Cold Feet, Funny Faces, A Great Book, Before and After, and Other Stuff

How's that for a title? Well, that's what this post is about - lots of randomness. I'll start with the cold feet. This morning, I went to wake Ashton up for school. I peeled back his blankets and was alarmingly startled to find that his feet were swollen to about three times their normal size! Upon further investigation, I discovered that he was wearing multiple pairs of socks. So I started peeling off the layers, counting as I went. The child was wearing 6 - get this - 6! pairs of socks!! Last night the temperatures dropped to about zero degrees, and I guess he was getting cold feet about having cold feet!

It has been very cold, snowy and icy here in the Midwest. And slippery! I found that out firsthand last week when I was driving my Mother-in-law's van in Indiana. I was coming up to an S-curve, and decided I'd better slow down a bit. I touched the brakes and immediately started sliding from one side of the road to the other, trees flying past me on both sides. I finally came to rest in a ditch against some trees, heading the opposite direction. Whew! While I waited for the tow truck, many kind people came along and asked if I needed help. One man drove me to his home so I could - er - use the facilities, and as I rode off with him, I wondered what in the world I was thinking! Don't we teach our children never to accept a ride from strangers? But he was very kind, and as we visited I found out that he has 2 adopted children! See, adoptive parents are pretty cool! = ) I was OK, and so was my Mother-in-law's van, thank God!

Malia was very excited to find this icicle the next day:

It was almost as tall as she was!

And here is a newly updated photo of the handsome man that I married:

Looking at these pictures, I realized just how much my boys look like their dad: 

See? I told you this post was random. OK, just a few more things. I read a great book recently that I would highly recommend. It is called 'I Will Try' by Legson Kayira. This young man left his home in what is now Malawi with only a Bible, a copy of Pilgrim's Progress, and a shirt that said I Will Try on the pocket. He walked across Africa, working odd jobs as he went to get enough money for food. His goal was to get to America, and he never gave up, no matter how hard his circumstances became. The book taught me a lot about African culture, and also gave me an adult's perspective on coming from a third-world country to America and experiencing all of the new foods, technological advances, and opportunities that our country has to offer. It gave me a little better insight as to what our Ethiopian child(ren) will experience.

And finally, my kitchen reveal! I must say, I have had enough of this nesting stuff, and am just ready to get this baby bird home! In the past two weeks, I have ripped down wallpaper borders in 2 rooms, tiled my kitchen backsplash, painted my kitchen ceiling, kitchen walls, living room ceiling, living room walls, and the kids' bathroom walls, and have finished a portion of my Spring cleaning (even though it's not Spring, yet). So, here are a few before and after photos of my kitchen:

Before:

After: 

 So, there you have it. Have a great Monday, everyone!