sometimes in the midst of chaos you take a break. we took the girls to see beauty and the beast sunday after church. we are still “behind” in life but it was worth it. what a great version! they loveddddd it. 💛
dear son,
today is the day i didn’t want to come. i don’t know why but this one year mark feels so final, so complete, so deep, so real, so raw, so very much the end.
today is the anniversary of the day i decided to love you as my son.
sunday, february 14th, 2016.
i will never forget it. i will never forget how i felt when i knew in my heart the answer was yes. i will never forget the moment i loved you as my son.
i have flashed back to this day a million times this past year. i have wondered if i made the right choice. i have wondered if i should have protected addy and mercy better or protected my heart better.
many people have told me, “marie, you made the right choice. i truly believe you saved noelan’s life from someone threatening to hurt him if he wasn’t out of their home.”
but i realize something else, sweet boy of mine.
i realize that you saved my life.
you have taught me to love in a way i didn’t know possible. you have taught me to love addy and mercy and christian in a way i didn’t understand before i loved and lost you. you have shown me the heart of the Father in an intimate way i would never had understood without you. i have loved you and lost you and yet i still love you.
i will always love you sweet boy and i will always be your mama. but i miss you noelan truth. and i don’t think that i will ever stop missing you.
love, mama
this handsome fellow turned thirty-six last month, calm and collect like always. we started his celebration with a date the night before (thanks craig and alie!) that included a movie and a meal, aka a ginormous hamburger. i absolutely love time with this guy. there is never a boring moment and before we know it, the evening is over.
we finished his celebration on his actual birthday with home cooked mexican food and cookie bars (instead of cake).
happy birthday christian! happy birthday daddy!
sometimes you find yourself staying home and not going anywhere for an entire weekend thanks to colds. and sometimes your children make you a restaurant because they are simply adorable.
cutest servers in the world…
beautifully set table even with hand written menus…
hard at work…
salad…
lemon in soda…
clatite cu dulceata!
just a zillion sister pictures. these two are amazing. they love. they fight. they make up. they really are best friends and i love it. also, there might be a few out of order pictures but you can literally see addy’s teeth disappear and then reappear again.
pictures i forgot to post from september. 😉
our anniversary, nine years!
targoviste. i attended our church’s ladies’ retreat, christian brought the girls so we could all be together at night.
observing ants and bugs.
not gonna lie, miss the too hot to sleep in pjs weather.
finally seeing the bfg!
checking out a new mall…
fun weekend with friends
end of summer fun.
grammie managed to squeeze in a month away from her home…her home on the market! pops stayed home and held down the fort, so it was truly a joint effort (since this was the first year they wondered if they could come for a visit or not with everything happening). and of course, it was nice and refreshing. all things considered, i didn’t take a whole lot of pictures. this is almost {{all}} of them. but we had a lot of simple, quiet fun.
airport bound! 
these two went on a date to see some movie i wasn’t interesting in seeing. 🙂 
we also went on a date! come to find out, i took my mom to her first 3-d movie. kind of strange since romania is really into 3-d movies so we have a hard time finding 2-d versions (mercy’s preference). 
so many read aloud books were read! 
and so many puzzles were done. all of the ones we own actually! 
mall excursions: 
my mom’s signature. my {beautifully} made bed every single morning! 
a grammie and her oldest granddaughter 
after church fun 
sometimes you go to ikea on your second to last day here. whoops. and sometimes you come home with “whichever lovey you want.” 😉 
a last night of cards 
last airport selfie. 🙁 
***
disclaimer: way.too.many.photos. {sorry not sorry!}
***
this is where we live: 
homework which we might actually enjoy around here, oh my: 
alex started at mercy’s school! 
chocolate eyes and a tear on her cheek…
goofball three: 
and then we got new colleagues! 
gaming at the mall: 
daddy love: 
that time we bought a bag of mixed veggies boasting broccoli and found one entire piece of broccoli, haha! 
there is something magical about sleeping babies: 
international day of world peace: 
oh this child keeps me young: 
blowing me a kiss: 
oh.my. 
best friends: 
freshly washed and braided hair: 
she makes me food…
summer comes to an end whether or not you want it to…
these two are so much fun: 
birthday celebrations (part one):
grandma ducky came to visit: 
and auntie deedee! 
the last few pictures on my phone of summer…
falling out teeth: 
sticky and sweaty naps: 
selfies with mama: 
meeting new babies: 
you’ve played hard when you fall asleep this way: 
he has his own bed(s) and his own toy(s) and yet he thinks he is one of the kids: 
so blessed to have (re)connected with tim and wendy: 
presents from tim and wendy: 
“it’s a shoe-tomato!” 
our new best friend, orla…can’t wait until we hang out again either in Romania or Ireland! 
oh this kid and her humour: 
just random metal things she wanted her picture with: 
she thinks my bed is her bed…she’s basically right: 
playplaces: 
sinaia hikes: 
lego science from emmy and katie: 
snow science from sarah: 
if the truth be told, i have probably talked to my sister (almost) every 24 hour period since moving overseas almost five years ago…minus travel days and maybe her honeymoon. 
watching the olympics and cheering for way too many countries (my children are very loyal to every country, haha! 
summer means impulsive…we love summer! 
trying to convince my kids that summer movie nights don’t usually include their robes is impossible: 
when did she start making dinner?! 
coloring pages from aveline: 
summer memory making: 
if you put pink (bath approved) dye in the bathtub, your child will probably think that means it is okay to splatter blue (permanent) ink on the walls: 
when ninja turtles fight my little ponies: 
beautiful care package from my irish twinsie: 
when rough days come, give your kids five lei and take them to the store: 
care packages from orla! 
About Me
I am the second oldest of six kids. I was shy and quiet as a kid with a vivid imagination. When I was five my parents gave up the fast paced city life for quieter Northern California. I was in heaven, spending my time outdoors, running around barefoot, climbing trees and raising any and every animal I could get my hands on. My parents homeschooled me in an eclectic mixture of un-schooling and world schooling, giving me a life long love for learning. I have a colorful imagination and a different way of thinking about things (something I have just recently discovered is called synesthesia). I am a dreamer and a complete optimist, an artist and lover of glitter, I am right brained through and through and I absolutely love science experiments and art projects. I have a deep passion to help those that have no one to advocate for them. My life’s goal is to be a little more like Mother Theresa, Gladys Alwood and Amy Carmichael every day. I have been married to my bestest best friend for over ten years and he is seriously the glue that holds my crazy together. I can’t imagine adventuring and wandering without him. We are currently raising two very capable and strong willed children that are both very creative and very smart. Being a mother was never something I imagined I would love the way I do and I can’t wait for the Lord to bring more kids into our lives!