Roll Tide. Beat Auburn.

So, Kenny has a shaker that's been around since the college days.  And it's covered in teeth marks.  I'd like to say that our pretend dog got a hold of it or that we have a teething child that prefers shakers to teething rings, but none of the above is true.

This is the reason that it's covered in teeth marks...

Kenny watches every Bama game like this.  Every.  Single.  One. 

And it looks like it's rubbing off.

Roll Tide.

Not an endorsement for Walmart. Just funny.

By far, the best Black Friday commercial out there!  But as you can see by the time, I have ZERO intentions of joining the crazies that are now probably wishing they'd ate a little less turkey and taken a longer nap. 

I'm about to head to my nice, warm bed.  To sleep.  All night. 

I'll search for deals later.  Believe me.

I hope you have all had a great Thanksgiving Day and have spent it with friends you like and family you love.  Or the other way around.  Either way.

Kenny's parents are here for the week and we've spent the day oooohhing and ahhhing over huge inflatable cartoon characters, convincing the boys they like sweet potato casserole and dressing, playing soccer and climbing trees, making our 31-days-of-thankful-Christmas-count-down-chain, enjoying multiple dishes with pecans and watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

In a little pecan nutshell...we are blessed and thankful.

Happy, Merry Thanksgiving!

"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and THANKSGIVING and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."  Revelation 7:12

Questions? I have answers.

So, these are the questions I'm getting in real life, and therefore, assume those of you in my little blog world may have the same ones.

When did y'all decide to adopt again? 

Well, honestly, the day I set foot on US soil from Ethiopia, I was ready to go back.  Kenny wasn't.  While we were both new to this whole parenting thing, I have worked with kids my whole life and for me, the more, the merrier.  Kenny was totally new to this whole kid thing and needed more time to adjust to the fact that we now had two little people running around our house that demanded 100% of our time and attention.  We both knew we would adopt again.  It was just a matter of timing.

Several months back (late summer?), we realized that God was going to again bless us and allow us to add to our family through adoption.  So we made that decision and started praying about where, when, etc.

What do the boys think?

When we decided to begin the process again, we started talking it up with the boys. 

It didn't go over well. 

Especially with Charlie.  Sam was more on board once he realized he would be a big brother, and let's face it...he's four and as long as we feed him and play with him, he doesn't care what happens.  Charlie was very up front with the fact that he liked it with just the four of us and didn't think we needed anymore people in our family. 

I really think it was all based on fear.  He has experienced more than any child should ever be expected to endure.  In the first 6 years of his life, he had to worry about things kids shouldn't have to worry about.  And for the first time in his life, things were stable, fun and safe.  And he didn't want any of that to change.  And I honestly can't say that I blame him.

Over the last few months of talking about it and bringing it up almost daily, the idea of having a little brother or sister has grown on Charlie.  We have assured him that having another sibling in no way changes how much we love him or his status in our family.  He will always be the big brother.  And he will always be a part of this family, no matter how many people are in it.  Yes, things will change because anytime you add to your family, regardless of how that happens, things change.  And yes, you'll have to share your toys!

He is now more okay with having a little sister.  (They both kept saying brother, but one day, Charlie just changed to sister and hasn't looked back!)  He asks questions about what her name will be, where she'll sit in the car, how long it will take to get her, etc, etc.  My first adoption related tears (well, for this adoption!) were shed just the other day and it was totally related to Charlie finally feeling secure enough to WANT a baby sister!

So, the announcement that we were adopting again came a few weeks ago because we had finally had a chance to notify all our family (other than by the blog or Facebook, which is no way for your little sister to find out you are adding to your family!).  And the boys both seemed to be at a point that they were okay with the decision.  And I needed them to be okay before people started asking them about it or before things started happening.

Why South Korea? And why not Ethiopia again? 

The choice to pursue adoption in South Korea has several answers.  Some selfish, some not. 

Most people want to know why we aren't going back to Ethiopia.  I'd go back there in a heart beat, but right now, that's just not the best choice for our family and for our boys.  Plus, scripture commands us to "go into all the nations"  not just "nation"...yeah, I may be taking that slightly out of context, but I want our family to reflect the "nations".

The selfish reasons...I've always wanted to adopt from an Asian country.  And I really want to do the whole baby thing.  And the Lord may or may not allow me the chance to experience the baby stages of my children's lives, but right now, SK is one place that is placing infants (defined as a child under the age of 12 months).  And we most definitely want a child younger than Sam.

What is the timeline?

I had this discussion with Charlie the other day.  His theory...it will only take a month.  Why?  Because there is just one of her.  And when we adopted them, there were two kids.  I really, really wished that's how things happened.

And honestly, I can't answer this question.  I have no idea.  Referrals from South Korea are slowing each year as they encourage domestic adoption in the country.  The agency we wanted to use isn't accepting new families until the first of the year.  Hopefully.  (Add to prayer list:  check!)  We are just waiting on God's timing and prompting.  Maybe the slow down in SK is God's way of directing us to another country...you never know what He has up his sleeve...

How far along in the process are y'all?

Not very.  We are working on getting all the paperwork together to get our homestudy updated.  Plus, if we do go to South Korea, they have a BMI requirement for adoptive parents.  And as it stands, Kenny needs to lose a few.  He's working on that right now.

So, you get to be here every step of the way.  Start praying!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

While I am in no way seeking your validation for our decisions, I hope that you now feel more informed.  Because I do.

All we ask of you is prayer.  Please pray for God's timing.  Pray for our new baby sister, whether she is born or not; whether she is in South Korea or another country.  Pray for the boys to continue to adjust to the idea of adding to our family and to develop a love for her before she even comes home!  Pray for Kenny and I as we will officially be out numbered after this one. 

Tons of people have three or more kids.  We can do this, right??

I started Christmas already.

Well, I've had my first Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake, so the season can officially begin.  I'm not kidding.  They are a must for the Christmas season. 

Plus, we did a little fall clean up this past weekend.  Needed to get rid of those Halloween pumpkins.  And what better way to do that, than with a hammer.  Which was totally cool with the boys, until I informed them that they had to clean up all the pulverized pumpkin pieces.  Then they turned from manly-hammer-toting-pumpkin-smashers to wimpy-I-need-gloves-so-my-hands-don't-get-dirty little girls.  I gave them some gloves, but not without making them stick their hands in it first.  Yes, I'm accepting "Mother of the Year" nominations...

 

Then we needed to rake some leaves.  What looks like child labor to the innocent passerby, is actually playtime.  That pile of leaves didn’t stay piled up for long, trust me.  And it was their idea to rake them anyway.

It’s totally cool for a kid with horrible allergies to play in a pile of crunched-up, dead leaves, right??

A little road trip.

We took a road trip and went to that game dubbed as "The Game of the Century" last weekend.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you must know that you didn't miss much.  We lost.  Shouldn't have, but we did.  Guess no one will listen to Kenny's argument that Alabama is still a better team than LSU.

Regardless, we got to see a lot of folks we haven't seen in a really long time (although we certainly didn't get to see everyone), hang out on the campus we called home for five (long) years and just enjoying being in that whole yay-we-are-at-a-football-game atmosphere again.  I determined we are really too old for all that college life experience stuff after we made a trip to the strip Friday night to make sure we got Kenny a taste of Tut's beloved steak and cheese sandwich.  I got tired just looking for a parking spot. 

I figured I should document it though.  It was the first time I had been to Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2003.  And I call myself an alum...

Jason, Brandon, Kenny & D..........I'm not even gonna make any more comment than that...

Yeah.  I waited until AFTER we lost to take a picture.  Dummy.

Also lucky my husband smiled for me after the game.  I'm telling you, my timing is spectacular.  But he can't say no to me...

Either way, Roll Tide!

Good, good food.

If you know me well, you know I like my food.  But I also don't like to spend all day making a meal.  I'm a huge fan of whoever invented the crock-pot, but this simple soup is just as easy, even without my handy dandy friend.  Who I've just decided to name, since we spend so much time together...or rather, he spends so much time working on dinner...any suggestions?

I digress.

Here's another quick and easy dinner that we have been enjoying for quite a while that is perfect for chilly fall nights.  We are big soup people and this is a yummy twist on a simple vegetable soup.  And the kids like it, too!  Of course, they will eat almost anything with the promise of some leftover Halloween candy if they clean their plates.  And no, that's not bribery.  It's called smart.

Easy Italian Stew

2 tbsp Italian Dressing

1 lb bulk Italian sausage

2 cans (14-1/2 oz. each) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen stir-fry vegetables (white onions; sliced green, red and yellow peppers)

1 can (15 oz.) cannellini beans, rinsed

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked

1 cup Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

HEAT dressing in large saucepan on medium heat. Add sausage; cook 8 to 10 min. or until done, stirring occasionally to break into small pieces.    

ADD broth, stir-fry vegetables, beans and tomatoes; bring to boil. Stir in macaroni; simmer on medium heat 8 to 10 min. or until macaroni is tender, stirring occasionally.
    
TOP with cheese. Serve with crackers.    

My changes...'cause you know I can't follow a recipe to save my life...I add a little more chicken broth (or water) and cook the whole 16 oz package of noodles.  Because I like noodles.  A lot.  And I use cavatappi noodles because they are super curly and that just makes dinner more fun!  Add some basil and crushed red pepper to amp up the flavor.  And I usually make cornbread to go with it.

You could also use ground beef instead of sausage.  I've done both.  It's good either way.

Yummy?  Check.  Easy?  Check.  Cheap?  Double check!

Recipe courtesy of our friends at Kraft.

A tear in my chicken salad.

Our friend Emma doesn't eat sandwiches. More precisely, Emma doesn't eat bread. Unless it's toasted. And since a toasted PB&J doesn't last long in a lunch box, Emma eats chicken salad on a regular basis.

And some time back, Charlie discovered that he really, really likes Emma's chicken salad, too. He had been asking me to make some for him, but since I have an aversion to Miracle Whip because it looks like mayonnaise, I subconsciously kept forgetting to buy it. But I remembered today. So, after tonight's dinner of roasted chicken, I whipped him up some chicken salad with the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow.

I called him up from the playroom to try a bite and see if it tasted like Emma's. And he was so excited that I had made him chicken salad that he hopped up and down and then threw his little skinny arms around me and said, "Thank you, Mommy!!"

Now, that doesn't really sound like a big deal unless you know that this is the very first time in 2 years, 2 months and 17 days that Charlie has ever given me a spontaneous hug. Ever. You know, one not prompted by me asking for it.

The first time he has given any affection without being asked for it first. Kinda a big deal in my book.

Yeah, I cried. Right into his chicken salad.

Again.

For those of you unfamiliar with your country flags, that's South Korea.  And that's the plan right now...a little sister (or brother, if I get out voted) from South Korea!

Future?

I guess it was only a matter of time. But only in God’s perfect time.
It’s a path we’ve been down before, but one that is still so unfamiliar.
One that is exciting. And scary, all at the same time.
I have one happy boy. And one who isn’t so sure about this whole thing.
Three of us have one opinion.  And the remaining one, a totally different thought....

A Very Smurfin' Halloween: Recapped

To recap our pre-Halloween weekend, we started by dressing up as Smurfs Wednesday night at church.  Yes.  Six of us.  You can't just have one smurf.  They travel in packs.

Charlie was Hefty Smurf.  Can't you tell??  All 71 pounds of him.  With his Superman muscles under his smurf shirt.  And Sam was Clumsy Smurf.  If you've every seen him walk, run or just be Sam, you totally understand why.  I was Handy Smurf.  Totally out of necessity.  Because I couldn't find white smurf pants, but Handy wears overalls.  Which I did have.

And how'd you like the hats???

We carved pumpkins on Friday night.  I'm totally obsessed with this little scaper thing that lets you dig out your design from the flesh of the pumpkin (that sounds gross!) instead of actually carving actual holes.  Actually.  Way cooler than carving. 

On the actual holiday, we did our usual Trick-or-Treat on Main Street.  It was a blast and you can check out the recap over here...

I don't know what is so funny.  Maybe someone is saying something hilarious in my CIAish-walkie-talkie-ear-thingy.

So, on to the good holidays. That include Turkey. Yes. Turkey with a capital "T".

It's that important.

Best seat in the house!

What’s the best thing to do to wind down before bedtime after a busy weekend??  Watch some cartoons in the best seat in the house!

Starvin' Marvin...er, Sam!

Anyone know what happens when you take Sam to a food pantry where the food is supposed to be going to those less fortunate than us??  He wants to eat everything in sight!  And try explaining to a 4-year-old that you can’t eat this food, because we are giving it away…it his mind that was totally preposterous!  Why in the world would we give this food to people we don’t even know when he is clearly hungry??

While you are thinking of a way to help me explain that to my apparently starving child, don’t forget to check out how our day went over HERE…

Seven years. And Lynch.

One thing I didn't get around to doing the other day, was wishing Kenny and I a happy seven years!  Yeah.  Sunday was SEVEN years!  I don't think I've ever liked anyone else for that long.......

Good thing we love each other.  Although he has to.  When he asked my dad for permission to marry me, my dad, of course, consented.  But made it clear that in the Hill Family, there were no returns, refunds or exchanges.  So, Kenny would be stuck with me.  And he asked me anyway!

Now that man I love so dearly is sacrificing time with his family this week, as he works hard to provide for us.  And the boys and I are off on our annual Lynch Family Mission Trip.  Which isn't quite so "family" without our Daddy.  And these sweet boys have made it known to me several times today that they wish Daddy was with us.  Me too, boys...more than y'all know!

So, follow us here for the rest of the week.  We'll be updating daily about what's going on, the ministries we are working with and all the fun we are having!  Before you are done reading, you'll wish you had joined us on the trip!

Have a happy weekend!!

Enjoy your weekend...we have a busy one.  But someone is going on a date this weekend because someone has been married for a whole lotta years come Sunday..........

Actually.

Actually.  Pronounced ak-choo-uh-lee.  An adverb that means an actual or existing fact; really.

Actually, I have a 4-year-old who has a bad habit.

A bad habit of overusing the word "actually".  And when he says it, he usually puts both hands out to emphasize just what he means.  Which actually makes him just that much cuter.  Actually.

He says it when he's hungry...  "Actually, I think I need some candy." 
He says it when he needs something...  "I need the crayons actually."
He says it when you're wrong...  "Actually, I already put my backpack up." 
He says it when he's right...  "I'm gonna watch Tom & Jerry right now actually."
He says it when he's explaining himself...  "Actually, I did use my kind voice.  But Charlie just didn't use his kind voice actually."

Actually, he starts almost every sentence with "actually".

Kenny asked me where I think he picked it up from... 

And I actually have no idea where he picked it up.  Actually, I don't think I use the word that much...

"Actually we need to go this way."  And actually...he was right.

And it's all actually pretty funny when you think that two years ago, he barely knew any English.  Now he's using "actually" like a stinkin' pro!

A busy fall day.

We went to Evan's Orchard last week while the boys were on Fall Break and the family came to visit for a couple of days.

While we were there, we conquered the monster tires.

And had way too much fun on the giant slide.

We admired the giant mums.

Pretended to be hamsters.

Got lost in a corn maze.   Again.

Played in a hay fort.

Dug in a "corn" box.

Tried to smile for mommy.

Ate some ice cream.

Sported an attitude.

And picked pumpkins.

And that was just on Friday afternoon.

Yum.

It's fall.  So we made caramel apples.  Which aren't easy to eat with missing teeth...

The Tooth Fairy's new address.

I'm fairly certain most of you have been sitting on the edge of your seats the past couple of weeks, waiting to find out what has happened with Sam's wiggley teeth.  Wait no more, my friends!  The news you've all been waiting for...

A couple of weeks ago Sam decided it was time for his tooth to come out.  It was barely hanging on and actually came out pretty easily.  This was Sam’s first tooth to come out where he really cared about what happened with it, so he was pretty pumped to have something to leave for the Tooth Fairy and Kenny and I made a big deal about it, giving him high fives and talking up the ‘ol “fairy”.

Well, apparently Charlie was feeling a little left out, although he had already lost 8 teeth up to this point.  Not to be outdone, within about 10 minutes Charlie had ripped out one of his teeth.  I say ripped because he showed me the loose tooth the day before.  And it was no where near ready to be pulled less than 24 hours later.  I have no idea how he managed to get it out, but he did.  He just couldn’t let Sam have his moment of glory…

Until I made mentioned of Sam’s neighboring tooth that was also fairly loose.  And when it was ready to come out a mere week later, I knew Charlie would literally have to bust his face on something really hard to get a tooth out now.  Sorry, dude.  This time it’s all Sam’s turn.  (I am so mean.)

The tooth fairy did visit, much to their delight, even though she had to split up the bounty since she couldn’t seem to scrape up enough quarters to pay for two teeth.  And then a third.  I’m gonna have to talk to the Tooth Fairies lending agent.  Maybe see if I can take out a second mortgage or something…

And for some reason, Sam has it in his head that loosing teeth is somehow connected to how old he is…

“Mommy, am I five now?”
“No, buddy.  Your birthday isn’t until March.”
“But mommy, I’ve lost five teeth.  I’m five.”

“No.  You are still four.”
“I’m five.  Like Jimmy.”
“Jimmy just turned five.  But he hasn’t lost any teeth.”

 Long pause as his theory of teeth lost equals years alive slowly begins to fall apart…

 “I want to be five.  I’m bigger.  Am I in kindergarten next week?”

"Nope, not until next year.  And you are still four.”

Big sigh.  “But I still lost five teeth…”
“Yes, you did.  But you are only four years old.  And still in preschool.”
“I just need to be bigger.”
“I know you do.  But I can’t allow any more getting bigger.  Not this year.”

Another big sigh.  “I lost five teeth.”

And the same conversation was duplicated tonight as I talked him out of deciding he was now six.

The life of a Saturday soccer mom.

Well, we started our fall soccer season today.  This is Charlie 3rd year to play.  And Sam's first.  Much to his great excitement!

Let me give you a little run down of the day. 

We loaded up the car early this morning after a hearty breakfast of eggs and biscuits in my best effort to keep these boys full as long as possible.  (Read as...  keep SAM full as long as possible.)  I packed snacks, lunch, water and hot chocolate in my attempt to be as prepared as possible.  Chairs, blankets and extra hoodies also piled in the car.  This was all after attempting to dress two little boys in shin guards, tall socks, warm pants, multiple layers of shirts, sweatshirts and cleats.  And still have them be able to move.  Check.  Forgot gloves, but got to the field with a minute and a half to spare.

So, after we got all the above mentioned paraphernalia out of the car and set up by the field, Charlie and buddy, Emma started their game.  Which went a little like this...Charlie run.  Emma run.  Charlie get distracted.  Emma stop to see if Charlie is OK.  Charlie run.  Emma run after him.  Charlie kick the ball.  Emma stop to tell him "Good job!"  Repeat.  What makes this even funnier is the fact that Charlie almost as tall as me...and Emma is the size of a 3-year-old.  All while Sam is sitting on the sidelines amid all those snack and drinks I was telling you about, swearing that he is starving to death.  Despite that big breakfast he had...oh, about 45 minutes ago.  And when he wasn't pleading for food, he was asking when was it gonna be time for him to play...about 400 hundred times.

After Charlie and Emma's game, we loaded ourselves like pack mules and headed to the next field over for Grace's game.  Which was fairly uneventful and we spent more time laughing at the preschool goalie on the field next to us, then watching Grace play.  He was obviously dancing to some music that none of the rest of us could hear and it was very entertaining.  Had to be some 80's tunes based on the moves he was busting out.  Sam again pleaded for food and I finally gave in and let him have a snack and some hot chocolate.  Which made me a very popular mommy.  At least while he was eating.

And I forgot to mention that despite the fact that it was 80 degrees on Thursday, it was 44 degrees with wind blasting this morning.  Which meant on top of having to be patient about waiting for his game, Sam's nose was literally running off his face.  And we might have accidentally used our borrowed gloves as a Kleenex.  And mommy was freezing.

Finally the time came for Sam's game and we again packed it all up and moved our growing entourage back across the field.  Things were getting messy by this time.  Snacks were falling out of the coolers, hot chocolate had been spilled on the blankets, clothes were being shed as it [very] gradually warmed up and there was a growing collection of snotty tissues in my hoodie pocket.  With my cell phone.  Gross.

We finally got Sam situated with his team.  And do you know he was so excited about his new purple soccer jersey that we could barely get him to focus on his coach?  Never seen a kid so enthralled with a purple shirt.

He finally got focused and ran up and down the field with his team for a while, doing a good job for the most part of hanging with the pack.  On several occasions, the ball actually hit his feet, but he made no effort to actually kick it.  He was too busy admiring his shirt.  And worrying about if he was gonna win.  (Note to self:  Help Sam understand what a team is.)

And at some point, he realized that the other kids were now partaking in their picnic lunch.......  like he needed another distraction.  "Hey.....!"

Just in case you are wondering, all of this happened before 12:30.  We made it back to the car with what seemed to me like way more stuff than we started with.  And everything was just a touch sticky, which is what happens when lots of kids under the age of 10 are drinking hot chocolate.  And I use the term 'drinking' very loosely.  It was a good idea last night, but I think we'll just stick with water next time.

So, 'tis the life of a Saturday soccer mom.  Charlie was happy because his team "won", even though at this age they aren't technically keeping score, but you better believe he knew the exact number of goals made!  Sam got a new shirt, plenty of snacks and some really fun socks, so he was perfectly content.  And Daddy learned that a 4-year-old first-time soccer player won't always do exactly what you want him to, no matter how much encouragement he is getting from the sidelines.

And mommy is just exhausted.