For Today

Outside my window: It's dark and cold with just a little bit of snow covering the ground.

I Am Thinking: Of sweet little Rebecca and that in just a few weeks we will celebrate the anniversary of her adoption. It's amazing how much she has changed this past year, from the scared little girl in Xian who was trying her hardest to be oh so brave to the sweet little girl who now loves to snuggle up next to me and read. The difference a year can make in the life of a child who was once an orphan and now has the unconditional love of a family.

I Am Thankful For: Our children and how sweet and kind they were to each other Christmas morning. I was so proud of all of them because they each wanted their siblings to open their presents from each other and then wanted us to open the things they had picked out for us. They had done an awesome job of picking out items that were fitting for each other and you could tell they had really put some thought into it. They were so thankful as they opened each of their gifts. It was a pleasure to watch!

From The Kitchen: There is a local Mexican food restaurant that serves the BEST chicken tortilla soup and I have tried so many times to duplicate their recipe and haven't even gotten close. It's funny though because there are 4 or 5 of their resaurants in our city but yet the soup is different in each one. Weird. While not quite like the one I love so much, I finally found a recipe that is just as yummy even though it's in a tomato broth instead of a clear broth like the one I like so well. Just enough spice to enjoy but not so much that it overpowers the soup. I'll certainly be keeping this recipe! Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup I made it yesterday and then we had enough for leftovers tonight - yummy. Little Rebecca told me it was "yummy for her tummy".

I Am Wearing: My favorite black sweats that I love to change into when I get home from work.

I Am Creating: Not sure if this counts, but I am working on my 2010 organizer :-)

I Am Going: Instead of where I'm going, I'll talk about where I've been. I started a new job last week! So far so good! It's much closer to home, a different field of IT than I've worked in before but I think I'll catch on sooner or later. The people all seem down to earth and easy to get along with. I think this'll work!

I Am Reading: Finished "Shanghai Girls" the other night and then started another book that Santa had left in my stocking. It's guaranteed to be a good cry. Sounds like Santa must think I need a good cry? Or maybe Santa just thought I'd enjoy a sappy book! Ryan has been reading the Bill Cosby "Fatherhood" book, for some reason that just cracks me up but he thought it was pretty funny too.

The other book worth mentioning this week is "The Crippled Lamb", Rebecca has asked me to read it many times over the last few weeks. She even takes it in the car with her and pretends to read it. If you're not familiar with the story it's about a little lamb that had been born with a leg that didn't work. The other lambs made fun of him but he had a special friend Abigail who was always very nice to him. He ends up being in the stable the night Jesus was born. A very, very sweet little book. Rebecca's favorite part of the story, and the part she now knows verbatim is "She would spend hours with Josh, telling him stories. When Josh got sad because he could not run and jump and play in the grass, Abigail would say "Don't be sad, little Joshua. God has a special place for those who feel left out"." She may not be able to repeat all of the story back, but she's got that part down and it just makes my heart melt when she pretends to read the book and says that part. Priceless.

I Am Hoping: That I find my favorite bible. It's been missing for a couple of weeks now and I can't find it anywhere. Last night I was dreaming about finding it and just when I would almost find it, I would wake up. Only to start dreaming about it again and then waking up at the same exact point. Is that a weird dream or what? There's plenty of bibles around here but that one was my favorite translation. Guess I need to make a trip to the book store if it doesn't turn up in the next few days.

I Am Praying For: A young lady who lives in Tennessee that we met while vacationing in Florida back in 2006. It was Emma's first trip to the beach and this little girl was absolutely smitten with the Emma bug and she played with her for hours on end. We've kept in touch since then, such a sweet young lady. Her daddy is in the hospital with cancer and my heart just breaks for her and her family. I know all too well about losing a father to cancer. Her dad's name is Jimmy if any of you want to join in prayer for this family, I'm sure they would appreciate it.

I Am Hearing: A football game. Sigh.

Around The House: A stack of paper and notes that I need to go through. New toys that need to find a place to reside in the basement, but for now I'll just leave them in the den since the girls are having so much playing with them. Trees and decorations that need to come down, but Brian really likes to enjoy them as long as we can so I guess I'll wait until after the first of the year.

One Of My Favorite Things: I mentioned movies last week and YES! I was able to sneak out and see a movie-all-by-myself last week. Woohoo! Still have several movie tickets that my old boss had given me over the years I worked for him. Just not sure when I'll have an opportunity to see another movie for a while. I'll just say this, "The Blind Side" is well worth seeing!

A Few Plans For The Rest of The Week: Ryan had basketball practice tonight and Emma wanted to go along for the ride. Rebecca stayed home with me. She told me that she stayed home with me because she loves me. How's that for an ahhhhh moment?! No games this week but the girls will have gymnastics on Thursday. Ryan is going ice skating with the youth group on New Years Eve which means one of us is going to have to stay up late. sigh. Unfortunately, Rebecca wakes up the same time every morning regardless of what time she has gone to bed. Guess this is practice for the upcoming teenage years for Ryan. Not so sure I'm ready for that ...

Have a good week everyone!