Does the Jesus know the Easter bunny?

Pretty good question, huh? The boys had a wonderful Easter and are still trying to answer that question and it was pretty interesting to listen to them try to explain it to each other. "Well of course, Jesus knows everyone" "Nuh ugh, only Mama and Papa know the Easter bunny" "Well I haven't seen the Easter bunny so maybe no one knows him except superman" "Jesus is in charge of Superman too, you know". Precious conversation on the way to church that Sunday. Pretty easy to tell the comments went in order of age 19, 7,5,4. It was really nice to have Travis home from college to spend Easter with us and get to go to a few of the boys activities. They loved having their biggest brother there to watch them and play with. I think he might have enjoyed it a little as well.

Vanya was in a little Easter performance at church and was the hit of the show. Take a listen; Hollywood watch out! In case it isn't readily apparent, he was the E in Easter and his line was "Jesus died for Everyone!" He was flirting with the little girl next to him the rest of the time while he tried to sing with the other kids but still keeping his eye on mama right there in the front row smiling at her little man.

Easter this year was such a joy and the excitement on the boys faces as they waited at the top of the stairs to come hunt for their baskets (which they had no idea about) was priceless. They were excited that the Easter bunny had come but weren't quite sure what that meant for them except they were pretty sure it had something to do with candy. We had decorated eggs with Yana and Fran a couple of evenings before which was so much fun. They had colored Easter bunnies and at school and learned about the resurrection of Jesus at church and now it was time for the Easter bunny to finally come and for Jesus to rise from the dead. Trying to explain that one was pretty interesting as well. Then we all got dressed up for church and the boys really like getting all dressed up so it was fun. Then off to church we went where they got multiple compliments on their spiffy outfits which always brought big smiles to their faces as they were soooo proud of themselves. After church we went over to our friends house for Easter dinner and some R&R. Not so sure they called it that though with 3 very active little boys running around their house. They have 3 girls who are 22, 19, and 13 so boys are foreign to them and what a difference it is. Darryl got worn out throwing the ball, breaking up the wrestling on the trampoline and stopping the swings from going completely over the swing set. Christine and Rob and I had wonderful conversations with each other and her parents. Christine was so sweet and put together little goody bags with aggs adn candy in them for the byos and made a wonderful dinner which was nejoyed by all. After a very long day and loads of sugar we packed up 3 very cranky boys and headed home for the nighttime rituals. After that we were exhausted and went to bed as well. No sugarplums but content in the knowledge and love of the Lord that we were able to show our children today. The Lord is risen indeed, hallelujah !!!

Mama Mama Mama

Vanya turns 4!

What a day! For a little boy who has never had a birthday party before Vanya knew exactly how to act; KING FOR A DAY. He just loved being the center of attention and getting to dress up and wear papas bow tie. He got to look at himself in the mirror in his class and you could just see how proud of himself he was with his crown on. What a ham.
So here it is form the beginning: We woke him up in the morning and sang happy birthday and then papa brought him downstairs after the other boys and I had decorated and laid out his presents. He wasn't really sure what to think and even asked if the little bike was for him. After he knew that all of the presents were for him he was just thrilled. Of course his brothers decided to "help" him open his presents which ended up as him watching them open his presents. He was such a good sport about it and wanted just to play with whichever one was opened.
I must say he was the most adorable kid in the whole world after getting all spiffied (sp?) up for school with his bow tie. It almost brought tears to my eyes seeing what a blessing we have in him. He was so happy his brothers had each made him a card and were genuinely excited for him about his birthday.
Instead of having a party at the house with his friends (who are quite numerous) we decided just to do a party at his preschool class. He chose to have an Elmo party so we got all the trimmings and had a very interesting time. We were grateful that the teachers let us have his party there. Containment containment containment was the fare of the day with 10 preschoolers on extra doses of sugar and excitement. Vanya got to make a crown and the class had practiced singing happy birthday to him the day before so he was really thinking that it could be his birthday every day from then on. It was quite special because mama and papa and Travis came to his class to do his party. We also got to have Yuri and Veecha come from their classes to sing and have cake and ice cream. We did a balloon race which was really humorous because most of the kids didn't weigh enough to pop their balloons when they sat on them. Rob had to start using his keys to help. On top of that, they didn't really get the concept of running down to the other end of the play yard to sit on your balloon while the rest of the line waited. The puzzled looks were priceless. We got some bubbles for them to do and the teacher even had a bubble machine which was a big hit. The "put the sticker on the Elmo nose" was funny also because they all peaked to make sure they got the sticker on the right place. Each of the kids drew him a picture in the notebook I had gotten for him and the teachers each did one too. Good keepsake. All the kids sang happy birthday to him and he blew out his candles with no problem and even blew off some of the wax onto my fingers. We made little goody bags for all the kids (I guess that is what you do now) and after giving them cake and ice cream it was time for them to get on their bus.
We cleaned up and Vanya just loved having all the adults to himself and was in no hurry to leave. Papa and Travis left first and mama stayed a little longer to let him play and eat up the attention of his teachers for a few extra minutes. They are so good to him and just love him to death. I'm sure he is the most spoiled kid in the class. Actually I'm the most spoiled mama because he always gives me the biggest grins and hugs as he proudly announces "that's MY mama". I wish he could stay this little forever (well, let me rethink that).
After getting home and letting him play a little with his new toys and games we went to get the other boys from school as they attend the "good news club" on Tuesdays which is like Sunday school. After getting back home all the boys enjoyed playing Candy Land and racing the hotwheel cars on the new track. After that mama and papa took him out all by himself for a special birthday dinner at Mirabellas. It's a good Italian place since he requested a fare of spaghetti.

The best part of the day for mama was after we got home though. It was past his regular bedtime and after a long day of excitement he was sooo tired. We got his PJ's on and teeth brushed and he asked me to tell him a story. When I asked him what kind of story he said he wanted to hear a Jesus story! So I got to retell, in common language, the story of Easter to my little boy as he fell asleep in my arms on his very first birthday with us. What a day!

mama mama mama

Rainy Days and Mondays

Well the boys have certainly taken to the American culture quickly. They all needed to have their OWN umbrella and rain boots. Since mama thought it would be really fun to let them jump in the big puddle we get on our front walk, I thought I would capture it on video. What a hoot!
Enjoy!

Of course I didn't want htem to get hte bigwheel out and run it through the lawn and throw cups of water on each other but I guess we take the good with the bad sometimes. They really had a great time getting all wet though so it was worth it.

We have also had a few visits and visitors. We went up to PA to visit the grandparents and had a fun time meeting new cousins and getting to sled down their back hill. We always get good food there and the boys love playing with the cats. Not so sure how the cats like it though.

Mayra has come home a few times and now has a new boyfriend, Doug, who has made a big hit with the boys. They have now listed him as part of the family. A little premature for sure but it's nice to see a young man with such a Godly disposition and genuine friendliness for everyone. He makes time for the Lord each morning nad shares his devotions with Mayra each night at school over the phone or computer if they aren't together. We've only met him once so he still has to try to pass the papa test a few more times (beating him at pool) before he is "in".

We are getting ready for the big "spring break" trip to babushka's house. We made the mistake of telling them we were going to go there in April. Now everyday they ask if we are leaving for babushka's house. It's getting a little tiring trying to explain that April is still several weeks away. They are very persistant when they want to know something or think we should be going somewhere that minute.

Yuri, Veecha, and Vanya continue to keep[ us on our toes (and everything else for that matter) and our constant attention is always desired. I'll take that anytime since I know as they get older they won't necessarily want that. Their smiles are infectious and their hugs and kisses are numerous. There are less and less crying spells but the discipline is far from over. Still a long way to go for constant obedience but they are making leaps and bounds with the whinning so that's a relief. I still feel like we're playing catch up and hurry up all the time but I think we are starting to get the hang of this!

Mama mama mama