It'll put a smile on your face

Go visit LWB's Top 10 Photos of the Year. These little ones are so precious. Just click on the numbers at the top of the page to see all the winners. It'll definitely put a smile on your face :)
If you haven't already, please consider sponsoring a child through foster care or a child with a medical need this Christmas. There are many other wonderful charities who are in need of sponsors for their children who are in foster care. We sponsor two little boys through New Day Creations, Jesse and Frank. Or if you'd like to make a one time donation, you can donate through OCDF which has many wonderful ongoing projects to help orphans. To help a family trying to bring home a child, you can donate through Grant Me A Chance. My personal favorite it Ethan, I know his momma and he is going to be one blessed little one once he gets home.
It is such a rewarding way to give. For so little you get so much back in return: knowing you made a difference in the life of a child.

For Kris

Since one of my very best bloggy buddies asked, here's a pic of our tree. What we lack in expensive decorations, she makes up for with her magestic presence. Too bad Christmas trees have to die. We used to be against real Christmas trees, we felt like it wasn't right to cut down a beautiful tree to be used for one month on our house as a decoration. That was until we lived in Delaware where they have oodles of Christmas tree farms. Where they grow trees just for Christmas and nothing else. It gave me a lot less guilt to buy the real thing just knowing the entire purpose of this tree was for a Christmas decoration. So now we enjoy the real thing... falling needles and all :)

It's beginning to look...

a lot like Christmas! YEAHHH!! I just LOVE Christmas, especially when seen through the eyes of little ones. We went to the tree lot the day after Thanksgiving since Tori was still at home. And with her attending college, I want to take full advantage of her time here with us :) The tree picking went well, except there was a difference in opinion between Chris and I on which tree was 'the one'. So, as usual, majority rules. We went to the kids. Chris duly noted to the children that the one I wanted was losing it's needles (how's that for dirty pool?) and Asher was quick to point out that my tree's needles were as intact as daddy's. Big brownie points for my Asher :) Ultimate decision? Mom's tree: 4, Daddy's tree: 2. The girls were too busy running around like crazy people to be interested in voting. Once we got the beauty set up, even Chris had to admit it is perfect. Probably 10 1/2 feet tall, the biggest tree we've had. And, I might add, the prettiest.
The tree decorating went better than expected, only a few ornaments met their demise this year. We try to make it as festive as possible: candles burning, Christmas musci playing... it was great. The kids really love decorating the tree and I try to do as little 'redecorating' as possible. I told everyone to decorate as high as they could reach, that way a few ornaments would make it above eye level. But geeshhh... seems they try to fit ALL the ornaments on four branches right at the front of the tree. Kids. Gotta love 'em :)

Some Christmas ideas

I've been doing a little bit of online shopping (my specialty since, well, who wants to hit Toys 'R Us with six kidlets in tow?) and I've found two books that I think are worth mentioning.
The first book is just lovely to behold. Other than that, "Motherbridge of Love" is a book based on a sweet poem, by an unknown author, beautifully illustrated. It is about a birthmother and an adoptive mother, and the love they both share for the same child.
The other is a book by Todd Parr, author of the wonderful "The Okay Book". "The Family Book" is about families of all types, adoptive, blended by marriage, one parent. I am hoping that by having books like these around for my children to read (all of them, not just our adopted children), it will open the door for future conversations about adoption, our family, and how it all makes them feel.

One thing to remember, if you shop at Amazon at ALL, be SURE to go through Love Without Boundaries site in order for them to receive a bit of the profits of the sale. It's a great way to help without having to do a thing (except clicking on the little "Amazon" logo on the home page!) I'm doing Amazon this year for TONS of my shopping... no tax and free shipping!? It's a busy mom's dream come true ;)

Happy shopping!!

Mmmmm... Meal Plan Monday :)

This week I am trying a few new recipes, at my husband's request :) While I could eat the same handful of favorite recipes forever, he's a bit more adventurous. And I really don't mind trying new recipes, as long as they don't require too much effort (of course!) and as long as they don't have unusual ingredients (as I said, I am NOT an adventurous eater ;)).
That said, here is our menu for the week!

Monday: Tomato Sausage Spinach Pasta Toss, homemade foccacia bread

Tuesday: Creamy Rice and Chicken, salad ~ Can you tell we got the new Kraft Food and Family recipe magazine in the mail?!

Wednesday: Beef Daube Provincial (yes again! We love this!), french bread

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Sub sandwiches, chips, fruit salad

Saturday: Lasagna, salad, crescent rolls

Sunday: Eat out day :) Our current fave is Moe's (mexican). If you have one in your area, you should definitely try it!

Now some recipe reviews...
The Mexican Chicken was good, if a bit difficult to get rolled up. And I DID pound it out sufficiently. I have an easier time with Cordon Bleu. This was a nice change of pace, though and really simple. All the kids enjoyed it so I would say we'll definitely make it again, but not next week ;)
The Cilantro Cole Slaw was YUMMY! Even Zach, an avowed vegetable hater, loved it. It was the perfect side for the mexican chicken and would go well with any mexican main course. It was super easy to make, too! Big thumbs up!

Some of you guys have asked for the One Pan Chicken Parmesan and the Lemon Bars. There you have them. Just click on the name of the dish :) I like this Chicken Parm recipe simply because you skip the frying. And I really hate cleaning grease off my stove top! It's a bit on the tame side so you might want to spice it up with some extra seasoning. The Lemon Squares recipe is good, but mine haven't been turning out as well as they used to. Don't know if there is a better recipe out there or if it's just me? Anyone want to share their recipe?

Much to be thankful for

What a Thanksgiving. We went up to Atlanta for the day to celebrate with my family: my mom, my sisters Andrea and Melissa, and their families. Everyone was so excited to get up there (Sophie had been asking for days when we would be seeing cousin Dane again ;)) so there was no complaining when we had to get up early to get on the road. We split up the Thanksgiving menu and I was assigned to my favorite: desserts :) One chocolate chip bundt cake, one chocolate pie, two pumpkin pies and one pan of lemon bars accompanied us up to Atlanta for the festivities. We spent a good bit of the day talking, laughing and finishing up the other dishes that would be served at our dinner-time meal. Everything came together without any major faux pas, which, at Thanksgiving, is one more thing to be thankful for. Aside from a few dishes not getting heated through, everything was perfect. It was such a blessing to be surrounded by the love of family at this time of the year, laughing about times past and anticipating the wonderful times ahead. Our kids just love each other, much like we sisters have always been close and it is my prayer that they all remain close in the years to come, although I might have to draw the line sometime soon as Avery has been discussing the legality of marriage between cousins lately... I think she has her eye on either Asher or Dalton ;)
It is at this time of year that I think more often of the many blessings we have in life: a warm house, clean sheets, the laughter of children playing, the sound of rain, a dog to snuggle with, family dinners that last an hour or more, the love of Jesus, even though I am so undeserving, an honest and devoted husband and seven incredible children, each of whom warm my heart in their own special way.
I am also reminded how thankful I am for the ways our family has changed through the blessing of adoption. It is with awe and reverence that I have witnessed how adoption has changed the face of our family, figuratively and literally. Tori said it beautifully when she said, "Each of our adopted children have added to our family so uniquely. Each of them has been an incredible blessing in their own way." And I am forever grateful to God for building our family His way. We are all blessed indeed.

Check him out!

Dr. Morcuende was right... Jude is really trying to walk! And he is so giggly and silly about it, he's a crack up! This weekend he's taken a few steps on quite a few occasions and is so excited about it! He's not quite sure how walking is going to change his life, though. Once he figures that out, he's gonna be outta here! I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to see our little guy taking his first tentative steps. All the while we were in China I had to witness Jude struggling to stand, wanting to walk but having to crawl instead. We also endured other's responses to Jude's misshapen feet, talking, pointing and staring. During this difficult time I kept reminding myself of how sweet it would be one day to watch our son walk on straight feet. Without pain. The reality is even sweeter than what I had imagined.

How to help the Sheldons

A word from Bethany: "Bethany is accepting contributions to support the family until December 31, 2007. Checks can be made payable to Bethany Christian Services and please indicate the Sheldon family on the memo line. Checks can be sent to Bethany's Donor Records at 901 Eastern Ave NE, PO Box 294 Grand Rapids Michigan 49501. Bethany Christian Services will give all donations to the family for their 'Hope for Hannah' fund."

A reminder

I was looking through Jude's China pictures the other day and was amazed at how much his feet have changed! I'd sort of forgotten how bad they were and how difficult it was for him to stand. In light of my most recent post, I thought I'd post a picture I took of Jude's feet in China. Amazing how much they have changed.
Thanks to everyone who has left an encouraging comment for our little guy... I really appreciate it :)

Wonderful news!!

I know. You're disappointed. There was no Meal Plan Monday. I do have a good reason. Jude and I headed back up to Iowa City to the University of Iowa Children's Hospital for Jude's 3 month recheck. We have been very consistent with his boots and bar, but nonetheless, there is always a tiny percent of children with clubfoot who relapse regardless of brace wear. So to say that part of me was anxious about what the doctor might have to say would be fairly accurate. I mean, his feet look great to me (great, I mean gorgeous... suddenly I have a whole new appreciation for perfect little feet) but I'm no doctor. And I know that the signs of relapse can be subtle. We flew into Cedar Rapids after a long travel day (left home at 8:00AM and arrived in Iowa at 3:00PM) and were shuttled to the Ronald McDonald house where we would stay for the night. We got to UofI just in time for our 4:15 appointment, the last one of the day. It was great to see Dr. Morcuende again. When someone does such amazing things for your child, I mean literally changing your child's quality of life, it's impossible NOT to just want to run up and hug the man! He was so happy to see Jude and how he has changed in the last few months. He was amazed at how well he comprehends English (which he does!) and although Jude initially rebuffed him (he did remember him ;)), Dr. Morcuende won him over with a bunch of stickers... Jude's favorite. He had another doctor from Brazil doing rounds with him as he and Dr. Ponseti are always teaching other doctors how to correct clubfoot non surgically, and the two of them stretched, examined and discussed Jude's feet at length. The final decision? They look great! He reduced Jude's bracing hours from 22 to 16! He watched Jude try to walk and said that he thinks he'll be walking VERY soon... suddenly I'm not in such a hurry ;)
After our appointment we spent the evening with Lisa, a great friend I met while I was up in Iowa this summer. We ate at Panera Bread and then headed to the soft playground for Jude to enjoy some serious free time. Both he and I had an awesome time (thank you Lisa!!) and we were sad to realize we needed to get back to the RMH for some shut-eye since our wake up call was coming at 3:45AM!! We were able to get up and to the airport by 5:00AM and were home (I LOVE HOME!) by 11:30. Tired yes, but how can I even think to complain about tired when my son has PERFECT feet!!

Sophie ~ the day after

Sophie is one tough chick. She fell asleep on the way home from the dentist yesterday, content with the pages of stickers she was given as a 'prize' and her trusty pink pillow. Nary a peep out of her on the 1 1/2 hour drive home. Once we got home she was happy with her new DVD, Max and Ruby's Christmas. She laid on that dang couch for most of the afternoon. But I was just happy to see her not miserable. She was only allowed soft foods and no dairy for the day so her menu options were definitely limited. We managed some Ramen noodles and some jello (raspberry, her choice) and a lot of apple juice. She snuck a short snooze in before bathtime, at which time she really perked up. I kept asking her if her teeth hurt as I was at the ready with the Motrin, but she never complained or even mentioned her mouth hurting. I know it must have (or at least it would have hurt me) because when we arrived home from the dentist, when I woke her up to get her out of her carseat, there was a little drop of blood at the corner of her mouth. Talk about breaking a mother's heart :( These pics were taken shortly after we got home yesterday and you can kinda still see the blood on her lip... poor baby.
I am so pleased with how her front tooth looks. I was concerned that it would look overly white, either making her other tooth look really discolored, or making her filled tooth look fake. I'm happy to say it looks pretty darn natural. Which is a good thing since she's going to have these teeth for the next 3+ years!
Today she has been able to eat anything she wants to and she's doing her best to make up for yesterday ;) She's watched every show on Noggin at least once. She's colored. She's played 'doctor' with Jude (using a hair band as a blood pressure cuff is pretty inventive!) She's emptied out the toy basket. She's still in her jammies (and it's close to dinnertime). She has covered Jude's bar with aluminum foil (not sure whose idea this was). And she has trashed, helped to clean up and trashed the house again. It's been a good day :)

Take a moment to listen

I watched this over at Our Forever Family and it made me cry, too! A beautiful reminder to cherish the present with our precious children. One day they will be gone.

Please pray for Sophie * UPDATE*

We're home. She did great and we are so happy to be done! Actually, I'm happy she's done, she's just happy to be home watching a new Max and Ruby DVD :) Thank you SO much for your prayers!!

Today is the big day. We had scheduled her fillings and crowns for December, but yesterday the pediatric dentist called with a cancellation for this morning. Since we know the sooner we get to work on her teeth, the less likely she'll need a 'pulpotomy' (YUCK!!) I jumped at the chance to get her in earlier. So we are about to head out, she will be sedated, but will still be conscious. What is most upsetting is that she will have to be strapped to a 'papoose board' to keep her still in case she starts to struggle. Thankfully the drug they will give her will help her forget the experience and I certainly hope she forgets every bit of it.
Please send up prayers in her behalf today. There is little doubt she is going to be one frightened little girl and I will not be allowed in the room with her.

Meal Plan Monday

Okay, so it's Tuesday... which means it's time for Menu Plan Monday, right? So sorry, Kelley, I know this drives you nuts!! I was going to try to post it last night, just to calm your OCD streak, but I laid down to get Jude to sleep and never got back up :)

Monday: Breakfast dinner (scrambled eggs, sausage and biscuits)
My don't- have- any- better- ideas/too- lazy- to- fix- anything- more- laborious dinner... Kids love it so I always have some sausage in the freezer for this kind of night!

Tuesday: Mexican Chicken, Cilantro Cole Slaw, chips and salsa

Mexican Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 can whole green chilis
4 slices pepper jack cheese
1 lg egg
1 c. finely crushed tortilla chips
Salsa for garnish

In between two pieces of wax paper, flatten chicken breasts to 1/8" using mallet or rolling pin. Top each breast with 1 chili and 1 slice pepper jack. Roll up and use toothpick (or unwaxed, unflavored dental floss) to secure. Whisk together egg and 2 T water. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then roll in crushed tortilla chips. Bake in a greased 13 x 9 pan at 35 for 30-35 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Cilantro Cole Slaw

2 lg limes, juiced
1/4 c olive oil
1 envelope Zesty Italian Dressing
2 (11 oz) packages cole slaw
1/3 c fresh cilantro

Combine first 3 ingredients well, add cole slaw and top with cilantro. Chill for at least 2 hours, mix well before serving.

These two recipes are new to me, don't they sound absolutely yummy!? We all love Chicken Cordon Bleu around here, but this sounds like a whole new way to make it. I'll give a quick review of both recipes next week once the fam has given the thumbs up or the thumbs down :)

Wednesday: Beef Stroganoff, peas

Thursday: Easy One Pan Chicken Parmesan, bread, salad

Friday: Pot Roast, veggies, cornbread

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Eat out day!

I've been ending up with an extra meal at the end of each week. I think I am overplanning, so this week I'll leave Sunday open (we do eat out for lunch) since I think I don't need that extra meal.

Lookie what we got!

A friend of mine is making this darling outfit as a fundraiser for her adoption. I saw a picture on her blog and just knew my girls would look darling in it... and boy, was I right! I LOVE it, it's absolutely adorable. Fits Sophie perfectly, Desiree! The top can be worn by itself as a dress, or with the matching jeans. This is my first outing into custom made clothing and this set is perfect. The fabric is gorgeous and she has another fabric option, if you prefer. Even a bow is included.. I just tried ours on quickly tonight and didn't put the bow in, but it's going to look great all put together :)
If you'd like to get your little one an adorable outfit AND help out another adoptive family in bringing home their precious child, visit Desiree's site for more info!

When left to their own devices...

I was trying to get some paperwork done the other day (I always have paperwork that needs to be done) the girls were quietly, well, at least happily, playing in their room. Then they started running out with additional dress up pieces they wanted my help in donning. Can you say, a little is good and more does not necessarily mean better? They don't yet grasp this concept and I'm certainly not going to burst their bubble ;) They were so excited to be all gussied up. Little brother, in the mean time, was playing with the sprinkles (that I actually gave him thinking they were still sealed). After a few minutes I wondered why he was so quiet and went to find him in a sea of sprinkles, happily playing with the colored pieces that had stuck to his hands. And I wonder why I always have paperwork to do?

Score one for the children

From Jenny Bowen at HTS:

To all of our dear, dear friends of Half the Sky - YOU made it happen!

This week in Beijing we got some wonderful news. Thanks to the concerted
efforts of our most extraordinary HTS family, I am going to carry the
Olympic Torch in Beijing!!

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-11/02/content_6224493.htm
http://pub1.chinadaily.com.cn/cdpdf/olym/
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/torch_page.html

I do not yet know if I will be permitted to run with the children. That
will be up to the Olympic Committee. But you can be sure of one thing:

Whether or not I am allowed to run WITH the children, the world will know
that I am running FOR them.

Thank you, everyone, for helping to share the Olympic spirit with China’s
orphans. I know that those children who are old enough to understand will
be so proud that they have a place in China’s grand celebration.

With love and thanks beyond measure,

Jenny

Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org

HOW COOL IS THAT?!?