I put away the cradle, infant car-seat, and boxes of cloths and supplies that we took to Maine today. They had been behind a sofa in our formal living-room up until now. We stowed them there when we unpacked the van and left them until I felt like I could take care of them. It felt like some closure to the failed adoption. I keep telling myself that we will need to be very ready the next time around and therefore we had to have everything well packed and prepared. Hopefully that is the case.
So...this is the perfect time to launch our new adoption blog. www.countingonmiracles.blogspot.com. It’s not totally done but done enough to put it out there. Please give us your feedback and share it with anyone and everyone that you know.
Be sure to check out the Mine all Mine link to a fabulous song and cute video.
Lots of love to all,
Diane
Friday, August 27, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
River rafting
We bought this picture at Dutch Wonderland. We are always suckers for pictures that we are all looking at the camera in.
Where to start
I haven't posted in forever. Mostly because we have been busy chasing Benjamin, having fun, or canning fruits or vegetables, or did I mention chasing Ben? Benjamin has grown a ton this summer. He is talking really well and always has a lot to say. We love hearing what is going on in his little noggin.
Here are some of this summer's highlights:
Ben outgrew his turtle sandbox. (Well, he and is toys.) Joseph spent the better part of one Saturday constructing a new one for him under a tree by the swing-set. He loves it. I am glad that he likes to play there. I can see him from the kitchen window and love to watch him construct.
We joined some dear friends of ours at Enchanted Forest Water Safari. Benjamin loved the rides and playing in the water. We spent the whole day and enjoyed the cooler climate, the pie decorator plates that I picked up at the hardware store, the interaction with friends and an Adirondack Mountain town. I personally think that for water fun the waterpark in Fulton has been the best of the summer and the cheapest. They had the best slide for Ben.
I'm done with peaches. I can't believe it. It's only August 21st. Everything is early this year. I went Blueberring and was able to put up 50lbs of berries. I made pie filling and froze a bunch. I learned that Ben loves blueberries and will eat as many as allowed.
One of the highlights of the summer was this weekend's trip to Dutch Wonderland. It is in Lancaster PA in the heart of Amish country. It is an amusement park specifically for young children. We had a blast! We left Friday morning and arrived at the hotel by 3pm. We wanted to take advantage of the parks' twilight hours. With Saturday's paid admission we were able to go to the park on Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. It was nice because we were able to get a feel for the park, look around, ride on lots of rides without waiting in line etc. Benjamin loved it. His favorites were the bulldozer rides, scooter ride, bumper cars and of course the water park. I loved it too. It is so fun to make Ben happy. Here are some of the pics:
Last but not least I bought a flip. I love it. We have been recording Benjamin like crazy. I have really enjoyed being able to have some of the funny things he does on film. We have an older camcorder (It's only 6 or 7 years old - but in technology time it's ancient. and the recordings were grainy) My goal today is to weed through the clips and post some that might be entertaining. Stay tuned!
Here are some of this summer's highlights:
Ben outgrew his turtle sandbox. (Well, he and is toys.) Joseph spent the better part of one Saturday constructing a new one for him under a tree by the swing-set. He loves it. I am glad that he likes to play there. I can see him from the kitchen window and love to watch him construct.
We joined some dear friends of ours at Enchanted Forest Water Safari. Benjamin loved the rides and playing in the water. We spent the whole day and enjoyed the cooler climate, the pie decorator plates that I picked up at the hardware store, the interaction with friends and an Adirondack Mountain town. I personally think that for water fun the waterpark in Fulton has been the best of the summer and the cheapest. They had the best slide for Ben.
I'm done with peaches. I can't believe it. It's only August 21st. Everything is early this year. I went Blueberring and was able to put up 50lbs of berries. I made pie filling and froze a bunch. I learned that Ben loves blueberries and will eat as many as allowed.
One of the highlights of the summer was this weekend's trip to Dutch Wonderland. It is in Lancaster PA in the heart of Amish country. It is an amusement park specifically for young children. We had a blast! We left Friday morning and arrived at the hotel by 3pm. We wanted to take advantage of the parks' twilight hours. With Saturday's paid admission we were able to go to the park on Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. It was nice because we were able to get a feel for the park, look around, ride on lots of rides without waiting in line etc. Benjamin loved it. His favorites were the bulldozer rides, scooter ride, bumper cars and of course the water park. I loved it too. It is so fun to make Ben happy. Here are some of the pics:
Last but not least I bought a flip. I love it. We have been recording Benjamin like crazy. I have really enjoyed being able to have some of the funny things he does on film. We have an older camcorder (It's only 6 or 7 years old - but in technology time it's ancient. and the recordings were grainy) My goal today is to weed through the clips and post some that might be entertaining. Stay tuned!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Canning Beans and summer fun
We got 21 pints 10 quarts. Ben is a great helper.
Ben loves playing with his cousins Caleb and Joshua. On Tuesday we went to the farm and played with these crazies. Ben is a climber. He fell off the monkey bars, but still wanted to climb. I am amazed at the way he climbs without fear.
Our other favorite past time is spending time with John in the back yard. Here they are on the slip&slide.
This is becoming a fun summer!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Sugar cookies
My Sister-In-Law alerted me to a wonderful food/recipe site. Ourbestbites.com. It's fabulous. She also tried their sugar cookie recipe and loved and recommended it. Ben and I decided to make them today as it is 96+ degrees outside and we aren't going out until it cools down a tad. All week has been hot and humid...I'm anxious to have this heat wave over. Here is a picture of our creations. We had fun doing them. Ben especially liked the gingerbread men. We'll feed them to the missionaries tonight. My guess is that we won't have many left.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sensational 4th
We have had a wonderful weekend. That is a nice change compared to the last few weeks. It felt nice. Yesterday we had dinner and watched fireworks with some good friends and today we went to a water-park. Ben had a ball!!!
Thunder Island is about 30 miles from us - not bad - and little kid friendly. The slides were fun for all of us.
I have a terrible sunburn. I forgot that the bathing suit I was wearing has a very open back. I'm feeling thankful for aloe.
I'll post more soon, for now enjoy looking at this cutie pie! He is such a fish, and so brave -he was almost a foot shorter than most of the others on the big slide.
There was a DJ at the park - the music was mixed. He played Ice, Ice, Baby. Joseph and I started fooling around and singing it. Benjamin broke into a rendition of Ice, Ice, Benjamin....He's hilarious!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Gardening
I have been doing quite a bit of work in the garden. I have peas that have needed to be picked and beans that have also needed my attention. I've realized that has been a great blessing. I love being out in the garden with the birds chirping and all the world around is quiet. It has been nice having something that needed my attention and a place to focus my energies. I canned 18 pints of beans yesterday and Joseph shells peas every evening when he gets home from work. Benjamin has been great he rides his tractor all around the yard while I pick.
A year ago I gave a talk in church that included some lessons learned from my garden. What a blessing a garden has been for me. Here are some things I've learned from my garden:
~If you want good things to grow in your garden and in your life you have to plant them there. Tomatoes will not float out of the sky and plant themselves in rows in your garden. Good things take effort.
~You can’t rush a seed.
~It's important to select the right mix for optimal growth. Some plants tend to do better when surrounded by other certain types of plants. Some plant varieties are good are warding off insects (such as marigolds). Surrounding ourselves with good people is critical to our ability to make good decisions. (I am thankful for so many good friends that have been praying for us. I have felt those prayers and am so thankful for those who honestly care about our little family.)
~Weeds will come out of nowhere. Life in a garden is a constant war on weeds. Pres. Eyring said: "Because you are so valuable, some of your trials may be severe. You need never be discouraged or afraid. The way through difficulties has always been prepared for you, and you will find it if you exercise faith."
~All you have to do to loose your garden is to do nothing.
At the risk of sounding bitter I am going to post something that has made me so mad about this whole failed adoption thing. Attorneys. We paid for Kimberly's attorney (as is the custom in private adoptions.) We got a statement of professional services today in the mail and it made me mad all over again. Kim's attorney spent 1 1/2 hours preparing consents and supplemental orders (the real work) for the adoption and 10 hours making or receiving calls or emails and 7 1/2 hours traveling and charged us $3760.19. I take that back; we paid upfront $4500 and they refunded $1,000 so that actual charge was only $3500. There is something sick and wrong with the system. There was a hand written note on our statement asking us to please remember that the adoption tax credit is applicable for failed adoptions. What they don't know is that it takes years to recoup and in our situation if we have the chance to adopt again that we will be well above the governmental limit. I'm disgusted that they would charge us that much for doing so little. LDS family services did so much and they only got our original $1000 home-study fee. I feel better. That was a great rant.
Now back to feeling grateful for my garden.....
A year ago I gave a talk in church that included some lessons learned from my garden. What a blessing a garden has been for me. Here are some things I've learned from my garden:
~If you want good things to grow in your garden and in your life you have to plant them there. Tomatoes will not float out of the sky and plant themselves in rows in your garden. Good things take effort.
~You can’t rush a seed.
~It's important to select the right mix for optimal growth. Some plants tend to do better when surrounded by other certain types of plants. Some plant varieties are good are warding off insects (such as marigolds). Surrounding ourselves with good people is critical to our ability to make good decisions. (I am thankful for so many good friends that have been praying for us. I have felt those prayers and am so thankful for those who honestly care about our little family.)
~Weeds will come out of nowhere. Life in a garden is a constant war on weeds. Pres. Eyring said: "Because you are so valuable, some of your trials may be severe. You need never be discouraged or afraid. The way through difficulties has always been prepared for you, and you will find it if you exercise faith."
~All you have to do to loose your garden is to do nothing.
At the risk of sounding bitter I am going to post something that has made me so mad about this whole failed adoption thing. Attorneys. We paid for Kimberly's attorney (as is the custom in private adoptions.) We got a statement of professional services today in the mail and it made me mad all over again. Kim's attorney spent 1 1/2 hours preparing consents and supplemental orders (the real work) for the adoption and 10 hours making or receiving calls or emails and 7 1/2 hours traveling and charged us $3760.19. I take that back; we paid upfront $4500 and they refunded $1,000 so that actual charge was only $3500. There is something sick and wrong with the system. There was a hand written note on our statement asking us to please remember that the adoption tax credit is applicable for failed adoptions. What they don't know is that it takes years to recoup and in our situation if we have the chance to adopt again that we will be well above the governmental limit. I'm disgusted that they would charge us that much for doing so little. LDS family services did so much and they only got our original $1000 home-study fee. I feel better. That was a great rant.
Now back to feeling grateful for my garden.....
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