I try to use organic produce as much as possible in my food preparation for our family.  I participate in a organic food coop and can usually get a decent price on organic produce,  However, it's not always convenient to process my produce into baby food, so Hayden can benefit from the good stuff too.  Usually, I end up going to Sprouts and purchasing several jars of baby food for him to eat during the week.  Let's face it, it's a lot easier to pick up pre-made baby food than to make it yourself.  At Sprouts a jar of Earth's Best organic baby food is approximately .79 cents a jar.  This can get a bit pricey considering the little guy loves to eat!

Today, I had to go to Trader Joe's to do some grocery shopping for our family and my mother.  I noticed that  a bag of frozen organic green beans was $1.69 per bag.  I thought I'd try to make some good, organic baby food for Hayden.  I purchased two bags of frozen green beans and came home to see how my new Omega juicer would perform in the baby food making arena!  In the past when I have made baby food I have just used my food processor, which works well, but I wanted to see how the Omega did.

The prep time was minimal.  I slightly steamed the green beans, drained them and let them cool.  I ran them through the juicer two times, added some water to bring it to a thinner consistency, and ended up with nine wonderful jars of baby food for Hayden.  This all took less than 25 minutes.  Bottom line...I saved $3.38 on nine jars of food and Hayden has delicious, fresh, organic baby food!  Gotta love it!

My Omega makes delicious juice as well.  The pictures below show Hannah helping me make some carrot, apple, beet juice.  I do think Hannah enjoyed making the juice more than she enjoyed drinking it!

Amazing!  Two posts in two days!  LOL!  That probably won't happen again for a while!

I saw this "Four Things Adoption Meme" on Mary's Ethiopian Adoption Blog and thought it would be nice to participate.

My husband and I adopted through foster care, so that may be helpful to keep in mind as you read my responses.

Four things I thought about adoption when I was a child
**It was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that someone wouldn't want their child.

**It would be incredibly difficult for an adopted child to find their parents.

**Adopted children must struggle with feelings of abandonment.

**Adopted children can be really spoiled by their adoptive parents.  (As I child I witnessed this!)

Four things I've learned since then
** Adoption requires a great deal of prayer.

**Our adoption experience was every bit as fulfilling as our birth experience was with our biological children.

**Attempting to adopt through foster care can be heartbreaking and you must be able to trust the Lord with the outcome...even if it doesn't seem to make sense to you.

**The Lord used our adoption experience to build our faith in an amazing way.

Four silly things people have said to me about adoption
**Is that your natural child?  
**Don't kids adopted through foster care have "issues"?
**She looks like she belongs in your family.
**Which children are your own? 

Four things that are hard about adoption
**Waiting
**Seeing children reunify when they shouldn't.
**The uncertainty of adopting through foster care.

**Visits

Four ways my adopted children have surprised me
**The way my little girl stole my heart the moment I first saw her!

**The way my little boy stares at me with completely adoring eyes that just melt my heart! 

**The way they seem to develop and thrive inspite of significant drug exposure.

**The uncanny way my adopted little girl resembles my biological son, who is five months younger than her.

Four things I wish everyone knew about adoption
**That there are so many children in foster care that need loving families.

**That an adopted child is every bit "your own child" as a biological child is.

** That adoption is a ministry that holds blessings beyond measure.

**If the Lord calls you to adopt, He'll provide the means to do so.

There isn't a day that goes by when our family isn't reminded of the Lord's goodness towards us in bringing these precious children into our family.  Adoption is truly and amazing miracle.

And HSKubes Haven at Home is having a wonderful "Fall Back Into Homeschool Giveaway."

This giveaway includes:

A set of colored pencils

A set of drawing pencils with eraser

A personal size pencil sharpener

A spiralbound sketch book

A set of pretty notecards

A homeschool bumper sticker

and

A free year subscription to Birds and Blooms magazine

This contest is definitely a nice way to "Fall Back Into Homeschool" this year!

This contest ends Saturday, September 8th, at 10:00pm, so be sure to stop by HSKubes Haven at Home say "hello" and enter her contest!  A winner will be randomly selected and announced on Monday, September 10th.

Blessings,

Diane

Two years ago today...the Lord made Hannah a permanent member of our family!

Although Hannah was placed in our care when she was 4 1/2 weeks old, we did not finalize her adoption until she was 20 months old.  We are so thankful the Lord brought this precious little bundle of spunk into our lives.  Thank you Jesus!!!

Tonight, while Hayden was having a fussy moment Hannah walked up to his bouncy seat and was trying to comfort him.  She was kissing him and she proceeded to wipe some drool off his mouth.  A couple of seconds later she's frantically wiping his face with a puzzled look on her face and she says "Mommy, Hayden's eyes are drooling!"  LOL!  Once I explained that those were tears, she seemed to be a bit less concerned about the substance coming from his eyes!

I have a huge praise report to share!  I'll start by sharing that last Thursday afternoon we were informed by Hayden's caseworker that Hayden's bio-mom decided to try to proceed with another private adoption attempt, since the first one fell through.  His caseworker is always good about calling us when these snafu's come up, because she knows we like to pray.  Apparantly, her attorney filed a motion to dismiss the CPS case entirely.  Of course, we were very upset when we heard this news, but anyone who knows me knows that I don't typically waste too much  time fretting.  I go to the Lord in prayer.  We were scheduled to go to court the next day (Friday), so our family began to pray for the Lord to intervene.  Friday morning before going to court I was washing some dishes and really felt led to pray that the bio-mom would withdraw her motion to dismiss.  I called the caseworker and made sure they were still planning to proceed with the dependancy regardless of the bio-moms position.  I also shared that I was going to be praying that bio-mom would withdraw her motion to dismiss.  I think the caseworker thought I was crazy!  At any rate, Don, myself, our kids, my mom and a few friends began to pray very specifically that the bio-mom would withdraw her motion.

A couple hours later we were in court and listening as bio-mom's attorney was discussing the arrangements to bring the other adoptive family in town to take custody of Hayden.  I continued to pray.  The judge was a bit concerned as this situation was basically unchartered territory and he wasn't quite sure how to proceed.  I won't go into all the details, but I will just share that afternoon in the courtroom, much to everybody's utter surprise, Hayden's bio-mom did a complete about face halfway through the hearing and withdrew her motion to dismiss.  The court proceeded with dependancy and we have a scheduled date for severance.  Praise God, Hayden will be our forever son!!!

I'm so humbled by the Lord's goodness towards us.  We feel so undeserving.  God answered our prayers in such a mighty way.  I am thankful that the caseworker was able to see how the Lord answered our prayers!  What an awesome testimony.  We are rejoicing!!!

You should be.  This weekend Michael Smith, Esq., President of Homeschool Legal Defense Association, spoke at our annual homeschool convention.  My husband and I attended his conference entitled "What's the Future of Homeschooling?"  Mr. Smith discussed how free nations and spiritual movements have a tendency to move from freedom to bondage, mainly because we get complacent when we are enjoying times of great freedom.  I see this happening now, especially for those of us who are homeschooling in a state where there are little or no requirements for homeschoolers to meet.

If we want to continue to enjoy our freedom to homeschool, we had best be prepared to continuously fight to defend that freedom.  In the past, homeschooling parents have proven to be a force to contend with.  We know how to get things done, that is when we aren't complacent.

Our right to direct our child's education as we see fit could be in serious danger very soon.  We have a Presidential election coming up soon .  There is a strong probability that the democratic canidate will win this upcoming election.  If this is the case, our parental rights could be in serious danger.  You see, there is a UN treaty that has been shelfed during the Bush administration years that will most likely be the first order of business should a specific democratic candidate win this election.  If this treaty is ratified it will supercede all state law.  The only law that will remain above the treaty is the United States Constitution.

If you want to read more about this treaty and the impact if would have on our parental rights, please read this link.  If this link causes you great concern, please go to this website that was established by Mike Farris and sign the petition.  If you want to help make an impact, write about your findings on your blog and include the links I have provided.

Never be comfortable enough to be complacent.

Saturday Psalm and Praise Meme

I read about a Saturday Psalm and Praise Meme from Jacque, at Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths and thought it would be nice to participate in this.  In case you haven't visited Jacque's blog, please do, you will be so blessed.  (Is there anyone here who hasn't visited her blog? LOL)

I am sharing a praise song that I have been particularly blessed by.  This song quite simply states all that Christ is to me and my great need for Him.  It is a reminder of His abundant grace towards me when I am so undeserving.  He is indeed a Wonderful, Merciful Savior.

Wonderful, Merciful Savior

Wonderful, merciful Savior
Precious Redeemer and Friend
Who would have thought that a Lamb
Could rescue the souls of men
Oh you rescue the souls of men

Biblical Womanhood is having a contest!  Be sure to go visit them for an opportunity to win the entire Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library.  This contest will end on Saturday, so be sure to visit them and enter right away!

If anyone read my earlier post regarding our little foster baby, you know that we were concerned that he may have to leave us.  Well....Praise God, it appears as though he's staying.  This won't be without it's legal battles as the bio-mom will most likely contest every step of the way (however, she has no grounds due to the fact that she's going to prison for a very long time), but CPS has made it clear where they are going with this case and they have told us we will be the adoptive family.

We are so thankful for how the Lord is working in this case and so humbled by His goodness towards us.  We'd appreciate continued prayers, since it's not over until you're standing in a courtroom and the judge declares "You do bear the relationship of parent and child."

Hope everyone has a blessed 4th of July!

If you haven't read this book, I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy and read it!  This book is a quick and easy read, but is packed with biblical truths that no believer should forget!

In The Cross Centered Life C.J. Mahaney talks about the three main tendencies that can draw our hearts away from the Gospel (Legalism, Condemnation and Subjectivism) and how we can keep the Gospel central in our lives.  I just love this book, because it's definitely my tendency to wallow in all three of those areas.   C.J. Mahaney looks at all three of these tendencies closely and gives solid instruction on how to overcome slipping into them.

In a nutshell, he explains that we can keep the Gospel central by making the five following steps a part of our daily walk with the Lord.

• Memorize the Gospel
• Pray the Gospel
• Sing the Gospel
• Review how the Gospel has changed you, and
• Study the Gospel

I'm not going to spill all the details as I don't want anyone to miss the blessing of reading this little jewel of a book!

Onto another note:

If you have a chance check out The Challenge blog.  My daughter, Jenna, has asked others to join her in a challenge of reading through the Bible in 90 days.  This is exciting, because a good number of wonderful kids have agreed to join her in this challenge.  Check it out and if you'd like to participate, post a comment on The Challenge blog.  If you are not able to participate, please pray for these kids as they participate in this challenge that will no doubt change their lives!

Blessings!

Diane

I know I should be able to post more.  I mean if a mom with eleven kids can post with some sort of consistancy...why can't I!!!  LOL!

At any rate, things remain busy around here.  We continue to homeschool through the summer and keep ourselves busy with the little ones.  We currently have two foster placements.  Our little girl will be returning home to her mother most likely by the end of this summer.  This is a good move as her mother has done a wonderful job complying with the case plan.  Our newest arrival (a sweet baby boy that we picked up straight out of the hospital) will be going to adoption.  Just not sure who will be adopting him.  At some point in time prior to the state obtaining dependency the bio-mom decided to attempt a private adoption with him.  Of course, we are totally in love with the little guy and are praying the Lord will allow our family to adopt him.  I have hope that the Lord will act in a mighty way in this situation.  Either way, if I have learned anything through foster care, I've learned that even when things don't make sense to us...God is truly in control and sees the big picture.  So, we place our hope and trust solely in Him.  If I still have any readership on my blog, we'd appreciate your prayers in this situation as well!

Well, I must run.  I reluctantly say I will attempt one post a week, but you just never know!

Check out this update on Jillian.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  God is so good.  Please continue to pray that Jillian would bounce back quickly from all that she has been through.

If you're reading my kids blog, you probably already know that we have a new foster placement.  We're absolutely delighted with this little guy.  We picked him up three weeks ago straight out of the hospital.  He's precious!  It is very likely that this guy will become available for adoption and of course, if he does, we're ready to do so!  I can't post a picture of him due to privacy reasons, but Delaine has included a picture of his cute baby feet on her blog, as well as some pictures of Stephen and Hannah.  So, as you can imagine a new baby means more work and less sleep!  I must say, I am enjoying every minute of it though!

Many of you have heard about little Jillian who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.  I just visited Jillian at the hospital today and am so impressed at what a little trooper she is.  She has endured so much in such a brief period of time and has handled it remarkably well.  I know her parents would appreciate continued prayers for their precious little girl as she continues to battle her cancer.  Jeff and Katie have been such a testimony to God's grace in the midst of great trial.  I am amazed at their faith.  The Lord is truly being glorified through this family.

Well, it's late and I need to catch a little shut eye before the first late night feeding!

Be blessed!

She has suprised me yet again!  Hannah, Stephen and myself are home while Dad and the big kids are at church tonight.  I'm thinking to myself, I have two heads of cabbage in the fridge that I need to use and I'd really like to figure out a way to prepare them that would appeal to Hannah and Stephen.  I don't want to use mayonaise, sugar, etc.  So, I go scanning through the recipes at Allrecipes.com and find what sounds like a great, healthy recipe to me, but am rather skeptical that it will pass the Hannah and Stephen taste test!  Well, I've got the ingredients and two hungry toddlers, so why not give it a try.  I tweaked the recipe a bit and with two little ones by my side we began to shred our cabbage while they repeatedly shout out "salad, salad, salad!"  Once the cabbage is shredded and the dressing is prepared it's time to give the master salad makers a taste of the 'fruits of their labor!"  Much to my surprise Hannah loved it.  Either she was really, really hungry or she genuinely loved it.  She even asked for seconds!  Stephen......well, he wasn't nearly as thrilled with it, but did give it an obligatory try!  So, I give the recipe a two thumbs up and will definitely make it again!

Here it is for those who may be interested in giving it a try:

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar (I used fructose) 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 
• 6 cups shredded cabbage

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl or jar with tight-fitting lid, combine vinegar, oil, garlic salt if desired, sugar and basil. Place cabbage in a large bowl; add dressing and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Enjoy!

I know, a funny title!  But it's so true.  There are few things I dislike more, when it comes to cleaning, than dusting!  Usually, one of my older girls dusts my bedroom for me, but today I took on the chore myself!  What a blessing!  I was truly blessed as I went about the business of doing the least desired chore in the house.  Let me explain.

As I dusted my bedroom I picked up each and every picture and collectible along the way.  Here is what I came across:

A picture frame with an inscription on it that reads "For this Child I Prayed."  The frame holds a picture of our precious Hannah whom we adopted about a year and a half ago.

A small silver jewelry box with an angel on top and Hannah's name ingraved below the angel.  On the front a message is engraved "Welcome to our family."  This was a gift for Hannah from Sig who is like family to us.

A Noah's Ark picture frame that holds a picture of our little Stephen.

A miniature Louisville Slugger baseball bat that rests on a shelf in Stephen's armoire.  The bat is inscribed with with Stephen's full name, his birthdate, and his birth statistics.

A picture frame that holds pictures of all of our children (Jenna, Cameron, Delaine, Hannah and Stephen).  The frame is glass that has "Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow" etched on it.

Another framed picture hanging on the wall that has the words to a song that was written by some very dear friends of ours in honor of  Hannah's adoption.

Hannah's adoption announcement that was framed and given to her as a gift from some family friends at her Adoption Day party.

Various Gentle Souls or Willow Tree figurines showing a mother with her children.

A framed picture of my sister and I when we were younger and another framed picture of my sister that was taken shortly before she died many years ago.

A picture frame that my husband gave me for our anniversary last year that reads "One faith, One Hope, One Love."  I still have to get a picture of him and I to put in the frame!

As I dusted each piece of furniture and each little item I was reminded of how much the Lord has done for my husband and I.  While looking at the frame that held the pictures of all our children I was so thankful that the Lord had entrusted them to us .  They are all such wonderful blessings.

While dusting the various pictures and items related to Hannah and her adoption, I was profoundly thankful at how the Lord had worked His perfect timing to bring this precious little girl to us.  I can't imagine life without her.

While dusting Stephen's pictures and his little bat, I was reminded of God's faithfulness to open my womb again after experiencing two miscarriages and a very long wait for that little guy!  It gives me hope that the Lord can do it again if He so chooses.  Oh, how I hope He does!

When I dusted the anniversary picture frame I was thankful that the Lord has given me a husband who loves me and our children so much.  

While dusting the pictures of my sister I was reminded of how merciful and gracious the Lord was to our family during a most traumatic time in our lives when she was so senselessly murdered.  I was reminded of the Scripture verse Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  That verse says all things, even the horrible, unspeakable things.  God is faithful.

What a blessing to do the simple task of dusting and be reminded of God's love and faithfulness towards our family.  I told my daughter that I'd resume the dusting of my room as I really cherished that time with my dust rag and my pictures/collectibles that stand as a reminder to me of all that the Lord has done for me.

I'm coming out of hibernation to express how deeply saddened I am about my state's failure to pass Proposition 107 which would have ammended our constitution to define marriage as the union between one man and one woman.  I'm ashamed.  Honestly, I really thought that the Proposition would overwhelmingly pass.  I was quite shocked to know that over 50% of the voters in Arizona support gay marriage.

Over the past many years I have watched my state continually lean towards the liberal way of thinking and it is so sad and incredibly frustrating.  I need to remain committed to praying for my state.  We need it now more than ever.

My blog has been neglected over the past month.  We've been busy.  We're preparing to go out of town just before Thanksgiving.  Consequently, I'm trying to make sure I'm ready to come home and prepare our Thanksgiving meal.  I'm working on my menu and if I get it completed anytime soon, I'll share it!

Yesterday, when I was taking my my kids to their Algebra class I had the privilege of listening to a message from Dr. Voddie Baucham that was preached at the Texas Southern Baptist Convention.  The message is riveting.  It's such a blessing to hear a message the encompasses the biblical teaching on issues such as the biblical view that children are a blessing from the Lord, the biblical responsiblity of father's in leading their families and discipling their children and the unbiblical approach of our current youth ministry culture.

Dh and I hear this message regularly in our fellowship.  We attend an age integrated church that teaches and embraces the biblical role of father's as the spiritual leaders in their home and all the other biblical truths listed above.

This message is worth taking the time to listen to.  It's my hope that on a large scale it will change the way we *do* things and cause us to repent and do things as Scripture says we ought to.

Dr. Voddie Baucham - Closing the Generation Gap

Below, you see tomato staking at it's best!  Hannah right beside Mommy in the kitchen making soup.  When we served dinner Hannah was happy to tell everyone at the table "I made really good soup!"

Hannah scooping up all the carrots and putting them in the bowl for Mommy.

How many carrots can she fit in those little hands anyway!

A birdseye view of Hannah's progress!

We had a yummy vegetable beef stew for dinner!

Update on the yogurt:  It turned out great!  I was preparing myself for a flop, but not the case!

Today, we had a nice treat.  A friend of mine stopped by with a 20 pound box of delicious pears!  We love pears, but I didn't think we could eat them all before they went bad.  So, what do you think we did with all those pears?  We spent the afternoon peeling and coring pears and made the best pear sauce I have ever tasted!  We canned the sauce so we could have some for months to come!  My girls helped me in the process and earned a couple of hours towards their high school home enconomics credit!  It's so nice to be able to have fun with my girls, give them the opportunity to learn something new and let them earn high school credit at the same time!  Here are the fruits of our labor!  Of course, you can't taste it, but I think it sure looks good!

The pears are boiling and slowly breaking down into more of a sauce.

The "canning" process

Four of the seven quarts canned and ready to store!

If anyone reading is interested in trying the recipe...here it is!  Enjoy!

Pear Sauce

9 pounds Bartlett pears peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (optional)

1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)

1. Combine pears and water in a heavy 8 to 10-quart pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring often, until pears are soft, about 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Add lemon juice, and the sugar and cinnamon, if desired; bring to a boil. Simmer sauce, uncovered, until as thick as desired.
3. Fill hot, sterilized jars with hot sauce, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Gently run a narrow nonmetallic spatula between sauce and jar sides to release air bubbles. Wipe rims and threads of jars clean; top with scalded lids, then firmly screw on bands.
4. Place jars, slightly apart, on a rack in a boiling water canner or other deep pan half-full of hot water. Add more hot water to cover jars by 1 to 2-inches.
5. Bring water to a simmer; then cover and simmer for 15 minutes for pints, 20 minutes for quarts. Lift out jars and let cool on a towel away from drafts. Test seal of each jar by pressing lid; if it pops when pressed, there's no seal. Store unsealed sauce in the refrigerator and use within 1 month.
6. If you like, you may omit processing and ladle sauce into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace for pints, 1-inch headspace for quarts. Apply lids; then freeze for up to 1 year or refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Makes about 6 pints or 3 quarts.

Tomorrow, we make homemade yogurt.  We'll see how that turns out.  I regularly make Kefir, but have not made yogurt yet.  I've heard it's not too difficult, so we'll see.

This year....one bale of straw, a few pumpkins, and one mum plant.  Next year (hopefully!)....Several bales of hay, a barrel full of pumkins, and a big wrap around porch full of mums!!!  Hopefully, in the next year we'll be relocating to Kentucky and we won't have to pretend it's Autumn!

Anyway, here are a few pictures of our front porch decorated for fall.

Front of our home

Our front porch

Front porch

As you can see, harvest time has arrived at our home!  We love harvest time.  It's the time of year when things start to cool down a bit and we start making preparations for the holiday season.  I've been blessed in that my two oldest daughter's really enjoy decorating and making a house a home!  Right now, they're busily decorating the inside of our home with all sorts of harvest items.  They are ushering me off to bed so I'll be surprised at all they've accomplished in the morning.  Good night!