Happy Adoption Day

On this day 5 years ago a judge in Oregon signed the official decree making Olivia our daughter. We like to say that on August 15 (her birthday) God gave her to the world. On October 26, He gave her to us.

I have come to recognize "daughter" as one of the most beautiful words in the English language. Olivia brings a life and laughter to our family that could only come from a little girly girl. Pink just happens when she is around...high heels, bows, mismatched garbs of skirts, leggings, dresses, belts and purses. There is a fresh breeze of life out loud with Olivia. At times I don't remember her energy and abundant personality are blessings. Sadly, I get frustrated and try to contain her. It is a challenge to teach her personal restraint while still allowing her to grow in the spirit that God gifted in her. I am confident in His plan for her. I can only imagine what He is going to do in, with and through her. It could very well be that Olivia will set the world on its knees as she proclaims Jesus.

Happy Adoption Day my sweet Olivia! I love you oodles and streudles and bunches of noodles!!!

Cameras, football and birthdays

Our old Canon Point and Shoot camera died what was apparently a very quick painful death. Not being digital camera doctors , we didn't know it was dead. We thought is was a mere digital coma. But alas, after 3 weeks in the camera ICU the news came... no hope of repair, dead. An autopsy revealed cause of death to be blunt force trauma (meaning it was dropped, unbeknownst to us).

We borrowed a camera from a sweet neighbor for a couple of weeks in order to have pics of some important events. You know you have to have a camera for the first day of school, first football games and other milestone moments.

After some research, we bought a new camera. It has more buttons than I can count so my photo genius friend KC came over for an inservice. I am afraid her pupil was more camera challenged than she originally thought. I am learning so bear with me, especially if I post a pic and I have to describe it because the image cannot be seen :)

The first pics are from the little kids playing outside. No real significant moment, just sweet blessings playing at a friends house. As I look at these pics, I am reminded that every day is a blessing if you just take time to realize it.

Next we have Alex's football game. This was a picture-taking test that well, as you can see I didn't exactly pass with flying colors.

Cute boys at their brother's football game.

Cheerleader in training

Instructions from the CoachIs it wrong to call a football player a cutie??I told you my skills were limited....

if you could really see this pic you would witness Alex making an incredible catch.

This is my son burried under a pile as he recovered a fumble.

Finally, Alex had a birthday party with some friends from school and church. We are so thankful for this group of young people (I almost put "kids"). We pray they continue to make good choices and hold each other accountable to God's standards.

I hope my posts will be more frequent now but I have to tell you...it took me 1 1/2 hours to download the pics and put them in the right folders. It was another 1 1/2 to upload everything to the blog. I do not have that kind of time so I may have to have a techno savvy friend come over for another inservice :)

Questions

When you are blessed with young children in your life, there is an unending blabbering of questions. Some are very important and you take your time to answer with clarity after seeking wisdom from God. Some require quick little answers you throw out because you know the question was just fulfilling the need to hear themselves speak. Most of the questions are serious need-to-know moments for the kids but cause the grownups to nearly double over in laughter.
I thought you might like an insight into the kind of questions I have been facing lately. Imagine these words coming in child like tones, from sweet little faces, two of which have speech patterns that rarely pronounce "r" or "l" sounds...

• Did God make macawoni?
• Why did He bend it?
• Where is my night night? (Note: a "night night" is a blanket)
• Did God make gwass?
• Know what best I wike?
• Can I have a snack?
• What did the boys do while I was at school? They didn't have fun, did they?
• Why do you use a curling iron?
• Can I jump on Joshy's head?
• Can we live at church? I wike to run in circles.
• Why is your Bible fat?
• Can I have a snack?
• Can Alex sleep in my floor?
• Why does Daddy wear shoes?
• Where is my night night?
• Can we live at the shed?
• Can I wear this? (imagine a 5yr old fashionista, with pieces of 5 different outfits)
• Can you give me prickwy hair? (imagine twins who want "spiked" hair)
• Can I play wif dis in de tub?
• Can I have a snack?
• Want to hear dis stowy?
• Can I text Lauren? Amanda? Beesh?
• Can I have a cell phone when I am 6?
• Does Jesus love me and Joshy de same?
• Wook, de wain is bouncing on de deck. Why?
• I decided I don't wike dis shirt. Can you make him wear it?
• Can I share my snack with him?
• I am sad Santa Fe closed. Can I throw peanuts on the floor at home?
• Can you make me a peanut butter cracker with out peanuts in it?
• Can we get a pet?
• Can I learn to put my own straw in a juice box? now?
• Can we go to McDonalds?
• Know what my teeth do when I go down a bumpy slide?
• Can you tell me a stowy?
• Why is de road there?
• Can I have a snack?
• Is dat me or Joshy?
• Is dat me or Lukey?
• Where's my night night?
• Why did the rainbow leave?
• Can you draw me on a horse in a barn with windows and a dog and a cat and a yizard and can you make me big and can you make him there to but not as big as me?
• Can you pway baseball on purpose?
• Did you see dat?
• Can you bewieve dat?
• Do you know I wuv you?
• Can I have a snack?
• Where's dat fing I wuz finking bout?
• Can I sit on your lap?
• Why does Daddy drive a truck? Why not it's gween?
• Do I have to go to school today?
• Why can't I go to school today?
• How did da powees get wights on de top of dat car?
• Where is him mommy? (talking about Bro. Billy and his wife...sorry Mrs. Leota)
• Did you know you can pway games on it?
• Can I have a poptart AND cereal?
• Why is there a tree there?
• Can God see me when it's dark?
• Can you ask Jesus to make His angels watch me from the swingset?
• Can I have bubbles in the bath?
• Why do I have to wash my hair?
• Why do you always say no?
• When I get big, can I have a brush?
• Can I have a snack?

The list could go on and on. There are times when I think one more question will put the nail in my coffin. But for the most part, these questions keep me laughing. I hope they gave you a chuckle as well.

After reading this over, it reminds of just how blessed I am to get to answer these questions each day. Thank you God for giving me the answers and most of all the question askers!

Big Events

It has been quite a busy few weeks. Alex has started a new school , Olivia has started Kindergarten and the twins have returned to pre-school. Everyone is going in different directions simply because they are all at separate locations with many miles in between.

Alex has started a new school for 7th grade. Though we never imagined sending a child to a private school, that is what we are doing. This has been a wonderful, blessed step of faith for us and Alex. He is having a great school year. He is also playing football for the middle school team. We are so very proud of the young man he is becoming. And you can imagine how proud his daddy is of #22.

I might add...in the opening game Alex had 3 receptions and a fumble recovery on a punt. And yes, I was tempted to charge the field when two rather large kids sandwiched him at the end of one of the plays. I was tempted, but I did not. I simply stood, held my hands in the prayer position and watched run off of the field. I wonder if Drew Pearson's mom started out this way???

Olivia started Kindergarten this week as well. She has to wear uniforms so I get no days of frilly little dresses and pink from head to toe...(how odd that my child in public schools has a stricter dress code than my son in a private school). Anyway, she is cute in her polos and khaki skirts. This is a real transition for her. She has never really been away from us. Even in preschool, her daddy was down the hall. She has a wonderful teacher who seems to truly love Olivia. We are praying for a wonderful year.

You know I had to go with something completely "girly". I love her backpack and matching lunch box.

Puffy and pretty cute

It has been a wild week for Livi Lu. Last Thursday she had her third round of fillings. Poor thing, her little teeth did not get what they needed to grow strong and healthy when she was waiting to be born. So, Dr. Jamie (our pediatric dentist) is one of her good friends now. The first 2 rounds were completely uneventful. Our tough little girl talked all the way through and never missed a beat afterward. The third was not as easy. The filling proceedure was fine, the recovery was grueling. About 4 hours after we left the dentist office, I noticed her cheek was a little swollen. I didn't think much about it but I did give her tylenol just for good measure. She cried at bedtime and I gave her some motrin. The next morning it was really puffy and she was quite fussy. I had to work, so David gave her an ice pack and some more motrin. When I got home it was HUGE, red and warm to the touch. I looked in her mouth and it was nasty...not her teeth or gums, but the inside of her cheek. It had 2 really yucky looking places (I would describe them but some of you might have a weak stomach and you don't want to hear about oozing puss and discolored tissue...oops, that probably was too much, sorry). The outside of her cheek was even more frightening. I called Jamie and he called in an antibiotic and an oral rinse. It was very infected, probably caused by biting her cheek while it was still numb from the fillings. She gladly took the meds and even the rinse. In a few days the swelling decreased and she was good as new.

After the "cheek trauma" we started focusing on Livi's next big day...the first day of Kindergarten. Yes, that's right, Kindergarten. I am still trying to come to grips with that. We debated on holding her back but have decided she needs to go this year. We are very prayerful about this decision and on that note, would appreciate your prayers as well. Our Livi Lu is very special in more ways than one. She has overcome so much just to be here. Her strength defies decription. She has some other obstacles to overcome but when she does, WOW...what she will do in this world!!

Breakfast of champions...yogurt.

Wednesday was her first official day of school. It was not "real" in the true sense, just in name only. We took her to school for paperwork and the official "yes, we are coming"list. She met up with Piper and waited for me to finish writing. We signed up for a testing date next week and that was it. A short day but heart-tugging none the less. Next week she will be tested and placed in a classroom. She will go one day the following week and then will start full time (for the next 13 years :( on the 17th. As you can see from the pics, our school system requires uniforms. Pink is not even an option now...oh, that is painful beyond words.

Olivia and Bronwyn..they share a birthday and great smiles.

Piper and Olivia...what a blessing to have sweet friends.

A Matter of Taste...Truffles

I made another journey into the unknown. I wanted to make something for some friends but didn't want to make a standard cake or brownies. So I did what every other kitchen-loving, but idea-deficient mom does...I googled. I found several ideas and here is what I put together from a multitude of web recipes....

Truffles by LeAnn

Ingredients:

1cake mix

eggs and oil as required for cake mix

1 cup icing (use homemade or in a can from the grocery)

1 pkg. Almond bark

1 tsp vegetable or canola oil

Patience is not one of my strong points but this recipe required me to work on this virtue....

Make the cake as directed on the box. I made it in a 9x13 pan just because it is easier to prepare and clean. Normally, I prefer a bundt pan but that is too much work for this recipe. When cake is finished baking, remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cake from pan and break into pieces into large mixing bowl. Using mixer, beat cake until crumbly. Add icing and mix until it forms an almost paste-like consistency. You may not use the whole cup or you may need a little more. Put in refrigerator for 2-3 hours (until cool). Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Remove cake mixture from refrigerator. Using a cookie scoop, scoop cake mixture into balls. Place balls on baking sheet. Place cookie sheet in freezer, loosely covered with aluminum foil over night. Yes, over night...I told you this required patience.

Melt all of the almond bark in either a double boiler or the microwave. I used the microwave and it worked fine. When melted, stir well and add 1 tsp oil. Stir until smooth. Take 4-5 balls out of the freezer at a time. You do not want them to thaw until they are dipped. (patience is a virtue) I put toothpicks in them to help dip. Once dipped set aside to let the chocolate harden and the cake to come to room temperature. This process takes a while but well worth it.

I made 3 batches of these. One gave me 42 truffles, one 41 and the other...0. This all depends on the density of the cake and how much icing you use. It is also important to check the "use by" date if you are using canned icing...coconut icing does indeed go bad and when it does it is nasty.

The fun part comes when you decide what flavors you are going to work with. I used lemon cake, cream cheese icing and chocolate almond bark. The other batch was red velvet cake, cream cheese icing and white chocolate almond bark. Next time I want to again try white cake, coconut icing and chocolate coating. I also want to try a pistachio truffle, strange maybe but I think pistachio and chocolate is a most heavenly combination.

Seven Whole Grains on a Mission

I really admire those people who sell out completely to healthy living. You know those warriors of the food world who choose Ezekiel bread over Mary Jane, tofu over sirloin, broccoli over potato chips and so on. While I admire them, I am not one of them. I try to prepare healthy meals for our family. I even "try" healthy products at times but rarely find one that I can eat. While I have visited Whole Foods a few times, it is not one of my favorite grocery stores. When I see "Kashi" on any product I quickly look away in search of the Honey Bunches of Oats that are usually near. Get the picture??

Having said all of this, I have confession to make... Those Seven Whole Grains on a Mission have captured me. I am addicted to a Kashi product! Stop the presses, history has been made :)