So Why Am I Happy?

This was a note Anna wrote to me while I was on an important phone call.  She had this urgent look on her face and looked oh so worried!
She patiently sat while I finished my call, and could RE-READ her note.
Savannah is her Barbie Doll.  She asked this a.m. if she could color her hair and I said yes.
She didn't like the color so she washed it out and thought it was all out, but it wasn't, thus, when she lined her dolls up on the couch, food coloring wound up on the couch.
She did her best to clean it up.

I can hardly notice it.... and I'm glad we didn't go for the "White Linen" look.  :)

But, now to why I am happy.  My sweet girl came to me with a HUGE problem, knowing there was the possibility of me getting upset with food coloring on the couch, and she told the truth. She didn't wait for me to see it. She didn't wait for me to ask. She was proactive and honest.

THAT, made me GLAD that it happened and very happy that she has made such progress!
and on a side note: Her spelling is improving! LOL

Isn't her face just precious! His too, but.... you know what I mean. :)

Great Job Anna!

God's Heart Created Adoption

I was thinking ALOT lately about the subject of Adoption. :)   As I was driving alone to think and clear my mind, the thought came to me, "We are ALL adopted", as believers in Christ.  We ALL have sonship, we are "joint heirs" through Jesus Christ.   GOD KNOWS and CREATED adoption!  And, GOD does NOT disrupt us.  He will not abandon us. He will NOT leave us as orphans!   

And how do WE feel?  Many times, we feel unworthy, we return to our trespasses and sin, we fail, we cry, we fight, we accuse, we act like we have Reactive Attachment Disorder, against God!  Yet, God faithfully loves us; He completely loves us, he does not waver, he does not budge, he does not REACT to our Reactions..... He waits, patiently and kindly and His kindness brings us to repentence, yet again and again. 

As an adoptive parent, I can look to God, and how kind and patient He is with me, and in turn, understand and know how I am to be with my children.  I can also, as an adoptee,  know how unworthy I feel.  I can know that  lowliness, and rejection.    I can know that I am secure in Christ.
I can know that He Holds me in His hands and will NEVER leave me or forsake me.

Oh, that I can reflect that truth to my children.  

Well It Isn't Happening

We just got word.  We will not be moving forward for THIS child.  We are sad, but rest in the Lord.

LOVE

It is so good to have the scripture wash over my heart.  This morning, our devotions were so fitting.
As we prepare for what is to happen in our family, it was so fitting to have this devotion be the one assigned for this day.  It always amazes me how God's perfection is woven into our simplest details of daily life.

Here is what we read today:  We are using the New Living Translation for our daily devotions.

1 If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.

 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn't love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. 

 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. 6 It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 8 Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear. 9 Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little! 10 But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear. 11 It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.

 13 There are three things that will endure -- faith, hope, and love -- and the greatest of these is love.

Verses 4 through 7 were especially concentrated on today, as we prepare for new territory.

It is so true that LOVE is a selfless act, a choice, a decision, a VERB.  God is the perfect description of Love.  We do not deserve his love, yet, He loves us.

We can do nothing to earn this type of love.  Love is a perfect gift, wrapped up in grace and mercy and clothed in joyful and pure thought and intent.  LOVE NEVER FAILS.

Smells

I have written about smells in earlier posts,  (there are 2 separate posts linked)

But the other day, I was once again surprised. I had used an Oil of Olay face wipe that I found sitting in my cabinet.  I haven't used those since we were in Ukraine 4 and a half years ago.  Erika came in to give me a hug and guess what she said! "Wow, that reminds me of how you smelled in Ukraine!"

Once again,  I am reminded that smells can trigger memories good or bad.....

If I were to go to adopt in Ukraine again,  I wouldn't wear my favorite perfume, because if that perfume were to cause a "negative" trigger, I would never be able to wear it again at home.  So, I'm glad the Oil of Olay isn't one of my favorite things. LOL
Now, this did not bring back a negative memory for her, just an association; but in some kids, it COULD have, and could have sent them into a downward spiral without explanation.  I'd be wondering what happened, and the whole time, what had happened was nothing but a "fragrance or smell" of  what was before.

I don't know why I'm typing this, but it might help somebody out there in preparation, or somebody who is already home.

I was surprised myself that when we returned to Ukraine, the smell in the orphanage caused me to nearly panic, and I felt like I had to throw up.  AND, we were JUST visiting!  I had to purposefully in my mind force myself not to react to how I was feeling inside.
It makes me wonder how it is for our children?  Do they feel the same way when they smell something familiar that reminds them of their orphanage life?

I remember talking with somebody a long time ago who had brought home two sons.  They were older boys who remembered their parents alcoholism.  When the boys saw that their new parents had wine in the house, they reacted very strongly. In fact one of the boys said a few choice words and said that his new mother would be just like his old mother.
Unfortunately, they were unwilling to remove the wine from their home to help their son transition.
The smell of it made him extremely angry.  What would have been the loving thing to do?
I think it would have been to show him that he was safe, they could have removed the wine.

That is why I say, don't wear your favorite fragrance.... it may cause a problem later on.  In fact, it might be a good idea, if you do wear perfume, to wear a very uncommon brand.
Just thinking out loud.  :)

Comic Relief part 3

We started watching Jesus of Nazareth for the Easter Holiday. It is a wonderful depiction of the Story of Christ.

Well, Jesus was born and it was time to take him to the temple for Circumcision and to be named, as a sign of the Covenant between God and man.

The girls were watching the scene and Sarah asked, "What are they doing?"
Anna said, "They are circumcising him."
Sarah asked "what is that?"

and then Erika said,
"It's when they trim their belly button!"

And it was all settled. :)


Joseph was a carpenter. Erika says, "that means he made carpets" :)

Sarah said, "Wow, that man plays a really good God". (speaking of Robert Powell) :)

Tonight I was making dinner for the family. It was time to serve, so I sent Anna out with Daddy's dinner and dinner for our employee.

She came back in and said, "Daddy is off running an errand."

I said, "Oh dear. I wish he had told me he was going, I would have saved his dinner."

In her finest accent she said, "Don't we all wish that of our men!" LOL

I couldn't stop laughing last night when

Sarah came weeping.....

"I'm so mad at ERIKA!"

I said, "Why, what happened?"

She was sobbing...."She says she needs her PRIVACY!"

So I asked, "Where is she?"

"In the Bathroom!" boo-hoo!

Well, don't you think it is normal to want privacy in the bathroom?


"She never wanted privacy before? Now she does, EVER SINCE SHE GOT BREASTS!"

"Now she doesn't want me in the bathroom with her!"

"I wish sisters didn't get breasts until they were 30 !!!!! "

I just love Sarah. :-)

So fast forward to today:
Erika and I went out for our mommy daughter date


We got back from the store and I had my super secret stash of Boston baked beans. The girls saw them and had their hands out.....

I said "You don't want these, they are BEANS!"

They still had their hands out and I said,
"Are you sure you want these? They are magic breast growing beans!" LOL

Sarah said, "I'll take 2!"
Anna said, "Give me the big ones!"


Hmmmm. :)

Today Anna said, "Mom, I know how Sarah can get over her fear of dancing in public and how I can get over my fear of public speaking!

"How Anna?"

Adopt 14 children! It would be public speaking just to ask for the bread to be passed! And Sarah would be dancing in front of all those people!

She is a smart kid. :)

The girlies are diagramming sentences.

The sentence was: Gorillas and Chimpanzees are apes.

She got it wrong, having "girlies as the subject", so I re read the sentence to her.

Her reply:

"Oh, I thought it said, "Girlies ARE chimpanzees and apes." LOL

Anna was 5 and her brother was tickling her. She couldn't pronounce her r's very well so she said, "Be Cafull, I bwuise like a gwape!"

Another time when Sarah had surgery she called the nurse button. A man answered and she said, "Who is this? I'm trying to call a girl nurse!
She didn't want to tell the man she had to go to the bathroom.

We studied the reformation recently and watched a video on Martin Luther. I quizzed the girls a couple of days later... "who was Martin Luther?"
Sarah said, "I know, I know!" He was a German, A German...... A GERMAN SHEPHERD! :)

When Anna was 5 she was taking a bath and she pointed to her chest. "I think these are going to be my breasteese.

Sarah saw her old prosthetist that she had when she was 5. He was walking down the hall and stopped her and said, "Hey Sarah, do you remember me?
She studied his face and said, yes, I think I do, but you look different. He said, "it is probably my beard!" She said, "No, you are old now."

Sarah was looking on the Calendar and noticed it is "Ash Wednesday". She asked what it was. After the explanation about what Lent is, and people "give up" certain things during this season and focus on Easter.... she said,
"I know, I'll give up school!

Today we were starting Language Arts. We were having our oral lesson and I asked "How do you look up a word in the Dictionary"?
Sarah piped up, "That's easy! You just open it up! It is full of words! :-)

The other day, Gramma sent them each a Valentine's Day Card and it was signed....
"God Loves You",
Love, Gramma and Grampa

(Erika has overheard gramma now and then say, we are all god or I am god)
Erika looked at that and said, "If Gramma thinks she is god, then why didn't she just sign it "I Love You".

You know you live in the Country when your daughter sees the price of a new skirt and says,"Gee mom! You could buy a goat for that!" :)

When Sarah was 6 she was watching "My Fair Lady" . She loved the movie. It amazes me how much she catches onto for such a young girl. (the other 2 girls lost interest and went to play in their room, Dad was asleep, and I was sort of napping, so she was watching it alone.) Well, we were at the part of the movie where the man sings "I'm Getting Married In the Morning". It is a LONG song and dance routine. After his zillionth verse about "getting married in the morning", "get me to the church on time"........

Sarah blurted out,"FOR PETES SAKE, GET TO THE CHURCH AND GET MARRIED ALREADY!" GOSH!

Cracked me up. :)

here is part one      here is part two

More Comic Relief con't.

 While we're waiting on information regarding adoption I posted this.
So here is part 2. :)

When Anna was 5, her daddy was using a pocket knife at the table. He wasn't being as safe with it as she thought he should so she said, "Don't do that daddy!" He said, "Why?"  She said, "Because you'll teach me to do it!". :)

When Sarah was 5, we were trying to explain to her why she was coming to our house. We asked her if she knew what adoption was... She said, "I think it means your sick!"

When Sarah was 6, she was getting very brown from the sun.  She woke up sobbing.  I went in and got her to rock her. When I asked, "why are you crying?"  Her reply shocked me.

She said, "I think I'm going to turn into a black woman when I grow up!"
I was a little puzzled. (she was actually afraid of black people at this point but is no longer)

So I asked, "Why do you think that?"
She said, "Well just LOOK at me! I getting darker and darker every day, AND you have never seen my REAL mother!"

So I told her, "Well, there is CERTAINLY NOTHING wrong with being a black woman, if you were to turn into one, AND, we would love you forever just the same!....
She seemed to calm down, and when she stopped doing the hiccup cry and I was about to put her back to bed,
I asked "Is there anything else on your mind?"
She said, YES!
"I'm afraid when I grow up my husband won't let me get a hamburger!"
So I said, "Well that is a very simple problem to solve!
When you grow up, before you marry, ask your future husband if he minds if you get hamburgers.... if he says yes, "don't marry him" and find somebody who will!"

She got this huge smile and gave me a big kiss and then went fast asleep.

Sarah had surgery on her leg.  In the middle of the night she was awake and having some pain.
I told her she could press the button and call her nurse and they would help her.
She pressed the button and the nurse came onto the intercom, "May I help you?"
Sarah said, "Yes! I think my leg is trying to get a head ache!"
To which I heard giggling on the intercom and then, "Ok sweetie, we'll be right there!"

Erika had outgrown her legs and her new legs were not ready. Sarah had surgery on her arm and her leg and was wearing two casts.  They both had appointments at Scottish Rite Hospital, and we only had 1 wheel chair. So Sarah was sitting on Erika's lap for the ride through the hospital.
This little kid pointed at the girls and said, "Look Mommy!"
(typically nobody notices anything around there, since most of the patients are there for similar reasons)
Sarah said rather drolly, "Wow, we're even weird for here!"  LOL

We were in a store around the same time, and with all the lifting I was having to do, I guess I was limping because my back hurt.  So, as were were walking down an aisle, I noticed this man following us.  He finally got brave and with a serious face said, "Was it an accident?"  At first I was confused and then I realized, I'm limping, Erika is in a wheel chair with no feet, Sarah has a cast on her arm and her leg and Anna is in good shape.....  I was trying to think what to say, so with a smile I just blurted out the first thing I could think of, "Oh no.. it wasn't an accident, we are like this on purpose!"
The look was priceless.....

We were in Target and this man got to staring at us. I thought he was going to follow us through that whole store.  As we entered the clothing area, we slowed down and his pace kept up..... he was looking at us from behind not watching where he was going and took out an entire rack of clothes!   Erika found that to be quite humorous.

When the boys were little I had to carry Tim a lot. (Our son has CP)
This was before the "pay at the pump convenience", so I would have to take all the kids in with me to pay for gas.  So, I was carrying Tim.  The gas station lady said,  "I think it is terrible you making your mama carry you like that!"  Our son said, "I'm crippled and I can't walk!"  The lady turned a shade of red.  Then, our little Joey who was about 3 said, "dat my brudder, he has a TERRIBLE PALSY!"
and he shook when he said Terrible!  It was so cute. :)

When our oldest son was 3,  I served him some Pea soup.  He asked what it was and I told him it was Pea soup.  He didn't want it.  He said, NO PEA SOUP mama!  I finally got him to taste it and he ate two bowls full.  After that, he said, "That was GREAT! Can we have butt soup tomorrow?"
That really freaked me out..... like I would serve him Pee! yikes!

Why is it that boys always think about guns?  When our son Marcus was little he was looking at my legs very seriously.  I asked him, "what are you thinking?"  He said, "I think your legs look like rifles!"

When Tim was 3, he was mad because I wouldn't let him do something. He sat in the middle of the floor with his arms folded and said, "I'm just gonna close my eyes so you can't see me!"

When Chuck was 5, he got a pet turtle.  It sort of stayed on our patio and in our kitchen.  I kept smelling something wierd and couldn't figure it out. I finally picked up that turtle and it was dead! Ick!
We had a little funeral for him and Chuck dictated a story in his turtles honor....
"Alex the Break Dancing Turtle".... he went on to dictate how Alex could break dance and spin on his shell...... gee I wonder what happened to Alex???

Joseph got 2 hamsters for his 5th birthday.  He brought them in with the cage one day and said, "Look mom, they do tricks!"  He moved the cage and both little furr balls flopped over.  They were doing summersaults all right, they were both deceased. UGH

When the boys were 8, 9, 10 and 12 we were having our family prayer for dinner.   Joseph, our 9 year old thanked the Lord that He and our 8 year old made it up onto the school roof and back down safely, to which everybody's eyes opened and I noticed Marcus giving Joseph the stare of "what is WRONG with you!!!!"  LOL

When Chuck was 3 he was playing in the front yard. He came in so excited! In his hand was a STIFF DEAD CROW!  He said, "Look Mommy! He's sleeping!"
Oh How we washed those little hands!

When Chuck was 2, I was pregnant with Tim.  I was showing him the book "A Child is Born".
Each page has a picture of the baby in the womb showing the development of the baby.  We looked at this book many times so he could see what was happening in mommy's tummy and why it was getting so big.  I showed him the last page, which is a baby being held up on his mommy's tummy with the umbilical cord still attached..... I asked, "So what do you think?"  He looked at the picture and said, "WOW! What a Weenie!" talking about the umbilical cord!
I couldn't stop laughing.

When Anna first came home, Marcus gave her all his old stuffed animals to play with.  She of course, had to decide if they were girls or boys.  She would sniff each one and say, "This is a girl, this is a girl, this is a girl."  She got to Marcus's favorite Teddy Bear that he used to keep in his back pack for Scout Campouts..... She took one sniff of that bear and said, "This one is a boy!" LOL

When Erika came out of her body cast they put her in a large bath. She heard the therapist on the other side of the door. He said, "I want to come in and see how she is doing!"  She protested loudly, "You may NOT come in and see my womanhood!"
I could hear him laughing, and he sent in an assistant. :)

Happy National Adoption Day

Today, our two grandsons became Official!  Joseph Enoch Minich and Christopher Timothy Minich are just adorable little guys!  Words cannot express our joy!  Congratulations to ALL!

Sarah's Scottish Rite Appt

Yesterday Sarah and I went to see the Hand Doctor.  It was a really good visit.
I had never met Dr. Ezaki.  She operated on both of Sarah's hands when she first came to the United States from Ukraine, but was with another family. 

Dr. Ezaki had obviously done her homework about the adoption disruption and re adoption, so when she came in, it was clear in her mind what Sarah's family situation was.  She was so kind and affirming.

I was so very impressed with her.  She  asked some questions I had never even thought about. Does she need any special accommodations for school. Can she write as fast as other children?  Can she type?

She was just as impressed with how well Sarah was doing.  She also asked about her lower leg (not prosthetic) because she has restrictive band syndrome and there is  a large band down there, or was.
She was just great!

Then, she asked Sarah about her little floppy finger.  She explained to her that she has a little concern that it is loose like it is, and took a great amount of time to explain that it can be relocated to a safer location. (down into the bottom part of the finger by removing the bands and pushing it down to make it secure)  She was a little concerned Sarah could catch it on something and cause damage.

Sarah said, "You mean operate on it?"  Yes, it would be a surgery and she explained it.  Sarah was so funny.  She said, "I'll have to think about that." "Besides, my friends like to play with it, and I sorta like it!"
I love it that Sarah is so comfortable in her own body and finds it to be just fine!
She is open to the idea of reshaping it, and we will let her be that guide.  I believe that her body is HERS to decide if it needs altering.  :)

So, she talked a little bit about the appointment with Daddy this a.m. and re explained in her own words what the doctor suggested.  Daddy asked, "What do you think?"  She replied, "I'm still thinking about it. "

Good for her!  I like it that she is not impulsive in her decisions.  That way when she does decide, it will be her decision and she will not have regrets.

Grace Based Parenting

This is a term that is thrown around quite abit as I read.  I was so happy to see Sally Clarkson write about it today.  AND it is just a part one! :)

Gluten Free Bread Stuffing

I figured since Thanksgiving is almost upon us, I had better get to experimenting!

Here is my Gluten Free Bread Stuffing Recipe :

8 slices Udi Bread toasted and torn up in 1 inch pieces
2 mushrooms sliced (I used larger white cap mushrooms but not giant ones)
1 stalk of celery diced up
1/2 onion diced
1 egg
1/4 cup of butter melted
3/4 cup of gluten free chicken broth
2 TSP sage
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp parsley
4 oz of ground pork sausage (great value brand is gluten free)

If you want it more moist, use 1 cup of broth.


combine all DRY  ingredients and stir
add melted butter
well beaten egg
sausage
3/4 cup broth

stir well and put in baking dish
(I am using a 10x9, but I think an 8x8 may be better. (I just don't have one) :)

Bake at 350º covered for 45 minutes
I almost forgot to take a picture! LOL
And, it tastes great, it really does!
It was my first attempt to make regular bread stuffing.

A Little Comic Relief : Thank You Girlies

 Here are some things I have recorded over the last year or two:


We were talking about some church issues with the girlies.
We attend a Reformed Church, so one thing I asked the girls:

"What does reformed mean?"

Sarah, as always, excited to answer: "It means like, everybody there has problems!" Like, we go to "Reform Church"....

So trying to keep a straight face I ask, "So what is your problem?"

Sarah said, " HELLO! Like I have a wooden leg!



Many of you know that Erika is a double amputee and wears prosthetic legs:
This is what she said this a.m.

This a.m., DH and I were talking about a decision we needed to make. Erika was listening in and then said, "I'd hate to be in your feet!" LOL






I told the girlies on Friday I think it would be fun to introduce them to "Arachniphobia".....

Anna says, "Mommy, I don't think Sarah would like it....
"why not"?

She is afraid of muslim terrorists!

LOL

At first I didn't get it.... then she says

Iraq, HELLO! LOL




I took the girls out shopping to find some simple items we needed. It turned into one of those go to a million stores events.

When we got home, Erika was hugging her daddy and said, "We are EXHAUSTED Daddy!"

His very correct reply was, "You should have let your fingers do the walking and then you wouldn't be so tired!"

She drolly rolled her eyes and looked at me and said, "Really mother, how do you put up with such a man?"


TEACHING MATH TO SARAH

Ok, so I'm teaching common denominators. She knows how it works, but can't seem to understand why it works.
So I drew some pies on the board. 1/2 and 2/16.
I showed her the difference on the pies and then asked, "So would you rather have 1/2 (8/16) of a pie, or 2/16 of a pie?
She sheepishly said, "2/16?"
I asked her "why 2/16?"

She said, "Because I don't really like pie!"

I guess she understands!




This a.m. I was cooking breakfast and talking to the kids, and talking to my dh all at the same time. Typical a.m. events.

Our dd Anna was on the computer establishing a name for LegoLand. I noticed she put the wrong birth year and corrected it.

She said, "Oh, man I'm so stupid".... which I didn't hear... so I didn't respond.

About 2 minutes later she came over and said, "Oh mother! You are SUPPOSED to correct me!"
"Correct you for what?"

I said "I'm stupid".....

"Well, you know you're not!"

Yea, but you're supposed to tell me that. LOL

Ok, "you're not stupid."

Then I got a big hug.

---

This a.m. Anna had SUCCESS! We have had a chicken escape artist that was going to meet its doom if we couldn't keep it fenced.

She came in doing a happy dance this A.M. singing:

"block the hole, keep in the chicken"
"block the hole keep the chicken in the fence"
"Block the hole keep in the chicken"
"Light a candle everything's all right!"

(to the tune of shut de' door keep out de devil)
an old song


We went to the zoo yesterday and checked out the Reptile Pavillion. There were some very active snakes, and some had been shedding skin.

This a.m. Sarah came to me with a little skin peeling off her nose from our lake adventure on Sunday afternoon.

She said, "Mommy, if my nose is peeling, does that mean I'm growing?" LOL


Today Sarah started working on her knitting. After about 30 minutes she said, "I can't wait till this grows up to be a blanket!"


Sarah has this habit of pretending her fake leg is real, so if it gets bumped or I step on her toes on her fake leg, she says OUCH!

The other day, she said, "there's a staple in my foot!" So I said, "well, pull it out". She did and said, OWWWW THAT HURT! I looked down and the staple was in her real foot. oops. LOL


Yesterday it stopped raining hard and Sarah was dying to go outside. She looked out the window and said, "Its not raining hard mama, its just drippling!"


Well it is official.... One of our girls turned into a woman today.

She was so embarrassed not wanting anybody to know. At bath time, I had to explain to Sarah what happened and why Anna was being so secretive.

Sarah burst into tears, "Why do girls have to turn into women!Now Anna can't play!" WHAAAA!!!!

So I explained she isn't a grown up, she is just growing up.....

So to cheer Anna up when she came out of the shower, Sarah said, "Now that you are a woman, you can be the mother when we play house!"

To which Anna burst into tears! "I don't want to be a woman!"


This a.m. I was snuggling with Anna.

She said, "Mama, do you want to see me get my cereal in less than a minute without using my hands?"

I was up for the challenge, so I said, "Sure!"

She said, "Mama, get me some cereal QUICK!"




"If somebody strikes you, turn the other cheek!" This was part of our little talk this a.m. along with Love your Neighbor as yourself......

So I say, you would never want somebody to strike you, so you should never strike anybody else.

Sarah says,"Oh, I thought turn the other cheek meant, if somebody hits you on the cheek you turn and hit their cheek right back!"


Studying The Bill of Rights:
We were getting ready to study the Bill of Rights. When we were going over them, the right to bear arms came up.

I asked the girlies: What does it mean, "You have the right to own, keep and bear arms?"

The answers:

You have the right to have babies with arms! (bear)
You have the right to keep your arms. Nobody can take them away.
If somebody cuts your arms off, you can own them by keeping them.
If your arms don't have hair; it is ok, you can keep them.

Here are a few more rights:

The right to petition for grievances in Fair and Honest Judgement:
"To tell the judge what you think of him."
It means you can go to the judge and they will be unjust.

The right to privacy in homes:
The condition of being out of the sight and hearing of all other people.
IT means that you want to be left alone.

The right to free speech and press:
You can say what you want to say
It means the right to speak free without getting pressed.

The right to freedom from arbitrary government regulation and control:
You can do whatever you want.


The right to bargain for goods and services in a free market:
To be able to get what you want at the store.

The right to trial by jury and innocent until proven guilty means:
You get together with them and tell them if you are guilty or not.


This was a really fun school day for mom.


We were studying Proverbs 2 last night and Daddy asked the girlies. "Why does the book of Proverbs refer to "wisdom" as "she"? Anna raised her hand and said, "Because Girls are wiser than boys!"


We were learning about the life cycle of the insect. The stages they go through to turn into a butterfly or moth, and we even went out and found a chrysalis to put in a jar and watch it turn into a butterfly.

So the girls are doing their comprehension questions. Sarah blurts out, "I can't find anywhere in my book where it says insects go through menopause!"
We were having science today and the discussion was about the use of "field guides".

So I ask...

What is a Field Guide?

Erika- a guy standing in a field.
Sarah- a guide that walks you through a field.
Anna- a book about something..... (close anna)

help


Yesterday on the evening news there was a story on teen pregnancy.
Erika was sitting next to me and I left it on, and figured I'd see what she "gleaned".
After the story was over, the news Anchor said, "We have NO IDEA why this is happening!"

Erika looked at me with a shocked look and said, "Does that man not know about sex?"


Anna was cleaning out her fish tank today. I overheard her tell her fish rather matter of factly, "If you don't swim into my hand right now, I'm going to have to ground you and take some of your pretty rocks away!"

I asked her, "Are you talking to your fish?"

Yes, mom, the net has a hole in it.


Our son and daughter in law stopped by with our one year old grandson. It was time of a diaper change so I asked Ivy if the girls could watch. DS says, "Is this some sort of science lesson?" (he knows me)

Of course it is. So Ivy says, "come on girls, let's change Will's diaper."

She took his diaper off and Sarah said, "Oh MY! I think I'm simply going to faint!"


I threw my back out once again, so I asked the girls if they wanted to play Cinderella. They said yes! So I had them clean the floor with wash cloths and Murphy's OIL soap. It didn't take but 10 minutes.

After they were done, I said, "Thank you so much my sweet princesses!" Sarah piped up and said, "I don't want to be the kind of princess who scrubs floors, I want to be the kind that wears pretty dresses and doesn't do any work!"

We have been studying ancient Egypt. Today we had a creative writing assignment where the girls had to pretend they at one time lived in ancient Egypt.

Anna's started with:

I helped to bury King Tut... I put him in a Jakcyl jar. I put him in a Falcon jar. I put him in a Baboon Jar. etc...........

I was laughing so hard I couldn't finish grading her paper.




Our newest neighbor was born 2 days ago.
I took this photo of him yesterday.
The girls PROUDLY said, they could tell he was a boy!
"Because of that THING!"


Erika was asking about having babies today. I told her when her brothers were born, the doctor held them up and said, "It's a boy!" She said, "how do you know if a baby is a boy or a girl?"

Anna piped up from the other room and said, "girls have hair and boys are bald!"


The girlies were watching "The 10 Commandments".

The intermission section showed up and our dd Anna said, "Oh, that is so all the actors and actresses can go to the bathroom!" LOL


Yesterday we went to the hospital for checkups.

Sarah has grown and we had to take her leg down stairs to add some height to her prosthetic leg. She has grown over an inch!

After she put it back on, the dr. asked, "How do you feel?" She said, "I feel like a grown up woman!

We had been talking about dogs and the different kinds there are.  The next day we were waiting in the car while daddy went in to get donuts.   I saw a man walking his dog and said, "Look, there is an Australian Shepherd!"  Erika said, "Yes, and he has a dog too!"

We attended a wedding and the usher stuck his arm out. Anna took his arm and we walked behind.  When we sat down, Sarah said, "Well, I will wait to take a man's arm until I'm grown up!  I asked her, "and when will that be?"  She said, "I'll wait until I'm 10!"

We attended another wedding and when the groom came out, he had several piercings with rings in them.  Sarah said, "When I grow up, do I have to get married?  I said, no, you don't have to! "She said, if you and daddy find a husband for me, can you make sure he doesn't look like that!" LOL

Counting Our Blessings

 Since it is so close to Thanksgiving, I just wanted to share the blessings in my life.
We have the most awesome friends and family. I have never seen people pull together like they have over this past week. 

We have had people praying for us from coast to coast, an AWESOME social worker to worked feverishly over the weekend to actually FINISH our home study  in record time!  (and now we are waiting to hear any news!)
Even the FBI got involved.  We are both FBI approved after just 5 days! :) 

Our children, Tim and Emily will be going to court on Saturday, National Adoption Day, to finalize the adoption of our 2 grandsons, Joey and Christopher.
Our friend will also be adopting a young man (15 year old) who is the former foster son of Tim and Em.  WOW!  Isn't that just the coolest!

The Lord has been so good to us this year.  Last year at this time my shoulder was frozen. I was in such terrible pain I could barely stand it.  We thought I had a torn rotator cuff, and it turned out to be my brain. :)  The shoulder was frozen, but the nerve pain was over the top and Christmas and Thanksgiving last year are just a blurr. 

This year, I can move my arm over my head and I am doing so well! 
God has been faithful!

The girlies are doing so well in their studies and they are so excited about our upcoming events.
I love it that Sarah blogged about her favorite Christmas things.  She loves the Christmas music. :)

I am also so very thankful for the bloggy support from all over. Some of you I have met on the phone, and one person IN person, and other than that, it is just bloggy world support. :) 
You all mean a great deal to me.  Thank you for sharing your hearts, and inviting folks to read.
It really blesses us to be a part of your lives and to have you to be a a part of our lives.

I am so thankful for our Church family.  They are so awesome. We have been told "just ask, anything we can do to help, we will!"  They have supported us in prayer and we have felt their prayers.
They are amazing AND just 4 minutes away! :)

Our neighbors also are so neat. They have just been such a blessing.   We are truly blessed.

We are so ready to share good news! But we are doing the DORI swim thing...... "just keep waiting, just keep waiting, just keep waiting"..... our social worker told me to laugh a lot and bake some gluten free cookies. :)
Love that lady.

What are you Thankful for?

Posting and Purchasing

I removed a few things until we know more. :) I don't want to be presumptuous about outcome.  Please Keep us in your Prayers!  We want what is right before the Lord.   The Lord knows. :)  But we are moving Full Steam Ahead!

In the mean time, we had a wonderful day yesterday! The girlies went to Hobby Lobby and picked out their annual Christmas Ornament.  This tradition is one that I thoroughly enjoy. I love seeing them study and study and finally decide!
Of course Anna, could not decide. She had 2 kitten ornaments picked but she could only pick one.
She was really stressed about which one would fit "clow paw's personality".  She asked all of us our opinion,  and we told her both ornaments were wonderful, but she would need to decide.  She put them both back and said, "I can't decide!"
I told her, now sweetie, not deciding is deciding!  So, after a few encouragements, she finally decided!
You know what she decided?

She DECIDED that BUY ONE and let me get the other! LOL  Hey, I thought that was a good decision. They were 50% off. :)

Sarah picked a Ballerina, that is just adorable.

Erika picked a girl on a horse going around a barrell.
 For me, I picked a chicken sitting on a nest. :)

I think everything will fit onto the tree in a lovely way, and there will be one more hole cemented  letting the girls embrace once again the  solidity of permanence while celebrating the entire Thanksgiving and Christmas season.
This is Anna's 8th time to get an ornament.  It is Sarah's 6th, and Erika's 5th. (I think) LOL
They love getting the old ornaments out and looking at them... I love hearing them say, there it is! That is the one I picked!   Making those memories for them has replaced many bad memories that were there before.   It gives me hope for any children that may come into our family that they too will be able to make new memories that will last them for a life time. :)

We will make some ornaments this year too, to add to our tree.  I retired several very old things last year, it sorta made me sad..... but they really were falling apart. My boys are getting old! LOL
I still have some of what they made.   There was this Angel that Marcus made in 1st grade.  It finally fell apart, but NOT before I took a picture of it. :)  I need to scan the pic so I can show you his precious angel and hung on the wall every year. When he was in high school he said, "Mom, do you still have to hang that?" LOL   My answer was, "Yes!" YOU made it! :)

What plans do you have that are unique to your family that you repeat each year for your children to make memories?  Have they begun to connect Christmas or Thanksgiving with their new memories?

My Giant

UGH.....  I don't know if anybody else is like me and has a GIANT in their way..... but I have this terrible fear of dealing with financial things.  I HATE it.  Yet, God continually places me in position to FACE my fears and trust him.

I have a son who is an accountant. I do not understand how he could look forward to going to work every day dealing with finances, but he does and loves it.

There are always these deadlines, and then balancing things, and making sure everything gets to where it is supposed to go on time, and then interest rates and what is owed, and savings, and retirement,  and insurance, and budgeting, and it goes on and on.....
Then, there is checking of the bills to make sure they are correct and the online stuff to make sure it is correct and before I know it, I can't think. 

The weird thing is I KNOW a good deal about HOW to manage things, but I am not a good manager.
I guess that means I am also not a good steward.  Yikes, that makes me sad.  

It seems that by my AGE, I should have a good handle on this stuff, or at least not want to run and hide from it; but I don't.  But why, when I am making a simple phone call to find out something simple like a balance on a mortgage do I feel like I'm in the Principal's office.... and I've never been sent to the principal's office! LOL

So I'm not waiting for the New Year to make yet another resolution..... I'm going to start today.
Mike has wanted me to use a certain system which seems so daunting to me.  He told me the other day, if I would just DO it, I will see that it will make my tasks much easier.  He is probably right.
NO! He IS right.  So, here I go, facing a Giant in my life. I know the Lord will help me and my sweet husband has offered to help me too.  I know he needs me to manage this area better.  He manages the business side of things..... So, here I go...... GIANT BE GONE! :)

Olive Oyl Anybody?

The girlies were redoing a scene from the Popeye Movie.......

Another Great Post

I was just over at Sally Clarkson's blog "I Take Joy" and read this.  Pearls of Wisdom. :)
I am still having trouble with my link in my side bar to the I Take Joy blog, but you can manually type it in at... www.itakejoy.com

Saddled With Burdens Too Heavy To Bear

Why are there those who burden parents with the idea that if they do not do everything in a certain way, their children will be doomed?  The way is usaually the way the Author of the book, or the speaker of the conference tell you you should raise your children.

"You must use this method!" "You must use these steps!"  and..... when you look into scripture, it isn't there.

RUN! From these kinds of teachings!  FLEE into truth!  These "Law Driven" teachers who insist you must Punish for every simple infraction, and then punish if the child doesn't respond to your liking about being punished are just plain DANGEROUS!
If you read a book that says if you follow their method and your kids will  follow God, throw it out!

Scripture says in Matthew that the pharisees placed heavy burdens on the people and did nothing to help them.  He said that the Pharisees shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces .... "You neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you hypocrites! For you travel arcoss sea and land to make a single proselyte and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you. You blind guides!....... Woe to you, you are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly "appear" beautiful, but inside you are full of dead mens bones and all uncleanness.
(This is in Matthew 23)

Why do I mention this in a post on parenting?  Because there are those who saddle burdens on people telling them that their children's salvation is up to THEM!  That is a lie from the pit!

Now, I am not saying, to let your children run amock and not to teach them or correct them.  Of course we are to teach truth to our children. But the burden of their salvation is not one for me to bear.  The Holy Spirit is the one who draws, not me.   I can lead by example, with humility and meekness, showing my kids that even good words can come out of a donkey.  :)  I can lead them and teach them, but the ultimate response is theirs and between them and God.

The very best way, I find in teaching the gospel to my children, is by living it.  God has forgiven me, and I forgive them.  God Loves Me, and I love them.  God is patient and kind and long suffering with me, and I in turn am to be patient and kind and long suffering with them.  All the while, teaching them treasures of the Gospel truth.

It makes no sense to hold them to law, punishing for each infraction, or for their inherent imperfections,  when I myself hold to grace and mercy for my own imperfections.   As I have said before.... "Why do we insist on grace and mercy for ourselves, yet hold to LAW for our children?"  How does this teach the gospel to them?
To be clear, Jesus did not take away from the law.  We do believe that the Law is good. It is a tutor. It is perfect and pure.  We teach our children this very thing.  But we cannot "discipline the law into them."

One of the dangers of "law based parenting", is that you may wind up with a bunch of mini pharisees!
They know how to follow the law externally, but inside they are dead.
They may know how to externally  play the game....quote the verses, answer the questions and have the cathechism memorized, but it does not save the soul.  We come to Salvation through Faith ALONE through GRACE Alone! Through Christ ALONE!

Another thing I have noticed is what "fruit inspectors" we are.   Our children tell us they have trusted Christ as Savior.  I believe them.  We have actually had people say something like, "Are you sure?"
"Do you think they should be taking communion? How do you know they are saved?"    Honestly, these questions shock me.

Why would I question my child's simple faith?  Why would I not let them take communion?  A believer is supposed to take communion!   What message do we send our believing children if we refuse to allow them to participate in the very practice of the believer?  What does that tell them?
That their faith isn't good enough? That they have to "prove it" to me, in order to pass?
This isn't in scripture either.

What IS in scripture is that the Gospel is simple enough for a Child to understand.
And whoever trusts Christ, will never be cast out.

Romans 8:31-37

No More Facebook

I have permanently removed our account from Facebook.  The reason is, that no matter how many times we have set our privacy to the most private, it changes without us knowing.  This time, I posted a link from CNN only to find my facebook name saying that I posted it on Facebook.  I really don't want that information out there. I have PURPOSELY not connected my facebook account to CNN, and have reset it more than once, only to find it there again. 

I give up.  I do not find facebook to be a safe place.  I am really not happy that I can't read something or link something, without it being announced to the world.

Breakfast Anyone?

I always like to cook breakfast for everybody and I think they mostly look forward to my creations. :)

This morning, I surprised Sarah by saying, "Sarah, come and eat your pig and chicken!"  She said, "Oh I know what it is! Sausage and Eggs!  I said, "No, it is a pig and a chicken!"   And to her surprise, it WAS! :)

It's Adoption Sunday!

 Steve over at Loved Already put this together awhile back.  The very last picture is of him and his son leaving the orphanage.  Thanks Steve for making this!

I CAN'T WAIT TO HUG THESE GUYS!

I can't wait to hug them all at Thanksgiving!

 Mr. Sam and Mr. Truman are coming to town! :)

 Sam and Trumy

Sam and Trumy

Park Adventures

Apparently the girls took these while I was busy reading my book! Now, How Erika got to the top of a slide I have no idea.... I'm afraid to ask!  Glad I was READING! LOL

So here she is going down the slide.....UPSIDEDOWN! (sarah said to make sure my readers know she was UPSIDEDOWN!)

Apparently, after getting all the wood chips out of her hair, she actually thought falling on her head was fun! LOL

Home School Soccer and Library Days

Fridays are busy days. The girls really enjoy playing soccer. I am a terrible picture taker. All of them kicked the ball today and I missed it! :)
Library day is very important.  They always come home with great books to read for the week.

This Is Amazing!

This video is about new ways to diagnose brain disorders.  There are many children mis dagnosed in our country and simply medicated or deemed autistic.  I found this to be quite an interesting piece and it seems very logical.  I wonder why this hasn't been done in the past, or if it COULDn't be done before and it is new technology?
It is nothing short of amazing.

My Favorite Cup

The girls are at bible study, so I decided to have a Tea Party with just me and my favorite cup!
Do you have a favorite cup?

Holiday Spice Cookies

****This Recipe is Not Gluten Free YET...*****


             Holiday Spice Cookies
A kind of sugar cookie with some punch!

1 cup of butter softened (2 sticks)
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup on honey
2 TLB of white vinegar
2 eggs
1TLB vanilla extract

2 3/4 - 3  c flour
1/4 tsp finely ground pepper
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 TSP ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/s tsp salt

Combine all ingredients except flour and spices
mix until creamy

add flour and spices.
mix together thoroughly

Divide dough in 1/2 and shape like log wrapping in waxed paper.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours

On well floured surface, take dough out a little at a time and roll flat to 1/4 inch or less
dip cookie cutters in flour and cut out cookie shapes

Place on cookie sheet. 
If making ornaments for tree, place hooks in tops of cookies and make sure the dough is pressed in around the hook
OR make a circular hole in top to put ribbon through. Make sure it is big enough that cookie doesn't close over hole while baking.

Bake in oven at 350º for about 10 minutes.  Cookies will be starting to brown. 

Cool on wire racks.


For ICING:

1 package of powdered sugar, powdered vanilla or vanilla extract
milk or water, food coloring

divide sugar into bowls, add small amount of vanilla, add a very small amount of milk or water
and stir. Do not get it too thin. If it is too thin, just add more sugar.  Stir until there are no lumps
add food coloring of your choice.

Decorate cookies  and if you like, add sprinkles

We like to use chocolate sprinkles, green, red, and multi colored ......

Place cookies back on racks to dry..... they should be dry within a few hours.

Then, you can hang them on the tree, or just eat them. :)

In Honor of Dabba

This is Leesia.

Our mom turned 90 yesterday!!!!!  WOW! Isn't that great!  She has been a huge advocate for adoption, for caring for the poor, widowed and orphaned for most of her life.  On a nurses salary, after her husband had died in a tragic accident, she raised her 6 children, and also managed to donate nearly all of her money to Charity.  She even went over and lived in Israel after she retired and worked in a Special Needs Orphanage.  She has supported countless children through World Vision International and even helped start an orphanage for Special Needs boys in India.  She collected food and medicine to send to Africa.

She has LIVED James 1:27.  I love her so very much, and am sad that we are separated by such a long distance, but there is not a day that goes by that I don't thank the Lord for her being in my life.

In her honor, we have donated to Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree Project.  And now, one more little girl, Leesia, will have support, and possibly find a family.

Adoption Awareness Part 2

 As you know, November is Adoption Awareness Month.  I blogged about it here already. 
Reece's Rainbow, a group that helps find homes for special needs kids, has started an Angel Tree Project to help with the adoption costs for families interested in bringing home a little one.

Because of many simple donations from every day people, there are two families I know of, who have either brought home, or are going to bring home a very special child.

As Julia pointed out on her blog, many of the pictures of these kids aren't the best.  In fact, the only picture we saw of Erika was a 9 month old screaming baby!  Not very flattering! LOL

These children are in GREAT need. Many will die if they do not find homes.  Many will literally be left to rot. That was the bleak future of 2 of our girls, had the Lord not intervened in their lives and ours to bring us together.  I still feel like I am living an incredible dream! May I never wake up!

God Bless you, as you help to bring a child home either through Donation or through Adoption.

You can honor somebody's birthday by giving! You can honor somebody at Christmas by giving..... after all, who REALLY needs another pair of gloves or slippers or another cup for coffee?
Those simple amounts of 5 dollars or 10 dollars make a HUGE difference when added up.
It may be the difference between life or death for some of these kids.

Unfortunately Adoption is EXPENSIVE.  It shouldn't be, but it is, and many times, it is the WALL between children and parents becoming families.  I know for us, it made all the difference in the world.
And for Erika, it meant life.

Creating Lasting Holiday Memories

What are some of the things ya'll do every year that make new, positive and lasting memories for your children?

Many years ago, when we were very poor, we couldn't afford Christmas Ornaments, so I had this bright Idea to bake cookies with hooks in them to decorate our tree.  I had to fabulous Dutch Christmas Cookie Recipe, and hooks were cheap! 
Our tree was so pretty with all those cookies. But our baby Marcus, found out that they ornaments tasted WONDERFUL.  I caught him licking them, and  then, I saw ANTS! Apparently the ants thought they tasted good too! I think we were the only family on the block that had an ant poison jar under our tree. LOL
Over the years, we kept up that tradition, and we do it to this day, 30 plus years later.   We have always had assembly line cookie decorating day, and the cookies get put on the tree and then disappear with just hooks left. :)  It really is fun, and I have wonderful memories of this practice. 
It is something we all look forward to.

7 years ago, we started decorating Ginger Bread Houses.  It is now a tradition. Our grand girls have always come over to help, and this year, sadly (sniff) they won't be here, as they moved to Albuquerque.... but I'm sure they will do their own, and we can share pictures. :)

This year I bought two sets because the grandsons will be here to decorate.  I'm hope to have one for the girls and one for the boys.  I can't wait to see them get all messy and see those little smiles. :)

Here is a post from last year's decorating.

We love to make our own ornaments and we add to the tree each year.  For many years, most everything on our tree was home made.  Now it is a combo of purchased ornaments and home made.

The girl's tradition has been to buy a new ornament from Hobby Lobby each year. They get to pick one.  This has really, REALLY helped them in transitioning bad memories to good memories.  It is funny how little things like this done repeatedly, reboot the brain and teach us different responses over time, replacing our traumatic memory with good memories.  It does take time, but it happens!

I think keeping busy with planned activity is a good way to get through the season.  We like to sing Christmas music and the girls as well as the boys love to put on skits.  We have a big celebration at Church and this year we will all be participating. 

We try not to emphasize too much in the gift department, although we do give gifts.  We also like to do angel tree, or find a family in need and the children get to shoppe for that family.  It really is enjoyable to see them give.

Cooking is a big deal....and trying out recipes make for great bonding time in the kitchen.  This is something that is different with our girls. Our guys were great taste testers, but not that interested in Food Science. The girls however, love to cook. :)

I am really thrilled to see my girlies facing the Holiday season with excitement.  It is catchy, ya know. :)

LISTS ALREADY!

These girls are so funny.  Anna's birthday is coming up the day after Thanksgiving, so we were talking cake, and favorite movie.....

It is the first day we have really had a good, dreary, Fall like type day that makes it feel "Holidayish". :)

I got out of the shower to some little list makers. :)  Yep, they are thinking about Christmas already! LOL
Makes me want to put Holiday music on. :)

I  love it that they are making lists.

I remember not long ago when the idea of a gift was so foreign. After much thought, Erika asked for a comb.  She has become too smart. One of the things on her list was for me to do her chores! LOL