Snow Video :)

Here is the video of the girls I promised you. :)

Rise and....Shine?

I have decided that you are never more you than when you first wake up. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they wake up.  This morning I was observing my family and thinking about this.

Abby was the one that got me thinking about it...  She is such a vocal person and it starts from the very moment she wakes up! She stretches and moans (You know that morning moan?)  then not long after we hear her running (yes running) down the hall to the bathroom and then running back.  She wakes up with energy and a voice and goes to bed with energy and a voice!

Then there is Lily.  Lily is a "handle with care" type of person.  Not in the sense that she is fragile... she is by no means fragile!  It is more in the sense that you never know what mood she is in.  At one moment she could be happy go lucky then the next minute you look at her wrong and she is bawling then in the next minute she is biting or hitting somebody.  (No we don't let her get away with it :P)  She wakes up the same way!  You never know how she is going to be.  Most morning she wakes up happy and fine but there are some mornings that everything makes her cry, and then other mornings where she is just mad at the world.

This brings me to Micah and I... neither of us are morning people, but when Micah wakes up he is ready to talk!  I am not.  Sometimes I think he just waits for my eyes to open so he can tell me what he has read in his bible study or what he dreamed about or just what he has planned for that day.  This so reflects his personality.  He, like most of his family, likes to talk. :) This complements me well because I really don't.  Unless I really have something I need to say, I would rather just listen... except in the morning.  I saw a post (probably on Pinterest :P) one time that said something to the effect of it should be illegal to talk before 10:00am, all we should do is drink coffee and hug because mornings are really hard.  This is me!  Mornings are hard!

I know this really isn't biblical and there are probably studies and things that disprove me but I just thought it was a fun thought.  So, how do you wake up?  Does it reflect who you are?

What is Christmas?

Growing up Christmas was family time.  It all started on Christmas Eve with dinner and presents with my dad’s family, then Christmas morning was our own special time, from there we went to lunch at Grandma Butch’s house and finished our evening at Grandma Carol’s house.  It was pretty much non-stop Christmas for 48 hours.  That’s what Christmas is to me.  Of course, yes, the real meaning of Christmas is Christ’s birth.  Our Lord and Savior humbled himself and came to Earth so that he could die and free us from sin.  But my Christmas has always been spent celebrating that with tons and tons of family and food!

I find myself longing for that on this Christmas day.  We have tried to make it special and we have and are going to skype with family but something is just missing.  The girls woke up bright and early this morning to open their gifts from us.  We decided to keep things simple and do four gifts apiece. (Something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read)  Then of course there is grandparents, aunts and uncles presents mixed in there.  After gifts this morning and a short Skype with my family we went to church.  This was a nice, new tradition.  I think we all really enjoyed it (of course Micah made fun of me because I took stickers for the girls… Santa Clause of course! :P)  And then we turned into THAT family…. That family that I always feel sorry for on Christmas… That family that goes out to eat on Christmas.  As we rode in our tuk tuk through the hot, dusty streets of Phnom Penh the Christmas spirit just kinda dissipated… Cambodians don’t really celebrate Christmas. Life was going on as normal.  Kids were getting out of school, everything was still open, and our tuk tuk driver charged us way too much. 

So, after we have had our food coma Christmas nap, I am sitting here trying to figure out what Christmas is.  How do I make Christmas special for my family like it always was for me growing up. How are we going to celebrate the birth of our Savior?  I can hear the girls in the other room… to them this is just another day.  Yeah, they got new toys this morning but how do I show them that Christmas is special? I can’t help but feel homesick and wish I could just take them back to America for one day.  But this is the broken world we live in.  Human traffickers have ruined that chance for us and we just look forward to the day we can have full adoptions and take them home for good. (but that is another post)  For now I think we will focus on the hope that this Christmas brings.  Hope of coming home soon, hope of full adoptions, and most of all hope of our Saviors returns.

So, Christmas today was not really what I would have chosen or expected but it brings me to focus on what this day really means.  It doesn’t mean presents.  It doesn’t mean snow and cold.  It doesn’t mean eating non-stop for two days.  Christmas is for hope.

What is Christmas to you?  What traditions do you have? 

We'll Have a White Christmas...Almost

Last year was our first Christmas with the girls and it was their first Christmas ever.  It was fun doing Christmas as a parent and teaching my girls what Christmas is all about.  They loved it!  Abby asked all year long to put up the Christmas tree and every time we see lights out side both girls shout "PRETTY!"  This year, however, is much much better.  They are understanding everything much better and are really getting into Christmas. :)

We went to see FROZEN a few days ago and they have been singing all the songs ever since.  Today the song "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" came up on the Abby Lily play list.  As they were singing I remembered one of my coworkers at the Child Development Center (where I worked all through college) had made a snow like sensory table.  All she did was cut open a diaper and add water!  So I looked at the girls and said "So, do you want to build a snowman?"  Both excitedly screamed "YES!"

While dinner was in the oven I prepared our "snow" and put it in the freezer so it was even cold like snow.  I tried to enlist Micah's help but the thought of the insides of a diaper made him woozey. (Muggy liked to get Lily's diapers out of the trash. The nastier the better. Poor Micah couldn't get that image out of his head)

The snow didn't pack as well as I would have liked to build our snow men but the girls loved it anyway!  

Here are their first snowmen. :)  

I have a video that I will post soon but I need faster internet for it to upload. :)

A Day At Church (and Some Abby Quotes)

We never have a dull day at church.  Micah and I decided almost a year ago that the girls were old enough to learn how to sit still in church.  Thankfully our church has a back row that is several feet behind the rest that is designated for families with small children.  The girls actually do very well.  Abby goes to her Sunday School class most weeks and as long as we don't forget their colors and stickers we are good.  I hope I don't run out of stickers soon... Lily can be found with them up and down her legs almost every Sunday. (I have yet to get a good picture of it.  It is a little disrespectful to take pictures during church.)  Since Micah is very involved at our church and is either playing guitar or running the sound board every Sunday we get there an hour early.  During this time I take the girls back into the nursery, creche, cry room, whatever you want to call it, to play and get their wiggles out before church.
Today the band was practicing Angels We Have Heard on High and Abby looked up at me and said "Mommy! Did you teach that to them?"  "No" I said.  Very puzzled she said "Well, then how do they knowed it?"  :)

After church we had decided to go out to pizza.  We found a place that is on the way home from church that is not only cheap but has a play area for the girls.  It really is a God send after wrangling them all through service.  They get to play and be noisy and I don't have to cook!  Today when I told Abby we were going to get pizza her eyes got real big and she said "Is that we're going out and eat?!"  Then jumping up and down she asks  "Can I play with the little broken toys?!?!""  It took me a while to stop laughing and answer yes.  It is true.  Most of the toys there are broken in some way or another. :P  We still like it.

Lily's First Haircut

I have been going back and forth about this for a few months now.  Lily doesn't really have much hair and what she does have is very very thin.  However, her hair tangled very easily because the ends were so dead. Her hair showed the effects of her very hard first year of life.  Abby's hair when she first came to us was bright orange from malnutrition.  Lily's hair didn't turn orange but it didn't start growing very much until she came to us.  It is finally long enough to start braiding and doing some fun things with but she still doesn't have very much.  This is where my dilemma was.... but I finally decided that in order for her hair to be healthy and grow we needed to get rid of the old dead stuff.  I didn't cut much but I was surprised at how much life it had after we got that dead stuff off!  I don't have a before and after picture for you (you probably couldn't see much difference anyway) but I do have a during....

She wouldn't smile because she was scared of being on the tall chairs. :P  

Afterward she came out to show everyone her "New Hair"  saying, "My hair's long!"  She reminds us daily how long her hair is and the only way I was going to touch her "Long hair" with my scissors was to tell her that we had to cut it so it would grow longer.  She seemed to be okay with that. :)  I just hope we are right! Someone that girly needs more hair! :P

ThanksCooking

For Thanksgiving this year I was assigned to make three things…only three, no big deal…or so I thought.  I volunteered to make Ruth’s rolls and Grandma Butch’s noodles, then last minute someone requested deviled eggs so of course I jumped on that!  These three things all hold a very special place in my heart when it comes to food.  When I said I would make these things I forgot to take in to account my tiny little kitchen and the fact that all I have to bake with is a toaster oven that barely fits one 9x13 cake pan….I was cooking for 20 people!!!  Not only was I cooking for 20 people but, I was cooking Thanksgiving food for 20 people…. Leftovers are essential!  Also, I had promised my Khmer teacher I would make a pumpkin pie for him.  (Pumpkins are popular here but not pumpkin pie.)

So, I started my day…

Waking up at normal school time on Wednesday, I helped Micah get the girls ready for school and off we headed on our bikes.   I wasn’t going to teach that day because I needed all day to cook but it was the end of the month and our funds were dwindling…. We had about $15 left for the next two weeks. (I don’t want you to worry, we were fine and we had freezer meals stocked up, we just didn’t have extra money for tuk tuks and the like)  I also needed to get some flour.  So after dropping the girls and Micah off at school I headed to our handy local convenience store for some flour and eggs.  I knew we would be alright because flour is only about $1.50 and eggs are only $1.20… or so I thought… When I got there the only flour they had was $3.15 a bag!!!  I needed at least 3 bags!  So I got 2 and vowed never to go there for flour again!  And back home I went. 

First things first I started my eggs boiling and put my pumpkin in the oven to cook.   Now, the trick to perfect boiled eggs without the green ring is to put them in the water first then as soon as the water boils turn it off and let them sit for about 8-10 minutes.  Also, putting a spoonful of baking soda in the water makes taking the shells off a breeze!  (Thanks Pinterest!)  Well, the pan I put them in doesn’t boil water well and I 

forgot to put baking soda in…. my eggs ended up cooked but getting the shells off was a nightmare!  I think, out of 30 eggs, I had one half that was perfect.  ONE!  The rest of the egg process was normal and despite them looking a little funny, they were yummy and we even had enough for leftovers! 

While the eggs were still boiling I got started on the noodles.  I knew they needed time to dry before I could boil them but I am still pretty new at this art.  The whole time I was making them I was thinking “Man, I wish I would have watched Grandma a little closer.”   This is the only recipe I had:

3 eggs

generous half eggshell water per egg

flour

salt and pepper to taste

                                                 

Put the eggs, water, salt, pepper in a bowl and mix well.

Start adding flour until it is as thick as you can stir.

Dump it out on floured surface and kneed until ready to

roll out and cut up for noodles.

(I use a pizza cutter for this - fast and easy)

When ready to cook, make sure your broth is boiling and

stir when putting in broth to keep them from sticking together.

I get the eggs, I get the water, I even get the salt and pepper, but the flour?  How much flour?  I had already measured out how much flour I needed for my rolls and was only left with about two cups… That was NOT enough for noodles and pie crust!  So, after praying several times that God would multiply my flour I spotted my handy dandy tortilla mix!  That should work!  It only has a little bit of salt, baking soda, and Crisco in it… shouldn’t hurt the noodles at all!  So, I just started pouring flour in a little at a time until I thought I had it about the right thickness…. Then I started to knead it… and it stuck to everything!  So I added more…. And it still stuck… and again, and again… finally. It was ready to roll out.  So I rolled and rolled and rolled… It took up my entire kitchen table!  Our table isn’t very big to begin with but that left me with one square foot of counter space for the rest of my cooking!  But at this point I couldn’t move the noodles, nor did I have a place to put them if I could move them.

While the noodles were drying I started my first batch of rolls to rising.  Not only was I making Ruth’s rolls but I had also been asked to make herb rolls.  I need something familiar so Ruth’s rolls were up first. 

While the rolls were rising I needed to get my pumpkin out of the oven so I could make sure I had enough for a pie… I didn’t… What I thought would be about a 2 cup pumpkin only gave me about ¾ a cup.  Just my luck though, it was time to go pick up Micah and the girls for lunch.   Rhonda to the rescue!  She had extra pumpkin!!! While I prepped this pumpkin to go into the oven, Micah fed the girls picnic style on the living room floor.  

Time for a break!

After lunch, the girls went down for a nap and Micah went back to school.  It was time for me to finish my pumpkin pie and get the first batch of rolls formed to rise again.  Like I said, the rolls are familiar… no problem.  The pie on the other hand was not.  I had only made pumpkin pie one other time and that time it was from a can-o-pumpkin.  But I was excited to make this one completely from scratch…until I found that I was out of milk.  Normally I would just run across  the street to our neighbor lady’s store front and grab some but we were now down to about $5 so that wasn’t going to happen.  I started contemplating ways to make this work.  I had already cooked the pumpkin and made the pie crust so I couldn’t just stop.  Then I saw it!  Some chocolate soy milk I had made for the girls… hmmm… chocolate and pumpkin go together!  So I made a chocolate pumpkin pie and threw in some chocolate chips as well….. IT WAS SO GOOD!!!  I will never make a normal pumpkin pie again!  Seriously you need to try this!

By the time I had my pie, all of Ruth’s rolls made, and the noodles cooling to be put in the fridge I was pretty worn out and still needed to cook dinner before Khmer lessons.  Thankfully I did have those freezer meals so meat loaf it was!  The herb rolls would have to wait until morning.

So, the next morning I woke up ready to make the herb rolls.  I got them all prepped and ready to go in the oven while Micah took the crocpot of noodles over to Rhonda’s.  (Transporting all this food on our bikes was quite the puzzle.  But we got it!)  When the first batch was ready to go in I found that our extension cord for the oven was shorted out... It is the only thing that the oven plug fits in!  Thankfully Micah was still at the Benz’s house so I asked him to bring another one with him.  By the time he got back though I only had time to bake one batch.  The other batch had to bake at the Benz’s while we were getting everything on the table. 

WHEW!  What an experience!  I definitely learned a lot.

1.)    Don’t buy your flour last minute.

2.)    Chocolate Pumpkin Pie is the BEST!

3.)    Noodles are a day-of thing.  They are just not quite as good the second day.

4.)    Take into account the size of your kitchen when volunteering to cook Thanksgiving food!

Although my ThanksCooking day was quite eventful, I made it through with no tears and Thankgiving day was wonderful.  We ate lots of yummy food, watched the 2012 Macy’s Thanksgiving parade from youtube, and played games with friends.  J

I want to hear your ThanksCooking stories!