We are in the 1st trimester of an extremely high risk adoption. 

Did you get that?  This is a very long shot.  But God is opening doors and we are committed to walking through them as long as they are open.  KAY is in one of the hardest countries to adopt from.  But our contact there has an excellent relationship with the "right" people... I don't want to mention the country at this point because I'm not sure I should.  But I will say this country is in Latin America... that gives you a wide variety to pick from but not the specific country.   One of the pluses, travel won't be near as difficult to this country as to Liberia. 

KAY has what appears to be mild-moderate Cerebral Palsy and could greatly benefit from therapies that she can get in the U.S. that she will not get in her country.  When adoptions happen in this country, it seems that 5 years to get a child home is not out of the norm.  We don't want to wait that long, for many reasons, but right now she is young enough that we feel with the right help, she can lead a near normal life. 

We have been trying to figure out how to make this work for about 2 months now.  But seem to have fewer answers now than we did when we started.  Isn't that the way it normally works? 

Option 1-- pay lots of money to an agency that has never facilitated an adoption in this country, but is wanting to do so.

Option 2-- try doing this independently through their government agency.  We like Option 2 better at this point, but are working on both ends to figure out how to go about it through the proper channels.

So I know you're waiting for a picture.  Wait no longer...

Isn't she a cutie????  She is 5 weeks younger than Sweet Cheeks.  I have often thought there would be twins in our future... not sure we'll get much closer than this.  :) 

It will be a HUGE miracle if this happens.  We would greatly appreciate your prayers for this process.  Also, please pray for Princess.  She has os wanted a sister old enough for her for a long time...  it is bothering her a little not to have that, again. 

We are planning to travel to meet KAY in January.   I got my passport today.  Yippee-- it was fast.  One week and 1 after I applied at the post office.  We are hoping to meet with the Social Worker, Judge and Attorney in country when we go visit. 

Again, it seems doors are opening, we're just not sure how to proceed.  We have been told that the "right" people want to see this happen too.  God's will, God's time, God's perfect plan...

Well, our  Thanksgiving Day was great. Lots of family time! 

 I had to start the day before if I wanted to get everything done, as far as food. Being a gluten free family, most of what I have to make has to be made from scratch. Yes, I buy flour mixes for the different things, but then there is a lot of preparation after that. I found out last year, that I'd have to double up the pie crusts after making them since they are so thin and have the consistency of moon sand before being baked. No joke. I actually have to put them on wax paper, roll them out and then flip them over into the pie dish because they are too fine to pick up. So, I made those the day before to get them out of the way.

I also made my first attempt at homemade gluten free stuffing. Last year, I ordered a gf mix and made it. This year, I followed a gf recipe I found online at a gf site. I must say, this stuff beat last year's mix hands down! We ALL loved it! It rivaled the Stove Top we used to eat! Now that we have a good gf stuffing recipe, I can now make my pork chops & stuffing again! Woohoo! We've really missed that. I also found an awesome mix for dinner rolls & buttermilk biscuits! Again, a lot of preparation even with the mixes, but they are GREAT!!!

The turkey also turned out much better than the last couple of years. Instead of roasting it in the oven, like usual. I decided to put it in my electric roaster this year. I usually only use this for my pot roasts. However, I wanted everything to get done around the same time this year...so, the electric roaster freed up space in my oven to cook other things. Wow! I should have done this last year! It turned out terrific! And it held the juices so much better! Definitely doing this again next year. So much easier and tastier!

As a family, we all told what we were thankful for in the past year, as well as in general. It was wonderful to hear my girls give their own thanks instead of just us adults. They seemed to enjoy it as well. My hubby then led us in prayer to our Lord for all He has given us this year and the protection He provides for us daily, even when we don't notice it. I hope everyone else's Thanksgiving was just as wonderful as ours was.

I just want to share the following that I got from Miiko Gibson's blog.  She is offering the downloads for free.  Go visit her blog too.  It looks like she has a lot of interests in common with me too.

Advent Study – Inductive Method (FREE!)

For the past four Advents, I have been blessed by Eleanor Zweigle's Advent Study using the Inductive Method. This year I'm so excited to host her study on my website again. And it is still FREE. You have her permission and blessing to download and share it with your friends. If the study blesses you and your children (I know it will!), please let her know. She is precious.

Our Advent Calendar begins November 30th this year.

Do note that these files are large (1 or 2 Mb each). Here they are in MS Word 97 format:

2008 Advent Study  Guide Introduction
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Christmas Eve

New this year!
Here are the same files in PDF format.
These are larger than the MS Word fomat files; about 2 - 5 Mb, and open in a new browser window.

2008 Advent Study  Guide Introduction
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Christmas Eve

Many blessings,

Feeding on His Faithfulness,

Carol

SInce I'm up late making pies and the like, I decided to visit some blogs while waiting for my gf pie crust to chill in the fridge for the next hour. I bopped on by Sisterchicksteph's blog and found a fun activity to partake in! She always has some really neato stuff over there. lol So, if you wish to participate, just copy and paste the list and highlight the activities you've done in your own life! Have fun! Be sure to let me know in my comments if you've decided to join in on the fun!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang/played a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (on tv...lol!! hey...it didn't specify in person on this one!)

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie (a HOME movie! lol!)

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Gotten flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (only on tv, but I've seen it!! lol!)

77. Broken a bone (wow...good timing or what? lol)

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Made a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

We have had a lot of fun the last month.  First up was our Family Fun Night at our church last month.  We had a chili/pie baking contest.  The kids can dress up if the want to.  Of course....most kids want to!  Lulu made two chocolate sundae pies.  They were yummy, yummy.  She won a prize they were so good!  It was a great evening of fellowshipping with our church family.

Lulu went as Princess Leonore from the Medieval Dinner Show.

Monkey went as Padmae when she married Annikan.

Lil went as SuperGirl!

Three very beautiful little girls if I do say so!!!

Next up on our fun list was a night out bowling.  We had never taken all three girls bowling before.  This was Lil's first time ever.  They all had so much fun.  Their Papaw is a big bowler and James used to be as well.  So needless to say they liked it.  They told their Papaw last weekend when James and I were away for the evening that they wanted to go bowling with him.

Last week we had our annual Thanksgiving Feast Day at co-op.  We love our co-op.  God has blessed our group with a terrific leader and with wonderful Christian families.  It is a strength to me to know that I have women at my fingertips that I can go to with questions and for support.  Anyway back to Feast Day... this year's theme was prairie days.  Since my girls love all things Little House on the Prairie this was perfect for them.  I managed to come up with dresses, aprons, and bonnets for all three.  (Not the best aprons and bonnets, but I tried)  We have several stations set up for the kids to travel to and learn about different aspects of living during that time period. 

Lil was practicing a leaf rubbing.  They also did potato prints.

At this station the kids learned about living without electricity and all the luxuries we live with today.  They listened to a story.  How sweet that Lil is in Lulu's lap!

Here is Monkey at my station.  We talked about how hard it was to get food.  The kids got to crack corn, grind applesauce, and crack nuts.  Thanks to James, some of the boys even got to try their had at using flint and steel.

I hope everyone has a very blessed Thanksgiving.  I know that I will.  I am already extremely blessed. 

This is their lowest price ever on the magazine and they want all of you to take advantage of this offer and share the info with your friends.

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Tonight I finished up my Thanksgiving shopping...that I know of. I think I'm all done. Should be all set for cookin'! I start tomorrow on my pies, as well as injecting my turkey with seasonings/juices from my recipe and will marinate overnight. I also took that lil trip to the docs office that I was avoiding for my finger. My mom had called earlier and asked how it was doing. For the most part it was getting a little better. I could actually move it more but stil hurt to grab anything. (yes, I can type cause I dont have to fully bend that finger) However, while I was talking with mom, I turned my finger sideways and looked at the sides of it. Not good. Both sides of my right ring finger were (and still are) dark bluish/purple. They were not that way yesterday or on Sunday afternoon when my 'accident' occurred. So, I talked myself into going to the afterhours clinic to have it checked out. While there, they x-rayed the finger and found that it is indeed fractured...but only a hairline. So, it will heal perfectly normal but will have to be careful til then. They gave me a splint for the underside of my finger, to keep it straight, but it doesn't have to be completely immobilized. I'm still deciding if it hurts more in or out of the splint. lol But I am thankful that it wasn't worse and the swelling has gone down almost completely. Good news!

UPDATE:  I received a call back from the afterhours clinic today (Wed).  They had another doctor and a radiologist look over my x-rays again. I not only have a hairline fracture radiating out from the knuckle and down, but a small shaving off of bone as well. Nice eh? They now want me to keep it in a splint as much as possible, but this really prohibits me from doing a lot of things with my right hand. So, I've been taking it off and on as needed.