Аллилуйя! Христос Повышен! Он Повышен действительно!

Аллилуйя! Христос Повышен! Он Повышен действительно.

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!

Whew!  What a weekend!!!  After church on Friday, I picked Aidan up  a little early (in the usual torrential downpouring rain!).  The teachers had turned the children into Easter Bunnies complete with ears and face painting. . .adorable!!

I would hazard a guess that you haven't seen too many Easter Bunnies wearing camoflage hoodies!!

We decided to go out to dinner, so after I cleaned the upstairs, back out into the chilly rain we went.  Really, folks, it was maybe 45 degress!  It was so cold that we all got super chilled on the way back to the car after dinner and promptly came home and turned the heater back on in the house!  Brr!!!!

Saturday was better.  After finishing the housework and doing the Easter dinner prep work, we were able to play outside a bit. . .until the Caps game. . .which they won!!!!  Now on to round 2!!!

Our Easter tradition is to placed the dyed eggs in the empty Easter basket and place it outside on the deck along with a bowl of carrots (for the Bunny, of course!)  After Aidan goes to bed, the basket is retrieved and the eggs hidden in the basement frig.  The basket is then filled and left on the kitchen table to be found in the morning along with the remains of the carrots.  This year, it had started to sprinkle when I retrieved the basket.  When I came back upstairs from taking the eggs down there was a deluge of rain happening outside!  5 minutes later and the basket and eggs would have been floating away!!!

Sunday dawned beautifully.  It was a wonderful and warm day.  Perfect for celebrating the resurrection!!  Aidan came downstairs to find a huge basket full of goodies.  He and I headed off to church in our Sunday finery and then came home to hang out outside.  Daddy got home about 3:00 and then Grandma and Grandpa came over with Aunt B and UB for dinner.  Of course, their travels to our house ended up being a bit perilous due to the immense summer like thunderstorm that came through!  Seriously, that sky was looking a bit green!  But, it cooled the air from the crazy 87 degrees (remember it was 45 on Friday???) back down to a more seasonal 70 degrees.  But, we'll be back up there again today!  Weird weather. 

And so, I will leave you with a Happy Easter wish and some pictures of our day.

7 Last Words of Jesus

Today is Good Friday.  As is my usual practice, I spent the afternoon at church attending a service devoted to observing the Three Holy Hours. . .the three final hours of Jesus' life on earth as a human.  Today's service, as per usual, provided some excellent observations and meditations on the day: the 7 last words of Jesus.   I will humbly try to recreate some of my thoughts on those meditations.

"Woman, behold your son. . .behold your mother"  This was not necesarrily the first of Jesus' last words, but as a mother, it feels important.  Jesus is talking to his mother, Mary.  And to the youngest beloved disciple, John.  He tells Mary to behold John as her son and that John should behold Mary as his mother.  John obeys Jesus and takes her into his home.  This implies obediance to all God tells us to do. 

"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."  Jesus asks God to forgive everyone who is mocking him, taunting him, forgetting God.  He knows that forgiveness comes first and then a change can occur.  He also knows that forgiveness does not mean that we forget.   Hmmm. . .that could be a problem!

"Today, you will be with me in Paradise."  Truly, does God ever say anything to us when we rant at him, scream at him?  To set the scene, Jesus has been crucified and people are ranting, mocking, sneering at him.  He's been beaten, scourged, and a crown of thorns on his head.  He is naked with nails drvien through his wrists and ankles.  He is in betwen two theives.  One says to him " You're the Messiah, save yourself!"  The other one, coming to his defense, says, "He has done nothing!  He is not like us!  We deserve this, he doesn't!"  To everything that came before, Jesus was silent.  To the last statement he says, "Today, you will be with me in Paradise."  We should remember this. 

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  This is where Jesus shows his humanity.  Who among us have not had a moment of doubt where we feel bereft?  Abandoned?  Forsaken?  Surely Jesus felt this 10 fold compared to what we meager humans ever feel and yet he only questioned it one time.  And only for a moment.

"I thirst."  Jesus has been betrayed and abandoned by his friends.  He is hungry for companionship.  Thirsty for friends.  We all feel this at times.  We feel alone.  We feel afraid.  We're thirsty for others who understand.  And yet, God knows.  He's been there.

"It is finished."  What is "it"?  Most of us have had an English professor who told us to cross out all "it" in our papers and then re-write them.  But, what is "it"?  Is it Jesus' life?  But that continues because of the Resurrection!  Is it the story?  But, the story is not over!  Hmmm. . .what is "it"?

"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."  He gave it all back.  Can we do that?

7 times He speaks.  And 7 times we are amazed at what He says.

Why is this night different from every other night?

Because we were slaves.  And now we are no longer slaves.

Thanks be to God.

Easter Party, Russian Embassy Style

The party at the Russian embassy was yesterday.  We met up with our old friends Joy, Gerard and Anna and met some new/old friends (new in person but old in blog time!) Jolynn, Rich and Jacob.  They were staying at a Marriott in Herndon so we were able to meet up before the party and let the kids run and jump and play.  When the time came, we were off to D. C. to head into the Embassy for the party.  It was really a lot of fun, with the only fly in the ointment being the torrential downpours that happened all day. 

And so, without too many more words, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.  Yes, I did get a few of Mr. Wilson, but out of respect, he will not be shown!  : )

Aidan and Ann always find something to move around the room together!  We had been there about one minute when they found the drink cooler!!

Jolynn, Rich and Jacob

Aidan started out with an airplane balloon.  Then we had a hat!

Just being my goofy self, Mama!

Waiting for a balloon

This child loves balloons!

And now he is holding his short lived airplane balloon. . .if he would just not pop them!  I think the Embassy folks would rather not hear that sound as well!!

Getting ready for the ring toss

Throwing the rings!

I won a prize medal!!!

Anna and her dog balloon

Aidan loved the Easter Bunny.  He went back for so many hugs!!1  The Easter Bunny was awesome about not turning him away, too.

Mama got to wear the balloon hat for a while. . .

Three little Russians. . .

The program was actually better than last year.  There were a lot of skits and songs and the Embassy children had really thought it all through.  There was one skit about wanting to be something more or better and then realizing that being what you are is pretty darn good.  And another skit based on teh Wizard of Oz's message "There's no place like home."  Of course at that point I realized that the overall message was that being a Russian is not a bad thing and that Russia is still home no matter how long you are away.  Okay.    Here is a video of one of the songs we recorded:

We left the party with many promises to get together this year.  And I really think we will this time! 

But we came home to a little bit of a mess.  For some reason our cat Cleo hates Yellow Tulips!  No idea why.

It Has Been Established

The morning dawned cloudy and still.  We rushed around the house getting ready to go only to realize we didn't have to leave quite as early as usual.  Grabbing our special package of paperwork, we left the house in time for the torrential rain to begin.  We drove a couple of blocks away, parked in the parking lot, grabbed our umbrellas and our special package of paperwork and begin the journey across to the front entrance of. . . . .

Lessburg Elementary School!!!!

On the way to the front door, I looked down at Aidan and he looked at me.  He smiled up at me but his little hand tightened in mine.  A little nervously, he said, "This is where I'm going to go to school next fall Mama?"  Yes, sweetie pie.  It is.  I couldn't help feeling a little excited/nervous/whimsically sad about it all.  Excited about all he will be learning in the coming years--the world will really open up for him!  Nervous about him being in a public school with so many big kids--He'll be five with some 11 and 12 year old!  Whimsically sad about how quickly this has come!

Inside, we were a little early.  And although the lady inthe office wasn't too happy about it, she graciously took us and processed our paperwork.  Yes, Aidan was the first one registered for Kindergarten at LES for the 2001-2012 school year!  It was a really quick process and I had all of the paperwork ready for her in order for her to check it, including a note from Aidan's current school indicating we need Morning Kindergarten due to Day Care Reasons.  I will drop him off in the morning and his current school will pick him up and take him there where he will spend the afternoon.  We will pick him up there just like we do now.  Bonus is that when there are Snow Days, we're covered! 

Literally three minutes later, she looked up at me, smiled and said that my organization had made it easier than she usually gets!  Aidan was all registered and we were given the date and time for his Open House and then were on our way. . .back out into the rain and on the way to his current Private School--where all the children are small. . .   : )

And so now it is official.  Aidan's Permanent Record has been established.

I couldn't help having a bit of a lump in my throat when we drove away.  I really can't believe how quickly this time has come!  Knowing how I will be, I have already scheduled his first day of school off.  I know I will be a mess!

So now, today, we will celebrate Aidan's Third Anniversary of being a United States Citizen!!!   Happy Citizenship Day Aidan!! 

A Quiet Weekend. . .Really!!

After the busyness of last weekend, we're keeping this weekend quiet!

Last night we had a nice shrimp dinner, just the three of us.  It was nice and quiet!  And we were all in bed snoozing by 9:30!  What a blessing! 

Today I have a little housework to do and Aidan and I will run to the bank to get his birth certificate out of the safety deposit box--Tuesday is Kindergarten Registration day!!  (more on that someother time)  Pat is out hunting turkey today (yes, really) and when he gets home we'll run to Costco and Target to stock up on some supplies. . .Easter is coming, you know and the Easter Bunny needs to get ready!  We'll probably eat dinner on the go somewhere so we can get done and be home in time for

The Final Game of the Regular Season for the Capitals!!!!!!! 

They are actually ending this season so great!  They clinched a playoff spot several weeks ago and, although they had a terrible mid-season, they have converted to a defensive style of play that is really great and exciting to watch.  Because of that, they won the Southeast Division and could possibly win the Eastern Conference tonight.  If so, they will be second overall!  Not bad for a team everyone was writing off last November!  We'll find out after tonights game whom they will play first in the playoffs. . .Go Caps!

Tomorrow will be another fairly quiet day:  church, hockey lesson for Aidan, and then we'll run to the mall for a spring jacket for Aidan because he has outgrown all of his others and is balking at wearing his winter coat now!  After that, an early dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and then home for a early night.

Aidan's room is coming along.  I'm finished taking the old border down and have sanded the excess glue off.  I'm hoping to touch up the paint sometime this weekend and then I can put up the new border.  The curtains arrived and so has one of the bedspreads. . .his bed has been delayed by a week or two, but I'm okay with that.  I think everything will be in place by next weekend so that all I need to do is make the bed, when it comes, and go through and reorganize his clothes, books and toys!  Once the bed comes, you'll see the pictures!

Now that I have written all of that out, it doesn't sound so quiet does it??  Well, it will feel quieter to us!  : )

Happy Birthday!!!

Today marks our third Anniversary, our Third Birthday, as a family. . .  : )  Thanks be to God!!

On this day three years ago, we walked up the stairs inside the Baby Home, with major trepidation, dropped off the flannel lined jeans, socks, thermal shirt, snow pants, winter jacket, hat, gloves and boots and we were then taken on a tour of Aidan's playgroup room.  We saw his locker, his play area, and his crib room. . .it was soooo sad to think of our little guy sleeping in a room with 25 other little people in cribs lined up wall to wall!!  But, when we got back upstairs, Aidan was all ready to go.  So, out we went, only stopping to take one last picture of us all with the Director of the Baby Home.  God bless Galina.  She was awesome!!!

At that time, Aidan was about 30 inches tall, and about 27 pounds. 

And here we are, 3 years laters at a strapping 3 feet 9 inches (45 inches tall) and 45.2 pounds!! Gonna be a big boy!

Happy Forever Family Day, Aidan!  Mama and Daddy love you very much!!  We were a family, but now so much more. . .

The Versatile Blogger

Barb, over at Holm Sweet Home http://holmsweethomeblog.blogspot.com/ has chosen me for a blog award!  Very sweet of Barb. . .I really like her story so take a look at it.  One of the things that amazes me is that she is Canadian, married to a wonderful sounding husband from Finland (they currently live in Finland).  Their three adorable boys are have dual citizenship Canada and Finland.  They adopted a gorgeous little girl from Russia who now has dual citizenship for Finland and Russia.  Travels to other countries must be absolutely interesting with keeping all of the passports straight!  : )  Who gets what passport and when?!?!?!? 

Anyway, the point of this award is to tell you all 7 things about me that I have not previously shared.  So, here goes!  Hope I don't bore you to death!!!

1.  I once swam an ocean swim at Seal Beach in California.  We had to run down the beach, swim through the waves, swim out to an oil rig, go around the rig, swim back to the beach and through the waves and then run back up to the finish line.  I got fourth place out of 100 swimmers which was a cute seal metal with a green ball on his nose.

2.  I love to travel to new and different places especially if there is history involved in that place.

3.  I love being home with nothing to do. . .something that has not happened in about. . .um. . . 3 years!  : )

4.  I am an absolute history geek.  I have a lot of useless knowledge crammed in my brain where it sits waiting the perfect opportunity to come out and bore whomever I am with!

5.  I love books of all kinds and will read just about anything. . .preferably if there is some kind of history involved!

6.  I rate Mexican Restaurants on the chips and salsa AND their ability to make a good Chili Rellano. . .my mom makes the best in the world. . .if they are even close to my moms, I this them 5 stars.  Currently I have only one that fits that and luckily for me it is located right here in Leesburg:  Los Tios.  Excellente!

7.  I always dreamed of having 10 children when I was growing up and living in the country. . .I live on the edge of the country and have one child and think I am one of the luckiest people in the whole world!

So now.  I'm supposed to pass this on.  Whom to chose?  I'll pick these two:

Joy at http://www.becomingamommy.blogspot.com/ and Liz at http://www.jer2911theplansihaveforyou.blogspot.com/

both are wonderful people who have brought home a couple of cutie pies from various locations in Russia.  Enjoy their blogs!

Ciao!