Category

holidays

goodbye autumn, hello christmas

By addysengrace, bucuresti, crafts, family, holidays, mercyadoniyah, romania

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77278DF8-4E1A-47D6-A895-06D9C9332970when you want pumpkin purée but they don’t sell it, you buy a gingantic pumpkin, bake it, blend it and freeze it!

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80227F76-0715-4568-A997-85C809471FF1pumpkin cookies…pumpkin cake…the possibilities are endless!

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52F4C7D0-1B7D-4EB8-A360-6184DBA7B91Dmaking bone broth or turkey soup tends to turn into a science experiment. we like to break open all the bones, rebuild the spinal cord, you get the picture.

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AD900DAC-3982-4169-902E-DDB60DC27E79the last of the pumpkin activities. 🙂

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234872C9-6310-43DD-B515-86D44C623128random successful “tofu” made from chickpea flour and our awesome veggie turkey!

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48A7CF76-20BC-492D-AA73-92B772D8DFC6coffee filter turkeys from here.

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E52118F1-5DAC-44AA-BD3A-AFDE38DC2D53you can find tutorials all over the internet but the idea is simple…dribble or drip paint on pieces of paper and scrap it off using a credit card or something similar. after ours dried, we cut out christmas trees, glued them on greeting cards and decorated them with anything and everything.

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B64014D1-1826-4F96-B5F4-0AD5C6843F81there is never a reason to not paint paper in my opinion. 😀 seriously though, the craft possibilities are endless. we cut our paper into strips and have numerous crafts planned.

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CEB25FF4-780A-46CF-B20C-893EA41AA654one of our crafts using painted paper strips, pretty simple yet fun (inspiration found here).

29A4DA09-2FEE-4063-860C-008D3659CB74we actually bought a legit piece of clay, softened it, shaped it into ornaments, let them dry, pained them, sealed them and made them into gifts. it was a fairly lengthy process that i would put away occasionally. both addy and mercy were happy with how they turned out!

autumn projects

By addysengrace, bucuresti, crafts, family, holidays, mercyadoniyah, romania

as much as i do enjoy autumn crafts, including halloween and thanksgiving…i have to confess that really my goal is to start christmas crafts. :-p but because we need to experience all things, we did a couple autumn crafts and might do a few more. 😀

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lego challenges are the best…they are suitable for any age because you can make them easy or hard or in between. you can give your kid a step by step picture (just search on pinterest for lego challenges) or a picture of the finished product or you can simply describe something. for this one, i saw a “mosaic fall tree” floating around, so i showed it to them one time (extra challenge!) and told them to work as a team. this can actually make the project even harder because at 6 and almost 9, they have very different opinions, ha!

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this is a great one for the million leaves your children might be collecting or a great reason to go on a treasure hunt and collect leaves. you could twist this project a million different ways. i told them to make “something that resembled a person plus a scenery and tell me a story about it afterward.” both kids enjoyed this one. one of these days i am going to start recording their elaborate stories because they are getting good at creative writing!

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we truly had an everything fun filled party on the 31st. halloween is not quite the same holiday here but we enjoy celebrating the non scary version as mercy does *not* do scary. plus my kids love nature so halloween-ish + nature-y themed foods only make sense. we used apple slices (tossed in lemon juice), nut butter, strawberries, raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds and gogi berries to make monster faces. we used hard boiled eggs (notice ours are small cause they are quail) and sliced black olives to make eyeballs. bananas, coconut powder and skewers made ghosts. we used an eggplant and skewers and grapes to make a huge spider plus plums, toothpicks and raisins to make little spiders. mandarins with celery greens became pumpkins and i can’t remember what else. we also decorated pumpkins but went with painting, glueing and glittering them (pumpkins here aren’t for carving but are very thick walled..think hours of cutting!).

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another simple but longer process project…leaves using contact paper. just cut a square and tape it sticky side up and cover it with tissue paper (red, orange, yellow, green) in any way you like then place another piece of contact paper sticky side down to seal it all together. after that trace and cut different fall leaves and tape them to your windows! my 6 year old is magical with scissors so she did most of the cutting. (random fact. when she was little, we noticed giving her scissors and something to cut calmed her and stopped a tantrum!)

no joke. this is currently happening:
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spring breaking it

By addysengrace, bucuresti, christian, family, holidays, mercyadoniyah, romania

freckles –

weird zucchini –

science –


crafts –



date with mama –

that time it snowed whilst on spring break so mama bought organic gluten/soy/corn free chocolate that costs an arm and a leg –

cute new dresses from grandma ducky –

that time we finished unpacking almost two months after moving (does not include putting things on the walls) –


hair cuts –


buns and more buns –


game nights –


lazy mornings –

painting a big and little version of the sun –

come on, it’s obvious (aka strumful cu ochilari = the smurf with glasses) –

the sun came back and the freak winter weather went away –




little girls that buy gifts for their big sisters –

so much lego construction going on –


and lots of dress up too –




exhaustion –

easter faire

By addysengrace, bucuresti, family, holidays, mercyadoniyah, romania

nothing as great as free fun within walking distance! the easter faire is right next to us so we walked down and enjoyed a craft, seeing the bunnies, a train ride and a carousel. we ended with the girls deciding to use some of their own savings for “shopping!” all mercy wanted was a “iepuras rosu!!” {red bunny} while addy picked blue and silver earrings. 🐰

he’s thirty six 

By bucuresti, christian, family, holidays, romania

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!

christmas and more

By addysengrace, bucuresti, christian, holidays, mercyadoniyah, ministry, romania

Christmas always rolls around with a sort of intensity we never expect. We suddenly need extra time, extra supplies, extra money, extra sleep. This year we were more than blessed by how much you guys supported us through one of our craziest times of the year!

After chatting with a friend about raising money for the holidays, she suggested “selling” something as a fund raiser. I had no idea what I was doing, but all things considered it went ok, with only a few minor glitches! I have TONS of ideas for next year! 🙂 This year, it was Christmas cards and ornaments. Next year, well that is a surprise of course.
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Then there was the mess, errrrrr preparation. 🙂
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Caroling and gifts…
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Lots of parties. Lots of food.
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New bibles with homemade/decorated bible covers thanks to a church sewing ministry and youth group!
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Performances!
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Santa! (And Addy, Mercy and Walker)
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Anchor of Hope!
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We don’t post “good” pictures online – – aka ones that clearly show kids’ faces. If you would like to see more photos of what we did for the holidays, please visit and like our Facebook page, Christian and Marie in Romania.

toamna

By addysengrace, bucuresti, christian, family, holidays, mercyadoniyah, ministry, romania, school

***
disclaimer: way.too.many.photos. {sorry not sorry!}
***

this is where we live: Processed with MOLDIV

homework which we might actually enjoy around here, oh my: Processed with MOLDIVimg_4357Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

alex started at mercy’s school! Processed with MOLDIV

chocolate eyes and a tear on her cheek…Processed with MOLDIV

goofball three: Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

and then we got new colleagues! Processed with MOLDIV

gaming at the mall: Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

daddy love: Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

that time we bought a bag of mixed veggies boasting broccoli and found one entire piece of broccoli, haha! Processed with MOLDIV

there is something magical about sleeping babies: Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

international day of world peace: Processed with MOLDIV

oh this child keeps me young: Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

blowing me a kiss: Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

oh.my. Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

best friends: Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

freshly washed and braided hair: Processed with MOLDIV

she makes me food…Processed with MOLDIV

summer comes to an end whether or not you want it to…Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

these two are so much fun: Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

birthday celebrations (part one):Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

grandma ducky came to visit: Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

and auntie deedee! img_6509Processed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIVProcessed with MOLDIV

the rest of summer

By addysengrace, bucuresti, christian, family, holidays, mercyadoniyah, romania

the last few pictures on my phone of summer…

falling out teeth: Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

sticky and sweaty naps: Processed with MOLDIV

selfies with mama: Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

meeting new babies: Processed with MOLDIV

you’ve played hard when you fall asleep this way: Processed with MOLDIV

he has his own bed(s) and his own toy(s) and yet he thinks he is one of the kids: Processed with MOLDIV

so blessed to have (re)connected with tim and wendy: Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

presents from tim and wendy: Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

“it’s a shoe-tomato!” Processed with MOLDIV

our new best friend, orla…can’t wait until we hang out again either in Romania or Ireland! Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

oh this kid and her humour: Processed with MOLDIV

just random metal things she wanted her picture with: Processed with MOLDIV

she thinks my bed is her bed…she’s basically right: Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

playplaces: Processed with MOLDIV

sinaia hikes: Processed with MOLDIV

lego science from emmy and katie: Processed with MOLDIV

snow science from sarah: Processed with MOLDIV img_0959

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. Processed with MOLDIV

watching the olympics and cheering for way too many countries (my children are very loyal to every country, haha! Processed with MOLDIV

summer means impulsive…we love summer! Processed with MOLDIV

trying to convince my kids that summer movie nights don’t usually include their robes is impossible: Processed with MOLDIV

when did she start making dinner?! Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

coloring pages from aveline: Processed with MOLDIV

summer memory making: Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

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: Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

when ninja turtles fight my little ponies: Processed with MOLDIV

beautiful care package from my irish twinsie: img_3245 Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

when rough days come, give your kids five lei and take them to the store: Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV

care packages from orla! Processed with MOLDIV Processed with MOLDIV