Sprouts, 'Tudes, and a Little Peanut

For the love of sprouts! I love growing Alfalfa Sprouts! It's so easy and so yummy on sandwiches! My Honey likes them too!
Ham, hummus, cheese, and sprouts cracker sandwiches. Yum!

Payton sporting a 'tude. A birds gonna poop on that lip if she's not careful!

"Hey kids. Ya got anything besides apple chunks up there?"

Cutie pie! She's such a little peanut!

thevintagepearl.com

I've been forgetting for a long time to blog about my new necklace that my dear friend, Caitlin, got for me! Then today my follow adopting mom, Lisa, sent out a message about it that made me remember. So here are a few pictures! I love it!

Here's were you can get yours! https://www.thevintagepearl.com/products/aheartforAfrica_p116

Tonights Supper

Tonight supper was Crock Pot Chicken. But not just any crock pot chicken. This was my very first time EVER working with a whole chicken and it turned out great. Here's what I did-

1 whole chicken, (I pulled off as much skin as I could, rinsed it, and patted it dry. yuck!)
Dry rub mixer- (I think this is everything I put on it this time around. Next time I'm sure I'll try something totally new. So you should experiment and let me know how it goes for you!)
-3 tsp Seasoning Salt
-1 tsp Parsley
-1 tsp Oregano
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-1/2 tsp ground Cayenne Red Pepper
-1/2 tsp Curry powder
Mix all those together and rub all over inside and out of chicken.
Quarter one onion and spread in the bottom of the crock pot. place the chicken (I did it breast side up) on top of the onions. Quarter one more onion and one peeled and cored apple and push it into the inside of the chicken. Then I poured about half a cup of water in. Cook on low for about 7-8 hours.
I also quartered several potatoes and threw those on top of the chicken. A few times throughout the day I took some of the juice from the bottom of the crock pot and poured if over the chicken.

When it was ready I took the potatoes and the one apple out and mashed them together along with 3-4 tsp butter, milk, and some of the chicken juice for desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. YUM!

After supper I picked the leftover meat off the bone. The bones got boiled in water for a while. I'll used that water and the juice from the first meal along with the leftover chicken to make soup this weekend!

Adoption update

Some of you have been asking what the latest is on our adoption. Well . . .

We are currently waiting for our home study to be finished. I've been told we are VERY close to being done! YAY! Jason recently switched jobs and that put a small halt to adoption things as we were waiting for insurance/employment information. Last night we were able to give our case worker the rest of the paper work that he needed.

One to do list done . . . on to the next. Now we start getting together everything we need for our I600A and dossier. Yippee! Lots of stuff Momma doesn't understand but one item at a time is conquering.

The cost of the adoption is always looming over our heads but we believe that God is still going to provide. He's taken us this far and we are so excited! We are so excited to see how God is stirring the hearts of people around us to give of themselves! Many families are stepping out in faith by opening their homes and giving of their resources in order to care for orphans and the gospel is being laid out in the process! Last week we were asked, "So are you adopting for tax reasons?" HUH? I'm not sure I heard you right. Um, no we are not adopting two human beings into our family so that we can get more money back on our tax returns. Oy. So, we were able to share with them why we are adopting. Pretty cool how God set that up and I was able to share about what it says in the Bible about caring for orphans! Hello!

 It's tough to be patient as we wait for things to get done. Whether it's getting through the paperwork to do list, waiting on others, and waiting on God. But the journey is great and we feel so humbled and honored to be a part of what HE is doing!

Please pray!
-pray that Satan would not be allowed to attack us and that if he is, that we would realize it and respond with resistance and truth. That we would continue to grow deeper and deeper in the Lord and that HE would be our shield.
-pray for paper work and adoption to do list to get done smoothly and stress free and for patience. (wait, did I just ask you to pray for patience? Now we're in for it!)
-pray for MONEY! sorry I am so blunt when it comes to talking about the cost of adoption but come on, really. It's STINKING expensive. Okay listen up. The AVERAGE cost of an ABORTION is between $300-$500 (or so I've read). Why does it cost so much more to ADOPT? Like $20,000-$60,000 more depending on how crazy you are and how many kiddos you are adopting. Messed up. Anyways, you can pray that God would continue to provide what we need to move forward in our process!

Thank you to everyone who is praying for us and for supporting us in this journey!
And BTW, if God is tuggin' at your heart strings about adopting let us know! We are lovin' our agency and our home study case worker and we would love to pass on the info!

Some stats that I stole from Janel's blog a while back. I'm still shocked every time I read it.

We are facing an orphan crisis in our world. Will we, the church, step up in the name of Jesus and take care of these precious ones?

-The United Nations reports that the number of orphans around the world waiting for help is more than 140 million.

-There are more than 46 million orphans in Africa.

-There are more than 71 million orphans in Asia.

-There are more than 10 million orphans in Latin America.

-There are more than 120,000 orphans in the United States.

-A child dies from malaria, a completely preventable disease, every 30 seconds. 1 in every 20 children in Africa alone will die just from this disease.

-Every 14 seconds a child loses a parent due to AIDS.

-Every day, almost 16,000 children die of hunger. That’s 12 million every year.

-If 8 percent of people who profess to be Christians adopted, there would be no more orphans.

-In the United States alone, if one family out of every 4 churches adopted a child there would be no more orphans in our country.

(Statistics taken from www.cryoftheorphan.org and http://147millionorphans.com/ and http://joiningthejourney.blogspot.com/ and http://www.focusonthefamily.com/)

See, Mom IS strong!

FREE DOWNLOAD

Don't miss out on your chance for a FREE download of ADOPTED FOR LIFE by Russell D. Moore through the month of February! I'm listening to it right now!

 FREE download here - http://christianaudio.com/adopted-for-life-russell-moore

"See you again sometime."

Eight years ago today my mom went to be with Jesus.  There have been a few years when the anniversary of her passing go by and I don't give it much thought. Or try not to at least. This year however has been so different. It's been the first year in a long time when I can approach the day with peace and a strong joy. Don't get me wrong, there have been days approaching today when I morn missing her and I know that I always will, but this year I've also thought SO much about how close I felt to the Lord in those days when we gathered around her bed. As I read back through things I wrote then or what was said at her memorial, I'm blown away for my families ability to SEE God so clearly and peacefully during that time. With pain laid out so fresh in our hearts as we watched her earthly body fail her, God's sovereignty was somehow so clearly PERFECT to us.  Even watching her last breath, the extraordinary peace was something I will never forget. GOD'S THROWN IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT BREATH I thought to myself!

Yeah, it sounds twisted, but God's plan to have my mom die was a PERFECT plan.  Even in my confusion and deep pain of loosing her, I have faith that since He made us, He knows us best and knows what is best for us. It wasn't our plan for her to die so young and not be around. Not be around to grow old with my dad. Not be around to be a grandma (although she's probably getting to be a grandma in heaven to a few babies that went to be with Jesus through miscarriages.) Not be around for some of the most special and hardest times of life. She hasn't been there for me to call up when I'm concerned that I'm not being a good mom or when I need a recipe that I can't find, or when I just want to chat with one of the best friends I've ever had . . .

But do you know who has been around . . . ALWAYS? God. He's been there through the whole thing and in every moment of emptiness HE HAS OFFERED TO FILL THE HOLE IN MY HEART. I haven't always accepted the offer of comfort from Him. There's been times when I have screamed and shook my fist at Him for taking her. There have been times when I have in my heart rejected the other "moms" in my life that He has so graciously provided for me. There have been times when I've used my hurt against my husband and kids. There's been some real ugly times when I completely WASTED my sorrows.

Living in bitterness because we've been hurt is  . . . well . . . a waste. God didn't allow cancer to take over my mom's body for no reason. He causes everything to work together for good. There is purpose in it and I'm determined not to waste the sorrow, but to grow deep in the Lord through it . . . even eight years later. I believe that God not only allows hardships, but orchestrates them at times. Not because He wants to watch us suffer, but because HE WANTS US TO RUN TO HIM. When the control is forced out of our hands, just like it is while watching a loved one die, we have NO OTHER OPTION accept to run to Him. No other good option at least. Getting angry and bitter only cause more hurt for ourselves and those around us and worst of all, doesn't give God glory.

 In her last days, my brothers and I would take turns sitting by my moms bed at night. We'd take shifts so that someone was always awake with her and that way my dad could get the rest he needed too. There were many precious moments in the middle of the night sitting by her. But one sticks out to me. I believe that it was the night that I truly gave my life to Christ. I sat there with my dad in his bed to the right of me and my mom in her hospital bed to the left. We all had been reading desperately through the Psalms in those days. If you ever are feeling hopeless, confused, angry, desperate, lonely, full of sorrow . . . the Psalms are PERFECT. I was reading, reading, reading and I had never in all my life seen God so clearly. His UNFAILING PERFECTION was so clear. His plans are PERFECT and GOOD . . . NO MATTER WHAT. I sat there with a hand on each bed, palms up, tears flowing out in praise to my God and surrender to Him cause I had no other choice and because HE WAS WORTHY OF MY PRAISE even as I watched one of my worst nightmares come to life before me. His perfection covered my imperfection.

I wish I could share with you all the truth that was shared by those who spoke at her memorial just days later. So much solid foundation in the Lord. A peace in His sovereignty. I don't miss watching my mom's body waste away but I do miss the time when my family sat together around her, singing hymns and praying and reading His word.

The fall after my mom went to be with our Savior, Jason was away with the military and I went to stay with my dad to spend some time grieving and reflecting around Mom's things. I remember him telling me about a night when he was laying in bed and he looked at the wall where his robe was hanging. The same robe that we all would wear during our shifts in the middle of the night. My brother, Nate, spoke so sweetly about the passing of the robe at the memorial. Anyways, my dad described to me how the robe was hanging there and how it was hanging made it look like a giant arrow pointing up. Up to the heavens, up to God. That's exactly where our lives should be pointing. CAUSE IT'S NOT ABOUT US. IT'S COMPLETELY ABOUT HIM.

Reading back through a lot of stuff saved from the months following her passing, I read an email from my dad that I had printed out. Here are some of his encouraging words to me.
"I know He is painting a BIG picture in the life of our family, and we can only see a small part of it. He does not ask for our help in designing the art-work, just for our co-operation as He flows the paint. Maybe Mom is helping pick out the colors?  *(when I read this just the other day, I thought, maybe the color is a beautiful, chocolate brown skin tone! HA!)* I pray you will keep your heart tender to the Lord, so He can teach you the wonderful things about Himself and His care for you."

Then I read this. A note from my mom that I've saved since I left home after high school graduation.  "Love you - always will - never forget it! Will be good to see you again sometime."
SO GOOD! I can't wait to sit at the Lord's feet with her!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-F6DGGF4Qs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvhrPMJe8LE

embrace the camera-feb. 17

This weeks pics come to you from our open windows!!! Today is so nice and even though it's time for a nap and we aren't going out to play just yet, we have been bird watching. Cause we're dorks like that.
I saw a robin taking a bath in a puddle today. It looked just absolutely delighted.
I'm totally ready for spring too! And really ready for it to be time to plant my garden! I'm ready for the snow to melt completely away and for the mud in our backyard to dry up. Note to self-find out how to make grass grow.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I stole this idea from another blog so I can't take the credit. They turned out so cute and Caedmon was so excited to pass them out to his classmates today!

We don't do a lot for Valentine's Day, but this year I did get around to making this heart streamer from a bunch of scrap material. I think it turned out pretty cute.

A late Embrace the Camera-pics from Thursday Feb. 10

Reagan's pants wouldn't stay up. She such a skinny little peanut! 

 This Thursday's pictures were all taken while waiting for Caedmon to get home from school.
This one is my favorite from the day. The smooth. The heart. The boy. LOVE it all!

Maybe next week I'll actually get Embrace the Camera posted on Thursday!

embrace the camera-feb. 3

Today's embrace the camera comes to you from a pile of Zingo tiles and beautiful ladies on the floor! We've had Zingo for a very long time but  apparently it is the new obsession in our house. After one game the tiles were all over the floor thanks to Miss Reagan. Picking them up became interesting. A boot and a stinking diaper in my face? No thank you! Snuggles with my two favorite gals? Yes please! I guess Roxy felt like it was important to get her foot in the picture. Wish I could rock black fingernails as good as her!

 Well, I'm not sure that's very pretty either but at least I don't have a boot in the face!