Zoie bug had so much fun at our church’s big bash, October 31st Party!! We also took her trick or treating at the Branson Landing. Every store had treats for the kiddos.

Daddy and his bug.

Hannah & BF Alli (its a waterbottle)

Rahel Blackwell & Zoie with super nerds.

Rae Rae & Hannah

We love dressing up and going trick or treat, but the best part is carving pumpkins.

Large scary spider lost in a fro… spooky!

We love carving pumpkins!  It’s been a tradition for many years… the kids dig out the guts of the pumpkin and dad carves the face.  Now that they are older, they can make their own crazy carvings.  Zoie had so much fun sitting on the table watching in confused wonder.  Bloggy friends, I’d love to hear fun and crazy stories from your family archives at pumpkin season.

Love is blind. This is the amazing story of Pandu, the 5 year old miracle boy from India.  If you are interested in learning more about adoption… don’t miss this video!  Their journey is captured this month in People Magazine and CBS News. I want to hear your comments.

People will adopt older kids. They’ll adopt disabled kids and neglected kids. Kids who can’t read, kids who can’t talk – there are people willing to adopt.  But all those things in one child? CBS News Correspondent Steve Hartman reports there are few who want that.

Born blind, Pandu was dumped at a hospital gate in India. At the orphanage, he was the one child who was there year after year, until last year. That’s when the 5-year-old got swept up by a Denver couple who said he was just what they were looking for: a little boy with his father’s eyes.

Jason Fayre teaches blind people how to be self-sufficient. So when he and his wife Lalena, who can see, decided to adopt they chose not to just give any child a home, but to give one special child a real chance – a chance he would have never had otherwise.

“I think we can offer something to a blind child that maybe a lot of other families can’t,” said Jason.

Pandu is so much better than when they got him. After 5 years in a crib with virtually no human contact, they say Pandu was almost wild. But a year later he’s in a mainstream preschool, and he’s beginning to speak for the very first time. He’s even learning the finer points of picking out a pumpkin.  Of course, he chose a Braille one; like father like son.  “Pandu and him have always kind of had this connection,” said Lalena.

Although it’ll be years before Pandu can fully appreciate the enormity of his good fortune, there’s no doubt he understands something pretty special is happening to him.

You don’t have to be a blind man to see that.
Fayre Family Blog

I have made a special collection of books, clothing, and accessories that help us celebrate adoption… a few of my favorite things.  I have the “store” posted under top tab My Crazy Stuff/Adoption Boutique. You can click on any item, as well as purchase them through my safe site.  It takes a few seconds for “boutique” to download.  Please let me know what is missing from my shopping list. I’d love to add any suggestions you have.  Happy shopping!

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Adoption Boutique hosted by Amazon

Hands down, poppy seed chicken is my family’s favorite meal.  This dish is a cure for the comfort food craving and is a good casserole to take when you need something for a potluck.  Bloggy friends, let me know if your crazy family digs this yummy dish.

• 5 to 6 skinless chicken breasts
• salt
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 – 8oz can of cream of chicken soup
• 1- 8oz can of cream of mushroom soup
• 8 oz sour cream
• 2 tbl of lemon juice
• Ground pepper
• Ritz crackers
• 1 stick of butter
• Poppy seeds

Slow fix: Boil the chicken breasts in salty water and a couple of celery stalks – boil, then simmer for a couple of hours. Quick fix: Cut chicken in bite size pieces and rapid boil until fully cooked.

When the chicken breasts are ready you will want to take them out of the broth and into a large mixing bowl. While still hot – shred the chicken up. I have a shallow stainless steel mixing bowl that I love for this kind of mixing.

Once you have all the chicken shredded add 1 can of Cream of Chicken soup and 1 can of Cream of Mushroom – mix in. Then add the sour cream and mix thoroughly.

Mix in the lemon juice and ground pepper – we do extra pepper because we like it! Once you have mixed, you can put in a casserole dish or my mother in law uses a 9″ square pan.

Then take out three to four ‘stacks’ of Ritz crackers. Just crush the crackers in “stack” one at a time and spread over the bottom (crust) and top.

Then sprinkle the poppy seeds over the top. As much or as little as you would like. While you are sprinkling melt one stick of butter. I do this in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. If you are making this ahead of time don’t do the butter step- just put the casserole in the refrigerator for later. Do the butter step when you are ready to cook.

Death by butter…pour the melted butter evenly over the top of the Ritz crackers.

You are ready to bake! 350 degrees for 30 minutes. If you refrigerated it will probably take about 45 to 50 minutes at 350 degrees.  I serve with brocolli or any kind of green vegetable…it looks nice. Enjoy!

Zoie loves her family.  We think its pretty impressive when she plays her name game.  All day long she says the names of the people she loves!  I think that’s why adoption is so cool… there are no limits to love.  The list of Zoie’s favorites keeps growing longer and longer.  Enjoy Zoie’s Flip video.

One of my very favorite new books is, Dangerous Surrender.  It will capture your heart from page 1… Kay’s passion and love for orphans is contagious.  “Giving in to God isn’t easy.  It’s not for cowards.  It’s the boldest, riskiest step you’ll ever take.  This dangerous surrender can bring both joy and pain, both heartache and ecstasy, but it enables you to know God in a far deeper way than ever before.”

“Father, you are disturbed by the misery you witness every day.  None of it escapes your notice, but honestly, a lot of it escapes mine.  Forgive me for my complacency, my apathy, my ignorance.  Help me to see the world through your eyes.  I’m scared to surrender all to you; I’m not entirely sure I can trust you with what matters most to me.  But I want to know you; I want to love like you love, and hurt the way you hurt. I want to live the adventure of risking it all for you.  I am saying yes to you right now, no matter what that yes entails.  God is longing to seriously disturb you about is world.  He’s searching for men and women, students, young people and old people, people of every race and from every tribe, who will recklessly abandon themselves to him and surrender to his purposes. Fear nothing on the road you are walking.  God will lead you by the hand. Let your love for Him cast out the fear you feel for yourself.” (Kay Warren, Dangerous Surrender)

Adoption is an Adventure!

Bloggy friends… you are getting so close. If you are the 99,999 visitor hit you win a super cool prize!  All you need to do is leave me a comment + take a pic and let me know you are the winner! I have a special collection of my favorite things to give the big hit winner!  I am blessed everyday reading your comments.  They are little “happys” to me.  This is my way of saying thank you for coming by My Crazy blog!

Watch Fun Friday FLIP video of my crazy family every week.  I guarantee it will make you laugh…craziness!  Zoie Live & the Johnny Jump-up!

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE!

Our dog, Tate got into some mischief today! It made me think of the challenging days we went through during our adoption.  Many of my dear friends are waiting for travel, court dates, referrals, etc… it’s enough to drive you a little crazy. It’s kinda like a “gumdrop in your eye” day.

Lord God, help me to keep up my courage and have faith in You that things will happen just as You said. (Acts 27:25)

My good friend, Becca made these amazing stuffed squashes and made such a delicious fuss about them… I begged for the recipe.  I’ve never made anything like this before, but I’m going to try it tonight!  I know, it will take more than 20 minutes, but I can’t pass up such a yummy fall treat!  I’ll keep you posted if there was success… kid proof winner!

Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squashes

• 2 medium acorn squashes (about 2 pounds), halved and seeded
• 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 lb. ground chuck (95 percent lean) or ground turkey
• ground cinnamon
• ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp. course salt
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup bulgur wheat
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup craisins
• 1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp. toasted pine nuts

1. Preheat oven to 400. Place squashes, cut sides down in a 9×13 inch casserole dish. Bake until tender, 35 to 40 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 4-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add ground beef, a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until browned and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer beef to a bowl or plate using a slotted spoon, keeping as much of the cooking liquid in the pot as possible.

3. Add onion, and cook until slightly translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add remaining teaspoon salt and the bulgur, and stir to combine.  Add water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.  Take pot off the stove and let sit covered for 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork, and add reserved beef, the raisins, parsley and pine nuts.

4. Scrape out baked squashes, forming 1/4 inch thick bowls, and fold flesh into bulgur mixture. Divide among squash halves, and return to the oven. Bake until warmed through and tops are browned. 12 to 14 minutes.

“Adoption can cost between $10,000 and $45,000, and as a result many orphans are not welcomed into a forever family. There are roughly 175 million orphans around the world and if God can adopt us into His family and call us His own, it is our hope that you consider following His example by adopting.” Together, lets help prospective families know…”how to finance their adoption.”

Please share your top adoption grant sites. If you can personally recommend organizations/grant sites that are passionate about helping reduce the financial barriers to adoption, please share information + URL in the comments.  Also, if you have a special story to share about how an organization or individual helped with financial aid toward your own personal adoption…. please share, too!  There are miracles happening in the world of adoption every day.

My Crazy Grant Picks:

• Shaohannah’s Hope, the Steven Curtis Chapman foundation created to help families adopt.
• Life Song for Orphans- grants and adoption loans.

• 147 Million Orphans non-profit ministry helps families fundraise for their OWN adoption.
• Life Song for Orphans- fundraise & serve for your adoption.  Tax-deduction available for donations!!
  

Families in need of a similar resource can go to one of AWAA partner agencies, The Shepherd’s Crook. The Shepherd’s Crook Ministries also sets up an account for families so that tax-deductible donations can be made to help with the cost of international adoption. Please visit their website below:

http://theshepherdscrook.org/ministries/family_support/

“I would adopt if only I had the money.” We are here to say it can be done if you are willing to work. We are a family who has not had any extra money for the adoption fees, but my husband always says, “God will fund what He favors.” It has taken a lot of work, a lot of sharing our story, and a lot of time to raise the funds, but at the end of the day the JOY of being one step closer to our child is so worth it. We hope our site can help you in your fundraising efforts. (Gwen Oatsvall)

My friend, Andrea (pictured with Zoie) wrote an amazing article for Sunburt Women.  I’m sooo proud of her and the passion, support, and encouragement she pours out on moms in the process of adoption.  We held hands for many many months during our own adoption pregnancies.  For over a year, we cried, fussed, laughed, screamed in glee, every time we talked on the phone.  The best part was meeting each other in NYC for a perfect girl’s getaway weekend!  Adoption labor pains are no fun if you don’t have a friend who understands exactly how you are feeling every step of the way.  Thank you dear friend for praying and loving and holding our Zoie girl long before we met her!  You are my adoption BFF!

New mom Andrea greets Gabrielle for the first time. By Andrea Kidd The journey of adoption is one of the most rewarding experiences. The process will take a person through myriad emotions filled with love, joy, tears, fear, and hope, as well as more personal growth than could ever be imagined. Adoptive parents, who also gave birth biologically, will describe how exceptionally similar the two experiences are. For every stage of adoption, there is a complementary stage of pregnancy and childbirth. Stages to a family Conception We know what is involved with natural conception and the process of a fetus growing in a mother’s womb. In adoption, the “genes” of your child are constructed as parents make the following decisions: • Domestic or international adoption. • What specific country or race your child will be when international adoption is chosen. • Choosing an agency to work through. • Deciding on the sex, age range, and health status of the expected child. Growth The next step in adoption is what is called your “paper baby.” This paper baby is formally called a dossier and is pulled together over many months of paperwork. This dossier represents you and your family’s history, as well as approval from a social worker who has met with your family several times. Essentially, your pre-natal doctor appointments have taken place and it is time for your baby to grow and develop in your heart! Waiting Just as in biological pregnancies, this wait is fairly predictable, yet very emotional. Any unexpected things, like pre-term labor or an overdue baby, may pop up at any given time. Families may find themselves rushing to pick up their child far earlier than they had planned, or families may feel like they are giving birth to an elephant as they have waited far more than nine months. Sonogram For most international adoptions, there is a stage where you receive a referral. The referral is when the agency matches you with a child. In a domestic adoption, this would be when the birth mother chooses your family. When a referral is given, the family receives the most exciting news of who their child is and what he or she looks like. Typically, a picture, medical reports, and history reports are presented at this time. You have seen your child and are in the final stretch. The labor pains have begun! Labor Adoption labor is quite frankly the longest labor in any delivery. Parents must get through court, travel, and sometimes wait weeks before actually “delivering” their babies. This stage, just as in biological labor, is very necessary as well as the most difficult part to get through. Those last moments before meeting and holding your child are at times unbearable, yet prove to be worth every tear and pain. Delivery The most amazing day has finally arrived! You will finally see your child for the first time and wrap your arms around this precious being. This experience is equivalent to a doctor placing the baby on your chest after delivery. You see that child and it all makes sense. The joy and gratitude flow, as well as the tears. A child has become a son or daughter, a woman becomes a mommy, a man becomes a daddy, and a family is created—beautifully. Andrea Kidd is an Adoptive Mom She is also an Associate in the America World Adoption Association For information about America World Adoption, visit awaa.org

GrGr

“Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities.” (Luke 12:48 msg)

If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart.

(Oswald Chambers)

Our “yo yo” girl!

Where are you wild

thing…

There you are little wild thing.

I love the book and my very own wild things.  Hope you have a wild and crazy weekend!

I promise this short video will inspire you! Francis Chan (author of Crazy Love) shares his “balance beam” challenge with such incredible honesty… one of the best storytellers in the world! God wants us to live a crazy wonderful life loving Him and others with all our hearts! I still can’t do a cartwheel on the beam, but I’m trying.  Lets take his challenge together…. let go of the balance beam and jiggle, jump, flip, skip and soar like crazy for the Judge!

I’m not proud to admit I slack on chores, but I love a clean house.  Zoie wakes up in the morning and drags every toy new or previously owned by her siblings, scattering over the entire downstairs… I’m holding my breath she doesn’t learn how to drag toys up the stairs. It seems senseless to scrub and de-clutter and organize when she is awake.  Hence, the slacking on chores.  I work super hard however, instilling in my older children the qualities of responsibility.  They are personally responsible (PR) to clean their rooms, organize the zillions of T shirts I lovingly wash, dinner dishes, as well as any extra jobs two well-bodied teens can help out with inside and out.  Roger was singing Hallelujah when his son could finally take over lawn duty!

Last night, I lost it.  There was no denying the tension building in the air.  My 20 minuet gourmet dinner was devoured and the dirty dishes were piled high.  No teens to be found.  As I peeked around, I noticed their baskets of clean clothes still waiting to be sorted, muddy track shoes, golf clubs scattered on the floor like a maze, and lots and lots of clutter.  I swear it looked like I did nothing around the house all day, but Zoie was my witness.  She was my only witness.

The candid dialogue:

“Kids, you better get in here and start your chores.”

silence

“Kids, you better get in here NOW and start your chores.”

silence

“3 seconds and you will be grounded!”

Thundering gallop of teens.

The next 1/2 hour was seriously crazy.  How can 2 awesomes cause so much chaos doing dishes.  I reminded them loudly that my energy was draining at rapid speed.  In the end, it was (in my opinion) a half baked job.  I noticed water flooding on the floor and my flood gates opened.  Crazy mom made an appearance.  The kids endured a looonnngg lecture about PR and their lack of PR.  I didn’t feel appreciated as a mom.

I really was drained.  Roger was still in Chicago and I was tired of playing single mommy.  I hid in my room (blogging) but kept hearing kitchen noise.  About an hour later, both kids came in and I smelled something heavenly.  They baked me chocolate frosted brownies and their smiles and hugs reaffirmed how much they appreciated me.

Zoie says… cuddle cuddle.

OK… I’m having serious problems spending more than 20 minuets preparing wonderful and spectacular meals for my family with a 21 month old hanging (literally) on my leg.  Due to Zoie’s deep forbidden love for the kitchen snack drawer, we now have it bolted shut with special baby proof lock. It’s helped the rest of us too… who can open those crazy things!  Zoie yanked so hard on it the other night, she tore off the wood siding.  Amazing strength for such a sweet chubby angel in disguise.

I’m now posting meals that ONLY take lightning speed to prepare.  Here is a family fav: Sloppy Joe Sliders.

What you need:

1 pound beef or turkey, browned

2 potatoes, sliced

1 onion, chopped

15 oz can sloppy joe sauce (ha! told ya it was easy)

1 bag frozen yeast rolls

How to slop it all together:

Layer ground meat in a 12 inch skillet; arrange potatoes on top.  Sprinkle with onion.  Pour sloppy joe sauce over the mixture; simmer, covered for 30 minutes.  Toast the yeast rolls, cut in 1/2, add scoop of sloppy.  Serve your family.  Makes 6-8 servings.

Yummy!

I’m caught cracker handed!

Baby Superhero

Hannah’s last Cross Country Meet…. in the freezing rain!

Hannah far left.

Freezing Fun!