Posted in Uncategorized on August 28, 2010| 2 Comments »
This week I asked my friend, S, if she’d like to pick raspberries with the girls and me. She was up for the challenge, so her little Paige joined my girls in exploring a local raspberry farm.
Precious Paige
It took about 45 minutes, but we went home with a nice little bunch that we quickly baked into
a raspberry crisp.
It was a hit! I hope to head back again before the cooler weather sets in.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 27, 2010| 1 Comment »
Today G and I worked together to make my VERY favorite dinner . . . samosas!
We were introduced to samosas for the first time on one of our trips to Kenya, and G found a recipe online that totally ROCKS! Today we were able to use the spices that G brought home from the middle east, and that really kicked up the flavor even more. I’m telling you, if you’ve never had samosas, give them a try.
Here are the leftovers that are, even now, calling to me from the fridge.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 26, 2010| 1 Comment »
OK. Last post about the farm. Most likely.
Our good friend, B, who owns the horse our girls now adore, was so kind to spend her morning letting us ride Kenya (for real, that’s the horse’s name). All three totally loved it . . .
. . .but the star of the day was Kait!
She started off with B leading Kenya around, THEN she rode Kenya by herself, while holding the reins on her own!
I think she’s a liiiiiiiiiiiiitle bit excited about it. Later she kept saying, “I just can’t believe I rode a horse all by myself!!”
Great job, sweet Kait! We are proud of you!
Pendo also got a little braver this time.
Thanks for the fun, B, and for sharing your love of horses with us.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 24, 2010| 1 Comment »
. . . or does it look like she owns the place?
This girl, our almost-three-year-old, has no fear of animals–at least not most of them.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 23, 2010| 3 Comments »
CT and Linders . . . this one is for you!
So WHY are the little ladies kickin’ it?
They had a BLAST at the farm last weekend. That’s where we saw these guys.
Yes, they are very furry CHICKENS! Good job to the two correct guesses. What do you think, CT and Linders? Maybe Ebenezer Farms would like to branch out?
More pics from the farm coming soon.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 22, 2010| 3 Comments »
What a busy, tiring week. Last week began with G leaving town for 3 days for a work-related retreat. That means I get the girls on my own, with no breaks. Not something I look forward to, but we made it through just fine. I took the ladies for an outing to a new-to-us pool where we froze because the weather report I checked was clearly wrong, and I helped a friend who recently moved by watching her two girls AND our three for an afternoon of fun. I just didn’t have the energy to blog for a few days after that, as you other moms with younguns can clearly imagine.
The weekend was really fun, and I have 300 pictures to prove it. No lie. I love digital photography and the fact that I can take 87 pictures in a minute and half and only keep the four that I like best. OK. G knows the truth. I keep like 77 of them. That’s why we need the external hard drive. Anyway . . . .I haven’t had the time or energy yet to sift through the plethora of pictures from the weekend, so these will have to do for now.
These are the first fruits from our little garden. Fresh tomatoes, oregano, and green onion. Yes, G did whip up a batch of his delicious pico de gallo. OH, YUM!!
Here’s the most recent hairstyle I’ve tried on Pendo. I really love it. We’ll certainly try this one again before long.
AND . . . . here’s a clue as to why I took so many pictures this weekend.
Any idea what THESE are?
Posted in Uncategorized on August 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Each summer St. Joseph has a fun tradition. There is a “theme” for the summer, and local businesses or artists decorate something to display outside all summer. This year the theme is Hot Diggity Dogs, and we saw many beautifully painted dog sculptures as we drove and walked around town.
Kait’s favorite is this one that says “Paws to read.”
My favorite is the watchdog.
In keeping with the dog theme, we all went to FuzzyButz, a pet store that specializes in baking treats for pets. Since Macie wasn’t with us on this shopping excursion, we passed on the doggy ice cream and instead chose a couple of treats for her to enjoy a bit later when we got back to the place we rented. She LOVED the treats, so Kait and I will try to make this part of our annual trip to the beach.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 15, 2010| 4 Comments »
We just returned from spending a GREAT week at our favorite vacation spot, St. Joseph. We’ve been taking our family vacation there for several years, and we missed it greatly while we were in Kenya last summer.
The girls had a blast at the beach,
and we discovered the new splash pad. Too fun!
Kait and Rose enjoyed the new carousel (Pendo decided not to ride it this time), and of course . .
we ate lots and lots of ice cream!
Aunt Mel joined us for the week, and we decided to take some fun family pics. I love how cute Pendo looks in this one, and Rose is wearing her usual group photo scowl.
Ahhh! What a amazing week! Can’t wait to return next year.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 12, 2010| 4 Comments »
One thing I’ve been focusing on for about two weeks is tracking down some hair products for Pendo. As you know, her hair texture is very different from mine, and I’m really, really, really enjoying learning more about how to care for her gorgeous hair. This site http://www.happygirlhair.com/ has been an answer to prayer!!! I can’t even tell you how much I’ve learned from it.
After trying some other less expensive products, G and I decided to go for it and purchase all the suggested products for Pendo’s hair and to follow the same hair care plan that this adoptive mom uses. I’ve already seen a HUGE difference in just two weeks. I also have two more products that will be arriving in the mail tomorrow that I’m looking forward to including in Pendo’s hair routine.
BUT . . . .Yikes!!! All these products purchased within a few days of each other can break the bank! It’s worth it, though. Her hair will be healthier and stronger because of it. Let’s just say it’s a good thing the rest of our family uses Suave products and that G cuts his own hair.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 11, 2010| 2 Comments »
I love it when I can capture the sparkle in Pendo’s eyes with the camera. It doesn’t happen as often as I would like. She just has amazingly expressive eyes.
Can’t you just see the mischievousness brewing?
AND . . . can you tell how long her hair is growing? Yeah!
Kait joined our lives eight years ago. She is our sweet, sensitive, daughter who LOVES school. She is energized by being with her family and friends, and we can easily describe her as a social butterfly. She loves making crafts, devouring books, playing school with the little girls, drawing, baking with mommy, and keeping her favorite toys in her own space away from her little sisters. She usually enjoys being the big sister.
Rose arrived in our family 3 years ago. She was born three months early, and her life has been one miracle after another. Currently she likes anything and everything that is red and brown, prefers to wear sparkly shoes, reading books with her family, letting us know exactly what she wants, singing songs loudly, playing dress up, carrying things around in purses or buckets, collecting rocks and sticks, and playing with her sisters.
Pendo was born in Kenya in July '08. She joined our family in June of '09, and our lives will never be the same. This sweet, social little lady loves to make people laugh, climbs on absolutely everything that doesn't move, learns new things amazingly quickly, loves to imitate both of her older sisters, thinks she is part fish, is certain that she can do everything that Rose can do, and LOVES music. 
austin adoption 