First, I'll Be a Mother

When I was a little kid, I remember a poem hanging on the wall at my aunt's house. We spent a lot of time at her house, so after a while I memorized it (or pretty close).

Some houses hide the fact that children live there.

Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows, tiny smudges on the doors.

I should apologize, I guess, for toys strewn on the floors.

But I sat down with the children.

And we played, and laughed, and read.

Even though the doorbell doesn't shine, their eyes will shine instead.

At times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other.

I want to be a housewife, but first, I'll be a mother.

That poem has been on my mind and heart for many years, even before I became a mother.

And that's why you haven't seen much on the blog lately. As much as I enjoy the blog, my family comes ahead of my writing! For the past few weeks since leaving the normalcy of my job, I've been playing with, reading with, laughing with and loving on my kiddos. I don't want to paint a picture of perfection, because we are far from perfect. But we are making some great memories together. We are having fun. And we are getting used to being together 24/7!

And we are excited that in a week and a half, we'll have one more joining us. After almost 15 years, Zack will be saying farewell to his work. Then we'll have several weeks to spend time with extended family, go on a couple of trips and some day trips, and say good-bye to friends and family.

The next few weeks will likely be busy, emotional, and probably a bit crazy. But we will try to take things one day at a time and make the most of this time.

Here are a few pictures from our first few weeks...

A Post About Nothing

Did you catch the sitcom reference? It's one of our all time favorites. So much so, we had to find the restaurant made famous by it while we were in NYC last year!

The boys start soccer practice next week.We went to the kick-off meeting last night, and Daniel was excited to wear his brand new "cleaks."

They're playing in a small church league and the age range is kind of wide, so they'll actually be on the same team... with Zack as their coach! While it will probably be tough for Daniel having to play with the big kids, it has its advantages, too. It means only one night of practice each week, which is huge. It means he'll have a coach that understands him, which is big. He'll already know two of the players on his team: William and their friend Samuel. And he'll have more opportunities to learn from William in this format. 

There's nothing else in particular of interest to post about right now, so here's a mix of random pictures from the last few weeks...

William came and 'worked' with me for about an hour yesterday.

Zack picked up some bongos at a pawn shop last week. The boys love them. This was a Saturday morning jam session. I'm not sure if they were singing Chris Tomlin or Maroon 5 :)

We got our Disney photo book in the mail last week, and it turned out great! It was kind of expensive, but worth it to have a way to remember an incredible trip.

I love this pic of my three favorite guys at the Magic Kingdom... eating my favorite dessert, a Dole Whip!

Here's a pic of us with my brother, SIL, and kids. I'm so glad we got to share some memories while we were there!

Where Dreams Come True

I don't think I ever wrote about William and Daniel's big Christmas surprise. We were trying to minimize the amount of 'stuff' they got for Christmas. Because they have too much and don't play with half of it. Because space is limited these days. And because we're working towards a more simplified lifestyle. There are other reasons as well, but those were the main ones.

Daniel & William wearing their Harry Potter scarves
Aren't they great? My cousin & aunt have an Etsy shop
and this is just one of many cool items they sell.


We've also been wanting to take them to Disney World. We wanted them to be old enough to remember the trip, but young enough to still really appreciate and enjoy it. So we decided that would be their big Christmas gift. Way bigger than we'd normally give because let's face it: the Mouse is all about the green. But it doubles as a vacation so it worked out well!

We leave for Disney soon. I cannot wait! We'll spend one day at each of the four parks. And we'll have some much-needed time away, just the four of us. No work. No school. No extra responsibilities. Just making memories.

In preparation, the boys have been watching some Disney movies. Since they have only been in America a short time, they aren't thatfamiliar with all the Disney characters. They know the guys from Cars and Toy Story, and they love Lilo & Stitch (side note: I think Daniel and Stitch have a lot in common). So we borrowed lots of Disney classics from some sweet friends, and we've been giving them a crash course on characters and plots.

Watch for more in the next couple of weeks, as I share about our Disney adventures!

I love my family

When it comes to bedtime, our boys can stall like the best of them, and you can recognize it from a mile away, particularly with Daniel.

But I know that what happened Sunday night was not about stalling.

Daniel and I were in the bathroom for a sip of water. He sat his water cup down and smiled at me. He said "when I was at detsky dom (orphanage), I never saw Daddy and Mommy. But now I see my Mommy and Daddy every day!" And he literally jumped up into my arms and hugged me so tightly.

I told him once again how we prayed for God to show us our child, and that God led us to him, and we got to the detsky dom as quickly as we could. And I reminded him that no matter what happens in life, we are family and we stay together.

He smiled and gave me another squeeze and a kiss, then said "I love my family." And he calmly (yes, Daniel did something calmly!) got into bed.

With each passing day, he is becoming more and more sure of things.

God is good!

A new Dove

Sorry I've been slack in blogging, but we've had quite the busy weekend!

Zack's younger brother Josh got married this weekend. We had a great time spending the weekend in Hartwell with friends and family. I'll post some more pictures later, but here's a teaser for now...

Savannah

First dance

The ring bearers

All the girlies

Spring Break

Our Spring Break trip was fun! We learned a lot...

~ about other cities

~ about our nation and its history

~ about each other

I'll try to find the time to write about all the things we did. In the meantime, here are our 2 little guys in the city that never sleeps, enjoying one of its most famous street delicacies...

Wanna hear a God story?

Have you ever had God give you the nod? You know, when He lets you know that you're on track with something specific...

We got the nod a few weeks ago.

The story begins one Friday afternoon. We're talking about a possible Spring Break road trip. Zack mentions a couple of places, and I chime in, "or New York?" but quickly follow that up with "but we don't really know anyone there."

Not so fast.

Two days later, we're at church, talking to our missions pastor. There's a church planter visiting from out of town and he wants to know if we will take this guy out to lunch after church while he attends a staff meeting.

So we take out our new friend, Steve. Steve is a church planter that works, where else, but... New York City!

We have a great conversation getting to kno each ther, and then we mention our desire to visit there.

I should mention that we've been seeking some cross-cultural ministry experience that all four of us can get involved in...

Steve goes on to tell us that he thinks it's a great idea. What's more, he works with a couple who is starting a Russian-speaking church. And the real kicker? They're from Ukraine!

So looks like we'll be hitting the road for the Big Apple soon. We'll do some touristy stuff, and we'll also get some missional experience.

I am so excited about how God is working all of this out!!

Daniel's birthday Recap

Birthday morning

If I had to sum up Daniel in one word, it would be joyful. He is a happy child, and honestly, I suspect he always has been.

But the level of joy I've seen in him in recent weeks is amazing, and is surely a gift from God. He seems to be getting more comfortable and settled, and is meshing well in so many areas.

It is obvious that Daniel loves Daddy, Mommy, and big brother. He enjoys school and church. He's making friends. He thrives on routine and family time. He wants to help with everything we do (cleaning, cooking, you name it) and strives to please us most of the time.

He's stubborn and determined, traits that can cause trouble but can also work to his benefit. He eats up even the smallest praise we give him for a job well done. It's rare that he isn't smiling or laughing. He's full of quirky remarks and funny expressions. He is just plain fun.

So the opportunity to celebrate our little man was a big source of joy for him, and also for us. Daniel's birthday was a chance for us to have a lot of fun and show him that he is a precious gift from God.

Last Friday was his birthday - and he got to have the dinner of his choice. He chose hot dogs. I think the kid would eat them every day if we'd let him.

He got a few gifts on Friday, and we enjoyed a yummy cookie cake.


His train cookie cake

 




He was super excited about GeoTrax!



Saturday was his party, at the indoor playground at our church. Not only did the kids get to play, but we also hired a guy to entertain them. He's called "The Inflatable Zoo" and does songs, magic tricks, kid-friendly jokes and balloon animals. He performed at William's first American birthday, and we decided to bring him back for Daniel's. He was a hit with the kids - especially Daniel, as you'll see in one of the pictures below!



Brothers on the playground

LOVE this pic of him laughing at the music/comedy/balloon guy



He enjoyed everyone singing to him

Aren't the monkey cupcakes adorable?!

Classic Danichka






We had his party at the indoor playground at our church

 



Daniel's birthday - sneak peak

To say the weekend was busy would be an understatement. It was a great weekend, mainly because of the joy we saw just oozing from our little man... he had an amazing time and can't stop talking about it.

I'll write more later when I have access to my cameras and can upload some of our pictures.

In the meantime, check out my soon to be Sister-in-law's blog - she did a sweet post about Daniel's birthday celebrations. Savannah's blog can be found HERE.

Snow, Snow - Go away!

The boys are STILL out of school - 4 days and counting. We've all had a touch of cabin fever, so we ventured to the grocery store yesterday afternoon. Our cupboards were getting bare - but so were the grocery store shelves! We did manage to get a few things, though.

I'm back at work today, working limited hours due to the road conditions. I'll try to do a better update soon. But in the meantime, here are a few pictures I edited using picnik.com:

Daniel's first Christmas

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, we attended church with family and friends - it was a great service. Then we went back to our house for Chinese food (a tradition started a few years ago) and gifts with Zack's parents & brother. The boys got some great gifts, and then anxiously went to bed so that Santa would come.



Christmas Eve

Once Zack and I finally made it to bed, I started feeling a little nauseous. I fell asleep, but woke up at 2:00 AM, VERY sick. I was miserable. I've never been sick like this at Christmas - not fun.

Zack finally got tired of waiting on the boys to wake up, so he woke them up around 7:30. We all went downstairs, and I sat at a distance and watched as they enjoyed exploring the gifts that had been left around the tree.



Christmas Morning



After a couple of hours of playing, we made our way to Zack's parents' for brunch. We hung out and watched Christmas movies while the boys played, then went back home.

My family was supposed to come that evening for gifts and dinner. But Georgia was in for its first real White Christmas since 1882, so everyone decided to wait a day to come.



Snow Fun!

I was still feeling horrible, but was super disappointed, particularly for the boys. So my mom & stepdad drove up before the roads got bad, and spent the night with us.

By Sunday, I was much better. The boys enjoyed playing in the snow for a while, and that afternoon my family gathered to celebrate Christmas - a day late, but a great celebration!

Daniel did well with his first Christmas. He was a bit overwhelmed on Christmas Eve. At first, he would pick up a wrapped gift and just look at it. He would try to carefully remove the paper without ripping it. But with a little help - and some modeling by a very skilled older brother - he was soon throwing paper everywhere like everyone else! We kept things pretty simple in the way of gifts this year. Both boys already have more than they could ever play with. Neither had any major request. And we are trying to find ways to simplify. But they both seemed to be thrilled with and grateful for all that they received.



Christmas Eve at Cross Pointe



Christmas Eve - Josh & Savannah with all the "Littles"



Josh with Savannah & her family



The Dove family on Christmas Eve



The boys with Uncle Josh & Aunt Savannah