Easter Turkey, Special Olympics and being "The Decider"

Okay, It's been a while since I've posted.  I have no excuse to give ya----I just haven't done it.  I cannot even remember some of the stuff I said I'd post about in this post from the last post-----Here goes!   Bobby and Poppy (my dad) went turkey hunting over the Easter break.  That seems funny to me, but anyway, Bobby killed a turkey and I was obligated to cook it.  Those of you who know me can attest to the fact that I'm a pretty kick-butt cook.  HOWEVER I am not a carcass cleaner.  Holy Crap, Batman!  Bobby and Poppy show up with this little (maybe five pounds) turkey in one of my mom's tupperware bowls and just handed it to me.  I took the turkey out and washed the bowl.  My dad actually asked me "Why are you washing the bowl?"  Note to Mom----Beware when Daddy says he's washed the dishes.  I don't think he knows the proper application of the term.------Anyway, I tell Bobby I'll cook it that night.  He asked me if it weighed about 20 pounds and could we invite the neighbors over.  He's so cute.  I just told him I didn't like the neighbors and we should keep it all to ourselves!  So I take a stick of real butter and give the turkey a massage all over and under his skin.  Then I put on the lemon pepper and and stick another stick of butter inside just for good measure.  He baked in the oven for 20 minutes per pound and got nice and brown.  It looked and smelled great.  I'm the next Julia Childs of the great outdoors, right?  Oh, so freakin' WRONG!!!  So we put the turkey on my nice turkey platter and he takes center stage on the dining table.  Ben starts to carve and everybody gets served.  It tasted great.  I'm serious.  It was really good.  Until----I see a little protrusion of "stuff" from the front of the turkey below the breast.  I said something really lady-like along the lines of "Holy Crap, what is that?"  Ben, come to find out, thought it was stuffing as did Bobby.  But, OHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOO it was that danged turkey's craw.  NASTY.  I didn't eat anymore of it.  Of course, after dinner Bobby had to take it out completely and cut it open and then make exclamations like "This turkey ate a lot of bugs!!"  Oh joy.  It's funny that Ben and Bobby still say it was the best turkey they've ever had.  Do they think I stuff birds with bugs and weeds on a regular basis?  I'm blaming this 100% on Poppy.  He told me it was cleaned and all I had to do was cook it.  Yeah right, Poppy.   Now I remember the other thing I said I would post about----Lent.  Here's my take on Lent.  If you feel strongly about Lent you probably shouldn't read this.  Consider yourself warned.  Lent is not scriptural.  Fasting and praying is scriptural but giving up something like pop, chocolate or coffee just because you feel obligated based on the time of year is pointless.  I heard a woman on the radio saying that she was going to stay up until midnight on the last night of Lent so that she could eat chocolate at 12:01.  She learned nothing.  My Savior went without food or water for 40 days in the desert and then was tempted by Satan to take the "easy way out" and let humanity suffer our much deserved consequences.  Before His death on the cross, My Lord prayed until his sweat "was like great drops of blood" and asked his Father, in agony, to perfect His will in Jesus.  He didn't jump up in the Garden of Gesthemene and exclaim about how glad He was that was over and then tell the disciples that sleeping while they were supposed to be praying was okay.  Lent, cheapens the worth we put on Salvation because it is the mechanical following of a MANMADE tradition.  When Jesus fasted, or Elijah fasted or Moses fasted they were seeking answers from Jehovah God.  Waiting, in prayer and supplication, for an answer that only came from The Great I AM.  God loves obedience over sacrifice.  To obediently fast and pray in private until I receive an answer from God is scriptural.  To give up candy for three weeks and whine about it the entire time is pointless and sacraligious.  So, that's that.   Special Olympics has come and gone.  Abby got a bronze in the wheelchair race and a bronze in the walker race.  She should have done better in the walker race but she was competing in the pouring rain.  Ben would say, "Yeah, but the other two kids in the race were ambulatory without walkers," it really doesn't matter because last year she got the gold competing against athletes who were also walkerless.  My kid just hates getting rained on.  We're proud of her.  Please keep Abby in prayer.  She is having surgery in a week and a half and will be in casts all summer.  She is also going to be in the Special Olympics cheer squad and is very, very excited about that (so am I)!   Bobby had his first Trap Meet yesterday and beat his personal best and came in second in his group against a guy who was older and had been shooting longer.  We are so proud of our son.  He got a yearbook at school and all of the signatures but one are from girls.  Not sure I like that!   I love, love, love my new job.  I could not ask for a nicer, more brilliant or nurturing group of people to work with.  Thank you, Meredith for praying that the Lord would prepare me for my job and my job for me.  I'm sure you don't remember sending me that e-mail, but I remember it well!  It's weird being "The Decider".  I love the law and desire with all my heart to apply it fairly and with neutrality.  Please pray that the Lord gives me wisdom and discernment in this job that he chose for me.  And thank you Lord for delivering me from Eagle Ridge!!!   Mother's Day was great!  Ben and the kids got me a diamond and marcasite panda pendant on a silver chain.  I love it.  Next Mother's Day I hope to have my precious little Maisy here!  I believe that will happen  We went to church and then ate at IHOP.  Then my wonderful little family took me to the flea market.  Yeah, I'm not sure about that either.  I was scared.  I asked to leave as soon as it seemed polite!   The weekend after Mother's Day we went to Laura and John's and everyone ate together.  My sister probably would have found the turkey craw.  I'm such an idiot.  Anyway, Laura's lunch was fabulous and the kids played until they were out of breath.  Abby's wheelchair is a great batmobile and so Brody, Zach and Aidan would take turns riding on the back and singing the batman theme song as they careened wildly around the house in capes and masks armed with various and sundry plastic weapons.  The beat the heck out of Poppy and Bobby.  I have the best nephews in the world.  They are so kind and precious and accommodating to their cousin Abby.  It makes me bawl.  Aunt Amy loves you Muffins---more than you can know.   And now, for the moment you've been waiting for, the latest on ADOPTION NEWS.  On Mother's Day night Ben and I filled out our Waiting Child application and received confirmation on Monday morning.  We are so excited.  The call could come at any time.  We are blessed to live in a city where there are so many wonderful doctors, many of whom we already have relationships with.  We went to USCIS on the 21st and got refingerprinted.  The tech said mine weren't good.  I asked her if they would pass and she said "no" so I asked if she could do them again and she said "no" so I asked if I could have the interview that I had to have LAST TIME and she said----"no."  She told me I have to be rejected first.  What the heck?  Please pray that these prints will work and I don't have to go back for another trip into federal beaurocrat insanity land.   Have a Happy Memorial Day! Amy

Amy Has Left the Ridge!!

I know it's been some time since I have posted to this here blog----but the three of you have other things to do anyway.  I'm not that exciting Kids.  However, it is exciting (at least to me) that I have left Eagle Ridge Institute, flown the coop, ditched the nest, took to the skys...whatever....I'm outta there.  I spent 33 months at ERI.  I left in God's time by and through His provision and I am incredibly blessed!!  I am now living the dream in a job that I've always wanted and just could not be happier.  And that is all I have to say about Eagle Ridge Institute.  Period.  Forever.  I'm DONE!!   I do still believe that being a foster parent is an incredibly wonderful and difficult job.  Many, many children need parents and families to help them heal.  If you are called to be a foster parent then you are a very special person.   In the adoption news arena...TAAAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! We have finally received our fingerprint appointments for our renewal.  Sure, I think it's rediculous that it took our USCIS office 30 stinking days to send the appointments but at least they sent them.  Ben and I were starting to wonder if they lost our file.  The mere thought makes me hyperventilate.  The other bummer thing about it is that our renewal is dated from the date our 171 expires (May 16) so if we don't get our new 171 for like three months, then those are three months that are spent just freakin' waiting.  Dumb, very dumb.  Maybe they will be fast.  Sure, Amy---fast.  I crack myself up.   Well, the final (number 5) chapter of Charles Dickens "Little Dorrit" is coming on Masterpiece Theatre and I need to go watch it.  Yes, we are that boring.  Next time I will talk about our recent Easter celebration, wild turkey (not the kind you drink, Laura), my feelings about Lent (probably going to offend someone with that post) and the number of fish we've had "run away to Lake Hefner".  In fact, one ran away this evening but he's going to come back before Abby gets up in the morning (Must send Ben to Wal-mart).   Love to you and yours, Amy