Castle Creating With Kix

We are in the midst of the Middle Ages in our history book, Story of the World, Volume 2.

That means castles and knights and great fun.

This week the boys made a Kix Castle.

Pretty much a Rice Krispy Treats recipe

using Kix instead

to look more like castle stones.

We have an activity book that goes along

with what we are reading.

It does all the creative thinking for me.

It's been a great resource and

it really enhances the lessons and helps us

remember them beyond today.

 Look at them work together!

 Time to get messy.

 Digging in to the pot of goo.

Building the castle walls.

 See the corner towers?

 Ta-da!

 Embellished with flagged toothpicks from Korea.

 So they called Paul to come home

and check out the finished castle.

Rube's on the lookout and

Pete is ready to ambush him, Nerf style.

 More fun.

Eating the castle.

And this is why we love History.

War Wounds Past and Present

I have a rug burn on my elbow.

When's the last time you got a rug burn?

For me, it was when I was wrestled to the dark brown carpeted floor of my youth by my older brother.  Like in 1990.  And it probably included a round of tummy taps.

So this new one... My first rug burn of the new millenium.  From my husband and four-year-old son.  Wrestling me to the light brown carpeted floor of my adultness (what's the opposite of 'youth'?).  In 2011.

It stings.


And since we are reminiscing to my childhood home and today is January 11th, let's go ahead and wish my childhood next door neighbor, Celene, and happy birthday.  I have this weird thing for remembering random people's birthdates.

Like Joe McIntyre - you know, "Please don't go girlllll..." from New Kids on the Block.  His birthday is December 31st.

And Mike, this guy in jr/sr high that I was friends with and secretly wished would ask me to a dance... His birthday is March 20th.

My Great Aunt Phyllis... May 1st.

Your Great Aunt Doris... Sempnovember 32nd.

My future child... Let's say... February 24th.  Just guessing.

The Menu

Because I have nothing of excitement nor importance to communicate to you, I give you our dinner menu for this week.  Peter's request?  "Can we have normal food?"  I guess he's done with the international cookbook.

Sorry, our first meal is Turkish.

• Beef Dumplings with Yogurt
• Zucchini Fritters

• G'ma Robb's Scalloped Chicken
• Cooked Apples

• Chili-Topped Sweet Potatoes
• Chocolate Bread

• Mexican Chicken
• Levee Camp Griddle Cakes

• Mexican Delight

• My Mom's Stew
• Biscuits

• Spanish Style Lentils and Rice
• Curried Pineapple

• Pineapple Turkey Melts
• Sweet Potato Casserole

When should we expect you?

Playing Around

Not much happening.  A lot of indoor play.  Although Reuben has ridden his bike twice this week.  In the snow.  And he piled sticks on our fire pit.  Hopeful for a cookout.

Some kids got together and made a band...

Peter had music and played O Christmas Tree

on the keyboard

while everyone else improvised.

It was pretty funny

and sounded pretty horrible.

Now the big guys have the spotlight

singing about their Big Green Tractor

while Peter strums on the guitar.

I think Pete is singing Jingle Bells

with Rube groovin' on the twirling ratchet thingy.

Guess what the boys are doing here...

This is what we call Balloon Volleyball.  Looks like wrestling.  But it's volleyball.  The yarn is the net.  The balloon was given a Sharpie face by one of the boys.  That looks like Reuben's creation.

Tomorrow we have an outing to a nearby library for a Lego Building Party.  Then our social worker visits for our annual homestudy update.  This would be an opportune time for you to stop by for a visit.  Our house is very clean.  I make no guarantees past Saturday afternoon.  Swords, Nerf bullets, and the basket of quilts can only stay tidy for twelve hours, max.  (And most of those are sleeping hours.)

Happy Weekending to You.

The Email

Hi Stacey,

I'm writing to share that your family was not matched with S___ or with M___.  I am thankful that these kiddos have new families, but I was really hoping that your family might get matched this time.
 
Our Korea Program Coordinator did share that there was an overwhelming response from families who wanted to be matched with M___ and S___ (she said 42% of the families in our Korea Program asked to be matched with one of the children alone!). She does keep track of which families express interest in waiting children. Your previous interest in accepting a referral of a waiting child is a good thing for future requests to be matched.

I will let you know as soon as new waiting children are identified. Thanks for again opening yourself up to these waiting children.  

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

T___

The Bloody Shoe Lace

Could also be titled:  Ode to My Nikes

But the word bloody is so much more interesting.

So we are at the shoe store.  Tra la-la la-la.  Checking out running shoes for me.  I finally find a shoe I like that has my size and try it on.

First I put on my sporty socks and I notice a little red spot on one.  "Hmm.  What's that?"  Must be fuzz.  I put it on.  Then I put on the shoe auditioning to become my new workout partner for the next fourteen years.

Cute, right?

 But what is that?!

What is that red all over the shoe lace?

Ah!

There's red all over my hand.

And on my shin.

And on my pants.

My detective skills led me to find a gash in my pinky finger.

Right on the hinge.
Blood pooling.

And smearing.

Smeared.

How did I cut my finger?

I don't know.

But now I have bloodied the lace of these shoes.

Great.

What would you do?

You would sheepishly go find your husband and tell him of your misfortune.

Then you buy the shoes.

I couldn't possibly just put them back in the box and reshelve them.

How gross to try on a pair of shoes and discover someone else's pinky blood on the laces.

But this is a big decision.

I haven't bought running shoes in fourteen years.

Oh man.

You can see a bit of the blood there.

It seems to have soaked in a bit.

So these shoes win.

First pair that I tried on.

Welcome to life on my closet floor.

Running shoes, meet dancing shoes, flip flops, dress boots, and clogs.

Oh, you know what they're called?

Marathon 10.

As if I am going to wear them in a marathon.

Humorous, humorous shoes.

I am wearing them around the house tonight.

Tag still intact.

Getting a good feel for each other.

I'm one of those hesistant shoppers.

I make a purchase, then keep the tags on a few days.

Just to make sure.

We've been married ten years, Paul and I,

and he still hasn't caught on to this.

He likes to cut the tags off as soon as we get home

and put the item right in its new place.

Even my things.

Noooooooo

Let me do it.

When I'm ready.

So I should go ahead and cut the tag considering the story above and the whole reason why I bought this pair.  Just give a minute.  Maybe in the morning.

Good-bye,

dear Nikes

that I bought in Rocklin

in 1996

with my dad.

 Slick-bottomed,

paint-speckled,

torn and stained.

Comfy.

That's what they are.

My good friends.

Farewell.

Adoption News

Our homestudy is about to expire, yes, so our Adoption Specialist shall make a return visit to our home next week.  (Time to clean up the Lego/Train Room upstairs.)  She will update our homestudy, then we will be good for another year of waiting.

Speaking of waiting...  While we wait to be matched with a healthy infant, our adoption agency emails information about waiting children with mild/moderate medical needs.  In the past year we have asked to be matched with five of these waiting children from South Korea.  I think they pretty much go by which family has been waiting the longest, so we have not been matched with any of these special kids.  Yet.

A few days ago we again asked to be matched with a waiting child and should hear early next week if we are to be her parents.  Or his parents.  There are two waiting children we asked to be matched with.  We would only be matched with one.

It is unlikely that we will be matched at all since there are still many families who have been waiting longer than us, BUT you just never know.  And as in the five times before, these few days of waiting consume my mind and I constantly check my email and answering machine for a message from our Adoption Specialist.

Email = not matched.  Phone call = matched!  It's like waiting the three minutes for the home pregnancy test to show the results.  Except it's not three minutes.  It's several days.

The first time we were not matched, I was a bit teary.  I was hopeful and had already started to bond with the idea of this child.  And it's hard for me not to start thinking long term...

If we are matched, then we'll travel to Korea in 4-6 months from now.  It's time to renew my passport.  Have I saved enough money from babysitting Nolan to buy the boys plane tickets?  And this child is a girl.  I get to start collecting girl things.  Oh, what am I going to need?  And how is her medical need really going to affect our family?

See?  My stomach gets all excited.

Then the stick reads 'not pregnant.'

Five times the stick has read not pregnant.

The loss has gotten easier each time because I have tried to be more emotionally distant.  But it's still a loss.  I am thankful for the peace of believing that God's hand is in this process and He is guiding the matching.  One of these days we will be matched with just the right child for our family.  And a child will be matched with just the right family (ours!) for him/her.