Baby Birds Update

Something has happened to the baby birds. I noticed I didn’t see the mother bird sitting in the nest or flying away as often. Then I didn’t see her for what felt like quite a while (now it has been unbearably hot and we are not going in and out very much).  I didn’t want to disturb the baby birds but curiosity got the best of me.  I dragged a chair out onto the porch to have a look and this is what I saw:







Empty nest!



We don’t know what happened. We don't think that they already learned to fly and are on their way, but we can hope for the best. If something else happened (and it wasn't happy), maybe next year the birds will choose a better place for a nest.

Kate Middleton and Me!!

I was reading about Kate Middleton (is she Princess Kate now, most seem to just refer to her as Kate) and how she is so stylish. I have seen so many pictures of her and she looks great in every one.

But this article talked about how she is wearing. . .sheer stockings(nylons). The author thought this might be a Glamour Don't but let’s think about this.

How many of us have perfect legs (and I mean not just the perfect shape, but also color)? Come on. Raise your hands high!



Don’t worry- my hand isn’t up either! I wear stockings to church every Sunday. I do it for lots of reasons (but I will only give you a few. . .yes you're welcome!)-



My legs are the color of concrete!?!



1 My legs are REALLY white. I am not going to try to tan them and self tanner really doesn’t work. It looks really strange to have gorgeous tanned legs and pasty white arms, neck and face.

2 My feet often express a bit more juice than I would like (is that a nice enough way to say I have sweaty feet?) and stockings really help keep me from swimming in my shoes.

3 I love the extra bit of skinniness I get from the control top of the stockings. (Let’s be honest ladies- every little bit helps right?)

So there you have it- Me and Kate- trend setters! (Yeah I’m laughing too. Don’t tell her. She might stop wearing the stockings!)

We've been featured!

We’ve been Featured!

Ashley Ann over at Blessings in a Basket featured us on her blog! We are so grateful for the exposure!

If you don’t know Ashley Ann, check out her blog to read her full story (here and be sure you have some tissues handy!). Through the trials of her life she has learned that she is stronger than she ever imagined. She is a BIG TOUGH GIRL (just like every birthmother).

Ashley Ann received a basket when she placed her child for adoption. The items in the basket helped with her journey of healing. Now  she  gives baskets to other birthmoms. The basket is just for the birthmother, to offer love  and inspiration. Find out more about the baskets here. She also posts comforting and inspiring stories on her blog. Contact her here to get a basket for your birthmom and/or to donate.

Bridal Shower

My cousin, K recently got married. She lives near my parents and apparently no one was going to give her a Bridal Shower. So my mom decided to do it. She called me and asked what to do. She didn’t’ want it to be to “risqué” but wanted everyone to have fun.

K's recipe book - you can see the tabs I fought with!

Well, I got on the internet and really didn’t find anything but did see one gal who had a recipe shower for her college roommate. Well they did it using email. We decided to have a recipe shower. We emailed all the family that wouldn’t be able to come to the shower (because is just too far!) so they could participate. Then we asked all the guests to bring a recipe or two and some of the ingredients to make the recipe.

It worked out great! We got a 3 ring binder with plastic sleeves to put the recipes in. I found classy black and white scrapbook paper for the dividers and then attached tabs (they were a bit harder to put on than I thought they would be).  Everyone added their recipe when they came in and wrote something on it if they wanted (this is great, or I usually add more garlic) etc. K left with between 50 and 75 recipes (when we added in the ones from family and the guests that attended) that people she knows have tried and say are good.  She also had lots of ingredients like flour, sugar, spices, cans of fruit etc, so her shelves won’t be bare.  My mom went to the Doll.ar Store for cooking tools for favors. She got all red ones and they looked so cute in a basket with a yellow ribbon and a tag with some cooking websites.  We did this in April and rumor has it the guest are still talking about it (I think my mom is just being nice.)

The centerpiece and some of the food!

Here's the rest of the food! Everyone enjoyed the fruit kabobs, cheese and crackers, chips and salsa and the banana split cake. To make your own Banana Split Cake go here. They were great and I put them in glasses that were our Grandmother's (made the evening a bit more special!).

Celebrating July 4th

Jake and I went to my parents’ house for the Fourth of July. My sister and her family came up (they live about 2 hours from my parents) and my cousin and her new husband dropped by.  We were just about to set off fireworks when the sky opened up. It POURED rain. There was lightning and thunder and it was a HUGE storm.  My parents have a sunroom off the family room and it has a metal roof. It made the storm even louder.

When the rain and lightning finally stopped we started the fireworks. We had a hard time getting the first few lit. There was just enough of a breeze that the match blew out if you weren’t right by the firework. We did get the hang of it. There were several of those screamers and a bunch of those bright flash ones. They were very small and seemed to just have a bright white flashing light come out.

The box ones were the best. They had more colors and sparks.  We didn’t get any sparklers though.  I remember them as a kid. They were so fun to run through the yard with and dance around. My sister let each of her girls pick the order of the fireworks. They enjoyed telling us the name on the box and watching them.

We also had blueberry sour cream pie. It was delicious! I think a new tradition has been born!

We had a great time. What did you do to celebrate?

I'm a Blog Stalker!

HI! If you are here from TheRHouse! Welcome! Let's get this started right!

I'm Terri and I'm a blog stalker!

Hi Terri!

I read LOTS of blogs. I love hearing reading everyone's stories. I have learned so much from other families who have adopted, who have placed children for adoption and who are trying to adopt. I also love trying the recipes, the DIY projects (and I really sound nosy don't I?)

I rarely leave a comment. Why you ask. Well, I guess because I feel silly and I am afraid I will say write something that will offend someone or hurt their feelings. I have emailed several blog authors (is that the right term? Is there a term for that- hey you could leave that in the comments!!!) and I guess if I offend them they are the only ones that see it (unless they send it to all their friends with read this horrible/dorky/ weird comment I got or even worse. .  . POST IT ON THEIR BLOG!! ARG!!)

Anyway, I am trying to to better. I am going to try leaving more comments- even if it just says thanks for sharing. Hopefully you will know that those few words are heartfelt and genuine.

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to comment- or stalk- or email me if you prefer!

School Supplies

I was in Wal.mart today and noticed all the school supplies are out! It seems like school just got out (and it did!) but we do have a few year round schools here and they start sometime in July. By having a shorter summer they get more breaks during the year and some of the breaks are longer (more time at Christmas and more time at Spring Break as well as other breaks).  I know a few teachers that work at Year round Schools and they love it. Parents with kids in just elementary schools don’t are fine with it but those who have some in elementary school and some in middle or high school don’t  like it as much.

But back to the school supplies. It is interesting to watch people choose the supplies. Some parents bring the children and make a big deal of it. Some parents leave the children at home and buy exactly what is on the list. Some use the list as more of a guideline and get more what they want. There is something about brand new markers and crayons that is so fun. There are so many kinds of markers too. I have never had the washable ones (to expensive). I wonder are they really washable? Do they work just as well? Are the colors as dark? What makes them washable? 

I even saw clear glue.  How are the kids going to know they have enough? It is hard enough with the white glue. I love the idea it is washable.  I do like glue sticks but they are used up so fast that the white glue is much more economical. I have seen a child use an entire glue stick on one project (that wasn’t that big!!!) and even if you get them for 25cents at Wal.mart it is going to add up!