My Job Description!

5 Minutes for Mom is holding a photo contest. They are giving a Mother’s Day gift of $1,000 (American Express gift card) to one lucky mom!  I thought I would try--we could use $1,000 for our adoption flights to Ethiopia.

These are some of my favorite photos:  Abby and I, Ben and his Dad and my precious kiddos when they were much smaller.








My Job Description:

Cook, chaplain, good listener, fashion consultant, decorator, nurse, artist, entertainer, purchasing agent, economist, lawyer, advocate, chauffer, etc...The list goes on and on!

The Pay:

$ 0 $ but excellent benefits!

I hope my children can describe me as this one day:

Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: "There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but YOU surpass them all!"...Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise. Proverbs 31:28-29, 31

*** I did not win the $1,000, but it was fun reading all the entries***

Tag It! Bag It! GRAB BAG special!

Congrats to Angela!  She won the $50 in FREE stuff from Tag It! Bag It!  Gotta Have It! by kara.


In honor of my first bloggy giveaway, I am offering a sample grab bag of Tag It! Bag It! Gotta Have It!'s most popular items. 6 items (cards, tags, or bags) for only $8.00 ($2 s/h) = $10.00. I can only ship within the US. Items are packaged and ready to go! This offer is only good until May 3, 2008! Please pay through paypal.
All proceeds benefit the adoption expenses of Bringing Home Ava from Ethiopia.

Look how cute this chinese take out box is!

Now I know that the Easter bunny is a Big Fat LIAR!

I love the holidays. Christmas, Thanksgiving, St. Patty's--all of them. I decorate for every season---all year long. It is all about the magic and imagination. This "habit" began when my children were very little. Someone told me (my father--in all his wisdom) "Life is too short for your kids to not believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny. One day your kids will be grown and they will remember these magical moments."

OKAY---I totally believe in my father’s wisdom HOWEVER this fun habit has grown into a full-fledged, humongous LIE! I always knew that I was a liar; I just did not know how BIG this lie would grow. What started out very small with a couple of Easter bunnies scattered around, a huge Easter basket delivered on Easter Sunday morning (by the Easter bunny himself) is NOW...out of control!

This last Easter our son, Ben, was so excited about the Easter bunny coming (YES, he is 10!) We dyed eggs, made confetti eggs (Big mess!) and put out the carrots and celery. Let me just say right now---I THINK my kids know I am the Easter bunny BUT I would never, ever tell them the truth! I want them to believe that a big, nasty, talking rabbit enters our precious home to deliver them a bunch of “crap!”

Now that I have that established…

Ben would not go to sleep, he lay awake for hours. Finally at 2:30 am he nodded off to a land of Star Wars and Webkinz. My husband and I quickly placed the Easter baskets out and headed to bed. At 6:00 am, I felt this tugging on my arm---guess who it was! NO, it was not Matthew.

BUT my adorable child, Ben. “Mom, hurry, hurry, I think the Easter bunny came.” After poking my husband twenty times in the ribs, he FINALLY got up to go see. Yes, the Easter Bunny came!

It gets better…

I thought that I would be practical in the basket filling this year since we are saving for an adoption; I am trying to be more frugal and less impulsive (very hard, shopping is my therapy). Abby got some basic makeup and markers and a couple of pieces of candy hidden in eggs. Ben got markers, candy of course AND these really cool bathtub fizzes made by Crayola. I thought it was a fun idea until….

This is what I saw….


My precious, sweet boy had turned BLUE! I was completely shocked upon entering the bathroom. He was thrilled! The directions clearly state—"use one or two colored tablets to enhance watercolor." Ben used ALL the blue tablets. I sent my little boy into take a bath and out came a SMURF!

By the way, Ben has been looking for the red Crayola tablets—I am not sure where they are---the LIE goes on and on and on...

I have been tagged!

My sister-in-law over at beautiful craziness tagged me to answer a few questions about Tulio and I. This is fun! My first tag ever! Here goes:


How long did you date? We met when I was 17, he was 19. We dated for a little over a year and we were engaged 9 months. That was almost 16 years ago!
Who eats more? Main course food, he does. Dessert, I do! 
Who said “I love you” first? He said "I love you" after 1 month of dating, before he kissed me or held my hand! 
Who is taller? He is. 
Who is smarter? I am most definitely! No really, he has a wonderful memory so he helps the kids with history, science and math. I do the language arts.
Whose temper is worse? Mine, by far...it runs in the family! 
Who does the laundry? I do--although I HATE it!
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I sleep on the right side, I am left-handed and prefer my beloved on my left. 
Who pays the bills? I do...have forever!
Who cooks dinner? We share dinner duty BUT Tulio makes breakfast every morning for the kids. He feels that is his "special" time with the kids.
Who drives when you are together? Tulio ALWAYS! He does not like to see me drive. I think I scare him.
Who is more stubborn? I am way more stubborn.
Who kissed who first? He kissed me, after he told me he loved me!  
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I am--totally TRUE!
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine, they live only 4 miles away.
Who proposed? He proposed while we were in bible college at a little rinky dink park. Very sweet memory.  
Who is more sensitive? We both are.
Who has more friends? We both have a few close friends. 
Who has more siblings? Equal--he is the oldest of three boys. I am the youngest of three. My sister is my twin.
Who wears the pants in the family? WOW! I would like to say that we both do, but that would be a LIE. I am the one in control...shhhh!!!...don't tell my husband!

Okay...I tag...We are THAT family!

My budding actress...oooh, aahh!!

We have an actress on our hands! Abby just completed her first "real" production this weekend. She was part of the wonderful cast and crew of CYT (Christian Youth Theater)--Disney's "Beauty and the Beast". It was an awesome production! To all our friends and family that supported her by coming to see the play--we say THANK YOU! Look out New York..here she comes! Abby and Ben are both home from school today resting. It was a very long week with rehearsals every day...

AND we completed our home study! YEAH!!! 4 separate interviews, many hours spent talking about everything! We were blessed to have such a wonderful social worker! This week we should receive the first draft of this very important document. Please pray for a speedy turnaround and that all parties involved will approve the home study. Once we receive the final notarized copies of our home study, we can then apply to be fingerprinted with the government. This is the LAST phase in the paperwork phase. We are anxious to get this completed so that we can send it on to Ethiopia.

Thank you to all who are supporting us in the journey...please continue to bathe our family in prayer!

The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. Psalm 28:7

Do you like FREE Stuff?

If you like free stuff, good stuff, then leave a comment! Over $50 in handcrafted gift tags and bags will be given to one lucky reader (you must comment!). While you are here, feel free to browse the rest of our site. Good luck! Check out a sample of some of the items you could win at Tag It! Bag It! Gotta Have It! by Kara

Wow! 224 comments left! Thanks for participating!

Look how they have grown!

As we travel through this process called adoption, a family is faced with so many unknowns, what-ifs and general questions. We wonder how old Ava will be when we get "the call." How big will she be when she comes home, what will her personality be like, etc? It has been fun to go back into old photo albums (No, I don't scrapbook!) and see the changes Abigail and Benjamin have experienced. Abby is now 13, a TEENAGER! Ben is 10-still mommy's little boy. These are my two very favorite photos--I remember these days so well! Sweet, sweet times! I just had to share.

Revelations

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. Psalm 18:2

Do you need to be shielded and protected? I DO! God tells us that when we respect and acknowledge him, he is our fortress. We can experience the strength and security he provides in any location. As we develop our reverence for God, we will find him to be our ULTIMATE security and fortress in life---our refuge wherever we may be.

Homestudy - More Shots - YIKES!

Our homestudy visits are scheduled for April--4 total. We are hoping to get the reports back completed by the first of May. Tulio and I have our second round of shots (sounds like a pet's visit!) in a week. I am thrilled; actually, Abby and Ben are excited they are not getting poked.

Custom Adoption BIBS are HERE!!!

Custom Adoption Bibs are made from soft chenille and designer named fabric. Each bib has a matching grosgrain ribbon and unique embroidery is added for that custom boutique touch. 10 different styles to choose from. AFRICA and CHINA are the current countries offered. The bibs fit children 6-36 months. Perfect for any age! Proceeds from the sell of these precious bibs are applied toward our adoption expenses. Paypal is the preferred method of payment. Please add $2.00 for shipping. If you have any questions, please email me at karaportilla@mac.com.

You can also find us at: http://www.bubblegumbibs.etsy.com/