A Touch of East

Xie Xie Xi'an

2010-05-27T22:56:00.002-05:00

As we said goodbye to Xi'an we decided to dash out once more to the wonderful marketplace not far from our hotel. After walking around for several hours we were exhausted and decided to attempt to hail a taxi. In the process of trying to obtain one, we were inundated with offers from "city cabs". After many failures to secure a taxi we decided to go for the experience of the city cab. Keep in mind these are scooters with a cart. In our case, we piled 4 people into a cart that was meant to hold 2 small Chinese folks.

Off we went into the maze of traffic through the center of Xi'an. The 'wagon' part had sheets hanging from the sides to block our view - perhaps to keep us from screaming as the driver darted in and out of traffic using the small size of the scooter as the weapon to accomplish the task! OH MY!! What a trip! John thought it was hysterical, but the adults were thinking 'what have we done'!?! About 10 minutes (and $2.00 American dollars) later we pull up to the hotel and the bellman watches 4 of us pile out with all our treasures and packages from the marketplace. - Be sure to take a look at our "chariot" :)

The next day our guide fussed a bit.. she said, "I no recommend" .. "it not safe".. "many tip over".. "I not do again".... umm ok. Apparently they are operated by individuals not endorsed by the city powers that be or the Chinese DMV :)

Xi'an is a beautiful, but busy city in central China. Besides being known for the Terra cotta warrior discovery, it has many other attractions. One of the interesting features about the city central is that it is enclosed within a massive thick stone wall that was built centuries ago to protect the city from the enemies. It stretches for 9 miles surrounding the city and you can enter only from the tunnel.

We were packed and off the next morning to our final leg..

Look closely who is pictured on the t-shirts (dressed like Mao) behind John. These were seen all over China and merchants said they were selling "very good".. Click the above photo to enlarge.

The families..

2010-05-24T07:22:00.002-05:00

There were three families in the travel group with Living Hope Adoption that were traveling to China to get their babies.

The first would be our friend Angie. Ange has been in the process of international adoption for over 5 years. She is single and was able to get into the China program before China changed it's policy of not allowing single parents to adopt. As the time frame extended far more than the 5 years she had already waited, Angie decided to switch gears and apply for China's Special Needs track. It was on this path that she received her referral of Emma! Emma was born with a mild heart condition that we are hoping will be either self correcting or needing only minimal intervention once she is evaluated by heart specialists in the United States.

The 2nd family is from Georgia and was adopting a beautiful little girl who is almost 4 years old. The J. family has a son (Jared) that is a year older than John so they quickly became great friends. It was an incredible experience for John to witness the process of how Jared's new sister and baby Emma came into their families as this is similar to how Elizabeth entered our lives. Jared's new sister is Shae and spent the first years of her life at the Starfish home in Xi'an. Both Shae and Emma were immaculate and it looked like they had been dressed in their finest for the 'gotcha' occasion.

We asked John to think about how he would feel if something were to happen to his parents and he no longer had us, then to be taken away and placed in the arms of strangers that didn't speak his language, eat the kind of food he was used to, and took him to another country to live. John thought for a long time before he answered "I would be very very sad". That's exactly what we think the children are going through. Shae obviously being older understands this change more than Emma so she is having more of an adjustment period. Both children are doing incredibly well considering everything they have been through.

The third family is from PA. 2 sisters. Their story will make you cry. The sisters were orphans themselves growing up in an orphanage together. Neither married so they live together and are very close. They decided they wanted to open their home to a child that needed a family so they also were able to get a single's spot (like Angie) before China shut the door for single parent applicants. Their new daughter was from a different province, so we met initially in Beijing, then split when we traveled to Xi'an with Angie and the J. family. We will meet up again with the sisters in Guangzhou for the final 3rd of the journey as this is where everyone will complete the US part of the adoption process. The US consulate is located in Guangzhou and families obtain all the documents necessary here to enter the US with their new children.

As our time in Xi'an drew to a close, all were excited to move on to the final stop before coming home!

Next, GUANGZHOU!

See, Smell, and watch where you step! (and a visit to the Great "Wall"- mart of China)

2010-05-18T11:08:00.008-05:00

Quickly you learn never to walk outside your door without your camera in China. You simply never know what you will see. Here are some interesting things we have seen
here in Xi'an including a visit to a Chinese "Wal-mart". Walking down the street we stumbled on a woman that looked like she was dead. A younger man was kneeling down beside
her crying and bowing. We asked our guide what was going on here and her summary of the situation was that this was a way of 'begging'.

Obviously the food is as different as the habits of this culture. What would be considered 'normal' here in China it would be considered "odd" in America ..and certainly vice versa. It is critical to watch things
like brushing your teeth with tap water, avoiding ice in drinks, be ware of lettuce and other things that might be washed w/ tap water (or unwashed) and so on, but it's been fun and interesting to observe
this vast cultural difference.

While visiting a Chinese Wal-mart we saw a large fish flop out of the tank onto the counter below. Dave was video taping the "selections" and heard the thumping and flapping actually getting the 'escape' on video.

It is common to walk down the street or be in a public place and see a baby or toddler wearing something called "split pants". These are pants that literally have a split in the back (exposing their bums) and diapers would then be unnecessary. You certainly watch where you step along the sidewalks! The public bathrooms are a nightmare in most cases and parents simply let their children use the bathroom right on the street or floor. We have seen this over and over during our journey.

The sights, the smells, the experience. The good, the bad, the ugly.. we are so grateful to have had this opportunity.

The orphanage in Xi'an and the clothing police.

2010-05-18T09:34:00.002-05:00

Our final orphanage visit was to the place Emma spent the first 2 years of her life. We found this facility in Xi'an to be very large but the nannies seemed to genuinely love and care for the babies. It also seemed very clean and neat even though institutional.

When we arrived we were escorted to the 4th floor and Angie was given a book of information about Emma. Every diaper change, feeding, illness etc.. concerning Emma was recorded in this book. We were so impressed at all the bits of information so diligently recorded.

The babies were basically housed in 2 large rooms on the 4th floor. The largest room was for playing and the smaller one housed the cribs and was for sleeping. We estimated there were somewhere between 30 and 50 babies counting the "new arrivals" we weren't able to see. The director permitted us to take pictures of the large baby room with the babies ranging in age from several months to about 2 years old, but requested we not post the pictures of all the children on the internet. The babies seemed happy but we also felt they rarely left the 4th floor. The older children were kept on the lower floors and had access to a large and beautiful play area outside.

A few of the nannies that cared for Emma over the past 2 years seemed very happy to see her one more time. One of them however was a charter member of the clothing police academy. It's a bit of a joke among the China adoption community that independent of the outside temp., the Chinese must not see any skin exposed on a baby except for their face. True to form, we thought one of the nannies was going to haul us off to a Chinese Clothing violation prison holding cell if we failed to cover Miss Emma's legs. The director came back with a pair of warm pants to put on Emma, and Angie obliged until we got back to the bus :) She graciously gave the pants back to the orphanage and thanked them for letting her "borrow" them. It's interesting that even though a child is dripping with perspiration the culture here in China is that a baby must be kept warm (HOT IMHO) They also believe babies should never be given anything cold to drink as it is "not good for baby"... but then again, this is a country that deep fries scorpions as snacks :) :)

xo from Xi'an.

2010-05-18T03:05:00.004-05:00

Can you imagine digging in your yard one day, and discovering pieces of pottery that were from a life - sized terracotta soldier (one of thousands in a pit), made completely out of clay over 2,000 years ago berried in your back yard? That's exactly what happened in China in 1974! A farmer digging a well outside Xi'an City located in central China hit something hard, and found one of the most amazing discoveries of all time. There were actually several farmers that were present, and all but one dismissed the discovery. One of the farmers called the authorities and reported the find. Because Xi'an was the capitol city of China for 13 dynasties, the Government decided to expand the exploration for buried treasures.

By the time Archaeologists had finished digging, they had uncovered over 7,000 life - sized terracotta soldiers! Some of the statues they found are kneeling with terra cotta bows, ready to shoot. Some have moustaches. Some have armor. Archaeologists also found terracotta horses, spears, and chariots - all life sized, all made out of clay. Each is unique and no two look alike.

As a "reward to the farmer that stumbled on this incredible discovery, the Chinese government gave him a job at the entrance of the Terracotta Warrior exhibit. John was actually able to meet the farmer, and he signed one of the books about the Terra cotta warriors for him. In the photo's below, look along the side of the pit where the Terracotta warriors are exhibited and note how massive this really is compared to the size of the people walking around the perimeter.

So who did all of this and why over 200 years before the birth of Christ?

Oin (Ch'in) ShiHuang, as the first Emperor of China, claimed a mandate from heaven and took with him a terracotta army of nearly 8.000 soldiers when he died. This archaeological treasure is one of the most magnificent sites of antiquity. The army lies in three separate pits, in battle formation, nearly one kilometer east of Qin ShiHuang's mausoleum- tomb known as Mount Li. He believed they would guard him in death as they did in real life.

The Emperor Qin ShiHuang was only 13 years old when he ordered the construction process. All construction workers involved in building the terracotta warriors were either buried alive with Qin (Chin) ShiHuang or killed to maintain strict secrecy.

FISH TALES

2010-05-15T16:53:00.001-05:00

Our guide sent us off for the evening to have dinner on our own. In China this can be quite a risky adventure in many aspects... She pointed us in the direction of a small local favorite authentic Chinese
restaurant down an alley type street and said it was "very good" and "you like".

We arrived and were seated right next to the window where the Chef's prepare the food. After the dishes are ready, they place them on the counter as you see above, and then the waitress brings them to your table.

We ordered for our group and were waiting on the food to be cooked. One of our dishes was finished and placed on the counter along with several other patrons orders.

All of a sudden, we felt wet water drops splashing us and a waitress running by quickly. She was trying to hold on to a very large fish that was desperately trying to escape! The fish was flapping wildly and she was running to
get it to the Chef's before it slipped out of her grip. The problem was she had to hand it to the chefs through the window with it flapping and spraying water all over our freshly prepared food!!! YU K!!!!!

It didn't seem to phase the chef's who took the fish and then gave the waitress the 'fishy' dishes to bring to the table. Yum Yum!

:)

Meeting Emma and Shae. From John.

2010-05-15T16:35:00.001-05:00

We walked over to a big building and went inside. We went to the elevator and went to the floor the babies we waiting on. When we walked in Emma was already there waiting. We had to wait a few more minutes for Shea to get there. It was exciting. The babies cried when we got back to the elevator and went in. Then we went back to the hotel so the babies could get to know their new Mommies. Miss Angie adopted Emma and my new freind Jared's Mom and Dad adopted Shae. Shae is almost 4 years old and we celebrated Emma's 2 year birthday in the hotel room with a Chinese cake. The cake tasted good. Love, John.

Angie and Emma "Gotcha" Day!!!

2010-05-13T14:17:00.001-05:00

The last morning in Beijing went quickly as preparations for the flight to Xi'an China were underway in addition to the families needing to be ready to go straight to the
Government building after arriving in Xi'an to receive the babies. Angie was very calm (at least on the outside) and we were all extremely excited. We said goodbye to our Beijing guide (Lisa) and were off to the airport.
The flight to Xi'an went smoothly and we arrived in Xi'an greeted by our newest guide (Jo Jo) holding a sign with our names. The driver speed away for our little over an hour ride to drop off our luggage
at the hotel and then take a brief walk to where the babies were waiting.

Anyone care to guess if the hotel had working air conditioning? English speaking folks around these parts are few and far between so it was suggested by the hotel staff that we :

A. open the window if we were hot (temps outside were in the 80's and the sun on our side of the building)

B. When we attempted to convey (using hand motions) that we were hot and wanted the air conditioning to work, they misunderstood and switched it to the "heat" button thinking we were shivering. (heat is turned off also btw)

C. Argue with Communism.

We chose C. and finally they actually switched it on for a very short while when they were told the group was considering switching hotels if they "couldn't" turn it on.

Eventually however it was a no win battle but thankfully the forecast was calling for cooler weather as the week progressed.

After checking in and dropping off luggage, the march to the civil affairs office began!! WE WERE ON OUR WAY TO GET THE BABIES!! For Angie, an over 5 year wait was almost over!!

We took the elevator up to where the babies were waiting and could hear cries. We turned the corner, and there she was!!! It was surreal. Angie gently reached for Emma (Lan Lan) and she came to her without tears. Softly Angie whispered to her and Emma was amazing. Calm, sweet, taking it all in and seeming to understand Angie was hers!! From moment one it seemed as if they had always been together.

The other family's little girl (Shea) was not there when we arrived, but about 15 minutes later she was brought in with her caregiver. Both children seemed to be cared for very well and were spotlessly dressed and clean. It was obvious that they were loved very much by the "nannies".

After about 30-45 minutes we were walking the same path in reverse back to the hotel... and 2 little girls lives had been changed forever.

Living Hope Orphanage

2010-05-13T14:06:00.006-05:00

It was "Gotcha day eve" for Angie and all the families in our group and the anticipation was being felt by everyone but there was one more very important stop before leaving Beijing for our next Province...

In China if a child looses both parents, but has any identifiable living relative they are not eligible for adoption. Even if the relative is a grandparent, distant cousin, etc.. that is unable to care for the child, they are still not eligible under Chinese law. Often these children end up living on the street or worse. This particular orphanage dedicates itself solely to the children in this situation. All of these children understand what is was to have a family, but now they have lost it. It is heartbreaking.

What we saw was a testimony to what this facility is doing to change the lives of these amazing children. We have never met a group of more polite, loving, and respectful children. Their ages range from about 4 or 5 years to high school graduation age. The children danced and sang for the families in our group and prepared a delicious lunch for us. Afterwards the children gave us a tour of the facilities including their rooms.

We didn't want to leave...

The Great Wall

2010-05-12T13:59:00.003-05:00

Be sure to scroll all the way down and read the history of this magnificent structure and imagine the magnitude of the project during its construction so many years ago!

In places the steps were so steep it was as if you were climbing an uneven ladder instead of steps. One of our group members fell down during a part of the climb but she wasn't hurt.

Who first built the Great Wall?
The First Great Wall was ordered built in 214 BC by Qin Shi Huang – the first Emperor in China after he had unified the whole country for the first time. The wall was designed to stop raids by the nomadic tribes like Xiongnu from the north. It is said that the general Meng Tian used 300, 000 labor forces and spent 10 years completing the 5000-km-long defense system in North China.

What was the purpose of building the Great Wall?
Basically we say the Great Wall was an efficient defensive system to protecting agriculture and resisting cavalry of the Huns, Mongols and other nomadic tribes from the north of China.

At the same time, the Great Wall was also a dividing line for two different cultures at each side of it: Agricultural and Nomadic civilizations. For generations, the Chinese people have lived on their fertile land. Ancient China was ruled by emperors who kept order and maintained harmony and stability, hence China prospered and Chinese culture flourished.

The nomadic tribes living in the north of China led a different life style. Their habitat was on the dry plateau and steppe where there was insufficient rainfall to grow crops, they moved from place to place grazing sheep and trading horses for food and clothing. They were very skilled at hunting and fighting.

The nomadic tribes, such as the Huns and Mongols, traded horses to their Chinese neighbors for things they could not produce themselves such as grain, silk and iron.

The great differences between the two cultures often led to conflict. When the nomads could not get what they wanted by trading, they would steal and plunder from the Chinese to get what they wanted. To keep the nomadic invaders out of their territory, the Chinese emperors ordered to build the mammoth defense project from the East to West to block the raids of the enemies.

How long is the Great Wall?
A very hard to answer question. During different dynasties, the Great Wall was built, rebuilt and extended. Here below are the some helpful stats for the Qin, Han and Ming Great Wall, all the three dynasties launched large-scale construction project to the Great Wall:

The Great Wall of Qin Dynasty: >5000 km, which starts from Linyao of Gansu Province to the east of Liaoning Province.
The Great Wall of Han Dynasty: >10,000 km, which starts from the east of Liaoning Province to Lop Nur in the southeastern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
The Great Wall of Ming Dynasty: 6300 km (3915 miles), which streches from Hu Hill (Tiger Hill) by Yalu River (Liaoning Province’s cross-border river with North Korea) to Jiayuguan of Guangsu Province.

What was the material building the Great Wall?
At the beginning the wall (especially in Qin and Han Dynasty) was made mostly from dirt, stones, and wood. The workers compressed huge piles of soil, leaves, hay, and mud into a wall. In the following dynasties, the Chinese changed from an earthen wall only to a wall that was coated by stones, bricks, and granite blocks, making a neat, sturdy long-lasting wall.

During the Ming Dynasty, watch-towers were turned into elaborate structures with tile patterns circling the doorways. Bricks were heavily used in many areas of the wall, as were materials such as tiles, lime, and stone. The size and weight of the bricks made them easier to work with than earth and stone, so construction quickened. Additionally, bricks could bear more weight and endure better than rammed earth. Stone can hold under its own weight better than brick, but is more difficult to use. Consequently, stones cut in rectangular shapeswere used for the foundation, inner and outer brims, and gateways of the wall.

Altogether, one hundred and eighty million cubic meters of packed earth and sixty million cubic meters of bricks were used in constructing the wall. Valencia says, "The amount of earth, stone, and brickwork in its construction is more than enough to build a wall one meter thick and five meters high around the equator."

How were the messages sent along the wall?

If the enemies attacked, the soldiers stationed in the towers lit fires and set off smoke to signal to the next tower. If it was a daytime attack, they lit smoky fires by burning a mixture of wolf dung and dry hay. If the attack came at night, they made bright flaming fires. In this way a signal was passed along the wall to the capital of the kingdom a lot faster than horse ride. An alarm could be relayed over 500km within just a few hours.

Based on the rules of Ming Dynasty when enemies are 100-500, then set off the smoke for one time with one shot of fire gun; if 500-1000, two times of smoke with two shots of fire gun.

Can the Great Wall be seen from outer space?
There is a longstanding dispute about how visible the Great Wall is in space. Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoon from May 1932 makes the claim that the wall is "the mightiest work of man, the only one that would be visible to the human eye from the moon" and Richard Halliburton's 1938 book Second Book of Marvels makes a similar claim. This belief has persisted, assuming urban legend status, sometimes even entering school textbooks. In fact, the Great Wall definitely cannot be seen by the unaided eye from the distance of the moon. Even its visibility from near-earth orbit is questionable. The visible wall theory was shaken once again after China's own astronaut, Yang Liwei, said he couldn’t see the historic structure.

A recent photograph taken from the International Space Station appears to confirm that China's Great Wall can be seen with the naked eye after all. Leroy Chiao, a Chinese-American astronaut, took what the state-run China Daily newspaper concludes is the first photographic evidence that the Great Wall could be seen from space with the naked eye, under certain favorable viewing conditions and if one knows exactly where to look.

For more information, please visit the feature at the website of U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/great_wall.html.

Did the Great Wall serve its purpose of protecting China in history?
The Wall served well. Only when a dynasty had weakened from within, were invaders from the north able to advance and conquer. Both the Mongols (Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368) and the Manchurians (Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911) were able take power, not because of weakness in the Wall but because of weakness in the government and the poverty of the people. They took advantage of rebellion from within and stepped into the void of power without extended wars.
--(http://www.greatwallchina.info/FAQ-Great-Wall.htm)

Guilin back to Beijing and a day closer to 'Gotcha'~!

2010-05-11T18:29:00.007-05:00

Once again it was time to hop in a China flight from Guilin back to Beijing in preparation for the main reason of our visit to China!
It was about a 3 hour flight, and our friends Lynsay and Bill from the Morningstar foundation (orphanage) were kind enough to meet us at the airport and then
we went to an INCREDIBLE Chinese restaurant they had picked out. Chinese food will never be the same! It was wonderful. Lynsay and Bill picked
out most of the dishes and their precious children and John got along as if they had known each other their whole lives.

We have never experienced traffic as heavy as in Beijing. Lynsay and Bill told us that over 2,000 new cars a day were entering the streets of Beijing. It literally sometimes
takes hours to get from one end of Beijing to the other as we are experiencing during this trip. After we were dropped off at our hotel called the "King Wing Hot Spring", we said
our goodbye's to our sweet friends and prepared to meet the other families in our adoption travel group the next morning.

I think they see us coming and turn off the air conditioning when they see us. The King Wing was sweltering. According to the management, the air would not be
turned on until the day after we were to leave Beijing. Lovely.

The next morning we met up with the other families that will be receiving their babies this week! There are 3 families in our travel group (plus ourselves). One of the families has their son
with them (Jared) who is a year older than John. John is excited to have a new buddy for the remainder of the journey and John will also get to witness Jared meet his new sister for the first time!
This will be a once in a life time opportunity and let John have a glimpse into the world his own sister experienced 5 years ago.

The day was FULL of touring. You name it, we saw it. By the time the day was over my feeling was if you have seen one room at the Forbidden city, you've seen 'um all... at 9,999 1/2 rooms I would sure hate to clean the place! They believe that God in heaven had 10,000 rooms and they wanted to have just under that.

China is full of superstitions. They hang red ribbons on tombs for "good luck" and they put red banners beside doors, hang red lanterns on porches, and in the older areas they put a mirror above their front door to protect them from evil spirits. The library in the Forbidden City had a black tile roof because black represents water and would keep the library from burning. The large wooden doors in the Forbidden city had raised stone sills at the bottom because of the belief that spirits can't bend their knees and would trip coming in the door. These are just a few of the ones we can remember right now.

There were so many people it was hard to remain together as a group. In China you also experience the "first shove, first serve" rule. John attempts to be a gentleman and hold doors open for the 'folks' and they plow right past him and leave him standing there as they stare at him. He continues to do what comes 2nd nature to him but it's quite another culture here in the land of Asia.

There are many habits that we consider totally unacceptable in our country but are common place in China such as young children going to the bathroom right on the sidewalk and trash cans, or pointing and staring.

2010-05-11T06:46:00.003-05:00

Hello all! Since John is not permitted to blog in China (the website is blocked, bummer!), they have given me the opportunity to post for them! My name is Jillian, and I am a full-time student studying in Sweden right now (countdown to home: T-4 weeks!). Oh, and when the Swedes say full-time student, what they really mean is one class a week. It's going to be a challenge going back to ETSU! It has been nice though, it's given me an opportunity to travel around Europe a bit. S might have told you about me in a former post... however, I'm not as handy of a blogger as she, but I really should update mine more often! This is a picture of me at Trinity College in Dublin, my latest trip. Thought it might be nice to put a face to a name. Hello!

I'll have you know, S is so happy you all have been keeping up with their travels! She said, "even though we can't see the comments or respond we are so grateful to hear from those at home!" S has been emailing me in Sweden so I can post all the wonderful details of the trip! I know she is really looking forward to going through the compilation when they return. I myself can't wait until they post about the main reason they came... "gotcha day!" Hope you all have followed Angie's blog as well, and I would add a link but I have NO clue how to do that as S does! She's already posted a bunch! :) Take care and God bless!

"Professor of Pearl"

2010-05-10T18:41:00.000-05:00

You know you're in trouble when they call it "museum" instead of "market"....

We actually did learn a few things such as how to tell fake ones from real ones and how many pearls an oyster makes.

The gentleman in charge of the museum called himself- "Professor of Pearl"

Wok and Roll with Chef "Debbie"

2010-05-10T18:33:00.001-05:00

In a quest for diversity in all things Chinese during the few days we had before the main reason for our journey we decided
to take a Chinese cooking class. The class was held on a rooftop overlooking West Street in Yangshou. The view was wonderful of this
hopping part of Downtown Yangshou and the end result was some of the best Chinese dishes we have ever tasted! John at first didn't want
to take the class, but we gave him the option of sitting on the bench outside of the restaurant and waiting for us for a few hours... He decided
he would go ahead and take it. Once it began, he throughly enjoyed it and seemed to be a little more tolerant of Chinese food after he made it
himself.

John accidently dropped his marinated raw chicken on the floor and "Miss Debbie" scooped it up and ... umm I thought there was NO way I was
going to let John eat that chicken after it fell on the floor. She looked at me as if she finally realized not to even go there.. and said "In China we don't
worry about things like that".. we cook it and "it ok"..

The instructor gave us copies of the recipes so if anyone wants to know the "secrets" behind the real Chinese way of cooking, just yell :)

Peeping Tom's into homes at a thousand year old village

2010-05-09T09:26:00.011-05:00

...or should we say "Peking Tom's" :) What is it really like to live in a village that partially dates back over a thousand years? We decided to find out and set out on foot to this ancient village. We were able to peek into the homes of the residents to see a tiny glimpse into real China life. This makes us so thankful for the comforts we enjoy and often take for granted.

The village was situated along the river and residents were spotted washing clothes in the river water. Most were friendly, and seemed to enjoy seeing "foreigners" as much as we enjoyed seeing them! Enjoy the pictures.

This post is for the BIRDS!

2010-05-08T09:27:00.005-05:00

Cormorant Fishing! What is it? Scroll down for the full version, but basically the fisherman uses these large birds that dive into the river for fish and they tie a string at the base of the birds throat so that the birds can't swallow their catch :( The fisherman then "encourages" the bird to spit out the fish into his bucket.

These birds were amazing. We understood it takes over 3 years to train one and it was as if each one had their own personality. We once again hopped a boat that took us out at night on the Li River to watch this amazing centuries old tradition of fishing. It was fascinating. Guess there isn't a PETA org. in China!

Big wheels keep on rollin'...

2010-05-07T03:01:00.001-05:00

Oh My!!! If you enjoy major sweating, humidity bar none, have issues with using air conditioning, and don't mind being eaten alive with mosquitos - all in a gloriously beautiful place then this place is for you! Yangshou China. A village along the Li River that is a popular Chinese tourist area was our next stop. The hotel was magnificent, but they turn the air conditioning off when 'they' think it's cool enough, and there were NO screens to open the doors. When you did open them a multitude of mosquitos were waiting patiently to swarm into their luxury new home with plenty of yummy 8 year old skin to enjoy. For whatever reason, John is who they loved.

We asked our guide to take us into the country side to experience 'real' life in China and she did just that. Along the way we saw rice fields, water buffalo, and so many other interesting sites it would be impossible to list them all. We toured a local family's home and they were incredibly kind. They showed us how they pump their water, cook their food and lived daily life. One most interesting point was that the families build (or pick out) their burial caskets prior to their death. They store them in the home waiting to be used.

Along the road, we stopped to enjoy watching the rice farmers work in the fields with the water buffalo plowing (note the farmer's arm is missing) and at one point an elderly woman came out of the bushes and came at us with a hoe. She kept waving the hoe and coming closer and closer shouting something in Mandrian. Our guide scurried us back into our van and said she wanted money. We decided we had seen enough of that spot :)

We opted to eat dinner at the hotel and ordered a "ham and cheese" sandwich. The Chinese version of this would be white bread lightly toasted, spam, and an unwrapped slice of american cheese. Period. :) ll

Rollin' down the riv-ah...

2010-05-07T02:15:00.008-05:00

The Li River that is. We took a little excursion and hopped a "cruise" boat taking us from Guilin city, to Yangshou further South. Lunch was served on the boat, and the fish were brought to the back of the boat via fisherman
that docked to its side. The chefs worked as the patrons enjoyed some of the most magnificent scenery in China. It truly was breathtaking and so relaxing. The photographs here were simply from my point and shoot, but Dave captured some unbelievable images.

Along the way, peddlers on bamboo rafts came up to the boat and tied their rafts to it's side and attempted to sell items. They actually risk their lives as the large boats are moving fairly quickly and you can see from the pictures how dangerous this could be. I felt sad when I looked into the eyes of one of them as he seemed desperate to sell anything for any amount. (anyone need a jade buddha?) John is certainly learning about different ways to support a family!!

The adventure lasted about 4 hours and we disembarked at our next port of call :).. Yangshou!

Post cards from China. Love, John

2010-05-07T02:14:00.001-05:00

We were on a bus and we were going to the terrace rice fields. It was a long way up and it seemed like we were there but we were only half way. It took about 40 minutes to walk up all those stone steps. I'm guessing about a thousand steps. And on the way we brought a hat that unzips into a sun visor, and a bottle of water or two I think, and an umbrella because it was hot. At the top we saw the terrace rice fields and saw some young women dressed in old fashioned Chinese Costumes. They were about nine to twenty years old. We also saw men carrying people up the steep steps in bamboo seats. It was hard walking up the steps by yourself but I can't imagine carrying someone up the steps. The good thing was there were two men to share the work.

Love, John

Beijing to Guilin

2010-05-07T02:08:00.001-05:00

Study hard John!
Minding his turtles.

Lynsay and Bill were kind enough to make sure we got back to the Beijing airport in time to catch our connecting flight to Guilin - only to find out it was delayed! We weren't looking forward to getting on another airplane after stepping off the 14 + hour flight about 6 hours earlier, but to hear it was delayed was even more of a bad dream! Our sweet guardians wouldn't leave our side until they knew we understood exactly what to do and where to go etc... We were exhausted and sitting around the Beijing airport wasn' t what we had in mind at that point. Finally at about 10:00 p.m. our flight was ready for departure to Guilin.

3 hours later, we landed and it was HOT and we haven't stopped sweating since! We finally checked into our hotel at about 2 a.m. Sunday morning China time. Our new guide is Theresa and she is a local resident of the Guilin vicinity. Theresa is 29 years old and unmarried. Theresa is also amazing. She was at the airport with a driver and we felt immediately as if we knew her.. actually anyone that would drive us to our hotel and let us go to bed we would have loved immediately! :) Theresa however had no mercy and told us to be ready at 9:00 am (keep in mind it was after 2:30 am when we finally got to sleep after being 2 days).

After a quick bite of breakfast at the hotel we were off for about a 2 1/2 hour trip into the Longsheng Autonomous County. So just what is the Longsheng Autonomous County?

Read on...

be sure to scroll all the way down to see what John observed he might be doing if he doesn't get a college degree..

The road to Longsheng from Guilin was not for those that are predisposed to a little carsickness.. (understatement galore!) Factor in the oncoming traffic that passes right before the curves and drop offs of hundreds of feet down -without guardrails. Yee Haw!

We arrived at the village and we got our first taste of peddlers attempting to sell us everything from postcards to fans. John quickly picked up the Chinese word for "no thank you" (pronounced "Boo Yow") and then learned that they still don't understand that! :)

The walk to the village was up a fairly steep hill and then another climb reminiscent of a mini great wall with uneven steps, steep inclines, and curves. Waiting at the bottom of this little hike were "bamboo taxis"powered by 2 men. If you don't want to climb, they will carry you! I can't imagine doing this all day long 7 days a week! It was quite a climb without carrying anything let alone an adult person in a bamboo chair! Never mind the 90+ degree temps (and even hotter as the season progresses!) and mega humidity! These guys must be some of the most physically fit men in the world. Seriously! There were a few men who looked to be well into their 60s doing this! I've never seen anything like it.

We explained to John this could be an option for him if he chooses not to get an advanced degree.

The highlight of the Guilin experience is on tap for tomorrow~!

Did I mention we are exhausted?!

How do you describe the indescribable?

2010-05-07T01:49:00.002-05:00

It happened to be one of the babies birthdays. Birthday's at the Morningstar project are very special. They sometimes never see one. Happy Birthday precious baby "J ".

Cliff notes from John :)

2010-05-04T18:45:00.001-05:00

An 8 year old with few words, but is always thinking... here's John's summary:

We are in China.The first flight was short. The 2nd one was medium, and the last one was LONG. When we got to the airport, we got our bags and went out of the airport,. On the way out, we saw the orphanage directors who were waiting for us. Then, we went to the orphanage, and we saw some babies that had heart problems. It was fun and interesting and sad. There were five or six babies but there were actually seven total because baby Luke was in Israel for surgery on his heart. Love, John.

To Whom It May Concern

2010-05-03T05:02:00.016-05:00

The morning of our departure was a beautiful spring day in our nations capitol. The cherry blossoms were in bloom and there was a crisp chill in the air as we ventured to the airport with all our cargo. Dave exercised his engineering background into the wee early morning hours the evening before precisely organizing all the donations to the orphanage into 3 large crates. There wasn’t a square inch to spare. We arrived in plenty of time to be sure we made it through security without issues given our unusual checked baggage.

It was at that point everything went south. Security at Dulles was tight and John came running around the corner to tell me “Daddy needed me right away”. I (Susan) was the designated luggage keeper of the gate for our carry on’s while Dave waited for the crates of medical supplies to through the x ray scanner. They pulled the crates – all of them, and began to unload every item. There were hundreds of items in the crates. Security began to hand swab items and told us they couldn’t assure us the crates would make it in time. Dave was sweating bullets as one by one they “inspected” every. Single. Item. I finally sent Dave a text that I felt the more he was sweating, the more they would search and “Inspect”! We attempted to explain to the “nice” security folks what all this was for, but their reaction was yeah yeah, we’ve heard it all before, and we had to leave or we were going to miss our flight.

So, we left US soil not knowing whether our precious crates would arrive with us in Beijing and even if they did, would all the supplies still be accounted for? In addition, there was still some uncertainity about what problems might be lying ahead in Beijing going through Chinese customs even if everything made it.

At first we were very upset, after all the generosity from those that donated, and all the time we had put into the project to that point etc etc.. but finally acknowledged that those crates did not belong to us, they belonged to the same Heavenly Father who created the precious children they were bound for, so we released it all to Him. It was totally out of our hands with absolutely nothing we could do about it.

As those that have been there done that on the long flight to China, we settled in for the 14+ hour flight and tried hard not to think of HOW LONG WE WERE GOING TO BE ON THAT AIRPLANE! You become very creative in your entertainment during such long periods locked in that closet in the sky.

The flight was actually tolerable – but what choice do you have if it’s not? The flight monitor mapped our route and you could track your own flight, but frankly it was disheartening to see that little airplane seem to stay stationary over Siberia for hours.. J

John was a fabulous traveler. He never complained, or asked “how many more miles”.. lol. He amused himself with watching the inflight movie “Toy Story” – 4 times.

After landing in Beijing and exiting the plane, John immediately became a rock star in China. It was a little uneasy for him at first as many of the Chinese people have never seen a blonde haired little boy. The guards at the immigration check point called other guards over to check him out. They were very obvious in their curiosity of John. We explained to John why they were doing this and he has seemed to now take it in stride, smiles, and sometimes lets them pat his hair.

We made it through immigration without issue, and then went to baggage claim to check on our precious cargo! Crate, 1, 2 and 3 made it!!! Praise God, all crates were intact and we only had one more hurdle. China customs.

Our orphanage directors gave us a few pointers prior to our arrival about getting through China customs without issue such as staying with the crowd, and walking briskly etc.. We breezed right through as they seemed to be much more interested in John’s blonde hair than what was in our crates! YES!! We were IN China and were now face to face with Lynsay and Bill (the orphange founders and directors) and all medical supplies were now safely with their new family!!

Lynsay and Bill picked us up and driver extroidenaire Bill navigated the Beijing highway system like a native! We had what we THOUGHT was a several hour layover before we had to be back for our continuing flight on to Guilin, and we were off to the orphange!!

>

Saying goodbye

2010-04-30T00:22:00.001-05:00

It was a little hard to tell when the night ended and the day began as we pretty much pulled an all nighter. The children were nestled soundly in bed but it was 5am before we got to sleep in attempts to get all the medical supplies safely packed in crates. We ended up with approx. 200 pounds of urgent needs for the orphanage! The generosity of several local pharmacists have overwhelmed us. We have everything from colostomy bags and IV start kits to vitamins and so much more.

It was bittersweet saying goodbye to E'beth as we know she will have so much fun with at her Grandmothers and THE COUSINS! but we will miss her greatly. She might be having so much fun with all the extra attention she might cry when we come home! Thank you Mom and Chris!!

Two of our 11 flights are now behind us and we are snug in our amazing hotel courtesy of priceline.com. At the last moment, we plugged in a ‘name your own price’ for a luxury hotel just for grins near our layover destination, Washington D.C. --and got what would normally be a room going for over $300/ night for $50.00! !(five, zero!!) Love priceline.

A big thank you to Joel Sanders for helping us get all the crates of supplies and our luggage to the airport and safely tucked into the belly of our CRJ900 aircraft, then driving our car home.

We enjoyed a brief layover in Charlotte NC where John enjoyed a ‘last meal’ of Salsaritas with lots of lettuce and tomatoes (that you can’t have in China) then North to Washington DC where we will spend the night in an attempt to rest for our LONG day tomorrow.

Our day will begin at 7:00 am, with breakfast at our swanky 50/300.00/ night priceline hotel then off to the airport. If you are a die hard China adoption junkie follower you can track the flight via http://www.flightview.com/. Its really quite interesting to follow the progress of an international flight (if you know someone on that particular plane) I guess you really have lead a pretty dull life to sit and watch the little screen change miniscule amounts over the course of 14+ hours!

Our flight leaves at 12:16 p.m. Friday and the path will take us North over Canada, up and over the Arctic circle, over Russia, and then finally about 14 hours later land in Beijing China. China is 12 hours ahead of our time at home, so we actually loose part of a day in flight. (and it happens to be Dave’s birthday.. so we will have to celebrate thinking outside the box We land in Beijing at approx. 2:20 in the afternoon Saturday May 1 and then have about 5 ½ hours to deliver all the medical supplies to our precious friends who run the orphanage ‘Morningstar project’. They will meet us at the airport and we are so excited to see their facility! A whirlwind trip to visit them and then back to the Beijing airport for our continuation onto Guilin which will be 3 more hours of flying.

Guilin will be our final destination for the next 6 days and I KNOW we will be happy to see a flat bed instead of barely reclining airline seats!

Swanky hotel :)

Our plane runneth over

2010-04-28T01:51:00.001-05:00

I don't even know where to begin. Tonight Dave came home and he looked like he had been crying. I was alarmed at first that something terrible had happened as you know.. men aren't suppost to cry..but then, I just about joined in w/ the tear fest once I heard the reason.

For many weeks we have slowly began to gather some basic medical supplies for an orphanage in Northern China that cares for critically ill and dying babies and children who have been abandoned. They exhaust every avenue in an attempt to save even the most fragile and "hopeless" of cases.

Yesterday and today, just hours before we depart, we were overwhelmed by the generosity of some local pharmacists. The back of our mini van is now full of critical medical needs to deliver to this most special organization. We are in total awe of God's provision. When we spoke with our China friends and told them about these donations, they informed us they were down to the last 2 colostomy bags. (Hope we have a great tailwind!! :) :)

Then, the next incredible development is that United Airlines working w/ us to get it all there and is allowing us to transport it all AT NO COST!! This is Huge!! United could not have been more helpful and we are incredibly grateful for their assistance.

T minus 1.5 days..

Pre-jet lag

2010-04-27T00:11:00.003-05:00

It's only days away now and packing is paramount in our daily activities. It seems that streamlined packing is more difficult than taking the works! We hope to pack very lightly for ourselves in an effort to squeeze in as many basic supplies for some special orphanages as possible. We are still hunting colostomy bags in small sizes if anyone has connections with the powers that be in this area!

We will leave the US arriving into Beijing. After a 6 hour layover, we then head to Guilin which is another 3 hour flight South of Beijing. At this point we will take a few days to acclimate to China time, recover from jet lag, etc.. This is where the adventure will begin. A Chinese "local" will be taking us to some of the back roads of the rural Chinese countryside. It is our understanding they speak English and know their stuff... ok. We shall see.

After a few days in the Guilin vicinity we will then fly back to Beijing and meet up with Angie and the rest of the adoption group from the Living Hope adoption agency for "part two" of our journey.. exciting days ahead! Come back to join in!

tic, tic, tic...

2010-04-23T00:21:00.003-05:00

it's now under 1 week until takeoff. I have suggested to our Mom to be that we do a beautiful new facebook profile picture of her with her silky hair blowing in the breeze at the Great Wall once in Beijing just before she becomes a new mother for the very first time. Glowing as she is about to embark on this most amazing of life's ventures.. perhaps a flowing skirt to capture the wind beneath her wings...

Then, the next profile picture could be THE moment when Emma is placed in her arms. What emotion!

Followed by, a few hours later allbeit still smiling, the blouse has some stains, puffy eyes from crying, a torn seam or two..but still a great moment in time.

But then, the next day, well, we will skip it give her a break and move on...there is no more clean laundry and everything has something on it that came from a baby opening..

And don't forget day 3..lets just say the hotel door might be locked when we try to update the profile :)...

But alas,, on or about day 4 we traverse the vast continent of Asia once more finding ourselves in the oasis of international adoption ..Shaiman Island. Yes, could it be............ THE red couch?? Yes it is! Perfect!! the newest profile picture can be.... seated on this red couch famous for other peoples babies vomit, tears, pee, a scabie or two hiding out... perfect in every way... yes it is.

Bring it on baby!

Hey!

2010-04-19T21:15:00.002-05:00

Ni Hao.. I'm not sure whether I'll password this blog during our trip to China or not due to some sensitive stops, but if I do and you would like to follow along please leave me a comment, or shoot me an e-mail. Please let me know a little about yourself if I don't know you personally and a blog address if you have one. Thanks friends!

Charlotte, D.C. Beijing, Guilin, Longsheng, Yangshuo, Beijing, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Beijing, D.C. Charlotte.

2010-04-14T01:40:00.002-05:00

ahhhh so.

Live T.V. debut for John and E'beth!

2010-04-01T21:06:00.003-05:00

During the past few Summer's we have enrolled the children in a Kids in the Kitchen class at Miss Melanie's Tea Room here in our community. It's been such fun for the children and someone else gets to hammer "don't talk w/ your mouth full" etc..to them :)

Well, today, John and E'beth were Miss Melanie's guests on Day Time in the Tri Cities which featured the Tea Room and the Kids in the Kitchen cooking classes coming up in June. You just never know what's going to happen on LIVE TV and today was NO exception!! Watch what happened at the end of the clip when co host "Lightnin Charlie" (love the name!) uses his guitar as a table for the quiche!

CLICK HERE for the FUN clip and the YUM!! recipes courtesy of Miss Melanies Tea Room!

We had so much fun seeing the 'behind the scenes' makings of a live television broadcast. What an experience!!

Random thoughts prior to travel

2010-03-22T22:54:00.009-05:00

It's a little different this time as we embark on our trip across the globe. China. China is where our daughter was born and when we traveled in 2005 there was a flurry of preparations which included immunizations, meds for everything you could imagine from antibiotics to scabies cream and everything in between and so much more. We thankfully didn't need the scabies cream!-- but having it all "just in case" gave us a little bit of security for the 'what if' games. If you can believe this our luggage actually contained over 10 POUNDS of .... WET WIPES! :) and.. you know what? ... we used every. single. pack!!

I'm incredibly excited to be returning to the land of our daughters birth and I'm actually not a bit stressed.. yet. Afterall, I get to see the most amazing moment in my friends life in REAL time and not read about it 12 hours later~! What a blessing and gift!

I get to watch the bonding process unfold over the next days and weeks as we walk beside her during our time in China and watch a potentially very frightened little 22 month old little girl begin to understand she now has a mother who will be there for all the moments and not just when she cries, or is hungry, or is tired etc..

Lucky me!!!

Thank you Miss Angie for letting me be that "fly on the wall" on that once in a lifetime day in Xi'an. Feel free to swat me if I overstep my bounds and try to spoil your sweet Emma!

Bring on the Travel Approval!!

really?

2010-03-20T01:36:00.002-05:00

It started with our dog who has a little problem with bad breath. I do need to take her in for teeth cleaning and grooming etc.. but for now we still try to pretend we don't smell her.. but alas, Elizabeth is not happy with this odor.

Each night we have a bedtime routine that involves reading, saying prayers, snuggles, back scratches etc.. and Annie goat (our dog) insists being on the bed as this occurs. She plops herself right in the middle of the action every evening.

Tonight Elizabeth declared to me that "Chinese people don't like dogs mom"..

"Really" I replied?

"Yes Mom", really. They stink (dogs).

To which I said .."and Chinese people also eat dogs sometimes"

Without missing a beat Elizabeth got right in Annies face and said "MOVE unless you you want me to EAT you."

so now we wait, but in the mean time....!

2010-03-17T20:34:00.006-05:00

Angie received an update and some new yummy photographs of sweet Emma!! I hope she doesn't mind but I swiped them and will post them here :) We can't wait to see those beautiful smiles in person!

We are waiting on the travel approval otherwise known as the infamous "TA". In addition to the travel approval, Angie will be assigned a U.S. Consulate appointment for the U.S. finalization of the adoption process. The travel dates are dependent on the Consulate date and so we wait..

Lots more info on Angel Emma HERE! Check out what the nannies have to say about her!!

Passports, visa's and more OH MY!

2010-02-26T21:04:00.003-06:00

How quickly you forget the amount of preparation that goes into a trip across the globe. There are so many more restrictions than when we traveled to China in late 2005. This time, I'm so looking forward to being the silent observer and watching all these sweet children traveling in the group be united with their families!! For any of you that have been on this trip as an adoptive parent to be just imagine the gift of being there when others experience the joy of those early moments and days! It will be SO incredible to capture the early moments for our friend Angie (video and photos) and she can simply enjoy and savor each second of that instant when her life will change forever. We found ourselves so busy with Elizabeth that we failed to take very many pictures and even less video.. that won't happen with Angie if I have anything to do with it! :)

The only thing I'm not thrilled about is the "lovely" plane ride. Friends that travel overseas on business have told us that airlines are much more restrictive about movement around the cabin. UGG! I think I have something called restless leg syndrome.. I need to research it a bit more, but the name of the syndrome fits. My legs are indeed pretty restless during the 15 hour MRI!

The infamous LOA looks like it will arrive sometime next week and travel will most likely be sometime in April. Springtime in China..ahhh so!!

Return to China!

2010-02-22T15:56:00.004-06:00

I can hardly believe I'm actually typing this. We are heading back to China! It will be a little bit different this time however because last trip involved our adoption of Elizabeth. This time it still involves adoption, but we will be spectators in the amazing moment.

Her name is Emma. She is 22 months old and from Xi'an which is the city in central China most famous for the Terra Cotta warriors and we will be traveling with my good friend Angie to hand her wet wipes :) We are very excited to be returning to China for this reason and one other very special reason. During our time in Beijing, we will have the opportunity to spend time at Living Hope Adoption agencies orphanage to deliver some things to the children and spend some time at the orphanage with these amazing children. If you have a chance click the link above and read about what these older children have already gone through in their short lives.

Hop on over to meet BEAUTIFUL Emma!!
Stay tuned...!

oooohs and ahhhh's

2010-02-10T23:47:00.007-06:00

Isn't there something so refreshing about white? Maybe it's the absence of color that is the alluring factor, or that there is nothing objectionable when neutrals and whites are tossed together that soothes the mind? Either way, the older I get the more I enjoy lighter and clean looks to rooms. My children's game pieces and little do dads from toy parts etc..have made me immune to anything "collectible" so if it's not functional, I'm attempting to purge it in the name of reducing clutter and complicated living! Now, if I can just convince the rest of my household...

The season of love

2010-02-07T22:48:00.004-06:00

I am still hee-hawing :)

A little winter pick me up

2010-02-04T02:48:00.002-06:00

Memories of Summer...

I want to try this:

2010-01-26T00:09:00.005-06:00

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

2010-01-22T02:23:00.002-06:00

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!!!

2010-01-19T23:49:00.002-06:00

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

My new favorite adventure blog.. all things Swedish

2010-01-15T00:40:00.002-06:00

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

2010-01-08T00:16:00.006-06:00

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

2010-01-02T16:33:00.002-06:00

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..

2010-01-02T02:08:00.009-06:00

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

2009-12-29T21:38:00.003-06:00

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..

2009-12-28T22:36:00.002-06:00

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...

2009-12-23T23:08:00.005-06:00

{God with us}
MATTHEW 1:23

Merry Christmas from our family to your family!

Simple Christmas Salad but oh so yum!

2009-12-22T22:54:00.002-06:00

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

2009-12-18T05:12:00.004-06:00

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

2009-12-18T02:42:00.000-06:00

Miss Angie's diet

2009-12-08T22:56:00.009-06:00

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

2009-12-04T01:13:00.019-06:00

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

2009-12-03T19:12:00.006-06:00

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

2009-12-03T14:29:00.003-06:00

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..

2009-11-25T18:20:00.003-06:00

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.

2009-11-18T23:29:00.003-06:00

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

2009-11-18T23:00:00.002-06:00

For those that do not stand behind our Military,

2009-11-05T21:51:00.002-06:00

Feel free to stand in front of them.

Author unknown.

want to check out a new way of meal prep?

2009-11-02T23:19:00.004-06:00

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.

2009-10-31T21:51:00.000-05:00

Halloween that is.

2009-10-31T21:11:00.000-05:00

oh so frightful, (and delightful!!!)

2009-10-21T14:13:00.003-05:00

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

2009-10-19T23:11:00.005-05:00

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 :)

2009-10-09T02:22:00.002-05:00

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

Stolen babies

2009-10-04T23:06:00.011-05:00

"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..

2009-10-02T00:38:00.003-05:00

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

2009-09-26T20:18:00.009-05:00

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.

2009-09-23T03:01:00.004-05:00

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

very special deliveries!

2009-09-20T15:29:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-09-15T01:27:00.006-05:00

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

2009-09-02T19:13:00.004-05:00

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

2009-09-01T01:36:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-08-28T00:11:00.001-05:00

Won't you join me here?

a dirty joke

2009-08-20T00:24:00.006-05:00

..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 :)

2009-08-10T17:24:00.010-05:00

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

2009-08-09T19:34:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-03T23:06:00.003-05:00

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

2009-07-17T16:38:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-07-10T23:29:00.021-05:00

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!

2009-07-03T00:35:00.002-05:00

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

This family needs prayer tonight.

an hour of your time

2009-06-20T13:01:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-18T13:45:00.008-05:00

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

2009-06-17T22:14:00.005-05:00

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

2009-06-16T09:14:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-10T22:39:00.008-05:00

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

2009-06-10T01:13:00.009-05:00

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

2009-05-31T00:01:00.015-05:00

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

2009-05-23T03:17:00.015-05:00

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

2009-05-21T06:48:00.000-05:00

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...

2009-05-15T07:00:00.004-05:00

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

2009-05-15T01:42:00.003-05:00

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

2009-05-06T23:30:00.006-05:00

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

2009-05-04T21:19:00.003-05:00

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

2009-04-29T23:36:00.005-05:00

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...

2009-04-27T22:08:00.006-05:00

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

2009-04-22T15:39:00.005-05:00

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

2009-04-22T14:49:00.003-05:00

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?

2009-04-16T00:00:00.003-05:00

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

2009-04-15T22:02:00.003-05:00

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.