Homemade Applesauce

Since Madison's class is studying APPLES, we decided to make homemade applesauce this afternoon for a snack.

First thing you need to do is peel and slice 5 apples.

Then you mix in 2.5 tablespoons of honey and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Cook in a Crock-pot until soft.

Apple Shaker!

Today at school the kids made an "Apple Shaker."

Madison danced around the house with her "Apple Shaker" after school today. It looked like so much fun that we decided to make another one for Jocelyn to use.

The first step to making the "Apple Shaker" is to paint two paper plates red. We choose a glitter red, so it is shiny and not a true bright red.

You then need to cut out a green leaf and a brown stem. We used cardstock to make it more durable.

The next step is to fill the inside of one of the paper plates with seeds. We used dried black beans so that they would resemble apple seeds. We then hot glued the two paper plates together with the black beans inside.

Here is the finished product!

Madison worked up an appetite for an apple after playing with her "Apple Shaker."

Madison had a lot of fun today at school making her "Apple Shaker." They also got to go outside to the playground today. She got 6/6 stars and is looking forward to FUN FRIDAY tomorrow, even though Grandma won't be at school with her.

Cocoon!

Our caterpillar finally made his cocoon!

Apple Pizza!

The next two weeks at school the kids will be talking about APPLES. I decided to surprise Madison with a cooking project when she got home from school today.

We peeled and sliced an apple and covered the slices with cinnamon and sugar.

We placed biscuits on a greased baking sheet.

Madison then covered the biscuits with melted butter.

She then laid several apples pieces on top of the buttered biscuits. We then placed the "Apple Pizzas" in the oven and cooked them at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

The "Apple Pizzas" were YUMMY!

Madison had another great day at school. It was an early release day, so she got home early today. She got 6/6 stars and was very excited to do art today at school. They got to do apple centers today too.

Letter from Keisha (Jocelyn's Birthmother)

Jocelyn the first day that we met her at The Adoption Center.

Madison and Jocelyn playing with the cars together.

Clay holding Jocelyn for the first time.

Their profiles looked so much alike from day one.

Two weeks after Jocelyn joined our family, we received the following letter from Keisha:

DEAR CLAY AND BRITTNEY,

I HOPE THAT THIS LETTER FINDS YOU ALL WELL. I MUST ADMIT THAT IT'S BEEN WRITTEN AND REWRITTEN SEVERAL TIMES IN MY MIND, BUT UNTIL NOW, I JUST WASN'T READY TO PUT IT TO PAPER.

I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I CANNOT POSSIBLY THANK YOU (AND MADISON) ENOUGH FOR WELCOMING JOCELYN INTO YOUR FAMILY. I WANT TO BEGIN BY TELLING YOU WHY I CHOSE YOUR FAMILY. I'M AFRAID THAT I MAY HAVE BEEN MISUNDERSTOOD WHEN WE MET AND I TOLD CLAY THAT IT WASN'T BECAUSE HE WAS A DOCTOR. I FEAR THAT I MAY HAVE SOUNDED RUDE, AND IF SO, I TRULY APOLOGIZE. WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY WAS THAT THOUGH THE AGENCY PROVIDES BIRTH MOTHERS WITH FINANCIAL INFO, THAT WAS NOT THE REASON THAT I WANTED TO MEET YOU ALL.

I HAD BEEN GOING OVER RESUMES WITH MY SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD, AND WE CHOSE YOU TOGETHER. THERE WERE A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS FOR THIS. FOR ONE, THE FACT THAT YOU ARE BOTH ONLY 27 YEARS OLD AND ALREADY SO DRIVEN AND FOCUSED! SECONDLY, I CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE, BRITTNEY, WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR YOU TO HEAR THAT YOU WERE TO HAVE NO MORE CHILDREN AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE. YOU WERE MEANT TO MOTHER, I KNEW IT THE MOMENT I MET YOU. AND GOD KNOWS IT, THAT'S WHY HE BROUGHT US TO YOU.

THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST IRONIES IN LIFE: WOMAN WHO DON'T HAVE ANY INTEREST IN BEING MOTHERS HAVE HALF A DOZEN KIDS OR MORE. GO FIGURE. ANYWAY, I DIGRESS. I WAS TRULY IMPRESSED WHEN JOCELYN LET CLAY HOLD HER, THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN! (AND CLAY, YOU ARE ONE OF 2 MEN IN THE WORLD WHO CHANGE DIAPERS)

AND OF COURSE, I HAD TO INSPECT MADISON'S HAIR, NAILS, ETC., WHILE YOU WEREN'T LOOKING! I KNOW THAT SOUNDS CRAZY, BUT I DID. AND THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS WATCHING JOCELYN AND I COULD JUST FEEL IT. SHE BELONGED WITH YOU. YOU ALL JUST LOOKED LIKE A FAMILY, WITHOUT QUESTION. AND WHEN SHE DOES QUESTION HER PLACE IN YOUR FAMILY, SHE CAN ALWAYS GO TO A GRANDMOTHER WHO WAS ADOPTED AND ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS WHEN SHE'S READY. THAT COMFORTS ME IMMENSELY.

BUT THE BIGGEST THING IS, AND I'VE TOLD PEOPLE THIS....WHEN I ASKED YOU ABOUT DISCIPLINE, YOU DIDN'T HESITATE TO TELL ME THAT YOU TRY TIME OUT FIRST, BUT NOW AND THEN A LITTLE SPANKING IS O.K. THAT'S HOW I KNEW THAT YOU WERE GENUINE, AND SINCERE. IF I WAS TRYING TO GET SOMEONE TO GIVE ME THEIR CHILD TO RAISE AS MY OWN, THERE IS NO TELLING WHAT HOOPS I'D JUMP THROUGH, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. BUT YOU DIDN'T DO THAT, YOU WERE HONEST WITH ME, AND YOU GAINED MY TRUST IN THAT MOMENT.

SO WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR THE BIG QUESTION....WHEN I ASKED YOU WHY YOU TWO WOULD STILL BE TOGETHER IN 20 YEARS, I FELT THAT I COULD RELY ON YOUR ANSWER. AND BRITTNEY, I WISH THAT I'D HAD YOUR SENSE OF COMMITMENT AND RESPONSIBILITY WHEN I WAS 27! CLAY, WITH NO TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT OR PREPARE, SHE SAID THAT YOU LOVED ONE ANOTHER AND YOU WERE COMMITTED TO YOUR MARRIAGE AND WILLING TO WORK ON IT, BECAUSE IT WAS WHAT YOUR PARENTS DID.

I THOUGHT I'D FINALLY FOUND THAT IN MY LIFE WHEN I DECIDED TO BRING JOCELYN INTO THIS WORLD. BUT LIFE HAS A WAY OF PULLING THE RUG OUT, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. AND I HOPE THAT YOU BOTH KNOW THAT SHE WAS NOT A MISTAKE, OR A SURPRISE, OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT. SHE IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST THING THAT I'VE EVER DONE IN MY LIFETIME. BUT AS I WATCH MY OLDER DAUGHTER GRADUATE AND STRUGGLE WITH GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS, AND WHEN I TAKE MY ARTHRITIS MEDICINE JUST SO THAT I CAN GET UP IN THE MORNING, AND WHEN I WATCHED JOCELYN'S ONLY SURVIVING GRANDPARENT COME IN FROM ANOTHER HARD DAY'S WORK, I LOOKED AT THIS BEAUTIFUL LITTLE PERSON AND REALIZED THAT SHE DESERVED BETTER AND THAT I WAS NOT ABLE TO GIVE IT TO HER.

AND THEN I PRAYED. A LOT. AND THAT'S WHEN I MADE THE HARDEST PHONE CALL OF MY LIFE. AND THERE IS NOT A DAY, AN HOUR, OR A MOMENT THAT GOES BY THAT I DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT BEAUTIFUL LITTLE BABY. BUT JUST WHEN I THINK THAT I'LL DIE FROM MISSING HER, I'LL GET A PICTURE OR AN E-MAIL, AND I KNOW TO MY VERY SOUL THAT I DID THE RIGHT THING BY HER AND THAT YOU WERE THE PARENTS THAT WERE MEANT TO RAISE HER. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR KEEPING US UPDATED, IT HAS TRULY HELPED IN THE HEALING PROCESS.

IF I CAN JUST WATCH HER GROW HAPPY AND HEALTHY THAT'S ALL I'LL EVER ASK. I WOULD NEVER INTERFERE. AND BRITTNEY, I KNOW YOU'RE BUSY, CAUSE JUST ONE KEPT ME HOPPING! :) BUT IF YOU'LL JUST KEEP US POSTED, EVERY NOW AND THEN, WHEN YOU HAVE TIME, I WILL BE ETERNALLY GRATEFUL TO YOU BOTH. GOOD LUCK, AND GOD BLESS YOUR FAMILY.

FROM ONE MOTHER'S HEART TO ANOTHER,
KEISHA

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Madison's book packet for this week is based on the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. She LOVES this book. We have read it so many times at home that she has it memorized.

Today's activity was to play Brown Bear "My Way." She had to cut and color the animal pictures. Then we placed the pictures on a flat surface. We repeated the story line "Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see?" She then picked up an animal card and told what they saw. For example "I see a green frog looking at me." Then say, "Green frog, green frog what do you see?" Choose another animal, etc.

Madison did a great job cutting out her animals with her new ladybug scissors.

Madison diligently colored every animal.

Madison's Story:

Brown bear, brown bear what do you see?

I see a yellow duck looking at me.

Yellow duck, yellow duck what do you see?

I see a purple cat looking at me.

Purple cat, purple cat what do you see?

I see a green frog looking at me.

Green frog, green frog what do you see?

I see a rainbow fish looking at me.

Rainbow fish, rainbow fish what do you see?

I see everyone looking at me.

Madison had a great day at school. She got 6/6 stars. They went to music class today. The class even got to play on the playground outside and in the sand tables.

She was very excited to go to OT therapy today after school and tell Miss Melissa that she has her very own "rocketship!"

Madison the Caterpillar Explorer

Madison decided to look at the caterpillar through her magnifying glass.

YEAH, he is getting SO BIG! We are still waiting for him to form his cocoon.