We got mashed yams, yams with nuts, buttered yams.....

I must apologize to my momma Betty for our behavior during Thanksgiving dinner at the farm. Rolling our eyes and smirking when you handed us that pen and construction paper was completely uncalled for. Giggling with my hubby about how we would intentionally make our "hand turkeys" big and fat was rude and immature. The worst of all was definately when we sat down with you in the middle of the floor and made fun of the 18th century scissors ya'll were using to cut out these innovative turkey feathers.

But you didn't care. You tolerated our antics, as you always do. And look what you created. The most beautiful turkey we've ever seen! Hopefully, this is the beginning of a fun new family tradition.

This turkey, combined with the the cackling of all the girls cousins, 4 different versions of sweet potatoes, and my awesome butterfinger cake made Thanksgiving 2010 the best ever!

Poor Robyn, she hates sweet potatoes with a passion. Those yams about did her in!

In all seriousness, it was so wonderful to have the whole family there for a meal together. Papaw's house was filled with laughter, love, and the smell of pumpkin pie! I met baby Tori for the first time, Gavin got to go on a hike with uncle Conrad, and we all got to visit with out-of-town cousins.

We also had a great dinner with Hubby's family. As always, the food was awesome. We all plopped down on the couches after eating and visited for about 2 hours, while the kids wrestled and played in the floor.

We're healthy, happy, and blessed. Here's to a wonderful Christmas Season!

6 Minute Turkey

My mom and sisters have heard Big G's version of the first Thanksgiving. It was so cute I thought I would share it with the bloggy world. It isn't verbatim, but it's close.

"The King wouldn't let us pray, so he put us on the Mayflower and shipped us here. We built houses out of wood and nails. The Indians showed us how to cook chickens on a stick. They showed us how to plant corn by putting fish in the ground. Then we had a long winter and ate 90 plates of food".

When asked how to prepare a Thanksgiving meal, he responded:

"Put on your boggin and boots. Get on the four wheeler and ride up the mountain. Shoot and turkey and yank its feathers out, because they don't taste good. Then mom will put some butter on it and cook it for 6 minutes".

Apparently, he has begun to notice that my secret ingrediant is always butter. Oh well, no one is complaining!

Happy Thanksgiving to all. May your fishy corn and 6 minute Turkey be everything you dreamed of!

We wear it well!

The "Adoption is Love" shirts are traveling far! Today they were worn by good friends in several different towns. Also, I know there are two Adoption is Love shirts in Washington state!  I was not at all expecting to see my BFF Liz wearing hers this morning, but it brought such a smile to my face. I saw another one on a teacher at our son's elementary school.

As I've said before, this is no definite timeline for our adoption. We may get a child next month or wait until next Christmas. Either way, it is so comforting to know that the message of adoption is spreading throughout a little piece of our world.

 I have to remind myself that the purpose of this blog shouldn't just be our journey to a child. It should also be about the miracle of adoption in the heart of every Christian.

God has the ability to take two seemingly hopeless situations and turn them into a beautiful forever family. You may not feel called to adopt, but every one of us is called to care. A simply prayer is a great way to start :)

By the way, I am beyond thankful that this is a TWO DAY WORK WEEK! I'm sure I am getting some amen's from fellow teachers right now!

What does any of this have to do with ME?

Just a forethought: THANKS to anyone out there who reads my blogs. I don't do this to be heard or seen, but rather to keep everyone informed about our adoption and to raise awareness about adoption in general. Please leave me comments, they are such an encouragement to read!

In February of 2009, Mrs. Ponnee was so kind to email me about an adoption conference coming up at Southern Seminary.  Dr. Russell Moore was the key speaker and Andrew Peterson did the worship music ( he remains my fave artist).

This link takes you to an excerpt written by Russell Moore. He and his wife Maria adopted two sweet boys from a Russian orphanage. His words break my heart everytime I read them.

He makes it very clear that the issue of adoption isn't just for people who want more children. It is for those who can pray, give, and go!

Adoption applies to all believers. It isn't just about the unwanted and orphaned children in our world. It is also about the wonderful love and mercy of God. God adopted all of us when we first believed in him.

http://www.russellmoore.com/2009/01/16/finding-jesus-in-a-russian-orphanage/

Move over Sandra Lee!

I LOVE to watch cooking shows, and my favorite is Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee. She is really good. But she drinks about two cocktails before the 30 minute episode is over. So I am preparing to take over when the time is right.

I decided it should be Kinda-Homemade with Suzi. Here is my attempt at it. I was nervous about this recipe, as I kinda made it up ( hence the name of my imaginary cooking show)!

This CHOCOLATE CHIP POUND CAKE is absolutely divine. A BIG slice of this cake paired with vanilla ice cream and hot coffee is the perfect way to end a cold workday!

Disclaimer- This recipe is the polar opposite of healthy and low-fat. It is saturated with chocolate awesomeness!

Here is the recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees & grease bundt pan.
2. Mix together the following: 1 pkg devils food cake, 1 pkg instant chocolate pudding, 3 eggs, 16 oz sour cream, 1/2 cup oil, 2 cups chocolate chips.
3. Pour into bundt cake and bake for 50-60 minutes.
4. Sprinkle with powdered sugar & ENJOY!

The batter is very thick. Don't worry, it will turn out fine.

Gavin isn't a big chocolate fan. But you can judge for yourself his reaction to this pound cake!

Love Is Here

I was listening to Pandora tonight as I was working on a research paper and heard this song. It's been a favorite of mine since the first time I heard it. So in response to Marcie's post over at DWYH, this is me saying that I am UNASHAMED!

Listen and enjoy ♥

Missionaries, Cookies, Cards, & Lightbulbs

I promise that this picture makes sense. Just keep reading.....

I was asked to help with a youth girls "retreat" over the weekend. It could have been a regular sleepover, but it ended up being SO MUCH MORE! It really did my heart good to be around the sweet joy and laughter of our great FBC youth girls. It made me forget for just a moment about the ups and downs and hurt of the adoption journey.

We had dinner with and listened to an amazing missionary from Southeast Asia. The girls made cookies and cards for some local shut-ins, and also wrote letters to missionaries from around the world. It's amazing how easy it is to do something nice for someone. I would have loved to have helped the girls deliver those baskets of fresh-baked cookies and homemade cards!

Before bed, we watched a great movie about a missionary in the jungles of Columbia. If you get a chance, you need to watch " The Last Flight Out". It's definately not a big Hollywood production, but it's a great family movie with a great message.

At one point in the movie, a medical missionary is seriously injured. The pilot flying him asks why he still has faith. His response floored me. So simple, and so powerful. I have been going back to it time and time again this week. It was like a lightbulb moment for me. Ever have those?

As I wrestle with why the situation with the twins fell apart and why we haven't been successfully matched, I keep hearing " There is no better place to be than in the center of God's will- unless of course you are in His presence".

If we are meant to adopt, we will find the perfect child ( or they will find us). We've had a rough couple days letting go of the idea of bringing home those sweet girls, but we know we that things are happening as they are meant to.

P.S. The "Adoption is Love" shirts have been a big hit. THANK YOU GUYS !!! If you are interested in supporting our family on our adoption journey, you can check them out on my Facebook page ( there is an album of photos with the items/prices).

Out of my hands

Hurt is inevitable in adoption....

Just a quick update, as I don't really feel like typing out a long blog.

I keep thinking about something I read last night on another adoptive mama's blog. She said that getting pregnant is never a guarentee, no matter how hard you want it to happen. But if you can withstand the wait and hurt that comes with adoption, you will be successful. May not be true, but it is making me feel better today.
We were communicating with a family wanting to place their 1 yr old twins. We even watched a video of the girls playing. I was hooked, and Hubby was pretty excited too. And in my true nature, I had their names already.

Unfortunately, there are some questions concerning who actually has custody of these sweet babies. There is a language barrier, so it is hard to get a direct answer.

To sum it up, we are not very hopeful. The only hope we have is that God would place a burden on the birthmom's heart to place these girls with us (she has been told she will lose her rights either way).

So once again, please pray. Pray that these girls will find their forever home. Even if it isn't with us, they deserve it.

New Blog Look & New Adoption Updates

Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't really have an accent and I use pretty good grammer most of the time ( thanks Big Dave!) However, I find myself using a ton of phrases that I am sure are unique to Southeastern KY.

With that said, I am trying not to jump the gun here. I'm pretty good about not puttin' all my eggs into one basket, but I'm as nervous as a kitty in a room full of rockin' chairs waiting to hear back from our adoption agency.

As of right now, we are being presented in two different situations. One is a baby due in Febuary, and the other is 14 month old twin girls. YES, I said twin girls!

Can you hear me laughing at myself through that computer? It makes me chuckle to think about me chasing around two little girls. But there is a sweet smile with that chuckle.

It is overwhelming to think about our profiles being looked at by two different families. This may be the beginning of something. It may not. I take so much comfort in knowing that my God knows exactly what is going to happen and that he planned it all for a purpose.

Funny story to share: I texted a friend today and told her to double her prayers tonight. She called me within 5 minutes ( shes a texter, not a talker). When I answered she practically jumped through the phone and said " You CAN'T send me a text like that and not explain yourself!"