my oldest daughter amazes me. she goes to school and her language skills are exploding. she buys things from the piata on her own. she loves, loves, loves her little sister and protects her beyond imagine. i love my kid.
easter ninja
self-applied make up
addy’s weekly school schedule. she loves music days.
putting butter on daddy’s toast.
when little girls stay up until 10pm and wake up at 5am
when little girls turn four and a half.
little girl waiting for a bus
mercy will be two soon. she is so different from her sister and yet they get along so well. she is silent and stubborn, feisty and fun. her words are few but her communication is amazing. she is really enjoying our three hours of only-child-time while big sister is at school. yet when noon rolls around, no one has to tell mercy it is time to go get addy!
helping mama mash bananas
when a toddler is denied a cookie
easter morning fun
teething
hair by big sister
potty training meets art
covered in bug bites in the middle of the night
just playing on the kitchen floor
trying to have a mommy play date
when a toddler falls asleep mid diaper change tantrum
i fed a boy named mihai today. i don’t know where he came from or where he went. but i do know he was hungry. today was family day but christian is preaching tomorrow. so while mercy took a nap, christian studied his notes and addy and i decided to browse the second hand piață at the train station. as we were getting our shoes on, i heard someone in the staircase below us speak sharply and tell someone to leave. we walked out of our door and there was a boy sitting on the steps between our floor and the one below us. he was hunched over but i don’t think he was crying.
we were gone for about two hours. as we walked up the stairs, to my surprise he was still there. he looked up at me apprehensively. i think he had been sleeping there. i asked him what he wanted and he mumbled something about food. i’ve mostly been asked for money so i was a little surprised. “wait here,” i told him. “i will get you some food.”
as we walked through the door, addy was all questions.
“is he hungry?”
“does he have a mom and a dad?”
“where does he live?”
“can i give the food to him?”
“can i ask him his name?”
we didn’t have a lot of prepared food, but i did have bread and cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers and of course cookies. it took me a couple minutes to prepare it all. i didn’t have any plastic plates, so i just put it on a regular plate. when i opened the door he looked ready to dart away then immediately surprised when i handed him a plate full of food.
“cum te cheamă?” i asked him.
“mihai.”
“nice to meet you, mihai. knock on the door when you are done with the plate.” he nodded eagerly. i was guessing he was about 13 to 15 years old and definitely gypsy origin.
we finished making our lunch and were just getting ready to sit down for lunch when he knocked on the door. when i opened the door, he was smiling shyly and handed me an empty plate. “do you want water?” i asked. “no, i’m good now. thanks.”
and with that final word he turned and silently walked down the three flights of stairs and was gone.
it wasn’t until i turned and went back inside, shutting the door that hebrews 13:1&2 came to mind,
keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
maybe i fed an angel. or maybe i just fed mihai, a gypsy kid down on his luck and really hungry.
who knows. but it was a good reminder to me that i am called to. love. people.
if you wouldn’t mind praying for mihai, pray that he is safe tonight. pray that he comes back or someone else ministers to him.
thanks!
{afterward we went to the park and enjoyed some day of europe festivities. addy was begging to join these kids, but we said no. man we are lame parents, ha!
if furlough has taught me anything, it has taught me that the word home is a very confusing word.
very.
it doesn’t help that we moved one week before we came to the states. i used to have a home, my apartment in botanica (an area of chisinau). it is the first place i called home after moving to moldova and although it had it quirks (and smells, ahem) i kind of miss it. but technically i have a home, my new apartment in centru (a different area of chisinau). and while i know it is my home, ok i think it is my home, it doesn’t exactly feel like my home. i think i remember my kitchen having dark burgundy tile…or was it red? the girls room was blue, although the girls never even slept in that room. i didn’t even finish unpacking and when i left, my mattress was still at the old apartment.
then there are my homes in the states. we have stayed part of the time with sarah, in my old home. it was the house i moved into with just one child and then i became a parent five more times in that house. i gave birth in that house. it is the only house (since being married) that i have celebrated more than one christmas in. and what about my childhood home? we have also been staying with my parents when we are in northern california and since this is the home i lived in from 1988 to college, it also holds a lot of the concept of home.
i have found myself using the word “home” haphazardly these past seven weeks. i don’t even know what i mean when i refer to home. at one point i said to someone, “yeah on friday we go home and then a week later we turn around and go back…home…uh…” i can’t figure out what i am suppose to call what.
in a way, maybe it makes sense. isn’t it true that wherever my husband and daughters are, that is my home. maybe my home is a suitcase, a car, an airplane and my pillow right now. in another way, maybe it just affirms that this is not our home and we aren’t home just yet (somehow i have this feeling like i just quoted a christian song).
or maybe it just proves that i am very, very confused.
either way, i will be 100% honest. i actually feel a little tearful. i don’t really know why. maybe there is a link to the wedding being over, my sissy on her honeymoon, the upcoming goodbyes looming ahead. or maybe i just need more sleep.
don’t get me wrong, this furlough has been uh-mayyyyyyy-zing. to the fourth degree, yes i just said quoted my junior high days. spending time with family has been special, fun, special and fun. being a part of my sissy’s wedding was a dream. i guess part of being a missionary is learning to adapt, say see you soon and keep on going.
whew.
so in my naive first furlough brain, i thought i would post more often.
right. please, laugh a little with me.
but hey, we live. we have flown 7000 miles. we have driven 2900 miles. we have at least 500 more miles to drive and 7000 more miles to fly before returning to chisinau in less than two weeks.
somehow it is time to furlough. crazy much? yes.
addy, mercy and i leave tomorrow. our flight takes off around 1pm moldovan time (or wednesday 3am california time). we fly into munich and then fly forever and a little longer from munich all the way to los angeles. we land in los angeles around 7pm california time (or thursday 5am moldovan time). yeah. i actually picked out that flight. i think i would rather be stuck on a flight for thirteen hours with two kids then running through a bunch of airports with said children. give me two days and i will let you know if it was a good decision or not.
christian is staying behind for another couple weeks. we are going to miss him but something tells me we will be so busy it will go by fast. come to think of it, i just realized he is going to miss the girls’ jet lag altogether. hmmmm. go figure.
please keep us in your prayers. addy is very helpful and has grown up a lot this past year – – however she is also fighting a cold. my prayer for her is that she would be obedient and helpful and a good traveler. mercy is out feisty almost-two-year-old. good news is that she loves mama holding her. bad news is that she is also fighting a cold and she decided to finish teething this week. my prayer for her is that she would be obedient, easy going and that she would fall asleep at some point in the baby carrier so that i can sleep a little. my prayer for myself? just that i would be sharp. traveling has always been something i love. however traveling with a four year old and an almost two year old. whew. 🙂
a few pictures for the road. or i guess the air. thanks to teresa, we got away for a mini date on monday.
p.s. i know you are wondering why i took a plastic onion on our date. i am wondering too. when asked the next day, i believe addy’s answer was, “i just wanted to put an onion in your purse for you mama.”
p.p.s. those are my adorable valentine’s flowers from my hubs with my salt and pepper shaker from my mama.
p.p.p.s. i won both games. however, christian spelled the word “palindrome” which he feels is somewhat like a tie.
i have pictures to post. suitcases to pack. things to do. but for now, i am just gonna keep on keeping on. and i needed to post this passage of scripture i read this morning. i decided to incorporate into my morning devos reading through the new testament in romanian. so far so good, mainly cause i am still in matthew and the gospels are the easiest books to read. hopefully i will make it through hebrews!
anyway, check this out (romanian first, then english):
Când Fiul Omului va veni în slava Sa, împreună cu toți îngerii, atunci El Se va așeza pe tronul slavei Sale și toate neamurile vor fi adunate înaintea Lui. El îi va despărți pe unii de alții așa cum desparte păstorul oile de capre și va pune oile să stea la dreapta Lui, iar caprele, la stânga. Apoi Împăratul le va zice celor din dreapta Lui: – Veniți, binecuvântații Tatălui Meu; moșteniți Împărăția care a fost pregătită pentru voi de la întemeierea lumii! Căci Mi-a fost foame și Mi-ați dat să mănânc, Mi-a fost sete și Mi-ați dat să beau, am fost străin și M-ați primit între voi, am fost gol și M-ați îmbrăcat, am fost bolnav și M-ați vizitat, am fost în închisoare și ați venit pe la Mine. Atunci cei drepți Îl vor întreba: – Doamne, când Te-am văzut noi flămând și Ți-am dat să mănânci, sau însetat și Ți-am dat să bei? Când Te-am văzut noi străin și Te-am primit între noi, sau gol și Te-am îmbrăcat? Și când Te-am văzut noi bolnav sau în închisoare și am venit pe la Tine?! Iar Împăratul le va răspunde: – Adevărat vă spun că, ori de câte ori ați făcut așa unora dintre cei mai neînsemnați dintre acești frați ai Mei, Mie Mi-ați făcut! Apoi le va zice celor din stânga: – Plecați de la Mine, blestemaților, în focul cel veșnic, care a fost pregătit pentru diavolul și pentru îngerii lui! Căci Mi-a fost foame și nu Mi-ați dat să mănânc, Mi-a fost sete și nu Mi-ați dat să beau, am fost străin și nu M-ați primit între voi, am fost gol și nu M-ați îmbrăcat, am fost bolnav și în închisoare și nu m-ați vizitat! Atunci și ei Îl vor întreba: – Doamne, când Te-am văzut noi flămând sau însetat, sau străin, sau gol, sau bolnav, sau în închisoare și nu Ți-am slujit?! Atunci El le va răspunde: – Adevărat vă spun că, ori de câte ori n-ați făcut așa unora dintre cei mai neînsemnați dintre aceștia, Mie nu Mi-ați făcut! Și aceștia vor merge în pedeapsa veșnică, iar cei drepți vor merge în viața veșnică.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
don’t get me wrong. salvation is repentance of sin and acceptance of Jesus as savior. simple. done. but check out this passage – – check out how the sheep/oile are separated from the goats/capre. “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” the reply? “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” and the kicker? “Then they will go away to eternal punishment.”
i am just gonna throw this out because i think we should all be made a little uncomfortable. what am i doing for the “least of these?” what are you doing for the “least of these?”
do something.
happy. 2013. we rang in the new year decently quiet. actually we spent most of the holiday pretty quiet. but oh did we have a blast.
we had our doh.
pictures later. for now i must clean my house from top to bottom the way i do when i’m a little bit sad and a little bit lonely. i think i got it from my mom. ♥
sarah also took our family pictures. they turned out amazing. and we are making one into our new prayer card. all that to say, if you would like a prayer support card, we would like your address, new/updated/whatever.
we are actually trying to compile our addresses through a cool website sarah showed us.
thanks!
i got the brilliant idea to make christmas videos.
then i actually tried making them.
way more work than i expected.
enjoy.
i got everything ready and started recording this one for grandma and grandpa ducky. then my phone kindly told me that it was too full to keep recording. so the girls went off to play while i downloaded the five million photos and videos on my phone.
then we attempted again. this brief video promptly ends in the power going out. yeah, that’s right.
after finding flashlights, calming panicked children and resetting breakers we once again attempted grandma and grandpa ducky’s video. merry christmas grandma and grandpa. we love and miss you very much!
at this point they were getting a little antsy but we finished successfully. merry christmas, grammie, pops and dora (and i believe gypsy, jackie and even watson). we cannot wait to see you in 2013!
merry christmas uncle aaron, auntie cacey, spencer and emma. we miss you guys. thank you for coming to visit us. we can’t wait to see you in two days, according to addy!
this video was going to be for uncle andrew and auntie casey but addy decided it was for “naughty drewgie, auntie casey princess and t!” sorry timothy, you don’t get your own video! thanks for being pretty cool uncles and an awesome auntie princess!
we ended here…they were pretty much done. obviously i should have spread it out over a few days…live and learn for sure. merry christmas to all our friends far away from us! we love and miss you guys!
and then mercy threw a tantrum. you know, cause she has christmas spirit and all!
last year i was amazing and posted twenty-five days of christmas.
this year? not so much.
although i have managed to do something with the girls almost every day. and hopefully i will take more pictures.
we have been doing this advent and really enjoying it. i will say that we summarize a lot because it is still too old for the girls. we also have a little advent christmas calendar with a candy in each pocket. we light our reading candle, get the candy, find the picture hidden on the tree and then read.
i was thinking about nativities and wishing i had brought one. i really want to get the girls this one and me this one. but that is in my dreams, of course! there is always next year. all was not lost, however, because i found this super amazing printable nativity. the benefits are many. print one for each of your kids. let them color to their heart’s content. if they consume a nativity piece, simply print a replacement. we put a little twist on it and glued it to thick construction paper, cut them out and then glued the pieces to jumbo popsicle sticks.
the results were perfect. each girl plays with theirs, has a puppet show, reenacts, etc. they were the highlight of tonight’s advent. yay printables.
anyway, i hope you find some of these resources helpful and fun for your family also!
her finished product
trying to get baby Jesus in the manger
borrowing one of sissy’s pieces {while mercy is unaware}
{mercy aware}
playing with their nativity scenes
puppet show nativity
adding a few more colors to her stable
self entertaining = happy mama
advent candy that is actually a whistle (anyone else think of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?”)
mercy answering “where is your lolly pop?”
dada doing advent with his girls and mercy’s obvious need for hair intervention {dohdoh}
our awesome little advent tree and our “reading candle”
just a close up view of mercy’s hair crisis
addy’s fashionable nativity in pinks, blues and purples
mercy’s much more traditional nativity in red and orange
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!