Nostalgic Book

I was greeted by the most marvelous book in the mail, “Granny's Wonderful Chair” by Frances Browne.

When I was a little girl I would curl up on my grandma’s green rocking love seat and she would read to me from this book. This last year, as I have been reading a lot of young adult “fairy-tale” books, I have been remembering this book and how much I loved it.

The book is a collection of fairytales within a fairytale. As memory serves my grandma’s book was printed circa 1935 and I was sure it was out of print. It was first published in 1856 in London. I decided it wouldn’t be hard to take a peek at Amazon.com and see what they had.

I was so pleased to see that this book is still in print! I found a paperback released in 2007, but was hoping for something more nostalgic than a 2007 paperback. I saw that someone was selling it as a used book, hardback with the original dustcover from 1969. It was older then me, and that seemed to fit the bill.

Seven days and $5.98 later the book arrives in my mail box. I am in love with this book! I can’t wait to read it again. . . and again. . . and then read it out loud to my kids and maybe their kids.

Thank you grandma for introducing a wonderful book to me!

Hello Uralsk

We just got an email for our adoption agency. Good news, it looks like our dossier has cleared the steps needed in the capital (Astana) and on its way to Uralsk as we speak! I just kept reading the words over and over again. I just wanted to cry with joy. We are getting so close to our daughter. I am missing her.

It looks like the next step in the process will take at least one month. So by the end of August we should get our next update. That update could be, "We are still reviewing your paperwork," or "There are no update at this time," or "We are releasing the dossier to in-country facilitators to start the process of matching you with a baby house." I know which answer I am hoping for.

This is so exciting and this is just the perfect news. If things keep going well, we might have an authentic Kazakh Christmas.

Speaking of Kazakhstan, Dave and I just finished reading Apples are from Kazakhstan. What a wonderful book, I wish I had one about Vietnam written in the same format. So informative and well-written, I gave it 5-stars at goodreads.com. Even if you are not as closely tied to Kazakhstan as our family is, as a citizen of the world you would find it interesting.

Here is one more tidbit about our daughter’s birth country. The President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has built an amazing center, "to build greater dialogue and cooperation among world religions to combat world problems."



The Palace of Peace and Accord is a unique pyramid shaped building. Every three years The Palace of Peace and Accord in Astana, Kazakhstan hosts an international conference. This year the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attended. Here is a news link:

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/57669/Building-bridges-in-Kazakhstan.html

Fabric

I have been looking for fabric for little sister’s room for a while. I have been looking for a cute pink/brown combo and today was my lucky day.

Actually, yesterday was my lucky day. I found a fabric store that I had not seen before and they had so many cute fabrics, it was hard to narrow down the field. It was a little pricey, but they had some beautiful fabrics. So I was getting my bolts all picked out and a sale’s lady asked if I was “pre-shopping”. . . I thought. . . “I don’t know what that means”. . . she understood my confused look and added, “for the 45% off sale tomorrow?” . . . Whaaaa? “Why yes, yes I am.”

So this morning Spencer and I trucked ourselves down to the fabric store for 45% off all fabric. I even got a couple of yards to make a Spencer a little toddler bed blanket.

Here’s the booty for little sister’s room:

A little light reading

This morning I was sitting at the kitchen table reading the ads and making a grocery list. Spencer was in the family room playing quietly. . . too quietly, so I went to see what he was up to. This is what I found.


I love this little man of mine.

Weekend Warriors

This past weekend Dave and I were weekend warriors. We found ourselves with a Home Depot gift card and lots of ideas. It seemed the most pressing project was the yard. The beds in the front of the house needed some work. Dave took the truck down to Home Depot and got a truck full of mulch. Dave and I spent Saturday weeding and mulching the front beds.


When we were finally done I felt light-headed and giddy. The beds looked 110% better. The weeds gone and all the mulch really made the shrubs and plants look even better. Before, weeding was so depressing because 2 hours after weeding it seemed all the weeds were back. . . rude. The mulch has made a huge difference in maintenance and appearance. I am positively giddy.

This week I also decided to take on another challenge. . . . roses. The backyard has grass and all the back beds are empty. We plan to focus on the backyard when we have more time and money. Right now it looks simple and well-cared for but no additional garden eye-candy. I wanted to plant some roses in the beds under our bay window and thought about doing it next year, but I found some rose bushes clearanced out to $5 each. How could I pass up that? Rose bushes for a fiver?



So, I brought home the roses and have them planted in the back. I hope next spring they look a little better and get a chance to settle in. One bush is a red (Love Grandiflora Rose) and one is pink/yellow (Tiffany Rose). I am looking forward to learning more and getting acquainted with the arts of rose gardening. My grandmother had a Tiffany rose bush and every time I look at it I think of her :)

Tiffany Rose



Love Grandiflora Rose

The Joys of Gardening

Last week Spencer and I planned some Zinnia seeds. We go out every day and water the seeds. Spencer gets very excited and asks to water the seeds himself. I help a little with the watering can but he loves it.



Finally today we saw our first little seed start to germinate. I was so excited and pulled Spencer closer so he could see the little green sprout. It was a great moment.



Fast forward later this afternoon. Spencer and I were outside and I was pulling weeds in the beds, Spencer was happily playing on the porch looking at our little sprout. He asked me what I was doing, I told him I was pulling weeds.

He got a huge smile on his face and went to our little sprout and pulled it out and said, “Weed”. . . pleased as he could be.

Thanks Grandpa

Dave’s dad is a university professor, soon to be the Dean of Gradate Studies. He is an engineer and has a great career filled with accomplishments. One little known fact is that he is also an amazing woodworker. He loves working with wood and building amazing pieces of furniture.

Last Christmas he built us some beautiful shelving units with toy cupboards and drawers.



We have been blessed again by grandpa’s “hobby.” About 3 years ago he built some book cases for us. They are mounted in our office (and have gotten lots of use, especially if you know how much Dave loves reading.) Well, Grandpa made us a matching desk with two work stations. I have my desktop all set up and Dave can set up his laptop.

We just installed the drawer knobs last night so of course I had to blog about it today.

Thanks Grandpa!

New Haitian Adoption Law

My good friend and neighbor has two Haitian daughters. They are beautiful, bright and lovely. Her adoption process was quite difficult, after flying to Haiti and meeting her daughters she would wait years, yes years, to bring them home.

I just got an email from Holt International asking for help.

They have asked us to send letters to congress and asked them to contact authorities in Haiti to pass a new adoption law. The Haitian Legislature will convene soon. It is URGENT that the new Haitian Adoption Law be included for approval in the agenda for the upcoming session.

Here is a link that will take you directly to Holt, you can read more about it. They have a letter all ready to send to your representatives. All you need to do is take 2 minutes to fill out your name and address. They will take care of the rest.

Contact Congress Now: New Haitian Adoption Law

Beach Wedding

This weekend we had a wonderful girls weekend. My mom and two sisters and I drove to Wyoming for my brother in law’s wedding. It was great.

The weekend festivities kicked off on Thursday when my mom came into town and we all went to Janelle’s wedding dress fitting. I think the best part was when we all tired on tiaras, my mom even got into the fun when we thrust a tiara on her. She was a good sport.



The wedding was on the beach of Alcova Lake. The setting was stunning and the day was perfect, a slight breeze and lots of fun, family and friends. I only wish I had gotten more pictures. But here are a few for the weekend.


Grandma & Katie


Alcova


Janelle, Tiffani & Colton


Chuck & Jackie


Chuck & Jackie with Gracie, Katie, Colton and Carl

New Book

I just started a new book, I am only a dozen pages into it but it seems pretty interesting. It is called, "Apples Are from Kazakhstan: The Land that Disappeared" by Christopher Robbins. The book came out in 2008.

Since January I have been looking for some good literature about Kazakhstan and it seems like there just isn’t much out there. This book seems to be a mixture of history and travelogue. I think I can safely recommend this book for anyone interested in Kazakhstan. Although I haven’t read it yet it seems very promising.

The only annoying thing for me is that the book has very small text. I don’t know why they chose an 8 point font, but oh well, probably makes it easier to take with you when you travel.

Details

We had a great weekend. We celebrated Tiffani’s birthday, our very own Yankee-doodle sweetheart born on the fourth of July. Tiffani had her dinner of choice and we had homemade pizza. Everyone got to do their own toppings and Tiff and I made the dough from scratch. The Pizza was super-yummy. Spencer ate an entire piece (minus the crust... takes after his mom.)

For birthday cake, Tiff requested no-bake cheese cake. I found these adorable mini trifle cups so everyone got an individual serving. I am sure to use these in the future for fruit and other desserts.

A good time was had by all.

This coming weekend we are having a girls’ weekend. My mom, two sisters and I are all heading off to Chuck’s wedding (about a 6-hour drive.) Spencer and Dave will have a manly-man weekend at home. I am looking forward to it. I love a road trip and Chuck has been a part of our family for over 20 years, we are so happy for him.

Happy 4th

I promise to put a write-up about the day later, but until then enjoy a couple of photos:

New Recipe

My sister shared this fabulous recipe with me. I tried it last night. It was so good. I loved the sweet, citrus and spicy flavors. Enjoy:



Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 large limes)
2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), cooked and shredded
12 corn tortillas
2 cups of Mexican cheese blend, shredded (1 small bag usually is 2 cups)
1 14-oz can of green enchilada sauce (mild or medium, to your taste)
1/2 to 3/4 cup of heavy cream
Nonstick cooking spray
Chopped cilantro, tomatoes, olives and/or avocado to garnish

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cooked and shredded chicken in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, place the honey, lime juice, chili powder and minced garlic or garlic powder. Whisk together thoroughly to combine. Pour this mixture over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate while you prepare the tortillas, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.

• Heat a large griddle till a drop of water skitters across (about 350 degrees F). Spray the surface with non-stick cooking spray or a oil it with a little bit of canola oil in between each round of tortillas. Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and flexible and some golden brown spots have appeared. Remove the tortillas from the griddle and keep them between a couple of paper towels until ready to use

• Spray the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray.

• In a medium bowl combine the enchilada sauce and the heavy cream. Spread about 1/2 cup of the mixture in the bottom of the oiled baking dish.

• Add a large spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla in a line. Cover the chicken with a large tablespoon (or big pinch) of cheese, then roll the tortilla up from one side to make a rolled enchilada - it will be more of an over lap on the seam side that rolled tightly. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish starting at one end with the long edge parallel to the longest side of the pan so that you end up with two columns of six enchiladas each.

• Repeat with the remaining chicken, cheese and tortillas. You will use about 1 1/2 cups of the cheese for the filling and set the remainder aside for topping the enchiladas in the pan. Pour remaining cream sauce mixture over the top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

• Bake the enchiladas for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown on top. Chopped cilantro, tomatoes, and/or avocado to garnish. Serve with black beans and rice or a green salad for a great meal.. . . . .Serves 4 to 6