A house of cards... I mean gingerbread

Igor saw a gingerbread house in a catalog the other day. His eyes grew wide with amazement and delight, then he asked if we could make a gingerbread house. I thought it looked like fun so I said YES! Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

I purchased a pre-baked house so we could get a feel for the size of the house and the amount of candy. I thought we could bake a second house closer to Christmas.
Before building the house Igor and Rob had decided that once it was decorated they would eat it. hmmmm..... I thought we could keep the house out as a Christmas decoration. In hindsight, this discussion was not necessary.

Igor mixed up the frosting to the consistency of toothpaste. Then we propped up the house with cans and started cementing the house together as described in the directions. It was much harder than I had anticipated. The frosting was more like fondant and it was very difficult to line up the house's edges just so. Finally we were able to get the foundation of the house up. We left the house to dry. A few minutes later we heard a crash. The gingerbread had fallen like a house of cards. The side of the house had cracked.


Igor said, let's not do this anymore mom. I suggested we decorate the house even though it was broken. Igor agreed. He loved putting on the candy.

No news.....

We don't have an update on our adoption... so we continue to wait.

Yesterday, we took Igor to his first college football game. We weren't sure if Igor would like the game or how long we'd stay. Igor really liked drinking hot chocolate while watching the marching band perform. Things took a turn on the first possession of the game when the home team scored. That's when Igor heard/saw the cannons and fireworks. Igor is terrified of fireworks so he demanded to go home. We were able to see the opposing team score before we had to leave (in the first quarter). Igor has proclaimed that he will never, never, never ever go to another football game again...

When we arrived home, Igor headed for his CD collection. He played his "new favorite" CD. He danced for about 30 minutes. I think he has pretty good moves for a 5 year old who has never seen a music video.

Big changes

Monday night Igor's nursery school had a
lantern walk. It is inspired by St. Martin,
a fourth century army officer who -
according to legend - went out into
the night searching for people in need
of help. As we walked around the pond
the only light was from our home
made lanterns.
We hung our lanterns in the trees before
warming up in front of the bonfire.
We enjoyed baked apples and cookies
in front of the fire.

Our new windows were installed this week. Work should be finished by Thanksgiving!
On Friday, we had a "gotcha day" party for Igor. He has been part of our family for two years! He has grown up so much in 24 months.

Transitional Home

Hi everybody!
Here's big news from our agency! If you would like to help, please check out our dear friend's website
http://www.schmidtcafe.blogspot.com/
or send me an e-mail at mblueberry.madamblueberry@gmail.com for a list of items that are needed.

Dear AW Ethiopia Families,

We are excited and pleased to be able to announce that the new America World transition home in Ethiopia is up and running. Last week the first 13 children, who were recently referred to families were moved from Kids Care to the America World home. The home has been equipped with all the major needs and staff have been hired, trained and are providing loving care. There are still many things needed to help make the home a nurturing and stimulating environment for your prospective children as they wait the arrival of their parents. Therefore, we are writing to let you know of some of these needs and how you could help meet them, if you desire to do so.

America World employee Rachel (Duckworth) Ward and her husband will be making a 10-day trip to Ethiopia before their official move there at the end of January 2008. So if you would like to donate items for use at the transition home, please have them mailed to or dropped off at the America World--Tennessee office by close of business on Wednesday, November 21st. Items may also be dropped off at the Corporate office in McLean. Rachel will be leaving for Addis on Monday morning, the 26th.

Adoption Fundraisers (Updated 12/14)

Like us, many of our AWAA friends have fundraisers to help offset the cost of adoption. Since Christmas is coming, you may want to check out these blogs:

Adoption T-shirts
http://davidsethiopiaadoption.blogspot.com/
http://www.thecoens.blogspot.com/
http://www.zoiegibson5.com/ (password:kiki)
http://www.daniellesdance.blogspot.com/

hand made purses
http://www.j4studios.com/hope/Welcome.html

Current catalog
http://raymersadoption.blogspot.com/

Pampered Chef (please order by 11/15)
http://www.schmidtcafe.blogspot.com/

Candles & t-shirts
http://www.faceoflove.blogspot.com/

T-shirts & Christian books
http://www.daniellesdance.blogspot.com/

Hand made candles:
http://www.beboldjen.blogspot.com/

Africa Necklace
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8304661

If I missed anyone, please let me know!

A beautiful sight

When we moved into our house last year, the windows would not open. For safety reasons, Rob and I worked diligently to open all the windows. When we tried to close them they would not close properly. (UGH!) This has resulted in a constant draft in our house. In the spring I spent time researching window efficiency and getting estimates.

This morning our new windows were delivered. Installation begins next week! I cannot wait for a draft free house. I am trying not to think about painting the trim on 23 windows.... that will come soon enough. If you have some time on your hands, come on over, we can paint together!

Baptist Women's Day of prayer is Nov 5

Today is the Baptist Women's Day of Prayer. Women all over the world are praying for people on each continent. I am praying for the estimated 143 million orphans in the world. Of course, orphans in Russia and Ethiopia are on my heart. You don't have to be a woman or a Baptist to pray. Please take a moment to pray for orphans today.

My little brother's name.....

When we adopted from Russia a co-worker's son, Quinn, made a welcome home card for Igor. Quinn drew his family on the card. Each family member was a different color. I was and still am touched by this little boy who made a card for our son.

Quinn started a new tradition in our family, whenever a family member is drawn, they are a specific color- Daddy is blue, Mommy is pink and Igor is yellow (Igor's choice). We always write our names under the pictures. A couple months ago we added Igor's little brother to our family picture (Igor assigned him orange) but we haven't written his name. Today, Igor and I were drawing with chalk. I drew our family and started to write our names. Igor told me to write his little brother's name. I asked what his name was and Igor spelled BOC. I asked Igor how to pronounce the name and he spelled out the letters BOC. Then he added- "That how you say it, mom." Hmmm, I am pretty sure we will not be naming our second son BOC, but for now, that's his name.

Fall Festival

Our church's Fall Festival was a lot of fun. Children came in costume. Here's Igor as a fire fighter! We had a moon bounce (Igor's favorite), games, crafts, food and pumpkin painting. A good time was had by all.