Summer Fun!

Hello everyone. Sorry that I haven't written in a few weeks. It is summer, and our schedule is thrown completely off. Of course, having a two-year old in the house means that we don't have much of a predictable schedule anyway! HA!

Summer is a great time for some light reading. I have been doing quite a bit of reading lately...on my iPhone! I never thought that I would be one to really love reading eBooks on my iPhone...but I love it. For one thing, it is easy to read on my screen, even if it is small. I was quite surprised at that. However, the best thing is that I am able to purchase a book and have it delivered to me in a matter of seconds! I don't have to order a book through the mail or have to go to the bookstore. I can get my book instantly...and it is always with me. Lisa and I are totally addicted to our iPhones....we take them everywhere with us.

Speaking of ebooks, my children's book, Pumpkin Guts, Tater Eyes, and Other Tasty Treats, is now in iTunes and is available as a download in the Apple iBookstore. I know that a lot of people have been asking me if my books are available for download, and I can now answer that they are. My book, Dark and Bloody, will be available in the Apple iBookstore soon. If you have an iPod touch or an iPhone, you can download my books through the iBook app. Check it out! I would appreciate it!

Technology is a wonderful thing. But I am still amazed at how much it has been incorporated into our daily lives. I can't make it through the day without checking my email, Twitter account, and Facebook. And just what did we do without Facebook? I keep up with so many friends and family members through it. I love being able to know what is going on in their lives and sharing my experiences with them. It keeps everyone together even when they can't be physically together. It is a great thing. And with my iPhone, I can take Facebook with me wherever I go.

In other news, this was my very first year as a dad. It was great celebrating Father's Day. My dad and I were treated to a great dinner at Buckhorn Lake Lodge. It was a great buffet. All that I can say is that the soup beans were delicious. I don't know what they do to make them taste so good....and I don't want to know. It is probably bad for me. LOL!

This summer has been great so far. Lisa and I have enjoyed being able to spend so much time with our little boy, Jacob. He is our little alarm clock. It doesn't matter what time we put him to bed.....he is awake at 7 AM. I swear he is better than any clock. That might be a good thing if the electricity goes out! LOL! He can wake us up!

We took Jacob to Virginia Beach a few weeks ago and he just loved it. He had never seen the ocean before, and the look on his face was priceless. It wasn't the "sleep in a beach recliner" sort of vacation that I am used to. It was more of the "play in the sand, splash in the ocean, repeat 100 times" sort of vacation. But it was great. I love having Jacob in our lives. He is our joy.

Whenever people see us with Jacob, they always go on about what a lucky little boy he is to have Lisa and me as parents. What we don't tell them is that WE are the lucky ones. We have been blessed to have this sweet little boy brought into our lives. After 19 years of marriage, we were more than ready to be parents! I've always been a late bloomer though! HA!

I have been working on my next book. I hope to have it finished by the end of summer. Writing is a strange thing. Sometimes the words flow from my fingers like water. Sometimes, it is a drought! But I love writing and it will always be a part of my life. I am just glad that I am able to write this article for the paper and that you all are able to share this experience with me.

I hope that everyone is having a terrific summer. Get out and do something fun with your friends and family. Summer doesn't last forever you know! Emily Dickinson wrote,

To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie -
True Poems flee.

So get out and splash in the water and play in the sun! Summer is fleeting! Until next week...class dismissed!

Pumpkin Guts is now available on iTunes and in the iBookStore

Starting this month, my book, Pumpkin Guts, Tater Eyes, and Other Tasty Treats, is available as an ebook download on iTunes and the iBookstore.  It can be purchased and downloaded to your computer, iPhone, or iPod touch.  Look for it in the iBookstore or iTunes today!  Thanks!

Jacob’s Birthday Party

On Tuesday, February 15th, our little boy Jacob turned two years old. We celebrated his birthday on Saturday though so that everyone could come and help share in our little boy's special day. It was a day of firsts for all of us!

First of all, it was Jacob's first real birthday party. The previous year, he was in the hospital and was getting ready to go into the orphanage. The poor little guy didn't have any celebration. He was just being taken from what was familiar to him and put into a big house full of other kids. It must have been a very scary time for him. I know that he was very young at the time...just turning one year old. I only hope that he doesn't remember any of that traumatic time and only knows happy days from here on out.

Second of all, it was our first birthday party together as a family. Lisa and I had spent many years going to other birthday parties for kids...but we had never had the chance to have a birthday party for our own child. All of that changed on Saturday though.

Ever since Jacob has been in the United States, he has been fascinated with Sesame Street. He loves to read Sesame Street books, he loves to play with Sesame Street toys, and he loves to watch Sesame Street on television. His favorite video is Learning About Letters....starring Big Bird and all the other Sesame Street gang. We sometimes watch it about 5 times a day! I only hope that some of that knowledge is sinking in! Ha!

 

Needless to say, the theme for the day was Sesame Street. We had all the Sesame Street decorations....balloons, paper plates, napkins, party hats, and horns. We even had a Sesame Street cake! Jacob was in hog-heaven! He loved everything so much and was so excited. He seemed to know that this day was a special day...just for him.

All of the people in Jacob's life came to celebrate the day with him. He had his mommy and daddy, Gramaw and Papaw Fugate, Mamaw Wagoner, Great Uncle Junior, Great Aunt Minerva and cousin Katie, and his "Aunt" Corrinna, "Uncle" Rod, and "cousin" Hailey. As you know, Lisa and I are both only children. Therefore, Jacob has an honorary aunt, uncle, and cousin.

We had such a great day. The menu was wonderful thanks to my wife. We had baked ham, homemade potato salad, green beans, grilled chicken, hash brown casserole, and rolls. Of course, we had birthday cake and ice cream also. We had been practicing singing the "Happy Birthday" song to Jacob so that he wouldn't be scared. Everything went very well. He even blew out his big number 2 candle!

After eating, it was time for presents. The child already had so many toys that his toy box wouldn't close. I don't know what he will do now! He got cars, trucks, a jack in the box, a toy laptop computer, crayons, coloring books, books to read, and tons of other toys. He got so many Little People! His Aunt Corrinna and Uncle Rod and cousin Hailey got him a Little People's Noah's Ark! He loves it! He now has just about everything Little People that I can think of...but I am sure that we will find something else for him. LOL! So maybe we are spoiling him just a little....but he deserves to be spoiled. And after all of these years of waiting for a child of our own....I guess that Lisa and I can go a little overboard if we want to!

Finally, this was a birthday of firsts because Jacob got to have his first sleep-over. His Aunt Corrinna, Uncle Rod, and cousin Hailey spent the night. Jacob and Hailey hit it off big time! They loved playing with all of Jacob's new toys. They also loved chasing each other through the house! It was so good to hear them giggling and screaming with joy. After so many years with a big, quiet house, it is nice to have it filled with the sounds of kids having fun.

In all, I think that Jacob's first birthday party went very well. Now, all of the decorations are down and all of the food is eaten. But we still have those special memories. Oh...and we still have that what is left of that big number 2 birthday candle. We are going to keep it forever...because even though it was his second birthday, it was also his first.

Until next week....class dismissed!

Jacob Loves Water Parks

We took Jacob to Pirates Cove in Sheperdsville….just outside of Lousiville.  He loved it!  The water park was inside a hotel and was very nice.  It wasn’t too big and had lots of “kiddie” stuff for him.  We will definitely go to this one again.  We can’t wait to get him to Beech Bend Park this summer!

Russian Beef Borscht

When Lisa and I were in Russia, we got to experience a lot of the Russian culture. For example, we got to see a lot of Russian art and visit some great historical places. We were able to see one of the actual boats built by Peter the Great. That was really amazing.

However, when I am visiting another culture, I really enjoy trying the different foods. While in Russia, Olga (our translator) took us to several nice restaurants. Of course, I could have just ordered something "safe" such as just a salad. But I really wanted to get a taste of some traditional Russian cuisine.

I tried many different kinds of soup, including a great fish soup. I also tried medallions of beef with a cheese sauce that was just heavenly. Lisa didn't like it at all though! One thing that both of us did like was a wonderful beef and beet soup called borscht. It was so good that I had it quite a few times while we were in Russia. It is a traditional Russian dish, and I have been fortunate to get a great recipe for it directly from Olga. She loves to make borscht. She said that it was a great soup to make on a snowy day. Plus...she said that it tastes even better on the second day!

Borscht, which is sometimes also spelled borsch and borshch, is a lovely vegetable soup that is almost always made with beets. The use of beets in this soup lend the dish a vibrant red color. There are some versions of borscht made with without beets. There is an orange borscht, which is made with tomatoes, and a green borscht, which has a sorrel base. However, beet borscht is the most common form of this soup. That is the kind that Olga taught me to make.

We have been home from Russia for over a month now, and I decided to make some borscht the other day. Let me tell you....it was very difficult to find beets! I finally found some fresh beets at Foodcity in Hazard.

Since the soup has a beef base, I started by cooking a chuck roast in the crockpot overnight. I put it on low and let it simmer all night long. The next morning, the roast was so tender that it was falling apart! The broth was a beautiful, bubbling golden brown. It looked delicious already!

The other ingredients for the soup include a lot of root vegetables including beets, carrots, cabbage, turnips, and onions. You also flavor it with tomato puree, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. I let it simmer slowly all day long. The entire house smelled heavenly! I invited my mom and dad around to eat some borscht with Lisa, Jacob, and me. I have to say that we all really enjoyed this little taste of Russia....right here in Breathitt County.

If you would like to experience some borscht for yourself and your family, I am including the authentic recipe...right from Olga herself.

 

 

Russian Borscht

2 lbs. beef tenderloin or sirloin steak, cut up
5 to 6 c. water
1 tbsp. salt
1 1/2 c. shredded beets
3/4 c. shredded carrots
2 turnips, finely chopped
1 med. onion
2 tbsp. tomato puree
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 sm. head cabbage, shredded
Ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 c. sour cream

Simmer the beef in salted water until tender. Like I said, I cooked a chuck roast overnight in the crockpot....and it was great! Meanwhile, in large saucepan, simmer the beets, carrots, turnips, onion, tomato puree, vinegar, sugar and butter for 15 minutes. Stir frequently and cover when not stirring. Add cabbage and cook 10 minutes longer. Add the vegetable mixture, pepper and bay leaves to the meat and the broth. Adjust seasonings, cook until tender. Add more vinegar if desired. Before serving, add sour cream to taste. It is also good when you sprinkle some croutons on top before serving. Yum!

Like Olga said, it IS better on the second day. All the flavors seem to meld together. Also, it freezes well if you have any left over. Enjoy!

Until next week....class dismissed!

Pics from LBJ Shower

LBJ Showers the Fugate Family with Love

On Thursday, November 20th, the school where I work, LBJ Elementary, held a “shower of gifts and love” for us.  When we walked into the school everyone was so warm and welcoming.  They just loved little Jacob.  And Jacob loved being the center of attention.

After making a few introductions to Mr. Combs, Mr. Wooton, Mrs. Bush, Mrs. Vicki, and Ms. Spencer, we traveled on down the hall to the library where the shower would be held.

There were piles of presents and a mountain of cards to open…but first, everyone had some food.  And talk about food!  There were tons of it! 

We all enjoyed the pizza, chips, dip, bread, finger sandwiches, cookies, sweets, meatballs, and fruit.  There was even a beautiful cake.  The cake had a teddy bear made of icing on it.  The teddy bear even had Jacob’s name on it.  It was so wonderful!

After eating, we started opening presents.  My coworkers and friends at LBJ were so generous.  We received clothes, clothes, and more clothes.  Jacob also got a ton of toys including puzzles, shape sorters, electronic books, a basketball game, stuffed animals, a wire and bead puzzle, and even a huge wagon…with a cover on it!  Jacob also received other gifts and a pile of gift cards.

Lisa and I want to thank everyone at LBJ Elementary who showed their love and support.  This adoption has been a long road, but the destination was worth the journey!

A family is like a puzzle.  When Lisa and I met 19 years ago, we knew that we were meant to be together.  We fit together perfectly. We had the same interests and we loved being with each other.  That love has held true and strong all of these years. 

However, as we began putting the pieces of our life puzzle together, we found that there was a piece missing.  Instead of worrying about that piece too much at first, we just built our puzzle around the missing piece.  However, we finally came to realize that our picture would never be complete….our family would not be truly complete…without a child.

Now, we have Jacob in our lives….and guess what?  He is the perfect fit in our life puzzle.  He was truly made for us…and we were made for him.  It was a perfect match!  We love Jacob more than anything in this world and are truly blessed to have him in our lives.

Our puzzle is finally complete.