Happy Lunar New Year

On Chinese New Year we celebrated by making paper lanterns, wearing red, eating rice balls, going out to eat at Pei Wei (though Joe had pulled an all nighter and was falling asleep), and I painted a special painting for Bella's room. As I painted I prayed for her and wondered where she is celebrating the New Year this year. One thing I know is that's she is half a world away. The painting (hopefully) says, "Beautiful Life" on the top row, which is what her name means, and "Love you Forever" on the bottom. I will add pics of her into in eventually. ;-) 

This weekend we were able to go to a fun party to celebrate the New Year in Irvine. They had the most amazing fondant cupcakes, lion dancers, music, lanterns, and more. It was low key and just what we needed. Joe wasn't feeling up for Chinatown explorations this year. Then we finished up our celebrating with Chinese foot massages. $20 for an hour long massage. Yes please!! 

New recipes this week ;-)

I am always trying to think of new and interesting things to make for dinner. ;-)

1. The first thing I was inspired to make was Red Curry Chicken. I bough some raw boneless, skinless chicken tenders from Trader Joe's. I cooked them with the lid on until they were almost done, and then I threw in some sliced mushrooms and bok choy, which added a lot of moisture to the chicken. Once the veggies were done, I took off the lid and dumped in a bunch of this delicious sauce and let it simmer. After a few minutes I poured some on a steaming pile of brown rice. It was so delicious, and it made the rice and chicken so moist. MMMM...... 

2. The next thing I made was Chinese Chicken Salad. I bought this super yummy dressing from Costco and wanted to give it a try. I chopped romaine, shredded some rotisserie chicken, threw on some sliced tangerines, and sliced almonds. I tossed it with the dressing right before serving. Yummmm!! 

3. The last thing was Chicken Vegetable Soup. I make this all the time, but the secret to really flavorful, amazing soup that's so easy is to use rotisserie chicken. I used the same chicken from the salad, simmered with veggie broth, and a ton of veggies like cabbage, onions, and carrots and enjoyed. Delish! 

Happy Chinese New Year!!

We have been celebrating Chinese New Year doing fun activities, reading fun books, and eating some new and exciting snacks!!
We made a trip to Ranch 99 Market and everyone picked out a few things that we wanted to try. We are excited for the big Dragon parade this weekend!!

 

Life

Today we walked to the park by our house. The weather was perfect and no one was there so it felt like an extension of our backyard. We had a great time and played for an hour, but when I put the boys in the wagon to go home, Max was really crabby. After five minutes, I asked him what was wrong. He said, "Mommy, just let me play!!" I let him out, curious as to what he would do. He sat in the bushes and played for 15 minutes by himself, happy as a clam. Eli and I talked and looked at the white flowering trees we were sitting under. Finally, Eli said, "Max, you've played enough. Let's go home."

Kings and Queens

I attended an adoption meeting at Saddleback two years ago. Adoption felt so far away at the time, and I was discouraged by this. I got in my car to go home, and the song "Kings and Queens" by Audio Adrenaline played on the radio. It was such an encouragement to me.

Tonight Joe and I worked on required adoption training for two hours for date night. When I got in the car to go home, the same song played on the radio. I can't believe it's been two years.


"Kings & Queens"

Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me
Will we leave behind the innocent too brief
On their own, on the run when their lives have only begun
These could be our daughters and our sons
And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating
I know my God won’t let them be defeated
Every child has a dream to belong and be loved

[Chorus:]
Boys become kings, girls will be queens
Wrapped in Your majesty 
When we love, when we love the least of these
Then they will be brave and free
Shout your name in victory
When we love when we love the least of these
When we love the least of these

Break our hearts once again
Help us to remember when
We were only children hoping for a friend
Won’t you look around these are the lives that the world has forgotten
Waiting for doors of our hearts and our homes to open

[Chorus]

If not us who will be like Jesus
To the least of these
If not us tell me who will be like Jesus
Like Jesus to the least of these

Boys become kings, girls will be queens
Wrapped in your majesty
When we love, when we love the least of these
Then they will be brave and free shout your name in victory
We will love we will love the least of these
We will love the least of these

F, G, H, and I Bible Crafts

F is for FISH!! We read a story about Jesus feeding the crowds with fish and then made some. Also, looked up why the fish is used for a Christian symbol. .;-) 

G is for GOD!! Eli was really into this project!! Read a story first about God creating the World. 

H is for HEAVEN. Read a Bible story about Jesus returning to Heaven and then the passage from Rev. 21. The boys were very interested. ;-) 

I is for Infant Jesus. Read a Bible story about baby Jesus and made some baby Jesus out of old socks. ;-) Made cribs out of playdough and sticks. ;-) 

My Knight in Shining Armor

We have been working hard the past two weeks to finish the paperwork needed for our homestudy so that our social worker can come to our home. Yesterday I got the opportunity to read Joe's responses to the 20 pages of essay questions sent from the agency about our adoption journey. What a wonderful man I have been blessed with. I am so thankful I went to that ICS barbecue almost 10 years ago. His commitment to do the right thing, to love his family, to work hard, to be a good financial steward is amazing. Walking into this journey I feel a lot like I did when we were able to lead two trips to China together to teach English. I felt I was right where God wanted me to be. I loved seeing him in a ministry role, leading our team, and serving. We know that adopting our little girl will be very difficult. The next two years will be an adventure for all five of us, but I am so thankful to walk through life holding Joe's hand. My best friend, my partner, forever. ;-)