Tonight, we are going to 37Main, a bar in the old part of Buford, to see DEPARTURE, a Journey tribute band, play. The really cool part is, Doug Ballard, a guy that Matt goes to his Monday night Bible study with, is the bass player. So, we are going to go see them play. It should be a lot of fun. Plus it is a chance for Julia to meet Doug and for the wives to meet. We will, no doubt, take some pics and post them to the blog.

Carol's Delicious Banana Bread

Oh MY Sweet Goodness! Yummy to the tenth power! Oh my gosh! My mouth is watering just looking at the picture. Okay, Okay, Okay, so... I was recently introduced to the most wonder banana bread I have EVER tasted! YES!YES!YES!! And, Thank you Carol for passing along the recipe!

I have now made two loafs of it and I have only had the recipe four days! Let me just say, I make banana bread! I make it often...that was BEFORE I tasted this loaf! Now, I will make it until we get sick of it. Which, believe you me, won't be any time soon. Would you like the recipe? I have to share it. You have to make it. You will need to make it over and over again, so beware: ONLY make this if you are willing to make it over and over again, because it won't stay around long enough for YOU to get a piece!!



Here I bestow upon you the golden recipe
Carol's Banana Bread
1 stick of room temperature butter or margarine
2 eggs
1 C sugar
1 & 1/2 C bisquick
3-4 medium bananas

Soften 1 stick of butter @ room temperature. In a bowl, cream the margarine with a fork. Add sugar and mix. Then add eggs and mix. Then add bisquick and mix well (still using your fork). In a separate bowl mash your bananas then add them to the other mixture. Put in a loaf pan that has been sprayed with pam. Bake for 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Introducing.... BINGO


Bingo (Uno, Dingo, Big Boy, Monster Butt, Tubby) was Nacho & Sierra's FIRST litter February 11, 2003. Did you read that correctly? He was the only one in the litter...and as he grew we quickly saw why. Matt and I gave Nancy (Matt's Mother) Bingo for Mother's Day 2003. When Nancy passed away Matt and I requested of Ed (my Father-in-Law) that we re-unite our Chihuahua Family. Matt and I have both enjoyed having Bingo with us. He reminds us daily how he loved and cared for Nancy and we feel like a piece of her is with us.

Bingo has fit in perfectly! He seems to be a calming influence on the clan. He is the biggest of them all. Though he is not fat. Just Big "Boneded", lol. Unfortunately for him, he is the low man on the totem pole. Even his much smaller sister has authority over him. However, they willingly share a crate!! To our surprise the two walk into the same BIG crate to spend their mornings together. Is it possible that Penny was kicked out of her Mother's crate?? We may never know.


Bingo arrived with three VERY important personal items...Stairs, for easy access to the couch. "HIS" fluffy pillow. And, "HIS" Fiddle! NO ONE, I mean NO ONE is allowed to even look at his pillow and God Protect you if you attempt to play with his fiddle. We have caught him more than once licking his fiddle with love and laying his head on his fiddle like it is a pillow! He rarely plays with his fiddle, but he will not let it out of his sight. A couple of times a day he requests for us to make it play music so he can nibble on it with great pride.


Nancy, being an extremely talented dog trainer, taught Bingo a couple of tricks we were unaware of. However, one night as he waited (rather impatiently) for us to pass out their nightly "vitamin B" (our affection term for dog bacon)Bingo "Moon Walked"!! Oh, My! YES! MOON WALKED!! We have not figured out what the name of the trick is, so he hasn't done it on command yet. But, when he gets excited and really, really, really wants something he will shuffle his back feet backwards over and over again. It is precious. We must get it on tape to share with all of you.

Also, in Nancy's wisdom she taught Bingo how to "Whisper"!! YES!! He has a horribly loud bark so she taught him how to use his "inside voice" on command. Totally another you tube moment! His mouth makes the movement of a bark but nothing comes out. The first time he did it I thought he was trying to bite my nose off- then we quickly figured out he was whispering, again, in an attempt to receive vitamin B early! What a silly, intelligent, loving, crazy BIG BOY he is!

Playing in the dirt continued...more gardening. Herbs!!

Ed, my wonderful Father-in-Law, is a Master Gardener with his County. And, the MG Club offers educational gardening classes for the community. In May, We attended the Herbs class. I have always been interested in Herbs and found this to be the perfect opportunity to learn from the pros! The day After class Matt and I were off to our local garden center. We went in search of herbs suitable for our space and empty containers!

Among other things, I learned to plant Mint in containers because they will take over your yard. Mint is drought tolerant (important to me since I tend to be inconsistent in watering outdoor plants). Also, mint grows well in shade or sun!! My favorite mint is the Chocolate mint that the instructor displayed. I had a difficult time finding chocolate mint for sale but eventually found it at Hamilton Mill's "Natures Fifth Season".

And, I'm sure you KNOW I had to find Lemon Balm for my tea cup! Unfortunately my Lemon Balm leaves are turning brown around the edges. I am not sure why. Also, I added Bee Balm to attract humming birds. However, I have yet to see it bloom. Which is okay because I have failed to keep the humming bird feeder full this summer. hmm...which reminds me, I need to make some more nectar.

Rosemary, Basil & Lavender in the yard garden...


Container Gardening: Lemon Balm, Chocolate Mint & Spearmint...


Basil popping up everywhere...Last year I planted Basil in a container, closer to the kitchen. This year I planted it in the yard. However, several pots are sprouting basil!! Which must have come from seeds from last years plant! In class the instructor mentioned you can harvest seeds from your Basil plants. Something I would not likely waste my time doing...at least that was before I saw these little guys growing in odd places....can you spot the basil?




I look forward to the December MG Club class on making oils/vinegars infused with herbs. Ooh, Can't wait!! It sounds like an interesting way to put all these herbs to use!

Summer Garden 2009

In the spring we moved our little garden to the opposite corner in our back yard. And, we decided to dress it up a little with a rock border. This year we decided to only plant tomatoes and cucumbers.

Spring Planting...


Summer Growth...


Late July we are finally seeing itty bitty tomatoes and flowers on the cucumbers. We can't wait for our first "harvest".

Hello Family and Friends!

Matt and I apologize for being MIA on our blog. Since Matt's Mother's death in April we have both experienced a myriad of emotions. Our pain is still indescribable and beyond words. We miss Nancy so very much. Every day we think about her and wish we had more time with her. And, we will always regret that she did not have the opportunity to meet her grand child in person. However, we feel confident that she is well aware of our adoption status and likely is keeping her watchful eye on baby Miller while we wait to meet her/him!

We Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts during our time of loss. Also, thank you for hanging in here with our blog and not forgetting about us! I am sure it has been discouraging to visit us here to find nothing new has changed. Now that some time has passed we are attempting to get back into the grove of life. So we will re-start our blog by getting some of our aggression out by going to our first ever live MMA fight night!

Yes, you read that right! LOL. We are going to fight night tonight at Wild Bills! We hope to get our picture taken with Wanderlei Silva!!! Also, Matt will bring a magazine that has Silva on the cover, in hopes of getting his signature! hehhee, this should be fun! I personally have never met a "celebrity" so I'm a bit nervous and anxious!



Here's a picture of Matt in his Ghee before his Ji Jitsu class. I am sure all those words are misspelled, but I shall leave them to give you people in the "KNOW" a laugh!

This is Matt. Just wanted to post here that, over the weekend, I ran the 40th Annual AJC Peachtree Road Race, which is a 10k (6.2 miles). I did the race in 1 hour, 10 minutes, 28 seconds, coming in 23971st out of 50,007 runners listed. At least I was in the upper 50% of runners. Pictures will be coming.

Here is the footage from the Mother-Daughter Tea Party from December



And here is a video of the dogs and us outside on the March 1, 2009 snowstorm

Rare photo of Mexican Navy Seal

Matt and I were feeling a little festive for St. Patrick's Day! So, we made these little chocolate-nilla wafer-caramel lollipops for his co-workers.

I found the recipe in the February issue of Women's Day Magazine. And, they were so simple to make! Here is the recipe:
pop sickle sticks
semi sweet chocolate chips
caramel square candies
Nabisco Nilla Wafer Cookies
Decorative candies
makes 16 lollipops
directions:
Melt approx. 18 caramel candies according to the pkg directions. Put a dollop of melted caramel onto one nilla wafer cookie. Lay a pop sickle stick thru the middle laying it from top to bottom of the cookie. Top sandwich with another nilla wafer cookie. Let cool. Mean while, melt semi-sweet chocolate chips in micro wave (stir every 20 seconds until melted). Dip cookie sandwich in chocolate until coating all sides. Dip end into candy pieces. Lay on top of wax paper and stick in the freezer until hardened (less than 10 minutes).

I am in a women's bible study with the Church we are about to join. The bible study is reading the book "Lord, Change my attitude, before it's too late" by James MacDonald. On page 178 of the book is this poem that touched my heart. And, I knew I wanted to share it with all of you too.

Doubt sees the obstacles.
Faith Sees the way.
Doubt sees the darkest night.
Faith sees the way.
Doubt dreads to take a step.
Faith soars on high.
Doubt questions, "Who believes?"
Faith Answers, "I".
Gospel Banner

Also, on page 168 of the book is a paragraph on "Irrevocable Promises. Let's get on the table some sample promises God has made...
* God has promised to provide for us. Philippians 4:19 says, "My god will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory of Christ Jesus."
* Goad has promised to protect us. Isaiah 54:17 says, "No weapon that is formed against you will prosper...This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord".
* God has also promised to prosper us- though, as some are quick to add, that doesn't necessarily mean financially. But Psalm 84:11 says, "No good thing does He withhold from those WHO walk uprightly." Your life will not lack one single thing that could increase your happiness if you will walk up rightly with the lord.
All three of the above promises, along with hundreds of others, are signed by God Himself. "

Though we are excited to finally have a date to look forwards to (for the adoption) it can be difficult to remember God's bigger picture for our lives. Our story is not yet complete. God is working behind the scenes to provide for us...to protect us... to prosper us. In one of Beth Moore's study she says remember... "God is who is says he is. God does what he says he will do..." Through our journey to parenthood our faith is growing, our faith stretching. Praise God!!

Adoption Update

This morning Matt and I spoke with our adoption agency to touch base regarding our upcoming renewal requirements. Our immigration paperwork is about to expire (for a third time). To renew we will need to do another home study update (back ground checks, physicals, etc.). So, we wanted confirmation from our agency that we were gathering the necessary documents with in a time frame that would keep us from having to re-do everything for a fourth time!! And, it appears we are right on schedule.

The most exciting news from our conversation is that we were given a guesstimate on how much longer we would likely wait until we receive our referral. And, their best guesstimate, based upon the current speed China is matching and the agencies knowledge of how many families are waiting- - MARCH 2010!! We are both thrilled!! Yes, another year to wait for a picture and travel plans. But, we are okay with it because that was what we anticipated (for best case scenario). This means we would travel to China May-June 2010!! Just around the corner!! Lots to do, lots to do!!!

Matt heard this quote on TAGG Radio dot com (interview with Roddy Piper) and we had to share. Read through the end, we hope you get a giggle!

Irish Blessing.
To those who love us, may God bless them. And for those who don't may God turn their hearts. And for those whose hearts He cannot turn, may He turn their ankles so we recognize them by their limp

I have another photo to share from our Helen, GA Valentine's Day get-a-way. I love this pic!!

Last month we met my (Julia's) father for a photo "contest". Something my sister and I used to do with him when we went on camping trips. I needed tips on how to work the fancy camera so we turned our outing into a game of who can take the better picture. Our subject- a rusted out Clipper. Here are some of the pictures I took from my camera.
The Clipper...


My winning photo:


A cool view:

Adoption Update...

This morning Great Wall Beijing confirmed with the CCAA the cut off date for the last batch of referrals. The CCAA informed us that they have completed the matching process for families with dossiers registered through March 6, 2006.

The cut off date issued by the CCAA is the date through which they were able to match referrals. For example, last month the CCAA’s cut off date was March 2, 2006, so all families with LID’s before and on March 2, 2006 were sent a referral. As for this month, the CCAA’s cut off date was March 6, 2006 so families with LID’s before and on March 6, 2006 were mailed their referral.

Reminder: Our LID is September 18, 2006

SNOW in GA!

Yes, it is SNOWING in GA! We are enjoying the beautiful scenery! Watching the snowfall is very relaxing. Before our satellite TV went out, we heard the forecaster dude say the last time GA had such a large snow was the "Blizzard of '93". All native peaches know about the "Blizzard of '93"!! It was the last significant snow fall we had! The difference in '93 and today is the temperature~ the ground isn't going to be cold enough for any of this white beauty not to melt.


Walking the Chihuahua's in the snow required 3 matches each (have we shared our match trick with you?! It's disgusting, but it works! All dog owners need to know how to force your pet to do his/her business in a hurry or in inclement weather! HAHAH!). Aren't they cute huddled up together? They do NOT like the cold, wet ground. Here they are begging us to let them back inside...

Hello All!! Matt and I have been very busy this year...we apologize for not posting more to our blog! We hope 2009 has gotten off to a good start for you too!

Recently we went on a long weekend to Helen, GA. We celebrated Valentine's Day in "OUR" cabin- where we got engaged 11 years ago! Other than a few new pieces of furniture, not much has changed for our cabin. This year was very special because, like 11 years ago, there was a Friday the 13th the day before VDay. Matt actually proposed on Friday the 13th (the day before hearts day- he couldn't wait one more day)! Thus, we celebrate EVERY Friday 13th since.

My Father has been assisting me in re-learning my fancy Nikon film camera. Film sure takes a better pic but it takes a little more effort to get developed. I FINALLY got all my film pictures developed and put on CD's of our trip to share with everyone here on our blog! We hope you enjoy! :)

Matt, the Three Amigos, outside "OUR" cabin...



Nacho & Fat Momma (Sierra)...


Beautiful Penny...


And a few pictures along one of our walks around the compound...(here I'm playing with black and white film; or, I should say, I'm trying to use up the black and white film)



I love this picture...

more to share a little later, off to eat some grub...

I came across this on someone else's blog and I HAD to share it with all of you!

You Might Be Adopting from China if...
...you know that I-600 & I-171 aren't highways.

...you've been expecting a baby for over 3 years.

...you understand that it's 2006 in some parts of the world.

...you've "paid for" 3 citizenships, but never brought anyone into the U.S.

...you know that waiting for China has nothing to do with Dillards or dishes.

...your homestudy is followed by a number (i.e. #3 or #4).

...you never know how many days next month will have.

...you know that babies come in batches.

...you've been fingerprinted four times, but never committed a crime.

...you automatically assume everyone who is expecting is having a girl.

...you own new clothing in 3 little sizes for all 4 seasons (because you don't know when or how big).

...you look twice when you see a lady bug.

...you're more interested in what will happen in March 2006 than in March 2009.

...you know people who understand when you talk about 2 day months & 5 day months.

...your due date hasn't changed by days, but by years.

...you know who the Rumor Queen is...AND...you don't know who she is.

...you know that forecast doesn't have anything to do with the weather.

...you've waited so long, they re-checked your fingerprints to see if they changed.

...trying to understand why they're printing you again, you study your own fingerprints and wonder if fingerprints grow wrinkles.

...when you speak of "that time of the month" you're talking about CCAA updates & referrals.

You might be adopting from China if you love someone you've never met with all your heart.

by: Margaret Leigh

This is a post from Matt. Just something to pass along to anyone who is interested---one of my goals for 2009 is that by the end of the year I want to test for my blue belt (second level) in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. To that end, I have set up a blog to chronicle my training, my aches and pains, ad my thoughts as I progress toward the goal. My training blog can be viewed here