Bah Humbug...

I have no idea why, but the Scrooge bug has bitten lately. I have been in a funk these past few days with no real reason. You know when you get that "deep pit of your stomach feeling"? I've got it and I have no clue as to what the reason may be.

Hence, the lack of posts. Frankly, I have not had much to say and my brain has too much spinning around in it to sit down and type something coherent. Kind of like today.

A bit of good news however! Our PA clearances have come back proving we are not hardened criminals (just soft ones... kidding, of course!) so now the county can dot all the "i"s and cross the "t"s on our approval for the foster system. Last night I had a dream we got a ten month old placement. Probably spurned on by the fact that I was privileged to rock the sweet, but colicky baby of our Czech missionaries (home for Christmas) to sleep last night and give his mom a break.

So now, I will carry on with my day in my Eeyore like state. I think I need some serious time with the Lord and get my head back on straight!

Arlington National Cemetery

These are not my pictures, I snagged them from an e-mail floating around, but they made my heart stop for the briefest of moments.

Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.
Know the line has held, your job is done.
Rest easy, sleep well.
Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.
Peace, peace, and farewell...

"Poll-itics"

I have no horse in the political race yet, but I am liking Ron Paul more and more everyday. That is why this article made me laugh and annoyed all at the same time...

"The San Francisco Republican Party straw poll was canceled Tuesday, after a majority of attendants showed up to vote for Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

The San Francisco Republican Alliance hosted the event at the Holiday Inn on Fisherman’s Wharf with featured speaker, Republican State Senator Sam Aanest (CA 4th SD).

Aanest reportedly discussed his support for former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, before a flood of Paul supporters, paying the late comer $5 non-banquet fee, entered the room to join those supporters already in attendance.

Event organizer, Gail Neira, then canceled the poll citing issues of fairness..."

Pardon me? Fairness? Oh right... because your candidate was not the majority vote represented? Got it. Give me a break.

Read the whole article here.

A Different Kind of Sad

We got our first call today as foster parents. Three brothers currently in a foster home are being transferred to the adoption unit and the county wants to place them in a "legal risk home", which simply means a home that they will probably stay in permanently if their parents rights are terminated. We are considered a legal risk home.

The brothers are 6 years old, 4 years old and 19 months and have been in the system for about 6 months. These boys need a good forever home. Sadly, it cannot be ours. After talking about it and mulling over the obvious things like the fact that our van does not have enough seats for 6 children and the debatable facts, as in, "can we handle doubling the amount of children we have, all under the age of 8?", Mr. Clean and I agreed we would have to say no.

I know that this is par for the course and that the Lord will provide a home for these young boys, but it pains me to have to say, "no". I would take in all 800 children in this county that needed a home if that was realistic and not an absurd thought. My heart hurts for the things they have dealt with.

We will continue to pray for these young guys and that the right placement for our family will come along in the Lord's timing. It's still sad to have to say no, even if it is the right thing to do.

Tuesday Child Is Full Of.....

Since the colder weather has been thrust upon us, I have gotten a little lax in the "keeping 'em smooth" category.

After all, my gams are hidden under denim most of the time and the lazy economical thing to do is to conserve razor blades since Mr. Clean uses up so many keeping his chrome dome in top shape.

So today, my ridiculously observant 7 year-old son, noticing my fabulously insulated legs peeking out from under my pajamas says, "I thought that when Moms grew fur they were supposed to get rid of it."

I am off to find a razor. Sharp, dull, meant for scraping wall-paper, whatever.

Get Out of the Pot

You know that old analogy about how a frog in a tepid bath will never notice when the water slowly gets hot (hence boiling to its death), yet a frog that jumps into boiling water will surely jump right back out, and how it pertains to Christians? I am sure you are familiar with it.

I just read an article at Slice of Laodicea about our declining girl culture. Remember the "little girl"? She almost no longer exists.

"I grieve for the painted little girls of Sodom today. Their mothers and fathers have not protected them but have thrown them into the dangerous stream of popular culture. They will be destroyed by that stream—pulled under by the powerful currents of lust and greed and hedonism that wait beneath the glittering surface."

This is an excellent article to read in its entirety. I felt the sudden burn of the hot pot that I had probably dangled my feet into when it had just been tepid. As the mother of two daughters I think it may be time to rethink some of the worldly things I may have previously allowed (and we are fairly strict). They are such precious commodities.

Train Up A Child?

Recently I was given two recipes that are so basic and wonderful that they can be used often (one I was given and one I swiped off of a website).

The first recipe was for amazing sweet ice tea that Susie gave me and the other was a mashed potato recipe I swiped from Ree over at The Pioneer Woman Cooks (don't laugh, before this recipe I too thought that mashed potatoes were just... well, mashed potatoes with some milk and butter thrown in... boy I was all wrong).

Since I love these two recipes so much, I figured I would want to have them daily at a minimum, so I decided that my children must become proficient in their preparation. I am probably breaking at least a dozen child labor laws, but it is sooo worth it...

Here is Xena diligently mashing potatoes under my strict authority.

Oh... and that salad in the background?

Yep, she made it too...

The recipes you ask? Well, the ice tea recipe is a well guarded secret that Susie found on the internet (the secret is to add about 1/8 tsp of baking soda to the hot water before adding the tea bags to steep, which will take away that bitter tea taste you can get ... shh, don't tell), and the other?

Oh, the other. The amazing mashed potato recipe. When I read it, I was turned off due to one key ingredient but Ree assured her readers that if tough cowboys loved these potatoes despite that one aforementioned ingredient, we would as well. I will let you check out the recipe for yourself. If you make them, expect me directly.

Out From Under My Rock!

Ahhh Sunday! The day of the week to lazily snooze in a patch of sun with your favorite chew toy. Or something like that.

The end of another week! It has been a great week with my in-laws coming into town on Wednesday and hanging out until yesterday. Both K.Z and I hit the eye doctor's, him for brand spankin' new specs and me for new contacts and "morning glasses", as Xena calls them since she only sees me wear them for a brief time in the morning when I stumble out of my room.

C'sa got her third small birthday celebration of the week since Nan and Pop were in town and wanted to share in the fun of her big "O-Four".


The Christmas tree made it's annual pilgrimage out of the basement and into the living room (which actually is now our "office" and school room) and it is adorned with lights and decorations. Now we are working on the rest of the house and wanting to just kick back and enjoy it. Maybe in January?

No, my boy is not really that tall... he is standing on the couch!

It has been a long and good week, but a tiring one and it does not seem like the next few weeks will be any slower. One homeschool perk however? In two weeks we are on a three week sabbatical from school work! Hurry Christmas!

We're Done!

Our case worker Karla came this morning to finalize our foster home study and do our home inspection. Officially we are finished! We are now just waiting for the great Commonwealth of PA to get our state police clearances back (they are backlogged and about 8 weeks behind) and then we are considered licensed foster parents, once all the "t"s are crossed and "i"s are dotted.

It is amazing to me how calm my nerves have been during this whole process. I am the kind of gal who will go nuts cleaning when guests are coming and panic at the sight of a dirty pair of socks left on the floor. Not this time. I did clean up yesterday for Karla's visit, but the panic and stress was just not there.

We decided from the beginning to put this entire process in the Lord's hands. If we were going to be foster parents, it was going to be because it was His plan, not because we were going to try and impress some agency of our great parenting skills and hide all of our flaws. They would have to take us, dirty socks and all. So far it appears that this is still the path the Lord has for us and we are really excited. Nervous, but excited.

Due to the fact we are going to be in New York for Christmas we might be on hold as far as a placement, but that too is in the Lord's hands. We would not be able to take a foster child out of the state without the parent's permission so it may work out better if we did not have all our "ducks in a row", clearance wise, until the New Year. From this point on it is just a waiting game. Maybe I will go make sure there are no dirty socks laying around. My in-laws are coming into town today.

I Stand Corrected...

I just have to say publicly that the post I wrote regarding my pending trip to the land of the Social Security Administration was off base. Pleasantly, way off base.

Exactly one week after applying for my corrected SS cards, they arrived in the mailbox. And, I have to add that I only waited for an hour while there, not the predicted and aforementioned "eternity". Granted the waiting room did remind me of the waiting room scene in Beetlejuice, but what can you expect from government decor?

The Perfect Spot For Me

There are some days that I wish I was a little more equipped when it came to standing up for the Truth. While I believe we all should be ready to defend holy scripture and the Gospel, I am certainly glad the Lord has deemed a certain unique gift for all of us.

Last night I watched "Luther" (great movie by the way), and went to look up a certain actor in IMDB after it was finished. Being that I am usually not content to just look up one thing and then call it a night, since I suffer from LNIA (Late Night Internet Addiction), I browsed a bit. Then I went where no man/woman should go... the message board about the movie.

It started out innocent enough. Posts engaging people to chat about the cinematography, whether or not the movie had enough content, etc. Then there was that post. And I dared click my mouse on it, knowing full well I should just head to bed. The title of the post was, "Do any of you know Jesus?". I was doomed.

I am what is called a "lurker" in internet lingo, which is basically an internet wallflower. I love to read blogs, message boards, etc. and glean what I can, but I rarely put my two cents in on either. I read the hundreds of post; most were exchanges between the same two or three posters and it made my head spin. I wanted sooo badly to type something... anything. But I simply did not feel equipped in the knowledge I needed to form a coherent thought without stuttering and typing something intelligent like, "I know you are, but what am I?".

I am confident in my faith and the majority of the time I am a fairly good orator, but put me in a situation where I have not had the time to prepare and I usually clam up. Either I cannot remember exactly where in scripture a passage is or I have blanked out on a creative way to illustrate my point. Five minutes after the conversation has ended I turn into a brilliant debater. After the fact, once the "show is over", so to speak.

As I pondered all the many posts that either made no sense, would do with clarification or would begin a great debate, my brain began to swim aimlessly in my head. I could spend more time looking everything up that I wanted to convey and make brilliant points in research or I could just remain a lurker and then go to bed.

That is when that quiet voice said to me that it was okay that I was not the person I so envied. The one who could pull scripture and relevance out of thin air effortlessly. It was not my gift. My charge in life right now is to raise His children and make them His servants and enjoy seeing the gifts He has hidden in their hearts to be explored. It's time for contentment and maybe a tad more quiet time with the Lord.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE!

My Sweet C'sa

You are the unexpected gift the Lord had planned for us and we could not have been more thrilled to welcome you into our family four years ago!
I simply cannot imagine my world without you.

Happy Thanksgiving!