Memories from Ethiopia - Streets of Addis Ababa

Since I started this week with the adoption I thought I might as well share some of our pictures we took when we were in Ethiopia in March. In a few days the courts in Ethiopia open once again after being closed for 2 months. I know there are many families waiting to bring their children home. I hope this will help some of you with the wait.

Today I picked some pictures of the city streets in Addis Ababa (capital city). I believe the pictures speak for themselves. Remember Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world.Who needs hands when you have a head?
You can buy anything on the streets of Addis (tires for your tractor anyone)?





I am sure some of you will recognize this street. This is the front gate to AHOPE orphanage. This is a house around the corner from American embassy.


Nobody who visits Ethiopia can forget all the blue taxis.

I would not dare drive in Ethiopia. Even though the streets were wide, with at least three lanes, they were always packed with cars (or goats donkeys etc...). To this day I have no idea how we got from one place to another.

An outdoor market on the way down from Entono mountain.
Goats. You can see them everywhere. I never saw any real pastures for them but I sure saw lots of goats walking thought the streets of Addis.

6 months

Can you believe it has been six months since we brought Jordan home? The time sure flies by fast. This was Jordan's expression six months ago. She wasn't so sure what was going on. She still gets this expression when we are outside and strangers try talking to her. I guess the most obvious things are that she has longer hair and four teeth. She is walking now and she eats regular food (lots of it). She no longer drinks from a bottle but uses a sippy cup like her older sister.

She recognize Fil and I and all her siblings. She made it through the nursery at church a few weeks ago (cried only for 2 minutes) and was so very happy to see us after (she did not last very long last week and I had to stay with her, but that is ok I can deal with that).

Jo is happy playing around the house and no longer clings to me all the time. She loves to play with Emma and their wooden kitchen set. She loves books (she calls them Bibles for now, close enough).

She is trying to talk. It amazes me how many words she knows. All of our kids were late talkers so she shocked me by trying to say all of the kids names and even putting two word sentences together.

We had our 6 months post placement visit with our social worker a few weeks ago. We are doing great and moving forward with Jo's development. When we discussed Jo's late walking, comparing it with Sam, Nate and Emma who were very early walkers, our social worker told us that kids develop first physically or verbally. Never both at the same time. This makes total sense now since Jo is talking so much more then the other kids but started walking later.

Jo also had all her testing redone at six months and our Dr. told us that is last thing we need to do in relation to the adoption. If everything comes back clear Jo will be on the same track as other kids her age.

Looking back I have to say there was a big change in Jordan after 4 months. Somehow Jordan got it we were her family. I remember reading that after the four months mark something clicks in healthy adopted babies and I can tell you from experience there is something to it. She now knows she is part of this crazy family and she is happy about it (well she might have her moments but nothing like when we brought her home).

When we started our adoption process I had no idea how I would respond to a child I did not give birth to. I wasn't scared by it but I did wonder how much I would bond with Jordan. All though I fell in love Jordan right away I did not have that special bond with her right away like I had with the other kids after they were born (but I did have whole nine months during my pregnancy with them). I have that special bond with Jo now but it did take few months to fully develop it between us. I know it might seem strange to some people but I see no color diference in my kids. They all have a different story how they came to be with us and I feel very blessed that God placed them (for a little while) in our lives. Everyday is a adventure in our family and even though I am the teacher in our homeschool studies I still learn so much from my own kids.

Sunday Reflections

Unless the LORD builds the house,

its builders labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city,

the watchmen stand guard in vain.
Psalm 127:1

Freezing meals

I have been asked lately a lot about freezing meals. I know I was a little obsessed with cooking this past week but I promise this is my last post about cooking for a while. I will pick a different topic next week.

I love to cook and when I am in the kitchen I cook a lot of food. I like to have something on hand when we are too busy or if I just do not feel like spending time in the kitchen. Here are a few meals you will always find in my freezer.

TOMATO SAUCE: I wrote about my homemade tomato sauce a while back. You can use it for a ton of meals starting with pasta, Mexican food, pizza or just sauce to go with meat. I like my own tomato sauce but I did find one recipe that we all like. You can find link for it here.

MEATBALLS: I have my own recipe that is a mixture of three different recipes together. When I make meat balls I make a lot of them so they last a long time (but you can buy meat balls already done and keep in the freezer on hand).

SOUPS: Especially now when the weather is cooling down we love to sit down at the end of the day and have some nice thick soup. Our favorite is pea soup but I like to make bean soup, cauliflower soup or broccoli soup as well (I also make my own chicken stock. I like to know what is in my food and you will find that in my freeze at all times).

MEAT: I make taco meat when I get a big pack of ground beef. I cook it all then freeze it into smaller sizes to fit our family. It works better for me this way. I also keep a small bowl in the freezer for extra leftovers. You would be surprised how quickly it adds up to a whole meal for a family instead of it dumping it to the trash can. I also make all kinds of chicken and beef meals that we like and then freeze them. Then I just have to make a side dish to go with it.

DESSERTS: I have great experience with cookies, muffins and any kind of blueberry deserts. This year I also froze apple pies so I will see how that will work out.

I also keep a big bag of fish sticks (I do not make my own I get that in Costco warehouse) but I do make fresh fish at least once a week. I also keep a lot of bread in the freezer.

FRESH FRUIT: I like to freeze fresh fruit like blueberries and strawberries in the summer in 1 cup portions. I use then thoughout the year for smoothies.

Just in case you are wondering I do have a big freezer in our basement. It is very full right now but knowing my kids it will not last for a long.

PEAR and ALMOND TART

This is a recipe that caught my eye many years ago. I just loved the picture and it reminded me of European desserts. Anyway I finally tried it this Sunday. I made it for our Bible study. I had two bites. That is it. Everybody loved it and I cannot wait to make it again so I can have a bit piece for myself:) I know the recipe looks complicated but it is worth of every step (by the way I got this recipe from February 2005 Bon Appetit magazine). PEAR AND ALMOND TART

(8 servings)

PEARS*

4 cups water

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 medium-size firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled (each about 7 ounces)

CRUST

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds

1/4 tsp salt

9 Tbsp (1 stick plus 1 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg yolk 1/14 cups all purpose flour

ALMOND FILLING

2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds

1 Tbsp all purpose flour

7 Tbsp sugar

6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

FOR PEARS: Bring 4 cups water, sugar, and lemon juice to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add pears. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until pears are very tender, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool pears in syrup. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

FOR CRUST: Blend powdered sugar, almonds, and salt in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and blend until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Mix in egg yolk. Add four. Using on/off turns, blend until dough comes together in clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

FOR ALMOND FILLING: Finely grind almonds and flour in processor. Mix in 7 Tbsp sugar, then butter, blending until smooth. Mix in egg. Transfer filling to medium bowl. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375F. Roll out chilled dough on floured sheet of parchment paper to 12-inch round, lifting and turning dough occasionally to free from paper. Using paper as aid, turn dough into 9-inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom; peel off paper. Seal any cracks in dough. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in, making double -thick sides. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze crust 10 minutes.

Line crust with buttered foil, buttered side down, then fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust until sides are set, About 20 minutes. Remover foil and beans. Bake crust until sides are golden and bottom is set, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes longer. Cool crust in pan on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.

Spread almond filling evenly in crust. Stem pears and cut each in half lengthwise; scoop out cores. Cut each half crosswise into thin slices. Gently press each pear half to fan slices but keep slices tightly overlapped. Slide spatula under pears and arrange atop filling like spokes of wheel with narrow ends in center.

Bake tart until golden and tester inserted into center of filling comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Push pan bottom up, releasing tart from pan. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Cut tart into wedges; sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve.

* If you what to save time, do what some French women do in a hurry-use canned pear halves. Just drain the canned pears, dry them very well, and carry on.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Squares

I have been busy baking this weekend and I came across some new recipes that we all felt in love with and I am going to share them with you.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Squares

(makes 16)

Crust

1 Cup all purpose flour

3/4 Cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced

1 cup pecan halves (about 4 ounces)

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

Filling

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

Topping

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

FOR CRUST: Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously butter 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Using on/off turns, blend first 4 ingredients in processor until coarse meal forms. Add pecans; using on/off turns, process until nuts are chopped. Add oats; process using on/off turns until mixture is moistened but not clumping. Press 3 1/2 cups crumbs onto bottom of prepared square pan (do not clean processor). Transfer remaining crumbs to lined baking sheet. Bake crumbs on sheet until golden, stirring once, about 12 minutes. Cool crumbs. Bake crust until golden, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.

FOR FILLING: Blend all ingredients in same processor until smooth. Spread filling over warm crust; bake until set, dry in center, and beginning to rise at edges, about 20 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

FOR TOPPING: Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Spread evenly over hot filling. Bake until topping sets and bubbles at edges, about 5 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. Sprinkle crumbs over topping; gently press into topping. Cover; chill until cold, about 2 hours.

Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Apple picking

Can you believe all the apples on this tree? We went apple picking this weekend and as you can see this year was a very good year for apples. We did not have to wander around the orchard to find good apples. They were everywhere and lots of them.

Sam

(if it looks to you that he is eating this apple in a funny way it is because his top teeth are VERY loose. As of this (Monday) afternoon he has lost one of them).

In the fall most of our weekends are very busy with the boys soccer but we make sure we make our annual apple picking trip. The kids couldn't wait to taste apples and as you can see they were busy tasting while Fil and I filled our baskets.

Since Jordan saw that all the kids got an entire apple she complained that she wanted one as well. So I gave her one and to our surprise by the time we left the apple orchard she ate the whole thing.
Do you like my apple babies? The double stroller comes in handy not only for the girls.

The kids (and Fil) enjoyed tractor rides though the orchard. (I was busy pushing the double stroller around).
Our pumpkin. (I was thinking that this time last year we did not even have our referral yet and here we are with Jordan. I feel very blessed).
The Girls and I
and all of our pumpkins together.
I have to admit that as I am writing this I realize that we forgot to buy pumpkins. Oops. There is still plenty of time.

We brought home around 40 lbs. of apples and half of them are already gone. So far I made two apple pies and 3 apple crisps and apple muffins. Some goodies are already gone since we had a Bible study last night but most of it is ready for the freezer. I hope you are all enjoying this time of year.

Sunday Reflections

Therefor, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6-7

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday to me.

I feel very blessed in my life with a loving husband and FOUR children.

God has taken me on an incredible journey for the last 31 years and I am looking forward to what is ahead of me.

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Psalm 126:3

Soccer and the Girls

Wondering what the girls are up to during the boys soccer games and practice? Well they are up to lots of stuff like smiling ... ... twirling around until you fall down ...
... tasting our dress just to make sure it is not edible ...
... this is Emma's favorite, stealing the boys soccer balls ....
... snuggling with daddy ...
... this is Jo's favorite, eating snacks (the box with puffs opened up so I just sat Jo in front of the bag and she was busy for 45 minutes) ...
... smiling ...
... looking for something to drink .
Do not judge. We all have days like this!!!
As you can see we are all keeping busy this fall. We also had our 6 month post placement visit this Saturday with our social worker and it went very well. Jo showed off her new skills (walking etc.) Our social worker told us that Jo is doing very well for her age and there are no concerns at this point. She attached to us without any problems and we are so thankful for that. She has fit into our family with out any problems.

Sunday Reflections

Just as it is the nature of light to shine, so it is the nature of God to reveal himself. True, he hides himself from the wise and clever, but only Backus they are too proud and do not want to know him; he reveals himself to 'babies', that is, to those humble enough to receive his self-disclosure...the chief reason why people do not know God is not because he hides from them, but because they hide from him.

--John Stott, Between Two Worlds Now to him, who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith - to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Romans 16:25-27

Nascar - by Sam

On Friday Dad, Nate, and I went to the time trials for the big Nascar race in NH this weekend.
This my favorite race car and driver. His name is Tony Stewart.
It was raining so they had all the cars covered up. The cars are so fast it is hard to see their numbers when they go by.
Here is Nate and I next to a cool race car.
I really liked looking at this engine it looks really fast.
Having a good time with Nate.
This another of our favorite drivers. His name is Jeff Gordon.
This a fun looking midget car owned by Tony Stewart.
Here are all of us with the hats on that we got at the track of our favorite drivers. Nate has 31 Jeff Burton, Dad has 8 Mark Martin, and I have 20 Tony Stewart.