Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures to wet your appetite. I am still learning how to function and get things done. Mr Aaron is doing great - he likes to watch people and is becoming less shy of being held by others. He is napping at the moment.

Home Again

We have made it home. It has been an amazing and in some ways a hard to believe week. We are incredibly grateful to Brandy and Paul for letting us stay with them; we would have been nonfunctional without them. We left Brandy and Paul's at 3:30AM; no that is not a typo. We arrived in Guatemala City at about 2:00PM mountian time. Aaron arrived about 4 o'clock. Part of his foster family brought him. We were able on Monday to have lunch with the whole family. This was so good we got to see how interacted with his foster family and how in reality he ate and what he ate. He is wake up twice a night guy with three 45 minute naps. Tuesday we were at the Emabassy getting his papers in line this took most of the morning. Perry returned Wednesday to pick up the papers. Thursday we went to the zoo. I don't how many people will be visiting Guatemala but the zoo was great. Friday we headed out. Aaron was great on both flights but in different ways. The first flight he played the whole time and the second he slept the whole time and continued to do so for 12 hours - with his usual wake ups. We literally flew through customs we were to allow 3 hours and we were through immigration and back through security in less than 45 minutes. He was not too upset by the car seat. Considering he has never used one this is great. It works best if he can't see me because then he thinks he should be in my lap. Only one melt down on the drive back because I was sitting in the back...lesson learned. Mom and Dad and Papa and Mama all came over to visit. I will post pictures in the next day or two. Thanks again for all your prayers.

The Plan

Well after multiple phone calls we have a plan for our trip. We are going to leave Sabbath after lunch. Brandy and Paul once again have generously opened their house to us. We will be leaving before breakfast on Sunday for Guatemala. We are returning on Friday and will come home sometime on Saturday. We have decided to get an actual seat for Aaron on the way home. We hope this will make the trip easier. Today I am going to do some serious packing. Perry is going to work 3 12 hour days before we leave. Friday will be my last day for a while.

Shouting from the Rooftops

Yes, Aaron is coming home. There is shouting and praising God going on at the Barbee house. We will leave Sunday and our appointment will be Tuesday. We will probably come home Friday. Once detials are settled we'll let you know. Thank you for all your prayer and support.

Children's Message Idea

I don't know if any of you ever wake up with ideas in your head but I woke up with this one. I haven't found the perfect verse yet but here is the idea. Maybe you could use it sometime. The pieces of the quilt or plain white cross stitch panel and some thread would work as well. When we are living our lives we often feel like these pieces we don't seem to fit together or look very or seem very useful but God has a plan and if we are patient we can sometime begin to see the plan. Like my quilt in process. I am beginning to look like something but what happens if I stop here. Will I be able to put anything my bag is it really pretty not finished (if using cross stitch use a partially finished project or one that has a pattern on it so they can see what it is to be like). But if we are patient and trust that God loves us and has a plan for us we can see what we can become.
Now let me show what this looks like finished. Isn't this better than just squares or even my partially finished one. If we trust God he will finish us and it will be more wonderful than we can imagine.(if using cross stitch show finished project)
The two verses I had in mind at the moment are Isaiah 64:8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. or Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Yes I know my picture is sideways. I forgot to flip it and can't figure out how to delete it and repost it. Enjoy the thought though and the bag is my finished diaper bag.

Weights

Well Mr. Aaron as of 9 months and 18 days was 18 pounds and 8 ounces. He was 72 centimeters long which for us Americans this is a little over 28 inches long. It daily gets harder to wait but easier at the same time. It is harder because it is so close...we might hear this week. But it is easier because the time of waiting is almost done and that is amazing. Though it feels like forever our referral was at the beginning of August and Guatemala has been through many changes and each step of the way God has made it possible. Yes people were doing their jobs but every time we were told that this a problem, or don't expect to hear anything a word come and a step would be completed. You can call it what you want but I call it God's prefect timing.

Pictures of Aaron

These are not the most flattering pictures but they are the newest. I think they woke him up from a nap and he is not happy.

Perry's Birthday

We celebrated Perry's birthday today. It was actually yesterday. Perry wanted ribs for his dinner and Dad's bread with jelly is the best. This big kid makes me laugh, love and appreciate all the the things he does for me.
This is the you are special plate. It is a family tradition to have a special plate for special occasions and of course birthdays qualify. But we look for other excuses to bring it out. It makes me think of the MmMm Good bowl. What is the link. As a child my mom sent in some upcs and got two MmMm Good bowls. In the time that followed one got broken. So it was always a question of who would get this special bowl...no it wasn't any larger, or more costly...but it was special because it was different. Which reminds me that value of things are not always measured in it cost. But the value you give it and the memories that it holds. So the value of that bowl or even my plate may not be great but I hope that the memories will be. In what do you find value this day is it things, people, or maybe even your relationship with God?

Finished Project

This is the result of my quilting class. I had never quilted on a machine. It almost felt like cheating but I think it turned out okay. I am making a bigger one that may make a diaper bag or beach bag. I haven't decided. We are making a turning 20 quilt this month. I will post the results.

Recipe

Well folks I tried another new recipe and it got rave reviews from my husband so here it is. I will confess did not exactly follow the recipe. So I will give you the official version from Pampered Chef and then the variation notes. Also it let me grill outside but you can also broil in the oven.

Apricot-Glazed Chicken

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger root
4 pressed garlic cloves
1 broiler fryer chicken cut in quarters
1/3 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

Combine soy sauce, vinegar, oil, ginger, and cloves. Put marinade in a large plastic bag along with the chicken. Marinate 8 hours in the refrigerator. Grill on medium heat 40 to 50 minutes. Melt the apricot preserves in the microwave(30 t0 40 seconds). Brush on the chicken and continue to grill 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with onions and almonds before serving.

Now the unofficial directions.
*A half hour marinade will still give great flavor. I forgot to marinate overnight.
*I used boneless chicken and it only takes 20 to 30 minutes on the grill
* I am not thrilled with vinegar so I only used half the amount...I didn't have rice vinegar in the house so I used Apple Cider Vinegar
*I melted the preserves in a skillet and just dropped the chicken into it...continued cooking the same.
*Also if you don't have sesame oil just use regular oil
*I didn't have fresh ginger so I used 1 tsp of powder ginger. The general rule I have been taught is 1 tsp of dry to 1Tbsp of fresh
*If you don't have slivered almonds just use a food processor and grind up whole almonds.
I don't see any reason you couldn't use another kind of nuts (peanut, walnuts,etc.)
*Technically onions and almonds are for looks but they do taste good but you could eliminate if you don't have them
*Also if you don't have apricot preserves I am sure you could use another fruit preserve (orange, apple, raspberry)

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Youth Retreat

Here are a couple of pictures of the youth retreat. They watched a video series of the book Case for Christ, which is a very good book. It can be a little technical so if you are overwhelmed look for the student edition. We also had a very nice afternoon of football. It was so much fun for the first time this year to be bare foot. Yes I had not changed from my church clothes...I could not resist a good game. Saturday night after a lesson they went to the Smith and had a game night. I stayed with Dusty Davis and had a good time talking and hanging out. Then we returned home encouraged and inspired.