SOPA Awareness Day

From the moment we envisioned the room switch, I knew what type of bed I wanted to add sleeping accomodations for our fourth girl–but the oak, loft/desk combo I envisioned was nearly impossible to find and clearly out of budget.  For the first time ever, I thought to try Craig’s List, and in the first two days of checking found exactly the set we’d dreamed of, custom made by a cabinet maker for his own daughter years ago!  The finish is a perfect match for the triple high bunks (tri-unks?) we already have!

The spacious room has three windows along one wall (I didn’t have a wide enough camera lens and couldn’t get the right angle to capture the full wall in one shot.)  Two doors keep it open to the rest of the house in the daytime, one opens into the living room, and one into the study (family-room), right next to the kitchen.  Their bathroom has an enormous tub, a separate shower, two sinks and a skylight.  The walk-in closet has a door to the bathroom on one end and opens into the bedroom behind the loft/desk on the other side.

I’m not an interior designer.  I like things neutral and simple so keep in mind this is just PrairieFrog living, not a glossy magazine home.

The Triple-High Bunks

New Desk/Loft Unit

Over the Loft Bed/Desk

One Wall (or as much of it as I could get in view at once)

Over the Dresser (Grandpa Dave made the four jewelry hangers.)

A Reading Nook (In the corner behind the desk)

I still hope to do a few things, like a nice finished back to the desk and such, but we now have a fully functional room to generously accommodate four girls!.

We’re contemplating painting the walls a pale, pinkish purple they had in their former bedroom.  What think you, friends?   The room is pretty visible from most the main living areas, so I don’t want bold, wild color, but is the present creme best or should we go with subtle pink/lavender?

(This post is cross-posted to the Harp & Hammers adoption blog where you can read fun facts about the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of each post!  Click here to hop over!)

Today, the postman brought us a wondrous surprise from France!   Children’s author Nicole Snitselaar has done it again!   Nicole tells me that of her 20 published stories, 2 have been inspired by the wee Prairiefrogs!   (Click here to read about the other.)   I’m flattered and amazed that my quiet little blog could capture Nicole’s imagination resulting in such delightful books!   The girls’ names have been altered slightly for the French audience, but you may recognize them in the pages below… even if you don’t speak French!

I love the illustrator’s whimsical style!  These are just a few scenes of many from the book; a nibble.

Quand tu seras grand… (When you are grown…)

When you are grown, you’ll be a Chef; the premier in the world!

When you are grown, you’ll be a brave Explorer!

When you are grown, you’ll be the conductor of an orchestra!

And many other accomplishments… I dare not give away the whole book!    I wasn’t able to find the book available in the United States or even Canada yet, but here’s a link to the publisher’s site in Paris.

Merci beaucoup, Nicole!    Es fantastique!

It was certainly an easy meal for me.  I’m not much of a cake decorator, so pie made life simpler too!

My sweet, thoughtful, and fun-loving little fellow is 7!  Happy Birthday Keegan!

Presents! (I Love his Expressions!)

Cards From Siblings

Cherry Pie

So, that’s all the birthdays for… a few days.  Kendra’s birthday is the 10th (4 days after Keegan’s!)  She’s having her big 10th year bash on the weekend following, so I have lots of fun preparations in the week ahead.  Of the 7 of us here right now, the birthdays are Oct 29, Nov 1, Nov 28, Dec 18, Jan 6, Jan 10  (all with Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years as well!)  and then a small breather until March 25th.  Kiffanie’s birthdate is unknown but will be assigned in the Congo.  I’m rooting for a summer birthday just to mix things up a bit!

I love her dancing spirit, her gap-toothed smile, and her mighty determination inside a petite, elfish body.

She studied my cookbooks before requesting a birthday meal of acorn squash, banana nut bread and marinated roast followed by a desert of Crepes Suzette in flaming orange sauce.

Keianna Noelle ~ Our Christmas Song

A Flaming Success

Yesterday we celebrated Keegan’s birthday, so pictures of further merriment are forthcoming.  First though, I wanted to document Keianna’s!  (I’m catching up from a December blog-break.)

• We switched bedrooms! Now the girls have the enormous master-suite, with four beds, and a springy butterfly and flowers decor. (Stay tuned for photographic evidence.)
• We celebrated Keianna’s 8th Birthday (Complete with flaming crepes!)
• We enjoyed Advent devotions and remembering the coming of our Lord and Savior in preparation for Christmas.
• We did much baking, partying, and gift giving in memory of the Word (Jesus) being made flesh and dwelling among us.
• We enjoyed cozy, busy times.
• We hosted our annual Christmas gathering with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, and even a fluffy dog-in-law: Joyous times!
• Through it all little Kiffanie was on our hearts–the one member of the family not here to be part of the fun; yet we rejoice at the hope of celebrating many Christmases as a united family!
• I’ve revamped our schedule as we jump back into academics after a Christmas holiday!  Ken’s work schedule will be more consistent this next quarter, which should make consistent routine easier for the rest of us.

I’ve posted a brief adoption update over on the girl’s Harp & Hammers blog-site.  To learn more about the fascinating birth-land of our youngest daughter, read the “Harp & Hammers D.R.C. Fact” at the end of each post on that blog.

Vase by Kendra: Flowers from Ken

I tried this hairstyle on Kaira:

Click photo to go to a tutorial for this hairstyle

I didn’t photograph the results.  It looked nice and she wore the style to church, but it didn’t create the crown-type look it did on the model.  Perhaps the difference is Kaira’s thick hair?  I’ll try it on Kendra’s hair which is closer to the model’s hair type and see what happens.

I also baked up a batch of these sweet potato fries!  Delicious!  I didn’t make the accompanying sauce, but just served them with a ranch dressing with a tiny dash of cayenne.  That’s probably scandalous, but they were yummy.

Click to visit the site where this pin originated (And to get the recipe!)

Finally, I was inspired by something I’d pinned from Etsy to make a couple of necklaces for Kaira.  She’s admired several eclectic, mixed metal necklaces lately and she loves harps and Irishness.  I made her two, the one pictured below and one with a  single birth-year coin.

Kaira's Coin Necklace

The coins, jump rings, and chain were all very inexpensive.  Ken pierced the coins for me, and voila!  (I can’t find the pin that initially inspired this on my Pinterest boards now.  Do pins ever just go “poof” on there for anyone else?)

What Pinterest-inspired projects have you done lately?

Unaware of my unsuccessful quest for French picture books, my friend Anne sent me a beautiful assortment of treasures as a gift!  What a blessing and a treat!  (She also sent me some deliciously creamy European chocolates to help ease adoption stress!  (A true friend!)  Now we have beautiful French picture books to enjoy as we learn French and to enjoy with Kiffanie when she arrives.  God answered a prayer I never even thought to pray!

Thank you, Anne!  The Babar book is already a special favorite, but they are all wonderful!  (I hope I got them all gathered for the picture, I had to pry some from hands with the promise they could have them back right after I took a photo.)

(Yes, this post has too many exclamation marks, but when it concerns books, chocolate, and preparing for Kiffanie, I can’t help but exclaim!!!)

Blessings in French!