Lost A Tooth~

Anastasia is excited about the dollar and quarter that she will get for her tooth... I guess tomorrow we will go to the Dollar Store :)

New Family Picture~

My brother took this picture the other day while we were on our lot showing them around... he did a great job!!!

All the Grandchildren :)  Our sweet niece/cousin Canaan( Emily is holding)

We just have to have a silly photo!

Working To Heal~

Anastasia has been with us for 2 months now.... she is learning how we do things here :)  Many days are hard for her as she learns what things are acceptable and what things are not.  This week she has been testing the boundaries which are VERY normal.  She knows that  my goal is to help her heal and become a functioning member of our family.   The other day she "tested" me to see if what I said would happen would happen.   Ana, Sasha and Caroline our all in the same room so we have had to make the rule of no talking in the morning until I open their door.  They use to be able to talk quietly but they NEVER did... and Anastasia was the loudest.  I don't think that it is fair that they get up early and then wake everyone else up... it is not okay.   They were all told that there was to be NO talking... leaning off their beds trying to get the others in trouble.  The other morning I heard whispers coming from the room.... I stood outside the room to see Caroline laying quietly and Sasha laying quietly and Anastasia talking to herself and leaning over the bed trying to wake Sasha up by hitting her with her stuffed dog.  I opened the door to a VERY surprised face and told her that I was so glad that she decided to do some work for me today by breaking the rules. 

Now the rule was that 5 jobs would be pulled and no meals would be given until the jobs were done.  Anastasia started out with a "wild card" so I had her unload the dishwasher which took about 30 minutes because she decided to pile all the dishes up while they were still wet and I had already told her to make sure that they were dry.  I didn't think that she thought that I would check her work or maybe she did ?  The next job was to write " I will not....."  20 times.  Now the interesting thing was that I was getting ready to start making breakfast at this point and the first 14 that she wrote she did in 10 minutes... the next 6 took  1 1/2 hours!!  Breakfast was over and still 3 jobs to do...I noticed that by the 3rd or 4th job her attitude started to change for the better she was feeling a sense of completion. 

One of the important things is being calm and following through.  Many times through these jobs that she chose to do by not following the rules she kept trying to make excuses of why she couldn't do them.  She needed to know that he parents are in charge... and we are wanting to help her. She needed to know that I was NOT going to give in and let her stop.  When all the jobs are finished she puts the cards back in the bag and they are not talked about anymore... they are over.  Now they have a chance to start over.

Cleaning up after the dog is NOT fun ~

The goal..... healing hearts~

More Snow~

This morning we woke up to 8 inches of snow.... the kids were so excited!!  Last night it started snowing and the kids had to run out and play for a few minutes while it was coming down :)

Emily.... you are growing up so fast!

Quick... I just want one picture... they are such good sports!

The girls are letting the snow fall on their tongues :)

This morning we woke up to this.... the kids couldn't wait to get out in it...Daddy had to shovel the snow away from the door so we could let the dog out :)

Man it was COLD!  We only stayed to sled for about 45 minutes~

Caroline is the little "snow princess"

Look how deep... the is the most snow we have had in a long time!

The kids can't wait until tomorrow... the snow should be better for sledding... today was too powdery.

Lane helped by sweeping all the snow off the trampoline...it was really getting heavy!

Now for the BIG MESS!!  Drying out so they will be ready for tommorrow!!

I said "Yes" ~

 I said "yes" !!  All day yesterday Sasha was wondering if I was going to let her get her ears pierced or not.  After we had dinner at CC's... we headed over to the mall and after we walked into the store I asked her if she REALLY wanted to have her ears pierced?   She was soooo excited... she quickly picked out what earrings she wanted.. she chose her birthstone.   She was so brave....

She said... " If I cry ... I cry"    She kept telling herself that she could do it and  be brave.  She is her own  best cheering team :)

Here they are marking where the earrings will go~

Wow!!! That was fast!!  NOT A SINGLE TEAR from my big girl!!   She is soooo happy!!  All night she kept looking in the mirror and saying  " I can't believe this"    I am so happy for her and she is doing a great job reminding me to clean them !! 

Four Years Ago Today~

Four years ago today in Ivanovo, Russia a biological brother and sister met each other for the first time.  Separated from each other in different orphanages in different cities they never knew each other existed.   I couldn't wait for them to meet!  For many months after they were home Michael still didn't believe that they were really brother and sister.. he would say "  Sasha was not in desky dome with me" .  Then one day during lunch Michael was staring at Sasha.... I asked him what he was thinking about ... he said " Sasha looks like my Russian mom"  At that moment he realized that we were not telling a story :)   They are so much alike down to their toes having the same crooked ones:) 

Michael and Sasha bring so much joy to our family and we are so grateful for the gift of adoption.  I can't imagine life without them... it feels like they have always been here!

We will celebrate today for them as our annual "Gotcha Day" or "Adoption Day".  We give each child a small gift... just something fun.  Michael has been wanting a laser pen and a new water-bottle so he got those.  Sasha has REALLY been wanting to have her ears pierced... I am still trying to decide about this... I only have a few more hours :)  I will post tomorrow if we decide to do this .   Tonight for dinner they have requested to eat at CC'S pizza, so we will do that!

What a great day filled with great memories!!  I am so glad that I have been given the gift to be their mom!

Good Book~

Already Gone : Ken Ham& Britt Beemer

I read this book in 4 days..... the book is about "Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it"   I have often thought about this as I talk to people who were once in church , reading their Bibles and such are no longer doing it.  What happened?   This book goes into all this... lots of statistics...61% of young adults who were regular church attendees are now "spiritually disengaged".  They are not actively attending church, praying or reading their Bibles" 61%  WOW!   The book claims that we are loosing our kids as young as elementary school... they never really connect and waiver in their faith eventually reaching adult and not returning to church.

As I read this book honestly I wasn't really shocked with the reasons why this happens.   I have seen many people who say they are "Christians" and then everything they do is not backing that up. 

Here is a excerpt from the book :  " That's not a rhetorical question.  Why isn't our faith taking root in our children? First. It's possible that the parents themselves do not have a "robust Christian faith" to start with.  Christianity is contagious, but children won't catch it unless the parents are infected.  If your children aren't following Christ, you must first check to see if they're following your lead!  Your first priority as a parent is to live the Word of God in a natural and sincere way.  If you try to preach it to your kids without living it, YOU'LL ONLY ADD TO THE HYPOCRISY THAT TURNED SO MANY OF THEM AWAY!"

Also,  teach your kids why they believe what they believe!  Teach them how to defend their faith... this is something we ALL need to be able to do!  

I would recommend reading this book and training your kids now... give them what they need to defend their faith and be authentic in yours!