adventures in sarahland

2012-01-05T09:36:00.002-05:00

what do i have, if i don't have you jesus?
what in this life could mean any more?
you are my rock
you are my glory

you are the lifter of my head

--starfield

Words to live by

2011-12-14T20:07:00.000-05:00

// life

2011-11-14T21:54:00.001-05:00

:: We're a family of 7! Christina joined our family early last month. She's 16 and I am over my head playing catch up in the world of public high schools, girl drama, BOY drama, lil Wayne posters and messy bedrooms. Welcome to the world of parenting a teenager I guess. :) Last Sunday's message was SUCH A GREAT REMINDER to love people. People who don't look like us, talk like us, act like us, think like us. Jesus did. And God can be changing someone on the inside before there is any evidence of those changes of the outside. Jesus didn't wait for me to my act together before he loved me unconditionally. Why should I do be any different? She is really a very sweet girl and I am thankful for her being around, especially when Dan is gone travelling for work.

:: I turned 30 yesterday. Goodbye 20's. Hello downhill slide to 40! I hope in this next decade I learn to fully embrace who I am. Every part-- the good the bad, the ugly, the uncomfortable and the stretching. I loved my 20's. They were so good to me! They gave me all 4 of my lovely babies (and a 5th crazy kid to boot.) I hope that I love my 30s just as much, and that I leave them as full and satisfied as I am now leaving my 20s! :)

:: The older two started gymnastics a few weeks ago and they're loving it! It gives me two hours to run errands with the little two (which is amazingly easier than doing them with 4!) Hallie can turn perfect cartwheels already, which makes her very happy.

:: School is going so well! My big 1st and 2nd graders are pros at knocking out their bookwork so they can do fun stuff like play hair salon, build legos, ride bikes or jump on the trampoline. Speaking of school.. I decided to go back and finish my degree. Not sure why I thought that was a good idea right now, but at any rate, I'm plugging away at it! I hope to have my BA in English or History in less than 2 years. We will see if that actually happens!

:: I would like to try to update more often... maybe once a week? I will have to try to come up with a way of making that happen. Until then, have a great night! :)

life is chugging along

2011-09-22T23:21:00.001-04:00

There is so much to say, I don't even know how to begin. I try to start to write a coherent post and my brian starts firing in a million directions. Hence the tagline on this blog, I suppose.

A few talking points:

:: Rosie the cat is the best pet ever. The kids love her and Will faithfully takes care of her.
:: We got the top of our driveway paved yesterday and the the kids are LOVING riding their bikes on it!
:: Olivia is talking our ears off, all day long. Her vocabulary is cRaZy big for a not-yet-2-year-old!
:: When the kids were sick last week, I got our my card-making supplies as a fun project. I got more into it than they did and am still having fun making cards for special occasions that have been happening lately.
:: I am still using my laundry system and loving it. Who knew laundry could be so painless?
:: Will is back into cub scouts and is loving it.
:: Hallie is starting gymnastics class soon and she is super excited!
:: I made a wall organizer for the craft area of my laundry room with some leftover fabric from some pillows my MIL recovered for me a few years ago. It holds scissors and colored pencils and other goodies. It makes me happy when I see it.
:: I started a new chore system with the kids, and I love it (and they love the prize they get to pick at the end of the week if all jobs have been done with a good attitude. :)) They are becoming more responsible, which is awesome!
:: I am going on a getaway for my 30th birthday with my SIL (who also recently turned 30) next week and I am super excited, but also nervous. I've never left the kids overnight with Dan before. I am sure they will have a better time with him than they do with me though! haha
:: I decided to go back to school to finish my degree. I am starting by studying for some CLEP exams and I hope to be finished with it all in two years! That's the plan anyway...
:: I love pinterest. I have found so many goodies on there lately! I made cheddar broccoli soup from a recipe I found there yesterday, and it was a huge hit. Yay for successful veggie disguises, haha.
:: I would keep this train-of-thought post going but I have laundry to fold. :)

Growing pains

2011-09-07T23:21:00.000-04:00

I want to be less melancholy that my kids are getting older.

Growing up.

I want to be thankful that they are healthy

and happy

and safe.

I want to fully live in the moment

of the time we've been given.

Who knows when a day will be our last?

I hope and pray it is far far away, but nothing is a given

and aching for the past only insults the present.

I want to OWN every minute of my days

with a grateful heart

and open hands.

The future is a glorious thing

but today is what we've been given

and today is all we have.

Be grateful.

Tristan-Spiderman is awesome!

2011-08-15T22:11:00.000-04:00

Earlier this summer, flipping through a magazine, Tristan spotted a lego set that he really wanted--it was about $25. So I made a checklist for him, 25 boxes in three columns, and told him that each time he did an extra job for me, he could check off one box. Well here we are three months later, and he finally got that last box marked off! In the meantime, however, he decided that instead of a lego set, he wanted a dress-up outfit! So I went to this great website and let Tristan pick out his very favorite super-hero outfit. He chose Spiderman, and just two days later, a package showed up on our doorstep and moments later, Tristan was transformed into the very cool SpiderMan himself. :)

Side note: I was so thankful that I'd ordered a size bigger-- a M (6-8) (although Tristan is only 4 and he should be on the small side of the size S (4-6!)) thanks to my experience with Will's astronaut outfit earlier this year, I know that costumes usually run small!

He has worn this outfit for the past two days straight, and even slept in it last night. I made him take it off tonight-- the kid was a sweat-ball after running around at a birthday party in it all night-- but he has it hanging and ready to go for tomorrow. Yesterday, he and Will were "fighting" and Will told Tristan that he thinks Tristan really *is* stronger with his Spiderman costume on. Well of course that just pumped Tristan's little ego right up and now he runs around karate-kicking and sword-chopping and web-shooting with all the extra-strength-energy he can muster. He is very adorable, and it is so cute to see him loving life inside his super-hero suit.

(showing off his extra-strong muscles) :)

new pics and a new pet :)

2011-08-12T00:11:00.000-04:00

I decided my old pictures on this blog were in dire need of updating, so I did it. :) Sad to say, I don't have a new entire-family picture, or one of just Dan and me to update with! I will have to work on that.

Will got his long-desired cat today, Rosie. She was a stray at our friends' house, so we offered to take her. She's small and friendly, and she ate a whole can of tuna tonight. Needless to say, Will is beyond thrilled to be a pet owner, and spent most of the evening pulling a rock on a string around the yard for Rosie to pounce on and chase after. I guess I will have to get my act together and go get some cat food and ... what?! Toys? I guess a vet visit is in order. Ugh. Don't rain on my parade. ;) Hopefully she will turn into a great family pet!

Dan is in Haiti till Tuesday so I'm single-momming it. Not too much planned for while he's gone but I hope to get the rest of my school prep done, some scrapbooking, and maybe watch a chick flick one night. :)

A good morning's work!

2011-08-02T13:34:00.001-04:00

life, in general

2011-07-29T15:04:00.002-04:00

I love summers in Bear Creek. Generally, the days are hot and the nights are cool. We had an attic fan installed a few weeks ago, and I absolutely LOVE the end-of-day routine of switching on the fan and hearing the whoosh as the hot day-air leaves the house and the cooler night-air is sucked in. Lovely.
~~
Zara Phillips, Queen Elizabeth's eldest granddaughter, is getting married this weekend. She was born the same year as me, so I have always sort of "related" to her, although I haven't followed her life very closely at all. When I saw the news headline about her upcoming wedding, I thought, "Wow, how different can two lives be..." Not only is she royalty (and I am clearly not) but she is getting married on a yacht and I'm a SAHM of four. Not that I'd ever trade lives, but a getaway in Scotland and a yacht party sound pretty nice! Ahhh to have the life of the rich and famous...

Actually, I am very happy with my life, but it is always fun to daydream.

I have, ever since I was a kid. Does anyone else do that? Imagine yourself in a different life/time/place and live out *your* day to day life while you're mentally a million miles away? Gah I sound so Anne Shirley. It sure made my teen years a lot more interesting though. I had huge plans for myself. haha!
~~
We have friends visiting from STL, and they're here for another two days. It's always so much fun to host people! I am so grateful to have the space and resources that allow us to be hospitable all summer long! (Other seasons bring visitors too, but summer is definitely the fave.)
~~
Olivia has turned a corner in her sleeping (finally!) and is mostly sleeping straight through the night. Yay for 20 month olds who finally catch a clue! haha. She still gets up once at night occasionally, wanting to nurse... (of course. What Block baby didn't!?) but I would say she is sleeping 5 nights a week, 10-11 hours straight! It's been great!!
~~
I'm sort of mentally gearing up for school next month. Sort of.
Ick.

Ok, so I'm not. At all.

Next topic!
~~
Hallie and I are reading Heidi together, and I'm reading Treasure Island to Will. I love the alone time with each of them, and they are just eating up the stories, which is sweet as honey to me!
~~
Will and Dan went to 3 days of scout camp last week, and Hallie and Tristan go to three days of nature camp next week! My kids love camp, and I am so happy. I was (am?) such a summer camp kid myself, that I am thrilled they all love it. In another life (when I am not marrying a rugby player on a yacht in Scotland) I will be a camp counselor at a camp on a lake in New England, all summer long, every summer for years and years...
~~
In two weeks we are finally fulfilling my lifelong/every-day dream of going to the shore. My cousins have a place in Longport, NJ, and they graciously invited us to join them for a few days! I am super excited. I love the beach. (Gosh, am I sensing a trend? Why can't my life consist of all things summer, all year long?!) Anyway, I'm stoked. IMO, the Jersey shore is the EPITOME of what summer is all about. And seeing as all the fabulousness of the shore is a mere 2.5 hours away.... yep, I'm on it like hotcakes.
~~
That's it. That's all I got. I'm sure the rest of summer will go blowing by me (and this blog) with little to show for it, but hey, that's life right?? Dinner at the lake tonight, with lots of swimming before and after to be done by all... and maybe a campfire built by scout-man Will. Tonight all the kids will fall into bed... tired, tan, and full of the goodness of summer. I know I will. <3

Tag!

2011-07-28T08:21:00.001-04:00

My friend Alison tagged me in a bloggy game! Thanks Alison! Now I get to answer some fun questions and tag a few of you.

What do you think of when you the hear the word tag?
Playing freeze tag, TV tag, or Indian tag as a kid. Apparently we were really into tag. ;)

Do you think you're hot?
My current working theory is that every girl is hot... she just doesn't know it. :)

Upload a picture or wallpaper that you're using at the moment.
It's a cute picture of Hallie wearing a sunhat. Unfortunately after a cursory look through iPhoto, I can't find it, and am not savvy enough (and do not have enough time) to go searching for the file. Sorry.

When was the last time you ate chicken?

Last night! We grilled chicken, grilled corn and grilled yellow squash. YUM, and Dan does all the grilling, so bonus for me.

The song(s) you listened to recently.
songs from the Walk the Line soundtrack

What were you thinking as you were doing this?
If I'll actually be able to finish this whole thing in one sitting!

Do you have nicknames? What are they?
My sibs are big on nicknames. :0 Tricia, Acwat, Sare, Roz, Sass.... Do mama, mommy, and babe count??

Tag 8 blogger friends...

1. Jenni

2. Anna

3. Kristin

4. Nichole

5. Ashlie

6. Rachel

7. Amanda

8. Kak

Who's listed as No. 1?

Jenni! My penpal through CEF since... 2nd or 3rd grade I think! We traded letter between Grandview, MO and Bear Creek, PA all through our growing-up years, and we finally met in person after I married and moved to MO. She recently had her first baby and has started a fun blog about all things domestic! :)

Say something about No. 5
Ashlie.... we met in the Philly airport on our way to Ethiopia. I have a special place in my heart for all the mamas I met in ET last summer. <3

How did you get to know No. 3?
She is my cousin. She's one of 11 and I'm one of 9. Our family get-togethers growing up were always a blast, although in retrospect, they were probably a ton of work for our parents, and we kids were just too oblivious and intent on having fun together to notice. :)

How about No. 4?
Nichole was my very first friend in MO! Her husband Brian and Dan went to school together as kids and have a long history of causing trouble together, one that continues to this day. ;) When I lived in MO, Nichole and I would get together for marathon scrapbooking nights, complete with girl-talk and snacks (usually candy- my fave.) Scrapbooking by myself in PA is not nearly as motivating.

Leave a message for No. 6.

You better walk with me on Sunday!! ;)

Leave a lovey dovey message for No. 2.
Anna, you are sweet, smart, and motivated. I am so happy that you are my sister and can't wait to see where God takes you in life! I know Honduras this fall is going to be a blast! :)

Do No. 7 and No. 8 have any similarities?

Amanda and Kak.... hmm..... they both love to laugh! And they both love someone who's been adopted into their lives. And I love them both! :)

Tag to you, bloggy friends!!

Hallie loses another tooth!

2011-05-23T18:27:00.000-04:00

Will the Astronaut

2011-05-11T11:03:00.002-04:00

We've never been really into dressing the kids up elaborately for Halloween, but boy do my kids love to play dress up. For some reason, Hallie has always had a plethora of girly dress up clothes-- tutus, princess dresses, tiaras, tulle skirts, etc. My poor boys, when they play dress up with her, look hilarious in the poofy girly get up! I decided something needed to happen stat. After letting Will look through this really cool webpage (with so many really awesome dress-up appropriate options!) he finally decided on this orange astronaut costume. Originally I ordered a size M (6-8). Will is 7, turning 8 in July, and is pretty average sized, so I thought it should work. After the costume arrived in TWO days (can you say fast shipping?!) we discovered that unfortunately, it was actually pretty small on him. Dreading a complicated and frustrating return/exchange process, I contacted the company and sent the suit back. Imagine my relief when, just a few days later, a size L (8-10) orange astronaut suit arrived after a headache free and seamless return/exchange process. And, imagine Will's delight when it fit him perfectly!

He loves this outfit. It's already been through the wash once. He has worn it outside playing, out for breakfast, and everywhere in between. It has cool working zippers and real NASA patches sewn on it. He would be happy, I think, to not take it off at all!

Here is Will with his little cowboy-brother Tristan. (All Tristan has are boots and the hat... he's working on his check-off chart to earn his way to a real cowboy costume!)

Book Review: Radical by David Platt

2011-05-09T15:10:00.000-04:00

Radical, by David Platt, is one of the most talked about books in Christian circles right now. I have been asked by several people if I've read Radical. Somewhat overlapping Francis Chan's Crazy Love, Platt's popular book calls Americans to reevaluate their lives and see where they can be more committed to serving the poor and giving of their resources, time and money. These are all great concepts and ideals, and the book overall is definitely worth reading. However, a few "problems" with Radical have been widely raised, and I feel they are worth mentioning here.

First, Platt wants to peg the American Dream as the cause of the faith crisis in America. The American dream is "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and I personally don't think there is an inherent problem with that. Americans are known worldwide for being GENEROUS. Look at any crisis, anywhere in the world, and who is the first to respond with generous offers of aid? America.

Secondly, Platt's view of materialism bothers me. Of course I am aware that materialism is an issue, but it is NOT just a "rich people's" issue! Poor people can be taken in just as thoroughly with materialism as the upper class, and this (actually sin in general!) sin is not a rich people problem. It is a HUMAN problem, and it should be addressed as such.

In summary, I appreciated Platt's call to action for Christians to get off the fence and DO SOMETHING to further God's kingdom. I think that is a much needed call! However I don't think that overseas missions should be the thing so strongly pushed here, as work for God can be done anywhere, at any time, in any place. It's the heart attitude that counts, and if you are seeking to honor God through your labors, then He will honor that!

quiet night... for now

2011-05-02T21:21:00.001-04:00

Dan left early this morning for 4 days of traveling for work. The kids and I had a pretty good day... got school done, went for a walk this afternoon (see pic in previous post), built legos and marble chutes... pretty much a typical day. Tristan was sick last night (during the night) but seemed fine today (perhaps due to my insistence that he stick to the BRAT diet)... but either way, he had tons of energy and seemed to have bounced back just fine from his rough night.

When I saw Olivia walking around this morning sipping Gatorade from Tristan's "special" sippy cup, my heart sank. I quickly snagged it from her, but as we all know, the "5 second rule" is pure ridiculousness. So, despite my hoping against hope, it wasn't a great surprise to me when she got sick tonight after dinner... and then again at bedtime. Poor baby. She's never been sick like this before; she was so sad and confused! She's sleeping now, and hopefully she'll sleep all night long. Again, I am hoping against hope here, because Tristan was up about 5x last night... so... the odds for me having a rough night are looking pretty good. *sigh*

But as of right now, I have four sleeping kids, a bunch of clean folded laundry (as well as a bunch more unexpected laundry running through the machines right now) a decently picked-up house and a clean kitchen. I am finally sitting down to watch the news on the OBL developments, and getting to blog while I'm at it. So... not too bad. I may have a different take on it tomorrow morning though, so... stay tuned. ;-)

Spring Afternoon at the Culvert

2011-05-02T15:35:00.000-04:00

on technology..

2011-04-30T21:57:00.003-04:00

I love technology. Tonight while I was sitting in the dark waiting for Olivia to fall asleep, I decided to buy the book my book club is reading next month from Amazon. Two clicks and 30 seconds later, I was reading the book. Lying on the floor of my daughter's room in the dark. Seriously, how crazy is that?! Could anyone 50 years ago (or 10 years ago, who am I kidding) have imagined this scenario? How utterly convenient. And completely strange. I wonder what I will be able to do 10 years from now that I could never imagine doing today?

Ahh technology. My best friend, but quite possibly, the biggest potential invasive monster in my life. I really need to make sure I am actively not letting technology creep too far into my life and become too invasive in my daily doings. After all, gadgets and gizmos last year after year, but these little children won't always be here.

Baseball Boy

2011-04-27T20:19:00.001-04:00

Will got his first hit tonight-- a single-- and made it all the way
home a short time later! Way to go Will!! :) He was sooo excited to
have gotten a hit. Pizza after the game to celebrate!

:)

2011-04-24T10:32:00.001-04:00

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Dan is off to Haiti for work as of 6:30 this morning, gone till Wednesday. Thankfully we all got to attend Easter services at PCC last night. (Props to a church that has 6 Easter services over the whole weekend, including one in Spanish! :))

This morning while the kids wolfed down breakfast, I read aloud the Easter story from the Jesus Storybook Bible (easily my favorite kids' bible ever!) and was struck anew at just how much Jesus gave up for us. I'm so grateful to God for all he has done and continues to do for me!

I'll leave you with these song lyrics, and this video. I love them both! :)

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save

Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live!

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life's first cry till final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

a week "off"

2011-04-17T18:13:00.000-04:00

With Dan's new job based out of Springfield, MO, we are entering a whole new season of life with him traveling for work. (He is headed to Haiti next week, and El Salvador two weeks after that!)

This week, he needed to be in Springfield, so we decided to send our older two along with him to spend the week with their grandparents in St. Louis. Ohhh were they ever excited to hear about this idea!

So a few hours ago I kissed my three big travelers goodbye and shooed them out the door to the airport, leaving me home alone with my 4- and 1- year-olds. For the first half-hour or so, Tristan absolutely did not know what to do with himself. Never in his his life has he been left without at least one of his older best buddies to pal around with! Thankfully he rebounded quickly.

Hallie will be turning 6 on Wednesday, marking the first time I've been apart from one of my kids on his/her birthday. Mima has great plans, though, and Hallie couldn't be more excited about spending her birthday elsewhere, so I am not worried. (Only for myself. ;))

This is also the first week of being home in over two years that I haven't had school to do with Will and/or Hallie. So I am facing a week of being home with two preschoolers?? What could be easier, or more adventuresome! I told Tristan to think of some fun things he'd like to do this week in the mornings since we'll now be free to roam the countryside. His answers? Go to Chuck E. Cheese, the library, Red Robin, Orloski's (the local gas station, to get "treats"), and Knorr's (by the creek, for a picnic). I am happy to say that we plan to do every one of these things this week! And by Friday we will be most ready to welcome our travelers home again.

One Year Ago Today...

2011-03-31T22:06:00.001-04:00

I had just landed in Ft. Myers, FL with our three older kids. My mom had picked us up from the airport and I had turned my cell phone back on. About five minutes later, it began ringing and I was absolutely shocked to hear our adoption caseworker's voice on the other end of the line saying, "I have great news for you-- We have matched you with beautiful 4 month old baby girl!" I started shaking and almost crying and my mom was celebrating next to me. After I got a few more details and got off the phone, I called Dan (who was working back home) and my mom was yelling "I have another grandchild!" over me sharing the good news. As soon as we got to the house, I checked my email and saw this:

and fell head over heels in love.

~~~

We love you Olivia Hope, and are so glad God chose us to be your family!

:: on laundry

2011-03-25T12:58:00.001-04:00

Okay, so this is normally something I would never (and I mean never) post about. Laundry is a distasteful task, and an even more distasteful blog topic. Yes? Yes.

However, I kind of stumbled into a system (of sorts) for doing our family's laundry after we moved into this house, and although I felt like suddenly my endless haunting laundry problem was suddenly much lighter, I didn't really give my "system" (that wasn't really even that!) much credit. I mean, doing laundry is doing laundry right? No matter how you do it, you're still washing, drying and folding the same amount of clothes. So the easier-ness of it must all be in my head, or so I reasoned.

Fast forward to last month, a friend and I got out on a mom's ski night. On the lift up, she was lamenting her laundry woes, and I told her, sort of off-handedly, how I do mine. Well the next week she texted me, raving about how great the idea is and how well it's working for her! And while we both agree that in theory this method should not make laundry easier, we agree that it does. And don't mess with success, right?! Right.

Okay, so after we moved in, sort of by default, I started sorting our clothes: Dan's in one hamper, mine in another, and the 4 kids (3 at the time) in a third. Dan's and my hampers are right outside our bathroom door, and I don't have the lids on them. Not as aesthetically appealing, but easy access is key here-- you want the dirty clothes to have as little excuses as possible to not make it into the hamper. ;) The kids' basket is in their bathroom. They know at the end of each day to check their clothes-- if they are decently clean, they can be re-worn, otherwise, into the hamper they go. (Keep in mind these are just cheapo, plastic vertical-rectangular hampers from Target.) When a basket is full (slightly packed down) that is one load of wash. I never mix baskets. So Dan (whose clothes are the biggest and fills up the basket fastest) gets his wash done probably 2x/week. Mine is more like once every two weeks. And the kids is probably 1-2x/week. So since I'm only washing a load when the basket is full, it is only one load to wash, dry, fold (and since it's segregated, it makes folding much quicker-- you don't have piles for 6 people, and random socks, underwear, etc.) And since you're only doing one load at a time, the whole thing gets done (wash, dry fold, put away) in much less time than when you're shuffling several loads through at once.

Also, we all put our own laundry away, so after I fold Dan's or the kids' stuff, it's their job to get it back in their drawers. Dan is the worst at this. (Love you babe. ;)) I take care of my stuff and Olivia's, and overall, it is very little hassle or struggle.

Please note this plan does not work when you're coming home from a trip and have 3 laundry baskets full simultaneously, and suitcases full as well. Then the laundry shuffle begins again. :)

Hope this is helpful to someone.. and if not, that's ok too. It works for me! :)

PS: MAJOR PROPS to my sister Anna who clued me in to the "save as draft" feature of blogspot. I am beginning to think that most of my recent lack of blogging was due to me thinking I had to type, proofread, and put up a post all in one fell swoop-- time consuming and overwhelming! Now I can type up a post over several days (the last two posts have taken 3 days apiece-- (pathetic, but practical-- for me) and post them when I feel ready. Ahh. Nice. :)

in support of a friend...

2011-03-23T14:04:00.000-04:00

Brian and Ruth are friends of my family. They and I grew up going to church together (they were actually my sunday school teachers for a bit). They married when I was in high school, and moved away to New York where Brian became a pastor and they started a family. A few years ago, Brian was diagnosed with cancer, and I followed Ruth's writings of their struggles and journey on her blog. They travelled with their 7 kids (Joseph, Sharon, Christina, Sarah, Timothy, Joanna and Joshua) to New Mexico and Arizona and (I think!) Mexico during Brian's illness, giving their kids some awesome memories. Sadly, a few months ago, the day after Christmas, Brian went home to be with the Lord, leaving behind the kids and Ruth due with baby #8 this month.

Faced now with the incredible loss of her husband, and the (in my mind) insurmountable task of being a single mom of 8, Ruth recently launched an at-home business with Scentsy. Let me just say, I am a big fan of the theory of having my house smell good, but I've been disillusioned with candles, especially those from the home-sale or big-name companies that make claims along the lines of "We know you've been let down by all those other smell-good candle companies, but our product really works! You won't believe how good your house smells!" And then I purchase them, only to have my hopes of a good-smelling house basically dashed, not to mention the deterrent of having to scurry for a (working) lighter the next time we have company coming and I want to light a candle.

Long story short, I recently purchased two warmers and some scented wax from Scentsy through Ruth, and I have been nothing short of thrilled with how they've been working for me! I have one downstairs on the hutch in our mudroom (top pic) and one on the side table in our bedroom (other two pics). They really make the house smell great, and (total bonus) look super cute and chic while doing so. (No 3/4-burned, blackened, cruddy-looking old candles around here, thank you very much!) And more bonuses: no live flame, no wicks to trim and even when melted, the wax is cool enough to touch. I am, for the first time in my life (no joke) in love with a smell-good "system" for our home.

So I thought I would share with you all. If you are looking for something for yourself, or for a gift, I personally vouch for the quality of the products. Knowing that Ruth and her kids will benefit from your purchase as well is, well, even better. Feel free to re-post this post if you want to... and if you want more information about Ruth's blog or finding her on facebook, please let me know.

Thanks friends.

March 21

2011-03-21T13:29:00.001-04:00

I stink at updating my blog. I sometimes think about updating but for some reason I get a procrastinating mental fog and don't want to do it. So I don't. It's partly because I feel like I have such an amazing and blessed life, that when I write about it I feel kinda like I'm bragging. On the other hand, everyone has issues, but when I want to write about those things, I feel like I'm whiny and have such a blessed life that I should never complain. It's not a big deal, but it's enough to be slightly prohibitive when I go to post. Also as I've said before, I'm kinda over the whole "sharing my life with the world" thing. And honestly, not to be rude, but I can think of a whole lot of things I'd rather be doing than blogging in my rather limited free time.

Anyway. While I'm at it I might as well share a little of what we've been up to!
:: My family (and Dan's parents and a bunch of our friends) all celebrated my dad's 60th birthday last week on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was a great experience; the first time cruising for most of us! My dad was totally surprised by it (my mom pulled it off so well) and we all had a really fun time. (If you're friends with sister Anna on Facebook, she has an album of pictures up!)

:: A friend and I have been getting up at 6am to walk 3 miles every Monday morning. It's a great way to start the week, chatting and being out in the fresh air.

:: Dan got a new job! As of April 1 he will be the new head of security (I forgot the fancy new title) of an NGO called Convoy of Hope. He will be traveling domestically as well as internationally and we are both excited about the possibilities this brings for our family.

:: I would really like to get the new iPad. Yes, I know I am very spoiled to already have the first iPad, but I rationalize that with Dan headed out on the road a lot more, having the dual camera and facetime action will be worth the extra expense. Yes? Probably not, but that's what I like to tell myself. :) Speaking of iGadgets, my iPhone 3gs contract was up last month. So the question is, do I get the 4 now or hold out a few more months and spring for the 5? I think I am going to try to hold out.. we will see.

:: Hallie has absolutely taken off with reading. Her very favorite thing to do is sit and read books, preferably to one or both of her brothers, but if they are uninterested/unavailable, she is happy to read to herself as well. She is reading everything she can get her hands on, including books I thought were way beyond her abilities. I have no idea how this happens, really. The human brain is an amazing thing!

:: My brothers and I and a few other assorted relatives of ours have taken to playing an online version of Risk. Dude, it's so much fun. It makes me miss the days of being a kid when you could legitimately spend 4 or 5 hours playing Monopoly or Risk and no one thought a thing of it. Ahhh responsibility... it's so overrated.. ;)

:: Will wants nothing more than a CAT for his birthday in July. Will this signify the return of a furry pet to our family? Stay tuned... (I specify "furry" bc Hallie's pet fish Pumpkin has been alive and well for nearly a year now. She feeds him (her?) and changes the tank water, completely on her own, every week. She had turned into quite the responsible little pet owner.)

:: I did some bedroom rearranging this morning. Hallie and Tristan are sharing a room now, and Olivia has the former girls' room to herself. Miss O is not sleeping reliably through the night yet, causing Hallie to bail to our room or Tristan's room nightly. So this arrangement makes much more sense. I also have to make a trip to Philly early next month, and am making an IKEA stop while I'm there. Tristan is getting this new bed-- isn't it great? He and Hallie are super into building forts, so this bed will provide a great place for them to do that-- without dragging furniture around and making a total "mess" of things.

Snowy Sunday

2011-01-30T12:56:00.000-05:00

Dan and Will are out hitting the slopes this afternoon, and I'm home with the littles. (Actually Hallie is hardly considered a "little" anymore, so while she's not quite ready for skiing yet, I'm letting her have some much-coveted computer time while Tristan, Olivia and I head for naps!) Yay for lazy Sunday afternoons.

Will's turning into a great little skier , and I couldn't be happier. One of my "someday" dreams (with having our kids close together) is taking a family ski trip to Colorado and all hitting the slopes together all day long. How FUN would that be?! (Although Dan and I have pretty much totally switched over to snowboarding, which is a total blast too.) I have finally decided that (after 4 years, hah) I feel good enough on the board to trade in my beginner board for a more advanced one. (Heck yeah!! Who says mamas can't learn new tricks?! ;)) Dan and I went out on Thursday for my first time out this year. It was so much fun. I can't wait to get out there again!

But that will be another day.... naps are calling me... :)

over the hump

2011-01-25T14:17:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is our 7-month milestone having baby O home with us. June 26 of last year was gotcha day, and June 28 was her 7-month birthday. Which means pretty soon here, actually any day now (or was it yesterday?) we quietly slipped over the hump-- she's been home, here with us, longer than she was in Ethiopia. It's a bittersweet milestone to be sure. I wonder if she'll miss her homeland, the language she never knew, the misty mountains surrounding Addis Ababa. Her young mama who tried so hard to find a family member to care for her before placing her for adoption, and the unknown daddy she'll never know. I'm sure she'll face these questions and many more as she grows... but we sure are BEYOND happy to have her home with us. She is a most loved sister and daughter! Happy over-the-hump, sweet Olivia. Here's to many, many more amazing years together!

Being cute and mischievous

Eating snow off big sis's mitten

Sucking on an icicle "pop"

Cuddle time with daddy

Little miss curiosity

Hugs for big brother Will!

Checking out the Christmas tree

My cute twin nieces!

2011-01-05T13:37:00.001-05:00

The Tree is Up!

2010-12-04T23:31:00.000-05:00

The past few days have been full of christmas decorating. The stockings are hung (all six of them-- yay!) and most of my Christmas/winter decor is up. This afternoon Tristan was feeling a little under the weather so I stayed home with him and Olivia while Dan took Will, Hallie and two of my sisters to the tree farm to get our tree. We spent the evening dancing to "All I Want for Christmas is You" and hanging ornaments and stringing lights and... just having fun and being silly. I really wanted to break out the cookies and hot chocolate, but all the kids have been fighting colds the last week, and I figured the last thing their immune systems needed was a sugar blast! Much to my own disappointment...

Anyway, the holidays are in full swing around here and I couldn't be happier!! A cookie exchange with friends is happening next week, and I'm making these little babies. So simple, and yet still one of my favorite christmas cookies ever!

I am very much looking forward to staying home for the holidays this year. Snowy outdoors, a toasty fires indoors and four adorable children who are very excited about Christmas make this mama's heart warm. I am so blessed, in so many ways!

Dec. 1: World AIDS Day. Get the word out!

2010-12-01T13:03:00.000-05:00

decided

2010-12-01T11:37:00.000-05:00

to not put out every Christmas decoration I own this year. Enough is good.

to stop importing my blog to facebook. I don't know, I'm just over it. You wanna read my blog, come here.

to consider every day, every weather, a beautiful day. there is beauty in everything, even cold, rainy mornings, and gray, misty afternoons.

to try to be intentional about my life. what I say, what I do. way easier said than done.

to read more books next year.

i'm sure I'll think of more soon. yep.

Book Review: A Time to Embrace

2010-12-01T11:16:00.001-05:00

From Publisher's Weekly: In this sequel to A Time to Dance, beloved evangelical Christian novelist Kingsbury brings readers up to date on the trials and tribulations of Abby and John Reynolds, who, after 20-plus years of marriage, are enjoying something of a second honeymoon. Then John's career comes under attack when anonymous letters smearing his reputation are sent to the high school where he coaches. Worse still, he is in a car accident (a well-worn device of evangelical fiction), which he survives but which paralyzes him from the waist down. Abby and John's new challenges sit at the center of this novel, but there are several engaging subplots keeping the narrative moving at a fast clip: their newly married daughter learns she's pregnant, even though she had planned to wait four years before starting a family; a divorced couple is thrown back together and must work out their anger and mistrust; and Jake Daniels, the student whose car hit Coach Reynolds, must try to forgive himself for injuring his mentor.

I decided to review this book, because after reading a Time to Dance, I was curious where John and Abby's story would end up. Unlike that first book, which I found highly predictable, I enjoyed this one a bit more mostly because I could never figure out where the plot would end up. (Although maybe I should have-- does Christian chick-lit ever have anything not turn out perfect??) There were enough unknowns thrown into the story that I was interested in reading to see what happened.

:: thankful

2010-11-24T12:39:00.000-05:00

:: for dan, the love of my life.
:: for the kids. all four of 'em, but this year, especially for olivia.
:: for my beautiful life.
:: for all my friends, near and far. you all bless me in so many ways.
:: for all the opportunities i'm given every day to be more patient, more kind, more giving.
:: for times to spend with family. i'm grateful for all my family, all across the world. the times we spend together, no matter how frequent or infrequent, are a true gift.

:: thanks mostly to God, who has blessed me so greatly with all these and more.

thank you, thank you God.

Review: What's In The Bible #4... AND A DVD GIVEAWAY!!! :D

2010-11-10T20:57:00.000-05:00

This is my second review for the What's In The Bible DVD series, put out by Tyndale and created by Phil Vischer, of VeggieTales fame.

My kids love these DVDs. They are easily their favorite movies to watch, and as I've stated before, the videos are chock full of good, solid biblical teaching, much of which I didn't even have a really thorough grasp of myself! WITB #4 covers Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. They are full of hilarious puppet characters, from a conservative priest to two Aussies on safari to Cap'n Pete (Tristan's personal favorite), a pirate who spends most of the episode in a hot air balloon. :)

I asked Will a few questions about the DVD:
What did you learn from the DVD? I learned a lot of stuff about the Bible I didn't know before. I learned what the Pentateuch is. (That's actually from WITB #3..) and I learned about obeying God.
Do you like WITB? YES! I loooooove it.
Would you like to watch the next WITB DVD? Yessssssss!! (grinning, crossing his eyes, and panting like a dog.) [Ummm, ok.]
Who is your favorite character? The Bentley Brothers! They are so funny and I love their songs.

I have sat and watched WITB with the kids a few times. The kids ask all kinds of questions during the show if I am sitting with them, which I love. We get to discuss things like Israel's cycle of apostasy and why they didn't have a king like their neighbors and who the judges were and what they did. It's great discussion, and the kids are really learning the foundations of the Bible in a fun and easily assimilated way.

And now the best part: I have been given a coupon for a FREE WITB # 4 DVD! I will be giving it away to one random commenter on my blog. If you are reading this on somewhere other than my blog (themanyadventuresofsarah.blogspot.com) then hop on over, leave a comment, and you'll be entered in the drawing! The drawing will end Sunday, Nov. 14 at 6pm EST. Good luck! :)

on cooking

2010-11-10T16:46:00.000-05:00

so despite my self-professed dislike of all things kitchen, today i found myself in a foodie mood, so i made several dishes that all turned out delicious! i thought i'd share.

first, for breakfast, pumpkin oatmeal, from my sister-in-law shelley. scrumptious!
to a bowl of hot oatmeal add a heaping spoonful of pumpkin puree and top with brown sugar, pecans and milk. very, very easy and so delicious!

for lunch, chicken salad, recipe courtesy of my friend bekah.
i shredded two cooked chicken breasts and added mayo, diced celery and red onion, chopped apple, dried cranberries, chopped pecans, garlic powder and salt. YUMMO! i have been singlehandedly working my way through the leftovers (and a container of lemon hummus, what can i say) throughout the day today.

this afternoon i made peanut butter balls with the kids from a recipe i made as a kid out of a really old kids' cookbook! the fact that i find them as addicting as the kids is probably not a good thing.
mix 1/2 c. peanut butter, 1/4 c. coconut, 2.5 tbsp. dry milk, 2 tbsp. raisins, and 2 tbsp. honey in a bowl. form into balls and roll in wheat germ or sesame seeds and refrigerate. seriously? these are really good. it may be partly due to the fact that i made and ate them a lot growing up, so.... you like what you grew up on, right? anyway, whatever it is, they are scrumptious.

and when i was done with the pb balls i decided since i had the coconut and sesame seeds out i should whip up a big batch of granola. i LOVE homemade granola! so that's in the oven now, and i'll probably be eating it for dinner (i'm making omelets for the kids; dan has a late meeting tonight.)

hmm. i'm thinking maybe i should reconsider my dislike of cooking? it's just so... annoying... to have to cook dinner, every night. year after year after year. not that i'm complaining, cause seriously, i never do (not about having to cook at least!) i'm just thinking that it might account for my dislike of it.

anyway, let me know if you try any of these recipes, and what you think! <3

Checkups!

2010-11-09T07:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my biggest and littlest had their 7- and 1- year check-ups. I'm a slacker when it comes to check-ups (if you remember, Will turned seven in July..) But hey, at least they're done -- I'm moving on!

Will was in the 75th percentile for height and weight. (A perfectly proportioned boy if I do say so myself!) He had to think hard about his favorite food when asked; he loves to eat so much that picking a favorite was hard for him. Olivia was 50% for height and 30% for weight-- she weighed in at an adorable 19.5 lbs.! None of my other kids were under 20 lbs. at a year (or under 25 lbs. for that matter.) It is so much fun having a baby who is actually staying small(ish)!

Otherwise they are both right on track with all of their milestones... not that I expected anything different, but it was nice to hear anyway. :)

A Bloggy Award!

2010-11-08T22:10:00.001-05:00

I am happy to accept, very belatedly, this award from one of my childhood friends, Alison! Alison and I were in the same homeschoolers support group growing up, and one of my earliest memories of her is of sitting in a book club together. Some things never change! :-)

Now, about this award--

Rules of The Versatile Blogger award:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Share seven things about yourself.

3. Pass on the award to fifteen deserving bloggers.

4. Contact the bloggers you chose for the award.

Seven things you might not know about me:

1. I am a fanatical fan of The Sound of Music. I know all the music, much of the dialogue, all the actors real names, a lot of the background info, own the soundtrack... and have seen the play in Broadway, Philly, and STL... and been to the sing-along showings twice. (Wow, I can't believe I actually admitted to all that. :b)

2. I'm a news and talk-radio junkie. Although I generally consider my political views conservative, I am not conservative enough to enjoy Rush and Michael Savage. I do love the local talk stations though, and some of the nationwide hosts as well. I compulsively read ABC news stories on my iPhone.

3. I have never been to South America or Antarctica, and would like to go someday so I can round out all seven continents before I die.

4. I like wine, and pretty much all girly drinks, but I loathe beer.

5. I would love to get a dog (or a cat!) for the kids, but the thought of pet hair in the house makes me twitch. As ugly as they are, recently I have begun thinking about getting a hairless cat!

6. I love, love, love the ocean. The Jersey Shore is pretty much the best place on earth on a summer day.

7. I don't really like to cook, or bake. I do it because I have to. I do like to eat what I make though, so it evens out. :)

And now, for the new recipients of the award!

1. Anna, sister extrordinaire

2. Emily, other sister extrordinaire!

3. Shelley, awesome sister in law

4. Katharine, another awesome sister in law!

5. Kristin, a pretty amazing cousin

6. Jenni, pen pals since 2nd grade. Oh yes.

7. Amanda, friend since the early days of marriage, and fellow adoptive mommy

8. Mindy, MOPS friend from my freakin' awesome MOPS days!!

9. Nichole, a very sweet friend, married to one of Dan's oldest friends!

10. April, another good STL friend!

11. Suzanna. Actually my sister's friend, but mine too since we've gotten older. Funny how that works.

12. Ashlie. We met in the Philly airport, on the way to Ethiopia, headed to get our babies. <3

13. Wendy. She recently moved to CO, just as we were getting to be friends! Boo.

14. Jen. Sister in law and recent mother of my very sweet twin nieces!

15. Brietta, a bloggy friend that I got to meet IRL last winter! :)

Today at "recess"...

2010-11-03T12:54:00.000-04:00

I always send the older kids outside to burn off steam for about 45 min., after school and lunch, and before rest time. Today Tristan came busting through the back door with this gem:

"Ummm, mommy? I was trying to go pee standing up, and I peed a little in my pants."

Great.

Upon further investigation, I found his underwear, pants and socks (!) completely soaked. (And, I am wondering, did he actually get any on the ground?!)

After changing, Tristan, nonplussed, proudly proclaimed to "the guys," "Hey guys! I went pee standing up!"

It's the little things. :)

One Month Later...

2010-11-02T20:54:00.001-04:00

I realized when I logged in tonight that it's been a whole month since I last blogged! I am such a slacker. (I hope at least you all think that even if I'm slacking on blogging, I'm not slacking on the home front!!!)

Anyway, I will be keeping it short and sweet tonight. We have our wood fire going tonight for the first time this year... yay for cozy, homey wood fires! (And boo for dusting all that soot off the mantle every week!!)

Sweet Miss Olivia turned 11 mos. old a few days ago, which also means we've been home 4 months-- a third of a year, and over half as long as her life before us. I can't believe she'll be one soon. What the HECK is that about. Can't my baby just stay a baby?? The kids are really enjoying having her be more interactive though. She is more amenable to being carted about and plopped here and there than she used to be, which is nice for me, and for the over-eager older siblings too!

Book Review: The Boy Who Changed the World

2010-10-03T20:48:00.001-04:00

This is a cute kids book by Andy Andrews. Will actually really likes it and gets the "domino" effect that the book illustrates. I am not sure that he was inspired to change the world per se, but he definitely saw how one person's actions are never the "whole story" of what happens in a life. I would recommend it for ages 7 and up... the younger kids don't get the concept, and also bore easily with the more detailed narratives of the different characters' lives.

music

2010-09-18T21:37:00.003-04:00

I have been listening to Chris Rice a lot lately. His stuff is just good. I play it in the kitchen while I'm cooking/feeding kids, and at night when I'm doing stuff around the house. I love all his albums, but lately I've been listening to the "Peace Like A River: The Hymns Project" album to start, and then letting it run on shuffle from there. The old hymns have such good theology. It's something I truly miss in modern worship music. Where are the lines like "He to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood" or "When my eyes shall close in death; when I rise to worlds unknown and behold Thee on Thy throne" or "Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill; God's truth abideth still" or "Oh that day when, free from sinning, I shall see Thy lovely face; clothed then in blood-washed linen, how I'll sing Thy songs of grace." Where are they? Are they too un-PC for Reuben Morgan?? :b

Anyway, just thought I'd share. There is nothing like the old hymns to remind you of what you believe and why!! :)

My little drummer boy :)

2010-09-08T21:35:00.001-04:00

The world's cutest 7 year-old...

2010-09-07T16:31:00.002-04:00

...and his creations!

This is the aptly named, "One-Hundred Percent World Record" airship. It can fly all the way to Pluto (which, as all good scholars know, is a current impossibility by any other aircraft.) The bricks in his right hand "weigh as much as a thousand brick houses", but amazingly, the OHPWR carries them with ease.

Hallie and mama go for a walk

2010-09-03T23:30:00.000-04:00

Livi loves the lake!

2010-09-02T22:59:00.001-04:00

lately...

2010-09-02T20:02:00.000-04:00

:: routine has been returning. Not the rigid kind that you might expect, but ... just doing little things, prep work the night before, for example, that makes our mornings go that much smoother.

:: along with routine, our church has kicked off a 30-day read-through-the-Gospels challenge that Dan and I have a decent bet riding on, significantly increasing the likelihood that we will both complete the challenge. (Nothing like a little competition to spur on your devotions, right?!) :)

:: even though we are back in a fall routine, and already two weeks into school, I am dreading the end of summer. I have this dreaded sinking feeling that fall is just around the corner, and this year, like never before, I am so loathe for summer to end. I just love summer so much! This is the first year I can ever remember not being ready for fall. I usually love the fresh start fall provides, but this year... I dunno. Last night after dinner we took the kids swimming at the lake, and I couldn't help thinking, somewhat melancholy-ly, "this is the last fun time we'll ever have this summer." Of course I proved myself wrong by having a blast playing soccer with the kids in the yard tonight, but you know what I mean. The easy, lazy days of summer are drawing to a close and I am sad.

:: last week, a friend and I took our 8 kids (ages 7, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 9 mos. and 9 mos.) camping for 4 days in a cabin on a lake, with no hot water or electricity. It was so much fun. I couldn't believe how just being away form the house freed me up to relax and just spend time playing with my kids! I am a huge game fan, and we played Sorry, Chinese Checkers, Mastermind and Guess Who over and over and over, much to all of our enjoyment. It was cool, so the kids didn't swim, but the olders walked alone to a nearby playground while the youngest 4 napped every day, and my friend and I would neaten up the cabin and chat. Then at night, when all 8 were tucked into beds in the cabin loft, we would make drinks, and sit out on the porch and watch the stars and talk. It was a great (almost) end to summer. And then this week, we returned for a one-day reunion (three cheers for the flexibility of homeschooling!) and are hoping to get back again next week. Well, I'm hoping, anyway. :)

:: It's official: Olivia is crawling! Tonight while we were in the yard playing, she was sitting in the grass. I guess she got bored, cause she took off in a beeline for the gravel driveway, crawling like a champ! My (already way too short) days of having an immobile baby are quickly drawing to a close.

:: I found thredup.com. (I don't necessarily like shamelessly promoting a site, but I am anyway.) I have been so happy with the clothes I've gotten for my kids here! The best part is that I don't even have to leave the house. :D If you like what you see, use my promo code: http://www.thredup.com/Block46621 and you and I will both get a month of PRO status. :)

:: school is going so well. I can't believe we've already finished two weeks! We're already finding a new routine that works well for all of us, and Will ( a seasoned pro) and Hallie (our brand-new kindergartener) are working hard and learning new things every day. I am loving working with them and watching their minds come alive! Side note: Will took his first math test today, (K has no tests) and scored 100%! I explained to him beforehand that it was a test and that I was not going to help him with any questions, that he should read it himself and do the best he could and I would check it when he was done. Well he flew through that test, and with great success! He proudly hung the test on the fridge afterward. :)

:: Dan's younger brother Jonathan is getting married at the beginning of October, and we are making the trip out to STL. I'll be packing our school things and the double stroller, and staying for two weeks with the kiddos! I am so excited to see old friends (and of course family) and see our familiar and much-missed Zoo and Arch. It will be a great time!

:: I guess this has gone on long enough. Dan's had all 4 (!) kids on a Mule ride for the last half-hour, giving me time to write my first thoughtful blog post in days. Okay, weeks. Anyway...

:: more than ever before, I am appreciating my kids and the stages they are in. I read this article yesterday, and was reminded once again how much I need to truly cherish and soak up these days of being a busy mom of four littles. They grow so fast, and I don't want to look back and regret wishing all the days away, always looking forward to the next stage or phase. I love my life as a mama, and when I someday swat the last one out the door to college (ok, I'm sure I'll be crying my eyes out, but you know..) I want to look back at these days as ones I poured my whole heart into and truly lived every minute of. Life is so short and I want to appreciate that!!!

and just like that...

2010-08-28T23:29:00.000-04:00

... our baby girl turns 9 months old.

and, we pass our two-months-home milestone.

If life could slow down just a little, I would really appreciate it.

*sigh*

Book Review: Angel Song

2010-08-17T21:52:00.000-04:00

I finished reading Angel Song by Sheila Walsh and Kathryn Cushman last week. Life has been crazy lately, and I"m just now getting around to writing a review.

When tragedy strikes Ann's life, she is haunted by what she thinks is an audible hallucination, but comes later to think of as angel song. Ann is tasked with preparing her childhood home for sale, and through her relationships with her sister's neighbor, her neighbor's Down Syndrome son, and their friends, she finds love and healing. I enjoyed this book. I don't know what I think about Ann hearing the "angel song" (it turns out that the neighbor's son also hears the music), but whether it is real or not, it's an interesting element to throw into the plot.

The book has the requisite "chick lit" aspects, but it is also original in enough ways to keep you reading and interested in where the story is going.

Side note: if anyone ever reads one of these book reviews of mine and wants to borrow the book, let me know! I rarely read a book twice, and all these books are sent to me free for review. I love to share. :)

tonight...

2010-08-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

i'm single-parenting it, so i had my whole evening planned out: kids in bed, me and livi will watch the news, maybe a movie, do some emailing, get livi to bed, then i'll head to bed by midnight.

i guess livi was extra tired today because she fell asleep nursing while i was singing/praying with the older three. imagine my excitement when, at no less that five minutes after eight, i had all four kids in bed and asleep. seriously, that never happens to me.

i was (as silently as possible) re-making my bed when i noticed olivia doing the gassy-scootch thing in her pack n play. "great," i thought. "stupid gas." i tried the whole pacifier/pat her back/pat her butt/wish like crazy i was imagining this whole episode... to no avail. she started into full-fledged fussing, and with visions of o'reilly and lie to me going up in smoke in my head, i scooped her up and flopped down on my bed with her in my arms. curling up on my side and resigning myself to a not-so-alone-and-peaceful evening, i hoped like crazy she'd fall back asleep asap and let me get on with my plans.

suddenly i realized with sobering clarity... here i was, in a quiet and peaceful house, lying on a freshly-made bed with a beautiful brown baby in my arms... and wishing i was somewhere else, doing something else. seriously? "what is wrong with me?" i berated myself in disdain.

i smelled her clean baby smell and felt her hand (with the slightly too-long nails) clutching my arm slowly go limp, her face buried in my chest. i heard her shuddering sigh and just knew... she felt safe, loved, and cared-for, and was content to fall asleep in my arms, her curls against my face. how many times in her first six months of life did she get picked up and cuddled, just 'cuz? maybe never. how many times in the next six months can i be there for her to make up for lost cuddles she can never get back? hopefully every time she wants me to.

and, maybe, i can remember that all these moments of little boys and trucks and my big girl and her chap-stick love and questions about the moon and outer space and sandy feet and all the things that make my life what it is, will one day be gone. and i will wish like crazy i could not watch o'reilly for a whole year, just to get back one night of sweet brown curls and chubby thighs nestled under my chin, or three-year-old boy whispers of "you're my best buddy, mommy."

remember, sarah. just remember.

my favorite salad (from my garden)

2010-08-06T17:25:00.001-04:00

a cucumber or two
a tomato or two
half a small onion, preferably a red one
balsamic vinaigrette dressing
fresh basil
a brick of fresh mozzarella cheese

Quarter and chop all veggies. Dice a slice of the cheese. Chop the basil. Toss together in a bowl, add vinaigrette and refrigerate until ready to eat.

MMM delicious!!!

DVD Review: What's in the Bible?

2010-08-04T11:17:00.001-04:00

This DVD series, What's in the Bible, is brand new from VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer. Since my kids (like all kids, right?!) love VeggieTales, I was excited to receive the first three episodes from Tyndale House Publishers for review.

My kids LOVE these DVDs. They are easily the most-requested DVDs in our house! They are funny, smart, entertaining, and best of all, Bible-based and chock-full of good solid Bible teaching! Just two days ago Will told me, "Mommy, I know what the Pentateuch is." Since I actually wasn't sure on the answer, I faked it and challenged him: "No, you don't!" He proudly (and correctly) replied that it is the first five books of the Bible. I have watched these DVDs with my kids, and feel like I get more solid on my understanding of the Old Testament books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy every time! Even though these DVDs are aimed at kids, the content is not elementary. They cover concepts like the physical vs. the spiritual kingdom of God, and God's reasons for all those "weird laws" found in the early books of the Bible.

I am planning to sit down and write a bunch of questions based on the content of these DVDs and use them a supplement for Will and Hallie's Bible curriculum this fall. As far as content, and understanding the why behind what's written in the Bible, these DVDs are unparalleled. It's sort of like a Worldview Academy for the elementary set!

If interested, you can visit www.whatsinthebible.com for more information.

One Month Home

2010-07-29T15:28:00.001-04:00

It has been one month since we came off the jetway in Philly with our sweet baby girl. I can hardly believe it!

It's crazy-- most times I can hardly remember life without four kids and just bask in the loveliness of our pretty baby girl's smiles and coos... but sometimes (usually when I am singlehandedly trying to "rush" out the door) I think to myself.... WOW! Four kids is wayyy harder than three!

We are so very, very blessed to have sweet Olivia as part of our family. Adoption is just such an amazing thing, you know? An orphan from Africa with no future is now an integral, beloved family member. Her bright eyes and happy giggles remind me every day what a blessing she is to have as part of our family! It's truly such a crazy, mind-blowing thing!

Here are a few pics from the last month. :)

cute baby <3

my 3am laundry helper, her first week home

cuddles with big brother Will

please notice Tristan's very SCARY tiger teeth!

(taken with the awesome Hipstamatic iPhone app :))

a VERY proud big sister with her super-happy-hand-flapping baby sis!

all of us at Olivia's dedication at church last weekend

(Hallie is wearing a dress we brought back from ET for her!)

Froggy Grass.. ?

2010-07-20T09:51:00.000-04:00

Tristan: "Mommy, isn't our grass so froggy this morning?"
Me: "So froggy?"
Tristan: "Yeah, see, look at it. It's so froggy."
Me: "Do you mean foggy?"
Tristan: "Oh yeah, foggy. I thought it was called froggy."

Welcome to a froggy morning in the Poconos, everyone. :)

Book Review: Hurricanes in Paradise

2010-07-17T23:26:00.000-04:00

This is a review of Hurricanes in Paradise, by Denise Hildreth. Coming off my so-so read by Karen Kingsbury, I loved this book. I loved her characters and the way she built the storyline. I like that her characters were very "real", dealt with real-life issues, and everything didn't just pan out "just so" as most chick-lit novels are apt to do.

Even though I am not Southern (far from it, actually ;)) I did appreciate the Southern charm she threw in to the plot, since I don't know much about the Southern culture at all.

This book was a light, fun read that dealt tactfully with several weighty issues (HIV, adultery, death, etc.) in a fairly thought-provoking way, given the genre's general tendency to shy far from such topics. I enjoyed this book and recommend it as a good summer read!

summer

2010-07-13T12:34:00.000-04:00

i love summer.

afternoon swims at the lake.
cute brown babies in bathing suits.
boys squirting water guns.

lazy mornings.
no schedules.
candy land, memory, one more book.

plants growing bountifully.
our first cucumbers, scarfed down by ecstatic children.
snap peas, picked and eaten as fast as they can grow.

sitting on the porch watching a thunderstorm roll in.
kids picking blueberries in the rain.
the rhythm of the fun, fast-paced days and the slower, lazy ones.

gosh, i love summer.

Book Review: A Time to Dance

2010-07-12T22:44:00.002-04:00

This is a review of Karen Kingbury's novel A Time to Dance, which is in her "Timeless Love" series. I finished this book about a week ago, and I have to say that I was not very impressed with it. I am generally a non-critical, fairly passive fan of chick lit. Something about Kingsbury as an author has never particularly grabbed me, though, and this book was no different. I am pretty sure this is my second Kingsbury book. I know there are lots of Kingsbury fans, but somehow she just... doesn't... "do it" for me.

I liked the premise of the book (John and Abby hit a crisis in their marriage after 20+ years, and are headed for divorce) because I know personally of several couples to whom this has happened, so I was hopeful going into the book that Kingsbury would deal with the situation in a realistic (yet still romantic) way. What bothered me most was that 90% of the book was about John and Abby hating each other, and then in the last 10 pages they suddenly reconcile. It didn't ring true to me as realistic at all. How many couples, after years of neglecting their relationships, just suddenly have a magical turnaround and fall back in love and pick up where they left off? It seems to me that lots of intensive counseling would be needed to pull of a relationship rescue of this magnitude, not to mention the two of them together working through all the issues that got them to that place in the first place.

Even though I enjoy chick lit, Kinsgbury as an author unfortunately does not cut it for me. As much as I would LIKE to like her books, I just, for some reason, can't.

Two Weeks Yesterday

2010-07-07T11:15:00.000-04:00

... since Gotcha Day.

I can't believe that two weeks I wrote about has already come and gone. It has been so amazing, but I am just so aware these are moments I will never get back. I am just trying to soak up every minute with my precious, brand-new, 7-month-old baby girl. I just want to freeze time-- sometimes it feels like such a rip-off that we just got her and already she will be turning 8 months old. :(

It has been such an awesome and amazing journey to our little girl. Sometimes I just feel myself welling up with love... just so grateful that she is ours. Of all the babies in the entire world... God knew she was supposed to be ours. And she is perfect; she fits our family so well. She's like the missing piece we never knew was missing, until she came home and now, all is right with the world.

Except for sleeping. We kinda hit the ground running the week we got home, and haven't slowed down since. Olivia (now called 'Livia, Livi, Livi Lou or "honnnnneeeyyyy" [if you are Hallie]) has had no chance at all to develop a new schedule. She's been napping on the run and crashing late at night for a few hours. Her normal night is from about midnight to 4 or 5 am... then she naps heavily during the day... which has gotta change. Today is Day One of Revamp the Sleep Schedule training. She is allowed one two-hour nap in the morning and one in the afternoon. And as much as it pains me, (how many times have I heard/said, "NEVER WAKE A SLEEPING BABY" ???) I have to go in there and wake her up. Earlier, I started to wake her by calling her name and kissing her cheek, and in her sleep, she lifted her head and grinned! Then flopped back down to sleep. It's hard... but these nights are even harder!! Wish me luck. :)

I find myself so grateful these days. Thankful for health, life, love, community, family. Life is good.

Day 3

2010-06-29T08:50:00.000-04:00

Being home has, so far, been a smooth transition. Olivia fits into our family so perfectly! All three kids are in love with her... she is a sweet, easy-going baby, making her all the more easy to love. :)

The only thing I am struggling with so far is finding my stride. Before, I had life with three kids pretty much down to a science-- I knew how to utilize my time and how much time I needed for certain tasks. Now I am trying to do everything with an infant in tow, and am finding myself much less efficient and hours can blow by without me accomplishing much of anything. Add to that the complicated task of trying to nurse a baby who has been bottle-fed most of her life, and you can see that my life (as I knew it) is in shambles.

The great thing is that it's ok, because life as I knew it with three kids is non-existent! Soon I will find a new rhythm with four kids that will be just as great. And I need to remember that this is day 3, not week 3, and that everything takes time. Especially adding a 7-month-old family member and having three of us coming off major jet lag. :)

I want to write a comprehensive post about our trip, but like I said, time is suddenly of the essence and I feel guilty even sitting down to write this post while she naps. So much to do! I will hopefully be checking back in again soon!

Thoughts

2010-06-22T15:36:00.000-04:00

I can't sleep tonight. I keep getting up to check on the beautiful brown baby sleeping in the bassinet next to my bed. She is sleeping on her side, one hand tucked under her chin and the other sprawled to the side.

She is so beautiful and so perfect, I can't believe she's mine, ours. I want to soak up all these moments. I know in a few short days we'll be jetting back to the US and have three other adorable munchkins competing for our attention and we'll be jet-lagged out the wazoo and before I know it, 2 weeks will have gone by and I will think... were we really in Africa? Was that really me with the screaming baby, pacing the balcony? Was I really in a home in Addis Ababa, picking up my baby girl forever and always?

I am by some standards a seasoned mom. But find myself at a loss already. I have never bottle-fed a baby before. How do I warm a bottle? How many scoops of formula again? What do I do if she wakes during the night? What did the nannies do? Feed her? Ignore her? Do I wash her pretty curls or let them go for awhile? Can I use regular baby shampoo? What do I do when she gets that startled, scared look. Am I more scary to her than comforting?

I vow in my heart that she will never be left again. She won't cry herself to sleep, or have to wonder if I am coming. I don't really care if I am more scary to her than being left alone. At some point she will realize I'm her mama, and when life gets scary, I will be here. Always.

And I will tell her of the time when she was just a little thing, and her daddy and I took her from the only life she had ever known. She was scared, and she cried and cried and cried. Where were her nannies and the comforting sounds of sleeping with 14 other babies in her room? Where was the loud singing, the familiar jostling, and the dogs barking in the background? And she will laugh, because it will be her favorite story: when she came home to a mommy and daddy and two big brothers and a big sister who adore her to pieces. She will know that we wanted her so much that we flew halfway around the world to get her. And she will be our girl, forever.

2010-06-20T03:04:00.000-04:00

We made it to Addis Ababa! We are staying at the Yebsabi Guest House. It's COLD here, a lot more than I was expecting. I have no idea why I didn't believe the weather reports. I brought 2 long sleeve shirts, and the rest are shortsleeved. I'm sure I'll be fine. :)

Our group of 6 families finally all made it through "customs" and met our drivers last night. Last night we went to bed at 2pm EST and got up at 1:45am EST. Which is actually 9p-8:45a here, so not bad at all! I slept 2 hrs. of the Philly-Frankfort leg and then not at all from Frankfort to Addis, so it helped that I was tired.

We are going to try going to church this am (if I can get Dan out of bed ;)) and then see what happens. Today is a down day-- our official itinerary starts tomorrow. (If you don't stay over a Saturday night, airline prices double. Go figure.)

Anyway, the most "exciting" part of the trip thus far has been in Frankfort. They changed our gate, so we had went all the way (through security) to the wrong gate, only to be told we had to go to a completely different concourse. We RAN (literally; I had leg cramps on the plane-- how pathetic is that) about 1/2 mile with all out junk to the other security line, got bumped to the front of the line, got my breastpump bag hand-searched for the 100th time, and then RAN through the concourse all the way to the end (gate B60 if you're ever in Frankfort ;)). They had held the plane, and we straggled on and collapsed. Dan and Abby had seats together in the back, and I ended up sitting (right behind EMPTY business class, grr) next to a really nice AWAA dad who was heading to meet his wife and twin 7-mo. girls in Addis. :)

So tomorrow is our "meetcha" day!!! We FINALLY get to meet our baby girl!!! :D

More later--

Sarah

This Is It.

2010-06-17T20:59:00.000-04:00

Tonight is my last night tucking three cute blonde kiddos into bed.

Last night being a mom of three, in a quiet post-bedtime house.

Last time I'll drive home from the lake with a girl behind me and two boys in the back.
~~
Next time I tuck the kids into bed, I'll be the proud mama of four munchkins, including one beautiful brown baby who we can't wait to get our hands on.

Tomorrow we drive two hours to Philly, fly 8 hours to Frankfort, then 7 to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and next Friday we do it all over again in reverse. Next Saturday I'll be home and tucking four beautiful children into bed, and I'll get to do it again all summer long. All year. For years. How great is that?

I can't believe that our 19 month journey to adoption is nearly complete. We are almost done. So close.
~~
We will have internet access at the guest house where we'll be staying, so I hope to catch a few minutes here and there to update on how the trip is going. If not, I will definitely post all about the trip when we get home! Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers and well-wishes! We love you all!!! :)

Wow...

2010-06-15T11:54:00.000-04:00

Well, the past few days has been quite the adventure. I was on a girls' weekend with two friends from St. Louis, when I got the call that Dan was being hospitalized back here in PA with unknown heart issues: irregular heart rate, chest pain and fever. Initial medical guess ranged from pleurisy to a pulmonary embolism to a heart attack. The outlook for our pending ET trip wasn't good. I quickly cut my trip short and flew home to be with Dan and the kids. And after lots and lots of testing, it turns out that he is in great cardiac shape, and that all this was due to a "perfect storm" of an asthma attack, a mutant H1N1 flu virus, and stress. Goodnight!!! He has one more EKG tomorrow, just to make sure they didn't miss anything, but otherwise he is cleared to go on Friday! Thank you Jesus.

Dan's mom arrives Friday around 11:30 and Dan, Abby and I leave for Philly at 1:30. (Not a lot of overlap!) We're praying that they have a peaceful week without us. We've never left them for close to 8 days before, so this will be a new experience for everyone!! And, I found out that some other parents from our agency will be flying the Philly-Frankfort and also the Frankfort-Addis leg of the journey with us! Exciting!! There is wireless internet at the guest house where we'll be staying in ET, so we're taking the laptop to hopefully have spare time (haha) to keep you all updated while we're away!!

Three days and counting! :)

WE GOT THE CALL!!!!!!!

2010-06-10T18:57:00.001-04:00

Today I was at the BC lake play area with my kids and a friend and her kids, when, upon one of my many daily compulsive cell phone checks, I saw I had MISSED A CALL from the (703) area code!!!!!! Horrors!!! Of course I IMMEDIATELY began listening to the voicemail, and it sounded like Theresa (our interim travel coordinator) was simply introducing herself, when suddenly she added.... "and I have some great news for you so if you could give me a call back..." at which point I abruptly ended the voicemail and hit redial... at which point I was connected to Theresa and got the big news firsthand! The embassy has finished their investigation, and we are cleared to travel and bring our baby girl home! We are taking my younger sister Abby (she's 14) with us, who will, along with her new tough-as-nails camera, be documenting our trip in picture and video! We have a call in to the travel agency to book our tickets... and we will be leaving for ET in nine days! YES!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!! :D

Hang on, we are coming for you, sweet baby girl!

Book Review: Bringing Up Girls

2010-06-09T23:29:00.000-04:00

This was, I think, the very first book I've read by renowned author Dr. James Dobson! (I'm not sure if that's a good selling point or not. ;))

Anyway, I had no idea what to expect when I started this book, but overall, I was pleased with it. It covered, in Dobson's friendly, conversational style, many aspects that go into raising healthy girls, and while much of what he writes about seemed to be common sense (to me), there were several chapters that I read eagerly, happy to be gleaning more information about these complicated little creatures we call girls!

I especially loved his charm-bracelet story by the girl who saved herself for her future husband. What a great idea! I plan to give Hallie (and Olivia! wow! :)) similar bracelets of their own one day... if finding bracelets in that unique style is not too difficult!

I appreciated all the research Dr. Dobson went through for the writing of his book. Although sometimes reading the research behind the topics got a bit dry, it is good to know that his thoughts are based on quality research and not just ideologically driven.

Reading this book (and seeing how much of it I could mentally check off as something we are already doing or are planning to do with Hallie and/or Olivia) made me very grateful for the (mostly! ;)) grounded backgrounds that Dan and I come from. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to get off on the right parenting foot with the solid parenting that we have had in our lives. I recommend this book to anyone raising girls-- Dr. Dobson addresses a lot of good points with grace and humor, and I think you could definitely not be any worse off in your parenting for having read this book!

Book Review: I Am Hutterite

2010-06-09T23:01:00.001-04:00

This memoir by Mary-Ann Kirkby describes her growing-up years in a conservative Canadian Hutterite community, and her struggles and insecurities in the transition to the outside world, once her parents left the community when she was 11.

I was expecting this book to be along the lines of "Stolen Innocence" by Elissa Wall (previously of the FLDS)-- full of tragedy and human suffering. It surprised me with it's non-condemnation of the Hutterite community lifestyle, and it's open admiration for many of their traditions. I enjoyed the book, especially once I got going. At the beginning I found Mary-Ann's history of her grandparents lives somewhat dry. Also, her use of the German-based Hutterite language throughout the book, especially the more frequent usages in the beginning of the book, disrupt the flow of reading and become merely a nuisance to be skipped over while reading. Overall I enjoyed the book and found it an interesting read.

Stream of Consciousness Post (but aren't they all?) :)

2010-06-04T21:32:00.002-04:00

I talked to our social worker today. She said that she was really surprised that we hadn't gotten "the call" yet, (the one saying we are done our embassy investigation and cleared to travel) but that possibly because of the Memorial holiday (which some Ethiopians apparently take time off for as well), our investigation hasn't been officially closed. She said we should absolutely be expecting to travel on the 19th so... we are! Two weeks from tomorrow, we're coming for you, baby girl!

I have planned a girls' getaway weekend with two friends, which is next weekend! I am very excited about getting away for a few days before we go get our baby girl.... mostly because this will be my first ever mom's time away, and also because I know I won't be getting the chance to get away again for a long time! And also because when I get home we'll be (hopefully!) just 6 days from ET! Woooo! (And also because it will be fabulous to spend time doing nothing but exactly what I feel like doing at any given moment!!) What a concept.

I am loving my garden this year. I have planted (with the kids' help, of course) broccoli, sweet yellow peppers, carrots, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peas, beans, pumpkins, basil and (tomorrow), summer squash and zucchini will join the crew. Will's personal addition was sunflowers. Not the small kind, but the giant 6' tall kind. Natch. Additionally, my perennial bed is doing so well! It has made leaps and bounds since its modest beginnings last year. It's silly, but I love going out and dead-heading and poking around and well, just standing and beaming very maternally at my pretty plants that are just growing so bountifully. Pathetic, I know. But I don't care. :)

Today when I got the mail there were several Priority Mail packages from other adoptive families for whom we're taking care packages over to ET. There was also a Priority Mail box from one of my friends in STL.... strange, I thought. What could she be sending me?! Turns out, it was a lovely package for Olivia-- a beautiful dress, and a headband with a big pink daisy! And, she included matching daisy clips for Hallie and me, which we promptly modeled and tried on different sides of our heads... and talked about how we only have a few more weeks till we can, all three of us Block girls, wear our daisies together. It was my first "new baby" gift for Miss Livi Lou, (besides from my mom, of course) and I was (and am) so thrilled. Thank you, Mindy. You made my day! :)

Our community has this fun little summer tradition where on Friday nights, families gather at the beach by Bear Creek lake in an impromptu, neighborly, bring-your-own-pizza picnic dinner. The kids eat pizza and run and laugh and swim and play ball while the adults stand around and socialize and keep a general eye on the younger ones. It is a fun and relaxing way to usher in the weekend, and when we drive home in the dusk, with dirty, tired, happy kids, I'm reminded of just why I love summers in Bear Creek so very much!

Are We... Aren't We... ??

2010-06-01T22:04:00.000-04:00

So our social worker told us a few days ago that if we're going to be traveling this Saturday, we should have THE CALL by today or tomorrow. So we're halfway through this two-day waiting game... if they don't call tomorrow, we will be expecting to travel in two weeks, on June 19.

In other news, Will and I only have about two days of official school left till we wrap up 36 weeks of Kindergarten! Dan and I are going to take him out for dinner to celebrate. I am so proud of the way he has tackled school this year! Not only has he memorized 26 Bible verses (with references!) and the poem "Trees", he can read at a 3rd grade level and works hard at every subject we tackle. His hands-down favorite subject is Science. (It is a pretty fun science curriculum, I must admit...) His and Hallie's books for next year arrived a few days ago and Hallie is sooo excited about starting school with Will in the fall. She has been sitting down with us the past few days, pulling out her new books and begging to "do school." Ahh if that would only last forever! :)

This adoption travel limbo-land we are in is a bit frustrating at times. It's hard to plan ahead AT ALL, not knowing if we'll be here next week or not, and not knowing really anything until right up until the last minute! I am trying hard to remain flexible, take a big-picture view, and not stress about the details. I am a pretty good last-minute packer, although I haven't tried it on an international trip in awhile... and then I have to pack for the baby too! I should probably just do that now so her bag is ready whenever it is we end up going.

So. That's it for now. I'll be sure to update as soon as we hear anything!!

MDB Update- 6 mos. old today! :)

2010-05-28T17:39:00.001-04:00

Okay so I guess last night was a bad time to update-- our pictures and May update arrived today! Poor baby girl has thrush AND an upper respiratory tract infection. :( I just want to get her home so she can have a mama take care of her full-time!! We got two new pictures though, that are adorable. Minkesh is 6 months old today! Happy half-birthday baby girl! We're coming for you as fast as we can.

Our social worker also called today and said that we will most likely be traveling in June! Yay! She said that as SOON as we are cleared (even it's it just 2 or 3 days before the travel date!) they will try to get us on the plane over there! So we really could be traveling a week from tomorrow! We obviously won't know till we get the phone call, but having Kristen say today that they think it's likely we'll be going soon boosted my (timid) hopes for a June arrival!

This pic is one we just got today. We have a purple bumbo seat just like this one, and Hallie was so impressed that she now has two purple bumbo seats, one for Africa and one for our house! :) Stay tuned-- we hope to have good news soon! :)

and we wait

2010-05-27T14:23:00.000-04:00

We are now waiting for the American Embassy to finish their investigation into baby Minkesh's case. We have four potential travel dates:

Wednesday, June 9th (travel dates of June 5th -12th )

Wednesday, June 23rd (travel dates of June 19th-26th)

Wednesday, July 7th (travel dates of July 3rd -10th)

Wednesday, July 21st (travel dates of July 17th-24th)

As soon as we hear that the investigation is done, we can buy tickets and go get our girl. It is kind of strange that we could be traveling a week from Saturday (!), or not until 6 weeks from now at the end of July. My heart is constantly jumping when I get an out-of-area call (which strangely enough has been happening a lot lately) because I keep thinking this could be THE CALL, that we are cleared to travel and can be OUT OF HERE to bring our baby home! I'm not sure I can take another 6 weeks of this!

Funny side note: When an Ethiopian orphan passes through court, their adoptive parents become her legal guardians and they change her official name to her own Ethiopian first name, and give her the father's first and last name as her middle and last name. So, our little girl's official name on all her documents, passport, visa, etc. is Minkesh Daniel Block! Ha! When Dan found out, he was like, "I think we should keep it. It has a great ring to it." Haha!

While I was steam-cleaning our bedroom rug today (yeah, I'm a little behind on my spring cleaning) I was singing (to myself) the old Twila Paris song "He is No Fool" based on the Jim Elliot quote, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Remember that oldie but goodie?

"He is no fool-- if he would choose-- to give the thing he cannot keep, to buy what he can never lose. To see the treasure in one soul, that far outshines the brightest gold."

I was almost in tears thinking of all the paperwork, effort, time, money that has gone into the adoption of this one precious little girl. She is so worth every pinched dollar, every notary run, every fingerprint appointment and every email to our social worker! There is nothing greater than a little life, once lost, but now found. Oh I can't wait to get her home.

Baby Love

2010-05-21T20:37:00.001-04:00

Details, Details...

2010-05-19T18:31:00.001-04:00

So we passed court! We're now the legal guardians for our beautiful baby girl. Thank you Lord!! :D I was just thinking though, now that I'm coming back down to earth a bit, how hard this "hoping and waiting followed by elation just to have to wait some more" is. I am sure glad there is a bright light at the end of this tunnel, and it's coming soon! :)

So. Our agency will now apply for Olivia's visa, passport and new birth certificate, which will take about three weeks to complete. After these documents are ready, our agency will give our entire file -including the new documents- to the American Embassy who will review our file and make sure everything is in order, and issue our appointment with the Embassy.

We then travel to get her, and show up at our Embassy appointment in person. If all goes super well, we could have an appointment with the Embassy as early as June 23rd! Our other potential dates are July 7th and 21st. Of course we are praying for the June date-- how awesome would it be to have her home for nearly the whole summer! (And this is sort of insignificant, but the June date is the one day we don't already have something else going on, so if that worked out, it would be fabulous. Of course we will go get her anyway, any day!!!)

Dan's mom has already let us know that she will come stay with our other kids any of those dates. What a sweet lady!! (She's a fabulous mom, mother-in-law and grandma. I seriously couldn't ask for better!) :)

So now we wait again. Hopefully in three weeks we'll hear about our Embassy investigation, and whether or not we will make that June date. Pray with us that we will-- we'll keep you posted! :)

WE PASSED COURT!

2010-05-19T12:54:00.000-04:00

Olivia Hope is officially our baby girl! Thank you Jesus!

Our SW gave us three possible travel dates in late June and July.

Let's just say we're hoping for JUNE!! :D

Court Date! (Almost)

2010-05-17T23:37:00.000-04:00

Well I spent most of the morning on pins and needles, checking and rechecking my cell phone, waiting for THE CALL from our agency. Finally, around noon they called. She said everything went really well, but one small piece of paperwork that we needed for our file, a letter from the Ministry of Women's Affairs, was still en route to the court and had not made it in time. :(

However, we have rescheduled our hearing for Wednesday, only TWO days away!

Pray with us that the letter arrives and we pass court on Wednesday!!

Update!

2010-05-11T20:58:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been awhile! Last week we were visiting Dan's family and ALL THREE kids came down with a stomach. For days, it was coming out both ends-- I'll say no more. Somehow I still managed to have a pretty fun time despite the 1,020 loads of laundry that were done. ;)

We're six days out from our court date in ET for our baby girl. If you could keep us in your prayers from now till next Monday that we would pass court, we would all very much appreciate it! We also learned that our poor baby came down with chicken pox this week-- apparently it's making its way around the transition home. At least she'll be done with it at an early age! :)

Despite the chilly weather, I've been hard at work in my perennial bed-- weeding, mulching, planting. I love it, but have to admit I'm anxious for the real spring weather to arrive! (We actually had frost this morning!) Dan built me two 4x10 raised beds for which I'm busy planning my veggie garden. Those pumpkin plants the kids and I started last month are getting huge-- thery're nearly vines already! Now if I could just get them in the ground we might be alright. :)

I've been working on my digital scrapbooking off and on, and I'm just about done with our family's 2009 album. My goal is to (have I written about this before?) to make a family album for each year (starting in 2003, when our picture taking really took off) (and yes, that was the year Will was born :)). I'm working backwards, and hopefully I'll get done/caught up to the current year in... oh, the next decade or so. ;)

Will has 4 weeks left of school. Obviously we won't be done by the end of May, but early June isn't too bad IMO! I'm a little worried about any over-the-summer regression... Hopefully I will remember to RELAX and not worry about it. He can catch it up next fall!

I have two new books sitting upstairs: Bringing Up Girls and I Am Hutterite. (Both free through blogging for book programs! Gotta love it. :)) Now I just have to read them and write the reviews! ...Oh look at the time...

Book Review: Captivating

2010-04-27T15:18:00.000-04:00

Let me just start by saying: I loved this book. John and Stasi Eldridge do a fabulous job of delving into the mysteries of being a woman and encapsulating the true desires of women as pertaining to self-image, relationships, and the way we are viewed by others.

One of my favorite sections in the book expounds on the common lie that women have bought over the years: that we are simultaneously "too much" and "not enough". We feel we are too needy, too emotional, too weak, too much work for guys to really get to know us. On the other hand we never have enough time, never enough grace, and no matter how hard we try at whatever we do, we won't feel that it is good enough.

I love how the Eldridges embrace the natural femininity that so many of us have squelched over the years, and encourage women in every stage of life to rediscover the hopes and dreams they once held, before the harsh realities of “real life” caused us to store them away for safekeeping.

I highly recommend this book. It is a well-written and interest-catching book, and you will come away encouraged to be a stronger, more empowered woman of God!

Court Date!

2010-04-27T10:55:00.000-04:00

We found out that we are going to court for baby M on May 17th. If we pass, we will be traveling to get her 8-12 weeks later. But... since only 50% of families pass court on their first try... well, we just would appreciate prayers that we will be in the 50% that PASSES! :)

Hallie is 5

2010-04-20T22:40:00.000-04:00

Today was Hallie's fifth birthday. Dan had a late meeting tonight, which is totally unusual for him, throwing off our traditional b-day dinner plans. (And my attempts at pushing the celebration off till tomorrow were soundly defeated. Anyway.) Dan was able to come home a little early (before leaving again) with Hallie's "big" present.... a fish! She has been asking for a pet fish for awhile, so her daddy got her a bright purple beta fish. She named "her" Pumpkin... and she frequently trots over to the side table where Pumpkin resides to "check on her". Here's hoping the little guy lives a long and healthy life!! :)

On a side note, as you may have seen on my facebook post, Will wrote Hallie a cute birthday message with sidewalk chalk. Although he missed a few vowels ("hppy" and "brthday"), he nailed "your"! When I asked him how he knew how to spell the word "your", he replied that he'd just seen it around and remembered how it was spelled. Wow. Not to brag, or even that I think it's a "good" thing, but that kid is so much like me in this area! Genetics are scary stuff.

Adoption Stuff

2010-04-14T22:35:00.001-04:00

Hey all-
Just thought I'd post a bit on the adoption, timelines and stuff. :)

But first, one thing I am thrilled about is: last week, some friends of my brother and sister in law found out about M and happened to be traveling to Addis TODAY. They offered to take a care package to her, so I was able to quickly dig our some baby clothes, a few toys, and throw together a cloth "baby photo album" and send it for them to take to M. I am hopeful they will get some new pics for us also! We are so grateful to these unknown friends who are taking a little bit of love to our baby girl who is so far away.

Ok, so now that we have officially accepted our referral of our baby girl M, we are waiting for a court date. (Due to confidentiality reasons, we cannot post pics or her real name in a public forum until after we pass court.) After our agency received our acceptance letter (on 3/30) they moved forward to request a court date. We will be notified of this court date roughly 2-5 weeks later, which is anytime between now and May 5.

Currently, court dates can range 4-8 weeks after the referral has been officially accepted, putting our potential court date somewhere between 4/28 and 5/26. Roughly 50% of adoptive families pass court on the first issued date, while 50% of the cases will require a second court date for successful completion. Second court dates can be issued 1 to 8 weeks after an initial court date (so... [my brain is rebelling right now..] IF we don't pass court on the first try, our second date would fall between 5/5 and 7/21.) Once we have successfully passed court, it can take 2-4 weeks to process post court paperwork. (Short end: 4/27, long end: 8/18.) Once this paperwork is completed, we can anticipate traveling 4-8 weeks later. Short version: Earliest possible travel date: May 25. Latest: September 15.

I am wanting so badly to be hopeful that we will pass court on our first try, and that everything will move easily and quickly and we'll have her home for the whole summer... but I feel like if I hope too hard I will jinx it all. (Terrible theology, I know.) I'm just scared to get my hopes up, I guess. Anyway, we will be hearing about the date for our court hearing between now and May 5th, so I am just keeping focused on that. It's the next step to bringing our sweet baby girl home! I've joined our agency's yahoo group, and have seen more families than not who passed court on the first try and then traveled shortly after, so we are not without hope.

Though sometimes.. the unknowing and uncertainty of it all just GETS to me... sometime between next month and the FALL we'll be traveling!? I feel like yelling, "Are you kidding me?! Can't you do a LITTLE better than this?!" And that attitude, as we all know, is so helpful. *sighs and rolls eyes* Patience, patience, Sarah...

If you think of it, please pray that we pass court on our first try. As soon as I know the exact date, I will post it and keep you all updated on anything else! :)

Book Review: Will The World End in 2012?

2010-04-07T21:11:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading the book Will The World End in 2012? by Dr. Raymond Hundley. At 184 pages, it's a fast read. The author examines the top 10 theories as to why the world is supposedly going to end in 2012, or more specifically for some theories, on Dec. 21, 2012.

Each chapter begins with a (slightly cheesy, IMO) scenario in which that prediction occurs in real life. And although there are 10 theories, as the author notes in the eleventh chapter, (entitled Final Evaluations), only four of the theories hold any scientific credence whatsoever (Writing as a Christian, the author includes Christ's return to Earth as a plausible theory.) The remaining "realistic" three reasons for the earth's demise include:

-- massive solar flares hitting Earth, triggering earthquakes, tsunammis, etc. This theory is backed by the best scientific evidence. Scientists at NASA and other respected institutions are expecting a peak of solar flares in 2012; the question is whether they will do any damage.

-- a malfunction of the particle collider in Europe (unknown probability, obviously.)

-- super-volcano eruptions (including the one under Yellowstone) due to the Earth's core heating up (also of uncertain likelihood)

I was personally annoyed at how the author gave credence to some really outlandish theories. I suppose the goal was to include every possible 2012 theory, but as I read, I found myself mentally checking off the truly ridiculous theories as rubbish before the author even gave his conclusion at the end of each chapter.

In conclusion, I found this book to be somewhat interesting, but I did not feel it left me as a reader any wiser or informed than I was before, (except for gaining useless knowledge about wacky 2012 theories.) However, some people are apparently really weighed down with worry and fear about 2012, so for them, this book would probably provide a much-needed dose of reality!

In conclusion (again), my personal opinion is that Jesus did not say "Watch and pray," and "No one knows the hour or the day" for nothing. Christians who adhere to the belief that the world is ending on 12/21/12 should (IMO) maybe read their Bibles a little closer. :)

Introducing...

2010-03-31T08:06:00.004-04:00

I am thrilled to announce that today we received our referral for our gorgeous baby girl, "M"! She's four months old, 13 lbs. and aside from a minor eye infection, completely healthy. We are soooo thankful!! Hopefully we will be bringing her home in the next few months! We will, of course, keep you posted. :)

Opposite Extremes.... welcome to my life. :)

2010-03-28T13:17:00.003-04:00

Friday night I went to Young Adults Rec Night at our old church's gym. This is a night where college-kids-and-above gather to beat the crap out of each other. *ahem* Actually, we play 5 hours of hardcore kickball, dodgeball, wallyball, and awesomeball. (That last being a game similar to ultimate frisbee, but played with a rugby ball and full-on tackles. Game on.)

Anyway, after disbanding around midnight and falling into bed 20 min. later... I am officially SORE today. Yesterday I felt pretty good, but today, geez.... my butt, quads, arms and abs just HURT. It was loads of fun and (apparently) an awesome workout to boot. So that was Friday night-- seriously one of the most fun nights I've had in a long time.

~~

Saturday night, Dan and I were invited (by a lawyer-friend of Dan's) to a fundraiser dinner for the CYC at an exclusive club. The tickets were $125 apiece, (Ridiculous, if you ask me. But since the whole thing was a fundraiser, I didn't mind that much, especially since we weren't paying. :D Anyway.)

The place was packed out with snooty-falooties, and when only 5 minutes into the evening, Dan strikes up conversation with a guy who he sits on the board of the Y with, I am mentally starting to freak out. I know no one here. I do not fit in here at all. I have no clue who the guy Dan is talking to is, or what they are talking about. I stick out (in my mind) like a sore thumb. I have nothing in common with these people. I excuse myself to the coat room to hang up my coat-- and chew myself out. "Pull yourself together! Be gracious. Act interested in what people are saying. Laugh easily. Be yourself."

With a huge sigh of bravado (which I totally didn't feel) I made my way back into the packed room. I decided to sidestep Dan and his pal and instead grabbed a drink and started watching the Kansas State-Butler game. Randomly, the lawyer who invited us was walking by, recognized me, and struck up a conversation. Twenty minutes later, Dan showed up... and things went smoothly the rest of the evening. Even though I lost every item I bid on in the silent auction, and a public school teacher was full-out rude to me about homechooling, the food was great, and I was able to relax, and was part of a very interesting conversation to boot!

Moral of the story: Even though I feel infinitely more comfortable in ratty clothes taking people out on a basketball court, I can hold my own in civilized society. Good to know. ;)

a story worth reading

2010-03-24T17:10:00.003-04:00

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/2010/02/she-was-eighteen-years-old-and-she-had.html

I read this today and was so challenged. What am I truly sacrificing in my life?

Bread

2010-03-23T19:22:00.000-04:00

I have a standby bread recipe that I use in my breadmaker literally every time I'm making bread. A few times, when I've have had extra time (like today) I have thrown all the dry ingredients into 3 or 4 ziploc bags and tossed them in the freezer. This is hugely helpful for those times when it's 4:30 and (almost) all I have to do is pull a bag out of the oven and dump it in the breadmaker. Here's my recipe:

In a baggie (or in your breadmaker) combine:
2.5 c bread flour
3 tsp. yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c quick oats (if you're out of quick oats like I was tonight, throw some rolled oats in the blender for a few seconds and *voila*: quick oats. :)) (Which reminds me of a time recently that I saw "voila" spelled "wallah" on a blog comment. At first I was thoroughly confused but then it dawned on me..... WOW.)

When you're ready to make bread, dump a baggie into your machine (or to the ingredients already in there,) add:

1 cup very warm water
1.5 tbsp honey AND butter

I use my machine's "super rapid" setting, which is 59 min. It's amazing to me that with just one hour's foresight, I can have warm, homemade bread for dinner! Love it. :)

Today

2010-03-22T17:54:00.001-04:00

After a week of glorious springtime weather (made complete with long walks every day!!), today we have regressed into rainy, cooler weather. Will and I have been planning out our veggie garden together (check out gardeners.com for a simple online garden planner!) so today after finishing school, we ventured out to Michael's, Lowe's and Olive Garden to use up gift cards that I've had sitting around since my birthday last November. The kids each got a simple craft at Michael's (gotta love those $1 wood craft kits!) and I got materials to make a spring wreath. With $1.43 left on my gift card, I was happy. Then a quick stop at Lowe's where the kids picked out seeds with the most enthusiasm. Every packet was clutched and waved and after much yelling of "I wanna plant these!", we finally narrowed down our choices to (hopefully) the hardiest and most successful varieties. Then we met Dan at Olive Garden which was a fun treat. We rarely eat out with the kids, (and you could tell-- we need to refresh those eating-out table manners a bit!) Anyway, we had a good time. I had the Zuppa Toscana soup which was delish... and the kids loved seeing Dan mid-day (as did I ;)). I must say it was just a nice treat to break from our everyday pb&j routines! This afternoon, after naps, we ran over to my mom's greenhouse and planted 12 sunflowers and 4 pumpkin plant seeds. Will was actually the only one interested in helping. The other two got their hands slightly dirty and decided they did not want to plant after all! :) I have a list of plants that we'll be putting in our garden this summer as soon as it gets warm enough. I can't wait for garden-fresh produce! Yum!

:: Bullet Points

2010-03-16T14:38:00.000-04:00

:: After my laptop met its untimely demise a few weeks ago, one of my biggest "lost file regrets" was a digital family scrapbook that I'd been working on, off and on over the past month or so. I was planning to print it up (via shutterfly) as a hardcover book. (This being my solution to having finished Will & Hallie's first-year scrapbooks, and having Tristan's sitting disassembled in stacks of supplies and pictures on my craft table. *sigh*) At any rate, I thought I had lost this file, and although i could have begun again, I really didn't want to. GOOD NEWS: I had signed up for carbonite.com about 2 weeks before the crash, and although only about 2/3 of my data had been saved to carbonite, THE SCRAPBOOK FILE WAS THERE! :D I am thrilled. PS: Check out my inspiration at kellehampton.com. Scroll down a bit for some pretty amazing digital scrapbook pages (and story!)

:: I placed an online "clink-n-pull" order at Sam's Club today that Dan will pick up on his way home. Not having to go to Sam's with the kids= amazing. :)

:: Spring has sprung! The foot of snow that literally 3 days ago was blanketing our yard is nowhere to be seen. Yay for spring!

:: The kids and I are headed on (our 2nd official) field trip tomorrow: the Crayola factory! I KNOW they are going to have a total blast. I mean, what kids doesn't love an entire day of craftiness! And what mom doesn't love not having to clean up afterward. ;)

:: The longer I'm aways from facebook, the less I miss it. Oh the perils of a digital life!

Fun

2010-03-10T10:44:00.000-05:00

My sister Emily is home on spring break, and since the rest of our family is in Florida right now, "home" is here with us. Yay! We are having a great time-- taking walks, playing with the kids, making homemade cinnamon rolls (with lots of butter, raisins and nuts of course!) and just hanging out together. Tonight we are going out to eat with another good friend. We're actually going to drive over an hour to get to a fondue restaurant in Bethlehem-- can't wait for that! :D

After that huge snow storm last week, the weather has been gorgeous. Blue, sunny skies and temps in the 50's! Of course it's hard to fully appreciate when there's still more than a full foot of snow on the ground, but hey, it is melting! The roads are drying out at least, so we can walk in a nearby subdivision in normal shoes! It's funny how the little signs of spring mean so much at the end of winter. :)

Oh, the Wisdom of Will

2010-03-06T19:06:00.000-05:00

After hearing me comment that I'd be working on taxes tonight, Will asked me curiously why we have to pay taxes. I replied, (after quickly trying to think of a "better" answer and failing, "Because we have to. It's the law." "But why?", he persisted. "The government doesn't do anything for us!" I actually laughed out loud, and then tried to think of stuff the government DOES do for us, to back up my point. Besides road maintenance and police, I fell embarrassingly short. (I know, there's lots more; I just couldn't think on the spot!) Will looked pleased, as if he'd just proved a point. Oh my. :)

Blogs That Make Money

2010-03-04T22:02:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking alot lately about blogs that earn income for their owners. First of all, any blog that makes money (from what I can see) requires a great deal of time and effort as well as up-front costs (page design, giveaway products, etc.) While I don't have a problem with people making money off their blogs in theory, in practice it kind of irks me. One blog I follow was offered advertising at one point, and the owner refusing, citing his non-interest in "monetizing" his blog's community. While I think he has valid point... I can't say I would really mind a check arriving every month addressed to ME, earned by me talking about my life. Hmm.

What I fail to mention is that I really have neither the time nor inclination to sell my blog to the world in an effort to gain a following... not to mention the very real possibility that no one would find my life all that interesting anyway. :)

Note: If you are reading this on facebook, you can see by my status that I am taking a month-long break from that storied institution. I realized earlier today that my blog posts are auto-posting as fb Notes, so as of this post, I am turning that feature off. If you want to continue reading my ramblings, please visit me at my blog: themanyadventuresofsarah.blogspot.com

More thoughts from the girl who is in apparent fb withdrawl:

2010-03-03T22:50:00.000-05:00

Have you guys seen this? It's stinkin' GENIUS, people! :D Right now I am in love with anything starring Tim Hawkins. hahahahaha.

Ok. So I'm revamping my blog a little. Maybe it will inspire me to sit and actually WRITE the thoughts that are swirling around my brain every day instead of just rushing on by, leaving them as lost casualties to my busy life and multi-tasking brain.

Have any of you been following the story of the little girl who was (accidentally, I presume) killed via "discipline" by her conservative Christian parents? The story is here. It truly makes me sick to my stomach. That poor, sweet little girl. (Not to mention the sadly misinformed, delusional parents!) What in the world.

Dan and I are going out with friends tomorrow night for dinner and a movie. The kids love our sitter, and I think they're more excited about that than anything. Ha. It's nice having a bit more freedom to do this type of thing, since Tristan is now 3 and POTTY TRAINED. Yes, you read that right. We are officially a diaper-free household. (Well, at least for a few more months!)

I guess that's it for now. I posted a pic of the boys singing here on youtube today. It's pretty funny. Tristan tries so hard to sound just like his daddy with a deep voice! His cowboy hat and "microphone" crack. me. up. And Will on the other hand is such a cute, sincere boy. Gosh I love them.

Thoughts on Lent

2010-03-03T21:52:00.000-05:00

I have given up facebook for Lent. I think that fact alone has pushed me back into blogging. I apparently have an insatiable need to be heard by the cyber-world. ;) Not that I actually have ever "done Lent" before, as I am not Catholic, nor has any church I've attended in my life promoted this practice. However... it is really just self-discipline, of which I am surely in sore need in my life.

I was talking with our pastor last week about how the church has dropped so much of its traditional liturgy and practices as it's become more modern, and we both agreed, it's a shame. One of the best posts I've read recently on the keeping of Lent is this. She so succinctly summarizes so much about why Lent (or self-denial) is a good thing. I've been thinking to myself so often lately: Who is really free? The couch potato or the trained athlete? I love the analogy, because it's so true.

I hope to be blogging more frequently in the next month. We will see how that pans out. :)

ilovemylife :)

2010-01-26T21:56:00.000-05:00

I am (for some unknown-to-me-reason) really happy with my life right now. Here are a few reasons why:

:: Life in general is going smoothly. Dan has a predictable work schedule. The kids are for the most part, well-behaved and kind to each other. Will's school is going great, and the other two totally revel in their just-them playtime. Nice. Almost shockingly so.

:: The kids go to bed earlyish (7:30 or 8) leaving me with hours of quiet before bedtime to fill. When I'm caught up on my "have-to's", I can get to my "want-to's", like scrapbooking, quilting and watching the news. And I LOVE my craft/laundry room. I can do little bits here and there, work on laundry, and then close the door without having to pack everything up and put it up out of reach.

:: Outdoor time. As I mentioned before, one of my goals for the new year was to get the kids outside for an hour every school day, no matter the weather. I don't know if it's psychological or what, but I've been doing it, and it's been great for everyone, me included!

:: Reading with the kids. Another goal of mine was to read more to the kids--not typical kids board books, but longer (but still interest-catching) ones. Will and I read a lot for school (we're currently reading Dr. Doolittle) but I felt like the other two were getting shortchanged a little. So every day after our outside time, we read for 30 or 40 minutes, all together under blankets on the couch. They love it, and so do I. And, it ends up being the perfect segue into quiet/nap time.

:: I'm was asked to serve on a United Way appropriations committee. Even though I don't do much, I am glad to be serving in a small way.

:: I am consistently getting up before the kids and getting my devotions, computer/email check and breakfast prep done. It mentally puts me on top of the whole day... as much as I am bargaining mentally for another 10 min. at 6:30... :)

:: Juicing. I cringe even writing this, because I do not consider myself at ALL a health nut. I kind of grew up that way (health-nutty, that is), and although I try to generally buy whole-grain, steer clear of HFCS, and eat lots of fruits and veggies... well let me just say that Swiss Miss WITH marshmallows has become a staple around here, and the kids and I just finished off a bag of Sour Patch Kids earlier today. :) (They are still the best thing ever made. But I digress...) SO. A few years ago (10?) when my mom started the whole carrot juicing thing, I was just like, "NO WAY am I getting on that bandwagon! Juicing is for.. weird people." ANYway, Dan (of course!) happens to love carrot juice, and had been on me for a few years (I know, I'm bad, right?!) to start juicing. I had a whole litany of reasons why it was not for me/us/our family, but finally, I gave in, bought a juicer, and then... after another year or so went by... I finally, guilt-ridden, started juicing this fall. I don't know if that's what has been the factor (I don't know what else if could be; I haven't made any other major life changes... or minor, now that I think about it) but Dan and the kids, who usually battle several ear or sinus infections, bad colds, etc. etc. etc. every winter (and that I had always written off to being normal for wintertime) have been extraordinarily healthy this winter. Hallie had a cough for about a week last month, and all the kids had minor colds a few months back, but we have had no doctor's visits, no antibiotics, no infections... It's been really great. I don't know if it's the juice or not, but I'm afraid to quit now! (For the record: I don't touch the stuff. It is not for the faint of heart. Dan and the kids miraculously all love it, so I don't complain about making it. But seriously. Ick. It's so.. !! Anyway. Enough on that.

:: Budgeting. I know, how geeky am I that this is one of the things that I love about my life. For all of our marriage, we have tried to stay on a budget and track our spending, blah blah blah, but it never really worked, leading to much frustration all around, and me (finances-girl) throwing in the towel and retrying several times over. Anyway, in August, I started using this software called Mvelopes (mvelopes.com) and WOW, it has made such a difference. We are saving and staying on budget like never before! **Cue happy music in Sarah's heart.** Ok, you can laugh. I'm lame. I don't care. :)

:: Reading. Dan got me a kindle for our anniversary (you probably wisely skipped my long nook v. kindle blog posts, where I hashed out which was right for me..) Anyway, living in a pretty rural area, with little convenient (or more importantly, sans kids!) access to libraries and/or bookstores, the kindle has been great. I LOVE the free sample feature, which lets you read the first 2 chapters of any book before you buy it. It solves all my "I don't like this book, now I have to get back to the store to return in in the next 90 days" dilemmas quite nicely. :)

:: We got our "on deck" email from our adoption agency at the end of December. That means that if all goes as planned, we should be getting our referral for our little girl in the next 2 months! We've been officially waiting since July, and now that it's really getting closer, I am feeling really ready. I know the term "paper-pregnant" is cheesy, but it's pretty accurate. I don't look pregnant, but really, I am. :)

:: That's all that comes to mind right now. Dan and I watched The Hurt Locker last night, and all during the show I just kept thinking... man, I am so. freaking. blessed. I have such an easy life-- so far removed from war and violence and hunger and disease... It kind of makes me feel bad, like, why should I have such a good life, when others have so little? I don't know. I don't know, but I am truly humbly grateful to the Lord for all I have. He certainly didn't have to give me the life I have, but He did, and I am so. very. grateful.

Off on a rainy day adventure!

2010-01-25T12:22:00.001-05:00

Routine

2010-01-23T10:17:00.000-05:00

I love routine. Over the past two weeks I've been implementing my new years' goals of getting up early and getting things done before the kids get up and it has been great. I have also been inspired to overhaul the mudroom and the kids' toys --threw out two trashbags full- yes!-- and things are much more "together" than they have been. Seeing things neat and orderly makes me happy. :)

I have attempted this whole morning routine thing in the last, but now (for the first time in years) I am consistently sleeping through the night, and the kids are able to self-occupy during the day for at least limited stretches of time. I feel like my life is actually getting easier, which is rather... foreign. I know things will be changing again in the future, and I will have to readjust and revamp my routines again, but for now, life is going so smoothly. It just makes my little neat-freak, organized and alphabetically-ordered heart sing for joy. :)

How can you not love...

2010-01-14T11:14:00.001-05:00

squishy, chubby baby cousins?

Tristan...

2010-01-12T18:46:00.001-05:00

prefers to keep both feet on the ground, and this sled with him at ALL times!

Can you spot the snowbirds?

2010-01-12T18:45:00.001-05:00

We've been up to...

2010-01-11T22:50:00.000-05:00

:: busy days! This past weekend my family threw a party for my brother and his new wife. We had lots of family from all sides and friends come in for the weekend, and it was a B-L-A-S-T. We played lots of boot hockey on the lake (I actually broke a stick... go figure! :)) and games (Balderdash and Wits & Wagers). I am such a family-fun-time person that I could seriously replay last weekend for every weekend from now till spring. :)

:: back to school! I gave Will an extra week off since I was still getting back into normal routines and playing catch-up on all normal chores/ Christmas tear-down, so today we hit the books again. Apparently Tristan and Hallie have completely forgotten how to self-occupy over the last 3 weeks. We'll get there though.

:: traveling! We arrived home from another fabulously fun, family- and game-filled week in St. Louis last Monday. Dan pulled two amazing all-nighters, driving down and back in a single shot. Coming home we hit snow on 80 near Pittsburgh, so it took 18 hours to get here. I am thankful I did NOT attempt that trip solo. Driving 18 hours with three kids would send me into a permanent vegetative state.

:: milestones! Tristan turned three last month, and has attempted chewing gum twice-- once successfully, once not. This morning and he mournfully came to me with his hand on his tummy saying "It jis' went down! I can't get it back up!" Hallie has the next family b-day, (a fact she has been proclaiming since Dec. 19th) and she is happily counting down the next 3 months till her big 5 year-old party. She also has perfected whistling, a talent she has literally been working on for months. She now whistles all. day. long. and I have to admit, it is getting a little annoying. :/ I don't have the heart to tell her to quit though; she worked so hard to "get it"! Hopefully she will learn a tune or two soon and break away from the one-note constant serenade. Will has lost both bottom front teeth in the last week! He is very proud to show off his gap. He has a fairly loose top tooth as well, so he might just be Mr. Toothless before the winter is out!

:: new routines. One of my new years' resolutions was to get up before the kids M-F. It's been going great so far. I mentally feel so much more "on top" of the day if I can get my stuff done before the kids start waking and needing my assistance. Our days have been much smoother, a fact I truly love! And who doesn't love a little peace, quiet and tea in the mornings?! Another goal is to get the kids outside every day, and while last winter's plan of going outside after naps every day worked great, this year it isn't coming together at all in that timeframe, so I've decided to push Tristan's nap back a little and lunch up a little and head out right after lunch and before naps/quiet time. Hopefully this will work and we can all get in some much-needed fresh air time!

:: playing Scrabble. Man, I am so addicted! I play Wordscraper, Lexulous and Scrabble on facebook, and Words with Friends on my iPhone. Getting up early allows me to squeeze my words in when I have time to think clearly and... yeah. It's addicting. Watch out, you might be next! :)

Hallie...

2009-12-25T13:33:00.001-05:00

colors with her new Christmas supplies!

Nook v. Kindle: Part Deux

2009-12-16T15:47:00.001-05:00

Sooo.... I have thought long and hard about this problem of mine. Do I keep the pretty, eye-candy nook or the plainer, content-laden kindle? As much as I really, really love the look and feel of the nook (the rubbery, contoured back is just so nice.. and the buttons click so quietly...).... well... content is king. So I'm shipping off the nook back to B&N. *sigh*

Last night I decided to look on amazon to see how much (in theory) I'd be paying for all those free classics that B&N offers. And the answer? Nothing. Amazon has their own version of B&N's offer of free classics, thereby nullifying that part of my mental argument for the nook. (I promptly downloaded free versions of Little Women and The Phantom of the Opera to my kindle.)

And I looked for a couple other (older, but not obscure) books on B&N, and they didn't have them! As the whole point of an e-reader is to, um, read, I logically, against my eye-hunger for the nook, have to go with amazon on this one. Their content selection trumps B&N every time, in my (limited) experience.

So... that's that. Now I have to steel myself against the wiles of the lovely nook as I repackage her for return shipment. :)

Nook vs. Kindle: Geek Alert! :)

2009-12-15T11:15:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this post is solely dedicated to my thoughts about the e-readers nook (by B&N) and kindle (amazon.) If you're already bored, check out now-- it gets worse. :)

So, my nook arrived last week. I have two weeks to decide if I'm keeping it or the kindle, thanks to B&N's 15 day return window. (Amazon's is 30 days.)

All the tech blogs I've read recently have the race at a near tie, with the kindle edging slightly ahead. However, all the reasons they've listed as pros and cons so far are meaningless to me: Google's Android system, which nook runs, the browser (albeit lame!) that kindle has, nook's color display (which I love), nook's loanable books (which is a joke-- you can loan each of your books one time each. I am supposed to be excited about that?) blah blah blah. As far as battery life, weight, look, feel, etc. etc. go, it's mostly a tie, but deep down, I prefer the nook. :) It looks way cooler than the kindle with it's goofy keyboard. But.......

The main thing I am looking for is content. And SADLY, because I really do love the look and feel of the nook better, amazon is kicking butt in content. When I came home from seeing The Blind Side on Thanksgiving, I wanted to buy the book the movie is based on, of the same title. B&N didn't have it; amazon did. A week later I read a review of an older book, A Beautiful Mind, (I remember seeing the movie years ago, about schizophrenic math genius John Nash, remember?) I looked to see if I could buy it on B&N. Nope, but amazon has it! How annoying! The movie even won 4 Oscars--the book shouldn't be that obscure!

That track lead me down the path of the Riemann hypothesis, a theory which I only faintly grasp, but which fascinates me. There is a book out called The Essential John Nash, which focuses on the genius of his mathematical theories (instead of on his personal life) that I was considering buying but... ONLY AMAZON has it! Grr. Oh, and one more. My favorite devotional, Daily Light on the Daily Path, is available from amazon for the kindle. Oh but look! B&N has it too! Oh wait... the free sample I download isn't that book at all, but a totally unrelated book on some other topic. Grrrr! What gives, B&N?

The one big upside to nook's content is free books from Google. I have downloaded three free classics (Little Women, Sense & Sensibility, and The Last of the Mohicans) via Google's free ePub format, which B&N lists in their bookstore as available for direct download. (Amazon apparently also supports ePub, but you have to download them to your computer, convert the file, blah blah blah before you can read it-- it's not nearly as native as B&N.) I love the ease of getting B&N's ePub books, but really, if all I can get is free content, when every other book I go to purchase is not available, what good is that in the long run?

I tell myself that, as the nook has just hit the market, B&N needs time to get their e-book selection up to speed. Amazon has had years to develop their e-book store, hence every book I've tried to purchase has been available.

In conclusion, in every area except content, nook wins. However, as the whole point of an eReader is CONTENT, amazon's superb book selection may win out. The aesthetic side of me is yelling "No, no! Keep the nook! It looks/feels wayyy better." The other, practical side of me is calmly stating, "Keep the kindle. Who cares what it looks like: what you need is book selection!" Plus, is there anyone who doesn't love amazon.com?

Ohhh man, what to do. Any comments that will help me make up my mind would be greatly appreciated. :)

catch up

2009-12-09T11:58:00.001-05:00

Playing catch up (again). I ought to just skip a title on my blog posts since all I ever do is review what we're up to!

:: Tristan's birthday is a week from Friday. He is more excited about this than Christmas, for sure. (I actually have separate Christmas and birthday presents for him, so I feel like a good mom, too. ;)) We're celebrating his bday a day early though, because.....

:: My brother Andrew is tying the knot a week from Saturday! We'll all be trekking 5 hours north for the wedding. Dan's parents are flying in on Wed., so since we have to drive to NY on Tristan's birthday (Fri.), we'll be having his party a day early, on Thursday. It will be fun to have both sets of grandparents in attendance! And can I just announce that I feel officially OUT of the baby stage for the first time in 6 years!? Wow. In some ways I am melancholy, but in others, I LOVE it. Sleep, for one thing; great schedules, more freedom for me... it's definitely not all bad! :)

:: Will is flying back to STL with Dan's parents on Christmas Day to spend 5 days with them ALL BY HIMSELF. He is soooo excited about this! The rest of us will be driving out (in my parents' RV!) on 12/29ish and spending New Years' there. I can't wait to see all my family that I haven't seen since the summer! And, I have a new nephew who is squishy and cute and who needs his aunt Sarah in a bad way. ;)

:: Anna, Abby and I are all angels in BMHA's live nativity. We have 2 nights of rehearsals (starting tonight) and 3 nights of performances back to back! I have NEVER been gone from home for5 straight nights before. Thankfully Dan is a terrific dad, and the kids will probably enjoy dinner and bedtime even more with just him! :) If you live around here, come out and see us! It's at 6 & 8 on Fri. and Sat., and 6 on Sun. If you text me that you're coming, I'll come say hi! You can even get a picture with me in full angel regalia. ;)

:: Dan and I hosted part of a neighborhood progressive party on Saturday night, and it was so much fun! My mom helped me decorate (and clean!) for the party, and my house really looks festive and pretty. We have the tree up, presents wrapped and under it, live garland around all the doorways, etc. Hosting a party definitely kicked me into high gear Christmas-wise, and now that I am done, I am so glad we did it! The party itself was a blast, and now I have nothing left to do (well, in a manner of speaking) till Christmas!

:: Guess that's about it. I have lunch cleanup to do before naps/quiet time, and while Will is amiably building Legos, Hallie and Tristan are playing a very loud and violent version of ring around the rosy. :) I better go before the crying breaks out! Have a great Christmas if I don't post again before then! :)

so stinkin' cute!

2009-11-20T18:42:00.000-05:00

H: "Mommy, what did he bruise?"
Me: (totally befuddled) "What???"
H: (in much louder tones) "WHAT DID HE BRUISE?"

((sidenote: I think my kids confuse my confused- "what" with my I-didn't-hear-you "what". They apparently need some fine-tuning in reading vocal intonations.))

M: "I don't understand what you're asking me. Who is "he"?"
H: "... yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews..." So what did he bruise?

M: "ohhhh. Hebrews. It's a book of the Bible.
H: "Huh?"
M: "It's a book of the Bible. It was written to the Hebrew people."
H: (looking confused and weirded out, takes off running and yells over her shoulder) "Okay, He-bruise people!"

:D