Randoms.

Since I can't seem to find the time to stop and blog, here's a post on the go, complete with iPhone pics.

And note to reader: Charlie does exist. But refuses to have his picture taken, well, most of the time.


Sam and I took a trip to the dr today. He has a sinus infection and some new allergy meds. This was him showing me how long he is.


And this is him eating breakfast in my bed. He assumed since he didn't have to go to school today that he could do whatever he wanted. Which was almost true.


And here is me getting my butt kicked at Jenga by a 6-year-old.


We started soccer last weekend. More on that later.


We had some cousin time last weekend while we celebrated birthdays. More on that later too.


Does anyone else have this never ending laundry problem??


I was attacked by a ninja turtle the other day. Oh, who am I kidding, this is a daily occurrence. Life with boys. I'm wondering how a little girl will graft into this mix...I should probably get her a helmet. Or maybe a bubble.


A variety of fabrics have been purchased. Don't worry if you can't see the vision. It will all come together. Work on EK's room will begin during Spring Break. Which is in a week. Geez.


This is why there are few pics of Charlie...


Sam tried a climbing wall at a recent birthday party...


I was actually surprised he got as high as he did before declaring he was done. Now!


Sam as a random Star Wars character. All I could think was, "Ewwww, how many other kids have had their heads in there??"


Sam represented Ethiopia last week at International Day at school. He thought he was super cool.


Love these people's faces.

More real posts later.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy Birthday Boys!!

Five years ago on March 11 our boys appeared in an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Charlie has told us several times about the trip to the orphanage and what transpired in the days before.  He was about 4 or 5.  Sam probably just about a year old.

For the next 18 months, the “big house” was where my sons called home.  It’s where they slept and where they ate their meals.  It’s where they made friends and where Charlie went to school.  It’s where they both had the chicken pox.  And it’s where Sam stole his way into almost every visitor’s heart.  At least that’s what I’m assuming based on every picture I saw during their time there.  It’s most likely where Sam said his first words and it’s where Charlie learned yet another dialect of Amharic.

And it’s where they waited.

March 11, 2008.

We were still 2 months shy of starting the adoption process, but the Lord had a plan.

That day was given to the boys as their birthday.  Even though neither boy had ever celebrated a birthday.

But now March 11 means something. 

It means that we became parents.  It means that we are blessed and overwhelmed by a woman in Ethiopia who chose life for her handsome little men.  It means that on March 11^th, the Lord’s plan for our family was fulfilled as we celebrate the births of one cool and composed 10-year-old and one rambunctious and crazy 6-year-old.

I tell Charlie all the time that God knew he would be a Cook even before he was born.  March 11^th wasn’t a random day.  God knew the plan….

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHUCK & HAM BONE!!

What now??

So you’ve gotten the low-down on referral day for our sweet Ellie Kate and what the boys think about the whole thing, so what happens next?

Remember when I told you that China is fond of their acronyms….well, I’m gonna throw some more at you!

Since getting our PA in record time (still can’t believe that happen in 3 days!!), we are waiting on our LOA.  Also know as the Letter of Acceptance.  LOA typically comes 90 days-ish after LID.  Remember, LID is log-in date.

We were LID on January 14 and are currently on Day 50 of waiting. 

Basically we want to get LOA ASAP!  You got all that??  OK!

Travel to go pick EK up is usually 2-3 months after LOA, so we are hopefully looking at traveling sometime this summer.  Obviously, the sooner the better.  Duh.

Now, acronyms aside, on to little Miss Ellie Kate……

Besides being fantastically precious, she’s a tiny little squirt!  The info we have on her is from the end of November (almost 14 months old) and at that point she was measuring between 6-9 months.  Basically all we know at this point is that she has been deaf since birth.  We were blessed to have actually received a hearing test and tons of medical info.  I say tons because the info we received on the boys was literally nothing short of their names and a picture, so having all this info for EK is a tad bit overwhelming!  Other than her hearing and being tiny, she appears to be perfectly healthy!  She is currently in HuaZhou City in the Guangdong Province. 

 

EK is somewhere near that Huazhou arrow! We will spend about a week there and then travel to Guangzhou to spend another week before coming home.

I’ve been able to talk with an audiologist and get her opinion and talk about what steps we should take once we get her home.  We also have some friends that have two little fellas who are deaf and have the same type of hearing loss that EK has.  I’m certain they will be an invaluable resource to us as we navigate our way into this new world.  (I may annoy her to death before this is all over with…)

And I’m sure it’s just another piece of this puzzle that God has had in the works for many years, but Louisville is a fantastic place to be (or be close to!) when raising a child who is deaf.  There are so many resources available!  Because of my early intervention background, some of those I knew already, others I am finding out as we go along.

The last week and a half has been looked at through very different eyes.  I’ve been acutely aware of what things will be different for Ellie Kate.  And for us.  Like music…we are a music-loving bunch of fools around here, dancing to the likes of New Kids on the Block (our latest obsession) and hitting up some praise and worship music every chance we get.  To think about her possibly not being able to hear what the boys hear, to praise our God through music, hurts my heart. 

It will be an adjustment for all of us, but honestly, it’s one I’m looking forward to.  I’m excited to learn sign language and teach the boys.  And I can only think that it would make us more intentional about things that we say and think a little more before just opening our mouths and letting hurtful words fly.  And the good Lord knows that I always need a little more time to think before just blurting out what I’m thinking!  (Please, no comments needed here.)

So…how can you pray??

1.  Pray that LOA comes soon!  The sooner that coveted document arrives, the sooner we can start moving towards travel plans!!

2.  Timing.  I’m just going to leave it at that.  God knows already how the timing of EK’s arrival will happen and His timing will be the best for our family! 

3.  Wisdom.  We are jumping into something totally new to us.  There will be decisions to be made, schedules that will change, routines that will just all around look different.  I’m sure much of it will be challenging, but I’m ready to dive in feet first!

God thunders wondrously with his voice;  He does great things that we cannot comprehend. 

Job 37:5

I’m holding onto to this verse right now.  If I’ve learned nothing else from the adoption process, it’s that I serve a God way bigger than me……..

What do the boys think??

That whole ride into school after getting the email about EK was with the boys.  I fought hard to maintain composure!  I didn’t want to lose it in front of them and as much as I wanted to tell them, I wanted to make sure this was a done deal before sharing with them!

Kenny came home a little early from work that afternoon and I wrapped up a present with her picture in it.  I told the boys it was an early birthday present for them, but with several disclaimers…it wasn’t a toy, but something we could play with and something we all had been wanting for a while.  I realized we were off base a little when I heard Charlie tell Sam, “I bet it’s an iPad!!”

Ummm, not quite.

Watch the reveal below…

 

They have been soooooo excited!!  We told them from the beginning that God made Ellie Kate’s ears so that they didn’t hear and one of the ways we could talk to her would be with our hands.  They never missed a beat and have dove head first into learning sign language! 

It has turned into quite the challenge (as in, against each other!) and less than a week in, they both know the whole alphabet and Sam actually kicked Charlie’s butt when I was quizzing them the other day!  Although he struggles with getting those fingers in the right place.  He’s flipped us off on more than one occasion! 

I’ve overheard Sam tell several people… “I have a new baby sister and she can’t hear and I’m gonna talk to her with my hands!!”  He has her picture printed out and carries it around the house with him, giving her kisses or hugs.  The other day I caught him staring at her picture on the fridge and asked him what he was doing… “She is just so cute, Mommy!”

Charlie asked if he could take her picture to school, has fiercely studied the ABC’s sheet on the fridge and is asking for more to learn!

Her given name is Ji Xisha (pronounced Gee Shesha…according to the "translate" app on my phone!) and Sam has dubbed her ‘Lil Ji, which I think fits perfectly with Chuck and Ham Bone.

Chuck, Ham Bone and ‘Lil Ji.  I like it.

 

 

THE day!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013.

I was trying to get the boys out the door and to school.  Sam and I had a field trip to go on that day.  We were running a little late, but as I check my phone to see what time it was, I realized I had a missed call and voicemail.

From our social worker at Lifeline.

It was before 7am.  Social workers from adoption agencies generally don’t just call to shoot the breeze with families on a regular basis before 7 in the morning.

Her voicemail just said to call her, so I herded everyone out the door, ran and told Kenny I had a voicemail from Sarah, but that I had to go and headed out the door to the car.

You know that feeling you get when something good is about to happen?  Yeah, that’s what was going on.

I called Sarah back and she told me she had a file for us to look at for a little girl who was born on October 9, 2011.  She is 16 months old.  And that she is congenitally deaf.  (If you haven’t read this POST, now would be the time to do so.)

I was so excited (on the inside!) I actually had her repeat what she said because I wanted to make sure I heard her correctly.  Kenny and I have this deal worked out where I don’t agree to see any files with out discussing the details with him first because I just get myself too worked up and want to bring every child in China home.  And in this tiny house, I’m not sure we’d be approved to bring home that many more.  So I called him, gave him the scoop and we agreed to let Sarah send us her file.

If you are at all paying attention, you realize by now that I’m telling you we have been matched!

I’ll give you a second to let that sink in………………….

WAAAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

I knew almost the second that Sarah told me that she was deaf that this was our Ellie Kate.  I hadn’t even seen her picture yet, but a Mommy’s heart just knows things like that!  And apparently so did her Daddy because when I called him back he said “Yes!” before I barely said a word to him.

SIDE NOTE:  I don’t know how to explain it other than it just being God, but when we started this process I told Kenny something along the lines of hoping that her special need was hearing loss.  I know, that sounds like an absurd thing to “hope” for!  I even tinkered with the idea of telling our social worker to look specifically for a child who was deaf, but decided to leave that in God’s hands.  How cool is it when God aligns your heart and desires with what He already has in store for you??  I get chills just thinking about it!!

Praise the Lord for traffic that morning!  I came to a rolling stop about 10 minutes after Sarah sent the email and was finally able to look at her picture.  Sitting there in the middle of morning rush hour traffic.

Due to the ill timing of a kindergarten field trip, I wasn’t really where I could talk to Sarah, so I sent her a text telling her “YES!” and spent the next FOUR hours watching a play about a frog (and maybe a toad or a snail…I wasn’t actually paying attention!) and sneaking looks at my phone to look at her picture.  Sneaking, because I was sitting with Sam’s teacher and she had made multiple comments about how she had asked the parent’s to put their phones away during the play, but no one was listening. 

Yeah, I was that parent.  The one disobeying the teacher.  But at that point I didn’t care.

As soon as I was able, I touched base with Sarah and she sent me the documents I needed to file our PA (pre-approval).  We submitted that paperwork first thing on Wednesday morning.  It usually takes about 2-3 weeks to get back and one of the things that it allows us to do is share her picture publicly (hence the blog post). 

I got a phone call just this morning that our PA had come back…a mere 3 days after being filed!!!!  As if we needed more confirmation that this child was ours, God gave it to us in a short 3 days!

So, without prolonging this any further…

Meet Ellie Kate!! 

I know!  She’s about the cutest thing I’ve seen since December 1, 2008 when I opened the email of two handsome Ethiopians staring back at me!

Happy Referral Day!!

More later on telling the boys and what happens next…

Hard paperwork.

This post has been half written in my head for quite sometime.  But after several recent conversations with people, I thought I’d just throw it all out there.  

I’m gonna fill you guys in on a little something most of you don’t know.  

The program we are in with Lifeline Children’s Services is a Special Needs Program through China.  I know the term “special needs” gives some people the hibby jibbies, so I’m gonna educate you.  

What does that mean? 

Well, that means that our little girl from China will have some sort of medical or developmental special need.  It could be something mild.  It could be correctable.  Or it could be something major.  Or something that affects her for the rest of her life.  It could be any combination of those things.  Or it could be something that barely qualifies as a problem. 

But what really matters is that God has already chosen Ellie Kate for us.  He knows her needs and the path her life will take.  He knows what our little dysfunctional family can handle and what we can’t.   

One of the hardest things I ever had to do was fill out paperwork indicating which special needs we were open to.  I just kept thinking… “If I was pregnant, I would have no choice in this.  This really isn’t fair.” 

I’m gonna be real transparent here.  As we filled that paper out, I was having an inner struggle.  One side of me said to just mark “yes” to everything because that would kinda be like us having no choice in the matter.  But the fleshly, sinful side of me wanted to kick the other side’s butt and mark “no” because I didn’t want my little girl to have to go through life being picked on or with a disability that would hinder her.  And if you want to get real honest about it, there were a lot of things I (me…JANA!) didn’t want to have to deal with! 

In the end, we did our research, did some praying, lots of thinking and filled out the paper based on what we felt like our family could handle.

And then I sat.  And worried about it.  And prayed about it.  And worried some more. 

I mean, nobody WANTS for there to be something wrong with their child.  Yet, that’s what we had just done.  We had requested to adopt a child, who by the world’s standards would be less than perfect.

Until one day the Lord told me to cool my jets, He had it all under control.  Well, maybe not in those exact words, but you get the point.

Huge sigh.  Thank you, Jesus.  I needed that reminder.

I’ve worked with children with special needs most of my adult life.  I always knew in the back of my head somewhere that we would one day adopt a child with special needs.  It almost just seemed like the natural thing to do.  I have this background and this education, it would be silly to ignore it.  I’m not sure I had let Kenny in on that little nugget of truth until much later, but he is totally on board with me.

One of the reasons I haven’t told many people this info is because they tend to give you a pity reaction.  Or you get the “oh, that’s such a wonderful thing for you to do” reaction.  Neither of which I want. 

God doesn’t put parameters on caring only for the healthy orphans or only the super cute orphans.  The command was to care for the orphans.  All the orphans. 

This is how God has chosen to grow our family.  Regardless of those worldly standards, Ellie Kate will be perfect because she was chosen for our family.

 

On the court.

Apologies in advance for the poor picture quality.  Remember, trying to catch little boys that move way faster than my camera. 

The boys are both playing basketball at a local church close to us this winter.  Charlie has several season of b-ball under his belt.  But Sam…oh, Sam.  This is his first season. 

And a quite humorous season at that.  It’s just funny to watch kindergarteners do anything, but to watch them try to play an organized team sport takes it to whole other level of funny.

Sam’s the tallest on his team.  Which isn’t hard to do when you are 5 and the size of a small 4^th grader.

 

But we are fighting against the stigma that being brown and being tall makes you a NBA all-star. 

 

It just makes you cute.

 He’s got some skills.  If he’s near the basket and has the ball, he’s one heck of a shooter.

 And he’s got that passing it from out-of-bounds down pat.  Best bounce passer I know.

I’d say defense is his strong suite.  That and funny faces.

Although a little timid on the rebounding though.  He employs the duck and run strategy.

Still working on our dribbling.  If you are a fan of The Office, you’ll appreciate the fact that he has the Stanley dribbling technique mastered.  Complete with his non-dominant hand behind him in the air.  I chuckle out loud even as I look at this picture.

 

 And sometimes we have to remind Sam that he’s playing a basketball game…

Hey Sam!  You awake?

 

“Oh yeah, Mommy!  I forgot!”

Sam’s cheering section was a tad bit pre-occupied.

 

 

Charlie is one of the tallest on his team too.

 

 

He is always on the run.  I’ll give him plenty of credit for hustling.

 

 

 

“Back off, bud!  This is my ball!”

 

 

Learning the art of the free throw. 

 

 

Getting a little advice from Daddy during halftime.  Although, if I know these two, they are probably talking about what we’re gonna eat for lunch.

 

 

“Go ahead.  I dare you to try to take that shot.”

 

 

They are having great seasons and are learning a lot, but I’m ready for some outdoor sports.  With warm weather included, of course.

 

Next up…soccer.

The year of the snake?

Today is the Chinese New Year.  The year of the snake apparently.

Interesting fact. The CNY is not always on the same day each year. And it's not like our Thanksgiving, where its the fourth Thursday of November. There seems to be no pattern.

Kenny acted like he knew this already, so I almost pretended I did too. But I guess I'm not that smart.

I've been doing a little research on CNY. We celebrate Ethiopian Christmas with the boys, so since this is the big Chinese holiday, we'll incorporate it into our routine.  I mean, adding holidays??  Sounds like a win-win for all involved!

Here's my understanding of part of CNY...they give each other red envelopes with cash in even dollar amounts.  And the most common number is $8.  Just don't slip up and give them $9.  Cause you give odd dollar amounts for funerals. 

Talk about awkward...

Happy Chinese New Year!  Wish our EK was here to celebrate with us...hopefully next year!

 

 

 

Idle bread?

It’s 60 degrees outside and February.  So in a brief reprieve from the dull roar of indoor play, I sent the boys outside to burn off some of the energy they seem to keep bottled up all day.

Sam is jumping on the trampoline.  Singing “Dude looks like a lady” at the top of his lungs, by the way.  I was unaware he knew anything about 1987 Aerosmith hits…

Charlie is beating his almost melted snowman with a stick.  And tackling his brother anytime he gets too close.

And I’m taking a “coffee” break.  Minus the coffee.  And doing a little blog stalking (necessary for my adoption induced ADD).

During my non-coffee break, as I was thinking about all I had gotten done today (and all that still needed to be done), something hit me…as anal and organized as I can be (or pretend to be), I am not a good manager of my time. 

I work part-time.  Three days a week.  Only school hours.  And I’m in the same building the boys are.  The way I see it, if I’ve got to work, I can’t think of a better set-up.  So, that leaves me at home the other two days, usually by myself.  I use those two days to clean house, do laundry, run errands, buy groceries, get ahead on cooking meals, pay bills…you get the point…all my wifely duties of managing the house.  (And I use the term “wifely duties” in the most positive light because I enjoy serving my family.)  I would also try to shove in those short 16 hours anything I needed to get done at the church for Sundays or Wednesdays.

 

But here’s the problem.  On school days, we are out the door at 6:45am.  Okay.  It’s usually closer to 7, but that’s the plan.  You can imagine then that on the days I’m also working that I arise between 5 and 5:30am in order to have myself almost totally ready before I get the boys up.  So on the days I don’t work, after the boys have been successfully fed, watered and clothed (and most of the time have their teeth brushed), it is terribly tempting to hop back in the bed and get another few uninterrupted hours of zzzzz’s. 

And unfortunately I had gotten in the habit of doing just that.

Which meant instead of my day starting at 7am, it was closer to 9.  Or maybe 10.  Depending on how unmotivated I was.  I wasn’t asleep all that time, but once I laid back down it was super difficult to pull myself away from Live with Kelly & Michael or the book I was reading or from dozing without having little fingers stuck in my eyes to wake me up.

But then one day a couple of weeks ago, I had to get up and follow Kenny to work because we were taking his car to get some work done.  So, by 9am, I was back home and had done two loads of laundry and had the groceries bought, put up and dinner in the crock-pot. 

I was so motivated, I got tons more done that day than I normally do.  And instead of being crazy, Nazi mom on Saturday about getting the chores done that didn’t get done during the week (read as: didn’t get done while I was taking a nap!), we had a nice relaxed weekend and got other things done around the house.  AKA we got the closet cleaned out so we can start getting EK’s room painted, etc.

So I tried it again the next week.  And would you look at that, more done, more organized and a less stressed me.  Hmmm, seems somewhere someone told me this would work out good for me….

I was reminded about the part of Proverbs 31 where it talks about the woman rising while it is still night to provide and care for her family and her household…

Bam.  Convicted.

She rose while it was still night.  Not at 9 o’clock.  Or even 10.  Before the sun got up.  She was out bringing home the bacon…well, more exact, the wool and flax and food from afar (Chinese food?) while it was still dark out.  I just hope she was packing her mace.  Buying fields, making clothes for her family (I’m guessing the closest Target was just too far away), planting a vineyard (in all those fields she bought), making things to sell for the profit of her family (bet she wishes she had a Pinterest account) all making her arms strong.  I’m sure she had some guns after all that work.  Probably a six pack too, but it doesn’t say anything about that.

What it does say is that she didn’t eat any of that bread of idleness.  And as good as that bread might taste, that’s what got me.

Am I using my time wisely each day?  More importantly, am I using my time wisely to serve my family?  I wish I could say the answer was yes everyday.

But it’s not.

I’m not saying that I’ll never hop back in bed after the boys are out the door again or that I can’t sit and enjoy a TV show with Kenny or stalk a few blogs online just for the heck of it.  Shucks, I’ve wasted a good 45 minutes sitting here telling all you goobers how much time I waste everyday.

But what I am saying is that I’m making a better effort to let that idle bread get some mold on it so I don’t want to eat it.  I want to serve my family the best I know how. 
 

And I know I can do better than I was.
 

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.  Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:  Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.  Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31:27-31

Now.  Let’s fix dinner. 

We’ve got to get up early tomorrow.

Snow Day!

The boys are enjoying an unexpected snow day. (AKA It snowed 2 inches, let's cancel everything!) And Mommy is staying inside. Because one, it's 10 degrees outside. And two, if Kenny found out I was playing in the snow a month after knee surgery......let's just say I'm pretty sure I'd be in trouble.




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UPDATE: The best spent $20 ever!

Because I know you are all waiting on the edge of your seats to find out how long my first batch of homemade laundry detergent has lasted, I am here to provide you with the details.

I went to Walmart just yesterday to buy the supplies to make my next batch.  So, if you do the math...June through the end of January...8 months...

$20 divided by 8 months of detergent...that's $2.50 a month.

Two dollars.   And fifty cents.

A MONTH!

You can't even buy one bottle of detergent that's likely to only get you 35ish loads for $2.50!

Yep. 

And remember.  I live in a house with 3 boys.  They make really dirty clothes.  And they smell really bad too.  And 2 out of the 3 can't eat without dropping ketchup on the front of their shirts.

And it cleans up their messes every single time.

In case you are at all intrigued, and I don't know why you wouldn't be, go HERE to find out how to spend the best $20 ever!

Bad dreams turned good.

I know most parents may dread the 3am visit from the 5-year-old who has had a bad dream.  I mean, who doesn't want to be woken abruptly by a scared kid who most likely wants you to give up valuable real estate in your bed, right??

I, on the other hand, have a different view on the whole situation.

For the first time in 3 years and 5 months to the day, Sam woke me up at 3:14am with a slap in the face.  Literally.  I'm not kidding.  He slapped me across the face.  It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, but once I realized he was standing there staring at me, I was immediately awake.

He had had a bad dream.  Something about a train.  He was busy climbing into bed with us before I could get the whole story. 

He needed his Mommy.  And snuggled himself right up against me and proceeded to go right back to sleep.

This is the child who was at an orphanage with 100 other kids before his first birthday.  And 18 months later, landed in Kentucky.  So, I’m just guessing here, but this is probably the first time he has ever had a bad dream and sought comfort from someone else.

That reality makes me sad.  But oh, so happy that I get to be the one he comes to when he’s scared, when he’s hurt, when he’s sick…bring on the bad dreams!  We can take ‘em!

And for the record, I carefully delivered him back to his bed after about an hour.  While I enjoyed every second of his snuggles, we only have a queen.  And being sandwiched between your 6ft plus husband and a 5-year-old who is all arms and legs and elbows and knees, isn’t the best way to get a good night sleep.

A milestone.

My husband pointed out to me yesterday that I had not posted some important news on the blog.

And while he is correct, I'll point out the fact that the "waiting game" of adoption looks waaay different for us this time around. While we wait and wonder and day dream about life with three kids (maybe that's just me), the first two still seem to want to be fed and bathed and played with and have clean clothes...

Therefore, my time is devoted to things other than waiting this time around. And for that, I am extremely grateful!

I received an email the Friday before Christmas that our paperwork was on its way to China! Very exciting news...and I might have conveyed it to you, but I was busy being a hot, drugged-up mess following surgery the day before. I'm not real certain I totally understood what it meant then. And I'm hoping I didn't respond to the email because, as I said earlier, my communication skills were shot at that point.

But even more exciting is the phone call I received Tuesday.... We are LID!!! Note: China is very fond of their acronyms, as almost every step in the process has one. LID means "log in date". That paperwork that took off to China on December 21, has made its way to its destination and has been accounted for. Or logged in, if you will.

Which means...drum roll please...we can now receive a referral!

That news flipped Kenny out a little, but in all reality, it could be another 3-6 months before we get that paperwork, and another 2-3 months after that to travel.

The boys have given their predictions... Sam and Daddy guessed June, Charlie guessed July and I guessed August/September. I'm just being practical. It could be longer!

Top 10 Non-resolutions for 2013. Emphasis on NON.

10.  Teach Sam to tie his shoes.

I'm not even sure where to start with this. Kenny has tried several time, without any luck. Stupid bunny ears...

9.  Go a whole year without having surgery.  Or an ambulance ride.  Or any other weird, medical anomaly that no one else would ever have.

We've lived in KY for 7 and half years and I've had 5 surgeries, popcorn infections in my throat, torn ligaments in my thumb while doing laundry, several ambulance rides for stupid things like picking up babies, etc...all that to say, I'm a fairly healthy person.  Promise.  Weird things just happen to me.

I'm going for even MORE healthy this year!

8.  Renovate the laundry room.

Sounds silly, I know. Right now, it's a concrete floor, one concrete wall, 3 almost walls with floor joist and insulation taunting me by falling on my head every once in a while for a ceiling. All I need is some drywall, a little paint, some of that peel and stick tile, some cute hooks and shelves and it would make that tiny space much more likable. We've been talking about doing it for several years, just need to make it happen. 

7.  Take the boys to their first Alabama football game.

Alabama plays Kentucky this year in Lexington, so the plan is to hit them up while they are close to home. The boys have really gotten into football this year and I made the mistake of asking them if they wanted to go to the AL vs. KY game this coming fall. Which means I spent the next 3 weeks explaining to Sam that NO, we weren't going to a football game today and NO, not tomorrow and NO, I have no idea what you will eat.

I know better than to tell him stuff more than 3 and a half seconds before it happens...

6.  Buy a hair bow.

This one is totally up to China.  So no dragging your feet on this one, ok?

5.  Fix baby girl's hair with said hair bow.

Wanna know a secret?  I was in 8th grade before I did my own hair.  Yes.  Really.  I've never had a great affinity for styling hair.  Which is why the boys get a buzz cut every 3 weeks and I've had the same general hairstyle since...oh, about 8th grade. 

Some one's gonna need to give me a pigtails lesson...

4.  Refinish the ever growing collection of old furniture that is piling up in the basement.

The side of the road is an excellent place to shop for furniture, but also a really good place to frustrate your husband when your collection starts to overflow into his man-space.  I have a small chest that I'm going to turn into a changing table.  I also have two non-matching chairs that need a little repair and refinishing and then they will be used at my new farmhouse table.  Oh, you haven't seen my new table....me either...

Hey Dad!  Quit falling off ladders and get to work on my table!  Chop, chop!  And thanks, by the way...

3.  Paint a room.

Little girls room is currently referred to as the "yellow room".  Also, Kenny's room, Daddy's closet, the junk room, guest bedroom ...I could go on, but you get the picture.  It's the catch all and currently where all of Kenny's clothes are since our "master bedroom" isn't really all that masterful and only has about a quarter of the amount of closet space I would like.  So, some reorganizing is in order.  And painting, etc to make the "yellow room", yellow no more. 

And more fit for a precious little girl!

2.  Go to China.

Again, I have no control over this one.  But I'm going one way or another.  I'm planning on marking this one off the list sometime this summer!

1.  Read the entire Bible.

I'm ashamed to say it, but there are actually parts of the Bible I've never read.  So, I'm throwing it out on a public forum...please feel free to hold me accountable and ask me if I'm sticking to this one.  The first week has gone great.  I found an app that lays it all out day by day.  It jumps around a bit instead of just picking it up in Genesis and hitting it for the long haul.  At the current rate, I actually should finish the first part of November.  I'm just praying I make it through week 2 without losing focus.

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

So, there you have it.  My non-resolutions.  Because if I called them resolutions, it would just be something else to add to the list of things I won't get done this year.  I'm going with goals... 

The lofty goals of 2013, most of which involve getting home our newest family member or getting the house ready to bring her home.

You could say I have tunnel vision.....

It's okay.  I agree.

A scriptural honk.

If you know me...at all...you know I have a tendency to say things before they go through the God-given filter otherwise known as my brain before they come out of my mouth.  In other words, I speak without thinking, put my foot in my mouth, have verbal diarrhea...whatever you want to call it...almost daily. 

Okay.  Okay...

Almost hourly.

But the good thing is I don't have a potty mouth (aka I don't frequently say four letter words).  I just say what comes to mind before I have time to think through the ramifications of what I'm saying.

I had a similar problem in college when someone told me my spiritual gift was humility...for other people.  Now, if you think about it, that's a pretty funny way to tell me to shut my yapper!  Don't worry, it came from someone who didn't get my humor.  I wasn't offended.

Now that I've painted that picture for you, let me introduce you to "honk!"...

The "honk!" came from a recent Nissan commercial, which I find terribly funny.  Take a second and watch...

 



The gist is, the car honks when the guy takes things too far...

Brilliant!  All I need now is someone to follow me around to "honk!" when I step over that line.  Kenny and friend Nicole gladly took over that chore, and actually enjoy it a little too much I think, seeing as I get "honked" a lot.  Even when it's not totally necessary.

But earlier this week I found what I will refer to as my scriptural honk...

Oh that you would keep silent,
and it would be your wisdom!

Job 13:5

 

So, not only should I take my signs from Nissan, but it also appears God commands me in scripture to be silent...so that I can be wise...

 

Or at least appear that way.

 

Gonna need your help on this one, God!

 

Here.

Ok.

Sorry.

I had knee surgery 5 days before Christmas, which went fairly well, thanks for asking.  Then Christmas happened.  Then New Year’s.  And we spent a week driving all over the southeast United States.  With a mouse in the car.

But that’s another story.

Merry Christmas.  My apologies for my absence.  I assume no one is reading, then I receive demanding emails requesting more posts. 

So, I give the people what they want.

We spent Christmas day at home before taking off to see the family.  And Christmas this year was a little extra special around here, even if no one else felt it.

You see, the evening of December 14^th, following the horrific events of that day in Connecticut, Kenny and I had to answer some really hard questions from our 9-year-old about death.

But Satan didn’t have complete triumph that day as those questions led to us being able to pray with him to receive Christ.  It was a bittersweet day, knowing so many were hurting, but having a huge peace knowing that if the same thing ever happen to Charlie, as a follower of Christ, we would all be reunited again in heaven one day.

The illustration of adoption came full circle that Friday evening.  Charlie, a former orphan from Ethiopia who had been adopted by an earthly father, made a choice to follow his Heavenly Father, adopted again as a child of God.

Yeah.

Amazing.

And to top it off, our Christmas-countdown-we-are-thankful-chain-thingy ended with adoption on Christmas Day.

Talk about cool.

And just a little icing on the cake...I got a super cool travel crock-pot, new comfy black pants and a charming little shower curtain from some of my favorite people. 

No, it doesn’t take much to please me.

Unless you are a mouse.  And in my car.  Which is totally not cool.  In addition to freaking me out by playing hide-and-seek in the console and glove compartment, he ate my granola bar, which is no way to make friends with me.  His destiny ended with a slice of cheese and a mouse trap, so he didn’t make the return trip to Kentucky.

Our Christmas wrap-up:  a new brother in Christ, good surgery, fun Christmas, good travels and a dead mouse!

2013 awaits us…

Lo Mein and knee surgeries.

Ok, two things.

I'm about to share another fantastically fabulous recipe.  And you know if I'm sharing a recipe with you that it is something we will most definitely repeat again in the future!

And two...this past Thursday I had my 6th knee surgery.  Yes, sixth!  As in one, two, three, four, five, SIX!  I know, I've been keeping an eye out for my "buy 5, get the 6th free" card, but so far I haven't seen it.  This time around I tore my patellae cartilage while doing a cartwheel while we where in Lynch a couple of months ago. 

Yes, I agree.  I'm too old for cartwheels.  That was probably my last one.

All that to say, I'm still fairly doped up and I'm not always making a ton of sense.  You should see some of the text messages I've sent...like this one where I was talking to Kenny about getting ice for the fancy ice pack machine they had me hooked up to...it continued to go downhill from here...

So, don't hold me accountable for what I say in this post.  I'll proof it later to make sure it makes sense.

Ok, on to Lo Mien!

I know how to make a couple of Ethiopian dishes and in my efforts to increase my international cooking skills, I set out on a search for a good lo mien recipe.  I figured that would be a good easy first Chinese meal to try. 

I found a couple of good options and finally settled on one to try and let me just tell you...in my opinion, it was as good as PF Chang's!!  Now, I've never actually been to China, so I don't know how close this recipe is to authentic or if they even really eat lo mien in China, but it was sooo good!  And up until this experience, my Chinese had ended at stir fry veggies and soy sauce. 

But this recipe got that "Chinese take-out" taste just right!

 

Chicken Lo Mien from food.com



 

Photo credit: me
 

 Now, my changes.  Because I don't follow directions. 

I actually doubled the recipe.  Mainly because when I started cooking, I realized I had enough chicken to double it, so I did.  And I'm glad I did because Charlie had 3 helpings!  And the leftovers were just as good as the first day!

• I just used Kroger white cooking wine.  Mainly because I couldn't find dry white wine...I don't understand...does it come in powder form??  I don't usually buy cooking wine, so I was confused.
• And instead of sesame oil (which was like $9 for half an ounce), I bought already toasted sesame seeds and just added them to regular 'ol veggie oil.  I added some to the whole mixture again later because I liked how they smelled!
• I used powdered garlic...but I've been thinking lately I might give an actual garlic a chance again sometime.  Maybe.
• I omitted the water chestnuts because I figured the boys (including Kenny) might balk at those, even though I really like them.
• I also left out the frozen green peas.  I don't like green peas.  Yuck.
• I did use the spaghetti noodles and they worked fine, but I thought I might check out Trader Joe's or some place comparable to see if I could find actual Chinese lo mien noodles.

Now I'm on the look out for a good fried rice recipe per Kenny's request, so if you have a good one, send it my way.

Until then, this will be our go to Chinese receipe! 

Now to see if I can make an egg roll...I'm not holding my breath...

Merry Christmas.

It's that time of year again. 

You know, the time of year where you torture your children for hours to get just one good Christmas card picture, spend way too much time trying to find a good deal on printing said card, track down addresses from all the people you know have moved since last year, address a million envelopes and then rush them off to the post office in hopes of spreading Christmas cheer from your happy, jolly family.

No, really...I actually really do enjoy sending Christmas cards.  Promise. 

So, for those of you in blogland that didn't get a real card in the mail (no hard feelings), I will pass along our happiness and jolliness via the web.

See?  Happier and jollier already!