paka paka vlad...hello ?

Vlad has an older brother that lives in some other orphanage in some other part of Russia. A Russian family adopted him and found out about Vlad and adopted him too! Why wouldn't they? He's perfect!

How great for the boys to be put together and kept in Russia. How wonderful for us to not have traveled to Russia and fallen more in love with him. How nice that we will be able to help someone else that needs a family.

So, don't be sorry. This is good for Vlad. After all the reason we are adopting is to love a kid that needs it. Vlad doesn't, he has that now.

what's for dinner tonight

Instead of spending time in Russia, I'm spending some extra time in my kitchen and having friends over for dinner. Tonight we are having shrimp scampi. Sounds fancy, but is ridiculously simple.


Ingredients

salt
1 pound of pasta
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley
black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
24 medium raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 white wine
zest and juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Instructions

Preheat outdoor grill or grill pan on high.

Chop the garlic, and parsley. Zest the lemon.

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat to boil. Salt the water and cook the pasta according to the package directions. NOTE You need to save a couple ladles of the cooking water before you draining.

While the pasta is cooking, in a bowl combine the garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Use half of the mixture to toss with the shrimp. Coat the shrimp and then place it on the grill. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side until the shrimp are firm and opaque.

While the shrimp is grilling add the rest of the garlic mixture and red pepper flakes to a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then add the wine and cook for another minute. Next add the lemon juice, zest and two ladles of pasta water continue cooking for 2 minutes. Add the butter and stir until melted. Add the grilled shrimp. Toss in the pasta. Season with salt and pepper.

To make it simpler I put Jim in charge of the grilling and in the winter I just cook the shrimp in a small frying pan.

Serve with a green salad and some garlic bread.

just kidding #2

A part of Friday's email from our caseworker.

"The coordinator spoke to the DOE and the DOE recommended you cancel your trip for next week. The head of the DOE needs to sign something before you can visit and he has not done so. The coordinator also said she knows another family traveled earlier and was not allowed to get referral and returned home without seeing child."

Well I guess it was just recommended. I guess we still could have gone, but it seemed foolish to do so. So we wait some more. This time there is no re booking the flights, which I like. Let's just wait until we know for sure.

I was upset to hear that Kazakhstan has stopped adoptions while they work on some accreditation. But I guess either way, Russia or Kazakhstan, we would have experienced this difficulty.

The real problem...
Jim has a new job that is moving us to Kansas City. We have to move by March next year. We initially thought the adoption would be finished by then and there would be no problem. However, now we are unsure. A new house means starting back from the beginning...right? I don't know. I finally told our caseworker. We will see what she thinks.

so close......

part of the e-mail from our caseworker

The coordinator will give me the final decision tomorrow but she expects you will not be able to travel as planned.

-So it's not NO you can't travel, but it's so close. Please pray for us.

vlad's study guide

I hear that many parents leave a photo book, labeled in Russian, at the orphanage so the caretakers can help the child study. Well Vlad can't be left out. We picked up a little photo book to fill with pictures of us, the house, and a crazy stuffed animal we are going to leave with him. I've also heard of parents leaving a disposable camera at the orphanage for the caretakers to snap pictures. I think it would be really special to have those pictures for him. Let's hope they are willing.
















A week and a day until we leave... Keep praying.

don't hate the coconut

Too many people hate on recipes containing coconut. If you think you dislike it you should still try these cookies. There is no need to go crazy just add a bit of coconut to make your cookie chewy and delicious.

You really should make these they are so yum.

Cowboys Cookies
* 3/4 cup pecans (3 ounces)
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
* 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
* Vegetable-oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in oven, tossing occasionally, until darkened and fragrant, 10 to 13 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. Into a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
3. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans, and coconut until just combined.
4. Coat baking sheets with cooking spray; line with parchment, and spray parchment. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto prepared sheets, about 3 inches apart.
5. Bake 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks to cool 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.