2/29/2012

(nearly) Wordless Wednesday


barbed...
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2/28/2012

The path of the Petersons part 3

So did you guess where we were yesterday? Those pics were taken at Garden of the GoD (not Gods, like some believe) in Colorado Springs. On our way home from the ranch in New Mexico we took the long way around to explore the Rockies and visit with some friends in the area.

Wanna play again? Here's an easier one from our adventures. I'll give you a hint, it's not in the Rocky Mountains...


2/27/2012

The path of the Petersons part 2

 Lets play a little game called guess where we've been...


I'll give you a hint, Max's first response after his typical "look ah tat!" (look at that) was "whoa, big rock..."


No fair cheating now... 

2/22/2012

The path of the Petersons...

So you may have figured it out by the crude mobile posts I've written the last few days, but we're in New Mexico. Jory's father passed away last week and we're here at his parents ranch tending to business. Max is loving it, the rest of the Peterson clan is loving it. We're surrounded by aunts, uncles and cousins galore, all of which are loving on Max like no one's business.

Max took about 12 hours to acclimate to life on the farm and now he's a full fledged cowboy, riding the horses and roping cattle (or at least following them around in a feed pick up). He's finding all sorts of important ranch projects to tend to. There are mountains of tires that need to be climbed on, rogue nails that need to be pounded in, cats that need to be chased, that sort of thing.

2/21/2012

Max meets the Petersons

I always thought that my new son had the woodsy, boyscout-ish temperament of my father.  That was before I saw him interact with his Peterson Kin.
This boy is all Peterson.
He's got the same rough and tumble spirit as his cousins, and the love for animals that his uncles and aunts have. Yes, he's got enough spit and grit to pass the test and become a full fledged, card carrying member of the Peterson clan.

And you know what? I think they're glad to have him.

2/20/2012

Road Tripper

We hadn't really planed on bringing Max out to the Peterson ranch in New Mexico until next summer. But there was a death in the family, and you don't really get to pick these things.
So we came.
22 hours in the car.
With a kid who doesn't really understand what's happening.
And you know what? He was awesome.
He needed to be reassured of where we were going several times during the drive, and that we weren't planning on leaving him at this new location. But for the most part he was a happy little camper tucked into the back seat with his brother, making origami yodas and listening to books on cd.

2/17/2012

Winter color palette challenge

It's February and we're a little tired of being less than inspired by the dismal winter color palette outside our windows. But my children need to recognize that every day is a gift, and each day has it's own unique beauty. If you're willing to look for it.
So with that in mind, I set out to create a winter color palette to inspire and challenge my crew to create. I selected these 5 colors based on what I saw outside my window and challenged them to do something with them.

Here's the palette they started with:


And here's the finished product:


 Louisa age 8
 

Annie age 8


Alex age 9 

Need help picking your own color palette? I found some great ones at Studio Press and Color Hunter. Check it out!


2/16/2012

Currently...

we are:
waiting: to be buried up to our elbows in white powdery snow. Some of us have our doubts for this winter, others are saying it ain't over till it's over.

hearing: the final stages of our transition from Russian to English. Little Max likes to tell us that he speaks English, not Russian. But funny enough he says these words in Russian

seeing: embracing the winter color pallete outside our windows. This year it is filled with earthy browns, greys and greens, and while we wish it was filled with white, silver and blue, we're finding there's still beauty in brown.

tasting: pelmeni by the boat load. If that's what you can call the crazy concoctions Jory dreams up. Maybe experiments in the shape of pelmeni would be a better definition of what we are eating.

dreaming: now that our debt is paid off, we can't help but daydream about handing fat checks to people who need a financial miracle of their own.

2/14/2012

Time to make time...

They say you should make time for the things you love. 

 
Well, this is what I make time for. 


4 lovelies and a monkey. 


That are not always that lovely. 


Happy Valentines day!

2/13/2012

A little crafy love for Valentines Day

This year's plan for Valentines day - make something with hearts. Sorry I can't be more specific, I have yet to narrow down my creative options. Here are some that I"m considering:

Melted crayon wax sun catchers: take an old cheese grater and grate up some pink or red crayons (or if you have boys, smash them with a rock like we've been known to do). Place shavings between 2 layers of wax paper, and melt with an iron. When cool, cut into the shape of a heart and hang in the window.

Paint chip mosaic: pick up pink and red paint chips from your local home depot. Cut into squares and use as mosaic tiles on a construction paper heart. Even better? Use a heart shaped craft punch to make your tiles.

Garland: Who doesn't love a festive garland? From colorful paper hearts to felt squares to pink and red beads, the options are only limited by your imagination. I don't know about your kids, but even my bigger kids love to string things.

Beaded hearts: depending on skill level this can be done with craft wire or pipe cleaners. After the child fills his pre-cut section of wire with beads bend it into the shape of a heart, twist the ends of the wire together and hang from light fixture or the ceiling in a cluster.

Heart puffs: for little ones - 2 paper hearts hearts staple about 80% of the way around it, leaving an opening to stuff with tissues or paper towels and staple shut. For older kids use 2 felt hearts and a needle with thread, again leaving a hole for stuffing. Consider either paper towels or batting as stuffing. We've been known to use fabric scraps.

Doily pouches: Take 2 heart shaped doilies and stitch/staple/glue them together depending on whatever sounds like more fun... leave an opening large enough for red and pink treats to sneak into and clip shut. This would also work super well with craft paper or vellum.

These ladies have even more Valentine cuteness to drool over:
Shabby chic crafts
Tip Junkie
and Skip to My Lou has some tasty Valentine treats to share...


2/10/2012

Books for girls

The boys have had their fun, now it's time to talk about some literary goodness for girls. My daughters and I have enjoyed a pretty wide spectrum of books that are just too good not to pass on.

Mercy Watson (ages 6+) Mercy Watson is a humorous pig that gets herself into all sorts of amusing situations. This 4 book series is perfect for those who are ready to start chapter books.

Ramona Quimby (ages 7+) It's just hard to be a little girl. From annoying older sisters to tight situations at school, Ramona handles it all with grace and spunk.

American Girls (ages 7+) there are multiple series about multiple girls, the little girl literary goodness goes on and on with these books. They are a fantastic way to get young girls hooked on historical fiction, and keep their attention for a very long time.

The Chocolate Touch (ages 7+) John Midas loves his chocolate, perhaps a little too much. His chocolate obsession gets him into trouble when he gains the ability to turn everything he eats to chocolate.

The Littles (ages 7+) There's just something entertaining about little people living in a big world. This series chronicles the lives of a family of tiny people living in a full sized world. More wholesome adventure for the whole family

Other books for girls that we've enjoyed:
Adventures In Odyssey - The Imagination Station series (ages 6+)

2/09/2012

Books for boys

My boys go through such a great volume of books that at times its hard to keep up. I'm constantly searching for the next book that'll hook them. Here are a few gems we've personally read that we'd like to recommend for the 7-9 year old crowd:

The Jigsaw Jones Series (ages 7+) Jigsaw and his partner in crime, Mila, solve a series of mysteries both in school and out. This series is great for those starting out on chapter books.

Andrew Lost (ages 7+) Another great series for those starting out in chapter books, these books share the adventures of Andrew, his cousin Judy and their robot as they try to survive being shrunk to microscopic level by the Atom Sucker.

Hank the Cowdog (ages 7+) Ok I find this series on the obnoxious side, but my kids think they're hilarious. Hank is a scruffy, smart-alecky supersleuth of a dog who's head of ranch security. Although clearly not the brightest bulb in the box, Hank and his side kick Drover manage to chase out unwanted visitors and keep things running smoothly on their west Texas ranch.


Box Car Children (ages 7+) A timeless series, this collection of books chronicals the adventures of 4 siblings who solve mysteries. The characters are very heartwarming and wholesome.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (ages 8+) This is the first of a two part series about a 6th grade boy named Dwight who expresses himself through a humorous little paper finger puppet. Though comical, the heart of this book explores the changing social dynamics of early tween years.

Dagger Quick (ages 9+) pirates, murder and swashbuckling adventure, what could be better? Club footed Kitto sets out on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover hidden truths about his family and avenge his father's death.

Other books for boys we've read:
howlsage (ages 9+)
Percy Jackson (ages 9+)

2/08/2012

(nearly) wordless wednesday

State Historical Museum, Red Square
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2/07/2012

The winter that wasn't

Take a boy fresh from the arctic circle
who measures his snowfall in feet, not inches
give him a sled for Christmas
and wait for the snow to come. 
Then wait some more.
Now you have a pretty good idea of what our winter has been.


Sledding with Max during the 12 hour span where we actually had enough snow to sled in. 


Ohio winters, you suck.
Love, Max



2/06/2012

Orphan moments


Parenting a former orphan has taught me much about my faith over the last few months. One of the most valuable insights I've gleaned is a little concept I like to call "orphan moments".

When I speak of an orphan moment I refer to those moments when life with Max is smooth sailing until for some reason, his little world implodes, and things get ugly.  He's a happy, productive member of a family who feels loved and accepted and then all of a sudden he isn't. Sometimes there's a visible trigger that makes him feel like an orphan and sometimes there isn't.

I can totally relate.

You'd think because I grew up in a healthy well-adjusted family that I wouldn't have orphan moments. That I wouldn't be able to relate to his wounded, raw emotions that make him feel unloved and unwanted. But I totally can. We all have emotional baggage that Satan likes to throw at us to make us feel wounded, rejected, and lonely. It's easy for me to forget that I'm a part of a loving family in Christ. That I was adopted into a heavenly family that will never reject me.


Sometimes I have ugly orphan moments too. I think we all do.

2/03/2012

Story time - Peterson Style

One of our favorite gifts to give Grandma at Christmas time is a story that was written and illustrated by the entire family. Now that we've actually finished last years story and given it away, we'd like to share it with you. For instructions on how we made our little book check out last year's book.

The Peterson Family’s North Pole Adventure
Once upon a time there lived a family. There was Mommy, Daddy, Annie, Louisa, Maxim and Alex. They decided to take a vacation to the North Pole (brr!) so they started marching north.Pretty soon they came to a forest. None of them knew how large it was or how long it would take to get through it. They decided there might be something creepy in the forest (like a giant teddy bear or a huge beanie baby spider). So they decided to go around the forest. On their way around it, they discovered an ancient castle. Louisa thought they should walk across the frozen moat to get in. But Annie thought (since they had brought bows and arrows) that they should shoot the ropes holding the drawbridge closed, and then it would open by itself.But Alex thought that would make too much noise when it crashed down. He liked Louisa's idea of walking over the moat, but how would they get over the wall?
Dad thought they should break the wall down. Mom wanted to scale it. Max just wanted to do the "pokey pokey" (aka the hokey pokey). Alex suggested that they should blast the wall with dynamite (I think he's been watching too many episodes of Mythbusters). Just then they heard a strange noise, and they watched as the drawbridge began to lower itself, and out rolled Santa Car and Mrs. Santa Car! The cars gave the family directions on how to get to the North Pole, it turns out the family was headed in the wrong direction. Alex thought they were going north when they were really headed west. Silly Alex. So they turned and headed north, and soon they reached the Christmas Tree forest where they met Rudolph. They must be headed in the right direction now! Max wanted to take a ride on Rudolph, so those two went for a ride. When Max and Rudolph landed, they were at a big Russian castle, so they went inside. Santa Clause (the real Santa this time) was there with the rest of the Peterson family, and they were drinking hot chocolate. Fortunately there was enough hot chocolate for Max and Rudolph to have some too. Santa had a gift for everyone and then they all went home.

The End
(don't look at me, I just typed it)

2/02/2012

A taste of home...

One of my favorite thing about our time in Russia is eating pelmeni, a simple dish, easy to cook and loved by children. We like to think of it as the social equivalent as Kraft mac 'n' cheese. Our friends in St. Petersburg introduced us to it, and ever since then we've been dreaming about it. But alas, the super easy to fix premade kind is not really available here in the states. Of course.
For Christmas I received a pelmeni maker, but hadn't gotten around to using it until recently. I"m not much of a cook, and making meat filled dumplings from scratch just sounded way labor intensive. But I ended up with a free Saturday I decided to give it a chance. I'm not going to lie. It was labor intensive. It's the sort of thing you take an entire day to make several batches and freeze them for another day.
But we found this video which shows how to make it using the traditional method, in addition to using the same type of maker I have


You can find the recipe here.

I can't say the other children were terribly impressed, but Max and I both gobbled it up. The recipe was spot on, they tasted just like the ones I had in Russia.
The Pelmeni maker was easy to use, and rather fun to play with once we got the hang of the dough thickness.
So yes, having something that Max recognized for lunch was a joy, as was sharing one of his favorite meals with the rest of my family. Even if they weren't all that impressed.

Jory and I are already thinking of ways to make our own versions with cheese and perhaps some tex-mex flavored meat.

2/01/2012

(nearly) wordless wednesday

One of several Russian Castles, Moscow
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