Wordless Wednesday- I'm dreaming of summer vacations!

A good answer to "WHY"

Today Liam was helping with breakfast before I got down stairs (you already know where this is going, don't you?) He had crawled up on the counter and was getting down two plastic bowls for cereal, he even asked if I was having cereal also. As I came downstairs, Lance said he wanted instant oatmeal. I said that is fine, but we have to use glass bowls. Liam went right back up on the counter and put the plastic bowls back in the cupboard. He was looking for the "glass" bowls because he could not find any clear bowls. (Don't you know all glass has to be see through?) Anyway I told him which bowls they were and started explaining what glass is...that it doesn't have to be clear to be glass.
THEN IT HAPPENED...he dropped one of the bowls and it broke all over the floor. It made my explanation easier...that's glass, it breaks easily. I think we now know what glass is in our house.

Disclaimer: No good dishes were broken or destroyed in this demonstration of glass. The bowl in question was 12 years old and will now go to a good home at the garbage dump.

Philippine Day

We are going to go to a local Philippine Day in a few weeks to eat some good food and meet more people etc. I don't know if you remember last time we went to a Philippine activity Liam got up on stage. This time he was invited to sing with the children's choir, so he has to go to practice tomorrow to learn the two songs. You can listen to the two songs they are going to sing. One is all is Tagalog and it is called Bahay Kubo the other one is called One Small Voice. Wish him luck on his performance in a few weeks, this kid has guts. Not only is he getting up on stage in front of strangers, he is going to sing songs he doesn't know in another language. He'll be fine because there are 20 other kids up there also, so he won't be alone. However, Lance said he wouldn't touch the children's choir! I'll have pictures later.

Lance's fundraising

Lance is doing a fundraiser. He has formed a team that is going to stroll for epilepsy. He is doing this because his best friend has epileptic seizures which he suffers both physically and emotionally from. It is hard to be in 5th grade and be different from the other kids. Lance is trying to form a team and raise money for this cause. Please go to Lance's link to donate, every little bit helps. Also, if you have a blog and would be willing to put an ad there, tell me I'll get you the link. Thanks.

Lance's words:
My best friend Oliver has seizures caused by epilepsy. Sometimes he has seizures in class and it is scary for both him and me. He just wants to be like "normal kids" and not worry about the seizures. That's why we created this team to raise money for research. We have 10 fifth graders from our school walking to help find a cure. Can you please help by giving a small donation. This will make Oliver and others very happy.

I'm back up!

Last weekend Ryan's friend B.J. looked at out computer (thank you B.J.). He did lots of stuff to it, but it never failed him. So, I have it back and it seems to be running well. We will see. It has been a busy week. Ryan was in VA for work, so I was a single mom. I am so glad that it is Friday now and that Ryan is home and we can relax a little this weekend.

I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day. Ryan came home, that was my present (oh, he brought me the lotion and hair conditioner from his hotel room as a gift also).

Trying new things

Yesterday we were invited to Ryan's brother's friends' house. (Did you get all of those possessives?) Anyway, Eric goes to church with the couple and Ryan had helped them move a few years ago and they still remembered him. It was a small party, with neighbors, co-workers, and people from their church. The friends are from India, so they served wonderful Indian food. I had never had Indian food, but I was afraid because I didn't like curry when we lived in Japan and I thought that is all they used in India.
We were very pleasantly surprised when we tried the food, it was delicious. I tried a little of everything and Ryan had seconds or thirds I think. Liam stuck to rice and a chicken leg, however Lance loved the spicy chicken and had seconds. He tried everything except the vegetables! I was impressed with the kid for trying new things. I don't know the names of any of the wonderful foods we tried except for Naan (Indian yeast Bread).
They were wonderful hosts and the kids had fun also with their girls. We also had great conversation with everyone and enjoyed meeting them all. I have to admit, I didn't want to go on such a cold day. I didn't want to go out into the cold to a stranger's house to eat some strange food. So glad I did now!
I wish I had pictures for you or at least the names of the food we ate, sorry.

A Slow Week

Our computer isn't working this week. It keeps crashing on me every time I turn it on. I can type one line and then it crashes. So, I haven't checked blogs, e-mails or anything fun this week. I am at my sister's house right now to borrow her computer while I babysit, however she has dial up so that is slow also. So if you haven't heard from me, that's why. It took me an hour to post our exciting approval news the other day. I'll be back on line soon I hope!

Wordless Wednesday- Our Super Bowl Party (Rodrigo did you eat enough ice cream?)

We are officially expecting!!

I just got a call from our adoption social worker that our application is approved for adoption in the Philippines. Then she sent us a copy of the e-mail that our agency received from the Philippines.

Greetings of Peace!
This has reference to Mr. and Mrs. Crafton's adoption application received by this office on December 27, 2007.
We are pleased to inform you that the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) has approved the above adoption application on January 24, 2008. Mr. and Mrs. Crafton are now listed in our Roster of Approved Applicants. Your office will be duly advised as soon as the proper determination is made as to which child's needs will be responded to by Mr. and Mrs. Crafton.

So now we are in the waiting phase. In the adoption world when you are approved it is like you just found you are pregnant and that is what it feels like. I called Ryan already and we are both excited that it is so real now!

Why we live in the frozen tundra

I know that I always complain about MN and the cold and snow here, which I do hate. But there are some good things here also and that is truely why we live here. Of course we do have family here, so that is a plus. I also love the education system here and the opportunities for education.

Another reason we live here is because I thought it was a great place to raise my children and expose them to some culture. I love the theatre, concerts, museums and I wanted them to experience those things and love them also. We have taken advantage of several of the offerings here in the Twin Cities and my children do love those venues also. I was reminded of this fact when I had a conversation with Lance this morning. He had just come back from a concert at our church by The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra called Start the Music and was practicing violin when I told him about a concert tonight at Orchestra Hall. Tonight's concert is a Space theme with music from Star Wars etc. He asked if we could go and I had to tell him it wasn't in the budget. The look of disappointment on his face was sad and also priceless. I was bummed we couldn't go and he wanted to go, but I was happy because he wanted to go to Orchestra Hall! How wonderful is that!? They also went to a play last week at The Children's Theatre Company to see Bud, Not Buddy and they loved the play. I need to keep these things in mind when I wish away the cold.
Until I find out if AZ or NM has a great cultural center, I'll be quiet about living in the cold.