Costumes Arrived

and I do not like them. They are nothing like what the picture is or what I thought they should be. Gracie's is OK, but I'm returning mine and Paul's!

Now What!

Gracie does NOT wake up happy. She has been feeling bad lately. She was asleep before 730 last night, so I had to drag her to the tub this morning. This is her "I'm still not happy face". She likes to lie back in the tub instead of me pouring water on her head.

Amazing what difference a minute can make.

Here she is in the outfit Aunt Bonny got her.

And with her new friend she HAD to have!

Happy Birthday'SSSSSS

September is a busy birthday month for me. My moms birthday is on the 13th and I forgot it! OOPS!! I didn't really forget it, I remembered on Monday, and had planned to cook dinner, but my week got so busy, I put in a LOT of hours that week, that by the time Saturday got there, I was exhausted and forgot. And my mom would rather let me forget and how do I say, not forgive later than just remind me.

It is also my Boss's birthday! Lyndsey and I decorated his office, and Grace met him at the door with a very big HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR TOM and a hug!

It is also my best friend's Bonny's birthday and her mothers is two days later.

Every year, for as long as I can remember Bonny and I go to breakfast for each others birthday. We also started taking her daughter Ashlee a few years back and so today, Grace went on her first birthday breakfast with us.

We ate at the new IHOP and then on to the mall. Aunt Bonny also bought Grace a very pretty dress from my favorite store, Gymboree. She also got a coloring book, after I told her no. Hmmmmm, do you think she might be spoiling her a little.

Ashlee Gail, Grace & Aunt Bonny

Ashlee Gail & Grace

Newest Outfit

God answered this prayer, and little Susannah is back in the states. She is in the hospital and is scheduled for Open Heart Surgery on Tuesday. Please pray for this little girl and her family today and especially on Tuesday. Pray that God will see her through this and make her well. Pray that her family has the strenght to endure this road.

You should be able to click on the picture and go to the family's website.

Thank you

Stuck like Glue

Again, it is such a good thing that my DH does not read my blog! As you know Grace is still sleeping with us, but that's ok, we've decided it more important for her to be safe than for us to have a peaceful night of sleep. Poor Paul Ray, Gracie is literally stuck to him at night. When I woke this morning, this is what I found. And this is her actually giving him space. Yesterday, he was half off the bed. My back and side have hurt all day, I think she may have kicked me at some point last night!

You have also figured out, I take terrible pictures. I've been wanting to get a picture of Brandon and Lyndsey. Well he hates taking pictures as you can see, but what a great pic of her, I just love that smile.

She is always happy to see Brandon. (She sees Lyndsey every day at work) I still don't think that she understands he doesn't live at home anymore. He's been gone two weeks, but so far, he has come home each Sunday for dinner.

I just had to stop and play hide and seek with Grace and her daddy! It took her time or two to catch on, but she got it.

Life is Good.

This was an email I got from a friend, I laughed so hard I had to share.

Jasper and the Unbaked Yeast Rolls

We have a fox terrier by the name of Jasper. He came to us in the summer of 2001 from the fox terrier rescue program. For those of you, who are unfamiliar with this type of adoption, imagine taking in a 10 year old child about whom you know nothing and committing to doing your best to be a good parent.


Like a child, the dog came with his own idiosyncrasies. He will only sleep on the bed, on top of the covers, nuzzled as close to my face as he can get without actually performing a French kiss on me.Lest you think this is a bad case of 'no discipline,' I should tell you that Perry and I tried every means to break him of this habit including locking him in a separate bedroom for several nights. The new door cost over $200. But I digress.


Five weeks ago we began remodeling our house. Although the cost of the project is downright obnoxious, it was 20 years overdue AND it got me out of cooking Thanksgiving for family, extended family, and a lot of friends that I like more than family most of the time.


I was assigned the task of preparing 124 of my famous yeast dinner rolls for the two Thanksgiving feasts we did attend. I am still cursing the electrician for getting the new oven hooked up so quickly. It was the only appliance in the whole darn house that worked, thus the assignment.


I made the decision to prepare the rolls on Wednesday evening and to reheat Thursday am. Since the kitchen was freshly painted, you can imagine the odor. Not wanting the rolls to smell like Sherwin Williams #586, I put the rolls on baking sheets and set them in the living room to rise for 5 hours. After 3 hours, Perry and I decided to go out to eat, returning in about an hour. An hour later the rolls were ready to go in the oven.


It was 8:30 PM. When I went to the living room to retrieve the pans, much to my shock one whole pan of 12 rolls was empty. I called out to Jasper and my worst nightmare became a reality. He literally wobbled over to me. He looked like a combination of the Pillsbury dough boy and the Michelin Tire man wrapped up in fur. He groaned when he walked. I swear even his cheeks were bloated.


I ran to the phone and called our vet. After a few seconds of uproarious laughter, he told me the dog would probably be OK, however, I needed to give him Pepto Bismol every 2 hours for the rest of the night.


God only knows why I thought a dog would like Pepto Bismol any more than my kids did when they were sick. Suffice it to say that by the time we went to bed the dog was black, white and pink. He was so bloated we had to lift him onto the bed for the night.


We arose at 7:30 and as we always do first thing; put the dog out to relieve himself. Well, the dog was as drunk as a sailor on his first leave. He was running into walls, falling flat on his butt and most of the time when he was walking his front half was going one direction and the other half was either dragging the grass or headed 90 degrees in another direction.


He couldn't lift his leg to pee, so he would just walk and pee at the same time. When he ran down the small incline in our back yard he couldn't stop himself and nearly ended up running into the fence.


His pupils were dilated and he was as dizzy as a loon I endured another few seconds of laughter from the vet (second call within 12 hours) before he explained that the yeast had fermented in his belly and that he was indeed drunk. He assured me that, not unlike most binges we humans go through, it would wear off after about 4 or 5 hours and to keep giving him Pepto Bismol.


Afraid to leave him by himself in the house, Perry and I loaded him up and took him with us to my sister's house for the first Thanksgiving meal of the day.


My sister lives outside of Muskogee on a ranch, (10 to 15 minute drive). Rolls firmly secured in the trunk (124 less 12) and drunk dog leaning from the back seat onto the console of the car between Perry and I, we took off.


Now I know you probably don't believe that dogs burp, but believe me when I say that after eating a tray of risen unbaked yeast rolls, DOGS WILL BURP. These burps were pure Old Charter. They would have matched or beat any smell in a drunk tank at the police station. But that's not the worst of it.Now he was beginning to fart and they smelled like baked rolls. God strike me dead if I am not telling the truth! We endured this for the entire trip to Karen's, thankful she didn't live any further away than she did.


Once Jasper was firmly placed in my sister's garage with the door locked, we finally sat down to enjoy our first Thanksgiving meal of the day. The dog was the topic of conversation all morning long and everyone made trips to the garage to witness my drunken dog, each returning with a tale of Jasper's latest endeavor to walk without running into something. Of course, as the old adage goes, 'what goes in must come out' and Jasper was no exception.


Granted if it had been me that had eaten 12 risen, unbaked yeast rolls, you might as well have put a concrete block up my behind, but alas a dog's digestive system is quite different from yours or mine. I discovered this was a mixed blessing when we prepared to leave Karen's house. Having discovered his 'packages' on the garage floor, we loaded him up in the car so we could hose down the floor. This was another naive decision on our part. The blast of water from the hose hit the poop on the floor and the poop on the floor withstood the blast from the hose. It was like Portland cement beginning to set up and cure.


We finally tried to remove it with a shovel. I (obviously no one else was going to offer their services) had to get on my hands and knees with a coarse brush to get the remnants off of the floor. And as if this wasn't degrading enough, the darn dog in his drunken state had walked through the poop and left paw prints all over the garage floor that had to be brushed too.


Well, by this time the dog was sobering up ncely so we took him home and dropped him off before we left for our second Thanksgiving dinner at Perry's sister's house.


I am happy to report that as of today (Monday) the dog is back to normal both in size and temperament. He has had a bath and is no longer tricolor. None the worse for wear I presume. I am also happy to report that just this evening I found 2 risen, unbaked, yeast rolls hidden inside my closet door.


It appears he must have come to his senses after eating 10 of them but decided hiding 2 of them for later would not be a bad idea. Now, I'm doing research on the computer as to: '

How to clean unbaked dough from the carpet.'

And how was your day?

It's Offical

I kept debating on what costumes to buy, but didn't want to wait too long, I asked Gracie which she liked better, should have known! She'll be Minnie, and the cutest one there I'm sure.

Christopher is a transformer, not sure if this is the right one or not.

Me.
and my ever so handsome, husband. Minus the Wig, there is already a chance he may actually kill me when he sees it. Good thing he doesn't read my blog!
But I couldn't resist, and I really wanted us to be in the theme with dressing up, especially for Gracie's first Halloween and first trip to Disney.

Let's all say a little prayer, that he takes it well!

From the mouths of babes:

What Love means to a 4-8 year old.. .

Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it. Touching words from the mouth of babes.
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?'
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined See what you think:


'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love..'
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that.. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'
Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night..'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'
Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7


'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'

Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you

mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8

And the final one

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need.

Steamed Bread

I fell in love with this in China!

I would kill for this (well not really) but close to it. I'm not a cook, but my future daughter in law is!!!!!

Last week when getting our chinese dinner after dance class, I decided to ask the lady if she know what steamed bread was, she didnt have a clue, so I had to ask Helen.

Helen (our guide in china) was just telling me how to cook it. She gave me the Chinese Name of it and I looked it up. I think Lyndsey may be able to do this, we'll see

Man tou -->

Man tou or mantou (饅頭) are the steamed buns that are served in Northern Chinese cuisine. They are made with wheat flour. They are white in color and soft and fluffy in texture, being much less dense than baked breads. Being steamed, they are easily resurrected when cold by re-steaming. They are often sold pre-cooked in the frozen section of Asian supermarkets. The consumer would either steam them or use the microwave oven to prepare the frozen buns. When cooked with a filling, it is known as a bau (飽), such as the well-known char siu bau (义燒飽, cha shao bao), a bun with barbeque-flavoured pork meat. Also known as Manapua. Man tou and wheat noodles are the staple carbohydrates of the Northern Chinese diet. (Northern Chinese do not consume rice as the major source of carbohydrate as the southerners do.)
[go back to top]
Recipe outline Consult a cookbook for more detailed instructions to make man tou.
Add 3 cups of wheat flour to one package of dry yeast.
Slowly pour in lukewarm water into the mixture. Mix everything and knead it into a dough. The dough should not stick the hand nor should it be flaky.
Cover the dough with wet towel and let it set for several hours until it rises up.
Knead the dough again.
Cut the dough into bun size.
Steam the buns for 15 minutes or so.Category:BreadsCategory:Chinese cuisine

Grace has changed so much in the last five months. This was her first car ride, after leaving the orphanage. Her daddys got the first smile in the car.
Here she is at the White Swan.
Her hair is even longer than it looks in this picture.

She is such a joy, our life is so so blessed. I can't image life without her.

Halloween

OK, so now I've envisioned my husband in the following outfit, and I'm thinking, ABSOLUTELY!!!! He may kill me for sure, but I really REALLY like this!!!!!! It includes the whole thing, shirt, pants and jacket. I figure the wig might be pushing it a bit!!!!!!!

Think the great Fifties look of Grease will ever go out of style? Come on, Sandy, don't make me laugh! You'll be the spitting image of Danny Zuko in this terrific T-Bird costume. This costume features Danny's imprinted leather jacket with authentic Grease insignia, t-shirt, and shiny black pants.This costume features imprinted leather jacket with authentic insignia, t-shirt, and shiny black pants. Wig and shoes not included.One size fits most.

Prayers Needed

Please pray for this family that is in China now. Their child is very sick and in the hospital. They need a miracle from God now.

http://www.roomforatleastonemore.blogspot.com/

My Oldest Leaves Home

Last week, my oldest son, my first born, who is one of the sweetest people you could ever meet left home. I knew it was coming, but it was still a huge surprise when it happened.

He had gotten a new job and is working from home, so he moved into a spare room with Lyndsey and her dad. He had mentioned it when he first applied for the new job, and then the next thing I knew he was telling me he was leaving. I thought I'd have a little notice but he was able to move in one day.

I was a little disappointed at first because (beside the fact I didn't want him to go) he and Lynd's have done everything the right way and I wanted them to wait and get married before living together, but then I realized he had his own room so I feel much better about that.

Lynds is such a sweet girl and we all love her. But no mother is ready to see their child leave home, or maybe its me, I don't know. I started worrying about them (the boys) leaving when Brandon hit high school. I think having Gracie helped alot.

They came over for dinner on Sunday so that was nice. I don't think Grace understands the situation. As long as he comes to see me regularly we'll be fine, but who am I kidding, he'll be coming to see Gracie, but that's ok, I can live with that.

Brandon, you know I love you and I want you to always be happy! You always have a home here, never forget that. I pray that God blesses you and Lyndsey in all that you do.

So Gracie is really loving dance class! She likes to show us how to do some of the things she has learned, so today at work, I hear her counting and get up to see who she has dancing in the office, all the while, knowing what I would find. Grace was in Tom's office (my boss) teaching him to dance, and he was doing as told. She is too much!

On the ride home, she wants me to look at something in the back seat, I tell her I cant, I'm driving. She tells me again, I repeat that I cant. She proceeds to tell me, Mommy turn around NOW with a smile. I said "excuse me" what did you say, she told me again NOW, I explained that was not nice and she should not tell me NOW. I said to myself, I don't know where you got that, my little angel says, My PaulPaul teach me! I had to laugh. Anytime she does wrong, she blames Paulpaul.

She can't say Nothing, she says muffin! I corrected her today for her to tell me, My Paulpaul tell me its "Muffin"

Halloween, What do we wear?

As you know we'll be at Disney for Halloween. I had planned on dressing Grace as Minnie Mouse, and I wanted to dress the same. However, all of the adult Minnie's seem a little (how do you say) less lady like!

OK, SERIOUSLY, how do you do this to a DISNEY character, Gimme a break!



This is the best (Lady Like) one that I found and I don't really like it! And I know there is no way I could get Paul Ray to be Mickey, and Little Man is going to be a transformer thing!

So------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I LOOOOOOOVE the movie Grease, it's one of my all time favorites. Look at these adorable costumes.

And they would be comfortable for walking around. And I could take Paul Ray a pair of blue jeans, he could roll the bottom up, a white Tshirt and maybe find him a light black leather jacket to wear. I don't think he would fuss tooooooo much about that, and it is for Gracie, so it might just work.

So what do you think?

And does anyone know, I guess we need to take something to put candy in?????????

Grace had what I thought was her last immunization appointment today, not sure why I thought that. She goes back in three months and then one more after that. Dr. E was so nice to her and tried to talk to her but she was having none of that. I had changed her appt from a nurse visit to a regular appt so I could talk to him about the bumps she gets and what bug bites do to her. He said I should give her benedryl whenever she has a bite. After we caught up on the kids and he checked her the nurse came in. My poor baby, the nurse had to help me get her pants off, she was screaming and crying, its hard to hold your child down knowing it hurts, but I know its for her own good.

She weights 36 lbs, so she has only gained 3 lbs since her very first appointment.

I've been at work for two weeks now, and haven't had a chance to post. Grace has adjusted very well to life at the office. We arrived that first day, her room is bigger than my office (go figure). It was totally stocked for a little girl. She had a crib for her babies, doll house, lots of misc toys, crayons, pencils, coloring books, a rocking chair, a toy box and even a TV.

From the day that Grace met my boss, Tom, she just took to him, so she loves going to work. The first week, I found myself stressing over how she would do, but she loves it, and for the most part she is very well behaved. She knows not to bother Mr. Tom when he is working, she takes a nap after lunch, and it is working out very well. I hope to have her stay with me until the first of the year, when I hope to put her in some type daycare so she can start getting ready for school next August.

Last week, I found her with Tom's wife in the floor putting a puzzle together. I am truly blessed.

Gracie also loves that she gets to see Lyndsey at work as well as her Daddy. That poor man has it bad for this little girl, it is the sweetest thing to watch, she has made such a huge difference in his life. Yesterday as we were preparing for the Tropical Storm Hanna (we've had worse thunderstorms) Grace wanted to go with her Daddy, he had to take the payroll to the stores before going home. So instead of telling her NO, he took her. He sent me this pic from his phone.

She ate the chocolate topping off first. This little girl is truly our biggest blessing in our lives (well her and our boys).