An adorable giveaway!

Finding our sweet cheeks baby cake is having a 100th post giveaway for a dress made by Cora at Waiting for little miss what's her name. I love Cora's dresses, and I love supporting people that are adopting! Go enter, you will want to win this dress!

8 Years ago today!!!

I was in labor!!! I gave birth to a tiny, sweet little baby girl! She came 6 weeks early, and here is the first time I met her in the NICU! She weighed exactly 4 lbs! It was the most magical moment of my life.

She came home 2 1/2 weeks later, healthy and happy, and she was so precious. I felt such a peace each time I looked at her, I knew God had sent me the most amazing gift!

She grew and grew, full of smiles and joy! What fun to have a baby in our lives, we grew to love her more and more each day!

She has always been a joy to be around, a child who wants to help, and thinks of others. Her laughter is contagious, and her sweet and gentle spirit is so calming even during the stress life brings. I have learned so much from her over these past 8 years and I hope I have become a better person because of her. As the Bible states, children really are a gift from the Lord!

And here we are after 8 years! We decided to throw a big birthday party for her this year, where she could invite all of her special friends. Family came over first to celebrate, and later friends arrived for her fairy tea party! She's wearing her silvermist dress-one of the pixie hollow fairies from Tinkerbelle. The celebration was so much fun! They had cucumber and cream cheese tea sandwiches, cupcakes and strawberry lemonade. We hung out on the porch and made flower fairies and necklaces. I loved watching all the kids run and play in the yard and garden, as they laughed and seemed to be having a great time. Thanks for all the memories, M! Happy Birthday!!!

Go See!!!

Go see my featured blog post at Preserving a Generation !! I have learned so much from reading many of the articles on this blog, it is so good, and the information shared there are things we should all be aware of in the world. So interesting, and eye opening, if you haven't been there yet, go check it out!

Have a great day!!!

Her first dress!

One of my goals for the summer was to give M every opportunity to learn to sew. Since I don't have much experience, I looked to others. First she spent a couple days at my step mom's house-her grandma, and they spent an entire day making some doll clothes for her raggedy ann doll. I also sat beside and did some sewing that day, I had to make the most of having someone there with 65 years of sewing experience! (She's been sewing since she was 5). M loved it, and was so proud of the creations she came out with!

Next, I enrolled her in a local sewing class at a sewing machine shop. The teacher and her daugher were wonderful, and in two short classes, she came out with numerous creations! A pillowcase, drawstring bag, pin cushion, and more. She really enjoyed the class!

Lastly, a sweet friend of mine offered to help her make a dress. She borrowed a dress from a friend that she liked, and they traced it, and sewed it up! Such a cute, simple dress. See above!! M has a love for animals, reading, and sewing. Sewing seems to come more naturally to her than it does for me. I hope to find more ways to help her to become the little seamstress she is meant to be!

Do you eat steak??

M's birthday is coming up in a few days. On her birthday she gets to choose what meals she wants to eat. For breakfast she wants cinnamon rolls, for lunch Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and for dinner she wants steak with a baked potato!

Here's my dilemma-I don't eat steak, and I've never cooked a steak in my entire life!! My DH doesn't care for steak either, so we have never had steak. We are more of a fruits and vegetables, chicken and fish family. I went to the grocery store yesterday, and looked at the steak section and I was clueless. I have no idea what kind of steak to purchase, and I don't know how I should prepare it!

If anyone has suggestions, or knows of a great, simple, delicious way to prepare some sort of steak, I would appreciate any suggestions!!! Thank you!!

I have to share this NOW!!

I was recently asked if one of my blog posts could be featured on a blog I had not heard of. I went to it, and WOW!!! I was reading more of it, tonight, and it is so great...I can't believe I had not heard of it before. The issues it covers are so important, and many are incredibly eye opening! You can't miss this blog! It's called Preserving a Generation and you can find it here . Oh! And look for my blog post there next week!

Enjoy, I am going back to read more now!

The Amazing Race!

I don't watch much tv, and I don't watch the Emmy's, however I just heard that The Amazing Race just won another emmy for the 7th year in a row as the best reality competition tv. show. I must say, I completely agree and I am so happy they won!

This is the show DH and I wait for, and we don't miss an episode once it starts! The combination of traveling around the world, and watching teams complete the crazy tasks that are placed in front of them is a perfect recipe for a great show in my opinion! We are literally on the edge of our seats watching this show! We laugh, and even jump up and down at times! It is so entertaining! We also sit there and relate to some of the couples and their struggles, and look at each other and know we would kill each other if we were on the show together!!! :) Then we talk about who we would choose to go on the show with, and laugh about how hilarious that would be! We would each love to watch each other on the show, but we would never race together as a team, there is NO way!!!

I love to see the culture of all of the different countries they go to. That in itself is enough to hook me in on this show, but watching your favorite team win in the end is one of the best moments! If you were in our living room, you would probably see us high fiving each other...that is how much we get into it! If you haven't watched this show...tune in next week, Sunday on CBS as the newest one will start then, it will be a great way to spend a sunday night, I promise!

This girl

has stolen my heart!!! I don't deserve to be her mommy. I don't deserve all the kisses, hugs, and sweet things she tells me, like, "I love you mommy", and "I missed you". She loves to help me, and cuddle on my lap, and go anywhere with me.

The other night I spent 4 hrs. in the ER with her. It was a time of great reflection. I remembered back to that first time she opened her eyes, and looked into mine as I held her. (Wasn't that just yesterday?) This journey is not always easy, as parenting never is. Recently she went through a phase of shouting "That not fair!" anytime something didn't go her way. It was actually quite comical to watch, but also concerning as I realized she is barely 3, and this can't be starting yet!! I remember the long nights in the hotel of screaming, in the days following our gotcha day in China. I remember many of nights of crying and screaming here at home as she appeared to be going through night terrors. I remember being worried for her. I now know to just pray...and I did...and she is okay.

This sweet one has been through a lot in her little lifetime. When I would find her screaming in the night I often wondered if the trauma of being abandoned and left alone was the source of the continued fear. I prayed over her and believed that God would heal it all-every little part of her that still hurts. I know she is fine, and I continue to pray that as her mother I will be able to give her all that she needs...as she has given me so much more than I could have ever imagined. Thank you Jesus!

Home Sweet Happenings...

School is in full swing! We started Sept. 1st! Here is M at the dining room table working on her copy work.

L is so excited that she is officially a preschooler now. Here she is working on tracing. She is also working on ABC's, cutting, and lacing right now! She loves everything, and is so enthusiastic about school. I have to have lots of activities available for her at all times. We are also working on a quiet time during the day, which is challenging for her. She is not easily entertained by books as M always has been. She chooses to use her "my first leap pad" during quiet time. This used to be M's. I like it because it is not a small computer screen like they have now. You can't buy these in the store anymore. The "my first leap pad" are small books you attach to a base, and you use a pen attachment to make the book talk to you. There are many books you can purchase for it (on ebay now), and they are all educational. This does keep L entertained during quiet time, and she is learning quite a bit from it.

Watch out!!! Here comes Molly! When Molly gets out of the pasture, this is what happens! She runs up the yard to the house, and if you don't close the door, she will push her way in. She also yells a lot louder than the goats. She is fun to have around, but honestly, you better look out when she's out in the yard, this girl is buff, and she will knock you down!!!

M and L spending some of their last summer days outside. The swing hanging in Maple tree has been one of their favorite spots all summer! It is so fun to watch them in the yard. They are both girly girls and love to wear their summer dresses every day.

This photo was taken this morning right before we left for L's "storybook ballet" class. L is enjoying it, but at the moment she is marching to her own beat. I just love the teacher, she is the same one M had, and she teaches ballet in her own home studio. She is very dramatic. She plays great music while they warm up, and then reads a story to them. Next she brings out props which usually relate to the story, and the music/dance/and props all tie in as the class continues. It is adorable. There are many times that the teacher is showing them little moves to copy, and I am really surprised since L loves to copy people, she will not do it in her class! She just stands there and watches all the other little girls, and when they are all kicking their right leg up or something, L decides to spin around like a little ballerina. The only problem is, this is not what she should be doing at that time. So today Miss N, the teacher, decides to say "look, now it's time to spin" and follow L's lead. Then she turned L into the class helper from then on, and things went well from there...she loves the class, and we will just have to wait and see how things progress.

Hope you enjoyed our update!

9-9-09 an update!

I have been gone awhile due to computer difficulties, viruses, mouse troubles, and finally got my computer home tonight, all healed and full of lots and lots of virus protection!!!

I have many posts rolling around in my head...just need the time to write them...I have one formulating on a strong passion of mine, early brain development in a media society. I did a talk on this once at work, and would love to do it again. I hope to share some very important points on this soon. I also need to do an update on our foster care situation, and L, and her new behaviors and phrases! (not all are pleasant, but she keeps some spice in life!). Also, we are in the beginning of another homeschool year, and things are getting off to a very slow start. Some days move along beautifully while others are met with constant interruptions...such is life. In my attempt to constantly simplify (ha ha), I have just added another activity to our schedule...Storybook Ballet...which starts tomorrow for L! M took this when she was 3 as well, and it is the cutest class ever, I couldn't pass up the chance for L to experience it also...more on this soon too! I still need to do a post on some of the healthy recipes I am using, and share the books I am reading. I am busy getting ready for a yard sale as we simplify, declutter, and clean up as much as we can around here! The next few weekends are booked solid, ending in our county fair and my sweet M's 8th birthday party! Life is full!

Pet Peeves

As many of you know, I think a little differently from the "norm" in some areas, and I just needed to vent a couple of my pet peeves...

The term "adult language" when referring to movies, this really gets me going!! I am an adult, and vulgar, ugly language is not what I consider "adult" type language, and I will never teach my children that this is "adult" language! I will, however, teach them what type of language is pleasing to God, and that is what we should always strive for. I will teach them that people that use this type of language are making a poor choice, and/or they just have never had positive role models in their lives. I will also teach them that this type of language is really a lazy way of speaking, because they can't/won't find more intelligent words to use. I also really hate it when I am out in public with my children and people around don't even care that there are little children around when they are yelling their profanities, or just talking loudly using these ugly words.

My second pet peeve I wanted to talk about tonight is the weather. Why is weather that is hot and sunny the only weather that is considered "good" weather?? And why is rain considered "bad" weather? I personally love the rain. If it wasn't for rain, on those sunny days when we are spending our time outdoors, we would have no flowers, green grass and green trees to admire and enjoy! I was listening to a christian radio station the other day, and even the DJ's there have fallen into this way of thinking. All weather is "good" weather, because it was created by God, and we need all types of weather! Wouldn't it be amazing if they would start giving weather reports like this: "Today's high will be in the 40's, with beautiful cloud covered skies. Late afternoon might bring gorgeous raindrops, so get out there and sing in the rain, it's going to be a fabulous day!!!"

I have a few more, but I will save them for another post...thanks for listening, I needed to get these off my chest!