Derailed

It's simple to say that our lives have been slightly derailed this fall. We knew coming into the adoption process that it would be a big headache. Just when we think that we've achieved a full understanding of how hard this will be, it gets a little harder. And a little more expensive. Jory and I have both been working long hours just to keep it all together. We received the gut wrenching news this week that Max's good friend Dasha (who we all loved tremendously) is not going to be adopted by friends of ours. That was almost enough to make us call it quits. We had a family meeting to figure out whether this kid was really worth the headache and heartache. It was Alex's tearful plea that assured us that Max is certainly worth our time and energy. He needs us, and we need him. End of discussion. So we continue on, in this season where the money is going out much faster than it is coming in, and things break for no good reason.

During this season where everything is much harder than it used to be, one would think that our trials would have a negative affect on our marriage and family life. Nope. The children continue to be a bright spot in our lives, singing sweetly along to their Bible songs and bringing in fistfuls of wildflowers in from our yard (that no one has time to mow). So I might not have exciting tales to spin of far off adventures, and dramatic athletic victories, but that's ok. The five of us are clinging to each other and to the hope of what we've been promised with all we've got. And it is so good.

Something

Jory and I have been tossing around all these great ideas related to adoption for blog posts the last few weeks. Topics such as "fun with forms" and "our psych evaluation a.k.a paying someone a lot of money to tell us we're crazy" have been thrown out, followed by "what not to say to your children when talking to the adoption agency on the phone". But I just glanced at our blog and realized we haven't written anything for nearly 3 weeks. So instead of a funny clever post, you're getting this one. But it's something. So don't complain.
The seasons are changing here in our community. As the seasons change we're thinking of new things to introduce our Max to. Raking leaves will probably be a hit, as will apple crisp. Carving pumpkins? Maybe. Recently we were told to stop emailing his orphanage. Some political move to ensure the Ministry of Education is not annoyed with FORO. But we do have a snail mail address for him. We've been warned that whatever we send him in the mail will pass through many hands before it gets him. So basically we can send him notes (that he can't read because he's illiterate) and photos, but nothing useful (cothes, toys etc) because it'll never get to him. So for now we're collecting drawings from the kids and photos to mail him. Which sounds so lame to us Americans, but to a little boy who's never recieved anything in the mail before it sounds like a treasure. When we go to Russia we will be able to take him gifts. So we're collecting all sorts of things to take over. Who needs to pack a suitcase full of clothes when you can pack hundreds of crayons, markers, silly bands etc. etc.
As for the adoption process... well at least we have a sense of humor right? At this point it's a lot of silly questions, pointless classes, and things to pay for. Oh, the things to pay for. Sigh. Our fundraising is going quite well though. We've been so blessed this fall. I have a calendar full of photoshoots for the end of Sept. and all of Oct. Slowly but surely the money we need is coming.

Encouragement

Yesterday marked a month since little Max went back to Russia. We still miss him like crazy. His laughter, calling Jory "bop", and the fun little moments that he and Alex shared still weigh heavy on our minds. We try not to dwell on the ins and outs of his day over in Russia, but I can't help calculating to see what time it is in his neighborhood to figure out what he's up to.
We recently had the joy of getting together with a group of friends who are also in the adoptive process. It was good to hear the horror stories of those farther along in the process so that we know what we're up against. I'm sure that northern Russia is a lovely place, but frankly I'm not looking forward to our 2 visits. One family had already completed the process and has their son home with them. It was good to hear their stories about how their 4 biological children are adjusting to having an 8 year old brother, and how their Max is adjusting to having siblings. Wynelle, the mom, talked about how he was mourning for his friends back in Russia, and how guilty he must feel that he's here and they aren't.
We also discussed the reaction the other families got when they announced they were adopting older children from Russia. Most people were told they were crazy (an understandable reaction). Which is so funny, because we've had the opposite reaction. Everyone we've talked to has been so encouraging. Granted we do have an adoptive friendly social network, several of our friends have adopted, and several more are in the process. We expected their support, but it goes farther than that. Our friends are soliciting their friends on our behalf, and those people are sending us money. People we don't really know are coming through for us. Almost daily it seems that we're getting encouraging notes and donations. And we're only 3 weeks in.
We know that the next year is going to be one battle after another, trying to fight for what is ours. But we know we're not going it alone. We feel that the body of Christ is rising up around us on our behalf. And it's a good place to be.

Fingerprints for a Criminal Background Check

by Jory

Today we went down to the police station to get our fingerprints taken for a criminal background check, as one of the requirements for our adoption paperwork. When I told my father-in-law that they were going to take our fingerprints, he asked if they were going to give them back. I replied, "No, they're probably going to keep them to give to somebody in the witness protection program."

Anyway, it was pretty cool. It was all electronic ... they used a scanner/digital camera type thingy ... we just put our hands on the glass, and pressed real hard, and it read our fingerprints and saved them as some electronic file. It was pretty advanced too. If it got a good reading, it put a green border around the picture on the computer screen. All ten of my digits came out good the first time. But Elissa wasn't so lucky ... she had to try two or three times to get it right. I asked her if she had some dark, secret, criminal past that she forgot to mention.

But eventually she got a good reading. The prints were then sent to the FBI and the BCI, and one of the checks had been completed before we even left the building ... sometimes technology is pretty cool (when it works right!) So that was fairly painless ... the next big thing will be a Psychological Evaluation, scheduled for sometime in mid-September with some kind of certified psychotherepist / specialist ... I hope I'll be able to pass that one!

2 weeks out

It's been 2 weeks since we sent our future son back to Russia. Life is sort of back to normal around here, but this little boy has definitely made an impact on our lives. My daughters continue to yell at each other in Russian. Jory still speaks with a horrible Russian accent (sorry babe, it's bad.) Alex is teaching his little friends common Russian phrases, and me? Well I've had to stop myself from setting a sixth spot at the table more times than I'd like to count.

I wonder what life is like for little Max back in Russia. I noticed the expected high temperature for Severodvinsk today is 53 degrees. In another month they will have ice. I wonder if he has pulled out the hand-me-down Harley Davidson sweatshirt we sent back with him. The orange polar fleece hoodie that was Alex's favorite a few years back. His eyes lit up when I offered to pack it for him. I wonder if it still smells like our house. I heard this morning that his little friend Igor (who also came over last month as an exchange student) cries every night for his family to come and get him. I didn't need to know that.

When he came, they gave us a schedule of what his typical day was like back in Russia. So at any given point in the day I can figure out what he's probably doing. Right now it looks like he's probably finished with dinner - I can only guess what he might have had. Something like fish meal and watery turnip soup. What I wouldn't give to pass him some ketchup for his fish, and some goldfish crackers for his soup. Throw in some apple pie and call it a meal.

I wonder if he still sings the songs he learned at Vacation Bible School. I wonder if he and the other kids that came over use American words in conversation just to annoy the other children who don't know what they mean. I wonder what the orphanage kids think of the silly bandz we sent back. I wonder if he cries at night like Igor.

Fundraising

This whole notion of fundraising has sort of taken over my life. A few weeks ago the concept of actually raising $35,000 was flat out impossible. As a family we plotted and schemed all the ways we could make it work. I could go back to teaching, Jory could get a second job, we could put the kids on a busy intersection and make them dance... All of our ideas seemed "iffy" at best. We kept coming back to the photography fundraiser I did to raise money for the Max and the other Journeys of Joy kids to come. It worked once, it can work again, right? So although it seemed like an unlikely solution, I put all my efforts back into a photography project. This one is called "Bring Max Home" and although it started out small like the other one did, this one has sort of taken on a life of it's own. A woman here in town (a total stranger, really) heard about my story and passed it on to the local media. Our story was picked up by a local news affiliate, and will air this Friday. During our interview, the reporter mentioned that our time slot has a viewing audience of 30,000. All of a sudden that impossible goal doesn't sound that impossible anymore.
A friend of mine who lives in California was curious about my fundraising efforts and how I got to where I am... I'm a self taught photographer who likes working as low budget as possible. I shoot everything on location (not in a studio) so I never use expensive studio lights or backgrounds. I've never taken a photography class, everything I know I learned from following photographers blogs, and by reading whatever I could find at the library. I shoot with a cannon digital rebel xt. Not the highest quality camera on the market, but if you know how it works, it can be a great tool.
As far as getting myself from "a busy mom with a camera" to "a photographer who raises money for a living" I'm not sure how that happened. I can tell you that I let my faith in Jesus Christ guide my thoughts and actions, and one day I felt that God wanted me to pick up my camera and put it to use for His kingdom. So even though I thought it was a dumb idea, I did what He asked. So my biggest advice is this: Find out what God wants you to do and do it. Even if it sounds dumb. Make yourself available, and get out of the way. God works best when you don't try to interfere. I have to remind myself daily that this is not my project and as long as I "follow directions" I can't screw it up.
So this is what it's all about. A cute little boy who lives near the arctic circle...

going forward

Little Max has gone back to Russia, he left a week ago today. As I was preparing to have him here, I had two main goals: 1) Introduce him to all sorts of "new" concepts - such as bath tub toys, and watch him learn about "normal" American culture, 2) introduce him to all my wealthy American friends and find the right family to adopt him. I was not prepared for lessons on the universal concepts of love, relationships, and little boy humor. I was not prepared for how difficult it was to send him back to Russia. I honestly felt like I was condemning one of my own children to life in a dirty frozen jail cell.
So in the beginning, I was convinced that there was no way I had the time/energy/money/stamina to deal with a 4th child. I had every excuse in the book. Before he left, I was convicted about how selfish all my excuses were. Yes, my house is small, but it's way better than an orphanage 100 miles from the arctic circle. No, I don't have a lot of money but I do have a lot of love, and that's all he really wants anyway. I already have 2 six year old children, I don't really need a third - why not? he has built in playmates... The truth is this little guy is perfect for our family, he already has a lot of our interests and personality quirks built in. In the end, I realized I didn't want another family to adopt him. So crazy or not, we're going forward.
Adopting from Russia is a long, expensive, headache. We know several families who are already in the process (and a few more who are just starting the process like we are). We thought that going through the process with friends would make the ordeal slightly more enjoyable. Plus we're all adopting from the same orphanage, so our kids will all know each other. Instant community.
The down side of our decision is that we need $35,000 to complete the adoption- which we don't have. But we have several ideas about how to raise money, and we have several friends that are in the same boat, so we can collaborate on our fundraising efforts. So the next year will be full of fundraising and anticipating the return of our son, Max.

Lessons learned from a Russian orphan

I've been keeping a running list of notes on life with a Russian orphan on facebook, so for you nonfacebookers, here are some of the highlights.

* Yesterday I stopped to get gas, and of course he had to help me. Who would have thought that a task that mundane could bring so much amusement? Don't get me started on the window cleaner. One of these days we'll take a spin through the car wash...
* At the lake Alex got stung by a bee. Maxim came over to check on him twice, while the girls didn't give a hoot about their brother. Which one of these kids was abandoned and neglected again?
* I'm starting to regret showing him how the microwave works. After realizing that microwaved salad isn't that yummy, I thought he'd get the idea that it's not for everything. But this morning I intercepted him before he microwaved his dry cereal.
* this kid comes in two states: soaked or trying to figure out how to get soaked.
* I have to wonder what the orphanage directors back in Russia are going to think of us crazy Americans filling this kid's head with crazy ideas.
* who's idea was it to teach him how to use the cd player? And no, unplugging it doesn't help.
* whatever you do, don't turn your back on a curious little boy (who doesn't speak English) and a hot motorcycle that was just ridden. Ouch.
* When you take a little boy who has probably never been in water deeper than his ankles to the pool for the first time, don't throw him in 3 feet of water. Even if he has a life jacket on, and is motioning to be thrown in... don't do it.
* How do you teach a little guy who's clearly malnourished about portion control?
* Igor called me a "babushka" how do you say "faux pas" in Russian.
* Russian is a beautiful language especially when spoken by a cute 6 year old.
* Farting is funny in any language. Especially when you are 6.
* cookies are a universal motivator.
* Little boys are little boys, wether they were born in America or in Russia. Also, little boys speak a universal language. No translators necessary.
* Under his pillow he hides all his "treasures". A pretty marble, a nightlight, s few legos and a flashlight. No food yet. It breaks my heart to think about why he needs to horde things.

Maxim

Meet my newest son, Maxim. He's only temporary, as he'll be going back to Russia at the beginning of August. But I thought he was worthy of his own post. If your not already familiar with him, he's a 6 year old orphan who is as sweet as can be. He came over as a foreign exchange student through a charity our church supports. He's into machines and figuring out how they work, he's usually soaked, and besides being about 6 inches smaller than a normal kid his age, there is nothing wrong with him. He's generous, thoughtful and kind. His orphanage director told us he spent his first 4 years in a cabin out in the woods with his father, who was an alcoholic and didn't care for him. The fact that he's been out in the woods is evident as he knew how to pick and eat raspberries, and he made himself a fishing pole and was "fishing" over the side of our deck. He's one great kid, and we hope that someone we know will fall in love with him and make plans to adopt him.

8 years old

Today is a very speial day indeed. My little buddy Alex is 8 years old. On one hand I think, "has it really been 8 years already?" but on the other it's "has he only been with us for 8 years?" He's such a fabulous little guy I thought I'd take a moment to record what it's really like being his mom. He's clever, creative, thoughtful and generous. He loves to build, read and create. He's a gentle soul who is quick to put the needs of others before his own. He's more nerdy than athletic. He's good with little kids. He likes his legos, GI Joes, and vehicles. He's never met an art supply he didn't like. He makes friends quickly, and will talk your ear off if you let him. In short, he's a fabulous mixture of the best qualities of both Jory and me, and we love having him around.

So it goes without saying that we're in the middle of birthday week around here. I'm not sure when celebrating a birthday turned into a week long ordeal, but it's fabulous so we're going with it. On Tuesday we had a birthday dinner #1 at the chinese restaurant with my parents, my brother, and our dear friend Sandy. Yesterday we went to the Air Force Museum in Dayton. Our friends from Columbus, the Alexander's, met us there to celebrate the joint birthday of Alex and Hope. Even though we were just there in April, it was very very fun. (Yes, there are pictures, but they're all still on the camera). Today is the actual birthday of my boy, we're having an ice cream sandwich birthday cake, presents, probably birthday dinner # 2, and probably something fun of Alex's choice like a trip the the playground (or dare I say it...) the pool. Then tomorrow, Alex's last day of birthday is when his biggest gift arrives... he's getting a brother! A temporary brother, who doesn't speak English, but it's the closest thing he'll have to a brother for now.

So yes, all the preparations are made, as far as we know, there are no more hoops to jump through in Russia, the children are going to be on the airplane within 24 hours. There are 10 coming, ours is the youngest. We have friends from church who are in the process of adopting 2 children who are currently in Russia, they managed to get on the same flight back that our kids are coming on, so they'll be able to help chaperone them. I can't imagine traveling across the globe with 10 kids (and 2 adults) who don't speak the same language. But I made sure she had a big bag of goodies to entertain the kids with before she left.

But yes, the reality of having a homeless child who speaks no english, and comes with little to no clothing that fits, has probably never been in a car, nor been in water deeper than his ankles is setting in. As much as I want to introduce him to everything that's good about life in America I have to be realistic about the amount of stuff that I can throw at him. Yes, we can try every flavor of ice cream that Meijer's sells, think of 20 different ways to play with water, and learn how to make our own snacks. But we probably can not visit all the tourist attractions in town, or let him pick out a snack at the supermarket. We'll be sure to keep a running list of all the things that were a hit, and what totally bombed.

General stuff...

Life is getting back to normal around here. We've had a few blissfully quiet days that have allowed me to catch up on my "critical" list of to-do's. This week the kids have been out to the lake for swimming lessons with my mom at the boyscout camp. Annie of course is quite the little fish, leave the other two in her wake. Alex is learning to like the water without goggles.
I've had a quiet week on my photography project, which has allowed me to make some headway on editing past sessions. Just so you have some idea on where we stand, I've currently raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,250 for FORO, and in the month of June I've had 8 paid photoshoots, with 3 more scheduled before July 1. I chuckle when I think about my original goal which was 5 photo sessions total, $100 raised. I was so far off the mark.
Speaking of FORO, we had our final planning meeting this week. We learned a little more about Severodvinsk, where our children are from. Apparently, the region is well known for their submarine building (which Alex thinks is SO cool), and the movie "The Hunt for Red October" was filmed not far from their community. We also had a Russian language training session. Basically we learned the top 100 phrases a parent would need. Stop, not allowed, are you sick, bathroom, etc. I'm fairly confident I can get by with the Russian, I already know - yes, no, and grandma. Jory is trying to learn a little more - I think he just wants to impress his co-workers.

Update on life

Much has happened in this house during the last two weeks. Last week Jory and the kids went to New Mexico without me. While they were gone, my mom and I had extreme home makeover - Peterson family edition. We painted the master bedroom/bathroom and our hallway bathroom. Throw in some new bedding, new bathroom faucets, furniture rearranging and some other general "repairs" and you have a good idea of how we spent our week. But now the children are back home, where they belong. They're up to their regular antics, and I'm pretending they aren't making me crazy.
In addition to working on the house, my life has been overtaken with photos. I drove to Columbus last weekend for a photo extravaganza. I had 7 sessions planned, thankfully the good Lord intervened on that craziness, and 2 families had to cancel. In the future I'll know that 5 sessions in one weekend is just right. Numbers aside, I had a lovely weekend. I got to catch up with some friends that I hadn't seen in a while, catch up with a friend I hadn't seen since high school, and meet some new friends - ones that I felt I already knew, and apparently knew me just as well.
Thankfully things are starting to settle down around here. We are falling back into our regular routines. My lovely little garden is chugging right along, despite the fact that I've neglected it all week. Our peas are now ripe for the picking, and boy do we have a lot. Louisa has taken to helping me pick them in the morning, which has been a fun little bonding experience for both of us. Remember when I said no one else in the family would eat them? Well times are changing - these kids might be pea eaters afterall.

Welcome June

It's so fabulous to see how our garden changes from week to week. This week we are excited to see things that we planted from seeds starting to push through the soil. We have cosmos, and dill(new plants in addition to the volunteers we have from last year), and pumpkins - which we've never grown before. Growing things from seeds is the coolest, watching it start out tiny and then get bigger and bigger as it matures. Sure it takes forever, but that's half the fun. In addition to our new growth, we were excited to see the first tiny pea pods appear. Soon enough I'll be able to pick a snack every morning as I make my rounds. Yes, I eat peas for breakfast.
In addition to new growth in our garden, I was thrilled this morning to find my first tiny toads, by the end of the summer they'll be about an inch long, but right now they're about as big as my pinky fingernail. I found three of these little guys this morning. It's time to start watching where I'm walking again. Speaking of watching where I'm going, I found another black rat snake in my garden today. This one was smaller than the first one I saw back in April, and therefor not nearly as scary. But still. I've lived in this house for 7 years with nary a snake, then all of a sudden I have multiple snakes. Yahoo. All I can say is he better not eat all my toads.
Jory and kids are getting ready to take a trip out west for Grandaddy's birthday. Jory's grandfather will be 98 this year. Sadly I won't be able to join them. Remember that photography project I'm working on? Well I currently have 8 photo shoots scheduled that week. So I will be here pretending to be a photographer and enjoying a house that actually stays clean. And eating peas for breakfast.

happenings........

It's been a little quiet around here these last few days. We are settling into a summer routine, enjoying the fact that we don't have to sit down at the table to do school work for a while. It's still too early in the season for our summer programs to be starting up, so we're just chillin. We've been having fun with our international preschool friends, and catching up with our friend "baby Z" (aka Elizabeth) who is a little friend that we watched a lot last fall...
Our garden is bursting forth. This week it was the roses. The pink ones and yellow ones are stunning right now. Last year I found some sadly neglected roses on our "annex" and transferred them to our garden, not knowing exactly what I was putting in. Well, the first one is nearly ready to bloom, and it looks like it will be have a red blossom. Not sure if they will all be the same color or if they will be a variety. Surprises are so fun.
My photography project is picking back up. I started it last year as a way to raise money for our little Maxim to come, and have had a great response. I had a session last weekend, and am looking at at least one session per weekend for the next few weeks.
On a completely random note, a friend convinced me to make a "fan page" on facebook. Not that I think I"m cool enough to have fans, but it does make it easier for people who aren't friends with me on FB to look at my pictures. So if you'd like to see more photos of the kids, or see some of the photo shoots that I've done you can find me at Elissa Peterson Photography, or just follow the link in the sidebar. It's not that exciting yet, but there'll be more pictures up soon.

freedom........

We are officially on summer vacation in these parts. Wednesday was our last day. It's so weird to come home from our various morning activities and not have to wrestle the children into submission at the kitchen table. A very welcome break indeed.
Our big news for the week is that we recieved our placement information about our Russian orphan! His name is Maxim and he's 6 years old. He has blonde hair, blue eyes, and chubby little cheeks. He's pretty darned cute if I do say so myself. He and his friends will be here on July 16th. We're pretty excited to meet him.

Mother's Day was a lovely affair in our house. After church we headed out on a little adventure. It was a beautiful day, so we took our kites to the park, and did a little exploring. After our adventure we had a nice "dinner" of pie and ice cream at Bob Evans. Being a grown up rocks.

The weather has been a little icky this week, so we haven't been able to spend much time out in the yard. We've had a little bit of flooding in the low parts of our yard. Nothing to write home about, but enough to make some of our plants unhappy.

The Scent of Summer

We are closing in on the end of the school year. It sort of crept up on me this year. We have 3 days left - which means I only have to plan a partial week next week. Whoa. Where did the year go? The kids worked really hard this year, and all three have made great strides academically. So now it's nearly time to play, and we can't wait for our freedom. The weather is warming up, and we are antsy to get out in the garden.
Speaking of which, our garden is bursting forth. New blooms for the week include the double layer white daffodils and 3 types of irises (all purple oddly enough). This week the girls and I probably planted 150 seeds - cosmos, sunflowers and dill. We are still having trouble with the tent caterpillars. It turns out that when you destroy the nests - if any have escaped they will just build a new nest. Lovely.
In other news we have embarked on a new child care adventure. Previously we've been doing in home child care for individual families. As of right now, we're sort of between families. So when we were notified that a local center was in need of volunteers, we thought we'd try it. Our new center is called the American School for Women and Children. It is a school for women who are learning English as a second language, and provides childcare for their children. We are in the pre-k and kindergarten class, so my kids fit right in age wise. With one week under our belt we are completely thrilled with the center. I was afraid the kids would find it slightly odd that they are in the cultural minority (as in the only white children in the center) but they could care less. The other children in our class are Chinese, Arabic and Somalian. What a fantastic learning opportunity for my children.

The latest

Last week we were blessed to have Jory's brother Jason visit for a few days. He had some errands to do in our neck of the woods, so he and Levi made the long haul from Montana. Highlights from the visit include Alex and Levi running continuous laps around the house for about 6 hours, burning the last few tent caterpillar nests out of my apple trees, dinner with my parents, and an outing to the Airforce museum in Dayton.

Our kids had yet to experience the museum, so we were excited to see what they thought. The girls and Levi were properly impressed. Alex was enthralled. He needed me to take a photo of every. single. airplane. Not just a simple photo, no... he had specific instructions on how each photo needed to be composed (huh, wonder where he learned that from). Mental note, next time, take two cameras. In other news, we managed to reclaim our apple trees from the tent caterpillars. At the end of the day I think we destroyed about 30 nests total. I was able to cut out and burn most of them by myself, while Jason managed to rig up a torch on a stick to get the last few nests that I was unable to get. The children got a kick out of watching the caterpillars attempt to escape the flames, I had to remind myself that it's not considered murder if they're pests.

This week

My oh my has this been an interesting week. It started with a bored Mama who needed a field trip. So to the botanical gardens we went, to see what was blooming. (Well I was interested in what was blooming, the children just wanted to run through all the little garden rooms playing tag.) We did learn to recognize tulips though, so it wasn't a total loss. But there were many things blooming - tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and so much more. I was as happy as a kid in a candy store (or perhaps a Mama in a garden) peaking in each little bed to see what treasures it held (while the children ran wild of course).

The other interesting occurance happened yesterday, after lunch I was walking around in my yard pondering life, when a rather large snake warned me not to step any closer. Eek. He flattened his head the way a cobra does - which was rather terrifying. I am fairly certain that there are no cobras in this area, so I called the resident snake expert (aka my father) to identify the critter. Popular opinion says it's a Black Rat snake, which may or may not be harmless. We're taking precautions anyway.
So now the immediate drama is over, I can only thank God for minimizing the drama involved in the situation. I was alone when I found the snake, so the children were spared the trauma of witnessing a scared Mama. He showed up early in the day - before I would have sent the children out to play. Which is such a blessing as I found him in a high traffic area of the yard. If it had been an hour later and I had sent them out, it would have only been a matter of time before the first unsuspecting pair of bare feet ran past him. Shudder.

All I can say is I would never make it in Africa where they have really dangerous snakes.

Pickle juice paint

I have had a few inquiries about my special pickle juice paint. It's basically uh... pickle juice and food coloring. And we use it as paint because there's never enough to completely submerge the eggs. So I pour the juice from the pickle jar through a strainer into small containers, add a little food coloring, hand the kids paint brushes, and poof - happy colorful easter eggs. Alex and Louisa kept adding layers of "paint" to their eggs, so theirs were more colorful. Annie wanted hers to be more muted, so she stopped after 1 layer.

April upon us

Spring has come to these parts, not a moment too soon. The daffodils are blooming, the grass is turning green, and much to my great joy - the children are spending a good part of their free time outside. ahhhhhhhhh.
As the weather warms up, our desire to do school work is quickly deteriorating. Who wants to add and subtract when you can dig? Not us. We have 26 days of school left, and as we gleefully cross off each day we hear that sweet song of freedom calling a little bit louder.
Easter has come and gone. My attempt at Easter last year was remarkably pitiful, so I had to redeem myself this year. Last week we had an egg hunt with our friend Emily (well several egg hunts as the children wanted to keep hiding the eggs from each other). On Saturday we painted hard boiled eggs with my famous pickle juice paint, and on Sunday we had a family Easter basket. In the past I've stayed away from the whole secular side of Easter - the baskets with too much candy and lame-o toys and such, but one (large) basket full of goodies for the whole family to share was just about right.
Our church is creating a new brochure this year, so the brochure committee asked me to submit a handful of photos to the cause. Well after I submitted "a few" they were thrilled and gave me a list of specific topics they wanted to illustrate better. So on Easter Sunday (which was possibly the worst time to take photos because the church was PACKED) I showed up, camera in hand, and managed to get a handful of decent shots. So those have all been submitted and I'm excited to hear back about what they thought.