Praise the Lord!

Psalm 148
Praise to the LORD from Creation
Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!

Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon;

Praise Him, all you stars of light!
Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,
And you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For He commanded and they were created.
He also established them forever and ever;
He made a decree which shall not pass away.

Praise the LORD from the earth,
You great sea creatures and all the depths;
Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

Mountains and all hills;

Fruitful trees and all cedars;

Beasts and all cattle;

Creeping things and flying fowl;

Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
Both young men and maidens;
Old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For His name alone is exalted;

His glory is above the earth and heaven.
And He has exalted the horn of His people,
The praise of all His saints—
Of the children of Israel,
A people near to Him.

Praise the LORD!

Cousins

A favorite dish made when family gathers from a distance:

Carol's Pork BBQ
Roast pork tenderloin or roast in oven 6 or 7 hours on low or 350@ 3-4 hours.
Sauce:
1 cup veg oil
2 cup vinegar
1 cup broth
4 Tbs salt
1 Tbs pepper
2 Tbs garlic powder(can cut back)
1/2 cup lemon juice
*Pour over roast after shredding and reheat a couple hours

I have many good memories of spending time with my cousin growing up. Now, our daughters and sons are best friends.

They have this thing with the ducks...every time they get to spend time at each others houses they make sure they bring their ducks with them=)

Horse back riding with my cousin


My girls loved all the attention they got the whole weekend!

Best friends and cousins

Fresh Air Fund Conference

Here are a few highlights from my trip to New York City. It was a busy weekend, but had an exciting time.

Times Square


Ate at a Peruvian restaurant Saturday night called Pio Pio.

There was a performance by "Rosie's Kids". They sang a couple songs for us Sunday morning. They were a very talented group of NYC kids.

Got to see "Lion King" Broadway show! It was spectacular!

Sunday noon I had the opportunity to meet up with Neomi, our Fresh Air girl, and her mom and sisters. I was brave and got on the subway to Chinatown=) I was so happy to meet her family. They showered me with gifts, bought me lunch, and gave me money to get a taxi to the airport! I was so humbled by their kindness!

It was a celebration of the Chinese New Year, so Chinatown was packed! There was a parade and lots of exploding confetti=)

New York City

I'm so excited for another opportunity to go to New York City this weekend. I am going for a Fresh Air Fund Conference. The Fresh Air Fund is a program that allows New York City children to enjoy the simple pleasures of summertime fun in the country through free vacations. I will be staying right on Times Square and will hopefully get to see a Broadway show. I am a Chairperson for our area and occasionally have the opportunity to visit New York for conferences or to chaperon a bus load of children.
A few years ago I crossed paths with Carl Edwards (my favorite Nascar driver=) on the streets of NYC and he was nice enough to take a picture with me. It was pretty sweet!



Here are a few pictures of our Fresh Air Child, Neomi, from this past summer. We are planning on inviting her back this summer. It was a great experiance for our children as well.



If you are interested in hosting a child, go to www.freshair.org. Hosting a child does not take much- just a little room in your heart and your home- but the experience creates friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

Cherry Pepsi Cake

We made a fun discovery last night during supper. The kids asked what's for dessert... I am making more and more food all the time and it keeps disappearing. So I decided to throw something together quick, since everything I had made for supper was licked clean. A few years ago I got this microwave container from Tupperware that I love! I found a box of Cherry Chip cake mix and mixed it with 1 egg and a can of Pepsi Max. (So now it's diet cake!) I microwaved it for about 5 minutes and Voila! I served it warm with a dip of vanilla ice cream. One comment was, "This is the best thing I ever had!" I don't know if I'd go that far...but it wasn't bad... and sooooo simple!

A Nice Surprise

I've come to accept that the baby is no longer "a baby"...my little girls are growing up, and as much as I am enjoying these toddler years, I remember the times when I felt a little overwhelmed with them over the past 3 years. The two youngest girls are 16 months apart and when they first came to live with us they were 6 and 22 months. Right before this I remember telling a friend how it is so nice now that the older children are at the age where they are starting to be more responsible for their things and they enjoy helping do chores. Soon after, we received a call about these two sisters that needed a home. I knew it was going to be a challenge at first, going from 2 to 4 children in about an hour, but we felt at peace about this and were excited to add to our family. As challenging as it has been, I wouldn't change anything....except for a few times of how I reacted to different situations (actually more than a few) All of our children have been a true blessing and I'm so thankful that the Lord led us down the foster/adoption path!!

On Sunday afternoon, we all took a nap, except for the 8 and 9 year olds. I normally can't sleep very long because I'm am a very light sleeper and will wake at the sound of a mouse scampering in the ceiling! This time I woke up and was surprised how late it was and there were no children screaming, fighting or jumping on the furniture or floors...I quickly went out to see what was WRONG! I found them all in the living room...Happy! The older ones were playing Wii and the girls were content on the couch with a snack that my oldest daughter had gotten for them. I was so excited about this and couldn't believe it, so I had to snap a picture to prove this!=) People kept telling me that it will get easier...now I'm starting to think it might! Now, just about an hour ago, the youngest found my Bath & Body Works cucumber melon body spray and decided to spray some in her mouth...at least her breath smells good!

The Dishwasher....A Thing of the Past!

Occasionally I will remember that I really don't need to lecture my children, they learn more by their own choices and the consequences that follow=) Besides they usually tune me out during a lecture...it's hard to sit back and let them make their own decisions though. A good example of this happened yesterday. My oldest daughter and son decided that they don't enjoy emptying the dishwasher any longer. I don't remember them ever complaining about this before! So I told them they are welcome to wash and dry all the dishes by hand if they want to. My daughter right away said, "No way! I will stick to the dishwasher!" While my son said that he would like to wash dishes. They stood there and argued about this for a minute or two before I intervened..."I have an idea!" I said, "Why don't you empty the dishwasher every other day and starting today, your brother will wash and dry and put away all the dishes." (Notice the bold print where I put a very strong emphasis while I was talking=) He was very pleased with this idea and she was not, because that meant she would have to empty the dishwasher by herself! I reminded her that it would only have to be every other day, to which she agreed.
Since lunch wasn't quite ready, I told my son he might want to start on some of the dishes until we start eating. He was very pleased with this, because it was kind of fun anyway! After lunch we all helped clear the table and stacked the dishes (HIGH) beside the sink, and he got to work. My daughter wiped the table off and then reminded him that it was his turn to sweep the floor!! =) To my surprise, he didn't argue. He was determined that his choice to wash dishes was better...
A half hour later we were relaxing and he was only half way through. I kind of felt sorry for him.....well, not really....
That evening he came to me and said, "Mom, I changed my mind...I'd like to help with the dishwasher instead!"