Introducing!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

This is our little angel!! My first try at a slide show. She came to the orphanage in February at 9 months and 8 pounds. She is now about 17 months and 17 pounds and standing all by herself. WOW!! I cannot wait to hold her!!

I cannot thank you enough for your prayers. HE HEARD AND HE ANSWERED!!

WAITING

What does a blogger do while she's waiting...she blogs! And prays. LOTS!!!

Wait: to hold oneself ready for an arrival or occurrence. to be in expectation or hope of something.

The Bible says:

Psalm 27:4 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope."

Isaiah 40 :31 "But they that wait upon the Lord; shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not by weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

If you have any more good ones, let me know. As I wait, and pace, and pray for my phone call that reveals our daughter's court results!

So much to say

I have wanted to blog, literally, for weeks. Our home has been under a lot of stress. Mostly, however, it is not (directly, anyway!) my stress. So I have struggled with how much to share. Scott is having a hard time with the stock market. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is. Suffice to say that his clients are so lucky. He cares about them very much!

Noelle has been struggling with many things, both physical and emotional. Sometimes the hardest part has been deciding which are which. She will be going back to Walnut Ridge, a private Christian school, on Monday. Not an easy choice to make.

Jake is doing really well. But life is full of new things for a 16 year old almost man. Dances, girls, choices about spare time, learning about money, etc. He got a job at Target! Yeah, Jake. But he says the discount is just for him. I asked how much the discount was, and he didn't even know. OK, I am pretty sure I would have considered that a benefit worth knowing about! Get this...he sold his Xbox 360. If you don't have teenagers you might not know what a big deal this is but...WOW! I just pray that we don't "neglect" him in the face of all the "crises" we are dealing with. Man, I love my kids!!

Which leads us to child #3. The one "stuck" in Ethiopia. Our new court date is October 30th. God's plan is so much better than my plan. If she had passed on her original date I have no idea how we would have travelled. There are still many miracles to occur for us to travel in November, praying that she passes this time. I do have a volunteer to travel with me if Scott is unable. Thank you, Christy (my sister-in-law, sister in my heart)! We can pretend that we are on Amazing Race. Speaking of which, there is a local one-day version I am dying to do, wish you were here! You have to be 18 or Jake would love to do it! He says I should call and ask, at 6'2" he can probably pass for 18.

Then there's me. God is so taking care of me! With a little earthly help from my mom. Praise the Lord for her. She is a retired counselor which helps in so many ways. Yesterday, the day I took care of the school stuff for Noelle, was a little stressful. But pretty much, if I feel like if I am heading for the edge, HE pulls me back.

The greatest thing, is that God is pulling Scott and I, especially Scott, right into His waiting arms!

Open your heart!

There are two little angels that have been on my heart lately. One is a sweet little girl named Abby. She is three years old and is struggling with leukemia. You can read her story at http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/. Some friends of Abby's are trying to raise enough money to purchase her some fun wigs. Please consider donating and definitely add Abby to your prayer list!

The second little one is also three years old. His name is Samuel. You can read Samuel's story at http://www.paul-samuelphillipson.blogspot.com/. Samuel was involved in a tractor accident and has required many surgeries and will have to undergo many more. Funds are being raised for Samuel and his family at http://www.mikeanddianeandtribe.blogspot.com/. Again, please consider giving and absolutely get down on your knees.

These two stories have helped Scott and I to keep our eternal perspective despite the unsettled economy.

Apple Picking

Noelle and Hailey
Scott reaching for the really high, really shiny ones!
Farmers for a day.
This one is for you, Judy. It's not Iowa, but it's close.

Wow! Isn't God the most amazing artist. We all needed a breath of fresh air this weekend so we headed out to Gays Mills, Wisconsin for some apple picking. We went to Starry Ridge Orchards and picked our own. It was so fun, and relaxing. The colors were wonderful and the apples are fantastic. They recommended a combination of Cortland and Spartan, so that's what we picked. I made apple crumble last night. I found the recipe on Food Network's website.

Apple Crumble

Filling (I doubled all of this, except the lemon, I only had one):

4 large apples (about 3 pounds)

1/4 cup sugar

1 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

1 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped

1 cup flour

1 1/4 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Set oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Peel, core and slice apples into 1/4-inch slices. Place apples in a large mixing bowl and toss with sugar, lemon juice, flour and cinnamon. Pour into a lightly greased 9 by 13 inch baking dish, spread into an even layer. In another large bowl, mix together the nuts, flour, oats, sugar and cinnamon. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, gently work in the cold butter until pea-sized lumps are formed. Top apples evenly with mixture and bake until apples are bubbly and topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes, rotating halfway through cooking. (Mine took at least 10 minutes longer, probably because I doubled the apples!) Yummy!!

I have been tagged!

Ok, so there are the rules. But I don't know how to post links with just the person's name. Maybe someone can comment and let me know how. Marisa, http://www.jmfoltz.blogspot.com/, tagged me. So here goes:

1. I collect, and use, eclectic and vintage purses. Unfortunately, because most of them are very old, they generally wear out long before I would like them to.

2. Many times a week I eat the same breakfast: Go lean crunch cereal, mixed with berries and yogurt from Moo Roo. http://www.hansendairy.com/ (Way fun dairy tour if you are ever in Iowa!)

3. I like crossword puzzles and sudoku, and often do them before I go to sleep.

4. I am lactose intolerant and both our kids are fructose intolerant. I used to love to cook, but it has gotten much less fun with all of the restrictions!

5. I love to kayak!! It is so peaceful. The air smells good and the water feels good. We went for our anniversary this year on the Root River in Lanesboro (Minnesota). I really want to go in Northern Wisconsin near the Apostle Islands and on the east coast, maybe in Maine. I love to travel and there are very few places that I do not want to go.

6. I was never in drama "growing up". But as an adult, I have been in three plays at the local children's theater. "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse", "Bridge to Terabithia", and "Henry and Ramona". It is very fun to interact with the kids, and be someone else for awhile.

7. My husband and I met on a missions trip to the Fiji Islands with Teen Missions International.

I tag: Katie (http://www.beyonddecaf.com/), Dawn (http://www.clivedawnb.blogspot.com/), Julie (http://www.fourplusmore.wordpress.com/), Diane (http://www.mikeanddianeandtribe.blogspot.com/), Amber (http://www.skywardjourney.wordpress.com/), Emily (http://www.teamalexander.blogspot.com/), and Carolyn (http://www.twietconfetti.blogspot.com/). It is very funny to me that I have only met in person one of these people. I wish my sisters blogged, but they don't!

Side note: As I am sure you are all aware, the financial climate sucks! As some of you may not know, my husband is a financial advisor. We were brainstorming ways to cut back financially and he suggested the Internet. I said, "Sorry!" I will skip going out to eat, I will wash and iron tons of dress shirts, I will give up magazines, but I can't give up my email and blogs!

This is for Marisa!

I have been requested to post my recipe for White, or Chicken, Lasagna. First, this is not my recipe, but it comes from a fantastic cookbook called "First Impressions". You can get your very own copy at http://www.jlwcf.org/. See "cookbook" on the left sidebar. Only $15 for a beautiful hardbound cookbook. Great Christmas present. Check out Texas Caviar, Lime Tequila Chicken Fajitas, Honey Glazed Carrots and lots of other goodies!

OK, here it is:

White Lasagna

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon white pepper (I only had black pepper!)

2 cups half and half

2 cups chicken broth

8 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles

5 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts (I poached them, to keep them moist)

12 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded ( I used a little more, and used half Mozzarella)

Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet until light brown. Add the wine and tarragon and cook over medium heat until the liquid evaporates.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in the flour, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the half and half and chicken broth gradually. Cook until thickened and smooth, stirring constantly. Stir in the mushrooms.

Cook the noodles using the package directions, rinse with cold water and drain.

Spread a thin layer of the sauce in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Layer the noodles, chicken, sauce and cheese 1/3 at a time in the prepared dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves: 8

Bon Appetit!

No words

Our daughter's court date has been postponed due to a missing document. The document arrived yesterday, but apparently should have been there a week ago. Her new court date is October 30th. I cannot imagine what we will miss this month. I am just heartbroken and physically ill. I keep trying to remember that this is better than a denial. I keep trying to remember that God's timing is perfect. It doesn't feel perfect.