Vi quotes and a couple pictures

The pathetic face of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.

Violet didn't have too many lesions on her hands and feet

but her mouth must be awful because it's been almost a week of

crying while eating and waking up during the night crying.

"Could you be quiet, my baby is trying to sleep?"
Day #2 of these pajamas without clothes in between.
It's hard to be the mother of biological, adopted twins.

(Vi says these babies came out of her belly then she adopted them)
"Mommy, maybe when we fly up to Jesus we will go into that garden Adam and Eve were at and we will just look at the fruit and not eat it."

"God's not healing my owies very fast."

"How does God heal owies?"

Here comes Sa-Rang...

Remember a few months ago when I posted about our soon-to-be niece coming home from Korea? Well... Sa-Rang is set to arrive in Chicago next Wednesday, which happens to be the day before her 1st birthday. We would all appreciate prayers for safety and for a smooth transition. Sa-Rang has been in foster care for the past year and it sounds like she was well cared for. This will definitely help her as far as attaching to Rachel and Guy but it might be rough for a little while as she gets used to her family.

The Envy of the Neighborhood (well, not quite)

This weekend Nate put up my brand-new clothesline. I have never used a clothesline and I am already questioning my level of commitment to the idea. I like the money savings, bleaching affect on diapers and whites, and environmental perks, but I am a little nervous about the energy, time, and potential smell of fried foods leaching into the fabric from neighboring homes. Also, I just remembered that it can be make allergies worse. Below are some before, during and after pictures of our clothesline erecting experience. I feel kind of guilty for having a nice, new clothesline when the neighbors stick their socks and underwear through the chain-link fence - maybe we should get them one. I will keep you posted about the laundry situation and whether the clothes make it to the line or get stuck in the dryer.

Helping Daddy dig
Filling the bottom of the hole with rocks

Taking a break from the heavy labor
"I yike chakit"

"This is a messy mess."

A little spotlight envy since I took so many pictures of Anara's messy mess. Tah Dah!

Just peachy

I realize that this is not a major accomplishment but I have probably only made 4 or 5 pies in my career. My most recent pie was a strawberry pie that tasted great but was a little runny. I made a pie last year only to watch the edges burn. The pie before that, shrunk and the crust didn't quite stretch to the edge. Don't get me wrong, I am pretty confident in my culinary prowess but pie baking has never been my forte. Today I baked a peach pie that actually turned out and tasted as good (in my opinion) as it looked. I did have nicely crimped edges but they seemed to have disappeared during the baking process. Maybe you get faster with practice because I can't imagine cranking 5 or 6 of these out for a holiday like my mother-in-law.

I have used good ole Betty Crocker crust in the past and it's good, but I used the crust from Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything and it was awesome (probably the butter instead of shortening).

It's Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Violet's mouth sores have multiplied and spread. She has water-filled blisters and bumps on her hands and feet. We had dinner with friends from our former house church and one of them happens to be a pediatric resident (I know - how convenient, right?). She pointed out the blisters and bumps on Vi's feet and hands (not sure how I missed those). Anyway, at least we won't be seeing Dr. Leland since we know what it is and there is nothing we can do about it. Her cheeks are a little puffy from her mouth sores and she is pretty uncomfortable but it should run its course soon. The worst part is that we took her to a party with 4 other kids all 3 and under not realizing how contagious her little virus is - sorry Sarah, Seth, Sam and Luke.