Grace Practices her Signs

Since Grace can not say very many words, it was recommended that we teach her sign language. She is a quick study and has picked up lots of words already. These are just some of the ones she knows.

I hope this is a link to Grace's video. Thanks Amy for the tip. I hope it works. I added it just in case you can't view the video here.

Daniel's Fast

Our church is doing a Daniel's Fast for 10 days. We started last Sunday, April 20 and ends Wednesday, April 30 at 6:00 p.m. One thing we are praying for is our church as it starts its 11th year. We can only eat natural foods, no meats, no diary, no perservatives, no caffine and no soft drinks. It pretty much has to come from the Earth.

The quote below is from our pastor's blog. It explains why we are fasting much better than I can. "Not only is it a time for our body to be cleansed but also a time for our heart to be cleansed. Take some time today to pray and ask God to cleanse and strengthen your heart. God is up to something big in your life and we need to get the junk out of our heart so that He can fill it back up with His power!"

If you want to find out more about Daniel and why he fasted just start reading Daniel 1 in your bible or online. I would add a link to it here but I still haven't figured out how.

We have had some interesting foods but have surprisely liked a lot of them. The all natural peanut butter is actually pretty good and Ezerial Bread(made from natural products)is growing on us too. Two of our favorite meals are listed below. Kristopher and Zachary loved both of these meals. Who would have known that we would like hummus and brown rice.

Taco Soup
32 oz of vegetable broth
1 jar of salsa
1 can of black beans(rinsed and drained)
2 cups of frozen corn

Mix all ingredients in saucepan and cook for 15-20 minutes.

White Chili

4 (1lb) cans great Northern beans, drained
3 cans vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 1/4 cup onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Place all ingredients in large (5 quart) heavy pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer at least 30 minutes.

OR

Put all ingredients in a crock pot and cook.

Happy Birthday, Ron!

Today is my brother-in-law Ron's birthday. My sister said they had a nice breakfast at Cracker Barrel before heading to the emergency room. Leigh-Anne, my neice had a migraine and couldn't stop vomiting. What a great way to spend a birthday. Fortunately, Leigh-Anne is now fine and has some medication in case it happens again.

No Surgery for Grace

Grace had an appointment with the speech therapist and plastic surgeon today. They both agree that we need to get Grace 6 months of speech therapy before deciding if she needs surgery. The speech therapist isn't concerned as much about the small hole along her gumline as he is about her palate being too short. Hopefully with speech therapy she will learn to compensate for her short palate. They will recheck her in 6 months.

Now, the big news......We can try and get Grace to drink with a straw. No more nuby cups with cuts in them so Grace doesn't have to suck. No more leaky cups spilling milk and water everywhere.

Grace- ENT

I took Grace to a follow up appointment with the ENT(Dr. Drake) today. She had done a hearing test back in November. They were really busy and behind so Dallas and I were unclear about what the test showed. We knew she had some hearing loss but wasn't sure what. I found out today that Grace has the hearing of an old person. She can't hear the high pitched sounds like a whistle or a dog yapping. Dr. Drake doesn't think it will cause any problems.

Amazing Adoption Blog

I have been following this blog for several months now. It is truly a story of faith and love. This little girl needs all the prayers she can get.

American Idol

s.

We were delighted and surprised that they performed this on American Idol not once but twice. The first night they replaced the word Jesus with shephard. The second night they did use the correct word.

The Kids and their Long Lost Relatives

Another Lego Boy

The picture below was Nicholas at our children's musuem. This is Kristopher in New York City at F.A.O Schwarz. They have lots of figures completely made out of legos. Dallas and I saw them last year. Pretty impressive legos.

Lego Boy

What is That?

What is that growing out of Kristopher's head? Could it be the Statue of Liberty?

First Night Sleeping in Her Big Girl Bed

First Broadway Show

Sweet Sixteen

Happy Birthday, Kristopher! Dallas and I took Kristopher to Cheesecake Factory for dinner and presented him with his birthday gift. It was 2 books about NYC. Dallas and him are going for the weekend. He seemed excited but he is abit like his mother. We don't usually show much excitement even when we are very excited. Stay tuned as Kristopher takes Manhatten in the next few days.