So In Love

Just had Charlie's 9 month pictures and Christmas pictures done! I'm so in love with our little boy! I love seeing him with his 4 older siblings and just how much they love him too. He's crawling and getting into things, especially the Christmas tree. He LOVES paper! Time to move everything to higher ground everyone! Here's some of my favorites from his photo shoot!

Home Sick Home

Yeah, I wish that was a typo but it's not! I told Brian that I now know the downfall of larger families! Sickness! And of course having 5 children that pick up germs from 3 different places(high school, grade school, and daycare), we are just bound to get socked with some illnesses. Right now I just wish that everyone would just get sick all at the same time & be done with it. Instead, they are all taking their sweet time and being sick with 1 thing after another. Then it moves on to another child. It also isn't the flu that you can get the shot for. It's the stomach kind & then we've also got strep on top of it.

So how have I spent my day so far being home from work with a sick Jackson? Lysol & lots of it! I've been wiping down everything I can & spraying all door handles to keep the germs from spreading even further. Guess we'll see if that will help or not!

Oh, I guess the other thing I've been doing is keeping Charlie out of the Christmas tree! Yep, he's crawling & he's gotten good at it too! He's so proud of himself when he gets where he wants to go & he got himself stuck in under the tree yesterday & he just giggled. Love that little boy!

Well, better keep cleaning! Is it spring yet??

Tasty Tuesday

Yes, I feel like the only time I have to pay attention to this blog is to copy & paste a recipe for Tasty Tuesday. Life has been crazy but we've been having a great time with everything! Here's one for all you busy mom's who want a healthy recipe! I served this with white rice & all the kids gave it 2 thumbs up! This is from www.skinnytaste.com. Enjoy!

Crockpot Sante Fe Chicken

2-3 pounds chicken breast
14 ounce can diced tomatoes with mild chilies
15 ounce can black beans
8 ounces frozen corn
1/4 cup cilantro
14 ounce can chicken broth fat free
3 scallions
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice.

This is even better on day 2!! Wow! I did have a couple of family members that still preferred to use flour tortillas but I used rice to try to make it healthier.

Tasty Tuesday

Ok, it's just nasty cold outside & I don't particularly like cold temps(-5!). Well, who really does? If you say you do, don't tell me because I don't want to hear it! Anyway, the only good thing about colder weather is that I love to make soup!! This one will knock your socks off & even my oldest daughter who hates tomato soup loves this one & begged me to make it again soon! Found this gem on www.food.com!

Creamy Tomato Basil Bisque

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
• 2 (28 ounce) cans muir glen organic fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar or 1 teaspoon sherry wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup half-and-half or 1/2 cup soy coffee creamer
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (for garnish)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, basil, bay leaf, and broth. Cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
 
2. Puree soup in blender or food processor until smooth. Strain through fine mesh strainer into sauce pan; return to simmer. Remove from heat, and stir in half-and-half. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Garnish with basil.

I also did grilled cheese sandwiches with this but did them with smoked provolone instead of velveeta or american cheese. You also MUST use the fire roasted tomatoes! I can't imagine the flavor being as good with just regular tomatoes. So enjoy!

Finalization!!! He's Ours Forever!!

Yesterday was so awesome!! I know that Charlie has felt like our son from the minute we laid eyes on him but now the law also recognizes this too! Charlie J*ace Asanti Gulker will forever be our son and we couldn't feel more blessed to be his parents. So often I don't feel worthy of these 5 blessings God has given to us but I will forever do my best to bring them up to know the Lord and His love for them. If I fail miserably at everything else at least they will have that! Here are some pictures of our time in the courtroom.

Taking the Stand

I think this coming Monday will be the only time I will ever be okay having to be sworn in to be asked questions by a judge and our lawyer. It will be the day that both Brian & I will promise to be Charlie's family forever and that he will become our son in the eyes of the law just as if he had been born to us. He's been ours since the moment we laid eyes on him but it will be so good to finally have the law catch up to what we've known all along. I can't imagine our lives without him! I know it wasn't the easiest journey but I'd walk through every second of it again if it meant that it led to Charlie.

When I see him smile or I see just how much his brothers & sisters love him, my heart almost hurts thinking that I could have missed out on all this. What would our lives be like if we hadn't listened to God's call to adopt?? What if we had ignored the need for families?? What if we hadn't taken that HUGE leap of faith to do something that the world just may not understand?? Ya know what?? I don't care because we DID listen! We didn't ignore the need! We did take that leap of faith & now we have the most beautiful, precious little boy to remind us everyday of the blessings that can come from following God. What things have you tried not to listen to God about lately? How many times have you said something was just too hard so you turned your back? God will make sure His plans are carried out. You just have to decide whether you're going to do it the easy way or the hard way! Here's a little reminder of the huge blessing that can come from God when you follow Him & listen to His will.

Tasty Tuesday(on Thursday)

I've probably lost a ton of readers out there with the lack of posting in general but we've had a ton of stuff going on & illnesses hitting our house. Hopefully I'll be able to post more regular but I've said that a few times already. So since I missed Tasty Tuesday again this week, I'm going to do this on Thursday!!! Just this once!

Spicy Chicken Fideo Soup

8 ounces vermicelli, broken in half(we used orzo)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion chopped fine
8 cups chicken broth
2 (10 ounce) cans Rotel tomatoes
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle in adobo
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded into bite-sized pieces
1 ripe avocado, diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese

1. Cook vermicelli and 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate.

2. Add onion and remaining oil to pot and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes, chipotle,  and pasta and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is al dente, 10-12 minutes. Stir in chicken and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Top with avocado, cilantro and cheese. Serve.

I'm trying to remember for sure what we did with the Rotel but I'm pretty sure we used tomatoes with jalapenos in them but you can use just green chilies to tone down the spicyness. Thought a good soup recipe would be good for this colder weather we're having and this one is done in no time!