Seafood

Seafood

Or

How I Have Fun Feeding My Children in the Summertime

One question I detest in the summertime is "What are we having for dinner?" With three children with wildly different palates, I can never provide the right answer that will make everyone happy.

Sometimes I will answer the question with a wild answer that keeps my children guessing. Like the day last week when I informed my children that we were having pearls in oysters. I pulled up a picture of a real pearl in a real oyster. My children were horrified. When I presented my picky palated children with pearls (meatballs) and oysters (pasta shells), they giggled and eagerly ate all their food.

On another day, my children had several friends over. I gently taunted the children about their delicious upcoming lunch of squid.

As you can see, this was also a hit. There is something delectable about dangling "squid" above your mouth before partaking of the food.

(I must admit, I shamelessly stole this idea from a magazine.)

Last summer I delighted my crew by serving "octopus" on a bed of "seaweed". Of course, the octopus was a sliced hot dog, and the seaweed was dyed Ramen Noodles. Talk about gourmet!

Does anyone want to know what is for dinner tonight?

I Spy

Today two of my three children were sick. One had scarlet fever and the other had strep throat. Today they sat on the couch and watched endless hours of Disney Channel, sipped water, and slept on and off. The baby drove his trucks over their feverish bodies and ate Nilla Wafers. Since it was obvious we weren't going anywhere, I decided to work on my cousin's son's quilt. Jayce was born in February, and I had yet to put his quilt together. This is an original quilt pattern that I call "I Spy". I throw in various novelty fabrics in random patterns so the child can spend hours looking for various pictures. It is a fun quilt to make, and a fun quilt to study.

While I was working at the machine, I began to think about connections between people and time. I saw an article yesterday about a couple who realized they had been at the Magic Kingdom on the same day when they were toddlers. They had a picture to prove it. What a wild story!

This quilt has scraps of fabric from many old projects I have completed. It also has scraps from projects that were completed all over the country. I order and exchange fabric with ladies all over the country, mostly through ebay. The cool thing is that all those pieces are now connected in the quilt through common thread and seams. They are small pieces reworked into a new whole. Awesome!

It reminds me of the part of the creed that talks about "The Communion of the Saints". With Jesus as the essential common thread, believers everywhere and through time are connected in a heavenly quilt. Wow! It amazes me, and it makes me wonder what my scrap in the kingdom quilt will be. Will it be decorated with my parenting, teaching, friendships, or charity? God is the quilter and creator in this quilt. I am a scrap in His hands. It is exciting to be "pieced" into His master plan. He will put me where I am needed, where my colors and texture will complement and support those around me.

I need to remember this analogy when I feel unhappy about a situation (such as having two sick children on a beautiful summer day). God pieced me here for a reason. I am needed. It is part of the plan. There is more to plan than just my piece, I am part of a whole. I can count an trust the Master Quilter, this is His quilt. I can rely on the other "pieces" He put around me for strength and support.

Well, the quilt top is complete. It is impressive, but it has small imperfections... a few flipped seams, two missplaced squares, a few wavy seams. I am human. Thankfully, the Master Quilt is not!

I almost forgot to mention this detail. The baby boy this quilt is being made for is named Jayce. His parents chose this name in honor of their Savior, Jesus Christ. Beautiful!

My wish for my children

"Come, My children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Whoever of you loves life

and desires to see many good days,

Keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking lies,

Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

Psalm 34:11 - 14

I am up way past my bedtime, again. Sometimes it seems that my mind runs in circles and chases my sleep away. You know, those nights when a yawn doesn't mean sleepiness, it is just something to do to keep a busy brain oxygenated. Rather than staying awake chasing thoughts around, I decided to create a blog. I have been thinking about doing this for a while, and there is no time like the present (even if it is the middle of the night). I do have many, many things to contemplate, however, most of them swirl around the upcoming adoption of our newest family addition, Little J.

Little J has been living with us for three and a half months. He is a pure joy, and adds to the sunshine our two biological daughters bring to our family. He is 17 months old. He is distant cousin of my husband, and has been a ward of the state from the age of four months. His time as a ward of the state will be ending very soon!

Our social worker came for her monthly home visit today. We discussed the various details of our finalization court date, July 19, 2010. Because the adoption will be finalized in a different county, one three hours away, we had to decide if we wanted to be present in the courtroom, or appear by a video phone. We are leaning toward appearing in the courtroom so more family members from his biological family can attend. When the social worker left today, she hugged us and said, "Congratulations! It's a boy!" She also said that this would be our last home visit, and she wished us well.

When the door shut, and she drove away, it dawned on me in a new way... This process of adoption is finally coming to it's conclusion. In just a few weeks, Little J will be ours FOREVER! His birth certificate will be reissued with our names as the mother and father. His last name will be changed to match the rest of us. The maze of home visits, social workers, CRBs, and court dates will be over. Little J will be home FOREVER! The excitement, relief, and love I felt at that moment was overwhelming. It was similar to the end of my pregnancy of our second daughter. I had had a high risk pregnancy, and I felt a huge sense of relief, love, and anticipation when we were told the date of her scheduled induction. All the worry, fears, and what ifs were going to be over. I feel the same way now! Only a few more weeks! The end is in sight, and our family of five will be official!

DH booked a hotel, one with an indoor pool, much to the delight of the children. He arranged for time off, and we gleefully sent the message of the finalization date to all our family members. Now my mind is wandering through the maze of the details. Lists of tasks and preparations are being created. Questions are forming. What will he wear to the court hearing? Should we pack the pack and play or use the hotel's pack and play? Should the girls get matching dresses? Will we drive the van or the car? Will I finish his quilt in time? Don't forget the nebulizer! Umbrellaing over all of this business is the joy and love I feel when Little J shares his hugs and kisses and calls me "Mama".