Happy Valentine's Day!!

We hope everyone is getting to spend time today with the ones they love. We had a nice little Valentine's Day. Earlier I took the girls to story hour at the library and they made a cute little dinosaur craft with heart scales. For lunch I attempted to make heart shaped pancakes with chocolate chips. They were good, but they looked more like big blobs instead of a heart. The girls enjoyed their Valentine surprises from their grandparents and relatives that they received in the mail. They also received a balloon and red rose from their dad. We progressed on in to the evening with a nice romantic dinner of leftovers and while Wes and the girls ate, I cleaned the bathroom. We also spent time in Wal-mart tonight as I had a few extra things that I needed to get for Jaidyn's Valentine's Day party at preschool tomorrow. We decided to spice up my mom and dad's Valentine's evening by dropping off the girls while we went to Wal-mart. Can anyone else beat our night of excitement?

Cinderella

Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth founded the Shaohannah's Hope foundation. This foundation helps many families experience the miracle of adoption by providing grants that help reduce the financial barriers that many families face when adopting. Steven Curtis Chapman is a Christian singer and songwriter. He is a father to 6 children, 3 of whom are little girls adopted from China. Nearly 15 years ago when I was in Jr. High I went with my FCA group to Springfield and had the opportunity to experience one of his concerts. In fact, it was the only concert that I attended until I met Wes.

He recently wrote a song about his little girls titled Cinderella for his new album, This Moment. I absolutely love it! It reminds me so much of Jaidyn and Addy. They pull out their princess dresses spinning and dancing to whatever song is currently playing on TV or their Leap Frog Kareoke toy while begging Wes and I to twirl around the room with them. Each and every day they become more beautiful (can they possibly become anymore beautiful than they already are) and more grown-up. They continue to constantly amaze me. As I watch them, I can't help but dread the thought that one night "the clock will strike midnight". This song is a reminder to me to cherish each and every moment with our children.



Listen to the song here.


Here are the lyrics to Cinderella from Chapman's CD, This Moment.

She spins and she sways to whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I’m sitting wearing the weight of the world on my shoulders
It’s been a long day and there’s still work to do
She’s pulling at me saying “Dad I need you!
There’s a ball at the castle and I’ve been invited and I need to practice my dancin’
“Oh please, Daddy, please!”

Chorus:
So I dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

Verse 2:
She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, “Dad the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancin’
“Oh please, Daddy, please!”

Chorus:
So I dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

Verse 3:
But she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowin’ and tellin’ us all they had planned
She says, “Dad the wedding’s still six months away but I need to practice my dancin’
“Oh please, Daddy, please!”

Chorus:
So I dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll, she’ll be gone

~ Photo Friday ~ Winter Snow

Since there won't be a lot to blog about on the adoption during our wait time for our referral, I have decided to do a "Photo Friday" on a couple of Fridays throughout each month. Enjoy!

Future Rock Stars!



We are definitely experiencing crazy Missouri weather. One day it snows and a couple of days later it is nearly 70 degrees. I personally am enjoying the warm days.


Jaidyn could hardly wait for her Daddy to get home from work so she could play in the snow!


Wheeeee! Addy loved sliding down her slide into a pile of snow.



Jaidyn is so proud of the row of snow angels she made.




Jaidyn begged her Daddy to make Frosty the Snowman for her. This is his attempt at a grand looking snowman. Needless to say Frosty didn't last very long. Poor Guy!

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.