Thankful!

Being without power in an ice storm helps you remember to be thankful! 

The tale of two treasures!

Treasure number one:

We took a day trip to Detroit for some adoption meetings. While there of course we see an Estate Sale sign and we just had to go! The people had beautiful things, but the things that caught our eyes were in the garage and weren't even marked with a price! They seemed surprised we wanted it and we got it for a steal!! When the guy heard it was going in our house vs where they had, in the garage, he was really surprised, but I love it!! Meet my new tea cupboard!

I love the old hardware on the door!

I think she's thirsty for some delicious tea!!

Treasure number two:

Last month, my husband told me of some things he saw in the neighbor's trash. Being new to the neighborhood and a little Leary, I said an emphatic, "No, we are not picking stuff out of the neighbors trash." Well, curiosity got the best of me and I went to the window to look. What a saw was a potential treasure!! I quickly went to find my husband, he laughed at me for changing my mind and said he would help me get it as soon as he finished what he was doing...5minutes...10minutes...seemed like and eternity as I kept glancing out to ensure it was still there! I had already decided where it was going and didn't want someone else to come along and grab it up (hoping no one else would see the beauty in it I did!). The we was ready to go.....the thrill of the find was greater than my temporary embarrassment as we looked over the piece and then hurried it across the street to our house! 

The dogs gathered round to check our our find too! 

The drawers hold my circuit supplies and the cabinet part holds all my paper! Fun...and best of all FREE!!

We Are Expecting!!!!

It is official!!  We are all approved and ready to adopt!  It is bittersweet as I think about this…I am so excited to be on this journey toward becoming a family with the children God is preparing for us.  However, in the preparation is pain.  They are going through a loss that I will never quite understand - even in my fervor of excitement and anticipation, my heart aches for these children who will soon call me mom.  I already want to earn their trust, to protect them, and love them! YIKES, "Mom" so much responsibility it is really starting to seem real.

Friends, can you pray for us as a family - that the Lord prepares our hearts for each other.  Pray that the Lord grants Beaver and I the wisdom, love, courage, and grace we need to parent these gifts the Lord is bringing into our lives!

Someone, I am sure without even thinking, asked me why I did not want kids of my own.  Let me be clear, these will be my own…our own! Beaver and I chose adoption over conception long ago, these will be our "real" kids. 

We understand there are questions that you have, please feel free to ask and share in our excitement - We Are Expecting and we are so excited to share this journey with you! Thank you for sharing in the journey and for being excited for/with us!

We also want to explain the next steps. Once children are identified as a potential match for us, the kids social worker will get our file if she agrees we would be a good match for the kids then and our social worker will get the kids file.  We will review and decided if we should proceed, if yes, we sign an intent to adopt…a contract to adopt these children even without meeting them.  To some, this sounds scary, but parents who conceive never get to choose or meet their child first either. Plus it shows commitment so that people are meeting the kids and then they never see them again. They have already had enough loss.

Then the visits start! The visit increase as we go start with an hour or so visit until overnighters then weekends etc…it is about a three month process and could mean trips all over the State. This process will be our priority over the next few months. We will be careful as we plan ahead but we ask for your understanding if we need to make changes to or cancel plans or are not as available as we typically might be!

Coveting your love, encouragement, and prayers…it takes a village, my friends, it takes a village!! 

XO, ht

My "homemade" FB cover photos

Thin for Thankgiving

I'm still in my journey to a thinner healthier me! It's tough sometimes but I am thankful for the amazing friends and family who encourage me along the way! 112 sticks of butter down...28 more until I hit my first goal!!!

Got this from a coworker today!! Cracked me up! 

Chilly Fall Sunday, perfect for New England Corn Chowda a.k.a. Chowder

I woke up with a craving got my mom's corn chowder. I asked her for the recipe, here is what she sent. 

"I use salt pork or bacon, cut up small and sauté with chopped onion and of course garlic. When that is soft add diced potatoes ,cover with water and cook until done. (not mushy) I then add corn, I mix cream corn and regular can or frozen corn.   At the very end add evaporated milk, then season to taste...salt, white pepper...whatever."

I took it from there and this is what I did...all in one pan and it really hit the spot!

Chopped 6 slices of bacon and put them in the pan and fried them up crispy then added one small onion thinly sliced and two small cloves of fresh garlic, minced. Once the onions were transparent I added two cups of water and prepped 5 large potatoes (peeled and chunked). I added those and more water to cover the potatoes. Once the potatoes were soft-ish I added two cans of whole corn and I can of creamed corn. Then I brought it to a boil and added the evaporated milk, salt and pepper. 

I served it like mom always did with saltines and butter. 

We had it again for dinner and I added a side of crackers, cheese, and sliced apples....delish!

Ingredients that I used...but you can add more or less depending on how much you want to make. You really can't go wrong! 

6 slices of bacon

2 small garlic cloves

1 small onion

5 large potatoes

2 cans or frozen packs of whole corn

1 can of creamed corn

Salt and pepper to taste

Fun with Fall Fotos...and alliteration apparently!

I am no phatographer...but I do own a camera and have a love for capturing moments in time, beauty, and God's creation, some even turn out okay! Just for fun...here are a few.

Come sit a spell, enjoy God's creation!

Sunflower 

Crisp & Delicious!

Pumpkin time!

My fall bouquet!

The Girls!

Bird sitting! 

Pretty girl!

My boys

Adirondack creek

Have I stumbled into Narnia?

Peaceful

Road trip!

Downtown 

The corner

What came first?

Puppy love!

Finally, it blooms!

Can I wine?!

Market

You say tomato...

Goals.

One mans junk is another man's treasure!

A few fun before and after projects we have done lately! 

Wall sconce .50 cents: Before (Forgot to grab a true before shot until I had already started painting) 

Wall sconce: After

 

Lamp $3.00: Before

Lamp: After

Wall lamps $5.00: Before

Wall lamps: After (I still need to finish the shades)