*S*N*O*W* Much Fun!

After living his first 10 years on a continent that never gets snow and then moving to Texas, which almost never gets snow, a couple of weeks ago our little African boy got his wish... SNOW that he could play in! And since our other two have mainly traveled to the beach and to sub-saharan Africa, the record snowfall in our area was a first for all of them. We had two days of SNOW much fun!!

His "snow buddy," Haley. He would throw snowballs up in the air and she would catch and eat them. That totally cracked him up!

Our first class of the day was "Snowman 101." He thought it was so cool how you could roll a snowball and it would get bigger. It bothered him when there was a strip of grass showing after we rolled a snowball, so he would go get a shovel and fill it back in. (That was before it snowed the rest of the day and covered it back up. I hated to tell him that's always how Texas snow is...)

Our first snowman in the backyard. Another snowman and woman were forthcoming in the front yard later.

Catching snowflakes with your tongue. Everyone has to do this at least once! I just love how it looks on his hair, too. :)

Snow + Half-n-half+ sugar= snow ice cream. Yummy!

He wanted to make a snow angel but couldn't stand the snow falling in his face. You can click on the photo to make it bigger and see his face. So funny!

African Snow Angel

Snow ball fight... you wanna piece of this??

Bring it on!

Wait, not on the camera (wo)man!!

Daddy and daughter. Looks like Dad may be watching for oncoming snowballs. For good reason!

Ethiopian snowman with his Ethiopia hat and flag.

Time for a snow-woman. Since Valentine's Day was in a couple of days, we decided on a Valentine theme for her attire...

Candy hearts for eyes and mouth, blow pop for a nose. She was trying to catch the attention of the cute African snowguy next to her. :)

You might be from Texas if you're hauling snow on a boogie board!

A good hill at the park.

He spent most of his afternoon IN the snow. As in, laying in it. Loved it!

A great way to warm up after a cold afternoon. I kept the hot chocolate and fresh baked cookies coming, and ran the fleecy blankets in the dryer so they would be toasty warm when everyone came in to thaw out. It was a great day!

Fun memories!

Monday's Meanderings and Menu

It's the holiday season!! A wonderful season, to be sure, but such a busy one! I'm certainly not a social butterfly, or a person who's "in demand," but I've been receiving invitations regularly for various gatherings, putting them on our calendar and figuring out what I need to bring. This morning I received an invitation I simply cannot refuse. In fact, it's one I've received before and accepted, only to find it buried again under a pile... the invitation is found in 1 Peter 5:7. In this scripture I am invited to "cast all [my] anxieties on Him, for He cares for [me.]" Did you know you're invited, too? Here is it for YOU: "...cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares for you."

And, as with many invitations during this holiday season, there is something to bring to the occasion. It sounds so simple: bring your anxieties. But truly, it would be easier to prepare an appetizer for a party than to REALLY bring my anxieties to Him. When we bring food to a party, presumably all we bring home is an empty (or almost empty!) dish. How is it that when I "cast" (literally "throw") my anxieties onto Him, I either take them all back or go get new ones?? So it's an invitation, but I do need to bring something. It's an invitation I'd be crazy to refuse! And it's one I'm not letting get buried in the busy-ness this season. So, I accepted it this morning and brought to him my school anxiety, my oldest-son-with-a-broken-finger worries, my traveling-husband fears, my driving-teenager angst... all of it.

[You can scroll down for Menu Plan Monday... sorry for the marathon post!]

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Here's what we've been up to in recent days. I'm starting with my older two kids, as they get VERY little "press time" here on the blawg. That's as they want it, of course, being teenagers. I've often said I would've simply DIED if my mom would've had a blog when I was a teenager! So, I try to give them their space, and let them live "unpublished" and unblogged lives. But, sometimes I just can't help it. :)

Our sweet daughter Bethany was named "Player of the Week" on her varsity basketball team. The coach told her it was for her great defense, guarding their best player, and spurring this week's "come-from-behind" win. She has only recently gotten back into basketball, which was the sport she first fell in love with in elementary/middle school. By 6th grade or so, she had moved on to gymnastics, but that became too all-consuming. So, we're back in basketball and loving it! She is such an amazing young woman, and her new teammates are just as fantastic. They are precious young women of God from wonderful families, with hearts for the Lord and for the nations, and have welcomed her right in. We are so blessed!


My sweet oldest son was part of a production of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" this weekend. He's never been part of any theatrical production, so I was very proud that he decided to try this. He was Assistant Stage Mgr., part of the set crew, Prop Master, as well as on the grip crew. I love how he worked behind the scenes to help other people be seen and succeed, and to help serve others. I think that is very Christ-like of him!


And while Dad and Bethany were at a basketball game, here was my handsome "date" to the play performance this weekend. He came to me and asked if he could wear a "jacket" to the play. Well, since it was below freezing outside, I told him a jacket would be a great idea. Then he explained that he meant a "soup jacket." Which, of course, means "suit jacket." Absolutely! I love it when my young men dress like civilized young men, so I thought he looked very handsome when he came downstairs dressed in his button-down shirt and soup jacket. Very, very nice!

Another precious thing happened this weekend. Our church collects shoe boxes, similar to Samaritan's Purse, but specifically for Mexico. We have several members with private planes who volunteer their planes and fuel to pilot the boxes down to Mexico. It's a wonderful ministry, and each year our church sends around 3,000 boxes. Last weekend it was reported that they only had received 900 or so boxes. Well, this bothered Minte greatly. He came to me Saturday with a Wal Mart gift card he had received a couple of months ago for his birthday and insisted that he go put together a box for a boy. So, bright and early yesterday morning he and I headed out to Wal Mart and he filled up a box. I asked him if it would've made him happy to receive such a box when he lived in Ethiopia. His response was, "I did. From you."

Last year it was ALL so new to him, and he didn't even speak the language yet, so he is experiencing Christmas in yet another way this year. He has wanted to send shoe boxes and get an angel off of every tree (church, restaurants, etc.) I just love it! And yesterday , he insisted on using his own money. It's especially poignant to me, given his background. And seeing a little Ethiopian boy buying presents for a little Mexican boy this morning was just the thing I needed to warm my heart on a cold, drizzly morning. God is just so good.

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And finally, our menu. Why am including this? Who really cares? I realized this weekend it is such a gift. In this season of gift-giving, I'm scrambling to find the perfect gifts for those I love and came to the realization that menu-planning (and, really, all planning that I do for a smoothly-running household) is a gift to MYSELF. Of course, it spills right over onto my family, but it is such a gift to me! Just as with a gift, you choose what that person will like or need in a given moment in the future. Well, menu-planning goes ahead of you, visits say, next Tuesday, decides what will help you or bless you that day, purchases what will be needed, and... there it is. Tuesday (or whatever day you've planned for) you've received a gift! And in turn, your family has received a gift of a meal. We go to such lengths to give gifts to others this season, as we should, but shouldn't we put that kind of effort into our planning? It is a gift for you!

So, here's what's cooking in my kitchen this week. Keeping in mind there are 3 basketball games and a traveling husband, dinner is a priority!!


Monday: Crock Pot Pork Chops and Stuffing, green beans, carrots, yeast rolls
Tuesday: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos (one of my favorite things to have on hand for dinners and lunches... great nachos, too!) We will be eating these rolled up in tortillas en route or at a basketball game. :)
Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Minchet Abishe (beef), spicy peas and potatoes
Thursday: Black bean burritos (portable... going to a basketball tournament. May also stuff these with Mexican rice)
Friday: Turkey hot dogs (again... portable, see above. ;)

For more menus, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com.

I hope you have a blessed, wonderful week!

Our TV Debut!

Recently we got to do something so fun! We were able to be part of our ABC affiliate's morning television show, "Good Morning Texas." We have some sweet friends who own a WONDERFUL company called "Adoption Bug" that sells adoption-themed apparel. Our fun friend was invited to be on the show and she needed some models for her t-shirts. She asked if our family would be interested. Since God seems to have taken to having me live my life on just the other side of my comfort zone I said we'd love to! SO... without further ado...



Not that I want you to watch it again (please please no...) I must add a little commentary. I had NO IDEA the host was going to ask me to turn around. Really? Turn around? On TV? Turn around where my backside is? After I got a chance to watch the footage I saw that I did make sort of a "seriously-I'm-supposed-to-turn-around-I-wish-I-would've-spent-more-time-on-the-back-of-my-hair" face. Fortunately for the viewers what they needed to zoom in on was, um, north of the waistline. (Unlike the day before when some women had been modeling leggings. ::shudder::) See the thing is, I totally forgot there was a scripture on the back of the shirt. So for a milisecond I was completely at a loss as to why she would want me to turn around. And the host called me "mom" and I wasn't sure who's mom she was talking to. Plus the hair thing and the lingering thought that the camera adds 10 pounds. Anyway, there's our 23 seconds of fame! (And Tammi comped me this shirt for showing my backside on TV. Well, well worth it!!)

Oh, BY ALL MEANS do click on over to adoptionbug.com and order some shirts! They are precious!!

And if you haven't yet, I sincerely hope you catch the "adoption bug" in your family. You'll never be the same! Adoption ROCKS!

Monday? And May? Already?

Happy Monday! Another week is beginning, and it's hard to believe it's already MAY!! My goodness! April showers have continued on into May here. We have really needed the rain, but we have had some pretty heavy storms for the past few days. Thankfully, it held off just long enough for us to have Saturday's soccer games. Here is my cute hubby coaching our Eagles. It's blurry because I snapped it with my phone (Minte was already on the sideline having his water break.)

Luke's fun aunt and uncle were in town for a visit and came to watch the kids' games. It's fun this year because the cousins are all playing. Trapper and Minte are on Luke's team together, and Gracie plays on another team, so it's fun to all see each other at the soccer fields on Saturdays! Luke's aunt told me she reads the blog (which I didn't know!) so I wanted to be sure and post this fun picture of them with all the kids. :::waving::: Hi Aunt Annie! It was so good to see y'all this weekend!



Well I don't know about you but for me it is HARD to "get it together" right now! I think "spring has sprung" for me. I am r-e-a-d-y for s-u-m-m-e-r. Big time. Thankfully my laundry and menu planning schedules have kept me on track. You see, I don't have schedules because I am together, but because I'm NOT! It's really helping this week, too, as I'm going to be gone Friday and Saturday. So, this week I simply bumped the laundry schedule up a day so all the laundry will be done before Friday, and switched my usual Thursday leftover night with my usual Friday soup night. This is very, very helpful for me.

Speaking of helpful... I was SO happy last night when I was looking over this week's menu because of something I try to do each week that's a real time-saver for me: When buying the week's worth of groceries, I buy what I'll need for the following Monday as well. That's where menu planning comes in handy... the fact that I even know what we're having the following Monday! We had such a busy weekend I didn't get to the store (which is often the case). So it feels great on this slow-going, cloudy, sleepy Monday morning to know that I already have today's ingredient's ready for tonight's dinner. I've got time later today day to snag the rest of our groceries for the week, but tonight's taken care of.

This week for Menu Plan Monday, Laura asked us to share how we choose recipes. I like to try lots of new ones that I find on the internet as well as using my Allrecipes.com "Dinner Spinner" app on my phone. There are SO many great recipes out there, though... how to choose? Some of my reasons are similar to hers, but here are my "top 5" criteria:

• 45 minutes or less of prep/ cooking time, or a slow-cooker recipe. I either want to put it in the Crock Pot by mid/late morning and be done with it, or only need 45 minutes late in the afternoon/evening.
  
• Ingredients that are healthy or can be made lower fat by simply choosing lower fat/ reduced sodium soups, etc.
• The main ingredients are something I know everyone in our family likes. There may be a few new spices or a new way of preparing it, but the majority is made up of something most everyone is familiar with.
• The fewer ingredients the better. I don't look for "5 ingredient only" recipes exclusively, but when I see a mile-long list of what's needed, I keep on clickin'.
• Something economical, or that can be substituted with things I can buy more cheaply. Some recipes I choose call for expensive cuts of meat or really expensive fish. I will substitute something that fits our budget better. Usually that works out great. In fact, I'm not sure that's ever been a problem.

That's about it for my criteria. I don't usually do a whole week of "new"... I may try a couple of new things, but I make sure that at least 2 or 3 nights we have something familiar. Often by the time I make it to the kitchen to make dinner I need to be able to function on "auto pilot" (or "auto chef") so I don't want to have to think very much, LOL.

So, here's what's cooking at our house this week:

Monday: Chicken Tamale Casserole, black beans, salad
Tuesday: Hawaiian Meatballs (my kids LOVE this), rice, stir-fry veggies
Wednesday: Ye tekekle Encoulat be Misr (Ethiopian "Breakfast for Dinner"- Boiled Egg with Lentil Sauce), from "The Recipe of Love" now available here, injera from a nearby ET market
Thursday: Tomato Basil Soup (recipe here, scroll down to page 4), salad, garlic bread
Friday: YO-YO (You're on you're own)- Mom's at a homeschool convention. :)

To read -or share- more recipes, planning strategies, and ways to choose recipes, visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie! Have a wonderful first-week-of-May!

"The Best Year Ever"

Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?' then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land'; "for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever."
Joshua 4:21-24

After my last post, I just had to post this picture. Isn't this awesome?? We returned Sunday from a few days in our "little house in the big woods." We've been going there for about 6 years, sometimes twice a year. It was a wonderful time! There were about 10 families there this year, and everyone had a great time of fellowship. One afternoon, most of the younger kids (and one energetic dad!) spent the better part of an afternoon constructing this in the creek, just up from where the photo in my last post was taken. I just love it! They even used some vines to tie together the beams of the cross. And the pile of stones... I posted about the Ebenezer stone in my last post, this one makes me think of Joshua stones. In Joshua 4 I love how they took stones from the middle of the Jordan (while it was parted) and set up stones on the other side to remind them that God had parted those waters and made a way for them. What a wonderful reminder!

Which makes this photo all the more meaningful for me:God truly did part the way and make a way for Minte to be with us. Thus far the Lord has brought us, and He will continue to lead. This picture brings such amazing thoughts to my mind. God is so good.

Here are a few other pictures from our time away last week...

My sweet little Zacchaeus, the "wee little dog." He totally doesn't get the "outside dog" concept at all. But, he is a trooper.

I love this picture! Minte was truly a "blur" most of the week, speeding by on his bike and running around with his friends. It was fun to watch (and try to capture with a camera!)

A man and his dog.

Wendem. ("brothers")

Lots of fun with friends, here playing Uno, Minte's "numero uno" favorite American game so far.

Bethany with her adorable friends. These girls warm my heart and give me hope for the next generation!

Snuggling by the campfire with my cute husband on a chilly spring morning. It just doesn't get any better than this!

On the last day, Kyle said, "This was the best year ever, because we were ALL here."

Amen to that.

Wendem

(brothers)

A December to Remember

Monday Musings, "Minte's-Eye-View" and Menu

Well, it's the start of another week. It's hard to believe it's Monday again!

Last week my daughter and I began the week with a lovely stomach virus. I spent the whole week feeling "meh" so I didn't get time to blog and I spent most of the week feeling like I wasn't getting much done. I think I felt that way primarily because, well, I didn't get much done. But, we're both much better now and hoping for a great week ahead.

Over the course of last week, while I physically had to have more "down time," I spent some time praying for some dear friends and family. One night, in the space of an hour, we received two pieces of news. The first was from our friends in China who had lost their beloved dog. We love that dog, too! And I knew how important that sweet dog was to them, while living a world away from friends and family. So, I prayed. A few moments later, a family member called to let me know that they were experiencing a miscarriage. We have been so excited about this precious baby and so prayerful for this pregnancy, and this was devastating news. So, I prayed. Also in recent days, our refrigerator stopped working. So, I prayed. Praying about all of those things felt odd at first. Is it okay to pray for a lost dog, the loss of a child, and a misplaced refrigerator warranty all at the same time? I was reminded of something I read recently in Grace-Based Parenting:

"The Bible says, "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). It's amazing how inclusive the word all is. It doesn't say that we are to cast only our legitimate cares on Him."

His point in the chapter was that we need to treat our kids the way God treats us in this way. If it matters to them, it needs to matter to us. All of these things I was bringing to Him matter to me, His child, and to my friends and family who are his beloved children as well. Therefore, it mattered to Him. ALL of it. As I prayed over the course of the week, I was struck again by how He is concerned with what concerns me. The dog was returned. My family member is healing physically and is at peace spiritually. We are using our "old faithful" fridge in the garage while we locate our warranty for this one. No matter what happens, I can take it all to Him. I even found myself last week thanking Him for anxiety over certain issues, because it prompts me to pray for them. If I were completely calm or unmoved by circumstances, I wouldn't necessarily think to take it before the throne of grace and get a front row seat to watch Him work. It's all such a gift! Anyway, these are a few of my "musings" from recent days.

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Yesterday we went with our fun in-laws and cousins to the Happiest Place On Earth (Bass Pro Shop, of course) and talked to Santa. Minte is used to calling him "Father Christmas," and according to him, in Ethiopia Father Christmas brings candy and tells everyone about Jesus. Isn't that cool? He's getting used to the fact that in America Father Christmas is Santa Claus (or "Santa Clock" as Minte says it) and brings you toys. He's liking that idea, in fact. So, yesterday he decided to ask Santa Clock for an RC monster truck. We had a great time with family, doing the activities at Bass Pro, then going out for pizza and then to see a wonderful light display at a house nearby where the homeowners have coordinated their lights to music, dress as Santa and Mrs. Claus and give out candy. So far Minte is really enjoying the Christmas season!



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I have some other fun pictures of what we've been up to lately, but I want to save them for a separate post. So, today I decided to post some of what was on Minte's memory card in his camera. One fun thing we did when he came home was give him one of our unused digital cameras and let him take photos of his life. He snaps photos every day! You never know when the flash of a camera will greet you around here. As a result, it's been fun to see what he decides to capture on film! This morning I dumped his memory card into my computer and decided to share a bit of Minte's life through his eyes...


Uno. A favorite game of his. LOVES this game. We play it just about every day, multiple times per day. This is the one where it shoots out lots of cards at you. When he doesn't want it to shoot cards at him, he acts like he is zipping it shut ("zeepehr") and locking it with a key ("kulfoche")... then shuts his eyes and gingerly pushes the button. When the cards spew out he screams, "Ahhhh nahhh!" Very fun!

Mom and Kyle working on some schoolwork in the kitchen.

One of his favorite shows, "Zack and Cody." There were a bazillion photographs of the TV screen on his memory card! We DVR the shows, and when he wants to watch the older shows he calls it "Zack and Cody House ("how-oose") and the new ones ("Suite Life on Deck") he calls "Zack and Cody Boat." Through such educational programming he has learned such phrases as, "Awesome!" "Ahh, man!" "Dude, check this out!" and "Absolutely not." He also will now laugh his head off hysterically and then get really straight-faced and say, "No funny."

This would be a hawk in our back yard, eating something. That was fascinating for both boys for most of a morning. It was a pretty big hawk, and we figured out it was eating a bird. I was hoping it wasn't a rabbit or a squirrel, and that it would take the remains of the carcass with it when it was finished. Which it did, thankfully. That was icky-virus week and I wasn't in a place to make it into a science lesson.





There is a whole series of these pictures of all different expressions. The funniest thing to me about them is that it looks like a "mini-Kyle" is sitting on his head. Kyle was on a bar stool behind him videoing him taking all of these pictures of himself and hamming it up.

He beeg-loves anything to do with the dogs, and he takes many pictures of them. The dogs feel famous now.
When I got to this one, I think I literally spewed coffee out of my nose. Yes, those would be Minte's sunglasses on Haley's backside. He thinks her tail looks like a long elephant nose.

Well, there you have it... a little bit of our life through Minte's eyes! There will be more to come, I'm sure!

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And now our menu for the week...

Monday: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos, black beans, corn
Tuesday: Four Bean Medley (Fix-it-and Forget It cookbook), cornbread, salad
Wednesday: Halibut with Corn Gravy and Chive Mashed Potatoes
Thursday: YOYO (You're on your own/ leftovers)
Friday: Turkey Monte Cristos, homemade tomato soup

For more menus, or to share yours, visit Laura at Org Junkie.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and have a blessed, blessed week.