be back soon....

Good Afternoon!!

Just wanted to let you all know that I am taking the summer off from blogging.....I will see you all again in the fall- Thinking September(ish).  If anything really important happens I will make sure to post- If not, have a fun rest of your summer and we will catch up soon!!

Warmly,
Steph

p.s. for those that would like to get a hold of me you can e-mail: blessingofadoption@hotmail.com

p.s.s. In place of blogging I have been doing a 90 day read through the Bible Challenge......the structure of the reading is set up so that you read 12 pages of your Bible a day- It takes about 45 minutes to one hour and your eyes are a bit fuzzy from all of the small black print when you are done...WAIT maybe it's not from the small black print but instead because I need to go get reading glasses :) I started reading a little under two weeks ago and am on day 6 (should be on day 12)...I am ordering the Bible on Audio so that I can have the option to listen (I spend a lot of time in my car) or read.  Excited to make my way through- Always amazed that no matter how many times one reads their Bible, God brings to light new things (that have always been in the Bible but my brain has never retained). 

Again, have a great summer and will see you this fall!!

ellie talks to caiden

Ellie's Birth Mom Heather and I have talked about setting up a time so that Ellie and her half brother Caiden could talk on the phone.  This would be the first time they have spoken to each other.

Caiden and Ellie are just under 3 years apart.  Caiden was born in September of 2008 and Ellie in June of 2011- They both have the same biological mom (Heather) but different fathers....Caiden's birth father is named Rex and Ellie's is Arthur.  Caiden lives with Heather and Heather's husband Chris in Georgia.

Yesterday afternoon Caiden left a message on my cell for Ellie:

'Hey Ellie, this is your brother Caiden....call me back- Love you, Bye'

 

 

This afternoon, it worked in both Heather and my schedules for the kids to talk- It was a cute conversation.  They talked about school, swimming, and life jackets (among other things)-

The below picture was taken when Ellie was talking to Caiden and the below video is a quick clip of the end of their conversation.

 

This is one of the many blessings of an open adoption- That Ellie can stay in contact with her Biological siblings....

 

 



simple and sweet

 

Simple and Sweet-

Some warm weather and a sprinkler kept our Ellie entertained all afternoon- such a simple thing... Water coming out of a $2 plastic sprinkler produced such a sweet afternoon...........

The smile on her face in the last picture is precious.

Elle's daddy and I had such a fun afternoon watching you run through the sprinkler!!

 

the mare and the donkey

Since last July (13') when Matt and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary it feels like I have continued the celebration in my mind.
The march to 20 years of marriage (in my mind) is a milestone of sorts- Maybe not for some but it seems like it for us.
well not really a march for My Matt and I but more like stubborn sitting followed by a sharp kicking followed by wild running..
one year to another to another....
He get's annoyed and sits in place and I come by and 'WHACK'....
we're off :)
......(ok not literally a whack and he's not literally sitting- I'm using Metaphor's here)

A few years back we were in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.  We were passing farm after farm- some containing horses, some cows, some both- As we were passing a horse farm we all (the boys were with us) happened to be looking at 2 horses that were standing very close to each other- Before either one of us could blink one of the horses (Mare?) quickly backed away and delivered 2 Jacky Chan looking kicks to the side of the other horse.  Matt proudly announced to our boys (who had been watching)...
'That horse (the kicking one) is just like your mom boys- It's a Stephanie Horse!!'
Maybe it's unhealthy humor on our part, but we all laughed and I replied 'If we are labeling each other by horse names than your horse example would be a Donkey.....we all know the proper name for donkey's!!' and the laughing continued.

Certain types of Mares are described as being moody, aggressive, and strong willed
All types of Donkey's are described as being stubborn, stubborn, and more stubborn (if they do not want to do something they will literally sit on their bottoms and not move until they feel like it)

I guess as mares and donkey's get older they start settling down just a bit- a little less strong willed and a bit less stubborn...
maybe Matt and I will develop each into those passive type of horses that let children braid their hair (bleh) and are chosen to ride beginners around because we are considered so docile (double bleh)
or maybe we'll just be left out in a pasture, the two of us together.....to give tourists a good hardy laugh as we prod each other on...
one sitting and one kicking.

I love you Matthew Benjamin and consider it an honor that the Lord has chosen me to spur you on in this life....As you well know, I take this job very seriously....
I am now throwing my head back and laughing

'And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds'

Hebrews 10:24

botox, your out- wrinkled skin, your in!!

I've always said that I was going to have some sort of medical procedure done on my face when I turned 35.
So 35 came and I said this....
'If we don't end up adopting, I am going to buy a (2005 Black) BMW X5, take a 2 week trip to China with the organization 'Show Hope' and spend every minute of that time rocking and praying over all the orphaned babies in Maria's Big House of Hope, AND get some sort of laser peel done on my face.'
Praise the Lord we adopted the year I was 35
Time has marched on and so has the collagen that once graced the derma layer of my skin.  In it's place it has left age spots, wrinkles, UV Spots, garganguous pores (maybe the big pores are a result of my sis and I picking our zits faithfully every night when we were in high school), Porphyrins, and poor texture......
How do I know the word 'Porphyrins' you might ask?
(I can't remember what it means)

I went to my long awaited 'some sort of medical procedure' consultation today-
I brought my friend Deb because no woman should brave the dermatology world alone.

You start off with removing all of your makeup besides eye and lip...I guess the machine can't get a proper reading if you have on make up.
you then stick your head into a machine- The machine reminded me of the old time camera's that you would stick your head in and cover the back of your head with a black towel (my head was even covered with a black cloth napkin looking thing)....The machine takes pictures that analyze the top layer and several layers beneath that top layer of skin.....

Here's how the chips fell for me

Out of 100 ladies my age, I rank in the top 12 worst for Wrinkles, Texture to my skin, and UV spots (13% on this one)..........hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee
shoulda choose sunscreen instead of baby oil
I was also informed that I have some sort of discoloration (she used a big word) that will continue to get darker with age (and sun exposure)...the discoloration is similar to 'pregnancy mask'.
I wish I could scan the pictures in of my face so you all could see but my scanner is broken.

The attending Physician's Assistant recommended I start on an antibiotic for the (non pregnancy) pregnancy mask along with starting a skin regimen that will help lighten the skin....She said a laser peel was out of the question but that Botox was highly recommended....The Botox would relax my face muscles so that they would be virtually un useable (she showed me the botox'd areas on her face- she could not squint or lift her eyebrows)

I enjoy squinting and raising my eyebrows too much
Botox your out....wrinkled sun damaged skin, your in!!
Maybe when I get a bit older and my skin won't even register on the fancy pictures, I will qualify for my much dreamed about laser peel...
Until then I will embrace Mary Kay's full coverage foundation for all of the age spots and cut my bangs shorter to cover the wrinkles on my forehead :)

 

Below is a pic of Deb and I a few years back- We were at the beach in Maui......My un-sunscreened forehead a beacon for all kinds of sun destruction :)



p.s. thanks for going with me today deb- I love you lots!!

trip to t.j.'s

Is it too informal to call Trader Joe's T.J.'s..........I usually save the nick names for those I have known for years and have come to adore (the rule of thumb is that if you receive a little somein' somein' from Goodwill from me you know your 'in'....if I call you by a nick name AND have bought you something from Goodwill you know you've arrived....smile)

It is only recently that our town inherited Trader Joe's- Before it's local arrival it was a bit inconvenient to get to (closest one was 4 hours away) and a bit small- We would stop every once in awhile when we were in their neighborhood but were never overly impressed....Looking back, the store we were visiting was on the petite size compared to their usual store size...I had heard a ton about their wine (believe the name was five buck chuck- or two buck chuck.....maybe up chuck....hee hee hee- too lazy to google the wine name but you get my drift).  Not being a big wine drinker I decided to try their cookies and snack type stuff on that first visit.
Fast forward a few years and move your thoughts to a tropical island, far far out to sea, where the palm trees sway and the sun always shines....
Kauai
Martin and Mary were coming to visit their children Antone and Dionne- In that visit they were also going to be staying with our family.  Mary has the amazing gift of hospitality and shares it with those around her....upon her visit she brought us a slew of goodies from Trader Joe's...
Ginger Snap Cookies (the whole round carton gone in 1 day- followed by a near migraine and a sugar low- followed by wishing for another carton), smoked salmon, you name it we got it.
LOVE LOVE AND MORE LOVE
Since Mary's gift offering, Trader Joe's has been on the grocery radar for a few must have's....
After one of Ryan's doctor appointments last week he asked if we could go to Chipotle for lunch..  It was 10:45 and they did not open until 11- Ulta is Chipotle's neighbor...this is where I really wanted to go but because Ry was in tow we opted for Ulta's neighbor, T.J.'s-

In the bag when Ry and I walked out was a few recommended finds:

• Mix together their sweetened coconut flakes, raw pumpkin seeds, unsalted sunflower seeds, and cranberries- Makes a protein filled tasty snack (also good mixed into your greek yogurt in the a.m.)
• 21 Season Salute- Great over almost anything
• Raspberry/Apricot shortbread cookies- If you like a buttery shortbread this cookie is for you. 
• T.J.'s Pita Crackers served with their Colby jack sliced cheese and turkey- The Colby also makes a great grill cheese...
• Gotta go back to the coconut for a sec...I think they must deep fry it- it is DELICIOUS- crisp and crunchy with a yummy coconut taste

letters

In 2006 I went to a party at my friend Becky's house- She was hosting a 'Once Upon a Family' party.  I had never heard of the company before (the staple home parties back in the day were Tupperware, Pampered Chef, and Mary Kay) but thought it would be fun to go hang out at Becky's for an evening.
I'm so glad I went...
As the consultant started explaining about the product being sold, a box immediately caught my eye.  It was a hard cardboard box probably a foot long and six inches wide...inside was 18 envelopes and 18 stationary cards- One for each year of your child's life...the goal was that one would write their child a letter each year on their birthday- You would store them in the box until it was time to give them to your child.
In 2006 Eli was turning 10 and Ry was turning 7-
Over the course of 8 years I have written to my boys 9 letters (Ellie has 3)....
For all of my mommy friends out there- This is one of the 'I would recommend' doing for your kids... :)

Matt asked me when I was going to give Eli his- technically Eli's letters are complete
'When he's ready' was my answer.....
'How will you know when he's ready?'

I'll just know

UPDATE- June 23, 2017...Ellie has 6 letters, Ryan's last letter (he has 11 letters) was written earlier this month (his 18th birthday), and Eli has 8 letters.  For my mom friends out there- I'm still SO GLAD I did this.