tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89020555472272863692024-02-21T00:55:32.688-05:00A Home for DaryaMariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.comBlogger203125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-84639408275435968482013-04-23T08:55:00.000-04:002013-04-23T08:55:01.748-04:00The EndWell, it's not really the end. But since Darya's been home for 2.5 years now, I feel it's time to end this blog. I will try to update it once in a while (but you see how bad my record has been).
As I reflect on the past three years, from the time we committed to adopting her to today, I am humbled, amazed, overjoyed, grateful, and a plethora of other emotions of how God has brought Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-14596551249530863472012-10-05T17:29:00.001-04:002012-10-05T17:38:27.292-04:00Two Year Gotchaversary!
I'm seriously delinquent in blogging. I'll catch up....some day. But, I wanted to say "Happy Gotcha-versary" to Darya! It was two years ago today that she walked out of that orphanage forever. I seriously cannot believe how much she has grown and changed in that time! This morning as I was sitting in her IEP meeting (a meeting with school staff to discuss her Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-15446824406924296232012-08-02T13:34:00.001-04:002012-08-02T13:34:44.621-04:00California Part 1Okay, so it's been quite a while since I blogged and will just have to pass on blogging about end of spring happenings. I'll just give a quick summary:
Darya finished her first year of pre-k. It went really well! She really likes school and I honestly am surprised at how much she has learned and grown this year. She is learning more and more words (though usually still Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-18423539504831331542012-06-09T18:18:00.001-04:002012-06-09T18:18:21.425-04:004 Years Ago TodayFour years ago today, a young Ukrainian couple gave birth to their second child, this time a girl. I can only imagine their excitement and anticipation of her birth. I imagine their son was excited to be a big brother. But when they found out their precious daughter had something "wrong" with her, Down syndrome, they made the extremely difficult decision to let her go. At only a month old, Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-86375093159362076262012-05-13T15:28:00.002-04:002012-05-13T15:29:49.536-04:00Springtime is busy timeWow, this is post 200! It was 2 years ago that we were in the whirlwind of adoption paperwork. Now here we are living life as usual, with the addition of our beautiful little girl. I must say that spring is always busy in our house! Or rather I should say out of our house as it's when baseball season and good weather are upon us. Two of our boys are playing spring ball, Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-57706004994825063252012-04-03T11:52:00.001-04:002012-04-03T11:53:20.413-04:00Happy Belated Birthday to my Benny!I'm a bit late on this (one week to be exact), but happy 9th birthday to my second son, Ben! 9 years....that marks halfway to 18. Such a bittersweet age. It also marks his entrance into tween-hood (goodness, I technically have two "tweens"! The teen years are just around the corner). Ben is awesome. I love that kid!! He is such a sweet, kind, funny, and thoughtful Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-48082291585957188382012-03-23T16:01:00.004-04:002012-03-23T16:01:50.767-04:00Grandpa and Grandma's VisitLast week, Joel's parents flew out from California to visit us for a week. We had a great time!! I am so thankful that our kids have such wonderful grandparents (on both sides of the family). We visited them in California last year, but this is the first time Joel's parents got to spend a lot more one-on-one time with Darya. Below are some photo highlights of our time withMariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-27758482513324287852012-03-13T12:07:00.004-04:002012-03-13T12:09:54.698-04:00Good morning, Sunshine!
Darya often plays in her room before going to sleep, or when she wakes up. She usually destroys her room by chucking everything in sight wherever they may land. This morning was no different. See this toy box that she's in below? That is usually full to the brim of toys! Ben (our almost-9-year-old) went to get her up for school and yelled at me to get the camera. &Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-59788633444347804972012-02-29T21:22:00.003-05:002012-02-29T21:22:55.965-05:00Adios shark tooth!Today Nate had his beloved shark tooth removed. He did really well (not that the laughing gas had anything to do with his bravery and relaxed disposition! haha). Click here to see it before, and another video here. I hope the photos below don't make you queasy! Yeah, I do have a thing for quirks and oddities like extra teeth and webbed toes. There ain't nothin' wrongMariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-60639280484692521202012-02-27T16:29:00.002-05:002012-02-27T16:29:36.081-05:00Birthdays, oatmeal, "I love you", and FrancineI am so sporadic when it comes to posting on here. Thanks for bearing with me :) So it's going to be a hodge-podge of a post hence the weird title.
Today is our youngest son's 7th birthday. He's been counting down for ages! He was surprised when he was greeted by a load of friends from church at the local Natural History Museum. We all went inside to play and explore (15-20 of Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-40824534303692820852012-02-08T10:55:00.003-05:002012-02-08T10:55:25.290-05:00Sweetness
I peeked in on Joel and Darya resting on Sunday afternoon and this is what I found:
Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-50178515350993571552012-01-30T09:13:00.001-05:002012-01-30T09:13:28.469-05:00Shark Tooth part 2
So, a certain 6 year old with an extra tooth got a hold of my camera. As I was scrolling through the photos on it, I came across this video. What a ham! Apparently this shark-boy has also invented his own language. Also, for those of you who might meet him in real life, he has informed me that he's tired of being famous for his shark tooth. So, no autographs, please. But if Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-64993020570825101262012-01-27T08:23:00.002-05:002012-01-27T08:23:16.101-05:00Legoland
Yesterday we jumped on the opportunity to go to Legoland Florida (how can you pass up a deal where a family of 6 can get in for $30? We went with our homeschool co-op at a discounted field trip rate). It was awesome! We all had so much fun. Of course, two of my boys are hoping to grow up to be professional Lego builders like millions of other kids, but who knows? Maybe Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-88668342306021803632012-01-19T16:02:00.001-05:002012-01-19T16:04:10.632-05:00Shark Tooth!
A few weeks ago we noticed that our 6 year old son is growing a tooth behind his two front baby teeth. We assumed it was his adult tooth growing behind, but it turns out it's just an extra tooth! It's called a mesiodens tooth, and I think is fairly common. He had a dentist appointment the other day, where they informed us he'll need to have it pulled soon, much to his dismay. Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-50370925484815461682012-01-11T18:44:00.000-05:002012-01-11T18:44:15.675-05:007 out of 9Seven out of nine orphans that we have been specifically praying for over the past few years are either home with families or have families on their way! Isn't that wonderful? Our boys faithfully pray daily for the orphans. They have had no doubt they'd get families, it's just a matter of when it's going to happen. It's been such a blessing to see my children's faith grow Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-59853053957489287942012-01-10T09:55:00.003-05:002012-01-10T09:55:59.529-05:00The Measure of SuccessI love my family. I love that they love Darya and everyone has welcomed her into the family with open arms. This morning I got an email from Joel's grandfather (aka "Papa") with an article written by a Fox News reporter, Cal Thomas, who wrote about his brother, Marshall, who had Down syndrome (he just passed away). You can click the link below to read the full article, but I Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-64289285732210164632012-01-09T17:25:00.002-05:002012-01-14T09:55:06.357-05:00Short Update and Some Good NewsWell, the holidays have come and gone, and I didn't do a single post or share any pics......well, a few are down below. Better late than never, right? With Christmas being on a Sunday, we ended up celebrating with the kids on the Friday before. (Joel usually spends Saturdays finishing his preparations for church the following day). That Friday, we had our annual Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-89277212731308569462011-12-22T12:37:00.000-05:002011-12-22T12:37:09.317-05:00Oh, wow!!I was just checking in on Lilianna after lunch and her Angel Tree goal has more than DOUBLED!!! Over $2,000 in her grant!! Woohooo!!! I can't thank everyone enough for their donations!! I have no idea who contributed, so don't know who to thank, but THANK YOU to those who have, and those who have prayed on her behalf, and advocated for her, too. Now if we can just Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-43301108514973603712011-12-19T12:27:00.002-05:002011-12-19T13:39:19.950-05:00Piano Concerto ala DaryaI know I've mentioned it before, but Darya LOVES the piano. She loves listening to and "helping" her brothers when they practice. Hopefully when she's a bit older she'll take lessons, too. Without further ado, here's my little budding piano prodigy in action for you all to enjoy! :-)
Edited to add the boys playing the piano (they had just come inside after playing football Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-76026200809183620492011-12-17T11:52:00.003-05:002011-12-17T11:53:01.753-05:00A girl and her balloonMariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-67486714117467134622011-12-14T09:24:00.000-05:002011-12-14T09:24:45.795-05:00New picture of LiliannaI just noticed a new picture of Lilianna on Reece's Rainbow:
Isn't she just precious?? She has such beautiful eyes and I love that fuzzy hair (though it would look much better longer and with a bow in it). I am so thankful that her grant is continuing to grow - now we just need to find her a family!
I've been MIA for a while on this blog. I guess it's just that busy season of the year,Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-201247217074055842011-11-30T16:26:00.003-05:002011-11-30T16:47:37.105-05:00Angel Tree Goal is Reached!!I just checked Lilianna's page on Reece's Rainbow and her Angel Tree grant is now up to $1,317.38!! Thank you to whomever donated to bring it past her goal!! I am just speechless and so excited!! Wow!! And many thanks again to all of you who have donated and shared! Lilianna has no idea how many people across the world are praying for her and helping to bridge that gap Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-14671524729752584912011-11-29T20:59:00.000-05:002011-11-29T20:59:08.873-05:00Beans!Darya loves beans. Black beans. Refried beans. Baked beans. Chili beans. If you give them to her she will eat 'em up. She will probably ask for seconds. And thirds. Her affinity to legumes has earned her the nickname "Beans" by our family. It just so happens that shortly after Darya earned her new nickname, a mom across the pond in the UK (Jane over at Flight Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-51599687493849056802011-11-25T07:54:00.001-05:002011-11-25T07:56:49.407-05:00ThankfulnessIt's 7:30am here on Friday morning. Just the dog and I are awake, though I think I hear Darya playing in her room. I have a tradition to not go to Black Friday shopping! I just prefer sleeping in my warm bed to shopping in the cold at 3:30am no matter how good the sales :-)
We had a very nice Thanksgiving yesterday. We had a few people from church over to celebrate Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8902055547227286369.post-27788435643647832942011-11-22T17:36:00.001-05:002011-11-22T17:37:57.804-05:00SchnoodleLilianna's Angel Tree grant is just over the halfway mark to reach the $1,000 goal! She's now "moved up" to join the group of kids whose grants have reached over the $500 mark. Yay! So what does that have to do with the title of my post? Nothing. I just wanted to share that great news first. On Saturday, we adopted a dog! We got Luna from a local rescue Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04957874695552763609noreply@blogger.com5