I have 2 prayer requests for you today:
- My uncle who is very ill and all of his family who loves him dearly
- These sweet children, who just lost their second set of parents, right before Christmas
Monthly Archives: December 2013
Thankful
A few things that I am thankful for.
- My hardworking, ever forgiving, pretty much adorable husband.
- My loving, charming, too-clever-for-their-own-good kids.
- My family, who is just too far away.
- My great job, which in addition to being a financial blessing also surrounds me with encouraging and loving people.
- Our new friend asleep upstairs.
- A warm home on this cold and snowy night.
- Our abundance of food and anything else that we might possibly need.
School’s Out for Winter
Today was the last day of school before winter break. Which means parties!
Gus was super excited to go to school and see Lena. And, thanks to the kind kindergarten teachers who gave him an extra plate with a gingerbread man and decorations, he got to “decorate a cookie”, which to a 2 year old means devour all of the candy.Â
Lena was so happy to see us. We got hugs and a big smile.
G was so fascinated with all of this party business. Particularly the food part.
Of course I wanted to take some time to visit Reed’s party too, but Gus was NOT leaving that candy. Lena’s teacher told me that she’d keep an eye on Gus for me, so that I could go see Reed. Their classes are right next door, but I was grateful to visit Reed’s class for a couple of minutes without an angry toddler in tow. Lena’s teacher is fantastic. And not just because she kept an eye on Gus. Or may be reading this blog post. She clearly is passionate about teaching kindergarten, and that is an awesome thing to see!
Anyways, Reed’s classroom. First grade parties are serious business, you guys. You fold dreidels and fortune tellers and make bird feeders and drink vegan eggnog. Stopping for your mom to take your picture is NOT on your to-do list.
I got to talk to some of Reed’s friends and help them fold dreidels. One girl, a friend of Reed’s from kindergarten, was very impressed that I knew her name already.
Both of the kids had fun, but they are also happy it’s break. Before I even had the car in the garage, Reed presented his winter break to-do list:
- Decorate Gingerbread cookies.
- Really, decorate gingerbread cookies.
- Decorating gingerbread cookies would be fun. With candy.
- Play with Andrei.
- Wait for Christmas.
My Winter Break to-do list:
- Cut both boys’ hair. Or, better idea: instruct Aaron to do that.
- Actually comb Lena’s hair.
- Get a handle on Reed’s chapped lips (we have a doctor’s appointment next week!).
- Learn how to say more than “I need to pee” and “French fries” in Russian. Just kidding. I know more than that. “Do you speak English?” is also burned in my memory.
I have convinced my children that they should learn Russian because Andrei speaks Russian and Andrei is cool. They watched Little Pim for awhile, and then I pulled out this talking alphabet book.
By the way, anyone know where I can get a new one of those? Gus spilled water on it a few years back and not all of the letters work now. 😦 The store I bought it from is now closed.
My kids normally pick out their own clothes, but L was running behind this morning, so I asked if I could pick it out for her. Yes! Christmas theme! The sweater is one of my favorites: mitten pockets that Reed wore back in 2010. My mom made the skirt last year. And the shoes, dug out for her Princess birthday, are currently her favorite.
Little brother photo-bombed! So much love.
To Russia, with Love
A friend of mine put together this video of Russian children and the Americans who hoped to be their parents. I’m not sure what to say about it, except to get your tissues ready.
Rushnyk and the Chicken Thief
We had some beautiful weather today. It was around 50 degrees at 8am, so I packed up the dogs and Gus and headed out for a quick walk.
Gus rocked his Christmas PJs, sweater and boots. He’s cool like that.
He saw some birds, which are super exciting when you are 2.
More after school shots. It seem so ordinary, but I don’t think seeing her strong and happy will ever get old to me.
I got to talk with Andrei, our Ukrainian guest, a bit more today. The kids simply adore him, and he is great with them. He spent part of his evening playing legos with Reed. Lena announced that he is her “friend”. And he can get Gus to giggle with a single look. He spent a good deal of his day on the phone with his kids– both those who came here with him on the hosting program and those back in Ukraine. He seems to care a great deal about “his children”, as he calls them.
He also presented me with this gift today, which I think is a Rushnyk. I will have to take more pictures of the whole thing tomorrow. If you know me at all, you know that I don’t place much value on most gifts, but I already adore this one. Hand-embroidered by his mother. Uniquely Ukrainian with so much history behind it. Beautiful!
After the kids spent some time with Andrei tonight, we had some fun conversations. Reed had to ask him if he was Russian or Ukrainian. This is very confusing to them and Lena also announced that she is Russian. I think partly because they spoke the Russian language, but are Ukrainian. And then, littlest brother being Russian doesn’t help. Reed did not believe me that he used to speak Russian, so I showed the kids some old videos.
When Lena saw herself in the video, she instantly said, “Oh… my hair… was…” and then just shook her head.
Reed came into the kitchen as I was doing dishes tonight. “Mama, Lena… Lena told me to cover my eyes like this (hands over his eyes)… Then she… she stole the rest of the chicken off of my plate!” Sneaky little sister steals chicken right out from under her big brother. Too clever, that one.
a moose in moscow 