Our little man today! He is happy (most of the time), full of energy (all of the time) and such a blessing to our family! He has gained 7 lbs and grown over 2 inches. He wore 12 month clothing when we brought him home and is now getting into 2T! He has challenged us, changed us and I look forward to watching him grow and mature over this next year. We love you so much Silas!

I have seen enough vomit to last a lifetime. Unfortunately, a nasty stomach bug hit our family on Christmas Eve and continued through Christmas day. Christmas Eve, the day was going great. My family had come over for an afternoon of appetizers and games before we all headed to church. About 4:30 or so Caroline started vomiting repeatedly. I was afraid she had eaten something with dairy in it because she was so violently sick. She probably go sick 15 times in two hours. Poor baby! Madelyn, Silas and I ended up going to church and Jason stayed home with Caroline. She continued to get sick until about midnight. At 12:30 am, Madelyn woke up sick and was up all night vomiting. At 6:00 am, Jason and I both started getting sick, but from the other end. What a fun family, right??? As I think back, I think Silas must have had a mild form of the virus earlier in the week. His appetite was gone and he had lots of nasty diapers.

I was semi-functional for some of the day, but was just really weak. Jason was sicker than I was and after we managed to open gifts at home he spent the rest of the day in bed. The girls recovered fairly quickly and were super excited that Santa had left gifts. We had to skip going to my parents for breakfast and presents, we were so sick we didn't even care too much. We watched the girls new "Tinkerbell" movie and rested. After a long nap, my mom and dad bravely came over and gave everyone a bath and my dad made my sweet potato casserole I was taking for Christmas dinner at my grandparents. Mom drove the kids and I over to my grandparents and I laid on the couch for most of the festivities. Jason was still home in bed. :(

After 11 hours of sleep last night, we are feeling much better today. I was actually able to look at my gifts and be excited! Jason got me so many great things - he definitely spoils me. The most awesome gift was a new camera! A Nikon D60!!!!! I was able to watch the DVD trainer today and have taken lots of pictures already! I'll post pictures soon. Late this morning we headed over to my parents house for Christmas. Even though the actual day was miserable, we are making up for it!

This is my most favorite time of the year. I love getting together with family, giving and receiving gifts, yummy food, traditions and celebration our savior's birth. I hope each of you have a blessed Christmas! Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

This week I have been busy in the kitchen! I did not make as many things I as used to, but we did make several yummy treats. This afternoon we are heading over to my mom's to decorate sugar and gingerbread cookies with my sister and her boys. Here are the links and recipes to the goodies we have made this week.

Teacher/Neighbor Treat bags:
Hot cocoa mix

Homemade Marshmallows - these were really fun to make! I recommend having a stand mixer though, lots of mixing.

Peppermint stirrers - the girls loved putting the sprinkles on these.

Other Yummy Treats!
Peanut Butter Crispy Bars - These are oh, so yummy! I changed the recipe a little. I doubled the crispy layer per my sister's advice and used a 9x13 inch pan. It makes the pieces a little thinner, so I can eat more at one time!

Peppermint Meringues - I changed this recipe by adding the peppermint in to the egg whites instead of just sprinkling on top. They made the cookies a pretty pink color and I think it gives it an overall more pepperminty (if that's a word) flavor.

Sugar Cookies - Made the dough for these last night and we'll be cutting them out, cooking and decorating them this afternoon. I can say the dough tastes great! Best part for me - no butter = Caroline safe!

Trash - AKA puppy chow. This stuff is GOOD!

Chex Mix - I am addicted to this stuff. We made a batch a couple days ago and it was gone in less than one day. I cannot make it too often! I add cheerios and leave out the bagel chips.

Look at that precious boy! I thought for sure our tree would have been pulled down by now, but he really hasn't paid much attention to it after the first day or so! He hasn't even unwrapped the gifts underneath! Shocker. He wore himself out today and was a sweet cuddle bug before bed. It's those moments that make it all worthwhile!

Maybe these words will help one of you all today like they have helped me this week...

"Don't you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. Even youths become exhausted, and young men will give up. But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isaiah 41:28-30 NLT

Today both of the girls had their Christmas parties at school. Thankfully our sitter was able to come over for a couple of hours so Silas did not have to come along. It would have been too much for him! Caroline's was this morning complete with Santa, singing and a book exchange. Madelyn's was after lunch and they did a craft, had snacks and gave us the cutest calendar they had made. Both were really fun.





These pictures are from our Life Group Christmas party. We caroled at our families homes, had a great dinner and played games.

Today was our first snow day! Madelyn woke up and was wondered why I had not gotten her up for school. Then she said she looked outside and saw the snow. We only have about an inch or two, but here we always get a nice layer of ice too which makes driving crazy. Also, we don't get snow very often so people (me included) do not know how to drive in it!

I did venture out to get my hair cut and tonight have a Christmas party to attend, but other than that we have had a nice quiet day. The girls are watching "Sleeping Beauty" and I worked on Christmas cards and made several phone calls. Silas is being his usual silly self, getting into everything.

We are pretty much ready for Christmas. I've just got a couple small things left to buy and also a few stocking stuffers. All the presents I have except for the kids are wrapped and we have made hot chocolate mix, homemade marshmallows and peppermint stirrers for teachers and neighbors. Recipes to come! We're going to do more baking this weekend! I've still got to get the cards in the mail, but I'm not in a huge rush. If they get delivered after Christmas it will be okay. I am not going to stress over that. Are you all ready?

One last random item... Here is our menu for this week:
Tuesday - kids favorite popcorn chicken, fruit
Wednesday - Chicken Noodle Soup, corn muffins
Thursday - Pork chops, egg noodles, green beans
Friday - Spaghetti Casserole, salad, bread (taking dinner to a friend)
Saturday - Leftover buffet
Sunday - Breakfast for dinner - pancakes, eggs, fruit, bacon
Monday - Kid food night (I'm working late)
Tuesday - Sweet and Tangy Pot Roast, mashed potatoes, peas
Wednesday - Appetizer Buffet - our Christmas Eve tradition. Meatballs, dried beef cheeseball and crackers, fruit and chocolate fondue, veggies and dip, chicken tenders, mexican dip and chips, Christmas cookies

For the time being, we have decided Silas is best off at home with me. Regardless of what our SW said (I do really respect her opinion and she is a wonderful Christian woman), I am his mom and feel like I know what is best for my son. I've prayed about it and feel like we are making the right decision. In a few months he might need something different, but for now he needs to be with his family and his momma.
I do work every Monday and he is with our great sitter. She also comes on Wednesdays so I can have a few hours to run errands, etc. He is not with me 24/7. He knows I leave and come back. I have a few hours a week child free to maintain my sanity. I think by next fall he will be ready for preschool a few mornings a week and I will be ready for him to go. Right now my goal is to make him feel secure & loved, provide the therapies he needs, and to continue to work on his behavior and shape his strong will!
After talking to my friend Tracy today, I really feel like I'm doing the right thing - thanks Tracy! Her son and Silas are from the same orphanage and we traveled to China together. She has adopted twice and helped me to evaluate what he really needs this first year and I can provide all of that at home. He will have years in school, but for now needs to learn how to live in a family and have siblings and a mom and dad. I think it would be a lot easier for me if I sent him to daycare. He is a challenging child, but God called us to this adoption and instead of taking the easy road, I want to take the path that is best for our son, whatever that may be. Thanks for your prayers and advice. I am thankful for this blog and the connections we have through it!

We just had our six month home study update for Silas. I can't believe it was already time for that! Our six month anniversary is not until later this month, but it is due before the actual date. It went well and we have the sweetest social worker. I'm wanting some opinions. She strongly was urging me to send Silas to daycare. At least several mornings a week or even several full days a week. Now, for those of you who use daycare and work full-time - please do not be offended! I just never would want to send my child to daycare. That's why I work one day a week and we have an in home sitter.

There is a daycare in town who deals specifically with hearing delayed kids. She thinks it would be great for him and me. I tried to express my feelings about daycare, but she stated he had special needs and it was different that my other children. This is true, he already receives two therapies and as of today we are going to be adding on occupational therapy to help with sensory issues he is having (praise the Lord! I think this is really going to help us). He could probably receive the therapies at daycare, but I just can't imagine sending him there when I'm at home!

It might decrease my stress level, but would increase the guilt level. He seems to regress when we have been apart, but he also is manipulating me. In some respects sending him makes since; due to his needs he requires a routine, and she said this particular daycare would begin a behavior management program with him. She feels like he needs to be with other kids and in a more structured setting. But I like being with my kids! So, what do you all think?

While we were hiking I enjoyed taking some pictures of the beautiful mountain scenery. I am amazed by God every time I get out and see his beautiful creation.

Yes, we are still alive! We have just been so busy! We had a great Thanksgiving and I have three different posts I am planning on doing as time allows. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family the Sunday before the actual holiday and also had the joy of celebrating my Ma-maw's 80th birthday that day. I'll post about our Thanksgiving in Gatlinburg with Jason's family next.

We had a nice time celebrating with my family. With 6 grandkids 5 and under things are usually a little loud and crazy, but it's fun. We had a yummy dinner and a great celebration of Ma-maw. Every 8 minutes a different person pulled a little slip of paper out and told a story, a favorite gift, their funniest memory etc. about her. She loved it and it was so special to do that for her. She is a true blessing to all who know her and we loved celebrating her! Everyone had so many wonderful memories and nice things to say.

This year I hosted the get together. My grandparents have always hosted in the past, but it just gets stressful for them. They spend so much time getting things set up and cleaning up that they are too tired to enjoy themselves. Ma-maw and Pa-paw were still able to bring the turkey and dressing but didn't have the stress of everything else. I loved hosting and ma-maw even passed the traditional cornucopia centerpiece to me! : )

Here are some fun pictures of our day.