{10 on Tuesday....}

{source pinterest}

"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."
-  Elizabeth Coatsworth

and  thats how it feels around here......

1. I honestly can't believe its November and I'm thinking of Christmas crazy how fast the years are flying by. I mean I'm going to have a 10 year old in a month or so I remember waiting by the phone for weeks at work waiting for him to come...now 10 years later and three more kids hard to wrap my head around my blessings and all the trials along with them but I wouldn't trade it for anything.....

2. November is national Adoption Month and around here thats a lot to celebrate  since we are a family because of it and its something that is a constant in our lives. We have been blessed to meet love and extend our family beyond any means we thought and its a beautiful thing. Each of our children are so blessed to know how much each of their birth mothers and fathers loved them, they know there names they know how they came to be here and they look at pictures and K has read his beautiful letter from his Birth mother another beautiful moment. 

They know how very loved they are in so so many ways.

3. So its no secret I love to blog, I love face book and I am time restricted to..... addicted to pinterest so many great finds...most of all 

I love the money saving back to basics kind of finds, the DIY projects and free printables amazing then stuff like

 like these links:

a] Recipe for Cream of Something Soup meaning you make the mix yourself and use it in all your usual cream of chicken recipes whatever try and let me know but all the reviews I've read have been awesome I'm going to try it...{Lynn c.you'll love this one I thought of you:)

b] homemade teeth whiting paste found here among a thousand other things to do with baking soda.....

c] or tips like put a wooden spoon over a pot of boiling water...and it won't boil over I've tried it and it works...weird

.....but I also love how Facebook provides an instant response or a call to help others =service ....for example people needing somebody to pick up a package for them or a ride somewhere,or ideas....

or messages sent received, meetings planned,  parties organized, help for others in all different ways..... its amazing really....yes its addicting but its all in balance it does simplify a lot of life and helping each other...and being aware of the good things that are going on....but like all things it can be good or bad.....I'm choosing the good of it:)

4. Seriously 20? Check out this link.... wow eh..... all the power to them but really I'd rather it be them that have 20 then some detriments to society....love these duggers rules..  they have great kids and a good home and if they want 20 or 200 its nobodies business or reason for judgment they have a good home, money to provide and happy well behaved kids!

 Here are 10 tips the Duggars say can help any parents with one to 19 children:
1. Praise your children 10 times more than you get on to them.
2. Model the character and responses you want your children to develop.
3. Don't raise your voice or say put-down words, stay under control.
4. Humbly apologize when you blow it.
5. Lead by example, look for opportunities to serve those around you.
6. Turn off the TV and spend time as a family building special memories.
7. Be involved in your children's activities and go to church together.
8. Have heart to heart talks with each child on a regular basis.
9. Encourage your children to make wise choices and to choose wise friends.
10. Post your own house guidelines.

5.  Why are cheerios the easiest thing to feed a baby or toddler but the hardest thing to scrape off the highchair.... yuck! really I'm not the only one with a caked on disgusting high chair right???

6. I get a new dishwasher finally tomorrow with a 5 year warranty so it had better work that long at least:) 

7. even boys can have fun tea parties ...they had gotten into L's tea party set and brought it up for lunch and served each other I thought it was to cute not to take a picture...{someday M will hate that I posted this ha ha}and yes some of my kids love ketchup on their mac and cheese...

 8. 

Me thinks...
to much sometimes...

Ever feel like life is a little upside down sometimes?

Where your thinking {to much} gets carried away?
where you wonder to much about what the future holds for these
special little kids we are raising?
how our kids will grow up?
what will they have to go through?
what will be their trials, hardships, joys, sorrows, happiness?

am I doing a good enough or better then good enough job to help them get through the tough times and to make our home a sanctuary where they know they are always loved and welcome no matter what.
or even if they'll still want you when they get older?
if they'll make correct choices?
if we can answer the many questions they might have?
Adoption is so so wonderful but so hard sometimes there are just some questions
you can't answer, there are some issues that you just don't know anything about?
there are some people that are so insensitive to adoption and have no clue and say the rudest things. just let it roll off. i know. i do.
its just hard sometimes
so many questions
so few answers. a lot of the time.
you just hope your doing a good job now to make it through the hard times to come

and really we can only do the best we know how...

9.and then the perfect quote to go with the above but that goes with so many things in life sometimes we make things into something bigger than they should be or that aren't even there....

via pinterest

10. So for randomness sake what is your favorite Christmas Tradition? We have lots but we always look forward to the 25 books countdown the kids love it!

Have a GREAT week...