Emmit and Maxim – get the word out!

There’s a lady who loves two boys. She cannot go and bring them to her home. But oh, do they need a home! Emmit and Maxim have been waiting a long time for a family. And they haven’t been waiting in a foster family. They’ve spent most of their lives in the same room. It’s time for them to come home. Help get the word out… they are both adoptable and waiting. Their family is out there somewhere! These boys don’t need to be bedridden for life! They SHOULDN’T be bedridden for life.

Find more information about the boys here. http://hopefortheforgotten.blogspot.com/2011/03/waiting.html Maxim is being supported through Life2Orphans and Emmit is listed with Reece’s Rainbow.

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Second post of the day: Chicks

The chicken tractor that Brian is building is nearly finished. With that in mind, we bought four chicks and a few supplies yesterday! Two are Black Sex links (isn’t their name awkward?), one is a Rhode Island Red and one is a Ameraucana, which will lay awesome blue eggs.

The striped one is the Ameraucana.

We haven’t thought of a good theme for fancy names… their “house” names are: Red, Spot (one of the black ones has a white spot on her head), Black, and stripes. Fitting, don’t you think?

Their home for now. They’ll be indoors for 6 weeks before being moved to the chicken tractor. We’re using an old towel for their bedding. I’ll toss it in the laundry with the diapers every couple days and trade it out with a different old towel. If they outgrow the box before they move outside, Brian will make one out of scrap wood and we’ll put it in the office.

It’s fun to be farmers! 🙂 The girls are enjoying it, but maybe we are enjoying it even more!

We got to watch my friend’s beautiful daughter for a few days. Anna is really missing her!

Thank you, Gloria, for the adorable dress!

A regular sight that blesses me these days… Anna and Maggie reading together. We came down with a sick bug again this weekend, but pajama days are still good days. 🙂

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Thanks for Asking

I just wanted to direct you to a great idea that an artist is creating and selling to benefit an orphanage. It’s a little card set called, “Thanks for asking.” Strangers often ask questions that are rude or unkind without meaning to. These questions are asked especially of families who are visibly a family brought together by adoption (different skin colors). This artist has a respectful and helpful way to answer these questions without making the conversation awkward or hurtful for your child. Check it out here: http://jqueenan.blogspot.com/2011/02/thanks-for-asking.html I’m hoping she can make one for kids with Down Syndrome too!

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My own little girl

Anna: “Last night I dreamed I was big. And I was wearing the kind of shoes for dancing ballet. And I stood on my toes and I was soooo tall. I had a dress on that was called a gown, because it was soooo beautiful. When I walked, it sparkled. Even my hair sparkled, it was so shiny. And there was a prince. And the prince wanted to marry me so much. I had a ring on my finger. And later I lost my ring, but the prince found it again for me. And we lived happily ever after.”

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Family Life

Nothing better for the soul than a bit of love. The way my cousin Lydia said it is just perfect, “Children are sunshine to the heart.” Husbands too. Sisters too. Friends too. 😀

Let’s start with friends, shall we? In case it is unclear (I have no idea why it would be unclear), we are wearing the same shirt and the same pants at the same time. I am Hollie’s arms and we were practicing for a totally awesome skit for the women’s retreat. Hollie is Tim Allen. I am her arms. We made brownies and a mega hair dryer as Valentine’s Day gifts for “our wife” on our Home Improvement show. It was a big mess. I almost knocked us over, because I was laughing.

Now for sisters! It’s a special sister who drives over an hour to visit you with two little people in tow. It is always a pleasure to talk parenting and cooking and get to know your boys a little more, Melissa!

You know what? Brian is awesome. I know you already knew that. Especially you, Tamera. It does my heart good to know how much you love your boy, my man. Anyway, when I left for the women’s retreat, Maggie was coming down with a cold and so was I. I went through lots of tissues (almost used up the tissues I had for my cloth “stuff” demonstration!) and felt pretty low. But you know what? I slept without interruption. Brian did not! Kids who sleep with pacifiers don’t really do the whole stuffed nose thing well. Brian didn’t complain once, told me how he loves being a dad and sent me pictures of them making sugar cookies! And this too. A balloon DRESS. Your awesomeness is SOARING, dear!

Not much later, we got our first (and only) snow of the year! So much fun! Maggie has very little experience with snow. Anna rarely sees it either! All bundled up:

Hard to get pictures that aren’t blurry of excited children!

All of us:

Look what you can do with snow, Maggie:

Brrrr!!!!

Snowy yard. And to think we planted lettuce and spinach in the cold frame last week…:

Anna princess:

And now. For my last photo series. Cinnamon Rolls. Cinnamon Rolls courtesy of the Pioneer Woman. I cut her recipe in half. For some reason, the dough was extremely soft. Hmm.

And yet. Was it still yummy?

Was the remarkable ratio of butter to flour enough to redeem the soft dough?

Can a husband’s simple (and robust) appreciation redeem them?

Can we surmount the knowledge of the calories that these contain?

Probably that’s going too far.

Read a book while they bake and Mama makes frosting…

Oh yes. Definitely yes. Definitely having to restrain myself from locking myself in a closet with these and becoming more “jiggly” as the Pioneer Woman puts it. Ever so delicately. Ever so scrumptiously. Ever so light and sweet and perfect. Oh my.

Now wipe yourself clean from drool and get back to work. I have a HUGE weekend planned and need to get on it!

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