When will we receive our referral?

When will we receive our referral? I thought it might be fun to post a poll so that all of our family, friends, and blogroll reader friends could take a guess on the time frame for our referral. It is posted on the left side of our blog. Be sure to vote! There isn't a prize, just bragging rights to those who guessed correctly.

Reminder: We were officially placed on the waiting list as of December 20th, 2007.

Chicken Adobo....A Success

Tonight I made Chicken Adobo with Jasmine Rice for dinner. I was actually pretty sceptical as my kitchen smelled of strong garlic and soy sauce all afternoon while the chicken marinated. However, it turned out to be really good, much better than I anticipated. Jaidyn ate a good portion that was on her plate. Addy wouldn't touch it. I tried putting a bite in her mouth, but it was spit back on her plate immediately. I expected that as she doesn't like to eat anything that doesn't look like a vanilla wafer or fruit snacks. Wes and I really liked it and I would fix it again. I did vary the original recipe a little as I read that someone added brown sugar. I think the brown sugar made the sauce a little bit sweeter.

Wes was home for lunch and cut the chicken into pieces so I could put it in the marinade.

I am not sure what I think about the strong Garlic and Soy Sauce smell, so I am adding some brown sugar.

Wes's Plate

Jaidyn and Addy are eating their yogurt, but they haven't touched the Chicken Adobo yet.

I was worried that the Chicken Adobo was going to be a complete failure and that I would spend the rest of the evening looking online to see if they had McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Burger King in the Philippines. I think I might be able to survive for a week on Chicken Adobo and I might even start looking for another Asian recipe to fix in the upcoming months.

Chicken Adobo

Over the last month I have been researching Filipino foods and recipes. Even though I am not the best cook in the world and really don't enjoy cooking, I thought it might be fun to try a few of them out and attempt to bring the Philippines to my kitchen. I have decided that I am going to try Chicken Adobo. Adobo is the famous dish that is almost synonymous with being Filipino. The Philippine Adoption Yahoo group that I regularly read posts on, suggested this dish. Those who have traveled to the Philippines reported that this was one of their families favorites.

CHICKEN ADOBO
1/2 c. Vinegar
1/2 c. Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
4 Cloves Garlic Minced
1 Whole chicken (I am going to use 4 Chicken Breasts)

* Clean chicken and cut into pieces. Marinate in above ingredients
for one hour.
* Put chicken and sauce in saucepan and cook until tender. (about 40 min)
* Serve with Jasmine Rice

I am planning on trying this out sometime next week. Does anyone want to join us for dinner? Don't worry we have several pizza places in town if we need a back-up. :)

Here are some photos of Chicken Adobo (not mine). I will be sure to post the results of mine next week.

Happy Belated New Year!

Ok, so this is a little late...Happy New Year! I'm a little late with the good wishes but I hope everyone rang in '08 with a bang! I can't believe it is already January 9th. I thought things would slow down after Christmas, but I can already see that 2008 is going to be a busy year.

Wes and I are starting ballroom dance lessons this month. Wes has polished his slick soled shoes and is ready to go. My mom and dad are taking the lessons with us. I can't believe my mom actually talked my dad into this. Dad, it is about time you learn to do something more than bang around that tambourine when you are on the dance floor.

Wes has many career related goals he hopes to accomplish this year. He has signed up for an Executive Protection training course and also wants to go to the Police and Firearms instruction schools, so he can be qualified to teach. He also is looking into doing an internship with Governor Security sometime this year.

I have started playing on a co-ed volleyball team on Tuesday nights. This will last until early spring. I am so excited to start playing again as this is my only source of exercise each week. (Sad, but true)

Jaidyn is starting gymnastics lessons. She loves prancing around in her leotards. She will add gymnastics to all of her other activities that she looks forward to each week, Library Story Hour, Preschool, and Sunday School. Jaidyn has become a little adult and is the best big sister to Addy.

Addy is continuing to develop a STRONG personality. Today, Kelly, our Parents as Teachers representative came out to the house. She had some handouts on social-emotional development for a 14-24 month old. According the handout, Look for your child to...Want to do things her own way and say "no" alot, get mad and have temper tantrums, think about her own feelings and get mad when things don't go her way, not share toys with other children, likes to give hugs and kisses, know that family and friends are special people. I am so glad to know that socially and emotionally she is right on track. One of her favorite TV shows is Blue's Clues. I love to watch her sit in her little learning chair with her notebook and crayon just scribbling away. We have set the little potty out in the bathroom and are working toward potty training. She doesn't have any desire to use it yet, but does enjoy flushing the big potty. Addy will also start Preschool in the fall of this year. With both girls in Preschool in the upcoming school year, I will be taking trips to Lebanon 3 times a week.

2008 has arrived! Only God and time will tell if 2008 is the year for a Filipino child to enter our family. More than likely not, but it doesn't hurt to be optimistic about it. Maybe we will be blessed to have received a referral before 2009 rolls around. However, we are very excited about welcoming two new (nieces, nephews ???) in the upcoming year. Jaidyn couldn't be more excited about the babies in her Aunt DeDe and Aunt Haley's bellies.