book club

well these were the only pictures i managed to take of book club this week bc my hands were happily filled with titus the whole time =)

this month we read george muller: guardian of bristol's orphans...

it was an amazing biography..

emily is adopting a little girl from china and was able to share about the orphanage...the kids brought money and collected almost $250 to give to her!!!

we also had a little man share about orphans he prays for... and it was so poignant as 2 of his siblings were orphans at one time...

we did some art projects and ate bread and milk (with chocolate =)) and the kids played hard...

it was a good time...

this morning

the boys were outside in their cowboy gear before breakfast (titus repeats everything jack says....down to gestures and laughs)

esme was cleaning and sweeping after watching little house on the prairie...

and natalya was making the last batch of orange peel and drinking tea...

i love waking up to a full house...bustling about...

with smells of food and chatter of children...

i love my life...

i am moved often by its sweetness...

today i was so busy getting ready for the food swap and i missed just watching them and enjoying them ... looking so forward to a quiet tomorrow with friends and family!=)

the mess was worth their fun ;)

Mark oconner!

making salt water taffy

ok....so this wasn't difficult even without a candy thermometer! the kids had a BLAST and our kitchen is COVERED with candy! 

ha!

we made it for the food swap...to go with a little box of orange peels...

let's just say, after today, the kids have ingested a years worth of sugar i think =)

3rd food swap fun!!!

new canoe!!!!

josh took a trip to atlanta to buy his dream canoe from craiglist,,,

titus is already enjoying it =)

candied orange peel

our house has smelled wonderfully like oranges the past few days! natalya has been making candied orange peel for the food swap this weekend!!!

it is delicious....

i have eaten more orange peel in 2 days than i have ever in my life...

yum!

a walk to the creek

josh had so much going on and was in the middle of studying but when he heard we were walking to the creek, he jumped up...

i love this man...

he really makes everyone in the family happier when he is around =)

Coffee shop

Camo day at school!

A lovely Russian lunch !!

Russian ravioli and salad!

my sweet girl

this morning she was wondering in the frost with her socks and heels on...

and layers of clothing...

i love her so much...

her style, her kindness, he desire to take care of the world...

our friend and now part of family...natalya!

natalya moved in with us a couple weeks ago when her situation became really difficult here in the states...we are SO happy to have her....

titus loves to cook and so does natalya and she is so patient with him!

josh is making the cabin livable with a kitchen and loo...and she will move there soon!

boys and mud