Happy New Year!

We have had so much to be grateful for in 2009. Our beautiful youngest came home. Our children have all been well, and growing, and happy. I'm managing to keep our school year on track and the homekeeping in line and the character training afloat~ and it is all by His grace.

Sure, there have been some tough times this year. Our trip to and from Ethiopia to get Sweet Baby was both wonderful and extremely physically trying. But He brought us through, and we came home with this precious bundle. For that we are so very thankful.

Dear husband's job has been terribly demanding, stressful and not much fun this year. But he, and we, are very thankful he has a job. He is able to provide for our family, and for that we give thanks.

My job here at home is tiring and trying. Some days I fail miserably, but many days I lean on the Lord and He brings me through with flying colors. I am so glad I am here with for my husband and children every day. We are thankful for all the ways he meets our needs as a large family living on one income. And I am healthy and able to care for my family all the time, every day. For that we are very thankful.

Our parents have had some health problems and have endured some tough treatments to get better~ but they are feeling better and enjoying life more, and for that we are all thankful.

We watch 2009 slip away into memory with hearts full of gratitude, and we give thanks for all the blessings He sent our way. May our lives bring glory to God in every day He gives us.

Incredible Homecoming

And we thought our trip home from Ethiopia with Sweet Baby was a tough one. Wait until you read what this family experienced.

Local Family Survives Terrorist Flight

Merry Christmas From Our Home to Yours

Every good and perfect gift

is from above,

coming down from the

Father of the heavenly lights,

who does not change

like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

Christmas Traditions

We had fun this month doing all the simple little things that mean so much to our family during the holidays. We decorated Christmas cookies, sang Christmas carols, decorated the tree together, and made homemade gifts for family and friends (this year we gave Love Soup Mix in a Jar and hot cocoa mix.)

We also took our annual drive to see the Christmas lights. We always eat an early supper (we had homemade pizza and veggies) then dress the kids in jammies and head out in search of great light displays. We found some great homes all lit up, and then came home to treats prepared by Eldest. She made these lovely little festive peppermint cookies and served them with hot cocoa. We ended the evening with our Family Time Devotional. Then it was time for the kids to be tucked into bed, while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.

Therapy for Perfectionism

I committed this year to make sure my kids are all well-trained in homekeeping. Well, at least the three oldest. The baby is still perfecting the art of homemessing, and I'll leave her to her work for a few more years.

So, today we started our BIG clean-up to make the house nice and merry for Christmas guests and Daddy, since he will be home. And, since I promised myself I would slowly go insane teach them all the wonderful skills involved in homekeeping, I decided that today the boys and I would thoroughly clean the kids bathroom. Together.

They both already know how to wipe down the bathroom each day as part of their chores. But they are seven, and this bathroom has four kids using it... so you can imagine that the little wipe down they give it isn't exactly up to Mama's BIG clean-up standards. Nope. Today's cleaning was the real deal, and it was time to dive in.

Things started well, because it was all fun and games when both boys got to stand in the bathtub and scrub the dirt rings out. That was right up their alley, what with all the elbowing and slipping and sliding. It was less fun to clean the toilet, and wiping up the floor was a downright drag. But they did well and didn't complain about the work, and perhaps their aim will be better in the future now.

For me, it was a wonderful opportunity to practice holding on to my sanity when I feel it slipping away. I only raised my voice a little bit one time. That's pretty good since I felt like screaming, "Don't slop cleaner on your brother~ he's right behind you!" and "Can't you SEE that big wad of gunk on the floor in front of you? Right there! You just stepped in it! Get it, already!"

Nope, I didn't scream those things. At least not out loud.

And by the end of the adventure my boys were proud of the work they had done, and my standards were waaaaay lower. Voila! I'm feeling less and less like a perfectionist every day. Thanks guys.

Harvest Celebration~ A Little Late

I realize it is a few days before Christmas, so I'd better hurry up and get these pix on here so you can see what we were doing back in October! Instead of Halloween, our family always has a Harvest Celebration, with games and hot dogs over the camp fire. We ate a lot and laughed a lot with cousin M, Aunt C and Uncle B, plus Gram and DaddyDon. The weather was exceptionally gorgeous for our party.

The donut game was so hilarious!

A Week of Firsts

But not in a good way. Sweet Baby fell on her nose on the sidewalk. No hands, just nose and forehead. So her precious little baby nose now has a huge scab on it. The scraped nose is her first boo-boo since she came home.

Sweet Baby's nose also started running this week. This is noteworthy because this child has not been ill, not even once, since she came home to us in January. She even survived, unscathed, when the entire rest of the family was deathly ill with the a mutant stomach bug last spring. Yes, folks, that is almost a year of great health. No ear infections, no runny nose, no cough. Nothing. Yes, she has been very blessed, and so have we. But this week she either has bad allergies or a cold, and judging from her overall malaise I am guessing a cold. So, she has her first illness since she came home.

Lastly, we experienced another first. I have never had a baby take off her diaper and tinkle on the living room carpet. Until this morning. And she was pleased as punch about it, too. Here's to hoping it's not only her first time to do that, but also her last.

Don't You Just Love...

...chubby baby feet?

I Know It's a Run-on Sentence, But It's Been That Kind of a Day

Don't you just hate it when you find the perfect recipe for Candied Pecans, and then, even though you are so tired you could fall asleep at the table, you instead spend over 4 hours bent over a bowl picking every bit of shell out of the perfect pecan halves, and then you tweak that perfect recipe to make it even more perfect and you carefully coat the pecans with fresh egg whites from your own chickens and then you coat each pecan morsel with the spicy sugared coating and then you spread them in an even layer in a pan and you gently place them in the warm oven and you slowly bake those sugary, tasty candied pecans at 225 degrees for half an hour, and then you stir them and taste them and they are heavenly and you put them back in to roast for a few more minutes

and then

your 11-year-old daughter walks through the kitchen and she hears a timer buzzing and she tries to turn it off but instead turns the oven temperature knob, then she tries to set it back where it was, but instead turns it to 350 degrees, and then she wonders if that is the right temperature, but instead of asking you she just walks off, and then the perfect sugary, tasty candied pecans that were going to make beautiful Christmas gifts for family and friends sit there in the hot, hot oven and roast, and then toast, and then brown, and then burn and then turn to charcoal as the kitchen fills with smoke.

Don't you just hate it when that happens? Me, too.

Fun in the Snow!

Yep, it's a big deal around here when it snows. It happens so infrequently that my excited children "dressed" to go play in the flurries by slapping their jackets on and sliding into their flip-flops. Poor southern kids~ they forgot that snow is generally pretty cold. They came back inside quickly to dig the gloves out of the bottom of the closet and put on caps. Socks and boots also suddenly seemed like a good idea.

They did get all bundled up finally. However, you can see by one photo that during the mad dash to get dressed, the boys switched pants. So, the taller one is sporting some high water wind pants.

The baby has napped all through the fun this morning, so when she gets up we'll have to bundle her and take her out to see her very first snowfall!

They had a blast catching snowflakes on their tongues. And I'm betting at some point there will be a snowball thrown ~ even if it's made mostly of mud and grass.

Special Needs Adoption Fund

Last year, this is what our youngest daughter looked like. She had a harrowing beginning, but because of Holt's care she survived. We are thankful God chose us to be her family. And we are thankful to Holt, for doing their level best to care for her while she waited for us.

Seven years ago this little tyke was waiting in Holt's foster care in Korea. His right arm was paralyzed from an injury, he had neurological issues, and he was underweight due to prematurity. But God kept him and Holt helped him until we could bring him home and make him our son.
Today these amazing kiddos are ours, thanks to the grace of God and also thanks to Holt's Special Needs Adoption Fund. The SNAF helps pay a portion of the expense, so that families like us can bring home wonderful children like these two. The SNAF was such a blessing for our family.

We praise God for the health these two special kids enjoy today.

This link will take you to Holt's website where you see how to help

with the SNAF and other ways to help orphans this holiday season.

We will be forever thankful to the people who donated to the SNAF before we needed it~ we know personally what a difference that fund can make for families called to adopt children with special needs, and for the children who wait.

How Has God Called You to Help?

Giving Thanks

Is It For Me?

Frances R. Havergal

T.C. O'Kane

Is it for me, dear Savior,

Thy glory and Thy rest~

For me, so weak and sinful?

O shall I be so blest?

O Savior, my Redeemer,

What can I but adore,

And magnify and praise Thee,

And love Thee evermore?

Sunday Sweetness

In Daddy's strong arms.

Quite possibly her very favorite place to be.

You Did What?

My older son just walked out of the bathroom after his bath

and stated matter-of-factly,

"Mom, there weren't any towels,

so I had to dry off on the bath mat."

Thankful Thursday

I've been woefully behind on laundry for about 2 weeks now. I was sick for a couple of days, and it really threw my whole laundry schedule off. Kind of scary that just a couple of "days off" can cause Mount Laundry to get out of control, huh? But, today is the day I will conquer it!

I am totally, completely thankful for my giant washer and dryer. They are my very favorite appliances, and I treat them with loving kindness because they do all the work, and give me so much more time with my family. After watching women washing out clothing in the muddy water at the edge of a pond in Ethiopia, I will never look at my laundry chore the same way again.

So, today I thank you Lord ~ for clothes for my family, clean water piped right into my home, and the machines which wash it quickly.

I Haven't Learned How, Yet

I overheard my two oldest kids talking while everyone lounged in the living room waiting for the breakfast muffins to bake. Big sis turned to her seven-year-old brother and said, "Last night your snoring kept me awake!"

Indignant, he replied, "It wasn't me! I haven't learned how to snore, yet."

Do You Home School? Beware of the Health Care Bill!

Finalization Day

Sweet Baby's adoption was finalized in a big, noisy court proceeding along with 17 other families in a room full of babies and kids. It was a long, crazy, but wonderful day! My girly was so good, even with no naps and so much waiting for our turn. We were very blessed to have many loved ones there to celebrate with us. Unfortunately, with all the toddler chasing, we missed getting everyone in the pictures :(

A photo with the kind judge

Now for a late lunch to celebrate!

All tuckered out

We were so glad to have each one of you there~

it made our sweetie's day so special!

Thanks for sharing her day with us!

Best Kites EVER!

The wind picked up around here this afternoon so the big kids ran inside and whipped up these awesome kites. Again. For the hundredth time.

These are the best kites ~ they fly so high, so fast!

And the very best part is that you fly them for hours, then toss them. No more pointy parts from old, bent kites sticking you from under the kids' beds, no more flappy kite parts popping out every time you open a closet, and no more ratty, twisted kites taking up space in the garage.

Sometimes we decorate them before we fly, but often the kids are just so excited we slap the kites together, then take our neat little white kites and go for it! Notice I say, "we", because the adults simply cannot help getting involved in this little project. These are just so much fun! Let me know if you try them!

http://www.molokai.com/kites/20kidskites.html

Note to other crafty, perfectionist moms: Do not, I repeat, do not try to improve on this kite. It works great the way it is designed, even though it is so simple you will want to add reinforcing tape and use larger paper and make the tail longer and , etc, etc, etc. I speak from experience~ just make it and fly it!

House Beautiful? Um, no.

Can you guess our decor style?

We like to call it Early Childhood.

My Optimist

In case you can't read it:

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I hope you like my tooth.

How much dollars do I want?

101

If not, that's okay.

Be Moved

Orphan Sunday is November 8, 2009.

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Live the Life

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!

Live the life you've imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Easy Pizza Crust

This dough is so awesome! It only takes a few minutes to make, no kneading or rising necessary. It works well as a crisp, thin crust or a soft, chewy crust. I even started making homemade pizza for our lunches this school year to use up some of the fresh basil and banana peppers that are growing like crazy. Lunchtime is usually a bit rushed around here, but after figuring out this recipe I don't think I can touch a frozen pizza again!

Easy Pizza Crust

1 package active dry yeast

1 t white sugar

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 T olive oil

1 t salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. (This is when I send one kid out to pick the basil, one sets the table, and one chops up the peppers, tomatoes, olives, etc.)

Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth (by hand, or I toss it all in my KitchenAid and let her rip.) Let rest in bowl 5 minutes.

Turn out dough onto greased pizza pan, or onto a Silpat baking mat on a cookie sheet. Use a little flour or olive oil on your hands to keep it from sticking while you pat it into shape. It will rise slightly during cooking, so make it as thin or thick as you like.

Prebake crust for 6 minutes. Assemble toppings. Top the prebaked crust with sauce and toppings, then return to bake for about 12-16 minutes until crust edges are golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before cutting.

Note: if you use fresh Basil, don't add it to the pizza until after the baking~ that way it stays fresh and green.

Precious in Pink

At Least He's Got Manners

I saw the light shining from under the bathroom door

as my youngest son raced past me down the hall.

I started to call him back to turn it off,

then decided to just do it for him.

I reached for the switch, then

this Post-It across the room caught my eye:

It was neatly placed here:

I laughed until I cried.

Is there anything in the world funnier than 7 year old boys?