Publish or Perish, I'd Rather be Scrapbooking

Lately, I have been dabbling a bit in scrapbooking. Now, I am not an expert by any means but it is enjoyable.

This passion began with Fred, our first exchange student. I wanted to send him home with some memories of his time with us here in America. I began taking photos with my trusty Cannon Sureshot Camera, running to the One-Hour Photo for quick turn-around, and cropping the photos and pasting them along with cute captions into an album. By the time Fred went back to China, I chronicalled his entire trip with us. He really liked his album and will have a memory of his visit to America.

I enjoyed my scrapbook experience so much that when Lara (our exchange student from Spain) arrived, I was much more experienced. However, I found that developing rolls upon rolls of film at the One-Hour Photo was getting quite expensive. I finally succumbed to advancing into the 21st Century and bought a new digital camera. How did I ever survive without one!

Anyway, during Lara's visit, I chronicalled her experiences with photos and also made her a scrapbook to take home. She was quite surprised by the gift and shared with her family once she arrived home.

Since these experiences, I have been creating albums of old family photos, my baby photos, and current family photos. I am really enjoying scrapbooking and find myself spending free time working on my albums. It has become a great creative outlet for me. However, there is a bit of a problem with this, I am spending so much of my free time scrapbooking that I am neglecting my scholarly duties. As a professor, I must publish in order to earn promotion. Yes, I am one of those who face the inevitable "publish or perish" dilemma.

It seems we are always trying to find balance in our lives. Family, work, recreation, church, God, etc.... What is the key to balancing so many activities and responsibilities? Don and I have had many long discussions on how our family life will change once our adoption is complete. We have no answers just hope that all will fall into place and that we will be able to make wise choices.

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:17.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Peach Cobbler, Blackeyed Peas, and Paella

Since Lara would be leaving us this week, we wanted to make her last weekend with us fun. On Saturday, we went to the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. We had a very nice time and Lara knew many of his works as well as the history behind them. It was very interesting to get her perspective.

On Sunday, we decided to make some traditional foods. We had an American-Spanish feast. Our menu included tapas (Spanish), paella (Spanish), blackeyed peas (American, Donald's favorite), and peach cobbler (American, my favorite).

Laura and I spent the day shopping. First, we headed to Barnes &Noble for some books. We found a wonderful Spanish cookbook that Laura informed me was very common in Spain. Laura bought a new edition of The Princess Diaries she said this series is very popular among the teen girls in Spain. She also enjoys reading English versions as she can expand her English reading abilities. Laura is quite remarkable!

Next, we went to Williams & Sonoma (my favorite place to shop!) for a paella pan and some Calasparra rice. We also checked to see if they carry Spanish olive oil. Lara brought us some from Spain and I wanted to see if I can buy it here in the future.

Next, we went to Fresh Market to purchase our ingredients for the paella. Donald is allergic to shrimp so we opted for chicken, mussels, and vegies - are you getting hungry yet?

Now, I have to say that I have never cared for paella. However, since Laura wanted to cook and she says paella is one of her family's specialties, I had to try it. Well, what a wonderful meal we had. First, we enjoyed shopping and getting everything ready for cooking. Next, we had fun cooking together, and finally, the meal was "to die for"! It was excellent, if I might say so myself.

All good things must end one day (Who said that anyway? Wasn't that in a song from my teen years? Does anyone remember it?).

Today was a very sad day. We took Lara to the bus at 7:00 AM. We were all in tears. She has been such a joy. I have to admit, I was not so sure I would enjoy having a teenager in the house for 3 weeks but it has been very enjoyable. We also shared a lot of our cultures with each other.

We will probably consider participating in the foreign exchange program in the future. I strongly recommend it. We enjoyed both of the students we hosted. And our experiences definitely took our minds off the delays with our adoption.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Patiently waiting for word about our little girl,
Elizabth

Things Are Beginning to Happen

We heard today from our Agency. The Ministry of Education in Russia announced this week that they are beginning to accept paperwork from agencies for reaccreditation. This is VERY good news. Our agency is confident that they will receive their reacreditation in February 2007.

We are very greatful for this movement in Russia. It seems we have been waiting so long to hear anything positive. We are praying that everything moves along without major issues and we will be hearing about our beautiful little girl early in 2007.

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11

With restored faith that we will be bringing home our little girl soon,
Elizabeth

Didn't I say "No Cat Zone"

Well, as you can see the idea of a "no cat zone" failed. However, Lara really did not mind. This big boy is Pinkey and he is quite cozy in Lara's bed. Yes, I know you are asking yourself "why would they name a monster cat like that Pinkey?

Well, it was easy. First, he was supposed to be a she. Second, he was this little tiny, cute, white ball of fuzz when we met him. He had a pink nose and ears. We fell in love and the name made sense at the time.

Lara seems to be settling in. She is a delight. Lara is very personable, curious, and her English is excellent. She is open to trying new things and really enjoys cooking. We cooked together today. I told her we were having salmon, asparagus, and salad for dinner. She immediately wanted to help. She had never had asparagus steamed. She said they fry asparagus in Spain. So, we steamed half and fried half. The asparagus was a hit. We all enjoyed both types. I think the next few weeks will be a lot of fun.

Still no news about our adoption.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Still waiting,
Elizabeth

Passing the Time by Hosting Another Exchange Student!

It has been several weeks since I posted. We have been very busy; it seems sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day! We are preparing for another exchange student. This time a girl, 16 years old and from Spain. She called us Sunday to introduce herself. Her name is Lara and she speaks English very well. We have a sense this experience will be different from our experience with Fred.

I have been preparing her room - I wanted to make it more "girly" than it was for Fred. I moved around the furniture, dug out some angels, teddy bears, and dolls to put on the shelves. Next to her bed, I have a round table with a pretty heart shaped doily and a vase of fresh flowers. Lara arrives tonight and I hope she will feel at home. She will be here for 3 weeks.

She told us on the phone that this will be the first time she has been away from home without her mother or father. We are praying that she is comfortable in our home. We also have 4 cats and she has never been around animals. Cats are a challenge in that they do what they want. Cats are not as easy to train as dogs, in my opinion. Our bunch do respond to words and commands such as:

• "do you want a treat?"
• "out"
• "get down"
• "your're bad"
• "good boy" or "good girl"
• "lay down"

We will have to work on keeping them out of her room. We have designated Lara's room as a "no cat zone". However, our cats are very lovable and they may just win her over. Afterall, Fred liked them.

I will try to keep this blog more up-to-date. However, being busy is a "good thing" when you are a PAP (preadoptive parent). We are still waiting to hear some news regarding Russian accreditation updates and NGO status of our adoption agency. We have been told everything slows down in Russia during July and August due to vacations. Sooooooooo, keeping busy is good for us right now.

We have faith that everything will work out according to God's plan. In the meantime, we are on our knees praying.

I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God. Psalm 38:15

Patiently waiting,
Elizabeth