Transition

We are pretty much in complete transition mode right now. The movers are coming next Tuesday to pack, and they will load the truck Wednesday. Thursday we'll clean and get the keys for the townhouse David's company is renting for us. Friday,we'll sign our house over to its new family.

The townhouse is available to us for 30 days! Praise God for this provision, because we have not yet found a house to buy/rent. We're still working on it.

I didn't realize that the kids would be feeling so much stress already. Josiah has been deliberately disobeying and talking back for the first time. Elizabeth has been especially emotional, and was absolutely mean to Josiah this evening. (I have NEVER seen her behave the way she did tonight!) I'm not sure how much Josiah understands about us moving. He's obviously noticed changes around the house, and noticed Mommy and Daddy are more preoccupied than normal. Elizabeth absolutely knows what is happening. Leaving friends and going into the unknown are particularly upsetting for her. David's commuting has been rough on all of us, too.

We know that God will provide for all our needs. We know that He will reveal His plan in perfect time. We know He holds our dear little ones in His hands and knows their hearts better than even they do. Will you lift our family before the throne as we go into this very busy next week?

Bedtime Prayer

"Dear God, thank you for this day! Please help me to have fun at my party tomorrow. Sometimes it's hard for me to hear you, God. But I know when you choose the right time to speak to me, I will (hear you). Amen"

This kid just blows me away!

Daddy's Boy?

Today, Josiah picked out his clothes, and he chose his University of Maryland warm-up suit...both pieces. I was impressed. However, I think he thought he was getting the one with the Cars. When he looked at it, he seemed kind of confused and asked "cars?" But I showed him the MD Terrapin on the front. He excitedly said, "DADDY!" He knows Daddy's team!

(BTW, David asked that I post this ;-))

Outside Fun!

Since it was 60+ degrees today, the kids went outside to have some playtime. Of course Josiah had to wear his snowboots. I mean, what else do you wear when it's 60 degrees outside? Elizabeth was gracious enough to let Josiah use her scooter while she practiced roller skating. I was surprised to see how well they both did! Josiah totally understands how to push himself along, with either foot. Elizabeth is really starting to get gliding along instead of just "stomping" in her skates. I think she's ready for some real skates now instead of the Fisher Price plastic wheels. Hopefully, Josiah won't get too mad when he's older about us putting him on a his sister's pink scooter.

Things I Love--Hands

Today, especially, I need to practice focusing on the things I love about my kids. I'm going with a hand theme today, since those are the first thoughts that came to mind.

Josiah
~I love that he wants to hold my hand as he is falling asleep in bed.
~I love how he covers his mouth with both hands when he thinks something is really funny.
~I love how he wants lotion/oil on his hands so he can rub it on his belly or hair.
~I love that he always has hand gestures for certain phrases, like "I don't know" and "all gone"
~I love how he sometimes picks food up with his hands to put it on his fork.
~I love the way he fold his little hands when we pray.

Elizabeth
~I love how she so gently rubs my arm or hair when she's in a cuddly mood.
~I love how she gets so excited about having nail polish. (Wish she would stop sucking her thumb so we could do it again!)
~I love that she almost always is willing to lend Josiah a hand.
~I love that her hand movements are just naturally graceful and feminine.
~I love that she has learned some sign language and enjoys using it...and making up her own.
~I love how she likes holding hands with her friends and her brother.

Josiah's outfit of choice

Overalls and snowboots. no shirt. no socks. with the ever present phone right by his side.

That's what Josiah chose to wear today. When he woke up from his nap, the first thing he did was put his snowboots back on. Then he pointed to the door. "(s)now...pees?" (repeat 5 or so times) He tried to pull me towards the door a few times.

I couldn't get him to understand the snow was gone. Nor that just overalls wouldn't keep him warm enough anyway ;-)

Elizabeth's new favorite Chicken

We made this chicken for dinner the other night. I was looking on allrecipes.com for something easy that I had the ingredients. We modified it a bit, but Elizabeth LOVED it! She had leftovers for lunch today, and devoured it again! Josiah ate it. David and I thought it was good...maybe a little too sweet. And we would have liked a little more spice. Even with adding an extra clove of garlic, I really couldn't taste it. We served with rice and peas...the kids liked them separate. I mixed mine all together! David doesn't eat peas.

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken (click for orig. recipe)

Ingredients: (My changes are in green)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (Omitted this)
10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Used three BIG boneless skinless ch. breasts)
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup lite soy sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 cloves garlic, crushed (Used 3 cloves)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root (Used 1/2 tsp ground)
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained with juice reserved (1 cup orange juice)
2 tablespoons cornstarch (4 Tbsp flour)
1/4 cup water (omitted)

In small mixing bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, ginger, and pineapple/orange juice.

Place chicken in slow cooker, pour sauce over, making sure chicken is coated.

The recipe says to cover and cook on high for 4 hours. I cooked on low for about 6.

If you are using pineapple, stir in just before serving.

Remove chicken. Mix cornstarch and water in small bowl. Blend mixture into sauce to thicken. I did not have cornstarch, hence I just stirred flour into the sauce. It didn't really make much difference...until today! ;-)

We will definitely be making this again...It was super easy, and will be great with a little tweaking. Maybe a little less honey, and more garlic and ginger. I'm not sure about thickening the sauce yet. Enjoy!

Snow Birthday

Today was not the day we had planned, but it was a great family day!

I was up with David at 5 a.m. when he was getting ready for work, and planned to make him a birthday breakfast. Then I realized we were in serious need of grocery shopping, so he ended up with his normal cereal. But I did make his coffee and pack his lunch.

So, David headed off for work with his new Group 1 Crew CD in the car. About an hour after leaving the house, David called and said he was being hit with ice pellets, so was heading home instead of to work! YAY! I believe David has taken off work for his birthday every year since high school. But because of the new position, he didn't want to do that this year. What a blessing to have a snow day!

The kids and I had planned to go do some shopping and running around town, but with this being Josiah's first real snow and having Daddy home, we played in the snow instead! Afterward, we had hot chocolate and popcorn. And then all took some long naps! So NICE!

We had planned to go out to dinner for David's birthday, but decided we'd rather stay home. So we had pasta with some leftover pork (remember the need for groceries?) We'll go out another evening.

Enjoy some first snow pics!

At first, Josiah was not so sure about walking in the snow. He was a bit panicked when he fell over, and he didn't even really try to get himself back up. But he began to like the idea. He loved throwing the snow, and didn't even mind sticking his bare hands right down in it. (How in the world do you get mittens to stay on a little boy?) He especially enjoyed tubing down the driveway with Daddy, Elizabeth, or even on his own!

So What I'm 30

Ok, so I'm 30. I feel just the same as I have for at least the past 5 years. I'm blessed to have a beautiful wife and two wonderful children.

God even gave me a snow day so that I can stay home. And fortunately, I can do a little telecommuting and maybe get out in the snow with the kids later.

What did God give you on yor birthday?

Happy Birthday!!!

Today, my darling hubby is 30!!!

I am so proud of David! He is am amazing husband and father. He works hard, and is SO good at what he does. He enjoys coming home to spend time with our family. Even though he pretends he doesn't like the pink and frills, he loves being Daddy to a beautiful girlie girl. When we decided to adopt from Ethiopia, he immediately found and bought a whole collection of Amharic learning tools. (We haven't really gotten to use them, as life has been crazy, but we will!) He absolutely plans to adopt again. Yesterday, he found Ethiopian coffee at Target and bought it and a grinder. Mind you, David can't stand coffee. But he has decided to start acclimating himself to it now so that by the time we go back to Ethiopia, he is prepared to participate in the traditional coffee ceremony. He loves God and lives in a way to share it with our children and others around him.

Happy Birthday, My Love!

(It's crazy to think that I'm married to a 30 year old ;-)--we've been together since before David's 20th birthday!)