Etcetera Etcetera Etcetera

I do realize

2009-11-22T20:02:00.003-06:00

that I haven't posted anything in close to 3 months. All I can say, is that time sure does pass by fast, doesn't it? I am going to try to do better, starting now.

So to start back with something fun, what better way than with a "Here Comes Santa Clause" blog party.

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Hosted by Jolly Mom and Go Graham Go. Hurry on over and check the sites out for ways for you to win their great giveaways that will be starting tomorrow!!

Birthday Party

2009-09-04T06:50:00.016-05:00

Finally, here is my post about our girl's 2nd birthday party. I wanted to have a low key party since last year was a bit out of control with way too many kids and parents. But, last year, she had only been home for a short period of time and all of our (meaning adult) friends wanted to share in the excitement of her finally being here, after the 3 year process. So, they all were invited along with their children, and almost every person in our extended family. So, this year it was simple. Made for moma and child to have a much better day-lol. And, can I just say, that I LOVE the suggested birthday party rule of "only have the # of children that your child is turning"...what a simple, yet brilliant idea!!! So, you guessed it, we had 2 other children at our party.

So, I'm sure you would like to see some pictures, here you go:

Our theme was a Panda party. She squeals everytime we cross the big bridge, and see the big panda banner for the zoo. In fact, she's now started squealing and yelling panda as soon as she sees the bridge, she doesn't wait until she sees the banner. Here is an overview of the party table.

The table was decorated with black, white and green balloons, green tablecloth, panda cake, stuffed panda, treat bags, and presents. Black and white napkins, cups, and plates. I also had food that was black and white, to keep with the theme; black grapes, sliced bananas, oreo crisps, and of course, chocholate cake with vanilla ice cream. (AG had her soy vanilla ice cream) The party was from 3-5, so I didn't put out alot of food.

I made her Panda Head Happy Birthday banner. It was made out of white and black cardstock, scrapbook paper, and green ribbon. It turned out exactly how I had envisioned, so I was happy with that.

Here is the panda cake. Now, let me say that I had some issues with the cake. First of all, it was extremely difficult to find someone to make the cake since AG has a dairy allergy. I can make the cake, but cannot decorate it. So, I finally found someone who agreed to make it and use the recipes that I use for the cake and icing. However, this is not the cake that was supposed to be made. She said the icing wouldn't do right, so she had to make it into a sheet cake. I've never had a problem with this icing being too thin, but I still think it turned out cute. I have decided that if when we go back for allergy testing in December, she hasn't grown out of the milk allergy, I am going to take cake decorating classes. I do NOT want to have to go through that again. Or she may just have plain cakes for every bithday and I'll have to go all out on the other decorations!

I made a pin the nose on the panda game. The other two girls didn't want to play, but AG sure did. She had a blast with it. I even left it up so she can still play with it.

I printed out some panda coloring pages and gave them to the kids in the treat bag, which was a green Chinese take out container. It was filled with the panda color sheet, box of crayons, panda stickers, and a Kung Fu Panda Chinese drum. I didn't get a goood picture of the treat bags, but you can kind of see them in this picture. They are right behind the stuffed panda.

And here are the girls coloring their pandas.

Each girl got a bubble wand and we went outside to play with those. Bubbles are always a hit.

Here she is playing in one of her favorite presents-her Princess Pop-Up Castle tent.

So, there is our panda birthday party. AG seemed to have a wonderful time, as you can see by the smile in that last picture and that is what is important. All the decorations or festivities mean nothing, if your child doesn't enjoy themselves and feel special. I think she did!

I leave you with our family picture from the party.

Tot School

2009-09-02T07:11:00.011-05:00

My baby turned 2!!! Time goes by extremely too fast!

Here is our week of Tot School: (kind of random)

Playing with her new No Mess Paint set

She loves to unload the dishwasher and got one of her own for her birthday, which she loves

We made a lifesize drawing of her, which she later colored.

First time feeding the ducks-I have to admit I was pretty impressed with her wanting to make sure that all of the ducks got some of the bread. She would point out to her daddy which one he needed to move closer to so she could throw the bread.

Playing with her new markers and Elmo coloring book she got from her friend, Ella.

Playing in the bubble water, after finger painting. The bubble water was a much bigger hit than painting!

And, here is my favorite from this week. She is enjoying another piece of her birthday cake.

Go here to see more Tot School ideas.

Tot School

2009-08-24T15:15:00.008-05:00

Head over to Carissa's blog to see other links to Tot School this week.

We are not completely back to normal since vacation last week, but we are getting close. This week, I was preoccupied with the big birthday party and making sure everything was set for it, so we didn't do a theme, hopefully, we will be back to that next week.

Here is some of what we did this past week:

imaginative play

planting a flower for her China mom

fine motor skills

cooking with moma

And one of my favorites from this week (there were many since we had a bday party, which I will put in another post):

Playing in her new princess pop up tent

Happy Birthday to my sweet angel!

Birthday party!!!

2009-08-23T08:26:00.001-05:00

Join in on the fun here-hosted by http://www.gograhamgo.com/ and Jolly Mom.

See you there!

Picnic Table Talk-healthy snacks

2009-08-20T21:56:00.003-05:00

Over at ABC and 123: Picnic Table Talk this week, they are discussing healthy snacks for our kids.

I haven't set a specific time for snacks yet, but if she hasn't asked for a snack by about 2-3 hours after a meal, then I will ask her if she wants one and give her some choices. These choices usually include a fruit, a whole grain, or soy yogurt or vegan cheese. (AG has a cow's milk allergy).

Here are some of her favorite snacks:

smoothies
seaweed
avocado
grapes
pretzels
rice cakes
any type of whole grain muffin
fruit
strawberry soy yogurt
vegan cheese
peanut butter crackers
graham crackers
homemade granola bars
homemade chewy oatmeal raisin cookies
cucumbers
tomatoes
pickles
olives
trail mix (usually Kix, Cheerios, raisins and maybe some dairy free choc chips)

I think I am going to try to make these fruit leathers for on the go snacks. I am also wanting to make some homemade "lazy granola" from here.

I think as she gets older I will try this organizational tool-I love it!! Thanks for the inspiration!

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday-chewy granola bars

2009-08-18T13:27:00.003-05:00

Today, I want to share one of our go to snacks for Tempt My Tummy Tuesday. AG loves them and so does AG's daddy, although, he prefers me to make half with raisins and half with chocolate chips.

Ingredients
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4-1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened -we use dairy free due to AG's cow's milk allergy
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups crisp rice cereal (Rice Krispies)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips -we use dairy free
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
raisins (optional)

-Preheat oven to 350° and lightly grease or spray 9 x 13 pan.
-In large bowl, beat brown sugar, sugar, and butter until light and fluffy.
-Blend in honey, vanilla and egg.
-In separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
-Add flour mixture gradually to sugar mixture and beat until combined.
-By hand, stir in almonds, chocolate chips and oats until well mixed.
-Press mixture firmly in bottom of greased pan, and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, or until light golden brown.
-Cool and cut into squares.

Head over to BlessedwithGrace for more tempting recipes. I think I am going to try the cinnamon bran muffins.

Tot School

2009-08-17T20:49:00.015-05:00

Please visit here to see more Tot School posts.

Last week, we were on vacation, so there was more Life School going on than actual Tot School, although, we did get a little bit in. We went to Branson, MO. While there we met up with one of our China travelmate families. This is the second time we've been able to see them this year and feel so blessed to be able to keep this connection for the girls, as we all think it is important as they grow. The girls are only 5 days apart in age and are absolutely adorable when together ( and separate :-). We were truly blessed to be able to find such good friends through this process. Here are some pictures from our week.

with her new princess puzzle

on the Branson Scenic Train with Daddy

playing with Mr. Potato Head

Lots of time in the pool

Here are some with our friends

And a few of my favorites from this week:

tot school

2009-08-09T20:05:00.012-05:00

Oh, man, the week went by so quickly, I didn't get a chance to write about the previous week's Tot School. Time flies when you are having fun, and when you are visiting family-yes, again! I tend to pack up AG and myself when AG's Daddy has to travel for work. So, if he's gone for more than one night, you can bet we're not staying home. Off to Nana & Papa's we go-and they don't mind a bit! And, so that no one thinks that I am slighting my in-law's, Ma spent the night with us on Monday.

Since we were gone, Tot School was kind of sporadic. I always take the time to try to introduce her to new things or review things throughout the day, so I don't feel like it's a total loss. I had decided to work on themes each week, with this week being the first. I didn't do as much as I had planned since I decided on Tuesday morning to leave, but I did manage to take some things with us.

I did a daily shape:

M-square

T-triangle

W-circle

T-heart

F-star

I didn't actually do much for Thursday & Friday b/c she already knows those shapes really well.

Monday we did a square person-sorry no pic.

Tuesday we made a triangle kite.

Wednesday we made a panda head out of circles.

Next week, we will be on vacation, so we will do some things involving different shapes as kind of a review.

Go here to see Tot School.

Sweet book giveaway

2009-08-09T12:42:00.002-05:00

Lisa at BlessedwithGrace is giving away the sweetest book HERE. It's Dance Me Daddy and it's been on my amazon wish list for a while now. I had decided to wait to get it for Father's Day next year, but I would love to win it.

Please go check out BlessedwithGrace. Lisa has a great blog about her life with her daughter and has some fabulous giveaways, one of which I won a few weeks ago- Kai-Lan and Yo Gabba Gabba DVD's.

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

2009-07-28T17:46:00.006-05:00

My new bloggy friend, Lisa, over at BlessedwithGrace, has a weekly blog carnival called Tempt My Tummy Tuesday. You can head over there to see more tempting recipes. We tried one of them this afternoon- yumm0!!

Today, I am going to share the meatloaf recipe that I use, when I can get my DH to agree to eat meatloaf. He says he doesn't like the texture of meatloaf. I can understand, since I hated it growing up. But, now I do like and don't get to have it often, hmmm, something is wrong with this picture.

I got this from somewhere on the internet a while back and didn't think to save the link to give credit where credit is due, so I hope I will be forgiven if the original author comes by, if so, please claim your recipe!

BBQ MEATLOAF

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 tbsp. minced onions
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1/2 c. water3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. prepared mustard
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp. wine vinegar

Mix meat, bread crumbs, egg, salt, pepper and 1/2 can tomato sauce. Put in loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients to make the sauce. Baste occasionally with sauce, covering meat.

Serves: 6.

Enjoy!!

Tot School

2009-07-26T20:15:00.011-05:00

Last week we were at my parents and this week they came to visit us. It was great to get to see them again so soon!!

Here are some things that AG worked on this week:

This is her felt board "The Hungry Caterpillar" that I made last week, while visiting Nana and Papa. She picks out the food to put on the board while I read the book.

She worked with her shape sorter quite a bit this week.

She put her Easter eggs into an empty egg carton. Then, she sorted them into the colored baskets.

She played dress up in her new Snow White dress, that I got at a consignment sale this week.

She read lots of books with Nana. We also went to the library for storytime, where she painted and checked out some books.

I also got this bike trailer at the consignment sale this week- it's great! We love being able to ride our bikes again. AG loved it and wanted to go again and again. She also almost fell asleep in it twice!

I guess we had alot more of life experiences this week as opposed to actual school, but that's fine, she loved them all!

Here is a favorite from this week. She was showing us how to twirl the magic wand, which her Papa taught her!

Head over here to see more Tot School links.

Tot School

2009-07-19T20:22:00.009-05:00

Head over HERE to see more Tot School links.

We spent most of our week at Nana & Papa's. I did get some pictures, but not alot. So, this week is kind of sparse...

This first picture was taken back in June at our visit, but they did the same thing this visit and I didn't get a picture.

We also drew shapes on the sidewalk and had her step into it when I called it out. She did really well. I drew a star, square, triangle, and circle.

We picked out things around Nana's house that are purple this week.

She did lots of kitchen play this week.

She played with her fill and spill bottle quite a bit.

She played with her new Mr. Potato Head. She seemed to like this and wanted her Papa to help her out.

And, she always likes to draw on her chalkboard.

Here is my favorite pic of this week-she was laying on her princess couch and looked so comfy!

Tot School

2009-07-13T12:55:00.015-05:00

We had lots of fun with Tot School this week, as we always do. Here is what AG did:

This was our basket for the week: green

I made her a match the colors file folder game from FileFolderFun

I finally remembered to take the camera to gymnastics- here is our little monkey

She put straws onto a pipe cleaner, this proved to be challenging enough to keep her busy for a bit.

She colored with crayons, color pencils and markers throughout the week. And, we had an impromptu lesson on cleaning up our messes when she wrote on the table with her markers instead of the coloring book :-)

We tore, crumbled, and glued tissue paper. This was her first session with the glue stick. She did pretty well, but I held it and she helped to spread it on the paper. She really had fun with this.

She found pompoms in dried beans. She liked this one, too, and did it several times.

She put golf tees and cut straws into flower foam. This only holds her attention for a few minutes, at most, but she likes it b/c she asks for it.

We worked on drinking from a small cup instead of a sippy cup. She has done really well with this all week and is so proud of herself!

Here is my favorite picture of the week-we took her to ride the carousel on Sunday.

Head over to this Tot School post to see what other tots are doing.

Tot School

2009-07-07T06:11:00.016-05:00

Another week has come and gone and we had lots of fun with Tot School. Head over to 1+1+1=1 for more Tot School posts.

We worked on the color yellow and the star shape. Here she is with that cheesy smile of hers, showing me all of the stuff in her yellow basket. We went through the house and picked out yellow items to put in her yellow basket. She seemed to really enjoy this. I got six baskets, each a different color at Hobby Lobby a while back, so I think we will do this again with each color basket. She now knows yellow and star.

She played with some new blocks. She liked to build them up, then knock them down.

We did fill and spill bottles a few times this week. She filled them with yellow pom poms and then we worked on green ones.

She worked on fine motor skills by putting golf tees into a flower cushion. She seemed to like this, as well.

She painted with star cookie cutters for the 4th of July.

Some pretend play with her shopping basket. She also did alot with taking her baby doll for a walk in the stroller and changing her diaper.

Playing in her sprinkler for the first time. She really wanted mommy and daddy to run through it with her. And, since the weather here was around 98 degrees, we obliged her!

Watching fireworks with friends from church.

And, my favorite photo from last week...surely, the cheesy smile will go away at some point, right?? For now, I think it's cute!

Maybe one more favorite, without the cheese grin ;-)

Tot School

2009-06-30T20:16:00.013-05:00

I managed to go out of town last week before I posted about our previous week's Tot School. So, I am going to include the past 2 weeks in this post. One of the week's was spent at Nana & Papa's, so there aren't any pictures to go along.

We played the cereal punch board game. She liked this for a little while.

We got out the musical set that I bought a few weeks ago. She really likes this, her favorite is the tone block with the mallet.

She played with a play dough set. I like the tools that came with it, since they are better for little hands. Thanks to Raising A Happy Child for the comment about the playdough scissors on our last Tot School post!!

I made her a felt board and pieces to go along with Brown Bear, Brown Bear. This picture is of AG's daddy showing it to her for the first time. She asks for it several times a day now and can pick out a few of the animals in sequence without me reading it. I'm going to make a few more of these in the next couple of weeks.

Finger and sponge painting

Imagination playtime with her tote of kitchen supplies-She gets these out everyday and plays for a while with them.

Here is my favorite picture of the week...even if it is a bit blurry!

Head over to 1+1+1=1 for more Tot School.

Giveaway

2009-06-19T12:43:00.003-05:00

Here is a cool giveaway for all you mom's trying to find things to keep your kids busy. Baby Love Blankies is an etsy store that specializes in I Spy Bags. Go over here to check out the giveaway. If I don't win, I'm definitely going to order one or more for AG to help when we're traveling.

Tot School

2009-06-14T20:55:00.013-05:00

Well, this week, I spent alot of time figuring out things I needed to get together for Tot School. I think I have a good start, so now, I hope that the planning will be a bit easier for me to get going with.

Here is some of what we did this week:

We started a Mommy & Me gymnastics class on Monday. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of it. But, here she is practicing some of her gymnastics. Overall, I think she liked it. The first picture is her touching her nose to her toes, the second one is trying to walk along a piece of tape that I made to mimick the balance beam. She can do it, but was goofing off in this picture.

Next, we played with the fishing magnets again. She understands the theory of this, however, doesn't seem that enthusiastic about doing it. I am still trying to figure out if it's because she doesn't care or if it's frustrating to her since the magnets are so small. But, she asked for it when she saw it in the closet, so we tried again. We'll just keep on until I figure out what the problem is.

She colored a ladybug and then I gave her a sticker sheet with different types of bugs on it and asked her to take off the ladybugs and put them on her color sheet. She had no problem with this and seemed to like it quite a bit.

I got her a bowling set this week. We will need to work on rolling the ball, but you have to roll it really hard since it's very lightweight, I think we may try a different ball that would more easily knock them down. She did ask for it several more times during the week.

Some outside play included helping daddy wash the car.

And, in her new (to us) sandbox

We also tried transferring water from one container to another with an eye dropper. She thought this was fun, but had a bit of problem with it. I think with more practice she'll like this one even more. She did eventually start pouring the water from one bowl to the other and putting hte dropper down.

We also worked on scissor work, she's still figuring out how to manipulate them. We also did some pretend play of acting like a duck, dog, and monkey.

I'll try to get a picture of her at gymnastics tomorrow night.

Head over to 1+1+1=1 for more Tot School posts.

Tot School

2009-06-10T21:11:00.012-05:00

Go over to 1+1+1=1 to see other Tot School posts.

Since we were on vacation last week, I didn't do many planned activities with AG. However, I did take some things to do with her on the airplane and those worked out pretty well. She used sticker books with markers and an etch a sketch-which she loved. I also took a Mr. Potato Head, but didn't break him out, think I'll save him for another day.

She did lots of digging in the sand at the beach...she would have stayed there all day as long as she had a shovel and her pail!

Trying to figure out when it's going to splash her again, this was at Magic Kingdom.

Here are a few other things we did before we left for vacation.

Playing in her water and sand table-loves it

transferring dry beans to a muffin tin-she really enjoyed this, but I think I gave her too many beans, it got out of control quickly! LOL

her new magnet fishing rod, this proved to be a bit frustrating for her, although she understood the concept, she was more concerned about learning how to work the rod this time than really catching the fish with it, oh well, I'm sure the newness of this will wear off.

Hopefully, next week will be somewhat more organized. I've been doing lots of planning and purchasing in order to get things organized. I've realized that she and I both need more structure to our days, as she seems to be getting bored very easily recently which makes for whining on her part and frustration on my part. I'm thinking of making out a schedule to work by-otherwise, things slip my mind and no, I'm not really old enough for things like that to be happening yet!

Chance to win soapnuts

2009-06-10T12:14:00.005-05:00

Are you asking yourself "What are soapnuts? Well, go here to find the answer and maybe win yourself some to try.

I have tried making my own laundry detergent and it works well and is very economical. However, I recently read some scary info on Borax, so I haven't been using it lately. I have seen reviews on these soapnuts and think they would be a wonderful way to clean your clothes. I hate chemicals and to think that these come from a tree with nothing added, is absolutely wonderful.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-06-07T20:24:00.003-05:00

Well, we're back from vacation-oh, how I already miss the beach! Back to reality for us and that means making this week's menu plan. So, here it goes:

Sunday- roast with potatoes, carrots and green beans

Monday (aka crockpot day b/c AG and I will be attending Mommy & Me gymnastics class at 6pm)- we'll be trying this new recipe, Linguini & Chicken from Tamy@3SidesofCrazy.

Tuesday- poppyseed chicken-AG's daddy's fave meal

Wednesday- chicken pot pie

Thursday-taco soup with tortilla chips

Friday- homemade pizza

Snacks- smoothies, whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookies, fresh fruit, trail mix, graham crackers, rice cakes

Head over to I'm An Organizing Junkie for more Menus.

Tot School

2009-05-25T11:24:00.010-05:00

AG is currently 21 months old

I've started doing purposeful play with AG this past week. Thanks to Tot School by Totally Tots, you remember, my new bloggy love! So, here are a few things we did this week.

I introduced her to the chalk board, which she loved!! She particularly liked cleaning it after she wrote on it.

We made a caterpillar, since her favorite book this week is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I cut the pieces out, she helped me put them on the paper, then, she colored it.

She worked on putting stickers onto paper-she also loved this.

And, finally, we did some finger painting. I had tried this with her a few months ago, but the fingers were still going in the mouth, so even though it was non-toxic, I decided to wait a bit before introducing it again. She enjoyed it for a little while.

Here she is working on putting cut up straws into an empty water bottle. She did this 3 times, then she was done.

She was really excited to show her daddy the things she had done each day. Overall, she did like her activities. However, in doing these this week, I realized, I might need to do some harder ones with her since she seemed to get bored with them after a short period of time. I needed a starting point, so now I can plan accordingly from here. I also have big plans for organizing all of this and can't wait to get started on that after vacation.

What's On Your Tot's Plate

2009-05-19T20:17:00.005-05:00

I have found a new bloggy love and it's Totally Tots!! I have gotten so much inspiration from this site. Since I try hard to feed AG nutriscious foods and I'm always looking for more ideas due to her milk-actually casein, allergy, I thought it would be great to see what other mommy's are feeding their little ones. It has also helped me in regards to not feeling guilty when AG's grandmother just doesn't understand why she can't have a drink of coffee or any other endless number of strange looks I get when I say she can have a smoothie instead of a twinkie :-) Come to think of it she probably couldn't eat the twinkie anyway, you wouldn't believe the amount of foods that have some type of milk product in them! Anyway, I digress. Since I just started taking photos this week, I don't have many pics to offer, but here are a few of what's on AG's plate this week.

This is shredded chicken with taco seasoning with strawberries, sweet potato with cinnamon, green beans, and soy milk.

And, here is AG enjoying some chocolate soy pudding-yes, I stripped her down for easier clean up-lol

You can go here to see more Tot Food.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-05-17T17:28:00.008-05:00

Wow, I'm actually on time this week! Don't get used to it-ha! I will be using some meat that was 'on it's way' to being thawed, thanks to little AG who changed the settings on the freezer in the garage yesterday-oops!!! Guess I should watch her more closely when she's around the freezer or we'll be in trouble :-)

Ok, here we go:

Sunday- grilled pork chops with sweet potatoes and green beans -thanks to AG's daddy for grilling!

Monday- Mexican chicken rice -this is a new recipe for us, I'll try to remember to report back on it next week

Tuesday-vegetable beef soup with cornbread

Wednesday- chicken and spaghetti (cheese on ours, but not on AG's)

Thursday- oven roasted chicken with roasted veggies

Friday- homemade pizza night-BBQ chicken for us, pepperoni for AG since she doesn't care for BBQ

Saturday-chicken chili with leftover roasted chicken

Sunday-we will be going to the Memphis in May Sunset Symphony with friends, so we'll be taking our food for a picnic. I think we'll take some pb&j sandwiches, grapes, strawberries, chewy granola bars, and sweet potato and parsnip homemade fries.

Well, there it is. It makes me feel better to have it all planned out!

Head over to I'm An Organizing Junkie for more MPM.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-05-12T12:52:00.005-05:00

Late again, but better than never and I've got to get back on track with posting! Here it goes:

Sunday-chicken and dumplings

Monday-sesame chicken with fried noodles and veggies

Tuesday-skillet mac and beef(actually turkey)

Wednesday-chicken & black bean burritos with guacamole(AG LOVES guacamole!)

Thursday-baked tilapia with potatoes and a green veggie

Friday-pizza night

Saturday-AG's daddy will grill something-possibly pork chops

Snacks: trail mix (cheerios, kix, raisins, dairy free choc chips), granola bars, smoothies

Head over to I'm An ORganizing Junkie for more menu planning!!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

2009-04-21T15:57:00.005-05:00

My kitchen tip for today is to always check the clearance aisle in your grocery stores. You never know what you will find there. Here is a picture of some items I've recently picked up on the clearance aisle at Kroger. Most of it are things that I would normally buy anyway (chili beans, baby cereal, spaghetti) and others are little luxuries for me and maybe for AG's daddy, too (spiced Chai Latte, which is yummy, btw!). So, here's the breakdown: chili beans .39, spaghetti .69, barley baby cereal 1.00, and the spiced Chai Latte-well you can see that one. I've also found Cherrybrook Kitchen brownies-I bought them since they are dairy free, and some chocolate covered pretzels.

Head over to Tammy's Recipes for more Kitchen Tip Tuesdays.

Good times in the kitchen

2009-04-02T11:58:00.007-05:00

I thought I would share some of my favorite pics of AG in the kitchen. She loves to help with whatever is going on in the kitchen, from stirring tea, muffins, to holding down the lid when we're making smoothies. I'm planning on getting her this, with the money I get from the upcoming consignment sale. I have heard that it's worth the $$, so I guess we'll see!

Anyway, here are some more pics!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

2009-03-31T20:29:00.004-05:00

I've decided to participate in Tammy's Kitchen Tip Tuesday today. I have tried several of her recipes and have loved them all. I'm not sure if I'll have a tip every week, but we'll see how it goes!

Freezing spinach puree:

I've started buying bunches of fresh spinach-preferably organic, and making a puree out of them to freeze. It takes about 30 minutes to chop it up into the puree (just spinach and water) and it's well worth the time and effort. One bunch gives me about 2 cups, maybe more. I divide that into 4 ziploc baggies and freeze to use later in spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and smoothies for AG. It makes it so much easier and faster to take it out of the freezer instead of having to make it right then when I need it.

Homemade breakfast Sandwiches

2009-03-31T08:41:00.004-05:00

I found this on Dollar Stretcher . AG's daddy loves these, so I think I'll try this so he can have a quick, but hot breakfast. What a great idea!!

Homemade Breakfast Sandwiches

My husband and I love breakfast sandwiches from fast food
restaurants and the frozen food section of the grocery store.
I found a way to make them for a lot less money, and they are
healthier, too! I whisk 12 eggs with a little bit of milk and
whatever seasonings I feel like using (i.e. red pepper flakes,
salt, pepper, hot sauce, onions, etc.). Then I spray a 13x9
baking dish with cooking spray and pour in the egg mixture.
After baking for 15-20 minutes in a 350-degree oven, I cut
this into 12 squares. Then I put the egg squares on toasted
English muffins, bagels, biscuits, etc. I also get pre-cooked
sausage patties that are thin and fit perfectly on English
muffins from our warehouse club. I add cheese if I feel like
it, making a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner! I usually make
12 at a time and freeze some of them so they are ready to go.
Susie

I'll let you know how they work out!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-30T20:45:00.006-05:00

Back on track this week. Here it goes:

Sunday-roast with potatoes, carrots, and lima beans

Monday-poppyseed chicken with roasted asparagus

Tuesday-homemade pizza

Wednesday-spaghetti

Thursday- left overs or whatever we can find

Friday and Saturday- eating with the in-laws

Snacks- guacamole, pumpkin bran muffins, smoothies, trail mix

Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for hundreds more menu plans.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-15T13:34:00.007-05:00

Erin at $5 Dinners is hosting Menu Plan Monday this week, so go on over there and see what everyone else has cooking this week!

Sunday: grilled pork chops (didn't have these last week as planned b/c it was raining) with sweet potatoes and peas

Monday: rotisserie chicken or oven roasted chicken

Tuesday: homemade pepperoni pizza with spinach pizza sauce

Wednesday: baked chicken with roasted cauliflower and broccoli

Thursday, Friday and Saturday: out to eat in Dallas with some of our Hunan travelmates for a mini reunion-we can't wait to see them all again and see how the girls have all grown and changed.

Snacks: granola bars (these are SO good and won't be staying in the house long since AG's daddy seems to really like them, too! Oh, and I did reduce the amt of sugar in them and next time I'll be replacing some of the flour with whole wheat flour), blueberry muffins, , (AG's daddy requested 2 batches of these to take with us) smoothies, fruit. I will be making granola bars and blueberry muffins to take with us to Dallas since it's hard to give AG store bought snacks that have any nutrition to them-most of them have a dairy product in them~!! Not really sure what we'll do about eating out so much and the dairy allergy, it may be a stressful weekend for this mama!

Here are some pics of the granola bars and blueberry muffins:

Readoption Day

2009-03-11T11:40:00.003-05:00

Today, we all went to the courthouse to have AG readopted in the state of AR-this just recognizes the adoption, as it was completed in China. Now, we can get her a birth certificate from AR showing us as her parents. Which will come in handy when we fly to Orlando in May! It will also make things easier when we enroll her in school-that's still several years away-thank God, she's growing up too quickly as it is!

Here is our family today at court

Happy Readoption Day, my beautiful and sweet girl-we love you more than you will ever know!

Wild Olive Tees giveaway

2009-03-11T11:27:00.003-05:00

Please go to Wild Olive Tees they are too cute! This one is my favorite! Please read the verse on the back!

They are giving away a $75 gift certificate and are taking entries until April 15th, that's going to be alot of entries. These tees are SO cute! And, to top it off, the owners are adoptive parents of children from China, so, of course, that holds a special place in my heart!

Now go, and good luck!!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-08T20:10:00.006-05:00

Here is this week's menu:

Sunday: grilled steak and baked potatoes
Monday: baked tilapia and roasted veggies (forwarded from last week)
Tuesday: chicken and rice with green beans
Wednesday: grilled pork chops with potatoes
Thursday: crock pot bb chicken sandwhich with homemade hamburger buns
Friday: crockpot hamburger and potato casserole for AG and grandparents-out to eat for AG's daddy and me!
Saturday: grilled hamburgers and french fries with another veggie

Snacks: applesauce bread, smoothies, orange muffins, fruit

go check out I'm An Organizing Junkie for more menu plans!!

Earth Hour

2009-03-07T10:24:00.006-06:00

Are you participating in Earth Hour?? We are and hope you will, too!

Green things I am really wanting

2009-03-06T10:08:00.010-06:00

But, I have to pace myself.

I've already replaced buying popsicles with these, which are great for AG's daddy, but way too big for AG. So, I'm going to be on the lookout for smaller ones, maybe these, since they are only two ounces.

The next item on my list are these cool snack bags AG could use these now and I hate carrying those ziploc bags around in her diaper bag. I think I'll probably end up ordering these this month (smile, although I am still researching these b/c I initially like the oil cloth ones, but they have levels of Phthalates are too high to comply with the new standards for items which are going to be sold and are intended to be used by children under 12 years old- so no oil cloth ones for this house! These are all cotton, but I don't think they are waterproof on the inside, which would be nice-so I may still be searching.
Aren't they just adorable, though?!?!

I think these napkins are really cute, but could probably make some myself out of felt-they just wouldn't be as cute, although they also wouldn't be as pricey. Hhmmm, what to do, what to do? Oh, just had a thought, I can check etsy for these, too. I'll report back on that later.

I guess that's enough for now. That's not too bad for a wish list, huh? I can probably swing these items in the near future. What green items are on your wish list??

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-03T08:47:00.006-06:00

First, I'm a day late and a dollar short, ha ha!! Now, be sure to check out Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hundreds of more menu plans.

I guess I should preface this by saying that AG has a casein allergy, so any recipe that calls for milk, butter, or any other dairy product is subsituted in our house. I don't typically cook with cheese unless you can add it once the meal is on your plate. Yes, we tried the vegan cheese, which is what she can eat, but it doesn't melt well, and according to AG's daddy, he isn't going to fight her for it!

Here is our menu plan for this week:

Breakfasts: Cereal-Since AG is 18 months old, she is still eating fortified cereal each morning, with some type of fresh fruit or applesauce. Brian eats whatever cereal on hand, and I eat oatmeal.

Lunches: usually leftovers, or something easy like chicken salad, tuna patties

Dinners:

Sunday- Chicken Chili- recipe below

Monday-spaghetti with spinach marinara sauce and garlic toast

Tuesday- Chicken Fried Rice with fried noodles (AG loves loves these noodles!)

Wednesday- Vegetable or Potato soup-not sure which one yet

Thursday- baked chicken with roasted cauliflower and broccoli

Friday- baked tilapia with crashed potatoes

Saturday-Brian is going to use his new grill, probably pork chops with a baked sweet potato

Snacks for AG:
pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (I used vegan choc chips for AG)
blueberry muffins
smoothies
graham crackers
fruit

Chicken Chili: slightly modified from this link:
3 cups water1 tsp lemon pepper1 tsp ground cumin1 Tbsp olive oil2-3 chicken breasts1 garlic clove1/2 cup chopped onion1 can corn1 or 2 cans of chopped green chiles (I use 1)1 tsp cumin 2-3 Tbsp lime juice2 cans northern white beans (although, I cook dry beans, and use a quart size ziploc bag) Combine water, lemon pepper, 1 tsp cumin, and olive oil and bring to boil. Add chicken and return to low boil, simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken and cut into pieces, then put it back. Add garlic, onion, corn, chiles, 1 tsp cumin, lime juice, and beans, bring to a boil and simmer until the chicken is completely done. Top with cheese, if you want.

It's been a year

2009-03-03T08:11:00.005-06:00

since we first saw AG's beautiful little face. We waited for 26 months to see her and when we did it was love at first sight! Here is a referral picture of her.

And, here she is a few days ago

It's hard to believe this beatiful child has been with us for almost 11 months. We have been SO extremely blessed by her. I can only hope that we are the parents that she needs for us to be. That is something that I pray for all the time. She is such a precious little girl and I am so happy to have her as my daughter!!

Well, I'm back..

2009-03-03T08:06:00.002-06:00

So, I've decided to start using this blog again. I had shut it down last March or April, in lieu of posting our updates from China at our other website, since there was some concern for using blogger while in China. I'm not sure that anyone in our group had problems with that, but the other site served our purpose for updating our family and friends. I am planning on closing that one down and getting it all on a cd for AG to have later in life. I have lots of plans for this blog, but we'll see how much of it I actually get done with an 18 month old to chase around all day ;-)

Showers

2008-04-05T18:27:00.004-05:00

I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to update this site, but what the heck-lol.

We had two showers last weekend. One was given by my friends from church and the other was given by other friends, mostly from college.

AG got tons of clothes and lots of other things that we needed, like a bathtub! We were totally overwhelmed with everyone's generosity and excitement. It is sometimes hard to remember that all of our friends and family have been waiting for the past few years, too. And, they are anxiously awaiting Abby Grace's arrival.

Here is a slideshow of the showers, we didn't get many pictures from the church shower b/c the batteries went out in our camera :(

This site....

2008-03-24T18:56:00.003-05:00

I have decided that we will use our other website for updates. That is where most of our family and friends go for updates and I don't want to confuse them with another site. I just wanted to let everyone who checks this site (Susan-lol) to know. I will let you know when I start working on it again.

Peace out!!

Meet AG

2008-03-12T17:56:00.005-05:00

We got the call on Monday, March 3rd at 1:38pm. As soon as we answered the phone, our agency rep said that we had a daughter!!! She then told us that she was born in August 2007, which makes her a little over six months old. At this point, I think I was in total shock. Quite strangely, I was fairly calm and trying to listen very hard to get all of the details correct on our new baby girl. We found out that she was born on my brother's birthday, which I think is totally cool!! I hope that she and her uncle think so, too! Well, I know that her uncle does b/c he kept saying "no way" when I told him-LOL.

We think she is an absolute doll and cannot wait to travel to meet her and bring her home.

Retro Saturday

2008-01-26T13:08:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's Saturday again! Yay, I'm ready for this month to be over, it's been dragging.

Today I am choosing Laura Branigan-Self Control. I used to sit around and listen to her cassette tape in my room when I was a pre-teen. I knew every song on it! So sad that she passed away, may she rest in peace.

Laura Branigan - Self Control

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Retro Saturday

2008-01-19T12:06:00.000-06:00

My pick for today is The Metro by Berlin. I'm not sure why, but I LOVE this song!!! It always puts me in a good mood. Enjoy!

Retro Saturday....Spinning

2008-01-12T16:03:00.000-06:00

I've had an extremely rough week. I feel like I've been spun around and around all week long. So, I thought this song would be fitting for me today. I actually think I might feel a little better if I could just spin around for awhile. Maybe I need to let loose and go dancing....that sounds like a great idea! Go visit Kim and see her song for today.

Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Right Round

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Retro Saturday

2008-01-05T10:38:00.000-06:00

Kim, started posting Retro Saturday again, so I felt the need to join in. Today, I chose Hazy Shade of Winter by The Bangles.

Bangles - Hazy Shade of Winter

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Two years....

2008-01-04T21:32:00.004-06:00

We've been logged into China for 2 years today! We never thought that we would still be waiting for our daughter to come home two years after turning in our paperwork to China. I know that she is worth waiting for much longer than this, so it's fine. I just want to love her and take care of her. It hurts my heart to think that she could be in an orphanage. She could also be with a foster family. Either way, my wish is for her to have someone there for her when she cries or needs something. I want AG to know how much we looked forward to her arrival, but I don't want her to feel any kind of burden b/c of the amount of time that we waited. I sometimes feel that I could be contributing to that when I complain about the time frames. I hope that we can let her know how loved and wanted she was from the moment we signed the application. We aren't the only ones who are anxiously anticipating her arrival. Both sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles, tons of friends are also checking in every month to see when we think we might be getting her referral.

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
-Romans 8:25

"All children come from God - for some the journey home just takes longer"~ Unknown

New Year Referrals...

2008-01-03T11:05:00.001-06:00

That's 5 days worth of LID's for this month, leaving only 16 LID's before our date. So, that means if they do 5 days each month, we've got about 3 or 4 more months to go before our referral for AG gets here. I'm looking SO forward to the day that I can say we have a daughter!

Financial Shape in 2008

2008-01-03T10:28:00.001-06:00

I have been searching the internet for blogs that are frugal minded and will help with tips to staying on a budget. I came across Crystal, at Money Saving Mom a few weeks ago. She is hosting a challenge to get in Financial Shape in 2008.

B and I decided that we would start living only on what he brings home each month beginnning Jan 1 to see how we make it. As long as we can get by, I will quit my job once we bring AG home later this Spring. I am bound and determined to make this budget thing work for us, as I want to be able to stay at home with our daughter once we get home from China. This is the one true goal that I have this year. On a side, I had also applied to go back to school and get my Master's in Social Work, but I am having second and third thoughts on starting that in August. Mainly b/c that would mean that I would have to put AG in some type of daycare setting for a few days and I really just want to be able to stay home and enjoy her for a little while before having to do that-so that may be put on hold until 2009. We'll see.

The challenge is to post your budget, but I'm too private to do that so, I'm just going to make my committment to stick to this budget public to help keep me accountable.

I did make some calls yesterday and reduced a few of our monthly costs. We started with cable reduction. I don't watch HBO or Showtime, so why should we pay an extra $23/month for something that we can certainly live without? We're not anymore! Then, I researched and found that I can raise my deductibles on my car insurance and reduce my monthly insurance payments by about $13 each month. I know that it may not sound like much, but when you add things together it can really add up. So, my total savings from yesterday was $36/month. That, my friends, is what we will budget for entertainment. That would get us one movie night out and a couple of rented movies each month.

B ordered all 3 Dave Ramsey books: Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace, and More Than Enough. He's started reading the 1st one, Total Money Makeover. I'm so glad that we are both committed to making this work. It's not a long term change, but one that we feel is VERY important. I can't wait to stay home with our little girl!!

Happy 2008!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-01T15:58:00.000-06:00

Awesome Graphics at pYzam.com

I am SO ready to get going in 2008, good riddance to 2007!!!!

Ramblings...

2007-12-27T09:41:00.002-06:00

I got my hair chopped off...see...

We had a good Christmas, now let's move on to New Year's....like the new layout? I thought it was cool, but I'll have to change it again next week :) Looks to me like I have too much time on my hands, actually, it's just that I'm putting off work in lieu of something more fun.

We're going to a murder mystery party for New Year's Eve. We did this earlier in the year and it was really fun.

Brian's mom only has ONE more chemo treatment!!!! YAHOO! We are so happy for her. Hopefully, she can be finished with the radiation treatments before we leave for China to get AG.

Speaking of AG, she got a few things for Christmas. I'm not in the mood to follow the rumors right now. So, I think I'll just live in blissful LALA land until I referrals actually get closer to getting here for January.

Brian and I are starting to live on a budget of only his $$ to see if we can make it without me working. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. I have always wanted to not work once AGgets home and now I will have the opportunity to do that. I am bound and determined to make this budget thing work. I will do whatever I have to so that I can stay home with our little girl.

Ok, I guess that's it for now. Hope all of my bloggy friends had a good Christmas!!!

MMMM, what kind of cake are you???

2007-12-15T20:32:00.001-06:00

You Are Strawberry Cake

Fresh, sassy, and romantic.

You're a total flirt, who never would turn down a sugary treat.

Occasionally you're a bit moody - but you usually stay sweet!

What Kind of Cake Are You?

Yep, that about sums it up-haha!

My Girls!

2007-12-09T21:02:00.000-06:00

These are my very best friends! We meet every year for a Christmas lunch, where we exchange gifts and have some mimosas!! MMMM, those were good! We always draw names around October, but have it all figured out by the time we meet for lunch. Mostly, it's because someone forgets who they drew and have to call the others to find out. Oh well, it's always fun. Brian wonders why we even bother drawing names anymore-LOL.

These girls have been through the good, the bad, and the Ugly with me over the last 17 years. Gosh, it doesn't seem that long ago....I guess that's what happens when you get older! Having these girls have been one of the biggest blessings in my life!! Go hug a friend today!

2007-12-07T22:18:00.001-06:00

Referrals have arrived from China and they got through 12/14/05. That means there are 21 days ahead of us. I think it will be March before we see AG's referral. Do you realize how close March really is? I mean, it's almost Christmas, then New Years, then February (which is a short month by the way), then March!!! I guess I will go out on a limb and say that there is a VERY slight chance that it could be February.....but, deep down, I don't think it will happen. Although, it would be a great birthday present for Brian! I think March is our month.

Updates...a little late

2007-12-03T13:21:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I posted, again! Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving-yes, I'm aware that it was two weeks ago...

Here is the slide show from when we worked on the nursery. Yep, it still looks like that-incomplete-lol. My dad is coming back in January to paint the final bird(he doesn't want me doing it-haha), then we will be putting the crib up and arranging the furniture.

Being Thankful

2007-11-21T11:39:00.002-06:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted. I don't really have an excuse, just haven't felt like it, I guess. I do have lots of things to update, but that will all have to wait until after the holiday.

Even though, our daughter isn't here yet, I have lots to be thankful for this year.

1. My wonderful husband, who accepts me just like I am and who comes homes early from hunting because I sounded lonely :)

2. My family: my dad for coming up to draw on AG's nursery walls and then taking the time to paint some of it, too. my mom for trying to keep my spirits up when I get down in the dumps about the wait. my brother, Matthew, who is so very excited to be an uncle to AG that he recently told me that he is thinking about getting a tattoo with her name on it once she is finally here. my brother, Andrew, who is a very quiet person, but is very sweet and kind

3. My friends, both the ones that I've known forever and the ones that I've only known for a short time-all of which have been such a blessing through this longer than anticipated wait for our daughter

4. I'm thankful that my MIL is more than half completed with her chemo treatments and will hopefully have them completed by the end of the year. Also, that the spots on her lungs have not changed in size, meaning that they are probably NOT cancer

5. My church

6. our health

7. that our wait really is almost over

8. I am thankful to our daughter's birthmother/birthfamily

9. I am thankful for our jobs and that I will have the opportunity to stay at home with our daughter

I wish all of my friends who are reading this a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Referrals, Referrals, Referrals

2007-11-05T20:30:00.000-06:00

They've completed matching through 12/8/05. That leaves 27 days before our LID! It's finally getting close, it's actually getting close! I know, it still may be 3 or 4 more months, but that is sounding good to me!

Go to Cheri and Shane's site to see little Hope, she is absolutely adorable!!!!!
Congratulations Cheri and Shane!!!!!

And go to Stephanie and Steve's site for a glimpse of their little angel, Savannah!!!

How many months??

2007-11-04T16:10:00.000-06:00

That's how long China has had our dossier. I wonder how many more months we have until we get our referral? My guess is 3-4 more months, of course I would be estatic if it was less than that!!!

2007-11-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

You Should Have Been Born Under:

You are totally loyal, faithful, and honest.

However, you don't trust others to be as ethical as you are!

Straight forward and direct, you really aren't one for small talk.

You are a great listener - and an agreeable companion when you're in a good mood!

You are most compatible with a Tiger or Horse.

What Year Should You Have Been Born Under?

I'm actually a pig!

What monster are you??

2007-10-31T21:16:00.000-05:00

Since it's Halloween...

You Are a Werewolf

You're unpredictable, moody, and downright freaky.

You seem sweet and harmless, until you snap. Then you're a total monster.

Very few people can predict if you're going to be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde.

But for you, all your transformations seem perfectly natural.

Your greatest power: Your ability to tap into nature

Your greatest weakness: Lack of self control

You play well with: Vampires

What Kind of Monster Are You?

That sounds about right!!

Race for the Cure

2007-10-28T20:59:00.000-05:00

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, the Race for the Cure was more special to me, since my MIL has breast cancer. She is currently undergoing chemo treatments and seems to be doing well. Please keep her in your prayers for the next few months until she can finish up with her treatments.

Here is a picture of me and my BFF Shelli right before we we took off on our way for the Race for the Cure last weekend in Little Rock. This is something that we do every year and have been doing this for about 7 or 8 years now. It's such an amazing event. Here is another photo from the Race below.

What year do you belong in?

2007-10-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

You Belong in 1966

You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too.

What Year Do You Belong In?

That sounds about right, I've always thought that I should have been a teen in the 60's.

Menu Plan Monday (a little late)

2007-10-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

I'm running a little behind this week, but here is our Menu Plan Monday for this week.

Monday-we had Colton's Steakhouse with Brian's parents

Tuesday- I made mexican spaghetti(recipe below) we liked this, so we'll make it again and probably add some black beans to it

Wednesday-vegetable soup and cornbread

Thursday-leftovers

Friday-out to eat with our friends, Kelly and Michael

Saturday-eat at the Silent Auction that we are attending

Sunday-sandwhiches or more leftovers (the mexican spaghetti makes alot)

MEXICAN SPAGHETTI RECIPE
1 lb. hamburger meat
1 med. onion, diced
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can rotel
2 8 oz cans tomato suace
1 lb. spaghetti noodles

Brown hamburger meat with diced onion. Drain the meat and add the soup, rotel, and tomato sauce. Mix this all together and then pour it in with spaghetti that has been cooked according to package directions. Mix well and serve.

Don't forget to go here for more Menu Plan Mondays

Menu Plan Monday

2007-10-15T19:50:00.000-05:00

Monday-Tonight we had Shrimp Scampi and birthday cake! Yum!

Tuesday-Grilled Sesame Chicken (recipe below)with Asian Noodles

Wednesday-Baked Chicken (lemon pepper for me and BBQ for B), steamed broccoli, carrots and cauliflour

Thursday-I have Bunco, so I won't be cooking, but B will have left overs

Friday-out to eat with my friend, Shelli(mexican food, I'm sure!)

Recipe: Grilled Sesame Chicken

2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp soy sauce diluted iwth 1 1/2 Tbsp water
4 uncooked chicken breasts
3 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Combine all ingredients except chicken in shallow dish, add chicken and coat, cover and marinate for 2 hours-grill for 15 minutes or bake 25 minutes or until chicken is done

Head over to Laura's for more Menu Plan Monday and some great recipes.

Have a great week!

I'm Pooh Bear....Who Are You?

2007-10-11T22:26:00.000-05:00

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

More Shopping and Gifts for AG

2007-10-10T09:46:00.001-05:00

In September our wonderful Secret Pal sent AG the cutest little bikini and towel set, along with a remote car shade. I can't wait until AG can have a little pool in the backyard and wear her bikini and use her towel! They are too cute!

I have the most wonderful friend, Angela! She sent me a suprise birthday present all the way from Canada! I'm so lucky to have "found" her during this ever extending wait for our daughters. It truly makes the waiting more manageable to have friends who are in the same boat. Angela sent AG a pair of Robeez-like shoes that have a Chinese symbol on them. Aren't they cute?!?! She also sent me an angel ornament that says "miracles happen, just believe"-I really needed that! And, finally, she sent us a clip on calculator to attach to our backpack while we're doing all that shopping in China! Thank you, Angela! You're the best!!

Finally, I've been to yet another consignment event. This time I took my mom and aunt with me. Since they went, AG got more clothes than she would have if I had gone by myself... Here is a picture of all the clothes that we bought. We bought different sizes ranging from 12 months to 24 months, in hopes that she will actually get to wear some of it! Brian said that the clothes that I bought for her looked like something I would wear and now says that I am going to dress her like a mini-me! That's not true, but I guess the clothes I bought for her this time, do look more like something I would wear. I bought her the orange shirt with the off white pants, little green jacket, and the red plaid dress. Nanna bought her the overalls/shirt, Christmas dress, and ballerina shirt. Then, Dot bought her the overall dress with shirt and pink warm up outfit. I think they are all really cute and can actually picture her wearing all of it! OH, I can't wait!

Oh, we also bought some books and a memory game. Then, I bought her some Veggie Tales videos this weekend at a yard sale. And, I picked up All Dogs Go to Heaven last week at Wally World b/c it was only $5. Ok, so I think she's racked up over the past couple of weeks, don't you?

It's about time.... & Menu Plan Monday

2007-10-08T21:10:00.000-05:00

NOVEMBER IS DONE!!! I don't think I'll ever feel the same about that month again! I'm so glad that it's over, not to mention that I'm happy for all the new families that got to see their children for the first time last week. I have to admit, I was pretty let down last week when we "thought" that the cut off would be 11/30 and not into December, but then I just became happy to FINALLY be finished with that huge month. Now they only (and I use that term very loosely) have to complete referrals for December and then it will be our turn. How long will it take for them to get through December? Well, the answer is we don't know, just however long it takes them, but at least it's only one calendar month left. That really is a BIG relief.

We did pretty well with last week's menu plan. The only thing we didn't have was the Teriyki Chicken on Thursday night and the soup on Friday. We had enough left overs to not cook Thursday night and Friday my parents ended up not coming over, so we ate out.

Here is this week's menu:

Monday-Pork Chops & Potatoes with green peas, macaroni and cheese and carrots

Tuesday- Cheesey Chicken from Mommy of three. This is a new recipe that we are going to try, I'll post how we liked it next week.

Wednesday-ham & cheese sandwiches

Thursday-left overs or shrimp scampi (depends on how many left overs we end up having from Mon and Tues)

Friday-headed out of town-so we'll eat on the way-something fast, I'm sure

Saturday- we'll be at a football game, so we'll be having nachos or chicken tenders (oh, I'm sooo excited, can you hear the sarcasm?)

Sunday-back home, sandwiches after church

Overall, I guess it's kind of boring. I am going to post the recipe that I use for the pork chops/potatoes, but it may be tomorrow. You can go to I'm An Organizing Junkie to get more cool recipes!!

BTW-I read somewhere that your taste buds change every 7 years, so I challenge you to try something new this week! I tried some pumpkin pie over the weekend and I actually liked it pretty well, and the only thing I have ever liked pumpkin before was the smell of a candle-lol!!
Happy Eating!!

Menu Plan Monday

2007-10-01T16:09:00.000-05:00

I'm starting something new, well, actually, I've done it before, but didnt' stick with it. I thought that since we will be getting Abby Grace in the next 6 months or so (I know that might be a little on the optomistic side), I thought I would try to get in a habit of it, so I found Menu Plan Monday by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie and thought, what a great idea! So, here it goes, my first week!

Monday- Poppyseed Chicken Casserole (this is one of our staples) with rice and green peas

Tuesday-pizza (since B will be out of town-I always like to treat myself!)

Wednesday- left over pizza or poppyseed chicken

Thursday- Teriyaki chicken with Asian noodles

Friday- Vegetable Beef Soup

Sat/Sun- we'll be eating out Saturday night and Sunday night is usually a sandwich

Ok, so there it is, I hope I can stick with it and do it again next week! Go over to I'm an Organizing Junkie-Menu Monday to get lots of good recipes from other participants!

ABC's of ME

2007-09-11T21:18:00.000-05:00

A is for Age: Are you serious?? I'm not telling that!

B is for Beer: Don't touch the stuff

C is for Career: social worker

D is for Dogs names: Jake and Sadie

E is for Essential Item i use everyday: water- I must have a shower and wash my hair!

F is for Favourite TV shows: Grey's Anatomy- unfortunately most of my faves have been cancelled ie. Sex & the City, Gilmore Girls, Friends- looking forward to some new ones this season

G is for Favourite Game: Scattagories

H is for Home Town: I don't claim one

I is for Instruments: took piano lessons and hated them with a passion- of course, now I wish I could play

J is for Favourite Juice: ummm, apple I guess, oh wait that's cider

K is for whose butt i would like to Kick: I'm not typically the fighting kind-unless you mess with the fam or close friends

L is for Last Place I ate at: Sonic-but it was in the car, does that count?

M is for Marriage: 5 wonderful years

N is for Name: ag's momma

O is for Overnight Stays in Hospital: N/A

P is for People i was with today: wonderful hubby

Q is for Quote: The journey of a lifetime begins with one step-Chinese, of course!

R is for Biggest Regret: I'll have to think on that one...

S is for Sport: I like football, but can play nothing

T is for Time i woke up today: 9:30- yep, that's right, working from home does have it's perks. It also doesn't hurt to get to sleep in a little when you didn't sleep the night before!

U is for Current Underwear: pink or is that TMI (too much information)?

V is for Vegetables you love: Potatoes, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, any type of peas, pretty much anything besides mushrooms or beets

W is for Worst Habit: worrying about any and everything

X is for Xray: just had a mammogram-can you say ouch!

Y is for Yummy Food You ate today: my fave-chicken and rice casserole

Z is for Zodiac: I am a Libran!

If you haven't done this Meme consider yourself tagged!

Top 10 Things that AG Needs!

2007-09-08T12:26:00.002-05:00

I've been tagged by Kim to list the top ten things that I still want/need for AG. Here is my list:

1. She needs a little red wagon, don't you think?

2. I would like for her to have some outdoor toys, like these:

3. She definitely will be getting an Asian Cabbage Patch doll or two or three...

4. She still needs a car seat, this is the "big" purchase that we haven't made yet.

5. I would like to get her 100 Good Wishes quilt completed, but that would mean that I have to start on it!

6. I think this is the cutest shopping cart cover I've seen yet. You can get them from kozycartcovers.com

7. We plan on getting her a children's bible. Actually, I'm pretty sure that both sets of grandparents will probably cover that one.

8. I would love for her to have a water table to play around with, I guess this could have been added to the outdoor toys, huh?

9. I really need to get started on a scrapbook, but I definitely want one of these with the Chinese silk covers.

10. And finally, I would like for her to have a good children's dvd collection, complete with Big Bird from China, Disney, Veggie Tales, Little Einstein, Backyardigans, etc.

Ok, now I tag Angela. Come on girl, I know you've got lots of stuff, but there's got to still be something that Ella has to have!!!

Diaper Backpack Challenge

2007-09-05T15:01:00.000-05:00

I know I'm late in posting this, no excuses other than being extremely busy last week and didn't get around to it.

Here are pictures of the backpack and some of the stuff that will go in it. Like Angela, I am going to be using this as my carry on to/from China, so there might be extras that I wouldn't pack just for an outing while in China.

Here's the list (so far :)

diapers
wipes
diaper rash cream
charmin tp
calculator
hand sanitizer
plastic bib
disposable bibs
change of clothes
pajamas
book
toy
blanket/lovey
bottle/liners/nipples
formula dispenser
pacifier
travel utentils
Tide pen
digital camera
office kit(stolen from Stephe)
changing pad
thermos
1st aid kit
baby meds
adult meds
translation cards
snack container
snacks for AG and us
earplugs
Kleenex
feminine products

OOPS, I forgot...

2007-09-05T13:34:00.000-05:00

We celebrated our 5th anniversary on the 24th! Here we are about to eat at the restaurant that we drew from a bowl-lol (it's our tradition!)

And, I went to yet another consignment event and bought these items.

Then over the weekend, I bought these really comfy Merrill shoes for our trip to China.

Lots of updating, so here it goes...

2007-09-05T12:51:00.000-05:00

:

Tuesday

Tuesday marked our 20 month LID, yuck yuck yuck! At least, we can have some cake with it! We keep inching closer and closer. What I mean by inch is, this
4 DAYS! It's actually a day more than I was expecting, so I guess that is good news! I don't have much to say about it, on to next month...

Saturday

We went to the first game of the season! We also got to meet our friends who just got back from China with their little one, Lydia. She was the cutest little thing, ever!!

Friday

We went to the doctor with Brian's mom and found out that the tumor they removed from her ovary a few weeks ago is NOT cancer!!! WOOHOO!! What a relief! She now will be getting a scan to see what is on her lungs and then they can begin the chemo for her breast cancer.

Last Thursday we had our 3rd homestudy update! Yep, our homestudy needs to be updated every year until the adoption is final, lucky us! This time our social worker told us that she didn't want to come back here until we have a baby that she can play with....yeah, us too!

Retro Sat from us

2007-08-31T11:38:00.000-05:00

Since, we're out of town this weekend, I'm posting early.

Brian's pick is Slaughter-Fly to the Angels (although, I almost fought him over it b/c it was on my list,too!)

SLAUGHTER FLY TO THE ANGELS

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My pick is Rick Springfield-Jesse's Girl-oh how I love 80's music!

Jesse's Girl

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Brian's Retro Saturday...

2007-08-25T09:38:00.001-05:00

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

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Cris' Retro Saturday...

2007-08-25T09:22:00.001-05:00

Dexy's Midnight Runners

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How can you not just want to get up and dance to some Come on Eileen?? Love it!

This was pretty on target

2007-08-22T23:40:00.000-05:00

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion:

You have low extroversion.

You are quiet and reserved in most social situations.

A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you.

You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people.

Conscientiousness:

You have high conscientiousness.

Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life.

Most things in your life are organized and planned well.

But you borderline on being a total perfectionist.

Agreeableness:

You have medium agreeableness.

You're generally a friendly and trusting person.

But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism.

You get along well with others, as long as they play fair.

Neuroticism:

You have high neuroticism.

It's easy for you to feel shaken, worried, or depressed.

You often worry, and your worries prevent you from living life fully.

You tend to be emotionally reactive and moody. Your either flying very high or feeling very low.

Openness to experience:

Your openness to new experiences is medium.

You are generally broad minded when it come to new things.

But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it.

You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Happy Anniversary to us!!

2007-08-21T15:45:00.000-05:00

Our anniversary is later this week-5 years!!! We went to a concert last night-Puddle of Mudd, Daughtry, and Nickleback. Here's a glimpse of some songs we heard last night.

if everyone cared

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Puddle of Mudd-Blurry

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Daughtry - It's not over

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Brian's Retro Saturday...

2007-08-18T19:52:00.001-05:00

The Cult - Fire Woman

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I chose this song because that's what my wife is....a Fire Woman.

Retro Saturday.....

2007-08-18T10:44:00.000-05:00

Blondie - Heart of Glass

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There are just SO many songs that I want to post on Retro Saturday!! So, I've decided to start posting my absolute favorite ones. I love Blondie and Heart of Glass is one of my very favorite songs ever!!! This one takes me back to college when my best friend, Shelli, and I would go dancing. There's a picture below of us dancing at a karaoke bar this past March. Some things just never change and I certainly wouldn't want them to, I love my Shell!

Enjoy some disco retro today!

More gifts for AG

2007-08-12T14:06:00.001-05:00

Here are more gifts for Abby Grace! The first picture is of some clothes that I bought yesterday at a consignment store. All four outfits cost a total of $5. I got them at 75% off! What a deal!
The next three pictures are from our Secret Pal. She sent two gifts in the month of July. She is WAY too good to us! The first gift had a theme for eating and the second was some Chinese scrapbook papers, a ladybug book, and a Chinese lullabies cd. The gift for August was a ladybug purse for Abby and a ladybug learning book.

It's Retro Saturday!!!

2007-08-11T09:40:00.000-05:00

Ah Ha - Take On Me

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Take on Me by A-Ha is one of my favorite 80's songs! Here is what I found out about it on the Wikipedia site:
"Take on Me" became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1985. The first release of the song in 1984 was not a major success, but after a few songs were remixed by producer Alan Tarney a year later, it sold 1.5 million copies worldwide in one week. Eventually the single "Take on Me" is estimated to have sold 7-9 million copies worldwide; it peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the UK Singles Chart. Sales were aided in the U.S. by a music video on MTV that mimicked the truck chase from Terry Gilliam's movie Brazil and the climactic scene from the Ken Russell film Altered States. The video used a sketchy animation / live action combination called "Rotoscoping" (in which the video is first shot on normal video, then each frame is hand-traced over to give the animated effect) that tells a fantasy thriller story to the song. At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards "Take on Me" won in six categories. It was also nominated for Best Video Of The Year at 1986 American Music Awards."

I think the video is pretty cool!! I also saw on the web that the lead singer was compared to a mixture of Elvis Presley and James Dean. That's an interesting combination, but I can see it... Enjoy!

Here's the bedding...

2007-08-09T09:06:00.000-05:00

I've had this for a while, because I was afraid that they would discontinue it or something. Luckily, they haven't and all I still need to get is the ladybug lamp to match it. Guess I should probably order that soon!

We bought baby furniture!!!!

2007-08-08T17:56:00.001-05:00

So, we finally did it! We bought AG's furniture! The picture above is of her crib, but hers will be white. I got a chest and nightstand to go with it. We should be able to pick them up in about 3 weeks. That should be around the time that they send out another batch of referrals. It was a bit of a weird feeling, like this is actually REAL!!!!

Cute baby doll

2007-08-07T17:33:00.001-05:00

Is she not THE cutest doll you've ever seen?? Well, maybe not to you, but she is to me! AG will definitely have to have her! You can get them on Ebay

Retro Saturday (stolen from Kim)

2007-08-04T13:01:00.000-05:00

Our LIps Are Sealed

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Kim is on my online adoption book club group and she has been doing this cool thing for a few weeks, so since I so love 80's music, I felt the need to join in. So, here is my first Retro Saturday.

Don't you just love the GoGo's?

The Big D trip...

2007-08-04T09:50:00.001-05:00

I went to Dallas in July to meet up with some other adopting moms using our agency. There were three of us and we had the best time! Stephanie picked me up from the airport on Friday, waited for Lori to arrive, then we went to dinner at this wonderful little Italian restaurant. We stayed up until midnight talking, talking, talking. On Saturday, we went to the IKEA store. I had never been there, but man I am addicted! That was the coolest places I've ever shopped! It's probably a good thing that the closest one is 7 hours away from me! I got AG some cute little tumbler cups and just her size bowls, all in different bright colors. I would have bought more, but I was flying back and didn't have that much room in my suitcase! Next, we went to eat lunch at this hip little Mexican joint. It was absolutely wonderful. Then we went shopping at this cute little baby boutique. Then on to the mall for more shopping. THEN, we went to this cupcake store called Sprinkles. I got a black and white cupcake, which was white cake with chocolate icing. The icing was absolutely wonderful, and I'm not much on icing! We went to the movie Evenings. It was a good movie, but it didn't end the way I thought it would. But, it was a good girl movie to go see. Then we had a late dinner after listening to a street performer-who was really good! I think we scared our little waiter at dinner. He kept asking questions, so we told him that we met up in Dallas, without knowing each other b/c we're all adopting from China and using the same agency. He didn't know what to say after that! But, he did come back around and ask questions about adoption. We educated him a little bit and had some fun!
Here are some pics from my trip!! The first one is me and Lori with our cupcakes, the next is me and Stephanie, and then all three of us.

Overall, I have to say I had a great time! The girls were wonderful and we're going to plan another trip either before referrals (depending on how long this takes) or after we are all back with our little girls! And, the hubby's are going to come next time!

AHH, Referrals are here!

2007-08-02T16:09:00.000-05:00

Our agency just reported that referrals are here and they went through November 21st! That brings us to 6 weeks from our Log In Date! I can feel the excitement starting to return.....

Tag you're it!

2007-08-02T13:29:00.000-05:00

I have this on other blogs and even though I wasn't tagged to participate, I thought I would do it anyway.

FIVE THINGS I WAS DOING TEN YEARS AGO
1) Working at my first job out of college
2) living alone for the first time in my life
3) missing Rebekah, who had just moved to another town
4) picked out and bought my first car
5) I can't think of anything else

FAVORITE SNACK FOOD
1) goldfish
2) cheese dip
3) strawberries
4) I don't snack much, so I can't think of anything else

FIVE SONGS I KNOW ALL THE LYRICS TO
1) Your the one that I want from the movie Grease
2) I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
3) Tyrone by Erika Badu
4) Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield
5) Heart of Glass by Blondie
Really, there are too many to list, but these are some of my favorite

FIVE THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE
1) Pay off the house and buy a new car
2) add on to the house and get a pool in the backyard
3) help out family
4) travel the world
5) donate to a charity

FIVE BAD HABITS
1) sleeping alot
2) not exercising as much as I should (but we recently got bikes and I think that will pick up)
3) worrying
4) shutting down
5) not putting the dishes and clean clothes away soon enough

FIVE THINGS I LIKE TO DO
1) hang out with my friends
2) surf the web
3) shop for baby things
4) lay on the beach
5) listen to music

FIVE THINGS I WILL NEVER WEAR AGAIN
1) Leg warmers
2) I will never ever get a perm again
3) blue eye shadow
4) shoulder pads
5) my size 4 leather pants

FIVE PEOPLE I TAG FOR THIS MEME:
1) Angela-since I'm pretty sure she is the only one who reads this blog!

Happy 4th and Happy Anniversary!!!!

2007-07-04T21:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Independence Day America! I'm listening to fireworks, as I type.

And, I almost forgot that today marks our 18 month Log In Date with China. Can you believe they've had our paperwork that long?? I can, I feel it everyday...My friend, Angela compared it to an elephant's gestation period, which is 22 months. HA, I think we'll beat that, so take that elephants! It's good to know that I can still have a sense of humor after 18 months, even if it is a little warped-lol. I couldn't think of better company to spend our wait time with than Angela & Bryan! Kudos to us for hanging in there this long, girl!

Sales, Sales, Sales

2007-07-04T20:05:00.000-05:00

These are all consignment or yard sale finds! I have become addicted to yard sales and consignment sales. It's the only time I will get up at 6am to go anywhere....if I can get a deal, I'm there!! I love the little ladybug backpack and the ladybug nap mat. I got the Little Tykes table and chairs for $5-what a bargain. Oh, I forgot to take a picture of the Little Tykes slide that I got for $3. I'll try to remember to post that later...Saturday is coming up again, wonder what kinds of bargains I can find this time???

Father's Day gift for Brian

2007-06-30T12:59:00.000-05:00

This is the Father's Day gift from our agency Secret Pal. She is always so sweet and sends us the nicest and most appreciated gifts each month. Brian was excited that this gift was all for him. And, the checklist for travel was right up his alley, since he is sooooo organzied! That's a good thing to be, especially when we'll be traveling to China!

Thank you to our SP!

What kind of shoe are you? (stolen from Susan)

2007-06-27T19:06:00.001-05:00

You Are Big Black Boots!

You can be best described as: attitude
You've got lots of it - and you love to give it
A guy has to be pretty gusty to hit on you
But if he's your type, you'll warm up... a little

What Kind Of Women's Shoe Are You?

I just have to say, it was right on the mark!!! Too funny!! So....what kind of shoe are you???

Too Cute clothes....

2007-06-25T22:34:00.001-05:00

This is the latest addition to AG's closet. I absolutely had to have the Gymboree Ladybug jeans to match the onsie, socks, and hat that we got from our GWCA secret pal at Easter. So, I ordered them on EBAY. Yes, Ebay is quite addicting, just ask my friend, Angela!

Here is the Easter gift we received, so you can see why AG HAD to have the jeans to match the rest of the outfit-lol

Vacation 2007

2007-06-25T22:09:00.000-05:00

We took a family/friend vacation earlier this month. There was a whole slew of us on vacation together...whew, I was a little worried, but everything turned out fine. Brian and I went with my brother-Andrew- and his girlfriend-Tranisa. Our friends, Carla & Ryan, and Ashley & David also went and stayed in their own condo. Here are a couple of pictures of our fun time!

me and Brian
Us again!!
Look at that face, I think he got a mouth full of salt water-ha!
My little brother, Andrew and his girlfriend, Tranisa
Me and Ash at Bubba Gumps (after a few...)

Oh, I almost forgot, we got to see the Atlantis Space Shuttle take off, here is a picture of that.

2007-06-25T21:32:00.001-05:00

Here is the nursery furniture that I would like to get for AG. Now, if they would just get through more of November, I would order it! For those of you who don't know, I have decided to wait until they have referred most (or maybe all) of November before I begin on the nursery.

This is the ladybug bedding for her room. Yes, I have already purchased this. One of the many things for her nursery that is all just piled up in her room. I've been having anxiety every time I go in there to put something else away. I guess that would be hint to stop buying things, but yeah, right, like that's gonna happen!!!!

A Child's Right

2007-06-25T19:26:00.001-05:00

A Child's Right
My friend, Angela, brought this organization to my attention on her blog. http://www.a-childs-right.org/projects.html

"A Child's Right believes that all children, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender or location, should be and can be afforded the most essential of needs to improve their lives and ensure their healthy development.Clean drinking water is the single most important ingredient for healthy children the world over- yet thousands of children die every day due to a lack of potable water. In this day and age, with the support of those in the more prosperous nations, this should no longer be a privilege for some, but should be a basic right of every child.A Child's Right is committed to providing the very best in water purification technologies and clean water systems to desperate children in orphanages, street shelters, children's hospitals and schools in impoverished nations throughout the world."

It is such an amazing thing to realize how we all can take such things for granted while others in the world don't have the opportunity to drink clean water. I think this is a wonderful organization. They have served many orphanages in China. You can look at their slide show on their website. Some of the pictures were just taken in May 07. How eerie to know that one of these orphanages may be where Abby comes from. You know I'll have to go back to this site when we get our referral and check to see if our Abby is in one of those pictures!! Check it out if you have a few minutes. It will tug at your heartstrings.

To our AG:"May God wrap you in His arms and hold you tight , And let the angels bring the kisses I send to you each night"-author unknown

Testing, Testing 1,2,3

2007-06-25T19:21:00.000-05:00

This is my test post for our new blog. Let's see how long it lasts!!