Pockets

When you find two really cool snails at recess and don't want your teacher to take them away from you, where do you put them?

Waiting....

So we've had our profile shown to five different birth mothers and for one reason or another they've all chosen other families. One lady wanted the baby to go to a family that had no children, another wanted siblings, but more than one, still another wanted any other siblings to be adopted too. Things we have no control over. It's okay 'cause I know our baby is out there, but I get so jittery every time we're shown to a birth mother.

Then on Tuesday we were asked about another situation. We turned it down because we felt there was too much of a chance of fetal alcohol syndrome. The mother had drank heavily for the first trimester of the pregnancy. There were also some other clues that led us to believe this was not the child for us. (I don't want to get too into it because even though she'll never see this I want to protect her privacy. Let's just say I can totally understand her reasons.) Ian was devastated. He was so afraid that because we turned down this child we might never get a baby at all. Poor thing. How is it he worries about so many "grown-up" things at such a young age?

Anyway, we are still waiting and hopeful. God has brought us this far, we just have to wait patiently.

Soon Maybe....

I got this reply in an email from the social worker when I asked her about when we could have our profile shown to prospective birth mothers

I feel comfortable telling the agency to begin to present you with upcoming situations even though you aren't officially "approved" until the clearances are back, but if a baby comes very quickly, we would have to have the attorney complete a temporary custody order for the courts so you could bring your baby home.... I'll go ahead and let the adoptive family coordinator know you're ready to be shown and she'll give you a call when she has one that looks like it will work.

...So keep those fingers crossed and prayers coming!

Rock'n Ribs cake

This last weekend we had another barbecue competition. A big one down at Gallivan Plaza downtown. So, I decided to make "ribs". I found a very good recipe for red velvet cake, and then ruined it by running out of time and having to use premade fondant. (YUCK!) But it turned out pretty cute. I got the "fatty" streaks in it by rolling out the red and then, using a spoon, drew four lines through it into which I placed cords of the white-ish fat and rolling it out a bit more. Then I dropped the whole thing over the prepared cake. The "meat" was a mixture of red and scarlet and the "fat" was white with a little copper added. I thought it turned out pretty good. Even with the blob of "fat" I had to add to hide a hole I made. It sort of made it look more real I think. In any case I fooled a few people with it. When they saw it at a distance the couldn't figure out why someone had put raw meat on the table.

We did okay at the competition. We won a medal for 6th in chicken. So now all of our meats have won awards. Brian and I were happy as we were competing with a lot of teams who have been doing this for 10 years or more and those were the teams who won. Ian was not so happy. Running on little to no sleep he saw the trophy for the Grand Champion and was EXTREMELY upset we didn't get to take it home. I then made a major "Mom mistake". I was trying to comfort him by explaining how much experience the winning teams had compared to us, and when that did not work I tried telling him that the trophy doesn't really mean anything. You can go pick up an old one at the D.I., (our local version of the Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.,) for a couple bucks. "You can?" he says. "Sure," I tell him. At that moment Brian walks by and Ian goes running up to him all happy 'cause I'm going to go to the D.I. and pick him up a trophy. I ended up going yesterday and getting him an old bowling trophy from 1972. Seriously. He thinks it is the coolest thing ever. Who knew it was that easy?

Home Study

So Monday night the Social worker came to look at our home and talk to us. We spent all day Saturday cleaning the house. I had the cleanest bathrooms in town! Then, she did not even look at them! Ian showed her around and she kind of went on a little walk through, but that was it! Brian says we've passed, and I'm pretty sure we have, but I'll be worried until some one OFFICIALLY says so. But I still need to get a Physical done that says I am healthy enough to raise a child, which won't happen until the 20th because my doc is out on maternity leave until then. (sigh) So on it goes, paperwork and all!

Idaho BBQ Results

We went up to Declo Idaho for a competition this last weekend and it was so much fun! We were at an RV park called Village of the Trees. And let me tell you it was BEAUTIFUL! When Brian told me this comp was going to be held in an RV park, I had visions of an old broken-down KOA. But this place was great. It was clean, well cared for, lots of grass and, of course, trees. There was a swimming pool, showers, a laundry and a catch and release fishing pond. Ian and I both caught fish.
These Pictures may looked posed, but I swear it's true. Ian caught a good three pound trout and mine... well, mine wasn't even three inches. I did not even know I had anything on my line, I was just reeling it in to head back to camp and here I had this tiny little fry in there!

The competition went great too. We took 3rd in chicken and 2nd in ribs. Our pork was a little overdone and our brisket was VERY overdone, but we were happy with the results. I can definitely say we will be going to this competition next year. And if you are ever in need of a RV resort and you are anywhere near Delco Idaho you MUST go to Village of the Trees.

LIFE!

So, I started this blog to tell you about my cakes, but to tell you the truth things have gotten far more complicated, and there is more important things to talk about and remember.

Right now we have started the process to adopt. We always wanted more children, but, frankly, it ain't going to happen for us through childbirth. So we're going to try this. We do not care if the child is male or female, and we do not care what race. We just want another baby.

(Ian does not want me to talk about this right now, he says I must talk abot racecars. Since I have nothing to say about racecars, I will move back to the previous subject.)

We are scared, well, I am anyway. But it will be wonderful at the end. Just keep our eyes on the goal. I will try to keep you abreast of what is happening, but since things are so busy I do not know how well I'll do.

We have talked to a fair few agencies, and have found one we are comfortable with. So we will probably be going through them. In the mean time we are trying to get our finances in order (AAAARRRGGG!), figure out where and how to get fingerprinted to get our FBI clearances (double AAARRRGGG!), and get our home study done (triple AAARRRGGG!). But we'll get through it.

Thirteen Things That Happened on July 13th

574 John III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1772 Captain James Cook begins 2nd trip (Resolution) to South Seas
1787 Congress establishes Northwest Territory (excludes slavery)
1836 U.S. patent #1 (after 9,957 unnumbered patents), for locomotive wheels
1865 Horace Greeley advises his readers to "Go west young man"
1868 Oscar J Dunn, former slave, installed as lt governor of Louisiana
1934 Babe Ruth hits HR #700, against Detroit
1939 Frank Sinatra made his recording debut
1943 11th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 5-3 at Shibe Park, Philadelphia
1960 U.S. Democratic convention nominates John F. Kennedy as presidential candidate
1977 New York City experiences 25 hr black-out
1985 "Live Aid" concert raises over $70 million for African famine relief
1996 Brian Winther and Tara Wetherell were married in Everett WA.

Not News To Anyone That Knows Me....

Your result for The LONG Scientific Personality Test...

INFP - the Healer

You scored 36% I to E, 16% N to S, 10% F to T, and 74% J to P!

You are more introverted than extroverted. You are more intuitive than observant, you are more feeling based than thinking based, and you prefer to go with the flow rather than having a plan. Your type can best be summarized by the word "Healer", which belongs to the larger group of idealists. You have a capacity for caring that is deeper than most. You strive for unity, are fascinated by the battles between good and evil, and can be something of an idealist. Only 1% of the population shares your type.
As a romantic partner, you are usually supprtive and nuturing, however, you have a high need for individuality. Harmony is extremely important to you as you are very affected by conflict and tension, which also makes you resist confronting your partner directly about problems. When you get angry, you usually blame yourself, rather than your partner. You can also be stubborn and unyielding when you feel you are being criticized or mistreated. You feel the most appreciated when your partner listens to you carefully. You need to be understood. You need to hear your partner express their feelings, the more often, the better.Your group summary: idealists (NF)
Your type summary: INFP

Happy Fourth of July!

Yesterday Brian grilled some salmon, corn and potatoes. The whole meal was YUMMY! Then we went and watched the rodeo, where Brian bid on tickets to a Toby Keith concert and a cowboy hat signed by some big-time rodeo professionals. We didn't win, but I got to wear the hat for a minute when the clown came by and put it on my head. It was too small.

So even though that was yesterday, that was our 4th of July celebration since Brian has to work today. We did get up early and go to a new restaurant called The Red Rooster Waffle Company, (or something like that), it was yummy! And tonight when we pick up Brian from work we are going to look out over the valley and enjoy the fireworks going on all around down there.

HappyFourth To All!