Happy Memorial Day!

Its a tradition that every Memorial Day my mom takes all the grandkids to a service in a nearby town. Whether they want to go or NOT ;)
Its good for them to go and honor the ones who have fought for our country, to see the older generation of veterans there and hear them speak. Michael likes the part where they fire off the guns, of course.
She (my mom) is VERY patriotic, and want all the grandkids to wear their flag shirts and anything else patriotic....but I'm so UNORGANIZED lately, I don't even know where any of it is... so they went in their plain old clothes. I didn't get a good look at my dad because they were in such a hurry when they picked up the kids, but I just KNOW that my mom had him all decked out in every flag thing imaginable :) I'll just BET he looked like a walking tribute to good ole AMERICA !

Alex making pancakes this morning....

All my boys LOVE cooking. Michael knows the people on the cooking channel better than I do! He LOVES watching that show, and he's really good at cooking too. I think Alex will be too because he already loves it.

I must say though, that papa wasn't thrilled with the apron :)

Toma watching the rain.....pure joy :)

Wouldn't you know...

that the day I am determined to potty train Alex, and put underwear on him, is the day he has explosive diarrhea.

I don't get paid enough.....

kind of at a standstill...

things aren't really progressing well with the 'next adoption'. We are still wrestling with it. I know that if all adoptive parents knew where the money was going to come from before they committed, there wouldn't be a lot of adoptions taking place. I know that. But man, it's tough.

Plus, our agency we went through before for the home study is too busy to do our update.....which stinks because it will cost more to go elsewhere at this point. Plus it will probably take longer.... Ugh.

Every time I am convinced we're nuts, I look at his face...then I KNOW we need to save him. If not us, then WHO? He doesn't have long, and once he's gone, he's GONE.
He will have no more chances...life is so unfair for these children. They are totally at the mercy of others. For EVERYTHING. And in some cases, such as the little boy we hope to bring home, their very life and future is on the line.
Now that's pressure. We HAVE to make it work. I won't be able to live with myself if he gets sent to the institution.

I again ask for your prayers as we wrestle with this...for us to see the path God wants us to take, and for Him to help us figure out a way to PAY for it!

I've always struggled with faith. I know it's a growth area for me. And I let things get me down way too easily. I need to be stronger and fight for this little boy. Please pray for THAT too ;)

I sure appreciate it.

Rain and Ramen Noodle...

My sweet boy has such a fascination with water. I don't know why exactly, but he really does. If he hears the faucet on he comes running, trying to stick those little fingers in it. The very first thing he does in the morning is run into the bathroom and see if there is water in tub. So then he usually gets a bath. He takes so many baths a day, I think he must be half fish!

Some days I sit him out of the deck and give him 2 big bowls of water and a cup to play with. He loves it! I'm going to get him one of those little tiny kiddie pools to have on the deck once it's a bit warmer. Totally water obsessed. I don't think he saw much of it at the orphanage, so he can't believe he gets to play in it now.

It rained really hard here today and the rain was pouring down our rain gutters, so I set him in a chair in front of the window to watch. He was amazed by all the water everywhere. He was shaking he was so excited. Rich took some pictures, I'll post later.

He still doesn't want to eat anything but baby food. And he still won't drink anything. So I have to really water down the baby food. But the older kids left their ramon noodles on the table and he is standing there eating the rest of it all by himself! I haven't said anything to him, because then he will probably stop, but he's eating it! Kind of a big thing for him. :)

We're still praying and discussing going back to 'my special country' for another child. Or two. It's financially VERY difficult. Common sense would say 'no way' but the heart says something entirely different. If you adopt from the same orphanage it doesn't cost much more to bring 2 home instead of 1, but the cost is still so great. I know it's said that the Lord equipes the called, he doesn't call the equiped. So I'm really leaning on that right now.

Until we meet again....

We just got back from my grandma's funeral. It was nice, such a beautiful day with the scent of lilac in the air and a gentle breeze.
There were birds singing in the background at her service and many shared fond memories of her...she was certainly the rock of our family. The most sensible woman I have ever known. Always had a positive perspective on things. Always.
Loved plants, she had a house full of them that she tended to every day. Loved birds, loved gardens...the simple things in life.
I never saw her mad even once in my whole life. Always smiling....

Just a kind hearted, positive, strong, all around nice person. One I was lucky to know.

I'll miss her....but I look at it as more of a 'see you later' .....

I'm sure she's up there listening to her polka's and tending all the pretty flowers, listening to the birds singing, just the way she liked it :)

Shane having fun with Gramps while he sleeps :)

My dad is always falling asleep the minute he sits down on my couch. The kids have all kinds of fun with him while he's asleep. If his mouth is open, they put stuff in it... they put funny hats on him and generally just torment him in his sleep! Naughty kids, I know... but it's the most fun they have with ole gramps :)

He tends to be a bit grouchy when he's awake, and don't worry, he gets his fair share of tormenting in too. He's ALWAYS aggravating the kids at breakfast...taking their food, taking their forks, their drinks, you name it. Then they scream and cry and he LOVES that!

So they just look at it as 'get even time' when he falls asleep!

Jesus took her home today..

She had to endure so much here on earth,
but now she is healed in Heaven and smiling down on her beloved family...

Artoma doing a little fishin...

the boys getting a little sun...

Another Lewandoski....?

We are seriously praying about committing to another child in .....'my special country'...possibly two.

Please say some prayers for us to take this leap of faith, and trust that the Lord will provide along the way....

The little boy that I believe belongs with us is 5 1/2 and will be transferred soon to an institution where he will become 'unadoptable' and he will spend his life there.

There is a little girl in the same orphanage that will also become 'unadoptable' when transferred, although she has more time since she is younger....but I have my eye on her too :)

So, friends, please pray for us to make the right decision, and to TRUST.

under the weather....

We all have colds around here and aren't feeling so hot....
Isn't it enought to be sick practically the whole LONG winter???
It's just not right to be feeling lousy when the sun is shining .

The only one smiling around here is this silly llama, one of many running around our house....I have recently named this pretty girl 'Kristin'.

hee he

The Dandelion...

I love the dandelion. I know most people don't, but I do.
I have always said that God made dandelions so that every
little boy could give flowers to his mama.
And every one of my little boys have given their mama MANY
of these lovely flowers :)
It's one of my favorite parts of summer time!

My little Alex just turned 3 and he gets such joy out of picking these
and he brings them into the house with such eager happiness...oh, it's
the little things in life....

Crepes and lemon sauce

Yum!
That's what the kids and I made for breakfast today~ I have so many helpers.....you should see my kitchen when we're done!

We always listen to the music on the Peachy Kitchen blog, it's our 'cookin music' and it gets the kiddo's going and in a happy mood.

Artiom is starting to like me more :) Today he is really clingy. Last night I showed him pics of the orphanage and we watched some Russian cartoons on YouTube, and now today he is extra clingy, so maybe the Russian and the pics of his caretaker has something to do with it.

It was the ONE nice care taker that he had, and he really seemed to like her.

It's been cold and rainy here this week, and we are going a little stir crazy. Michael, as we speak, is dressed up in a dress and bonnet like on Little House on the Prairie.

Yes, it's going to be one of THOSE days.

If only his father could see him now.....

This is my Mikey...I could just squeeeeeze those cheeks all day!

He's my teddy bear (most of the time)

*****please excuse the shirt...My mom got it at a garage sale! :) :)

(and I don't like it!)

Artoma making a mess

trying a little bit, but not crazy about it...

We are trying to get him to eat more than just baby food...
but as you can see, he would much rather PLAY in it :)

Our little Cossak has what?!

4 different intestinal parasites, that's what!

Yuck.

And let me tell you that getting the 'samples' was no picnic, either.

So now we wait until the doc gets ahold of the infectious disease center (?) to see what treatment he (or possibly all of us) may need.

the parasites are not common here, but not uncommon with adopted children.

His other tests came back good :)

Dreaming of 'my special country' today....

I think my life would be easier if I had never gone to 'my special country'. Why?
Because it changed me, and now I have to come back and live my life like 'normal' and it's hard to do. I don't know why exactly, but it really had a significant impact on me. Not just the orphanage, I know why that did, but the country... the sights and sounds and smells...the people, the countryside, ALEXANDER. I just think about our trip all the time and long to be there again.
It doesn't help matters that I feel a certain little boy has been put in my heart for a reason. He is in 'my special country' and doesn't have much of a future to look forward to. If we could find a way to pay for another adoption, he would be a Lewandoski :)
I just miss it.

Artiom is doing very well. His adjustment was a breeze. All the kids love him so much! He is playing with Papa right now and he loves that! Such a happy little guy.

Adoption is a beautiful thing......

The South

thank you all who gave me tid bits of information on different southern states.....I really appreciate the input.

I'm still pondering it.

my boys in their long johns

I like this one the best :)

Here she is...

Summer Rose, minus 10 inches of golden tangles.

What have I done!

Oh my....

I'm feeling a little bit sick here...

I cut off all my little girls beautiful hair today.

It was long, golden and flowing..and now it is short, short, short.

Ugh. Why do I do these things? I don't know.

Plus...I'm not a professional. Double Ugh.

It was always a tangled mess, and she would cry and cry when we would brush it out. That's why I did it, and she WANTED me to. But she's 5! Why did I listen to a 5 year old!?

I'm seriously feeling sick now. I don't like change. I thought I did, but I don't.

Why do I do these things? I usually shave the dogs, I LIKE doing that :) and it drives my husband crazy!!! He's always telling me " now don't shave those dogs when I'm at work" ha ha ha hah. I get a kick out of that.

But I should have just stuck with the dogs.