I have recently become the 555 Warrior for Alex, the little boy in Eastern Europe that I told you about in the previous post. Alex is almost 5 and when he turns 5 he will be transferred to an institution where he will be BEDRIDDEN. I can't even imagine this precious boy, so full of hope and life, confined to a bed. No one deserves that!! Just think, if his family finds him, his life will be full of love and joy, therapies to HELP his mobility instead of hinder it. I pray every day for him. Are YOU his family??


I have started a facebook page for Alex. Please "like" the page and recommend the page to your friends. The more people who see him, the more chances there are that his family will see him! The page is called Adoption and Awareness for Alex. 


In the next few days I hope to have a giveaway on this blog. It should be a great prize that everyone will love, so spread the word about that too!!! Let's find this little boy a home!

Sigh, I am in love with a little boy in Eastern Europe that I have never met. I read a ton of adoption blogs and occasionally peruse the adoption websites with waiting children. I know, I know, with three kids ages 5 and under I hardly need to be doing that. But, it is in my heart and so I look. There is an amazing website/ministry called Reece's Rainbow that lists children, mainly from Russia and Eastern Europe, with special needs who may be more difficult to find families for. Many of the children have Down Syndrome, some are HIV +, and others have other various conditions. While looking I saw this one boy, named "Alex" and for some reason I instantly fell in love. I mean, look at that SMILE! He has cerebral palsy and cannot currently walk. The site says he is very smart and that when he turns five (in September) he will be transferred to an institution where he will be bedridden. Just like that, no hope of walking unless a family, HIS family comes to get him. I asked God if we were his family (thinking that God REALLY had a sense of humor if we were---if you know me in real life you KNOW how crazy our life is at the moment), but I still had to ask. And the answer was clearly, 100%, "no". So, what I want to know is...are YOU his family??? Look at him! Isn't he cute?! If you click on the Easter Warrior link underneath his bio it will take you to another person's blog that has a few additional pics of him on it. I'd love for him to find his family!

I know, I never really write on here, but thought I'd share this with you today. My hubby cleaned out my car and unbeknownst to me kept a list of what he found in there so that I could embarrass myself  share the list on my blog. 


Contents of my car:
1 lego
2 bags of trash
1 winter hat
4 socks (all different)
7 spoons
8 books
1 box of crackers
1 box of cheezits
1 box of Scooby snacks
1 empty cinnamon spice bottle
1 feminine product
2 umbrellas
4 empty water bottles
1 full water bottle
2 coffee cups
1 purell dispenser
1 bottle of kids ibuprofen
1 bag of kids chapsticks (6 tubes)
2 matchbox cars
1 plastic pear
2 magnadoodles
5 used wet wipes (not used for diaper changes...)
1 pencil
1pen
1 comb
7 letters
6 unused diapers
2 raisin boxes
2 maps
1 speech pathology book
1 sleeping child :)

Courtney, over at Click it up a Notch has a weekly feature where we can link up and post something we learned this week. Earlier in the week she had a post about how to photograph Christmas lights. I read that post, got my camera out and started practicing! This week I learned how to photograph lights! Here is the shot I like the best. 1/13 shutter speed, f/4.5 and ISO 800. I'm limited by my kit lens on the aperture setting, but hopefully Santa will buy me that new lens I asked for. :) Suggestions? Should I have increased my ISO and increased my shutter speed or doesn't that matter? (Click image to enlarge)

I feel like such a domestic goddess (let's ignore the fact that I have someone who cleans for me, and the fact that I sometimes burn grilled cheeses) because I made wheat bread from scratch. And it turned out really yummy! I followed this recipe exactly, except that my yeast was "rapid rise" yeast (it was all I had) and I followed the "new breadmaker" tips suggested by the third commenter "bizzybrandi". The house smelled SO good too. Let me know if you try it or if you have a bread recipe that you love!

Well, I started a new "diet" last week and have been doing it for a week...so far it has been going well. I'm not necessarily cutting calories or starving myself...gotta keep that milk production up, but have been eating MUCH healthier. I found a magazine called Clean Eating and read it and thought "Yes!" this is how I should be eating! Healthy food, fruits, veggies, whole grains...and the best part is they had a 2 week meal plan in it. All meals and snacks are outlined for me and there is a grocery list too! I follow it almost exactly except I add calories with my coffee and creamer (cant skip THAT!), an Odwalla bar, and one Dove Dark Chocolate. Maybe one more healthy snack after dinner too if I'm still hungry. Also, we have TONS of social events here that always involve food, so at least I'm eating healthier the rest of the week when we don't have those! I feel really good and have already noticed some of my cravings changing. I didn't expect that to happen so soon. I used to have a half a can of C0ke in the afternoon to wake up a little...well two days ago I popped one open in the afternoon and took a couple of sips...and it was WAY too sweet for me! CRAZY! I didn't even drink it! I also found myself craving some grapes, where usually all I crave is chocolate. Hopefully I can continue to make some healthier choices! I feel great so far!

Hey Y'all--