Day Two w/Yuylia

It has been two days so far. She went to bed last night without dinner at 6pm and she woke up at 8am. She obviously needed sleep. Even Liam, Reilly and Natalie slept until 8:45am which meant that I actually slept in as well...yahoo!

We made "bleeny" today which is pancakes and she liked them a lot. She did not use butter but tried the syrup and liked it. It is fun to watch her try new things and see what she likes and dislikes. Did you know she brought Lays potatoe chips from home that were Crab flavored. Seriously, I tried one and it tasted like crab and was disgusting. So I am sure she is thinking the same thing about things I am feeding her. She likes fruit a lot which is good to see, but she hardly eats.

We took Yuylia up to Samammish today to get some free clothes from a place called Kids Without Boarders which is a non profit organization that helps kids in need. It was fun and Yuylia got to see some of the other girls here. Natalie however, screamed and cried the entire 45min there and back. In Russian they call this "plakat". I actually had to stop and pull over to deal with Natalie and Yuylia just sat there. I wonder what she thinks of our little drama queen.

We then came home for lunch and quickly found out Yuylia does not like peanut butter and jelly. She got the opportunity to play the Wii with Liam who is actually getting good without words to show Yuylia how to work the remote and play with him. He is in heaven as she just does whatever he wants and does not complain, argue, or want to do anything different. She seems to enjoy his company. He of course loves being the boss!

We had roast tonight and she loved that but did not like Ranch, Italian or French dressing on her salad. She loves sweets, so I think she fits in well in this family.

We also got a chance to play with the neighbor kids and she enjoyed Saddie the neighbor girl who is almost 6. Oh and she does not like SNAKES! Seth has a garden snake he found and was carrying it around with them as the clan followed. They had fun outside jumping and swinging together.

Well to another day. What will tomorrow bring...

Love,
Jess

Go Ballplayers!

Today was Reilly's last T-Ball game. It was a nice day and Reilly seemed to finally get into it on the last day. He had two great hits and even ran the bases with enthusiasum.

It was a lot of fun to watch and he was so thrilled in the end to get his metal just like his big brother. Coach Scott & John did a great job!

Till next year.


Check out the swing

and then the run

oh and the "golden" medal (why we played at all)

Yuylia & Me

The Ballplayers with Coach Scott & Coach John

Donations for Yuylia

I have had a lot of people ask how they can donate. Here is a list of what we are in need of.

Costco Card ~ to buy Multivitamin, toothpaste, soap, etc.
Size 5 1/2-6 womans shoes for summer & winter
Winter Coat - girls size 10-12
Winter clothes - girls/jr size 8-10 and 10-12
Underwear Size Med girls

She likes barbies, dolls and art stuff but we can only send her home with a 50lb suitcase and 25lb back pack home.

I can however, mail or ship a package through a Nazarene church in Kent for fairly inexpensive but it does take 2-3 months to get there. They are really reliable and it seems able to work with Russia on getting the packages to their destination.


If you make cash donations out to me I do have to claim with FTC but I can use to purchase items for Yuylia and family and for shipping costs. If you want to make a monatary donations please make it directly to FTC as mentioned in my previous blog.

Thank you to all of you who have already given so much. This is already one of the greatest experiences. Right now Liam is teaching her to play the Wii and he even let her win...which is saying a lot for Liam. This is good because she does not understand all his bossiness and telling her how to do it, so he can talk all he wants and she just smiles and plays. It is hilarious!

Have a blessed day...off to Reilly's last soccer game.

Love,
Jess

Welcome Yulyia

We picked up Yulyia last at the airport around 8:15pm. She speaks a little English to our suprise. She is adorable! She says things like "WOW" and "thank you". She is already teaching us a lot. Natalie is so attached and the boys are showing her all the fun they can have. She should be worn out by tonight!

Tonight we try Tacos. So far I have found she like Bananas, apples, carrots, Life cereal, vanilla yogurt and chocolate. She does not like eggs.

I think she things Will & Leila are our kids. She is a bit confused why we picked them up at Jenni's this morning. She likes Jason and came in the room this morning to say "good morning" to us both.

She likes Shrek and watch the movie today in English. She loves dolls and played most of the morning with Liam and the doll house. They are somehow communicating really good together. I guess kids have their own language.

We Love our Daddy!

Each year on Father's Day we head to Yakima to enjoy family time...oh and a guarentee of SUN!

It is our nephews birthday on the 15th so we had a celebration on the 14th. We enjoyed yummy food, swimming, good conversation and a little music from Jason. It was a blast!

We came home that night as Jason was singing on Sunday at church for Father's Day. We love our daddy!

10 Reason we love daddy

1. He watches golf with us
2. He has the biggest hugs
3. He sings to us
4. He is funny
5. He wrestles & plays chase
6. He takes us camping
7. He is patient with us
8. He teaches us things
9. He snuggles with us
10. He is our daddy!

We love you!

A Summer Reflection of random thoughts

It is another June and well what happened to this past year? As I reflect on how fast the kids are growing and life is passing us by I think to myself "what are we doing here? what is our purpose in life?" I think it is good to sometimes question yourself or as I like to say "check" yourself just to be aware of what it is all for. For me it is understanding that my life is so much greater then paycheck to paycheck, bills, traffic, gas prices, weather and so much more then this world has to offer.

In this world we live in it is easy to get bogged down by all we have to get done and all we want to accomplish. One thing I am wanting is a Simple Life. I want so much to just enjoy watching the kids grow. Love the way God has asked me to love without all the baggage and garbage that holds me down. Love is so simple and easy, but Pride, ego, hurts, emotions, feelings, past history all make it complicated.

I know it can not always be easy...like the "easy" button. We have to have trials to grow in wisdom and in faith. All things happen for a reason, but I still question if this is "it". I mean is this really the life God called me to live? I LOVE being a mother and a wife. It is the most challenging yet satisfying job I am sure I will ever have. I am not even sure what I am trying to say...I just have such a desire to serve the Lord and make a difference. I feel like right now I am just here and watching life pass by. The kids are getting older. We are getting older. The house is getting older (and needing more then I can handle).

What is our purpose?