Lil Man & His "Lil Sister"



This is how he likes to ROLL!!!




His "Lil Sister" in the stroller, cruisin' the block!




Waving "buh-bye" to daddy!




That FACE!!!
What?!?  You want to see a CLOSE UP???
Can do:




Oh my word, RIGHT?!?  Wow...don't know how I can even stand it.  He's just too cute!

Convicted:

Have you ever read something that hit you straight to the core and just convicted you?  I just had a moment like that.  All this time I thought those distractions were good for me.  Good for my sanity.  But what if those distractions are forcing me to miss out on some real God moments?  Is my obsession with adoption blogs taking place of the quality time I should be soaking in with my two-year-old?  Soon he will have a baby sister home and absorbing much of my time.  What can I do TODAY to show him how much I love him?  What about my husband?  Has adoption, and the wait, and the listserv, and fundraising taken up so much of my brain that he feels left on the backburner?  Maybe all this time spent trying to be "informed" is consuming me to the point that I'm missing out His quiet whispers and that personal time with my Savior.

"Be still and know that I am God."

Psalm 46:10

Fall-tastic Treats To Try

Monkey and I decided to make some fall-tastic treats to celebrate this new season of joy in our home!  We sure had a lot of fun!!!

Monkey's excitement for cookies is so clear on his face! 
LOVE that little smile <3

"Cookie, cookie" he kept saying =)

Taste test!!!  The verdict??  "Mummy!"  ;)  {aka nuummy}

M&M cookies {recipe from allrecipes.com}
We had picked out all the red & blue m&ms for Monkey's police-themed birthday party, and lucky us...all that was left was brown, yellow, orange, and green!  Perfect harvesty colors, don't ya think??

On his sugar high, Monkey decided to go "nigh nigh" IN our storage ottoman (where we store blankets and books normally, not kids)!
Notice the heap of laundry behind him???  Yeah..I was too busy being entertained by Monkey to have ANY desire to fold that!

Sleepy or playful???

All done apparently!
{Someday I'll remember to move my feet before taking pictures, lol}

"Ta-da!!!" {as Monkey says to EVERYthing lately}
Our Fall-tastic treats!

Easy Peasy...PROMISE!!!
Take a bunch of chocolate chips, throw 'em in a microwave-safe bowl with a dollop of shortening {so it doesn't get too thick}.  Microwave on low settings until smooth and melty {like my made up words?} and add a bunch of pretzels and stir.  Lay out on parchment paper so that none {or hardly none} overlap.  THEN melt some white candy melts in the microwave with some shortening {this time b/c we're adding gel food coloring and otherwise the food coloring can make it so thick that you can't drizzle}.  When softened mix in orange gel food coloring {or red + yellow} and pour into a small baggie {or large depending on how much you melted}.  Cut a VERY small hole in the corner of the baggie and "drizzle" {draw zig-zag lines} over all the pretzels.  Let harden...or in our case, put in the freezer over night.  ENJOY!
See???  Not so bad, huh?

'Tis The Season

...for BoOtS?!?

Yes, yes it is.  Once summer is over in Seattle, its right back to rain.  Bahaha!!  Who am I kidding!?!  It's rain here all year long! =)

But really, boots are a MUST-OWN!  But since I'm having a hard time finding rain boots for my Lil Man, we're dealing with snow boots.  Yes in October (and even once in September, I must say)!

One thing I love about little boys, is they can get away with even the craziest out fits, because...let's face it!  They're boys!!! 

Oh I love this kid:

P.S.....if you've been haning around my blog in the last day or so you've probably seen me try out SEVERAL different headers.  I just haven't been happy with mine for a while so I created my own.  Would love some feedback for what you think!  Is it too busy?  Should I just have the three basic photos?  I'm all ears for suggestions!  But until I hear from you, enjoy the new pictures! =D

Trying Something New

I had big plans for dinner tonight.  Plans that included kneading dough and forming it into biscuits.  But then the ants showed up in SWARMS again today, consuming my kitchen counters, windowsill, sink, and medicine cabinet.  So my plans changed.  Since my stovetop was spared from the teensy, but very annoying creatures...the stovetop is where I stuck.  Please keep in mind I am not a measurer....so measurements can be adjusted per your liking.  Here's my newest creation:

Mimi's Taco-Licious Chicken & Rice

Ingredients:

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup water
2-3 chicken bouillon cubes
EVOO
1 heaping Tbs minced garlic (or a couple cloves)
1/4 green pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1/4 yellow onion, diced
2 cups jasmine rice
1-1 1/2 cups frozen yellow corn
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 Tbs Taco Seasoning (give or take)
4 chicken thighs (or breasts, or whatever you prefer)
EVOO
1 tsp minced garlic (1 clove-ish)
Salt
Pepper
Taco Seasoning
Mexican Chili Powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray baking sheet with Pam (or other cooking spray).

Bring diced tomatoes, water, and chicken bouillon cubes to a boil in a large saucepan.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat EVOO and garlic on a medium-high heat.  When hot, add in diced onions and green peppers.  Saute until softened.  Add to boiling liquid mixute, then add in rice, corn, black beans, and taco seasoning.  Add a little more water if needed.  Bring to a boil again, then cover and reduce heat.  Let cook for 20 minutes.

Defrost chicken if needed.  Heat EVOO and garlic in the skillet you cooked the veggies in.  Using a basting brush, apply a little garlic-oil out of the pan onto one side of the chicken.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, taco seasoning and mexican chili powder and rub into chicken.  Place face down in hot pan and repeat the seasoning onto the other side.  Sear both sides of chicken on a medium-high heat for about two minutes.  Place onto baking sheet and bake for 10-ish minutes, or until cooked all the way through.

My husband ended up inviting a co-worker over for dinner tonight, so fortunately my experiment was a success and they both enjoyed it.  Monkey kept saying "mommy, mommy" (which apparently is his word for "nummy" lately...he calls me "mama" not "mommy") as he picked out all the corn and beans to eat.  Two-year-olds are picky eaters, what can I say???

If you happen to give the Taco-Licious a try, lemme know what you think, will you???  Happy cooking!

October Number Is...

So we ACTUALLY receieved our official number yesterday....but I was behind on checking my email, and received it as we were running out the door to Growth Group.  Needless to say, I did not have time to post it right then.  So sorry for the one day delay ;) but I'm here now!

Without making you wait painfully long, here is our official October number:

We are very excited with all the movement in the last month, but even more excited to hear that the Ethiopian courts have reopened again!  We have a LOT of families who have been waiting a LONG time for this moment in time and are eagerly awaiting their turn through the courts (as nerve-wracking as it will be). 

For those of you who don't know, each family will actually be assigned TWO court dates.  The first one is for the birth family and the second one is for the adoptive family.  They usually are a week to two weeks apart, and the second court date is the one adoptive families have to travel for (at least one parent).  During this court appointment, the judge asks you a series of questions about your knowledge of the child you are adopting, confirms that you have met the child, and reminds you that this is an irrevocable decision (yay!).  As long as both court dates go well, this is what makes an adopted child a legal part of your family and grants you custody, YAY!!!  (Although adoptive families need to go home and wait for a child's visa to be processed before returning to take them home forever.)

We have families from our agency scheduled with court dates in October, November, and some still waiting to hear of their scheduled date.  Because of that, it sounds like the EARLIEST that anyone would be traveling to take their children home would be November (and that's everything going REALLY smooth...and if you know international adoption, that is not always the case) and clearing out some more beds in Hannah's Hope.  So it sounds like October (and maybe even November) will probably be a pretty slow month for referrals.  But my guess is that December is going to be EXCITING! =D

The good news (the OTHER good news) is that with the holidays rapidly approaching, us waiting families have lot of things to distract us over the next couple months.  But I would encourage you to keep these families who are awaiting court and final travel in your prayers.  This is a stressful, yet very exciting time for them and I know that EACH of them longs to have their child(ren) home for Christmas.

Okay....enough dreaming for me!  Off to make my Lil Man some breakfast!

Shopping For A Cause

Since returning home from Ethiopia with my niece, my sister Laura wrote this touching post.  God really stirred my heart through this post.  I not only wanted to do what she suggested, "buying with a purpose"...but to help others do that as well. 

Sometimes it takes some real effort to search out a blog for just the right shirt or a piece of jewelry to give someone.  Or you think...I know I saw a cookbook for sale on someone's blog!  Well, in effort to support these families and ministries, we need to make things as easy as possible for people to find them.  (Not to mention this will make MY Christmas shopping just that much easier this year!)

So that's what inspired this list.  I started compiling it the day my sister wrote that post and I STILL haven't stopped.  Because even now after posting it, I've received MORE emails of people wanting their fundraisers added as well!  I couldn't be more thrilled. 

The LIST

So please....I encourage you to go check it out.  Maybe compile YOUR Christmas list from this list.  Shop for your family off of the list.  Share this list on your blog, or share the link so someone else can come look at the list for their shopping needs.  PRAY that through this list and all of our COMBINED efforts, that ALL these fundraisers would be beyond successful and that the families and ministries behind them would meet their financial goals.  Let's bless the socks off of all these fundraising families and amazing ministries by supporting them as they fullfill God's calling for their lives!  And keep checking back!  Because the list is not finished.  As MORE people feel God's nudging on their hearts for the plight of the orphan, we'll have even more fundraisers added!

I Really Need To Come Up With A Better Name Than "Twine Balls"

Twine Balls.
Balls of Twine.
Balls with...twine on them...?

I have no idea what to call my latest creation, but I really love them....so regardless of the stupid name, I just had to share this cost-efficient design idea!

This isn't unique to me...I know I got the idea somewhere (or a variety of somewheres) but I just can't remember where.  A couple people I have showed them too have told me they have had this on their "to do" list too.  Mine stayed there for over a year before I finally decided to put my plan into action.

So you want you some purty little Twine Balls (seriously....someone got a better name for this?)???  Here's how you can get some for yourself...

1) Styrofoam balls

2) Twine

3) Hot Glue

4) Patience

Get all those goodies together and get to work!  It's time consuming, it's tedious, and I would consider you frickin' amazing if you finished with out a couple several hundred burns (I think I lost all feeling in my fingers for a couple days, and I'm still recoving from a major burn that resulted from resting my hand on the metal part of the hot glue gun....yeah, I know).  But it was well worth it to save me a $4-7 PER in the stores!

Soo...yeah, up close you may see some hot glue....but back up a little and they look PERFECT!

See??  Gorgeous!  Go have yourself some fun (or suffer through it) and display proudly!

October is Here!!!! Yay Fall!!

A mere three weeks ago I was still in denial about the clouds and rain taking over my summer and would have never thought I'd be celebrating this day.  Funny what a little perspective can do to you! =)

Today we are breaking out the fall decor (yes, I know I said I would do this last month, but I just couldn't, okay?) and making my house festive for the new season that is among us!  (And I've got to say, my first sneak peek at the Pottery Barn Christmas Decor caused a little squeak squeal outta this woman, Monkey definately laughed!)  This is the time of year to celebrate, I plan on making the most of it!!!!  Who wouldn't celebrate with all this to look forward to:

First comes Halloween (hello costumes)...

Then comes Thanksgiving (hello turkey & mashed potatoes)...

Then our Anniversary (hello 7 years!)...

Then Christmas (hoping for snow)....

Then New Years (hello 2011)...

Then our Lil Miss' REFERRAL (hello sweet face!!!)...

I won't lie to you though...I wouldn't mind if the last one was out of order a wee bit ;)  So...when you are coming to OUR household, here's the new rule....

Until further notice, CELEBRATE everything!!!!

We even had to break out the Halloween shirt (you only get to wear it for so long you know...)

Never fails to make me smile! =)  Speaking of cheesy smiles...you know how many times I tried to get a pic of the two of us today?????

Hahaha!!!  MY smile in the first and MONK's in the second....what a pair we make!  Here's some more of the cute shirt...

LOVE that shirt!!! ;)  Although where did the raisins and milk go???
We also had a major rock-session over here!

"Baby are you down, down, down, down doooown..."  Yeah....we were rockin' to Jay Sean's "Down"...call me a bad mom, but that song is AWESOME!  LOVE his expression in the middle one!  LOL!

So the house decor....check out my hard work!!!  It's definately looking like Autumn around here, no???

Yes....that is a nose-sucker/aspirater and a baggie of Veggie Crisps in there!  It's kinda the dump zone when we walk in the door =)  Gotta be real, right?!?

And this is my FAVORITE part of my fall decor....my newest project inspired by Andrea at Babe Of My Heart which was inspired by Tatortots & Jello. 

Doesn't my front porch look pretty!?!?  So funny story about this project.  Andrea's spin on the original said to do it on a straw wreath....

LOL....well I realized after the SEVENTH time of looking at her pictures that we had VERY different ideas of what a "straw wreath" was...but I still liked this!  This project was under $5 for me too, so that made for a happy mama!!!  Just had to buy a wreath, some burlap (I think I only used 1/4 yard) and some more hot glue ('cause I ran out)....the rest was all scrap fabric and rhinestones from my headbands (and I never even used those colors...so SCORE!).

Oh yeah....and I found this cute candy corn necklace on the dollar rack when I was checking out at Joann's....so I cut it apart and used the candy corns for a little Halloween festive-ness!!!  And my "Happy Fall" sign was not staying by HANGING on a paperclip (maybe if you used the teeny ones it would be fine) so I hot glued them to the top.  I love sometimes how mistakes make yours completely custom and fun!!!  So what do you think?!?

What do YOU have to look forward to this season???  What are you putting up for your Fall decor??  Send me a link, I'd love to come check it out and get to know my readers a bit more!!!