Finally!

yes, finally, a Christmas that we're a complete family!
If you're saying "Huh?", I'll explain.

(These days I don't get nearly as much time to blog as I'd like so this is gonna have to be a two-parter...consider this, Part 1:

In the fall of 2003 we made our first trip to meet Skip and were told he'd most likely be home for Christmas. Not. Thus, our family was very much incomplete that Christmas. Then in the fall of 2004 we learned about Harry, and that Christmas, plus every one after that, we continued to wait for HIM. We did spend a few Christmases with him in Russia, but those years we were separated from the rest of our family! This year we were finally a complete family! No more waiting - no more holes our hearts.
And so, we declined all invitations to spend the holiday with friends and extended family, and opted to simply stay home.

Our grandchildren Mandie, Drew & Lauren, and their mom Heidi, visited for most of the afternoon/early evening, kicking off the festivities here at our house. The snow provided hours of outdoor play, and gave the adults a little time to just sit and relax. Grammie arrived mid-afternoon and was thrilled to have 5 of her grandchildren together in one place! The kids (who refer to each other as cousins) don't get to be together often, but when they do, there's never a dull moment. Five very high energy kids. 'nuff said!

Harry was already showing signs of sensory overload (behaviors we had not seen since our first 2-3 months home) so keeping the remainder of the holiday low key was indeed a brilliant choice! Once Heidi and kids left for their other grandparents house we sat down for dinner - the now famous Tater-tot casserole. Skip gave the most awesome blessing before we ate which went something like this:

"Dear God, thank you for day and thank you for this food. Thank you for my family being together this year and for pastor and my church and especially for sending your only son to be born which is why we celebrate Christmas. And thank you for giving us all a chance to be saved and live with you in Heaven."

Pretty deep stuff for a not-yet-seven-year-old, and confirmation that he truly does get it!

Dinner was followed. Television was banned for 48 hours, so it was a good opportunity to read and play board games. We also exchanged gifts among ourselves, opened the gifts that their Uncle Marty & Aunt Karen sent, and had them open their gifts from Russia (see pic below for explanation). and finally, gave the boys our gifts - a few small things & a long awaited Hot Wheels Race Track. Uncle Steve (their Uncle - my brother) stopped by for awhile, and once he left, it was time to get the boys ready for bed. Mike read from Matthew before they went off to sleep, and even though we they were really tired, the anticipation kept them awake til almost 10, which is late for them. Finally they were both asleep and we were able to fill their stockings and place their gifts under the tree before heading off to bed ourselves.

Unfortunately Harry was SO excited, and moving SO quickly, it's blurred, but I think his expression says it all...

Grammie & the elf hat that makes the round this Christmas

The guys give the track a test drive...

Really excited about the track...

Harry is diggin' Skip's Space Station!

And Skip is love Harry's Submarine. The joy of having a brother so close in age - you enjoy your toys - and his!

Thank you Steve for the breakfast basket!

Opening gifts that arrived from Illinois earlier in the day from Uncle Marty & Aunt Karen. Awesome choices!

Boys exploring their customary Russian Gifts - from the collection we amassed during all our trips. Enough so they can get at least one gift from Russia each birthday & Christmas - til they are adults!

Ya think we like candy canes?? We're watching Grammie look at her calendar from the boys...an annual event!

Grammie reads to the boys - a Russian Christmas story...

My crazy little elf!

Skip on the loft beds in their room. The cool thing about this picture is that Drew took it...the scary part is the boys took my good camera to do it!

Skip, Drew, Mandie, Harry & Lauren taking advantage of the snow out back!

Me (Mimi) with Lauren & Sabaka...

Skip & Uncle Steve

All I want for Christmas...

is my two front teeth... THAT is what we'd been singing to Skip since he lost his second tooth just days before Christmas - without even knowing he had lost it! We had been outside playing all afternoon in the snow piles that the plow nicely created at our Church's parking lot, and as usual, Skip had been eating snow the entire time. When he came indoors to warm up we noticed his tooth was gone! We figure his mouth had been numbed by the constant flow of snow, and thus he never felt it coming out! Thankfully the tooth fairy was understanding and left him something anyway!

With two missing teeth resulting in money for Skip, Harry has been wigglin' his own teeth ever since...What the heck, keeps his quiet!

The Greatest Gift of All is Jesus

(I found the following message at VineyarDesgins, and really wanted to share the message with y'all on this Christmas Eve)

Is there such a thing as “the perfect gift”? At Christmastime, shoppers go in search of it. Everyone wants his or her gift to be just what that receiver has always wanted. The things that people really want to make their lives better, can’t be bought from a store. I’m talking about good health, peace of mind, financial security, and long life to name a few.

There is a gift that can provide the missing elements of our lives. Best of all, anyone who knows where to find it can tell you where to get it—free of charge. It sounds too good to be true, but this is one gift that delivers what it promises.

God presented this perfect gift to the world over 2,000 years ago. His son, Jesus, was born in a stable in Bethlehem to a humble carpenter and his betrothed, a virgin named Mary. There was no get-together to celebrate the blessed event, only a star casting down its light from the night sky.
During the Christmas holiday, those who are Christians celebrate Jesus’ birth as the beginning of something wonderful. Without his birth, there could not have been a victorious death at Calvary and eternal salvation for every believer. Jesus’ life upon this earth was short, but he left behind a lifetime of teaching.

God’s love became real through Jesus Christ. Those who longed to know that God cared about them had at last found comfort. I grew up in the church thanks to my grandmother, but it wasn’t until I became an adult that I accepted Jesus’ message and received God’s gift of salvation. Now, I have a friend who will never disappoint me and a Father who answers when I call.

Remember the things I mentioned earlier: good health, peace of mind, financial freedom, and long life? God provides for them all through his Son. I can sleep better at night knowing that He is taking care of me. I also trust my beautiful family to Him, too. Whenever I hear my children pray or see my husband delivering the sermon at church on Sunday, I am grateful for Jesus Christ in our lives.

Would you like to know where to find God’s greatest gift? He’s as close as your knees are to the floor. Tell him that you want him to become a part of your life. Ask him to forgive your sins and make your heart and mind whole again. The greatest gift of all is now yours.

Christmas Blessings...

Two feet of snow may have limited the number of people in attendance, but it didn't diminish the effort the children put forth on Sunday during both the Christmas Program & Children's Choir performance at Calvary Bible Church. Harry & Skip attended weekly practices for about 6 weeks, and almost every day at home, rehearsed the songs the two songs they would be singing: Joy to the World & Away in a Manger. They (and all the kids) did an awesome job! Harry made his performing debut as Joseph (or Joe-fuss as he pronounces it) and Skip portrayed a Shepherd (a tired one as you'll see below). When we think back to just a year ago when Harry was still in Russia, and we were waiting to return for our third (and subsequently 4th & 5th ) court hearing - it almost seems too good to be true!



Poor Skip had slept during Church Services, and had to be woken up for the Choir performance. Can ya tell?

Blizzard!

Once again the weathermen were wrong when they predicted we'd get 6 - 8 inches of snow from the massive storm that was making it's way up the coast, but this time we're happy they were wrong. Why? Because instead of half a foot we got TWO FEET! For us that meant a day of shoveling, for the kids, a day of sledding, and for the dog, well, a day of inconvenience...

It's rare we get to have a white Christmas, but something tells me this year it's gonna happen!

Gingerbread houses...Part 2

Well after 'setting' for 24 hours we got down to the fun part of making gingerbread houses - the decorating. I gotta say it was a lot of fun. Because we were doing mini houses it went quick, and everybody got to decorate theirs any way they wanted. Needless to say there is little artistic talent in the family - but we did have fun and lots of laughs! And since you are all just dying to see the finished product (yeah, yeah - you know you are)... I won't keep you in suspense any longer:

The next day the boys ate about 1/3 of their houses and they've been sitting on the counter ever since....I guess the fun was in the making - not the eating!