Endings and Beginnings

It has been extremely difficult to keep up with the many happenings at the Passanita Nut House. All the crazies come out whenever there is a minute of down time for mama. So here it is in a nut shell:
Endings:
- School year ended - last time to do Kindergarten - I was extremely touched that the book Vanya chose to write for his year end project was "I love my mama!" All the other moms loved it too. Had to fight back the tears. Will miss all those fun kindergarten things but no more little chairs Woohoo! Victor had a good 1st grade year and wrote his non fiction book on the Earth and why should take care of it. He did his sideways, of course. He marches to the beat of his own drum and is very creative. Still loves to dress up in costumes, put his clothes on backwards, and be tickled. Yuri fit right in in 2nd grade although is now realizing that he is actually a lot older than his classmates. His class did a dress up like a character in a book day and Yuri picked a Magic Treehouse book and was Jack from the story. He read his summary of the book in front of the class and make a diorama of one of the scenes. He loved wearing mamas old reading glasses from college.

- 3 baseball schedules ended (Hallelujah!) with Yuri's team winning the championship of the 9 and under kid pitch league. Veecha did a great job and loved playing catcher this season. He even got his very own catchers gear. Vanya finally got it together and behaved through the last 3 games and even got several outs and was able to hit the ball off the tee and into the outfield a few times.

- Mayra moved away to DC :( This is a picture of her with her new room mates

- Travis moved away to Northern Virginia :(
- bible study if over for the summer :(
- Yuri's Royal Rangers is over for the summer
- Mamas alone time is over for the summer :( :( :(
- Sleeping in is over until August (Bigger :())
- Vanya finished the first week of VBS with the Saddle Ridge Ranch theme. I'm seeing more VBS in his future.

Beginnings-

- Yuri began his second decade as we celebrated his 10th birthday with a pool party. Most of the kids came to this very first out-of-school party he has had. This is the first time we have had a real birthday party for him because we have always done games and such in their classrooms and had cake and ice cream and were able to avoid him getting all kinds of gifts. He was really overwhelmed with the presents and just wanted to take the time to open and play with everything as he went. Needless to say we had to put the kibosh on that right away or he would have been opening for hours. All the kids said that it was the best party they had been to. Pretty cool way to begin your second decade of life. Now how to deal with getting rid of some old to make room for the new. For his special birthday dinner he wanted to go to "the crab place" (Red Lobster) so off we went to enjoy the seafood specials. He really likes any time he gets to spend alone with mama and papa.
- Summer school began for Yuri and Victor to keep their skills up in math and reading. Vanya didn't qualify because he is at or above grade level.
- Vanya did start swim team which I was excited about until I found out that it was going to be at 8am every morning and that the meets would be hot and muggy and last 6 hours! We now have to get up earlier than we do during the school year and honestly I wish I had not signed him up. He has begun to like it a little bit but the first 2 weeks it was a struggle for all of us and everyone is still tired all the time which produces more fussiness which there is no lack of to begin with. If all the boys were doing it then it wouldn't be bad but dragging the other 2 to a meet where their brother only actually swims for about 2 minutes is very difficult to sell. At least most of the places have a playground or something.

- Papa is starting to sell! Thank goodness for small favors. Things are more than extremely tight but I rely on God to provide and we haven't had to go live under a bridge yet so I can't complain.
- Mama and another adoptive mother have started the Ukrainian Resource Center as a way to help prospective adoptive couples go through the paperwork process to adopt children in Ukraine and we also will do summer and fall hosting programs to bring kids over to the states. In addition we will set up missions trip to expose people to the plight of the orphans in Ukraine and encourage people to get involved by adopting, sponsoring a child to come over, or going to Ukraine to make a difference in a child's life over there. As of right now there are 3 couples in Ukraine as I write this and 2 more couples on their way in a couple of months. Missions team will go to Zaporyzhzhia from Aug 20 - Sept 2 with about 14 people. Things are going pretty well so far. We have a website that is up but still needs a lot of work. http://www.ukrainianresourcecenter.com/ Keep praying!
- The boys are excited about getting go to Disney World with Babushka in August. Should be interesting given that they have never been on a roller coaster and still get overstimulated on the school bus ride. I know they will love it, but I hope all those around us will be able to love it too!
- Jessica Wyman is going to come visit next week which is a real treat. She is the English teacher at the orphanage in Ukraine that our missions teams go to and where Yuri came from. What a great treat to be able to spoil her like she spoils us when we are there.
- BIG NEWS - Our grandson, Cameron, was dedicated on Sunday and his father (our son in-law) has excepted Christ and is now a practicing Christian! What a joy it was to be able to be part of such a day. I got to hold the baby and feed him and love on him . The boys just LOVED being able to hold him as well. They all are very nurturing with Cameron which is so nice to see since they are not very nice to each other most of the time. It was nice to see Travis there as well although I didn't really get a chance to talk much with him with all the other festivities going on.

SO BUMMED because all the pictures I took of the dedication I inadvertently deleted in the process of trying to transfer them onto the computer. Agh!!
- We finally gave in and got the boys fishing poles so they could fish in the pond by our house. They all LOVE to fish and mama looks for every excuse not to take them because it is like watching paint dry to me. I do take them every once in a while and endure getting fishing line out of the trees and out of the bottom seaweed patches, etc etc. It is all worth it to see the smiles and sense of accomplishment they get from casting well or catching something.

OK that sums up all the things I can think about at the moment. Happy Summer to all!

Sleepy mama mama mama

Butterfly habitat

The boys have had a fantastic time with the butterfly habitat we got. They were so excited to be able to watch something grow. We ordered live caterpillars and they came in a cup in the mail. They had to just watch them inside the cup for 2 weeks as the caterpillars ate and then formed their chrystalis (cacoon). Once they formed the chrystalis we took them out and pinned them in the habitat we had for them. The looked every day to see how they were doing. After 2 more weeks the butterflies started coming out.



They just loved being able to see the whole process and they finally got a chance to get them out today and hold on their fingers for a littel while until the butterflies flew away. Each one got to have one of the butterflies sit on their hand or finger for quite some time. (Trusty butterflies!)

Now they want me to get the butterfly feeder so "their" butterflies will come back. It was a great process to watch and the boys really got a kick out of it. Best $20 we've spent in a long time!




Mama mama mama

Major News

Well the past couple of weeks have held some monumental events for our family. Not the least of which was my husbands announcement that his 10 year career at Verizon/Idearc/Supermedia was over and that he was taking a less stressful position with a remodeling business that offers no benefits. Less stressful for whom you might ask. I have every confidence that he will do a wonderful job but trying to find affordable health care/insurance etc. is pretty draining.

And then we became grandparents! On May 12 at 9:04pm Cameron Wyatt Sternberg made his entrance into the world at 7lbs even and 20.6 inches long. What a precious little guy and very calm. Best of all though, he is NOT a redhead!! Happy dance, happy dance. Crystal was in labor for 14 hours very comfortably and then after 5 sets of 10 seconds pushing, out he came. She really did a fantastic job and had no complications whatsoever. All the grandparents were present as well as one of Crystal's best friends. There was excitement and joy abounding and everyone got to hold Cameron and see those dark blue eyes just alert as ever and make all those funny sounds and ogle over him. What a miracle! I was thrilled to be a part of it. I couldn't help but think though that the delivery room/farmhouse/village square where my boys were born was not so joyful and they were probably not greeted in the same way as they entered the world. Their alert wide eyed looks weren't returned because no one was waiting to hold them or ogle over them. No one to come with smiles and kisses when they cried and no one sing or say a blessing over over them. OK I have to stop now before I start rambling. I'm so glad God's mercy's are new every morning and that He has blessed us with all these lives to be a part of.

So on top of that excitement, our oldest son, Travis, Graduated from Liberty University and was commissioned into the Army. We all went down for the commissioning which was a lovely ceremony. As a navy brat, I enjoy all that pomp and circumstance. Rob and I got to pin his shoulder boards on and I had to fight back the tears thinking I was preparing him for war. I know only God can do that and protect him too. I don't think I was only one though. Very proud moment for us and for him. He even presented me with a beautiful rose. It took a lot of hard work and he rose to the challenge. You go boy! The little boys enjoyed showing off their push ups to all the high ranking officers who were quite impressed with their form. (That's their punishment for misbehaving so as you can imagine they are quite good at them) While we were there we got to celebrate Mayra's birthday with her too. It was nice to have everyone together for a little while. We went out to Red Lobster for lunch and then headed back home with a feeling that time was just flying by.

The next morning was Victor's birthday! He is now 8! Woohoo. My sweet and kindhearted boy woke up with whooping cough like a barking seal. He loves to be tickled and wanted to be woken up that way on his birthday but as chance would have it the cough prevented that from happening. Poor guy. Typical middle kid. He opened his presents and had his favorite eggs with yolk. To the rest of us, that would be a fried egg that has a runny yellow middle. Since he turned 8 Papa got him his own pool cue as he had with Yuri when he was 8. He can now learn to play pool with papa. Patience was running a little thin however and Papa had to postpone the lessons for another day. Again, typical middle child's luck. It was then off to baseball games and then rushed home since Victors birthday wish was to go see his new nephew. So off to Northern Virginia we went to see Cameron. The boys really loved holding the baby but were quite a bit more excited by the dog and cat since they actually "did something". We had pizza as well as his cake and ice cream with Crystal, Max, and Cameron. Mayra came over to see the baby as well since she is now living in D.C. . It's very weird having little kids, grown kids, and now a grandchild. I wouldn't trade it for the world! By the time we got home everyone was sacked out and Victor was asleep before I could pray with him so I just had to pray over him instead. We usually take each child out to dinner by themselves for their birthday. Victor had to wait until the next day because we were at Crystals on his big day. We took him to Kyoto on Sunday evening since he loves sushi and wanted a repeat performance of last year sharing a love boat (sushi served in a bamboo boat with tempura, fruit, kabobs, sushi, sushimi, etc.) with mama and papa. I go for the cooked stuff but the guys ate everything and we all had a fun time and then went for ice cream at Maggie Moos ice cream place. Victor got the blue cotton candy ice cream and better batter ice cream in a sprinkle cone with marshmallows, gummy bears, and a cherry. Yep, I know what you are thinking (Sounds gross!) but the reluctant bite I had actually tasted pretty good. He never eats that many sweets so I was sure he wouldn't finish the whole thing so I felt better about letting him get all that. Sure enough he only ate about half and was ready to pitch it. I happily agreed that it was OK (just this time) to be a little wasteful and throw it away.
All in all a fun birthday for our smiley guy.
It has been quite a busy week with all these happy events but we are TIRED now. I know the boys haven't had a regular sleeping schedule lately either and it shows up in all the wrong places (school, church, baseball) so I look forward to more regular schedule soon. Soo ready for baseball to be over!

A whole tired but very blessed house of boys and mama mama mama

Mothers Day Blessings

What can I say? I'm extremely blessed to have 6 wonderful children, a great mom and a great mother in law. I missed my older kids today but was at least able to talk to 2 of the 3 of them. It seems like yesterday that they were as young as the ones we still have at home. Really makes you think about how you spend your time and what you spend your time doing. In the end all that really matters is what you did to glorify God. Taking care of his children is sometimes (well, a lot of the time) tiring, thankless work, but it will go so much further than anything money can buy or deeds can produce.

When you get butterfly kisses, and chocolate hands around your neck, and a half eaten candy bracelet and can truly say "Thank you, Lord" for what you have given me, then you get to get a small glimpse of heaven through the eyes or your child.

Well today I was treated to good morning kisses and a wonderful breakfast to include handmade cards and school projects from the little boys and a beautiful card from my husband as well as my new desk chair for the office. We went to church and then out to lunch at Plaza Azteca where they make the guacamole right at your table. No trouble finishing that off with some chips. Then it was home to relax and watch the movie "Tooth Fairy". Then I got to just relax, get my new phone activated and then enjoy a delicious dinner of shrimp and pasta alfredo made by my number one all time favorite chef, my husband.

I spent a little extra time with our 3 youngest ones today after their baths and retold their story of how Jesus had blessed us with them and that He knew when He created them that we would be their mama and papa to which they all responded with such honest hearts. Vanya said, "I thought you picked me because I was the cutest!" Veecha said,"I know mama. He told me that too." Yuri said,"I love you too mama. Can you scratch my back now." Out of the mouths of babes! Below are the videos they made me to remember this day. Priceless!

Thank you Lord for all my children!!!!!!
Mama Mama Mama

Spring Break with Babushka

Sunset at Babushka's

My wonderful mother, babushka

Yuri (9)

Victor 7 (Veecha)

Evan 6 (Vanya)

We all had a great time on Spring Break as we traveled down to Sarasota, Florida to visit my mom, the famous babushka. Mostly we spent time at the pool and on the beach which the boys just LOVE. We got glow in the dark eggs to hunt for and the Easter bunny did find his way to Florida with the boys baskets.

Of course Babushka spoiled them to death with their favorite things and they played with a multitude of stuff she keeps on her porch to play with (and take apart and distribute pieces and get in to). They made houses out of the empty cardboard boxes, got all the beach towels and beach toys dumped out of their bins for props, put on hats, did puzzles, got out all markers and crayons to draw with etc. etc. etc.. They were in gadget heaven!

On Easter Sunday we drove to Tampa to be with my cousins and had a wonderful time. We attended their church in the morning and then went back to their house and had a full spread of food including leg of lamb and spiral cut ham. Yummy yummy. The cool thing was seeing all my cousins kids and ours playing together. That's what it's all about. The boys are still amazed by how many family members we have. I'm sure we are technically 2nd or 3rd or removed type cousins but it is all just the same. We are all just cousins. My grandmother was the youngest of 8 children and all of their grandchildren (me being one) now have their own children who are actually getting to spend some time together at holidays and such. I remember how fun that was in the summers growing up visiting family and I'm glad our boys have that too. Our older kids didn't get the benefit of having cousins their age so I'm glad these guys do. There was a pool in the backyard where most of the kids spent their time. Everyone got along great and we didn't even have to correct our kids for ANYTHING! It was a miraculous day. Thank you Jesus for the celebration of your resurrection. Leaving to go home, well that was another story. Tired and having a full day of excitement and food finally took it's toll and 3 little boys whined and cried as we got them into the car and buckled in. Once the movie came on however it only took about 5 minutes and they were out like a light, not to emerge or peep until we arrived back at babushkas where they went upstairs quietly and went right to sleep.
We also made our ritualistic journey to the aquarium to pet the sting rays and we also made a trip to Venice beach (about 20 minutes south) to hunt for sharks teeth. We found only about 10 but they were excited about it. My entrepreneur, Yuri, after seeing that there was a man selling sharks tooth necklaces asked if we could get some materials to make necklaces out of the ones we found so that he could come back and sell his too! He cracks me up. I'm glad he didn't see the seashell jewelry being sold near babushkas. She may have been out some seashells and he would have set up his own little sea shack on the beach! Rob took Yuri and Victor to a baseball game at Tropicana field to see the Devil Rays play the Orioles. Vanya opted to stay home with mama and babushka since spending 3 hours sitting down watching baseball starting at 7:30pm was not an attractive offer in his mind. They didn't get home until about midnight but had a good time. Yuri got into seeing the "real" baseball players and learning a bit about the game but for Victor it was all about the cotton candy and stadium noise. Vanya swam, colored eggs, hunted lizards, blew bubbles, and really enjoyed his alone time with mama and babushka. We let him stay up late too so he felt like he got a treat as well. papa brought home a cow bell for him that they distributed to the boys got at the game so he was a happy camper and was able to be happy hearing about the game from his brothers. Of course the debate about who had more fun went on for some time but it was nice that everyone enjoyed their time. There was also seashell finding, kite flying, sandcastle making, paddle ball, and grilling by the poolside so lots of fun was had by all!

Since we traveled fairly light it wasn't hard to pack up and we then made the long journey back home stopping over night and at the South of the Border area for a potty break, stretching of the legs and souvenir purchase. The boys were wonderful at helping to unpack and get things back in order so we went for ice cream afterwards.
Fun times!



A very blessed mama mama mama