. Also no surprise... I'm a natural talker. Huh. Amazing how they can know that...even without talking to me! What would've been more helpful, perhaps, is if they could tell me how to shut.it. ;)

If you take the test, be sure you have a good 30-45 minutes to take it without distraction. You only have 25 seconds or so to answer, before it kicks you on to the next question. Made my undecisive side a bit anxious. ;)

So...do you know what your strengths are? I'd love to hear!

One week from today...

I will be HERE!
I can't wait!

My Life Is Not My Own...

I think we all need one of these. Or 100 of them to pass on to our fam and friends.
Read all about Heidi and Kirk's amazing story HERE. 3 biological kids. 3 sibs from Ethiopia. Now...on their way back for 3 MORE sibs from Ethiopia. Read about it. You have an opportunity to be a part of it.
And do...something.

After the haircuts...

Life Changing?

I was on the phone with my friend Wendi just now, peeling the above potatoes. Then, she sent me THIS VIDEO.
If it works, it may just change my life. And yours...
Anyone tried it?

4/20

Just another day at the office for my hubby. Watch THIS.

I wasn't really concerned when he called yesterday afternoon and told me he may be high. I was like, 'what?'. He went on to say that he was several blocks away from the 'festivities' but he could still smell it thick in the air. He said he'd never seen so many people on campus. Watch and you will see why.
Oh...Boulder...

This probably won't make you cry...

but I bawled after reading it.
It's the lyrics to the song that Mae's teacher at Options (love you Mrs. Beth!)asked me to practice with her for her K graduation...

First Grade, First Grade
Sung to: "New York, New York"

Start spreading the news
We're leaving today
We want to be a part of it
First Grade, First Grade
We've worked very hard
We're ready to go
We're gonna be a part of it
First Grade, First Grade
We know our ABC's and our 1,2,3's so well
We've worked at sounding out words and stories to tell
Just asked us to rhyme
We'll say tens and pens
We've learned to share and get along with all our friends
So now we made it there
We'll make it anywhere
We're on our way
First Grade, First Grade

Yes. I am 'that mom'.

Another Fav...

Perusing blogs this morning and came across Katherine Marie's.
Ah...it's a feast for the eyes! Her photography is amazing, her kids adorable. She is commited to handmade and vintage gifts, too. So so adorable, crafty, and artsy. Love it! Had to share!

Ah! Just noticed she has a thing for laptop lunch boxes, and home made play kitchens, too! Yes...this is my new fav...

Did I ever blog about Addie's play kitchen? I made it for her birthday from crates, and an old shelf... Hmm...I think maybe those were some of the pics that got lost. I'll have to take a new pic! (when its clean again!) ;)

He loves his Grandma Carole...

I love this pic. Taken during momma's visit last month...

A Plea...

Lord God, my heart is really troubled this a.m. I'm tired. And anxious. I don't know, Lord, why. I know that you are still working on me... Change me. Make me more and more like you.
Help me to communicate what you want me to communicate. Shut my mouth, Lord, and keep words inside that shouldn't be let out.
Lord--over and over you say that 'they didn't understand' or 'its significance was hidden from them' or 'God kept them from recognizing Him'
It doesn't make sense to me, Lord. I don't understand. i don't know why you have called us to this journey and not others. It just doesn't make sense to me. My heart is really burdened. I don't know where to go from here. What else to do. I feel like I am already dropping balls all over the place and yet, I feel like I am not really doing enough. There are so many hurting. so many wounded. poor. orphaned. afflicted. And what is my part? Why am I here, safe...warm. Why is my fate so different from those across the globe...or across town.
I struggle with the balance. I struggle, Lord. I lay awake at night, burdened with the state of the hurting, the sick, the less fortunate. And I'm reminded.
Reminded of the words of Mother Theresa...no great acts...only small acts done with great love. and Tom Davis...do something... and then...of YOU... sell everything. give it to the poor. come and follow me.

Show me Lord.
How to ACT. today.
What something to do. today.
What to sell. today. And...
How to follow you. today.

'tomorrow has enough worries of its own'

Dance Partay

Imagine the Beatles blaring in the background. The whole cd. At least twice.
"8 DAYS A WEEK...I LUH-UH-UH-UH-UHV YOU".... "I WANNA HO-OLD YOUR HAAH-AND"

Crazy Hair Day at Options...

Doesn't she look thrilled? Hates 'school' until we get there...loves it once she's there (and I'm gone).

Bring in the veggies...

Yep. They've GROWN and we put them in their planters this week. But...our zip code, according to weather.com, is expecting another 11-18 inches in the next 3 days. So... I guess I'm glad I didn't put them in the ground afterall! Thanks momma! You are so wise...

And a bit more growing up...

Maegan was in the bathroom for a long time the other day...
I said 'Mae...what are you doing in there?' to which she replied 'Nothing dangerous. Don't worry. It's something YOU like to do'. A few minutes later she came out...like this:
She did her hair all by herself! Aren't these piggy tails fabulous?!?

Whole lotta growin' up goin' on round here...

In the last month Ryan, who is 4 1/2, learned to ride his bike without training wheels, and Maegan, who is 6, learned to tie her shoes.
Oh my. I don't know if my heart can take this much growing up in one month. I mean, really. Do they need to be so independant all at once? sniff...
Really, I am so proud of them both!
Ryan is even good enough on his bike to go for rides with Daddy. Here he is...on his first ride...



He decided he wanted his training wheels off awhile back. He just would push his bike around...so cute. Then, he started sitting on it, and going down a slight slope in our backyard. He got really really good at balancing and one day I said..."Ry, if you picked up your feet and started peddling, you'd be RIDING your bike!" He did, and viola! He was riding. He LOVES it. It's so fun to see him so excited about it. Now...if we can just keep him off the grass...

Absentee Angela...

An email from a friend:

How are you? Did you get my FB message? There are no signs that you've been online lately, are you still dealing with adoption paperwork stuff?
Notice I say "lately" as if it's been weeks. A couple days go by, and I'm like, where IS she?

And a reply:
As far as not being online...that is funny. True, but funny. ;) Monday Mae had Options, Tuesday we were at the hospital all day for blood work for A&T and date night that night... today M and I did adoption paperwork (read drive all over for fingerprinting stuff) and car schooling (smile), and an afternap trip to the park...tomorrow A&T have physicals at the PCP's... Friday R has his followup at the urologist, and we are having dinner guests. Saturday morning: a carnival. Saturday night 'church'. Sunday...Easter with friends/and or/family. So...yeah. Not as much computer time as normal. I'm kindof tired thinking about our week.

But HEY! We're finally all healthy, so NO COMPLAINTS!

What Can I Teach you about being black?

I never cease to be amazed by other mommas out there. Dorothy is one of those moms. She wrote this about herself on her profile:

"I am a 40 year old, homeschooling mom to 10 wonderful kids. I currently have the amazing opportunity to live in the inner-city experiencing what it means to be part of the urban life scape. I advocate for the elderly, the poor and the illiterate as they wade through our confusing American lives. And I LOVE working with the local police precinct as we search out new ways to build healthy community and reduce crime. Doing all of this in Jesus name - with no strings attached for those we serve, but He's the reason we live the way we do."



I was reading Dorothy's blog Urban Servant the other day and this poem she wrote really struck me. Since many of you have adopted someone who doesn't look very much like you as well, or have questions about raising kids of another color, I thought you might enjoy it as well. She gave me permission to share. ;) Thanks Dororthy!


What Can I Teach you about being black?

Not much,
Because I'm not.
But I can teach you about pain,
And how to forgive peoples foolish words.
I can show you how to endure suffering,
So that through it Truth will be proclaimed.
I can love you and cry with you,
I can be the she-bear when you are threatened.
We can live where there is a rainbow of people,
and we can learn to love them together.
We can seek out the truth of history,
And not be afraid of the ugliness.
I can open your heart and your eyes
To the painful reality that comes clinging to the back of sin.
And in the end,I can release you into your destiny,
And wait for you to come home,
With a fuller understanding of who you are
and what you are to be in your life.
Then I can listen as you teach me,
What it means to be Black.

--Dorothy Bode

On My Tots Plate...

Remember the Totally Tots blog that I posted about before? Well, she's added a
Tot Food post where we all can play! So much more fun to be able to see what others are serving up their tots, too. I've been slacking a bit on my Monday Munchables posts, so in lieu of that, I give you... My Tots Plate.








Looks like we like tuna. And...blue corn tortilla chips...

Pencil Bags...2nd Edition

Remember THIS POST? Well, the pencil cases that I posted about have been working so well for us! I was telling a friend (hey Ruth!) about them the other day and got so excited about how well they work that I decided to buy a few more. They are made of a strong nylon and the zippers work really smoothly. The kids can see through them to find what they want. I can't say enough about these 97 cent bags from Wal-Mart!

I spent about an hour yesterday going through the toy closet and matching up toys that go together. Each set has its own little home now...and hook to hang on! (I hung them on the inside of our Toy Closet door) I used the little clear plastic hooks with the self adhesive on the back. The kids get the the ones that are towards the bottom down by themselves with ease, and put them away easily, too. The ones towards the top are school stuff (math manipulatives, dominoes, Language Arts games, etc) that I would rather get down for them.

Oh...spring cleaning, ehem...I mean spring organizing, is fun!


Now...what to do about my desk?! I just can't keep on top of it. It is the dumping grounds in our house for all things unorganized. All suggestions appreciated! :)

Sprouts!

We just last weekend went and got everything for sfg (in 14' planters) I hope it works! Right now we are growing everything on our windowsill in our kitchen. Our peas sprouted a couple of days ago, and our carrots did this morning! yay!

This is the first time we have done this... so i'm a bit nervous!

Every morning we sing this song to them:
(to the tune of 'good morning!' from Singing in the Rain)

Good Morning! Good Morning!
It's time to grow up strong!
Good Morning... the Vegetable Song!

Zucchini, and PEEEEAS...cucumbers, carrots, too!
Tomatoes, and Peppers, its true! We are singing to you!

It's fun and makes the kids laugh every morning...
Pray with me for our little veggies!

Let the Bidding Begin!

The amazing Lisa Leonard has custom-made and donated her newest
"open circle" necklace as a fundraiser for From HIV to Home. This beautiful sterling necklace features the words "make hope" on one side and "love one" on the other. There is only one available!

From Lisa: "The super thick, open circle pendant (just over 1") is stamped on both sides with your custom phrase. Hand carved in wax, cast in sterling silver and strung on sterling ball chain. I love the organic feel." Chain is 18".

To bid, please email info@fromhivtohome.org with your bid amount. We will update this post as frequently as possible with current bid information. The bidding will end Friday, April 3 at 8pm mountain time.

* For those who are already fans of Lisa's work, watch our website in early April as Lisa will also be creating a limited edition necklace for us - perfect for Mother's Day!

Bidding starts at $30. Payment will be arranged via Paypal.
Click HERE to see the current bid. It is updated regularly. :)

And This Morning...

I think the news last night said we got close to 16".
Ryan still has a fever.
And we are snug inside.

Workboxes

I've been reading about the idea of using these workboxes for hs'ing. I LOVED the idea. Although, with 4 kiddos, I was a bit overwhelmed at all of those boxes! Where would I put them? Then I saw THIS idea and I was hooked. Of course, I had to tweak it. I didn't want to have to load the envelopes each day. For some reason, something more open seemed more inviting to me, and I thought the kids might have an easier time as well. My momma suggested hanging file folders. So, I decided to LAMINATE some double sided scrapbook paper, for a giant bookmark to put in hanging file folders. I used my StartWrite software to make the numbers and their names in the Handwriting Without Tears font. It works great for us. I put the giant bookmark in the page of their workbook that needs to be completed so they know right where to start. When they are finished they get to take the velcro number off of their bookmark and put it on their box. In their 'school box' I have their handwriting books (Handwriting Without Tears) and their Math books (Horizons Math), as well as the books they are reading to me right now, Fun Tales. I mix in Preschool Activity bags, sticker books, or other fun things. I've read that some moms even put their kids' snacks in a ziplock in their box. Cute. We only are doing 5-6 things in these boxes a day right now...but as they get older, I assume we'll do more. For Addie and Tony I just throw in some of the preschool activity bags and let them chose.
(Preschool Activity Bags are basically activities for them to do on their own in gallon size ziplock bags. I did a swap last fall where we made 20!) I've been putting a few of those in their boxes, and letting them choose (in no order) which one to work on. Things like lacing activities, simple puzzles, small dixie paper cups with plastic rings or different colored paper clips for sorting, straws and paper clips to build with, etc. I also took all of our Discovery Toys like the bugs game, and the lacing game, and the foam shapes puzzle thing, and put those in gallon size ziplocks, too. It makes for easy clean up for them, and they seem to like zipping the bags open and closed. I am amazed at how many little games or activities we have like that laying around that fit so well in a ziplock, and can be added easily to thier 'school box'.

Yesterday we did our read alouds in the morning, and then I worked on workboxes with my older 2 while the younger 2 were napping in the afternoon. When they woke up, they went straight to their box and pulled out an activity without really interrupting the older 2. It was a great way for them to 'wake up', too! Yay! Hope it goes that smoothly every day! HA!


It works for us! Click HERE to read more about Carissa's boxes. She has a bunch of great links to other's boxes there too!

Snow and Sickness

(poor ry guy! when asked how he feels he says 'not so good'. sweet sweet boy)

Wow. It is coming down. And...it isn't supposed to stop for another 26 hours or so!

Good thing we did a lot of school yesterday. Ryan woke with a fever this morning, and he's laying on the couch. Marrty is sick. I'm sick. Addie is still hacking. It is a good day to lay around and watch it snow...
So thankful today for a cup of hot tea, and a warm home. Praying for those without such comforts today...


(under all that snow, i think there are a couple of folding chairs that mom and i sat on a couple of days ago, and i forgot to bring in... and...our kids picnic table, too)


(the front yard)

(the view from the couch)

Egyptians

Momma left this morning. I cried when I dropped her off at the airport. It was so great to have her here...

When I got home from the airport we hit the books again. We studied the ancient Egyptians today... After reading about tunics, and that even the men in ancient Egypt wore makeup, the kids pulled out their silks, and had me put makeup on them.
I know I'm partial...but aren't they cute?!

After finding Walk Like an Egyptian on YouTube, (which isn't really about Egypt at all, but fun nonetheless) they were over it, and asked to watch Baby Beluga for the zillionth time. For more on our obsession with Baby Beluga, see HERE. The video at the bottom is pretty cute. If you are a new reader and haven't seen it, you should. ;)

And here, are our little Egyptians:






Hope you are having as much fun today!

My Momma

My momma is here. We've been having a great time. Staying busy.
I have a ton of pics to post...
Here goes.

Marrty offered to watch the kids and sent us out for some mother daughter time on Saturday. Crocs was having a warehouse sale, so we went Crocs Shopping... ($10 a pair!) The line was long, but it moved fast, and we spent way too much time and money...but...it was fun and now we have shoes, and so do the kids, for a long time. :)




From there we headed up to Estes Park... just to go for a drive...




and then to Pearl Street in Boulder for more fun, and dinner



Here Grandma is planting with the kiddos (veggie garden!) We are growing: zuchini, peas, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers on our window sill in the kitchen. Of course, we'll move them outside as soon as we can. :) Pray they work! This is our first real attempt at square foot gardening in pots!






Soon I will post pics of our new workbox system for homeschooling (see this link for more links!)
Etc, Etc...

Soon.

Addie has croup... did I say that already?

AND... We finished our Sonlight P4/5 curriculum!! Yay!!! Woohoo!! We celebrated with home made Gluten Free Dairy Free Chocolate Chip muffins.



Now we are starting Sonlight Core K. Loving it already. 1 week down, 35 to go! :)

Mr. Laminator Strikes Again...

I'm putting together a prayer journal... using a small 6x8 3 ring binder... I used some old scrapbooking supplies I already had, and the binder was repurposed. I made a divider for each member of our immediate family, one for extended family, and one for friends. I'll put notebook paper (the 6x8) behind each divider. I love to write out my prayers...(or at least jot down the requests).It helps me to focus, and pray specifically...both of which I've not been so great at lately. I've been convicted to be praying more intentionally for my kids, my hubs and others in my life, so this is a great way for me to get back at it. And, I love to go back to it later and see how God answers prayer. It was so fun making it during naptime. Don't those pretty papers motivate you to pray? And...all that work will not be destroyed, due to my little friend. Oh. My new guy made me happy today! ;)


and...here is sweet Mae. Having fun with her new laminated handwriting sheets. Seriously...have you gotten one of these guys yet?

Excitement

Mae made me a sandwich (GF bread, of course) Do you think she's excited about butter?

Fun Things...

Friday night I went to a crop with my sweet friend, G at a Creative Memories Consultant's house...(if you need a CM consultant, lmk...Charlotte is an amazing woman. I really enjoy her, as a consultant, and friend. She's great!) I hadn't worked on a scrapbook page for at least 2 years and 2 months (before we moved to Spain!) and wow. I had a ball. It was so good to get out and play. I worked on organizing 300 pictures from our time in Ethiopia. It was so fun to look back at pics like the one above, where Marrty and I held Addie and Tony for the first time.
G and I talked in her car in front of my house until after 1 a.m. Crazy? Yes. Fun? Absolutely!


Tony let me hold him for over an hour! After that, I think he realized I wasn't leaving and had a few minutes of uncertainty about us. I couldn't resist taking a picture of that sweet pout. It didn't last long, but I'm glad that I captured it. How hard it must've been to feel such emotions...joy...and grief coinciding...




Me holding my baby girl for the first time ever! Isn't she beautiful?!?


Saturday morning I spent doing more fun things. Mr. Laminator came out to play again after a friend (thanks Rebs!) told me about StartWrite. StartWrite is a software program that allows you to create your own handwriting worksheets for your kiddos. They have TONS of different fonts (including Handwriting Without Tears, which is our fav right now!) in manuscript and cursive. You can download a free trial, and it is SO fun, although I think the actual software has even more fun options. But, even with the FREE trial I was able to print out several of our memory verses, in dotted lines, and then laminated them, so the kids can trace them with a wet erase marker. I also did a page for each kid with their name, and the alphabet and numbers on the back, and laminated them. I did one page of all of our kids names, first and middle, too. Mae even typed out a letter to Grandma for her to trace. They have a link of different ideas for how to use it. OH. It is FUN. And...economical. It's under $40 for the software and will cover ALL of our handwriting from here on out. Since we have 4 kids that works out to under $10 for each kid for all of their handwriting years? OH. SO worth it! Even if you aren't homeschooling! This program is even capable of doing coins and clocks for teaching money and telling time. Can you tell I'm excited? ;) Hope it is something fun for you to do, too. And...the trial is FREE. And. I LOVE FREE.

p.s. I know this sounds like an advertisement, but I promise...I'm not getting paid for this! If you know me, you know when I love something, I have to share it with others, in the off chance that they will love it, too.

RyGuy Update

So... It went well at the uroligist's. After xrays, urine flow tests, and an ultrasound they determined that Ryan has what they call 'irritable, or immature bladder'. You know the Gotta Go Gotta Go Gotta Go RIGHT NOW commercials? Well...that is what he has. I guess kids can get that, too. Hmmm...kids can get shingles. kids can get irritable bladder...i'm seeing a pattern around here! Ha! ;) They say it is not behavioral, it is a nerve spasm type of issue. So... they put him on meds 2-3 times a day and hope that 3-4 months of treatment will cure him. Sweet boy. Hopefully he'll be able to sleep through the night without getting up to pee 2-3 times soon!

Long and Lame...

So... It's a long story...which turned into a lame blog week. But, here is the gist:

Friday I took Ry to the doc. Long story. X-rays tomorrow, but I don't know where to go b/c they never sent me the info that they promised was 'in the mail'. It involves his urinary tract. I'll leave it there.

Saturday Tony broke out in painful bumps on his torso and back. Reaction to new meds? We weren't sure.

Sunday... hmmm....was this when Marrty and I started coughing up brown stuff? Can't remember, but I know we were miserable. Coughing, aching, sore throat...this sounds like that old NyQuil commercial...remember the one? Oh, and I filled Mae's lunch box and tried to take a photo for the Monday Munchable post and it was then that I learned that my computer had a virus and my pics were gone. Including: Addie's 1st ever bday party and some really great ones of Marrty juggling oranges and he and all the kids on the couch...each of them with pencil and paper in hand. It was so sweet. Sigh.

Monday we got Mae off to her Options program and the 3 littles and I headed to Children's Hospital where we spent most of the day finding out that Tony has shingles. Yes. It turns out that kids can get them to. And...although Addie had Chicken Pox in ET, she doesn't show an immunity to it, so we are praying she doesn't get them again from her sweet bro.

Tuesday...no date night. Our sweet babysitter has never had chicken pox and I insisted that Tony NOT be the one to break her incredible record. We did lots of reading, and laminating...and playing with the matching games that I laminated. ;)

Wednesday...I think we did 3 weeks worth of school that day...snuggling and reading and more and more reading... The laundry may overtake me.

Thursday...Found out today from Mae's doc that she can have butter!!! Now that, honestly may have made my week! And now. It is 8:30 and I'm snuggled in bed. Sweet Rebs came over, brought soup, and helped me fold clothes. Thanks, Rebs! No pics of that either.

Friday...we'll see what tomorrow brings!

A Sad Post.

Not only are we feeling crummy, but my computer got a virus this weekend, too. It seems as though the video and photos from Addie's bday are lost forever. And...
I'm feeling blue.

Sonlight on my shoulders...

or...at least in the hands of our kids!
We opened our new box of Sonlight curriculum this week and I put it in a basket.
I couldn't blink before I found them like this:

They keep begging for more, more, more...
And, I thought the catalog was kidding.
Huh uh. Love it.

Organizing...again...

We did some reorganizing around here this week, and made that free desk into our new 'writer's workshop' Just giving it a fun name like that has created a stir, and the little ones have been using the envelopes to write letters all week. I found these great baskets at Walmart for under $3 each.
Here is a peek inside:


Handwriting Without Tears Wooden Letters


Handwriting Without Tears Chalkboard and chalk


Numbers stamps, and wooden letters from a Melissa&Doug puzzle


The brown paper on the desk can be changed easily (and needs to be, as you can see)
Also, I put a bunch of envelopes on the lowest book rack, in 2 different sizes. Lots of paper is on the desk, for whenever inspiration hits, as well as different sizes of scrap paper in the drawers. I took a few minutes this weekend to staple together some scrap paper into different little 'blank books' for them to work on as well.
Lots of pencils, and an electric pencil sharpener are a must, too!


This picture is kindof funny, b/c that shelf only looked like that for a couple of hours. After I put together Addie's kitchen (pics coming) those items moved to another shelf... I'll post that, soon, too!

A New Love

First Mr. Crockpot...
and now this guy. I've been with him all morning. Check your local Walmart. I scored there...only $24.99.
I've been busy laminating this color matching gameby Jolanthe at HomeSchoolCreations and these tot books. They are so bright and colorful, and I can't wait for the kids to get their hands on them. They can't either! ;)
I LOVE these 2 new sites by Carisa. (She's the one that set me up with my new guy.) One is called Totally Tots and the other is 1+1+1=1. So many fun ideas and free printables there! Hope its fun reading for you, too.
K. I'm getting back to my new friend now. Just had to let you know about him. I'll post pics when our projects are finished.
I plan to post about Addie's bday and a few other things soon, if I can tear myself away from Mr. Machine.

I need a thesaurus

because the only word I can think of to describe how I feel right now is "Pooped" and I know that if I wrote that in my title line it could be taken a number of different ways...especially with the week we had around her a month or so ago! ;)

Addie's party was a hit. She had a ball. Now the 4 little angels are all crashed out in bed, and I will soon follow.

Pictures, and hopefully a little video to come...

When I'm not pooped.

Also on my mind...

is Addie's bday tomorrow!! She'll be 4 years old, and tomorrow, she gets to have her first ever all-for-me birthday party. If you are local, and you want to come, consider yourself invited, and give me a call. :)

Today, during naptime, Maegan and I died our own playsilks with Kool-aid for Addie for her bday. It was so much fun! I'd been reading about and drooling over these ones for ages and ages but just didn't want to foot that bill. Ouch.

Recently I've come across the idea of dying your own! (Thank you fellow bloggers and Sonlight forum mommas!) LOVED the idea, and got to it... What better occassion than a 4 year old girl's bday!?!

One of the hs'ing mommas on Sonlight suggested these scarves from Dharma Trading Co. I can't say enough good things about this company. This was our only experience with them, so far, but I ordered late Friday afternoon, and they came in Mondays mail! Wow. That was FAST!























I plan to add more details, like a tutorial, as soon as I have time, so check back!
You can also read this girlie's tutorial and this momma's one. It's the one I used!
OR...if you want some for your little sweetie, and you don't want to do it yourself, I think I may be selling them on Crafts4Causes soon! Let me know if you are interested!

On my mind...

Yesterdays Monday Munchable (aka: Mae's lunch)

Breakfast

Lunch

Snack Shelf

Dinner

Bedtime Snack

I can do it...I can do it...

Can I Just Say...

it is a glorious day when your kids graduate from Dora and can watch the entire Anne of Green Gables movie without moving? Ahh... SO FUN! Guess what we've spent our afternoon doing while the little ones napped!? ;)
What are some of YOUR favorite movies to watch with your kids?

Food Intolerances

Little Mae woke up in the middle of the night throwing up, and I woke this morning with icky tummy troubles all my own. Thankfully, I got a GREAT nap this afternoon, while the kids were all down. Marrty actually had time off this morning and took the kids bowling. That man is amazing. What a fun Dad! And, incredible Hubby! I ran a few errands, until my body could take no more...my mind was willing, but my feet couldn't make it into the store... I turned around mid stride, went home and crawled into bed where I have remained all afternoon.

We got Mae's blood work back, and...she has 11 food intolerances. 11.
Here is her 'do not eat' list:
Eggs
Wheat
Milk (Cow's)
Milk (Goat's)
SOY (gasp! not that, too!?)
Eggs (DOUBLE gasp!)
Lobster (If given a choice of where to eat, she will always chose Red Lobster, not for the lobster, but for the shrimp. Which leads us to her next intolerance... you guessed it...here it comes...)
Shrimp (her favorite food. seriously. it's her favorite food.)
Crab (not sure she's ever had that one)
Rye
Brewer's Yeast (no beer for you, young lady)

So...now we know. Out with the eggs. Back in with the oats! That's right! She didn't react to oats! I'm SO thrilled to add them back in, but sort of at a loss with what to do without eggs... I think we'll be eating a lot of fruit and nuts for breakfast around here. We were provided a list for a 4 day food rotation, that is tailored to her specific needs. We're going to try to start it tonight. Has anyone heard of 'food combining'? Has anyone DONE it? Anyone explored the 4 day food rotation before? Don't really know how this is going to work out with my love of Door to Door organics... I usually just eat what they bring, now it looks like we can only have oranges one day of the week (for example).
I can do it, yes, I can! Right?

Kissy, Huggy, Lovey...

Wow. Last night was another little breakthrough with one of our little bits. One of them has been VERY affectionate from the beginning. Can you guess which? Uh huh. He MELTS into my arms, like no other kid I know. Melts. It's yummy. I could eat him!
Our other littlest sweetie has had a bit of a harder time giving us her whole heart. We know it is normal, and it will come... She is older and just needs more time, I think... BUT I would be lying if I said that nights like tonight aren't SO SO GOOD for my momma heart. Tonight, after dinner, I got so many hugs and kisses, and cuddles. They went on and on and on. Maybe an hours worth of kissy, huggy, lovey. I just couldn't believe it. Thank you, Addie. I love you, sweet girl, and I'm waiting for your whole heart, even if it takes forever for you to fully give it. YOU are my baby girl. And, I adore you.

Monday Munchable

Here we have it. Mae's Monday Munchable...
All fruits and veggies from Door to Door Organics. Everything organic, gf and df, and delish.
The contents:
A tiny little Pink Lady Apple
A cereal bar that we made from allergen free choc chips (wonderful, btw! can't remember the bag, but they say 'allergy free' and are in a purple and yellow bag), gf rice cereal & all natural pb...
Carrot sticks
Cashews
Ener-G saltine crackers
Cold Cuts- Turkey
Happy Eats!
A few books still unclaimed! Email me your address! ;)

Truth

Just in case you were under the illusion from my previous post (ha...) that everything in our house is organized and educational, here is a pic of the kids right now...watching My Little Pony while the clean laundry is on the couch behind them (since this morning) waiting to be folded.
**nevermind. 2 minutes after I posted this, marrty came home. The first thing he did was grab a laundry basket, and scoop all of the clean laundry into it, and stuff it back in the laundry room. So... still there, just hidden. ;)

Why I blog...

Cleaning the fridge was on our Motivated Moms list this week, so this morning we got to it. The kids had a ball taking EVERYTHING out of the fridge.

Unfortunately, 2.9 seconds after this photo was taken, little T man ran to the bathroom and pooped. ON.THE.FLOOR.
After I got that cleaned up, I gave him a shower. As I was hosing him down, my big guy informed me that he had pooped. IN.HIS.PANTS. Addie did BOTH on Monday. Seems there is a bug in the D family.
After lots of showering and laundering, I finally got back to the fridge and the groceries that were all over my kitchen.
Thank GOD (really, thank YOU GOD) for a beautiful day today! I was able to send 2,3 and 4 outside to play while 1 helped me finish the fridge. She had a ball, actually. We took out all of the shelves and drawers and she dried them as I finished washing them, and then helped me organize the contents. Somewhere awhile back I read that it is a good idea to have 'centers' in your fridge. The suggestion is to put things together in a small plastic container that you can pull out easily. For example: ketchup, mustard, mayo... When you have hot dogs, you pull out the condiments box that has them all. OR, when you are having pancakes all of your stuff for that is together. Our fridge has shelves inside the door that detach easily, so we just used those. I almost can't wait to make our next PB&J!





Sweet Pea had fun with the label maker, and got to work on her spelling. I'm counting this as our homeschool for today! After all, I figure we covered nutrition, home ec, reading and spelling. Who knew cleaning out the fridge would be so educational! ;)
The nutritionist that we met with suggested that I make up fruit and veggie trays in advance and keep them in our fridge. Thus, the snack shelf was born. Thankfully our Door to Door Organics arrived (in God's perfect timing) as I was finishing up and I had some veggies to cut up!


Doesn't this fruit look delish!? LOVE those baby apples!


After the morning I had, I was depleted of brain cells and NEEDED recharging. And, that, my friends, is why I blog. Have a 'poop on the floor free' day!

i LOVE this bag!! Click here to see it better and/or buy your own!
It is reversible, and adorable, and my fun green laptop fits perfectly inside.

And...I LOVE these headscarves, too! I wear one almost every day!

The adoption community these days is SO crafty! I love the creativity that is flowing from these mamas as they wait to bring home thier precious ones!

YOU can love some of your own, and help support the lovely and talented adopting mamas who make them, too.
They are great quality, and now, a part of my daily life! Not only do they make me happy when I look at them, they remind me to pray for the sweet kiddos who will be coming home from Ethiopia to these sweet mamas. God bless you both! And may you sell many many of your wonderful crafties!
Don't forget to check out Crafts4Causes, too! I'll be updating it shortly! If you have a craft you would like to donate to a cause, please let me know! OR, if you know of an adopting family who would like to have their craft featured there, let me know that, too!

Water: Worth Watching

The Budde Family Well / charity: water / Ethiopia from charity: water on Vimeo.

The Daily Routine DARE

Recently Jenn and Brianna both brought up the subject of their schedules, and Jenn said if 8 people post theirs, then she'll post hers. SO...Here goes.

My schedule Tuesday-Friday is roughly:
7 kids up and do High 5's (make bed, get dressed, empty dishwasher,Up Ups (exercises), brush teeth) and mom puts in a load of laundry.
8 breakfast and clean up, morning chores (maegan's treatment, ry does sinks, addie cleans the table, tony helps unload dishes, kids help mom with Motivated Moms checklist)
9 homeschool (I read to them from the Bible, and other books, they do coloring sheets, etc... We use P4/5 Sonlight curriculum and LOVE it)
11 free play time (mom switches laundry to dryer)
12 lunch and clean up
1 naptime for A and T, M and R read to mom, do math
between 1 and 2 'alone time' for M and R, Mommy reads, blogs, naps, cleans house, etc
3 Every one up and around again,fold and put away laundry (kids help) free play or Activity Bags
4 dinner prep
6 dinner as a family
7 bedtime routine (mae does another treatment, Daddy reads to kiddos)
8 kids in bed, Mom and Dad hang out and watch a movie, tv show online, or read, blog, etc.
11 bed
Mondays- Dad and Mom get up early (6:30)to have some special prayer time together for the week, Maegan goes to Options, Mom spends the morning with the 3 little ones at Meals for Moms.
W and F I get up and go swimming at 6:30 while Dad is home with kids. Back by 8 to start the day.

Of course, it doesn't always go like this, but if I stick to it, it works. Some days we throw it all aside to do a doc appointment, or playdate, and that is fun, too. We just squeeze in our hs stuff somewhere else. I TRY not to turn on the computer until naptime, but...somedays I fail. ;)Often, I sneek a peek at my email before we start breakfast, but it HAS to be OFF by 9 when we start school. If you are looking at the datestamp on this, you will think you caught me but...This rule isn't in effect on Mondays! HA! ;)

So...what does YOUR day look like? ;)Leave me a comment and let me know! If you decide to post it, be sure and leave a comment here, too, so we can get Jenn to post hers! :) Have a great day!

Valentine's Day 09

We had big plans to go to a Valentine's Party on Saturday, but little Mae woke up puking. What is it with us and holidays? Can't seem to be well on a holiday!
Anyway, we had our own little party here instead.

I guess I haven't mentioned Maegan's appointment last Thursday, have I? It went well. He wants to treat her as if she has Chron's disease to help heal her gut. So, for now, we are doing supplements, and putting her on a gluten free, dairy free diet. We will get her food panel tests back in a few weeks and will be able to tailor her diet more then, but for now, we are cutting out the 2 biggest culprits. I'm a tad overwhelmed (hence no posts lately!) but I'm confident we.can.do.it. Right? A friend took me shopping at Vitamin Cottage Saturday morning to show me some of her favorite Gluten Free products. (Thanks, Dawn R.!!) It was SO helpful!

One of our favs is this Mochi (say MOE-Chee) It is sort of like sopapillas...(but not really) ;) They are rock hard when you cut them apart. Then you put them on a cookie sheet, bake them for 8-10 minutes, and they puff up. They are then hollow in the middle. We added dairy free, gluten free cream cheese and all fruit spread (strawberry, of course!) to the inside and YUM. They were really good! I served them with cranberry juice. All things PINK! ;)

Here they are before (learn from my mistake and do not use butcher paper! it sticks!)

and after: pretty sure they weren't supposed to look like this, but i had to salvage them from the butcher paper halfway through and i messed them up. They still tasted GREAT though and the kids didn't know any different, so HEY! Success! ;)

Here is the bag that it comes in, in case you want to look for them. This one was Cinnamon and Raisin. YUM!



I found these heart shaped balloons and cling ons at the grocery store really really cheap. The kids loved them, and had a blast playing with them!






Marrty gave me roses! And, pearl earrings! And the 4th book in the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn. Perfect timing! I finished Eclipse Friday night, and he had Breaking Dawn waiting for me Saturday morning. What a guy! He's my Edward, for sure! ;)


Hope your Valentine's Day was GRAND!

Monday Munchable

Organic Oranges, Gluten free pretzels, Cashews, organic carrots, organic gf turkey on corn cakes...YUM! ;)

Crayon Rolls...

Aren't these adorable? The kids LOVE them, and they are helping them to take better care of their crayons, too! Yay for that!




I bought them on etsy. Now I need to learn how to make them! ***EDITED to add that etsy is a website for all things handmade. You can have your own store and sell your handmade arts and crafts, jewelry, etc, etc. I LOVE IT. It's amazing. You can find all kinds of amazing gifts there, and handmade is just IN. LOVE it.

Check It OUT!

The newest blog on the block...

Crafts4Causes

FREE Bag!

I know you've been wanting to join 300 Voices: Water for all Seasons...
$20 gives someone clean water for 20 years!
Who wouldn't want to do that? $20/month for 12 months.
Check out all the details on Jody's blog HERE, sign up, and get this adorable bag to help you spread the news.
It's water people. WATER. We need it. To live.
I'm giving up Starbuck's for a year to do it. Will I still visit starbuck's? Yes. With my starbuck's mug. And, I'll ask for a cup of hot water. For one year. Join me? Let's do it. Let's let those in Africa know we love them, and want them to live.
300 Voices.

Monday Munchables...

So...for the past 2 weeks, I've had the overwhelming urge to take a photo of Maegan's lunchbox. (who am I kidding? i've done it every.time.) SO...thought I'd start sharing the photos with you. On Mondays. Monday Munchables.
Here we have last week's:


(vanilla pudding, carrot sticks and ranch dipping, dried pineapple and cashews, PB&Honey)

And, today's was quite similar:


(dried apricots, cashews, cheese stick, rice crackers, carrot sticks and a granola bar)
We are weaving gluten free things into our diet, but as you can tell from the Nature Valley, we aren't quite there, yet...

And...remember this little contest? Well, it's been more than a month, (I AM SO LAME!) and I still have 5 books sitting on my dresser waiting for a home, so... If you left me a comment on THIS POST, please email me your address right now. ;) The first 5 who do so, get the book! Sound fair? GO! :)

GR-Attitudes

I'm starting a new little somethin' somethin' down there on the right side of my bloggity...Grattitudes. EACH DAY I am going to try to post at least one thing that I'm GRateful for and I'm hoping it'll affect my Attitude...hence...GRAttitudes. I'm starting out with several. I've had several things to be thankful for today, and I want to record them. Wanna join me? Make your own list! Go ahead...be grateful! ;)

Mae Update

Many have asked what kind of lotion or cream we use on Mae... Here 'tis! You can buy it at Walgreens in a 1 pound tub for about $11, I think. Be sure and get the one with the pump to avoid contamination. :)
Just got this email from a friend of ours! Thought I'd share it with you all, and ask you to continue to pray for Mae!

"When we were talking two weeks ago about your situation with Maegan’s skin and itching it reminded me of a friend who had similar symptoms. I gave him a call to find out what he did. This may be a moot point for you by now but he found out he had a form of dermatitis herpetiformis (I googled it to get the correct spelling) which is indeed diet related. This may or may not be helpful but from what he went through it sounds like you are on the right track. The dermatologist he went to told him there was nothing he could do about it but after a year of adjusting his diet he is 95% better. Hoping Maegan gets better sooner"

Yay! Isn't that encouraging? I'm so hopeful that this doc will be able to help our sweet pea. Her appointment is next week.

The good news is that, for now, her skin is looking better. It is soft, and smooth, nearly everywhere. She has patches on her ankles, and bleeding behind her ears (sigh) and her face is all bumpity, but not red, or bleeding, thankfully. The bad news is, that she is still very itchy all the time. She still wakes up scratching, and crying at night, and we know if we were to scale back on her bathing treatments, she would be a bloody mess again, and we have been very faithful to do the 2-3x a day regimine (usually 2...it is SO hard to get 3 in!) Her skin is SO sensitive that, at times, she screams the entire bathing treatment b/c "THE WATER MAKES ME ITCHY!!". (It is PLAIN WATER, people...no nothin' in it) Keep praying for her. And...dare I ask, for ME. It is so hard to be patient on a day to day basis, and I FAIL constantly. So thankful for His grace...

What Do I Do

when my hubby watches the superbowl out in our garage on our old tv...? BLOG of course!
I had a really hard week emotionally. Don't really know why. Can't really put my finger on it, but it seemed as though a big cloud hung over my head all week. I was monster mom, again. She returned. And, I'm ready for her to leave. I didn't eat well, or sleep well, and I had a migraine so bad that I had to call hubs to come and pick me and the kids up from a playdate at the mall, because I couldn't see to drive home. By the time he got me home, I was vomiting...which sounds bad, but it usually helps my vision to return...so that part is good. I usually only have 3-4 migraines a year. I had 2 in January. Hope the rest of the year isn't like this!!



We did have some fun times this week, despite my mood. I started, and finished Twilight (yes. I loved it.) I first read about this book on Brianna's blog, HERE. Actually, I just got home from Target with my one and only purchase: New Moon. I couldn't resist. As soon as I finished the first one, I was out the door to get the second. Yes, i love the library...but I'm too impatient to wait on the very.very.very.loooooooooong waiting list for this book!

We also went to a new church today, which I really really liked. The kids and Marrty and I all enjoyed it, and I'm sure we will be going back. It was really great to be able to sing praises with others to Jesus, and to take communion together as a body. It was good. We'll go back, I think, next week.


Here are some pics of the highlights!

I can't remember where I first saw this idea...But, it was super easy, and we had all the supplies on hand...
You take a bottle of hair gel, add some food coloring, if isn't already tinted, and some beads, tape it shut, and viola! You are done! We used enough letters so that you could spell out all 6 of the names in our family. Next time I will add the entire alphabet, as Maegan immediately wanted to spell out Maegan loves Angela (so sweet) but...we had no V. Sigh. Next time. I promise, there will be a V. ;)



The kids had a ball playing in the snow this week. Towards the end of the week it was close 60, I think. We were outside playing with snow without even wearing jackets at one point! I LOVE this sunny state! We drew a big bull's eye on the fence with chalk and the kids took turns thowing snow balls at it! They are so so cute...






On my way to Walgreen's to get one of Mae's meds, I found a jewel. She was sitting outside, in the parking lot, dumped near a dumpster that read in big print SHOES and CLOTHES ONLY! PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY ITEMS OUTSIDE THE CONTAINER.
So, being the thoughtful citizen that I am (wink wink) I took her home. She's now mine and find a cozy little corner in our school room. YaY! Here she is before:

And...After I covered her with some brown paper:

All happy at home:


I've mentioned Jody a lot here. I met Jody, because we are friends with her parents. Her sweet Dad, Jay, came by to meet the little ones. He was attacked at the front door by all 4! What a sport! He kept saying..."they all look the same age!" which we get a lot. Many, many, many people think we have 2 sets of twins. Ha!


During Jay's visit Tony tried to impress him by saying "I Love You" in sign language. We do the sweet sign to each other a lot around here. All of us do it. We all know how... but somehow...this is what Tony came up with that day.


Scroll down.




Wait for it...



It's worth it...




Here it comes!














HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
I don't know what happened...and, I promise WE didn't teach him that, but it sure made us laugh! Hope it made you laugh, too!

Yummy Yummy for Your Tummy, Tummy.

Some friends came over for dinner last week and brought this delish cake. It was SO delish, in fact, that I went out the very next day and bought 4 boxes of yellow cake and 4 boxes of vanilla pudding to make 4 more! (They were on sale 4 for $5...I couldn't resist!) You can make it Vanilla (which is what we had, and I loved!) or Chocolate...which I'm having tomorrow night! I bet it will be delish, too.
Here is the recipe...

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cake

1 box yellow (or choc cake mix)
1 3/4 c. milk
2 eggs
1 box vanilla (or choc.) instant pudding mix (i used the family size one...not sure if i was supposed to or not, but it was yummy!)
2 c. choc. chips

mix everything, (except choc chips) together w/ mixer. Stir in choc chips by hand.

Grease and flour bundt pan.

Bake 350 for 45 minutes.

Dust with powdered sugar (for choc cake)

So SO SO easy and yummy!!!

Celebrate with Me...My First Blog Award!

My sweet friends Jennifer and Brianna both bestowed this award on me. I feel so loved. Thank you!

So, the rules are...I'm supposed to pass it on to 5 other bloggers, and then admit 5 of my addictions...

So...I award these 5 adoptive mommas:
Marissa
Jody
Missy
Amy
Chrissie

Each of these 5 women inspire me in so many ways! Hope you enjoy their blogs! Go and be inspired! :)

Okay...now for my 5...

1. 5 pump mocha's from sb... I know. it's rediculous. is it even coffee with that many pumps? yuuuum.

2. blogging... I especially get high on comments. ;)

3. reading. for my own pleasure. researching. reading blogs. reading to my kids. i just can't stop. LOVE IT. I even read the toothpaste, or shampoo bottle when on the John. I just can't help it.

4. taking pics. I'd love to say 'photography' here, b/c that is what i really love, but my life just isn't conducive to the time i want to put into it right now, so i'll just say 'taking pics' instead. my kids are willing subjects right now, for which i am very thankful. Here are a couple of my favorite shots that i've taken in the last few months...






5. Oh...I don't know. Jesus? Can I be a Jesus Addict? yes. I think I am.

It's All in How You Look at It...

After our reading time this morning, I heard my blond boy say:
"Let's play Princes and Princesses!" and while some might think that these are ninja and witch costumes, they would be mistaken...Oh no. These, my friends, are prince and princess costumes! (Yay for the After Halloween 90% off sales at Target)


Here are Ryan and Tony, rescuing their damsels in distress...

Our kids really are all best of friends, and for that I have prayed and prayed, and I am so so thankful. I continue praying that they will be each others confidants, friends, and accountability partners as they grow. So so sweet are these brief moments of JOY. I hope your day is FILLED with them!

Things We Love...

An old friend the other day asked me about a few of our favorite products... So... I thought I'd do a short post about the few that we enjoyed today!


Here are 2 of our favorites...a good robe (worn over her clothes! This was a fav Christmas gift! Thanks Grandma Carole!) and these Bilibos. This toy is so much fun. I can be a turtle shell, a sitnspin, a stepstool, a baby doll cradle, a tunnel for trains, a helmet, a sled, or whatever your kid dreams up. The kids have so much fun with these! They each have their own, in different colors and they all stack together. The best thing about these: the kids have to use their creativity, and make their own sounds! YaY! ;) No batteries required!



Jenga!! Also a fav gift from this Christmas! I remember playing this game in study hall in Jr. High... and now I enjoy it with my kids! Again, no batteries required, yay!


Enjoying our Laptop Lunches without the outer box. These little containers are SO loved around here by my kids, and me! They are eating so well, and that makes momma happy!


Today's lunch contained some fav's as well: Annie's mac and cheese, organic apples (see below for Door to Door Organics, another fav!), Cucumber and Tomato Salad (also from Door to Door Organics), Tuna (packed in Olive Oil, of course...I did live in Spain!) and Gluten Free Rice Crackers (thanks Dawn R.) Yummy!




Our hefty stainless steel apple corer. Love it. Gets used a lot. ;)


We have started, on the advice of a friend, having our fruits and veggies delivered by Door to Door Organics. The food is so fresh and delish, and delivered...you gotta like that! They have different size boxes, and weekly, or biweekly delivery. The best bananas I've ever eaten came out of my box from last time. I'm really liking it, and my kids and I like opening to box to see what is inside. So fun! Let them know I sent ya!

So...what are some of your fav's? I'd love to hear!!

I Can't Keep IT to Myself Any Longer...

You should know. Mr. Crockpot and I have become rather close. I've been meaning to tell you for awhile, but... now the secret is out and I just can't hide this feeling anymore. (Can you hear the tune? What started out as friendship has grown stroooooooonger...)
Jenn talks about it HERE. Jody HERE. We've been having a conversation with each other and learning new things.

(Imagine "I'm so excited and I just can't hide it" blaring in the background here)

These 2 recipes have changed my life, and I must share:

Ingredients:
32 ounces frozen hash browns
1 pound cooked ham cubed
1 onion diced
1 green pepper diced
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (you can mix several types)
12 eggs
1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Divide potatoes, ham, veggies and cheese so you can create several layers of each in the slow cooker.
Start with the hash browns, then ham, onions peppers and last cheese. Repeat until you have several layers. Beat
eggs, milk salt & pepper pour over layers in the slow cooker cover and turn on low.
Cook for 10-12 hours overnight.


RECIPE #2

1 cup steel cut oats (DO NOT substitute old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats)
4 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dried fruit–(i think it’s better to add these in the morning and not let them cook all night)
SERVE WITH milk, sugar, cinnamen or maple syrup.
Directions
1Place all ingredients in a 2 quart slow cooker. (If you want to make a smaller amount please use a smaller crock pot or crockette. This won’t work in a 6 quart cooker).

2Cover and cook on LOW 6-8 hours.

3It might form a “crust” around the outside. Just scrape it down with a spoon and stir.

(angela interjects: this makes it really really creamy...like cream of wheatish. I prefer putting above ingrediants into a glass bowl, then putting that bowl in the crockpot, and filling the crockpot with water to be level with the bowl. This does 2 things: 1. No crusties on the edge to clean...little bowl goes in the dishwasher and cp is free for dinner, if i need him. ;) 2. The oatmeal is...well...like oatmeal texture...not cream of wheatish. ;) Also, in a pinch, you could use Old Fashioned Oats. Just use something like twice the oats, and twice the water, and it'll be fine. I promise. I tried it...but I prefer the steel cut oats. They are so nutty and yummy.)

Both of these recipes I just throw into Mr. CP while I'm doing dinner cleanup. So fast and easy! We all LOVE LOVE LOVE waking up to the smell of a hot breakfast waiting for us! Hope you all enjoy it, too!!

The Things They Say...

photo by William J. Meyer Photography


Addie, 3, and Tony, 2, at dinner tonight:

Addie (pointing to the salad on her plate): Mommy, Addie no yike dis.
Tony (holding up 2 fingers): Two bites, Addie. Two bites.

I think he gets it. ;)


Maegan, age 6, a couple of nights ago as I was getting her out of the bath

Mae: Mommy, do you know who my FAVORITE person in our family is?
Me: No, who?
Mae: Jesus. Because Jesus made us a family. He brought Addie and Tony, who had no family, to us...and made US a FAMILY. So...Jesus is my favorite.

Can I get an amen to that?!?

New Hope...

Well, Maegan is breaking out again. SIGH. All along I have felt like her symptoms are caused by food. They started at 6 mo when we introduced solids, and have only gotten worse. NJ did a great job of showing us how to bandaid her symptoms, and how to keep the eczema under control, but they told us we would just have to live with it. That it was Chronic, genetic, and there is no hope for a cure. They gave us a bunch of steroid creams,zyrtec, benadryl, Rx tablet for ashtma, along with lotions and an Rx for 3x/day treatments. These are great ways to keep her comfortable, but still, we can't shake the feeling that there is a REASON her body is responding this way. Just covering up the symptoms isn't helping her in the long run...Actually, I feel like now her body has to deal with all of these chemicals, too. She's 30 pounds. She's 6 years old. She has been chronically constipated, and has had eczema since we started solid foods. Doesn't there seem to be a correlation here? She has a lot of sensory integration dysfunction symptoms as well. I've been reading The Out of Sync Child this weekend and have been amazed at how many of the symptoms she has.

My friend Dawn has been telling me about the doctor that she takes her daughter to for quite awhile. I made a call, and had a 20 minute phone conversation with him today. He's a doc in Ft.Collins...an MD who also does natural medicine... I don't know if I'm explaining that quite right, I'll just say he does some sort of something that is way over my head. He and his brother are in practice together, and one of them used to be the head doc for NASA for 10 years! Crazy, eh?
You can read about Dawn and her little G HERE.

This specialist thinks that he can help Mae, too. He says he treated a 6 yo girl with the same exact symptoms as mae: severe eczema and constipation, and within a matter of weeks she had NO eczema or constipation...and her symptoms didn't return. He said that the skin reflects the gut, and he doesn't think she is absorbing the nutrients she needs to have adequate growth. Sound familiar!!!??? This is what I have been saying all along, and no one would take me seriously. I feel VERY validated, and can't wait to see what he recommends after he does food testing.
Once again, i have hope.

I'm a bit overwhelmed... but also very hopeful. She may need OT, as well... but i think we'll hold off and see if the diet helps with that, too. In the book it says that kids with SID often have constipation and allergies among a host of other things that mae does.

This is long. Sorry! I'll stop!!
Keep praying for Mae!

Just a little note of celebration tonight. Addie's eyes were sparkling at dinner tonight. Really, sparkling. I was thinking about how really beautiful she is, and my heart melted. Her fits from the beginning have completely stopped (knock on wood) and she is a real joy (of course she isn't perfect and has her moments) but she is really a joy. I am so blessed.

She has been allowing me the sweetest hugs and kisses at bedtime for a long while...but tonight, something about it was even sweeter. She really hugged me back tonight. She said something like 'I hug mommy' and squeezed my neck and kissed my lips. It melted my heart.
Just had to share. We are so blessed.

From Ashes to Africa

I just finished this book. In one sitting. It was that great.
Josh and Amy Bottomly have had such a big part of our adoption story. Marrty became friends with Marrty at a Gettysburg conference several years ago.(Actually, Josh writes about meeting Marrty in the book!) When we began our adoption process, Marrty recommended Amy's blog to me. It was the first adoption blog I read. I began emailing and even calling Amy (although I hadn't met her yet) and asking her about Ethiopia. God used them to lead us to Ethiopia, and our kids there.
You might remember me posting about their visit with us, HERE.
There book is a memoir of their own struggles through infertility that led them to thier passion for adoption, social justice, and living a faith that, as Tom Davis would say, a faith that bleeds.
It's great. You can order a copy HERE.
Be sure and read Jody's amazing post and eloquent review as well. You can find it HERE. Jody and Andy are also mentioned in the book. So fun! We are so blessed to have such great friends in the adoption community, and to all be called by God together on this amazing journey has been such a huge testimony of God's amazing love for us! Thank you, Lord!

School Stuff...

Okay, this WAS an adoption blog, and I guess, since our 2 youngest were adopted, it still is... BUT, now that A and T are OUR KIDS I'm having a hard time seperating my life into two blogs. SO... I think I'm just going to post everything here from now on. Which means you get to hear about my homeschooling journey as well. Sorry if that bums you out. Just skip over it, if you aren't interested!

Our school room is always evolving. It isn't really a 'room' really, it is the south end of our family room...but it works for us! Today I took some time to switch out puzzles that have been on our shelf for ones that were in storage. I also switched some toys around. The kids got these wooden dress up dolls for Christmas and they have had a ball this afternoon dressing them up. Aren't they cute? I heart wooden toys!

I found THIS idea on the Chasing Cheerios blog (thanks Katie for recommending that blog to me!) and made it my own by hanging these pencil cases on my new (old but free) filing cabinet that now houses my teachers manuals and other workbooks and coloring sheets. (How was that for a runon sentence?!) I plan to switch the activities inside fairly frequently.

I also got a new pocket calendar with some of our Christmas cash. It hangs on the inside of our laundry room door. The kids are LOVING doing calendar and weather each morning. SO fun.

We are really loving our laptop lunchboxes. The kids want to eat out of them everyday.

Okay...here are the pics...








edited to add:
Okay, so funny...I just realized that our calendar still says December! I guess we forgot to switch the month when we redid the numbers! We do have the right year, at least! HA! What a GREAT teacher I AM!

SO THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE...

MY HUBBY WROTE A BOOK!

And, it is available NOW! CLICK HERE to purchase a copy, or five. (smile)

From the Preface of "On the way: Re-imagining the pilgrimage of a would-be Messiah" -- "This little book explores the hope that launched me on my latest expedition in life, a hope stirred up long ago when a charismatic rabbi made pilgrimage along the dusty roads of occupied Israel. Among those who met him along the way was an ordinary fisherman who later became the subject of legends. I wrote 'On the way' in an attempt to follow in their footsteps." ...Re-imagine an epic story from the past...Recover its richness for our present and our future...Begin your journey on the way.

It is awesome. And, I'm not just saying that b/c the author sleeps next to me.

Because I'm a Salesperson at Heart...

and I think what makes my life happy, will make your life happy, too...I think you need to read THIS on my friend Brianna's blog.

And...thank Jody for BOTH ideas. I got them both from her. :)

A Tree

The other day someone drew a picture of a tree. It was an adult who drew it. You could tell it was a tree. Maybe an oak. It was big, and leafy. I asked Addie "What is that?" and she said with a big smile "CHRISTMAS!"
I guess we still have some work to do on the English language afterall. :)

A New Year's Resolution

LOOK what I just got in the mail!!! Laptop Lunchboxes!!! YaY!!! Have you seen these? The quality is amazing! They are GREAT on so many levels!

For years my hubs has wanted me to pack his lunch. And, now...after 12 years of marriage... I'm doing it!! Acts of service speak love loud and clear to my sweet dh, so I am hoping this will fill his love tank to overflowing!

I just wrote him a little note, and it is on top of his new laptop lunchbox, propped up on his pillow. I can't wait for him to read it!

Now...I just KNOW you want to know more about Laptop Lunches! Well...You are in luck! Leave me a comment, telling me your favorite lunch making tips, and I will send 5 lucky winners a book entitled 'The Laptop Lunch: Fresh ideas for making wholesome, earth-friendly lunches your kids will love'. (Let's hope dh's love them, too!!) READY! GO! :)

(p.s. I used Christmas cash to purchase one for each member of our family! I'm hoping packing mine and the kids lunches each day will cut down on our trips up and down stairs (which will help my joints), and also help us to get in the required 2 snacks/day to help Mae gain some weight. Did I mention they are free of BPA, Lead and PVC? Cutting down on plastic bags and paper bags help save our planet, too!
SO many reasons these will help us out!:) But...it all started with my LOVE for my hubs. I hope it will make HIM feel loved!)

Okay...really now... GO! Leave me a comment! :) I want to hear your lunchtime secrets!

I'm SO proud...

I wish I would've had my camera...but marrty has it a conference downtown...

so...picture this:
4 adorable little kids
all lined up in the bathroom
with their decorated-with-a-sharpie nasal rinse bottles in hand
chanting 'my turn! my turn! my turn! my turn! my turn! my turn!' in unison
each sitting down on the floor, and awaiting 'their' turn to squirt water up the nose
massive giggling all around as each took 'their' turn as the others looked on

even t, our 2 yo, could do it all by himself. "TONY DO IT!" he would say with a huge smile, as I tried to help.

i don't think we've had so much fun since the jumpy ball escapade.

who knew?

A Booger Free New Year

So...I was just at NJ with Mae yesterday (she is doing great by the way! We don't have to go back for 2 weeks! yay!) and they showed us a video to teach us how to do Nasal Rinse. The nurse then demonstrated by doing it for us herself. They gave us a bottle for each member of our family. Watching the nurse do it made me want to, so I did it. We told Mae she could wait and practice at home and she refused. She WANTED TO DO IT RIGHT THEN!The nurse pulled out a Sharpie marker for Maegan to decorate her bottle, and then Mae got right to work squirting! She LOVED doing it! She went back to Grandmas house and showed her little sibs and Grandma how to do it, too. The littles all can't wait for their chance to squeeze water up their nose!
As I was leaving NJ I was formulating this email in my mind to tell you all about it! I even called friends to tell them about it, I was so excited! Then, I called my mom. And even told her coworker... I want to tell everyone I know! It is that amazing.
The nurse says it is good for everyone to do it once a day, and she and the video had tips on how to do it. IT DOES NOT STING if done right. YAY!!
So, here are the tips:
buy the starter kit bottle with 5 pkgs of solution (under $2)
(THE DO NOT RECOMMEND THE PEDIATRIC BOTTLES...USE THE ADULT ONES FOR YOUR KIDS, TOO AND BUY THE SOLUTION IN THE BLUE PKGS. The nurse didn't recommend the pot, either...just the adult bottle, and the docking station, if you need it, for storage purposes.)
buy the extra solution in packages. they are ph balanced to be the same as our tears. $10 for a box of 100. They are behind the counter at Walgreens, so you need to ask for them. Safeway and other places carry them as well.

use WARM water. cool or cold water stings.

HOLD YOUR BREATH when you do it. Count to 3 then hold your breath and squirt the water up your nose (the lid forms a seal around one nostril) and IT COMES OUT THE OTHER SIDE! It is really cool to see if you can get some boogers into the sink! ;) Have tissues ready and Blow your nose. Repeat for the other side.

Having kids do it themselves, rather than you doing it for them is key, they say. They feel in control (ha! they ARE in control!) She says if they don't do it perfect the first time, just cheer them on anyway. They will get it eventually.

If anyone local wants to bring their kids over, I'm sure Maegan would LOVE LOVE LOVE to teach then how to do it! So funny how she HATED the wet wraps (well...i would too, actually) but LOVES NASAL RINSE!

We all plan to do it every day...and up to 3x's a day if congested. (They said, if you decide to do it in the evening make sure to do it at least and hour before you lay down at night, so your passage ways don't have all that moisture in them over night)
Our nurse says she and her kids do it every.single. day and they are NEVER sick.

Here is to a booger-free New Year! Happy Squirting Everyone!