My Favorite Pins of the Week

I love Pinterest and I especially love trying recipes I find on pinterest. I have pretty much neglected my cookbooks and cooking magazines. Almost every new thing I try now comes from Pinterest.  The only bad thing is sometimes I can't remember what I tried, or what I thought about the things I tried, so I decided I would start writing about it in my blog. Plus it gives me something to write about, since I have all but abandoned my blog. These pictures are cut off a bit, but it will just have to work for now.

The first thing I tried this week was this delicious greek pasta salad. I pinned it a while back and have been wanting to try it, but I didn't know if anyone else in my house would eat it. I finally decided that it looked too good not to try and I was right.  I made it for lunch one day and I ate on it for three days straight. It was that good! The kids didn't care for it. They actually refused to try it, but Justin liked it. He said he would prefer it if I cut up the olives next time. Maybe I will try that or maybe I will just keep them whole and eat entire bowl by myself.

Source: chef-in-training.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Monday night we had these pork chops from Cassie Craves. I have made these several times and they are a family favorite. It may just be the easiest recipe on Pinterest. There are only 3 ingredients and I just put them in the crock pot. So simple, but so yummy. I serve them just like the picture shows with a great big helping of mashed potatoes.

Source: cassiecraves.blogspot.com via Meredith on Pinterest

I think one of my favorite things about this time of year is eating soup. Our whole family loves soup and I love trying new recipes. I especially love creamy soups on cold, wet days. We had a freeze Tuesday night, so this was the perfect time to try this new cheesy vegetable chowder. I like making a meatless meal at least once or twice a week, but if you want meat I am sure it would be good with bacon crumbled on top. We all liked this, but Jax and Sawyer said it had too many vegetables. :) We have a family of 5  and we did not have enough for leftovers, so if you may want to double it if you want leftovers or have a large family.

Source: luluthebaker.blogspot.com via Meredith on Pinterest

The last Pinterest recipe I made this week was one I pinned a long time ago. I don't know why I just got around to making it, because it is one of the best things I have made. This chicken fried rice was super easy and filling. Jaxon,  my five year old, finished his whole plate and then said, "mom, thanks for this delicious meal you made. " It doesn't get much better than that. Justin said he wouldn't mind if I made it every week, so we will have to add it to the rotation. I think it would also be good with shrimp or without meat. I will probably add another egg next time, because the egg is my favorite part of fried rice.

Source: rachelschultz.com via Meredith on Pinterest

I would say that all the recipes I tried this week were a success. I am not very crafty, so although I sometimes pin crafts on Pinterest I rarely make them. I do however like to make crafts with my kids and find fun learning activities for them to do. Here are a couple of my favorites from this week.

I just bought some Bob Books on Amazon for Jaxon and he is loving them. I found this site that has free Bob book printables to go with each book and they are great. These worksheets have been perfect for Jax and I can adapt them so that Mia enjoys them too.

Source: walkingbytheway.com via Meredith on Pinterest

This week the kids enjoyed making these spiders. I liked them because I didn't have to prep much. I just put out the art supplies and let them have fun.

Source: preschoolparadisesgb.blogspot.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Family Update

I am thinking it may be time to give a little update on our family for anyone still reads this blog. I noticed with my sporadic posting I have left several things out.

Justin- I will start with the head of our household. Justin took a new job as productions director at the Louisiana Baptist Convention in Alexandria. He could probably explain what he does much better than I can, but I know he will be in charge of the video production for the state office. He is enjoying it so far and his fellow employees have made him feel very welcome. He is also running sound on Wednesdays and Sundays at our new church, Calvary Baptist Church's Woodworth campus.

Meredith- I continue to stay home with our kids which is such a blessing. I really miss teaching my mother's day out class, but I still get to do what I love which is planning and teaching. I am home schooling Jaxon for this semester. I am enjoying our new home so far. We are so blessed to have some good friends here already.

Sawyer- I don't think I shared this on the blog yet, but Sawyer accepted Christ into his heart in December. It was such a special moment and I am so very proud of him. Justin was able to baptize him during our last Sunday at North Monroe. We are so very thankful for the decision he made and pray that he will continue to follow after the Lord and grow in his faith. Last week he started first grade at his new school. He was the most upset out of all our children about the move, but we knew he would adjust well, and he has. He didn't want to start a new school, but after a week he now loves it there. He is the star student for his class this week, so he is feeling very special.

Jaxon- He has had a lot of changes as he went from being in school full time to now being at home all day with me and Mia. He has a very late birthday so Justin and I decided to hold him back this year to do kindergarten again next fall. When we found out we were moving we decided to just keep him home and do lessons at home. This way he can just start Kindergarten in the fall at his new school and won't really have to be held back. I am so enjoying having him at home and I know he is loving all the extra attention he is getting from me. Being the middle child can be tough, so I am glad I have this time to give him lots of extra encouragement and love.

Mia Grace- Our little girl has been with us for a little over 10 months now. She has adjusted well to our new home and church. She is enjoying home school, too. It is good for her to learn how to take turns and share mommy during the day. She and Jax play very well together. They also go to mother's day out on Thursday which is a great break for all of us. The hardest part of the move for me has been getting Mia set up with her new therapists. It took time to get things started when she first came home, but we had a really good system in place. I actually didn't realized just how good we had it until we moved. I have been spending lots of time on the phone trying to get new evaluations scheduled. I am having to be very patient. You would think after the adoption I would have the patience thing down, but it is still a struggle for me. Even without therapy appointments we continue to see progress in her development. She is always learning new things.

We are excited to see what all the Lord has in store for us as we get settled in to our new home. I pray the Lord will use our family to bring Him glory and that we will remain faithful in the good times and the bad.

New Year Interview 2013

Happy New Year! I realize I never posted anything about Christmas at all. We moved from Monroe to Alexandria three days after Christmas, so things have been a little crazy. I will go back and do a recap soon, but for now I want to post the interview I did with the kiddos.  Interviewing my children at the beginning of each year has become a tradition for us. This is the fourth year for me to do this. It is really fun to see what things have changed and what has stayed the same.  You can read the last three years here , here, and here . This year I added Mia as well. She didn't understand all of the questions, but she did her best and I love that I have her answers recorded this year. 

This year Sawyer is 6, Jaxon is 5, and Mia Grace is 3. Without further ado, here is our 2013 interview.

What is your name? S: Sawyer J:Jaxon Wade Bufkin M: Mia M-I-A (she now spells her name to anyone who asks her what her name is)
When were you born? S:March 26th J:September
How old are you? S:6 J:5 M:3
Who is your mommy? S:Meredith J: Meredith M: Mommy(pointing to me)
Who is your daddy? S:Justin J: Justin M: Daddy (pointing to Justin)
What does your Mommy do? S: teaches J: cleans up and washes clothes M:right here
What do you love about Mommy? S: that she is pretty J: that she loves me M: mommy
What does your daddy do? S:works, a photographer  J:goes at work M: daddy silly
What do you love about Daddy? S:he helps us a lot with what we need to do J: that he loves me M: Daddy
What is your favorite color? S:Blue J: Green M:Yellow
What do you want to be when you grow up? S: a police, a builder, and a movie star J: a dad M: grow up 

What is your favorite food? S Macaroni and cheese and corn dogs J: fish sticks M: ice cream
What food do you not like? S: I can tell you one thing, Spinach! J: rotten apples M: yucky food
What is your favorite animal? S: monkeys  and reindeer J:lion, tiger,bulldog, and gorilla M: elephant
Where do you want to live when you grow up? S:back in Monroe J: with you M: Sawyer and Jaxon
What do mommy and daddy do after you go to bed? S: work J:get on the computer M: take a nap in the bed
What is your favorite song? S: Go Tell It rap and No Ordinary Joe (songs from the Christmas musical he was in this year)  J: Today is the Day M: 5 Little Monkeys
What is your favorite movie? S: Cars and Cars 2, and Super Mario J: Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog M: Dabba Dabba (Yo Gabba Gabba)
What is your favorite kind of ice cream? S: chocolate, strawberry, and cake batter J: chocolate, cake batter, and strawberry M: I eat it, ice cream
Where is your favorite place to eat? S:Taco Bell,  McDonalds, and the place we ate tonight (Logan's Roadhouse)  J: McDonalds and Taco Bell
Who is your favorite person? S: my sister  J: Daddy M: Sawyer, Jaxon, Mommy, Daddy
Who is your best friend? S: Jolie and Sarah J: Patrick M:Anderson, Dia, and Nana
What is your favorite toy? S:the Wii U J: Super Mario game and Sonic game M: elephants
What is your favorite book? S: Wreck It Ralph: Game On J: The Incredibles M: Purpley (Too Purpley)
Who is your brother? S: Jaxon, that's easy J: Sawyer M: Sawyer and Jaxon and Mia
What do you like to do with your brother? S: play video games with him J: play outside M: Sawyer and Jaxon
What is your favorite thing to do? S: Play with legosJ: play with my brother M: I like to eat!`

What does Sawyer like to do? M: Sawyer eats. J:go outside

What does Jaxon like to do? M:Jaxon eats. (I think she was hungry ) S:play with legos

Who is your sister? S:Mia Badia or Mo Mo J:Mia

What does your sister like to do? S:play with her brothers J:play with her dolls

What do you like to do with her? S: play and make her laugh  J:make her laugh and play with her

What is your favorite thing you did in 2012? S: having Mia come home and going to Lego land J: snuggle with my blankie 

2012 was an amazing year. It was the year that our daughter got to come home. There were too many blessings to count last year. Now we begin 2013 in our new home with a new job for Justin. I can't wait to see what this year brings. 

One Year Ago

It's hard to believe that last year at this time Justin and I were in Ethiopia meeting our daughter for the first time. We first saw her, held her, and kissed her sweet face on December 17, 2010.  From the pictures we had seen and the stories we heard, we were truly expecting to meet a shy and scared little girl that day. I was prepared to wait patiently for her to warm up to us, but instead I was met with a hug and a kiss from the happiest child I had ever seen. 

 This is the first picture taken of me with my girl. Her laughter was so breathtaking.

 I was filled with joy and I had no doubt the Lord chose this little one for our family. She reminded me so much of our Jaxon. I knew from the start they would be double trouble. :)

I will never forget the amazing day we had with her.

 It only took about 3 seconds for her to have her daddy wrapped around her little finger.

 Her smiles have been bringing us joy ever since that day.

 One year ago tomorrow a judge declared that she was our daughter forever. What a year it has been. In some ways I can't believe it has already been a year, and at the same time it seems like she has been in our family forever.

 A bonus on our trip was getting to know this sweet family and their new son, Eli.

This picture was taken as we were telling her goodbye before we left to come back to America. The pictures show that I was holding myself together, but inside I felt like I would explode. Oh, that was so hard! I am so thankful for this year with our daughter.

What's New With the Bufkins?

I am so behind on blogging. My camera broke before Thanksgiving and I like to post pictures when I blog, so I just haven't blogged. I decided to steal pics off of people's facebook pages and do a quick recap. 

 We had a great Thanksgiving. We really have so many things to be thankful for. On of those things is that our little girl was home for her first Thanksgiving.

 She is just too precious!! When we asked her what we thankful for she said, "Mommy, Daddy, Sawyer, Jaxon." I am so thankful that she won't spend another holiday without a family. She also said she was thankful for pizza and ice cream. That's my girl.

 My sweet oldest child had a solo in the church Christmas musical, a rap solo. I will have to figure out how to post the video here, because it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. He loved every second of it.

We spent Thanksgiving break with Justin's family. We went to the Christmas parade in downtown Fort Worth. Fun was had by all!

We are enjoying our December, but we are as busy as ever. Two Decembers ago we were frantically trying to finish our dossier so that we could get on the wait list for our daughter in Ethiopia. Last year we were getting ready to fly to Ethiopia to meet our precious Mia Grace for the first time. This year, praise the Lord, she is home!!

Justin will be starting a new job as Director of Productions for the Louisiana Baptist Convention in January. So, our family will be moving to Alexandria, LA a few days after Christmas. I'm so proud of Justin and happy for this new opportunity for our family. Of course, we are sad to say goodbye to our friends here. 

Our Gotcha Video

Well it took us 8 months to complete Mia's gotcha video. Better late than never, right? Justin put the video together and I think he did a beautiful job.

Mia Grace's adoption story from Justin Bufkin on Vimeo.

October Recap

October has been a fun-filled month for our little family. Mia is enjoying her first Autumn in America and I just love that she is here this year to be a part of our memory making. Last year at this time we missed her so and couldn't wait to have her home, so this year we are making the most of every moment we can. Justin's sister took some cute family pictures of us this month. 

Our family participated in a Buddy walk to help raise money and awareness for adults and children living with Down's Syndrome. We had a great morning together supporting a wonderful cause. 

A couple of weeks ago we took the kids to a fall field day put on the speech and language department at ULM. Mia has been going to speech there this semester. 

The kids had fun painting pumpkins, doing sack races, playing games, and getting lots of fun goodies. Mia had her face painted for the second time this month. She has loved spending time with Mrs. Jennie this semester. 

 Two weekends ago we took the kids to Curry Farms. This was our third year to take the boys there and Mia's first. They loved showing her around and she loved it all. We picked out a pumpkin for each kid.

Last week we took the kids to their school Halloween party at skate town. 

My friend took these pictures of all the kids in their costumes. Mia had a blast. I couldn't believe how good she did on her little skates. Last year at this time we didn't know if she would ever walk without assistance and now she is skating and doing potato sack races. I love the way God works!

Jax had fun wearing his black ninja costume. He won the costume contest for Kindergarten boys. He was so excited! 

Sawyer looks so serious in his Wario costume. I found this for 50 cents the day before the party. Sawyer won the costume contest for his grade too! Glad I decided to splurge on his costume. Ha! 

Last weekend we took a little trip to Shreveport. Justin went to take some pictures for friends and we went along with him. We took the kids to Sciport and spent one night at a hotel. It was fun besides Jaxon getting sick with the stomach bug. This passed through everyone in the family except for Mia. I hope she doesn't get it. So far she hasn't really gotten sick since she has been home. 

Tuesday we had our storybook parade at MDO. Mia dressed up as Mia from one of her favorite books, "Mia and the to big tutu." I think she looked precious! 

Yesterday was Halloween and I stayed home with a sick tummy while Super Daddy took all 3 kiddos trick or treating and to trunk or treat at our church. Love my Thor, Michealangelo, and Minnie Mouse!! I think Mia had a great first Halloween. As the holiday season approaches we are looking forward to many more firsts with our girl.