Just Stroll-ing Along . . .

We're doing a pirate/Peter Pan theme in Joshua's room (seems weird to say that) ---- anyone have any decorating ideas?

We don't know too much information --- except that yesterday we were chosen as the "top family" for Kayla (4) and Joshua (3)! Needless to say, we're very excited and we have a call in to the adoption assessor to find out what exactly is the next step for us. We know there will be a big meeting, with everyone involved present, and then we have to take 24 hrs after all the information is given to us to think about it and make our final decision.


So, siblings -- you will have a new niece and nephew to dote upon!

Yesterday was the perfect day to stay in and create. It was snowy, and grey, and I had nowhere to be, so I decided to play in my kitchen.
First, a loaf of beer bread. Delish with Stonewall Kitchen's Strawberry and Brandied Apricot Jam. Then, another batch of Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins (recipe courtesy of happythings, a new-blog obsession) - these are seriously ToDieFor. After that, I roasted some chicken (a staple in our home) with some olive oil and wonderfully sweet carrots. For supper I made Ina's Spaghetti & Meatballs. Probably the best recipe ever for this beloved dish, and easy. I left out the veal and just used ground sirloin & ground pork, but it was so tasty. The sauce - my word, easy peasy. Diced onions, garlic, red wine (though I used beef stock - no red wine in the house), a can of crushed tomatoes & fresh parsley. The only thing that could have made it better would be crushed red pepper flakes, which I will add next time. I have to say that this is probably one of the most beautiful dishes to make, as well. Twirled pasta, caramelized meatballs and the sauce it all of its rubied glory, with bits of parmesan & parsley scattered all over the top. Gorgeous. It takes a bit of time, what with making the meatballs in batches, but so worth it. We always eat fashionably late anyways; it was 9 before we curled up on the couch to eat last night.
It is beyond me how some people hate to cook - and I truly think that comes just from not knowing what to make. But seriously, cooking is therapy for me and there is nothing I'd rather do than cook a gorgeous meal for us to eat while watching the sparkling snow fall.

Tonight: Thai chicken pizza.

It's been a while since I've posted my favorite poem ...




High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .


Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.


— Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Last night we:
Bought groceries
Baked chicken and roasted potatoes, onions & carrots
Installed my car stereo
Played 2 games of Trouble
Tonight we are:
Putting four new tires on my car
Visiting Grandparents & Mr. Darcy-Lou-Hoo
Baking Pumpkin-Cranberry and/or Banana Raisin Muffins
Tomorrow we are:
Driving to Grand Rapids to move KD to her new apartment
Eating Pumpking Cranberry and/or Banana Raisin Muffins
Hanging out with KD's cool parents, Mr. & Mrs. M
Sunday we are:
Resting, reading, playing

Boden has some wonderfully delicious things out for this season ...
Cotton print dress - fun & fresh.
Hotchpotch dress - at first I thought this was an old-lady dress - but it's not.
Stripey tank - darling with some red kitten heels & a denim flippy skirt.
Platforms - I don't even need to say a word.
Slingbacks - a pair in every color, please!
Swishy skirt - I would love this with a fitted denim jacket & sequined flip-flops.
Cardigan - I love this for the weekend.
Applique - if I ever have a girl, this is the first piece of clothing I'm buying for her!
Hoody - and this for a boy!
Jacket - and maybe a little something for Bri :o)

last week we said no to four boys, and this week we have more information on the preschool-aged children. we're both on board for kayla, age 4 and joshua, age 2 (both blonde & blue-eyed). their meeting is set for january 29th. obviously we're trying to be optimistic, but we don't want to get our hopes up. keep these little ones in your prayers - they both have a few issues they're going through.

Take the time to visit our website for Aoife - www.helpbabyaoife.com
Words cannot describe how grateful we are for the donations that have already been received. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!

It's been discovered that Aoife has a hole in her heart. They will need to do open heart surgery, but this will not be for several weeks because right now she is still so sick & does not have the strength. The surgery will have to be somewhere else, such as Charlottesville or a bigger city like that. They also did a blood transfusion yesterday to relieve some of the pressure of too much blood around her lungs.
We have a very sick baby here, and a family of 7 with no health insurance & no money coming in now that Jonathan can't work like he has been. The Rice kids are joining forces to come up with a fundraiser and donation plan. Eric is setting up a website with a donation link - when that is up, I will link it here. www.helpbabyaoife.com (there will be a photo soon)
I know not many people read this blog, and I don't have a tracker, so I don't know the people who do -- but please, whoever you are, pray for this baby and our family and if you only have $1 - please donate.

lots of birthdays this month! my step-father-in-law, harold, had his birthday on friday. today is mindy's birthday! tomorrow my niece amelia will be 4, friday nephew eoin will be 5. then my step-mother-in-law, vicki, has a birthday on sunday.

i think there will be lots of baking this week.

i was given a bit of misinformation on friday - she is still in the icu, i believe, but in a separate room. she contracted rsv, which developed into double pneumonia. she is still on a ventilator, and a feeding tube and the nurses are continuing to suction junk out of her poor little lungs. she is just so young, and so tiny (just under 10 lbs, i believe - at 6 mos old), and also the fact that she has down's syndrome contributes to her being so fragile.
continue praying for the family. all of the kids are sick, and being away from their mommy isn't helping. my parents are there- caring for the kids, the house, the animals. i talked to eilidh on saturday night and she was almost in tears the whole time. sick, exhausted, sad for aoife & missing mommy & daddy. poor little babies.

my mind is a jumble, so i am not working, just perusing online. urban outfitters has so so much great stuff this season!
bird hook - i need several of these for my bathroom
tree - what a lovely, fresh design to hold jewelry!
wallpaper shower curtain - um okay, this is the perfect color for my bathroom!
cutout coverlet, peonies!, floral - these are delicious covers!
chandelier - this would be gorgeous hanging above a writing desk
birdie curtains - perfect with pale pink walls for a little girls room!
souper bowls - one in every color!
warhol bag - so cute for cosmetics!

things are so crazy here now. this morning i not only got a call about my sweet baby niece, but i also received another call from our caseworker. something's happened with one of the adoptive homes they had & they are having to close it up (as in, move the kids & revoke their license). this home had4 brothers - 8, 5 and 3 yr old twins. she laughed when i said, "i beg your pardon ... i thought i heard you say FOUR." she said she wouldn't have called if she didn't think we were up for it, but to take the weekend and she would have more information for us early next week. my initial reaction? four is too many. going from zero to two i think would be hard, but zero to four is ludicris. but i am praying, and brian is praying (although he is already gung-ho). the little bit of me that is practical is thinking - four teenage boys. four college tuitions. a bigger car. outrageous grocery bills. my one brother alone ate a box or more of cereal per day from the time he was 10 until... well, he probably still does. then there are other things like -- can i physically take care of 4 children. can i emotionally take care of 4 children. or rather, can WE.

something we've both learned through this whole adoption experience is what a leap of faith it is. we honestly don't know from one day to the next how many children we might end up having, at least at this point. we're hoping that we know what we can handle, manage, and support, but we probably don't. we're living with blind faith at this point, knowing that God is working wonders in our life that we don't even know about right now. something that is difficult for me to handle right now is how can we possibly say yes to some children and no to others? do i reject four blessings because i'd rather just have two or is that i think i can only handle having two children? these are questions that i'm not sure about. bri is so much stronger than i am. he doesn't hesitate when he hears four. when i said that one thing that concerned is what if we get these boys and i suddenly find myself able to have a baby(which is not likely to happen, but you know, i'm just playing the what-if game i love so much)? he just said, "well then i hope she's a girl." he is, without a doubt, unwavering in what he knows and trusts.

i have to say that when i heard "twins" i'm sure i said yes. multiples is what i dearly want. brian's family is full of multiples, and i myself was a twin in the womb. what i wasn't really expecting were the other two :o)

throughout all of this, i am relying on God and that is a wonderful thing. our families have been so supportive and so many people are praying for us. i say this often, i know, but please continue to do so. there is much we have to learn.

please keep my six month old niece, aoife, in your prayers. she was life-flighted to the hospital last night in virginia with double pneumonia. she is currently in the nicu with a ventilator.




updated to add: i've just heard that they've taken her out of the nicu and is at 80% on the ventilator and they are keeping her sedated. please keep the family in your prayers.

the only things i know are:
2 pre-school age children --
caucasian
blonde
boy & girl

well, last week was a blur. brian's aunt passed away, my hours were reduced at work and we didn't get matched to any of the children.
some nice things: it's good to be surrounded by family, including my father-in-law who i adore, and Everything-Happens-for-a-Reason. i would be more disappointed by our matching meeting outcomes had we met the children. God bless LCCS for doing things in their order & not mine. our caseworker told me she was just informed of 2 young siblings that are "perfect" for us. we're supposed to hear more this week.
i spent friday evening with my parents, making steak fajitas & trying to get my dad away from the tv. saturday we gave blood - well, brian did, my iron was too low & they said no. but they did give me 20 packages of swiss cookies, and we also got free Storm tickets.
i finally got the third book in the maisie dobbs serious by jacqueline winspear, pardonable lies. i love that woman - it's like she writes just for me. hoo-ray.

it's been a while, hasn't it? as always, we've been busy. so many gatherings of friends & family, and still so much preparation for adoption.
we had a lovely new years - we spent the afternoon with brian's family and the evening with friends in our home. lots of food & jell-o shots were consumed, many rounds of mad gab played. good times.
beds & crib are set up, with their new covers . it will be very interesting to see what happens; today we are supposed to find out about the 3 siblings ... whether or not we have been "matched". i have both feelings of excitement and fear. mostly i just do not want to get my hopes up.
lots of birthdays this month, and plans. m&b are moving south, i heard tia is coming for a visit. everyone is busy with resolutions and bringing on the new. for me, i am happy where i am.