I was thinking tonight about how when I was single I was always filling my life up with projects: compulsively re-reading all of Anne McCaffrey's works- in order, the little house that needed total rehab, dogs, Tae Kwon Do, Kick-Boxing... I remember that every once in a while I would think about how solitary I had made my life and wonder if I would ever want to share it with a husband; wonder when I would have kids.
Now life is so full that I hardly watch TV (just Grey's Anatomy and E.R. on Thurs nights), I use the computer when my kid is asleep and I often read instead of sleeping, myself. I let housework go so we can go to the museum, playgroup, swimclass, or whatever thing he will enjoy. I have a clean enough house. I also have my priorities straight. I want him to remember a happy childhood. This sort of busy makes me happy. I didn't know that about myself until we were here, doing it. Our last several years have been a whirlwind. I can't wait until our daughter is home and we can settle into this crazy thing, family life, with all four of us.
II Corinthians 4
We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; struck down yet not destroyed.
"Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change."
Mother Theresa
as Christmas gifts.
Here are three useful books if you
plan to adopt a child from China.
Our Log-In Date (LID) has arrived; it is November 27, 2006! Or dossier went to China on 11/03/06, but this is the official date that the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has registered our paperwork. Now we are 'in line' in China, and this date allows us to track where our paperwork is in the CCAA process. The next step for our dossier in China will be translation, then the dreaded Review Room, then referral (in the 'matching room' where they match babies and parents). Once we recieve our referral we accept, and send a notice to China and then await our Travel Approval (TA). Our place in line is as follows:
Nov 2006 LID's are awaiting translation in China by the CCAA
Oct 2006 LID's are having their dossiers traslated now
May- Sept 2006 are waiting to go into the Review Room
Feb-April 2006 in in the Review Room
Sept 2006-Jan 2006 are waiting on the referrals for their children
As you can see it is a long line. There are many kids in China who
need homes. Most of them are not 'paper-ready' for adoption. The CCAA
is working change this. It is a long process (6 months for each child)
to make the children 'paper-ready' for adoption. It involves the
legalities of trying to find parents who most likely abandoned the baby
and 'proving' that the child who now resides in bed A at Orphanage B is
the same child found at the corner of Street C. (Sort of like Cain of
Custody in the court's evidence). Sometimes there are problems, like
the person who found the child and took it to authorities didn't give
their true name out of fear that they may be believe to have been
involved in the (illegal) abandonment of the child. While the finding
person may not have wanted to involve themselves, they none the less
picked up the abandoned baby and saved it. Orphanage directors may be
hesitant to try to make a child 'paper-ready' if the 'chain of custody'
isn't perfect. There was a scandal last spring involving one Orpanage
Director moving children to another orphanage where they could be put
into the International Adoption (IA) program, and taking 300 or 400
dollars under the table for each child. She and Three other persons
involved are now in jail. (not like American jails, either.) This
slowed the IA program down greatly. Some areas shut down completey to
recheck identity/chain of custody for children. The US goverment got
involved because they wanted to insure that the children adopted here
were genuinely orphaned. (It was proven that they were.) This scandal
only made Orphanage Directors more hesitant to submit children's papers
with difficult 'chain of custody' trails. We all know China is a
commnist country, and very different from our own. I have stuck my
foot in it enough, so I won't get too far into Socio-Economic reasons
for the huge problem of orphans there. This is just my own
(third-hand at least) understanding. Any mistakes are mine. There some very
good books on the subject. I though Kay Ann Johnson's
Wanting a daughter, needing a son : abandonment, adoption, and orphanage care in China was tremendous. Also Karin Evans' The
lost daughters of China : abandoned girls, their journey to America and
the search for a missing past is good. I actuall prefer Johnson's research based book, but both work. If you just want a quick look, in 2004 National Geographic did a 30 minute program National Geographic: China's Lost Girls that is out on video now, following a group of Americans who went to China to meet and bring home their daughters. It has very little by way of history but was pretty good; a great glimpse of the actual adoption trip.
Sugar Cookies
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 cup granulated (regular) sugar
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
lots of Flour
1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix vinegar and Soy milk in small bowl. Stir this well and set it aside. Put 2 ½ cups flour and remaining dry ingredients in mixing bowl and stir with spoon until well blended. Cream Crisco and dry ingredients together with your hands until it’s all rubbed into the mix (will appear pebbly). Add vanilla to sour soymilk and pour into dry ingredients gradually. Knead with your hands and add more flour until it forms a nice dough. It should still be slightly sticky but mostly come away from the mixing bowl sides. Refrigerate dough for 1-2 hours. Roll it out on a well-floured surface to about ¼ inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Gently lift up shapes and place them on parchment or wax paper on a cookie sheet. (Trim paper edges smaller than pan so they don’t smoke) Bake at 425 degrees (F) until edges of cookies begin firm (7 minutes or less). Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a clean towel or rack. Frost & decorate when completely cooled. This dough freezes well for a few weeks, just knead it a little after thawing.
This chili recipe is full of veggies and fast (15-20 min). Another pot-luck hit. be sure to let your guests know there's no heat to it and set out some nice hot-sauce for those who want it.
1 lb ground turkey
1 cup frozen fajita mix (onions and muti-colored bell peppers)
2 (14 oz) cans chili beans (with seasoned sauce)
2 (14 oz) cans dark red kidney beans, rinsed
2 (14 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
1 small (4 oz) can of plain tomato sauce
1/2 of a (14 oz) can of black olives (optional)
1 small (4 oz) can of sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 teaspoon Spicey Spaghetti Seasoning or Chili Powder
Garlic Powder to taste
Brown the meat in the bottom of a large pot. Add in onions and
peppers. Cook until onions start to turn clear. Add in all beans and
tomato sauce, cooking on medium-high. Pulp (squish) the stewed
tomatoes in your hand as you pour them in. Add everything else and
cook to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 min. Serve with Corn
Chips and "Toffutti Better Than Sour Cream" (or real sour cream if you
do not have a dairy issue)
Our family has different members with food allergies, making cooking for the crowd even more of a challenge. So, no milk, egg, nuts or sesame. Believe me: it is still so much easier to cook at home than to try to get ingredients and be safe at a restaurant. Since our kids food allergies are life-threatening we are very careful. SO what do you put in the Pumpkin Bread? Marshmallows! This makes a nice substitute for the pumpkin pie we can't have. 'Tis the season.
1/2 cup Soy Milk
1/3 tablespoon Cider Vinegar (do your best and don't worry about it)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
just a smidgen less than 2 teaspoons baking powder (kick a tiny bit out with your pinky)
just a smidgen less than 1 teaspoon baking soda (ditto)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup canned (unseasoned) pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup Canola Oil or Butter Flavored Crisco
1 cup Marshmallows
Oil and flour Bread Pan or line with wax paper. Put the Cider Vinegar in a measuring cup, then add Soy Milk up to 1/2 cup. Mix this well and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all dry ingredients (except marshmallows) and mix well with spoon (or sift together). Cream in (squish) Oil/Crisco. Stir in pumpkin, with spoon. Gradually add in curdled Soy Milk. Fold in Marshmallows. Bake for 40-50 minutes on 350. Stick a toothpick in the middle, and when it comes out clean, the bread is done.
You could turn this into a Pumpkin Cake by using a mixer on high speed for 2 minutes, instead of a spoon and frosting it. With Autumn sprinkles, it makes cute cup-cakes for school.
