SNOW FUN!

No school and a beautiful, thick layer of snow aaaaallll over the place.  We all had a Gooooood ole time playing in it before Thanksgiving!  Erik tied a couple sleds to the back of the four wheeler and it was craaaaaaaaaaaaaazy fun! :)  …Furbee (my lil yorkie) even hopped on for a ride! ;) ha ha!

We live up on a hill – so we were stuck home for a couple of days! We decorated for Christmas, drank hot chocolate, made snowmen, snow angels, went sledding, cozied up by the fireplace ***(especially to warm up Kinzi's chilly tootsies!)

… made some super, duper memories!  

I can’t wait to share moments like these with our little sweetie(s)! I am SO excited to meet her. …wrap a little scarf around her and put on her little mittens! ♥

 

***Disclaimer: Kinzi's sweet feet where only out there for a quick picture! :) ha ha! 

A little story about a BIG God and a TOTALLY COOL SIS!!

Omigoooodness it feels like FOREVER since I’ve had a chance to sit down and update my BLOG – BIG things were happening and I am still sitting back in AWE of how COOOOL God is and how GRATEFUL I am that He put a TOTALLY AWESOME Little Sister in my life… ♥

 

…Okay, so my little story started out November 7^th! Yep! Orphan Sunday! Erik and Kinz had a softball obligation, so I took Madison and Ida to church.  I was SO excited to hear stories or see videos or just listen to how our church is a advocating for the Orphans… I was wearing one of my favorite adoption T-shirts… I wanted to talk to everyone about ADOPTING that Sunday.  I wanted to find common ground with some of my other church going peeps… As I sat there, by myself… at church, I was a little bummed to hear a sermon on work ethic, (However, it was a great sermon and our church does advocate for the orphans) I was still bummed out....

It’s funny, when you sit in church by yourself, you do things you may not do if someone was with you… (I don’t know why that is) But, when the offering plate made its way around to me… I decided to fill out one of those little yellow cards that asked for prayer requests… 

All I put was, “FUNDING FOR OUR ADOPTION.”

Well… the next thing I know ORDINARY HERO is offering a MAJOR fund raising opportunity for Adopting families… selling their amazing merchandise and they send the profit straight to our Adoption Agency. YEP, I signed up that very second… Not really thinking I would be too successful at it.  For some reason I think I’m jinxed in the FUND RAISING department. :) 

On November 18^th I received this from our church:

 Hi Darcee -

Thank you for sharing your prayer requests for the week of November 8^th. 

During this week we specifically prayed for God's provision for funding for your adoption from Ethiopia. 

Please let us know how you see God answer your prayer requests or how we can more specifically pray in relation to the requests you have shared. 

Thank you for your willingness to share your requests with us and your faith in God to meet your needs!

With You In His Grace!

Pastor Drew

Caring Ministries/Celebrate Recovery

WOW! HOW COOL is that! OCC is a VERY large church, and so to receive this email made me feel REALLY good! Someone prayed specifically for our family and funding for our adoption to bring our sweet little girl(s) home!  …and I could already see God’s hand in all of it…

I sent an email message out to a few friends and family… My SISTER – shared it with her friends, they shared it with their friends… she was emailing me almost every other day telling me how many shirts her EXTRAORDINARY friends had purchased – 

these are a few of her emails from the month of NOVEMBER:

“i totally already ordered 4 shirts the last week!!!” – from my sis

“GOODMORNING SISTER!!!! FYI…… I SENT OUT A MASS EMAIL LAST NIGHT TO A LOT OF MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY……GOT MY FIRST RESPONSE THIS MORNING…..MY FRIEND JAIME BOUGHT 4 SHIRTS FOR HER FAMILY!!!!  MAKES ME CRY JUST TYPING THIS!!! HOPE THIS GIVES YOU A GREAT START TO YOUR DAY!!!”

“I forwarded it to all my Liberty Christian peeps, as well!  When Christians come together, big things happen!!” - Kristin’s friend Jaime

“JUST GOT ANOTHER SHIRT ORDERED FROM MY FRIEND RACHAL!!! SHE ADOPTED A LITTLE BABY THEY HAD IN FOSTER CARE!!!  SHE IS A TOTAL SWEETHEART!!!  I'M SOOOO EXCITED BY THE BUZZ THIS HAS STARTED!!! LOVE YOU!!! KRISTIN”

 “ADD ANOTHER HOODIE TO THE LIST!!!!  ELAINA JUST SENT ME THIS EMAIL :)  LOVE YOU!!!! KRISTIN”

“THE SHIRT COUNT GOES UP 5 MORE….MARK & JANET BOUGHT 5 SHIRTS!! WAHOO!!! I LOVE THIS  :) XOXO KRISTIN”

“My friend Carin just facebook'ed me and said she ordered shirts for her family!! Wahoooooo!!!! Love you! Kristin”

“Hey Darc, Got your email this am about being one of the top families!!! Holy Cow!!! My friend Earlien at work just bought 4 more shirts last night. Love you!! Kristin”

“HEY DARC, I SENT OUT ANOTHER EMAIL LAST NIGHT TO MY FRIENDS AND BAM!!! 2 MORE SHIRTS SOLD!! STEVE’S COUSIN DEANNE PURCHASED 1 SHIRT LAST NIGHT and WENDY ALSO ORDERED 1 SHIRT LAST NIGHT. J  HAVE A GREAT SNOWY DAY! LOVE YOU! KRISTIN”

“DEDE JUST BOUGHT 2 T-SHIRTS AND I JUST BOUGHT 2 MORE SHIRTS AND ORNAMENT AND A COFFE/COFFEE TUMBLER!!! I'M STARTING OFF MY BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING THE RIGHT WAY!!! LOVE YOU!! GOBBLE GOBBLE!! KRISTIN”

“DARCEE, OH MY GOSH.....MY FRIEND ADAM PASSED OUT FLIERS YESTERDAY AT HIS CHURCH FOR YOU GUYS WITH THE INFO FOR ORDINARY HERO WITH YOUR NAMES!!!  THEY WERE ALL WEARING THEIR OH SHIRTS!! ISN'T THAT COOL!!!  HAVE A SUPER DAY!!! ONLY 2 MORE DAYS LEFT TILL WE FIND OUT IF YOU ARE TOP 3!!!  WAHOOOO LOVE YOU! K”

OKAY… I was seriously in tears after each email she sent… now I’m in tears all OVER again just sharing this!!! I am SO INCREDIBLY BLESSED with SUCH an AMAZING sister!!! I am at a loss of words for the HUGE amount of gratitude in my heart right now… I think it could just EXPLODE! ♥ …It has just been AMAZING to see people’s generosity in helping to bring our daughter(s) home, people I don’t even know, people I do know, people I haven't seen in years, people I just talked to yesterday!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH! FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! I AM MORE GRATEFUL THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW! 

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

YOU are missing...

 

Lately - as we go about our day... from work, to school, preparing meals, chatting, softball, friends, running errands, paying bills, checking emails, etc... There is a little emptiness in our home and in our hearts. It feels like there is something missing... SOMEONE missing!! 

It's YOU! 

We have been thinking about YOU SO, SO much!  The girls and I talk about you EVERYDAY! You are in our ♥ hearts ♥, our minds and in our prayers!!! WE LOVE  YOU SOOO MUCH already! I know you might think that is kinda weird - because we haven't met you yet!  But.... we know GOD has met you and has already chosen YOU to be a part of our family... FOREVER and EVER! HE is AMAZING – we can’t wait to tell you ALL about Him and teach you about HIM and how HE led us to YOU!!! 

We are all sooooooooooooooooooo EXCITED to see you, hold you, play with you, read books to you, feed you, laugh with you, cry with you, and just be with you EVERYDAY!

Love you oodles and oodles... to INFINITY and beyond, :)

Love, Mommy

Æbleskiver

What is an Æbleskiver?

Æbleskiver (Danish meaning apple slices (singular: æbleskive)) are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, æbleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover. The English language spelling is usually aebleskiver or ebleskiver.

 The batter for æbleskiver usually includes wheat flour, which is mixed with buttermilk, milk or cream, eggs, sugar and a pinch of salt.

Okay... so I TOTALLY follow the recipe here. :) Most recipes I feel like I should add or subtract from! ha ha! Erik teases me that nothing I make EVER tastes the same! :) For some reason, I think I should improvise and modify the recipes - add my own little touch! :)  I have to say, sometimes it works out and sometimes I just can't get the fam to eat it! :) ha! :)

Batter is poured into the buttered indentations and as the æbleskiver begin to cook, they are turned with a knitting needle, skewer or fork to give the cakes their characteristic spherical shape.

In Denmark, æbleskiver are common before Christmas. In December, they are often served with gløgg, Scandinavian mulled wine.

Okay…. So there is a little history on æbleskiver’s but…. I have my own little bit of HISTORY about these savory little morsels! :)  When my sister and I were kids and we had slumber parties at my Grandma’s house – she cooked these amazing little things!!! We never called them æbleskiver’s, it was MUCH, much easier for us to call them DOO DADS!!! That little pan makes 7 Doo Dads at a time!  Grandma would give me 4 and my sis 3, then switch off – I would get 3 and she would get 4!  I think my record of DOOOO DAD consumption at one sitting was 27!!!! LOVE ♥ LOVE those little things! …and I LOVE the memories of my Grandma making them and me sharing them with my little sister!

♥ Me and Kris ♥ 1974

 ♥ Kristin and I ♥ 1986

♥ Me and Grandma! ♥ 1986

 ♥ Me and Grandma! ♥ 1990

It's FUNNY how FOOD can bring back FOND memories of your childhood... My Grandma was one of those ladies that LOVED to cook, but MOSTLY she LOVED it when she saw you EAT it ALL up!!! Soooo... I know she probably got a REAL kick out of making DOO DADS! Since we had those things EATEN before the next batch was even started! :)

I am TOTALLY NOT a gourmet COOK – by any means (In fact, my specialty is COSTCO Lasagna! Ha ha!)  But, I get a kick out of making Doo Dads for breakfasts. :)

So… the other day I made them for Madison and her friend Madison who stayed the night… (I think they became more like LUNCH, since the girlies didn’t get up till 10:30ish!!)

I put Jam in a few of them… Mmmm mmm!

 And here they are… DONE and ready to EAT!! I made a double batch – so if there are any left – I will just put them in a little Ziploc and the girls can eat them for breakfast before school! 

I kinda ate mine as I cooked them – I stole one from each little batch! Ha ha!  …and drank some YUMMY coffee with them!  Thanks ABBY for the tip on Fair Trade coffee from Costco – they did have a big selection! COOL to see that and it was COOL that Starbucks is the roaster! ♥