My blog is decorated

for the holidays, but my home isn't.

Hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving!

Is it manipulation or sweet innocence?

We teach our children how to pray. We tell them that prayers do get answered. How was I to respond to this one prayer that I knew wasn't going to be answered:

"Dear Jesus, please let mommy stay home with me tonight."

That's what I heard Kamryn say right before I was to leave for the neighborhood bunco the other night.

Nice try Kamryn! I rarely go out in the evenings. Maybe once or twice a month. And I'm home with her during the day. I was actually in disbelief that that's what she really said, but the boys heard her too. I told her when mommy goes out, I always come back home.

I've been a sub for a few months now for the neighborhood group. It's fun to get out and finally meet some neighbors after living here almost two years.

Matt babysat the other night and did such a great job! I got home by 10:00 and was surprised to find Kamryn fast asleep. I really expected her to wait up for me. Matt is such a good big brother/babysitter though and he read books and stayed by her until she fell asleep.

I won $5.00 for rolling the most "mini-bunco's" - big excitement! It's funny how different groups have different rules/prizes for the game. In Indiana, I started a bunco group in our neighborhood, and we played a little differently. We didn't keep track of mini buncos but just counted them as 5 points.

Hey you Indy bunco friends that may be reading . . . are you still playing? If not, we'll have to set up a bunco night next time I'm down there! And playgroup friends here, we do need to set a date maybe in Jan/Feb for a bunco game night.

How her mind works

At Chinese class a few weeks back (we are not taking Chinese right now but hope to continue sometime soon) Helen Lao Shi gave the girls beads and string to make a necklace. Kamryn started hers and honestly with NO help from me, this is what she made:















Her necklace is on the right and the necklace she made for her doll is on the left. She thinks in patterns! There is a rhyme and a reason to the way she strung the beads. Oh my!

Then one day she was playing with stickers and this is what she finished. One sheet of stickers was for me, the other for her daddy.











Going through her backpack after school one day, I saw this:



















She pasted fabric squares on the paper. Isn't this amazing? She's very methodical.

I haven't had a diet coke

since last Friday. I know, that's not a whole lot of time away from it. But I am noticing a difference in my energy level - I have more of it surprisingly - and I don't have those weird, dull brain fog headaches. Coincidence or not?

Healthy Eating is hard to do!

Wednesday night I went to a "seminar" that my chiropractor's office was having at Whole Foods. It was about how to read labels and buy healthy foods.

First let me tell ya, I am doing everything wrong. The only good thing about this revelation is that there is great room for improvement. (When I say "they" I am referring to the gal from the chiro office and what the doctors there believe.)

My top five pitfalls:

1. Diet Pop - I am trying to give it up. They said regular pop is better than the aspartame in the diet sodas. Hmm, maybe that's why I always have a dull headache or brain fog feeling? Water is the best thing to drink. I knew this already.












2. Sugars - I love my chocolate! The only thing going for me is that I love dark chocolate and that is actually one sugar that they said is good for you in moderation.









3. Cheeses, or anything pasteurized. Okay, how can my family give up milk when Brendan has 3 bowls of cereal a day! They said "raw" is better. Raw cheese and raw milk. Raw vegetables, raw nuts. I guess organic milk is a better option for us, but is it really better?

4. Grains - I know wheat is better than white and pasta is bad. But come on, no grains at all? They told us about sprouted bread. Never heard of it. It's flourless. I bought a loaf and it's not bad, but the kids won't want it for their sandwich. But then again, lunch meat is out too because it's processed.

5. Meats - They said anything cooked is bad because it destroys the nutrients and actually causes carcinogens. I didn't believe it but just today I actually OPENED my Women's Health magazine that comes every month:) and I saw the following article:

When beef, pork, poultry or fish are cooked at 350 degrees or higher, their amino acids and creatine form carcinogenic chemicals called heterocyclic amines or HCAs. But in a study reported in the Journal of Food Science,HCA levels in steak dropped by up to 88 percent when the meat was soaked in an herbal bath for an hour before grilling. Marinating your meat can cut cancer risk.



WHAT IS LEFT TO EAT?!

Okay, the gal doing the talk said that you shouldn't eat fruits after 12:00 noon because they contain sugar. We should only eat 20 grams of sugar a day. Also said that any vegetable pulled out of the ground has lots of sugars, like carrots, and you should really stick to the green vegetables.









Figures, carrots are the one vegetable that my kids actually eat.

Granny smith apples, celery and cucumbers are good because they are alkalizing. (whatever that means, I still don't understand it.) We like these, thank goodness.

I tried some new foods. Ate pine nuts and liked them, but boy are they expensive! Tried a kale salad.








Liked it and brought some home. No one else liked it. Tried a dairy free version of Oreo's and didn't like them at all and actually said out loud that if I didn't like them my kids wouldn't. The lady at Whole Foods let me bring home an organic dairy version of them home free for the kids to try. (I should have spoken up more!) Brendan & I don't like those either. Brought home some raw Gruyere cheese. Matt & I like it. Brought home organic Buckwheat dairy and egg free waffles . . . still sitting in the freezer.

Looking in the freezer tonight deciding what to make for dinner, I opted for the frozen Schwan's lasagna. That is surely not on the healthy list - pasteurized cheese, pasta, meat - but hey, I have to make whatever is already here, right? The sprouted bread made great garlic toast:)

Sticker Fun

Kamryn can entertain herself with stickers in ways unimaginable to most. She is definitely creative!

Cousin Time

Last week, my nephew's school had a fall festival. Kamryn and I joined the festivities and had a great time! Gavin and Kamryn love to be together. They were so funny pretending to cook. When it comes to real food though, they don't get along as well. Kamryn has to eat fast or guard her food because Gavin is quick and tries to swipe hers off her plate! And yes, he is a year younger than K, and I think he is taller than her!

Kamryn's School Party

Last Thursday was Kamryn's preschool parade and party. I volunteered to help out at the party thinking it would be fun to see Kamryn interact with her classmates. Well the day didn't go exactly as I planned.

Grandma was nice enough to come with us that morning. I thought Kamryn would love having us both there. She did love having us there but a little too much. She got extremely clingy as soon as we walked into the classroom. We had to force her to stand with her classmates for a group picture.

Then it was time for the parents to leave and go into another room where the children would be parading through. Kamryn was starting to lose it. The classes were gathered together waiting for their turn to parade and the teacher brought Kamryn to me saying that she couldn't handle her and the rest of the class. So at that point Kamryn started crying hysterically. I don't know if she was mad at me for leaving the classroom or just got so freaked at the chaos of the moment. She really wanted to go sit by her friend Lilly but that was against the rules since Lilly is in a different class. Kamryn never did participate in the parade. It took her a good 15 minutes or more to calm down so she could then participate in the party.

Lilly didn't know what to think about her crazy friend!




















So much for me volunteering anytime soon. I think Kamryn does much better with a set routine. When I drive up and the ladies come to the car, she does just fine. This just threw her all off.

Halloween Recap

Thanks for the pumpkin cookies Grandma from two of your pumkins! Well Matt too, but he is avoiding the camera lately.


Lucky for us, the weather on Halloween was just wonderful for being outside. Kamryn and I started off our morning at Barnes and Noble for playgroup. We heard spooky stories and then went trick-or-treating throughout the store. It was fun to see Rowan and Abby. Kamryn enjoyed being the "oldest" and took care of her younger friends well. When the lady was passing out treats and Halloween bags, Kamryn made sure that her friends were taken care of.





















Kamryn and I went to Brendan's school parade that afternoon and happily waved to him as he passed us by. Brendan couldn't wear his scary costume to school so he chose just a skeleton for the parade. This is what he chose to wear trick or treating though. (he's never even seen the movie but liked the Freddie Kruger mask. yuck!)




















Matt stayed in this year. I guess 13 year olds are not into trick or treating anymore. Candy yes, but not going door to door for it.

It's become a tradition for me to make chili on Halloween so Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt B came over for dinner and helped hand out candy while I went out with my little cheerleader. Kamryn enjoyed herself the whole evening. Even after we came in, she loved running to the door to see the kids in costumes. Funny thing was that a group of 8th grade girls saw her and said, "hey, this is Kamryn from the picnic. Hi Kamryn." Then one girl reminded me that she is the one who gave me her phone number at the picnic because she would love to babysit Kamryn. I may just have to take her up on it sometime.
















The funniest thing to hear was Kamryn saying that her pumpkin bucket was "so heavy" from all the candy she collected. She was one tired little girl that evening.

Bragging on the boys

We just have to say that we are so proud of both of our boys! Both came home boasting straight A's on their report cards! Way to go guys! We love you. Keep up the great work.

Our Anniversary!

Today marked our 17 year wedding anniversary. Thought I'd share a wedding picture with you all. I've had fun going through all the pictures and remembering the details from that day. Seems like yesterday, yet a world of time away. I'm grateful that most people who were present at our wedding are still present in our lives. I'm sad for our loss remembering those loved ones that are no longer with us but reside in Heaven. I'm glad for the new relationships and friendships we have in our life. A lot can change in a moment, in a day, or a year let alone 17 years. Feeling thankful that God has blessed our marriage and our life. Thankful that His blessings remain constant.

Calendar for a cause

Our agency, FTIA, produces a wonderful wall calendar every year featuring the kiddos that they helped bring home to their forever families. One hundred percent of the calendar proceeds will support FTIA’s humanitarian aid projects, helping children in need overseas.

Kamryn is going to be in the calendar! This is her third year in a row. Mary Grace will be in next year's calendar too and hopefully some of Kamryn's travel buddies and Indy playgroup friends as well. Needless to say, I've placed my order! (& the order for extended family that has expressed an interest.)

If you are at all interested too, please visit FTIA's website. Tomorrow, Oct. 31st is the last day for pre-orders and then calendars will be available for as long as they have them.

Shopping, haircut, and carving a pumpkin

Kamryn and I were shopping one day at Children's place and she picked out this outfit all by herself. Even the headband. Which she wore to school on her head but when I picked her up, it was hanging around her neck and looked more like a scarf.
















Hmph. She does not like stuff in her hair. I struggle to keep any bows, clips or anything on her head. Luckily I've trained her to now at least hand them to me when she takes them off so that they do not get lost.

I stopped by my hair salon last Thursday after I picked Kamryn up from school just for a free quick bang trim for me. As we were sitting there waiting for my stylist, out bee-bops this adorable little Chinese girl with the cutest hair cut ever. After exchanging phone numbers with her mom (we love to make new friends!), I made an appointment for Kamryn for that next Saturday with my stylist.

So goodbye long hair . . .



















We didn't go as short as the other girl we saw because Kamryn has a colic in the back of her head and Colette (my hair stylist) was afraid if we layered it too much, it would make a big hole in the back of her head.
















I won't ever get her hair to look as good as Colette did. I think the trick is in the blow drying of the hair. I have such a hard time styling it while blowing drying it . . . I need three hands. Kamryn has never let me blow dry her hair either. But she sat okay for Colette. We'll see if we ever find the time or the patience to do this at home.
















She was all stylin' and we stayed home that night. Brendan and Kamryn helped Kevin carve a pumpkin. Scary of course to go with our new wreath.

Not Scary Enough

For Brendan's liking . . . He told me he doesn't like Halloween cute.

I love my "fall" decoration for the front door, but I took it down to be more in the "Halloween spirit." These friendly ghosts are all I could find in my boxes of stuff.

So, I decided to make a new "scary" wreath for the front door.




















It's still not scary enough for Brendan, but hey, I don't want to really scare people away;) Plus, it's a good compromise from the gross scary stuff that he really likes.

Check this out!

FALL FESTIVAL - Kamryn

Click on the link above to see how Kamryn is one of the new stars for the day on myadoptionwebsite.com. My friend Chrissie's daughter, Carley, was the star of Day 2. Isn't she so cute?

Oh golly, then after reading this fun stuff and copying down the yummy recipes, for kicks go to the sidebar on my blog and click on "read about our time in China" to see one of the very first pictures we got of Kamryn! Oh my, how she has grown!

The Amazing Panda Adventure

Last night we all went to Blockbuster to get some movies for "movie night." It was the perfect night to just hang out in front of the T.V. The boys picked out an oldie, Red Dawn. We all watched it with the exception of Kamryn who watched Cinderella.

Kamryn and I stayed up for a double feature. I happened to stumble on a movie called, "The Amazing Panda Adventure." Has anyone else ever seen this one? It was a very good movie with great footage of China and adorable pandas. A ten year old boy goes on a trip to China and ends up on a journey to rescue a baby panda taken by poachers. Kamryn and I really enjoyed it. I am thinking that it's one I want to keep in our movie library. I even learned something from it; the legend of how the panda got its colors.

The panda used to be all white. A panda and a girl were friends and she was the youngest of four sisters. The panda helped her herd her sheep and one day a tiger came. The tiger attacked the panda and the girl tried to save him but she was no match for the tiger. The tiger killed the girl. The pandas wore black ashes on their arms as a sign of mourning. They were so sad that the ashes got in their eyes because they cried so much. The sisters missed their youngest sister so much too so they jumped into the river. The next day a mountain appeared with four peaks. It is said that this mountain, called the Four Sisters, are there to stand guard to watch over the pandas.














I had to google this legend to see if it is true. I did find it out there and also found out that the Four Sisters Mountain is also called the Siguniang Mountain and is located in the Sichuan Province where the earthquake hit. There is even a book I stumbled upon called the Legend of the Panda by Linda Granfield. Amazon didn't have any copies available but Alibris.com did. So I bought it brand new. There are 6 brand new copies left. Hurry!

Fair Oaks Farm

I'm sure I've mentioned Fair Oaks Farm before. Not only is it a fun place to go in Fair Oaks, Indiana - www.fofarms.com - but it is exactly halfway from our previous home in Indiana so it's a great place to meet up with our Indy friends!

(Do check out the website! It's a nice daytrip!)
















Yesterday we met up with our friends Carol and Rob and their family. It was so nice to spend the day with them. The boys had so much fun bouncing outside and climbing the rock wall while the little ones rode the train and went for a tractor ride. Inside they watched a movie about cows and milk and enjoyed a cheesy dinner and homemade ice cream for dessert. We were so close to seeing twin cows being born, but we left the birthing barn about 5 minutes too soon. Oh well, we did see the babies after that. It's probably better that the kids didn't witness that. What an education!

















































We are so glad that our kids still get along so well even though they don't see each other very often. In fact, they didn't want the fun to end and even before the visit was close to being over, they started sweet talking us parents into the idea of a sleepover. Well lucky for them, and lucky for us, I remembered that Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt B. were driving down to Indy the next day (today) for a visit with Aunt B's daughter & family. So the boys won and had their overnight and an extra day together with their friends. Mommy was a bit jealous that she couldn't jump in their car and spend the night too! Kamryn and I are getting ready to go pick up the boys at Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt B's house soon.

Animals from afar (AKA ZOO)

Kamryn and I finally made it to the zoo this season. We went with some new neighborhood friends a few weeks ago on a school day. Yes, we went without the boys while they were in school and daddy was working from home. The boys aren't thrilled with the idea of walking around the zoo anymore so it worked out perfectly.

It was a tad bit chilly the day we went, but the animals were out and Kamryn enjoyed looking at them from afar!

Having Fun in the Sun

Look at those smiles! Aren't all of these girls just too cute? Kamryn and I love our Friday morning time with friends. It's been so nice out lately that we've been able to be outside whether it's to a park or to the St. Charles scarecrow fest!
















Thanks Kerry for telling us about the Scarecrow Fest. What a fun time to walk around and look at all the creative scarecrows. The girls loved the Horton Hears a Who and the Little Mermaid display. I liked the mechanical scarecrow riding the bike and the "Chercrow" - yes a Scarecrow with metallic silver boots on and all decked out to look like Cher.
















They even had a petting zoo but Kamryn was not thrilled to feed the hungry, aggressive goats. She seems to like animals better from afar.

My Little Helper

I cleaned out the fridge tonight. We save leftovers, but I don't know why we continue to do so because we are not a leftover family. Leftovers tend to sit in our fridge until they aren't so appetizing anymore. Honestly, to us, they are not even appetizing the very next day.

As I was washing the tupperware tonight, Kamryn chimed in, "Mommy, I want to help you!" So she grabbed a towel and dried every piece. Can I tell you how nice it is to have someone in the house who WANTS to help?! I won't ever tell her no to helping me with the dishes, even if it means I need to dry the floor afterwards.