Olivia Ann (Anastasia)

Olivia: Kind one

Anastasia (ah-nah-stah-SEE-yah)
spiritual meaning: Resurrection - The state of one who has returned to life.

To be honest with you, I did not know the meaning of her name when I gave her the name Olivia. Her name in Russia was Anastasia so we decided to keep that as her middle name. As far as her first name...I was praying over names before my girls came home...before I even knew I was going to be a mother to two girls. I had heard the name Olivia and my heart was drawn to that name.


I LOVE that her name means kind one. When she came home from Russia she was anything but kind (not that a 14 month old could be kind but believe me, she was anything but kind due to orphanage living).

For the past few years I have made it a tradition to crawl into bed with the birthday girl the night before her birthday and tell her of her special story...about how God brought her home. As I laid in bed with Olivia reminiscing over her beautiful story we were laughing about the funny things she did as a baby. One of those funny, but not so funny things she did was hoard things. Her sister could not crawl yet so she would take all of the toys and put them just far enough to where her sister could not reach. Then as her sister grew she would take her sisters toys and her toys and hide them. As she got older we use to find things under her bed, under her pillow and things hidden in her closet. Through the years I have seen her heart majorly soften towards people. She is the one who will quickly serve her sisters first when helping mommy with lunch or dinner. She has recently told me that her friends and family are worth more than her things. She told her sister the other day..."you can have my toy, because I love you more than I love my toy."
 Tonight after doing our Advent tears ran down her face over her sin. It was such a sweet brokenness. She told me she hated her sin so much and she wanted the Lord to come now. She said she wanted to see Jesus and thank Him for dying for her sin. It was such a sweet sincere cry which of course made this mom bawl like a baby. It gave me a glimpse of how the Lord may feel when we come to him in our times of brokenness. It made me want to hold her and make her feel loved and forgiven and cherished. It was a good hug tonight.

I also love that I get to encourage my daughter with the fact that her name means kind one.

I love too that fact that her middle name means Resurrection. There is no life for a child in an Orphanage. The fact that she is adopted...chosen, out of all of those babies, by God, for our family! God returned her back to life.

                                          HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET O

Happy (late) Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  So much to be thankful for!!!  It feels good to finally have a chance to sit down at the computer.  I actually don't have a chance... I have one child to the right of me doing her spelling and the other to the left of me reading...and if you know me, it is soooo hard to do things with distractions. So if this post is choppy you'll know why. 

Update on Gabby...We did go to jail to visit her but there was no record of her???  Not sure if she is lying to her boyfriend or what?  My prayer is that she went back home and got off of the streets. 

We have gone back out and met some more precious people.  The girlfriend I have been going out with, her and I are thinking it might be best if we worked with an organization.  Our husbands agree that it would be safer too.  The streets are not exactly the best place for women to go out and witness.  We will continue to keep food bags in our cars and there is a spacific married couple we will continue to visit but for now I think our street days are over.

SO....onto a totally different subject... You know I love my projects!  And of course I am never without a one.  Many of you have asked me..."what the heck are the kids doing while you are busy doing your projects???"  That is the nice thing about homeschool!  They are usually right by me asking me a bazillion questions about what I am doing, how I am doing it and why I am doing it?  They also read to me while I am working, or they ride bikes, roller blade, play on the playground, build things, paint...really the list is endless.  Here is a picture of one of them as I worked in the garage....

Is this not the cutes thing ever!!!  I was sanding one of my latest projects and she went inside, grabbed her sleeping bag and enjoyed a nice nap in the cool air.  She slept there for atleast and hour and a half.

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Thanksgiving was really nice.  We had my parents and hubbys whole family here.  It was also Neals dads 60th birthday that day.  Once again I got lucky and didn't have to cook the meal.

 That was a tasty bird!!


The girls loved playing with their cousins..

And of course we can't go a day without the computer?!?! 

Here is a picture of Neals family...His parents, brothers, sister and their families.

I really love Thanksgiving.  I love the food but most of all...I love that it's just a day to really enjoy the best blessing of all...FAMILY!!! 


Well I saved the best for last.  If you have actually made it to the bottom of this post then you get to see what Grace got as an early Christmas present....

Thats right...another dog!  You know, it's just not crazy enough around here!  Question: What do you give a lazy child?  Answer: A responsibility. 
His name is Boo and we of course rescued him.  He is a 2 years old cockapoo.  He is really cute.  After we brought him home we soon realized he is a horney little thing.  Our other dog is a female and my parents dog is a female.  He thinks my parents dog is reeeeally pretty.  We are having that issue fixed this week.  Speaking of which, I'll end on a funny story.


So I brought boo home and quickly gave him a bath.  He was matted with knots and very dirty.  After washing him I got busy cutting off all of the knots.  He had a lot of knots on his tummy.  There was a pretty big one I kept pulling on and moving back and forth so that I could get under it and cut it off.  Welllll, after all the tugging and moving I finally realized it was not a knot!!  Poor little guy.  I am not use to having a boy dog!!

Michelle, You Truly Are One Of My Heros!!!!!

As most of you already know they are going to have their 20th baby....and I know most people will roll their eyes and say they are crazy.  With all the rolling of eyes and criticism she always returns the with understanding and truth.  Made me think of this...Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.  Philippians 2:14-16


I think God is soooooo good and I am so encouraged by this family.  I think all of Michelle answers were awesome in this video.  Obviously, 20 kids is not Gods plan for everyone but it amazes me to see how many kids they are raising up in the Lord and sending out into this world for Christ. 

This may sound offensive and really it's just a thought that passed through my head for a second......What if...it was the non-believers who closed their wombs and the believers who adopted more and left their wombs open to whatever God saw fit?  Honestly, it was a split second thought.  I wonder what the world would look like?  Don't get me wrong, I believe God is completely sovereign through it all...all of our fears and doubts.   

Six Years Ago Today We Got A Call....

Two days later we were parents.

God's timing is perfect!!

My First Collection

I have come across many women who collect a certain thing(s) or they've inherited a collection from a family member and I've always thought that was special but I've never come across anything I would want to collect or at least love something so much that I would want to store and keep around for a long time.  If you know me, I am the throw away queen!  As soon as I got back from my honeymoon I sold my wedding dress. 

I don't know if I am getting more mature (HA!), more sentimental (double HA!) or if I have just found something I can't take my eyes off of!!  My Grandma use to have a collection of plates that my Aunt now owns.  Every time I am at her house I admire them.  I have told her countless times that I would LOVE to inherit them but considering my Aunt has a daughter who too would love the set, I am pretty sure they will not end up in my cupboards. 

It never dawned on me that this was something I could collect.  My mind just doesn't think that way.  I am constantly looking around my house to see what I could sell, give away or throw away.  Definitely not collect and store!!!

So not that any of you care....but I just thought I would share with you my new collection.  I don't actually own any yet but maybe if family members read this post and just so happens to be on Amazon or in an antique store they can remember me at Christmas and Birthday :).

Just beautiful!!! And so versatile.  It's called Hobnail opps...thanks Mom.  It is called Imperial Candlewick.

I feel so grown up and sentimental. 

~And hubby if you are reading this I know collections give you hives. I promise, this will be my only collection ;).   

Pilgrim's Progress

I know most of you are going to think I am a big dork for recommending this movie...but that's okay.  Most of you already think I am a dork LOL!

For some of your little right brain learners this is perfect.  It is a great visual.  SOOOO much to talk about, as you know, if you have already read the book.  My little right brainer has a hard time sitting and listening to a book, so for her this was perfect.  Now when we read the book she has a picture in her head and some understanding.  Some of you who have little boys would love this movie too.

And one more thing...this movie made me cry.  I'll say it myself... I am a dork LOL!!!  

If you have netflex you can get it there.

A Little Science Project

When I was young I figured out that if you put a cup of water in the freezer, soon you would have a cup of ice.  My parents would find cups of water in the freezer all the time.  It was a learning process though, because I would check the cup of water every five minutes.  My mom would tell me that if I kept opening the freezer it would take longer because I was letting the cold out.
Guess what I am finding in my freezer ALL THE TIME NOW.  It cracks me up!  They too are checking the water every five minutes.

Family Vacation

End of August, beginning of September, the girls and I got to go visit our friends, the Gregg's, in LA.  I wish I would have taken more photos because we did so much fun stuff.  At the end of our trip Hubby met up with us and we drove to Colorado to meet up with his parents for a week.  The whole vacation was a blast!!!  It was a nice time away from the heat!  I really love road trips.

Thanking God For His Mercy

I am passing on an article that is so raw, so authentic and so beautiful!  We over here have had our small (and I mean small compared so many out there) share of "after the airport" experience and continue to.  I can't tell you how grateful I am for those who chose to pray for us, love and encouraged us, even when you didn't understand what we were going through.  Heck we didn't understand what we were going through. 
I can't tell you how hard it was and how depressed I felt soon after our adoptions.  DID NOT EXPECT THAT!!! And the judging eyes or the subtle comments and sometimes not so subtle were so upsetting and made me feel like I was crazy not to mention made me feel SO isolated.  I truly felt like I was loosing my mind!!!  In part it was our fault because we shared so much of our frustration so openly and I think it shocked so many.  My goodness we were shocked too so I can imagine how we looked on the outside?!?!  I feel like I am in a good place now with all of that.  Judging eyes and the subtle comments don't phase me as much anymore.  God has provided me with safe places to share my crazy, loosing my mind kind of times with ones who understand, ones who know our hearts and ones we trust will speak truth in love and not judgement.  Don't you just love those safe places!!  God is so faithful!


If you know a young mommy who may be struggling with little ones or a mommy who has adopted or just a mom going through a hard time...encourage her, love on her, and remind her "she is following a God in this story who loves and restores... She will not remain exhausted and spent.  We are loved by a merciful Father."


And to the friend who shared this article...thank you for being a safe place.  You have and continue to encourage and love me through the times I feel like I am going to loose my mind.  Love you!!

Luke 22:32d

These guys have a fun job!!!

Now that the concrete slab is gone it was time for the structure to come down.  We all joked about connecting the structure to our contractors truck and pulling it down but we weren't sure if that was the best choice.  Our back patio was not some tin roof that could easily be pulled down.  Once it came to making a decision we decided to choose the more fun approach. After much prep work and one failed attempt we finally did it.  The video does not capture the coolness but you can see it did work and it was fun!!!
Here are some pics along with the video.
 

Before



Now for the new floor and new structure. Yay!!!

More Construction...Back Patio

This weekend consisted of taking out the existing concrete floor. This concrete has been curing for more than 50 years and some of the areas were close to 10 inches thick!!!  Between Dad, hubby and I we were able to rip it out.  I have always wanted to work a jack hammer.  I have to tell you, if God would have made me a boy, I would definently be in construction!

 

Before



And of course each girl wanted to take a ride in the "tractor"

Our back patio.

 

After pic.  Whew!!  That was fun!

Now we can rip the structure down. Wait until you see this!!! Some chains, a bobcat and wah lah!  I'll post the video tomorrow.

Ugh! Public Restrooms

WARNING:  NOT FOR WEAK STOMACHS!

Public restrooms are so gross!   Knowing what my own kids have done in public bathrooms makes me never want to go in one.  Today is no exception!!!  It's inevitable, even though my 3 year old is pretty much potty trained, whenever she gets into the water she poops!!!  Seriously, what is it with her and water???  She's swimming one minute and the next she gives me this look and I know right away what it means.  Well as you can probably guess, I got one of those looks today!  Ugh, sooooo now we are off to the restroom to get cleaned up.  We go into the stall, pull her bathing suite down and dump # 2 in the toilet.  If I'm lucky it lands in the toilet.  So much of the time it lands on the floor and then if I am really lucky she steps in it.  Today was good, it landed where it was suppose to.  This toilet was one of the those that automatically flush.  NOT a big fan of those!  Have you ever bent over to wipe a child and while wiping, the toilet flushes and splash, it goes all over the face???  No? me neither.  Anyway, so after the toilet flushed I took her bathing suite off and started to dunk it in the clean toilet water to get the remains off so I could then take it to the sink and clean it with soap.  Man!!  The life of a mother!!!  So as I was dunking her bathing suite in the water the suite slipped from my hand and seriously!!! not even a nano second later the toilet flushed and her suite was gone!!!!!!!!  It sucked that suite up so fast!  OOOOOPPS!  Madi looked at me with her big eyes and I gasped.  We both just kind of looked at the toilet for a moment in disbelief and then my daughter with her loud but very cute voice said..."OH NO MOMMY, THE TOILET SWALLOWED MY BATHING SUITE!!!!"  We both started cracking up.  I swear, what is it with me and public bathrooms?!?!?  I am really thinking it would be smart to carry disposable gloves and Clorox wipes with me....not sure WHY I have not thought of that until now??

There May Be Therapy In Our Future!!

Young Adult???

"Take your time...don't grow up too fast...enjoy life as long as you can before you settle down...see and experience the world...don't be so quick run off and get married...enjoy singleness, play around, taste the goodness..."  And then once you do get married..."don't rush into having kids, kids are expensive so make sure you have a good job and are financially set, buy a home first, enjoy your marriage a while (which is funny because once a couple is married and having issues, mind you, issues WITHOUT CHILDREN, they end up having children thinking that it will bring them closer???  So which is it people...don't have children or do have children???  Issues come no matter what...THAT'S MARRIAGE!  And it's not a bad thing!

Interesting article... What Is It About 20-Somethings?http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22Adulthood-t.html?_r=2

"Among the cultural changes he points to that have led to “emerging adulthood” are the need for more education to survive in an information-based economy; fewer entry-level jobs even after all that schooling; young people feeling less rush to marry because of the general acceptance of premarital sex, cohabitation and birth control; and young women feeling less rush to have babies given their wide range of career options and their access to assisted reproductive technology if they delay pregnancy beyond their most fertile years. "

"Is emerging adulthood a rich and varied period for self-discovery, as Arnett says it is? Or is it just another term for self-indulgence? "


Definitely a good topic to be discussed.  The questions is...what does the bible have to say about this?

And please don't misunderstand me.  No, I don't think everyone needs to be married at the age of 18 and have 20 babies.  If you know me, you know my opinion... God is sovereign over all of that!

The question I am aiming at is...How does the bible define an adult and at what age are we considered and adult? 

A really great sermon on this topic...


He starts right in on the young adulthood thing at 43:40  but of course I encourage listening to the whole thing :) especially if you have little ones!

There Is A Reason Why I Listen To This Man Often!!

If you have daughters or even if you have sons...

Don't pay attention to the pictures in the video.  Actually look away and just listen because the pictures distract.
If the video does not show up click here..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4EfaeYm9M0&NR=1




click here if video does not show up...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS5rbw0uGhg

It's not just Biblical...It's totally logical.

A GIFT!!!

Bare with me because my thoughts are so sparatic.  My heart is just bursting with joy and gratitude right now that I am afraid it is all going to come out jumbled.

So today in my Isaiah study our lecturer was speaking of our worth.  You know....Christ loves us so much that He DIED for us.  After the lecture the teacher and I were also talking about how we are a love gift from Father to the Son that the Son gives back to the Father. John 17 (read it, so AMAZING).  I am a love gift?  A GIFT TO CHRIST!!! WHOA!  This is what I think of when I think of a gift...It's something you choose for someone you love, something you know they will love.  Something that will bring them joy.  A gift is something that is thought out in advance because we want it to be the perfect gift.  And we all know that God can only give good gifts.  I am a good gift?????  Seriously??  Too, I am a gift that comes without a gift receipt.  I cannot be returned!

And then I get home to find out my good friend is now holding her new gift, a son.  A precious gift from God.  My heart is really exploding.

Elijah Stone Johnson

Amazing...we are a gift from the Father to the Son in which the Son gifts back to the Father.  Our children...gifts from the Lord...gifts we give back to Father.

I don't know, is it me or is that just so H.U.M.B.L.I.N.G!!!!!!!!!

"Jesus Christ is God's love gift to the world, so believers are Gods love gift to Jesus" ~John MacArthur 

http://www.gty.org/AudioPlayer/Sermons/1564

a great sermon on the topic. 

Chalkboard Motivation

 

Something I have been wanting to do for a long time.  A little motivation maybe?  A reminder for mommy to encourage and take notice. I made this chart a few weeks ago and the kids love it!  They love getting dots!  It actually works in this home.  Of course there are rewards after getting so many dots.  This picture was taken the morning after I hung this up and as you can see both Olivia and Grace had gotten a dot for brushing their teeth, making their beds, getting dressed and brushing their hair (without me asking of course!).  They were so excited to wake up the next morning and do those things so they could get a dot.  I of course thought to myself, hmmm I wonder how long this will last???  It actually has lasted!  They don't always remember but they are remembering more times then not.  It took Madi a little while before she caught on but as soon as I recognized something that she did, which was obeyed right away, I got very excited, did a little dance, praised her and she received a dot.  She now has more dots in that category then the other girls lol!

If you are wondering, I used liquid chalk.  Love this stuff!  Washes off with water.

Just added this picture cause it cracks me up!  Life with girls!

Going Green...I mean Orange

So I have this event coming up...it's a Moroccan themed event and I have been trying to plan out my outfit and make-up.  I have not bought make-up in a LONG time since I have soooo much.  Last night I decided to go see what the new trends are and see if I could get some make-up to go with the colors I am wearing for the evening...dark gray and orange.  This is how the night went down.  I will just share with you some of my conversation I had last night with my cousin.....

me texting her..."got talked into buying orange lipstick tonight!!!  I am such a sucker! 'oh u look so beautiful in that color' "really, ok, I'll take it"  ugh!!

my cousin..."Oh no!! Can u return it?  Someone tells us we look beautiful and we're sold!  I've bought lovely orange tones before too...not so good!!

me..."no no, it's not orange tones...IT'S ORANGE!!!  She said it's so in and it looks so good with my eyes.  and yes, i can return it.  Oh and did i tell u i bought the orange blush to go with it???  i'm a desperate mom who never gets out and now when i do go out i will look like an orange!!

I then sent her a picture so I will give you one too...

her response..."HAHA!! Oh that's just terrible Jeni! So awful and orange! But trust me I can relate!  My big outting was Target yesterday (by myself) and it felt like a vacation."



I never thought about this, but we are prey.  Stay at home moms, who have no clue as to what is going on out there (not that that's a bad thing!!).  I never thought me, the use to be make-up artist, would be in this predicament.  Kind of funny, kind of humbling, and I'm kind of okay with it.  

Anyway, I gave the orange a test, what do you think???

It kind of looks red.  Believe me when I say...IT'S ORANGE! 


BTW...Jaime, it looks so much better on you! 

Recognize anyone in this Photo?

http://www.booninc.com/catalog.php

YAY!  Go to page 33.  I have to say though after all the cute ones they took and this is the one they chose?  Oh well, it was a fun experience! 

Just a Thought...

Recently I heard another believer say..."after all I did for so and so and this is how I get treated."  

You know when you say something and it doesn't sound as bad as to when you hear someone else say it?   Cause I am pretty sure I have said something like that in the past.  We are probably just so self deceived into thinking we aren't as bad.  

Anyway, when I heard this come from that persons mouth this verse came to mind... Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Colossians 3:23,24


I understand, especially as a mother, when we pour so much time, effort, money, etc. etc. into a person or persons and then when things don't go as planned it stings.  I totally get it.


I wonder...if our motivation was different, would it sting as much?

You know what will sting even more...when our works are tested.

...each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.  1 Corinthians 3:13