baking day

Last Sunday, Grandma Herrman hosted the annual baking day. She has a huge kitchen table covered with tons of cookies she baked. We had a great day. Everyone makes it up there and she and PawPaw invite my parents too. It's a great day for Gabe to spend with both sets of grandparents.

The table was literally covered with sugary goodness. And, we got to take a big ol' tub of stuff home with us.

I always make sure to try and get a picture of the cousins too... they're all growing up so fast.

Christmas Fellowship

This is one of my favorite ornaments from my mother in law. I'm not sure where she got it, but I love it.

We are hosting a dinner tonight for our former Bible study group. I'm really excited that we'll all be sharing some fellowship time, especially around Christmas. It's such a wonderful time of year. I love it! It's been a long time since we all got together for a meal and just caught up with each other.

We have had so many wonderful times with this group. We learned a lot from each other. I know for myself, I learned a lot about parenting my child. Some of the members who had children older than my son were such a help in giving advice. Others who have children the same age have been great for comparing stories and situations, as well as giving advice.

Our group just kind of stopped meeting... People lives/schedules changed, more children were added to our families, and life just kind of took over. We've recently started going back to a church we'd left and I'm really hoping to get involved in another study after the first of the year. I love meeting with other people who are thirsty for learning more about Christ. I love the debates and talking through things. I love reading scripture and praying together.

I'm very thankful for the seasons I was able to share with these people.

Getting some air

We decided this year would be a great one to get Gabe involved in a winter sport. We are so happy he'll be having some exercise practicing. We bought him a smaller basketball like the one in the picture so he and his Dad can practice in the garage. I better practice my dribbling too... it's been a few years since I played at my Dad's garage. Dad used to own a mechanic's garage in the town I was raised. He put a basketball hoop up in the back part and with the large concrete floors, we had a lot of room to practice. We played 'horse' and 'pig'. It was so much fun!

Gabe did great at practice. They did warm ups, laps around half of the gym, and took turns dribbling up to shoot. The coach was great with them! Gabe really loved it.

Before practice, Greg asked Gabe if he had any questions about basketball... His only question was, "what if I have to fart?" Oh geez...

Then, after practice we asked him if he liked it and if he had any other questions. His response was... "Yeah, why didn't MY coach wear a black and white striped shirt?" We'd better explain the difference between referees and coaches! How innocent and sweet!!



And, here he is, getting some air. I know the quality of this picture sucks, but I'm still learning with action shots. And, it was in a gym... no fun to photograph! But, look at his air and his little tongue sticking out. How cute is he?? A little Jordan.

I hope you are all getting ready for Christmas despite this crazy weather! Holy cow. It totally doesn't feel like there are only 11 days until Christmas! It's hard to get in the magical mood when there's no snow on the ground.

Pinterest

I've been using Pinterest for quite a while now. I absolutely love it! I have tried many recipes like beef stroganoff, philly cheese steak sloppy joes, & lemon blueberry cupcakes. We have also tried these things: owl handprint painting, an awesome way to keep cards and momentos, and these for Easter. These are some of the ideas/recipes that we enjoyed.

There were some misses too... like 7up biscuits. Not so great. But, they were super easy and we didn't spend much on the ingredients.

I also love all of the photography ideas on Pinterest. Speaking of, the photo above of my Gabers was totally inspired by this. I know its not quite the same, but having a four year old posed like this would be really weird! I am so pleased with how the pictures turned out... Here are a couple more. And, if you are friends with me on Facebook, sorry, you're seeing them again. :)



Thank you Pinterest...

thank you, parenthood.

If you follow me on Facebook, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of the show Parenthood. And, lately, I have been very happy with their choice to cover the topic of adoption. Adoption will obviously always be a very close subject to my heart. When chosen as a topic on a series on TV, I am always a little bit skeptical that the show will be able to pull it off. I am always expecting to be disappointed with a dumb, cheesy line or an uneducated portrayal of a birth mom or an adoptive mom.

Parenthood, however, has been doing an excellent job portraying the life of an adoptive mom, or at least an adoptive mom like me. I can see myself as Julia, wanting a child - wanting to add to her family. I could see myself when she found out about being infertile. (that episode was a real waterworks one for me... it about killed me!) I can also see her approaching her husband, telling him of this crazy idea, and then watching him fall in love with the idea as much as she has.

It showed Julia and her husband, Joel as they spoke with her parents about the idea. Her parents worried, brought up valid concerns like money and personal space.

I have just been so pleased with how they have presented this show to the viewers. The situation wasn't hokey and melodramatic... Julia wasn't a crazy, infertile lady who would pay thousands of dollars (even though she could afford it and had the opportunity to) to have a child... as much as she so badly wanted to have this baby in her family.

I hope they go all the way with it and show us viewers an open adoption. You really don't see it much on TV... It's not the popular choice out there. But, people need to be educated! It can be such an amazing gift! I am so unbelievably blessed to know members of Gabe's birth family. And, most importantly, so is he! I do not doubt for a moment that when God placed that boy in my arms, he had the entire plot laid out. I do not doubt that he brought all of us together to love this one very special child. Don't get me wrong, those first few visits were scary. I remember thinking they would've regretted choosing us. There are still times I joke about that with them. But I can honestly say, it has all worked out so well. I asked God to fulfill my hearts desire, and He did - bigger and better than I ever could have imagined.

So, thank you, Parenthood! Thank you for making others aware of adoption and what a gift it can be. Thank you for showing us a strong woman who desperately wants a child but remains wise to keep her family safe. Thank you for showing a birth mother who truly wants better for her child and is having trouble with that decision. This program has shown that it has not been easy for her. That is one of the biggest misconceptions... that these birth moms are just able to disregard their children. Not true. I have met many birth moms, watched many interviews, and read books regarding birth families... Their children are on their mind every day. THEY are taking the risk, placing their child's life in another woman's arms. WE didn't take the risk when we chose open adoption... She did. She trusted me with her son. And, I think about that all the time.

Parenthood is an awesome show - it's on Tuesday nights at 9:00 CST. Check it out!

In other news, I am watching my first episode of How I Met Your Mother... Starting at Season 1, Episode 1. And, I am hooked. I love you NPH! Oh, and Jason Segel? Probably one of my biggest crushes!

his toy story...

"Mom, Mom, don't put these away... I'm going to play with these guys tomorrow." Ok, buddy....



Tonight we cleaned/sorted Gabe's playroom. Usually after a few days it gets really messy and my OCD takes over and I have to sort everything into its correct place. I always open up the 'Lego guy' drawer and think I'm going to sort it out and put the guys together correctly but I never do. 1. It would take FAR too long... this kid has so many Lego guys. and 2. I would never find pieces like these! Above, meet Robin the Shark, Woody the Sumo Wrestler, Jesse the Little Person, and the Construction/Robot who looks like he should be doing the YMCA. Gabe was in the basement playing dodgeball with Greg while I stayed up here to sort and I just couldn't contain my laughter! This kid! Seriously!


We've been to the Lego store twice. The first time we went, Gabe was really into Toy Story. I asked him to help me pick out a keychain for me... he picked Jesse because she was a girl like me. This year, I went to the Lego store with some friends and I had to pick up the pirate guy from Pirates of the Carribean. Gabe LOVES pirates right now (and might be getting a few for Christmas). I love the idea of carrying little reminders of my Gabers with me while I'm doing the normal day to day activities. I can just glance down at my keys and instantly smile thinking of the little guy who cracks me up on a daily basis.

Can you imagine if Gabe's toys came to life at night? Poor Woody... A sumo wrestler? And Jesse, having to adjust to life as a little person? Gabe is really loving pretend play right now. I'm sure his toys are enjoying it too. So many of them have become "best friends" and have "broken up" as well as smashed into their friends' houses. In Gabe's toy story, pirate guys and Lego men live together in harmony. Mean sharks attack the ships and take half the men down. And, guys forgive each other (I've heard him say from one guy to another - "It's ok, I forgive you. You're my best friend again".)

I've heard you can tell a lot from your child's pretend play... how they are disciplined, how they interact with other kids, etc... And, it's really good for their development. Hearing Gabe's pretend play brings so much delight to me. I love it.

Thanksgiving

Since we got married, I have been collecting Pfaltzgraff's Winterberry dishes. I love them. I never get to use them though, we don't really host Christmas meals. I hope to change that though. I'd like to have a friend dinner party some night here soon... We'll see how work scheduling and holiday planning goes. Anyway, this year I decided to go ahead and have the house decorated for Christmas for our Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out pretty nice.



My sister in law, brother in law, and nieces Katie & Julia brought their brand new beautiful, snuggly puppies to Thanksgiving. They are the sweetest things!! They didn't make a peep all day and spent most of their time being held by all of us, or cuddling next to each other in their little puppy playpen. They were just delightful. Jay and Missy asked if I'd take some pictures of "their girls... all of them!" and I was so happy to! Here is my favorite:



Aren't they lovely? I am so proud of these two sweet girls. I babysat Katie (L) a lot when she was little. I was in college and Greg would come over and we'd play "house". It was so fun. It's so hard to believe she will be 15 on January 24th... also the night of mine and Greg's first date. *yeah, he got a little in trouble for "working" ehem (going out with me) during a snowstorm when Katie was born* Oops... But, here we are 15 years later. Julia is such a sweet girl too. She gave Gabe a run for his money on wrestling moves on Thanksgiving. She is so very smart (both girls are). Julia is delightfully ornery, sweet, and all around fun to be with.

These girls are my 'first nieces'. I love them very much... and now I have new puppies to love on too!