11 Years!

 

Yesterday Jon and I celebrated 11 years of marriage!  I praise 

God everyday for giving such a Godly man to me when I 

didn't deserve it!  I meant to post this yesterday but blogger

was giving me some problems so it's a day late.  We didn't do

much yesterday to celebrate because I had a doctor's appointment

in the morning and he had a meeting in the evening.  So, we 

had a lunch date and shopped a little.  It's always nice to spend

one on one time with my man!  Besides, in 11 days we(the whole

family) are headed to Spain!  We'll be going to Mallorca, Spain

where I have an uncle and 5 cousins whom I have not seen in 

over 27 years!  We can't wait.  And today we celebrate Nathan's

4th birthday but unfortunately daddy has a killer sinus thing going

on and so he is out for the count.  It's also a bit toasty out today so

we shall what we do.  No worries though because we had a birthday

party last week to celebrate Nathan's 4th! 

He's Everything My Dad Wasn't

It wasn't until I got married and had children that I had a real reason to celebrate Father's Day.  I often tell my family and friends that I really don't deserve being married to the man God gave me but my two boys surely deserve him!  It has been several years since I have seen or talked to my own father and I don't carry any grudges or hatred towards him.  I trust in a God who is completely sovereign over every single event of my life and that even includes being raised in a home where my father was physically and verbally abusive towards my mother and his 3 daughters.  For many who have lived in a home like I have, Father's Day is probably a day not to be celebrated but I am more than happy to celebrate because God has given me a husband who is everything that my dad wasn't.

  Spiritual Leader
My husband is a Godly man who leads his two boys spiritually.  First of all he leads by example and most mornings the boys will find daddy sitting at his desk or at the kitchen table reading his Bible. After dinner he leads our family devotions through prayer, worship, scripture memorization,and reading from a children's Bible book.  

 Patient
Have you ever seen the mama gorilla at the zoo who has a little baby on her back picking at her, swinging off her arm, jumping on her and so forth?  The mama gorilla doesn't even budge...............my husband is the same way.  I always tell him he has the patience of a mama gorilla. By the time he gets home my patience has been exhausted and thankfully he has more than enough patience to deal with me and the boys.

 He Says  "I Love You "
I can guarantee you that my boys have no doubt of their father's love for them.  Not a day goes by without my husband assuring our boys of his complete and unconditional love.  Hearing my husband tell one of the boys "I love you" warms heart every single time.  I have absolute no recollection of my father ever telling me he loved me.................not a one!

 He Loves Me
Not only are my boys sure of their father's love for them but they completely trust and know that daddy loves mommy.  I think this is one of the best legacies a father can leave behind for their children.  Divorce is prevalent in our society nowadays and it has even permeated the church but the boys know that their parents won't go down that path.  I trust that one day both of our boys will be able to look back at their daddy's example of loving his wife as Christ loved the church and model that in their own marriages.

Birthday!

Yesterday we celebrated my husband's 40th birthday!  I planned a little surprise get together for him and had some of our friends over.  It was a fun night but unfortunately I didn't get a lot of pictures! 

Saturday evening we were able to get out on a date night.  We went to T.G.I.F's for............

 

a taste of America!

 

And here's the birthday boy!  

 

Aside from our meals we shared this plate of onion rings that were

totally delicious at the time but by the time we got home we felt

stuffed and we were reminded all night about those onion rings!!!

I'm so thankful for my husband!  God has given me above and 

beyond what I deserve in this amazing man!  Happy 40th baby!!

Ten Years and Counting

Jon and I are celebrating 10 years of marriage today.  I am really so thankful to the Lord for him.  I can't believe how the Lord has blessed me with such an amazing man that I really don't deserve.   So here are some fun things i've learned about my "baby bear" in the last 10 years.

- he isn't crazy about cucumbers.  This is the kind of guy he is though; after several years of serving them for lunch he only told me a few months ago that he didn't like them.
- he doesn't like it when I finish his sentences!  Another testimony of his patience with me......he kindly told me to stop doing this only a couple of months ago.  But guess what?  Hard habits are hard to break.
- he likes watching "chick flicks" with me and always lets me pick what movie to watch on our Friday nights DVD nights.
- he also likes to shop.
- he can be a little OCD and it drives me nuts but really his obsession with research and finding the right prices has saved us a ton of money.
- he is the best daddy to our two boys.  When he was single he didn't want any kids at all but I am so thankful he changed his mind.
- and he is the best husband ever.  I prayed fervently to the Lord to bring me a man like this and I am so thankful the Lord heard and answered my prayers.

My Birthday Dinner

Saturday evening Jon and I got to go out on a date night and celebrate my birthday. So thankful once again for our Christina who is so great with the boys......it's such a good feeling to leave the kids with her knowing that they are in good hands and that they absolutely love her. Not to mention that they basically kick us out the door and tell us to leave.

I chose to go to "U Paleecha" for my dinner. It's an amazing Russian restaurant. I love their food. They also make delicious cakes which we love to buy on special occasions. The restaurant isn't too big inside and it is kinda hidden. You actually have to go downstairs to get to the restaurant.



It's kinda dark inside but it is really cute. I forgot to post the pictures of what it looks like inside so I will do that on the next post! The only bad thing is that they allow smoking in restaurants here so unfortunately some man came and sat right next to us and lit up.........bleh! We didn't let it get to us though.



I love this soup......it is called Solyanka. I could eat it every day and not tire of it. Jon had borscht. He says that this restaurant makes the best borscht and he should know since he has had borscht a ton!!



Here's me posing with the dill! A staple in every Russian meal. I had a yummy meat kinda pie. It was delicious.


Jon had polmeni which is a very typical Russian dish with "smetana" or sour cream...another staple in every Russian meal.

Celebrating Jon's 39th

Jon's birthday was on January 23 and we got to go out and celebrate at a Chinese restaurant in the city center. As always it is such a treat to get to go out on a date night uninterrupted by the two little ones.

The restaurant is actually pretty nice. There is a little stream that circles the restaurant with those big fish swimming around.




Jon is enjoying some green tea in our booth. It was really nice to be secluded for privacy and also to be able to speak English without everyone staring at us!


No wonder Asians are so skinny.........who can eat anything with chopsticks????!!!

Date Night!

Well we finally got to celebrate my birthday..............5 weeks late, but that's o.k. Between illnesses and crazy schedules we just couldn't fit it in until a week ago. I've been dying to go to the brand new T.G.I.Fridays that barely opened over a month ago. It was fabulous. Our waitress spoke some English and even humored us with a pretty racist joke that I won't repeat! They also sang some songs to a customer who must have been having a birthday, thankfully Jon didn't say it was my birthday celebration or else I would have died laughing. The waiters/waitresses were singing "Go Bananas" and "Boom Chicka Rocka Chicka Rocka Chicka Boom". It was so funny because they sang it in English of course with a very thick accent. It was really a fun atmosphere and I have been craving onion rings forever so it was just perfect. The best part though was spending it with my wonderful husband. Lately Josiah has been talking up a storm, I mean the kids never quiets down. I know that I've prayed for so long for him to talk but wow this is crazy. Jon and I can't really talk anymore during our dinners at home because Jojo is constantly interrupting us and goes on and on and on. So, it was just great being able to converse with my best friend and love of my life!