We started out our day with a NEW tradition! Here is our discovering and fun of "Resurrection Rolls" (You have no idea how many batteries I went through to get these pics as our camera is still broken! It was worth it...)

Getting ready to read the Easter story in the morning and make our Resurrection Rolls. (excuse those of us still in our pj's.)

This is all you need... Large Marshmallows, melted butter, sugar & cinnamon mixed up, crescent dough and your Bible. Easy!

First Jared is showing you dipping the marshmallow (representing Jesus after His death) in the butter (representing the embalming oils).

Then Chloe shows you dipping the marshmallow in the sugar & cinnamon mix (representing the spices used to anoint the body)

Phoebe is showing you the dipped marshmallow being wrapped up in the crescent roll dough (represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death)

Caleb's marshmallow all wrapped up! (note: If you try this make sure you wrap the sides first. Don't wrap it like a normal crescent roll. Make sure to tightly close every gap so the marshmallow pops up the dough leaving a nice empty cavity. If you don't you get gooey marshmallow all over the place.)

Time to put our rolls in the oven (representing putting Jesus in the tomb)

After 3 days... *lol* er, 12 minutes (to the kids it felt like 3 days!) we went to check to see if Jesus was in the tomb.  (You can see one little gap that opened here because we didn't tuck the sides in first. We got lucky on this one!)

The marshmallow is GONE!! Christ is RISEN!!!

No marshmallow in Jared's either! Just some yummy, gooey cinnamon and sugar. The marshmallow melted like the glaze you see on top of cinnamon buns. DELICIOUS!!! The best part... the messy, sticky stuff was on the inside of the cinnamon bun.

Phoebe wanted to make sure Mama's marshmallow was really gone too!

Later in the day I put out a spread of fun snacks for the kids to munch
as they would like through out the day. The kids were delighted that I
put out pistachios just like Grammie and I put her celery dish out that
she gave us on the last day we saw her at home. Yup, pretty much we ate all day!

HOPE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAD A WONDERFUL RESURRECTION DAY!!!

Check out my cousin Kimmy's beautiful snow pics she has on her blog today!!  My kids are all saying the big snowstorm we had yesterday was a late April Fool's trick! *lol* So much for my crocuses that were up... they are under over a foot of snow now!

The kids were all feeling a bit sad yesterday when I told them Grammie is no longer with us so I encouraged them to go out in the snow and play because that is what Grammie would want us to do on a snowy day. They decided to make Grammie a BIG snowman with a BIG smile!

Fortunately, I was able to get my camera to work for me with new batteries long enough to shoot a couple of pics.

I would say that is BIG! Of course, we needed Papa's help to lift those big snowballs! This was the first real snowman that we were able to make this year as the snow was wet and sticky. FUN!!!

Here is his smile! We got another storm right after this when the kids came inside!

This morning we woke up to a bit of ice. Spring and Ice together is really confusing!  I thought it was pretty though... The kids thought it was even funnier that I walked out in my PJ's and wearing Papa's boots to get the pics this morning. 

Our Snow Buddy didn't fair so well with the melting! This is what we saw when I opened the blinds this morning. He looks a little gloomy.... that's OK we all feel that way sometimes right? 

The good...Spring is near and new life is coming!! The flowers are coming as evident by the buds glazed in icicles and the birds are flying and chirping in the trees above. I think we might put some bird seed all over our snow buddy. Last time we did this we saw all kinds of birds come to our "recycled snowman"  The kids all got out our bird book and tried to identify each bird that came. That is something we know Grammie would like too!!! 

Also a great day to read the book I posted above!! I LOVE looking at the beautiful, scenic pics in that picture book with the children. 

Doesn't it sound like a wonderful place?

Grammie needs prayer to no longer suffer. Grampa needs prayer for strength and wisdom in her last hours. My family needs prayer for comfort and peace.

The immediate family made it in all together yesterday to be with
my Grammie. The children also got to see Grammie which was very hard at
first but such a blessing because she ended up speaking to each one
separately. The children were all able to show her their
pictures they drew and explain them as well. This gave them each a LOT of
comfort and joy.

Gram's room is in a perfect
place because there is no other patient between her and the family
room. The kids (and the whole family) are able to go back and forth
from her room and the family room as they feel the need.  We plan on going back today to be with Gram as long as possible.

Thank you for your prayers and all the smiles! Both my Dad and I are feeling better. Please continue to pray for the health of our family as many of us are sick with colds. Our entire family would also appreciate continued prayers for peace and comfort.

Remember to give your loved one's a big SMILE today!

PS. I forgot to tell you how I got the kids for April Fool's!!!  Hey, in honor of my Grammie I had to make the kids laugh!! Anyway, as we were going out the door to see Grammie the kids began to put their coats and shoes on to find it was not as easy as a task as before. I had stuffed each of the arms of their coats with balls of aluminum foil so they couldn't get their arms in and put marbles in their shoes. It was hilarious when I shouted "APRIL FOOL'S!!!!" You can imagine a mudroom full of my kidlets all with giggles!

Dear Friends,

I am asking you to lift our family to the Lord in prayer for comfort and peace as my Grammie is terminally ill in the hospital due to cancer. I have resisted sharing this publicly but feel it is time to share with those of you that pray specifically for our family and ministry. In addition to praying for peace and comfort for our entire family please also pray for myself and my Dad as we are both sick with bronchitis. Due to our condition we are unable to see Grammie at this time. Please also lift my Grampa in prayer as he needs to make many hard decisions through and after this very sad and difficult time.  Most importantly pray for my Grammie's peace to be in the Lord as she leaves us here on earth. There are hard days ahead of us.... I trust God will be faithful to see us through!

With Much Gratitude,

Great Grammie has been sick recently so the kids decided they wanted to draw pictures for her. I couldn't resist sharing of course!

Jared (age 8) drew a beautiful picture of our family with Grammie and Grampa walking through a meadow of flowers. He knows how much Grammie loves flowers! The flowers in the meadow above the people are yellow sunflowers. Our family in order from left to right... Caleb, Grammie, Jared, Mama, Papa, Phoebe, Chloe & Grampa. The animals in the meadow are a female and male porcupine because we saw one at their house on Christmas.

Caleb (age 7) really wanted to draw birds for Grammie because he knows how much she enjoys watching the birds at her bird feeder. He drew a Blue Jay and Robin that are finding worms. The round blue shape by the tree is a nest with Robins eggs in them. Notice the Robin is saying "tweet" backwards? I asked him why it was written backwards and he said, "because that is the way it would be coming out of his mouth." Then, of course, what is a picture for Gram without beautiful flowers? In the picture scene it is supposed to be raining with the sun out so Caleb made a beautiful rainbow.

  

Chloe (age 4) drew our Thanksgiving table at Grammie and Grampa's. The round circles going around the big circle is our family sitting at the table. Then Chloe drew all the yummy, colorful food that Grammie makes on the table. The one that looks like it has eyes is the "chicken." I think she means turkey. The green shapes on the table is Grammie's home made pickles! There is a red apple and the long orange line is supposed to be carrot sticks. The celery sticks for some reason are the green lines around the table. *lol* Maybe because that dish gets passed around so much?! Then the other colored circles are all pies -blueberry (purple), chocolate (brown) and pumpkin (yellow).

Miss Phoebe (age 4) drew Grammie and Grampa's house. No that is not a mushroom! You can see the front door right? She did a great job on her tree next to the house and added some grass with a blue flower.  The blue next to the flower is a pond. The lines above Grammie and Grampa's house are "hang gliders" Hmm...I asked her, "Do you mean hot air balloons?" Her response, "No, no, no silly. Hang Gliders!" So then I asked, "Why did you think Grammie would like hang gliders?" Her response, "Because they go up high in the air." So there you have it straight from Phoebe that Grammie likes hang gliders. The yellowish-orange on the bottom right hand is Phoebe's signature. She often watches me right in cursive and immitates by writing letters to people like that.

As most of you know we have been "house hunting" for way over a year knowing we are enlarging our family. We can do just fine in the home we are in but would love a little bit more land now that most of our kids are past the toddler ages and are into bigger activities like biking. Well, we found a similar style house we have now but with just the right added perks we were looking for!

Unfortunately, we cannot get into that house because our house is not worth as much as it was last summer. This is partly due to the housing market drop and the current season. However, there is also another factor that has played in on the scenario of our house not being able to be on the market for the price we want. Last summer we showed "excellent curb appeal" due to our landscaping and all our flower gardens. Often times people will walk by our house and look at our front yard gardens during the summer. The beautiful granite and stone wall helps to draw your eye well to the house also. Unfortunately, it is "mud season" right now with no gardens to appeal to the eye and no leaves on the trees to draw your eyes away from other areas in the neighborhood. According to the Realtor our house price range is being affected by "Mr. Nascar Man" and "Five Color House" in his words to be exact.

Mr. Nascar Man lives across the street from us and has countless race cars and other unregistered vehicles for parts that makes it look basically like a mechanic shop. Five Color House has well, just that! After five years they still have only gotten the front of their house painted leaving the old farm house now yellow and red. Recently they have moved onto the roofing which all have different colors. There never is much consistency with our side neighbor and their housing repairs. Our neighborhood doesn't sound very appealing does it? At least not on the surface.

Well, this whole situation got me thinking today. Initially, I was upset that the actions of others would affect my house price by at least $20,000 and there isn't a thing I can do about it! As I began to settle down and pray I started to think about these particular neighbors and what they have meant to us over the years we have lived here.

Mr. Nascar Man has always been there whenever we have needed him. I cannot tell you how many times Eric has gone over to ask to borrow a ladder, especially when we were repainting our house because we didn't have the extra finances to buy one that size ourselves, or to ask for help on our vehicles when one wouldn't start. Many times Mr. Nascar Man has saved our day by getting us to where we needed or even helped us get into our house when a child mistakenly locked us out! Mr. Nascar Man is the one we trust to "watch over our home" while we are on trips away and doesn't hesitate for one moment to walk over if he sees anything suspicious. I don't worry one bit when Eric is away because I know that Mr. Nascar Man won't let anybody near our house that doesn't belong! Mr. Nascar Man has always got our back if you will. He is reliable, friendly, trustworthy and honestly we couldn't ask for a better neighbor.

Mr and Mrs Five Color House also has always been there for us anytime we needed a silly thing like that one egg we were missing while baking on Christmas Eve night and the stores were closed. We have a wonderful relationship this way and their children do not hesitate to come on over if they need something while Mom or Dad are gone. Quite often one of their children (who are older) will come over with a dozen eggs from their chickens, a whole bag of produce for our family or a toy that they have outgrown and thought my children would love.These are the type of neighbors that if in an instance something were to go wrong you could entrust your children too. During our neighbor's chimney fire this winter they were the first to run over carrying a thermos to make sure they had something warm to drink while standing outside.You couldn't ask for nicer people in the community than Mr. and Mrs. Five Color House!

What it appears like on the outside is not at all what it is like on the inside. How many times do we make that mistake? Quite often we judge a book by it's cover and choose not to look deeper. It is these exact two quirky book covers in our lives that have given us much stability in our little neighborhood, friendship and a helping hand just when we needed it. I consider it a privilege to have such diversity! If every neighbor was just like us how boring would our life be? Would we have a mechanic who could help Eric get to work on a cold morning because the vehicle wouldn't start? Would we have had use of that saw, pole digger or the like that helped Eric build our back fencing to keep our children and pets safe? More importantly would we have the trust, transparency and compassion that has allowed us to bless one another as neighborhood families? Not without the diversity of personalities that God uniquely created in each of us!

In my initial, harsh thinking I thought about calling the town selectman to put some pressure on these two neighbors to clean up their curb appeal so that I could get more money out of my house. I do have every right and I do know that in specific ways I do have a right to call them out on breaking some town ordinances. I also have the protection that I can do this anonymously. Where will this get me though? If I demand their freedoms to be taken away the way they see fit to live life will that some day come back to bite me in the back? What if a neighbor disagreed with how many children we have in our house in a two children only culture? What if they didn't like seeing all the toys in the yard? What about when my little dogs bark? What if they didn't like seeing our camper and big red Sprinter all squished in our little driveway? All these things are quirky to us and what makes us individuals and bring a uniqueness into our little neighborhood. I would be heartbroken if either of the two loyal neighbors turned on me to take my personal freedoms away!

If it makes Mr. Nascar Man happy to tinker on his or his buddies cars and have a hobby of racing that gives him such joy in life then who am I to judge or take that freedom away? If Mr. and Mrs. Five Color House are only capable of  tinkering on their home a little at a time and with the limited resources they have again who am I to judge?  Twenty thousand dollars worth of curb appeal may be worth it to ME in the temporary but it is worth ruining the lifestyles of two other families in the long run? Is it also worth the cost of ruining who they are to us in the community?

None of these so called "curb appeal offenses" truly hurts any of us when we look beyond the cover to see their greatest worth! I know for a fact that Mr. and Mrs. Five Color House give immeasurable amounts of time to the community beyond what they give to their neighbors. In the end it's a wash that they don't put more time into their own house because they are busy helping others. Both Mr. Nascar Man and Mr. and Mrs. Five Color House are the greatest examples of giving of themselves with no strings attached. Maybe we all ought to take a deeper look and follow....

No we will not call the selectman or lose sleep over the circumstance. So we cannot get into a new house now but, I trust God to work it all out for HIS best for the best interest of ALL. That is the attitude I would hope that another neighbor would take with us with all our kidlets running around.

I am left in contemplation today to ask myself, how does MY own actions affect others around me?

Since this directly relates to me and is a real accurate description of our process I thought I would share it here. I think some of you might enjoy a peek into our world. Please know I did not write this and cannot take the credit for it! The author, Amy Abrahams, is an adoptive Mom obviously out of Ukraine as well. We are in our third trimester...

STEP ONE: Deciding to get pregnant = Deciding to Adopt

STEP TWO: Trying to conceive = Deciding to use an agency or adopt independently and which agency or facilitator to use??? (I think this is the worst part until we travel)

STEP THREE: We are pregnant = Finally made a decision and we are on the adoption journey road!

STEP FOUR: First Trimester ~Apply for an application to adopt with USCIS (formerly INS) called an I600A form ~Get fingerprinted for USCIS ~Start your homestudy. A homestudy is basically an approval from social services that allows you to adopt. They ALSO have you get fingerprinted and collect all sorts of documents like medical examination reports from your doctor, tax returns, financial statements, employment verification letters, proof of medical insurance, birth certificates and marriage certificates. They also ask for four references letters to be written by non-family members. Then, they have a social worker come to your home 2-4 times for an inspection and private and joint interviews with the adoptive mother and father. A little nerve rattling. When this is completed and you are approved = Hearing the baby’s heartbeat

STEP FIVE = Second Trimester ~This is where the real paper gathering begins. It is very similar to the Homestudy paperwork, but in more detail. Every document has to be notarized and have a special seal by the Secretary of State called an Apostille. You have to be very careful in all of your dates. NOTHING can expire until the process and travel has been complete, or they will kick the whole dossier (collection of documents) right back at you, even if you are in Ukraine in the process. No exceptions. You have to make sure you choose a notary, social worker, homestudy agency and doctor whose license or commission does not expire until well after you plan on being home with your child(ren). The documents that we had to collect are as follows: *Petition to Adopt *I171-H (this is what the I600A turns into after you are approved by INS) *Completed Original Homestudy *Copy of Homestudy License *Copy of Employment Letter for their Social Worker *Copy of Social Worker’s License *State Police Clearance Letter (3rd SET OF FINGERPRINTS!!!) *Medical Clearance from Doctor *Copy of Doctor’s License *Verification of Employment Letters *Marriage Certificates *Copy of Passports *Registration Obligation Letter *Power of Attorney When we have compiled all of our documents (dossier), we ship if off to Ukraine for translations = Feeling the baby kick!!!!

STEP SIX = Third Trimester Wait Wait Wait for an Invitation to come to Ukraine and have an appointment with the NAC. The NAC is like Ukraine’s social services. They handle ALL of the international adoptions and you must step very carefully with them.

STEP SIX = The Delivery: We have got our date = The water broke Traveling to Ukraine = The mad dash to the hospital ~The In Country Experience~ ~During the meeting with the NAC we will be shown books or loose pages of pictures of children that are available for adoption. The pictures are typically old and have very limited medical/history information. Children have to be registered with the NAC for at least one year before they are available for adoption. Thus, the youngest child available for adoption would be 14 months with the oldest being 16 years old. ~ We choose one child or sibling group as a referral. We then go to that child(rens) region and visit them. We can talk to the Orphanage Director and have our own doctor examine the child if we like. If for a horribly, horribly sad reason (God please don’t let this happen!!!) we don’t feel this is the right child for our family, we go back to the NAC to start all over again. ~If not, we move forward and request a court date! This usually takes about two weeks for a court date. When we are in court, we request a mandatory 30 days wait period to be waived. If it is not, we are not able to take the child(ren) until 30 more days have expired. There are some regions that always seem to waive the 30 days and some that seem to never waive it. When court is over = the baby is out and you can hear him/her cry. Now there is a ton of paper gathering for the child for the embassy; visas, birth certificates, etc. that have to be obtained = Afterbirth ~ When this is complete we can come home! A few honorable mentions: Birthing coach = Stateside adoption helper/Agency My doctor = Facilitator (in country making everything happen person) Nurses = Facilitator’s Staff

By: Amy Abrahams

Three years ago tonight....

We nervously waited outside of the courtroom waiting to see the judge.

Your soon to be big brother, Jared, really wanted a picture of himself standing by the courtroom jail cell before the judge entered the room.

We walked out of the court with our lawyer, orphanage representive and translator as the proud new parents of twins, Phoebe Natalia and Chloe Marina!

Gala, our facilitator, then took Mama quickly to buy some baby clothes and food before going to pick you up since you would come to Mama and Papa completely naked! (We also had to stall for the paperwork from the court to get to the orphanage for them to release you to us as our daughters.)

Your new big brothers were so excited that they wanted to buy you both these! Unfortunately, they would not fit on the plane to come home.

We rushed back to the orphanage to tell you the good news! (sorry for the blurry photo...Mama was a wee bit too excited!)

I finally was able to tell you "Ya tvoya Mama!" (I'm your Mama) We played with you for two hours before the court papers arrived allowing us to leave the orphanage!

While Chloe was getting dressed in the clothes we brought you (an orphanage caretaker does this one last time) your doctor said one last goodbye to Phoebe.

Dressed and ready to go! Leaving the only place you knew as "home." Look how proud your big brothers are during the moment they get to take their baby sisters home!!!

Before we left your doctor had to say goodbye to Chloe too! At first your doctor got a little sad. Then, Chloe, you gave her a little snuggle and smile to let her know everything was going to be alright. Your doctor then reassured smiled back, giving one last look at your happy little face that always had your tongue sticking out!

Then we hopped in Max's van (aka the get away van ) for the 5 hour road trip to Kiev where we had to get your passports and medical exam. Chloe you looked up at Mama so intriqued and then quickly turned to Phoebe in full excitement as if to say, "Look Pheebs! We have a Mama now!!!" Phoebe took her pacifier out and smiled in agreement with excitement.

After arriving to our flat in Kiev we gave you your first bath to make sure you were healthy and clean. These are the only two pics I have of each of you where you are NOT screaming in the water. I don't think they ever gave you a full bath in the orphanage like this and bubbles certainly were not your favorite.

 
Then we played some before it was bedtime. You really were not sure about your big brothers. Sometimes it made you scared and other times you simply sat and observed their play. It was alright though because your big brothers knew you needed time to adjust.

It didn't take us very long to get those happy smiles back on your face even amongst all the uncertainty!

Tonight Three Years Later...

Papa can still hold you in his arms together just like the day he first met you. The difference... you have grown not only physically and developmentally but in understanding that we are yours forever!!! You are confident, smart and our beautiful little girls! We are so proud and thank God everyday that He chose US to be YOUR Mama and Papa! We love you Chloe Marina and Phoebe Natalia!!!!! xoxo