Hansel & Gretel..

This past week has been a wild one to say the least. One of those types that was so jam-packed it flew by in a blink. The best night (in my book) was doing respite and hanging out with Hansel (4 years old) and Gretel (his 2 1/2 year old sister).

Hansel made us mac and cheese and also served us hot dogs and carrots. He's quite the chef!


They were an absolute laugh-riot and completely adorable. He had his serious moments ("You've gotta make the noodles juuuust right, Wissa") and both had a wonderful sense of humor. It was a delight having them and I told their family we would be happy to schedule watching them a couple times a month.

They were stoked!

God is always watching and listening to our hearts. He knows deep down this was a hard week for me. Our twins (Jack & Jill--we had them for 9 months) recently had a birthday. Our little darlings are out there somewhere and they have been haunting my thoughts and dreams. I continue to pray for their safety and well being but wish I could just lay eyes on them and know for certain all is well.

It's completely out of my hands and I have to trust in Him.

Having Hansel and Gretel visit was very healing and I loved every minute of it. Our time together also confirmed that our next placement will be sibs.. close in age. As always, His timing is perfect.

It was just what I needed.

Tonight's Rad Guest On MomTV's Adoption Angles

My lovely guest this evening is Lori from the great North West! Here is a little bit about her (in her own words):

I am a chaplain's kid (preacher's kid + military brat). I was a teacher for ten years and am now a BIT (Brain Integration Technique) Practitioner. Education is very important to me. It was one of the reasons why I gave up my child for adoption at seventeen, and education is still my passion. I find circuits in the brain that have stress and remove it to open up the areas of the brain that we need to problem solve with our rational thinking brain, so we aren't stuck in the emotional or survival parts of the brain. The BIT or LEAP (Learning Enhancement Acupressure Program) protocols have an emphasis on the learning process and therefore can help students with things like ADD, ADHD; auditory, speech or language processing; reading, spelling, and math problems. BIT can also help with many other things, a few examples are allergies, emotional issues, and muscle firing. After giving up my baby, I have felt a desire to help women who go through this process find their authentic path. BIT helped me move beyond my ADD toward that goal instead of just talking about them.

As a result of my emotional and healing journey, I also feel a passion for helping prospective adoptive parents be emotionally healthy parents. I studied parenting for 20 years, hoping to do it right once given the chance again. I am now also a step-mother to two amazing children. I have a blog (2nd Thought Parenting) about making parenting decisions while taking into account other caregivers, like biological parents, step parents, foster parents, relatives, etc. It can be tricky when you are not the only primary caregiver, but I feel like being a birth/first mother gives me the benefit of an additional perspective. Also, I'm a regular guest on a radio show with my sister called "The Way of the Toddler Hour" on the "I'm Thankful Network" on Mondays at 9:00 A.M. PST.

As a result of being part of the adoption process, I appreciate every moment that I get to be involved in the care and education of children!

You can also find Lori at:
www.ascending-energy.com (website about Brain Integration Technique/s and Whole Body Vibration)
www.crossinology.com (mentor Susan McCrossin's website)
www.ileapusa.blogspot.com (articles about brain by Dr. Charles Krebs)
www.brainhealth.blog.com (brain health tips)


How do you find us? Go here:

Type a chat name in and THAT'S it! You're IN!

Join us tonight at 9PM EST.. 6PM for all the west coasties TONIGHT! See y'all there!!

Hiatus Schmiatus...

Although on foster hiatus, I'm doing my best to stay in swing of things. Last weekend I manned a booth at a local fair for our county trying to get word out about the need for foster families and respite care providers. Aside from the micro burst that about blew us to KS it was an awesome day with a great turnout. I met other foster mamas and made some new friends..

Totally cool.

I have to admit, I'm completely missing the sound of little feet, children's laughter and the chaos that has been my life this past year and a half. I'm stoked to report that tonight our home will be rockin' as we're doing respite for a local family. We'll have a 2 1/2 year old little girl and her 4 year old brother tearing up the joint. The plan of attack is to eat a nice meal then run our legs off across the property. Maybe we'll look for bunnies, pick flowers, collect rocks

..and run some more..

Can't.Wait.

Perfect Moment Monday

On an unusually cool July day last week, I had the opportunity to run an errand midday. Leave the chaos of the office? M'KAY!

With clouds boiling over the foothills I stopped, rolled down the window and took a minute to breathe. I could smell the rain coming. Eyes closed the only sound was the breeze and a cow in the distance.

Perfect calm.

I Capture
Perfect Moments.

Who's My Totally Cool Guest on MomTV's Adoption Angles?

Published author and single mommy via international adoption (TWICE).. the ever talented Dee Thompson, that's who!


Dee never dreamed as a little girl that instead of getting married and having babies, she would one day travel to Russia as a forty-something single woman, and meet her daughter in an orphanage. She never dreamed she would travel to Kazakhstan a few years later and adopt a little boy with one hand. But like the Russian proverb says, plans are silly - "IF you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans!"

Now she is a writer and single mom living in Atlanta with two teenagers, her mom, and a 10 lb. furbaby named Coco. She has written a book about her adoption adventures called Adopting Alesia: My Crusade for My Russian Daughter, as well as a children's book, Jack's New Family. She writes a daily blog called The Crab Chronicles. She tries to spread the message every day that adopting older children can be a happy experience and she will be sharing her journey with us TONIGHT!

AND..

We'll be giving away a darling Kimochis character LIVE on the show tonight!!! Have you ENTERED the contest yet?? GO HERE NOW FOR DEETS!!!
How do you find MomTV's Adoption Angles? Why, all you have to do is go here:

Type a chat name in and THAT'S it! You're IN!

Join us tonight at 9PM EST.. 6PM for all the west coasties TONIGHT! See y'all there!!

Kimochis ~ Toys With Feelings Inside ~ Review & Giveaway!!

From Kimochis™: "We all know how important social and emotional intelligence is in a young child's development. Kimochis™...toys with feelings inside, were created to assist in the development of social and emotional intelligence, child-parent communication and help in building self-esteem in children. With an already strong following, even celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Garner can't resist!

Kimochi (KEY.MO.CHEE) means "feeling" in Japanese and each 13 inch Kimochis™ character comes with 3 plush "feelings" and a how-to- Feel Guide with tips for parents on connecting with their kids during emotional moments. Feelings can be messy...Kimochis™ can help!

Using the characters and their Kimochis™, kids can get in touch with their emotions through puppetry and play. And the accompanying Feel Guide introduces the fun and quirky personalities of each character that everyone can identify with!"

But really.. Are they all that?

Why yes, yes they are.

I had the opportunity to meet Kimochis™ Cat and she comes with Happy, Cranky and Curious (three smaller plush friends with the corresponding facial expressions on the front and the name of the emotion on the back). Cat is known for being bossy and stubborn (JUNEBUG) and starting "cat fights" .. so 5 bandages to heal hurt feelings come with her, as well.

Other feelings (and characters) are sold separately.

Along with our new found friends was a 48 page "Feel Guide" to help make the most of this experience.. Not only are they darling, well made, snuggly toys they go so far beyond that. Sometimes it's hard for little ones to find their words and express how they feel. It can be downright frustrating. With these wonderful charatcers we can teach our children to communicate in positive ways in the midst of emotions. I love Kimochi Cat and will be adding more characters as more children join our home! I will also be introducing her to some of the other foster parents.. I have no doubt they will see their great value, as well.

Did I mention Kimochis™ are the brainchild of a Mommy? How cool is THAT?

THE GIVEAWAY!!

Here's the fun part.. Check out their web site (Kimochis.com) and choose your fav character (please note, Lovey Dovey is not available yet!). Please head on over to the Kimochis Facebook Page, become a fan and let them know what character you like the most. Let me know you've done so by comment, that's an entry. Tell me which one you want via comment.. that's an entry, as well! Tweet about it, another entry!

A winner will be chosen randomly and announced live on MomTV's Adoption Angles tomorrow night (Wednesday, July 7th ~ 9PM EST!)

HURRY HURRY HURRY and ENTER NOW!

**I was not paid to do this review, however, I do get to keep the product**

Perfect Moment Monday

On Friday evening the doorbell rang and DH got up to answer it. Much to his surprise, he saw a little girl (about 5-ish) running her legs off back to a car parked on the street (it's quite a run, I might add). They drove off. He looked down and found this...
Beautiful, freshly picked wild flowers, carefully wrapped together with a wet paper towel and a green bow with a little note that says, "Someone out there loves you! Hope you have a happy day! Love, The Good Deeders"

Now, we have no idea who this group is or what they're about. If they were sent by an individual or we were randomly chosen. The special gift gave DH, me and Nantie a big smile and we just love it.


It's a simply Perfect little mystery.

I Capture
Perfect Moments.

Happy July 4th, Y'all!!

Wishing you all a fun (AND SAFE!) 4th of July!! God bless America!!

You + Me = Wii!!

Last night Missy called and challenged me to a bowling match, Wii Style. What a blast. Much like the real sport, I totally stink and can't play worth a darn (but I'm over it). The upside? No icky shoe rental!

(That was a strike.. trust me..)

Nantie got home part way part way through our tournament and we forced her to play (although she insisted she just didn't want to and blah blah blah). Miss I-Can't-Figure-Out-These-Games throttled us. She proceeded to kick our booties, creaming us in a huge way (one game she bowled a 167). Remind me to never bet her cash at anything. Our Nantie is a shark!

After Missy left we played 9 holes of golf. Again, much like my true game, I over-putt, hit trees and whack the ball too hard. Unlike the real sport, I never shanked the ball or lost it in the drink. Nor did I have to spend time looking for it.

That was cool.

The votes are in.. we're totally addicted! Next up? We try out more sports and bust out Wii Fit! WooHoo!

Incredibeds Review!

Missed Bo's MomTV debut last night on Adoption Angles? Just can't wait for the archived show to be uploaded to meet him? Well, wait no more and take a gander..



Don't believe how easy they are to assemble? Check out their Assembly Video

Incredibeds Mission (From Their Web Site): Our mission is to provide fun and safe sleep environments for toddlers, children and all people young at heart. We strive to bring new creative elements into a child’s bedroom inspiring kids to explore, create and most importantly sleep in their own room. We promise never to lose focus of the impact we will have on those tiny little hands that will cross our path.

We have started our venture with our plush bed frame series. Our plush bed frames are unique charismatic characters that bring friendships, sweet dreams for children to grow up with and safety that parents can rely on. We built them out of the need for an alternative type of transition bed that accomplishes two things:

• To allow parents to safely transition their toddlers directly into a standard twin size mattress set and have
the ability to accommodate a child’s growth.

• To bring a new friendship into a child’s life to encourage imaginative play and help with a child’s fear of
sleeping alone.

We are absolutely thrilled with our Bo and Incredibeds.com and highly recommend their unique quality products. I cannot think of a more welcoming friend for our foster kiddos than Bo.

Psssstt.. make sure to check out their banner on my left sidebar and nab the $40 off coupon code!! And hey, drop me a comment or email and let me know which one you bought!!

**This was not a paid review however we do get to keep the item sent**