Happy 2nd Birthday, Knox!

Mom Tip Tuesday - Menu Planning

When I was a working wife, I began meal planning as a way to save money and headaches.  When I got home from work, I didn't want to have to think about what to fix.  Little did I know that these skills would serve me well as a tired mommy.  The front end planning takes longer, but the time and money saved are well worth it. 

First, I sit with a calendar and write down a daily planning list for each day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I add things like church potlucks and leave off meals when we won't be home.  In the beginning, I only focused on dinner, but planning out the breakfast and lunch helps me to be more creative and healthy with our daily fare.  My hubs is always asking me what's for dinner, so he can look at the chart and find out.  It saves him an exasperated answer.  I try to rotate favorites with new recipes to keep things fresh.  If I find a recipe that's a hit, I take the time to write it on an index card and add it to my recipe box.

Next, I fold a piece of lined paper into 6 squares.  I think about the layout of my grocery store and label the squares in the order that I walk through the store.  At Wegman's, my labels are:  Bakery/Deli,
Meat, Produce/Bread, Dairy, Frozen, and Dry/Canned.  As I go through my recipe plan for the week, I add ingredients to my list (this saves so much time in the store with little peeps tagging along).  This also helps prevent those $30 emergency runs to Target or Wegman's during the week.

Some awesome resources I have used in the past are Menus 4 Moms and Emeals .These services are for a nominal fee and give plans for weekly menus and grocery lists.  Lately, I've been using the menu plan from a site called The Better Mom .  The meal plans are healthy and everything I've made is delicious!

Give it a try and let me know if it saves you some money and time!

Torture by Yams

Water boarding, sleep deprivation, and . . . yams.  Who new that roasted yams would inflict such agony on the mouth of my 4 year old.  Earlier in the day he watched me peel and slice the interesting orange root vegetable.  After all, orange is his favorite color.  I spread the little orange circles on the roasting pan, drizzled with oil and copious amounts of cinnamon, and put those beauties in the oven.  When dinner time came, and knowing my little big guy's bouts of pickiness, I doled out 4 little yams to his plate.  He devoured the rest of the contents of the plate but would not touch the yams.  After much discussion and futile attempts at bargaining down the number with feverish recounts, Shane and I stuck to our guns and required the consumption of said vegetable.  There was great weeping and gnashing of teeth, a failed attempt at a biblical connection made by mom, and a sacrificial yam eaten by dad.

After it was finished, I couldn't help but make the connection in my own life.  How many times has God given me good gifts that I have only received with anger, tears, or with arms crossed and a pouty face.  With hindsight, how many times have I seen God's magnificent provision and the great wisdom of His plan instead of mine.

My Busy Big Boy

I have a precious little imp in my care who smiles with at least 6 dimples and has ridiculously large blue eyes.  He is energetic.  As a teacher we used lots of euphemism to describe those boys in our class like "busy", "full of energy", "active".  We really meant hyper :)  Sorry to demystify for all of you former parents of mine out there.   My former colleagues think it is hysterical that I got one of those little guys but I'm delighted.  Those little boys with the ants in their pants were some of the smartest and most fun to teach (on most days).   As a society we have feminized and tried to shove these little fireballs of energy into the mold of the quiet student (girl) with hands folded and feet still.

Don't get me wrong.  Self-control is important to cultivate and there are very important times when these little peeps with testosterone need to be able to sit and listen.  What I have learned as that my little man uses his energy to help me without being asked most of the time.  He walks around saying, "I love you Mommy" more times than I can count in a day.  I've also learned that learning that involves that energy is so fun for him.  As a former teacher, I have been given what some homeschool moms refer to as "the teacher curse".  I spent about a year trying to reproduce a preschool classroom at home, to no avail.  I'm learning that all day at my house is the school day and that I can just as easily teach the alphabet using playdough and rice in a cake pan as I can forcing him to sit at a desk and do a workbook.  Preschooling should be fun.

I've started to use a curriculum piece by a publisher called Heart of Dakota.  The book is called Little Hands to Heaven.     The lessons take less than 30 minutes and "includes letter recognition and formation, letter sounds with corresponding motions, beginning math skills, Bible activities, devotional topics, art projects, dramatic play, active exploration, fingerplays, and music."  What I love about this little manual is that I don't have to reinvent the wheel or do lots of cut and paste prep.  Many of the activities are conversational and active without being worksheet heavy.  This makes my little big man happy . . . more time for playing with 'struction vehicles outside.

Happy World Down Syndrome Day

Dear Friends,

My mommy told me that there is a little girl in Eastern Europe named Albina.  She is a little girl that has Down Syndrome, like me.  Just like me, she wants a mommy and daddy to love her and hold her.  She's a big girl that has a family called the Jollys who want to adopt her.  Can you please help her family bring her home?  Head on over to my friend Lily's mommy's blog called A Perfect Lily and find out how to donate.  I'm so thankful that I was born here in the U.S. because I would have been sent to a place like where Albina lives.  Help Albina become part of her forever family.  Here's a spaghetti kiss for you!

xoxox
Knox

Knox, the Great Reformer

John Knox was a great reformer during the protestant reformation in Scotland.  My husband was adopted but likes to believe he's Scottish.  (He watched Braveheart and felt William Wallace was a kindred spirit and besides . . . he  looks pretty fine in a kilt.) When deciding on names for our future progeny,  we chose strong Scottish monikers with complicated spellings.

When Shane called with the news that our agency had a baby for us with Down Syndrome and 3 congenital heart defects, fear hovered over my heart.  All of those times I had seen those parents, older parents with adult children with special needs came to the surface.  "Those poor people, they'll never get a break."  What would we do?  Could this baby ever pronounce the name we were giving him?  Should we pick another name? Will he walk?  Will he ever have a relationship with Grae?  Will Grae hate us for "doing" this to him.  I'm being brutally honest here.  Those fears hovered for a few hours, but never rested in my heart.

What quickly took their place was the peace that only God can give.  I'm not diminishing the grieving process that many parents go through in receiving a diagnosis, but I am saying that for me, God replaced those fears with Shane's unbridled optimism and excitement.  (I'm sure this is but one reason the Lord put us together.)  The Lord was the reformer of my heart, but His primary agent in doing it was Knox.  He quickly stole my heart with his precious tininess, and his typical baby-ness.

God has shown me through Knox that babies with Down Syndrome aren't all that different.  They come with their share of challenges, but also, it seems, with an extra measure of sweetness.  Yes, I will be that older parent in the store with my little helper, but I don't see it as a burden anymore.  What a blessing from the Lord!  Maybe he will keep my young and fresh, and remind me that the value of a person is not in their "productivity" or even their IQ, but in the content of their spirit and the image of God reflected in them.

Defeated Perfectionism 101

So, I could probably search my blog for the terms "terrible blogger" and I'm sure I would come up with a bunch of hits.  I so long to write and articulate, pithy, and worthwhile articles, tips for the home, award winning photos, finger lickin' recipes etc ad nauseum.  It seems in the blogging world I'm a jack of all trades and master of none.  I have plenty to write about:

I'm a wretched sinner saved by grace
I'm married to a former shoe-lace salesman turned full time orphan care advocate
I've adopted 2 boys domestically, (one precocious little whipper snapper with Dennis the Menace-like tendencies, and one little observer with fabulous hair and an extra chromosome)
I'm a pretty good cook
I'm a freelance writer (I'm actually getting paid to write in some capacity)
I'm an experienced teacher in the classical method
I'm an aspiring novelist with 11 chapters of a novel (I've been working on for  4 years)
I'm crafty (and not in the Beasty Boys definition)
I'm homeschooling


All the blogging sites emphasize that you need to have a focus.  I have none.  When I try to come up with a focus, I just feel defeated and don't blog.  And that is why my last post was February 22, 2012.  I'm just resigned now to give you a smattering of what is Wendy.  I'm sorry if you are a reader looking for information on life with a child with down syndrome, or if you are only interested in my amazing avocado dip . . . I'm just too scattered a person to pretend to be that focused.  If you are looking for a picture into a life of a quirky, self proclaimed defeated Type A, with lots of flaws, some delicious recipes, and heaps of sanctification left to go, I'm your gal.  Hope you'll stick with me :)

Making it Stretch - Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Apple Coleslaw

I don't feed my family sprouted grains, but I don't feed them Fruit Loops either.  I'm not a "green" mom, or a "crunchy" mom.  I would consider myself a wholesome mom with a splash of frugal, fun, and old-fashioned mixed in.  If your family is like ours, any chance to save a few pennies and minutes is always a plus!  Here is my go-to feed an army or my family for days meal with little effort, and some inexpensive but wholesome ingredients.

Do large slabs of meat scare you?  Walk over to one of the guys in the white coats at your local grocery store.  Put on your sheepish smile and ask for a pork shoulder.  Don't worry.  They won't laugh at you. . . at least not to your face.  When you find the pork shoulder, give it a slap.  I don't know why, just do it.  Then heave the large slab of yummy marbled piggy into your cart.  There aren't many more ingredients necessary.  Here's the recipe:

Pulled Pork

1 pork shoulder
2 cups apple juice or cider
salt and pepper
barbecue sauce (your own secret concoction or a bottle.  I'll never tell)
2 TBS prepared mustard
1 c ketchup

Place piggy in the crockpot with some salt and pepper.  Pour in the apple juice.  Cook on low for 12 hours or until pork is fork tender.  ( I usually put mine in before bed.  By the next morning, voila!)  Pull out of the pot and let cool.  Pull the pork off the bone and place in a large pot.  Add barbecue sauce, mustard and ketchup.  Heat and serve while wiping the sweat from your brow.  You barely did anything but people will rave.  Trust me.

Apple Cole Slaw

1 package slaw mix (or shred cabbage and carrots yourself if you are a glutton for punishment)
1 apple shredded
1 1/2 cups mayo
1/4 c vinegar
1-2 TBS sugar
1 c salted peanuts

Mix together mayo, vinegar, and sugar.  Pour and toss over slaw mix and apples.  Mix peanuts in at the last minute.  This is awesome on top of the pork on a roll.  Yum!





 

I've got the Power . . .

Okay, you know you're a terrible blogger when you daily look at your own blog (with the last post from December 2) and expect to magically read something new. Where are the blog fairies when you need them?

In the midst of my mom's diagnosis of leukemia, my terrible habit of staying up to watch Downton Abbey on Hulu, and our recent war against snot, I succumbed to my own laziness and slept each day until . . . . gasp . . . . 7:30 .  (I'm spoiled with late sleepers and a hubs who saws logs until at least 8 before rising to make me breakfast and coffee!)  What I notice in these gray and indecisive winter days is that my relationship with the Lord is the first to suffer.  Why is that?

Somehow I've convinced myself in my little ant shaking its fist to a giant way that I can do it all,  and all in my own strength.  This is the height of hubris (pardon my vocabulary nerdness - pride).

I've been reading Ephesians with the Good Morning Girls and this mornings verse put me in my place:

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith -                                         Ephesians 3: 14-17a

Notice it doesn't say, "Do it all on your own because you are perfectly capable", it reminded me that God in His rich mercy has granted me strength that I didn't have.  This same power gives me strength in my soul, not just my body and the craziest and most awesome fact is that CHRIST dwells in my heart.  When the storms in my life seem to knock out the power, I will remind myself that the same God who created the universe has given me His power. 

  

Jesse 2H

What is life like in your home today?  I'm sitting by a cozy fire, enjoying the sparkle of the Christmas tree, listening to music, and enjoying the quiet as my family sleeps. 

Don't forget to make your bed!
Make sure you eat all of your dinner or I'll eat that last nugget!
Can you please pick up all of these toys?

These refrains echo through my house daily.  These things are complete luxuries for children in the orphanages of Eastern Europe.  Many children are confined to their beds, are rarely picked up, my only receive force fed meals from a beer bottle with a nipple.  They may not have chewed on food.  Their toys are broken and few.  They wear mismatched clothes and they don't know the warmth of a mommy or daddy.

This is a sad fact.  What can we do to change this?  All of us aren't called to rescue a little one ourselves, but we can give out of our abundance.  Jesse 2H may live in an orphanage like I have described. 

Can you help him today?  Maybe this Christmas he'll find his forever family and give them that precious smile.


Please share Jesse's story!  Since I didn't have any bids for my friends awesome photo shoot giveaway, I'm offering a chance to win it if you:  share his story on facebook or your blog or you donate $10 or more.  Please leave a comment for each and I'll enter you in a drawing for the amazing photography package!  The giving is secure and goes straight to Reece's Rainbow (a reputable 501 C-3 charitable organization)  Gifts are tax deductible!

A Picture's Worth a Thousand . . . Dollars?

I happen to have very talented friends.  One of these friends is like family and she happens to be one of the most sought after lifestyle photographers in the Baltimore/Annapolis area.  Her name is Heather of Heather Grace Photography.  You can check out her site and wonder at her talented eye and gift with the camera.  Heather has agreed to donate one of her mini-sessions to benefit our little Jesse 2H.  I have decided to auction off this mini session with all of the proceeds going directly into Jesse's fund.  How exciting!These mini-sessions are hard to come by.  Some winner will be very lucky! Place your bid in the comment section.  The bidding will close at 12:00 pm on Wednesday, November 23.

Here is a taste of her Knoxtastic work

Winner Winner Chicken . . . oh wait

My dear friend Anne from Making Things Stretch was the winner of the autographed OP t-shirt.  Congrats Anne.  Check out her blog.  It's full of a wealth of great info and a snickerdoodle recipe :)

Woo Hoo!

I'm so excited for Jesse!  We've raised over half of the $1000 goal in just a week.  Could we raise double that next week?  I think we can!
My dear friend Amy is on her way to meet her little angel across the ocean today.  Lift her up in prayer.  How exciting!

Jesse Tree Giveaway

My extra talented hubby is also a rockstar! The first CD that his band released is a concept album all about physical and spiritual adoption.  He is an adoptee himself and has a huge heart for orphans. He has agreed to donate digital downloads of Orphan Project's 2 full length cd's to anyone willing to give $20 to Jesse's fund.  If you donate, please leave me a comment with your email address. 

I'll also be doing a drawing for an autographed T-Shirt and CD of their latest release Spooning Out the Sea for anyone who:
becomes a follower of my blog-one entry
share's my post about Jesse on their Facebook page - one entry
donate's $5 to Jesse's fund - one entry
(don't forget to leave me a comment with each entry)

I'll post winners on Friday!

Project Jesse Tree

     Have people been asking you yet?  Did you make your list?  Have you decided what you want for Christmas?  It seems so early to be asking these questions, but Thanksgiving is creeping up on us and Christmas is around the corner.
     Wanna know what I want for Christmas?  I want Jesse to fill your trees with reminders that there are little ones out there who don't care about presents but want nothing more than the love of a mother and a father.
     Reece's Rainbow has begun their yearly drive to raise grant funds for the little ones across the ocean with a little extra chromosome.  The website is constantly tugging at my heart strings and I searched for a little person that we could advocate for this Christmas.  I found precious Jesse.  Look at that smile that covers that delicious face!  In God's economy $1000 for Jesse is nothing.  Can you help me raise $1000 so that Jesse might find his forever family?

     Consider donating just $35 and receive an ornament with his face to remind you to pray for Jesse and others like him waiting for a mommy and daddy this Christmas.  This is a great way to get your kids involved in reaching out with the love of Christ.  How can we help to raise his grant fund so that his forever family can bring him home quickly?  Could you forego a fancy coffee for a month?  Could you eat in one night?  Could your kids rake leaves or sell brownies?  $35 is so little in our very abundant American lives.  Can you sacrifice a little so that Jesse may find a family to bless?    Read our story to see how we've been blessed by our little man with a little extra.

Eyes wide open ...

credit: google

My friend Adeye, a fellow blogger and adoptive mom of some very special girls, posted a hard but eye opening question to all of us who claim Christ.  I was reading this morning in I John 3: 17:  "But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?  Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."    How can we in the world's richest nation, not love those little ones around the world that are in such need?  The Lord may not call all of us to adoption, but we can all help.  Reeces Rainbow just kicked off their Angel Tree program to help raise grant funds for little ones with special needs in difficult situations around the world.  Will you help?  More to come on the little guy we are sponsoring this Christmas!

Read Adeye's blogpost here.

Little Ebenezers

I was always puzzled by the line in "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"

Here I raise my ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I'm come

The only Ebenezer I was familiar with was the crotchety old skinflint from A Christmas Carol.  Humorous pictures of someone holding up Old Scrooge, had crossed my mind.  As an adult, I learned that an ebenezer is something that reminds the world of God's help and sovereignty in the lives of His people.  We keep the prybar that was in Shane's belt when he fell 20ft backward off the roof as an ebenezer of God's protection of Shane.  It could have impaled him, but only left a little scratch.  

I have some pictures that will serve as ebenezers.  Here are my little men, just one year ago:

And just a few days ago:

God has given these brothers such a sweet love for each other.  Knox even calls for Grae and Grae can understand his baby speak.  Grae is the soother, protector, and playmate of our newest addition.  Knox looks at Grae with awe.  It is a precious picture and testimony of how the Lord can take 2 unrelated people, grafted to a family by adoption and knit them together. 

Rise and Shine

I love the comfort of my cozy bed and the rumbling of my hub's loud breathing.  It usually takes a scream through the baby monitor, or the entrance of one very loud almost 4 year old to pry me out of my cocoon of comfort. 

I am a changed woman.  I've been waking up a little after 6 (I still hit the snooze) to spend some time in Bible study.  It's been three weeks and I actually look forward to getting up.  My friend Beth joked about our new chair and a half in our library.  "You drawing close to Jesus in that chair?"  I am, and I love it. 

My life at this stage is full of busyness.  Managing a one year old (with fabulous hair) and his variety of therapist appointments, an energetic 3.8 year old and his alphabet, and my viking of a husband requires an extra dose of energy. (Hubs is such a help and a blessing)  I have felt a new vigor and encouragement with this little time to myself.  I'm digging in and scraping every last morsel of wisdom from my time in the Word.  I'm praying for people instead of just saying I will.  I'm starting my day with the right focus.  Who knew in my battle for discipline, I'd win this tiny victory.

Next battle, weight loss . . .

Surprise

One year ago today a family entered the hospital to give birth to their son.

One year ago today their little boy was born with down syndrome and congenital heart defects.

One year ago today, a family wrestled with a life changing decision.

One year ago today, we had no idea we would have a baby in 15 days.

One year ago today, the Lord began a journey to bring us together.

One year ago today, our newest blessing was born.

Happy Birthday Ciaran Knox!

These boots are made for walking

I am possibly one of the most terrible bloggers of all time.  I look at the same post that pops up in my homepage and, uninspired, I move on.  In an effort to maintain discipline in several areas of my life, I'm going to try to post more regularly. 

I recently began a morning Bible study group called Good Morning Girls which walks through the Bible one verse at a time.  I joined a group of like-minded ladies to share what I'm learning.  It's been two weeks and I have to say that I love the accountability and the discipline of getting up early.  If only getting up to exercise were this easy!

We've been walking through 1 John:

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

It's amazing what I've overlooked in my haste to "read" the Bible.  I'm being forced to meditate each day on a small chunk and I love it. 

John walked, talked, laughed, touched, heard, and saw Jesus.  This book is his proclamation of the Gospel of his Savior.  It is John's desire for us to know that same Jesus.  I know the truth of Scripture, but sometimes it seems so abstract.  This was a great reminder that this brother in Christ almost 2000 years ago is giving me his testimony.

I was also convicted about my double-mindedness.  I can't claim to be one thing and act differently.  What I do overflows from my heart.  If I confess Christ, God is faithful despite my faithlessness.  I need to be more honest about my own sin.  I heard a great sermon by Mark Dever called "Can I know God and keep on sinning?", a great reformed exposition of these verses. 

Walking in the light doesn't mean I don't sin, but that Christ exposes sin and declares me righteous.  What an encouragement to walk!