Weekend Fun...

Doesn't this look yummy?! I can't wait to dig in later tonight! I have to say one of my favorite things about having friends over is the food!! The dessert I decided to go with for tonight is Peach Delight. Oh my, is it ever so delightful! I hope the Forslunds will agree! Lady Forslund is eating for two, so I made sure to make plenty :)

Speaking of weekend fun, one of the great things Tim and Nathan do together is the Saturday morning "build something" class at Lowe's. I don't really know what the thing is called, but they do build something together, and it's a once a month class. Nathan loves it!! So this morning he woke up way before it was time, and this was one of my mornings to sleep in. I told him he could get in bed with us, but he had to lay there still and quiet. He says "ok". Then in his LOUD whisper he says "mom, what are they building at Lowe's tomorrow?" Needless to say I'll be checking into that today! So much for sleeping in. Didn't matter anyway because about one minute later in walks Joseph. Tip toeing and whispering "mom, mom, mom." And off starts a glorious weekend!

On Saturday we get to "play" with the Altman's and I get to enjoy someone else's dessert making skills; yummy again. Can't wait to see you guys!

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the super bowl! I will be cooking, and half way watching it. If the Titans aren't playing I just don't care that much. Sorry Tim! I will make sure you have something yummy to munch on though!! :)

Pardon our dust

Tracy has informed me I need to make more posts. Also, that I need to redesign and change pictures. Let the construction begin!

The new picture at the top of the blog is one I took while we were in Guatemala on our first trip to visit Joseph (Yes, I originally had Nathan as the one being visited. Don't judge me.) The mountain had been under a cloud most of the time we were there. Then, there was one lovely moment, and the sun was shining perfectly and the top of the mountain was in view. It was beautiful.

There will be more changes to come.

Tim

It's a miracle!

Okay, I'm still reeling from that video I posted.  I hope many of you were moved by it, and you too want to prayerfully consider what you could do to help.  Isn't it great that those children were found and they are thriving now?  

So onto the miracleous thing at my house this morning.....Nathan and Joseph have been playing TOGETHER peacefully all morning!  I would not have believed it if I hadn't been here to witness it myself.  I even heard Nathan say "do you need help buddy?" in the sweetest voice.  I have been astonished and so so so very happy!  I was in the next room with a huge smile on my face folding laundry, I was so happy to complete a task for a change!  They are getting along so well, I've even prolonged Joseph's nap.  A miracle in itself.  Seriously, I can't believe it.  There has been no yelling, taddling, or blood drawn.  What a day!!  Maybe they are finally learning it can be fun to have a brother.  For those of you wondering "why is Nathan home?" school was canceled today.  Weather. I am enjoying my boys being with me!  I posted this picture of them playing together, it's not a great picture but a spectacular sight!

Have a wonderful day!

Sam and Esther

I will warn you, this is not easy to watch. You will ache. I pray that the aching moves us to action. Please pray. Pray that we can come together as a people and STOP this from happening. I am only one person, I cannot do much. What I can do, I will do. I can gather people to form MANY, and DO something. PLEASE visit www.sandamianofoundation.org after watching this video. Help me come up with ways to raise money, awareness, and bring help to these people. Thank you God for helping Sam, Esther and Jane.

Yup, Gups

The conversation started like this,

Nathan: "Mom, am I allergic to fish?"
Tra: "No."
Nathan: "Is Aunt Kim allergic to fish?"
Tra: "No."
Nathan: "Well, Mom, I want a fish."

So, at the dinner table one night, Nathan presented me with the pet solution. Fish. It works for everyone. He was pleasantly surprised and shocked by my immediate agreement to this new aquatic adventure. Nathan wanted one goldfish. I did not want a goldfish.

See, we have had a fish before. It was a goldfish named Dora or Dollie or Dottie or something like that. For those of you who don't know, goldfish are nasty little creatures. They are the aquatic equivalent to a garbage truck in use for the past 43 years that has never been cleaned, upgraded, or loved. Stinky. They burp and poop at a remarkable rate. I think I once saw it sit back and scratch itself like a slob on an old couch. I had to clean the tank about every 34 1/2 minutes.

Sadly, well not so much sadly as joyously, Ditto met her maker on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Nathan didn't seem to notice. She was there and then she wasn't. The tank was dirty and then it was clean. I am glad he didn't see her floating in the tank. From what I remember, Nathan never said anything about her abrupt departure from his room. I kept the food, the water conditioner and the tank for months; just in case he wanted a replacement. About six months to a year later, I gave the tank away and Tra threw out the food and other supplies.

Saturday we had the joy of buying all of those supplies again. This time we went for the five gallon tank. We picked out a little plant, some gravel, and other decoration. Then, we headed for the fish! We looked at goldfish - keep moving people! We looked at Mollies and Platies and Tetras and Cichlas and Guppies. Nathan wanted one fish. Then, two. Then, three.

The nice lady at Petsmart told us the rule-of-thumb is one inch of fish per gallon of water. So, in our case, we could have five one inch fish or one five inch fish or a couple of two inchers. You get the idea. We decided to go for the one inch size.

Me (fish tank under arm): "Could you help us pick out some fish?"
Nice Petsmart Lady: "Sure. Is this for that fish tank?"
Me: "It is."
NPsL: "Oh. Well you need to first condition the water and let it sit for 24 hours before getting any fish. This is always tough for the kids."
Me: "OK." - in my head, "Crap."

Today Nathan and I went back and picked out four nice little Guppies. Two males and two females. Flippy (the orange one), Rainy (the rainbow one), Sunshine (the yellow one) and Dot (the silver one with the orange tail with black spots). They are all currently swimming happily in the tank in Nathan's room. Guppies are cleaner, smaller and more active than goldfish.

RIP Darlene or Dorothy or Danielle or Dancy or whatever your name was. Ya dirty girl.

The Creative Soul...

I am driving my husband crazy.  He says I have too many "outlets."  I say he doesn't have enough. So what if I jump from this to that, expressing my love hate relationship with all things creative.  Alright, so if I were to be totally honest here I drive myself nuts!!  I need more hours in the day for loving on my kids, sewing, photography, reading, knitting, violin, cooking, art, and cleaning the house.  Although that last one, I would certainly not call a hobby.  I can't help it, I have this unquenchable urge to create.  There is magic and fulfillment in making something out of nothing. Unfortuanetly I wish my talents matched my desires, as of now they do not!  I stumbled upon someone else's devotional blog the other day.  On this blog I read about how we come from the ultimate "creator."  Maybe this urge within me is straight from above, and I should fully surrender.  At least that is the story I'm telling my husband!  Maybe that will give me the much needed grace I always seem to need from him!

To all my fellow creative souls, have a wonderful day!

Just had to say it....

I love my husband.  For many reasons, but today a very special reason.  HE IS GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE FOR ME!  Ahhhhhh, I am so happy.  I would say it's the little things that keep a marriage going, but let's be honest, grocery shopping?  That's a BIG thing in my book.  He's great.  Not to mention this weekend he finally gave in and is buying Nathan a pet fish.  Nathan also expects his dad to build him a rocket ship, tree house, and a go-kart.  Nathan has LOTS of confidence in his dad.  Joseph just wants to be on top of him, always.  Anyway, nothing much is happening at the Goo house today.  I just wanted to say I am getting a break from the grocery store today, and if you can't tell I'm very excited about it!

21 But this I call to mind,and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning;great is your faithfulness

Lamentations 3:21-23

Baby it's cold outside...

Fire up the fireplace!  It is cold! I'll be off to get some firewood today, that is FOR SURE.  On the mornings when Nathan rides to school with a friend, we stand at the door and wave as he drives away.  Joseph says shivering "mommy cold!"  Then he hides behind the door softly saying "bye dadan."  It doesn't get this cold in Guatemala.  He doesn't let it stop him from playing out there though, he just likes to be bundled up!  So does Nathan for that matter.  Nathan refuses to go to school without a hat on his head.  That just makes me laugh.  His little face is so cute tucked inside that big ole hat.  I don't know about you but the cold weather makes coffee all that much better!  I LOVE waking up to a cold house and a warm cup of coffee in my hand, all snuggled up in my robe. That is just the best.  Then of course I crank up the heat for the little ones.

Don't get me wrong, if I had my choice I'd be on a beach right now!!  I don't think a beach vacation is in our future this summer, too many bills.  BUT, you can gaurantee I'll be dreaming of a beach.  Luckily, the local pool will get the job done!  I can't wait to introduce that to Joseph this summer, he is going to LOVE it!  It is so much fun having a baby around the house again.  I know I know, he isn't really a baby.  But he is a baby to me, especially compared to the 5 year old.  I am really enjoying introducing him to new experiences.  It's really beyond words.  Like when we first got him the foster family told us he HATED the bathtub.  Now, he cries because he doesn't want to get OUT of the bathtub.  It's been 3 months that we have had him home with us now.  Every day things get more simple, if that makes sense.  More and more he is just our son.  Not our newly adopted son from Guatemala who doesn't really know us or understand us yet.  He is just our sweet little boy.  I no longer feel the need to explain, we just got him and he doesn't really understand what you are saying to him.  That is a good feeling!  

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your fires!  Well, the intentional ones that is.

Praying for Jamie Moser-  if you have a moment please say a prayer for him.  He is my cousin, and he was badly burned, the life threatening kind.  He was just doing his job and there was a gas leak in the house where he was working.  There was a bad explosion.  He is hanging in there, and recovering quite well.  He has a long road ahead of him, and he is still in the hospital.  His wife is expecting a baby in April.

Life does move fast

I just wanted to say, it's hard to get older.  As a matter of fact, I have thought that my whole life. Being a little kid, you always want to be older.  However, being older always included extra responsiblities; never been a fan of that one.  Now that I'm uhummm....30something, the responsiblities don't bother me too much.  Realizing I have limitations because I'm not 20 anymore, that bothers me A LOT.  It really feels like yesterday I turned 25. When did I get in my 30somethings?  So it looks like I should have "thought things through" in my 20s.  I said that just for you Kim.  A wonderful sister who finds humor in my ignorance.  I'm sulking a bit because I didn't take the time to plan out the rest of my life.  Things like what age I would want to be starting new endeavors.  Well, it's a good thing that God is always in control even we aren't aware.  He knew, He knows, I am where I am supposed to be.

Bottom line, life moves fast.

Tracy

One of the items Tra wanted for Christmas was a new waffle maker.  I felt a bit like I was buying her a vacuum cleaner or a toilet bowl brush, but it was what she wanted.  OK.  So, Saturday I got up and took the boys downstairs so Tra could sleep in for a while.  I then decided to break-in the new waffle maker.  I popped open the computer, found a waffle recipe that didn't look to intimidating and off I went.  Flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, oil, milk, and some other stuff.  Easy enough.  Plug-in the waffle iron.  Lights on.  Mix the goods and pour it in.  We were on our way. 

Well, somehow the first round stuck to the non-stick coating.  Liars.  I figured I would adjust my cooking time and technique and try again.  Luckily, the batter was enough for eight and I had only screwed up four.  The next group came out wonderfully (as you can clearly see in the picture).  A little crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  Just like a waffle should be.  I will take a line here to say that I think there are some better recipes out there than this one I found at the Krups website, but they were good none the less.

Here is where the trouble starts.  I had to clean the stinking waffle iron.  I remember my mom used to have one that had removable plates.  They were waffle on one side and griddle on the other.  I thought I had searched for that before purchasing this for her, but I must have dreamed that little sequence.  I have since searched and found it on some other models.  I have to start making notes.

Back to the cleaning.  I guess that at most companies, the designers are never forced to try the products they create.  Or at least they don't have to clean them.  The batter got into places that weren't even close to the plates.  But, those little areas had heat.  How does batter actually get baked into the handle?  Seriously.  I wiped and scraped on this thing for 45 minutes and finally put it away with batter/waffle still on the thing.  Tra can deal with that next time.  

Pancakes.  Stick with pancakes. 

Two things

Two great things happened tonight.  I will give them to you chronologically. 

First, Nathan and I were pulling the cars into the garage after cleaning up the bikes and such.  As he got into my lap, Casting Crown's East to West was playing on the radio.  He was mid-sentence and chimed in singing, "from the west."  He just stopped there and carried on with his thought.  I thought it was really cute, kissed him on top of his head, and told him that I loved him.  He said, "I love you, too, Dad." (too many commas? oh, well.)  It was he usual, without much thought, response.  I laughed and asked if he got tired of my always saying I love you.  He said, "No because I really do love you."  Man, I love that kid.

Second, Joseph pooped on the potty.  M&M's were eaten.  Everyone cheered.  More M&M's were eaten.   Keep it up Joseph!