Another Trip To The Russian Store

That is what we call it.  It is actually the Euro Deli.  It is a little store that caters to Eastern European foods.  Oh the girls were in Heaven!   I shouldn't have gone out, but Miss Alli really needed to go.
So, I hacked, coughed, oh so lady like, there and back...... I'll be glad when this bronchial whatever it is, is OVER.
Miss Alli loves smells from Russia and reminders of her heritage.  I LOVE being able to do this for her.  She likes the foods we have, and never complains, but I know, if I were to have to move to Russia or Ukraine, there would be foods from America that I would miss, and it would be so fun to be able to have them once more.
I am very thankful that the Euro Deli is not too far away. (40 minutes)  The man is always so nice and tests the girls on their Russian. :)  Dobre Utra, .... spaciba... pashalsta...Das Vadanya ...paca..

Here is a picture of our stash:

 Alli is holding this sunflower something.  I couldn't understand the name, so if anybody know, please help me...  Habla?  Or Havla?   It is ground sunflower seeds, sugar and probably egg?  It is a very interesting texture and  is REALLY tasty!  She saw it and said, "Is that what I think it is??"  Then she smelled it and said, "IT IS! IT IS!" Complete with jumping up and down with excitement. :)

 Anna like the pickles.

 Sarah remembers these. She picked them last time too. :)

 Erika always goes for the fish. :)

 And me? I go for Library Books that are in the "donation" area.  I picked up this little bible picture book for a fraction of the value. :)

 Here is a better picture of the sunflower thing. ( I don't know what to call it)

 I think Alli was very pleased.  Mama was too. It is a pleasure to make my girls happy.

Holding up some more favorites.  Last time we found Sausage from Chuvashia region. They were out of it this time, so we settled for Moscow Sausage. :)

Do People Still Do This?

DO people still fry bacon on a cast iron skillet and then...

 fry the eggs in the bacon grease?   Erika decided to take pictures of my culinary skills, or lack thereof. :)

Well, I know somebody who still does.... :)    I don't do it ALL the time, but it sure brings back memories of my gramma.  :)

New Section

I couldn't figure out the page thing, so I moved it to the side bar and called it "Posts of Note"..... I am trying to pick out a few posts that are somewhere in this blog that might be important to read. :)
So, if you look to the side bar--------------> and see "posts of note" just above the pictures of the kids, that is what I'm talking about. :) 
I put the comic relief ones up, just for pure entertainment. :)

Any Unpacked Bags Updated

I wrote this post in 2008 , but wanted to repost it, as this topic was on my mind after a conversation I had yesterday.  
There are those in the adoption community that believe only a "professional" knows what to do with a child who has  a trauma background.  I disagree.  While I DO agree that there is a time and a place for counseling..... healing begins at HOME.  And before we can help our kids heal, We MUST deal with our own stuff.  Many times, we don't even know it is there, or we have learned to keep certain things neatly packed away in the recesses of our mind, and then, we get zinged and we have a PTSD moment of our own. 
It is an honor and privilege to parent our children in a way that brings them into a place of safety and healing.
I wrote this post about 3 years ago and a LOT has happened since then. SO, instead of rewriting what I already wrote.  Here is my old post. And then I'll add some more thoughts.  I apologize this is so long.

                                     Any Unpacked Bags?

As parents, our children come most of the time when we are young and foolish and in no way ready to be parents. That is how God chose to do it! :)
It seems that God has made a great effort to want us to be dependent upon HIM for every breath of life that we breathe and every step we take. Our inadequacy glaring at us each day caused us to run for our prayer closet and hang onto our Heavenly Father for the inspiration of the day, for the strength to get to the coffee pot, for the words we spoke and the energy our days required of us.

As our children got older and we were more comfortable with what direction they were taking, we relaxed a bit, as we knew that GOD had ordained their steps and our job was almost done. It was a time of thrilling enjoyment, seeing those flowers unfold into beautiful bloom. (yes,even with boys the analogy works)

Now, there are those crazy types that have decided to do it all over again! LOL You know who you are....

But the difference is: They come potty trained and talking back! They haven't learned your language, either unspoken OR spoken. They come with loads of baggage that needs to be sorted through and a tangled mess of ideas and hurts that give the feeling of continual untangling of Christmas lights. AHHHHH!!!!! You can throw the Christmas lights away and buy a new set! (don't tell, but I have actually done this before)
But our Children are not throw away. There is something new we must learn, like.....
timing, patience, kindness, careful untangling of a little life and unpacking of a bag so tattered that if you don't unzip it carefully it will fall apart.

So, we say to ourselves... this a different sort of kid. This kid didn't come with instructions.(even though we know very well our others didn't either)
If we are not careful, we can find ourselves looking through instruction manuals of a different nature that will offer loads of "man's wisdom", devoid of Godly wisdom.

Some books are great and we can identify things in our dear children in them, and they can offer help to us BUT without prayer and discernment, they can also be VERY, VERY dangerous. The same goes with counselors, and those who have made businesses dealing with emotional pain and baggage.
While some of the information and techniques used can be utilized in a positive way, some of it is just down right dangerous, and we MUST discern what is best for our children.
This very issue SHOULD bring us to our knees in prayer and to the Word of God for instruction, but slowly, instead, the phone call is made to the counselor, the books are re read and we forget Who our TRUE source of guidance is.
Don't get me wrong. I am not against reading of books, and I read them A LOT too. But it is a battle to remember to hold them up to the whole counsel of the word of God.
I am not against counseling either, as I think sometimes there are things they can offer for a parent to try, or offer advice to the parent themselves that they may need to work through some of their own issues.

What I AM against is the forcing of a child to face things he or she may not be ready to face. I am 50 years old, and there are STILL things in my life from long ago that I am JUST NOW, starting to comprehend. I don't think any amount of counseling would have helped me to see it any sooner.

I remember several years ago, after a very traumatic event in my life, a counselor at a church kept calling me. She kept trying to get me to come and and talk to her and she persisted to the point that I totally shut down. I didn't want to talk to her. I wasn't ready. I didn't want her prodding me for how I felt or act like she cared about me. I felt like one of her "projects" she had chosen to fix.
What welled up in me was anger, frustration and self thoughts of inadequacy and pain.
Why does SHE think I need fixing? Why MUST she bother me so?

I finally wrote a letter to her and the church pastor and asked him to please tell her to lay off. I didn't need her help. I needed to work things out between ME and my LORD. She is not my intermediary! I have no need of one.
She didn't back off, and I found sanctuary at a new church.

You know what happened? The pastor there was amazing. He was a little younger and the church was HUGE. ( I thought I could hide out for a while) He saw me and 4 little boys watching the worship team practice. I was so used to going to church early for music; but I was no longer fit.

That guy came over and sat down and showed me respect and kindness. He introduced himself and talked to each of the boys who were between 4 and 8. He never asked me where my husband was. He never asked if I was in need of anything. He just respected me as person, and then he went on his merry way. Oh I was never so thankful for a simple kind person to just treat me as normal.

In time, the Lord brought things to my heart and I poured my heart our to HIM. Later he provided me with a friend to share with, but it had to be with HIM first!

Why do I say all that?

Because I think so many times we are on a mission to "fix" our children. We are on the fast track to make them whole, and in the process, we may be missing God's timing, and our children's timing.
They may not be ready for things to be discussed. They may just need to chill and be loved just for who they are, with all their quirks and unpacked bags. They may need us to soak that scab in love so it gets soft and doesn't hurt when it comes off.
(sorry for the gross analogy)

I remember when our Anna came to us and decided she wanted to be a baby. She went through the birth process all on her own, curling up under a blanket and being "born" and then snuggling up and I gave her a bottle of warm milk and swaddled and rocked her. THIS WAS NOT INITIATED BY ME OR ANOTHER PERSON, though I have heard of it being done; this was initiated by HER!
She was 6, and after she finished, she looked me straight in the eye and said, "YOU ARE MY MAMA!" It was like she birthed herself into a new role in the family. She was REALLY part of a family and chose to identify herself in that way.

Well, along came Sarah and guess what? After about 6 months.... she did the exact same thing. I thought... how interesting. They have both done this and they are the ones who have initiated this. I felt honored.

When Erika came, she was a little older (almost 8) She of course loved being rocked and sang to, and because of her physical problems, she could not curl into a ball under a blanket on my lap, but she wanted to. We tried some different things and so we just announced that we had a new baby. I held her in my arms and talked to her just like I talked to the boys when they were newborns. "Oh, look at her Mike, she is just BEAUTIFUL"! Look at her hair. Look at her eyes! She is ours! We prayed for her and we gooed and gahhed at her and she snuggled up, just as the other girls did.
She actually went a little further and she would catch me in the hall and grab me and then pretend to nurse! YIKES...... She was fascinated for a few weeks about if her brothers were nursed etc. I explained to her that not all babies are nursed, so though her brothers were nursed with mother's milk, Tim wasn't able to latch on because of being preemie. She was preemie too.

These things happened over time. We had incidents with each girl of disturbing behaviors, but saw those as bags being unpacked. And the longer we loved them, the longer we respected them, the longer we were able to reach them, the more those behaviors disappeared.
As we have been able to instruct them and lead them to Christ.... they have continued to grow and are now learning to ask HIM for help and comfort along with mom and dad.
The words placed in their hearts, the love that has been planted is growing and each of them, are shining in their own ways.
All bags are NOT unpacked. But in God's timing, it will happen. God's timing evokes change from the heart. It is welcomed and does not bring resentfulness and anger.
His timing brings about repentance and healing.

If it were up to me.... I'd want everything fixed today. No YESTERDAY! But God is multi-layered. He knows that I need to continue to learn patience and kindness and a big helping of MORE forgiveness.
AND.... as He helps them unpack their bags, He shows me that I still have some bags to unpack too, and so we do it together. :)




So,  here we are 3 years later, with another little girl under our roof. We have 2 teenagers and in 2 weeks, we will have 2 12 year olds also. :)    I remember so well, when we first started this adventure in life, Anna was 5.  I counted the years until she was 13. "Just 8! " I thought to myself.  We lost her first 5 years, and almost 6 of Sarah's life and almost 8 of Erika's life, and a full 11 years and one month of Alli's life!
According to some books, MANY books, the losses our girls had, the lack of instruction, the lack of nurturing, the abuse, the anger, the rejection again and again, should have led us to believe that they were lost causes.... chaff, forever to be labeled RAD, or some other sort of label.  But according to THE BOOK, it says, "I will make all things NEW!" "I came to heal the broken hearted."
 
Instead of disaster,  I am the delighted mother of 4 young ladies who are caring, loving, compassionate, nurturing, sweet TEENAGE and TWEENAGE girls.  I am so GLAD that we did not listen to the books.... or in some cases FOLLOW the books....
Praise the Lord. He is the Lord of new beginnings, of starting over, and of healing our deepest and most personal burdens.  I have come to understand over the years, God's mercy in my own life, and His wisdom in allowing me to go through so much personal pain.  It was meant for what I do today. It  was meant to prepare me for the life I have now.  I fully believe this to be true.  There are MANY times that I can relate to my girls, because of my own personal past.
Thank you Lord for answering my "Why" prayers. :)

So, as we continue down this journey called Life, I am so honored.  I am so in love with my husband and with what the Lord has called Mike and I to do....I  love all of my dear children.
And the more we unpack, the richer our lives become.  I am one LUCKY mama. :)

Martin Luther King Day

We had school today, and we talked about Martin Luther King Jr.  I shared with the girls all that I remember of that period of time and what my own experiences were during the Civil Rights Movement.  And then I had the girls spend time writing a short Essay on "I Have A Dream"....

Here were the results.  I found it very interesting how they each personalized today.  It is human nature that we ALL want to be treated equally.  :)

Erika:
"I have a dream that All people wouldn't get mocked or teased just because they are a little different. There are kids out there that get teased because they mumble when they talk, or other kids that have missing parts of their bodies. I myself am one of them. When I walk, I swing sideways. I have arms that look deformed and I have two prosthetic feet. So when I go on short walks or go to the store, people look at me as if I am an alien from another planet. My dream is that someday adults and children will look at all people, black or white, disabled or not, retarded or silent, the way God looks at us.
The Bible says that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made. God knitted us together in our mother's womb the way He wanted us to be. Psalm 139:13-14.
"For you formed my inward part; you knitted me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Wonderful are your works and my soul knows it very well. Amen!"


Anna:
(I am just going to post part of hers... as hers was very similar to the other girls but had a different twist at the end. )
"I want to be a Nation that has a reputation for being kind and not critical. I want people to visit America and go home wishing that their nation could be like ours."

Sarah:

I have a dream that all lpeole would be treated the same; that they would be KIND! I have a dream that people wouldn't be bullied just because they had a fake leg or missing body parts, autism or a different skin color.
I know one thing: I would not want to be treated meanly. People that treat other people that way are called bullies.
If you are just trying to have fun at a park or something and someone is teasing you, on the outside you may act and say it didn't hurt your feelings, but inside your whole body is shaking because you are mad and your feelings ARE hurt. You almost feel sorry for that person.
I have had the experience, and I hope that you don't. But even if you don't look like you have problems, people will try to find a way to hurt you. Everybody has a problem of some kind.
So no matter what, don't let anyone ruin your life and always be kind to everyone. Love your family, friends neighbors, enemies and even bullies. SO my dream is that people wouldn't be bullied or treated wrongly just because of the way God made them.
DON'T BE A BULLY 

And then Alli's (part of which really made me laugh)
I have a dream taht all people who have problems will not be made fun of, because they might get their feelings hurt. Like y sisters; they have people stare at how they walk of how thier legs are shaped. It hurts my feelings that people do that.
I also dream taht I could be a doctor or a teacher so I can help people that have problems. I sometimes think about how lucky people are if they have a fake legs or legs, becasue they won't get cuts or bruises.
I am happy that some people are even alive. I am glad that God gave everybody life to dream and see His miracles .

Love my girl's thoughts. :)

My Sweet Alli

I have to say, I had to smile inside today at Miss Alli.  She has had a bit of a cold and I am one to doctor the kids up abit when they are sick. I have always been this way.  One thing I use is Vicks Vapo-Rub. I put it on their chests and back when they have a cough. 
Today, I had forgotten to do it in the a.m.  I remembered around 10:30 a.m.  I told Alli, "I need to put this on you!"  She said, ""Oh, I was hoping your would forget!" "But really, I was hoping you would remember."
Do you like Mama taking care of you?
"YES"...  and she had a big grin! :)

I felt so special when she said that. She LOVES being taken care of, even if it is rather sticky and stinky. :)

The Late Night Crazies

One last dance.... :)

Our 10 month Alli Update

I am so proud of my little girl.  We ALL are!  She is doing amazing.  We hit our 10 month mark on January 2nd. :)  I am thrilled to say that Miss Alli is sooooo Hooome! 

Other than the incident a few weeks ago due to some insensitive comments made, we have had no meltdowns.  She has been a delight to everybody.    She and I are home sick today from Church, so she is snuggled up on the couch drinking hot tea and watching Super Book cartoons.   :)  

We had a chance a little while ago to talk and reminisce.  I showed her the Russian Orphan Light House Project blog and explained to her that the hosting program is how she was able to come in the first place.   We tried to go back and find pictures and boy did we find a few! Yea! She saw a picture of her sister and her first family holding up a sign waiting for her sister to get off of the plane.  (November 08)
Then,  she saw a picture of herself in that famous bow!   She smiled and said, "Don't they ask to put pictures up?"    She would LOVE to not have that huge bow in her hair. LOL
She could not remember the name of her orphanage, so we emailed the director of the Light House project.  She emailed us back a few minutes ago.... :)  We now KNOW where her orphanage was!

"The name of the orphanage is Yolotchka, and the town was Shumerly, in the Chuvashia region of Russia."

I don't know why I didn't think to ask before! LOL
As we sat together, she was so calm and relaxed and pointed out a few people she knew, and then she said, "You know what mama?" "I hardly ever even think about them anymore."  "It doesn't bother me anymore."  "I love my family."

She is so pleased that she is a Minich.  She is so pleased that she has been here for 10 months and that her birthday is next month! 

So we started discussing what kind of cake she wants. She gets to help bake it, which is tradition and she is totally thrilled by that.  I think we have decided on a chocolate torte with a mixture of creme cheese and nutella for filling, with a chocolate ganache for the icing.... and sparkler candles. 
Daddy will be getting a cheese cake.  His favorite.  (their birthdays are on the same day)

Alli has grown so much I cannot keep track..... she has gained OVER 10 LBS and a few inches.
She woke up yesterday and both Mike and I thought she had grown in her sleep again. LOL

She has improved so much in her personal skills.  It is no longer a battle to get hair brushed. Erika has had a huge impact on her in this area.  She takes good care of herself now.  I get a sense that she really cares about herself, much more than she did before.

 She is probably one of the most creative kids I have met, who can take paper, tape, crayons, scissors and make nearly ANYTHING.  She even made her own envelope to send a letter, and it was a really great job! 

Today, she wanted to make a TV for her Barbie Dolls, so she took some old styrofoam and made a TV with "The Little Mermaid" on the screen. LOL
I cannot wait to post her  1 year update.  It will be one month after her birthday. :)  She is so excited about it. :)

Language Comprehension Funny

This morning Mike was getting ready to leave for church.   (Alli and I are home sick today)
He couldn't locate his wallet.  He said, "The last time I remember having it, was when I  made Steve change."  Steve is our friend.
So I asked, "where were you when you did that?"
Mike said, "In the yard by the wood pile. "

Alli with a surprised look says, "You made Steve change his clothes outside??"  LOL

Daddy said, "No, I made change for his money."  :) 

Thoughts About Emotional Age

I have been doing some reading today and it got me to thinking about when our girls first came home verses where they are now.

Each of them were VERY young emotionally when they were first home, including our oldest adoptee and youngest PRECIOUS daughter,  Miss Alli.... (She was 11 when she came home.)

The things that were common ground among all of them, had to do with finding things around the house and hoarding them.  That means, pencils, scissors, crayons, hair brushes, food items, junk mail, and countless other types of items. 
They ALL did this! 
They would also wear my shoes, or wear them outside and leave them OUTSIDE!   Oh the shoes that I could not find!

The one thing I never thought about, was that it was STEALING.  You know why? Because it WASN'T!
Even though they were old enough to know better gestationally, they were NOT old enough to know better emotionally.
So, instead of accusing them of "stealing".... we simply said, "Oh I see you have my scissors in your room. Those belong in mommy's drawer, can you please put them there?  And the answer would always be yes.  They may wind up in the room again, and the process was repeated. 
We never said, "YOU STOLE MY SCISSORS!"  Because, 1. this would have done nothing to help them, and 2.  Emotionally, they couldn't understand the concept.

When our boys were little, there were all sorts of things I would find in their rooms. Spoons, scissors, paper, FOOD..... I never thought once that it was "stealing".  They were little. They found something interesting or tasty and they wanted it; plain and simple.  Over time, they learned that it was not ok to have certain things and some things were off limits!

In the same way, our children who come to us through adoption learn.  Many times they may be 3 emotionally but 12 physically.  We MUST deal with the 3 year old when it comes to this type of behavior.  Gently letting them know to put things back, not put food in their room, not put their clean socks under the bed, not collect every hair brush in the house or wear mama's shoes ......These are all developmental things that must be learned at the AGE your child is EMOTIONALLY!
To ACCUSE a child who is that young emotionally is damaging to them. It brings them shame and will NOT help them to heal.

I am VERY HAPPY to say after 10 Months of Miss Alli being home, I am no longer looking for pens or scissors. :)  Now, I did have to ask where my shoes were today, but she found them for me right away.  Her wearing my shoes is a compliment actually. :)

I think sometimes we are so quick to accuse... and think badly of our children, when in reality, they are just very young and need instruction.... Once they learn, without SHAME, they catch on very fast, and we can find our scissors! LOL

Really Fun Day

I have to say, today was so enjoyable.  The girls were all so fun. We started with waking up from an all girl slumber party in our room.  From there, Erika and Alli went with me to a few stores to do some needed grocery shopping. We stopped for lunch and and went to World Market. We had such a fun time.  Alli was in AWE of World Market.  Erika said, "I told you she'd love it!"

Thinking about the girls  and how they came to us brought such joy.  Sitting there admiring them, watching them laugh and talk and have such a fun time. pulling myself away and just observing them was so enjoyable. :)
Alli was showing me pictures she had taken with Erika's old camera. (Erika gave Alli her old camera since she got a new one for Christmas)
I cannot describe the feeling of watching those two and thinking about where they were before.  Erika has been home almost 6 years! (hard to believe) And Alli has been home 10 1/2 months.

Interestingly, they both started talking about the first time they met me and what they remember and what they said. We laughed SO Hard! :)

I love days like this. :)

Great Day To Wash the Van

The girlies decided to wash the van because of the great weather. Now I would have been freezing. It is only in the 60's, but after a few 40 degree days, it felt like summer. Almost. :)

You Gotta See This

It appears the little girlies are picking up where their brothers left off, in their love for photography and making video.
They showed me the beginnings of something they are working on for Alli's birthday.  I had tears in my eyes. What a loving thing for them to do. 
Thanks so much for your Creativity Anna. :) Thank you Erika and Sarah for all your advice and input.

These girls just bless me so much. :)

The Versatile Blogger Award

I was very surprised to be the recipient of a blog award.  Thank you so very much Annie, from One Mother's Day.   You are an encouragement to me and I thank you for being such a great mom to your children.

So here's how this works.  There are two parts to it when you are nominated.  First you have to list seven things about yourself that your readers might not know.  Then you pass the love along by nominating (up to) five of your favorite blogs for the award.

So here goes:  SEVEN things that my readers might not know....

1.  I never graduated from College.  That is, unless you consider an MRS degree.  I married after my freshman year.

2.  By the time I was 24 years old, I was mother to 4 young sons.  41/2 , 2 1/2, 1 1/2   and a newborn.
     I got to choose my youngest son's name all by myself. :)  Marcus David. 

3.  I moved so much as a child, I cannot count how many schools I went to; but I had 5 moves in high school and I went to 4 different high schools, one of them twice.

4. I had a WONDERFUL time and experience with Mike in Ukraine.  I LOVED walking the streets of the city and trying to speak Russian at the stores.

5.  I have been working on a book for a LONG time.

6.  I LOVED raising my boys and I LOVE raising my girls.

7.  One time when I was cutting my 3 year old son's hair, I cut his ear accidently.... He moved.
After that, to this day, every person's hair that I cut says, "Don't cut my ear!"  The guys passed that info down to the girls and I will never outlive it!

8.  Technology Scares me. 

9.  I made a New Year's Resolution last year to go paper free with my calendar and I did it!

10.  I  LOVE watching cartoons.  My favorite one: Ben and Me.

11.  I would love to live in Ukraine.

(ok, that was more than 7.... so I'll stop) :)

I guess I'll keep going: :)

12.  Dabba, is my former mother in law, who is very close to me, just as if she were my own mom.
       I have written about her several times. She is AMAZING and I LOVE HER.... She taught me so   much about life and love.

13.  Mike and I have been married for almost 23 years and we are thrilled to be married to each other.

14.  I have the coolest grand children in the world.... Katie and Lilly are the oldest. They are so special to me.  I miss them terribly since they moved to the far away place of New Mexico.



1. Dulce de Leche.  I love how frank and honest and refreshing she is.

2. The Life of Little Eunice    Ivy is so entertaining.  I love her humor, recipes, ideas and stories about her life.

3. The Adventures of Erika    Erika is really doing well at blogging.  She is creative and thoughtful.
      I love reading things from her perspective.  :)

4.  Wrong in All the Right Ways   If you need a good laugh, Catherine's blog is the place to go. She is so funny, and her family is very precious.  It was great to meet her here in Dallas when the girls had surgery.  Love her blog.

5.  Baseballs Butterflies and Blessings   Katie is one amazing mama.  I wish I had my act together as much as she does when I was her age. :)  Katie is full of Spiritual insight and thoughtfulness.  I love how she parents her two precious babies. 


Check out these blogs when you have an opportunity... you will be encouraged and entertained, get great recipes, and insights.

Thank you ladies for being awesome bloggers!

Games

"Girls, we need to bring in some firewood!"
Alli- "Hey I know, we can play a game that we bring in firewood!"  :)
OK!

Alli Got Ahold of My Camera

 I think she likes taking pictures.

  She even took some self portraits. :)

She caught me cooking dinner. :)

Love it!

A Creative Way To Memorize States and Capitals

I decided to take the map down and let the girls play with it.  I asked them, "Do you want to take a road trip?"   I got interesting looks.
"Divide up your cars. The first person who places all their cars on the map wins!"

So I called out the capitals and they had to drive their cars to the destination.  If they got their first, they could leave their car on that state. 

They had a blast!  And it was much funner than just rote memorizing. :)

Family Finances

Mike and I set up our budget in a program we use for our business called Account Edge.  I was looking for simple, but he is looking for me to learn AccountEdge better so I can be more useful in the business. So it was a win-win situation. :)

I have officially entered the purchases made this month into the program and created categories for tracking.  It appears I will be able to track food expenses, gas expenses, clothing expenses, home education expenses, and the possibilities are endless. :) 

On Wednesday, I'll add a category for Dental expenses.

I also want to track savings earmarked for vacation and holidays.  I wonder, if we VISUALLY SEE where we are lacking, if it will help us to prepare better, and make different choices?  We are already pretty frugal, but we can always be more frugal. After all, I really don't need a burrito by Gluten Freeda to make my day. Especially if it is a splurge of $ 2.50, and frankly, didn't taste that good. 

My biggie is also going to be keeping track VERY CLOSELY of receipts.  2 times last year I needed to return something and could NOT find the receipt. Not a good example for the girls.

Gluten Free Fried Chicken

I made this tonight and boy was it good!  I have not fried chicken in YEARS, but for some reason, I just wanted some. :)
There is a rather loose recipe, as all recipes are around here. :)

GLUTEN FREE FRIED CHICKEN

Soak the chicken in buttermilk for a few hours

Pat the chicken dry, salt and pepper it.
Dip the chicken in beaten eggs. (3 will suffice)
dredge it in the coating:
(rice flour mixed with potato starch and spices of your choice....
(I used garlic, paprika, pepper, salt)
Let it rest while oil is heating and dredge it through the flour mixture again.

Fry until done....

Wow! I have to say, it was wonderful. :)

I Just Love The Adorables

I call Marcus and Ivy, Will and Charlie, the Adorables.  Soon, little Olivia will be here to join them, and she will be just as adorable as they are.  Ivy wrote a very important post tonight and I wanted to share it.
You can read it HERE.... and I'll put in in repost here:

Sweet dreams

One thing that is very important to me as a mommy is to make sure my babies go to bed feeling very loved and very secure.  I find that night can feel lonely and I don't want my babies ever feeling alone.

So other than praying with them, cuddling and giving tons of kisses.  I have special little things that I do with them.  Every night I say to Will
"I loved you today more than I loved you yesterday.
And tomorrow I am going to love you even more than I loved you today!
Every day I love you more and more--
More than ever before!"
And now that he has it memorized he repeats it with me.  Then I always act surprised and ask, "how did you know?!"  "because I am so smart!" he says.

Charlie's language is just not there yet for something like that.  So I just tell him every night that he is a gift from God to me.  He laughs and says, "noooooo..... Will gift!"  He is just so precious; I could eat him up.

My children really are a blessings and I love each one so so so so much.
Oh how I love my daughter in law Ivy. :)  She captures motherhood so very well, and shows that mommys are so very important to their little ones.  She leads them in rituals that to some, don't seem important, but in reality..... She is having a very powerful effect on her babies. (our babies) :)

I read an article today on brain function and how children who are not snuggled, cuddled, nurtured are forever changed in the brain.  It was a NYtimes article.
The article states that the lack of nurturing and care in the early years, can have catastrophic effects on a person.
I am SOOOO GLAD that Will, Charlie and Olivia, will not have the experience of a lack of love or attention, because Marcus and Ivy fully recognize their role and responsibility as parents.
Raising emotionally healthy children is one of the most important things a person can do.... Those children, will rule the world someday.... :)

Who knows, between all those grandsons I may know who to vote for eventually! :)