Rushton's Recipes

A few ramblings...

2012-01-26T12:06:00.000-08:00

I talked to my social worker to find out that our article 5 will be picked up on Feb. 2nd from the consulate and then someone will courier it to wherever it is that they do and THEN we will officially be waiting on TA! Yippee! (we lost a whole week with the chinese new year.... which I was hoping we weren't.. but what can you do?) Will you join me in praying for a fast TA?!?! Several of my friends are waiting on TA, so just praying for speed for all of us. Even with the end in sight, the wait to TA seems so long.... that feeling of so close yet so far away. So, enough about TA and on to other things....

While I am not traveling right now, I have the joy of journeying these next few weeks (albeit via the internet) with 3 friends who have left to go and get their daughters. Their blogs are all linked on the side of mine so check them out. Their daughters are all adorable and just have no idea what is coming.... praying that God will prepare them now for the huge transition.

When you have anticipated meeting your daughter for so long, it is easy to conjure up images of everyone in the room parting, music playing, a ray of sunshine from heaven beaming down on her as she sees you and runs and leaps in your arms laughing "mommy! I've been waiting for you!" In my dreams, it seems like a magical and beautiful moment. But the reality for our daughters could not be more different. Among my friends, our chinese daughters are anywhere from 15 months to 4 years old.... picture your child that age, waking up one morning, driven away from the only home she has ever known and then being handed to 2 people of a different race.... they smell different, look different and are probably crying and acting crazy. I picture my little Henry in that situation and it makes me want to vomit. It feels like a scary scene of a kidnapping..... and to add to it all, the Nanny who you know and love is making you go with them... do I sound too dramatic? All that to say that our girls are going to scared in a way that I can't fully understand... they may come to us kicking and screaming.... they may shut down emotionally to cope (which is what I am anticipating with Mei Sims from the birthday cake incident).... but it just seems like such a contrast... that they day we have dreamed of as being one of the greatest in our lives will be a day of fear, trauma & loss for her. Of course, we have confidence that she will overcome all of that trauma... but I think this is partially on my heart to share so that you would join me now in praying that God would prepare Mei Sims in ways that only He can... I'm praying that she will grieve and mourn her loss, that we will know how to minister to her in her hurt... and that she will quickly feel safe and overwhelmed with love in a way that is possible with the love of Christ. You can also pray that this week for Mollie, Emma and Madison, the daughters of my friends.

Emma is Mei Sims little roommate that I have mentioned before. I'm PRAYING that her mama is allowed to go visit the orphanage (it is up to the director) because if she does, she will get to love on Mei Sims. Even if it is just a hug, there is something so comforting in knowing that a friend may get to see and touch my daughter. It makes her feel closer in the waiting. As Emma leaves though, it brings my mind again to what loss these little girls endure.... they have been together since they were born. They are 1 month apart in age. I have to imagine they feel like sisters and then one day emma will just be gone? How would that feel? I know they are young but she certainly will know that her friend is missing. Just can't wait to have her home and for her to learn that we will never leave her. period. she is stuck with us!

I'll leave you with another song for the journey. It seriously sums up the way I feel right now better than I could ever express is.... the chorus says "my heart is tangled all around you..." and that is how I feel... a surreal feeling of being tangled up with a child half way around the world.... I have more to say but feel as though I am rambling so I'll save it for another day!

Moving ahead!

2012-01-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! We have completed a few more steps... each one feels like such a milestone! So, we received our I800a approval on Dec. 29th. Then our stuff was sent to the National Visa Center. We were entered in their system on Jan 6th and I got word from them today that we were cabled yesterday. So, we can now begin the 2 week wait for our article 5..... I know this all sounds completely like gibberish unless you are in the adoption world.... but basically this means that once the chinese new year is over (it is the week of Jan 23rd and everything shuts down for the week) our Article 5 will be picked up and THEN, all we will be waiting on is travel approval!!! I can't even believe it! TA can take anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks. Once we get TA, we can buy plane tickets and go get our baby!! I'm still hoping and praying for end of February. The only wild card is we don't know how much of a backlog of people there will be waiting to travel because of the new year. But I feel like I have finally reached the end of doing all that I can do.... there is no other agency that I can call and bother.... no other form to fill out and mail.... nothing.... just wait... and it feels so nice! Of course, now I can start packing stuff up so that I will be ready to go. One of Mei Sims' buddies is being picked up by her family at the end of the month.... I can't wait to live vicariously through them knowing that our turn is next. More after the Chinese New Year!

Update on Mei Sims

2012-01-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

Woke up to an update on our little girl this morning! Feels like Christmas all over again! If you are wondering how I got yet another one..... there is a website called www.ladybugsnlove.com... it is run by a stateside adoptive mom and a chinese employee named Angela, who contacts the orphanages. They are both awesome! And in my opinion the $40 it costs to get an update is well worth it! I would ask for one every other week if I didn't think it would drive the orphanage director crazy! I'm trying to use self control and do it about every month and a half so we will see how long I can make it before the next one! This time, we actually got some questions answered about our little peanut. My comments are in brown)

1. Is she walking? She is not walking yet. She can stand a while with assistance. (last update said she was walking with assistance so you never quite know what is correct.)

2. Does she sleep with anything special like a blanket or suck her thumb?

She likes to sleep with a napkin (I've heard all the babies in this orphanage sleep with a something like a white washrag.)

3. Please describe her personality.

She is active. She gets along well with other children. She likes to play with other children.
4. Does she have a favorite nanny?

We call her Mei Mei. The caregivers take shift to take care of her. (not quite an answer to the question, but that's ok. I can't remember if I have mentioned on the blog that MayMay is my mom's grandmother name. Pretty cool that she is called the same thing!)
5. Who are her favorite friends?

Her close friends are: Song Xiao Tao, Song Ying Qian, Song Ying Hong, Song Ying Yan, etc. (I just wanted to have this to share with her one day. And the first child they listed is my friend's daughter!)
6. Do you have any information about the day she was found?

She was placed in a carton when she was found. We don’t keep the blanket she was wrapped with. (Bummer, wish we had gotten more info. I'll try to ask more when we are there, but comforting to know she was wrapped in a blanket.)

7. How does she like to be comforted when she is sad?

Hold her, talk with her and play with her. (Kind of stupid question, but derek and I were having the hardest time coming up with questions. Interesting to me that we don't know our daughter at all, yet when we can ask questions, we had trouble even coming up with 10.)

8. What is her favorite food?

She is only eating formula mixed with rice cereal. She hasn’t tried any other solid food yet. (Kind of shocking to me that she hasn't eaten other food!!! Now I know why the birthday cake shoved in her mouth upset her so much!)

9. Her updated measurements:

Height: 70cm (27.5 inches) ; Weight: 7.5kg (about 16.5 lbs) ; Head: 43cm ; Chest: 41cm ; Teeth: 7; Foot: 10.5cm .

Such a cutie!!! And I love that her hair seems to be coming in fast!

giving & receiving

2011-12-29T12:27:00.000-08:00

This is a post I have been mulling over in my head for a while and I'm glad that I waited because the story got even better over the past week...... so, this may be a given but adoption is expensive!! The amount of our adoption will be around the $35,000 mark, which is cheap compared to some countries. When we began this process, I can assure you that we had nothing set aside to cover these expenses.... but the lack of funds was never a factor in deciding whether or not to grow our family.

During this journey, you get all sorts of feedback from various individuals and one train of thought I've heard over and over is "I'd love to adopt, but we can't afford it" or "I'd love to one day when we have saved up the money." You get the idea. Now that we are nearing the end of the journey, I can honestly say that I think it is a much more exciting ride when you have no clue where the money is going to come from... you get to see the body of Christ surround you & join in the process & you get to see God move mountains to bring in the funds. Had we had the money, we would have missed out on knowing God more intimately as well as having our lives more closely intertwined with other believers. I think this was the way God needed our journey to go in order to change me in the process.

It is humbling to see people care so much for your child that they want to give of their time, money and effort. One of the first moments of being blessed was a sweet friend offering to sell her vintage purses (you know who you are, so thanks!) and give the proceeds to us... which was then used to purchase our passports. Of course, it is about much more than money. It is about seeing God move in another's life to have a heart for your child... and to know that you will forever be connected because of this. This has given me a sweeter appreciation for the Body of Christ to say the least.

As the process has gone on, I have seen a pattern emerge that has encouraged me immensely....basically, the more i give, the more God has given me.... and I don't just me a vague "God has blessed me" but he has literally brought the money in that way. Before you jump to conclusions that I'm some holy person who loves to give to others, let me assure you to keep reading.... So, here is one example, I had a stack of clothes that I was going to sell (nicer adult clothing) and put the money toward the adoption. Nothing wrong with that. But I felt God leading me to give them to my cleaning people (yes, I am spoiled in that aspect). But the catch was that I didn't really want to. I kept thinking "But, God, I need to start stock piling money. These are some nice name brands. I can sell this one shirt for $30. Wouldn't it be better to just sell it?" (haha. Now you see why I told you to keep reading... not the most holy of responses!) But I couldn't shake the feeling so I gave in and gave. A few days later, we got a check in the mail back for taxes from the year before for $5000. I have this mental image in my head that keeps making me laugh of myself holding onto a single dollar tightly and saying "But God, we need this one." and God just shaking His head like this has to be some sort of joke.... thinking "Doesn't she know that I have a storehouse of treasures at my disposal?" And then I see Him opening my grasp to let go and THEN my hands are finally ready to receive.

This is the other part that makes me laugh (at myself).... I have always looked at the israelites in the desert and thought "what idiots!" They would complain and grumble then they'd see God move and the next morning they'd be back to complaining and then God would move again.... over and over and over. I think "surely I would have gotten the idea that God is going to provide and is in control a lot faster than they did?" There were several more incidents where I felt God leading me give... and in every situation, I still pushed back. See? I'm doing the same thing as those "idiots." Thankfully we serve a patient God who is still doing a work in me. So the amazing thing was, that each time we gave, God gave back in unexpected ways.... everything from selling our lakehouse that had been on the market for 3 years (which saved us a mortgage payment each month) to us getting a check from the BP oil spill (yes, you read that correct! Had no clue that one was coming) to most recently a few individuals giving us enough money to cover nearly half of the adoption! Shocking, right?

I don't want this to sound hokey like "give God your money and He will give you more money" but rather this is what God has been showing me in the process:

God is my great provider and His timing is perfect.

I need to hold loosely to the things of this world and be open to God showing me how He wants you to use them.

God will bless you if you give to things of eternal value... not necessarily with money... I think He did so for us in this situation because we literally needed the money for the adoption but I know His blessings come in many different forms.

I think that adoption is so at the heart of who God is.... His great redemption plan for a world lost in sin is all about providing a way that we might be adopted as His children. As believers, why would we not want to be involved in some way in adoption here on earth? I honestly believe that the people who have come alongside us, are playing a role in Mei Sims' salvation story. We are trusting the Lord to allow her to know Him as her Lord and Savior and I believe that God will reward in heaven all those who have fought for her here on earth. And I don't just mean financial support. I have several women who have prayed so fervently for Mei Sims-- I think they pray for her more than I do!-- and that has been SUCH a blessing and comfort to me. I can say that I really never gave too much thought to the plight of the orphans until people close to me began adopting and I got to see firsthand a life being redeemed here on earth. I didn't even fully understand my own orphan status and adoption by God clearly until we began this journey. I say that to just say, I understand if this whole thought process is new to you also.

Anyway, my hope behind this post is two-fold....

First, if you are praying about adoption or already on the journey I want to encourage you that God will provide for all of the finances... our story is a testimony to that.

Second, my hope is that someone reading this will be challenged to DO something to support others who are on this journey as well. If anyone does feel led to give financially, I have a few friends who are still trying to pull together the final $10,0oo cash you have to wire to china before you go. I'd be happy to direct you to them!

Have a happy new year friends!

Timeline

2011-12-17T09:13:00.000-08:00

Several people have asked about this.... so I thought I'd clarify what the next steps will look like. It may feel like this is taking forever but in the world of international adoption this has actually moved fairly fast. This week is one year to the date that we first walked into lifeline and turned in the initial application. It'll be about 15 months total from start to finish. To compare, if you are adopting off the healthy child list from china, it is more like 7-8 years!

Ok, so here is what we are looking at....

1. LOA- Dec. 14th.

2. LOA was overnighted to US Immigration with an I800 application (to allow her to come to the US-- we were already approved to bring a child but this attaches her name to ours.) Dec. 15th

3. The application sits in a lock box for a little over a week, then moves to an officer for review and then we get I800 approval. (Hopefully early Jan.-- the holidays could throw this off a bit)

4. NVC Cable (National Visa Center)-- Basically our petition to adopt Mei Sims is cabled to the US consulate in China.-- this takes exactly 2 weeks to get NVC letter back

5. Article 5 pickup- letter basically saying everything is in order for the adoption (about 2 weeks)

6. TA (Travel Approval)- China tells us we can come so our agency secures a consulate appointment, we buy plane tickets and then

7. Go to China (about 2 weeks from TA)!!

I'm pretty sure that is the general timeline of things-- all these steps and abbreviations can get confusing for even me! But it all adds up to probably very end of Feb. or beginning of march travel. And the best part.... 3 of my dear friends got their LOA the same day (gals from my coffee group), so it is highly likely that we will all go to china together!! I could never have dreamed that I'd be there with girls who are like sisters to me! I hope china is ready for the coffee group!

Day 100 and.....

2011-12-14T15:22:00.000-08:00

I'll explain more later about what is next but wanted to share the good news! We can now estimate 2-3 months to travel!!!! Yipeeee! There is an end in sight!

All I want for christmas is my....

2011-12-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

"LOA, my LOA, my LOA...." Remember that little piece of paper that we have been waiting on? It was supposed to take 30-70 days and here we sit with day 100 approaching quickly.... not that I'm really counting, right? Once we get that paper, it is 2-3 months to travel... so my dreams of Jan. travel have officially died and my february dreams are hanging on for dear life. We finally found out this it is an issue with the place translating our dossier (aka mountain of paperwork) for the CCCWA (Chinese Gov't in charge of adoption). It is not just us but affecting lots of families with our agency, so at least I'm not alone.

Derek is totally laid back about it all and confident of God's timing... and likes to remind me that God knows the bigger picture. I know this of course.... my mind is confident in His timing... my heart just struggles to keep up.... i just don't want my baby to spend on more day in an orphanage! I ache to hold her, to know her, to learn all of her mannerisms, her smells, her noises.... So as I was complaining to derek once again (98 days gives you ample opportunity to gripe) he said something different that stuck with me... maybe she needs to be there for longer to be there for a little friend of hers?

Not that we can know what His reasoning is, but it kind of hit me smack in the face.... this is not all about me! (Not so pleasant to be reminded about your self-centeredness!) God is doing something amazing and it is not all about me getting my daughter.... It is HIS story to write... and who am I to question why He has allowed yet another delay?? He will add twists and turns to bring the most glory to Himself.... Mei Sims will be plucked from the orphanage at just the right time.... not a minute too soon and not a minute too late.... This wait is for sure excruciating but TRYING to remind myself of this truth daily. So for now, I've got to be patient, trust, rest and then repeat.

New Perspective, New photos

2011-11-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

I hope this won't get too long winded.... I knew this would be a journey of the soul and I also knew this journey was not just for us but for others to be encouraged in their faith.... so I KNEW there would be hard & teachable moments. Now that I've had my own time to process a recent "moment" I can share it with you.

When the birthday photos came last week, all I can say is that Derek and I both had a pit in our stomachs. I shared the cute ones from the beginning of the celebration, but from there the situation somewhat deteriorated. As the photos go on, Mei Sims looks very detached from all that is going on around her, is staring intently at a piece of candy in her hand, holding her arms in a very awkward position and then sobbing. It doesn't help that she progressively has more and more cake on her face. I'm sure she was wondering what the heck was going on. I spent most of the day in tears.... not a small trickle but as if a dam had been broken. And I couldn't stop. To be clear, I wasn't questioning if she was our child (that has been made abundantly clear to us) but was feeling helpless.... like something is wrong with my child, I can't go get her and make it right, and just scared. I felt gripped by fear and sadness.

God used this to shed light on a bigger issue I was having. I seriously had checked my e-mail no less than 5,000 times looking for the birthday photos. Keep in mind she was 8 months old in the referral photos and we hadn't seen her since. Part of me thought, she'd have pigtails, bows, a smile and be holding a sign that said "Hi Mommy" as unrealistic as I knew that was. I had put so much hope in what these photos would "do" for me and then they failed. They left me feeling scared and worried.

Part of me wanted to run the other way screaming in fear and wondering "what are we even doing adopting??" ... but in the car that day, God directed my thoughts to how HE should want to do the same thing when he truly sees me for what I am but PRAISE THE LORD that He doesn't! He continues to pursue me even when the way I am has to be unsettling to him to say the least. I think adoption is so at the heart of God and it really is a battle for our children that satan would love nothing more than to destroy. I feel more resolved to kind of dig my heels in and say NO to the darts that satan tries to throw at me.... the fear, the anxiety and the unknown... and to stand firm with the Lord & in His word in this pursuit of our little girl.

It was interesting that once I got out from beneath a cloud of fear, I looked at the same pictures that scared me and now thought they are adorable. Amazing how your perspective can change when the circumstances don't.

I was in my car that night, going to get dinner when God totally ministered to me through a song on the radio.... reminding me that my hope cannot be in an updated photo or updated information on how our daughter is doing.... my hope must be in God alone. Here are some of the lyrics to the song by Aaron Shust:

I meet with you and my soul sings out

As your word throws doubt far away

I sing to You and my hear cries

Holy!

Hallelujah

Father, You're near!

My hope is in You, Lord

All the day long

I won't be shaken by drought or storm

A peace that passes understanding is my song

And I sing

My hope is in You, Lord

I wait for You and my soul finds rest

In my selfishness, You show me grace

I worship You and my heart cries

Glory

Hallelujah

Father You're here!

(A funny aside, when the song ended, I heard "meow" and realized my cat was in the car with me on Highway 31! Glad to have a laugh after all my tears!)

I also saw the value of friends who will speak His truth to you when you really need to hear it. My friend Tricia (who also has a daughter in China) pointed me to an awesome passage in Hosea 2 that says "And behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. I will make the valley of achor (valley of trouble/suffering) a door of hope." She reminded me that in spite of any suffering or hardship our girls are going through... even now, God is opening that door of Hope for them...

God calmed my heart in a way that only He can do. The next day, I was able to speak with our international doctor who further calmed me by saying the photos do not scare her in the least...

but they look like a typical chinese orphan who is showing signs of anxiety/ depression as she tries to cope with a new situation (i.e. the cake, candles and attention). And yes, I feel bad for putting her in that situation but have already seen God bring so much good from it.

He has used it to prepare us for what we might see when we take her away from all that she has known. We know now what her "I'm shutting down" looks is like and I think it won't scare us as badly now. (Think being the key word.... I'm sure we will have more freak out moments! :) ) It also concerned my social worker enough to request more photos and video and a written update so that we can be prepared as possible when we go to get her.

I have no clue why but they went above and beyond to honor her request! Mei Sims actually got a mini vacation and got to travel 3 hours away to the city where we will meet her and she got to hang out with Lifeline's employee over there (Rebecca-- who will be our guide

when we go)! I have never heard of this happening before?!? We woke up Thanksgiving morning to a message from my social worker to call her..... she had 16 photos and 3 videos of our little girl!

When you put these photos beside the old ones, it is like a different child even though they were taken a week apart. She seems so happy to be chillin' in a hotel room with just her and a nanny. Any fears we had about her are totally wiped out. What a blessing!

Another cool thing is that now when we get her, it won't be the first time she has left the orphanage or been on a bus.... she got to experience that all last week. I've gotta think that will help somehow when we come to get her.

If we hadn't gotten the disturbing photos, we would have never gotten this flood of precious treasures and learned something in the process.... I guess I needed a gently nudging from the Lord to remember where my hope must be placed and to be reminded that He delights in blessing his children.

So, the update basically says she is a happy camper who is very curious, crawls fast, loves music and is walking with assistance (the dislocated hip isn't slowing her down!) Click the link below for the video and the password is waltchak2 (not a typo, spell our name wrong)

http://vimeo.com/32586867

Pictures!

2011-11-20T18:13:00.000-08:00

Sweet baby girl on her first birthday! She looks the same to me.... just a bigger version of herself. And apparently there is some sort of tradition with icing dotted on the face.... interesting?! These are the best 2 photos in the bunch but one aside that I love is that in the background of other photos are daughters of two of my friends! I have connected with some great people online and 2 have daughters in the same orphanage & same room! They will all be coming home to the US one day soon and I love that they will have that connection with each other.... I know they will be too young to remember but I still have to think that it will be a magical bond and there will be reunions in their future.... more later...

I wonder if she thinks of her....

2011-11-08T12:15:00.001-08:00

Mei Sims' 1st birthday is this friday and my mind is in a millions places at once. Last thursday was one year from the date that I first prayed for our little girl.... 8 days later she entered this world. I went back a reread where I wrote in my journal and then my mind turned to thoughts of her birth mom. What is she feeling as Friday approaches... the day she gave birth and gave up her tiny baby girl? I can barely wrap my brain around what she must be thinking... I have to think it is akin to an anniversary of a death... and this is the first one of a lifetime of anniversaries for her... it is really heartbreaking.

And obviously I don't know her or the circumstances surrounding her situation but being a mom, I KNOW that she had to have loved her to some degree... she felt her grow, kick and move in her belly for 9 months. I picture her soul having an open wound that really cannot be healed without the tender care of Jesus. I've prayed for her on and off that God would surround her with peace and comfort... that she would know that her baby is ok and will be well loved and cared for... But just yesterday, I realized I had never prayed for her salvation?!? Not sure how that escaped me... but what greater gift of prayer could I give to her in return for the precious gift she has given us? As I have chewed on this for a few days, I've been more and more convicted of praying this for her... that God would seek her out and pursue her because He knows where she is and who she is when I haven't a clue. That someone would tell her about the gift of the gospel... and just think how intimately she could relate to Him... knowing the heartache of giving up your child... and then my mind went to a glorious reunion in heaven one day where Mei Sims and I could both give her birth mom a big ole hug and worship our savior together! It makes me smile to think of that. Some of you reading may find me crazy but I hope and pray that she could know the love of Jesus and in Him find salvation and healing...

So, with her birthday also comes a bit of sadness that she doesn't get to celebrate it with us. My sweet friend Emily actually gave me her first birthday present the other day-- a precious shirt with her name monogrammed on it-- it is so adorable and made me want to cry... I KNOW God's timing is perfect and this was his plan for her to be in China on her 1st birthday but it is still hard feeling like a bit of your heart has been cut off, shipped overseas and you can't get it back just yet. I just want her. I've seen God's hand in every bit of the timing to get to this point so I can rest it will all be good... but just being honest, I get impatient!

I was kind of dreading this week and thinking I'd be in tears all day BUT once again, God in his providence had another plan. 4 months ago, Derek began a plan for a surprise trip for us which I just found out Sunday, we are leaving tomorrow! Just a quick trip to New Orleans with no kiddos. So now, as I think of Mei Sims on her birthday, I'll be getting a massage and a pedicure... I'm sure that will help, don't you think?

As if God has not confirmed enough to me during this journey, He gave me 2 more cool "stones" to sprinkle on top of my already heaping pile... First, my best friend when I lived in China is like a sister to me... actually she is a sister in Christ. I was e-mailing her last week when I realized that her birthday is the same day as Mei Sims! Don't know how I didn't put that together yet. So now, my 2 favorite chinese girls will be celebrated together! And then I guess like mother like daughter, my mom had a realization last week. We were talking one day and she said "Oh my goodness! My grandmother's name was Mae Sims!" I was shocked she hadn't thought of that before as we debated names for 2 months! (I'll chalk that up to a senior moment!) I knew sims was a family name on her side but had no clue about the Mae... I think we just got confirmation that we picked the right name.

Thanks again for walking this journey with me. There are honestly days where I just can't even pray again for my LOA to come because I'm tired and wearied from the long process. It is such an encouragement to me to know that others are lifting us up when I just can't quite do it myself. The LOA WILL come one day and one day she will be home but for now we wait and wait and wait........ And on Friday we will celebrate the precious life of our little one! Happy Birthday Mei Sims! We will be there soon!

Could this be your son?

2011-10-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

So, I really have NO clue who all reads the blog.... on the off chance that someone is reading this and praying about adoption or has already started the process... Lifeline has some PRECIOUS little boys available through their maoming orphanage in china. I mentioned this several posts ago that lifeline has been given the privilege to partner with one special needs orphanage and adopt out all the kiddos there. Several of my friends have daughters at this orphanage. The super cool thing is that Dr. Jennifer Chambers, our local international adoption doctor in Birmingham, has examined these children in person.

So, click on the link below and view the boys with "b" names who are not matched! There is one in particular who I think is a doll... asked derek if he thought we might have another child in china to which he emphatically replied "We have 4 children! Period!" Thought it was worth a try!!

http://lifelineadoption.org/adoption/international/china/maoming-kids/

Finding Ad & a name!

2011-10-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

So, I'm sure most of you know about the "one child" policy in place in China which has led to millions of orphaned little girls. But in talking to people about the adoption process, I've realized that a lot of people don't know the full story of how these little girls become orphaned. In a lot of countries, orphanages know the birth parents' names and even medical history or may even have contact with some members of the birth family. In China, it is quite the opposite. It is actually illegal to abandon your child... I had someone ask me "So, her birth mom took her to this orphanage so she could be adopted?" In reality, these little girls are placed in boxes, baskets, etc. and simply left in a public place to be discovered by someone passing by. They are often left in the early morning hours, when a birth mom can slip away undiscovered but when their baby will be discovered quickly as people go to work. I honestly cannot even imagine what sort of societal pressures can drive a mom to have to do that. But I find comfort in the fact that our baby's birth mom chose life for her when there could have been an "easier" option. I take comfort in the fact that she was left in front of a busy building where she would be discovered quickly.... but other than that, I will have very little to tell my daughter of that part of her history. I pray even now for the hard conversations that will surely follow... pray and hope that she will know that the Lord never abandoned her and that she will feel valued and cherished.

I share that with you to explain the "finding ad" photo we have. When children are abandoned, in order to be eligible for adoption an ad must be placed in the local paper. It has the basic information of age, sex, where they were found, and any other identifying facts. I guess it is run in an attempt to find their family who really don't want to be found. I keep trying to picture her birth mom looking through the paper to catch a glimpse of her baby.... at least I would totally have done that... wanting to make sure she is ok and see what she looks like. There is an american adoptive father who has a business that finds your child's ad and in most cases this is the earliest photo you will ever have of her. Our baby was about 3-4 weeks old in her photo.... she looks a little alien like because of how tiny and premature she was... but oh, I could eat her up! There is no mistaking those eyes! (she is on the right).

And in other news, we have FINALLY agreed on a name for baby girl!! You'll remember part of her chinese name is Mei which is pronounced like "Mae" and was such a huge fingerprint of God on her life.... so she will be "Mei Sims" We are choosing the chinese spelling for several reasons and hope she won't be mad at us that she will forever have to spell her name.... but really with our last name, she'd be doing that anyway. Sims is a family name on my mom's side. So, there you have it! Got the name, now we just got to get the baby!!

a journey of surprises & blessing...

2011-10-15T17:58:00.001-07:00

It seems as if every twist and turn in this journey comes with an awesome story and I got another one today! I'll back track just a little bit.... we mailed the package, requested updates, etc. and have heard nothing at all. Nothing. Nothing. It is a very strange feeling to know that she is over there but I can't find a way to find out anything else about her. So, I'm left to stare at a little photo on the computer and wonder "what do her little fingers feel like? What does she smell like? What does it feel like to hold her?".... you know all the little details that you just know about your babies. And you know when you hold a friend's baby how they just feel different than yours? I stare at her and wonder, will she "feel" like she is mine? It can kind of drive you crazy looking at a picture of your child who you can't hold yet, so I generally say a prayer for her and minimize the photo on my computer in order to maintain a bit of sanity!

So today, Lifeline (our adoption agency) was hosting a reunion/30th birthday party/ welcome to the CCCWA party.... the CCCWA is the governing body in China responsible for all adoptions. Their 2nd in command was with them and it was a HUGE deal that they chose to spend time in AL with Lifeline on their trip to the US. There were about 20 people with them including Lily who matched us with our baby. (Lily is chinese, lives in China, but a lifeline employee) I was excited to meet her and thank her in person for choosing our daughter for us (we are almost there on a name!).

As I pulled into the parking lot, the song Fingerprints of God came on the radio which I referenced a couple of posts ago. Everytime I hear that now, I just smile and think of how much God surprises me by showing up in crazy ways during this journey... stamping His fingerprints all over it... Little did I know....

I go in and find Lily, and introduce myself saying "I'm Rushton who you matched with XXX" and I show her a photo on my phone. She cuts me off and says "oh, her orphanage director is here!" and then starts calling to this man across the way to come over. I about DIED! Seriously there are millions of orphans in China, thousands of orphanages, maybe 6 orphanage directors came with this delegation and my baby's was there!!! I have to think the odds of that happening are super slim but thank goodness our God can do anything He wants! The only thing that could have topped this would have been for our baby to somehow have appeared in the room :) So Lily told me to ask questions and let her translate for me and you know what happened? My mind went completely blank!!! Every day my mind is flooded with things I want to know and what do I ask him? "You know XX? You really know her??" I just couldn't believe I was talking to a man who sees her everyday!

It is very a bizarre feeling to be standing beside a man who knows my daughter well and yet she is MY daughter but I don't know her at all and I can't even communicate with him. Part of me just wanted to follow him around the whole party, sit by him, hug him, bring him home with me, etc... I guess as a way to feel closer to my baby.

Once I regained some composure, I SHOULD have asked-- what is she like? Is she happy? Do you love her? The questions all come to me now. Instead I got this info:

She is not walking.

The shaved her head this summer so that when she is an adult, she will have strong hair.... hmmmm....

They call her meimei (pronounced MayMay).

She is in a room with 11 babies and 2 nannies at all times. (One of her rommies is the daughter of a mom I have connected with online!) She has her own bed.

I asked if he would send me more photos and he said that they change so much now so he wants to wait until closer to when we travel.... I guess so we will recognize her... he didn't quite get why I wanted some now-- He obviously doesn't know about my scrapbooking.

He took several photos of me and Anne Rainey and even gave her a panda, which is so sweet to me-- it's like a little piece of her. The same hands that gave AR that are the hands that have held our baby...

I also got Lily to tell him that we want to tour the orphanage when we come and take him out to lunch and he laughed and said he wanted to take us out. I thanked him for caring for our baby.

And that was it! He was very sweet & kind and what I loved most was that when I asked him, he did not even have to think to remember which baby she was.... He knew exactly who she was and he seemed to know her well.....which honestly was just the encouragement that I needed this week. I read a few sad things about the condition of the orphanage online recently, which Derek reminded me that all we can do it pray for baby girl and for protection around her and for her to feel loved... But how amazing that God had bigger plans to assure me.... letting me meet the man in charge of her care. Thank you Jesus! Still waiting on LOA...

Sending a package & a prayer

2011-09-20T18:34:00.001-07:00

I just sent our little girl her first care package! It was so fun putting it together so I wanted to share it with ya'll! We sent her a lovie, a rabbit (if you squeeze his paw, it has our family saying I love you in chinese so she can hear our voices) and a board book with photos of the family that I made online. (You can see an up close photo below. It is from a website called pintsizedproductions.com )

I also put a few disposable cameras in hopes that they may take pictures of her over the next few months and return them to us when we go to get her. Then you will notice the pez and lip glosses.... a little gesture for the nannies. It is surprisingly hard to find candy made in the USA (that won't melt when being shipped). My hope is that as the nannies are eating PEZ and putting on some "made in the USA" lip gloss, they will feel more motivated to snap a few photos of my baby! :) I prayed over the package at the post office.... praying that it makes it to China and then praying that they will actually give her some of the goods!

Many have asked about the next step? So we are waiting on this piece of paper called the LOA and here is the deal. It can take anywhere from 30-100 days with really no rhyme or reason. Based on how long that takes will determine a lot about when we travel. If it takes on the normal to longer end of the spectrum, that lines us up to travel smack dab in the middle of the chinese new year..... which the Government shuts down, so we would have to WAIT!!! I know in the scheme of life a couple of weeks is not a big deal, but when you are picturing your daughter in an institution, every day matters. So, will you pray boldly with me that our LOA would come miraculously fast? I know that God is in total control (not the Chinese Government) so praying that He would cause our LOA to be processed swiftly.... I'll let you know when it comes. Oh and one other request, we asked 2 weeks ago for updated photos to be e-mailed to us. They are under no obligation to do so, but it would be such a treasure to get some... perhaps she has hair now :) So, praying for photos and a fast LOA... thanks for joining us on this journey friends!

She's the One (Part 2): Stone by Stone

2011-09-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer: This one is very long & some will repeat from D's because I wanted to document all I saw from my point of view as well. I am pretty sure that what follows is not the norm for adoption.... so many "signs" from the Lord... maybe He thinks we just had to be hit over the head with His will.... whatever the reason behind Him being so blatant, I'm thankful for the beautiful story He is writing and allowing me to be a part of....so here we go...)

This is a testimony to God’s faithfulness to guide and direct us and to bring our daughter to us. He created her for us and knew she would be ours from the beginning of time. This was Plan A for her life... I am confident of this. Because we live in a fallen world, she has already had to experience more pain and suffering than anyone should have at 9 months of age. But because we have a gracious savior, He is redeeming her from life in an institution and allowing us to have a front row seat to His grace, mercy and love poured out on her precious life. I want to know and always remember what the Lord did in these early days when we “found” her. I knew it was enough for God to simply give us a peace about whatever file we would receive but I continued to pray and ask God for such clarity and signs that we would KNOW she was ours….. I’ll be honest that I could have never guessed we would see His fingerprints so clearly over this little child….

We knew that a list was coming out late at night on Monday, August 29^th. My mind and body were a ball of nerves and excitement… I had a hard time focusing on anything. At 10:30 we had heard nothing and decided that perhaps it would come in the morning… it being “the call.” The basic story is we got a file, talked with several dr’s the next day, knew she was ours, and the following morning send in our LOI (letter of Intention to adopt our peanut.) The long story follows (grab a drink and a snack!) I’ve labeled them as stones to once again see these moments as stones stacked, one upon the other, in an altar of remembrance….that we may always look back to that moment and praise the Lord for how He moved in our midst… our own little Ebenezer for baby girl…

Stone #1- At 11:45, Anne Rainey woke me up to help her go potty. She has not woken up in the night to potty in about 2 years! So, after I put her back to bed, I thought I should check my e-mail. I see 3 e-mails in a row from Karla that say “Are you awake” then “Call me” and finally "XXX XXX XXX for Waltchack." My heart skipped a beat. For a split second I couldn’t decide whether to hit open or run and get Derek first. I chose to hit open and an enormous photo of xxx xxx filled my screen at which point I went running & screaming to get Derek up. I called my social worker at midnight asking if I was calling too late J and she sweetly said she had been feeling lonely and was glad I called (She is the BEST!). We chatted briefly, hung up and Derek and I read the file. I have to say that I think my face stared at the computer with a look of shock just like that little shocked face looking back at me. I am so thankful that God used AR to wake us up to meet our baby that night!

Stone #2- Once the shock semi wore off, I was struck by several things. First, we had only briefly brainstormed names and my top one was Mae Rushton (because I knew that Mei meant little sister in Chinese.) You can probably guess what part of her Chinese name was…. Mei! I had a sense of shock at how blatant that sign was and also a sense of calmness…. Kind of like “ok God, I kind of knew you would do something like that.” I was struck next with how young she was. 9 months! At the beginning of the process, I told my social worker that I wanted to bring my baby home as close to the age of 1 as possible. She got the sweetest smile on her face and gently said “That is so sweet but that will not happen.” Babies are generally a little older when coming home and she just wanted to manage my expectations. But I chose to continue to express the desire of my heart to God and here she was. 9 months old and coming home around 14 months old. (It was also an answer to pray regarding the gap between her and henry… they will be 9 months apart and a grade apart which is perfect in my book)! Which leads to the 3^rd major writing on the wall moment…

Stone #3- I saw her birthday was November 11^th. I ran and grabbed a journal where I had written a letter to her a long time ago. (Mind you that all of this is happening after midnight…. I got almost no sleep that first night!) For some reason (at the time unknown, but now so obvious) I felt so burdened on November 3^rd to pray for our baby and her birthmom… have you ever felt that? Like a literal burning in my chest that I have to do this right this minute. So I wrote in a journal a letter to our future child intermingled with prayers to the Lord. Specifically, I prayed for the decision her birthmom was about to face and that she would be comforted and encouraged. I prayed that God would protect our baby… that she would be warm and found quickly among other things. Y’all!!!! She was born and abandoned 8 days later!!!! As I prayed for that birthmom it was at the exact time that she was facing probably the hardest decision of her life….. as I prayed for my baby to be warm, she was about to be placed in a box and left to be found…. That timing is still mind boggling to me. And want to know what else? I remember feeling almost foolish even writing that letter and wrote it hidden in a journal of mine because we had not even decided to adopt yet!! Granted we were talking about it but it wasn’t until over a month later that God confirmed to Derek this was the path. I’m just so thankful that God has allowed me to be connected to that time in her life, which will always create in her a sense of loss and hurt, and to be able to tell her, I was praying for you then… I was praying for your birthmom…. Even then God had you in His hands. It is honestly such a treasure to have that letter and prayers from that day and be able to share it with her as she gets older…

Stone #4-- What’s in a name? So I know a little Chinese. I can’t read characters but can read some pinyin/the English letter looking words. One word can have 4 meanings based on the tone used so you have to read the characters to know the real meaning. When I saw her name, I thought it meant little/small sister because the 2 words can mean that. And I thought that was cool enough since she is going to be a little sister. But I sent it away to a friend fluent in Chinese and am in awe of what he said. For the past week, if anyone asked, I asked for them to just pray for clarity. I had a fear of Derek and I just not knowing if she was ours or being on different pages… so clarity was what I desperately desired the Lord to give. When I got back the translation, the xxxx means clarity or literally “knowing”! As we prayed for clarity we were praying for her! Specifically, it is a name given to babies born at dawn because as the sun rises, everything is made clear. Tears well up as I think about that imagery of the sun rising or rather “the son rising!! And God’s plan for creation becoming clear.” So the xxx part of her name was also not the little sister version but the character for beauty and good… which no one but me knows was part of MY Chinese name, given to me by a teacher in china 12 years ago…. Seriously God is so in the details that my mind can almost not process it all. The 3^rd part of her name, Derek referenced but here was what struck me…. We have often thought we would make her “gotcha day” video to the beatles song “I will” which I posted a while back on the blog. As I looked over the lyrics the day after getting the referral, tears once again. “And when at last I find you, your song will fill the air….” The other part of her name? Song. No clue the translation but doesn’t matter! God used it to confirm yet again. One of the earliest verses I posted to pray was from Zeph. 3:17 that God would be in her crib with her and rejoice over her with singing…. I have confidence He was! It is crazy to me that all 3 parts of her given name had such significance to us… God’s fingerprints all over this little girl could not be more clear. My hope is that as she reads this later in life, she will have such confidence of her belonging in our family and in God's sovereignty to bring her here. (BTW, the name we will call her is still a little bit TBD)

Stone #5- I’m a little OCD about baby books and have felt sad as I plot all of Henry’s measurements that I’ll never know all the information about baby girl. Trivial I know, but I didn’t want her to look at her baby book and feel a sense of loss every time she does. So, here is the miracle there…. She was found on the day she was born and I have everything!!! Measurements and weight for every month as well as when her first teeth came in! She has 2. I just keep thinking God did not have to do all of this! But He has poured out grace in heaping buckets on us in this journey.

Stone #5—The special need on her referral is a dislocated right hip and as I read it that night I had another moment of calmness and “of course, that is what she has…” which may sound strange but a little bit of background… One of my best friends has been walking a very hard journey lately with her baby’s health. As I have walked beside her, I often felt this tugging of “your little girl may have something similar to MG” but I never mentioned it to anyone. Even Jenn told me that she just knew I was going to call and tell her it was her hips, part of the issue her daughter is facing. It was crazy because as I talked to the international doctor, I already knew all she was telling me about hips, doctors to use, body casting, special car seats, etc…. I could have never guessed that He would use the journey of one of my best friends to educate me and prepare me for the treatment our baby needs! Isn’t He so good? Seriously!

Stone #6- She is also a preemie which is where I feel like we are making our biggest leap of faith into a bit of unknown.... but I feel like God "flipped" my fear on its head in a sense by showing me what a blessing being a preemie probably was for her... First, a plus for a preemie according to the international doctor was that she could not have been fed with a propped bottle during those early months…. “You can’t prop feed a preemie” she told us…. So someone was holding her and feeding her! A while back I posted a prayer that God would hold up her bottle as she ate.... I don't know why but I would literally wake up at night and pray that He would hold the bottle and not let it fall until her tummy was full….. more grace poured out…. He used human hands to hold the bottle up for her and love on her. She also said that a preemie would get more TLC simply because she would have more needs like regulating her body temperature. I just love that one of her “needs” most likely allowed her to have more human interaction and love…. And I can’t wait to hug all the ladies who were God’s hands and feet taking care of our little girl.

I think I honestly would have been fine just seeing her picture that first night and not knowing anything else.... we happen to think she is the cutest asian baby ever made :) But God has reminded me that He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine!

I remember that next morning, shortly after Derek left for work, he sent me a simple message. It read “I think she is ours.” My heart flooded with excitement because I knew too… the deep rooted confidence that can only be had when you know the Maker of the Universe… and I know that the road may be bumpy ahead but I pray that we can always look back at this moment and praise the Lord for showing up.

“Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I’ve come”

A quick funny

2011-09-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd lighten it up a bit before my part 2 of "She's the One," so here we go:

The kids LOVE their baby sister... albeit from afar right now. Henry smiles at her photo and says "Baby." Rollins had a smile cover his face when he saw her photo and said "Yes! I want her! I want her!" And when I showed AR the photo of her sister, she made an arm gesture and screamed "YES!"

I often wonder what is going through there minds as they process this. Well, I got a little glimpse of Rollins’ mind the day after we got the referral as he said "Should we get her a little wig to wear home on the airplane. I just don't want her to be seeing people at the airport like that. I mean she is really really cute but she really has no hair."

She's the One (Part 1 of 2): The Beatles, Adoption & Stevie Wonder

2011-09-08T18:02:00.000-07:00

The next 2 posts will be kind of lengthy but I encourage you to grab a cup of coffee and come along with me.... what follows is a testimony to how great God is and how sovereign He is over every detail in life. One of my biggest prayers when we knew that a list of babies was coming out was that Derek and I would be on the same page.... I didn't want derek to think our referral was our baby but me not have a peace about it or visa versa. God so clearly spoke to both of us in unique ways... He spoke to Derek different that He spoke to me but brought us both quickly to a resounding "yes"... this is the child He created for our family. There are so many reasons that I'm documenting all of these details but the reason I'm sharing them on the blog world is in hopes that God will somehow minister to your heart or draw you closer to Himself. So, part one will be brought to you my hubby & guest blogger, Derek.

The Beatles, Adoption and Stevie Wonder

Does God speak through modern-day secular pop songs?

To begin, the reader should know that one of my favorite things in
this world is music. As early as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to
it like no other thing in nature. Listening to the right song at the
right time for me causes me to feel a bit of eternity. I know that
sounds strange, but that is how it feels.

Last year, as Rushton and I were discussing and praying about whether
we should pursue adoption, I was dragging my feet. I just didn’t have
a strong feeling one way or the other, but I knew full well the huge
implications for our family were we to do it. In early November, I
still didn’t have my answer, but I knew it was time me to get of the
proverbial pot, so I gave myself a deadline of December 15th.

The weekend before the 15th I was at the office working and had
finally decided to say yes. I was listening to music loudly and I put
on ‘The End’ by The Beatles. For those of you who don’t know the
song, it’s a short , 2 minute long song. Its mostly a long drum solo
with some guitar riffs, they sing ‘Love you’ 24 times and then close
with a 40 piece orchestra and sing the line "In the end the love you
take is equal to the love you make". It was essentially the Beatles
closing statement and is the last lyric on the last album they
recorded. Let It Be was the last album they released, but it was
recorded earlier. So as I was listening I got chills as it hit me,
that by adopting and extending love to some random child on the other
end of the world, we were experiencing the truth of which the Beatles
were singing.

I believe that God’s truths are absolute and pervade creation and his
creation’s creations, even secular things. Every once in a while they
peek out at you and if you are His, you know them when you see
them….Like this time.

I left the office further confirmed that we were making the right choice.

Fast-forward a couple months and I am driving my youngest, Henry, to
church and Stevie Wonder’s song, ‘As’ come on. It’s one of my
favorites of his and it’s a really long song that basically repeats
‘l’ll be loving you always’. It caught my ear as another adoption
song for me and as I listened to the lyrics, I was almost in tears.
Ok, I did cry, but don’t tell anyone.

Later I shared both songs with Rushton and due to the order of my
music on ITunes, the next song that came on was another Beatles song,
‘I Will’ and it’s a really sweet love song that we both agreed would
make a great soundtrack for an adoption video.

Fast-forward again to the evening of Monday the 29th of August. We
were expecting our first referral to come via email and stayed up
until 10:30. Nothing came so we decided to go to sleep. At around
11:30 Anne Rainey came in to wake Rushton up to go to the bathroom,
which she never does. Rushton checked the email again and low and
behold, there was a referral.

Bleary eyed, I looked at three pictures of this beautiful 9-month old
with huge eyes. I was hoping for a ‘cute’ child and she was that in
spades. We looked at her medical needs and it was an orthopedic issue
with her hip, a very fixable problem.

When you receive a referral, you have 48 hours to accept or decline.
Within that timeframe it’s typical to send the medical info and
pictures to your pediatrician, an international adoption doctor and
any other doctor friends you might have. You also do a bunch of
talking and praying.

The next morning I drove Rollins to school, dropped him off and then
started thinking about the choice we were making. I thought back to
those 3 songs that kept going around in my head and how they were
somehow connected to this process. I decided to listen to them again,
as maybe there was something in there for me to see. And then it hit
me right between the eyes. The name on the referral was ‘Song XXX
XXX’. Her first name was ‘Song’! Holy cow.

I played ‘The End’ again and heard the first lyrics of the song:

Oh yeah, all right
Are you going to be in my dreams
Tonight?

Weird, that’s what happened when we were woken up in the night to see
her for the first time.

I went to the office and printed out the lyrics to the 2 other songs:

I Will

Who knows how long I've loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to, I will.

For if I ever saw you
I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same.

Love you forever and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart.

And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
Oh, you know, I will
I will.

Funny, there is her name again. At this point I have goose bumps all
over my body.

Here is a portion from the Stevie Wonder song:

We all know sometimes life’s hates and troubles
Can make you wish you were born in another time and space
But you can bet you life times that and twice its double
That God knew exactly where he wanted you to be placed
so make sure when you say you're in it but not of it
You're not helping to make this earth a place sometimes called Hell
Change your words into truths and then change that truth into love
And maybe our children's grandchildren
And their great-great grandchildren will tell
I'll be loving you

Wow!!!!

I guess God thinks I am dense and needed 4 different things to show me
this is our girl. But just in case I needed one more, we got a friend
to translate her name and ‘XXX’, her given middle name, means
‘clarity’. Which was neat because that was the very thing we had been
praying to have as we approached our first referral.

I’ve told a few people about this story and one my good friends, Jay
Lloyd, described it as a ‘personal letter from God’ and that’s exactly
how it felt.

I believe that as you learn to listen to his spirit, your ear gets
more and more sensitive as you hear and then put into practice
whatever is being shown. I could have easily shrugged it all off as
some combination of weird causality, circumstance and desire on my
part. But I would have completely missed the gift.

I know we’ll have plenty of difficult times because of our decision,
but as my Mom said, it sure will make it easier going through them
when I am sure this is where God is taking us.

Thank you Lord Jesus.

PA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-09-05T14:16:00.001-07:00

We just got our Pre-Approval.... finally something went faster than expected! So I can now introduce you all to sweet baby girl! I'll write more later!

Fingerprints

2011-09-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

I know I have had lots of bad things to say about fingerprints during this journey.... kind of ironic looking back that I had such frustrating experiences with getting clear fingerprints.... yet now, God's fingerprints could not be more clear! I've heard this song by Steven Curtis Chapman a ton but heard it this morning and it struck me in a whole new light.... and yes, tears followed. If you look at me this week or merely whisper the word adoption, I'll melt into a puddle of tears... it is one thing to look at your biological kids and see God's hand in creating them for you but let me tell you, God's sovereignty just jumped to a whole new level for me... to be able to so clearly see His fingerprints ALL OVER our little girl who is half a world a way is mind boggling and pure sweetness. So, for all of my "smingerprints" as I called them in an earlier post, so thankful for the clarity in HIS fingerprints... please tell me that you see and know that God is real and intimately involved in every detail of our lives.... I hope and pray if you don't believe that, that He may allow you to see His realness through this journey. And I'm sorry for all the teases.... I can't share info just yet but wanted to share this that all hit me this morning in the car... some of the lyrics are below:

That I can see the fingerprints of God

When I look at you

I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece that all creation
Quietly applauds
And you're covered with
The fingerprints of God

Never has there been and never again
Will there be another you
Fashioned by God's hand and perfectly planned
To be just who you are
And what He's been creating
Since the first beat of your heart
Is a living, breathing
Priceless work of art

Cause I can see the fingerprints of God

When I look at you

I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece that all creation
Quietly applauds
And you're covered with
The fingerprints of God

And when at last I find you

2011-08-31T08:02:00.001-07:00

Your song will fill the air.....

I'll share more as soon as I can but wanted to tell you that we know who our little girl is and it is ABUNDANTLY clear that she was created for us from the beginning of time. Praise the Lord!!

LID

2011-08-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

Finally we have a Log-In-Date! Yipeeeeeeeee! I don't know why but waiting for that was the hardest wait of the process for me thus far... like agonizing!!! I think we were the last of the lifeline families to get our LID... thinking they turned in the dossiers in alphabetical order and we are unfortunately a "w." My mind was about to go crazy with the wait, so how did I cope you may ask? I prayed for patience and then had a little retail therapy! Got some fun purchases for baby girl including a lovie that we will mail to her once we know who she is!

So to help you understand what is next..... more waiting! Haven't we done that already? If you want an exercise in patience, start the adoption process! Here is the lowdown on the rest of the process... once a month a list of new children comes out. It is generally toward the end of each month but you never quite know when it is coming. The children on this list can have a myriad of health issues. When we began the process, we consulted with the international dr. at children's and filled out a check-list as to what health needs we are open to. (Sound strange? It feels strange, believe me. When you give birth, you have no say in what needs you are open to your child having. Nevertheless, that is the way this process works. And being that it is our 4th child, we honestly checked very minor issues.) Our agency also knows that we want her to be younger than our baby, although they will most likely be very close in age.... kind of scares me to think we may have "twins" but remind myself that God knows what we can handle. So, when the list comes out, our agency scours it to find a child that meets what we are looking for, sends us the referral and we have a couple of days to accept or reject it. And yes, that may sound harsh to reject a referral, but we firmly believe that we will just "know" if she is our daughter and are praying to that end.... that God would make His will crystal clear..... so if we cannot get a peace, then we will know she is someone else's child. Of course, my hope is that we find her on the 1st go around.

Once you accept a referral, it is 5-6 months before travel. So we are still a long way off from holding her but to see her face will be pure sweetness!!!

So, just wanted you to understand the process a little better and what lies ahead in the next couple of months. I'd love for you to join us in prayers for the following:

Wisdom for Lily (Lifeline employee who does the matching)

Peace for us in the waiting.

Perfect clarity as to God's will.

God to surround our baby with love & protection

Oh and can I just add an aside? I have been so sad about my son going to real school this week. He got such a sweet teacher which made me feel a lot better. I e-mailed her to "talk" to her about a couple of things the day before school started and guess what? She adopted last summer! It literally brought me to tears. Just so sweet to see God's provision and attention to detail. I have no doubt he is with the perfect teacher for him and that she will be able to show such compassion and understanding that he will need when we travel to china for 2 weeks and leave him at home.

Hope to be back in the next couple of months with some exciting news!!!

Also, check out my friend Mallory's blog on the side who is in china right now getting her precious little girl!

July Update (almost DTC)

2011-07-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

So I'm realizing that my last title "Speeding ahead" is actually a bit of an oxymoron. Speeding ahead and adoption should never be linked together!! The wait lately has been agonizingly long... maybe it is because I feel like we are so close and maybe it's because I'm just tired of waiting!!

When I last wrote, we had our immigration approval and were starting a 2-3 week process of getting documents notarized and authenticated. The process in actuality took closer to 4 weeks... another bump in the road. The courier that Lifeline uses to carry our documents somewhere (I think to the Chinese Embassy, maybe?) went on a week long vacation! So, our documents sat and sat and sat, waiting for her to return. This is apparently not a common thing for her to be gone that long as there is no backup plan. That may sound a little crazy to not have a plan B but I totally understand because of the nature of our documents.... they basically contain every detail of our life... more than enough that someone would need to steal an identity... so they have to fully trust whose hands they are allowed to fall into....

But the good news is that it is finished! Yea! The kind of crazy news is that because of this backup of documents at this lady's office, there will be 15!!!! Lifeline families logged in on the same day in china! What does that mean? There may not be enough babies to go around the first time! I have mentally prepared myself that we may not see her face for a couple of months and then it will be a pleasant surprise if we do. God honestly has filled me with such peace about waiting longer. When we started this process, Henry was still a baby... crawling a little bit but mainly in a pumpkin seat. Now he is a BUSY (although sweet as can be) 17 month old!! God has just reassured me that "time is on our side"... the older and more independent Henry gets, will only benefit his and our transition to a new sibling. The other plus to so many families is that we may have some fun traveling buddies. I'm holding out hope to be traveling with at least one of my red thread gals!

The next step is my social worker telling us we are DTC (Dossier to China) which she is telling me will happen on monday! Then we wait to hear back from China for a LID (Log In Date-- don't you love all these abbreviations? I even get confused) That should come about 2-3 weeks after we are DTC. And THEN we wait to get matched with a baby!

A kind of cool aside.... Lifeline is one of a few agencies in the US that was recently approved to have an orphanage that is like there own. They don't run it but they are allowed to send mission trips over there. In fact, a medical team from Children's is there right now. It is a special needs orphanage with 60 children and they will be trying to adopt out all of those kids as their paperwork gets ready and then more kids will come into the system .... a continual cycle into lifeline families. It is SUPER cool on so many levels. First, to think that we could get a referral who has already been seen by the children's doctor is CRAZY! She could know our baby already!!! Then to be able to go back there for years to come as a family and do ministry is a dream come true. And to think that in our coffee group, a lot of our little girls could be together right now only to come home and still be friends!! This is really something only God could orchestrate. We could still get matched from the regular Special Needs list and are totally open to either choice.

Because of this new option, we had a little emotional roller coaster ride this week. We were all able to go ahead and see photos of children who will be available soon and there was one little girl who just captured a spot in our hearts. I won't say that I thought "she is the one!" but I was definitely taken by her and praying "Lord, is she ours?" We put our name on a wait list for her and thought that's we'd just see if the timing all worked out. On wednesday, out of the blue, our agency got an e-mail from the orphanage director with no explanation other than " X is no longer available for international adoption." It made me really sad when I read that.... I know she was never mine to begin with and I had tried to guard my heart but it is hard when you see a sweet face that needs a mommy and a daddy and you let your imagination begin to wander.... I think it was also hard because I has sinus surgery that morning, was hurting and high on Lortab and was trying my hardest not to cry so my nose wouldn't get all stuffy..... which the harder you try not to, then the harder the tears come... and then my nose was bleeding everywhere and I couldn't blow it or wipe well.... not a pretty sight! But pretty funny to me looking back at it now. God's timing is perfect and I'm glad He allowed me to laugh at myself.

I feel TOTAL peace now that God shut that door and can't wait to see what door He opens next! I'll wait to update again when we had a LID to let you know that we are "officially" waiting for a referral. Thanks for hanging in on this long journey!

Speeding Ahead!

2011-06-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

I planned on checking back in mid-july and letting you know that we had been approved by immigration BUT GUESS WHAT??? We were approved TODAY!!! A full 21 days before I thought we would get approved. Like everything else in this process for us, approval came with a good story....

I called immigration multiple times.... you know, just to check in, say hello, make sure they remember that we are out here waiting :) So, a little less than 2 weeks ago, I call and they tell me that I'm still in line, which was when I last posted on here. The next week, I call and they said I had been matched with a case officer and should get approval pretty quickly. A day later they call my social worker to let her know they have lost my homestudy.... like literally lost a massive stack of papers (i.e. birth certificates, marriage certificate, fingerprint results, paper after paper after paper.) And if you are wondering, it does slightly concern me that a government agency can let things get so sloppy!!!! So yesterday I call, and they tell me they still have not received my new copy which my social worker fed-exed to them.....but Karla (who is the BEST!!!) has already tracked it and knows it has been delivered, so I'm not too worried..... and then today the word is that we are approved and our letter is in the mail! Yippeeeeeee!!!!! Oh, and my faith in government agencies is restored ever so slightly.

Looks like we may get "logged in" sooner than I thought but I'm sure it comes as no surprise to God! And if there are a few more bumps between here and there, it is totally fine by me. We will have a great story to tell our little girl of how God orchestrated all these details to get us to her. I really feel like a kid at christmas right now.... thinking that in a month or 2 we may be able to FINALLY see her face.... oh how I long for that day!!!

And now a request for anyone who wants to help out....Derek and I are trying to accumulate enough delta skymiles in the next several months to use to purchase our tickets over there. It uses a TON because you generally have 10 days notice before you travel. If any of you have any to spare and want to donate them, we'd gladly take them :) It saves several thousands of dollars and would be a huge help! Seriously no pressure! If you are saving up for a fun vacation, keep saving!! Just if you have some to spare or that will expire then let me know! We won't travel until next winter but thought I'd go ahead and put a plug in now.

God has already been faithful to provide in amazing ways, so we know He will continue to! One more cool way that He has..... we have had a lakehouse on the market for over 2 years and 4 weeks ago, it finally went under contract! We closed friday and moved out over the weekend. We basically sold it for what we paid for it because the market had dropped so much BUT the amount of money we will save each month from all the lake bills over the next 6 months makes a big ole drop in the bucket toward our adoption bills! PTL for His timing!

Moving Ahead

2011-06-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

What's going on in the adoption world these days? Well, my prints cleared (PTL!!) and we are just waiting on I-800a approval from immigration... basically a form we filled out and sent along with our homestudy where the government approves us to adopt internationally. They say that it takes 90 days to get approval and we are about 50+ days in so HOPEFULLY mid-July we will get word that we are approved!

Once we get approved, there are a couple more weeks of paperwork after which we can get "Logged In" in China and THEN we can get "matched" with our little girl soon after!! Then back to more months of waiting and paperwork.... but right now I'm about to bust at the seams thinking that at then end of the summer we may know what our sweet baby's face looks like! It is so surreal to me! I'm glad I have 3 others to keep me totally distracted or else I don't know how I would make it through all this waiting....

So, another song for all of you out there. I'm in love with Mandi Mapes' CD ("Till I'm Home").... it is seriously the greatest. Although Rollins often makes me turn it off because in his words "The songs are so pretty but they make me remember all of my dead _____ (insert fish, frogs, crabs, caterpillars, butterflies... whatever creature died that week) and I'm feeling like I might cry right now." So it is hard for me to find time to really focus on the lyrics and soak it all in.... but she has a song about adoption that i LOVE.... everything about it.... the words, the upbeat/happy tempo, the sound, etc. The lyrics are below and then I posted a youtube video that uses the song so you can hear it. I totally don't know the people in the video but I have to say that I could watch youtube adoption videos all day long and it would never get old. I've been found many a night at my computer, watching such videos, crying and Derek has come in and said "Who is that a video of?" to which I answered "I have no idea!" Just moved seeing another baby finding a mommy and a daddy and seeing the Gospel played out before my eyes.

I'll be back when we get approved and let you know! Also, on my sidebar, check out my friend Stacie's blog (Prepare Our Hearts). She is the first of our coffee group to head to china to go get her little girl. She leaves in a week and a half and you can follow along on her journey and pray for her! So exciting!!!

I’ve never felt this way before

Funny how you found your way to my door

and suddenly my prayers are coming true

and these arms are not letting go of you

Chorus 1:

This love, this love is the deep kind

You’re my baby, you’re my sunshine

I’ll hold your hand, be your biggest fan

and I’ll love you all of the time

Our eyes are not quite the same shade

and your hair blows in the wind a different way

but I am your mother and I love you just the same

so I’ll take your hand honey, and you can take my name.

My heart has been redeemed, adopted and now I know my Father

this grace that I’ve received, I want to show you, I want to show you

This love this love is the deep kind

It hangs on through the storm and the sunshine.

I’ll hold your hand, be your biggest fan

and I’ll love you all of the time

2 steps back

2011-05-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Thought that was an appropriate title since the last post declared "one step forward." It's not really 2 steps back since God is in control of all the details....but last week, found out that the fingerprints that I had been waiting on for 4 plus months--- FAILED!!! That's right! But since I failed so many times, they ran a name check to clear me with the FBI and they say that my letter is in the mail for real this time! Yea!!!

Then remember how I had to also get biometric fingerprints done for some immigration papers?? My social worker assured me that no one ever fails those..... got my letter in the mail and FAILED!! That's right. I'm seeing a pattern here :) So, I went on wednesday to try try again and we will keep our fingers crossed that this worked.

I just don't have good prints according to the lady taking them... she said it over and over and over..... The state of my fingers is further exacerbated by an addiction to lotion since 3 years old! The lady assured me that lotion users are the worst! My mom tells stories of me as a kid, out running errands with her and freaking out because my hands felt dry and making her stop at people's houses along the way to borrow lotion. Yes, she may have fed my addiction by actually stopping to get me some but I was just thankful for my hands to be rescued. I even took a small round crabtree & evelyn container with lotion to school starting in 5k! I can remember in 2nd grade, being made fun of when kids discovered my stash in my pencil box so I told them the next day that I had quit bringing it to school-- i lied-- and the truth only came out a few weeks later when I fell walking down the stairs in front of my class, my pencil box came crashing down, and out rolled the lotion container-- I was humiliated.... but not enough to break the addiction.....

I'm sure you wanted to know that but I have had a good laugh thinking about how only He knew what role all of this would play 30 plus years down the road as I tried to bring my daughter home from china....

From the beginning of time, He set a plan in motion to time it perfectly for me to matched with my daughter.... When He knit me together, He made my fingers to have light prints... and then as a child, He made me to love hand lotion.... He knew all of this would cause "delays" one day as He worked out the timing of matching us with our little girl.... truly He is a God details, right?!

Here is another song for the journey that i just love the words to by Allison Krauss... it is not about adoption at all but it has impacted me to just think about the choices I make and wanting to live in a way as to daily give my life as an offering to Him... to find rest and strength in Him... the adoption journey is one that is definitely stretching me to do that...

In this world I walk alone
With no place to call my home,
But there's one who holds my hand
Through rugged roads, through barren lands.
The way is dark, the road is steep,
But He's become my eyes to see,
The strength to climb, my griefs to bear.
The Savior lives inside me there.

Chorus:
In Your love I find relief,
A haven from my unbelief.
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer, my God, to Thee.

In these trials of life I find
Another voice inside my mind.
He comforts me and bids me live
Inside the love the Father gives.

In Your love I find relief,
A haven from my unbelief.
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer, my God, to Thee.

Take my life and let me be
A living prayer, my God, to Thee.

One step forward

2011-05-02T12:35:00.001-07:00

Hey Friends (if you are still out there!) I haven't had much to post lately but wanted to give a brief update. The people working on my fingerprints assure me they will be processed soon.... we just passed the 4 month mark of waiting for results!!! There is some sort of hold up at the FBI now rather than the ABI where they were stuck before...... BUT the good news is that my social worker said it was time to pull out some big guns and get them figured out once and for all, so she is handling it now! As someone pointed out to me, if the adoption doesn't work out because of my prints, I could find a new line of work as a criminal! :)

In other news, another big step is getting biometric fingerprints for immigration (yes, more finger prints!) and we completed that last week! Of course, as the lady was taking my prints she kept telling me what terrible fingers I have for making prints....more confirmation that I may have a future in petty theft!

Then, it is basically back to waiting, waiting and more waiting.... probably 3 months of waiting to get approved by immigration. I really don't mind the waiting because there is plenty to keep me busy in the meantime... mainly 3 little ones to keep me distracted!

Another couple of cool examples of how God is in the details....

First, you may have noticed the links to friends' blogs on the side. Several of those blogs are new friends I have met along the journey. It was so cool that when we first announced that we were adopting, I felt like everyone I ran into kept saying "You know my friend Robyn is adopting." So Robyn and I started meeting for coffee. Then through friends of friends of friends the group grew to 6 girls who meet regularly for coffee/support. We are ALL adopting little girls from china, all using Lifeline and all started the process within months of each other! It really is a blessing from the Lord to have these amazing girls! And so cool to think that our little babies will all be friends (or maybe they are even friends now in the orphanages!!) We have nicknamed ourselves the red thread moms because of an ancient chinese proverb that I'll type up below.

And most recently, a friend connected me with a really sweet babysitter who we met for the first time last week and do you know what she is doing this summer? Working in an orphanage in China!!! And she has an adopted sister from there!! I can't wait to follow her blog when she gets there and of course, I'm daydreaming that perhaps she will get to meet and love on our little girl! Maybe wishful thinking but God has already worked out some pretty crazy details so it wouldn't surprise me!

Ok, I'll leave you with the proverb

" A red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break."

Keepin It Light-- Songs for the journey #2

2011-04-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

This song was on an AT&T commercial... the perfect place to find an "adoption journey song," right? It just grabbed me... made me smile... made me think of our little girl... it is just happy! And in the commercial, it showed a little flower that started to bloom....then the vines and flowers began to take over everywhere... the landscape was changing. Granted it was an orange flower and was meant to show AT&T in a fresh new way, taking over all of telephone needs :) BUT, in my mind, I saw our little girl and parallel to her life... I kind of picture her in a gray world ... then we get to go and get her... she suddenly steps into a world of color, possibilities, light and joy. So, not the deepest and most meaningful of songs but it puts a smile on my face as I think of everything changing for one little orphan across the sea....

Today was the day
That I put everything in perspective
I fell asleep, when I woke up
Everything changed
And the sky was turned on
But that was before
But that was before

You came along and you turned me on
With a little bit of love
And little bit of yeah yeah

Today is the day
That I threw out everything that I wanted
I was scared, but that's alright
Who needs a ride that's taking too long?
That was before
That was before

You came along and you played me a song
With a little bit of love
And little bit of yeah yeah

Lalalalalalalalala

You came along and you played me a song
With a little bit of love
And little bit of yeah yeah
Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah

Prayers for our little girl...

2011-03-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

Our update as far as the process goes is that we have finished our homestudy... now just waiting on my fingerprints that are still MIA....talked to a few more folks and they said an IT guy at ABI (FBI of AL) was working on it because my results are lost in their hard drive and rather than re-running them, they are trying to get him to figure out where and why they went away... I really feel like God confirms to me over and over that this "delay" is from Him because really how bizarre is it that my fingerprint results are lost in their hard drive? I feel like the FBI should not typically lose things on their own computers, right? So, just kind of laughing and getting to know the people at these government offices pretty well as I call and check every couple of days.... (and just if you are wondering tuesday will be 3 months that my prints have been messed up!!)

(This is your fair warning that you are about to follow a lengthy rabbit trail of thoughts)

So onto the topic of this post... prayers for our sweet girl... prayers that are actually pretty hard for me to pray as they remind me that she is out there yet without us... We are 99.9 % certain that she is alive... I had to leave a point of a percent open for God to do something crazy but based on our timeline at lifeline, we believe she is alive. It is exciting to picture her, but when my next thought goes to what she is doing right now, it gets kind of hard/ gut-wrenching...

Everything she is going through right now, the care she is receiving, the care she is needing but not receiving is all shaping who she is and what she will struggle with as she grows up. I mentioned a while back that we had required reading that was super informative albeit a bit disturbing.... and what stuck out to me most was how so many connections in a babies' brain are directly related to the baby being touched, held, etc. as a newborn... connections are also made as the baby sees its needs being met... i.e. our babies cry, so we feed them, change their diaper, rock them.... and as their needs are consistently met, our babies develop trust and a bond with their parents that can effect all future relationships...I think my emotions were heightened as I read about all the effects on a baby when these needs are NOT met and the connections in their brains are NOT made because all year long I have had a baby. Henry just turned one and over the past months, as I changed his diapers, held him when he had ear infections and didn't want to be put down, fed him at every cry when he was a newborn....I couldn't help but think that somewhere in China was my little girl who was missing out on all of this TLC... and while I KNOW God is in control and He chose this path for her life, it still makes a part of my heart deeply saddened... to know that we cannot be there when she is so little and so needy...

That whole thought process has shaped how I want to pray for her in the waiting...

I have prayed normal prayers.... that God would keep her safe, protect her...that He would provide a caregiver who just thinks she is the greatest baby in the orphanage and will make the extra effort to hold her.... that she'd perhaps be in foster care....

Through it all though, my mind continues to dwell on the fact that God chose her, before the foundations of the world, to be our daughter. With that said, He is the only one who has always been with her and will always be.... He is the only one who has heard her every cry and is intimately acquainted with every detail of her first days of life... who her birth parents are, why they had to leave her... and HE WAS WITH HER THROUGH IT ALL. Seriously, what better comfort can I have to know that my daughter is being taken care of by the creator of the universe at every twist and turn.

Those thoughts led to my wanting to pray for God to meet her needs in supernatural ways since He is obviously with her now. I asked friends for a little help a while back on biblical examples of God supernaturally meeting the needs of His people. I wanted Old Testament examples of when they couldn't see God face to face, yet He moved in mighty ways... just wanted to be able to claim His word as truth and be able to come before the throne in boldness... to proclaim "You moved in mighty ways for your people then, move for my little girl now!"

So, 3 examples... very briefly..

1. the manna which God provided every day as food for the Israelites as they wandered in the desert... God caused it to rain down from heaven....I can't help but think that must have been a crazy sight to see your food pouring down from heaven.... a supernatural solution to the problem...and also cool that God moved like that when they didn't even come before Him praising but came complaining!

2. 1 Kings 17- God provided food for Elijah twice a day by causing ravens to bring him meat and bread...again, a supernatural solution.

3. Jonah 4: 6- At the end of the book of Jonah, it says "God appointed a plant and it grew over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from discomfort."

These scriptures reminded me not to put God in a box in the ways He can provide for her... so if you wonder what I am praying when God wakes me up in the wee hours of the night....

"Lord, if her tummy is aching because she is hungry, cause the pain to subside until they can get to her. Lord, if her bottle is propped, would you please hold it for her, so she won't drop it and can drink? Lord, if she has a poopie diaper, please protect her bottom from diaper rash until they can get it changed... " You think I'm kidding/ crazy, I'm not.

And what gives me greatest comfort is when I pray "Lord, I ask that you would surround her crib with a legion of angels. Let them guard over her and protect her. Lord, be in her crib with her and let her literally feel your heartbeat, feel your breath on her face, hold her in your arms and let her feel the warmth of your embrace. Lord, if she is crying, sing songs of joy over her and quiet her with your love." He is real and He is able to meet her needs.

I know she will experience great loss even when we go to get her and she is taken away from all that she has ever known... but my HOPE is that if she can feel God's presence in a VERY real way as a baby, then there will be some comfort in leaving the orphanage because she will continue to feel His presence in a real way, she won't leave that piece of her past at the orphanage with everything else, but will carry it with her for the rest of her life... kind of like God is her really big security blankie....I think of the verse in the Bible about how God will give back the years that the locusts have stolen and I have confidence that as we fight for her and love on her, He will restore her. I love that there is HOPE.... after all the scary scenarios I had to read about, there is real and true hope for our little girl because we know Jesus as our savior. On an aside, won't it be fun one day to sit before the throne of God and ask Him to tell me all the ways He moved on her behalf when she was half a world away?!

I fear I have rambled.... if you are still reading you deserve a prize!!

The kids love to pray for her too. Rollins the other night prayed "please don't let her worry because we will come to adopt her. Keep her warm and let her friends be nice to her and let her have a few toys." Anne Rainey chimed in "and let her not have the chicken pox!"

We welcome all prayers... simple and "crazy" :)

Conversations

2011-03-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

Conversation #1

I called the place that processes the fingerprints for the FBI and this is how that went:

Ring Ring Ring Ring

On the other line: Hello Rushton.

Is it a good thing for the FBI people to call you by name before you even tell them who you are??

And Yes, I do call a lot! Fingerprints still out in lala land....still resting that God is in control... but still making phone calls! :)

Conversation #2 (in the car today):

Rollins: Anne Rainey, have you ever asked Jesus into your heart?

Anne Rainey: No

Rollins: Do you want to?

Anne Rainey: No

Now, I'm thinking I may be witnessing a budding evangelist and swell with pride to only hear

Rollins: haha haha you are not adopted!!!

Commence screaming and fighting.

Songs for the Journey....

I've started a playlist on my itunes of songs that grab my heart while we are on this journey... I just want to always remember them...how they made me feel... and to share them with our little girl one day. The songs in this playlist have one thing in common... they have all reduced me to tears or at least to a big ole lump in my throat! So, I'll share the lyrics from some from time to time since Derek hates it when blogs have music that pop up... I think because it always scares him and then he feels embarrassed that a blog scared him... or at least that is my analysis... so I'll refrain from doing that. You can listen to it on your own.

Song #1 is an old classic but the lyrics have hit me in a new and fresh way.... particularly the last section! So here is the Beatles with "I Will"

Who knows how long I've loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to, I will.

For if I ever saw you
I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same.

Love you forever and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart.

And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
Oh, you know, I will
I will.

An Ebenezer

2011-03-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

Derek calls it an Ebenezer and I prefer a "stone of remembrance"... but it goes back to the Old Testament when Samuel set up a stone to remember where God had moved on their behalf in a miraculous way to defeat the Philistines... and I know that our adoption process will be full of such moments. I want to journal about any "Ebenezers" we have along the way.... that together we can praise God... that we may see He is real and moves on our behalf... that we may be able to look back in 10 years, remember, and praise Him all over again.

So, a stone for this week...

We are about to have to write our first 2 big checks to lifeline (one should have been paid a while back but we forgot) When we set out on this journey, we knew that we didn't have the $ in the bank to pay for the adoption but we also knew that was not a reason to not move forward when we knew God was telling us to.....we would leave the money up to Him. So, a few days ago, I realized that I needed to write about $5,000 in checks toward adoption and we both kind of laughed about how that might happen. Fast forward to yesterday when I got the mail and had a letter that we were getting a check back for $5,320 from something to do with taxes a few years ago... I think it may become my catch phrase but can we just say that God is in the details?! And He even threw in an extra 320 :) As we were talking about how cool the timing was, I didn't realize that Rollins was listening to us....we have never mentioned to the kids anything about it costing money to adopt... just never thought to tell them. This was the conversation that followed:

Rollins : Do ya'll need more money to buy the little girl from china?

Me (after slightly gasping at the way he phrased that): Yes, it costs a lot of money

Rollins: Well, I have some money. I have $19. You can have all my money. That way you won't have to work too hard to earn more.

SO sweet that he was willing to empty his piggy bank for his little sister! (Now, maybe we will find a check for $20,000 in the bottom of his bank- ha!)

In other news, I've realized that adopting can make you JUST as hormonal as being pregnant. I don't know that anyone ever told me that.... but I've realized lately that the littlest thing can set off a flood of emotion when you least expect it.... whether it is a prayer at church or a U-tube video... those were the 2 things that got me most recently. So consider yourself warned that you might not know what you will get with me these days!!

Oh and here is the video that got me:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

2011-03-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

Shocker, I know... i decided to add another recipe! I wanted to pass this along because I have tried several Choc. Chip pumpkin recipes over the years but have never loved any I have tried. Most of them have been ones where you add pumpkin to a muffin mix.... so this one is from scratch but it seriously took 10 min. max to mix up and it is so yummy. Not overwhelmingly pumpkin flavored and stay fresh for several days. The ones using mixes only seemed to be good to me when they were fresh from the oven. I'm on day 3 of eating these for breakfast :)

1 2/3 C. Flour

1 C. sugar

1 T. Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 C. canned pumpkin

1 stick butter, melted

1 C. chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients. Blend in pumpkin, butter and eggs. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 in greased muffin tins for 15-20 minutes or until done.

Makes 12-16 regular muffins

Tips: Mine took a little longer than 20 min. You can stir it all by hand rather than dirtying up your mixer.

Smingerprints

2011-03-04T12:49:00.000-08:00

(My blog is looking a little boring so here is a recent photo of Henry who turned 1!!! Just hanging out in the food cabinet and playing with electrical cords... all in a days work for him.)

So, I have coined a new word for "smeared fingerprints." :) Remember the police officer getting sick in a previous post?? Well, turns out that uncontrollably shaking hands cannot produce nice prints. In January, I saw that they were rejected. So I waited patiently to get a letter of rejection and asking for more prints but it never came. Long story semi-short, I made a phone call, mailed new prints.... AL shut down their print processing for several weeks while they changed software... the SBCN (place in VA that processes prints for the FBI) misplaced my other print card... they told me to call ABI (the FBI of AL) who in turn acted like I was crazy for calling and referred me back to the SBCN, who then found my card and FINALLY got word from DHR this week it had been processed! I was so surprised that I said to the lady on the phone "So I passed?" To which she quickly asked "Excuse me? Do you have a criminal record?" Then she called back 2 hours later to say she forgot that my paperwork was in a batch where the place in VA had forgotten to fill out the whole form for a bunch of us so it was having to be mailed back there and finished before I get clearance....... why does this all matter? Well, you can't finish your homestudy until you have FBI clearance and Derek's cleared weeks ago so we are waiting on mine!

That was maybe way more info than you wanted but needless to say, at some point I was pretty much annoyed. I felt frazzled and felt like I kept calling people who told me to call people who told me to call people.....and was getting no where. But at some point, God reminded me that I have been saying over and over in this journey that He is in every detail....like amazingly in every detail. I got a bit convicted that I was excited to proclaim it to the world when He is in the details and I LIKED the details. But when the details annoyed me, I didn't want to rest that He was in these details too. God brought me to a place of peace and even excitement to see Him throw in a delay. Of course, I want our daughter as fast as I can get her....but it is cool to think that God will cause whatever delays He needs to because His timing is perfect....He knows exactly where our daughter is and when we need to be finished with paperwork to match up with when she gets on the list of available children... He will match up the timing of both events PERFECTLY. So the delays now excite me as I sit back and watch God do his thing and rest in it.

I had just told my bible study group that I felt at peace about the smingerprints and then 30 minutes later while still at biblesudy, the place in VA called to say that they'd gotten it figured out and were processing my prints! Pretty awesome to see God's timing in that phone call.

I haven't had much to update lately other than that. We have been truckin' along with paperwork, required reading, meeting with our social worker, etc. Hoping to wrap up the homestudy by the end of March.

The kids continue to make me laugh as they process the adoption. Rollins ran into the kitchen the other day and screamed "I know how to write Chinese!!!!" I followed him to AR's room where he had taped up pieces of paper with chinese all over them. (He had found some chinese in a Tranformer's coloring book and copied it). He got the biggest smile on his face and continued "I can't believe I know Chinese! Maybe I am adopted! Am I adopted? Daddy will think I am adopted because I know Chinese!!!!" When Derek got home, Rollins greeted him with "did you know I'm adopted?" We reminded him that he was in my tummy and we were there when he was born. There is so much I love about that funny moment but the best is to see that adoption is such a positive word with our kids... nothing to be whispered about like a secret... but a beautiful and exciting thing! I pray that our little girl will always feel a sense of pride and joy when she hears that word in the future... although it will also involve incredible loss for her, I hope and pray that her natural inclination will be to beam with joy over her adoption!

Blessings from Dolly Parton

2011-01-30T11:39:00.000-08:00

Thought that title might get your attention! We had our first meeting with our social worker recently and left even more excited about the process of getting to our little girl... ready to conquer the paperwork... ready to tackle a MASS of required reading! I feel like I am back in great books at auburn. And to be honest, a lot of the reading is pretty depressing about a myriad of things that could be wrong with an institutionalized child...I have many thoughts as I process all that I'm reading but will have to save those for another day and get back to Dolly Parton.

Ok, so my kids are signed up for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library thing, where they get a free book in the mail each month from the time they are born until they turn 5. Henry's book came this week and I really didn't even look at it. Just took the plastic off and handed it to Rollins. The title is "A Mother for Choco." The next day, Rollins says "Can we read that new book about the bird who doesn't have a mommy?" He had picked up on the story line from the pictures and the few words he could read. My first thought when he said that was "oh dear. what kind of book is this?" So I sat down with them to see what it was about. The first page starts with a picture of sad little Choco and says "Choco was a little bird who lived all alone. He wished he had a mother but who could his mother be? One day he set off to find her." For the next few pages, he asks various animals if they can be his mommy. He asks a walrus, penguin and giraffe. They all respond that they don't look like him and he goes away sad as it says "No matter where Choco searched, he couldn't find a mother who looked just like him."

As I read that page, I was anticipating turning the page and seeing choco meet a big bird who is yellow, with a blue beak and striped legs... just like he was... and it was already giving me a sick feeling in my stomach thinking that this will not be the reality for my little girl who will look nothing like me. I remember thinking, "This is one book I will need to trash before our little girl comes home!!" But when I turned the page, I hate to say it but I almost teared up at the sweetness of this little book. There was Mrs. Bear and she came to the rescue to Choco as he cried "I need a mommy!!!" To make a short story even shorter, she hugs him, kisses him and dances with him because that's what he tells her he wants a mommy to do with him...and then she takes him home with her where her other kids are waiting (a pig, alligator, & hippo). the last sentence of the book reads "and choco was very happy that his new mommy looked just the way she did."

The phrase "God is in the details" just rings in my head daily as we embark on this journey. And I just love His timing in our receiving this book... that it was such a sweet story that led to great discussion with the kids... that it was not only an adoption story but also an interracial (or perhaps interanimal?) adoption story. I felt a little funny getting caught up in a board book for my almost 1 year old but I've seriously never been so happy/relieved as I was when I turned that page and didn't see a big old bird standing there! Thank you Jesus for giving Dolly Parton a vision to send out free books and for allowing one book minister so perfectly to my family! I know most of you reading this are believers but if anyone out there is not.... it'll be hard for you to deny the realness of Jesus when this journey is complete!!

A dose of sweetness and a little crazy...

2011-01-02T18:21:00.001-08:00

Let's start with the crazy...we decided to get fingerprinted last monday so we could check it off our list of adoption to-do's. That morning we wake up to Rollins with a fever and feeling pretty sick. Derek goes on to work and we plan on meeting at the police department in a few hours. So, I send the big kids out to get in the car as I grab my bag and Henry and then I hear a blood curdling scream from Anne Rainey. I come out and she has slipped on a patch of ice on the stone patio and is laying with her head smashed up against one of the stone steps. Now I'm thinking we may be headed to the doctor instead... but I quickly realize she is more mad than hurt. She stands up, takes one step and immediately slips on the same patch of ice again. She refuses to change clothes even though her whole rear side and legs are soaking wet and freezing... so off we go with one wet child and one child who is looking more pale and sick by the minute. We get there and go in this tiny tiny room with all 5 of us. As the police officer is filling out our papers, he begins to sweat profusely... like sweat dripping everywhere. Then as he is printing me, his hands begin shaking uncontrollably. So bad that he had to stop multiple times. Poor guy just kept on saying "I think I'm coming down with something." I'm not a doctor but I think he had the flu.... so then I'm freaking out a bit as the 5 of us sit in this small room getting bathed in germs. I'm just praying the prints are ok between all the shaking he was doing as he rolled my fingers and the fact that he put different dates on every form and his signature totally changed as his shaking worsened. We got out and loaded up with sanitizer!! Rollins was pale and also shaking by the time we got home... ended up being strep. It was all very bizarre and left me thinking that if this was our fingerprinting experience which is such a small part of the process, this has the potential to be a very wild ride! But at least we will have some fun stories to tell, right?

Now onto the sweetness! I mentioned that the kids are super excited. They have already made paintings and drawings to give "the little girl from China when she comes home." Anne Rainey also keeps asking "Is she for me?" I'm wondering if she is picturing a baby doll rather than a real person... Anyway, when we first told them, Derek threw in "but don't tell this to anyone right now." Which I knew would last a millisecond with Rollins. So two days later, we were at the mall and had our first moment of Rollins telling a total stranger (which has happened countless times since). We were in Gus Meyer where Derek was looking at some clothes (let me add, we do not really shop there but they are closing the men's department so had some good sales!) and Rollins asked Derek if he could tell the salesman our news. He was a super nice man in mid 40s. Rollins proceeds to tell him "we are adopting a little girl from China!" The man's face lit up as he said "I think that is great! And do you know why? Because I was adopted when I was 5 years old!" Rollins thought it was the greatest thing ever! Reflecting back on that moment makes me tear up... to see that God is such a God of detail. Of all the people that Rollins could have told, and all the responses he could have gotten... to see that God put that salesman there that night to encourage my 5 year old little boy. God cares enough about Rollins to put a man in his path who does not just support the idea of adoption but who's life has been radically changed because of adoption. Rollins went out on a limb, telling a total stranger and it was a moment of pure sweetness... a stone of remembrance for our family that God's hand is all over this journey!

I have to end with one funny. We are going the special needs route and the night we told them, I tucked them into bed and as I'm walking out, Rollins shouts out into the dark "Two arms mommy!" I was like "what?" and he repeats "Two arms!" I'm still like "What are you saying?" And he says "I want her to have 2 arms and 2 legs and I don't want her to be bossy. Good night." You gotta love his honesty!

Changing Directions

2010-12-26T08:43:00.000-08:00

Not sure if anyone is still out there reading since I haven't posted since October!! While I still love food/cooking, my desire for trying out new recipes has been taken over by my desire to remain sane as I care for my family :) These days we stick to what we know works... tacos, spaghetti, hamburgers, etc.

So for now, no more recipes for food but the blog will continue... just taking a detour as far as the topic is concerned. Some of you may know this but our family is growing again.... and this time it is through the gift of adoption! This blog now will serve as a place to document our lives as we go down this path to find our little girl somewhere in China!

We just started the paperwork & it will be a long journey with her most likely joining our family in 2012. Our excitement for our daughter grows more and more each day and the kids are ecstatic about having another sister.

An aside, but there were so many cool ways that God confirmed to us that this was the path he has planned for us. Crazy things. For example, I was in the car praying one day about it and being like "God, what should we do? I just need a sign." Then pull up to a stop sign and look to my right and there is a small sign in someone's yard that says "Thinking about adoption?" Another instance, I was burdened to pray one day in December for her birthmom and was in tears as I could not imagine her putting some clothes on her, tucking her snug in a basket, finding a safe spot and then just walking away... leaving behind her baby...who I KNOW she loved but her culture dictated that she could not keep her... I just felt so disturbed by the image and couldn't quit playing out that scene in my mind... both the image of the mom walking away and of my baby girl being all along. Then I left to go to my mom's house and hear a speaker on parenting (thanks Kelley Gage!) and she said something so unrelated to what she was talking about but it was God speaking directly to me!! She said something to the effect of, can you imagine what Moses' mama felt as she fixed up his basket, set him gently in there and placed him in the river and just let him go... trusting God to be faithful to care for her baby and that everything would be ok? I can't fully explain but amazing peace flooded through me that God was faithful to moses and his mama and God never left him but was right there with him in the river, directing his path... so surely God will be faithful to care for and comfort my baby and to do the same for her birthmom, who is simply trusting that her baby will have a better life. (Of coarse, we hadn't told anyone at that point so I had to bite my lip and hold back the tears as she was speaking.)

So, why blog about what will undoubtedly be a gut-wrenching, personal, intimate & life-changing journey? There are so many reasons floating around in my heart and mind so here are a few.....

* There were so many blogs that I read that encouraged me as we prayed about whether or not this was where God was leading us. Being able to read honest words about the joys and trials helped me to have a realistic view as we approached this journey. It also allowed me to see God's hand at work in transforming lives. My hope would be that someone else out there who is praying about adoption would be encouraged by reading our story. I can promise I will be honest but I can also promise it won't always be pretty!

* Secondly, I love to write and never seem to have an outlet for it. I lived in China for a year after college and writing my newsletters to send home was such a high for me. It allowed me to really process what I was learning and to more clearly see God's hand at work. I hope that my blog entries will be like "stones of remembrance" that we can all point to one day and say "this is when God did this" or "that is when God moved like that."

* Thirdly, I want a collection of my thoughts, people's comments, etc. to one day give to our daughter so that she may know she was loved, cherished and prayed for before any of us even knew her.

* Fourthly, I hope that we will all be challenged in our walks with the Lord. Or if you don't have a personal relationship with Christ that He would use this to prick your heart. This journey to find our daughter is exactly what Christ has done for me. He sought me out when I did not know him. He loved me when I had done nothing to deserve His love. He restored me and redeemed me that I might be called a child of God.... it is all really mind-boggling. And at the same time, for both of us, this seems like a natural step to take because of Christ doing it for us. I can already tell that through the months ahead, God is going to help me to understand His love for me even more...and it is such an exciting place to be.

* Finally, we want folks to join with us in the next year or however long the process takes, so I wanted a forum to put our prayer requests out there in hopes that others will join us in prayers. The Bible clearly calls us to care for orphans and I know that how exactly God has called you to do that will look different for each person. My hope is that He calls some of you to come alongside us and be committed to prayer for our family and our daughter... because it WILL make a difference for the kingdom of God!

With all that said, the next 5 months will be consumed with paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork. Tomorrow we are going to be fingerprinted to make sure we have no past criminal recored with the FBI. I told Derek that now was the time to come clean because I was about to find out everything about him! Haha!

Ok, so our little girl is most likely alive or about to be born.... it is all a bit surreal... to think and know that God created her for our family but that she is halfway around the world... to think that we will miss out on so much of her early days.... so here are our prayer requests for now:

1. That she will be safe, warm and well-cared for

2. That she will get great medical care

3. That she will be in foster care and/or have a christian caregiver who will pray over her. (we obviously know that the chances are greater that she is in an orphanage but the Bible tells us to present all of our requests to God so we are just asking Him to do this for her.)

4. That God would "command his angels concerning her to guard her in all her ways." (Ps. 92:11)

5. That God will allow her to literally feel His presence when she is alone in her crib and that He would "exult over her with joy, He will be quiet in His love, and He will rejoice over her with shouts of joy." (Zeph. 3:17) (God is such a God of detail and I keep thinking about how much it calmed my other babies to lay their heads on my chest as a newborn and to feel my heart beat. While she will not be able to feel the heartbeat of a mother right now, I take great comfort in picturing her little head, laying on God's chest and literally feeling His heartbeat for her.)

So that is it for now! I'll keep you posted along the way! (and please excuse my excessive run-on sentences and grammar that can make my mom cringe at times... my heart often rambles and just doesn't care so much about that stuff!)

In Christ, Rushton

5 new recipes!

2010-10-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

I'm still alive :) And thanks to several friends reminding me, bugging me, hounding me.... i finally sat my fanny down at the computer to do recipes! I'm actually thankful for their "gentle reminders" that have made me get in the Word and get in the kitchen! Happy Cooking!

Chicken with Couscous, Tomatoes, and Hummus

2010-09-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

This is a healthy (but yummy!) dinner that can mostly be prepared ahead of time. It is a great summer meal when you can have tomatoes and herbs from the garden!

1 (10 oz.) pkg. plain couscous

4 boneless chicken breasts

2 T. olive oil

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

6 plum tomatoes, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

3 T. chopped fresh basil

2 T. minced red onion

1 T. lemon juice

1 (7oz.) container hummmus

pita rounds, cut into quarters

Prepare couscous as directed. Brush chicken with 1 T. olive oil, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Cook chicken, covered, in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes on each side or until done.

Combine tomatoes with next 4 ingredients and remaining 1 T. oil, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Stir tomato mixture into prepared couscous. Serve chicken on top of couscous with hummus and pita on the side.

Tips: I am not at a point that I can cook chicken right at dinner time-- too much craziness at my house. So, I put the chicken breasts in the crockpot earlier in the day with water, some olive oil, salt and pepper. Then they were ready at dinner time. I also used parmesan couscous because we like it best. I mixed a handful of crumbled feta in with the tomatoes (and also mixed that up earlier in the day.) So at dinner time it just takes 5 minutes to make the couscous and then 5 more minutes to serve the plates! I put the chicken on top of the couscous and then topped the chicken with the tomato mixture. A yummy and healthy dinner!

Southern Living

Creamy Feta Vinaigrette

2010-09-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

For you are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth. By You I have been sustained from my birth. You are He who took me from my mother's womb; My praise is continually of You. Psalm 71: 5-6

This is just a quick vinaigrette that can be used for a variety of things such as salad or roasted veggies. It has a similar taste to food from Zoe's.

3 oz. feta, crumbled (3/4 cup)

2.5 T. red wine vinegar

1 T. water

1/2 Tsp. dried oregano

1/4 C. plus 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

Salt & Pepper

In a food processor, pulse all ingredients but the salt and pepper until it is smooth. Season with the salt and pepper.

Food & Wine, June 2009

Chocolate Chip Pie

2010-07-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

For you have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling,so that I may walk before God in the light of the living. Psalm 56:13

This recipe comes to us from Mona Ponder. She brought it to me after I had Henry and I have made it several times since. I tend to under bake it a bit so it is gooey and so so yummy!

1 C. sugar

1/2 C. flour

2 eggs

1 Stick butter

1 tsp. vanilla

6 oz. semi-sweet chips

deep dish pie crust

Melt butter and set aside to cool. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and pour into pie crust. Bake 1 hour at 325.

Tips: This freezes well so it is a good one to take with a meal for people. You can always keep a couple on hand in the freezer and pull it out when needed.

Rustic Vidalia Onion Tart

2010-07-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

This was a really yummy side dish we tried out this summer. It looks fancy and impressive but it really easy.

2 T. butter

4 vidalia onions, thinly sliced (about 6.5 C. )

1.5 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 (15 oz.) package refrigerated pie crusts

1 egg white, lightly beaten

3/4 C. (3 oz.) shredded Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter in nonstick skillet over medium heat, add onion and next 3 ingredients. Cook 8 min. or until tender.

Unroll piecrust. Roll into a 12 inch circle. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with egg white. Sprinkle 1/2 C. cheese in center of crust. Spoon onion mixture over cheese, leaving 2.5 inch border. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 C. cheese. Fold piecrust border up and over onion, pleating as you go and leaving a 4-inch wide opening in the center. Brush crust with egg white.

Bake at 425 on bottom rack for 17-19 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Tips: I only used 2 large onions because I was lazy and didn't want to chop 4, but left all the other measurements the same. I also cooked them way longer than 8 minutes...until they were turning light brown. If you don't like Gruyere you can sub with swiss cheese. Gruyere is a little stinky to me but in this recipe, the flavor goes great. Serve as a side dish with steak or another meat.

Southern Living, May 2009

So Good Brownies

2010-07-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Psalm 37:23

I have passed along lots of brownie recipes in the past but these are definitely worth trying. They are a great "brownie base" recipe and then add in whatever else you like. We have decided they are the day after you bake them.

4 (1 oz.) unsweetened chocolate baking squares

3/4 C. butter

1.5 C. sugar

1/2 C. packed light brown sugar

3 eggs

1 C. flour

1 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch pan with aluminum foil, allowing it to extend over the sides of the pan, so you can easily pull the brownies out (or use parchment paper). Microwave chocolate squares and butter until melted and smooth, stopping ever 30 seconds to stir it. Whisk in both sugars. Whisk in eggs, one at a time until blended. Whisk in flour, vanilla, and salt.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on wire rack. Lift out using the foil, remove foil, and cut into squares.

Tips: The article in southern living had lots of "add ins" you can mix into the batter. My favorite so far is to add 1/2 bag of toffee chips, 1/2-1 bag of semi sweet morsels and 1 T. of instant coffee. So yummy and rich! When I add all of that, I bake in a 9 by 13 pan or divide it between an 11 by 7 and an 8 by 8. I think they are a little too thick and take too long to cook in an 8 by 8 pan. Takes less time to cook and makes more if you make them thinner.

Southern Living, August 2009

Italian Chicken Crescent Rollups

2010-04-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes.... psalm 101:3a

I had some leftover ricotta and chicken a few weeks ago so I googled a recipe with those ingredients and this was what I found. It is a quick recipe other than cooking the chicken. It was very flavorful and delicious! Derek doesn't typically like a meal that is stuffed in a crescent roll but he even enjoyed this one! (photo is of the 2 Henry Mellens...my dad had just gotten up and has a little bed head going on)

1 can crescent rolls

1.5 C. cooked chicken, shredded

1/4 C. chicken broth (reserve from cooking the chicken)

3 T. fresh onion, minced

1/2 C. ricotta cheese

1 tsp. cayenne red pepper sauce

1 T. fresh basil (or 1 tsp. dried) (Fresh is much better!!)

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Mix all ingredients from the chicken down. Open the crescent rolls. Spoon mixture into the center of each roll and close the dough around the chicken mixture to seal it. Bake at 375 for 12-17 minutes.

Serves 4

Tips: You can prepare these earlier in the day and cook at dinner time. You can do the dough however you want. I chose to put 2 triangles together to make a rectangle. Then put the mixture in the middle and fold the dough up to seal it on the top. (Kind of looks like a 'hot pocket' pastry or something.) You can also make smaller bite sized pieces to use as an appetizer. Use regular salt if you don't have sea salt. Also if you don't have cayenne red pepper sauce, there is a brand called "frank's" that is good. It gives flavor like tabasco but without the heat.

Mexican Beef & Rice

2010-04-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

"... but He said to them 'Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.' " Mark 5:19

This recipe was in southern living a few months ago. It is very yummy but also super quick to whip up, which is what I need these days! All of the ingredients together make it like a gourmet taco night at your house.

1.5 lbs. ground beef

1/2 C. chopped onion

1 (15.5 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 C. salsa

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 (8.5 oz) pouch ready-to-serve whole grain Sante Fe rice (Uncle Ben's)

Toppings: shredded cheddar, sour cream, guacamole

Cook beef and onion is a large skillet or pot. Drain grease and wipe out pan. Return beef to pan and add next 3 ingredients. Cook 4-5 minutes or until heated through. Prepare Sante Fe rice according to package. Stir into the beef mixture.

Tips: Go ahead and through a handful of cheese into the mixture. Don't measure the lime juice. Just squeeze a whole fresh lime in there. It is generally about a Tablespoon. I cooked it earlier in the day so I put it in a pyrex and heated it in the oven, covered with foil, that night. We didn't like the idea of eating this with just a fork, so we made burritos out of the mixture. Just buy the soft taco shells and let everyone doctor up their own. It is very filling. You can freeze the leftovers.

Serves 6-8

Southern Living, Feb. 2010

Why you got 3 recipes this week...

2010-04-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

HI EVERYONE! I'M JUST SENDING OUT RECIPES WHEN I HAVE SOME AND WHEN I HAVE TIME TO SIT AT THE COMPUTER. SO I'M REALLY NOT ON ANY SORT OF SCHEDULE WHICH EXPLAINS WHY YOU ARE GETTING 3 THIS WEEK AND THEN MAY NOT HEAR FROM ME FOR A WHILE! COMPUTER TIME (AND COOKING) IS KIND OF BOTTOM PRIORITY THESE DAYS. RIGHT NOW, MY GOAL EACH DAY IS SIMPLY TO MAKE SURE ALL 3 KIDS AND DEREK ARE ALIVE, IN CLEAN CLOTHES, AND FED :)

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

2010-04-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Malachi 3:6

So I know that I have posted 2 chocolate chip bundt cake recipes in the past. Those recipes used a cake mix as the base. This one is from scratch and when you taste a bite of it, it is VERY obvious it is from scratch. I'll still use the other recipes when I am in a time crunch. But this one is SO worth the effort when you have time. The flavor is DELICIOUS!!!! This is in the most recent issue of Southern Living. (Rollins is giving his look that he claims will help him to meet girls when he is in college!)

2/3 C. finely chopped pecans

1/4 C. butter, softened

2 T. sugar

2 3/4 C. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 C. butter, softened

1 C. firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 C. granulated sugar

1 T. vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1 C. buttermilk

1 (12 oz.) pkg. semisweet chocolate mini-morsels

Preheat oven to 350. Stir together first 3 ingredients in a small bowl with a fork. Sprinkle in a greased and floured 12-Cup Bundt pan. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla at medium speed until fluffy or about 3-5 minutes. (This is the perfect recipe to use a heavy-duty electric stand mixer.) Add eggs one at a time, beating until just blended. Add flour alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until just blended after each addition. Scrape down the sides as needed. Beat in mini morsels. Mixture will be thick. Spoon into prepared Bundt pan.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Southern Living, May 2010

Tips: Grease and flour your pan VERY well or else you will have a tough time getting it out. I had to kind of squish my cake all back together because it came out in several chunks!

Banana Bread Cobbler

2010-04-24T13:27:00.001-07:00

For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods! Psalm 135:5

This recipe was in Southern Living a couple of months ago. I just decided to try it because I had a few bananas that were about to go to waste. I was surprised at how yummy it was. The streusel topping is particularly delicious and could be used with other recipes that require a topping. It is a must to serve it with vanilla ice cream!

1 C. self-rising flour

1 C. sugar

1 C. milk

1/2 C. butter, melted

4 ripe bananas, sliced

Topping:

3/4 C. firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 C. self-rising flour

1/2 C. butter, softened

1 C. uncooked regular oats

1/2 C. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together flour and next 2 ingredients until just blended. Whisk in melted butter. Pour into a lightly greased 11 by 7 baking dish. Top with banana slices, and sprinkle with topping. Bake for 40-45 min. or until golden brown and bubbly. Serve with ice cream.

To make topping: Use a fork to stir together sugar, flour and butter until crumbly. Stir in oats and pecans.

Serves 8

Southern Living, Feb. 2010

Tips: This can easily be cut in half... I did that since I just had 2 bananas.

Favorite Pimento Cheese

2010-04-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God! 1 Cor. 10:31

This recipe is from the most recent issue of Southern Living. It is really the best pimento cheese I have ever tasted. I made it and Derek's comment was "That is amazing!! We need to always have some of it in our fridge!" I just made a grilled cheese with it for lunch and it was sinfully delicious! (Anne Rainey tripped over the baby's bouncy seat and broke her foot. But she hasn't let a cast slow her down!)

1.5 C. mayo (recommend Hellman's)

1 (4 oz.) jar diced pimentos, drained

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. finely grated onion

1/4 tsp. ground red pepper

1 C. chopped pecans

1 (8 oz.) block extra sharp cheddar

1 (8oz.) block sharp cheddar

Stir together the first 5 ingredients until well blended. Toast the pecans at 350 for about 8-10 minutes, or until toasted, stirring halfway through. (Don't skip that step. It brings out the flavor of the nuts). Finely shred the extra sharp cheese. Coarsely shred the sharp cheese. Add pecans and cheeses to the mayo mixture. Store in fridge for up to 1 week.

Southern Living, May 2010

Tip: I chop the pecans with a food chopper to get them pretty small. Use fresh cheese rather than already shredded. It does make a difference and this recipe is too good to mess with.

2010-03-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

HENRY IS NOW 5 WEEKS OLD. HE IS A PRECIOUS LITTLE BOY AND IS HUGE!!! I CALL HIM OUR CHUNKY MONKEY. I HAVEN'T TOUCHED ANYTHING IN MY KITCHEN SINCE HE WAS BORN OTHER THAN TO MAKE THESE! :) I HAVE NO CLUE HOW OFTEN I WILL BE ABLE TO POST RIGHT NOW BUT WILL DO SO WHEN I CAN. HAPPY COOKING! ~RUSHTON

Chocolate Chip Bars

2010-03-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

You are precious in my sight. Isaiah 43:4

This recipe is for a delicious, buttery treat that is quick and easy to whip up. My friend Melissa Kaiser brought me some a couple of weeks ago with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips in them and I inhaled them. I made some this week with just chocolate chips and they were just as yummy. You can use this as a a basic mix and then doctor it up however you want to.

2 1/4 C. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 sticks butter, softened

3/4 C. sugar

3/4 C. light brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 bag of morsels (whatever kind you want to use)

Mix first 3 ingredients together and set aside. In a mixing bowl, blend the butter, 2 sugars and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well. Add in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in morsels.

Grease a 9 by 13 pan or line with parchment paper. Spread out mixture. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes and then continue to bake, checking every so often until golden brown.

Tips: I baked mine in a convection oven on 325 and it took about 25-30 minutes to cook. It will not be jiggly once it is cooked but you may think it is semi-under cooked. It will firm up as it cools but I think it is good a little gooey! Bake longer if you want it more firm. You can also do this in a jelly roll pan to make more bars that are thinner but I'm partial to a thicker gooey bar.

It's a BOY!

2010-02-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! Our son was born a week ago today. His name is Henry Mellen Waltchack (named after my dad) and weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. (which is HUGE for one of our babies). He is about the sweetest baby in the world! :)

On maternity leave!

2010-02-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

So, I had all good intentions of cooking some more and trying some recipes before the baby comes...... but 2 stomach bugs, 1 horrible case of strep, 1 pink eye, 1 sinus infection and 1 ear infection later, I have not cooked in 2 weeks. The good news is that Rollins, AR and myself are all now on antibiotics and ready to meet this baby! I also got some yummy food from sweet friends so that I didn't lose my mind last week. So perhaps I can share those recipes with you soon! Anyway, I'm being induced on Tuesday so I'll let you know what we have and hope to be back soon!

Sprite Pound Cake

2010-01-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one. John 17:15

In my "nesting" I decided to organize piles of recipes that I have clipped out over the past few years and done nothing with. This was one of those recipes lost in the pile. I remember clipping it and just being intrigued by it. I had heard of Coca Cola cake but never a Sprite one. It is SUPER easy and a delicious pound cake. It is lighter tasting than some I have had and is SUPER MOIST. I suggest toasting it with butter or eating it with a big scoop of ice cream and strawberries on top! (Photo is AR getting an IV last week to get fluids in her body after a bad stomach bug... and she decorated my big tummy with stickers while in the ER.)

1 C. butter, softened

1/2 C. shortening

3 C. sugar

5 eggs

1.5 tsp. lemon extract

1.5 tsp. vanilla extract

3 C. flour, sifted

7 fl. oz. sprite or lemon-lime soda

Preheat oven to 300. Grease and flour 1 (10 inch) tube pan or 2 (8 inch) tube pans. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, shortening & sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon and vanilla extracts, beating to combine. Gradually add flour and sprite to mixture in 3 batches, beating well after each addition and ending with sprite. Pour into prepares pan.

Bake 1 hour or until tester comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Invert onto cake plate and cool completely.

Makes 12-16 servings

Taste of the South

Tips:

This recipe was actually called 7-up cake but I don't like 7-up so I used Sprite and changed the name :) I did it in one large tube pan & my oven took almost 1.5 hours to cook it. I've mentioned this in the past but for new readers, if it says add one egg at a time, here is an easy method. Crack all the eggs into a glass or bowl and them you can just pour out one egg at a time. That way you don't have to wash your hands in between cracking and using the mixer a bunch of times.

Welcome Back

2010-01-20T12:32:00.001-08:00

I have not fallen off the face of the earth... although it was been forever since I posted on the blog. I have my excuses -- holidays, out of town company, feeling tired & pregnant and a child with the stomach bug... Derek would also say that I have tried out a few new recipes that were really not good at all :(

So hope to get in a few posts before the baby comes (in about 3 weeks). I have been cooking most of my old recipes/casseroles and freezing half to have some food for my family when he/she arrives. My plan is to probably continue to post old recipes since I have a lot of new readers in the meantime. No promises though on what the next couple of months will look like.

At some point, I will be back regularly. I love food too much to stop! :)

Golden Potato & Boursin Gratin

2010-01-20T12:12:00.000-08:00

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song and He has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2

I have tried lots of potato recipes over the years but have yet to find one that we thought was perfect. I tried this recently and we both agreed it was GREAT! Of course, I'm sure it is great because of all the cream and cheese! It is a good one to tuck away and serve to company if the fat in it scares you!

2 C. heavy cream or whipping cream

5 oz. garlic & herb boursin cheese

3 T. minced shallots

2.5 lbs. unpeeled Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (about 7 potatoes)

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Combine cream, cheese & shallots in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the cheese melts & the mixture is combined, stirring constantly. Arrange 1/2 the potatoes overlapping in a greased 9 by 13 baking dish. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 of the cheese sauce over the potatoes. Layer remaining potatoes, salt and pepper them, then pour rest of cheese mixture over the top. Bake 50-60 minutes or until top is golden and the potatoes are tender.

Serves 8

Tables of Content

Tips:

Boursin cheese is usually found in the section with gourmet cheeses by the deli, not with the regular cheese. It is a little tub or a creamy cheese. Also, I used 2.5 lbs of red potatoes and peeled them. (I had potatoes and cream left over from making the creamy potato soup recipe.) Use whatever kind you like. If you don't want to buy shallots, you can use regular onions, as much or as little as you want, but it definitely needs the onion kick in it. If you cut the potatoes earlier in the day, just leave them in the fridge in a bowl of cold water. Then drain them & pat somewhat dry before using them.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

I will be taking a break for a few weeks to enjoy the holidays! Below you will find 5 new recipes to help out with your holiday cooking! Happy cooking! ~Rushton

Quick Mocha Yule Log

2009-12-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set they people free; from our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in thee....leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stall; this the everlasting wonder, Christ was born the Lord of all... Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring... (selected lines from "Come, thou long expected Jesus")

I've always wanted to make some sort of holiday log looking dessert and this one looked like the perfect one to try. It requires no baking...just some mixing and assembling. It can be made the day before serving. It has a light and fluffy taste with a hint of coffee. (I'm attaching a lot of photos in case the instructions are confusing!)

1/2 C. powdered sugar, plus more for garnish

1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. instant espresso powder or instant coffee

2 C. chilled heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 (9 oz.) package chocolate wafer cookies

Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa and coffee in a small bowl. Beat cream and vanilla in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Add cocoa mixture and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread 1 side of 1 chocolate wafer with about a tsp. of mocha cream. Top with another wafer. Repeat until you have a stack of 5 cookies. Make 8 stacks of 5. Then connect (using the cream) 2 stacks of 5 together so that you now have 4 stacks of 10. Using a long platter, place one stack on its side, so that the cookies are standing up on their edge. Use some cream on stick another stack behind that one and so on. (Sounds confusing but you are basically making a big rectangle of cookies, standing on their edge with the cream acting as 'glue'. ) Then cover the entire outside with cream so that no cookies are showing. You will have plenty of cream. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or up to a day ahead. Before serving, use a toothpick or fork and make etchings in the chocolate to make it look like a log. Sift powdered sugar over the log & platter to look like snow. Arrange meringue mushrooms along the sides.

Serves 8-10

bon appetit, December 2009

Tips: Espresso powder is expensive and at specialty stores from what I can tell. So I just used instant coffee granules. If you do this, you will want to use a spoon and grind it/mash it into a finer powder. You don't want anyone to crunch down on a thick coffee granule. In the magazine, they stacked the sets of 5 end to end to make a really long and skinny log. I thought that looked kind of dippy which is why I put 2 sets of 5 together. But you can play with this based on what your serving platter looks like. Also, the chocolate wafers, come in a yellow box and are made by nabisco. They were surprisingly hard to find. They have them at Piggly Wiggly for those of you in Birmingham. Some stores have them near the ice cream sundae toppings rather than with the cookies. You could probably use another cookie but these wafers are great because they get soft and will make people think you baked a cake and sliced it thinly rather than simply stacked cookies.

Meringue Mushrooms

2 large egg whites

pinch of cream of tartar

8 T. superfine sigar

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 250. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silipat if you have one. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Add sugar, 1 T. at a time, beating well after each addition until mixture is stiff and glossy. Beat in vanilla. Transfer to a large pastry bag with a plain tip on the end. To form mushrooms, pipe out circles about the size of a quarter. (tip: start by making the outer part of the circle and fill it in going around and around to make a mound in the middle so it resembles the top of a mushroom.) Next make the steams. Just make vertical lines about an inch high. (You'll get a feel for how thick you can make them without them falling over.) I had plenty to make 16-18 tops and stems. Bake until dry to touch and still white (about 45 minutes). Let them cool on the baking sheet. To attach, melt a few chocolate chips in a bowl. Dip the pointy tip of the stem in the chocolate and attach to the mushroom top. The tip of the stem will go slightly up inside the cap and the chocolate will harden to keep it together. Can be made a day ahead and stored in a single layer in an airtight container.

Tips: I even put the mushrooms around the log in the fridge the morning of our party. They get softer but I found that mine even got soft sitting out on the counter in a container. The website recommends using leftover meringue mixture to attach them but I really recommend the chocolate idea. It gives it a nice crunch texture in the middle when you eat it. I know this sounds like a total pain in the rear but it is fun to try and play with/ be creative. The log is not super sweet so putting one of these next to each slice when you serve it, adds a nice bite of sweetness. Also, if you don't have a pastry bag, use a ziplock bag and clip a small hole in the corner of the bag to pipe the meringue through. It will work just fine unless you are using a cheap bag and squeeze really hard and the whole seam busts open, which I have learned from experience! :)

Fresh Cranberry Apple Salad

2009-12-15T10:47:00.000-08:00

Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11

Let me start with the statement that I do not like cranberries. However, this recipe intrigued me enough that I thought I would give it a try and it was delicious! (It is once again from that great blog www.flythroughourwindow.com) Cranberries are also super good for you so it may be a way to sneak some into your kids!

1 bag cranberries, cut in half or quartered

3/4 C. sugar

4 apples, peeled and diced (Gala recommended)

1/2 bag mini marshmallows

1.5 C. chopped pecans

16 ounces vanilla yogurt

The day before you serve it, cut the cranberries. It may seem like a pain but it really doesn't take too long. (I even quartered mine and got it done while the kids were eating breakfast.) You can lightly pulse in a food processor but don't pulverize them! Add the sugar, stir, cover and stick in fridge. The next day, they will be sweet and WAY better than a regular cranberry. When you soak in sugar, it always draws out liquid so before you start the next day, drain out most all of the liquid in the container.

Add all other ingredients and stir well. You can do more or less of any ingredient if you prefer. You can mix it up several hours before you serve. The apples won't turn brown because of the acidity of the cranberries. (Just stir in each apple as you chop it so that they won't turn brown while waiting for you to chop all of them.)

Serves 10-12 as a side dish

Cinnamon Honey Butter

2009-12-15T10:44:00.000-08:00

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

This is just a fun little holiday treat that I made for my kids' teachers. It is yummy on just about anything you can think of to spread it on. My favorite is on biscuits. Try is also on toast, bagels, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, etc. I doubled it and could fill up 8 containers that were 6 oz. each.

2 sticks butter, room temp.

1 C. powdered sugar

1 C. honey

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Whip the butter until nice and creamy. Add other ingredients and whip it. Scrape down sides, whip again. (If you have a kitchen aid mixer, this is a great recipe for it. I used the paddle attachment and it worked great.)

Yields about 24 ounces of butter

This recipe is from a blog I have referenced before (www.flythroughourwindow.com). I don't know this girl but all of her recipes, craft ideas, etc. are awesome.

Crispy Parmesan Crackers

2009-12-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings... Malachi 4:2a

This recipe is again thanks to Mary Williamson and the yummy luncheon she hosted recently. This is simply a fun and different alternative to rolls, breadsticks, etc. If you have never cooked with wonton wrappers before, they have a great crispy texture.

1/4 C. freshly grated Parm. cheese

1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

6 wonton/ egg roll wrappers

3 T. butter, melted

Salt to taste

Combine 1st 3 ingredients. Cut each wonton wrapper into 4 strips lengthwise. (They will be long rectangles when cut.) Arrange strips on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Brush strips with melted butter and sprinkle with cheese mixture. Bake at 425 for 8-10 min. or until edges are golden brown. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Southern Living

Makes 2 dozen crackers

Tips: The first time I bought these, I searched everywhere before asking someone! So, to save you time, they are generally in the produce section. They are refrigerated. At Publix they are usually on the top self near the organic produce. Which also explains why I couldn't find it. I was too short and they were laying flat.

Summertime Tea

2009-12-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

... you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said "it is more blessed to give than to

receive" Acts 20:35

I had this at a Christmas party last week and could have guzzled the whole pitcher. Most flavored tea recipes I have had taste more like tea with a hint of some fruit. I am not the biggest tea fan, so I generally do not like them. But this tastes more like a fruity drink with a hint of tea. It is great! And don't let the name fool you.... it should be served year round! Thanks to Mary Williamson for sharing! (Photo: Finding Rollins asleep on his train table)

16 oz. can lemonade (frozen concentrate)

16 oz. can o.j. (frozen concentrate)

6 tea bags

2 C. sugar

Bring 4 C. water to a boil. Add tea bags. Steep 10 minutes. Add lemonade, o.j., sugar and about 10 C. water. Mix well.

Tip: You can add sugar little by little and taste to get to your desired sweetness.

Makes about a gallon

Creamy Potato Soup

2009-12-11T19:16:00.000-08:00

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

I found this recipe one day this fall when it was cold and I was craving the comfort of some warm soup. It is by a guy named Jason Hill who posts video instructions on the web. This is quite possibly the best soup I have ever made or had in my life!! Seriously so amazingly delicious. It is loaded with fat but so worth it!

1 T. dried basil

4 T. butter

2 C. shredded smoked Gouda

6 red potatoes, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 C. heavy cream

6 C. chicken broth

Roux: 4 T. butter, softened & 4 T. flour-- mixed

Melt butter in a large pot. Add celery, onion and carrot. Cook until tender. Add basil, garlic, and potatoes. Stir about 3 minutes. Pour in broth. Boil about 20 minutes.

Stir in the roux, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Whisk as soon as you drop it in to avoid clumps. Stir until soup is slightly thickened. Add cream. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cheese, stirring until melted. Serve now or allow to simmer as long as you need to.

Tips:

Several things here. I chop the veggies (celery, onion, carrots) the day before to cut down on kitchen time the day of, since soup can kind of take a while. Rather than dicing, I cut the veggies into bigger chunks, cook them in the butter for a few minutes (till warm) and then puree it all. Then dump the pureed mixture back into the pot and pick up where you add the basil, garlic, cloves. I like it better when it is creamy and then you don't have to tediously chop all that. If you chop the potatoes earlier in the day, keep them in the fridge in a bowl of cold water so they don't turn brown. I peel mine but you can leave the skin on if you like. To make the roux, i simply softened the butter in the microwave slightly and mixed in the flour. As for the cheese, the smoked gouda that you buy in a wheel tastes WAY better (to me) than buying a package in the deli where it is pre-sliced. I have not seen the wheels of smoked gouda at Publix but have at western & piggly wiggly. The chef on the video says you can use Velveeta if you cannot find gouda but I really cannot imagine that would taste as yummy and smokey. I have left mine simmering for 2 hours before people started eating.

Serves 6-8

Feta Puffs (old recipe)

2009-11-29T14:25:00.000-08:00

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means, ‘God with us!’” Matthew 1:23

This recipe is adapted from a couple I have read and one described it best as a “delicious cheese parcel.” Who wouldn’t want to eat that? This is great for a holiday party, especially because you can make them now and freeze them until they are needed.

1 sheet of puffed pastry, thawed

Flour for dusting

3.5 oz. feta, crumbled

1 T. heavy cream or 1/2 T. whole milk

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1.5 T. fresh thyme leaves

Parchment paper

Thaw the pastry in the fridge all day or set on the counter about an hour before you plan on using it. While it is thawing continue to the next step to make the filling. Blend feta, cream, pepper and 1 T. egg in afood processor until smooth. Then form into 21 balls. Place on a plate and set aside in the fridge to use in a little bit. Roll out pastry into a 14 by 10 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Trim edges to make a nice rectangle. (A pizza wheel is the perfect tool for this!) Cut pastry lengthwise into 6 equal strips. (Each strip will be a little over 1.5 inches wide) Place strips on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill (in freezer or fridge) until cold, about 10 minutes. To assemble the puffs: Lay one strip of dough on the counter and brush the top of it with some beaten egg. Starting about 1/3 inch from the end of the strip, evenly space 7 cheese balls down the center of the strip. Cover with another strip of dough. Press the ends together and then press between balls of filling gently but firmly. (It is basically going to look like a long strip of ravioli that has not been cut into individual squares. You want to firmly seal the dough all around the edges so that the filling does not leak out while baking…but if it does leak some, it still tastes great!) Brush the top with a little more egg and sprinkle with 1/2 T. fresh thyme. Cut between the mounds of filling to form squares and arrange them 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat the process for the remaining strips of dough. Bake in the middle of the oven until puffed and golden, about 12-15 minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 21 appetizers Note: Unbaked pastries can be frozen, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 2 weeks. Thaw in fridge the day you want to cook them.

Tips: Ok, while you are going to this effort, you may as well double the recipe. The feta comes in an 8 oz. container and the pastry comes in boxes of 2 sheets so you will already have the ingredients on hand. I do not use fresh thyme. I just got some dried in my fingers and rubbed it between my fingers to kind of grind it up as I sprinkled it on top. I just used about 1 tsp. total for a double batch. As for the size of the balls you form, Derek says it looks like an average size gumball. Just make 21 or 42 and if you have some left, add it to the ones that look smaller. The dough is much easier to press and seal when it is chilled so you may want to only pull out 2 strips from the freezer at a time to work with. To make the best use of your time, make the balls earlier in the day or the day before. If you are doubling, thaw out dough and cut one into strips. Place that one in the freezer. Then roll out and cut the other sheet. By the time you are done with the 2nd sheet, the first will be ready to assemble. As for storing, go ahead and cut into squares. Make a single row in a container. Lay seran wrap on top, make another layer, more seran wrap, etc. It will keep just fine. I wait and brush the top with egg and sprinkle thyme at the time of baking, but I think it would do fine to go ahead with that step and then freeze if you want to.

Pumpkin Cookies

2009-11-29T14:05:00.000-08:00

Behold you desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part you will make me know wisdom. Psalm 51:6

This is a perfect holiday cookie recipe passed along to me by Amy Whitson. It makes TONS so there will be plenty to share with family and neighbors. Just be prepared to be in the kitchen for a while once you start making these! I'm sure they are terrible for you but they are so light and fluffy to eat.

2 C. crisco/shortening

2 eggs

4 C. all purpose flour

2 tsp cinnamon

2 C. raisins (optional)

2 C. sugar

2 C. pumpkin

2 tsp. Baking soda

2 tsp. salt

Mix the shortening, sugar, eggs and pumpkin together. Add the dry ingredients, mixing well. Stir in the raisins. Drop by tsp (tbsp for larger cookies) on greased cooking sheet. Bake 375 for 10-12 minutes. The color will stay the same but you can tell they are done because they will not look wet on the top anymore. Just observe the first batch and then you will know how long your oven takes to cook them.

Cool completely. Make the icing while they are cooling and then ice immediately. The icing will harden.

Icing:

12 T. butter

1/4 C. milk

2 C. brown sugar

3 C. powdered sugar, sifted

3 tsp. vanilla

Cook 1st 3 ingredients on medium heat until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Remove the pot from the heat. Add the powdered sugar and 3 tsp vanilla. Stir vigorously until all the lumps go away. (I find using a rubber spatula helps.) Return the pot to the heat if it begins to harden up or thicken too much to drizzle. (You can keep reheating the icing as much as needed.)

Yields 40-60 cookies, depending on how big you make them.

Tips: If you have a Silipat sheet, this is the perfect recipe to use it with. Since it makes so many cookies, it can be time consuming to grease the sheet between each batch so this cuts out that step. (I LOVE my silipat sheets for those of you who do not have them. I think they are one of the best inventions!) Also, if you have a convection oven, I set it between 325/350 and my cookies took 8-9 minutes to cook. When the cookies are all finished, I just lined them all up on my counter and drizzled the icing back and forth over all of them until I had used all the icing. I found that to be faster than icing each individual cookie and it gave it a pretty drizzle look. These are best the day and the day after you make them. Do not store them in an airtight container because they get all gooey and messy. I also froze a few to see what would happen and am eating one right now as I am typing. It is great! Freeze them after icing, in a single layer. This icing recipe is awesome and would also be good to spruce up an pumpkin box recipe from the store.

Baked 3 Cheese Egg Casserole

2009-11-29T13:51:00.000-08:00

Do not be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. 2 Chronicles 20:15b

This is a yummy egg dish that I made recently when we had breakfast for dinner. I liked that it is similar to scrambled eggs but eliminates you having to be at the stove right before dinner fixing it. (Plus with all those cheeses, it tastes so yummy!) Make it earlier in the day and cook that night. We loved it so much that we are adding it to our breakfast for christmas eve dinner tradition this year.

7 large eggs

1 C. milk

2 tsp. sugar

4 C. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

1 (16 oz.) container small curd cottage cheese

2/3 C. butter, melted

1/2 C. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 3-qt. casserole dish, set aside. Beat together eggs, milk & sugar. Add cheeses & melted butter and mix well. Stir in flour and baking powder. Pour into prepared dish.

Bake for 45-50 min. or until knife inserted comes out clean. Cut into squares and serve. (May be prepared in advanced and kept in fridge. Will take about 60 min. to cook if you place it from fridge into the oven.)

Makes 10-12 servings.

Tips: You can easily cut this in half for a family of 4-5. To do 3.5 eggs, just lightly beat one of the eggs and pour about half in the mixture and add the other 3. Doesn't have to be real exact-- it will turn out no matter what.

Meat & Noodle Casserole (new)

2009-11-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

My sister gave me a recipe for "husband's delight" years ago and then my mom forwarded me a recipe from a friend of hers called "green onion spaghetti." They are very similar so I just took bits of each recipe to make this one and renamed it "meat & noodle casserole." (I know, very creative name!) It is not the most gourmet dish but it is something the kids will gobble up, quick to make, and makes a ton.

2 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

2 (8oz.) cans tomato sauce

1 (8oz.) block cream cheese

1 (8oz.) sour cream

1 bunch green onions (chop about 4-5 stalks in the bunch)

1 (12oz.) package medium egg noodles

8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar

Brown the meat with chopped onion and drain. Add tomato sauce, sprinkle generously with garlic salt, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Cook noodles. Mix noodles with cream cheese, sour cream & green onions.

In 2, 8 by 8 dishes or one 9 by 13 dish layer: meat, noodle mixture, 1/2 cheddar cheese and then repeat. Bake at 350 for 30 min. or until heated through and bubbly.

Serves 10-12

Tips:

Start the water boiling for the noodles and then work on the meat. Put the cream cheese, sour cream, green onions in a large mixing bowl. When noodles are done and drained, dump the hot noodles on top and let it sit for a minute while you finish up something else. The hot noodles will melt the cream cheese and then you can stir it all up. This dish freezes great. Freeze before cooking it. This is also an easy one if you need to take a meal to someone because you will have enough for your family and theirs.

Triple Chocolate Cookies (old recipe)

2009-11-11T12:38:00.001-08:00

“Lord, let your constant love surround us, for our hope is in you alone.” Psalm 33:22

My plan was not to ‘test’ the recipes sent to me by all of you, but when Amy Whitson e-mailed this to me I knew I had to make them. They are delicious and make tons. I tried them without white chocolate chips and added a bag of the toffee chips with bits of chocolate…yummy!

2 sticks butter, softened

2/3 C. brown sugar

2/3 C. white sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

2 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

2/3 c. cocoa powder

1 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 pkg. white chocolate chips

Variation: Omit white chocolate chips and sub. 1 bag of toffee bits

Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla together until smooth. Add eggs, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and cocoa a little at a time until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 9-10 minutes.

Makes 3-4 dozen.

Tips:

It can be hard to tell if they are done because they are brown but better to be underdone than over done. Just make sure the center looks cooked through.

Oriental Chicken Salad

2009-11-03T12:51:00.000-08:00

Since I am afflicted and needy, let the Lord be mindful of me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God. Psalm 17

I am a big fan of the oriental chicken salad at Applebee's. (My mom and her friends eat there all the time and I join them on occasion.) Although not much about the salad tastes oriental. I got this recipe for the Applebee's dressing from a copycat website. It is not as sweet as the one at the restaurant and has a more oriental kick to it from the sesame oil. I actually like it a lot better than the one there. Anyway, this is an example of a meal I serve my family in an attempt for it to seem like I cooked but really it involved no cooking. You can do grilled chicken to make it more healthy but for ease, I picked up chicken fingers at Publix. (Photo is Anne Rainey's new silly face she makes!)

Dressing:

3 T. honey

1.5 T. rice wine vinegar

1/4 C. mayo

1 tsp. Grey Poupon Dijon mustard

1/8 tsp. sesame oil

Lettuce

Chicken Fingers (chopped)

Craisons

Feta

Mandarin Oranges

Can of crunchy Chow Mein noodles

Sliced almonds, toasted

Mix up dressing with a whisk. Cover and chill in the fridge. Toast and cool almonds. Then just toss everything together in a big salad bowl. You really can use whatever additions to the salad you like and as much or as little of each ingredient. I just tossed in handfuls of a bunch of things that I already had. I like feta on anything even though it may not sound like it goes with this salad. I doubled the dressing when I made it and it was enough for salad for 6-8 adults.

Tips:

My kids do not eat salad so their dinner this night was: chopped up chicken fingers, mandarin oranges and some of the crunchies and nuts... the parts of the salad minus the lettuce and dressing. Easy enough. Sesame oil is in the ethnic food section with the chinese stuff.