Hand & Foot Turkey

Our house is so empty now that all the Halloween decorations are put away. I have a few Thanksgiving decorations, but not much. I'm so tempted to start pulling out the Christmas supplies, but I'll hold off. Here's a simple turkey that can be made from hand and foot tracings. Josie had a great time helping me with this craft. She's very good at tracing and gluing, but needed help with scissors.



Supplies needed:

brown, red, orange and yellow construction paper
pencil
scissors
glue
googly eyes (optional) I used black construction paper and a hole punch to make our eyes

Step 1. Trace around your child's feet with brown construction paper. Trace around both feet. These two pieces will be the turkey's body.



Step 2. Trace around your child's hands using the red, orange and yellow construction paper. These 6 pieces will be the turkey's feathers.



Step 3. Glue the two footprints together to make the turkey's body. The heels make the head area.



Step 4. Cut out a wattle and orange beak. Glue the wattle, beak and google (or paper) eyes to the head.


Step 5. Glue the handprint "feathers" to the back of the turkey, layering them.

The nice thing about this craft is that it will be fun to pull out next year to see how much Emma's and Josie's feet and hands have grown.

Gobble, gobble!

Been busy...

The girls have both been under the weather with respiratory "gunk". Emma actually missed a couple of days of school and by Friday evening, both were ready for blankets and a good movie. We pulled out Elf and made hot chocolate.

For anyone who is curious, all the Halloween decorations are officially put away. Not a single creature or orange light to be found anywhere. I'm always amazed at how much work it is to set-up and take-down, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll be sending off a check for $200 dollars to Pearl River Outreach this week. Thank you to all that donated. Every little bit helps.

On Saturday, my sister and I helped my parents start moving their belongings from their funeral home residence to their new home. Chris kept our germy girls home.

Although they aren't retiring, they are moving out of their funeral business. Their new home is just gorgeous. They haven't had a real house with a real yard for many many years. I can't wait to show interior shots...especially my mother's art studio. All my crafting takes place on my kitchen island. My mother actually has a whole room devoted to quilting, sewing, painting, stained glass making, miniature making, basket weaving, beading, gluing..etc. I'm so happy for them both.

Speaking of crafting, I dug out my Christmas crafting supplies this afternoon. I just took a peek inside my box. I didn't start anything, but it's never too early to start planning. I can't wait to try out a few new projects with the girls.

Have a wonderful week. Stay healthy.

Operation China Warm- Up

I want to get the word out on something that Kay Bratt has offered to do. Seeing first hand the importance of helping children stay warm in China, I think this is a great idea.

(Picture of Josie taken sometime in 2007)

Taken directly from Kay's blog...

"Most of us do not have to worry about our children staying warm this winter. However, now that the temps are beginning to drop, my mind is constantly straying back to those many winter days I spent walking through the rows of babies in the orphanage– babies who were dressed in three layers of clothes and then strapped down in their cribs with no ability to move, roll over or work the numb muscles. Sound sad? Yes– it does but it is true. One need I remember having each year was for warm sweaters for the infants, toddlers and other children.

If you would like to pick up a sweater or two (gently used would be fine too) and mail it to Kay, she will be sending off a box of sweaters to two orphanages. She cannot say which, as one was the orphanage she wrote about in Silent Tears; A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage.

Please only send sweaters with buttons or zippers, as these are the most convenient for the orphanage ayis to use. Size 6 month and larger needed. You can email her at kaybratt70@hotmail.com for the address to mail your donation to.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. When I think back to where we were last year at this time, Josie had successfully recovered from her open heart surgery, had finally adjusted to attending daycare full-time, but was still struggling with chronic night terrors and ongoing food issues.

We were also preparing for her upcoming hand surgery to remove her extra thumb and were trying to adjust to the delicate balancing act of now having two daughters who needed equal attention.

I’m in awe of the progress that we've made since last year. Josie made it through an annoying hand surgery that required a shoulder-to-fingertip cast for five weeks.

She's finally adjusted to sleeping in her own bed (as long as her big sister is on the top bunk).


She's also stopped pouching her cheeks full of food at each meal (although if she can't finish it all, she'll beg me to "save it" for later). Definite progress.


Emma has continued to be an amazing role model, teacher and loving big sister.


She's comes to terms with sharing Mom and Dad and continues to be excited to ride to daycare to retrieve her little sister so that she can smoother her with kisses and hugs.


Our daughters are both strong-willed, smart, and loving little girls. I am blessed to be their mother.

One of my favorite publications (Adoptive Families Magazine) has a calendar for the month of November that suggests 30 Ways to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month. I'm hoping to make time this month to complete a few of their wonderful suggestions.

Cheers to all those families who have opened up their hearts to adoption. It's an amazing gift. A special thanks to all my adoptive blogging friends. You've been a wonderful support to me over the last few years. I've enjoyed our online friendship in more ways than I can express. I feel especially blessed to have met many of my blogging friends in person or talked to them on the phone.

I also live in a community in which I can get together with other adoptive families on a regular basis...How cool is that?? As you can see from all my recent blog posts during the month of October (Moon Festival, Disney World Reunion, and our recent Halloween gathering) that I always enjoy a good excuse to get together with other adoptive families. I can't wait to find even more opportunities in 2010.

Happy National Adoption Awareness Month!

All good things must come to an end...

It's officially over (see this post for picture and Halloween party highlights) and it's always bittersweet when Halloween comes to an end at our house. Because the weather was downright nasty on Friday night, I didn’t take any outdoor pictures. Here are a few shots of my husband’s amazing pumpkin carvings.





See...I’m not the only one with crafty talent in our house. Chris is the master at pumpkin carving.





It was so cold Halloween night (and the girls were honestly tired of wearing their costumes after wearing them in Disney World, their Friday school parties and then at our own party), that they didn’t even dress up for trick or treating.



Josie's favorite part was passing out candy.



It's Daddy's too.



I'm dreading putting everything away. Anyone want to join me in packing up a few Halloween decorations? Pretty please?