Grandma Treesh's Memorial Weekend

Grandma Treesh went on to dance with Jesus on October 18, 2011.  We will miss her fun and feisty spirit until we join her one day in heaven.  Isaac loved getting Grandma out on the dance floor!

 The first weekend of December we traveled to Fort Wayne, IN, to join the rest of the extended Treesh family to remember Grandma Treesh.  Since we flew Allegiant Air, we had limited options on flight times and arrived a day ahead of everyone else in Fort Wayne.  We decided that Grandma would want us to have a good time, so we made a fun Christmas weekend out of it touring Fort Wayne, Milford, Goshen, and Syracuse.

We dined at the historic Don Hall's Old Gas House that Thursday evening.  We had amazing filet oscar!  Cheers to Grandma!  She appreciated a good meal too.

After dinner we walked to the First Presbyterian Church's theater to see An American Christmas Carol.  

The church was so beautiful and had a full theater and art gallery.  It was cool to see members of the congregation using their talents for God's glory and to invite the unchurched to come to church.

The musical had a great storyline, and the singing was superb.

The art gallery exhibited two local artists' work.  One artist showed their wood turning skills with multiple vases.  The other artist's craft is paper cuttings.  The above picture is layers of paper cut to reveal multiple colors and textures.  Every time the church has a new show in the theater, the gallery brings in new artists too.

The next morning, we walked to Cindy's Diner for a quick breakfast.  There are only 15 seats at the counter, and Isaac was pleasantly surprised to find FoxNews on the TV.  The donuts weren't bad either.

Our second stop on Friday morning was the History Museum to see the Gingerbread House Exhibit.  Isaac decided to play "toy soldier" for a moment.  

The Gingerbread exhibit started off with the younger kids' entries.  I thought the Angry Birds entry was especially creative.

My favorite Gingerbread house is the one above-looks like a great place to vacation!

This was the grand-prize winner.  It is hard to see all of the detail in this photo, but this house was pretty amazing.

After walking to the Ice skating rink and sadly finding that it didn't open until noon (the time we had to leave town for the memorial), we headed back towards the hotel and stopped in at the Botanical Gardens of Fort Wayne.  The gardens had a Christmas theme and had ornaments and decorations throughout the various greenhouses.

Saturday, we went to Milford United Methodist for Grandma's Memorial Service and graveside service.    Cousin Eric, Josh, and Leah all shared memories of Grandma at the memorial.  Everyone mentioned her love for her family, love of having fun and laughing, and her selfless attitude.  Most of us wore something red to the memorial-red was Grandma's favorite color.  She was a great lady and a blessing to our family.

Saturday evening, Cousin Jim and Wendi hosted us all in their home for a meal and extra time for us all to visit with one another.  The picture above is of the cousins and spouses.

Isaac's immediate family-all 15 of us!

Thanksgiving 2011

We drove up to Knoxville to spend time with the Smith side of our family for Thanksgiving.  We had a great visit and enjoyed resting and relaxing at my parents' home, eating way too much, hanging out with family, and watching UK victories.

Kari (Neale's girlfriend), Neale (middle child), and Perry (the baby)-notice my brothers' hideous wolf T-shirts...I just don't get it!

Mom and Dad or Chef and Sous-chef

Isaac and Kyle

Dad feeding his grand-dog Kelsey (Neale's baby that he bought to pick up girls...I guess it worked)

Cat lover Isaac petting Belle who was freshly shaved and looking frightening!

Turkey paprika the day after Thanksgiving-yum!

Baby Joseph...a couple of years ago Perry found this plastic Joseph in the front yard.  After Perry and Dad drove around and couldn't find Joseph's home, he came to live at the Smith house and we named him "Baby Joseph" because of his short stature.  We like to prank Perry when we are home and involve Baby Joseph...last year Dad dressed him up in a puffy coat and backwards baseball cap and buckled him into Perry's car...the look on Perry's face was priceless when he got in his car the next day.  This year, Baby Joseph was waiting for Perry in bed after Perry worked a really long shift at Starbucks...the next morning Joseph was waiting for Perry in his bathroom.

Isaac got to play Santa bingo for the first time.  We played this game growing up every Christmas.

On Saturday, we celebrated the UK wildcats beating the UT Vols for the first time in 26 years in football!  Dad had to break out the champagne for this victory!

Dad also had to hang his UK flag for all of Knoxville to see.  I'm sure he'll be sporting his UK tie at work this week, too.

After the game, I watched Nurse Linda give Belle her fluids...the poor cat has kidney failure!  She looks really rough, but Mom swears that she is feeling better.

We also managed to put up the Christmas tree...Dad ended up in timeout for bad ornament placement...but everyone survived and the tree looks beautiful.

Cooking 101

I took a Cooking 101 course at the Rolling Pin this fall.  I had such a great time learning new skills in the kitchen over those 5 weeks and making a few new friends.  Sometimes I took leftovers home to Isaac, and I took pictures of everything to show off for those nights where I cleaned my plate:)  Here's a sampling of my fabulous tastings.

Grilled peaches with sweetened Mascarpone Cheese

Grilled Ribeye with Deep-Fried Potatoes with Key Lime Ketchup

Grilled Marinated Portobella Mushrooms, Zucchini and Tomatoes

Tarte aux Pommes

Roast Loin of Pork with Roasted Root Vegetables

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese

Balsamic Reduction with Strawberries and Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Braised Chicken Thighs with Garlic and Spinach with Traditional Mashed Potatoes

Marinated Green Beans with Smoked Gouda, Capers, and Kalamata Olives

Viennese Style Chicken Scallops with Lyonnaise Potatoes

Creme Caramel

Puree of Split Pea Soup with Homemade Crotons

Warm Pecan Crusted Goat Cheese Toasts with Mixed Baby Greens


I also learned to make Brown Stock, Chicken Stock, Salad dressings, and Pate Sucree.  I'm signed up for Cooking 201 in January with my group from 101 and another friend who took 101 earlier this year.  I can't wait to get back in the Rolling Pin gourmet kitchen...and move into my new kitchen in 6 weeks!

October Visitors

My mom and dad came for a visit at the end of September/beginning of October.  They spent the first part of the week lounging by the pool on Vero Beach and texting me pictures of the amazing seafood they ate each night.  Mom and I had been wanting to check out the Chihuly Exhibit in St. Pete for quite some time and finally got the opportunity.

Visitors to the Chihuly collection aren't allowed to take pictures inside, but the statue outside was pretty cool.  We walked through the exhibit a couple of times and noticed something different each time.  Most of the glass was set upon a black mirror-like platform and when you looked down you could see the glass reflected which made it look almost like you were underwater.

We dined at Mar Vista on Longboat Key one night.  My parents have a friend who told them about this restaurant...it is a hidden gem.  We've gone twice-totally worth the drive!

The following weekend we drove back down to Anna Maria Island to visit with our friends Cory and Tanya and their little boys, Tucker and Finn.  The Sides family moved to NC last fall, and we have missed them!

We all got to watch a beautiful sunset...I just love living near the beach!

When we got back to their condo, we sang Happy Birthday and watched Tanya blow out her candles on her cake.  (I think Tucker looks like he is about to sneeze on the cake in this picture.)

One Year on Waiting List

Today marks ONE YEAR on the waiting list for our boys.  We did not think we would be waiting this long when we started the adoption process, but we believe that the extra waiting is for a reason yet to be revealed.  We have learned and grown so much as individuals and as a couple through the waiting period, and truly believe that God is using this time to prepare us for our future children and all that parenting them will entail.  We are relying on God to build our family in His perfect timing.  Every day is one step closer...

Psalm 127

Unless the Lord builds the house they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.  It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.  Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.  How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Traci's Babies' Shower

Sunday was Traci's Big Day...the much awaited, much anticipated, very much prayed for celebration of God's blessings on Traci and Mark.  I would not have missed this day for the world and was so privileged to get to join Dana and Kelly in planning this special day for our best friend. 

The caramel corn that Jan and I made the night before was the parting favor at Traci's shower. 

My contribution to the shower was decor and games/crafts.  In lieu of games, I decided on crafts instead.  We had a "make an onesie" station for guests to create an onesie for one or both of the babies.

Plain onesies and hats to decorate.

Guests had the options of adding buttons to their onesies.

Guests tagged their onesies so Traci would know who created the outfit.

or add flower buttons or iron-on appliques...

then hang their onesie for viewing on the clothesline.

Kelly picked out the perfect cake for the occasion.  It tasted as good as it looks!

Kyle, Kelly, Traci with babies, Dana

Traci's Mom, Leanne, and Kelly decorating their onesies.

A few of the onesie creations...I wish I had a picture of ALL of them...some super cute onesies and hats are not pictured!

Traci and her baby bounty...she got alot of great gifts and her babies' room is going to be well-stocked!

Kelly and I both got Traci her Boppy pillows-one for each baby from her aunts:)  Kelly was so kind to pick up my present for me so that I didn't have to carry one more item on the plane-my bags were so full that they were causing marital issues on the way to KY!

Books from my mom...Traci's fav is "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"

The other craft project that I planned involved the whole group of guests.  I had made a fleece blanket for each baby by knotting two pieces of fleece together and left one side of each blanket undone.  We passed the blankets and as each guest tied a knot, we each said a prayer or blessing for the baby.  It was such a sweet time and my favorite part of the shower!!!

Dana tying her knot for Baby Girl Moore and praying her blessing for her life.

Kelly tying her knot for Baby Boy Moore and praying her blessing for his life.

Traci's Mom, Mary, tying her knot and praying for Baby Boy Moore to grow up to be just like his daddy and have a servant's heart...she made everyone cry!!!  For Baby Girl Moore she prayed that she would grow up to be just like her mama...tear!...we were passing the kleenex!

Traci with her Blankets of Blessings

After most of the guests had left and the guys returned to Andy and Dana's with the kids, Hallie (Kelly and Josh's little girl and my much-loved niece) and I made a onesie together for one of Aunt Traci's babies.  Is Hallie not the cutest little crafter you've ever seen?  I LOVE this little girl!!!

I made Christmas onesies for Baby Girl Moore and Baby Boy Moore....pink JOY for her with flower ornaments and red JOY for him with classic ornaments...I thought they turned out cute and I can't wait to see them wear them this Christmas!!!

The shower was the highlight of our weekend in KY.  We are thrilled for Mark and Traci that they get to experience twins before we do so that we can learn twin tips from them!  Traci has been my close confidant through our adoption and our roads to motherhood have mirrored each other's in so many ways...and not-so-much in other ways...but we've leaned on and encouraged each other on this journey, and I've gained so much faith and hope through watching God answer our prayers for the Moore family.  Check out their blog for updates:  http://moore-blessings.blogspot.com/.