such a fun art find! 💚 they were both really into taking a picture at every one.
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. 🐰
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. 💛
the first of march is when we “welcome spring” here in romania. and it was beautiful.
but now it’s gray and wet. so as we try to stay patient for the beautiful sun we know is coming, we are doing beautiful flower crafts instead.
this one is simple (although i think working with contact paper is tricky!). all you need is contact paper and collected pieces of flowers. i used all my flowers that i received for (romanian) mother’s day! we have more flowers and we are going to try again this time using paper plates to make “frames.”
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
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!
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.
Then there was the mess, errrrrr preparation. 🙂
Caroling and gifts…
Lots of parties. Lots of food.
New bibles with homemade/decorated bible covers thanks to a church sewing ministry and youth group!
Performances!
Santa! (And Addy, Mercy and Walker)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Anchor of Hope!
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.
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. 🙁 
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!