Our girl

Our little girl is 5 today. She’s full of energy and obsessed with flashlights. She sits with me when I cry, loves to chase her tennis balls and Frisbees and loves ‘tickles’ on her legs and ‘scritches’ on her bum and knows the difference between the two.

What we’ve been so happy to see in her is how she is with the kids we’ve had in our home so far. She’s patient and sweet with them and follows them around with her stuffed giraffe in her mouth hoping they’ll play with her.

The girl we had with us over the weekend was nervous about meeting a big dog. After a few minutes, K and Jill were friends, and Jill put up with K bossing her around all weekend. When I drove K back home, she wanted to have Jill come with us in the car. Both of them fell asleep in the back seat, with Jill’s head nestled against K’s leg, and K’s arm around Jill.

Who knew that Jill would become somewhat of a therapy dog?

We love you, little Jill.

Heavy Hearts

Yesterday, I found out that M has requested from the court a "voluntary departure." This means that after much paperwork and about eight weeks she and A will return to Guatemala. We cannot believe this. Her case manager and her attorney tried to talk her out of it, but M was resolute in court, though she cried the whole time.

Our question is "WHY?!" Why would she decide to go back to a dangerous situation? Why would she take A back to poverty and no education? The answers, which seem so clear to us, are more complicated and involve much more than just what logic would tell us.

As her case manager told me, M has many outside stresses that influenced her decision: she is under pressure from her family to work. She has a young child who tests her daily by tantrums and screaming and who has had some health issues on top of that. M feels like she and A are a burden to their current foster family and does not want to be a burden to any other foster family.

John and I are very sad that this has happened. In our eyes, we see the opportunities that she and A have here that probably they will never have in Guatemala. We worry a great deal about them and their future. But--it is her decision. The most we can do is entrust them to His care and protection.

M asked that if the departure does not happen in 30 days, that she and A be moved from their current home to a different foster home. She asked to live with us. This means a lot to us, and we will make the most of the remaining weeks we have with them.

The path that life takes people on always amazes me. Although our age range for placements is 0-6, we are very grateful to have met M and A and learn from them. I don't look forward to saying goodbye. Not at all.

Que Dios les bendiga.

Melissa and Doug Giveaway!

They are having a very nice giveaway on the M&D blog here for a chance to win a Sunny Patch Gift Pack worth $50! Check it out and good luck!

Good Eats

In the last few weeks, I've had a chance to enjoy some good cooking--and most of it wasn't done by me. A few weeks ago, at the Gourmet Club dinner, we had a delicious hummus. The recipe can be found here. What gave this hummus a great subtle taste was adding a couple of mint leaves and a little Greek yogurt pulsed in with all the ingredients in the food processor.

The tabouli was also delicious. The large amount of parsley in it gives you not only good nutrition, but also a very fresh taste.

Since I had a lot of chick peas left over, I made this soup. It was earthy, cheap and nutritious.

Finally, a few nights later, I made these chick pea burgers with tahini sauce. The sauce was divine.

The best part of all of these recipes is that they are healthy, delicious and MEAT FREE!!!

Easter

Easter 2010 turned out to be a nice weekend with last minute guests sharing it with us. On Wednesday of Holy Week, we were asked to do respite care for M & A. Things were a bit different this time and I drove down to Spanaway to pick them up--about 100 miles round trip. Because of the last minute request to have them for the weekend, we were not able to participate in all of the Triduum services. However, things happen for a reason, and I think I got to know M more during this time, and she made a delicious dinner of homemade tamales!

On Easter Sunday, John and I went to the morning Mass and later went with M & A up to Jeff and Christina’s house for brunch. Little A enjoyed himself and especially liked the Easter basket provided by John’s mom and dad. M seemed to enjoy the meal and the company, which we were happy about. John and I look forward to seeing them again in May.

This Friday, we will have another guest in our home for the weekend. “K” is 12 years old and from Ghana. This should be a fun and interesting experience.

Please keep all foster children in your prayers.

What Side of the Fence?

A friend sent this to me via email today. Pretty good!



If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great
test!

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat..
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
If a liberal is down-and-out, he wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
If a liberal doesn't like a talk show host, he demands that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
If a liberal is non-believer, he wants any mention of God and religion silenced.
(Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for
it, or may choose a job that provides it.
If a liberal decides he needs health care, he demands that the rest of us
pay for it.

If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended."

Well, I forwarded it to you.....

Gourmet Club-Mediterranean Night

This past Saturday was the third Gourmet Club dinner. It was started last year by my sister-in-law, Christina, after she went on a cruise and took a gourmet cooking class. The twelve students prepared a gourmet meal together and then shared it afterwards. Around that time she also saw “Julie and Julia” and this further inspired her cooking. She enjoyed the class and the movie so much that she wanted to start something similar with friends. The idea is that one person agrees to host the meal at her home, decide on a menu and buy the ingredients. We all pay $25 to cover the cost of the ingredients and wine.

Christina's menu was French cuisine from Julia Child’s book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” In December, another friend hosted and did a Williamsburg Christmas meal. I was the third to host, and we made a Mediterranean meal. Besides enjoying delicious meals, we have the chance to spend time together and get to know people better. What makes the gourmet club fun is that the personalities are as unique and different as each recipe. Enjoy the photos!