Beautiful Boys!

These special boys weigh heavy on my heart.

So adorable 

and 

so needing the love of a family.

They wait and wait and no one chooses them.

They watch their friends leave 
but
 they have to stay in the orphanage.

Please look at these pictures and prayerfully consider adoption.

If that is not part of God's plan for you 
please consider advocating and praying for those left behind.

Here are beautiful twin boys from Children's Home Society and Family services located in St Paul MN.

You can read more about them on my side bar!

Adoption is not always easy.

You are stepping out in faith...

Faith that the Lord will help you every step of the way.

HE will not leave you and HE will give you the strength that you need.

Every child needs a home.

They need a parent or parents.

The need someone to love them and care for them.

Don't be afraid of a diagnosis,

No matter how scary it sounds.

Behind every diagnosis is a precious child of God's!

These two dear boys are not their diagnosis - muscular dystrophy, they are little boys that need a Mommy and a Daddy.

Remember, it's God's child and HE is asking you to care for them- for the orphans.

Put your trust in the Lord and HE will give you the strength!

My friend met this dear boy and fell in love with him.
She so desperately wants him to have a family because-
He needs a family to survive. . . to live. . .
He has scoliosis and needs medical help now.
He is a delightful little boy with a good sense of humor and a sweet disposition.

He is available through Children's Home Society and Family Services in St Paul.
His name is Ming

I liked this little guy the moment I saw his picture.
He sounds like a wonderful boy and his information is also on my sidebar.

I think he could fit into almost any family!
His special need seems quite easy to handle.

He is available through CHSFS, also!

WE met him and we loved him!
Because we have 4 girls around his age we feel that he would not be a fit for our family.
BUT. . .
could he be a fit for your family?
I think he will soon be 13 yrs old.
The clock is ticking... once he is 14 he can no longer be adopted.

He is Hunter and his file is with Lifeline.
He is athletic and a really nice boy!
His friend was just adopted a week ago.
He is truly his age(if not younger), we saw him and he has not matured yet.

Oh my... my heart hurts for the little boy in the green and grey sweater.
He is Madeline's BFF and he was so sad in this picture because she was leaving.
He made a card for her but didn't want to give it to her- probably thinking maybe she won't go if I don't give it to her...
He is 5 years old and he needs a family to love and care for him.
He is with Lifeline as Heath.

Please consider one of these incredible little boys and or any waiting child.
Your family will learn and grow in their love for the Lord through adoption 
and 
one more child will be rescued!

Zero Waste Essential: Positivity

Someone recently asked me how I stay upbeat: "How do you not let the weight of our environmental situation get you down?" 

Every year, Earth Month (April) hits our lives and disturbs our mindsets with a surge of ecological facts... so much information being shared about the sad state of the environment, it's easy to feel saddened by the situation. And of course, when Earth day is everyday with the Zero Waste lifestyle, it's natural to feel frustrated along the way (as I have described here). You even come to wish you did not know as much as you do. It's a common feeling that we all share on our road to Zero. It certainly affected me at one point, but rest assured that with commitment, these frustrations subside.

Here are 5 ways that I found to remedy depression caused by environmental awareness:

1. Retrain your eye. When I started paying attention to waste, I started noticing all the trashy practices around me (the negative). Today, I have learned to focus on the bright side; to pay attention to the solutions (positive). I don't look for disposable cups in people hands, I look for the reusable ones being carried. I don't look at the plastic bag of potatoes in the produce aisle (ugh), I look at the beautiful pile of loose ones (ahh). 
2. Have a good sense of humor. I was recently invited to a sustainable event.  They served wine in disposable plastic cups and after a long day of work, I was dying for that drink. Five years ago, I would have whined about the plastic cup. Today, I enjoy the challenge of finding a solution on the spot. Ironically, I noticed that flowers were drinking out of glass jars (vases), people out of plastic ones. I took a vase and someone's used plastic cup,  and after a little hand-washing at the bathroom sink, my problem was solved - and I was a happy camper with a glass of wine in hand...
3. Live by example/Walk the talk. I felt angry at the world when I considered the environmental problems to be irreversible and my actions to be too small to make a difference. But once I had a system in place to tackle our waste as much as possible, we became part of the solution and frustrations slowly went away to make room for peace. I stopped worrying about what other people do, and started only worrying about my own actions. Not only is the Zero Waste lifestyle good for the environment, it makes you feel good about what you do, knowing that every purchase, every decision is thought out and every time you shop with reusables your actions are noticed by others and may inspire change. 
4. Let your voice be heard. I can't say it loud and clear enough: Accepting is condoning. When we partake in an unsustainable practice without taking action against it, we not only get frustrated but we also perpetuate the wasteful method and silently ask for more, which then leads to more frustration! And with the frustration locked up inside us, negativity inevitably starts eating us up (I found this to be particularly true of relationships, but to also be true in this case). Today, I speak up and effectively address these issues on the spot. Taking action (see active discards) and demanding change turns the problem back at its originators, clearing my head of negative thoughts and making room for positive ones! 
5. Get out more and hug someone (or as a default, hug a tree). There is nothing better for me to de-stress, renew my energy (get rid of the negative one), than to take a walk outside (which I have permanently scheduled into my weekly planner) or hug my family. Can't get enough of either. It's as simple as that.

What helps you beat the depression that comes from environmental awareness?

Note:  I am no longer posting Fashion Friday on the blog- but I will be  and posting it on Facebook and Tweeting it @ZeroWasteHome.

You WILL Lose!

Dear Winter,

I am sorry to say this BUT you don't stand a chance...

I know you are giving it your all and trying so hard to win.

BUT, spring will prevail and the snow WILL melt.

They are already taking off the winter jackets for their fleece jackets.

Snow pants, hats and mittens are no longer a requirement to play outside.

And as soon as it gets a little less sloppy outside the boots will be gone, too!

So why don't you just give up!
(oh , please give up)

You have worn out your welcome...

Pics are from last week. We have less snow now but it's still not completely gone...

Temp will be in the 40's at the end of the week- looking forward to the 50's!
The air is smelling like spring and the birds are singing!
Praise God for the change of seasons!

It's different EACH time . . .

No matter how experienced we are-

 each time we adopt the adjustment is 

DIFFERENT.

We ALWAYS pray our way through it and we are so thankful that GOD is close and hears our prayers!

It would not be possible without HIM.

What makes it so different is-  

the different personalities of the children.

I guess, 

we have learned 

to be flexible, be prepared to readjust our parenting 

and be creative!

(and a little spring weather would help!)

It just so happens that Mia, Melissa and Madeline...

are ALL leaders.

Sooooo, as we try to show them how it is done at our house...

THEY show us...

how THEY would LIKE it to be done... 

at our house...

; - )

It's interesting, to say the least!

I feel like a washed up cheerleader-

come on kids 

yay rah rah

go ahead and tell them NO

show them how we do it

just speak up

you can do it, kids

yes sirree, you can do it

lets show them how it is done in our house!

umm, ya...

it hasn't worked so well!

I am getting the clear message from the big guy upstairs that

PATIENCE

is what I need.

They will speak English

in time!

They will figure out the house rules

in time...

They will learn our safety rules

(after two collisions on the bikes)

in time...

My little prayer police (Mia),

will learn to pray 

without consistently telling on everyone else who is not bowing their heads and closing their eyes

in time...

So my conclusion is

experience is great

BUT

prayer

peace

flexibility

and 

patience

is

better!

(I will post on the POB-post orphanage behaviors, that we are working on soon- I may have just touched on the "hyper vigilance" though ; - )

What are "post orphanage behaviors"?

My (Jean- not an expert but has some experience) definition is that orphanage behaviors are- the behaviors that the child has used to survive in an orphanage setting. 

They are not necessarily bad behaviors- in fact they have actually helped the child cope with life in orphanage conditions. However, the orphanage behaviors are not appropriate for family life and new behaviors need to be learned.

And the Mommy side of me defines it as - behaviors that a child exhibits before they have been taught new coping skills, manners(interactive appropriateness) and thoughtfulness toward others.

Some common post orphanage behaviors exhibited in the new family include-
Taken from BG center website -  
bgcenter.com/BGPublications/OrphanageBehavior.htm 

Poor self regulation 

Mixed maturity 

Self-parenting

Learned helplessness

Controlling and avoiding behavior

Self-soothing and self-stimulating behavior 

Hyper-vigilance and "pro-active" aggressiveness

Feeling of entitlement

Extreme attention seeking

Indiscriminate friendliness with strangers 

All of our children have exhibited some or all of these behaviors. When I say orphanage behaviors I do not want to sound condescending in any way.
They have served each child well and allowed them to cope with the environment they lived in.

For a parent these behaviors are not desirable in a family setting. 
They are behaviors that feel very unhealthy once the child is with the family.
They do not build but instead can get in the way and tear down a healthy relationship.

Also when I talk about one child doing better than another or is easier than another I don't by any means want to belittle the one who has more struggles. 
They are learning and they may have come from a harder place.
Actually I am very proud of all of our children. They have worked so hard and have had to make major life changes and adjustments.

Seeing these changes in them;
Seeing them allowing us to love them and loving us back-
IS SEEING GOD AT WORK!

Sometime progress is slow and I can feel discouraged.
I pray about it all the time- 
to stay positive,
 to look back and see how far each child has come, already
to be patient
to enjoy the baby steps
and celebrate each little step in the right direction!

Each child is so different and we have to take a fresh approach with each child and often each circumstance.

In my next post I will tell you what POB (post orphanage behaviors) we are currently working on with our kiddos at home.

Fashion Friday: Another Way to Wear the LBD

What a busy last two weeks! They went so fast that I failed to post last week's Fashion Friday.
This is my pick for this week. I wore this from an interview to the grocery store to a girl's night out, and my whole (secondhand) outfit cost $14...

Are You A . . .

 A field trip?

or

A birthday party?

Um, no...

We're a family!

We get asked that almost every week!

It's a "family" joke now!

We took the kids to Sky Z*ne and they had a blast!

Trampolines everywhere!

Come on Spring!!

Where are you?

Felt Flower Centerpiece

Although it's hard to feel it with temperatures still in the 30s some days, Spring is right around the corner. And with that comes the holiday of Passover (and Easter) - time to gather with family and celebrate. We are once again hosting a nice size crowd for the seder and I wanted to do something different from last year's centerpieces. I saw some tutorials of how to make a felt flower centerpiece (here and here) and decided to give them my own little spin.

Here's what you'll need (the sizes and amount will depend on how big and how many you want to make, I listed what I used): 2 4" clay flower pots, 2 4" foam balls, 12 pieces of 9x12" felt (6 per flower pot), pearl-head pins, and tacky glue (you could also use hot glue)

Start by tracing circles onto your felt (I got four circles per sheet). You can use the flower pot or any other small bowl or plate. After you cut them out, cut the circles into a sprial shape. They don't have to be perfect (as you can see), and in fact, the irregularities are what make each flower a little different so I didn't even try for perfection.

Starting from the inside of the spiral, twirl the felt around the center until you get to the end, keeping the flower fairly flat on the bottom. This is what it should look like:

Use just a small line of glue to seal it closed.

Make sure you're watching something good on TV while you're doing this, because it might get a little tedious after the first two 10. Repeat and repeat until you've created flowers out of all of your felt circles.

Next, take your pearl-head pins and push them through the center of each flower.

Place your foam ball in the flower pot and you can now start pinning the flowers right into it. No need for glue since the pins are long enough to keep the flowers in place.

Just put them in any random order. I tried to make sure no two of the same color were touching, but the truth is that it doesn't really matter if they are.

And now you've got two beautiful spring centerpieces. The great thing is that since you didn't glue anything together (besides the flowers), you can reuse the flower pots and foam balls for another project in the future!

Happy Passover or Happy Easter to you and yours. See you after spring break is over!

Linking up:
Home Stories A to Z |  Today's Creative Blog |  twelveOeight | Not Just a Housewife | House on the Way | House of Hepworths | Serenity Now |

Awwwwww! It's So Precious...

when your child's first english words are...

"you're cheating"

"no, you're cheating"



"no, you're cheating"

"no, you're cheating"

OR

It's my turn...

No, it's my turn...

No, it's my turn

No, it's my turn!

See... they are all settling in just fine!
They're no different than any other siblings!

Okay, this may not have been there first english words but they sure said them as clear as a bell!