Home School Testing, Day One
Day one of home school testing is over! After making it through the morning with weak knees and queasy stomachs, we all survived and actually escaped major injury despite what we were feeling (yes, that WE includes ME!)! Every year I find myself more nervous & jittery than the kids....except this year....Benjamin, I think, had me beat, poor kid!
So, one day down, one more to go! Friday will be a breeze now that I know that Benjamin can sit through two hours and now that he knows what to expect. Chalk one more year up for home schooling! YEAH!
Labels: home schooling
A Few Photos from a Memorable Weekend...
The Happy Family
Carlin Park - Celebration for Roman & Jadon....many friends and family members joined in this great time of fellowship as they were introduced to the ones they'd prayed so long for!
Chris and Penny giving their public dedication to the Lord of Roman & Jadon - Pastor Dan Plourde
Proud family members looking on with great joy!
Labels: adoption, family, friends
Big Weekend!!!
Today's a big day. It's something our family has talked about for months now and I can't believe the day is finally here! It's a day of celebration and we'll be spending it with some of our most dear and loving friends and family. We will be introducing Roman and Jadon to the many who have prayed over them for the past 2 1/2 years.
What a time of rejoicing this is, and it's all thanks to our kind and loving, merciful and gracious God who made it all possible. He rescued these two little ones from the ends of the earth and placed them in a loving home with parents who fear and serve the Lord. How much more of a gift could one ask for in their days on this earth? And what a blessing for me to be a close witness to the workings of God's hand!
I'm forever changed by my love for these boys and God's love for our family in placing them with us! So, even if you're far from south Florida and unable to join us on the beach for this great time of fellowship, you can still rejoice with us and lift your praises along with us to the God who gives so abundantly!
Labels: adoption
I did it!
I make it in to get my hair done about twice a year (I know, that's crazy, isn't it?) Enzo, the hair-magician, never fails to make me feel beautiful when I get that bi-annual clip, so why do I wait so long? He unfailingly whips me up an espresso, this time it was a double, with cream and sugar. Also this time, he showed me his ski vacation album and as usual, we did a little catching up on our families. Never do I leave his chair in less than 1 1/2 hours! I feel like a movie star twice yearly at Salon Soliel and this time was no different!
Labels: ponderings
Time for a haircut!
I have not had my haircut since the end of November. So, yes, it is very long and in need of a deep conditioning. I called Salon Soleil today and my appointment with the wonderful Enzo is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday. Who knows, I may be brave and do something crazy--nah, I play things too safe! However, l will be sure to show an "after" of my long locks!
Labels: fun pict's
On My Nightstand...
You'll notice I changed the "What's on my nightstand" section, removing "The Winning Attitude" and replacing it with
Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman, by Anne Ortlund. It's the latest on our list of reading for our Women's Leadership Training I'm co-leading at our church, Christ Fellowship. In addition to reading that book, I've started Chuck Swindoll's book on Elijah for the purpose of our "Tool Time" study on various biblical leaders. Of the two books, the latter is definitely my favorite!
"Disciplines" is not a
bad book, but, in my opinion, it is quite old fashioned and could use updating. We pondered our options when we realized this book was worked in to the curriculum in our Women's Leadership Training. Should we skip it? Replace it with something more current? Well, in the end we obviously decided to keep it.
The principles are timeless, they are just packaged in a way that today's woman may not be able to relate very well. That's something we can work with! Also to the readers advantage is the fact that her style of writing is conversational which makes for an easy read. She touches on everything from quiet time, to your closet, making it very applicable to every woman's life. In the end I think we can have a lot of fun with some of the "horse-and-buggy" suggestions given throughout the short chapters.
So, if you choose to read it, I'd love to hear your opinions and any ideas for improvement you may have on some of the 70's-style advice! In exchange, I'll give you the lowdown on the overall outcome with our ladies!
Labels: books, ministry
The Winning Attitude, Your Key to Personal Success
We had our monthly Women's Leadership Training gathering this past Tuesday night. Our book review discussion was on John Maxwell's
The Winning Attitude. I think it was our best discussion yet and could quite possibly be transforming for many of the ladies. I know it was for me!
To be honest, I never would have picked this book up off of any shelf. The title just doesn't interest me. After reading it through and studying it, however, I've decided to add it to my list of favorites and will more than likely do a personal review of it every year. Yes, it's that good! I've marked it, written in it and dog-eared it to the point that I could never loan this copy out as it would be very distracting to any reader!
Pick up a copy and let me know what you think!
Labels: books
Another Busy Weekend...
I can't believe a week has gone by since my last post! As I'm sure you've figured out by now, it's been quite busy around here. Here's what we've been up to...
We had some precious people over for dinner Friday night, the three Muelenberg kids. I say kids, they are in their twenty's and they certainly don't act like "kids", but they are quite a lot younger than us, thus the title! They are from Holland and are currently working at various ministry positions at our church. We were hypnotized by their testimonies. I love hearing people's stories, but theirs was for the record books... they grew up with their parents using an ice cream truck to smuggle Bible's into Macedonia...I'd say that takes the cake!
So we had a wonderful time getting to know them. Our kids loved being with them as Michal, Ephraim, and Reuben took such an interest in each of them. We will be having them over again, I can tell you that!
I had another event to work at the church this weekend which consumed most all of my weekend. It was a pastor's reception and included about 45 people on Saturday night and 21 on Sunday afternoon. It was dissimilar to any event we've done in the past. The main differences being size and setting. Normally we do very large events, hosting 200-500. We also used real table settings, not paper or plastic, and we actually plated the food and served individually, no buffet.
Friday we had a team of about six help with setting up the room and tables. Saturday another friend and I spent from 10:30 to 3 p.m. making the flower arrangements and settling some finishing touches. We had just enough time to go home, shower, change and be back at the church at 4:30 to meet the rest of the team and go over last minute details.
After the reception we had to reset the tables for the next day so we all arrived home late that night and returned Sunday morning at 10:30. Sunday was a repeat, except for when the reception was over we had to box up all of the rented tableware and put all the decor items away. I got home around 3 o'clock.
At 4:30 we had small group bible study so I had just enough time to change, take a 15 minute nap and head out one more time!
All in all it was a great weekend. A little overbooked, but it turned out fine. I can breathe now for a couple of weeks!
Labels: church, friends
John Deere...
Last week my parents couldn't resist the urge to splurge! Let me explain...
Roman has a serious obsession with cars, trucks, motorcycles, anything with an engine. Got the picture? Every time Grampy drives in on Tuesday evening (our newly appointed family night) from work Roman squeals with excitement..."Galumpy, machina!" Of course, Grampy has to take him for a drive after that!
So the very next time we got together, before Grampy arrived home, Penny, Mom and & made our way to Walmart to check out the motorized vehicles. They landed on the John Deere truck with a bed in the back and before we knew it we had it loaded in Penny's Trailblazer and we were off!
We unloaded the ginormous box from the back of the car and started assembling. This was Papa's first really big piece job! He did great and the boys were thrilled. However, they had no idea that they could actually drive the big green 'machina' as it takes at least 18 hours for the battery to charge. They still had great fun with the whole idea of having their own truck!
Once the battery was fully charged, the Goeppner family made the trek out to the acreage, aka Granny & Grampy's house, for the boys to try out their new wheels. I wasn't present upon their first touch of the pedal, but when I did arrive Roman was already a pro. He had even figured out how to use the reverse gear to get around trouble spots! I see NASCAR, or better yet, LeMan's in his future!
Jadon is the perfect passenger. Totally content to sit back and enjoy the ride with no interest in getting behind the wheel, except maybe to pose for a picture. It's a perfect partnership for these little brothers!
So, as you can tell, there's not much excitement going on around here.....HA! Every day is more precious and I can't seem to get enough of these little guys. The weekend is coming, that means more kisses and hugs for Totya! Yeah!!!
Labels: family
Honeybees....
Last Friday we had a little excitement around our house. Honeybees had taken up residence overnight on the limb of a tree that borders our property. They were in the form of a swarm and in the midst of looking for a home.
I learned so much about bees from this little encounter! After contacting our local Beekeepers Society they immediately responded. I described our situation and the next morning a man showed up with a small amount of equipment in tow. Within an hour, ninety percent of the 3,000+ honeybees were in a shoebox! And not one bee sting occurred. It really is true that they won't bite you if you don't scare them...so don't swat at those bees and they'll leave you alone! Here are a few pictures of the procedure:
Russia's Top 10 Notables
10. No children around....or at least very few--I could count on my hands how many children I saw from St. Petersburg to Siberia in the two weeks we were there! Because people don't take their children out, there are very few child-friendly things to do....you won't find a child's menu in 90% of all restaurants.
9. Photo taking is frowned upon, even forbidden, in many places; however, smoking is allowed EVERYWHERE!
8. Women wear a lot of 'bling' & 4" spiked, knee-height boots in combination.
7. Men wear a lot of pointy toe boots/shoes and/or shiny (gold, silver, black patent) velcro sneakers.
6. Fur is everywhere - coats, hats, collars...no animal rights activists in the former Soviet Union!
5. NO fat people in Russia (I'm not exaggerating either!).
4. The word "yield" is not practiced in any way shape or form
3. Police and Militia are on every street corner, in every building and metro station...we even saw them carrying AK-47's!
2. Express check-out means whoever deems they have the least number of items just cuts to the front of the line, no questions or arguments
1. Never hand money to a cashier....place it in the little dish and they will collect it, then place your change in said dish
Labels: travel
Russian Oddities...
On our trip we came across several peculiar sights, many of which we were unable to photograph. However, I did manage to catch a few on camera and I thought I'd share them with you.
While shopping at Arbat Market we noticed a camera crew filming something at the Puskin Museum.
As we were leaving Red Square I spotted this "bum" who was sipping a bottle...hmmm....could it be a little vodka?
One of the most unexpected things we noticed were the many monuments to & symbols of communism still erect or embedded in buildings. Here's one of Carl Marx.
Several times throughout our city walks we came across portable toilets. They were there for public use and cost just a few rubles....yes, the woman in the open stall was there to collect!
Our last morning in Moscow, as we were turning the corner to the Marriott, we stumbled upon what appeared to be a crime scene and Dave couldn't resist the urge to pose.
Here's a closer view...what you can't see in the photo is the shattered glass all over the walk. By evening all the blood had thickened into a jello-like substance due to the cold. That's a blood-soaked hat in the corner..
Labels: adoption
Everyday sights...
So every morning was the same....get up, eat breakfast (you must show your room key to be allowed entrance to the breakfast room, however!), bundle up/pack up, and start the journey to the Marriott. Here are a few of the sights we saw every day:
The side street we had to take from our hotel to the main road which lead to our bus stop.
On Sunday, babushka's were selling flowers at the cemetery entrance.
Cosmonaut Museum just behind our metro station.
The walk from our bus drop-off to the VDNKH metro station.
Street signs to help you find your way...not very helpful if you can't read the cyrillic alphabet!
Corner of Tverskaya Yamskaya Ulitsa and Ulitsa Gurzinsky Val, where the Marriott is located.
Orthodox church across from our hotel.
Walking back to our hotel late at night.
I just had to strike a pose!
Big Day for the Boys!
Rather than give a long post on the boys first big day out on the town, I thought I do a photo post, describing each picture. Enjoy!
Starting out on our 1 1/2 mile walk to Red Square from the Marriott. The blue Mosmart strollers were just the ticket!
About half way to our destination we came upon TGI Fridays....yes! American fare! We had to carry the boys in their strollers up two flights of stairs to get to the restaurant. Restrooms were another two flights up. The food was good, but came slow and intermittently. When you eat out in Russia, plan on a good wait from beginning to end! Jadon didn't mind, as he got a sweet little nap!
Just one of the thousands of side streets with cars clumsily parked half on/half off of the sidewalks.
Another one of the many interesting sights on our long walk to the Square.. This one, the former KGB building, also know as Lubyanka, now the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (the new KGB). A little history lesson: The Bolshevik secret police seized this building from an insurance company in 1918 and used it to house their agency during the communist era. There is a bare patch of grass in front of the building where a monument to the Soviet secret police founder Felix Dzerzhinsky stood for decades before it was torn down in 1991 by pro-democracy protesters. It was a bit chilling to think about the many interrogations and torturings that have occurred in this building over the years.
Red Square coming into view as Penny and I pose with a smile.
The large brick building behind me is the National Historical Museum which is the official repository of Russian historic artifacts.
The Resurrection Gates are the best way to enter Red Square. It gives a breathtaking view as you enter with St. Basil's straight ahead, the Kremlin to the right and GUM, Kazan Cathedral (a 1990s reproduction of a 17th century church) & Gate Church of the Iberian Virgin to the left. The Square itself is almost domed, like a hill, the center of the Square being the top of the hill. It's covered with dark cobblestones and made for a very bumpy ride for the boys in their strollers!
Just before entering the Resurrection Gates we noticed a group of people enthusiastically gathered around an individual. Upon further inspection we observed what we later found out to be a great tradition amongst the Russian visitors. A circular brass medallion is embedded in the cobblestones. Apparently all of Moscow is measured from this point in the ground. It is considered "good luck" to stand on this spot and throw rubles over your shoulder. People were standing around waiting their turn to toss their coins, while "babushka's" patiently waited for the crowds to clear so they could collect the bounty scattered across the street.
To the right, inside Krasnaya Ploshada (Red Square), just in front of the Kremlin wall is Lenin's tomb--yes, he's in there!
We couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a family photo taken in front of the infamous St. Basil's. I overheard a couple nearby speaking flawless English. After inquiring, I found out they were from Washington D.C. They were happy to take our photo and we took theirs as well.
Chris & Dave in front of GUM, where we took a little side trip to warm up...it was
cold that day!
Inside GUM...it's gorgeous! Very old world and glamorous, yet a bit eerie. I felt like we were being watched continually. There were Moscow police and plain clothes security everywhere...
...even inside the men's room! Dave & Chris took Roman "pees" and this is what they had to pay a few rubles for, all the while being watched by police and a "babushka" cleaning around them!
After a full day of sights, we made our way back to the Marriot via the Metro. What an adventure for the boys! Roman was wide-eyed and full of excitement. He asked Dodya Dave in Russian - "Can we do it again?"
What a memory! I'm sure as they closed their little eyes for the night their minds were filled with visions of all they'd experienced that day with their newly-appointed family!
Labels: adoption
