It's official!

Well, what a week! The adoption, baby blessing, and sealing are finished. What a wonderful, crazy, beautiful week. I feel so blessed to know that our family can be together forever, that our Father in Heaven has blessed our lives with another child, even though my body didn't work well enough anymore, and that we have such great family and friends to support us. We'll take a little time off to be together and remember the birth of our Savior. I'm looking forward to Christmas this year as a real family. Last Christmas we had just gotten Ana and we had a feeling that she would be with us forever but we weren't able to acknowledge it.
I used to wonder how a mom and dad could love an adopted child as much as their own. After Ana had been with us for a month there was no difference whatsoever. She is absolutely one of our own. And yes, we love her as such.

Slinky Cat

Please welcome Ana Sophia to our family

Well, we're back! We have officially adopted Ana Sophia. What a great feeling. Now if our camera would only work I would post a picture!

Look what I got at DI

Woo hoo! I got this rocking horse, desk, high chair, at D.I. yesterday for $15!
I knew it looked sturdy and good quality and I thought it was really cool but I didn't know it sold for $225.
That made my day.

I'm Homeschooled...the video

On the fence about Feingold?

http://gotpetroleum.blogspot.com/2008/11/taylors-fuzzy-brained-mice.html

If you're still on the fence about Feingold please take a minute to read this.

sorry so slow

I haven't been posting here a lot because we're getting ready for the adoption for Ana and we also have Andrew's baptism.
I've also started a new blog http://gotpetroleum.blogspot.com/ that has easy recipes that are Feingold safe. Mostly I've been working on that.

For my music buddies

Wife Tag

Make your husband fill this out and send it to more people...

Q. Where did you meet? I was working at Mervyn's (before Dayton Hudson sucked them dry and pawned off the carcass) when Danika walked in. There was something about her that was special. Maybe it was the way she chased me, but I was hooked and reeled in. Sometimes you don't know what you were missing until it finds you.


Q. How long did you date before you got married? 9 months.


Q. How long have you been married? 14 years, but it seems like forever. I don't seem to remember much of my life before we were married. Probably because I didn't have much of a life before we were married.

Q. What does she do to surprise you? Hide behind doors or yank the covers off when I am sleeping.


Q. What is your favorite feature of hers? Her happy face.


Q. What is your favorite quality? Her ability to adapt, improvise and overcome. Present her with a problem and she will find the right solution.


Q. Does she have a nickname for you? Several.


Q. What is her favorite food? Marzipan or Chineese food with ice cream.


Q. What is her favorite sport? Running after the kids.


Q. When and where did you first kiss? On the lips, at night. But not too late. It was when I dropped her off at her house. She was in the door, and I was on the steps outside.


Q. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? I like talking with Danika. She would prefer that I take her out more often to do it.


Q. Do you have children? Three, soon to be four.


Q. Does she have any hidden talents? Many, but they don't stay hidden for long. Someone has a problem or she finds a challenge, and a new talent comes out.

Q. How old is she? 27.


Q. Who said "I love you" first? ME, although she might deny it.


Q. What is her favorite music? Right now I think fiddling, although she loves all good music.


Q. What do you admire most about her? Her foresight. She sees what we need to do ahead of time and gets us started in the right direction.


Q. What is her favorite color? Light tan.

My frustration

I also want to tell a frustration...one phone died, the other was probably thrown away by my daughter who has conveniently learned that EVERYTHING belongs in the garbage can. So, I ordered 2 phones on ebay. One for $29 that did not have a working camera for Alyssa to take here and there and be a 2nd phone, one that had everything working. Well, I got the everything working one and THE CAMERA DOESN'T WORK. So, I still don't have a camera. I feel like I'm missing out on Ana's life and I can't afford another camera right now. argh

Way too busy!

Wow, with all the adoption stuff I'm going a little nuts, add braces, dental cleanings, and G.I. appointments to that and I'm really nuts!
Andrew had his first OT appointment and it went well. He's definitely dealing with Sensory Integration Disorder and we're still getting our diagnosis finished to see if other things are included.
We are learning a lot of Sensory Integration techniques to help him deal with his input that he needs.

some funnies from Alyssa

I was reading my journal and I came across some funny things from when Alyssa was 6...she had quite the vocabulary.

"Alyssa had just found out that Adam painted with her paints and something else terrible so she said, 'all sorts of destruction has come into my life!'"

"One day Alyssa said something very smart so Papa told her that some day she would be a genius. She said, when? Papa said, oh maybe when you're 8. Alyssa said, no that will just be the power of the Holy Ghost!"

ahhhhhhhhhh

Thank you Lisa for forever burning this image into my mind. Now I will pass it on so all of you can have nightmares.

homeschool blogger, my momhelp

The assignment this week for homeschoolblogger is to tell about your mom help, as in what gets you through the day...
I laughed at this cause Russ was just commenting on how I blog way too much. That's because it's my sanity. I know I can "talk" to you all here. The kids are usually in here with me (the school room) and we're all doing a project. If I go out of the room I'll hear fighting in 2 minutes so it's much easier to lose myself in the world of blogging.
That being said...I have no scripture that goes along with blogging...LOL...but here's one that will fit if I'm frustrated and I've had it.

Take heed that ye despise not one of these ^alittle ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 18:10

I just yearbooked myself

http://yearbookyourself.com/

I just yearbooked myself...

The funniest one is the picture on the upper left because that really looks like my 9th grade photo. If I could find it and scan it you'd laugh.

Angels in blue

Thank you to the police force who watched over the temple.

life, liberty, and keeping people happy

I'm just wondering if anyone in the US reads the Constitution or Declaration of Independence...I found this on KSL today and I've seen so many similar statements.

"The LDS Church has its right to speak its opinion the same as any other organization. However, to keep people from being happy is against the constitution. The LDS Church has overstepped its bounds on this one."

Cause the constitution says "life, liberty and to keep people happy" right?

ok, #1 the phrase this person is speaking of comes from the Declaration of Independence, not the constitution.
#2, the words are "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This means that people have the right to PURSUE happiness. Not that the government can keep people from being happy. My goodness, if we have a generation of people who believe it's the government's job to keep them happy we're in deep doo doo.

percentages

From a friend of a friend of Julia's who lives in CA...

Mormons make up less than 2% of the population of California. There are approximately 800,000 LDS out of a total population of approximately 34 million.
Mormon voters were less than 5% of the yes vote. If one estimates that 250,000 LDS are registered voters (the rest being children), then LDS voters made up 4.6% of the Yes vote and 2.4% of the total Proposition 8 vote.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) donated little or no money to the Yes on 8 campaign. Individual members of the Church were encouraged to support the Yes on 8 efforts and, exercising their constitutional right to free speech, donated whatever they felt like donating.
The No on 8 campaign raised more money than the Yes on 8 campaign. Unofficial estimates put No on 8 at $38 million and Yes on 8 at $32 million, making it the most expensive non-presidential election in the country.
Advertising messages for the Yes on 8 campaign are based on case law and real-life situations. The No on 8 supporters have insisted that the Yes on 8 messaging is based on lies. Every Yes on 8 claim is supported.
The majority of our friends and neighbors voted Yes on 8. Los Angeles County voted in favor of Yes on 8. Ventura County voted in favor of Yes on 8.
African Americans overwhelmingly supported Yes on 8. Exit polls show that 70% of Black voters chose Yes on 8. This was interesting because the majority of these voters voted for President-elect Obama. No on 8 supporters had assumed that Obama voters would vote No on 8.
The majority of Latino voters voted Yes on 8. Exit polls show that the majority of Latinos supported Yes on 8 and cited religious beliefs (assumed to be primarily Catholic).
The Yes on 8 coalition was a broad spectrum of religious organizations. Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants, Orthodox Jews, Muslims – all supported Yes on 8. It is estimated that there are 10 million Catholics and 10 million Protestants in California. Mormons were a tiny fraction of the population represented by Yes on 8 coalition members.
Not all Mormons voted in favor of Proposition 8. Our faith accords that each person be allowed to choose for him or her self. Church leaders have asked members to treat other members with "civility, respect and love," despite their differing views.
The Church did not violate the principal of separation of church and state. This principle is derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." The phrase "separation of church and state", which does not appear in the Constitution itself, is generally traced to an 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, although it has since been quoted in several opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court in recent years. The LDS Church is under no obligation to refrain from participating in the political process, to the extent permitted by law. U.S. election law is very clear that Churches may not endorse candidates, but may support issues. The Church as always been very careful on this matter and occasionally (not often) chooses to support causes that it feels to be of a moral nature.
Supporters of Proposition 8 did exactly what the Constitution provides for all citizens: they exercised their First Amendment rights to speak out on an issue that concerned them, make contributions to a cause that they support, and then vote in the regular electoral process. For the most part, this seems to have been done in an open, fair, and civil way. Opponents of 8 have accused supporters of being bigots, liars, and worse. The fact is, we simply did what Americans do – we spoke up, we campaigned, and we voted.

Husband Tag

I've been tagged by Erica...my SIL

Q. Where did you meet?
A. At Mervyns, I made sure I was the only one who got to return stuff to the men's dept. so I could see him.

Q. How long did you date before you got married?
A. We met in November, were engaged in December, and married in March

Q. How long have you been married?
A. 14 years

Q. What does he do to surprise you?
A. Nothing whatsoever, he's not a surprising kind of guy.

Q. What is your favorite feature of his?
A. I guess we're talking about physical features here, since he started his job he changed tremendously and he walks taller and bigger. I like it when he feels good about himself. I like him all.

Q. What is your favorite quality?
A. His spirit and truth

Q. Does he have a nickname for you?
A. wif (said with a short i sound) or mujer

Q. What is his favorite food?
A. Shrimp

Q. What is his favorite sport?
A. None

Q. When and where did you first kiss?
A. I don't remember when but it was on my back porch.

Q. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
A. We have to do things as a couple? Nobody told him that I think.

Q. Do you have children?
A. yes, 3 and an almost

Q. Does he have any hidden talents?
A. He's an incredible artist. (copying this from yours Erica, I never knew Kent was an artist, where's all this hidden talent in the family coming from?)

Q. How old is he?
A. old

Q. Who said "I love you" first?
A. me

Q. What is his favorite music?
A. Celtic or Scottish

Q. What do you admire most about him?
A. That he's still with me.

Q. What is his favorite color?
A. Dark Green

Q. Will he read this?
A. yes

I tag my anonymous followers...I know you're there gals, come out of the woodwork and make yourselves known!

Proposition 8 recognition

How nice that this group is recognizing and appreciating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. After that sickening ad from "courage coalition" it warms my heart for someone to give good recognition...
I struggled with the issue because initially it seemed to take away rights but later realized there were so many other things at stake.
I want the right to adopt from lds family services. In some states religious adoption agencies have been forced to place with gay couples and therefore shut down.
I want the right to have sealings in the temple. If there are discrimination lawsuits over gay marriage I would imagine our church would not perform sealing any more.
I won't elaborate cause you can find it all other places but here follows the article.

http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/842518567.html

Ruth Youth Proclaim International Mormon Appreciation Day

Contact: Jamie Gruber, 760-295-9278

MEDIA ADVISORY, Nov. 4 /Christian Newswire/ -- In response to the truly despicable, bigoted advertisement, Home Invasion, produced to defeat California's Proposition 8, the members of the Ruth Youth proclaim November 5, 2008 to be International Mormon Appreciation Day.

Whereas: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are exercising their legal first amendment free speech rights by participating in the political process, rights that are dear to all Americans of all religions.

Whereas, the advertisement was generated by an "independent" group calling itself Courage Campaign Issues Committee.

Whereas: the ad has been condemned by representatives of Catholic and Protestant Churches,

Whereas: the Protect Marriage, Yes on Proposition 8 campaign has called upon the No on 8 campaign to repudiate the ad.

Whereas: the No on Proposition 8 has been completely silent in the face of this outrageous display of anti-religious bigotry.

Whereas: the No on 8 Campaign has shown very clearly that they want the exclusive right to define what counts as discrimination and hate.

Whereas: the campaign to protect natural marriage by passing California’s Proposition 8 has been called the largest grassroots political campaign in history.

Whereas: attacks on the religious freedom of one group threaten the religious freedom of all religions.

Whereas: the Ruth Youth is an international, interfaith coalition of youthful souls of all ages who support natural marriage, in law, culture, media and academia.

Whereas: we are grateful to the members of the LDS Church for their participation in the campaign to protect marriage from being radically redefined by unelected judges.

Whereas: We are proud to have been part of said campaign, and we are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the members of the LDS Church.

Therefore, be it proclaimed:

We, the members of the Ruth Youth, hereby declare and proclaim November 5, 2008, to be International Mormon Appreciation Day. We hereby express our gratitude toward and solidarity with our LDS brothers and sisters.

No matter how the election for Proposition 8 turns out, we are grateful to the courageous, dedicated, and always cheerful members of the LDS Church.

Ruth Youth can be found on FACEBOOK or at www.ruthinstitute.org.

to my homebirthing friends

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/11/oh-mama.html

I got this from Cakewrecks and it's dedicated to all my homebirthing friends

Oh, Mama!

Who's ready for some life-sized, potentially-nightmare-inducing, definitely traumatizing, yet fortuitously-censored CAKE? Hmm?

Settle down, now, all of you; there's enough here for everyone:

(Heh, you guys thought the FIRST censored Cake Wreck was bad...)

What's that? What do you mean, you all only want a piece of the little birthday cake? You can't ALL have that: who's going to eat the legs? The belly? The.. er...tracts of land? C'mon, you'll love it: mama's made of red velvet!*

:)

Here's an even "better" angle:


John would like me to point out that this cake has teeth. And there are so many things wrong with that statement, I don't even know where to begin.

Here's some good news, though: this wasn't for a baby shower! Yay! Nope, it was served at a birthing center event. As to why the "mom" has a cake in the tub with her, though - and in that particular spot - well, you got me. I'm just glad they didn't make it into an edible baby.
Also, I've heard of cakes sweating before, but this brings it to a while 'nother level. A really shiny, gross level.

I actually had this submitted twice, by both Gina & Jeanette E. Hey girls, I'm dying to know: did "mama" have any hair? I can't quite tell from the photos. (I mean on her HEAD, you sick people, you.)


* Ok, you got me: I don't actually know what kind of cake this was.

UPDATE: I too thought that they just left the "s" off "surprise" at first, but then it would have been "urprise", not "uprise". Unless they spelled it wrong, and THEN left the "s" off - hah, double wreck! Or, I suppose it could be the name of the center.

Or how about this one?

Naked Mohawk-Baby Carrot Jockeys

This cake is so disturbing, I'm almost glad the picture doesn't include the whole thing. The plastic clone babies wearing naught but mohawks are bad enough, but then they're also riding carrots. What do you do with that? It looks like some kind of perverted vegetable rodeo, or maybe a bizarre clone military exercise, what with their little plastic fists raised high in identical salutes.

And what kind of occasion calls for a "naked babies riding carrots" decor, anyway? No, wait, maybe I don't want to know...

a funny cake

Russ says that now I'm on a poop list with his family (gee, never been there before) and I should post something funny instead and forget those who seek offense in everything so here's a cake that's much worse than any cute funny cream cheese cake...
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/10/confessions-of-cake-wrecker.html

Confessions of a Cake Wrecker

Cake decorators are an interesting lot.

For example, some of them find this site absolutely hilarious...until they see their cake on it.* Others find the very concept of Cake Wrecks repugnant. Still others - and these are the ones I love - realize that Wrecks are a part of life and therefore nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, some of this rare, wonderful breed even submit their own cakes. Huzzah! That's the spirit! Why get cranky over a Wrecky creation when you can share it with us, generate some laughs, and be a proud Wrecker for the day?

With all of that said, today's Wreck comes from Alison, owner of Alison's Cakery in NC. Like most Wreck creators, she usually makes gorgeous cakes. She writes:

"I was asked to make a baby shower cake for a very non-traditional mother, [but] she had her baby 3 months premature. In a moment of brilliance (or insanity, or sleeplessness) I decided to make a 'surprise baby' just exited the mommy early, kind of like a new year's baby coming out of the cake. After a bit of time modeling I was pretty satisfied with my finished product."

And here it is:



[nodding] Very nice, very... er...hey...wait a second....can we zoom in?



AAAAAUUUGGGHH!!!

I've heard of losing your head over a pregnancy before, but your arms and legs, too?

Fortunately, Alison has more to say:
"I showed the cake to one of my associates, who said it looked like an alien bursting out of a decapitated mother's funereal body. Needless to say, this topper did not stay."

No, really, it's not that bad...

[checking photo again] Er, ok, yes it is.

Not to say that the alien-bursting-forth concept wasn't a good one, though. I mean, at least the mother's decapitated and dismembered torso has clothes on.

Alison, you just keep wrecking on with your bad self, girl. And bakers, I hope you've all learned a valuable lesson here today: submitting your own cakes to Cake Wrecks could get you free advertising. Oh, and always have an associate double-check your work. ;)

I'm so glad the chat box is working

I'm so glad that the chat box is working so anonymous posters can call me rude. That's just what I put it on there for, so offended people of all sorts can call me rude.
And, my apologies about my dear, sweet MIL's dear cute traditional cake. How terrible it was of me to dare say anything about it. I'll never post another joke again even if thousands of people on the cakewrecks blog came up with it first.
I really meant no offense to MIL, if I did I would come up with something much better than a silly cake, wouldn't I?

I'm an addict

OK, I have been looking at this blog for 2 hours! It's time to get on with my life...but first I have to share this post...

http://blogsofnote.blogspot.com/

Warning: there are a couple of questionable posts but even I am not offended at them because they look nothing like the real thing...

Here's one post from the blog that particularly caught my eye because it's a picture of the scary Christmas sandwich cake that we get to see every year at my MIL's house. It's made every single year and 2 people eat a slice of it, then the leftovers sit for a month or so till those same 2 people finish it up.
It has some sort of seafood filling, ham filling, and something else as well as some cheese in a bottle and cream cheese for the icing.
No offense meant to those dear, sweet family members who like this...gag, blech, yuck!

Edited to say...Here's where I'm copying and pasting a post from cake wrecks...in case anonymous thought that I had written this piece, I didn't...here follows cakewreck's words...not mine...

"Cake" Cruelty

Ladies and gentlemen of the cake community, I come to you today with a matter of grave concern to us all.

Allow me to present exhibit A:



These seemingly innocent "cakes" are instead a threat to all the sugary goodness we hold dear. Observe:


Once sliced, you will note that these "cakes" are not cakes at all. Instead, they are layers of various meat and mayo-based salads, bread, and then - here's the worst part - "iced" with cream cheese. Note how the creators of these twisted impostors then push the deception even further by decorating the "cakes" with little roses, vines, and piped borders.

I ask you, fellow carb-lovers, are we to allow such cake defamation to stand? Will we sit idly by while our children and grandchildren are subjected to cakes that are not cakes? And if so, what next? Liverwurst doughnuts? Tuna-filled eclairs? Meat pies? (Oh, wait...)

Nay, I say, nay! We shall rise up, and as one declare that our butter cream icing must remain unsullied, our baked goods pure in sugar. Join me, and together we can make our world a place of fat, sugar, and dairy-based products for all!

mmmmmmmmmmm new recipe

Now here's a recipe from the old wartime that looks just delicious! I think I'll try it out tomorrow morning for breakfast.

CASSEROLE OF CODFISH, PIMENTO AND CORNMEAL MUSH

1 lb. codfish

⅓ cup pimento

1 cup cornmeal

2 cups tomatoes, juice and pulp

2 teaspoons salt

⅛ teaspoon cayenne

3 cups boiling water

Mix cornmeal with one-half cup of cold water. Add to the boiling water. Boil five minutes. In greased baking dish place fish which has been soaked over night. Place pimento on fish. Place cornmeal on pimento. To tomatoes add seasonings and pour over all. Bake slowly 45 minutes.

LOL! Is there such thing as November fools?

please watch this

http://www.ourcaucus.com/teaparty.html

Please watch this one if at all possible, it is totally non-partisan and very educational.

Wow!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445865,00.html

Wow, all I can say is wow! The problem here is when something for Kindergartners says they will intervene when someone is using anti-homosexual ideas. So, in church if the teacher is talking about the fact that marriage is between a man and a woman, the child is supposed to stop this anti-homosexual talk?
Why does the Kindergartner even need to know the word sexual much less sign a take home pledge card with it.