"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the number of moments that take your breath away"
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -(Mahatma Gandhi)
Boo :) I let the babies play in the field while the big kids are in their class at the co-op, boo loves picking flowers :)
Baby girl on her first chilly morning :)
Bug had her first dance show, they were all so cute
on stage. She did pretty good :)
Pretty girls :)
After her show :) she was so happy!!
Mama (with a crazed look..) an baby girl
I love to let the kids be creative, whether painting rocks,paper or pumpkins. I let baby girl do some finger painting but ..I
dont think it was a hit :( she thought it was
weird ,
didnt really want to touch it, an tried to eat it. Yuck! Then she was mad because it was gross ! Oh well i will try again :)
"Mama, do you REALLY want me to touch
this?
"
Oh I dont think sooooo...."
"YUCK!! IT IS ICKY!"
Playing outside with the water table :)
October in florida
Look at those lashes. Melt me :)
Bug added bubbles :)
Our week has been great. So happy to hear about all the FAST court dates in Ethiopia now that the courts are open :) Congrats!
~a lady came up to me , after bugs dance class and asked for $2 for gas, said she forgot her wallet. I gave her $4 (that or a 20 :) and wished her a great day. Bug says " how do you know she was telling the truth?" I said I dont. but if she needed it , and I didnt give, that reflects on me. If she lied well..that reflects on her. I would rather do the right thing . She says " Oh mama I bet you made God happy" love my kids !!
~We are going to take another little vacation. Off to do some serious r&r...be back sunday
~my head hurts from all the thinking we have been doing around here...we know God has a plan for all of us. We feel we heard part of it , while in Ethiopia...we all live with so much "stuff" that we dont need and it starts to define us. We dont need these things to be happy or to do God's work. We are trying to see the plan. God & family and bringing glory to God. Those things matter. Big house? cable? many tvs? tons of toys? ignoring those in need? These things are not part of big plan.
Have a wonderful week everyone !! Pray us some cool weather k? Please continue to pray for sweet Vincent and Abby :)
Beautiful babies with a special bond :)
Cheeky baby!!!
OOPS! Trying to escape the hug :)
Got her !!
Boo loves her big brother. We hear everyday~
"Peanut, will you marry me?" It is so sweet !
Big sisters are awesome. Bug is the only one
who can calm baby girl , other then me.
~Hope you guys are having a great week. Our cold weather has gone
and it is almost time to put the ac back on :(
As much as I love the big bows, I gotta say I love this look too.Baby Girls curls are just beautiful.
Cheeky smile I love :)~Court is open in Ethiopia ! Can I get a "woot woot !!" ~huge Congratulations to Theresa, Baby Orange is coming home!!Go peek at some beautiful eyes. (fixed the type-o..of course she has 2 eyes !)
~2 older kids are running fevers :( boo hiss. I think a dr's appt is in our busy future. Fingers crossed babies dont get it.
~I turned around tonite in the kitchen to find Boo and Baby girl running and squealing around the island trailing a roll of toilet paper behind them!! LOL...I love having babies close in age it is so fun seeing their relationship grow :)
Happy week to all (psst..I found my camera wire so watch out :)
I had asked everyone to please keep a sweet little boy, Vincent in your prayers a few months back. Well..more then ever we need every pray and positive vibe sent his way. I know so many of you truly believe in the power of joined prayers , so please will you help ?? I have copied this text from my dear friend Angie's update on our Guatemalan adoption board. Vincent has a sister born in Guatemala and the family lost a young daughter...they can not lose their son!! There isnt much I could add...a MIRACLE IS TRULY NEEDED.
From Angie ~
***you may remember i posted awhile back about Jennifer's son Vincent in need ofprayers, as he was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer calledrhabdomyosarcoma... it is a soft tissue cancer and V had tumors in manylocations on his body (legs, pelvis, spine), with the tumor of origin being inhis calf. he has been doing amazingly well through the 1st 7 rounds of chemo &was due to go in last Friday for round 8, but his blood counts were not goodenough - those got up on Monday good enough to start chemo this week, but hewas/is having this horrible pain in his legs - they thought it could be due tothe raditation (which, yes, he is now simultaneously undergoing) or the virusthat he had last week that wiped him out (he was very ill for several days).when they went in Wednesday morning to start round 8, the drs decided to do somescans before they started to try to get an answer on this continuing very badpain in both legs - since it seemed like it should be just in one if it was fromthe radiation (they are only radiating the tumor of origin in the one leg) andif it was from the virus that should have passed by now...well... it is with a heavy heart that i must share that the news was not good.the cancer has spread to Vincent's brain and the prognosis, which was alreadyvery slim (10-15%) is now very difficult to bear... as Jennifer's latest messagewas titled "in desperate need of a miracle"they are keeping faith-focused and I just humbly ask, PLEASE that everyone say aprayer and share with anyone and everyone & ask them to pray and add VincentVillacci to every single prayer list that you know of and ask God to grant thismiracle for this family that has already lost one child...i can't remember if you have to be "added" or you have to create an passwordaccount to get in, or how it words, but, here is Vincent's care page if you are able to access...https://www.carepages.com/carepages/vincentvillacci
Rest in peace Buttercup
This morning Bug's first bunny, passed away. No idea why it was his time but he is now in heaven.
Man I hate this. I hate to see my kiddos so sad.
Bye sweet little guy...
If kids do not get healthy at my house VERY soon and stop whining.....
I may just jump out the window.
(ok. It is a first floor house, so climbin out the window will be the most dangerous part...then flinging myself in the bushes will be just wierd. I may do it anyway)
SERIOUSLY. 3 WHINEY KIDS.1 GRUMPY KID. 1 VERY STRESSED MAMA..
ADD WINE :)
** I had to edit the recipe...I forgot to add the tomato paste :) in case you care and I know you do ;)
I swear I havent run away. Since the camping trip, I have misplaced my camera wire to download. And we all know a post without pictures is ...well...not as much fun :)
I made this recipe this week and had to share. It came out yummy! I changed it up a bit so I changed the name ;) seemed fair. The original is posted on my facebook page. Oh yeah! I was guilted into joining fb :)
**Ria's Bar-b-q Brunswick Stew**
6 ounces diced salt pork
3 pounds chicken tendorlions or breast meat (if you like dark meat , you can use that and just take out the bones and skin)
12 cups water
4-1/2 potatoes, cubed
4-1/2 onions, chopped
1-1/2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
3 cups frozen whole kernel shoepeg corn
1 yellow squash cut into thick chunks
1 bag frozen mixed veggies
1-1/2 (10 ounce) packages frozen lima beans
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper *more or less for taste
2/3 bottle sweet bar-b-q sauce ( I used Sonny's)
1 tsp vinegar
1 can tomato paste**
1 handful fresh spinach torn with stems removed
Feeds 18 servings so plenty for dinner and to freeze for later
boil the chicken and pork, when cooked remove to cool then shred chicken and take out any super fatty pieces of pork. If you dont mind them , leave them in :)
add all veggies and ingredients except spinach , add that at the end. Put meat back in and let it all simmer for 2 hours :)
serve with a loaf of hard bread.
YUM.
I am sooooo excited fall is in the air !
