Celebrating his birthday- The Gifts

After the boys finally blew out any candles that remained, and ate there yummy cake, it was time to open gifts. One thing ds1 wanted was a new Dale Earnhardt Jr. hat.

For those of you not into racing, let me fill you in briefly. Dale Jr. left his late father's company, and went with Hendrick Motorsports this year. He is now teammates with Jimmy Johnson, and Jeff Gordon. His entire car number and sponsorship had to change. His lovely step mother would not release his old #8 to take with him to Hendrick. So he has a new number this year, the #88 that you saw on the cake. His sponsor is also Mountain Dew which makes the Amp energy drink. So, all ds1's hats etc are of the old number that Dale is no longer driving. He wanted to update that for the current car etc.

His first gift from his Aunt Lisa and Uncle Kevin and all their girls, was just that, a new Dale Jr. pit crew hat. He was so excited, and I caught it on my camera. So, Lisa this is just for you.... :-)

Opening and checking out his new hat!

Jumping up and down and yelling! I promise you I did NOT prompt him to do that!

Do I look good in my new hat or what???

Afterward he opened a gift from his brother. It was a remote controlled Dale Jr. replica car. (See a theme here?)

Brothers and Friends!

He also received a Best Buy gift card from Grandma and Grandpa, and he is excited to buy an MP3 player. Auntie Carole gave him a gift card to Barnes and Noble. (We love to pick out books there!) Our good friends and former neighbors sent him a birthday card and in it was a gift card to Toys R Us! Each year they still send the boys a birthday gift even though we have moved away now for 2 years. We miss them so much!! Finally, he received a new game for the Wii from us. Which of course they promptly went and started to play! LOL! What a special birthday it was! Ds1 was so grateful for each gift he received! He wanted to call each and every person to thank them personally!

I have moments were I just stand in awe as a mom and watch this young boy growing quickly into a young man. I watch him succeed and fail, hopefully leaning from each. I watch him learn about friendship, and brotherhood, and how to stick up for each other when the need arises. I have watched him as he develops a love for the lost and a desire to share Christ with people at a very young age. I have watched him tenderly care for little ones who visit our home, helping them with a craft, a puzzle or a train set. Yes, Lord you are molding and shaping this young man into your image. I'm awed at who he is and who he is becoming... I just wish you could slow time down a little bit. I feel as if I need to savor each moment, because this boy is quickly becoming a young man.

I think I'll go read the book, "I'll Love You Forever" and have a good cry. :-)

Celebrating his birthday- The Candles

Dh was so pleased when he saw that cake I made. He couldn't believe that I did it freehand. :-) We forgot to get candles in the midst of all the decorating etc. So, Chris ran down to the store and grabbed some. He came back with a set of candles and some tricky candles that of course don't blow out. I really didn't want to use those, but he is the "fun guy", and insisted. I'm glad he did, we got such a kick out of watching the following scenario.

After we sang Happy Birthday, ds1 made a wish and blew out the candles. They all went out, but then three quickly re-lit. He tried again to blow out the candles and succeeded...... but then again, three re-lit. He blew harder and tried several more times, laughing each time they came back again.

The funny thing was that my other son was getting excited, and saying to his brother "Come on! _____, blow them out!!". Then he said to ds1, "Let ME try!" So we said, good ahead _____, you blow them out." So he replied emphatically, "Okay, everybody watch me blow these candles out!!" He blew as hard as he could...... and still the candles re-lit. He was shocked! So then they both tried to blow the candles out together. LOL! Finally they won, and the candles stayed out.... lol!

The first try......

Trying again and again.... notice all the smoke?

Laughing as the candles re-light once again.

Brother getting ready to blow with all his MIGHT!

How about we both try to blow out these things????

Celebrating his birthday- The Cake

My firstborn son turned 10 this past week... Ten! Where does the time go? I really believe that the moment I had children time just began to move at a faster pace. Like warp speed!

Ds1 wanted a quiet family birthday in lieu of a party with friends. There is a reason behind that, which I'll tell you in the next post. So, the day of his birthday, the kids went to VBS at a local church in our area. Then in the afternoon ds1 wanted to bake and decorate his own cake. No convincing whatsoever on my part could sway him from a homemade cake. We even went to Publix and looked at the cool Nascar cakes.... no dice. Now, it's not that I don't want ds1 to bake, quite the contrary.... I love that he likes to cook and bake. His wife will thank me in the future, and who knows he may be the next Ace of Cakes. No, I knew that although he wanted to make and decorate that cake, the main work of it would fall to me.

Well, we got home and began prepping and making the icing for his cake. Soon, mom was abandoned in the kitchen in favor of Wii with his brother. (Just as I predicted). Oh well.... it wasn't too hard of a cake to make. It was actually a little fun once I got it down again.

He wanted a Nascar themed party, and a Dale Earnhardt Jr. cake. It's our favorite driver, but there really isn't anything out there on making a cake like his car. So the following is just done free form using the Wilton race car pan. I had to stop several times, as my house was warm and the icing was getting too soft. I just stuck it in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes and re-started. By the end I figured out again that my little stars needed to be small..... oh well I still think it turned out well, and my son absolutely loved it. He said he didn't want to eat it, it looked so good... but when the time came, he didn't have a problem digging in! LOL!

God's Beauty

On Saturday evening I went out to run a few errands. While I was shopping, it poured rain, however it had stopped by the time I was ready to leave the store. As I walked to my car, I saw the biggest rainbow I have ever seen in my life. It was huge, and you could see both ends of it. Actually it was a double rainbow. There was a faded rainbow just outside of the bright one.


I called Chris and told him to step outside and see if he and the boys could see it from our home. He could and here is a photo that he snapped. Hopefully you'll be able to see it... I just drove home in awe of how great our God is, and the beauty of His creation.

Happy Day!

Nope, it's not a referral....but we received our economic stimulus check in the mail yesterday! We were concerned as we heard several people did not recieve theirs and a bunch were misdirected by the IRS. But ours arrived ahead of schedule! Woohoo! It's already headed to the bank for our adoption fund.

And speaking of that fund, I think we need to raise about $10,000 more for our adoption. I believe that will be enough, but you never know. I have no idea how we will accomplish this...but I will keep working on it! I'm not sure if we qualify for grants, but I will check that out as well.

We've already had 3 yard sales, and are in the process of making cards to fundraise. Maybe I can sell those cards outside of Walmart? I bet if we fundraised outside of Walmart we could raise a lot of money. Hmmm... it's a definite thought!

Sparkling Clean...

That's how my van looks now. This morning at 8:00am I took the boys and we headed to a self service vacuum car place to vacuum the entire interior of the car. Since really only one person can do the vacuuming, they entertained themselves by putting the quarters in the machine and watching cars go through the automatic car wash. They were far enough away so as not to be in any danger, but close enough to get sprayed as the wind carried the water toward them.

Then we ran to Ace Hardware and got some Armorall Car Cleaner. We headed home and began Operation Interior Detailing. Oh you should have seen how disgusting it was. UGH! Dh worked on the floor of the car while we detailed all the interior surfaces. It is so hot here in the south today that we had the air on the entire time we worked in that car! I did not even care about any gas we may have used running it. It was just TOO HOT!

Afterward DS1 and I went to the automatic car wash and rode through it while our van got shiny and sparklilng clean. I used to love to go through those as a kid with my mom. All that's left to do is condition the leather seats and clean the outside windows. Then we'll create a space in the garage, and park it inside! Woohoo! A huge job tackled today!

Hobby Lobby

Hey, did you know that Hobby Lobby is just as awesome as Michael's for gathering material needed for my card making? Well it is! I've always loved Hobby Lobby for many great reasons. It's Christian owned, they have wonderful home accesories there, they have fabulous picture frames, and a large floral department. Now I have another department to love... scrapbook! I found some more awesome papers...and some craft punches that should help me out quite a bit! It was all either 40 or 50% off... (either on sale or I used a 40% coupon). I keep going back each day this week with my 40% off coupon to purchase what I will need.

All that's left is pretty much a few stamps and some inks. I do need those to actually stamp the cards and personalize them. Once I have those I can start making and selling some cards! Yippee!

Let The Fun Begin!

Yep, it is confirmed....my friend Karen created a monster! And if not exactly a monster, well I must be "something".....

I went to Michael's today to check out there scrapbook stuff once again. They were having a sale on their 12x12 scrapbook paper. 4 for $1. Typically it runs 59 cents a sheet. I had to take advantage of that sale!

Two hours later I left the store with my hands full of bags, and my pocketbook a lot lighter! Two hours! I never knew I could spend so much time just checking out crafty items!

I am thrilled with the paper I bought, and now I need just a few more things, and I am all set to begin making my cards. I am excited!! Here is one I made all by myself today. It follows the same design as my previous card, but the papers and patterns are different. You can't see it in the picture, but the little monogrammed square is actually three dimensional. This one is definitely a little more like my style.

Fundraising to begin once again!

I am sooo excited, about our newest fundraising project! It is right up my alley.... tapping into my creative side. My girlfriend Karen and I were talking about making cards to sell to raise money for our adoption. Well, this past week she showed me how to make my first card, and I do believe she has created a monster!

Let me back track, I saw on her blog that she had made some personalized notecards, and that is what got me started on a possible fundraising idea. So, with that in mind, I knew I wanted to pursue this avenue! So, last week I made my first notecard. It isn't fully finished... my girlfriend Velvet said it needs a ribbon on that brown horizontal line, and I quite agree. But it's an idea of what I am fixin' to start creating!

I absolutely love these, and can envision lots of different styles of cards, from shabby chic vintage to a more formal black and white. So fun! I'm including a picture here of the not quite finished first card, and will try to get my act together to begin selling these in two weeks! I'll be posting more information on my blog in the near future.... stay tuned!!

New Case Worker.......Again

Yes, it's true our case worker/coordinator is leaving our agency as of Friday. From her email to us she has decided to pursue a different career direction. I am happy for her, but bummed for us. You really don't want to know how many reps we have been through since we started this process. Three in the Nashville office and now our third in the St. Louis office. That's six agency caseworkers total! Good grief! That's a lot of turnover!

Good news is that our dossier was officially registered in the Moscow region as of June 6th! So, now they know we exist.

I have more to post...... things I am excited about...but I'll wait until I have everything together and some pictures to show you. Probably tonight. :-)

"Be Ready"

When I was pregnant with both of my boys, during the 8th month, I began to nest. I had tons of energy, and I was motivated to get the house and everything ready to bring a new child into the world! Both Chris and I accomplished a lot during that nesting period.....

With our adoption we really don't know enough to be able to "nest". Back in February we spoke to the then director of our agency and he had two words for us.... "Be Ready". That was 4 months ago, and I still don't feel like we are "ready" yet. How can you be ready, when you don't know the gender or age of the children you are being referred? I mean we don't know clothing size, and we don't know if they will be in a crib or a toddler bed.... how about pink or blue, trucks or baby dolls?

Perhaps I can't be ready in those areas, but their have to be other things that we could be doing to prepare for these children.....So, tonight I spent the better part of 2 hours cleaning up and organizing our playroom with my boys. It was a job that I started over a week ago, and finished for Father's Day. Yes, that's right...it was driving Chris nuts to have that thing all messy... so for Father's Day I cleaned it all up. :-)

It looks much improved, but as I look at all the small pieces of toys, I can only think we have a long way to go! Baby proofing! Even though we probably won't be getting babies, we could be referred toddlers. My toddlers were great about putting lots of things in their mouths. So, as I stare at all the legos, and small pieces to the action figures all I can think is: "How am I going to make this work?" How can I possibly keep this area a safe area?" I'm pretty particular about that, so this is going to be interesting! Maybe I should talk to a few of my friends with 4+ children and see how they managed it! They probably are much more relaxed than me..... um on second thought as I think about them, yep they are way more relaxed. LOL!

So, I'm thinking about the playroom, and then the spare room that will soon become their bedroom. Currently the closets are filled to the brim with all kinds of junk. It's being utilized as a storage closet. I need to clean that out as well! And we have to put screens on the windows, and gates for the stairs, and little plug things for all the outlets. Ack! I still want to put the rain gutter book display idea that my friend Karen implemented. I just don't know where to put it!

Which brings me to my first point in this rambling.... The director said to "Be Ready", which as I look around here...we are clearly not. I sure wish I could start nesting....

Can You Duet- Finale Comments

It's Caitlin and Will!!! I knew as soon as they sang that Faith Hill and Tim McGraw song, that they nailed it. Prior to this song, they sang a lot of southern rock songs.... I knew they could sing, but WOW! When they sang that love song, their voices blended beautifully! Amazing! My favorite song that they sang is called "Stupid Boy". You can check out that performance by clicking HERE. I must have listened to it 5 times today so far. lol!

Unfortunately Rory and Joey didn't fair too well, their first song was pretty good.... but I knew as soon as they were singing the second song that their harmonies were off. It was too mellow, and slow and when adding the slightly off harmonies...well that sealed the deal. I thought about it at the end, and I'm not sure Rory and Joey would fair great at Sony record label. I think they need a smaller label.... I don't think we've seen the end of them. Maybe Joey will have a solo career in the future?

The guys were good, (Brownell and Richey)...but the Brownell guy was too cocky. I was really annoyed by that, and I'm not sure if you can teach humility. Sure you can teach music, and range, and depth, and diction, and stage presence...but humility.... not so sure.

It's on it's way...

Yes! The final document is now on it's way to be apostilled. Hooray! It will be sent to our agency and onto Russia on Wednesday. I'm so glad that this is out of the way.

I still have lots of checklists to get done....but I'm working through them slowly. I like the slow pace that summer brings. The days certainly aren't lazy, but they aren't hectic and rushed and filled with our regular activities. Except for some light school work, we really have nothing on our agenda each day. Chris and I will be working on some projects around the house, and preparing for our trip to Russia, whenever it's time.

We'll probably take in some minor league ball games, and also visit the pool as well. I think I may even venture out camping with the boys.... umm..... let me think about that one.... ....hmmm.....maybe not...... :-)

Can you Duet?

Yes, it's true.... I am a fan of the show. I LOVE it! Seriously, I always forget that it's on, and then I watch the replays on the net. (Where would we be with out the world wide web???)

I have several favorites in the final four. I think three are really awesome..... My very favorite are Rory and Joey. They are the sweetest couple! I'm not sure how well received they would be by the modern country of today, but I have to agree they tell a story when they sing, and they are a joy to watch. They DO remind me of the duets of days gone by- June Carter and Johnny Cash.

The duet of Caitlin and Will certainly rock the Wildhorse saloon. Each of their voices is so strong, and raw... it's quite a pleasure to hear each of them sing. They are more southern rock, but they could possibly take it.

The two guys, who are cut ups.... (why can't I remember their names....) are really really good. I think they might pull away with it. They seem like the most natural of entertainers. I have enjoyed almost all of their performances. They definitely would fit into the more modern country of today. Names: Brownell and Richey.... I had to look it up.

The Coppola twins are pretty good, but a bit bland. There music is beautiful, but they can be a bit annoying. The one twin who plays harmonica (very well I might add) is always doing the same or similar hand movements and little dances as she sings. I find it somewhat annoying each time she does it, as if it's contrived. It's just my observation. I DO think they have gotten a bad rap from Naomi and they have taken it with more grace than I would have. I think Naomi needs to back off of them...her last comment about them being beautiful but without depth was l-o-w.

Anyway, I just watched one of the episodes, and am hoping CMT puts the last episode up online before the finale on Friday. Now if I can just remember to watch it at 8pm! I need to post a big sign on the fridge and TV.... Can you Duet Finale 8pm and 9pm Friday Night!

Who else likes this show?? Anyone??? And hey if your not a country fan, well...my apologies. I'll be back to my mundane updates tomorrow. lol! :-)

Last Document- NOT!

Did I say that we had completed the last document two days earlier? Apparently not. I am annoyed as this document has kicked back twice. It was not notarized correctly the first time, and so we had to have that corrected. I thought we corrected it exactly as we were instructed.... but I got a call on Thursday from our rep that it was still not correct.

It was an hour before we were heading out of town, and there was nothing we could do about it. The accountant we used was on vacation, and we didn't even have the document. I have to say that I really thought we had this corrected, and I am annoyed at the cost of Fed Ex to ship these documents. I know there is nothing that I can do about it now, but I have to say, I'm disheartened by it.

I am thoroughly sick of paperwork, and am just really bummed right now. Dh knows it, and so on Monday he is going to handle the document correction. I am so glad he is stepping in to do this.

Sometimes I wonder if we will ever really complete this adoption. We turned our application in December of 2006 and had our dossier sent to Russia August 3rd, 2007. 18 months since we applied with our agency, and 10 months since our dossier was sent. I know I sound somewhat dejected....and I guess I am. I've been praying for this adoption since 2003. We were almost ready to begin the process in Novemeber of 2005. In my mind time is just slipping through an hourglass....though I know in God's plan, His timing is perfect.

But I guess sometimes, I can't help and feel like Sarah as God promised her a child in her old age. I know I'm not old, but geez, I'm not getting any younger either!

A Study of Russia...

I went to a curriculum fair with my sister this weekend, and it was GREAT! I found some really awesome stuff, and saved a ton of money in the process. (Like over $300 saved at the used curriculum sale!) I still have some curriculum to order, but a lot of it has been purchased.

One item I saw that I was considering doing as a summer unit is a study on Russia. I found a very hands on curriculum written by Jessica Hulcy (Konos). It's called Russia- The Land of Endurance. The cost was $99 for this kit, and that was a bit over my budget (especially saving for our adoption). I found the complete kit at the used curriculum fair for $40!! It was never even used! Yeah!!

I have been debating whether or not to attempt teaching Konos next year, as it requires a ton of hands on planning. With two new little ones, I don't know how I would handle that..... BUT, I DO have the time this summer!

Here is a photo of the books and a description of a few of the crafts that come with the curriculum: (Sorry the photos aren't the greatest- I'm rushing tonight...) ;-)

Russia: The Land of Endurance crafts include:

• Matryoshka doll kit includes a set of stackable matryoshka dolls, paint, and paint brushes


• Pysanky egg kit includes a kitska, a block of beeswax, egg dyes, and pysanky egg designs for pysanky eggs


• Embroidery design kit includes felt, needles, and yarn for embroidery designs of book markers .

Ramblings thoughts in my world....

What a bummer.... Our beloved Penguins lost last night to the Redwings. I DO think the Redwings are the better team,and played really well through the series. They had way more shots on goal than the Pengs did, and their passing was much cleaner, (stick to stick). That's okay though Chris tells me the Penguins are a young team and will be back next year. We watched game 5 of the series through the end of 3 overtime periods... it reminded both of us of 10 years ago when we were watching the Pengs play the Capitals through 4 OT's. It was crazy late, and all I could think was those poor guys need to sleep!

Today I am supposed to be packing for a visit to my sister. We are heading to a curriculum fair for the weekend. I have 4 hours to pack everything up and clean the house. Needless to say, I'm not sure if that is happening or not. lol! Anyone else like to leave a nice clean house when you go away on a trip? Or is that just my sister and I? We both need to have the house, clean before we leave, as there is just something about coming home to a clean home. Probably weird .... must be our mother. :-)

So, I'm working on cleaning up and doing laundry and yeh, maybe even some packing. I'm so not organized for this trip!

Last Document.... for now.

Our agency representative received the last document needed to formally register us in the Moscow region. It went to Moscow today, so hopefully that will be all we need to accomplish for a little while. I do have to admit I am thoroughly sick of paperwork! I am hoping there aren't too many more hoops to have to jump through. (But I have a feeling there will be.) Bleh. :-)