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Recipes With Tomatoes Needed
It’s started… The great tomato abundance of 2020. At least something good will come out of the crazy that is this year! So far and besides eating them I have started with canning crushed tomatoes I’m not sure if I have the brain power yet to branch out into a sauce or salsa. Salsa is …
Love The Skin You’re In
This is a picture of my son tanning himself in our backyard. To you it’s only another teenager trying to get a nice summer glow. To me, it’s an acceptance of a skin color…his own. He was raised thinking that the skin he wore was wrong. As if you can change it. Make it different …
THE TOMATOES ARE COMING!!!
I know I totally skipped talking about the gardens in July but there are a couple things I have learned. First, as much as I want to be a community builder, the dirt in my back yard is WAY better than the community garden. I still recommend doing it if your city has community gardens! …
The Time I Bought 100+ Tomato Plants
Welcome to the summer of the Clinton Gardens! Clint was an uncle that I will always remember growing tomatoes every summer. Not because he loved them but that’s what you do in Iowa…tomatoes, peppers and zucchini. He would call me crazy if he knew what I was trying to pull off this year! He never …
I Don’t Always Like You
I do not always like you. I will always love you but there are times that I just plain do.not.like.you. I know there are times when you don’t like me either. That’s fine. That’s fair. Neither one of us knew how this was going to play out when it started. Reading books, going to conferences, …
We are not the bad guys!
As an adoptive mom, I am sickened by a rumor going around that one person in an office somewhere is attempting to stop international adoption. The rumor is in fact true and this person is succeeding. In four years, it will be an unavailable option in the US and no, that’s not an exaggeration. At …
Strawberries and Biker Gangs
20lbs of strawberries 16 cheeseburgers 20 hotdogs SO many bags of chips!! This was a recent meal at my house. We had three bio’s, adopted three more but there is ALWAYS more at my house than the six that live here. I LOVE THAT!!! When I was growing up, our house was always open to …
Remebering The Why
Day by day, step by step. That’s what our adoption journey is. Some families have an easier time adapting. Some have a harder. Our journey is our own and it is getting easier. Today, I remembered the “why”. Because they didn’t ask to be orphans. Because they deserve a family…a home. A Christmas tree with …
Don’t Stop Breathing
In the time we’ve been home, I have questioned everything I thought I knew. My faith has been shaken to its core. Stripped to the very raw truth that I am not in control. I have one job…to believe. To believe what He says He will do, who He is, & how He loves. The …
8 months, 1 day, 4 hours…
That’s how long we have been looking. Looking for the “new normal”. It comes with new memories, old memories in young minds, sleep walking, small victories and tested boundaries. A year ago we met. Eight months ago, we took them from their home and country, loaded them on a 12 hour plane ride, spoke through …
Dishes and Dead Batteries
When the battery in the van died, I thought, great! How are we going to pay for that?! We still need to buy coats and gloves! When the dishwasher stopped draining the water, I thought, great! Now I get to do all of the dishes for eight people! When the child got sick, I thought, …
ApplesnAprons on Etsy
Trying something new in my ETSY store! Making jewelry with a natural, down-to-Earth feel! Tell me what you think!
This was NOT in the brochure!
When we started down this road of adoption, I spoke to the representatives of about eight different adoption agencies. All of them told me that there would be someone to hold my hand through the mountain of paperwork. None of them told me what to do when I secretly wanted to leave my new children …
Month Three
Last week marked the three months we have been home with our new kiddos. We are doing better. We see improvements in everybody every day but it’s not where we want it to be or moving as fast. We are still trying to balance all six kids’ needs whether it’s emotional or physical. We still …
Two Months Home
Today is two months. Two months does not seem like much but yikes… it sure can be when you are waiting for the next step. I wonder if that will ever go away… the waiting. First we’re waiting for paperwork to get approved. Then money to come in. Governments to move what seemed like mountains. …
Two Weeks Home
I don’t know why I find comfort in the sound of the air conditioner. It breaks up the silence of the house in the morning that I’m afraid of. I lay in my bed not wanting to move in case it wakes the sleeping. Not wanting to get up and do another day of this. …
Homeschooling #101/2
Wow…didn’t take long to derail my “every day” plan! Well…Onward & upward!! When you decide to teach your children, it’s important to look ONLY at your own style. NOT at the style of the teachers they may have in public school. I have always loved teaching in some capacity. I did not go to college …
Homeschool 101 & 1/2
So, after taking a bit of a hiatus from my little blog, I now have a goal of posting at least something every day in April. Yes I’m aware that I missed yesterday but we aren’t counting that…it was April Fools. We are getting close to bringing our kids home & I want to have …
Adoption and Homeschool
I enjoy following adoption journeys through all of the painful, brokenness, as well as the victories and successes. I think that future adopters need to have a clear view of the process if they go down the same road. I appreciate those who have said “HEY, this is hard! But it is completely worth it!” …
Thorny Sides
I’m not normally one to get behind an actor with a cause unless I’ve done some homework on the issue. There also needs to be some sort of credibility to the person, regardless of their status. That stuff just doesn’t impress me. I can get behind someone who get’s their hands dirty though. I have …
From Clenched Fists to Praise
Last week sucked. I was told that my Dad has prostate cancer. He is a survivor of bladder cancer so they still check the “area” every few months. Did you know that the prostate is only the size of a walnut? I did NOT know that. So the plan is to remove the “walnut”, since he won’t be starting …
Promise the “Try”
(From Jan. 23rd) I met my children for the very first time today. I have seen their pictures, watched the videos, but today, I met them. It is surreal to say the least. I am now a mama torn between her children on two continents. Our bio-kids are in excellent hands but they are not …
Brain Waves…Goodbye
Getting closer to our departure just adds more to my brain. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited and really pretty calm. It’s the “grey matter” in my head that seems to nap during the day but then talks incessantly at night! She’s overworked. My brain is not good at lullaby stories. In fact it can be a frightening little …
Christmas at the last minute
I entered this Christmas season with reserved hope that we would hear something before the Bulgarian government closed for the holidays. We had heard from other families that Bulgaria would cease to be active between the 15th & 19th of December. Daily we waited. Nothing came. So, when we hit the 15th, then the 16th…I …
Mama’s Arms
Currently, we know of two families who are at the end of their journey. They are hours from bringing their children home to begin a new chapter in their lives. We are so excited for both of these families, one of whom happens to be our Pastor & his wife. It is the family’s third …
I Has Hope
This journey called “adoption” is turning out to be the hardest I have ever been on. More courage has been required of me than anything else I have prayed for. I truly believe that parenting these small people will be easier than the process to get them. This morning my husband & I made the …
Hard Faith = Trust
I am learning through the process of this adoption that what I think may be helping, is only filling time. What I should be doing I am not & although God is holding me through all of it, I am not listening to Him. I am a do-er. That’s how I was made. I want to …
I’m a Unicorn!
Have you ever taken a personality test? I strongly recommend it if you have not. The Myers Briggs at humanmetrics.com is a great one to take & it is pretty detailed. I haven’t taken one for a few years but I just took this one again & YEP! Still an ENFP! WOOHOO! I then went to Pinterest …
Got your coffee?
Got your coffee?:) Great! I love to drink coffee but I don’t like to taste it. It is warm & comforting but must be covered in sugar & milk. This is something I would like to try to change but not this day! In my defense, it is almond milk. To my harm, it’s also got Agave …