New Kenson photos

The photo updates have been a little spotty as of late. (As in, they may come or they may not.) So I am especially grateful for these pictures. They always make me miss my kid like no other but I would be terribly sad to not see recent pictures of him. And the best part? Seeing his wonderful smile! The kid seriously does not know how to be crabby. (Okay, he does...we have seen that in person.) But in general, he is so easy going.

The first Haitian Eskimo

I've puchased a few clothing items for Kenson's homecoming...what do you think?
Seriously, it is stinkin' cold here. Like normal temperatures of below zero with windchills of 20, 30, or 40 below. My poor little Haitian baby would be seriously wanting some of that tropical weather if he were here right now. Man, is he in for a rude awakening!

Menu Planning Monday

Hop on over here for more menu and recipe ideas.

Turkey Pot Pie, apple slices, corn
(I have turkey left over from Thanksgiving in my freezer. I'll add some broth and vegetables and then thicken. Then into a cooking pan and topped with a premade Pillsbury crust.)

Carmel Bread Pudding, turkey bacon, fresh fruit
Carmel Bread Pudding (Should really be a dessert, I swear. But I have leftover middles from some bread bowls to use up so it's a good excuse)
1 loaf of Vienna bread (or other sturdy white bread)
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups milk
1 cup light cream
2 t. vanilla

Cut bread into cubes. Beat eggs until frothy. blend in sugar. Beat in milk, cream, and vanilla. Combine bread cubes with wet ingredients. Pout into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 325 degrees for 65-7- minutes.

Sauce-Combine 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup whipping cream. Heat to boiling and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and add 1 t. vanilla. Serve over bread pudding.


Coconut Crockpot Chicken, rice, California blend veggies

Grilled cheese, vegetable soup
(We normally can't get Brie locally but since it's Christmas our grocery store has it. I'm hoping to have a Brie, pear, and ham sandwich.)

Chill Dogs, carrots and celery, pudding
(Using up left over chilli from last week)

Blushing Pasta, lettuce salad, breadsticks
(The bread stick recipe is new. Now that I'm home more, I am really enjoying getting to do some more with yeast.)

I am so brave that...

I cut off all the tags on the clothing we have purchased or received for Kenson! I know, what an adreneline junkie I must be!

I have been hesitant to cut the tags off of the clothing we have because it always seems like there is this huge "what if" hanging over us. And if that "what if" for some reason happens, I wanted to be able to either return the clothes or resell them as new with tags. (Just trying to be practical.)

But since we had many new things to put away from yesterday, I took the plunge and cut off all the tags on everything in his armoire.

I am the queen of thinking ahead, always in prevent mode, always trying to minimize the chance of looking foolish or making a mistake. And God has been teaching me in the last ten years that living in the land of what if or it might not work is not a good place to live. It cuts into my ability to trust Him and creates a false sense of control within me. It elevates my planning to a position of godhood, where it is by my planning and my planning alone that disaster is averted. So those tags are now gone and we are doing our best to live in a place where we believe God will continue to work to bring Kenson home.

Toddler Shower

My friends hosted a toddler shower for me today. Many of my work and church friends blessed us with gifts and their presence. It was a great time for conversation for a bunch of busy women. And I fielded many questions about Kenson coming home and what that transition to home might look that. Sharing some of the things we will be doing attachment wise will hopeful make that transition easier as our friends have now heard about it beforehand and will know some of the rationale behind it. My friends, Nicky and Meghan, who are biracial also talked about their experiences as someone who looks black but lives with a white parent. Good conversations about seldom talked about things!

We really didn't NEED anything but we received many useful and thoughtful gifts like DVD's, clothing, toy trucks, large legos, and much much more. And there were some things we knew would be purchasing like small stools, medicines, extra crib sheets, samples of body and hair products, and thermometers that we are especially grateful to not have to purchase.

Thanks so much to Ann for the use of her home and her beautifully braided egg and bread pastry. Thanks to Lisa for pulling out all of her homecky Becky skills and baking several items as well as putting together a scrapbook for us. Thanks Nicky for bringing fruit and dip. And thanks to anyone who did invitations and what not. I am so thankful to have the friends I do who have prayed with us, rejoiced with us, and invested in our lives.

More photos for another mom

Sorry the rest of y'all have to be party to my shameless sharing of photos. To me, this seems easier than trying to get photos to email. Plus, if I keep posting photos, pretty soon one of you who reads this will fall in love with the beauty of some kiddo and think "I should adopt from Haiti!"

To the mom who I'm posting for-I hope this is the right kid! If not, let me know and I'll go back through my photos. (And we're going to HCH very soon so I'll definitely have some photos then.)

Passport is printed

Woo hoo! Kenson's passport has been printed. Now his paperwork has to be submitted to US Citizenship and Immigration Services in Haiti. They approve his visa paperwork and then the visa is printed and we can travel. I don't know the timeline on this but we're hoping it will be short since a lot of the things necessary for his visa have already been done.

I should also add that I don't think we'll be traveling before Christmas. It's possible but probably unlikely. Who knows though?