Passing It On... {Chocolate No-Bake Cookie Recipe}

In order for you to understand the significance of what I'm about to tell you I'm going to have to take you back in time a bit.  Just a bit, you know, to the time when I was about Annika's age and I learned to make Chocolate No Bake Cookies.  These cookies became my thing.  I made them whenever I could.  Anytime we needed a quick snack or dessert.  I even entered them in the fair. Twice.  I won a blue ribbon with these cookies!  These cookies are part of my identity.  I'm not sure I should put this out there, because, well, I'm a self-respecting adult now, but my family ended up naming these cookies after me. Since I come from a family who used crazy nick-names these cookies will go down in history as Hootie Bars (don't ask!) with my family.

So, now that you get where I'm coming from on this, I'll tell you that Annika made these cookies all by herself for the first time this evening.  Need I say more?

She did her Mama proud and even licked the pan properly when she was finished.  That's my girl!

And now the recipe:

2 cups sugar
3 T. cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk

Mix together in a large kettle. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Let boil 1 minute, remove from heat.

Stir in:
1 cup peanut butter
1 t. vanilla
3 cups quick oats

Drop by spoonfuls on to wax paper.  Cool. Eat. You are welcome!

{ Almost } Wordless Wednesday

One of the little-known facts about adopting from China is that there are more boys than girls waiting for families.  There is a data-base of children waiting for families called the shared list which all adoption agencies with a China program have access to.  Right now there are 380 girls and 1,633 boys on the shared list.  If you are considering adoption please consider opening your heart to a little boy!

Just Another Day... { Picture Post }

Just an ordinary afternoon at the Martins.

Sweeping

Vacuuming

What?!  Don't you wear a cap and sunglasses while cleaning the bathroom?

What?!  Don't you stand on the windowsill to was windows?

A boy and his mop...

Taking a little rest.

Reading time in a nice, clean house!

A boy and his dog.

Just another day.  Another ordinarily wonderful day.

182 Days... Of Lupus

Six months ago I had a physical collapse.  I had not felt normal for a long time.  But suddenly I was unable to just push through it and keep going.  Suddenly I was knocked flat.  I was in bed all day every day.  I had no idea what was wrong, and I doubted my own sanity at times as the weird, seemingly unrelated symptoms kept adding up.  I went to the doctor and cried as I tried to describe what was going on.  He ordered some tests and kind of increased my feeling that I was a bit crazy. It was so hard!

The days and weeks rolled by.  We went to chiropractors and doctors, we had blood work and MRIs done, we visited the Emergency Room.  And the symptoms kept getting worse.  Those were dark, difficult days.  When I got calls saying tests were negative I sobbed, I just needed to know what was wrong!  God carried me through those days in a very special, real way.  My amazing husband was absolutely unwavering in his love and support.  Never once did he make me feel like I should be doing more.  And my sweet family and friends, I cannot thank you enough for being there for me!

Eventually we began to get answers.  Definitely an autoimmune disorder, definitely reactive arthritis, so we began to treat those things.  And eventually it started helping.  It is a long, slow, painful process.  Every time I am functioning fairly well we reduce the amount of prednisone I'm taking, and then the pain increases again.  But... I've gone from 80mg a day a few months ago to 15mg a day now.  So, while I still have a fair amount of joint pain, I know I am getting so much better.

Eventually I was diagnosed with Lupus (and maybe a couple of other autoimmune issues).  I have spent the last couple of months trying to learn what I can and trying to wrap my mind around this strange, cruel diagnosis.  There have been times of grief.  I think I've cried more in the last six months than I did in the six years prior to this.  I really just want it all to go away.  

And now?  Well, I still have joint pain, I still have days that the exhaustion hits me like a wall,  I still get tired and overwhelmed easily. I still have tremors.  (I think this is the symptom that I dislike the most.)  And, of course, I have the side effects of being on prednisone for months (hello "moon-shaped" face, good-bye restful night's sleep. UGH!!) But over all I am so, so much better.  I'm able to function more like a human on a day to day basis.  On Saturday I peeled a few potatoes for the first time in six months.  They didn't look great, but I did it!  (Next time you peel potatoes or sweep the floor think about how much joint movement is required!)

As I reflect on the last six months I experience many thoughts and feelings. I'm sad to have Lupus. I'm overwhelmed at the thought of dealing with this for the rest of my life.  I'm scared that I may never be able to do some things again.  But mostly I'm thankful.  Thankful to God for His love and tender mercy that He has poured out on me. Thankful that I'm so much better and that it seems the treatment plan is working for me.  Thankful that my husband and children are so understanding. Thankful that I have hope of continuing to improve. Just thankful.

I want to say one more thing, if you have Lupus, or any other chronic, confusing, terrifying physical problem, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.  I may not be able to do much, but I do understand.  And those of us who understand need to hold each other up!  My email address is erinmrtn@yahoo.com. 

Celebrating

Tonight we celebrated with chocolate cake (with sprinkles on top!) and sparkling blueberry grape juice!

It has been a good couple of weeks on the Superkids advocacy front.  Several of "my" children have been matched with their families.  This always makes me so excited!  I celebrate each and every time I hear of a family being matched with one of the precious little ones I met in China!

This week one of my extra special little girls was matched with her family.  When I was in China, she walked in to the room and quickly ran to me and threw her little arms around me.  I picked her up and hugged her back.  It was so sweet!  I have advocated for her for months and now she has a family working to bring her home.

Then there is little Wei Wei.  He is a cutie from the same orphanage that Eliana spent her first three years.  He has the funniest laugh!  When he laughed we all laughed.  When I was in Texas recently I had the privilege of meeting his parents.  Again, we have advocated for him for a long time.  And then the perfect family for him just "happened" to be in Texas at the same time Pat Marcus and I were there.

And there are others too.  Sweet little ones with excited families working hard to get them home.  It never gets old!  I can't put them all out there publicly yet, but suffice it to say, a celebration was definitely in order tonight!

Taking Care of the Moments

On Saturday Douglas and I put up a wall decal in our living room.  It says this:

Take care of the moments,

The hours and years will take care of themselves.

It is a beautiful thought.  But here is the thing, how do you actually do it?  I know quite well by now that "the days are long but the years are short."  So how do you turn those long days into profitable moments?

Let me be honest here.  I love to spend time with my children.  I love doing projects with them and cooking with them and reading stories to them. I love doing all of the fun extras.  But when it comes to teaching them to do the nitty-gritty "no dirty socks under the bed" type of stuff I lag.  It really is not as much fun to teach them to keep their shoes in neat rows as it is to make rockets fueled by Alka-Seltzers (today's science project). 

Somehow I think that "taking care of the moments" needs to include both the fun and the mundane aspects of life.  So, for myself, I'm trying really hard to focus on teaching them the basics of doing all of their jobs right. It is a little wearing, but I know it will pay off in the end.  

Here is my method.  Each of them has assigned jobs each day.  The boys' jobs rotate between them.  Last week we all cleaned the house really well.  We worked together so I could show them exactly what I expect in each room.  Now each day they have a choice: clean their areas correctly or after chore time we start over and all clean the whole house again.  So far we have started over and cleaned the whole house every.single.day.

You think my method is working?! I don't know.  But I'm not quitting yet.  I just know one of these days everything is going to click and they are all going to realize that cleaning the whole house cuts in to play time quite a bit.  In the mean time my floors are going into shock from being swept and mopped so frequently.  

I know that for many mothers "taking care of the moments" may mean something totally different. But this is where I need to focus right now.  We are still having fun and making rockets and reading stories and spending lots of time together, but we are trying to learn to enjoy doing our jobs right too.  And the house is cleaner than it has been in many a long month!

 P.S. Y'all come rescue me if things don't take a turn for the better, OK?  I may desperately need a mommy's night out soon...

On Letting Littles Be Little

As most of you know we are a homeschooling family.  This means we get to decide to a certain extent when we begin to teach what.  I keep seeing the trend toward beginning to teach everything at a younger and younger age and I have been thinking about that.

Now I know some children are very gifted in one area or another and they soak up information like a sponge.  That is not what I'm talking about.  I'm talking about wiggly, giggly four year olds being made to behave like six year olds.  I'm talking about children being considered "behind" if they are not reading before first grade. I'm talking about pressuring our babies to learn.

And I watch my sweet Eliana and I say, "Not on my watch!"  I want her to be little now!  I want her to play and imagine and develop at her own pace.  Teaching her is a joy because she is excited and happy to learn new things, but the moment she starts to seem stressed we stop!  She is only five, we have plenty of time.  

Time is so short!  Soon, all too soon, she will have lessons that must be learned and duties that must be performed.  Right now I want her days to be full of playing with blocks and books being read to her and having tea parties with her dolls and playing with Play-Doh.  I want her to sing and chatter and draw and follow me around helping me with little tasks.

So moms of four and five year olds, if your child is not passing all of the academic goals set by today's standards just relax and let your littles be little.  There is plenty of time to teach what needs to be taught.  Treasure these innocent days. They really are only little once!