The Outtakes

We took the boys (plus my nephew) up to my Aunt Sue's house the week before Christmas for a little photo shoot.  We wanted some pictures of them, so we armed ourselves with bribes prepared everyone and headed out in hopes of some smiles.

Some background info on the location...Aunt Sue and Uncle Dan (really my great aunt and uncle) live in the house that was Grandaddy Hill's where Uncle Dan and my Pop grew up.  Next door is the garage apartment where most of the Hill family has lived at one point or another.  And I'm not kidding...it's like some sort of launching point...almost the whole family has been a resident of the beloved garage apartment at some point or another.  And it's a whopping 600 square feet.  And up until just a few years ago, you actually still had to go outside and downstairs to get to the bathroom.  Yeah.

As for me, I was born and lived there until I was about 3.  And Kenny and I lived there in between the time when we got married and then moved to Kentucky. 

There's also a little red barn behind the house.  And who can resist a little red barn action in your pictures??

So, the outtakes...despite our pockets full of quarters and fun bag of Dollar Store goodies, we still got a little fight out of them before we got good pictures.  Makes for a good blog though, right?

Real pictures tomorrow.  Promise!

This is his casual stance...

This is his "wonder what that barn tastes like" look...

Dazed and snapping.  Notice the fingers.  He just learned to snap.  He snaps so much that he has literally rubbed the skin off his fingers.

What he did when I asked him to be serious...

Tristan was pretty much done at this point.

He was all the way done here.

If you ask Charlie to smile and don't specify that you want a nice smile, you get the Grinch.

I promise Sam isn't throwing up.

We paid them.  Can you tell they were excited?

It took about 2.3 seconds for them to take off when I said we were done.

A little late...

We've been here, we've been there...I'm fairly certain we've been everywhere.  Except home.

So, here's your Merry Christmas and Happy New Year wishes all wrapped up in one...

And a little preview to a Christmas-time photo shoot...outtakes and the good shots to come shortly...

"Where is my baby sister?!?"

We've been talking lots about our new baby sister, mostly in an effort to get the boys totally used to the idea, before there is another little person wandering around here snatching their toys and adding to the noise level.

I was fairly certain we had made it clear that this process would take a while. 

But I guess Sam missed that memo.

While getting in the car the other day after school, he opened the door, threw out his little hands and exclaimed with a tone of complete disbelief..."Mommy!  Where is my baby sister??"

"Ummm, not here..."  I'm a bit confused.  Does he think I went to Korea while he was at school?

"Well, where did you put her??"

"She's in South Korea, I guess, buddy."

"Why did you put here there??!!"

"Well, it's kinda like you guys...y'all used to live in Ethiopia, but now you live in Kentucky."  Obviously struggling to explain adoption on a 4-year-old level...

"But Mommy, why did you put me in Ethiopia??  I need to live with you!"

OK, so I agree with that.  I need him to live with me, too.  At least until he is 35.

He continued to tell me he really thought his baby sister was gonna be in the car when he got done with preschool for the day.  In a really pitiful-why-would-you-do-this-to-me kinda voice.  Sad.

One day soon, buddy. 

One day soon.

"Everybody went KUNG FU FIGHTING..."

I'm not gonna lie and say I don't totally act like a raging fool sometimes. Ok, ok...most of the time.  But why in the world would you not want to live life laughing and just having a good time...


(video shot and edited by Dwayne!)

Yes, we were playing video games in our pastor's basement with the kids. And yes, I smacked one of my preschoolers in the head. I apologized. No toddlers were harmed in the making of this video.

Sam's Ribbons

"Mommy!  Look at my big ribbons!!"

That's his ribs, in case you don't follow Sam-speak. 

Funniest.  Kid.  Ever.

Well-behaved children and a birthday.

We took these four out to a restaurant last night to celebrate a very special birthday.  A restaurant without french fries and a slide.  Like a sit-down-have-manners-be-quiet-and-wait-for-everyone-else-to-get-done-restaurant.  Dumb, huh?

And our waitress left us this note..."Your family is beautiful!!  Cherish them always!"

Yeah, Emily Post would have been impressed at their show of etiquette and poise.  Ok, so maybe that's stretching it, but they did do a good job.  If you look past Sam attacking his spaghetti and meatballs like he hadn't eaten in weeks.  And no, they don't all belong to me, but I wasn't going to get into that conversation with a stranger..."Yeah, the ones that actually kinda look like me, aren't mine.  These two over here that bear no resemblance to me...they are mine.  Understand?"

Now, back to that very special birthday.

Katie would have been 24 yesterday. 

Some days I can do nothing more than think about you. What you might be doing now...new job? Done with grad school? Engaged? Even married?? Other days, it's almost as if I forget that you aren't here any more. Like my mind has blocked the memory of that horrible week.  Even going as far as picking up my phone to call or text you.  Like I did earlier this week when we had our first snow flakes, which you were always way too excited about.

Just so you know, your nephews talk of you often.  Even think we need to name our new baby sister Katie.  That was Charlie's idea.  He said because I had a sister named Katie, he thinks he should too.

Exploring the McWane Center @ November 2009

You are perfect.  You are whole.  You are healthy.  You can walk.  Heck, you are probably dancing!  Why in the world would you want to come back to this sinful, filthy world when you are dwelling in the house of the Lord??

Can I be happy about that?  Well, it totally sucks.  But I'm doing my best to accept God's plan for your short life as His totally, perfect will.  So while I'm not going to feign happiness, I will be joyful.  For you.

I hope you had a great day, walking those streets of gold and hanging with the big Man.  We celebrated for you yesterday, but I would have way rather celebrated with you...

Happy Birthday, Katie Elizabeth!

Yeah. I'm thankful.

Head on over to The Family Math today where I did a guest post for Misty's Thankful Series.  Misty, Kenny and I attended the great University of Alabama (Roll Tide.) together and I believe actually met when we all ended up at the same church during those years.  Her and her husband now have the cutest little monkey, who in my opinion, is quite the mini-me of his daddy.  Be sure to show the love and leave her a comment...

My very own shephard boy

Sam presented himself in the kitchen one day last week dressed like this.  That’s his pajamas, obviously half on, half off, which he does on a fairly regular basis when he's actually supposed to be getting dressed.  Especially on mornings when we are running late.

This particular morning happened to be one of our days at home, so I didn’t mind as much when he skipped in and boldly declared that he was a shepherd.

We can’t remember Baby Jesus’ mommy and daddy’s name, but we’ve got the whole shepherd thing down pat. 

Now where did those sheep go??

REWIND: Bucket List

In the rush that was the week of Thanksgiving, I skipped over the event that may have made Kenny the happiest this year.  Or second happiest.  The LSU/Alabama game was probably first.

He somehow ended up with free tickets to the Notre Dame vs. Boston College game the weekend before Thanksgiving.  And at such late notice that he could find no one with testosterone to accompany him on the 5 hour drive to South Bend, Indiana.  And once I was informed that heading to the great University of Notre Dame was indeed on Kenny's Bucket List, I couldn't let him take the trip alone.

One Saturday, 10 hours in the car, 2 trips to Chick-fil-a, 3 hours in Notre Dame Stadium, 4 frozen ears (due to no ear protection and me refusing to spend $27 on a ND toboggan), 2 frozen hands (due to no hand protection from the one of us that thinks he's too cool for gloves) and 1 giant pretzel later, Kenny's life long wish to visit UND was fulfilled! 

Although, I have to say, being at a Bama game two weeks prior left me thinking Notre Dame and their strong football tradition has nothing on the Tide.  Nothing!

But some things to know when visiting Notre Dame...

Whenever they would score, it was common to turn to the person next to you and pick them up, bench pressing them above your head in celebration.  I managed to keep my feet on the ground and just be a spectator in this particular tradition.

We had really good seats.  Corner of the end zone only 16 rows up.  But right behind the band.  And occasionally they would put their instruments on their heads, or their heads in their instruments if you were a tuba player, and dance around.  I was a band groupie in high school since all my BFF's were either in the band or on the dance line.  And I retain my long standing declaration that band members are just weird.

We did get to see Bon Jovi and Chicago played half time.  Can't say that Bama has that kind of pull.  But who needs it when you can hear The Million Dollar Band...?

At one point the announcer asked the students to stop throwing marshmallows on to the field.  Yep, marshmallows.  Which of course just made them throw more marshmallows.  I have to say, that was quite entertaining. 

And don't have plans after the game?  Don't worry...you can head on over for Mass, immediately following the game.  Wouldn't it be something if we could get everyone to come to church and learn about Jesus after watching Bama kick some butt??  I'm just saying, maybe we are missing a big ministry opportunity...

Speaking of Jesus,  we of course had to visit "Touchdown Jesus".  I'm unsure about how I feel about Him being referred by that name, but I can't argue the fact that he indeed looks like He is indicating a touchdown.

Either way, Kenny got to cross off Notre Dame from his Bucket List and we got to spend a kid-less Saturday just enjoying time with each other.  But I still must end with a hearty ROLL TIDE...especially since Kenny wouldn't let me wear my Bama hoodie to South Bend.  Something about poor sportsmanship...
ROLL TIDE!

How to start a tradition

I'd like to say it's our Thanksgiving tradition to make our 31-days-of-thankful-Christmas-count-down-chain, but Thursday was only our first time to do it. 

But it's officially a tradition now.

And I'm open to new names for the tradition.  Because 31-days-of-thankful-Christmas-count-down-chain is a mouthful for one tradition.

The boys wanted to make a calendar to countdown the days to Christmas.  And I wanted to do something to make them have to think about what they were thankful for.  Other than their toys.  Which was the first answer from both of them.  And also a typical kid answer.

We cut 31 strips of festive red, white and green construction paper, one for every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

And then spent the next little while writing one thing we were thankful for on each slip of paper.  With a little help from Mommy when needed with spelling and such.

Then we used our handy dandy stapler and made a paper chain.

The plan is to take off one chain a day, either at dinner time or bedtime, and talk about why we are thankful for said item and then take time to thank God for how He has blessed us.  Leaving the appropriate number of links for the number of days left.  Clever?  I thought so.

And adds a little bit of decoration.  Kid-style.

So, how do you start a tradition? 

Just do it.  And be thankful about it.

Roll Tide. Beat Auburn.

So, Kenny has a shaker that's been around since the college days.  And it's covered in teeth marks.  I'd like to say that our pretend dog got a hold of it or that we have a teething child that prefers shakers to teething rings, but none of the above is true.

This is the reason that it's covered in teeth marks...

Kenny watches every Bama game like this.  Every.  Single.  One. 

And it looks like it's rubbing off.

Roll Tide.

Not an endorsement for Walmart. Just funny.

By far, the best Black Friday commercial out there!  But as you can see by the time, I have ZERO intentions of joining the crazies that are now probably wishing they'd ate a little less turkey and taken a longer nap. 

I'm about to head to my nice, warm bed.  To sleep.  All night. 

I'll search for deals later.  Believe me.

I hope you have all had a great Thanksgiving Day and have spent it with friends you like and family you love.  Or the other way around.  Either way.

Kenny's parents are here for the week and we've spent the day oooohhing and ahhhing over huge inflatable cartoon characters, convincing the boys they like sweet potato casserole and dressing, playing soccer and climbing trees, making our 31-days-of-thankful-Christmas-count-down-chain, enjoying multiple dishes with pecans and watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

In a little pecan nutshell...we are blessed and thankful.

Happy, Merry Thanksgiving!

"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and THANKSGIVING and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."  Revelation 7:12

Questions? I have answers.

So, these are the questions I'm getting in real life, and therefore, assume those of you in my little blog world may have the same ones.

When did y'all decide to adopt again? 

Well, honestly, the day I set foot on US soil from Ethiopia, I was ready to go back.  Kenny wasn't.  While we were both new to this whole parenting thing, I have worked with kids my whole life and for me, the more, the merrier.  Kenny was totally new to this whole kid thing and needed more time to adjust to the fact that we now had two little people running around our house that demanded 100% of our time and attention.  We both knew we would adopt again.  It was just a matter of timing.

Several months back (late summer?), we realized that God was going to again bless us and allow us to add to our family through adoption.  So we made that decision and started praying about where, when, etc.

What do the boys think?

When we decided to begin the process again, we started talking it up with the boys. 

It didn't go over well. 

Especially with Charlie.  Sam was more on board once he realized he would be a big brother, and let's face it...he's four and as long as we feed him and play with him, he doesn't care what happens.  Charlie was very up front with the fact that he liked it with just the four of us and didn't think we needed anymore people in our family. 

I really think it was all based on fear.  He has experienced more than any child should ever be expected to endure.  In the first 6 years of his life, he had to worry about things kids shouldn't have to worry about.  And for the first time in his life, things were stable, fun and safe.  And he didn't want any of that to change.  And I honestly can't say that I blame him.

Over the last few months of talking about it and bringing it up almost daily, the idea of having a little brother or sister has grown on Charlie.  We have assured him that having another sibling in no way changes how much we love him or his status in our family.  He will always be the big brother.  And he will always be a part of this family, no matter how many people are in it.  Yes, things will change because anytime you add to your family, regardless of how that happens, things change.  And yes, you'll have to share your toys!

He is now more okay with having a little sister.  (They both kept saying brother, but one day, Charlie just changed to sister and hasn't looked back!)  He asks questions about what her name will be, where she'll sit in the car, how long it will take to get her, etc, etc.  My first adoption related tears (well, for this adoption!) were shed just the other day and it was totally related to Charlie finally feeling secure enough to WANT a baby sister!

So, the announcement that we were adopting again came a few weeks ago because we had finally had a chance to notify all our family (other than by the blog or Facebook, which is no way for your little sister to find out you are adding to your family!).  And the boys both seemed to be at a point that they were okay with the decision.  And I needed them to be okay before people started asking them about it or before things started happening.

Why South Korea? And why not Ethiopia again? 

The choice to pursue adoption in South Korea has several answers.  Some selfish, some not. 

Most people want to know why we aren't going back to Ethiopia.  I'd go back there in a heart beat, but right now, that's just not the best choice for our family and for our boys.  Plus, scripture commands us to "go into all the nations"  not just "nation"...yeah, I may be taking that slightly out of context, but I want our family to reflect the "nations".

The selfish reasons...I've always wanted to adopt from an Asian country.  And I really want to do the whole baby thing.  And the Lord may or may not allow me the chance to experience the baby stages of my children's lives, but right now, SK is one place that is placing infants (defined as a child under the age of 12 months).  And we most definitely want a child younger than Sam.

What is the timeline?

I had this discussion with Charlie the other day.  His theory...it will only take a month.  Why?  Because there is just one of her.  And when we adopted them, there were two kids.  I really, really wished that's how things happened.

And honestly, I can't answer this question.  I have no idea.  Referrals from South Korea are slowing each year as they encourage domestic adoption in the country.  The agency we wanted to use isn't accepting new families until the first of the year.  Hopefully.  (Add to prayer list:  check!)  We are just waiting on God's timing and prompting.  Maybe the slow down in SK is God's way of directing us to another country...you never know what He has up his sleeve...

How far along in the process are y'all?

Not very.  We are working on getting all the paperwork together to get our homestudy updated.  Plus, if we do go to South Korea, they have a BMI requirement for adoptive parents.  And as it stands, Kenny needs to lose a few.  He's working on that right now.

So, you get to be here every step of the way.  Start praying!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

While I am in no way seeking your validation for our decisions, I hope that you now feel more informed.  Because I do.

All we ask of you is prayer.  Please pray for God's timing.  Pray for our new baby sister, whether she is born or not; whether she is in South Korea or another country.  Pray for the boys to continue to adjust to the idea of adding to our family and to develop a love for her before she even comes home!  Pray for Kenny and I as we will officially be out numbered after this one. 

Tons of people have three or more kids.  We can do this, right??

I started Christmas already.

Well, I've had my first Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake, so the season can officially begin.  I'm not kidding.  They are a must for the Christmas season. 

Plus, we did a little fall clean up this past weekend.  Needed to get rid of those Halloween pumpkins.  And what better way to do that, than with a hammer.  Which was totally cool with the boys, until I informed them that they had to clean up all the pulverized pumpkin pieces.  Then they turned from manly-hammer-toting-pumpkin-smashers to wimpy-I-need-gloves-so-my-hands-don't-get-dirty little girls.  I gave them some gloves, but not without making them stick their hands in it first.  Yes, I'm accepting "Mother of the Year" nominations...

 

Then we needed to rake some leaves.  What looks like child labor to the innocent passerby, is actually playtime.  That pile of leaves didn’t stay piled up for long, trust me.  And it was their idea to rake them anyway.

It’s totally cool for a kid with horrible allergies to play in a pile of crunched-up, dead leaves, right??

A little road trip.

We took a road trip and went to that game dubbed as "The Game of the Century" last weekend.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you must know that you didn't miss much.  We lost.  Shouldn't have, but we did.  Guess no one will listen to Kenny's argument that Alabama is still a better team than LSU.

Regardless, we got to see a lot of folks we haven't seen in a really long time (although we certainly didn't get to see everyone), hang out on the campus we called home for five (long) years and just enjoying being in that whole yay-we-are-at-a-football-game atmosphere again.  I determined we are really too old for all that college life experience stuff after we made a trip to the strip Friday night to make sure we got Kenny a taste of Tut's beloved steak and cheese sandwich.  I got tired just looking for a parking spot. 

I figured I should document it though.  It was the first time I had been to Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2003.  And I call myself an alum...

Jason, Brandon, Kenny & D..........I'm not even gonna make any more comment than that...

Yeah.  I waited until AFTER we lost to take a picture.  Dummy.

Also lucky my husband smiled for me after the game.  I'm telling you, my timing is spectacular.  But he can't say no to me...

Either way, Roll Tide!

Good, good food.

If you know me well, you know I like my food.  But I also don't like to spend all day making a meal.  I'm a huge fan of whoever invented the crock-pot, but this simple soup is just as easy, even without my handy dandy friend.  Who I've just decided to name, since we spend so much time together...or rather, he spends so much time working on dinner...any suggestions?

I digress.

Here's another quick and easy dinner that we have been enjoying for quite a while that is perfect for chilly fall nights.  We are big soup people and this is a yummy twist on a simple vegetable soup.  And the kids like it, too!  Of course, they will eat almost anything with the promise of some leftover Halloween candy if they clean their plates.  And no, that's not bribery.  It's called smart.

Easy Italian Stew

2 tbsp Italian Dressing

1 lb bulk Italian sausage

2 cans (14-1/2 oz. each) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen stir-fry vegetables (white onions; sliced green, red and yellow peppers)

1 can (15 oz.) cannellini beans, rinsed

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked

1 cup Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

HEAT dressing in large saucepan on medium heat. Add sausage; cook 8 to 10 min. or until done, stirring occasionally to break into small pieces.    

ADD broth, stir-fry vegetables, beans and tomatoes; bring to boil. Stir in macaroni; simmer on medium heat 8 to 10 min. or until macaroni is tender, stirring occasionally.
    
TOP with cheese. Serve with crackers.    

My changes...'cause you know I can't follow a recipe to save my life...I add a little more chicken broth (or water) and cook the whole 16 oz package of noodles.  Because I like noodles.  A lot.  And I use cavatappi noodles because they are super curly and that just makes dinner more fun!  Add some basil and crushed red pepper to amp up the flavor.  And I usually make cornbread to go with it.

You could also use ground beef instead of sausage.  I've done both.  It's good either way.

Yummy?  Check.  Easy?  Check.  Cheap?  Double check!

Recipe courtesy of our friends at Kraft.

A tear in my chicken salad.

Our friend Emma doesn't eat sandwiches. More precisely, Emma doesn't eat bread. Unless it's toasted. And since a toasted PB&J doesn't last long in a lunch box, Emma eats chicken salad on a regular basis.

And some time back, Charlie discovered that he really, really likes Emma's chicken salad, too. He had been asking me to make some for him, but since I have an aversion to Miracle Whip because it looks like mayonnaise, I subconsciously kept forgetting to buy it. But I remembered today. So, after tonight's dinner of roasted chicken, I whipped him up some chicken salad with the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow.

I called him up from the playroom to try a bite and see if it tasted like Emma's. And he was so excited that I had made him chicken salad that he hopped up and down and then threw his little skinny arms around me and said, "Thank you, Mommy!!"

Now, that doesn't really sound like a big deal unless you know that this is the very first time in 2 years, 2 months and 17 days that Charlie has ever given me a spontaneous hug. Ever. You know, one not prompted by me asking for it.

The first time he has given any affection without being asked for it first. Kinda a big deal in my book.

Yeah, I cried. Right into his chicken salad.

Again.

For those of you unfamiliar with your country flags, that's South Korea.  And that's the plan right now...a little sister (or brother, if I get out voted) from South Korea!

Future?

I guess it was only a matter of time. But only in God’s perfect time.
It’s a path we’ve been down before, but one that is still so unfamiliar.
One that is exciting. And scary, all at the same time.
I have one happy boy. And one who isn’t so sure about this whole thing.
Three of us have one opinion.  And the remaining one, a totally different thought....

A Very Smurfin' Halloween: Recapped

To recap our pre-Halloween weekend, we started by dressing up as Smurfs Wednesday night at church.  Yes.  Six of us.  You can't just have one smurf.  They travel in packs.

Charlie was Hefty Smurf.  Can't you tell??  All 71 pounds of him.  With his Superman muscles under his smurf shirt.  And Sam was Clumsy Smurf.  If you've every seen him walk, run or just be Sam, you totally understand why.  I was Handy Smurf.  Totally out of necessity.  Because I couldn't find white smurf pants, but Handy wears overalls.  Which I did have.

And how'd you like the hats???

We carved pumpkins on Friday night.  I'm totally obsessed with this little scaper thing that lets you dig out your design from the flesh of the pumpkin (that sounds gross!) instead of actually carving actual holes.  Actually.  Way cooler than carving. 

On the actual holiday, we did our usual Trick-or-Treat on Main Street.  It was a blast and you can check out the recap over here...

I don't know what is so funny.  Maybe someone is saying something hilarious in my CIAish-walkie-talkie-ear-thingy.

So, on to the good holidays. That include Turkey. Yes. Turkey with a capital "T".

It's that important.