Kate: Hair

We have been trying to grow Kate NaNa's hair out for a few months now. Her bangs are so long that they almost hit her cute little nose. Sometimes she will let me put in a bow or pull it back with a Pebbles doo or pig tails, but usually she has to look out through this veil of hair.

On Monday her Daddy convinced her to let him put it up in a ponytail. I think we need some more practice:)

(Notice that here we are 17 months later, and she is still carrying her Daddy's cell phone around.)

Super Easy Roasted Asparagus

For my friend Shannon:)

About 1lb. fresh asparagus
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
Shredded Parmesan (not the grated powdery kind)
Salt & Pepper

Wash asparagus, breaking of woody bases. Place in a 9x13 dish. Drizzle olive oil onto asparagus, and toss to coat. Arrange asparagus in a single layer in dish. Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake @ 400 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Eat it up!
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Note: Over the years I have changed this recipe a bit from the original. The original recipe called for 2lbs., but it comes in 1/2-1lb. bunches, which is just right for my family.

I have fixed this recipe for a long time, but it was probably 2 or 3 years before Ben actually tried it. He was convinced that since it was green it was evil. Thankfully my persistence paid off.

Also, my aunt tells me that she has had brussel sprouts prepared this way, and she couldn't believe how much better they were.

Ben: My favorite first grader:)

Last week, Ben had a big research project due for his reading group. (Yes, he is a first grader, and yes, he did actual research, although guided by his reading teacher and I.) He got to choose from 4 broad topics (he chose nutritional value of a recipe). From there he picked my recipe for roasted asparagus. It's one of his favorite foods. (For those of you who don't like asparagus, I'm gonna guess that you've either eaten it out of a can or you've had it boiled. Gross.)

He had to type up the recipe, figure out where it went on the food pyramid, and make a poster to tell the class about the nutritional benefits of the food.

He learned that asparagus is one of the healthiest foods out there. It can help prevent birth defects, keep your heart healthy, and lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. Plus, it's yummy.

Being a seven year old boy, he delighted in discovering that asparagus can also help remove warts, while also preventing constipation and diarrhea. (Insert giggling fits every time he thought of it.)

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Later in the week, he also got do to the ever-popular elementary school activity: laying down on a big sheet of paper and letting your friend trace you. His favorite part was designing a T-shirt for his drawing, but I noticed his smart teacher had also made him measure different body parts on the paper. We love Ben's teacher, who has done an amazing job of challenging him this year. Ben loves school and just absorbs everything right now. He is so much fun:)

Welcome Home!

As many of you know, my brother and sister-in-law live and serve overseas. They have been there for over a year and a half, and we are very proud of them. But no matter how proud we are, we miss them and they miss us.

Last week Mom and the kids and I loaded up to head to North Carolina for a conference for people interested in serving on the island where Jacob and Alison live. Are we interested in serving on the island? Sure, but the main reason we were excited was because J & A were speaking at the conference!! We squeezed as many hugs and kisses as we could into those 2 days before we (us and A's parents) loaded them up in our vans and brought them HOME!

On Sunday, we got to worship with them at their church, and they get to stay stateside for a whole month. They will spend Easter here at my church, and over spring break the kids and I will go to Mom's to hang out with Uncle Jacob. I am really looking forward to having some of those long, drawn-out conversations that you just can't have on Skype.

Hopefully I will be able to share pictures soon, but I am busy with several "projects" right now, so be patient with me:)

#3

As I've mentioned before, Kate loves to discuss what she has for lunch at preschool. When we get home, she usually wants to eat lunch again with Will and me.

Today, I asked her, "What did you eat for lunch #1?"

Her reply?

"I not number 1. I number 3."

I guess I need to stop referring to the kids by numbers, huh.

Immunization Waiver for Internationally Adopted Children

When we brought Kate NaNa home from China, we received a little booklet that had a record of all the immunizations she had in China. They were in Chinese, so I'm not exactly sure what all was included, but I assume it was the normal stuff. We also signed a waiver stating that we would make sure that she was brought up to date on all of her shots as soon as possible.

A few weeks after arriving home we visited a pediatrician at the International Adoption Clinic. She explained to us that often, these vaccines aren't stored properly, and so we either needed to re-vaccinate or have blood work done to see if she was successfully immunized. Since our insurance wouldn't have paid for the expensive blood work, we chose to re-vaccinate. She was caught up within about six months of coming home.

At the time of all this, the US government had in place an immunization waiver. Basically, this allowed American parents to sign a form promising that we would immunize our internationally adopted children upon arriving in the US. (There is a similar waiver for children who are born to American parents overseas.) This system had been in place for the past 12 years or so.

Since then, the immunization waiver has expired. This means that internationally adopted children must now be fully immunized before they are granted visas to enter the US. In some cases, the children are vaccinated at the orphanages, vaccinated again in a clinic in Guangzhou to satisfy the American government (receiving 5-7 shots at a time), and then again upon seeing their pediatrician in the US. This is not what is best for the children. At all. Around half of children being adopted in China right now are special needs, and many of these are medically fragile children (eg., kids with heart issues). Recently, one of these kids spiked a fever of 105 and had to get an emergency visa to be flown to the US for treatment. Further, it has a negative impact on attachment and bonding for these kids to have unnecessary immunizations when they have only been with their new parents for a few days.

Understand that I am not a parent who is freaked out by immunizations. I have always followed the schedule set by the doctors. But for a child to receive the same immunizations three times is cruel and dangerous. Not to mention completely ridiculous.

Currently, there is US Senator who has proposed a bill that would restore the immunization waiver that has been in place for years. The kids would get the immunizations in the US on a safer timeline. For those of you who are interested, you can sign a petition encouraging Congress to reinstate this waiver. It is super simple, all they really need is your name and an email address. (And no, I signed it last week and I haven't gotten any emails from them, junk or otherwise.) So, I encourage everyone to head over to the above website, and click on "Sign the Petition". It will literally take 30 seconds of your time, and it will do a lot of good. Thanks!

For all the Cats fans out there...

Kate insisted on wearing her UK bow today with her pink dress. Who am I to argue?(Bow courtesy of our sweet friend, Tabitha. Thanks!)

I didn't know they gave out gold medals for that.

The kids and I have been watching the Olympics for the past couple weeks with great excitement. We cheer for the US, we cheer for the Canadians, we cheer for the Chinese, and we cheer for whoever else we think looks like a good team to cheer for. We even found a Chinese aerial skier named NaNa to cheer for. Kate asked daily when NaNa was skiing again. (Li NiNa actually won silver in her sport.) Will and Ben have constantly asked, "Who is winning the Olympics?" It's hard for them to understand that there isn't one overall winner.


We are all very sad that we have to wait 2 more years to watch the Olympics again, but if they held them every year they wouldn't be nearly as exciting, right?

Friday, Will gave me this gold medal he got in Mission Friends telling me, "This is because you are such a good mommy."

You gotta love that kid:)