Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Don't Forget to Smile Back

Recently, our family attended a gathering of So Cal families that have all either adopted from Ethiopia already, or are in the process of doing so. We have been meeting with this group for about a year now. It has grown a lot, and it is always fun to hang out with families that look like ours. In fact, this coming Saturday, we will be hosting a pool party and potluck for the group. At last count, we are expecting over 40 people. It should be a good time.

Now, I'll fully illustrate my ability to take a major segue...

While we were at the potluck earlier this month, I noticed a family was feeding their little one from a bag that looked like this....



Since Grace has a rather limited repertoire when it comes to food, and considers Goldfish to be a major food group, this piqued my interest. Who knew that this staple of most American toddler's diets could be found in a whole grain variety?! Now, I compared the nutrition labels on the good old fashioned Goldfish and this new variety. There aren't any huge differences. The 1st ingredient on the whole grain package was, of course, whole grain wheat flour. There was a little more fiber, and slightly fewer carbs in the whole grain snacks, and there was also a bit more iron. Other than that, the contents were the same.


Some might say, "If the two products are so similar, why bother switching? Even more important, why bother blogging about it?"

Well, here's the thing. My daughter is coming up on two years old. She has two teeth all the way in, one that just popped through the gums, and one that is on the verge. So far, there is no sign of anymore that plan to make their presence known in the immediate future. With this in mind, there are many foods that are hard for her to eat. This challenge is only added to by the fact that she HATES to be fed with a white, hot passion!!! You see, there are days that Grace feels adventurous, and finds that her parents are patient enough to cut everything into itty bitty, teeny tiny, minuscule bites. Then there are the other days. What's a parent to do? That's where Goldfish come in. She adores them. If my baby must have a vice, the least I can do is make sure it is as healthy as possible, right?

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Just Announced by Justin...

"Hey, Mom! Today's the day I do something weird."

Hmmm....I wonder what he has in mind?

Saturday, May 26, 2007

For Perri

Here is an "after" picture of the V-8 catastrophe.....


Please pardon the crumbs all over the floor in the photo. Apparently, the rule at our house about not eating in the family room was not followed this morning. Note to self...Remind the children about that rule...Back to the business at hand...There is still the slightest hint of orange on the carpet, but I think that will go away with one more pass of the carpet cleaner.

I highly recommend
this carpet cleaner! It has taken on all of Grace's puke messes. It has cleaned paint, mud, pee, and now v-8, out of our carpets. It's great for spot cleaning on the furniture. Most importantly, my Mom's Little Green Machine cleaned up the mess from when my 12 year old son puked all over the motorhome (twice!!) last summer, and we still had an 18 hour drive home. I am VERY scent-sitive, and I can assure you, there was NO smell left behind.

I just looked, and found out that Wal-mart has the
exact same machine we have for $87.43. I say, go get yourself a carpet cleaner! Oh, and Happy Anniversary!!! 8^)

Friday, May 25, 2007

I Try, but....

I must admit that this.....


.....did not elicit my most "Christian" response ever.

A big THANK YOU to my Mom, for
this!!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Am I OK???

Simply.....I'm trying.

Life has been tough for quite some time now. First, there was the news that my Mom had breast cancer. Then, Bob's journey through brain cancer began. It was very hard not to let these two things intertwine in my head. My heart breaks for Bob and his family, but the same fate is not expected for my Mom. Praise God!.....I guess? I joyfully claim the miracle that our Lord did in my Mom's life, but I am beyond perplexed when I consider that Bob's children will have to finish growing up without a Dad.

Shortly after my Mom's diagnosis, my Mom's oncologist recommended that my siblings and I be tested for the breast cancer genes (BRCA 1 & 2). I immediately called up my doctor. She agreed that it was a good plan, and got right to the business of figuring out how to word the referral to convince the Medical Group to cover the test (at a cost of about $3500). In the mean time, she gave me a referral to get a mammogram. This would be my first, and baseline mammogram, as I am only 31 years old. Typically, women are not encouraged to start getting mammograms until they are 40 years old.

On May 4, I went for my mammogram. In spite of some of the horror stories I've heard, it really wasn't a big deal. A quick apology to my male readers....I know that all of us women have more "sensitive" times of the month, but the mammogram just wasn't that big of a deal. Ladies, I have some good sized boobs too!!! I get the whole "vice" reference, but the level of discomfort was not worth skipping the potential lifesaving value of the test. Go get your mammograms!!!!!!!!!!

Now for the icky part. Last week, I got a call from my doctor's office. It seems that my mammogram showed some abnormalities in a lymph node in my right breast. Now, I know that it is probably nothing. I had a clogged milk duct that was needle biopsied and aspirated shortly after kid #2 quit nursing. I also had a fibrous cyst that required ultrasound before child #3 was conceived. It turned out to be nothing. However, my Mom had all these things too at points in her life, and still ended up with breast cancer. I'm not saying that my faith has become weak, but I am human none the less. I go in for a "spot compression" on Friday. They will be taking more x-rays and an ultrasound. I would so appreciate your prayers. This is scary stuff!!!

Thursday, May 10, 2007

An Evening at the Park

7 Random Things About Me

My friend "C", over at Adopting Isaac, tagged me for a this meme. In light of the fact that she has been waiting for a referral for her son in Ethiopia for over 10 months, and Mother's Day is right around the corner, I just couldn't turn her down. So here we go....

1. When I was in high school, I said I wasn't going to have ANY children. I have 5 now!!

2. Will and I knew we were going to get married within 2 weeks of our first date (and No, we didn't just figure that out later. We actually talked about it at the time.)

3. I had my 1st mammogram last Friday; at 31 years old. I also have to be tested for the breast cancer genes (BRCA 1 & BRCA 2) because my Mom's tumor was positive for them.

4. My least favorite chore in the world is washing dishes.

5. I have 6 vertabae in my coccyx (tailbone). Most people have 3-5.

6. The "c" key on my laptop does not work (Grace broke it off). That means I have to copy and paste a "c" every time I want to type one.

7. I went to 14 different schools, in 3 states, between Preschool and High School Graduation. We were not a military family.

If you want to play along, consider yourself TAGGED. 8^)

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

No!!

After all they have been through to see their Ethiopian adoption to fruition, now Heather and Avery's son, Lucas, has had a terrible accident. Please pray.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Making Friends at the Park


Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable.

~ Anonymous


Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Free Mammograms

Please tell ten friends to tell ten today!

The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on this button...



This doesn't cost you a thing PEOPLE!!! Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammograms in exchange for advertising.

The button is also on my sidebar. Feel free to swipe it, and pass it along to people you know. At the very least, click on it when you come by to visit me.

Thanks 8^)

Just About Right

In honor of our status as the state with the highest gas prices.....