Adopting again...Our New Year's Prayers for You!

We are still unpacking and putting things away. The other morning, the girls were in my room while I finished getting dressed. On the table in our room (the long-term plan is for that table to be my scrapbooking table) was a pile of bathroom stuff to be put away (lotions, soaps, shampoo, etc.).

Lillia found a pregnancy test (left over from a 2-pack when we were pregnant with Anabella) and wanted to know what it was. I explained it to her, and all the girls were very excited about another baby. I tried to explain that no, there was no baby coming now. Of course, the next question that came was, "Why not?" I explained to them that Mama and Papa were praying about having a baby and adopting again, and that we probably couldn't do both right away. "Why not?" came again.

Mariyana decided that we should have a baby and then adopt. I explained we wouldn't be able to travel with a new baby, so that wouldn't work very good. No problem, she reasoned - adopt first, and then have a baby!

The conversation shifted to adopting and they wanted to know when we were going to adopt again. I said that I wasn't sure. With only 3 bedrooms, I explained, there was limited room for adding to our family. It would work fine for us, but I don't know how well a social worker would view the arrangement, and what they think does matter for a homestudy!

Again - the girls thought having enough room wasn't a problem. Mariyana offered to sleep on the floor, Olesya said her new brother/sister could use her sleeping bag and Lillia decided her new brother/sister could have her bed!

As if that was the final hurdle that was now cleared, Mariyana said, "We adopt tomorrow?" She was so disappointed when I told her that no, we couldn't adopt tomorrow, or even the next day, as she requested. She was quite surprised when I told her it took us a year to bring them home!

My heart has really been stirred in the past few weeks to adopt again. John is feeling the same way. In the way is our wanting to be sure our new kids are attaching and adjusting well, before we add others to the family, and also our living situation. I trust that God will work everything out in His timing. But, once again, I find myself dreaming about who else He has chosen for our family. I don't know the number, age or gender - but am trusting that He does! Just last night, I dreamt about a family with 20 kids that we met somewhere in dreamland...

As the new year unfolds, I would request that you continue to pray for our family as we reach out again through the joy and miracle of adoption. We pray for God's timing and His will in our endeavors. We feel so blessed to have learned about the joys of following God's will in our lives at such a relatively young age. We aren't concerned about what new toys we are going to buy, what vacations we are going to take, or even what special vacation home we'll enjoy in our retirement. Investing our lives in God's kingdom work is so much more important and enjoyable. It doesn't leave you disappointed when the next year's model comes out, or when the vacation is over. It doesn't leave you longing for the next fun time here or there...It doesn't leave you feeling empty, only clinging to accomplishments or purchases.

Our prayer for all of you is for you to find the same joy we have found. Maybe it isn't through adoption. It could be missions trips with your church. Full-time ministry. Leading a Bible study in your church. Witnessing to your good friend and neighbors. Whatever it is that God is calling you to do, it is there that you will ultimately find peace and joy. It isn't always easy or fun, but it is always right. We thank God daily for leading us down the path He has called us to!

Ukrainian Christmas

Yesterday was January 6th (Yea - I'm finally caught up!) and in Ukraine, people everywhere celebrated Christmas. In planning for Christmas, we decided to open presents on Ukrainian Christmas. We thought it would be a great way to once again, share the meaning of Christmas, and bring in some Ukrainian traditions to our family.

I've received several emails from many of you, wanting a "sneak peek" into our Christmas celebrations with all 6 of our kids. This is what we did...

Each child drew another's name. Together we helped each child shop for their sibling - they spent between $5-10 each. The kids did a good job coming up with ideas for gifts. Most of the gifts were "projects" - sewing for Olesya, models for the boys, needlepoint for Mariyana...

We bought stocking stuffers for the children. They included an ornament for each child, Ukrainian chocolate bars we brought home with us, a pair of socks, knit gloves and bubbles.

We bought each child one gift. Again, these were "project" gifts. The boys got tool belts, along with some small-size real tools "just like Papa", Lillia & Olesya got kits to make mosaic stepping stones, Mariyana got an American flag latch hook pillow kit, and Anabella got a kids' nativity set. Simple little projects that will bring a lot of enjoyment and learning - not just more "stuff".

Finally, we bought a game for everyone to enjoy. We have spent many hours this past week in the evenings playing games ("Sorry!" is the favorite!) and putting puzzles together (we currently have a 1000-piece puzzle spread out over the dinner table).

So - that was it. We began and ended the evening with prayer and the true Christmas story to try and keep their attention directed to the right direction. Here are a few pictures...

Stockings!


Anabella had Sasha for Christmas - this is her giving Sasha his gift.


Vanya and Sasha opening their tool belts.


Mariyana showing off her new gloves and socks!


A family time before bedtime....


It was a very special evening together. In no way did the kids feel like "that's all?" - in fact, they were overwhelmed with how many things they received.

A sweet note - at lunchtime, the kids were asking me about whether Mama and Papa had presents to open. I said no, just the kids. That was not OK in their books - they tried to convince me to go to town - I could buy Papa a present, and then they could buy me something on their own and hide it from me. A very sweet gesture.

Another final note - all of the kids shared their candy and little toys/games with each other as they opened presents. We are so blessed by how great these kids are....Merry Christmas!

A LARGE visitor

The other day, I was upstairs folding laundry and happened to look out the front window. I dropped what I doing and went racing downstairs. My slippers flew off halfway down the stairs and the kids came running to see what was the matter....

Well, nothing was really the matter - I just wanted them to see our friendly visitor that was inches away from our front windows - a yearling moose!

You see - the kids had seen every possible animal at Yellowstone just days before: bald eagles, wolves, bison, elk, antelope, and deer. We'd seen mountain sheep driving into town one day. They had become quite familiar with Grizzly Bears from the Bear Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. So, the only thing missing was a moose, and here he was, standing front and center out our front window.

Apparently, moose frequently come down into Meadow Village when the snow comes. He took quite a liking to our plants and trees outside. In fact, he was so engrossed by eating, he hardly noticed 6 peering children and a mom with camera and video camera in hand!

Wolves and Junior Rangers

On the day after Christmas, we set out for Cooke City, Montana. This is the only road kept open through Yellowstone in the winter. While Cooke City isn't anything to get excited about (think Princeton, Idaho!), the drive is gorgeous and takes you through several areas that offer opportunities for great wildlife viewing.

One great excitement of the day was spotting a single wolf whom we watched for probably 30 minutes. There was a dead animal which he was coming toward to feed on. He was very skiddish and it took him probably 25 minutes (of our viewing) to finally get over there. He was a black wolf and so we could spot him quite easily in the snowy field. We also enjoyed seeing a herd of 350 elk, and another herd of probably 200 bison.

We stopped for lunch at a picnic area - it was a little chilly for an outdoor picnic, but with the scenery and great company, we could hardly complain!




On the return drive to Mammoth, we were treated to seeing a pack of 5 wolves. It was an enjoyable site, and one that many people aren't so blessed to see when visiting Yellowstone. Throughout the entire day, I couldn't get a thought from Beth Moore out of my mind. In one of her Bible study videos, Beth talked about enjoying God's creation and the distinction between worshipping the CREATION versus the CREATOR. What an awesome God who creates such beauty simply for our enjoyment and His worship!

*******

We have really enjoyed the various options and activities we can participate in, now that we have older children. One of those things is the Junior Ranger program. Offered by Yellowstone, the Junior Ranger program is for children ages 5-12. Depending upon the children's ages, there are program requirements to complete which involve learning about their surroundings. It is quite an involved program, but one that was enjoyable as a family to work on together....

The older children had special assignments to do that required various scientific equipment that we had to check out from the Rangers. Sasha was quite proud wearing the fanny pack with the equipment! If you look closely, you'll see the blue Junior Ranger badge the kids earned on the fanny pack.


Mariyana measuring the wind speed and air temperature. After we came inside, they figured out the wind chill - which was pretty chilly!


Hiking up the Mammoth Terraces. There were many steps, so Sasha and Mariyana packed the stroller and Anabella up, up and up!

All 6 kids - aren't they great?!


Anabella - the youngest Junior Ranger. (She was too young to participate in the Junior Ranger program, but she earned a sticker for circling all the animals we saw.)


Reading the map for our Junior Ranger hike.


Working on our Junior Ranger newspapers.


It's badge time! After completing the entire program, we turned in the newspapers and the kids received their special Winter Junior Ranger badges.

Christmas in Yellowstone

Christmas Eve arrived and it was time to head to Mammoth Hot Springs. Last year we began a family tradition of going to Yellowstone together with John's parents for Christmas.

Of all the 30+ Christmases I have enjoyed, our time together at Yellowstone last year was by far the best. Being surrounded by God's glorious creation, with innumerable outside and inside activities to enjoy, the focus of Christmas was not on opening presents. Last Christmas was honestly the first Christmas I haven't felt some twinge of disappointment and feeling of, "that's all?". And so, we decided to make the trek to Yellowstone a yearly tradition to be enjoyed.

This year, our family looked a lot different! With 6 children, instead of 2, the excitement and joy was even greater.

Mammoth Hot Springs is the only entrance into Yellowstone that is open throughout the year. Last year we bought a year pass for Yellowstone ($40 instead of the one-time entrance fee of $20!) and were able to use it again. Living so close to Yellowstone, we will definitely get another year pass. But, I digress.

Coming through the gates, we were asked if we were a commercial tour! I guess they aren't too used to seeing big 15-passenger vans being operated by families - usually they are some special tours. We assured him we were just a family, and weren't operating any sort of commercial tour!

When you stay at home at Mammoth, you stay in the old lodge. It is a beautiful lodge that has been upgraded, but still retains much of its historical appeal and charm. Out back behind the lodge there is an ice skating rink. A cabin next to the rink is open all the time with skates to use.

Across from the lodge is the dining hall which is where we enjoyed special family dinners. Down the road is a beautiful stone chapel - this is where we attended a standing-room only candlelight service on Christmas eve night.

All around the lodge are hills for sledding and trails for skiing. There was minimal snow this year, so we weren't able to do any sledding or skiing this year, but we had plenty to keep us busy.

After Christmas eve dinner, the kids opened a special present - all new PJs! Here they are all decked out in their new pajamas, cuddling with Gramps.


After opening their PJs and pictures, we headed over to church for the candlelight service. The evening was rounded out by attending an ornament decorating party in the "Map Room" at the lodge. Everything was supplied for participants to make special Christmas ornaments, including hot cider and cookies!

The next morning, we slowly woke up, enjoyed breakfast, watched the elk wander among the grounds of the lodge and eventually headed down to the Map Room to open stockings. John's parents' gift to us all is our trip to Mammoth and so we just do stockings for everyone. But, I think stockings are the most fun anyway - and apparently so did the kids.

With the Map Room empty except for our family, we opened gifts and played with everyone's new coloring books, crayons and lego contraptions for several hours. Apparently, we were quite the sight because we had several people come in to ask if they could take our picture. So, somewhere, pictures similar to these are in someone's Christmas photo album!



John and Sasha are building a Lego barn. Gramps is teaching me to play "Pick up Sticks" (and he beat me terribly!).


After cleaning up, it was already time for lunch. We headed out to the fire pit, and had an outside hot dog roast and picnic! What a great Christmas lunch!


Yum!


After lunch, it was naptime. And then, out to the hot tubs! Mammoth has hot tubs you can rent by the hour - individual hot tubs are outside under the stars, with a cabin close by for changing clothes and even showering. Most everyone enjoyed the hot tub. Lillia sat right down, while the rest of us eased into the hot water. And, Mariyana went "swimming" in the hot tub, even going under the water! Anabella and Sasha weren't too sure about the hot water, but all in all, it was a lot of fun.

There is nothing better than being in a nice hot tub outside in the cold winter air, under beautiful sunny or starry skies.


We had just enough time after enjoying the hot tubs to get dressed and head over to the dining room for our special Christmas dinner. The dining hall is quite a fancy restaurant, and it was the first time several of our kids had been in such a nice restaurant. We had discussions about why there were 2 forks, what to do with a bread plate, how to order food from a menu, where cloth napkins go while you're eating....We had to smile when all the kids about licked their salad plates clean that night. They didn't realize the salad was the first course, and more was coming! They thought that was all, and were a little surprised when another huge plate of food came, and then was followed by dessert! Needless to say, we brought several doggie bags back to our room!

Enjoying Christmas dinner.


With everyone dressed up and looking their best, we tried to take a few family pictures by the lodge's fireplace - this is the best we could come up with!





Goodnight!
familydinner.jpe

School in December

In between packing, moving, unpacking, taking another trip back to Moscow, more unpacking and Christmas activities, our month has been quite full.

We have focused on learning about the true meaning of Christmas. And honestly, the kids haven't been exposed to anything but. With no TV, very limited video watching (and everything has to be approved by mom), little to no time in the stores, no "browsing" through endless Christmas catalogs, no making a Christmas wish-list....the kids know exactly what Christmas is about. And it's wonderful.

They haven't even been asked the typical, "What do you want for Christmas?" questions. Their wishlist for Santa, mom and dad, or whomever, hasn't been made, and certainly doesn't grow by the day. What a joy.

The beautiful Christmas tree is enjoyed for its beauty, its memories and for what is represents. Not for what might be placed under it. In fact, our tree doesn't have any gifts under it. At most, you might find some pine needles and some pieces to our Veggie Tales nativity set which the kids have been playing with.

Are the kids sheltered? Maybe, but, in our minds, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I just looked up the word "Shelter" in the online Webster dictionary - shelter simply means to cover and protect. Isn't our job as parents to protect our children? We think so. And, if they "miss out" on the gimmees of Christmas, the endless wishlists, the commercialization of a very holy holiday, then I think we've done our job well!

Each day this month, whenver possible, we have made special ornaments or projects for Christmas. Here's a few pictures of the kids making dough ornaments - first mixing up the dough and then cutting out and painting them...Mariyana and Lillia even ventured out from ornaments and made their own nativity sets.

Our newest skiier

For those of you loyal readers of our online journal (not sure if anyone really reads this, but it is a good way for me to keep track of our family memories!), you know that Anabella isn't exactly one to be left out.

Skiing hasn't been any different. She has decided she wants to cross-country ski too, so several times throughout the week, she gets her skis on and "skis" around the condo.

All I know, is that she is pretty cute!

Mariyana is a great big sister, always willing to help the little kids get their skis on (or whatever else - she even changes stinky diapers!).

Tree decorating

With a Charlie Brown tree brought in from the forest, it was time to start decorating. In all reality, our tree would hardly be considered part of the Charlie Brown style. It was quite full (relatively), no holes to hide against the wall and of course quite large (they always look so much smaller in the woods!).

With Christmas music playing in the background, the mood was set and the kids were excited. In all reality, it was a bittersweet time. You see, as a tradition, we get our children an ornament every year - something that is significant to them. I don't think we have any typical store-bought ornaments - they are all ornaments that were John or mine growing up (presents or homemade), or ornaments that have been given to Lillia and Anabella.

The children all enjoyed unwrapping the ornaments, hearing the stories of who made what, and when, and decorating the tree. The bittersweet part was the realization we all had, quietly in our hearts, that all of our children hadn't been with us to celebrate Christmas for each of their years. There were no ornaments for four of our children - no stories to tell of their youth. No special memories to laugh about from Christmas-past.

Olesya summed it up best when she said, "We still at Detsky Dom, right Mama?"

The kids didn't really have many memories to share about Christmas - just Mariyana and Sasha had some stories to share from school, and what they had done at school for Christmas. Our friends from Odessa, the Andersons, had shared with us that New Year's is a much bigger holiday in Ukraine than Christmas, and so we weren't very surprised with their limited experiences and memories.

Unwrapping ornaments and sharing stories...


Christmas lights - shining in the darkness of night. Just like our Saviour whom we celebrate at Christmas...


After the tree was decorated, we gathered together on the floor around the tree with Christmas cookies (brought over by our neighbors) and hot chocolate, and read the Christmas story. A wonderful ending to a special night.

Cold Days in Big Sky

The weather here in Big Sky is quite a bit different than what we are used to in Moscow. And, for the most part, we love the difference!

When it snows, the snow sticks.

When it isn't snowing, the sun shines!

And when it's cold, it really gets serious about being cold.

For a few days before Christmas, the weather got quite chilly. The high one day was -8 degree FAHRENHEIT! But, when the air is dry and the sun is shining, it doesn't feel all that cold. And so, the kids still love to go outside and play.

One night after dinner, some of the older kids wanted to play outside before bed. It was -18 F, so we didn't figure they would last too long, nor did we figure the younger kids would want to venture out. Were we ever wrong! Anabella didn't want to be left out, and insisted on going outside. So, all bundled up in pink, she headed out the door to play for probably 35 minutes!

What beautiful rosy cheeks!


Because it was so cold, the snow didn't pack very well. A snowman was out of the question, so the kids improvised and made a snow lion!

Going hunting...Christmas-tree-style

With Christmas quickly approaching, it was high time to get ourselves a Christmas tree. Back when Lillia was a baby, we started a family tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree in the woods. While we don't always have the most beautiful tree, we certainly take away some great memories and have some good laughs about our "Charlie Brown tree".

After church, we changed clothes, donned hats, gloves, snowpants and jackets and headed out. Before we got all dressed, little Anabella was asleep in her Gramp's arms. So, Anabella and Gramps stayed home and took naps while the rest of us adventured out to get our tree.

Ssshhhh! Anabella's sleeping! (And Gramps isn't too far behind)


I still can't get over the beauty we are surrounded by here in Big Sky. It took us just 10 minutes to get to the National Forest to find our tree. When we first got out of the van, the kids were a little hesitant about exploring and were complaining it was cold! It didn't take long, however, until we were having to reel in the kids and leave because we (the adults!) were getting cold.

John and I were a little concerned about just how long it would take to have all 7 (with Anabella sleeping) of us agree on one tree. In the past, it has taken quite a family conference to decide, and there were only a few of us! But, the perfect trees were obvious to all and within a very short time, we all had made a decision and were cutting our tree. All the kids had a turn using the saw, and while waiting for their turns, they collected pinecones, snow berries, dried bear grass, puzzle plants, twigs, rocks, pine needles and rosehips. I am continually amazed and delighted with their creativity and inventiveness. They wanted to collect various items to make wreaths! Pretty clever - I certainly hadn't thought of doing that, but what fun they had filling up our pockets with all sorts of great finds!

That's the one!


Having fun in the woods!


Olesya, our little woodsman.


"Timber," yells Lillia.


After loading up the kids in the van, along with all their treasures, John tied the tree on the top of the van and away we went. Just as we turned onto the highway, our tree went flying off the roof and onto the road. We turned around at the first spot we could find, and as we returned for the tree, we saw another truck had stopped for the trees. "How nice," I thought - they are picking up our tree for us. It became quickly apparent, however, that they were doing a little tree hunting for themselves! John, in his leisurely, calm manner, sauntered out of the van while they were throwing the tree in the back of their pickup, and jumping in to leave the "crime scene". I wasn't quite so calm, and laid on the horn and shook my head (complete with my "Teacher Look"!) at them. I wasn't about to have some young girls take off with our perfect tree! Once we convinced them it was ours, we loaded it inside the van and headed home.

Always an adventure!!!