The season of love

I am still hee-hawing :)

A little winter pick me up

Memories of Summer...

I want to try this:

Sweet and Spicy Salmon

- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons soy
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon curry
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoons hot sesame oil
- four 4oz salmon filets- skin on

Blend the ingredients, except the salmon, together. Marinate salmon for 1 hour. Pre-heat oven to 415 degrees. Place salmon in oven proof dish skin down and bake for 8-10 minutes.

I think you could try baking this on apple wood and it would be even more scrumptious!?

I can't believe I'm posting this

but its so hysterical I can't resist. We were standing in a very long and crowded check out line and Elizabeth suddenly proclaims rather loudly "Mommy, I just tooted... do you smell it yet"?

Her heart finally gives birth!!!

whoo hoo! It's all here! Follow along as another baby comes by plane!!!

My new favorite adventure blog.. all things Swedish

Oh to be young and adventuresome! Our sweet friend Jill is off to Sweden as I type. She will be studying abroad this year and as best I can tell her flight has just landed on Swedish soil! (or should I say snow..lol).

Pop over and enjoy the ride through the eyes of a beautiful and sweet exchange student during a most exciting time of her life (so far:)

Spilling the Beans

We are expecting several inches of snow tonight and into tomorrow and was intentionally staying put at home w/ a cozy fire and doing a few projects to unclutter our lives. One of them was cleaning out our pantry. I came across some amazingly wonderful smelling coffee beans I purchased a long time ago and totally forgot about. They were expensive little beans and I hated to toss them, but also didn't exactly find the grinding and consuming of them appealing either.

I remembered an idea that solved this dilema! Viola, a beautiful centerpiece for these cold winter months that would give me "that smell" and not waste the beans! Using just about any glass container from mason jars, to interesting shaped vases you fill the container up approx. 1/2 to 2/3 of the way with the beans and place a candle right smack dab in the middle. You can also add flowers, but my favorite is the candle as the heat from the flame triggers the aroma of the beans to come alive.

You can get really creative and use a larger container filling it with multiple candles and you might feel like you are sipping a latte in Starbucks! :) ahhhh these frigid winter days are quite nice when you can curl by the fire and enjoy the moment.

If you're in the mood for some more inspiring Winter ideas get your fill right here!

Contentment

If you want to see something you will never forget this New Years weekend take a few moments to watch THIS.

It's a story about a baby born blind and unable to walk. Take a look at the love this young boy's father had for his child and refused to let it stop his dreams.

Happy New Year!

Moving right along..

Now that New Year's celebrations are a thing of the past, and the Christmas tree seems so- last - year :) I used to feel a little sad that the wonderful festivities were over for another year but NO LONGER!! as we jump right into CHINESE NEW YEAR preparations! We have just recently adopted this tradition in our home after returning from China with Elizabeth (who is now 5). We use the red Christmas balls and hang them on branches, string homemade chinese lanterns all over the place, and plan a from scratch home made Chinese dinner that we invite family members to attend. We play Chinese music for that evening and Elizabeth and John wear their "special" Chinese clothing we purchased while in China.

Elizabeth will usually dance for us using her Chinese dancing fans purchased in Guangzhou and festive time is had by all! :)

We also belong to an amazing group of several hundred families that have adopted from China and throughout the year there are various celebrations that are so much fun. One of the biggest celebrations of course would be the Chinese New Year one coming up in Feb. "Stay tuned" for more of the Asian celebrations!!

Twas the night before Christmas.. for the parentless

I am 'borrowing' this from my friend.. Thank you friend.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the land
there are parentless children, with no toys in hand

No stockings to be hung by the chimney with care
no hopes for a family soon to be there

Their beds are not snug--but cold and quite bare
there are no goodnight kisses--no one to care

While we in our homes, laughing in delight
all settle down for a Merry Chistmas Eve night

When in someone's heart--there arises a clatter
there are children in need--who's lives really DO matter!

Away to the computer please go in a flash
to see the sweet face with whom YOU could be matched!

While a child you see--their beautiful face all aglow
could this be MY child--could I already know??

When in the dreams of the orphan--what always appears
is a family to love them, to care and hold dear

As you stare at that child--your heart beats real quick--
for you know in your heart that sweet face will stick

More dreams sweet children have--to call parents by name-
come mama! come daddy! come family to claim!

To the ends of the earth--your heart seems to call
now child--I'm coming--I wish for you ALL!

So on a plane to your child--over rooftops you flew
to hold this dear soul--a wish did come true

And then in a twinkling-I saw through the door
this child of my heart-that was waiting no more

As I got my camera and was turning around-
into my arms did he come with a bound!

He was dressed in many layers from his head to his foot
and into my heart his life was just put

there was no round face--no plump little belly
just sad little eyes, and legs shaking like jelly

In a swirl of a pen, and a stamp and a seal
my world became brighter--like I could suddenly feel!

We spoke not a word--they weren't needed at all
and I knew in this moment where I got this call

God layed his hands on my heart--and to the occasion I rose
and He could do it for you--this question He'll pose.....

It won't be a shout--no not even a whistle
it won't be real clear--but faint like a whisper

Can you make room in your heart--if you try with your might?
And make a difference for one--help them see the light?

I can see you exclaim as you hold your child tight--
Thank you Lord for this gift--you got it EXACTLY right!

Final Boarding Call..

I feel so much safer now that you can't go to the bathroom, have a blanket, pillow or laptop during the final hour of a flight. It never really bothered me to take off my shoes during security screenings, but if they decide to ask us for our underware this is where I draw the line..

...and they shall call His name Emmanuel...

{God with us}
MATTHEW 1:23




Merry Christmas from our family to your family!

Simple Christmas Salad but oh so yum!

1 large pkg. orange pineapple jello
1 lg. carton of cottage cheese
1 lg. can of crushed pineapple (drained)
1 carton Dream Whip (or similar brand)

In a large bowl mix uncooked jello powder w/ cottage cheese. Stir in crushed pineapple.
Fold in the dream whip mixing well. Chill until serving. EASY and Wonderful!

Inspiration: Eucalyptus In the Bathroom

Apparently in Italy this is the rage. Who knew ?! Tie a sprig to the shower head and the steam works to release the fragrant scent! Brilliant! I'm trying it. Just be sure not to get the dyed eucalyptus...

Let him eat cake

Miss Angie's diet

Well, where to begin?! I have a friend. A very special friend. A friend that came to help me one day with Elizabeth shortly after we returned from China when I was vomiting and very sick with the stomach flu. She came in (risking catching the flu herself) scooped E'beth up, and took her home with her keeping her for several days until I was over the vomiting etc.

Last night, I went to a small gathering to pray for Miss Angie. You see, Miss Angie is having a life changing operation on Thursday. She is undergoing a gastric bypass operation. She is beautiful just as she is in my opinion, but she wants to be healthier when she travels to China as a single mom to adopt her daughter. I left my coat and wallet at the gathering by accident and tonight Miss Angie drove an hour round trip in a chilly downpouring rain to bring it back to me. This is Miss Angie.

Angie is documenting her journey and life altering surgery HERE. Grab a cup something sugar free :) and head over to follow along!

I'm looking forward to dancing with her at whatever God has planned for this very special friend! I'm going to have to have my husband stand guard with a shotgun this time next year! But, If you know anyone who wants to get on the waiting list to be "Mr. Right" for Miss Angie, the qualifications are here :)

Angie, we praying for the surgeons hands, all the medical professionals involved, quick recovery without complications, and desirable results for such a special and dear person.
xoxoxo!

Bûche de Noël

That would be French for "Yule Log Cake". I love interesting recipes from all over the world - especially during the Christmas and Thanksgiving seasons. So, when I was tapped to bring 20 cupcakes for our son John's 2nd grade Christmas party I decided we can kick this up a notch!! But wait!!! I don't have HOURS to make this exotic Buche de Noel thing and would a room full of 2nd graders even blink twice? .. probably not, but, what about a take off??
So, I tried, this:



What do you think? These are mini Bûche de Noëls and they were EaSy!!!, QuIcK!!! and look pretty impressive if I do say so!


They are made from "Ho Ho's" and embellished with candy and tube icing you purchase at the cake deco. section at your fav. grocery store. I used caned chocolate icing to "glue" the candy on, then made swirly vines and leaves w/ the green icing. (HINT = Chocolate covered peanut clusters make great "bumps" on the yule log.) In no time we had a pretty impressive little treat! To finish off the presentation, sprinkle confectioners sugar or shredded coconut over the entire platter for the illusion of snow! Our children loved helping make these and there weren't any leftovers! :) FuN!!

If you so inclined and in the mood for the five star 'real' thing just hop over to HERE.

From toddler to young lady.. a simple but beautiful transformation

I came across these images of transforming your toddler room to a 'big girl room' and loved the simplicity and freshness. It started with this:



And the end result was this:




Sweet!

Every once in a while something crosses my path

that I simply can't resist passing on..


As an adoptive mom, I can obtain a state birth certificate for our daughter even though she was born more than 6,000 miles away in China. This is the same 'short form birth certificate' that the state of Hawaii has produced for the President. I have little doubt is a legit form. Most anyone, born anywhere can obtain a short form state birth certificate. What I am concerned about is why millions of dollars are being spent to keep the official LONG form from the American public?

HaPpY tHaNkSgIvInG... But..

It's beginning to look a lot more like CHRISTmas!!
Here is our Turkey recipe for this year, and next and the next!!

~~Citrus Sage Turkey~~

Serves 8, but we prepare a Big Bird ;) so we will double this..

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter, softened and divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (6-pound) bone-in turkey breast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 large orange, sliced
1 large lemon, sliced
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
4 fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 onion, quartered
2 cups chicken broth

Preparation
Stir together 2 tablespoons butter and garlic. Loosen skin from turkey without detaching it; sprinkle salt and pepper under skin. Rub 2 tablespoons garlic mixture over meat. Place fruit slices, rosemary, and sage under skin; replace skin.

Rub remaining 1 tablespoon butter over skin; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon seasoned pepper. Place turkey breast on a lightly greased rack in a broiling pan. Add onion and chicken broth.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 30 minutes, basting every 30 minutes. Shield with foil, and bake 1 more hour or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest breast portion registers 170°. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with pan juices.

A simple breakfast.

Rosemary Scrambled eggs
Turkey bacon dredged in Brown Sugar and Pepper
Whole wheat toast
Orange juice
Coffee with cinnamon
Candles
and
Coneflowers

Elizabeth's Twinkle

For those that do not stand behind our Military,

Feel free to stand in front of them.


Author unknown.

want to check out a new way of meal prep?

What a fab. idea!! Take a look at the recipes like "Sweet Bourbon Salmon" or maybe "Watermelon Salsa", but wait!!- perhaps you are in the mood for "Balsamic Spinich Ravioli with Pine Nuts"?..then they compile a grocery list based on your choice, and best of all,, it's a totally FREE service!

You've got Supper!!!

It's over.

Halloween that is.

oh so frightful, (and delightful!!!)

Go look at this if you want a jump start for festive ideas this season. Their style is clean, beautiful, and always inspirational! There are lots of wonderful pictures of the HGTV special that is running all week...

I'm off for some spanish moss!!! :)

H1N1.. a personal perspective

Last week we were on vacation to Williamsburg Va. The morning after we arrived Elizabeth woke with a fever of approx. 102. She was acting fine, so we opted to 'wait and watch'. We did all the usual things like offer plenty of fluids, alternate tylenol and motrin, etc.. As the afternoon progressed, she fell asleep on my lap and when she woke she felt VERY hot. After taking her temp. again, we realized it had escalated to an alarming almost 105. We immediately took her to a walk in clinic and there they did the nose swab test and it came back positive for the flu.

Tamiflu was given and by the next morning her fever was normal and you would have never known she had been ill. She continued on a 5 day course of Tamiflu but her actual symptoms only lasted about 24 to 36 hours. Perhaps the quick recovery was in part due to the anti viral drug being given so soon after the onset of symptoms, I don't know, but the severity (or I should say lack there of thankfully!!) of our bout was nothing like I would have expected based on all the media reports we have been hearing.

We opted not to vaccinate our children for the Swine Flu out of concerns for the vaccine safety and I was especially concerned when we first got the results last week - but no one else came down with it, and Elizabeth made a complete recovery within a very few days.

Just thought I would pass on our experience so all you Mom's out there won't freak when your children aren't as diligent about washing their hands as you might like for them to be during this "germ" season! I'm resting a bit easier now!! (Still diligent about the germs and washing hands but at least not *quite* as obsessed :)

I didn't agree with you on everything, but yep GW, I miss ya.
xoxo

Stolen babies

"I would never support the baby trafficking and China's greed when it comes to selling their unwanted baby girls".. was the comment we received from a long time "friend" when we announced our plans to adopt. The comment could have turned our decision around but by the grace of God we chose to ignore it. The comment may have been accurate to a degree but we also decided to consider the source as this person was looking for any excuses not to bring a child into their family.

It's been some time ago since we received the "sentiment" about our adoption decision, thus the exact wording may be off a bit- but you get the idea.

So, can we say that here in America we are totally free from crimes involving babies, adoption, and so on? Perhaps there was (and is) a problem with some children placed into any international adoption program but I have to say that most of the dollars spent on our adoption went to U.S. sources and agencies - not China. Our total Chinese Orphanage fee was only $4,000. Four Thousand dollars to feed, care for, clothe, immunize, house, etc.. 24/7 for our child - for almost a year. Our daughter was meticulously cared for during those 11 months living with a foster family under the supervision of the Chinese Adoption Affairs.

Indeed the situation in many foreign countries involving children that are placed for adoption is tragic. I've often thought about that "friend's" comment and played many "what if" games.. It boils down to this - God knows the end from the beginning and whatever happened and the circumstances surrounding her birth and 'finding' .. HE allowed it to occur. The winding path and entrusting from our Almighty Heavenly Father to be her parents happened. Following what we believe was God's direction in our decision to adopt our motives and hearts were pure. Even in the worse case situation, we are comforted in that God has placed our daughter exactly where His plan for Han Li Rong was and we are eternally grateful.

It's Fall Y'all..

and I'm posting my all time fav. ginger cookie recipe. These aren't your average run-of-the-mill ginger cookies, these are the BEST ginger cookies you will ever eat! Don't overbake. They are soft, chewy and perfect for those chilly autumn afternoons. I haven't made these since last fall and there is a reason... We eat them up as quickly as they are made! So without further ado...

Ginger Cookies
Cream:
3/4 cup oil (or shortening - I used oil)
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg

Sift together
2 1/2 c flour
2 t. b.soda
1/2 t. salt
1 - 1.5 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons (or more) cinnamon
1/2 t. cloves
2 - 3 Tablespoons vinegar (yep, vinegar)

Combine and mix all of the above.

Refrigerate dough until chilled then roll into small
balls and roll in sugar.

Place on ungreased pan 2" apart

Bake @ 350 for 8-10 mins. (I did 8 mins)
ENJOY
I usually double this and keep the unbaked dough in the frig
or freezer (airtight) and use as needed.

burning question

Q. What was Johann Sebastian Bach's favorite food?

A. Chicken.

Why? He loved hearing them call his name over and over... "Bach, Bach, Bach"

:)


Well, Elizabeth and I had our 1st violin concert this afternoon (and my last :). My role as a concert violinist is officially over (at least as far as Mr. Suzuki is concerned). It actually was quite a wonderful experience to learn the 'basics' of playing the violin with my daughter. Elizabeth will continue and I will officially pass the violin torch! We were excited that my Mom and our sweet friends came to hear our squeaks!

...and the beat goes on!

the reason I'm up at 4:01 a.m.

is because my friend Angie posted about this. I've spent the last 2 hours reading.

very special deliveries!

There are a few families currently in China adopting some amazing young ladies! If you enjoy following adoption journey's you don't want to miss these stories! Most of these children are older and some have significant special needs. All are precious in His sight...

click your ruby slippers and go:
HERE
and
HERE
and
HERE
and last but most certainly NOT least!
go HERE!

Life just got easier!

I discovered some apples placed in the produce section of our frig. by accident became frozen solid somehow. I was making some totally YUM split pea soup for dinner this evening (recipe to follow) and add apples to the mix for a wonderful flavor and touch of sweetness. I thought my ingredients were going to be compromised but instead, it lead to an interesting discovery.

I decided to wash off the apple in an attempt to "salvage" it and inadvertently had the hot water on when starting to rinse it. To my surprise, the warm water melted the apple slightly around the skin just enough for it to SLIDE right off! TRY IT!!! Freeze an apple, turn on your warm/ hot water to wash it, and VIOLA! It's amazing! Gently rub the skin and it's GONE!

I chopped it up as usual, added it to the pot of simmering split peas and it was the best split pea soup I've ever made!

Split Pea Soup

1 bag Split peas (rinsed and sorted)
1/2 - 1 onion
1 clove garlic
2 - 3 apples or pears (or both) chopped
3/4 cup carrots
fresh herbs (sage, basil, oreg. parsley, etc.. I use whatever I have in my small herb garden)
1 teaspoon curry
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup long grain brown rice (optional)
~~~~

Place all ingred. (except the rice) in a large pot and add amount of water called for on the bag of split peas. Simmer 2-3 hours and add rice about an hour before you are ready to serve it. Just before serving blend it all with a mixer or hand held blender.

ENJOY!!!

Mercury in the Swine Flu vaccine

Cure more deadly than disease?

Here is part of another report about the potential dangers of the experimental Swine Flu vaccine..

What I thought was also interesting is the data showing that the vaccine only provides a temporary immunity for a small percentage of a very specific type of flu. Studies are showing that immunizing throughout ones life never gives the individual the opportunity to obtain "natural immunity" that your body develops which is far more effective especially in older adults. Here's a portion of the article..
~
Although White House science advisers have warned that up to 90,000 Americans might die from H1N1 during the coming flu season, BUT- the head of the CDC responded by telling the public to ignore such a high mortality estimate, saying the current H1N1 couldn't kill that many people without mutating.

Use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 resulted in 25 people suffering from severe paralysis and dying from respiratory failure after being injected with the vaccine – more than the number of lives claimed from the virus itself.

Additionally, the vaccine is said to contain thimerosal, a preservative ingredient composed of mercury that has been linked to autism in young children.

The FDA states, "Thimerosal has been removed from or reduced to trace amounts in all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and younger, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine."

Thimerosal has also been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, or GBS – a serious disorder that occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the nervous system and may result in death.

In 1976, health officials found nearly 500 cases of GBS, and the vaccine was withdrawn 10 weeks after the link with GBS was suspected. Following the 1976 vaccination against swine flu in the U.S., a retrospective study found a likely eight-fold increase in the incidence of GBS.

Now that the nation is preparing for another round of H1N1 flu shots, the Oregonian reported that the federal government is urging neurologists to keep a close watch for new cases of GBS.

In a study conducted at the University of Hong Kong, the British Medical Journal reported that less than half of 8,500 doctors and nurses in public hospitals will accept vaccination against the swine flu – even following increases in the World Health Organization's pandemic alert level.

The study revealed, "The major barriers identified were fear of side effects and doubts about efficacy."

According to the following report by Russia Today, investigative journalist Wayne Madsen revealed that even scientists who helped develop a vaccine for small pox are saying they will not take the vaccine and urging friends and family to refrain from taking the injection as well:

rosin up the bow

I had NO idea how involved holding a violin and bow was... so this is Suzuki. The theory is the parent (that would be me) learns the proper technique of bow holding, violin holding, posture, etc.. and then is better able to make sure the child (that would be Elizabeth) is practicing correctly.

My first lesson was quite a fiasco. Actually, I missed the very first lesson, so technically it was lesson #2. A nasty upper resp. bug had me homebound for almost 9 days and it was my first day "out" in a while. It was a hot hot day and I guess I was still sporting a bit of a fever because about 20 minutes into the lesson and holding the weapon errr I mean violin correctly on my shoulder twisting my neck and head I felt it was either ask to sit down, or I was going to totally embarrass myself and end up passing out.

After a few moments all was well and when we got home Elizabeth had to remind me how to correctly do it all! :)

The "new parents" and students have a concert coming up in several weeks and my husband is delighting in teasing me about my first "concert" in ..xx years!

ahhhh what you will do for your kids!
xoxoxo
~
UPDATE:
Violin is actually going quite well and I now see the benefits of this method. Elizabeth is taking her violin playing VeRy seriously and I think this will be a wonderful addition to her talents. She is very responsible with the care of her tiny little Klaus Muller Etude (1/16 size) violin and loves to practice - so far.

Alaska!

Won't you join me here?

a dirty joke

..pig jumped in the mud.

I'm very curious to know why we haven't heard more about this in the US. This is a UK news article..

Swine flu jab link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America. Read More:

A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.
It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.

GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.
The letter, sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29, is the first sign that there is concern at the highest levels that the vaccine itself could cause serious complications.
It refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:

More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu.

500 cases of GBS were detected.

The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times.

The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear.

The US Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.
Concerns have already been raised that the new vaccine has not been sufficiently tested and that the effects, especially on children, are unknown.
It is being developed by pharmaceutical companies and will be given to about 13million people during the first wave of immunisation, expected to start in October.
Top priority will be given to everyone aged six months to 65 with an underlying health problem, pregnant women and health professionals.
The British Neurological Surveillance Unit (BNSU), part of the British Association of Neurologists, has been asked to monitor closely any cases of GBS as the vaccine is rolled out.
One senior neurologist said last night: ‘I would not have the swine
flu jab because of the GBS risk.’
There are concerns that there could be a repeat of what became known as the ‘1976 debacle’ in the US, where a swine flu vaccine killed 25 people – more than the virus itself.
A mass vaccination was given the go-ahead by President Gerald Ford because scientists believed that the swine flu strain was similar to the one responsible for the 1918-19 pandemic, which killed half a million Americans and 20million people worldwide.

Late Summer Chicken Salad with a twist :)

I have taken this Chicken Salad to so many people and it never fails that I hear it's the best they have ever tasted! Here ya go:

Cook Chicken and tear into small pieces (abt. 4 -5 cups +/-) Note: This is even better if made substituting Turkey for Chicken!

1/2 cup (or more) chopped seedless red grapes
1/2 cup chopped apple
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped pecans
opt. 1/3 cup dried cranberries, raisins, celery, water chestnuts etc..
I often use all of those!
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss all of the above together. Then mix the following together and add to chicken.

1/2 cup mayo
1/8 - 1/4 cup of cider vinegar
1/3+ cup sugar
1-2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
and.... drum roll please....
3/4 - 1 teaspoon curry -the secret :)

Chill several hours and serve on lettuce wedges, pita bread, or rolls etc..

The Panel that could decide who lives and who will die

Obama health-care policy advisor Ezekiel Emanuel announced a new "Complete Lives System" for selecting which sections of the population should be killed, in his article "Principles for Allocation of Scarce Medical Interventions." Published Jan. 31, 2009 in the British medical journal Lancet, Emanuel's euthansia-selection article appeared 11 days after President Obama's inauguration.

Then on March 19, Emanuel was appointed to the Federal Coordinating Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research, to begin the design of a Federal system for withdrawing care from those chosen for death.Emanuel sums up who is to be treated, and who is to die:

"When implemented, the complete lives system produces a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most substantial chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated." This may be justified by public opinion, since "broad consensus favours adolescents over very young infants, and young adults over very elderly people."-Obama health-care policy advisor Ezekiel Emanuel. (Brother of Rham Emanuel White House Chief of Staff to President Obama)

These quotes are something you would expect from Dr. Mengle of the Nazi Germany years, or perhaps the ultra progressives from earlier years who were pushing Eugenics.

But they are not. These are the words from the chief advisor to the President of the United States on health care and a chief architect of the health care plans being forumlated by the Obama administration and the Democratic controlled Congress.

Next, examine Mr. Obama's choice for Science Czar, John Holdren. Mr. Holdren is a population control zealot who believes the Constitution justifies *mandatory* abortions on a world wide scale and advocated a global police force to keep populations down. He has even gone so far as to examine putting sterilants in public drinking water in his 1977 book he co authored entitled ""Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment".

Then move on to his "Green jobs Czar" Van Jones. You don't hear much about their radical agendas via liberal news sources but You can be sure Obama knows exactly why he chose these individuals for such high and powerful positions.

Jones, Obama's new environmental adviser, recently was as an admitted radical communist and black nationalist leader. He boasted in a 2005 interview that his environmental activism was a means to fight for racial and class "justice."

These are absolutely un-American, far left, radical views. The Health Care Plan developed by the proponent of this thinking is sure to contain provisions, processes, and planning for the longer range implementation of these steely-eyed, radical goals and principle of its inventor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel.

Something else that disturbs me about the Obama's Health care agenda is they certainly weren't able to manage it while Michelle Obama held her 3-400,000K/ yr. job at a major Chicago hospital. The hospital turned away scores of uninsured (mostly black) patients needing urgent and non urgent care. Please do the research on all this yourself or feel free to start here.

This is the biggest attempt by Govt. to takeover since Social Security and we all know as much as we have paid into SS over our lives there will be little left for our generation. Speak now.... and Speak LOUDLY ... or I shutter to think that our tax dollars will be used to fund abortions on demand, but won't be available (allowed) to help a 73 year old mother if she is in need of advanced medical care.

new directions

The Summer has been filled with incredible activities for our children and I have enjoyed so very much watching them blossom and thrive at what they are attempting. From Ballet to Karate we are watching our children grow up before our eyes. Blink and they are talking, blink again and they start school, blink once more and you are looking eyeball to eyeball at them! John lost his first tooth today and I'm waiting up to be the tooth fairy for the very first time! :) :) He is so excited that he can't sleep and has been coming in every 1/2 hour telling me he can't sleep. Finally a bowl of cereal and a few smores via the microwave has seemed to help! .. I'm keeping my fingers crossed as this tooth fairy is pretty tired!

One of the most interesting things was John's participation in a Summer Challenge program at a local school. It was called (CSI) after the Crime Scene investigation program and they stretched the children's thought processes. For example, if a crime was committed and they found female footprints from high heels, would that indicate the crime was committed by a female? The answer = no. A male criminal could purchase women's shoes/ clothing to mislead the authorities. There were lots of interesting lessons in the 2 week CSI camp. Hopefully we will do this again next year.

John (who turns 8 in Sept.) has been asking many many questions about life and our conversations have become much more sophisticated. Elizabeth in turn has been "listening in" and generally parrots the topics we cover to all that will listen. We need to work on a bit more restraint when she is in public pointing out tattoos, spiked blue hair, and people who smoke to me :)

We just returned from Destin Florida (had a fab. time btw) and one night we were at the pool. A beautiful mother of a little girl from China walked into the pool area and of course Elizabeth's (and my own) radar went straight to her. She had on a very tiny bikini (and it looked very nice on her) but I could see Elizabeths eyes taking in every inch of skin showing.. Finally, she couldn't contain herself any longer and blurted out (I'm holding my breath as she began her comments to the lady..) She says .. "I like your ...um, umm .. tatoos. Then E'beth asks what the pierced thing in her eyebrow was there for..? Yikes. Thankfully the nice lady was very gracious and laughed as she attempted to answer why she had the tattoos and pierced eyebrow ring.

We traveled to Destin and Ft. Walton to watch John participate in a National Karate Demo team competition and John came in 2nd nationally in the "form" category! He missed 1st place by one vote even though he was the youngest competitor~! We were so proud that he is trying new things and is exhibits such great sportsmanship.

We now look ahead to the start of school and a flurry of other activities! Elizabeth will continue with her piano, ballet and jazz. This year she is adding violin and this particular method requires the parent ( um, me) to learn it right along with her in the beginning. So, I'll be learning to play the violin at 40 something! yee haw~!

John will dive into school, continue his boys gymnastics team, karate, possibly soccer, and so many other little things.

Will I once again overextend? Who knows, but we sure are having fun overextending!

anarchy - American Suicide - how to destroy the USA

Wherever you stand politically, please take the time to read this; it ought to scare every citizen in our nation.

We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Recently, there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington , DC , filled to capacity by many of America 's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked a bout his latest book, "Mexifornia," explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal - was destroying the entire state of California . He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.

Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America . The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States . He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America . It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that 'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.'"

"Here is how they do it," Lamm said:

"First, to destroy America , turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country. History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bi lingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: 'The histories of bilingual and20 bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy.' Canada , Belgium , Malaysia , and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, and Corsicans."

Lamm went on:

"Second, to destroy America , invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal; that there are no cultural differences. Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds."

"Third, we could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: 'The apparent success of our own multi-ethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricity and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.' Lamm said, "I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities."

"Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school."

"My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population."

"My sixth plan for America 's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that i s, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia , threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. "E. Pluribus Unum" -- From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'Pluribus' instead of the 'Unum,' we will balkanize America as surely as Kosovo."

"Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits. Make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having established multi-culturism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immi gration has been good for America , it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them."

In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed.

Finally he said, "Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis's book 'Mexifornia.' His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America . If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book."

There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.' American jobs are vanishing into20the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America . Take note of California and other states. To date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book "1984." In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength."

Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democ racy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream.

Movin' on up!

Don't mess with this new brown belt holder in a dark alley!

Elizabeth chose a brown sun dress to wear in celebration of her brother's achievement this evening and cheered him on from the front row.

John will be traveling to Florida in a few weeks to participate in a Karate demo team expo! We will be making it a family get away for a few extra days and are looking forward to Summer's last big bang there... did I just say that??? WHERE DID TIME GO??!

Congrats John!







T/Y to our sweet, wonderful friend and house guest for the week (Mike) for the pics! We will miss you!

"God is still on the throne, and prayer changes things" - Noah Hutchins

This family needs prayer tonight.

an hour of your time

And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4
Recommended Reading
Matthew 11:28-30
A man came home late from work to find his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door. The first thing out of the child’s mouth was, “Daddy, how much money do you make in an hour?” “If you must know, I make $50 an hour” said the man. “Well, can I borrow $25?” the boy asked. “For what?” replied the man. Without saying a word, the little boy went to his room, removed some crumpled money from under his bed and added it to the money his dad gave him. He came back and said, “Daddy, now I have $50. Can I buy an hour of your time?”
Sometimes, balancing the responsibilities of providing for our children and making time to invest in their lives can become overwhelming. Being a godly father is a huge responsibility. But it is also one of life’s greatest joys. As we raise our children in the love of the Lord, may we not become discouraged as the pressures mount; rather, let us look to our own Heavenly Father for the strength, love, courage, and discipline needed to carry out this high calling.
“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”
Billy Graham

This was from my daily devotional here.

bathroom matters

I've thought about whether to post this but keep coming back to being so very thankful we live in America. Kelly's Korner is hosting a 'tour of homes' and this week it has been about the bathrooms. I sometimes grumble when I enter a public restroom and try to make our children wait until we get home to go to the bathroom (aren't they sometimes sooo nassssty?)

My perspective changed one day in Central China as we were visiting our daughters finding spot. We were in a group of about 6 families traveling about 2 hours outside of the capitol of Hubei China. As far as China was concerned, it was a "small village" of several million. On the way back to our hotel, the bus made a stop. It was a bathroom break. As you could imagine, everyone was thankful for the stop... until we walked into the bathroom.

This is what we saw:



The smell was beyond anything I could ever describe. After walking in, I simply couldn't bring myself to go further. I returned to our van without participating in the rural China squat potty experience. Dave on the other hand decided he would participate and to make matters worse, the water from the sink was filthy. It was a brown murky color with another kind of odor, and of course no soap, towels etc.. (or toilet paper)

Prior to this, we were at a popular tourist spot a few days before and I thought I lucked out when a local sandwich shop had a public restroom! It was a unisex one, but hey... The sandwich shop reminded me of a Chinese Panera Bread and was relatively clean looking from the seating area. Well,, I walked to the back and down a narrow hallway. Once again, there was "that odor". I opened the bathroom door and was feeling the wall for a light switch. Suddenly I realized I was standing in the dark and felt something squishy under my shoes. It was a 1/2 inch or more of human waste from the overflow of the facility. It made me so queasy that when we got back to the hotel, I took off my shoes in the lobby and threw them in the garbage can.

Maybe this is where the custom of taking off your shoes at the door in Asia came from?!

I noticed from the very beginning of entering China that there was an unpleasant odor throughout most of the outdoor areas we walked around. It seemed to be everywhere - in every Province we visited. I suddenly realized why:


I can't say I blame anyone for not using the public restrooms in China! :)

When we experience the comfort of our home bathrooms and enjoy the warm clean water of a shower in the morning, I often reflect back to our time in China and remember the most basic things are extreme luxuries to many others in the world we live in.

Something landed in our yard today

At first, I thought this was a joke... it's not.

ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA; NEWS TO BE ANCHORED FROM INSIDE WHITE HOUSE
Tue Jun 16 2009 08:45:10 ET

On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!

Highlights on the agenda:

ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.

The network plans a primetime special -- 'Prescription for America' -- originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate.

MORE

Late Monday night, Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Ken McKay fired off a complaint to the head of ABCNEWS:

Dear Mr. Westin:

As the national debate on health care reform intensifies, I am deeply concerned and disappointed with ABC's astonishing decision to exclude opposing voices on this critical issue on June 24, 2009. Next Wednesday, ABC News will air a primetime health care reform “town hall” at the White House with President Barack Obama. In addition, according to an ABC News report, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, WORLD NEWS, NIGHTLINE and ABC’s web news “will all feature special programming on the president’s health care agenda.” This does not include the promotion, over the next 9 days, the president’s health care agenda will receive on ABC News programming.

Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected. I believe that the President should have the ability to speak directly to the America people. However, I find it outrageous that ABC would prohibit our Party's opposing thoughts and ideas from this national debate, which affects millions of ABC viewers.

In the absence of opposition, I am concerned this event will become a glorified infomercial to promote the Democrat agenda. If that is the case, this primetime infomercial should be paid for out of the DNC coffers. President Obama does not hold a monopoly on health care reform ideas or on free airtime. The President has stated time and time again that he wants a bipartisan debate. Therefore, the Republican Party should be included in this primetime event, or the DNC should pay for your airtime.

Respectfully,
Ken McKay
Republican National Committee
Chief of Staff



Developing...

the Mother of all comments to date.. UPDATED w/ my response below

A young man probably in his early 20's came up to E'beth and I this afternoon and started chatting. He was very curious and inquisitive about "us" and so we talked about how Elizabeth is adopted from China and now she lives in America with Mommy (me) Daddy, and her brother John. The topic of traveling to China for a cultural visit someday eventually came up and this is what he said directly to Elizabeth (age 4):

"You better not ever go back to China because you will break your Mother's heart when she sees how pretty and polite you are now".

I'll post my reply, but would love to hear what YOU would have said before I tell mine. I have comment moderation on, so if your comment doesn't show up right away it's because I haven't had a chance to see it yet. Please leave your thoughts on this one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks friends for taking the time to respond with your thoughts on this.

Obviously, the comment took me completely by surprise and I only had a few seconds to "think" about my reply. In those few seconds I was staring at a young man that was still in that crossover period of boy to man IMHO. I decided to put his "youth" and lack of polish in other areas I was staring at in my main thought process over those few seconds. I realized that his lack of social graces was something that perhaps I could excuse because 1. his age, and 2, his gender.

Most young men I know are not as savvy in the world of adoption comments made to families as are women aged 30-90. Why should they be? They are busy with so much more at that time of their life... OK, I digress.. so I simply said..

"*I* am her Mommy, the one and only"- as I gave him a stern gaze with wide eyeballs that E'beth couldn't see.

He continued to follow us and would jump from behind things and scare and tease E'beth. I really don't think he meant to scare her but it was. We were in an art supply store and each time I would go to the front to pay for our items, there he would be. I would walk back so that he would leave the store, but he kept following us. I was determined not to leave until I was sure he was gone. It took about 30 minutes.

Very weird.

Sneaky kitchen and baths

I'm always looking for ways to hide great nutritional foods and incorporate them into ordinary meals. We have come up with a few tricks that work such as grinding whole flax seeds and mixing them with foods such as peanut butter, applesauce, cereal, etc..

Tonight we had organic ground beef that I made taco's with and sprinkled the taco meat with nutritional yeast. The kiddos never missed a beat. They had no idea what was in it. Check out the back of a nutritional yeast container the next time you are in the grocery store if you haven't already. The funny thing is, if they *see* me grinding flax seeds, or sprinkling the nutritional yeast in something, suddenly they TASTE it.. but if I manage to get it in without them seeing all is good!

In addition, now that Summer is here we also wanted to continue the interest in reading that John (7 yrs.) has developed. Rather than constantly pushing a book under his nose, I've decided to leave "interesting" books in strategic places.

I've put them in front of the toilet in the bathroom, on his booster seat in the car, on the kitchen table, and so on. At bedtime sometimes we give him the choice of "going on to bed" or being able to stay up an additional 30 minutes to read a chapter book.

So, if you ever come visit, you have a choice of reading Veranda mag. or Shark preditors if you wish when you are in the bathroom. :)

shhhh. It's working!
here's a great fake cheese popcorn recipe!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
air popped popcorn
place it in a paper bag
spray it with Pam OLIVE oil spray
sprinkle nutritional yeast all over and shake well
ENJOY!
This is actually so good and tastes very much like
cheesy popcorn!

Not your typical baby nursery

Perhaps you have come here from this very fun linky from Kelly's Korner thinking you will see a beautifully adorned nursery for a newborn after waiting 9 months for the blessing of placing that tiny baby in its crib for the first time... or seeing a beautifully slipcovered rocker in the corner of a freshly painted room especially prepared for this new life... or a mural on the wall painted by a talented local artist... or the mobile from Pottery Barn dancing above the custom bumper pads...

no. this isn't what our daughter had. It would have been my dream for her, but it wasn't to be. What she did have was a blessing beyond measure though. Our daughter was found when she was 4 days old at the entrance gate to a Nursing home in central China. It was a chilly late November morning and she was wrapped in a white blanket with blue animal prints on it. There was no note according to the gentleman that found her. From her finding spot, she was taken to a local orphanage and almost immediately placed into the arms of a loving Chinese foster family.



We will be eternally grateful to this precious family for taking in a tiny baby who had no one to love her, hold her when she cried, feed her, rock her, and care for her needs. This family took her into their home - and their hearts. When Elizabeth was placed in our arms 11 months later, it was obvious she had been very well cared for and loved dearly. She was immaculate and the clothes she came to us in looked like they were brand new and picked out for this special occasion. They were anything but fancy, but they were clean and neat. Her tiny fingernails were freshly painted and sure enough, when we took off her socks-- so were her toenails.

She had a tiny yellow bottle that her foster family had tied a simple blue string around and slipped over her neck to keep it with her. We soon learned why. This was the ONLY bottle she would drink out of and it was a lifesaver those early days in China with her.

After returning home, we were able to obtain some images of her very early life. These few pictures are precious and offer a tiny glimpse of early roots she would never remember. Her "nursery" consisted of what looked to be a family heirloom antique Chinese Cradle. She had one tiny yellow stuffed toy puppy that she carried everywhere. Here, she would spend the first months of her life. It could have been so much worse. Praise God for his divine intervention and mercy on our daughter. We are forever thankful for this simple cradle and the hands that rocked her while in it.

Show us your Dining Room Linky

I'm a sucker for looking at design mags., blogs of all sorts, and love inspiration from them. So, if you enjoy snooping into other peoples homes, here's a great "linky" and the theme this week is Dining Rooms.

Here is ours. We were having a baby shower for one of my best friends so it was piled high with yummy goodies in celebration of their 2nd daughter's adoption from China. We even made a "Dining Room" outdoors for both adults AND the sweetest children you would ever want to feast at your table! We simply took the inside furniture outdoors!



Our dining room table dates to the late 18oo's or early 1900's. It belonged to my husband's parents. We have many wonderful memories around the table but when it was time for it to "live" in our home, it really wouldn't have been my choice. I thought it was quite dark and a little Victorianish for me, but when I paired it with some contemporary slipcovered chairs and... VIOLA! I loved it! It was exactly what the table needed. I can change the slipcovers depending on the season or on a whim for an entirely different look and feel.

A mother's dream

tonight we had the sweet experience of watching our son John receive the outstanding conduct/ sportsmanship award (for the second year in a row!) at his end of the year Awana awards ceremony. What a privilege it is to be this precious child's mother. As far as his parents are concerned, this was the best honor he could have achieved.

I've posted this picture of John before, but it's such a vision of who he is. We were browsing in our favorite garden shop and I had walked ahead. John called to me and told me he had a surprise for me. When I turned around, he had drawn a heart in the gravel and told me how much he loved me. Who could ask for more?! Thank you God.

Yo mon, here's another...

yo mon, here's another quirky out of the way B+B we loved. You would never know this one even existed simply by driving down "main street". Tucked away in a quaint residential neighborhood of San Rafael California, this circa 1910 stucco and glass establishment has been an icon in the Gerstle Park neighborhood of this popular Marin county town. The Panama Bed and Breakfast Hotel has a bit of a bohemian touch with an eclectic twist.

This B+B is just a short distance over the San Francisco bridge and the historic shopping up and down the streets of the amazingly quaint towns surrounding is paradise! Some of my favorite 'finds' were found shopping here.

The outdoor patio dining is an experience in itself. "Very California" :)

So, the next time you find yourself crossing the San Fran Bridge heading North, pull over. You won't be sorry!

just curious

Am I the only one that never let my new daughter play in the White Swan play room? I could only imagine the little invisible creatures crawling all over the toys from the drool and saliva, the runny noses being wiped by little hands that then played with the toys my new daughter would be playing with and putting them in her mouth..

Don't get me wrong, we LOVED the White Swan!! It was an oasis in the vast desert of an unchartered journey for us, but no matter how hard you try to keep something like the play room sanitized, I'm still seeing all those potential critters! It now reminds me of how I feel about Chuc*y Cheese.. I don't think there has been one time that we frequented the lovely children's paradise without coming down with something in the nasty - trip to the Dr.- category.

Elizabeth on Posh Tots

Shortly after returning from China, Posh Tots sent us some beautiful!!! Asian clothing for children and Elizabeth was to be the 'model'. What FUN! I have so enjoyed these outfits for her and they will be some of the clothing I will keep for her to hand down to her own little girl someday.

I often become attached to special items the children wore or had when they were babies and these clothes are an example. You know the feeling of when you hold something, smell it, feel it, suddenly you are taken back to 'the moment'..

Strawberry cilantro salad dressing

Makes even the youngest ones love salad!
So easy!

8-10 ripe fresh strawberries
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4- 1/3 cup honey
1/8+ cup apple cider vinegar
1 - 2 cloves fresh garlic
opt. fresh cilantro leaves to taste (I used ~ 4 tablespoons)

Puree all ingred. and enjoy! Keeps up to 2 wks. in frig.

urban chickens

I'm trying to figure out how to raise a few chickens in our 'cultivated' neighborhood without the lovely homeowners association objections. Perhaps if I deliver a few yummy just laid eggs to them in a shabby chic/ Martha Stewart basket one chilly morning? :) But first I need to convince my sweet loving husband this is a worthwhile endeavor. He actually listened to my crazy idea of a 'roaming small coop' tonight as we were having a loving little chat about our day on the back porch. Previously he would dismiss my desire for this 'fowl' plan and not entertain the idea whatsoever.

I described how we could have about 3 hens in the 'coop' and build it with wheels so I could roll it around the yard. Perhaps that would qualify the chickens to be classified as 'free range'??

Lets see, the estimate on building the coop is between 3 and 4 hundred dollars. Then you have the organic chicken feed, vet bills, etc etc.. so wonder what each egg would end up costing? I still contend the urban farmer in me would like to give it a whirl.

We'll see.. :)

swine flu and what effects will socialized med. have on it's spread...

I'm following a thread on Facebook involving the socialized medicine situation in Mexico and the potential pandemic swine flu outbreak. Americans living in Mexico are reporting children (and others) showing up at Mexican hospitals with resp. symptoms and 104+ degree fevers and being sent home without being tested for the very illness everyone is panicking about.

Honk

We've all heard about the traffic in China and how the lines on the road are for decoration and don't really mean anything..well, it's totally true. Check out the above image for example. Here you see a bike, a donkey (pulling a long cart behind), a 3 wheel van type auto, there is a motorcycle between the 'van' and the dark car, and the photograph was taken from the window of our bus. What you don't see would be the other 4 lanes of interesting things on the very same road. Some cars/ vans/ buses were speeding along at 70+ mph, and then you have the donkey at about 4 mph. The motorcycle zips in between all and people try to cross the street all along the routes. It is truly unbelievable. Fascinating if you can ignore the danger.

reverse intolerance

I'm going to hold my nose and post this. I've gone back and forth, but I keep coming back to ultimately the freedom we seem to be loosing on a daily basis here in the US - especially if it involves conservative values. I was very impressed with this young lady for standing strong on her beliefs in front of a global audience but see what happened to her by doing so...

Now we are hearing even MORE disgusting news coming out about the treatment of this young lady who instead of being "politically correct" voiced her convictions.

PREFACE: The issue here is not whether you agree or disagree with the subject matter, but rather our rights as individuals to express our opinion -

She was asked for her OPINION as to whether she believed in gay marriage by a gay activist gossip blogger judge for the Miss USA competition. (I've yet to understand what qualified him to be a judge. It now appears his purpose was to advance his own agenda)

Carrie Prejean stated her opinion (very respectfully) as requested and was booed live on stage, and now the openly gay Miss USA judge says that her opinion and honest answer to his question has cost her the Miss USA crown. "Judge" Perez Hilton admits to giving Carrie Prejean a "zero" score for her answer that did not agree with his own opinion and agenda.

THEN later, this same judge (Perez Hilton) publicly calls her a "dumb b*tch". Perez went on to describe Prejean as having 'half a brain' and said he would have stormed onto the stage and ripped off her tiara if she had won.
______
Lets back up a moment. What if she had been asked this same question by a conservative judge and she replied that she was a proponent of gay marriage and was booed?

What if this conservative judge said her PRO gay marriage opinion was the reason she didn't win the Miss USA crown and gave her a zero score because her answer didn't agree with his conservative values?

What if a conservative judge called her a "dumb b*tch" after the competition for giving her opinion which differed from his own and threatened to "storm onto the stage and rip of her tiara if she won"? What if a conservative judge mocked her afterwards with explicit pr*nographic drawings because of her opinion?

Would any of this scenario be tolerated?

I thought we were watching the Miss USA pageant not the Miss USSR.

a game of Kindness?

Last night my sweet husband walked in after running some errands and had a cup of the old Starbucks Pike Place decaf in his hands for me. He even asked them to double cup it to keep it warm longer as I do when I order it myself. I didn't ask him to get it, it was totally his idea because he knew I enjoyed it. Our children were watching this and asked me about it today. Evidently it made a big impression that their Daddy was so thoughtful. I was immediately struck that we need to do more for one another without being prompted. It doesn't have to always be a cup of coffee from Starbucks :).. but something as simple as making the other persons bed for them is a kindness act that goes a very long way.

I've decided to have an experimental 'game' of kindness acts in our home. Each day, we will see who can do the most acts of kindness for another. The "winner" will have something special in "reward" (I don't know what the reward will be yet as I'm still working out the details of this)..

I made a BiG mistake

of trying Starbucks Apple Chai Tea. Sigh. I was originally content with their plain old Pike Place decaf with a shot of expresso (black mind you).. and now... I'm concerned there is no turning back. The next big step will be the London Fog Latte.

Starbucks' London Fog Tea Latte has already been "hacked" according to "Starbucks gossip" (can you believe there is actually a site devoted to this??)

The London Fog Tea Latte is about $4, but you can get nearly the same thing at Starbucks for around $2.50, provided you don't mind with tinkering at the counter for a couple of moments and switching to a normal Earl Grey tea bag instead of the loose-leaf mesh one. Here's the recipe for a Ghetto London Fog Tea Latte:
1 medium (grande or whatever the 16 oz is) hot cup Earl Grey tea
3 packs sugar
3-6 ounces two-percent milk.

Order a cup of Earl Grey tea. Tell the barista you'll steep it yourself. Drink or pour out the top fourth of the drink. Add the sugar and two-percent milk and presto! a London Fog.

AND if you want a jump start on the Christmas spiked coffee .. here you go!

INGREDIENTS
2/3 c Ground starbucks christmas coffee
4 Cinnamon sticks; crushed or into small pieces
6 c Water
1/2 ts Ground cardamom
2/3 c Honey
Half-and-half; or milk

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix together the coffee and cinnamon sticks. Using the coffee-cinnamon mixture and the water, brew coffee by your customary brewing method. 2. Add the cardamom and honey to the hot coffee and stir until the honey dissolves. 3. Serve warm. Pour about 2/3 cup coffee into each glass. Pass the half-and-half or milk.

ahhhhhhhh.

I'll hold you in Heaven

It would have been your 5th birthday today. I'll always hold you in my heart until we meet in Heaven. I love and miss you so.

Anyone China bound?

Wouldn't it be wonderful to avoid that LONG flight home and think outside the box for the return leg?? I found this INCREDIBLE price on a 23 day CRUISE leaving Beijing on May 1 with a dream list of ports of call.

The BEST part is that this cruise is on a clearance right now for 78% off the regular price! For this 23 day cruise the prices start at $1099 per person. Unheard of! WHAT a bargin! Go on -- click the link and start packing! Sublease your house for 2 months and come home with potentially more money than when you left after paying for your in China stay AND the 23 day cruise! Ummmm.

ITINERARY

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART
Fri May 1 Beijing (Xingang), China 7:00pm
Sat May 2 Dalian, China 8:00am 5:00pm
Sun May 3 At Sea
MonMay 4 Kagoshima, Japan 7:00am 4:00pm
Tue May 5 Pusan, South Korea 9:00am 6:00pm
Wed May 6 At Sea
Thu May 7 Vladivostok, Russia 5:30am 7:00pm
Fri May 8 At Sea
Sat May 9 Sapporo (Muroran), Japan 8:00am 6:00pm
Sun May 10 At Sea
MonMay 11 At Sea
Tue May 12 At Sea
Wed May 13 Crossing International Dateline 8:00am 8:00pm
Wed May 13 At Sea
Thu May 14 At Sea
Fri May 15 At Sea
Sat May 16 Whittier, AK 7:00am 9:30pm
Sun May 17 College Fjord, AK (Cruising) 6:00am 9:00am
MonMay 18 Glacier Bay National Park, AK (Cruising) 10:30am 8:30pm
Tue May 19 Skagway, AK 7:00am 8:30pm
Wed May 20 Juneau, AK 6:30am 4:00pm
Thu May 21 Ketchikan, AK 10:00am 6:00pm
Fri May 22 At Sea
Sat May 23 Vancouver, BC, Canada 7:30am

an open letter from a son to his mother

He is currently on active duty serving our country and wrote this letter to his mother and family. PLEASE take a moment and read his words from the perspective of someone on the front lines of defending our nation.
Scroll down once you click the link to arrive at the letter.

an experiment in Socialism

An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. The class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism.

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little.. The second Test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for anyone else. All failed to their great surprise and the professor told them that socialism would ultimately fail because the harder to succeed the greater the reward but when a government takes all the reward away; no one will try or succeed.

Solving the worlds problems

Out of the blue Elizabeth appeared around the corner the other night and she told me that on the news she heard "we have no magic wand".. the anchor (or whomever) was obviously referring to our nations economic situation. Elizabeth immediately corrected him and presented *her* magic wand waving it around me and then 'tapping' everything in the living room.

So, yes Mr. President, we do indeed have a magic wand :)

when a man puts on your pants...

Sweet Linny from a place called simplicity posted such a humorous and true picture of what it looks like when a man puts pants on your children for you. If you want a daily laugh you must go see and read it.. This tagged a train of thoughts as to my "issues" when Daddy has the kids as he has this week for the most part.

I must preface it all by saying I'm so grateful to him as I was fighting off a sore throat and ear thing. Here are the few observations though.

1. it's ok to not serve veggies with meals.
2. cheese toast, cheese toast, peanut butter and peanut butter sounds like a balanced diet.
3. vitamins.. what vitamins?
4. Did you feed the dog since Saturday sweetheart?
5. The new neighbors that just moved in across the street have yet to see our daughters hair combed.

But, John did his first long solo bike ride... that's more important than veggies this week :)
Tootles!
S.

calling all bird experts!!

HELP! We have a very "pregnant" Robin trying her best to fly into our front windows! She WON'T give up and ALL day is slamming herself into the windows. She perches on the sill, looks in and then will back up and keep trying. I'm afraid she will break her neck one of these times and OH WHAT A MESS she is leaving with all the bird poop she leaves behind! I've tried a cover over the windows so she won't see her reflection, but it doesn't seem to help much.

any thoughts?

Spring restraint

A few weeks ago as Spring break was coming closer we sat by the fire on those chilly cold and often snowy evenings trying to decide what we wanted to do.

We had a week. Should we.... or should we.... or we could....

It was never decided, so the indecision was the decision. We were staying put and going to enjoy a simple low key spring break.

The Daddy has taken off most of the week to enjoy time doing the simple things. They include riding bikes on our street, fishing in the pond near our home, a few movies at Daddy's office complete with microwave popcorn, staying up later, games, and maybe some camping time for the boys complete with a pop up tent and sleeping bag!

It's incredible to imagine that once school starts back again on Monday that there are only 6 weeks left! Where did the time go??

Scandinavian baking

A simple "unusual" ingredient in baking often makes the difference... in this case it's cardamon!

SWEDISH SUGAR CAKE
(Sokerkaka)

This cake is meant to be served without a frosting or icing and with just a dusting of powdered sugar. On the fancy Scandinavian coffeetable, it belongs as the "middle" course, to be taken with the 2nd cup of coffee. For the best flavor, pulverize fresh cardamon seeds rather than purchasing ready-ground cardamon.

Serves 12

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly pulverized cardamon seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
vanilla wafer crumbs for coating pan

Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamon, salt, eggs and whipping cream into large mixing bowl. Blend for 30 seconds on low speed scraping bowl often. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Butter a 9 inch tube (fancy mold is nice) and dust w/ vanilla wafer crumbs. Pour batter into pan. Bake @ 350 for 55-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.

a rodent

Not long ago it was John's turn to bring home the class rodent uhhh I mean pet. John was very excited, but I must admit I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. I quickly jump started my attitude and realized this was important and special to John so I put on my happy face and enthusiastically loaded the vermin into our car with glee.

Once home it was like unwrapping presents under the tree to uncover the cage and discover "Snuggles". Snuggles quickly won the heart of the hand that would feed him that weekend and I was actually sorry to see him go Monday a.m. He turned out to be the sweetest of all Guinea pigs and Elizabeth simply adored him.

She would read him books at night before bed and the first night Snuggles appeared to listen intently and then suddenly stuck his neck out and started nibbling on Elizabeth's book! She was mortified.. at first. Then, thought this was hysterical.

We now have a very special plug out of a Golden Book cover thanks to our time with Snuggles.

Sometimes the simplest things are the most treasured memories.

What a night!

Guess who's home? AND SHE WAS READY FOR IT!
Check out this beautiful beautiful little girl from Chenzhou, Hunan PRC now forever home in the USA! From the moment we were able to get our first glimpse of her walking into the airport terminal she had that same sweet smile I first saw in her referral picture. She walked down the corridor and when her Daddy put her down, UP went her hand WAVING to everyone!! Truly priceless!

After a marathon plane ride home from China, we hope Mom and Dad are getting some much needed rest! We will leave you alone.. for a few days and then start bugging you for updates Michael and Starla! :)

Congratulations to the new B. family!!!

eye candy

ahhhhh.
I swiped this off of a delightful blog that keeps me up at night.

Serious questions about Muslim beliefs

Rick Mathes, is a well-known leader in prison ministry and wrote about the following exchange with an Islamic Imam.

The Muslim religion is the fastest growing religion per capita in the United States , especially in the minority races.

Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my state prison security clearance. During the training session there was apresentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths, who explained each of their beliefs.

I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say. The Imam gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video.

After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.

When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked: 'Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel, (which is a command to all Muslims) they are assured of a place in heaven. If that's the case, can you give me the
definition of an infidel?'

There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he replied, 'Non-believers!'

I responded, 'So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they can have a place in heaven. Is that correct?' The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.'

He sheepishly replied, 'Yes.'

I then stated, 'Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope John Paul commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Dr. Stanley ordering all Protestants to do the same in order to guarantee them a place in heaven!'

The Imam was speechless!

I continued, 'I also have problem with being your friend when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me! Let me ask you a question: Would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and He wants you to be there with me?'

You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame. Needless to say, the organizers and/or promoters of the Diversification' training seminar were not happy with Rick's way of dealing with the Islamic Imam , and exposing the truth about the Muslims' beliefs.

In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. to elect the President! This might happen sooner now that President Obama has given large sums of money to relocate hundreds of thousands of refugee Hamas supporters to our US shores. This action by President Obama was signed on Jan. 27, 2009 and entered into the Federal Register on Feb. 4, 2009.
~~~~
We are also seeing a sugarcoated picture of Islamic extremism, in the name of Political correctness portrayed in our public school textbooks.

Why does the leftist believer reach out in solidarity with the most gay-hating, woman-hating and minority-hating force on earth?

Why does the "progressive" heap adulation upon regimes under which he himself would be annihilated?

Why do radical feminists, who supposedly value women's rights, ignore the suffering of millions of women living under Islamic gender apartheid?

Just curious.

Unimaginable pain

for THIS family tonight.

Some people call it Wordless Wednesday

I can think of a few captions though :)

*Warning this post contains disturbing subject matter*

Before reading further, I want to make sure anyone reading this understands this is a very disturbing subject having to do with forced abortions in China. This report sites cases from our own daughters finding area in China and once again, whenever I come across this kind of information, I have to stop what I am doing and thank God for His intervention in whatever her birth circumstances might have been. We are forever grateful to Elizabeth's birth mother for most likely taking great risks to preserve her life.

Below is part of the report and you can read the full story HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Physical coercion to terminate a pregnancy or undergo sterilisation was banned by law in 2002 but numerous reports in the Chinese media claim that it still goes on.

Chinese women are daring to speak out themselves. Zhang Linla, who has a four-year-old daughter, told a website in Shenzhen, on the border with Hong Kong, that she was subjected to a late forced abortion because she became pregnant again before the period officially allowed between births.

"Six days before the due date, 10 strong strangers came to my house, forced me into a truck then took me to a family planning clinic, where the doctor gave me an injection," she said.

"The child began struggling in my womb and one of these scum even kicked me in the abdomen. Then the baby came out and they threw it into a rubbish bin. I could even see it was still moving."

An even more horrifying story, reported on hundreds of websites, concerned a case of infanticide in Wuhan, central China, last September. A farmer named Huang Qiusheng said his wife, who was nine months pregnant, gave birth to a live child despite being forced to submit to an injection to induce an abortion. The infant was thrown into a urinal.

The next day an elderly woman named Liu Zhuyu heard the child's cries, rescued it, washed it and delivered it to a neonatal clinic. But the reports claim that five family planning officials confronted Liu, seized the child and killed it by throwing it to the ground.

The complexity of family planning laws and their arbitrary enforcement often contributes to cases of cruelty.

This month a newspaper in Yunnan province reported a case of compulsory sterilisation that has appalled commentators. It involved a woman named Zhang Kecui, who was ambushed in the street by family planning officials and dragged on to the operating table for a sterilisation.

Zhang has two children and according to regulations should have been sterilised after the second birth. Her husband has lodged a legal complaint but has little hope of redress.

32,000 ft ~ 552mph ~ est. arrival 1:36 pm HK time

Thats their status as of 3:58 p.m. 2/17 thanks to Flight Tracker!

What amazing (and FUN) technology to track an international flight in real time! (It's even more fun when you know the reason for the flight!)

Back to our virtual trips of our favorite places to stay, here's one of our favorites and it's right at our back door! Just a short drive for us and it is an escape that completely takes you to another world.




Around the turn of the century, the Grove Park Inn was built by Italian stone masons who hauled tons upon tons of boulders up the mountain by mule and other methods that we would consider almost impossible by todays standards. The fireplaces inside the main lobby are so large, an adult can actually stand inside the firebox.
We especially love to visit this majestic inn during the Winter months as they keep a roaring fire going in the lobby 24/7. Along with the multitude of things to do we often simply enjoy sitting for hours enjoying the warmth of the fire rocking in the chairs positioned in front of it.


The views of the mountains and the city of Asheville are breathtaking and you can dine on the veranda overlooking them.

Take the elevator to the lower level and viola... you once again are taken to another world. The spa, the indoor pool, the waterfalls, etc.. are simply amazing.

Best news?.. they have a fabulous special going on right now!

'Twas the night before China...

and it's so exciting to have friends leaving TOMORROW!

I can't be reading this correctly!?

The full article is HERE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By executive order, President Barack Obama has ordered the expenditure of $20.3 million in migration assistance to the Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza.

The "presidential determination" which allows hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States was signed on January 27 and appeared in the Federal Register on February 4.

President Obama's decision, according to the Register, was necessitated by "the urgent refugee and migration needs" of the "victims."

Few on Capitol Hill took note that the order provides a free ticket replete with housing and food allowances to individuals who have displayed their overwhelming support of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of January 2006.

The charter for Hamas calls for the replacement of the nation of Israel with a Palestinian Islamic state.

Since its formation in 1994, Hamas has been responsible for hundreds of terrorist attacks, including the 2002 Passover suicide bombing. The leaders of the movement signed the World Islamic Statement of 1998 – a document, penned by Osama bin Laden, which declared war on America and Israel.

President Obama's executive order is expected to bring hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, many with ties to radical Islam, to our shores...
More..

a few more :)

Way to go boys!!!
Ok, I'm done :)

There's an old saying...

that if Gymnastics were easy it would be called football. :)

that was then...

and today he won 3 medals in the state gymnastics meet! Way to go John! Breakfast of champions..Toss the Wheaties and go Cheerios!

A sad day for our military and families of those who gave their lives

and 245 more suspected terrorists may soon have charges dropped and could be released to "other nations".

Wonder what their new found freedom plans might entail?

Gifted Hands

I was so excited to hear about an upcoming documentary on Dr. Ben Carson. I have followed this gifted surgeons career for many years and am an totally inspired by his life.

If you have time, tune in on Saturday Feb. 7 @ 8/7c. You won't regret it.

Stolen lunches?

This ought to do the trick. Get yours here.

And speaking of stealing...
Here are some of the things in the $819 Billion Stimulus package reported by Newsmax:
~~~~~
For starters — and this will shock you — both the House and the Senate programs have a loophole that even gives illegal aliens cash payouts.
Here’s how The Associated Press explained it: “Undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternative number. A House-passed version of the economic recovery bill, and one making its way through the Senate, would allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number (TIN), to qualify for the tax credits.”
In case you didn’t know it, any illegal can get a TIN number from Social Security, no questions asked.
This means illegals who broke the law to get here will be eligible immediately for federal cash — up to $1,000.

More than $4 billion is earmarked for "neighborhood stabilization activities" — money that will go to groups like ACORN, which worked closely with the Obama campaign, the same group accused of massive voter fraud.

Almost half of the proposed spending will directly benefit the Service Employees International Union, federal, state, and municipal employee unions, or other Democratic-controlled unions, according to writer Ben Stein.

600 million goes for new cars for top government bureaucrats.

Obama promised major infrastructure projects — yet only 5 percent of all the money goes for this.

$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. (Take a look at some of the things your tax dollars would be going toward here) There are many MANY ways to foster Art without letting this type of "Art" become included as the National Endowment for the Arts has allowed.

$650 million for the switch from analog television to digital.

Just to show you the tremendous waste, there is so much money appropriated in this bill you could give every unemployed person in the nation a check for $75,000 for the amount being spent.

~~~~~~~~~

Copy house

Elizabeth told me we live in a copy house. What? I really try hard not to copy others and have our own junk (err, I mean style).. so I continued to quiz her a bit more. "Really" I said? .. She was insistent that indeed we live in a copy house.

Ok. I said. What did we copy?

"Our house copies our voices Mommy" she replied.

"Oh you mean it echo's"? I said?

yes she tells me. It copies.

Calabash creek

Before John and Elizabeth (now age 7 and 4) came into our lives, we did a fair amount of traveling. Often we would take a few extra days either before or after a business trip and detour to a quaint bed and breakfast somewhere. It wasn't always a B&B, but when we would find one that that was a bit unusual then we would often find ourselves gravitating in that direction.

I thought it would be fun to dig up some of our favorites and return 'virtually' during the next few cold and somewhat dreary winter weeks!

This first one is located about 45 minutes north of San Francisco in the Sonoma/ Napa valley area. It is situated right on the main street in Glen Ellen Ca. hidden behind a row of impeccably manicured boxwoods carved to resemble sculptures. The grounds truly look as if each blade of grass has been hand trimmed. What impressed me most about this B&B was it's simplicity. Most of the rooms have fireplaces, granite soaking tubs and ours looked out over Calabash Creek. The rushing water and our own Japanese garden complete with a bamboo fountain made for a most relaxing and wonderful get away!

Just outside our door were lemon and orange trees! The lemons were so large and yellow they almost didn't look real. The pool also overlooked Calabash creek and we had it all to ourselves. Breakfast was served in the main house prepared by a gourmet chef. A little known fact about the tiny town of Glen Ellen (one red light) is that it housed some of the most famous restaurants in California. All in sleepy Glen Ellen! We could step out the front door of the Inn and walk a block or so and have so many choices of world famous chefs.

The Napa valley is filled with hidden treasures (other than wine) and there are amazing trails if you bike, or antique shops along the side of curvy roads and so many other fun things to do.

More eye candy can be found HERE if you want to continue this virtual vacation!

Next stop you don't want to miss!

Pack a virtual bag and join in! I'd love to hear about your favorite places either "off the beaten path" or right on it! Leave a comment with a link to your favorites!

She takes my breath away

Sometimes being a parent has it's moments (good and bad), and tonight was one of those moments you simply want to freeze in your memory. We had finished our nighttime ritual and were tucking piggy toes under warm blankets in bed when I reminded the children they had a big day tomorrow including a birthday party for a special friend at Chuck E Cheese.

Elizabeth squealed and jumped out from under the covers and grabbed my face between her hands tenderly and said "One more sleep until the party Mommy"??! Yes I replied, One more sleep. She threw her arms around me and said "Oh Mommy Thank you!!! You are the best Mommy in the whole world. I LOVE Chuck E Cheese"!!!

Wow, and I'm only the chauffeur :)

Chinese New Year's Eve traditions from a typical family in China and a Recipe..

Looking back it is hard to believe our first Chinese New Year celebration with our Elizabeth was 3 years ago! I look at these first Chinese New Year pictures of her (and John) and see just how far she has come!! Each year we seem to add a bit more to our repertoire of Chinese New Year traditions and this year is no different. I also find it facinating to learn about the traditions a typical family in China celebrate this major holiday in their homeland. Here's some of what I've learned..

New Year's Eve Dinner

On the night of New Year's Eve, Chinese families come together for a
celebration dinner. This custom is also called "surrounding the
hearth," from the custom in earlier times of eating dinner around
the family hearth.

Both children and adults eat together and dinner begins only after
all of the family members are present at the table. A table setting
is placed for those unable to come home for dinner on this day to
symbolize their presence though far away. As the nuclear family
becomes an increasingly scarce phenomenon in modern society, this
symbol of unity takes on increasing significance.

New Year's Eve dinner is best eaten slowly, savoring the flavor of
each dish. Several of the dishes served on this occasion have
auspicious meaning and are indispensable to the night's menu:

- "Long Year Vegetables" (mustard greens) to represent intelligence;

- "Whole Chicken," symbolizing wealth for the whole family
(since "chicken" and "family" rhyme in the Taiwanese dialect
Chinese);

- fish balls, shrimp balls, and meat balls are eaten to symbolize
the three top scores earned during the civil service examination in
ancient China and, by extension, success in educational pursuits.

The only dish not included in the cornucopia of food eaten on the
New Year's Eve dinner table is whole fish, which is intentionally
left off the menu so that "there will be more to come in future
years" (since the Chinese words for "fish" and "surplus" rhyme).

Some families will also prepare "jiaozi," Chinese dumplings stuffed
with meats and vegetables. Since the shape of the dumplings
resembles a gold ingot, eating jiaozi symbolizes the calling of
wealth into one's life, and some go even as far as to stuff real
money in the dumplings to insure that the coming year will bring
fortune.
.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

CNY Food: Dumpling ("Jiaozhi") ... with a Recipe!!

People from north and south have different habits of the food they
eat on this special day.

In Northern China, people usually eat "jiaozi" (or dumpling), which
is shaped like a crescent moon. It is said that dumplings were first
known in China some 1,600 years ago.

The Chinese pronunciation of "jiaozi" means "midnight" or "the end
and the beginning of time."

According to historical records, in ancient times people from both
north and south ate dumplings on Chinese New Year's Day. Perhaps
because Southern China produced more rice than any other areas,
gradually, southerners had more other choices on New Year's Day.

The shape of jiaozi resembles that of ancient gold and silver ingots
or a crescent moon, and symbolizes the hope for a year of plenty.

In some places, people stuff jiaozi with sugar to wish for a sweet
life; others put one or two clean coins in jiaozi -- if you happen
to come across one with a coin inside, it means you will enjoy good
luck.

Many families in China usually prepare enough jiaozi to last several
days during the Spring Festival.

Ingredients:

Filling:
1 lb. ground pork (or beef)
6 t. sesame oil
2 t. sugar
0.75 t. salt
0.25 t. pepper
0.25 lb. cabbage (with extra 1 t. salt)
0.25 lb. chopped green onions

Skin:
3 c. flour
0.75 c. cold water
0.5 c. flour (to prevent sticking during kneading)

Preparation:

1. Filling: Mix ground pork, oil, sugar, salt and pepper well. Chop
cabbage until fine. Mix the cabbage with 1 t. salt and let sit for
10 minutes; squeeze out the excess water. Mix the cabbage, ground
pork, and green onions well.

2. Skin: In a bowl, add water to the flour and knead into smooth
dough; let it stand for 10 minutes. Roll the dough into a long baton-
like roll, and cut it into 50 pieces. Use a rolling pin to roll each
piece to a thin circle.

3. Place 1 portion of filling in the center of a dough circle. Fold
the circle in half and moisten the edges with water. Use index
finger and thumb to bring the sides together. Pleat one edge while
keeping the other edge smooth. The smooth edge will conform to the
decreased length of the pleated edge. Pinch the pleats together then
pinch to seal. Repeat procedure for the other dumplings.

4. Boil 10 cups of water and add dumplings; stir to prevent
dumplings from sticking together. Bring to a boil; turn the heat to
low and cook for 6 minutes. Remove. When serving, use vinegar, soy
sauce, sesame oil, hot bean paste, etc. as dipping sauces.

The boiled dumplings also can be lighty pan fried ("pot stickers")
for a different taste consitency.

Questionable post

I debated for a while about whether to make this post but thought it might help others in the same situation so here you go..

My husband has "been invited" and decided to participate in a clinical trial for those with IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome). I don't think he reads this so he will have no clue why people (who have seen this) are smiling and chuckling at him the next time he sees them! The theory is that IBS is of a bacterial origin and a very common medicine used to treat travelers diarrhea in a much higher dose will "cure" the problem. To date there appears to be about an 80%+ success rate.

Participants will undergo a "free" colonoscopy -_-_-_HEY a bargain's a bargain right? After the colonoscopy they will keep a journal for approx. 2 weeks of their diet and then finally the drug (or placebo).

I'll post the results upon his completion of the study.

So today and tonight my sweetheart 'enjoys' a clear liquid diet along with the infamous 'prep' for the procedure and has the distinct honor of getting his *free* colonoscopy in the morning.

Cheers dear!

Hot Carob, Inauguration, Snow, and Chinese New Year

We woke to a beautiful blanket of snow and even though it wasn't deep, it at least covered the ground. It was just enough to close the schools and below freezing temps. kept it on the ground all day. Obviously the first thing the children wanted to do was "go play in it".. forget breakfast, dressing for the Arctic, and brushing teeth,, just let me OUT MOM!!!

Out they went and enjoyed every second in the frozen tundra of our backyard. A short time later little red nose prints appeared at the door and it was time for a warm up of hot carob, honey, vanilla and some extra marshmallows. It was approaching the noon hour by this time and we turned on the Inauguration coverage.

I huddled John and E'beth together on my lap with our fire going and we snuggled under a large cozy blanket and prayed with them about our nation. I explained again why we don't agree with most of Mr. Obama's ideas and agenda. John spoke up before I had the chance and exclaimed that we still need to pray for him since he will be the leader of our country even if we don't agree. A very intuitive child. Yes. We prayed that Mr. Obama would open his heart and let God lead in decisions that will affect the families of our nation for generations to come. We talked about how blessed we are to live in a country that has a peaceful transition of power and leadership etc.

About that time President Bush entered the Inaugural area. I was quite disturbed to hear THIS as our sitting President walked in. In my opinion this was beyond disrespectful during such a public and historic occasion from those that speak of tolerance. I had to attempt an explanation to our children why (after just talking about the importance of praying for our new leader and honoring the office of Presidency) the crowds of Obama supporters were so disrespectful (especially at that moment) to the only President our children have ever known.

On a much more upbeat note we have started to decorate our home each year to celebrate Chinese New Year. After the Christmas tree is taken down, I have some cherry blossom branches that John and Elizabeth decorate with ornaments and string lanterns over the fireplace. Elizabeth sings what little she remembers from some Chinese new year songs (thanks to our friend Donna S :) Sadly, this Mommy isn't much help with the memory of Mandarin!

After this it was full circle and time to go outside again now that the mittens were dry! Around dinner time (how convenient) once more the little red noses appeared on the breakfast room window.. Then, DADDY CAME HOME and took them OUT AGAIN for nighttime sleigh riding! Can you just imagine the look on their faces when Daddy said 'lets go out after dark and I'll take you sleigh riding! We certainly made the most of our inch of snow~!

the gift

We gathered our family this evening and told them the story of the fire at'aplacecalledsimplicity' and how tonight there are no familiar jammies to wear, no special blankies to hold, no favorite stuffed animals to cuddle with, an unfamiliar bed, etc.. we watched our children's eyes grow wider and wider. Then, our 4 year old Elizabeth started to cry. She went to her room and began to sift through her things and got a box to mail them. Our son joined in and took scotch tape from a drawer to 'tape' the box. The items in the box would probably be so insignificant as far as every day use but the fire has touched our children's hearts in a way we never could.

The Fire and now their son is in the ER

UPDATE: Their son is in surgery.
More hardship hits this family today as we are hearing from Lori. Apparently they are rushing their son Graham to the ER with a possible appendicitis attack.

Updates continue about the fire (see the below post) and this "Mom of many" details what happened yesterday in the wee early morning as she raced to get her children out of the house. If there was ever a lesson about the importance of multiple smoke detectors and escape routes it is documented in her story.

There is an effort to help re-build their home and Lori shares the specifics on her site.

With a heavy heart

A fire early this morning destroyed the home of this amazing mom of 9 children. She just returned from Uganda several weeks ago and after coming back with their 2 newest additions this family's home is now gone. Thankfully, all children escaped with the clothes on their back, and my friend Linny without a coat. Please uphold this dear family in prayer. Updates and pictures of the fire as well as ways to help can be found HERE and HERE.