You are 92% Russian!
Great job!!!!! You did WONDERFULY!!!! Nice try!!! Were you born in Russia? How do you know so much about it??? Well, good job anyway!!!
Ramblings
Yep, here’s another silly survey!
This helped me not to think about life.
200. My middle name is: Marie.
199. I was born on: December 5
198. I am a: lefty
197. My cell phone company: Cingular, the new AT&T
196. My eye color is: blue
195. My shoe size is: 8 1/2 to 9 depending on the shoe
194. My ring size is: 8 I think
193. My height is: 5’6″
192. I am allergic to: demerol, cats
191. I was born in: Torrance
190. I live in: a huge house
189. The last book I read: Russka
188. My bed is: very comfy
187. One thing I know for sure about the opposite sex: the are not girls
186. I am glad I’m my sex because: I don’t have to shave my face (okay, I was reprimanded for this one, so I will change it to “I can ask a guy to carry the heavy stuff”)
179. My favorite Holiday is: Thanksgiving
178. The perfect kiss is: long and passionate
177. The last three cd’s I bought are: no idea
176.. Last song that made me cry was: I am not sure
172. My most treasured possession(s) is(are): my family
170. What did you do last night: laid in bed wishing for a coma
167. My skin’s reaction to the sun is (tan/burn): I burn
:::::I Do(YES) Do Not (NO) Believe In::::
143. Santa? nope…never did
142. Love at first sight? yes
141. Luck? nope
140. Fate? yes
139. God? yes
138. Aliens? there are like over a million in our country! Oh wait, are you asking about extra terrestials?
137. Heaven? yes
136. Hell? yes
135. Ghosts? not really
134. Horoscope? no
135. Soul mates? definitely
:::::Which is Better?:::::
129. Hugs or Kisses? I must have both
128. Drunk or High: neither
127. Phone or Online: online
126. Red heads or Black hair: no preference
125. Blondes or Brunettes: no preference
124. Hot or cold: hot food, cold drinks
123. Summer or winter: summer
122. Coffee or tea: coffee
121. Chocolate or vanilla: chocolate
120. Night or Day: day
119. Oranges or Apples: apples
118. Curly or Straight hair: no preference
:::::Here’s What I Think About:::::
116. Abortion: I would never do it.
114. Parents: love them
113. Love: can cause you pain
112. Drugs: not for me
111. School: is fun. i know i’m a nerd
::::Last time I:::
103. Said I love you: today to my boys
102. Last time I hugged someone: today – Kenny, Josh, Zack and Sophia
101. Seen someone I haven’t seen in a while: My sister came into town yesterday
100. Drank: coffee this morning
99. Grew: a belly
::::MISC::::
90. Who’s the ditziest person I know: choose not to say
89. Who makes you laugh the most: Stephanie
87. One thing I’m mad about right now is: that I have believed in someone my whole life and the truth of the situation has proven I have believed in vain.
86. Even been used by a guy/girl?: yes, but I am stronger for it
83. The last movie I saw in the theater was: Um, let’s see, Premonition
82. The thing I don’t understand is: why we think we know someone’s heart
80. The most unsatisfactory answer I’ve ever received: “because I said so”
79. The one thing I love about the opposite sex is: they are God’s creation
76. This summer I am: going to love Hume Lake
75. Something I will really miss when I leave home is: um, that was like twenty years ago.
74. The thing that I’m looking forward to the most: seeing my kids grow in their love for God and serve Him
75. Tomorrow: back to work and school
72. Today: time with my beloved family – at least some of them
71. Next Summer: I will be 40
70. Next Week: is just another week
67. People call me: crazy
62. The person who knows the most about me is: Deana
61. The person that can read me the best is: Deana
60. The most difficult thing to do is: admit when my heart is broken
59. I have gotten a speeding ticket: two times in my life
53. The one person who can’t hide things from me: Kenny
51. Right now I am talking to: no one
48. I have/will get a job at: a Christian Credit Union
47. I have these pets: Lucky the Cat and Tex the Dog
45. The worst sound in the world: the sounds of crying
44. The person that makes me cry the most is: those I love the most
35. Florida or hawaii: no preference
33. My favorite piece of clothing is: jeans
32. My favorite sport is: too many to list
31. Last time I cried: today
28. The school I go to is: Biola University
27. Last person I got mad at: would rather not say
26. My worst drinking experience was: a long time ago
22. The all-time best movie is: Butterfly Effect
21. The all-time best thing in the world is?: Jesus, who will not let me down
19. The most annoying thing ever is: inconsiderate people
HOW YOU FEEL….
18. The most annoying person you know is: self-centered people (I will not name names)
17. I lose all respect for people who: are mean
16. The movies I have cried at are: too many to list
15. Closest friends Name: Deana, Stephanie, Wanda
14. TV show your watching: nothing right now
13. Favorite web site: yahoo.com
12. I want to be: far from pain
11. The worst pain I was ever in was: in my heart
10. My favorite phrase: “you rock”, “dun dun dun”
9. My room has: a very small TV
8. My favorite celebrity is: Jodie Foster
5. My weakness is: trusting loved ones
4. What turns me on is: honesty and caring
3. Who broke your heart: no comment
2. I filled out 200 questions because: it is a mindless activity and that’s something I need right now.
1. Something random: garlic is yummy
Update on School and other boring things…..
I know, you’re just so excited to read this post! Deana is still hoarding the pics so I am not able to post Kenny’s baptism of other pics at present. BUT, I will duly threaten her today so hopefully pics will be posted later!
Okay, so about school – as you might remember, I had to drop one of my major classes in order to be able to go to Russia. No problem – I am scheduled to make it up in July with another cohort (group) at Biola. However, that kind of messed up my big plan of taking my Bible courses et all. So I was a little stressed and not looking forward to going to school several times a week again, which I thought was going to end this May.
So I was poking around the Biola web page and noticed that online Bible classes could be taken at Taylor University, which is located in Indiana. I researched some more and this is TRULY an online class in that there is not a group of people that meet during a set timeframe, which is what I am used to. Instead, you can sign up anytime and have 6 months to complete the course. There are not deadlines, for example, this homework is due one week, this homework the next. You have assignments that need to be turned in, that’s it! I was so excited! So I enrolled in the Romans class, ordered my books, and am back on track! I plan on taking another class once I’m done with Romans, which would leave me with the Acts class which must be taken at Biola. So I feel much better.
So the only other class I need to figure out is Speech, which must be taken in person. I will see what I can do!
Work is going well also. I am a little busy, which is exactly how I like it! I truly love my job and love to learn about ministries! I love talking to these churches – it’s very different from the secular world. While there ARE occassions where these Christians appear to be very human (and maybe even cranky!), overall it is more pleasant.
The kids are AWESOME! I love coming home to see them and see what they rush to show me for the day. Yesterday Zack put on the monkey mask he got at the zoo and then he excitedly showed me the 300 PIECE puzzle he and Auntie Stephanie were working on. (He is VERY good with puzzles!). Sophia showed me her Cabbage Patch Baby and then ended up feeding me from the baby’s bottle which created howls of laughter (especially when I burped!). Then Sophia had a blast beating me up and wrestling with me.
The FUNNIEST thing was at dinner (we went to a Mexican restaurant), Deana told Sophia no more chips. Then I accidentally was like “yum yum yum” because I didn’t know Deana had said no more. So, feeling bad, I snuck a chip to Sophia. Deana, rightly so, was not happy so I had to pretend to be in big trouble and gave Deana my hand to slap. Well, all of a sudden Sophia starts lecturing me and asks for my hand and slaps it! Keep in mind, she’s STILL EATING the chip I gave her! Oh, and she also asked for another! Sophie LOVES to pretend she’s the boss and lecture me and I love it (at least right now!)
I can also testify that Sophia DOES love Drew! You should see her face when they talk! She adores him.
Okay, it’s a Saturday morning and it just turned 5am – what am I doing up?!?!!?! Well, first of all I think I went to bed at 8:30 last night, which has been the latest this week (have been going to bed around 7:15……). More weird than that, STEPHANIE is up, too! She couldn’t sleep so she got up to do laundry! I enjoy the company but this is a weird morning for sure!
Must drink my coffee now – hope all is well with you!
ICE CREAM!
Got this quiz link from my friend Angie Poole (so far away, but still cool!). You can tell me if you think this sounds like me…..
| You Are Coffee Ice Cream |
 You are most compatible with chocolate ice cream. |
<a href=”http://www.blogthings.com/whatflavoricecreamareyouquiz/”>What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?
For some reason the link is not working, so to take your own quiz, check out quiz here.
When in America……
SLEEP!
Don’t really have too much to say and I still don’t have time to upload pics, but I thought an update was in order!
Work went very well – it was great to see everyone again and get back to some sort of schedule. I work with some wonderful people who are truly friends that are very loving. I thank God for them!
I hit the wall about 4pm as expected, but was able to take a 20 minute power nap before class (I was in the car!). My test at school was fairly easy, so I was out of there by 7:30 and I headed home. I pretty much went straight to bed and am so happy that I slept through the night! THAT IS SO AWESOME! So I hope today is a bit better on the tired front.
The kids are doing wonderfully. Kenny, Josh, Zack and Sophia came to work yesterday with Deana and Stephanie. While the peering crowds added a little hyperness to Zack especially (although Sophie can certainly hold her own!), it was a pleasant visit. I love them.
I know I’ve said this before, but I cannot express enough how much Deana appreciates the love and support (and prayers) she’s received from so many of you! All of it has truly blessed her life.
Okay, Lucky has missed her Mama so she is pretty much laying across my arms, which makes it difficult to type (plus, she really wants me to pet her!). So I will see you later!
Back to life, back to reality…..
Hello! I hope everyone had a blessed Easter!
Today I go back to work after being off two weeks to help Deana bring home her beautiful children from Russia! As usual, I am anxious to get back as I love my job. Still off due to jet lag, but I’ve made progress and hope to stay awake at work. More difficult will be my Sociology class tonight (7-9pm) plus the fact that we are having a test! So I might be living off a Grande Mocha Quad (one pump mocha, no whip cream)!
This weekend was fun! Deana is still very sick and I’ve had the same cold, although not as bad as she gave me some medication (over the counter) that Wanda had suggested some time ago. Can’t even spell the name, but it is similar to Airborne and it helps reduce the symptoms. I am a walking example that this is true! But physically I still feel a bit puny.
Okay, enough of the whining! The kids are doing GREAT – mine included. Kenny, who accepted the Lord about 3 years ago, did something amazing yesterday! We went to Mary’s church (Deana’s mom, who I also call Mom) so everyone there could meet Zack and Sophia. It was a pretty good service (which is very nice to say since I usually rip her church!) and very pleasant. During the service he invited anyone who was a Christian but who had never been baptized to come forward – how wonderful to be baptized on Easter! Well, there goes my son! Fortunately I had the video camera and D had her camera for Easter so we were able to record the event! He was so jazzed and it was even more special to him because I told him I had been baptized on Easter as well (many moons ago!).
I don’t have time now, but I will post pictures later!
Have a wonderful day!
Ahem, jet lag SUCKS!
Yep, it’s 4:24am and, well, I’ve been up all night! I remember this happening last time we went to Russia, but living through it again is not that fun! But there ARE bennies – Zack is awake too and needed someone and I was able to help him out. First, he needed to go potty and was unsure of going to the bathroom on his own. Then, he asked to watch TV in the room – since he seemed pretty awake I said okay. He just got up again and asked for a drink. I am pretty proud of myself because in both causes he spoke Russian but I understood! Booya! Maybe I’ve changed through the process a little, too!
But still, I know I am in for trouble! About 11am I am going to be tired again and how can I NOT sleep? Sigh. Maybe I will only sleep for about 3 hours this time, get up, and then take Advil PM tomorrow night. In any case, I hope this situation resolves itself before Monday for sure, at which time I will be happily back at work!
Other than the frustration of being totally out of sorts with the local time, things are good. The kids are great and it’s SO WONDERFUL to be with my boys again! I missed them SO much! It seemed much longer this time around and it was torturous not to be able to see them or talk to them. I love them so much and it’s so wonderful to see how they are interacting with Zack and Sophia. They truly love them and that blesses me completely.
Okay, me and Lucky (my beautiful cat) will continue being nocturnal together. I will write more later!
Okay, so I slept!
Yep, today has been a blur. I was awake from about 5am until around 11am, then took a “nap”. I woke up at 4:30pm, closed my eyes “for a minute”, and then again at 5:30pm! I feel much better but still have that weird “I just woke up” feeling. As I type, Deana fell asleep on the sofa so I am glad for her. Zack fell asleep on the sofa a few hours ago and he is still peacefully sleeping. In fact, I tried to wake him up to eat dinner and he ended up sleeping at the table. Sweet boy.
Even with the sleepiness, we were able to have some fun today!
Here Zack is in his new home showing that he still has his acrobatic talents!
Here is the first picture of Zack and Sophia with their cousins, Kenny and Josh!
Everyone has been getting along very well! The boys LOVE Zack and Sophia and love being older and helping them out. Kenny feels a strong sense of setting a good example for the kids and seems to be more mature almost overnight. He is also very loving and affectionate to both the kids (although Zack is more macho and would rather growl.) Josh has done a wonderful job of showing the kids around, sharing toys, playing with them, etc. As I type, Josh is playing with Sophia in the living room as they got penguins in their kids meals from Carl’s Junior. He sometimes gets frustrated, like when he told Zack “we don’t wear our shoes on the carpet” and then Zack walked into the living room! He needed to be reminded that the kids don’t really know English……LOL.
Okay, the boys and Steph are going into the jacuzzi now…..D and I are way too tired to walk all the way upstairs, change, and go outside! LOL we are so lazy right now! To be fair, D is still fighting a cold and I have something too although not as bad as D. So I feel okay that we are being out of character today because we’ve had fulfilled our “sentence” in Russia. I can’t say enough how wonderful it is to be back in AMERICA! I think everyone should go to another country like Russia to really appreciate how good we have it here.
Okay, I must go now…..to do nothing! What a concept!
4/5 5pm Russian Time
Yeah, I have internet access again! How I missed it and sorry for those of you who were experiencing withdrawals. We found another internet point – OUR LIVING ROOM! That’s right, WE ARE HOME!!!!
You see, when we went to the US Embassy on Tuesday to get the kids’ visas and paperwork to become US Citizens, Olga #3 told us we could probably go home on Wednesday and register with the Russian Government from home. We were like, really? But I didn’t get my hopes up – I warned Deana that we shouldn’t get too excited until we were sure there were seats available, etc. So after the Embassy (which was very nice and where we met several adopting families) we went to the Aeroflot office to exchange our tickets.
Long story short – we got seats and we arrived yesterday at about 5pm! Sorry to Wanda – my cell was dead and also we really didn’t arrive home until around 10pm as we went to eat and stopped by Babushka’s house. Then we had to go in the big pool right away, see the house, etc!
But I am getting ahead of myself. D and I are all caddywambus with the time difference. I about fell over around midnight because I really wasn’t able to sleep on the plane (freaking loud, obnoxious Russian women who do not know how to observe the freaking entire plane was trying to sleep – but I’m not bitter). I pretty much passed out but then woke up at 5am California time with horrible heartburn (okay, so I had a Zinger and Hostess’ Cupcake late last night…..). So I am sure I will hit a wall shortly (as will D, who also woke up not long ago) but as of right now I am wide awake.
The kids did GREAT on the plane! Of course, it was very exciting – especially for Zack who was beside himself – and they slept well for most of the flight. There were plenty of empty seats so the kids were able to spread out and get comfortable. They also did very well when meeting the Rivera clan at the airport (sans Manuel and Julia – we missed you!) as well as Kenny and Josh and got along splendidly with everyone despite the language barrier. They also loved the following:
- The DVD player in my Yukon
- Chips at the Mexican restaurant we ate at (not so much the rest of the food though!)
- The dogs at Grandma’s house (Sophia more than Zack)
- Their new home (more specifics to follow)
- Their bicycles (which Zack kept asking about on the flight as he saw the pics on D’s blog)
- Their rooms and toys
- Their new swimming pool
- Thier beds
There is so much to chronicle that its difficult for me to write it all down here and now (remember, I have only slept about 5 hours in the last 48 hours…..). But I will try to catch up in the coming days.
Also, I want to assure you that Tex and Lucky were very glad to see their mama! Tex went crazy (more than usual). Lucky was in hiding for some time after we arrived home but when I sat down on the sofa with my laptop she came running and has been basically attached to me since that point! She has been constantly purring and its very sweet.
Okay, hope y’all are doing well. God Bless America – it’s so so good to be home!
4/1 10:45 am Russian Time
I am currently in “McCafe” a McDonald’s wanna be Starbucks in Moscow. The good part is FREE INTERNET ACCESS!
We only have 30 minutes and I want to give the bulk to Deana, but wanted to say we made it here safely, the kids are doing great, and there is SO MUCH to tell you! I am having a blast but almost as anxious as Deana to get home and back to reality (and American food!) McDonald’s is good but not what we are used to so it’s a so-so situation. Deana has been able to eat more so that’s good. We also have a refigerator in our room so went to the market to get food, too.
Okay, hope you all are doing well. Will try to post more later too.
G
Just Rambling 