New Aaron Pics

January

It is hard to believe that January is almost gone. It is a cold and windy morning. It makes me appreciate a warm house and a husband who once again has a more flexible schedule. My husband work has been down a person and thus he has been working more hours and being on call most nights. This will soon come to an end because they have hired a new guy. So this morning he doesn't have to go in till lunchtime. I am adjusting to working less and liking what I can accomplish. It is sometimes hard to quantify at the end of the day but it does feel good.

We continue to wait to here on Aaron. It is so close I can taste it. I have found that waiting is harder when you can see the end in site. When it is far away - you say okay Lord I wait. When it is close you say can I have it now Lord daily. But it is just as important to wait now as when it is far away. If we rush it we mess up God's timing(not that God can be messed up) and we may miss a blessing or create a problem. So I wait knowing God's timing is perfect even if I don't get to know exactly when it is. Thanks to everyone for their prayers.

Perry the Builder

Anyone who knows my husband knows he avoids building or repairing things if he can. However with Aaron's room I must brag on him. He has put together the rocking chair and ottoman. He also built this closet organizer/storage area. We ended up with as much hanging space as we started and we now have shelving for toys and clothes and sheets. My husband did this and I am proud of him. We also learned that our closet is only 4 feet wide which they tell us is unusual. I guess most are 5 feet or larger but we were able to make this work with some pressure rods. Less holes in the wall and adjustable. I like it.

Pictures from the Shower

Church Baby Shower

I just wanted to post and thank the Ladies from church who gave me a shower this weekend. It was so much fun. They decided to have a covered dish and have the men banished to our house across the street. I don't have any pictures of the shower yet but when I do I will post them. Kristen had all sorts of games and she had created some on her own. Several of the guests gave me money and I wanted to let them know what I purchased with their money. Not all of it exciting but definitely useful. Those that gave us Walmart cards I am saving for just before we go to Guatemala. The ladies purchased many extremely cute outfits in various sizes so I should be good to go. Thanks everyone for a fun evening. Oh by the way I heard the fellas had fun talking and playing scene it ESPN.

Totally different subject but if you are looking for an inexpensive way to get art. You might try and puzzle and a store bought frame. This is a picture for Aaron's room.

Adoption Update

We have had an adventure this past week in the adoption world. We had been told at the beginning of the week that things were on hold due to the changes in Guatemala. I proceeded to have rash thoughts like I am going to Guatemala and staying. After a talk with my husband and the Lord reminding us to wait we decided to be patient. Later that week I told my mom what was going on and then went upstairs to check our email. When I got upstairs there was email from our caseworker that we had been submitted to the final step. We don't know how long it will take but we know God's timing is perfect.

January or is it March

The last couple of days temperature wise have been amazing. Perry and I just got back from Harrisburg. We had some paperwork to get stamped. We looked at our grass and we think it is growing. It will be hard to go back to winter but it is also beautiful. Did I mention we are not wearing coats.

Also Samantha and I got to go to DC to see Brandy and Paul in their new home. I would say, besides getting to see their new place and church, the international grocery store was the best part. It was twice the size of our local grocery store and the selection was amazing.

Here are a couple of pictures of Aaron these are not very good the lighting turned him green.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year one and all. We were awake for new year's because Perry got called in twice to work. We heard the gunshots....yes this is how rural people celebrate New Year's. Note Mythbusters has proven that a person can be hit by a bullet shot strait up in the air.

I have been reading several blogs about saving money when it comes to food. So it got me to thinking of how I stretch food especially when there is a crowd.

1. Double the amount of taco stuffing by adding a drained can of beans (kidney or black bean)
2. Make Chili go farther with more beans and also add pasta if needed
3. Soup veggies are cheap. Use more veggies in soup if the flavor is good less meat is fine
4. Soups can be made to go farther with pasta or rice
5. Also bread and jelly for a meal filler is always good. Fun story - Ben (6 years old) was at my house and was not thrilled with tacos....put jelly and peanut butter on tortilla and he liked it. When he was at mom's he ask for it again. When in doubt serve bread.
6. Gravies can go far and if made right don't have to be full of fat. Use dried chipped beef, turkey sausage or hamburger (if burger season gravy for interest paprika pepper etc) make with skim milk and cornstarch.
7. Store biscuits are expensive - make drop biscuits if more inspired make cut biscuits. Cheap and in my opinion not time consuming or expensive.