Kombucha Tea

I am so excited I just tried my first batch of Kombucha Tea. Kombucha is the Western name for sweetened tea or tisane that has been fermented using a macroscopic solid mass of microorganisms called a "kombucha colony". It has many healthy benefits and can be quite expensive, so I decided to ferment my own. I got my mushroom and starter tea and brewed it here at home. The twins and Josh tried it and all thought it was very good although, Clifton says "MOM, it scared the crap out of me!" because it is fizzy. I am looking for a gallon sized glass jar if anyone knows where to get one, let me know. My first batch I only did about a quart, but I want to do bigger batches in the future.

Challenges of Parenting

In the past year I have watched Josh grow into his roll of fatherhood both to 9 year old twins and to our quickly growing 12 month old, but now and then I get to see he react to things he has never had to face before as a father. I usually get a giggle and sometimes a belly laugh. This week we had a house full of sick kids. *****DO NOT READ ON IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH**** Clifton had the stomach flu on Monday and Tuesday. Thankfully at the age of 9 he can now throw up with out us being right there beside him and we can do clean up behind him. He also can usually make it to the bathroom to throw up where he is supposed to. So while yucky Clifton's sick days were not too bad.

Ryan on the other hand gave us a whole new perspective. He woke up at 11:45 Tuesday night fussing. When I got there, he had thrown up all over his bed. I put him in the tub and got him into clean pajamas and settled into the recliner to sleep with him in my arms. Less than 15 minutes later he threw up again. So, clean jammies for Mommy and striped him down to his diaper. I covered up with a towel hoping that my clothes would last for the rest of the night. The poor baby didn't know what to do and kept throwing his head back instead of leaning forward, so then he would choke. Not fun! Anyway he threw up for the last time at about 5:15 am. I went to bed at 7:30 and Josh took care of him while I slept.

Thursday morning, he seemed to be doing much better and he went to Vicki's for the day. At supper Thursday night he drank a whole bunch of water really fast and while the whole family was sitting at the table together he threw up all over his high chair tray. Into the tub again. I let Josh give him a bath while I cleaned up the high chair. It kind of made me laugh that everyone had disappeared from the table but the food was all still sitting there. A few minutes later I could hear Josh gagging and choking. I rolled my eyes and headed for the bathroom thinking he was having a delayed reaction to the vomit to find him trying to keep Ryan out of the poop he had just deposited in the tub. I had to laugh, because every kid poops in the tub at least once, and because it was one of those parenting moments that Josh had yet to experience. AAAHH! Clean it up start the bath over and put the baby to bed.

Unfortunately Josh and I did not manage to escape the flu ourselves and took turns in the bathroom all night on Thursday and Friday. We woke up this morning saying, WOW! I feel much better! So I went off to work for a bit to do a report and made it home with 15 minutes to spare before he went to get on a train. Happy Valentines Day!

Mommy's favorite diaper

Ryan is modeling my favorite diaper. It is soft and fuzzy!

More Birthday Pictures

Is it just me or does he look a lot like his cousin Collin?

Ryan's new car.

Ryan with Great Grandma and Grandpa Ferguson

Ryan's awesome Birthday Cake! Thanks Grandma Taylor!

Birthday Party

There are more to come, but here are a couple of pictures from Ryan's birthday party.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Can you believe that one year ago, we were meeting Ryan for the first time? I can't believe how the time has flown. When he was born he weighed in at 7 pounds and 19 3/4 inches long. Today at the doctor he weighed 22 pounds and was 30 1/2 inches. Long and lean the doctor says.

Ryan can walk, but really isn't brave enough to do it without holding on. Sometimes he does it, if we distract him enough. He is very active and is constantly into things. Anything that will fit will go into his mouth. Just in the last week we have started trying to keep the bathroom door closed so that he doesn't play in the toilet. His favorite thing to put in his mouth is the little cap that goes over the bolts on the toilet, YUCK!!!

Thank you Jesus

~Don't be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God's answers, and remember to be thankful when they come.
Colossians 4:2~

Some one gave us a perpetual calendar for a shower/wedding gift. We are on our 3rd trip through it, and every year on January 13th I will forever remember the first January 13th. On that day Nate and Cliff had their first official visitation with their biological dad. It was a very emotional day for them and for Josh and I. I remember standing at the kitchen sink looking out the window watching them drive away and crying my eyes out. I was heart broken. The verse on the calendar for that day was Colossians 4:2. Josh was trying to get home that morning before the boys left, but he met them on main street in the truck. When he got home, he found me and this verse. We sat on the couch together and cried and prayed. I took this verse as a promise and continued to pray, and 11 months later Greg gave us the gift of adoption.

Thank you Jesus for answering our prayers. We are so thankful that Josh was allowed to adopt the boys. You are so good! Amen