Favorite Photo Friday

We have had so much fun this year decorating for Christmas with Chloe around. She won't hardly let you put the ornaments on the tree because first each one must receive a kiss from her and then she tells each one, "Merry Christmas". It is just too funny. So here's my favorite photo from this week - Daddy and Chloe decorating her tree - notice all the girly purple and pink - too cute!!!

Wipers!!!

The other day we were sitting at the table and Chloe announced she had to go potty. So, off she went with instructions to call me when she was done. Sure enough, in just a few minutes, she is calling, "Mommy, I'm done!" from the bathroom. Before I headed off to wipe her, I told the boys that it always makes me think of a movie that was popular when I was younger - I had never seen it, but I remember kids in high school (or college - who knows!!) laughing over a scene where a rich guy has gone to the bathroom and calls for his "wipers" to come and wipe him. We got a chuckle out of that and I went off to wipe the princess on the potty!

Ok - that's the background - now today I am at work and I get an Instant Message from the boys saying that Chloe was going potty and just yelled, "Wipers" from the bathroom. The boys were cracking up - they couldn't believe she remembered that!!

Fast forward to tonight, I am, yes again, helping Chloe on the potty and she says to me, "Mommy, I say 'I'm done' to you, but I save 'Wipers' for the boys!!!!" That girl just makes me laugh!!!

THANK YOU!!!

A BIG thank you to my friend, Verna, the Blog Fairy!!! She made this header for me and surprised me!! What a fun gift and a great friend! Wow, my house is decorated for Christmas and now my blog is too - the shopping is almost done - what else could you ask for?!?! Oh yeah, SNOW!!!!

Always Thinking about Food!!

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Oridnary, comforting, and more than a little predictable You're the glue that holds everyone together.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

Saw this on my friend's blog and had to play along. If you try it - let me know what you are !! We'll see if we can get the whole meal!!

What Sisters are For...

I wondered what was up today when I peeked into the quiet living room - yes, it was backrub time. The boys have convinced Chloe that she is good at giving backrubs! And if she's lucky, she may get one in return!!!

Favorite Photo Friday

Remember this ladybug?!?! Well - now it's "Ladybug with an Attitude!"

(And I know, someday that little attitude won't be funny, will it?!?!?!)

Deep Question

This is for all of you philosophy majors out there...


See Joe, I do think deeply sometimes!!!

National Adoption Month

It was back in November of 2003 (little did we know our Chloe would be born in a few short months) that we started thinking of adopting. It was National Adoption Month and boy were we getting "hit over the head"!!! And yes, we are SO glad we listened. So, I do all I can to get the word out for other orphans. Our pastor's wife reminded us at church last night that the number of orphans in the world right now is equal to HALF the population of the U.S. - astounding, isn't it!?! I found a great link today with lots of adoption books and even podcasts - go HERE and check it out if you are interested. Then go HERE for STILL MORE books that focus on adoption or orphans. I don't think I ever even noticed all those books before - now I see them everywhere. I love it!


We attended a worship service yesterday at a nearby church that was honoring families that have adopted. What a powerful display of God's love! I was amazed to see the little ones of all different colors and backgrounds together - they were holding hands and playing games and running around - the little ones didn't care what color their friends were, they just enjoyed each other's company! It was just such a simple reminder of what Heaven will be like someday. I am just so in awe of God's "big-ness" when I am at gatherings such as this - He chooses to bring little ones from China, Guatemala, Ukraine, Ethiopia - the list goes on and on - and ALL to glorify Himself - what a Great God we serve! Thank you again, Katelyn's Fund - for a wonderful time together. We are truly blessed.

Fall Favorite

For lack of wonderful posts this week, I found my favorite fall photo - so far!! SO thought I'd share it. I just love that little smirk -

Leon cooked again for us last night - sorry, no pictures. Crab soup - absolutely wonderful (and I am not normally a fish fan!!!) My boys, again, loved it - Micah says it rivals Grandma's potato soup!!! Hmmm, wondering if maybe the way to keep Leon in the U.S. is to have him become my personal chef!!! Now, my favorite is still the black chicken and mushroom - but what is there not to love about black poultry and fungus!??!! :) (That was for Joe!)

Yes, we passed the nine month - waiting mark this week. That is quite a wait - and Joe so nicely pointed out today that unless the CCAA speeds up tremendously OR unless we are given a waiting child - we are looking at AT LEAST another year - WOW - I guess this is when you trust that God's timing is best!!

Black Chicken

If you have been reading for any length of time, you know we have been blessed with a college student from China named Leon. We just feel like Leon's been a part of our family forever, and we love our time with him. So, this past Saturday, when he offered to cook us an authentic Chinese meal - we were thrilled, once again, to have him here to share these things with us. Now maybe you all remember my "China Experience" - I almost NEVER ate anything other than a burger while we were in China (and always in our hotel!!) and then the one time I got real brave and ate out of the hotel and tried something authentic - I got SICK, so I have a lingering fear of these foreign foods - I have just never been that sick, before or since, and I hope to never be again. That is why, when I think of eating authentic Chinese food, I nearly break out in sweats. But I need to get over that fear - I know many others eat it and are fine, so this was my initial step to conquer that fear! Leon scoured the store to find just the right menu - he asked Joe and I what we thought of Pig's Feet - Honesty is always good, right?!?!? I told him that was probably not something that we would EAT on a daily basis, but we could sure try the soup - he is such a good sport, he sensed the hesitation there and decided on black chicken instead.

Of course, there is nothing anywhere near here for making authentic dishes, so we drove to a larger city nearby, and visited their local Chinese market. Stepping inside that shop brought back overwhelming memories of China- smells, sights, hearing the Chinese being spoken - it's all there. We love to visit there and it was even more fun with Leon running from item to item with a big smile on his face. I think for him it was like a piece of home and he loved every minute of it. So, we packed up our many food items that I can't even pronounce, much less tell you what they are, and headed for home. Leon could not wait another week to cook it, so he convinced us that he would make just one dish THAT day. He wanted to make the black chicken soup so that is what he sets to doing. We pulled a smaller-sized chicken out of the fridge - it was wrapped in plastic - and looked much like our cornish hens. As he began to peel back the plastic, I noticed that they weren't kidding- this chicken REALLY was black. I had never seen anything like it - Once I got over my initial shock, I watched Leon clean the chicken and proceed to drop it into the boiling water and spices. Now I have NOTHING against trying new things, and I trust Leon - he won't make something horrible - BUT I have to draw the line when he begins to drop the chicken in the pot - because THIS CHICKEN STILL HAD A HEAD AND FEET ON IT!!!! I told Leon kindly that there was just no way I could bring myself to eat this small creature as it swam there in my soup bowl looking at me and asked (ok, begged) him to PLEASE just remove the head and feet and I would be ok. I don't think he even understood why, but he kindly obliged me - that's just the kind of guy he is!! So we smelled this chicken simmering away all day - and I knew that Joe and I would be game to try it, but I wasn't so sure about the boys! Finally the hour came to try this soup - and I must say that the smell was incredible - I was excited to give it a try. I gently encouraged the boys to at least try it - and would you believe it - they each ate three bowls full!!! It was wonderful - So we say a hearty "THANKS" to Chef Leon - I still don't know the name of the soup - or how to pronounce it, but now we can't wait for the next dish!

Favorite Photo Friday

Here was our only Trick-or-Treater this year:

Our Little Ladybug (or as Daddy called her - His Little Asian Beetle!!)

Helping a Friend

I have a very close friend that is working on an adoption from China - and she is a wonderful seamstress. SO - as a fundraiser for their adoption, she is selling pajamas for girls and boys AND even matching doll pajamas. I told her I would post it on my blog so that all of my adoption friends (well anyfriends, really!) would go and check it out!! It is such a great cause and would make special Christmas presents - and you won't be disappointed - her work is beautiful!!! So GO check it out!!!!! And check out that cute model on the girl's pajamas page - she is cute, isn't she?!!!? :)