Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving - Part 3

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you had a blessed day celebrating all that you are thankful for. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon at my older sister's home. It has been 8 years since our last Thanksgiving in California with my family so.........as you can imagine I was very thankful today.

I'm also thankful for these 3 guys above. The Lord has been so gracious to give me such a loving husband and 2 healthy and beautiful boys.



I'm also grateful for my mom. Every day we praise God that we are able to live in her home. Not sure where we'd be living now if it weren't for her generosity.




And of course I am thankful for my two older sisters aka my two best friends.



Only 1 of the cousins made it to Thanksgiving dinner today but I'm thankful my beautiful niece was there.

Overall it was a blessed time and I ate way too much. I need to start losing some extra pounds......maybe I'll get some exercise in over the weekend. I need to get to bed soon because tomorrow morning I'm doing the Black Friday thing!!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Thanksgiving - Part 2

Today was a great day to be outdoors and I'm so thankful we got out. We actually met our friends at Placerita Canyon Nature Center for a hike.

When we arrived one of the workers was hanging out with this guy.......


Once our friends arrived we headed out for our hike.


This picture cracks me up.....Bryce is on the 
top of the hill, Nathan is halfway down and
poor Jojo is tuckered out at the bottom.





Since it's Thanksgiving week.........I just have to write about how thankful I am for these dear friends! Don't know what I would have done without Heather in Samara!!! What a blessing that we get to continue our friendship here in California.




Afterwards we headed to the picnic tables and had lunch. The kids here are trying out Pringles pecan pie chips! They are gross by the way.

Well I am off to bake my desserts for Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Monday, November 25, 2013

Thanksgiving Week- Part 1

It's been a long time since we have been Stateside for Thanksgiving. When we were in Russia we never really celebrated Thanksgiving on the actual date. Jon went off to teach and I usually had small group on the fourth Thursday of every month. We would try to get together as a team to celebrate but that was usually a few days after.

Of course it's good to reflect upon all that we are thankful for during this season. Today I wanted to share some things that I'm thankful for that perhaps some people may not be so thankful about, particularly things I learned from living in Russia.

I'm thankful that I lived in another country for over 8 years. I've learned so much both spiritually and culturally. I'm still transitioning in my mind and thinking over all the changes we went through during that time. It wasn't easy living overseas and yet I miss it terribly. 

I'm thankful for the days I had to walk home from the store in the freezing snow carrying several pounds of groceries. It built endurance in me and taught me not to complain. It also humbled me because there were so many times I looked like such a fool. For example the time we had a huge snowfall and I had to go buy diapers and baby food for Nathan at a store that was 1 mile away. There were no paths whatsoever and I had the genius idea of taking our sled with me. I basically ended up carrying the sled home with all the items on top of it while the snow literally came up to my knees. 
Can't forget the times I had to walks on sheets of ice.... it taught me balance and to walk slow!




I'm thankful for all the long lines I waited in, all the layovers and missed flights, and in general the whole ordeal with getting our 3 year visa. This taught me, actually forced me, to become patient in all circumstances. I also learned to just go with the flow and that worrying never got me anywhere!

I'm thankful for all the times I couldn't communicate in Russian. This taught me to hold my tongue and to just become an observer. There were plenty of times where I wanted "to give someone a piece of my mind" but thankfully it just stayed in my mind because trying to communicate what I was thinking into Russian would have sounded awful!

I could probably go on and on but all that I have learned in Russia has helped me tremendously to make the transition back into the United States. 

Friday, November 22, 2013

AWANA Bible Hero Night

Wednesday night was Bible hero night for Sparks. When I asked Nathan what he wanted to dress up as he did not hesitate to answer that he wanted to be King David.

He was in the weirdest mood that night! At first I was not going to paint a beard on him but my husband reminded me that scripture does say that David had a beard.........so we went for it. This was another homemade outfit and I was so happy with the way it turned out.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Thanksgiving Party

This past Tuesday we celebrated Thanksgiving a little early with a dress up and party day at our homeschool group. When we lived in Russia we never really had any reason to dress up for certain events so it's been a lot fun finding creative ways to dress up.

I went completely homemade with our pilgrim costumes. It was actually a bit comical!



Nathan got to hold the flag for the pledge of allegiance.




Then it was time for singing. I love all of the girls' costumes! So cute.




Nathan with his friend who is actually adopted from Russia!



Jojo working on his craft. They made "thankful trees".  I was glad to see that he was thankful for his parents, church, friends, God,....but of course he was also thankful for his toys, and his iPad.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Hooray For Hollywood

So, we did it. This past Saturday on we took the boys to Hollyweird, I mean Hollywood. I have only been there once before and I absolutely hated it so I am not sure why I thought it would be different this time! The boys weren't too sure what to think about it but they were in sort of a shocked state.........mainly because there were so many people. I suppose that if it's your first time in California and you're star struck it's a fun place to go. It's also a great place to people watch. It's also a great place to be thankful that you are just a normal person because there are sure some weirdos hanging out there!!!

Of course it's fun to find the stars of some of your favorite celebrities such as ........




Even Jon found a couple of his favorites, Kiefer Sutherland and.......


RUSH.


The boys even found a star they like..........


You may run into some characters.........







 And you will definitely be entertained by the street performers........





After a few pictures we headed home.







I recently read an article in the newspaper about plans of "cleaning up" Hollywood a bit. They really have a long way to go. In general it's dirty, lots of homeless people hanging out and begging, certain areas just STINK, and I even saw a prostitute. I did notice that a Ghiradelli's is going in right next door to the the El Capitan......so maybe in the future we'll return for a movie and some Ghiradelli's! It is definitely a touristy spot. I heard so many different languages being spoken and could even pick out the out of State American tourists!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Fairmont Fair

AWANA held it's annual Fairmont Fair a couple of Saturdays ago and the boys did not want to miss out!  The leaders did a great job setting it all up and the boys had a blast.

Nathan with his pal, Sparky.



We also saw our little buddy, Collin!



In line to play a game......



It was a gorgeous day once again!



Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Trick Or Treat

This was Nathan's first year trick or treating and Jojo's second year. The boys had a blast as we joined some friends up in Lancaster. First we went to their church to enjoy some fun and games.......



 I saw a lot of Duck Dynasty costumes.........



After church we hit the neighborhood..........


 and we the boys got a ton of candy!



Our Ninja and Optimus Prime




The boys with their friends.


I've realized after being Stateside that Halloween can pose quite a dilemma amongst believers. Boy, did I feel the heat on this one! Why would a former missionary family partake in this day's festivities? Well, I think Grace To You's article on Halloween really sums up what our family's convictions are on this "day".


"There's another option open to Christians: limited, non-compromising participation in Halloween. There's nothing inherently evil about candy, costumes, or trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. In fact, all of that can provide a unique gospel opportunity with neighbors. Even handing out candy to neighborhood children--provided you're not stingy--can improve your reputation among the kids. As long as the costumes are innocent and the behavior does not dishonor Christ, trick-or-treating can be used to further gospel interests.

Ultimately, Christian participation in Halloween is a matter of conscience before God. Whatever level of Halloween participation you choose, you must honor God by keeping yourself separate from the world and by showing mercy to those who are perishing. Halloween provides the Christian with the opportunity to accomplish both of those things in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a message that is holy, set apart from the world; it's a message that is the very mercy of a forgiving God. What better time of the year is there to share such a message than Halloween?"

If you want to read more, you can go directly to the page.

 

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Forneris Farms

In our ongoing efforts to get out on Saturdays, we headed to Forneris Farms the weekend before Halloween so that daddy could enjoy a pumpkin patch too. Forneris Farms is located right across the street from where I used to work. They have amazing produce and probably the best ever strawberries! I love that they're local and have been around for over 40 years.

The last time we were here, Jojo was 2 years old...........

and now he's 10 years old..........


The ladies at the grocery stores were right.........time flies!




It was another gorgeous day! Actually it was quite warm.....I still can't believe it was the end of October and we were so hot!!





We basically just went to take pictures and hang out but Jon and the boys did go on the train because I had promised the boys. I guess they have an amazing corn maze. I'm thinking next year Jon and I will have to go out on a date and try out the maze!!