Ethan's school and here comes the snow!

I just realized I didn't tell ya'll about Ethan's "cool". We really enjoyed meeting his teacher, and it turns out she is the one who did his "exit" interview back in November- part of the evaluation he had to have back then- the very first step. (per Minnesota law- each child between ages 3 to 5 must be screened before entering Kindergarten).

She's not a young one, and I am happy about that as it just seems like what Ethan needs- more of a Grandma type. There are just 7 kids in his class, and that's nice as well. While we were there yesterday, the teacher invited us to stay and observe part of the class time. Ethan got to take part and seemed to enjoy himself. He was sad when I told him it was time for us to go. He cheered up a bit when I said we would go looking for a Superman backpack! (we found one today :o)

The above picture (although not straight a bit-sorry) is of the folder they made yesterday for Ethan. This will go back and forth with him to school.

Ethan told the story all afternoon about another little boy in class named Ethan who when my Ethan said his name, the other one said, "you're not Ethan!" My Ethan came and said, "Mama! Am I Ethan? He said I'm not! I am!" ha ha He just had to tell both sets of grandparents on the phone last night. He told his sister Cala the moment she got in the van, only he added , "I say that boy, 'I going tell my Mama! Then I told Mama". He never actually told the boy that, but he was quick to tell me. ha School is going to be fun!

***

Yes, it seems another snow storm is headed our way. I started praying that someone would find it in their hearts like last time to come help us, but instead- we are now the proud owners of a snow thrower ourselves! (Glenn bought one today). SO, now I pray WE will be able to help someone else during this time.

***

**** NOTE TO SECRET BLOG PAL **** Thank you for the shirts you sent my kids (through Old Navy!) They are perfect in sizes! Even with their growth spurts, these shirts fit well :o) Thank you so much! I will try getting a picture of them soon!

A busy day ahead

They've been saying on the weather to get out on Tuesday and do all you need to do, as it's that day the sun will be out :o) Another snow system is supposed to come our way Wednesday and Thursday. Oh joy!

It just so happens that my Tuesday is an already planned busy day. At 11:45 a.m., I will be taking Ethan to his "cool" to meet his teacher. While he plays a bit and meets the kids in his class, I will be talking with his teacher and other educational leaders concerning Ethan. He will officially have his first day of pre-school on March 12th (following Spring break). He is soooo very excited and after going to meet his teacher I know he will be asking when he's going back! We will once again do a countdown on the refrigerator of how many more sleeps until Ethan goes to school.

Following school, I really want to go look for the kids some snow gear and buy another shovel, so we can officially be a "two shovel family". ha ha

Tomorrow evening is Cala's Brownies meeting. I always forget does it start at 6 or 6:30. Seriously, it always happens that I forget that day! For the record, it's 6:00!

Now, if I can just remember to come check out my blog to be assured of the time!

Snowy Sunday

Living in Russia, we had plenty of snow. Life there truly prepared us for life here. What we didn't have to do there though was shovel. Living in apartment buildings, right in the city, there was no snow accumulation to speak of.... it never required us to shovel... clean off the car, pray the car battery worked (many times it did not!), and that was that.

While life here of course is easier than life in Russia, the shoveling is, well, a new experience. We are praising the Lord today though because two men showed up one by one to clear the snow FOR us... what would have easily taken us 4 hours, took them 30 minutes with their handy dandy snow throwers. (we have got to get us one of those! It honestly looked fun :o)

Oh yes! Glenn was able to invite these men to church. I believe God sent those men. They each live in houses down our same road, but we had never seen either of them before today.

What a blessing they were to us!

We ended up with 18 inches of snow, but with snow drifts of up to 30! I must admit the snow is simply beautiful. I am ready to get out, having been in the entire weekend, but it was nice in ways to be in, knowing we were safe and had everything we could need since we were well prepared.

Glenn made a path (took 45 minutes) before the men showed up, and was throwing the snow to the yard... Cala was playing in the yard, and neither knew what was going on, so this is the result.....

The snow he threw hit her, knocking her down. She got a big laugh out of that once she was back up.

The boys stayed put inside, enjoying watching the whole thing from the family room window (which is pretty much covered with snow).

Once we got back inside, we went upstairs to check out the latest accumulation on our deck. Ethan modeled that for us:

A few minutes later, the kids enjoyed getting out on the deck to play (of course after Glenn cleared it just a bit).

Seth came in pretty soon because big sister Cala insisted on throwing snow his way. He just wasn't too happy about that!

Oh the joys of being the youngest! Hey Seth! I sympathize! ha ha (yeh right my brothers would say.... I was spoiled :o)

Snow Snow and more Snow!

This morning, my Daddy called (in Florida) and asked what we were doing. I replied we were watching the weather but so far no snow as they had predicted for us to wake up to. Not more than 10 minutes later, it began snowing and hasn't stopped! We've had some slow downs, but it hasn't completely stopped at all.

We are expected to get several more inches during the night and more during the day tomorrow. Now, since church is held here in our home, we of course will still hold services amongst ourselves at least, whether anyone else comes or not. No excuse for us! lol
Many churches in the area have already cancelled and I sort of believe that will be the wise decision for folks to stay put.

I will attempt to get some pictures on here tomorrow :o)

Better to laugh

Yeah! I got to go out with Ethan again, and buy his tennis shoes for his "cool". No Superman shoes, but we did find Superman underwear! That's very very important to this 4 year old boy! So all was not lost! We did manage to buy CARS (Lightning McQueen) shoes for Ethan and Spiderman shoes for Seth! The best part of Seth's shoes are they were only $5.00 on clearance. (just got to love that!).

After leaving K-mart, we went next door to the grocery store. All was going well until we were leaving. The place was packed with folks stocking up for the snow we are supposed to get this weekend. In this store, you have to bag your own groceries. There was a woman behind me and I was trying to not waste anymore time and get out of her way. SO, I decide to NOT put on my coat, and just get straight to the van (which was parked as close as you can get to the door!). Bad decision. You see my wonderful coat has these drawstrings that I have hated since day one with said coat! Today one got caught in the wheel of the buggy. (or "cart" as some of you out there call it). There I am, after having unloaded my groceries, trying to free my coat from the grip of that wheel. It got me nowhere but cold and frustrated!!! The wind was brutal as I stood there fighting with that buggy trying to free my coat! I tried to turn the buggy up to where I get better work on it. I saved it from hitting a very expensive looking car, just in the nick of time. Whew!

I decide to roll the buggy back the way it came, thinking maybe that would work. It would have, as I freed part of the string, but alas, in the end, it was really truly stuck! I hoped someone, anyone would pass by (did I mention how busy the place was?!), but no one was in sight (except the man in the running vehicle watching my every move and smiling!) ha

My son says, "Mama, I'm cold" (yes, of course he had on his nice warm coat with hat!). I open the van, one hand on the buggy, not wanting it to roll again. I tell my son to get inside and Mama will be right here in your sight but I have to get my coat free. I began feeling I was on Candid Camera or something! Finally with nothing left to do but to leave my coat (I seriously considered it!), the bright idea comes to me! Scissors! I'll go ask for scissors at the customer desk or buy them for my very own! ha

So, out comes Ethan, we walk in (past the still smiling- half laughing- guy in his nice warm vehicle), explain our plight, get scissors, cut the drawstring, and head back to the van. OH yes! This time, I wore the coat until I got to the van where I promptly took it off.

I proceed to get Ethan in the car seat, but it wouldn't properly close. I should add here he was using his brother's car seat today since it's on the driver's side, therefore making it easier for me to get him in and out (since brother stayed home with Glenn).

I started laughing right then and there, and Ethan asks, "What for Mama?" (meaning "what's wrong?") I say, "Oh! Mama can't get your car seat closed right." I was back to reality when Ethan says, "Mama! It Seth car seat, not Ethan's." (such a proper young man!).

Getting in the vehicle (yes, I finally got the seat to work), I noticed we were running low of gas. I realized we could make it back home, but with the day I was having, no way was I taking that chance! We go straight to the gas station where I stood in the cold- coat safely inside my van!

Blog Party!

See the "button" on the left hand side inviting you to a blog party? You can read more about it by following this link to 5 Minutes for Mom . Come join the fun and possibly win some great prizes!

What a pain!

I literally mean that title! I've spent the past few days with a migraine off and on. I've limited my computer time because of it. Due to fibromyalgia, every change in weather lately is affecting me. Uggh.

I did manage to get out this past Wednesday for a wonderful time with my oldest son, Ethan. (age 4). We had a great time bonding while shopping! Ethan will soon start pre-school (more about that in a later post sometime), and needs new clothes. He recently had a growth spurt and was in need of pants and shirts, tennis shoes, underwear, you name it. We found most of what we were looking for, but are hoping to make it out in the morning (Friday) to find the tennis shoes.

We are supposed to be getting a snow storm late Friday night, into Saturday- stop a little, then start again Saturday evening and continue into Sunday. SO, if we are to go anywhere to shop, it better be Friday morning, or early afternoon.

As long as my headache is gone, I will take Ethan in the morning to find those shoes! He wants Superman underwear and Superman tennis shoes. We haven't found them yet! All sold out it seems.

Just to show you my little man, or "papito" as I call him (little daddy), here he is recently:

He was just as happy as this when he got his new clothes! What fun it was to watch him show Glenn his new things! He stood at the mirror saying "look at my new clothes for 'cool' (school)."

I was so very happy to spend that time with "mi papito" as we rarely get time alone. I was glad my headache has eased up and we could get out. I pray it does the same in the morning so we can go again.

I love seeing this little man so happy! Long gone are the sad looking pictures from the orphanage. :o)

So Precious, my daughter

Saturdays- we call them our "sleepin' day" around here. Simply put- we don't set the alarm at all that day and get up when we get up! Throughout the week, Glenn, Cala and I all are up early (much earlier than this night owl would like), and so we all three appreciate Saturdays.

Cala doesn't appreciate too much that her brothers wake her up if they're up first. :o/ It's just they love her so much I tell her! lol She really loves playing with them but on Saturdays like yesterday, she comes to me saying, "Mama! I thought we told these boys not to wake me up!" Of course when suggesting that she can now go back to bed, she wouldn't hear of it! "Mama, I want to play!"

This is where the precious part comes in.... yesterday morning, Glenn and I had been awake awhile and were sitting on the bed. Glenn was working on his laptop- I was reading a magazine or something. In walks Cala asking if she could "borrow" some of the rose petals I had for Valentine's Day decorations. I said, "o.k" wondering what her latest "project" was that her imagination came up with! ha ha

About 10 minutes passed when downstairs she comes, carrying my Russian serving tray, two fancy glasses with milk in them, two granola bars, two peanut butter cookies, and two graham crackers! Oh yes... the rose petals were placed decoratively around the tray :o) This was for "Papa and Mama".

WHAT a sweetheart this child is! I will remember that the next time her imagination causes trouble! lol

Pictures from our overnight

Glenn and Cala enjoyed standing out on Lake Superior. Well, they did until they heard the cracking of ice! lol They decided they better come back to the van :o)

We drove along the North Shore as its called, the scenic view of the Lake. It's so incredibly beautiful... really makes you think about the majesty of the Lord!

Beauty truly was everywhere we went around the Lake. I had always wanted to see the Great Lakes, and a funny thing is Glenn and I think we
have seen one other, but can't remember for sure. It would have been several years ago (like 9 or so) when we were first on deputation (visiting churches to raise support to go to Russia).

Lake Superior though was always THE one I most wanted to see. *(the largest lake in the world after all!)* I am so glad we did, and we are sure to go back!


Cala sure enjoyed time with Papa, making S'mores late at night. This took place right at the Lake, at our hotel.

She was cold, but the Russian in her has prepared her well for the Minnesota cold! :o)

The boys however, stayed nice and warm, inside our room. While Mama surfed the web, the boys visited dream land.

I like to call this picture:

"Mischievous Devils by Day, Innocent Angels by Night."

Fun in Duluth

We decided to take off for the night and go about 3 hours to Duluth. We had never been here and want to see all the areas of our new state. We are so glad we came! We're having a good time. It's the "off season" so we found a good deal on a nice place that is on Lake Superior! Of course we studied the Great Lakes in school, but it's neat to be here on one!

The kids got to swim (heated indoor pool of course! After all, it's sub zero outside, but hey! we have the option of swimming outside in a heated pool- to which I say, "no thank you!"). We got some supper, got the boys settled in for the night, and Glenn and Cala headed out to make S'mores! They have this going on nightly here until 10 p.m.- making s'mores right on the lake.

We didn't tell the kids we were coming here until we were in the van, picked up Cala from school and started on our way! After explaining the cat would be fine, all were excited!

Glenn and I enjoy the change of pace, but to see our kids full of such joy, makes it all worthwhile!

Cala was heard saying, "This is the best day ever!" :o)

Florida Girl?

It has become increasingly harder to remember what my life as a Florida girl was like. Oh yes, I remember my childhood, I remember my friends, my church. I seem to vaguely remember wearing short sleeves and thin pants, even pedal pushers (Capris as they are called now). Shorts weren't allowed with my Mama.

I just don't seem to remember how nice it felt in the sun! ha Life in Russia prepared me for the cold weather, so much so I became accustomed to it, and honestly, a summer in Florida is now torture for me. It's just soooo cold here lately, that to hear folks talk about it getting cold in Florida is laughable. Cold is to them, when it drops in the 50's. Cold here, is below 20. Right now, 20 would feel like a regular heat wave, since for days, we've been below zero. On my birthday, last Saturday, the windchill made it feel like -35. (yes, 35 BELOW)! Dangerous windchills we were told, and were warned by the weathermen of how little time spent outside would cause frostbite.

I am looking forward to tomorrow, when we travel about 3 hours from here to spend the night. We are doing this for my birthday/ Valentines' Day. Of course, we don't have babysitters here yet, so this is a family trip, but we are looking forward to it! We will surprise the kids when we get on the road! :o)

I am looking forward to being a Florida girl once more by swimming in the motel's heated pool. Ok, so it's inside. I'll just for a moment try not to look out the window at the snow.

Happy Birthday to Me :o)

Today was my birthday! Now, having strep throat, it has not been the most usual of birthdays. Yet, still it was a good one! This morning, I slept as late as I wanted to... was awake at 5, stayed up about an hour, back in bed until around 9. That was good. My parents called, then my inlaws, and soon it was gift time. My husband and my kids gave me some nice things that I had wanted for quite some time. I sat there thinking how very blessed I am.

This afternoon, we took Cala to a birthday party for her best friend from school. We braved frigid temps- windchills of -30! We were just glad she got to go as these two have become very close. Feeling badly, but not wanting to use the gas to come all the way home (35 miles) and back, we went to eat lunch and kill a couple of hours before picking up Cala.

We came home and had a nice, quiet afternoon and evening. My niece that I refer to as the "oldest of the younger set of nieces/nephews" called. (she's 15). Then, my actual oldest niece called. (she's almost 29). It was nice talking to both of them.

After a supper of pizza, it was time for cake and ice cream (Seth's favorite part was all the chocolate icing on the cake! ha). After supper, an "old" friend of mine called, and we talked for near an hour! That was really nice. We were best friends throughout junior high/high school. Then as life happened, even though we kept tabs on one another, we really didn't keep in touch. This year, on her birthday (she's just 10 days older than I am!), I tracked her down. She called me tonight, and it was nice to "re-connect". I look forward to staying in touch with her again.

She has kept tabs on most of our old friends so it's fun to hear about what everyone has become. Funny to think back to some who are leading totally different lives than they had planned.

Oh! I tried today to call my 11 year old niece. She wasn't home however. She's my namesake- born 11 years ago today on my 25th birthday.

Yep, I'm now 36.

Rough

The above is how I feel and look ! lol Last Monday night, I came downstairs and said to Glenn, "my throat is killing me!" He responded with, "you too?". The following day we were both feeling lousy and by the afternoon, we headed off to the doctor. Diagnosis- severe case of strep throat! It seems it's going around this area and the doc said probably came from Cala's school. (she had all the symptoms, but also had an ear infection that she was diagnosed with the previous night).

Then, on Wednesday, Cala came home with a note that said, "there have been several cases of strep throat in your child's class." Uh huh! The culprit we presume.....

Anyone who has had this junk will know, you just don't want to do anything! Unfortunately life must go on, and with three kids, no one we know of to take care of them, no choice! I am very thankful for my husband, let me tell you. We work good together, so since we both feel equally lousy, we are taking turns at most things.

Yesterday evening I had folks praying because we felt too bad to get out and go get groceries but had no choice. You see, it was grocery getting time when we got sick! We don't feel like cookin', but there wasn't even anything in the house to cook! lol SO, off we went. We went together in order to cover more ground (plus Glenn wanted to do a little birthday shopping for me. )

Coming home I told Glenn that if I feel like this on Saturday, my birthday may have to be put off ! lol

Would that mean I can claim I'm not as old as I will be for one more week?! lol

Sibling Slumber Party!

This was the scene a few days ago! Our kids wanted to sleep downstairs in the family room. If you're Ethan, it's the "family loom" and if Seth, it's the "fanny room"! (oh the stories I could tell about him praying using the word "fanny" ) :o)

They really had a wonderful time doing this, and we let them talk for awhile and be silly together. When I came downstairs, I passed by the above scene, went in our room and told Glenn "that just cries out for a picture!" Come to find out, Glenn had beat me to it! You'll notice Keeska joined the fun.

Wow it truly is cold!

Don't even ask where I've been.... no excuses- ha

Here's our current "severe winter warning" straight from weather.com :

WIND CHILL READINGS WILL DROP INTO THE MINUS 25 TO MINUS 35 DEGREE RANGE THIS EVENING AND PERSIST INTO SUNDAY MORNING.
A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE LOW WIND CHILLS. THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS... MAKE SURE YOU WEAR A HAT AND GLOVES.

So, yes... it truly is cold here. My fibromyalgia is not loving this, but hey! I am just so thankful to have a nice warm house to be inside of! Can you imagine the homeless people on nights like this one?! I surely can't and it makes me ever grateful to the Lord to have a place to call home!

**Secret blog pal** THANK YOU so very much for the "cats" sign for Cala. She absolutely loves it! We also got the book today. So very cute! Cala read it three times in fact, then the boys "read" it.

In Honor of my Friend

In honor of my dear friend, Suz, I just ask you pray for baby V and for Susie's family as they wait for this precious child in Russia. V turned 2 years old today and Suz has waited for her to come home for a long time now!

Please visit Suz' blog at http://russianadoptiondva.blogspot.com and leave a comment or even better, stop and pray! Help us pray V home!

Chocoholic!

No, I'm not talking about myself, this time... although, I will admit I LOVE chocolate, and am definitely addicted!

This time, it concerns my 2 year old son.... He is quite over the top! The scene:

Our family room- Cala and I are enjoying a nice time together when suddenly she breaks out in tears. I wanted to laugh, but held it back and grabbed the little culprit...

Seth had scooted passed us just a chompin' away with "chocolate" in hand. He said simply, "mmmmm, dat good." The chocolate in question? Cala's "Reese's peanut butter cup" LIP GLOSS!

Now, that's addiction!

My Little Brownie

Last post I talked about my boys. I couldn't not talk about my baby girl! She's no baby anymore :o/ She's 8. Sigh.... She came home to us at age 2 years 7 months, the size of a much younger child (could wear 12 months clothes! and was developmentally like an 18 month old). She's no fragile little girl anymore! Oh! She certainly is still skinny. At 8, she wears a 6 in pants, and even those have to be the kind with adjustable waistbands! She's tiny in the waist!

She's really enjoying Brownies and here is her latest picture (to promote cookies sales) :

And, just to show you how the true Cala is- I think her personality shines forth in these next two pictures......

She asked if she could use the clown make-up we had for baby brother's trick or treating! She then proceeded to put on Seth's snowsuit- size 18 months!

Please take note of her forehead. She stood in our mirror, wrote her name on her forehead. Of course, in the mirror, it appeared to her that she wrote it correctly. However, as you can tell, it's actually backwards! Priceless! This is absolutely what I call "CLASSIC Cala!" If you know my daughter, you know you can't help but love her! If you don't know her, well, you're missing out :o)

These Boys!

These boys of mine! These mischievous boys! It was about three days ago that I was sitting on the couch in our family room, and Seth (the one on the left) was sitting next to me. Ethan was at my feet, playing. Suddenly Seth gets up, and says, "I'm going hit Ethan!" Oh my word! It was all I could do to not laugh as I got on to Seth.

Unfortunately for Ethan, I was too late. Seth already had made it there, and Ethan proceeded to wail, "Maaaaamaaaa, Seth hiiiiitttt me" (as if I wasn't there to witness the whole incident! lol).

When we started adopting (back in 2000), we had always wanted a boy first, but told the agency we wanted it to be a surprise as it would be in pregnancy. Being that Russia (as is Guatemala!) has an over abundance of boys for adoption, we always sort of thought we would have a boy first. Of course, we were THRILLED to find we were adopting a girl and she certainly couldn't be more of a match to our family!

Our girl came home in 2001, and in the years that followed, I was so content, but knew one day I needed a son or two! I tell you, I could never ever imagine what a difference my sons would be from my daughter, and all that would go along with raising sons! I am ever thankful to have these boys in my life, and be their Mama. They (along with their older sister whom they love dearly!) are the joys of our lives!

Just last night, Glenn and I were talking about "when we adopt again." Yes, we plan to adopt another girl, and plan that in a year from now we will "re-assess" everything, and decide for sure as to where (although we are seriously thinking of China!) and when to start the process.

I laid there thinking of "down the road" when all my kids are home (meaning our youngest daughter is home), and what a wonderful feeling that will be. After all, adoptions are not for the faint of heart, and are not by no means easy. However, it's definitely worth it to look at your children and know that you can't imagine your life without them!

These boys are so mischievous, they take up my time asking questions, "when is Cala coming home from school?!", "what's dat?", etc. etc. They take up my time with playing with them, feeding them, changing Seth's diapers!, etc. etc. However, they take up my time hugging me, kissing me, and just being the sweetest things in this world!

Just today, I was putting on make up and Ethan said, "Mama, you pretty". :o) A tear came to "me" eye, when Seth said, "Mama, I love you." Wow! These boys are mine! Thank you Lord!

Cookie Time

Cala is really enjoying being a Brownie (Girl Scout). Tonight not only did she attend her regular meeting (there's two a month), I attended a parent meeting- the topic: cookies! Yes, it's that time of year again, at least here in this area. Our troop's personal goal for each scout is 20 boxes sold.

Since we are relatively new here, it won't be quite as easy to sell these cookies. Our neighborhood is full of Girl Scouts and so we know we'll have some visits to our door, unless they stop to think as we did about the fact that all the girls around here are in the GS.

Never fear! We have it under control! It's called, "Call the grandparents!" ha ha "Yes, for just a small shipping fee we will ship the cookies your way!" :o) Ah! Grandparents! Got to love them! My Daddy can't even eat cookies, as he's allergic to wheat, but uh, he'll be good for a few boxes. He can pass them out, and Mom can eat them. Glenn's parents just happened to call tonight, so we've already told them about the upcoming sale, and hey! The shipping fee won't be so bad, since we'll mail both sets of grandparents' cookies together. :o)

Want to buy some cookies?! lol

I'm alive, I think....

I think I'm still alive. Wow! I've been super sick, sick as a dog (never personally seen a dog be sick, but I digress....). Thanks to those wondering about me, and for those praying for me! I truly appreciate that and don't stop! I've been blind sided with one thing after another lately, thanks to my weakened immune system! I think I'll start wearing a sign that if you're sick, just stay away! ha ha

We had a wonderful Christmas! It was very nice

having my inlaws here for two weeks. The kids are still talking about how much they miss their grandparents, as well as missing my parents who are unable to travel. (I really miss them too!)

Strangely enough, we had a brown Christmas! Yes, here in the Twin Cities area, no snow for Christmas! OK, so there was a bit of white out there still on our ground, but we mostly saw brown- how yucky! I think St. Petersburg, Russia Christmases spoiled me and I expected that here, which is normal I am told. By the way, I'm told that St. Petersburg is experiencing much of the same sort of Winter that we are here right now. Just really strange this year. Watch! Next year will be blizzard season or something.

Soon after my inlaws left, we had Ethan's 4th birthday! I was about as happy for him as he was! ha It's just that Ethan is my child that really needed that day all for him, all about him! He's had so many losses in his young life, it's affected him, and it was great to see him enjoy life. It was great seeing him realize that the gifts were just for him. After all, he had to wait ever so patiently through his sister and his brother's birthdays and then Christmas! This was well earned! lol

I am thankful for Ethan. It is him who keeps me ever learning! He came home to us in August of 2005 and just now are he and I really beginning to deeply love one another. Oh we've always loved each other, but with my taking care of the baby so much and already having the strong bond with Cala, it's just been different with Ethan. His personality is not as easy going as our other two and it's been important to me to start nurturing our relationship. I now truly feel that one day when I'm old and gray, it will be this dear precious boy who takes care of ol' Mama! After all, a few weeks ago he said "Mama! I'm going to buy you a house!" When asking "WHAT son?!" He responded, "a house Mama! Jer house (his pronunciation for your) Just for joo" "I going buy it at Mal-Mart" (Wal-mart) ha haaaaaaa I told Glenn he never mentioned Papa. Hmmm.... I guess we'll let him come visit!

Wow! Where does the time go?!

I just can't believe it's been since December 13th that I posted about our new kitten, and wham! Here it is Christmas Eve Eve! ha

Christmas Eve Eve is a big deal here to us you see... since Cala's first Christmas with us, we have spent December 23rd together as a family, camped out (or in since we're always inside)- in our living room. (wherever that may be! lol).

Tonight, well, it's a little past 1 a.m. (so technically, it's already Christmas Eve)- we started a new tradition for us- of getting new pajamas on this night. I caught the baby (who by the way refers to himself as "Papa's big boy, Mama's baby") in his new garb, complete with robe:

Isn't he adorable?! No! I'm not prejudiced a bit! ha

And here, in the second picture, he was looking up at Papa (Glenn), who was telling him we were heading upstairs to watch "Rudolph".

There's just something so special about children at Christmas! I can hardly wait to see my kids this year as they open their gifts! Seth was just a baby last year so this is all new to him. It should be lots of fun with all three of them.
Glenn and I are so truly blessed with these precious children! What a wonderful Christmas indeed!

My inlaws are also here.... that's a major reason to my busyness and lack of posting! We are keeping the roads hot! I am excited that they are here. Unlike many folks and their inlaws, I actually get along with mine and love them very much! I only wish my parents could be here too.

Another wonderful thing was that due to my inlaws being here, Glenn and I got to go out ALONE last night! First time in months of course, because well... I don't yet have a babysitter here- don't want to just trust anyone with my kids. Hopefully in the coming year, with our church growing, that will change and I will have someone.

Well, got to run! Cala has already fallen asleep (she made it to just past midnight), but the boys are still going strong! I remember Cala's first year doing this- she was wide awake at 2 a.m. when WE finally said, "enough is enough, we must sleep!" Of course, we are about to get them to bed too, as church is here in the morning!

Catch you later! (hopefully much sooner than last time!)

The Kitten post

Here's the latest member to join our family! We named her "Keeska" or the Russian word for kitty. I did give Cala the job of a middle name for her, and she came up with "Matroshka" (Russian nesting doll). So, our please meet our kitten,

"Keeska Matroshka"

She's special to me for a couple of reasons. See, my husband has always said he "despises" cats. He just really doesn't like them. However, the "psychologist" in me (lol) says that's because as a child, he had a cat that he loved and it died.

ANYWAY!, on our 10th anniversary (which has now been almost 3 1/2 years ago), Glenn presented with something I thought I would never have once marrying him! (we lived in Russia)- he brought me a beautiful Russian blue cat! I named him Nikita and I loved him so very much! However, it just wasn't feasible to bring him to the states, so Nikita now lives in a home where he is as equally loved.

I must add that I wasn't sure my heart was up to another cat, but it was GLENN once again, who came home with the idea. Last week, he brought a flyer home from then grocery store that was telling about this 9 week old calico kitten with a stunning coat. (Free to a good home). I called, no answer. It was the following day when we got in touch with them, went to get the kitten, and surprised Cala at school! Actually, we brought the cat home praying the whole way it wouldn't "meow", but it did. I coughed really loudly to cover it up. The expression on Cala's face was priceless as she opened up what we called, "an early Family Christmas present."

We are all now in love with Keeska, and she seems to love even the boys who follow her, pick her up- love on her!

** Pray for us- Glenn, Cala and I are all feeling pretty lousy. There is a cough/cold going around our town here. SEVERAL kids are out of school sick right now. **

My First Drive in the Snow...

Yesterday I decided to go out and do a little Christmas shopping on my own. The town I wanted to go to is a good ways through the country. It's an absolutely beautiful drive! On my way back home, not only did I get lost, (took the wrong road turning out of the store and ended up in the middle of nowhere), but I ended up driving through snow with near zero visibility!!!! It was really strange having that happen as I had only seen flurries moments before. Then, it was just through this one little spot in the road that it was very difficult to see.

To make matters worse, when it seemed to be taking longer than usual to get back to the next store I was going to, I became concerned I was lost again. I started thinking Glenn should never let me out of his sight! ha ha No sooner had I picked up the cell phone to call Glenn, did I see this beautiful red barn that is a "landmark" for me on that road. I knew I was going the right way.

Snow was definitely not sticking- didn't last long... still praying!!!!!!

I did it again

Yes, I know- I said I would post more and sure enough I've been gone from blog land quite awhile! ugghh

Since last I posted, my baby son had his 2nd birthday:

We visited a Christmas tree farm this past Saturday (an absolutely great time!, and new tradition for us :o)

And then, spent some time putting pictured tree up in our downstairs family room:

It's been very very cold here lately, but with just a dusting of snow! Now, spending years in Russia- we sure lived about living with cold AND snow. We knew Minnesota (or MinneSNOWta as it's been called) would be no different. However, this year so far is starting out very slow snow wise. We are told by plain folk and weathermen alike that this is highly unusual for this time of year. Having seen much snow through the past years, I would not complain much, and would relish in the fact of not having to deal with the hazards that the snow and ice bring. HOWEVER, this is our first year here, new house (to us), first time to have a fireplace, etc. etc. etc. and it just feels like Christmas! I want the snow. I also want to see the snow because my inlaws (from FLorida who never see snow) are coming for two weeks at Christmas time.

We are COLD though. We're having temps dropping in the single digits with wind chills below zero. To me, give me the snow and the 30's. This very cold weather with no snow, well, to be honest is just irritating! lol I am praying for snow! :o)

**** Note to secret blog pal: Thanks for the package that came today! ****

Yes, we got out on Black Friday and shopped! What mean parents we are getting those kids up BEFORE the crack of dawn! We put them to bed super early Thanksgiving night, and then hit the stores early early Friday morning. (up at 4 a.m.!) We spent 9 hours out and had an absolutely wonderful time! The kids were all very well behaved and Glenn commented several times at how nice it was that day being together. We came home and actually put up some Christmas decorations. We are a "work in progress" around here- we went to Wal-mart but bought very little decorations as we truly were so exhausted by then we weren't thinking straight! ha ha (that was the second Wal-mart we had been in Friday and it was already 1 p.m. by then).

Yesterday we spent relaxing in the morning, cleaning in the afternoon, in preparation for church today. Glenn lost his voice yesterday, and it has yet to return. He is not hurting at all, feels fine, just can't talk. This happened a few times in Russia. I used to say it was the devil, as many times it went on Saturday, and would be back on Monday- so he couldn't preach! I am interested to see how he is tomorrow.

Church went well regardless. Glenn had printed out a lesson for us to read since he couldn't talk. So, the young man that comes, and I discussed it. We also sang a lot. By the time the morning was over, my throat was so dry, but I was just happy to be here at that particular moment! Make sense?! Just seeing God work.

I am looking forward to the week ahead. Who knows what will have taken place by this time next week?! Look forward to the adventure!

Where Have I been?! Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow! I didn't even realized that the last time I post was a week ago!!! Yikes! I do have someone who faithfully mentions when I lapse behind in posts :o)

Let's see... the reason for my not posting?! Uh, er, um... we could blame it on Cala's sickness. After she came home last Thursday and started running a high fever, we became concerned. You know, it hits me when my kids are sick, the lack of medical info we have on birth parents. It does make me a bit nervous not knowing possible things to look for. Add to that, that Cala has never been sick much through the past 5 and a half years, and well, I just hate seeing her so sick. It's in those times I realize how much I LOVE that girl! How much I am thankful that she's my daughter!!! I would have given anything to take that sickness for her.

We did take her to the doctor yesterday- she has a viral throat infection, but unfortunately no antibiotic would really help the doctor said. So, it's Children's Motrin, and Children's Tylenol for her. (and lots and lots of fluids). Cala, poor thing hasn't been able to swallow well, and so, her Thanksgiving was limited in what she felt like eating.

What else could I blame my absence on?! Um, um, uh... oh yes! It could be blamed on my doing so much more now for my family! This is a HAPPY thing! You see the past 2 weeks I was unable, due to a really bad flare up with fibromyalgia, to do much at all. Glenn really had to do everything- cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. etc. So, now that I can do these things again, I am so very happy to be doing so! I've been busy.

And then, there's the probable answer, the um, truth to my absence... my MEMORY! Because of fibro, I do have a horrible memory and simply have forgotten this blog! I will do better! I promise.. well, I promise, IF I remember! ha ha

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We do indeed have much to be thankful for... as a nation (as I have traveled much, and lived in foreign lands, I feel I can attest to this)- we have our faults, but we're still truly blessed to have soooo much! We have an abundance when many have nothing. We still indeed have our basic freedom.

Personally, I have much to be thankful for. I had wonderful parents growing up (and still do! They are still around :o)

I have a husband that loves me, truly in good times and in bad. He's seen the "in sickness and in health" lately.

I have three children, three precious precious children. Three children from three different heritages, and still my very own.

I am blessed.

A night I don't want to repeat

Cala came home yesterday from a field trip (a production of Charlotte's Web), very very tired. I thought it strange when she didn't even say hello to me, but opted to hit the couch and fell fast asleep!

When she woke up, she was hot, and I mean hot! She ran a high fever for a couple of hours, it came down, and all seemed well.

Now, I am a night owl, but ever since having to get up at 6:45 a.m., I have been falling asleep much earlier. Last night though, I was up a little later. I was actually just getting ready to go to bed, when at 1 a.m., Cala appears at our bedroom door, hot again. Her temp was not as high, but still too high. She slept in a sleeping bag, on our floor. Glenn got her some medicine, and I decided to stay up until I knew she was asleep and o.k. The time was 3:09 a.m. when Cala finally fell asleep. I was soon out.

Knock Knock-the time is now 5:00 a.m. and I hear Glenn up talking about getting back upstairs to your room. It was Ethan- he had wet his bed. sigh... Once he was settled back in (thank you Glenn!), we were all back asleep.

Then came 5:45 a.m.! I should interject here that since becoming a mother over five years ago, I can indeed be a light sleeper when it has to do with the kids. It's only increased since having the boys home, especially since Seth was just nine months old when we got him.

So, it was 5:45 a.m., and I looked up to see this cute brown face staring at me saying, "Mama, I caca." It was Seth (age 23 months now) saying he needed a diaper change. ha ha Too early for this, but I did my motherly duty... I hollered "Ethan! Bring me a diaper please!!!!!!" (oh yes.. Ethan had come downstairs with the baby). "Oh yes! Baby wipes of course."

I then sent Ethan back upstairs, back to bed. Wanting not to disturb Cala or Glenn (who had just fallen back asleep), I sat there in the dark, forgetting to turn on the light! ha ha I just remember saying, "Son, I hope you're truly clean, I can't see well in the dark, but that'll do until I'm back up." lol

Here's hoping tonight is much calmer.

Voice of the Orphan

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Please listen to The Voice of the Orphan

Nov 13 Dr. James Dobson, Ryan Dobson, and Jim Daly
Nov 14 and 15 Dennis and Barbara Rainey
Nov 16 and 17 Steven and Emily Chapman

to listen, click here >>>>>>ONE PLACE

You can listen to any broadcasts you have missed. These are very touching broadcasts concerning adoption. I urge any of my readers who may not even be interested in adopting to please listen to these anyway!

Voice of the Orphan is a coming together of many organizations to find families for the millions of orphans in our world. The agency we used to adopt Cala, Nightlight Christian Adoptions, is a partner in this ministry. (as well as many other reputable agencies).

Taken from the Voice of the Orphan website, "The United Nations counts 143 million kids around the world as orphans, 143 million children waiting for love and support."

Feeling Official

Today in the mail, we received our Minnesota driver's licenses. I must confess I just stared at mine for awhile. Something so simple, yet another step to feeling "official" here.

Yes... it's a slow news day :o)

Crying on Memory Lane

If you watched tonight's episode of Amazing Race, then you've seen a taste of my favorite city in the world! I simply LOVE Helsinki, Finland. What was so very neat was the other cities in Finland where the teams went, we've been through as well, on the train.

When we lived in St. Petersburg, Russia, we would twice a year take a six hour train trip to Finland's capital-Helsinki. It was there we would get our visas (to stay legal in Russia) renewed. We looked forward to those trips as anyone living in St. Pete could understand. It was a real place of renewal for us, a time to refresh from the daily struggles that is life in Russia.

I confess to having a tear come down my face as I watched tonight's Amazing Race. I wanted to see more of these places I had been. It was so neat to see places in Helsinki that we had frequented. To hear one of the teams say, "kiitos" (thank you in Finnish) did my heart good.

Sigh... It appeared in the clip of next week's episode, that they were in Russian cars! I can't wait to see where they go!!!!!! If it were to be St. Petersburg, you may find me bawling. While content in Minnesota, knowing God wants us here (and no, there is no doubt about that!), I still miss Russia. I think a part of me always will.

Sad Statistics about Guatemala

I saw this posted today on an adoption list. It is sad but true:

Out of 100 children born in Guatemala:

1 will be adopted by a US family
5 will not make it to their 5th birthday
16 will be born with low birth weight
22 will never see the inside of a school
28 will never learn how to read and write
54 will grow up in extreme poverty and malnourished
74 will never make it to the 7th grade
84 will need to travel over an hour to reach a health care facility

Reading statistics like these make me so very thankful, grateful and full of emotion when I think about my precious little boys! Pray for the children of Guatemala! May many more make their way to their forever family!

Fun for Cala

Cala began the Brownies (Girl Scouts) last month. She really enjoys it, and typically will have two meetings every month. This afternoon though was the "Investiture" ceremony at the roller skating rink! This was when the new scouts got their pins and official induction to their troop. She had never been skating ever, and so this was a whole new experience for her.


She said she really enjoyed it even if she did fall over and over again. She came home very very tired, as evidenced by this picture, but there's a student holiday tomorrow, so she can sleep a bit longer in the morning. Of course, that all depends on her pesky little brothers. :o)
Looking at this picture took me back to her being a wee little girl just home from the orphanage, and sooo sooo sleepy. It's hard to imagine she is now 8 years old and has been our daughter for 5 and a half years! I just wish she would quit growing so fast!

My Boys are Sweet

Today has been a really, really rough day with my fibromyalgia. I woke up unable to walk. I had to get up to go to the bathroom, but literally had to hold on to the walls, and anything I could find as I went.

Glenn had gone to take Cala to school and as I tried to get back to bed, I sort of slipped. I ended up in a kneeling position at the bed (good position to pray!). Since the school is not quite a mile from us, I was sure Glenn would be back soon. As it turned out, it was one of those days as I've had when taking Cala, when everyone seemed to show up at the same time.

Anyway, the boys came in my room and noticed my dilemna. Ethan (age 3) says, "I hep you" and proceeds to come over and put his arm around me :o) Seth (age 23 months) comes over and actually tries lifting me up! Ha Ha! He had just been told to put the lollipop down and comes over and says, "Mama, here, you take my candy. It help you." ha ha

What sweethearts my sons are! They love their Mama.

Glenn soon came home and helped me, but I was sure to tell him how the boys had helped their Mama. They were proud to hear it and I was proud of them!

2 Heroes, 1 Clown

Wonder Woman in Minnesota HAS to be layered with a long sleeve shirt PLUS a sweatshirt, plus tights if she's to make it out of the house without a coat hiding her costume!

As my good friend, Suz, said... this is a smile that just melts your heart. It's like Kryptonite!
Yes, we could have gone all Justice League and gotten Batman, or even just Super Heroes and gone with his favorite, Spiderman... but uh, we needed some comic relief!

Why Don't They?

I enjoyed today. Cala and I went to the grocery store and the post office together. I like living in a small town where I feel safe enough to let Cala run in the post office and check the mail for us. She loves doing that, and I have fond memories of doing the same as a child. Not so anymore in the area I grew up in, for I would never allow a child out of my sight at all there! Mind you, I still have that mentality now, so none of my children are truly out of my sight still. I just mean, I can stay in the van and watch Cala as she runs in the post office without fear of someone nabbing her, and that's nice.

On the way to the grocery store, we had a deep theological discussion. Yes, she's 8, but so full of questions about God! It's wonderful. Children are so simplistic in their ideas of how things ought to be, and yet we could learn a LOT from a child. Today, it was like this: "Mama, are there two Gods?! There aren't are there?" I responded with, "No, just one." She asked, "But I heard Jesus, God's son was actually God." "Well, you heard right Cala, and that's hard for us as people to understand, but it's true." Then I hear, "Mama, why don't some people believe in God like we do!? Why don't they just believe it's true?!" To that, I have no real response but I did say, "Dear, I love you, you're my daughter, but the honest truth is I can't MAKE you love me. It's the same with God. He loves us all soooo much, but He wants it to be OUR choice." She simply said, "I wish everyone would just choose God." "I do too, dear... I do too."

I thought I would share a couple of pictures from Cala's 8th birthday a few days ago. We keep both American and Russian traditions at birthdays and holidays. Russian birthday tradition is to have a birthday pie. Well, I didn't get around to making one, and baking the greeting in the pie crust as I did in Russia. So, my sorry attempt was to buy a pecan pie (which is what Cala asked for!) and to uh... yes, I put Cala's name and age in COOL WHIP! It didn't work so well, but as you will see in the picture... either Cala loved it!, or she was making fun of me. I choose she loved it. :o)

It's true... I'm still here :o)

Wow! I've not been this long without blogging in a while! No excuses, just one thing after another I guess keeping me from it!

I'll not try to "re-hash" everyday just will say this: We had a great time with my inlaws, and are very much looking forward to them coming back in the middle part of December. They'll be here two weeks then, and that will include Christmas.

A couple of days ago, we had to apply for our Minnesota driver's license. We had to take a written test. We were allowed to miss 8 questions. Glenn missed 8. I missed 10! Boo-hoo. So, yesterday, I was not sure if I would go re-try or not as I was having a very rough time with fibro. At the last possible moment before having to absolutely get ready in time to make it, I decided to go! I'm glad I did! I had a different test that time, and passed, missing 7. Now, in Florida, it's never possible to turn left on a red light, but it is in Minnesota. AND how much space should you give someone on a bicycle when wanting to pass them?! Well, here in Minnesota, it's 3 feet. I had originally answered a car's length. I was trying to be nice! ha ha

Yes, I do feel like quite the expert at this point on Minnesota driving laws. I will receive my license in the mail- in 4 to 6 weeks. (in Florida, you get them on the spot, so this was new to me, but alas, "we ain't in Florida anymore!" lol). Glenn will get his in a couple of weeks they said- different city/different county where I went yesterday. (the original place was closed yesterday but suggested I go to this other city).

Yesterday evening, I went to Cala's school for a parent/teacher conference. That was really nice and this teacher has really studied a lot on things that pertain to Cala. I am so confident that Cala is right where she needs to be. This school is refreshing, very much on top of things!

That's about it for now. Hope all is well with ya'll! I hope to soon post some pictures- Glenn cut all the kids' hair yesterday. That was quite comical.

Still here, just busy....

Just wanted everyone to know I haven't forsaken the blog, just way busy with my inlaws here. They are wonderful people, and I feel very blessed to have them as my inlaws! I know people who absolutely do not get along with theirs, and I think that's awful! I feel sad for them. My inlaws are like another set of parents. They really are. I've known them since I was just a baby.

We've been keeping the roads hot here, even took them almost 2 hours away to a cheese factory in Wisconsin! Yes, we are dedicated cheese lovers.

Today they got to see snow. Now, to a Floridian, that's a real treat. To a Floridian who has since lived in Russia for years with countless measures of snow fall, it's not so thrilling. I do admit I love to watch it, but not to the extent of those who rarely see it. (never in their home area, that's for sure). I was happy for them to see snow coming down, even though it was too wet to stick. I assured them not to worry, for there will be plenty of the white stuff coming down and on the ground when they return in December.

Tomorrow is yet another day of hitting the road. This time, we are heading to North Dakota at least. This is a new state to all of us, so I am happy about that! We may go into South Dakota too, not yet sure.

I know one thing... it will be sad around here when the grandparents leave on Saturday. I will assure everyone that Christmas time will be here before we know it!

Eight Years Ago Today in a Land Far Away....

Eight years ago today in a land far away, my daughter was born. No, I didn't yet know her, she wasn't born TO me, but I feel she was born FOR me. She was so very tiny, weighing in at just three and a half pounds, and very, very early. (yet born in God's perfect time).

We had longed for a child so long, and were sad to not have yet have one. We were in Arkansas around her birth, because we know where we were when we got word about our niece in Paraguay being born. (she's just 12 days younger than Cala).

Eight years ago today, a precious baby girl was born, and she struggled. She struggled for her very life. She would spend the next two months in the hospital before being placed in an orphanage, and she would spend the next year sick off and on from various ailments. She was so frail, I can imagine.

At age 2 years, 1 month, she would meet her parents. We would meet our daughter. It would be at age 2 years, 7 months, that she would forever come home to live with us. We would at long last be a family.

I look back today and am thankful. OH, I am not like many in the adoption world. Admittedly, I don't long to really meet the bio- mother (I have a hard time even saying that word really), but I do thank her. Cala has asked me if she will be in heaven. I said, I hope so. We can't know, we can only pray so. She lives in a place where we are very familiar with the spiritual condition. It's sad to think this woman may very well die in her sins. YET, I pray she's in heaven. You see, I do want to thank her if she is... I want to say thank you for having my daughter. Thank you for not taking the road many many do in Russia, the road of abortion.

Thank you for giving life to this precious girl. Her loss was truly our gain.

My daughter is my joy. I am grateful to God for what happened in a land far away, eight years ago today.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Last of Spirit Week

Today was Spirit Day, by wearing the school colors of blue and white. Tonight was the high school's homecoming game. (we've heard the hollering from our house, and we live about a mile away!) :o)

Cala said she walked in her class this morning and told them, "Hi! I'm your new gym teacher!" She's a character. I would love to be a "fly on the wall" at her school sometime to observe her there.

Well, not much news here... just getting ready, and getting excited about my inlaws coming in tomorrow! It's going to be nice having them here! They love to play card games like we do. So, we are looking forward to some late nights next week.

Catch you tomorrow!

The place I missed the Most

All the years living in Russia, when someone here in the states would ask, "what do you most miss about the U.S.?", I would without a doubt answer, "Wal-mart!" My other answer would sometimes be "a bathroom where both the toilet and the sink are in the same room." Today, I spent way too much time in Wal-mart and had a cultural moment. I started having flash backs to Russia, actually longing to be there, no matter how little choices I had in products. It seems there are many different kinds of green beans here, and I am left wondering which one to choose! Made a mistake recently, and bought a brand that I will never choose again. Now, I go with the Great Value (Wal-mart) brand! There's 50 choices of cereal or more, where as in Russia, I would have given anything to see more than 5 ! My baby son and I today went up and down the aisles, and I just absoulutely had a moment of, "what has happened here? Is this me?! My son?! Me? Living in the states? ME?! Living in Minnesota????????" I guess it still takes time to let it all soak in.

Here's my precious baby girl as I call her- Today was Crazy Hair Day. We sprayed her hair blue and white. It mostly showed up blue in the back, and looking gray in the front. She was happy anyway. I enjoyed picking her up and seeing mowhawks, pink hair, orange hair, just all out crazy hair! What fun for these kids! Tomorrow concludes Spirit Week with Blue and White Day- their school colors. I think I'm having too much fun. lol

A Blustery Day Indeed!

Ok! So, I don't think I've ever, ever used the word "blustery" but that's the way they're describing it in our local weather. Another word for tomorrow's forecast is "raw". That just makes me giggle. Sorry. ;op It's currently 28 degrees as I write this and getting colder. We had snow this morning, but thanks to the wind, nothing stuck. More of the same is forecasted for tonight, as well as tomorrow.

My inlaws get here Saturday afternoon, but it's supposedly warming up to 35 for a low, 50's for high. That's still really cold for them! They will be sooo cold while here. To us, it's just feeling like Russia in the winter.

Today for Cala was Sportswear Day. She wore a shirt that says "Football" and has a football helmet on it, and then wore her brother's (yes, her 3 year old brother's size 4T) coat. (her heavy coat got left in Florida, but thanks to her grandparents coming this weekend, she will soon be reunited with it). Cala also wore a Tampa Bay Buccaneers cap today, something probably a tad dangerous here in Vikings territory! lol. She looked this morning like she was heading off to a game, and should have had a cup of coffee in hand! ha Tomorrow is "Crazy Hair" Day. Should be fun- we're spraying her hair blue!

Thank you to my Blog Pal

SO I just HAD to write a second post tonight, and say Thank you to my (secret) blog pal. Today at my door, I received a big block of chocolate, personalized from Hershey's in Hershey, PA. What a nice surprise! I thank you, and my children thank you! lol

Can I sit down now?

It's been one of those "go, go, go" days. I was so happy to see tonight come, get supper done, and the kids in bed. Now I can breathe a little bit :o)

I was so thrilled to see that I finally made something that we can have left overs from! ha ha. Seriously, not so many moons ago, when it was just Glenn, Cala, and me, I could make soup and it last us two nights. It's not happened since having the boys home. Two extra mouths to feed makes a difference (especially when one of those mouths, the 3 year old one, loves anything I make!). Tonight, however, I made a soup that made a lot and so that's one good thing to think about tomorrow. No extra cooking :o) Yippeeee! Honestly, I don't mind cooking, but there are days when I'm just glad not to have to.

And now, without further adieu, here is Cala from today- Mismatch Day. Doesn't she look HORRIBLE!???! ha ha

Cala's school day- and a day of remembrance

Cala really enjoyed PJ Day at school! Isn't she cute?!



I enjoyed taking her and seeing all the kids who came in their pajamas, some even wearing a robe!

It's also Wheels Week at school, so Cala took her scooter. She just got it right after we moved in this house, so it's still all new to her and she loves riding it.



*** *** *** *** ***

I've done o.k. today I think. It was 13 years ago today that I had my first miscarriage. I have thought about that baby today, and what might have been (wow! an almost teenager- as he or she - I refer to the baby as Evan- would have been born in May, so would have now been 12.) Yet, I am choosing to think about how wonderful it is to know that Evan is in the presence of our Saviour! Isn't that amazing to think that this precious baby of mine is there with the Master!? He is also there with his brother or sister- I refer to her as Faith- (miscarried in September of 2003). That's a true blessing to know one day I WILL know my other two children.

Please on Sunday, October 15th, remember to pray for those of us who have lost children due to miscarriage or still birth. While in office, President Ronald Reagan declared it a day to remember and honor those we have lost so young. God, in His mercy, chose to give me a daughter with that same date as a birthday ;o)

You can visit my memorial site to my babies in heaven, as well as a memorial for anyone wishing to place a note there at http://www.angelfire.com/blues2/evanfaith

Oh to be a kid again :o)

Cala is super excited as this coming week, beginning tomorrow, is Spirit Week at her school. So, stay tuned, my dear readers as I hope to add a nightly picture of how she dressed for each day. Tomorrow is PJ Day! Yes! She's going to school in her pajamas, and might I add, her padded feet pajamas!!! I laugh just thinking about it. She's had a blast since Friday just talking about this coming week, and what she would wear each day.

Here's a picture of Cala on her first day of school ever! She was not quite 3, and I homeschooled her in K3:

AND, here she is the first day of school THIS year:




Oh to be a kid again! Hmmm... wonder what I would choose to wear?

The Current Topic in Our Household

The above picture was taken on August 13th of this year. That was our last Sunday in Florida, was the boys' dedication day, as well as being Ethan's 1st Family Day (year since he came home to us :o)
The folks in the picture with the kids are my inlaws. They just happen to be the current subject of discussion in our house. You see, good 'ol Grandma and Grandpa are coming to see us in just, let's see, (I could run upstairs and read the big countdown, but uh, no, the stairs are involved! lol).... oh yes, EIGHT sleeps! (eight more times the kids will have to sleep before they come). My father in law gets three weeks vacation each year, and so they've chosen to spend those weeks with us. This time, it will be just one week. They are returning for two weeks at Christmas time. (that will really be exciting!).
I am blessed. You see, I know there are plenty of horror stories out there about inlaws. I don't deal with that, and neither does Glenn. I love his parents very much, and he loves mine as well! I am about as excited to see them as the kids are! I would only be more excited if it were my own parents coming. I really miss them and wish they could visit.
Of course, we joke that the grandparents are really not coming to see US (Glenn and me) at all, but rather our 3 precious kids (who incidentally, can do NO wrong in the grandparents' eyes). ha ha
I am happy for my kids that they know their grandparents well, and know that they are loved. Our parents are very close to each other as well. My Dad is a Pastor, and my father in law is one of Dad's deacons!
My kids seem to get a big kick out of having all of them together... when in Florida, we would sometimes ALL go out together and our kids would comment on "I have four grandparents all with me".
Yes, we're all excited around here, planning what we're going to do while they're here. They'll probably not get any rest at all, poor things! I'm just happy Cala has 2 and a half days off while they are here.
We're in for some fun :o)

My children, my accent and other ramblings

These are my babies :o) This picture was taken last Sunday during church, as they all got up to sing a special. They were singing, "Grow Grow Grow" as Seth calls it. The real song is, "Read your Bible, pray everyday, pray everyday, pray everyday. Read your Bible, pray everyday and you'll grow, grow, grow." I want my kids to always be as happy to sing as they are today. I do mean literally, today. The scene: Wal-mart. The boys were each in a buggy (or as some of you out there say, a "shopping cart"), and Cala was sitting next to me on a bench. We were waiting for Glenn to finish paying for something. One boy looked at the other one and began a rousing rendition of "Hallelu- Hallelu- Hallelu- HALLELUJAH! Praise ye the Lord!" I thought it was very cute, as my baby son (the one on the far right in the picture) got to "praise ye the Lord" and threw both his hands up! Now, we're Baptist, so you'll know we joke with him that "son! you're not a Pentecostal anymore". (as his foster family was in Guatemala).

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I know my post last night was a downer, but hey! It was keeping it real. So, tonight, I thought I would return you to your regularly scheduled program:

Seriously, here's something cute! I've told ya'll before how folks here think I talk differently :o) and I do. Anyway... last night, I ran into a grocery store. As I was leaving, the cashier says to another cashier, "I just love when she comes in here. She talks so funny! I love to hear her!" I found that cute and it gave me a smile that I needed.

Thanks for being out there in blogland, blogville, or whatever you want to call it. :o)

An Unforgettable time of Year

Sigh... October just so happens to be the time of year when I struggle the most with my emotions. Yes, I recently said that Fall is my favorite time of year, and it continues to be! However, the month of October has been wrought with terrible things throughout my teen years- into recent years as well.

Let's start back when I was a young teen- I'm a PK- preacher's kid- We had some real troublemakers in our church back then, and it all came to a nasty scene one October. I remember the hurt I felt at how these long time members treated my Daddy (and Mom too of course). Thankfully, I had some really good friends (one just so happens to now be my husband) that helped me through that awful time, ensuring that I was nowhere around when things got bad.

Then, it was 15 years ago today that I had an asthma attack that forever changed my life. Basically, I began passing out time after time and as I recall or as it was explained to me, I had a loss of oxygen that affected me. I lost my memory completely! I was in a foreign country at that, and looking back, can see that God was very much protecting me!!!!

A few days later, I was attacked which further shaped the person I am today :o( It's not something I so easily talk about, but at this time of year, I feel the need to do so. Please quit reading if you prefer... it really won't offend me.

As if that isn't enough, October 9th marks the 13th anniversary of my first miscarriage. My second one, 10 years later was on Sept. 17th, which I am so grateful to the Lord, was a wonderful day this year. I found myself becoming "blue" around that time, but quickly made it through.

I guess I am writing all this to help me through this difficult time of year and ask you to remember me in prayer, especially this month. It's not just one day here and there throughout this month, I really get down the entire month it seems- and yet, I find myself thankful for much.

You see, I look back and know that as a teen, God sent me good friends to help me. 15 years ago, God was protecting me further by allowing the events to not result in my death. Both miscarriages?! God protected my life and I have the assurance that my babies are with Him, in the presence of the King! I've never held them, but He can!

I find it comforting this year to realize that October 14th- a bad date for me-well, this year my inlaws are arriving that day! What a blessing, as we are all so excited and on that day, I know I will be too busy to really fall into depression. What a further blessing that the very next day is my daughter's 8th birthday! You can bet she is excited enough for us all! :o)

Due to the tragedy 15 years ago, I fell in love with my husband, a boy at the time that I never never imagined dating, much less marrying! Yet, I know God knew what He was doing.

To those of you who are reading this and you walked that path with me all those years ago, (you know who you are), I want to publicly thank you here for being there for me... for never giving up on the thought that I WOULD indeed see "the light at the end of a very, very dark tunnel", for being there through the nightmares (please pray they stay away this year!), and most of all, for praying me through the heartaches that followed.

To those of you who didn't know me back then, but do now, and I have told, well.. I can only say thanks for letting me talk to you when need be, for listening, for praying when flashbacks of the past come on me like a ton of bricks.

To those that this is the first time you're hearing of this, just know I went to extensive counseling, am "all better" now. (well, you know what I mean, was dismissed from counseling). I have much, much to be thankful for!

Sorry for this to be a downer. I don't mean it to be.. I truly mean it to be a testament to God's goodness. My favorite verse is still in the Bible-

Romans 8:28- "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Just Remembering

We are all sick in this house to varying degrees, still ! Well, our 3 year old, Ethan is not! Got to appreciate the orphanage building the immune system. Cala was this way for a couple of years, not catching anything, and STILL (five and a half years later), she rarely gets sick.

Anyway, all meals have been as low key as possible. I am feeling much better than I was, thank the Lord, but Glenn just got this mess on Saturday. I'm praying he's better tomorrow. Due to my fibro, it takes me much longer to get over things, so perhaps his illness will be better much sooner!

SO, lunch was peanut butter and jelly on Saturday, the day Glenn first started feeling sick. I was struck down with a bad headache, near migraine and Glenn took care of lunch. Remembering the boys' doctor in Florida said no peanuts for Seth until age 3, especially since we have limited medical history of the biological family, play it safe. So, Glenn said, "what do you think? I know what the doctor said, but remember that incident a couple of months ago?" I agreed and said, "sure, let him try it."

Now, before you go berating me for giving my child something potentially harmful, wait around for the "rest of the story." You see, two months ago, I was sitting in my parents' living room (in Florida), and Seth was right behind me. I was sitting up on the edge of the couch, and he was literally right behind me, his back against the couch, his feet touching my back. My purse was also on the couch, next to Seth.

Being the major chocolate addict that I am, I had an emergency pack (lol) of peanut M&Ms in my purse. I was ever intent on the show I was watching, and did not hear Seth open that pack of candy. (my purse is toooo easy to open without anyone hearing, so that part is very understandable).

By the time I looked back to see if Seth was asleep, since he was so quiet, it was too late. I sure wish I had a camera at that exact moment. He looked up at me with those big, deep, dark eyes like a deer caught in the headlights! ha ha His lips were stuck out, because his mouth was FULL of those peanut M&Ms, and then it happened! His eyes lit up as if to say, "Mama, this stuff is goooood". He was unable to say anything as there was no room in his mouth! ha He had stuffed nearly the entire pack in his mouth, but ever so quietly so as not to alert his Mama.

Then, we waited... waited to see if by chance he would have an allergic reaction, but thankfully, he did not. He hasn't had anything with peanut since, not until a couple of days ago, when Papa gave him his first ever peanut butter and (grape) jelly sandwich. Glenn said Seth got excited looking and looked at Glenn and said, "Papa, this good!" lol

That baby knows a good thing when he tries it!