Best Buddies

Best little buddies, even in their sleep. Nights like these make days like today (not an easy one) worth it all!

Thankfulness-A Chance to Share With Our Church Family

Our church had a Thanksgiving service and pie social tonight. We were honored to be one of 3 families asked to share what God had done in our lives this year and what we were thankful for.

My brain ACHED as I tried to figure out how to fit everything I could think about from the last year (particularly the last 7 months).

In the end, this is what I shared:

2009 has been a year of big changes for our family, as Rosie became the 5th Moffatt. From my earliest days, I can remember desiring to adopt at least part of my children, and this year saw that dream come true.

In May of 2007, Gareth and I both became convinced that God was leading us to adopt a child and we began the adoption process. The next year and a half were full of paperwork, home studies, psychological profiles, medical exams, and waiting.

In October of 2008, our savings and fundraising efforts were exhausted and we found ourselves $11,000 short. Over the next three months, we watched in awe as God provided all of the money we needed through friends and family around the globe.

On January 6 of this year, we received a phone call that said, “Congratulations! Today is the day”, and we saw Rosie’s picture for the first time.

On April 13, I met Rosie and on April 18 after a 28 hour trip, Rosie and I stepped off of the plane and she came home to her forever family.

Tonight, Rosie has been home for 7 months and I would not be truthful if I stood here and told you that adoption is easy and painless. It isn’t always. There have been days of discouragement and times when I doubt that I am truly equipped for this adventure.

But, as I look back over the last year, I can see time and again God’s faithfulness.

Our list of stories could go on for a couple of hours, but to hold it to my 3-minute time limit, I’ll hit only a few highlights:

Our family is thankful for God’s faithfulness to provide the funds needed to bring Rosie home. For the last 10 weeks of last year, we had at least 1 check arrive in our mailbox each week from someone who said God had prompted them to be a part. Our boys had seen me crying as we became aware of the lack of funds, and it was an amazing and humbling experience to be able to see them pray that God would provide the money to bring their sister home and then to watch their joy as they saw God provide all of the money needed. We are especially grateful to those of you here who supported our family with your prayers, friendship, and finances through our adoption journey.


We are thankful that when we asked God to send us the child who we would be the perfect family for and who would be the perfect fit for our family that he sent us Rosie. Seeing her walk off of the airplane and straight into the arms of her Daddy and brothers like she had always belonged there is a testament to the work that God had done to prepare her heart and ours for that day.

We are thankful for amazing memories: first hugs, first kisses, first “I love you’s”, first ice creams, first times to hear her call us Mommy and Daddy, hearing her first prayers, and the excitement and wonder that she brings to life as we see her experience so many firsts.

We are thankful for the strength and wisdom that He provides on the days when we wonder what to do and what to say and how to deal with the challenges of raising a little one who did not have the advantages of early training, discipline, and stability.

James 1:27 says : Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

We are thankful that in God’s wisdom and plan, He has given Christians the responsibility to care for those who have no family and are especially grateful that He has allowed us to be a part of His plan for Rosie’s life.

We believe that adoption is evangelism in its’ most personal and intimate form, and we are grateful to be a part of sharing the love of an earthly father with Rosie in anticipation of the day when she will come to a personal saving relationship with her Heavenly Father.

Now more than ever, I realize how much my Heavenly Father loves me and I am grateful that He has given me the opportunity to understand that love a little better. And, I am even more grateful that he has given us the opportunity to show Rosie how wide and long and high and deep His love really is.

A Hard Days' Night-Take 5

Evidently the boys decided to try to wait up for me after my girls' night out on Friday. They had obviously been pretty busy after Daddy put them to bed. Note the alarm clock by Noah's head and the teddy bear sleeping on his bottom!

Friends

Here are the munchkins with their bestest buddies, Ally and Spencer, when we visited the aquarium last week.

It is always so nice to be able to get together with friends for some adult conversation, and I love play dates with Ally and Spencer's family. The kids play so well together,and I don't have to worry about fussing or fighting when they are together.

Unbearable cuteness

All of the munchkins are in children's choir at church on Sunday evenings now. Last week was Rosie's debut as part of the cherub choir. I had a very cute dress picked out for her, which she wanted absolutely no part of.

So, I asked her what she wanted to wear. This is what she chose:

Oh so cute! She didn't do much (okay, any) singing while up on stage. But she sure did look cute!

From the Mouth of Nathan

Warning: This post is NOT for the squeamish or overly sensitive!

Setting the scene: About 11:00 I heard someone creeping around the childrens' rooms, and Gareth was sent to investigate. He came out with Nathan, who said he needed the potty. About 2 seconds after sitting down, there was horrible howling and wailing. Gareth cleaned Nate up and came back to report that Nathan said his bottom was burning. Gareth made sure he was clean, applied some cream, and put him to bed. The howling continued and was intensifying.
Enter Mommy, who got him up, took him to our bedroom, couldn't see any problem, so popped him into the bathtub for a little soak before reapplying the cream. The howling and dancing had stopped by then, but the complaining had not. So, cuddling up with him on the bed, Mommy begins to attempt to calm him.

Mommy to Nathan: You know, Nathan, you probably need to make extra, extra sure that you are really clean after you go potty. That's probably why you're sore.

Nathan to Mommy: I don't think so.

Mommy to Nathan: Well did something else happen tonight that made you sore?

Nathan to Mommy: Well, I think I have a hole in my bottom. I sat for so long in choir, that I think I rubbed a hole in my bottom!

At which point, Mommy found it necessary to exit the room so that she could laugh hysterically without offending the Nater Mater.

Ingredients for a Fantastic Week-end

1. A Friday night out with "the girls"-my small group friends: great Mexican food, lots of catching up-type conversations, then on to Starbucks for coffees and lots of laughter until the store closed and they kicked us out.
2. A gentle rain through the early hours of Saturday morning= SLEEPING IN!
3. A shopping trip together, where we find that Target is stocking tins of Cadbury's Biscuits and treat ourselves (afterall, Christmas comes but once a year)! The children also found a package of cherry candy canes, which we treat them to.
4. The sun comes out, and Gareth hangs Christmas lights (and doesn't fall off the ladder while hanging them at the peak of the house 20 some feet off the ground).
5. Getting the outside windows washed and the veggie bed finished up for the fall.
6. A trip to Steak 'n Shake where the kids ate for free and we played lots of tic-tac-toe and hangman on the back of the paper placemats.
7. Sunday morning snuggles with Rosie, who came to crawl into bed with us, and was then followed by the boys.
8. A leisurely Sunday morning (I was home with Noah who has a nasty cold).
9. Fixing roast beef, gravy, potatoes, carrots, green beans, and peach cobbler to be ready when Gareth and the mini-est munchkins got home from church.
10. Hearing Gareth say that it was the best gravy he'd ever had!
11. Sunday afternoon naps!
12. An afternoon out in the sunshine again!
13. Hearing Noah read a story with big words like president and illustrated without any hesitation!

Return of The Toothless Wonder

The Toothless Wonder (aka Snagglepuss) has returned to our home. Noah lost tooth number 3 this evening. That's 3 teeth in 3 months with a 4th that's just about ready to follow.

He's having significant difficulty eating apples but is thrilled that the Tooth Fairy will have to visit again tonight.

Dedication

On Sunday, Gareth and I dedicated Rosie to the Lord and ourselves to bringing her up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

It was a beautiful Child Dedication Service. We are so thankful for our new pastor. He does an excellent job with everything, and I am in awe of the amount of care and thought he puts into Baby (or in our case Child) dedications.

I was a little nervous about just what kind of antics Miss Rosie would get up to on stage in front of so many people, but thankfully she did just great.

Well, she did just great if you ignore the part where we were meeting with Pastor Johnston before the service, and when he told Rosie how beautiful she looked in her dress, she promptly tried to pull it up to show him her bloomers! Aaarrrggghhh! I did catch her before she had actually completely flashed him, and I learned an important lesson. When putting bloomers on a little girl in case of any skirt "incidents" on stage, you need to tell her that it is NOT appropriate to then try to show those bloomers to the pastor (or anyone else) when they compliment you on how nice you look.

Anyhow, while actually on stage, she did great. She went happily to Pastor Johnston, and as usual, had the whole congregation laughing.

Here is what Pastor Johnston had to say: Abigail is a Hebrew name that means a father's joy. Rosina comes from Rose, a beautiful flower, and it is the name your Ethiopian birth mother gave you. Abigail Rosina, God's hand has led you across many miles in your young life. May you bring great joy to your father as you blossom and grow and spread the fragrance of Christ.

And then, it was back to Daddy, whom she cuddled especially hard. I think she might have been a little nervous in front of that many people.

Grand Prix

Noah was very excited to be old enough to be a Spark in AWANA last year, and this year he was doubly excited, as he knew that being a Spark means you're old enough to participate in AWANA Grand Prix.

Grand Prix is a competition building wooden cars that you race on a downhill track. You buy the kit from AWANA, so that everyone starts with the same size block of wood and the same wheels. There are size and weight specifications, but other than that, it is a chance to show your imagination and to try to build the fastest car. Prizes are awarded in each class for speed and for design.

Noah had a great time imagining his car, and he decided he wanted to build Mater, the tow truck. Daddy helped him with the bits that involved sharp machinery, but Noah did alot of the work himself. They had a great time together.

Here are some photos of the woodwork and the race:

Learning to operate Daddy's wood-working tools. Mommy was a little nervous! But, Noah loved it.

Getting the wheels on
Staining the truck-while Daddy encouraged him NOT to stain his fingers.

Finishing painting the eyes

The Finished Product

The Race Track

Watching the Race

Mater might not have been the fastest car, but Noah won 1st Place in the Design Competition! His friend Bailey won 1st place for speed, and I can see many years of friendly competition in the making here.

He is so pleased, and he's already full of big plans for next year's race. So is Daddy. Daddy is especially excited, as Nathan will be ready for Sparks, so there will be multiple cars to enter and multiple chances to win. There is already talk about designing for speed. Sigh. I see lots of saw dust in my future! Still, with a smile like this and the amount of memories made, what's a little (okay, a lot) of sawdust?

Red, White, and Blue

The boys celebrated Veterans' Day this year in unique style. It was Red, White, and Blue night at AWANA, and they were also collecting care package items to send to our soldiers stationed overseas.

Noah had a fantastic time thinking about what it might be like to serve as a soldier in the desert, and then to pick items that would be useful. He chose Gatorade, chapstick, ink pens to write letters home, chewing gum, and a variety of hard candies.

The children were supposed to go dressed in red, white, and blue, and I had visions of making an Uncle Sam costume, but time was short, I was tired, and so we went with something a bit easier.

We attracted LOADS of attention from the neighborhood children, as I took the boys out front to spray their hair. Only time in my life that I've ever heard the word "COOL" applied to the boys!

Anyhow, they loved it.
They wore red shirts and blue jeans, and Noah also wanted his face painted. Face paints were impossible to find, as Halloween is long gone, but a trip to the dollar store found lipliner and eye liners in the right colors.

Thankfully, none of it was hard to wash off afterwards! Now, I need to think up a costume for this week, when they have a Thanksgiving theme. I love AWANA-I'm tired of thinking up costumes, though!

Favorite Food Fridays-Nathan's Baked Oatmeal

Breakfast is my hardest meal of the day. I am not one of those super perky morning people that just loves to be up before dawn, and with 3 manic munchkins racing round, I don't want to take the time or spend the money to cook the kind of breakfast my Mom served (think biscuits, gravy, waffles, bacon, and eggs-type stuff every day). But, I also don't want to feed my kids sugary junk-food cereal, and the really healthy cereal tends to be SOOOO expensive and not that tasty!

Oatmeal is a good middle-ground, warm and comforting, healthy, relatively inexpensive, but having oatmeal every day can get a bit boring. So, earlier this fall I set out to find a way to make oatmeal a real treat.

Nathan became my kitchen helper for these experiments, and we think we finally have the perfect oatmeal recipe.


Nathan's Baked Oatmeal- Inexpensive, warm, comforting, yummy like cookies, relatively healthy, and you make it the day before so no getting up early!!!!!

1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 cup white sugar 3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup raisins
2 eggs 3 small tart apples, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/4 cups milk 1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. brown sugar

The night before, peel and chop your apples. Beat together oil, white sugar, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Mix in eggs, milk, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and oatmeal. Beat well, then stir in apples, raisins, and pecans. Place in a lightly greased extra deep pie dish. Sprinkle with remaining 2 T. brown sugar.

The next morning, place in oven turned to 350. Bake until firm (about 40 minutes). Serve warm with a small pitcher of milk and butter to add as desired.

This recipe serves 8. I often double it, and then all I have to do is microwave bowls of it for the rest of the week!

Orphan Sunday

Today is Orphan Sunday. Praising God for one little girl who is an orphan no longer and praying that God will touch hearts and open up families for the rest of the 143 million children who wait.

Could you be that family?

Saying, I don't have the money? That's okay. God does! If He calls you to adopt, He will provide.
Saying, but He hasn't called me? Have you ever truly opened yourself up to the possibility and asked God if He is calling you to adopt?

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Favorite Food Fridays-Dijon Glazed Carrots

Thanksgiving is almost here! It is my favorite holiday of the whole year (even more than Christmas, although I would never admit that to the kids who are already dying for Christmas!).

This recipe is bound to make it onto any holiday menu around our home. The kids love it, and putting it on the table almost always bring cheers. What is it about hearing your child cheer about vegetables that is so satisfying?

Anyhow, on to the recipe.

Dijon Glazed Carrots

16 oz. bag of baby carrots
1/2 c. water
3 T. butter
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt

In a saucepan, bring carrots and water to a boil. Cook 10-12 minutes, or until carrots are crisp-tender. Drain and set aside. Place rest of ingredients in saucepan and cook until sugar is dissolved. Pour over hot carrots and toss to coat.

Yum! Actually, the boys and I were talking about Thanksgiving food earlier this week, and we decided to have it tonight, too. So, I'd better go get busy. We're having turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, dijon carrots, green beans, and pumpkin pie.

CATS

The munchkin twins (Nate and Rosie have effectively twinned, and it amuses me to call them the twins) had a dress-up party last week at pre-school.

They loved dressing up as cats in the costumes that Grandma made a couple of years ago.
Nathan said his name was Figaro.

And Rosie was very excited to be Princess Sophie (our family cat).

I LOVE this next picture. Classic Nathan orneriness was just oozing out of every paint-covered pore.

From the Mouth of Nathan

Tonight while cuddling on the couch, Nathan said to Mommy: Mommy, will you scratch that itchy spot on my back up there on the right? It's like the fleas know just the spot that I can't reach.