Three boys and a girl

2011-03-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

2011-03-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

Golden Polish at 5 weeks :)

Bell Peppers and Tomatoes are doing well in the greenhouse.

The outside garden and the compost pile (we need to work on that)

Lettuce in a container.

2011-03-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Purple Okra and some Squash

My beautiful greenhouse :)

Heirloom Tomatoes

A cherry tomato

Katya and one of the babies

This is the golden polish chicken at 1 week!!

LOVE THIS ONE!!

Spring is coming or maybe it is here ;)

2011-03-14T18:30:00.001-07:00

I guess the lack of blogging could explain that we have been really busy over the past 3 or 4 months since I last blogged. Not exactly sure that we have been doing anything profound or exciting but time flies by sometimes :) We had Christmas at our house and all of the family was able to come so that was nice for me because then we didn't have to go anywhere. The kids got lots of things although they don't really need anything new. We had a really cold month or two so we spent a lot of time indoors. I am so glad that it is finally warming because I love being outside. I love working in the DIRT!!! Hopefully soon I will have lots of flowers and veggies. We also have baby chicks who are now a month old. They were my Valentine's gift from Ryan. We had 5 deaths and gave 5 chickens to a friend and are still left with 19 chicken (plus our other 9 hens). Ryan built me a new greenhouse and chicken coup!! They are both beautiful and I am enjoying them very much. I have tons of seeds already started even purple okra. I have strawberries that will be ripening very soon. I have arugula that is so yummy and tons of herbs too!! The cabbage and greens did very well at the school this winter and I have a friend who has been sharing his veggies with us too. I am so ready for the tomatoes to start growing...we are trying some heirloom tomato seeds this year. We have 4 raised beds in the front yard which look beautiful and will soon be full of plants. The kids are enjoying planting their seeds too. We are enjoying the longer daylight hours. We stay out as long as possible. Sorry if you check this all the time and there are no updates...I have been subbing quite a bit and the gardening, chickens and kids keep me very busy. Love to all :)

More pictures that go with the previous post

2010-11-22T11:04:00.000-08:00

November update

2010-11-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

Since the last blog we have celebrated lots of birthdays! We have had parties for Katya, Ryan and Summer. We still have many more to come in November and December. These are really busy months. The kids are going to be out of school all next week because of Thanksgiving Break. We are just relaxing at the house...which will be so nice. The kids have been doing very well in school. They all made honor roll on their first report card. Parker Reid is a whiz kid in math. He is so amazing...his teacher says she has never seen a child that can do math like him. Landon is doing excellent in his class also. He was the only one a few weeks ago to make a 100 on his story test :) Bryce won a brand new bike for being the highest AR reader in the 4th grade. I am so proud of them. Katya is trying to hold out for kindergarten but she LOVES going to the school. She enjoys being there with me...but she also enjoys her days with her grandparents when I am working. I am trying to keep everyone's schedules together and keep my sanity. Now that we are finished with soccer...it should be much easier. We only have Bryce's tennis now...whoo!!HOOO!! I love coaching soccer but always enjoy the break. Oh and we have been able to sell some of our eggs. We have sold 7 dozen so far :) I am so thrilled!!! We are moving into the part of the year that is my least favorite time. Hopefully...we will all survive. We are excited in a few weeks that we will be celebrating my sister's graduation from nursing school...Way to GO, SUMMER!! Well...that is about all I have to say about our life...if you need more details you can call or email.

The pictures to go with the post

2010-10-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Landon's birthday waffle!

Landon wanted a cake with "ganache"

Landon's 1st B B gun!

Landon and I at his birthday party
Bryce's class with the weatherman.

Bryce playing soccer

Wake me up...when September ends...

2010-10-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hello...in case I have any readers who were wondering...where are the Jacksons?? We are everywhere! Mondays we have tennis. Tuesdays and Thursday we have soccer practice. Wednesday is church. Friday is usually a catch up day. Saturdays are soccer games and Sundays we have church and Boy Scouts. Needless to say, we stay very busy. In between all the organized activities we have to decide what's for dinner, make dinner, do homework, work in the gardens, and take care of the chickens. Occasionally, I sub at the school. Last week I worked three days...which is too much for me but I survived. A few weeks ago I organized an event for the 4th graders (150 kids) at our school. I wrote to the weatherman at WALB and asked if he would speak on weather because it is what they are studying in Science. He agreed!! I was so excited and so he came to speak to them. Right before his arrival a kid at the school pulled the fire alarm so we were late starting but all turned out okay. It was a neat experience for them and I enjoyed it too. Katya went to a kindergarten classroom during this activity which she throughly enjoyed. The kids are all doing well in school and are growing so fast. They enjoy reading and really love the Percy Jackson books. Parker Reid is so good in math. He can already do some more advanced math problem and I love watching him work!! Well...I guess that is enough for now. I hope to post pictures sometime but we will see if I can find any.

Our Chicken Lays an Egg

2010-08-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

More pictures

2010-08-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

The first day of school.

Summer is over :( and school has started :)

2010-08-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

I always have conflicting feelings about school starting. On one hand...I enjoy the summertime. The other hand...I LOVE SCHOOL!! I love LEARNING!! I don't love the fact that the kids are away all day but somedays I do enjoy the peace and quiet :) Although with Katya here not sure it is very quiet. She talks so much...she talks to me...and then today she was talking to herself. So we had open house last week, then started school and now we have been in for a full week. The kids are all enjoying their teachers. The first week is always a week of learning new rules and procedures. Next week I am sure they will be down to business. Although two of the boys already had spelling words this week. Sydney Katya and I have enjoyed being just two of us. We water and work in the school gardens every morning. Then sometimes we have projects to do at the school (helping teachers or other jobs). We come back home and get our egg out of the chicken coup. We have been have two eggs per day...one in the morning...and one in the evening. It is so much fun!!! The one in the morning is white and the one in the evening is brown. We have still to determine who is laying them. We are looking forward to a wonderful school year this year.

Sara goes to Siberia

2010-07-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

As I exited the plane I felt a really cool breeze blowing. Actually at that time it felt COLD to me:) I walked into the airport and I was looking for Anastasia. At that moment I was overwhelmed with emotions. I saw Anastasia and we hugged and were both CRYING. It was so cool to actually be in her city and country after she had experienced mine. After we stopped crying we went to get my luggage. Her friend Julia drove her to the airport...she left work to drive and pick me up. It was so nice of her. Anastasia and I talked the whole way to Deevnogorsk which is a town outside of Krasnoarysk where she lives. We stayed with Julia and her daughter, Dasha. We ate and then walked around some. Later we went to see the hydropower station on the Yenesei River. They had one of the gates open draining the water which was like a HUGE waterfall :) It was so beautiful and the water was very loud. We also went to a lake above the Yenesei and took some pictures. On that same day, I had my first experience at a banya. This banya had a sauna and a pool and then a table to eat. This was a birthday party for Julia's friend. We enjoyed meeting several of her friends there and relaxing in the sauna and then jumping in the pool. We even had wet eucylyptus leaves and hit ourselves with those in the sauna. Very refreshing! That night I slept so good. I slept until about 10 the next morning which may be a first in my life ;) While we were in Deevnogorsk...I was able to meet so many nice people. I met a family who had two wonderful boys. They were very talented. One played the piano very well. He practices around 3 hours a day (maybe more). The other boy did karate/martial arts and so we watched videos of his performances. The family all spoke English and so they practice there English with me. The food was wonderful there. We had tea and many things to munch on...cherries, pastries, sausage, cheese, apricots...etc. Yummy! Another family I met was Vanya's family. He is a friend of Anastasia's who teaches guitar and English so kids in their town. His father made shashleek on and outdoor grill. We had homemade pumpkin juice and tea, tomatoes, cucumbers, torte, homemade mushroom soup (from mushrooms they had gathered). His mother was so kind and hospitable. His neices were there and one of them sang to us. His wife came later in the evening. It was a nice time. We walked around the city again and listened to music. At the end of the night, Anastasia went into the store and I said I would like to buy some sunflower seeds. Vanya's dad (who had been offering us ice cream the whole night) bought me 3 HUGE things of sunflower seeds. It was wonderful and the seeds lasted us on the train and then I even brought one bag back to the States with me :) Another day some girls and guys gave a concert "for" me. Actually they play every week but I was invited. They were so talented. They sang, some played the guitar and one played the piano. It was such a special time. I even sang along to one English song they were playing. They were so focused and you could tell practiced very hard and long hours. Dasha, the girl we stayed with was one of these who gave the concert. She plays the guitar and is an artist too! She is such a talented person. I really enjoyed getting to know her. Another day Anastasia and I went to Krasnoarysk on a bus. We walked around and asked people in English to take our picture. It was our experiment. Everyone we asked did take our picture but no one asked any questions very few said anything at all. They took our picture and walked away. Until we got to one couple, they were from Germany (I think). They tried to talk to us and ask questions and tell us about themselves. It was so funny and another guy standing nearby said...I speak English...my name is ...but he was kind of strange so we walked away from him. One night we went to the ballet. It was Swan Lake which was written by Tchaikovsky. It was unbelievable to actually be in Russia watching a ballet written by such a famous musician was truly PREMIUM. That night we were under dressed...we had spent the whole day trying to register me with the passport people. It seriously too the whole day. We wore capris, sandles and t-shirts. Most of the other people had really nice dresses and heels. There was even a little kid (maybe 4 or 5) behind us who had a bow tie. He was also very horrible through the whole ballet. He shook my chair and talked the whole time and eventually was cussed out by a lady sitting next to him. After the ballet we went to meet a friend of Anastasia's. She lived in a wonderful apartment. She had just remodeled everything it was awesome and the view was so cool of the river. She took us to a view overlooking the city...I don't remember the name of the place but we watched the sunset around 10:30 pm. She also surprised us by making Starbucks and bringing it in a thermos. She also took us to the train station on the day we left on the transiberian train. Another day we went to the zoo with Julia. It was drizzling rain that day but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. The zoo had so many varieties of animals. That day we went to see where Anastasia went to school too. We also went to a cool restaurant overlooking the river and so other sites with beautiful views and photo opportunities. I saw fireworks while in Deevnogorsk. I was so blessed to meet so many people who are now my friends. They took me into their homes and showed me their lives and for that I am truly greatful to have had such an opportunity. I was able to truly experience Siberia and ALL its BEAUTY! On the last day I was in Krasnoarysk, I was able to meet a special person...Anastasia's mom. It was truly a surreal experience because she had the chance to meet all my family while in America and I was getting that chance too. Once again I was crying and her mom was crying. Her mom and sister prepared a wonderful meal for us with beautiful decorations...candles and flowers. The food was yummy. Anastasia and I teased saying it was Thanksgiving in Russia because we had turkey. Her mom made something similar to fried zucchini which is one of my favorites. We had tomatoes and cucumbers and tea and blinis. Her sister was so kind and helpful. Vita, her sister has such a caring and compassionate spirit. I love them both very much. Her mom has done a wonderful job raising two beautiful and talented girls. It was a shame we only had a few hours together but we felt we already knew each other through lots of stories. Anastasia and I were off to the train station to leave on our BIG adventure on the transiberian railroad...we left at 6:00 on Sunday evening and arrived in Moscow on Wednesday.

I will tell about this another day...

Traveling to Kiev...Sumy...and on to Siberia

2010-07-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

I know it has been over a month since I last blogged. Some of this was because I had rare internet access on my trip and the other is since I returned home I have been adjusting to being back. I will pick up where I left off talking about my trip...

After leaving Sochi...I flew to Kiev. I had to fly to Moscow first and then change terminals. The airport in Moscow was overwhelming but I survived. I arrived to Kiev went through Passport Control...claimed my luggage...and was met there by my friend...Tanya. For those of you who don't know...I met Tanya on my first trip to Ukraine in 2005. {She and I have been corresponding ever since. At that time she showed me pictures of her family and told all about her children. She also told me about her granddaugter who was due soon after we met her in 2005. Since then she has talked of me to her family and I have heard about her family but I had never met anyone from her family.} We left Kiev on a bus to Sumy...it was about 6 hours and it was packed. We sat in the front of the bus and talked the whole way. We arrived late at night...I think it was about 11:00 or later at night. A friend of their family met us to take us to Neezi...this was the name of the village where she lives. After about 25 minutes we were there. We had tea and cookies and went to bed. In the morning, I was going to help milk the cow but they wanted me to sleep instead. I woke at 5:30 because I was so excited. I went back to sleep when they said I would milk the cow later. It was wonderful being in their home. They had all kinds of animals. It was like a farm :) I enjoyed their peaceful village. I enjoyed so much meeting Ksusha, Sasha, Olya and Seroyzha!! I made several dresses for her granddaughters. Ksusha loved her dresses so much!! She modeled them for everyone. Sasha loved hers too but she is just a few months old. Sasha smiled ALL the time :) They were both adorable. Olya was so kind and is such a good mother. She had me in her home and the meal was wonderful. She made homemade tomato juice. Yummy!! We also had so many things from their garden...tomatoes...peppers...mushroom they had gathered. We had so much food and it was so tasty! Olya's husband, Seroyzha (Tanya's son) made shashleek (meat on a stick). It is one of my favorite Ukrainian meals!!! LOVE IT!! Seroyzha also took Tanya and I out on a beautiful boat ride. A little wooden boat...it was so much fun...we saw water lillies....we caught a fish and crawfish. Another day we spent in the town of Sumy. I was able to see the President of Ukraine. He was in their town for the day. I was able to get really close on the front row because Tanya and her friends worked for his party during the election :) It was a neat experience. After this Tanya, Ksusha and I walked around the city and later met with her other son, Yura. Yura took us for lunch at a pizza place. We enjoyed walking with him and talking. He spent the day with us in Neezi too. I enjoyed talking with Yura. His mom, Tanya speaks wonderful English and he has listened to her talk so he understood much of what I was saying. We would mix English and Russian together and then ask Tanya if there was something we couldn't figure out. I also met two of Tanya's good friends and Tanya fixed a wonderful dinner. We also had a picnic at the river one day too!! I also had the chance to see and have dessert with several of our previous interpreters. Dasha, Dasha, and Lena met me for dessert and we had a great time visiting with each other. Tanya's husband, Slava taught me to milk a cow. It was my first time EVER milking a cow. I must say it was difficult. I tried again later with Seroyzha and he let me taste the milk in a cup right after I milked the cow. It was so cool but it would have taken me FOREVER to fill up a bucket. I did better the second time than the first ;) It was so peaceful there. I was there three days but it was such a memorable time. I loved the nature, animals and most of all her family who I felt I already knew. Tanya and I enjoyed talking so much. We talked and laughed and cried and laughed and talked...I love you...Tanya. Early Sunday morning I went to get on the train back to Kiev. Tanya and I arrived at the train station around 6 in the morning. She received a call and it was Yura and he met us at the platform to say goodbye. It was such a nice visit and I hope to go back to Neezi one day.

I was on my way to Kiev on the train. It was a nice ride because there was no one sitting near me most of the trip. I laid down on the seats and slept most of the ride. It was a beautiful view as I was near the window but the trip was overall uneventful. I did have tea on the way...I arrived in Kiev after about 5 or so hours on the train. Vitaliy, my friend and translator, was meeting me at the train. I got off the train and no sign of Vitaliy. I stood for a while on the platform and then there were not many people so I went into the station. I carried my suitcase up the stairs and I had my backpack on too. I waited and waited and then I got a little worried. I thought how will I call him or find him. I asked a lady (in Russian) if I could use her phone...she just walked off. I stood against the wall and all of the sudden the man started punching another man in the head and they were right in front of me. No one did anything...I just stood there and watched. Now I was a little worried but then I saw Vitaliy. He, his cousin, Bogdan and I went to his apartment. Later we went to the lake with Tanya, his girlfriend. They made shashleek and they went swimming!! It was a fun time and the weather was beautiful. We always have so much fun together. The next day we hung out...Vitaliy made some yummy coffee...Starbucks. Later that day I met up with Big D (Dennis) and his girlfriend. We spent the rest of the day shopping and later that night we all went back to Vitaliy's ordered a pizza and watched the World Cup. The next day I had some more coffee...Yegor (another of our past translators and my friend) came over to visit :) We all talked and listened to music. Later Yegor and Big D took me to the airport. I enjoyed my visit in Kiev...seeing all my friends!! I was on to Siberia from Kiev. The flight from Kiev left around 5:35 in the evening...it landed in Moscow a few hours later. I then had to change terminals again. When I arrived to Terminal D...I had a long time before my next flight. The flight left at 1:30 am for Krasnoarysk. I enjoyed a nice dinner...by myself in the airport. I ate at an Italian restaurant. I ordered in Russian...all by myself and paid and everything! The food was expensive but I was ready to eat so it didn't matter. I was exhausted by the time the plane took off. It was a four hour flight but then there was a time change. We arrived at what was 5:30 am the time I was on but it was 10:30 am in Krasnoarysk. I slept some of the flight but the guys next to me were snoring sooooooooooo LOUD. The flight was beautiful...so many TREES...so much undeveloped LAND!! I was in SIBERIA...A GIRL FROM SOUTH GEORGIA. It was surreal and it is hard to even explain how I felt. It was like a dream come true although I had never dreamed of going to Siberia:) The whole time I was there I felt like I was so far away...and I was. It was such an interesting feeling.

I will pick up my story later because I am tired tonight. I will try to post pictures for those of you who haven't seen the ones on facebook. I am writing this mainly so I will have this written down. These are my feelings and some reflextions of my trip.

Sea and Snow

2010-06-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

Right now I am in Sochi visiting Vera and her family. It is beautiful weather here. Yesterday it was a little hot. They live very near the Black Sea, mountains and waterfalls. It has been very nice to visit with her. They have taken me all around the city. I have so many beautiful pictures but because of the internet speed I can't upload them :( The picture above is me, the first day I arrived to Sochi. I am standing in the Black Sea. The water is cool but nice. There beaches are smooth stones. It is very interesting to lay on them because they are very warm. I saw snow when we went to visit the mountains. They are building for the Olympics in 2014 which will be held in this beautiful place. I am doing very well in my understanding as Vera and her family speak NO English. They are very patient with me and I have tried hard to understand and to speak too!! It is nice to be submersed in the language. I will write more later. Tomorrow I leave for Ukraine and Sumy :) I will miss it here but I am excited to see some more of my friends too.

My Anniversary....

2010-06-11T22:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary, Ryan. I love you so much!!! It has been a wonderful 11 years today. I miss you and have enjoyed these years together. LOVE YOU!!!!

Swimming with Katya

2010-05-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

MVI_4426.AVI

2010-05-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

2010-05-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

2010-05-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hi, here is an update for those of you who want/need one. We are all staying busy and doing well. My parents came for Mother's Day, a chorus performance, a soccer game and Parker Reid's kindergarten circus!! We enjoyed an exciting few days together. Parker Reid did a great job as a clown in the circus. He is so funny in real life; he didn't even have to practice;) Bryce had to step in last minute to do a dance in the chorus performance. He did a GREAT job too!! My mom also pulled Parker Reid's tooth. It was his first one so he was very excited. The kids made me lots of cute things for Mother's Day. We have been working in our gardens at home and at school! We even found a snake last week which we had to kill so it wouldn't kill our chickens. The chickens are getting bigger and we are enjoying watching them grow. Ryan is trying to finish our fence because we are having trouble with stray dogs barking at the chickens. School will be out a week from Friday and then I leave June 9th for Russia/Ukraine. I am sure life will continue moving very quickly...we are just all holding on and enjoying the ride ;) Pictures will follow whenever I have time to upload.

Roses are red...Daddy loves YOU!

2010-04-14T06:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I opened the refrigerator door and there was a bouquet of red roses. I asked Ryan what the roses were for. He said, "One is for you and the rest are for Sydney Katya. " He has been seeing her pick all the azaleas in the yard. She puts them in a cup of water and says "now don't throw them away because they are a decoration"!! It was so sweet of him and she was THRILLED. She tries to carry them everywhere and I tell her if she doesn't leave them in the water they will die ;) She is lucky to have a dad who loves her so much!

A ballerina and the Little Mermaid

2010-04-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

I was going through some pictures and realized I had posted some of these creations ;)

A new bike

2010-04-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

I found a wonderful deal on this bike. It was $7 at the Goodwill. It is a "princess" bike and she loves it. We hope soon she will learn to ride without training wheels but she has to practice more pedaling now ;)

2010-04-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

We have enjoyed our passes this year. We have already been twice and hope to enjoy lots more fun this season. Thanks, mom!!

Bryce turns 9

2010-03-06T05:46:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Bryce's birthday party with a party at the park near our house. He had some of his school friends to help him celebrate. They played a soccer game and then on the playground. Ryan made an ice cream cake for his cake. We had birthday waffles and Mexican food. Summer and mom came to help with all the birthday festivities!! Thanks so much!

2010-03-06T05:16:00.000-08:00

Lyuba working on Sydney Katya's "crown braid"

I love this one with the dolls in the background.

Gayla and I enjoyed seeing each other.

Vera gave me a beautiful calendar of Sochi, Russia.

It is a beautiful city on the Black Sea and the town

where she lives.

Nickoli wanted me to try the salted fish. I didn't though

it is still a little raw for me.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a chance to visit with some good friends from Ukraine and Russia ;) Gayla, Viktor, Nickoli and Vera were in Gainesville and so we drove down to see them. The kids had never met them although I have spent 4 summers with all of them. It was such a dream come true for the kids to meet them and them to meet the kids. Bryce enjoyed playing soccer. Parker Reid rode on Viktor's shoulders. Katya played with everyone. Landon enjoyed playing with everyone too!

Finally, an update

2010-03-06T04:59:00.001-08:00

Landon was passing out the blini (I made 100 of them and cut them into 4's)

Landon by his "booth"

Ryan made this to look like a passport.

It was wonderful!

Mr. Davis, the principal, comes by to learn

about Russia.

So it has been more than a month since I have updated, sorry. My sister is about to drive me nuts about updating. Things are very busy and blogger takes forever to upload my pictures. I will start with Landon's country study. He learned about Russia and did a poster and told about his country to hundreds of other students from his elementary school. His whole class told about different countries. They all did very well. Here are a few pictures....

Baking Breads...my new hobby...as if I needed another one

2010-01-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

A Russian dish that I made

Homeade breadstick with parmesan and herbs

Homeade pasta~~~~

Landon thought this was the coolest experiment ever.

Sesame breadsticks

Pita Bread

Cobblestone Cheese Bread. It has a crunchy outside

and soft on the inside.

Pumpernickel (chorni kleb)

Cobblestone cheese bread.

Pancetta and olive loaves.

The top loaf is ciabatta bread.

Perozhkee (with different fillings)

I have started baking/making bread~~ It is such a fun hobby. I love it!! I have made many different types of bread. I have made~~~~italian breads, wheat breads, rye breads, and white breads. I have made bread sticks which are sooooooo yummy. This weekend I made pita bread and this morning I made English muffins (this was so cool). Last night Landon and I even made homeade pasta - linguine and spaghetti. I have taken some pictures. Hope you enjoy!

Finishing touches on the room...

2010-01-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

Pantry from the boys' room!

The walls are a very pale blue with white ceiling and trim!

The boys' new room

2010-01-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

This is the pantry before walls.

This is the side view of the pantry.

The laundry room is in the back by this ladder.

The windows are ready now we just had to put the siding.

More measuring

Framing for the new windows.

Taking down the garage door (I helped with this)

Ryan and I took the garage door down and the windows

up in one day :) Thanks to the Jacksons for watching

the kids.

The new door going to the garage from the sunroom.

New Year's Eve meal

2010-01-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve meal: Chicken Kiev, potato salad, rice,

mushroom gravy, green beans and tangerines. And Ryan's

homemade bread. YUMMY!!

Random pictures from the holidays

2010-01-08T06:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas and New Years

2010-01-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas was uneventful this year. Ryan and I started a project the Wednesday before Christmas and that took up most of our time this Christmas. It has been fun though a lot of work. We are in the process of closing in our garage and making it into a room for the boys!! They are excited and the room is HUGE!! The kids enjoyed opening all their presents Christmas morning. After Christmas we were able to visit with Katie and Luke who came from Texas. At New Years we visited with my family except Samuel who was able to come the day before Christmas. Overall, it was a relaxing Christmas and New Years which is nice every once in a blue moon;)

Family Christmas pictures because I didn't do Christmas cards this year

2009-12-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

The pictures from my birthday party

2009-12-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

Masha gave me a whistling teapot.

Masha, Jihene, me and Anastasiya

My wonderful family and the tasty cherry pie

that Mrs. Jackson made for me.

Susan painted this picture for me.

3 new Christmas dresses

2009-12-15T12:04:00.000-08:00

Her ballet pose.

Bobcat Badge

2009-12-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

Landon's scout group!

Putting on his bobcat badge :)

Big L and I after receiving the badge.

Christmastime adventures

2009-12-15T05:53:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday night Bryce had a choral concert at school! The kids all did a wonderful job and it was a fun program to watch. They sang many new songs and some old ones too!! They divided the gym into sections based on the 12 days of Christmas. Then each section had to say their part. It ended up reminding me of the cheer "we've got spirit yes we do...we've got spirit how 'bout you". Everyone was yelling their part...it was so funny I had to substitute on Friday and on Monday so that always makes for a crazy day. It rained all day on Saturday so I sewed 3 dresses. The kids spent lots of time reading and were really good. Landon had his cub scout meeting on Sunday evening and received his bobcat badge. This week will be full of activities at their school because of Christmas. Friday is their last day.

We have started another building project. We are making an opening to the garage from our sunroom. Then we will finish the garage room to make another BIG room. Not sure whether we will move the boys out there or make it a playroom. It will be fun and adventurous, I am sure! I have pictures of all the above events and will post as I have time.

2009-12-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

2009-12-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

Katya :)

2009-12-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

More of the princess

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Parker Reid :)

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Landon :)

2009-12-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

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Katya's pictures

2009-12-07T14:09:00.000-08:00

Some Pre-Christmas pictures

2009-12-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to Wild Adventures. It was only for a few hours because it was so cold. The kids had fun and it was not crowded at all. I also was able to get some really cute pictures of the kids before we left for church yesterday morning. I will share them if I can get them to upload.

2009-12-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving we went to Atlanta. We all enjoyed playing the wii. For some reason I have no pictures (guess I was too busy playing the wii). I think Summer took some so if I find any I will definately upload! We had lots of yummy food and even found some sales on Black Friday. The kids are back in school and all doing very well. Bryce is getting ready for a Christmas concert with chorus. He and Landon are reading so many books!! Parker Reid is improving on his sight words everyday. Sydney Katya is Sydney Katya, a princess and has developed a love for dancing. All is well and we are putting up our tree tonight!!! We are all excited about this (espcially Ryan :) ) The kids are ready for their elf to return. His name is Jackson. Hopefully he will make his appearance when our house looks a little more like we are in the Christmas spirit. I am trying to figure out how to upload more pictures but blogger is so slow. More to come...goodbye for now.

Katya's 3rd birthday (a little late)

2009-11-30T06:34:00.000-08:00

Sydney Katya's birthday party!

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Promised pictures

2009-11-29T11:16:00.000-08:00

A few pictures from Disney World (sorry it took so long)

end of October activities.....

2009-11-02T17:44:00.000-08:00

So for all (few of you) that are waiting for me to change this blog, this is for you!! We enjoyed our time at Disney World. It was VERY cool the day that we went so it was such a beautiful day. Thanks to my brother, Samuel for treating us to a wonderful time there. The kids really enjoyed seeing all the characters and riding the rides. It was cool to see everyone as a "kid" for the day! I loved watching my mom experience Disney World for the first time. We also enjoyed Summer being there with us. Thanks so much for the wonderful weekend, Samuel~(in case you even read my blog)

So after Disney, we have been going to lots of soccer games and practices. We also have been busy with homework. I am still working in the garden at school because we still have peppers (bell, jalepeno, and cowhorn) and LOTS of them. I have been able to sub one day so that was nice. We had a trunk or treat party with the church. Halloween we went to our friends' house for a party! It was a fun and she had planned lots of activities for the kids. Our family also celebrated two birthdays just 2 days apart. Ryan and Sydney Katya had birthdays at the end of October. They both had parties and cakes and we just finished off the cakes last night. I think that is about all for now but I will try to get pictures up soon.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.....

2009-10-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

My brother, Samuel has invited us to go to Disney World compliments of him. YEAH!!! The kids are sooooooooooo pumped. He told them today now we only have a few days of "when are we going to Disney World, mommy??" We are excited though. They can't remember ever going because Landon and Parker Reid were very young when we went last time. My mom and dad have NEVER been either so this will be so neat. Pass on any advise for those of you who have recently visited Disney. Thanks so much. Pictures and stories to come soon.

Picture updates

2009-10-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

A chrysallis! They are this beautiful color.

Me with my boys!

We also went to Destin for Judah and Kim's wedding!

The caterpillars

An update....

2009-10-07T18:19:00.001-07:00

I have been putting off blogging because things are soooooooo busy. Since I last wrote, I had a friend visit from Ukraine. She was here for 1 whole day and part of 2 other days. In those days, we drove to Gainesville then back. Then we went to Jacksonville so she could see the ocean for the first time and then back to a party at a friends. She left the next morning at 5 am but we stayed up till about 1 am the night before she left. It was so hard to get up to take the kids to school the next morning;) It was so wonderful to see her though. The kids have all started their ball practices too! We have no less than 3 nights of practices a week and then a game every Saturday (and 3 haven't even started games yet). The kids are enjoying it though. We also celebrated Landon's 7th birthday at the park. It was so much fun and he had lots of friends at his party. Ryan made his icecream cake which was BEAUTIFUL! We are blessed with so many friends. We have had bridal showers and birthday parties too over this past month. I am also taking care of catepillars at the boy's school. It has been so much fun. I feel like a midwife going in to check on them every morning. We have had several successful births and LOTS of chrysallis are still getting ready. They are so interesting and unique. I think last weekend I had 15 caterpillars eating on the milkweek. It was fun though! I have been trying to sew Sydney Katya's winter waredrobe and hope to finish sometime. We also had cooking hour at the house for my Russian class again. Needless to say things are very busy but fun. Sorry for lack of blogging and lack of pictures... Love to all!

Goings on....

2009-09-01T17:39:00.001-07:00

Thanks for all the sweet comments about the flower pictures!! We have been very busy since school started. Sports are about to start too so we will be even more busy. I thought we were only going to have 3 in sports and one in cub scouts but Landon said he wants to play too! So I guess we will have ALL 4! Yeah! My dream come true when all four could play :) Katya will start her first soccer season so looking forward to lots of laughs. I am hoping to find some pink cleats too but no luck yet. I have been subbing some although the school systems have about stopped hiring subs because of all the lack of money and such. I guess I will have to count on those private schools;) We have had lots of produce ripening in the garden. It is wonderful! I love all the peppers, tomatoes and okra. Yummy!! We have also had some white eggplant. Today though I found some nasty hornworms. They are digusting and hard to find and even harder to get rid of! I had done very well with no bugs and no pesticides all summer so now I am going to start trying some organic remedies. It is a totally organic garden and been lots of fun! We will be planting winter gardens soon. We have had birthday parties too! Our family went to one this weekend and met a lot of professors from the university. There was tons of GREAT food and lots of international food even homeade pita bread! I went to my first board meeting the other day to try to get some water fountains at the kids' school (on the playground). I will keep you updated on that. I have been sewing a lot but haven't taken any pictures lately. I am making dresses for one of my friend's granddaughter who is going to be born soon. Did I also mention that I am taking a Russian course?? I love it!! Thanks to Mr. Jackson for watching Sydney Katya during my classes. I ride my bike to the class. My teacher is from Siberia and yes, is living now in South Georgia! WOW!! Talk about drastic change in weather :) I am just taking the course so hopefully I can improve my Russian and learn some more too! So far so good... So as you can tell we are staying very active and always doing something. I will try to post new pictures soon.

Yellow flowers everywhere

2009-08-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

Sydney Katya and I went to have breakfast with Mrs. Julie yesterday. It was fun to reconnect. She told me to bring my camera because the peanut hay was blooming. It was GORGEOUS!! Yellow flowers were everywhere so we had a little photo shoot :)

Movin on up...

2009-08-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are so proud of Samuel. He just found out he was promoted to a manager at his company. He will be moving to Tampa, FL very soon. He just started his job about a year ago and has already moved up this quickly!! Way to go little brother :) Can't wait to visit you (and the beach too)!! Good luck with your new job and your move to a new place!

Exciting NEWS!!!!

2009-08-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

Landon FINALLY lost his first tooth!! He is sooooooooooo excited!! He just keeps sticking his tongue in the hole :)

Shortest summer ever!

2009-08-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

School started today! The kids had a great day and LOVED their teachers. They enjoy school and I am so happy about that. We went to the donut shop to eat one before school today. They love donuts and the donut place is always happy to see us coming. Last night we had a party to celebrate going back to school. We had a toast to the new school year!! I also cooked spinach mushroom cannelonis!! This is one of the kids favorite foods. I will post some more pictures tomorrow. It is taking time to upload. Katya was NOT happy about brothers going to school but she survived! This is going to be hard on her. Well, that is all the details and pictures for now...check back later for more.

Misc. Post about sewing and such...

2009-07-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

I have been sewing a lot lately. I have made several dresses for Sydney Katya and several for my friend, Tanya's granddaughters. I will try to post all the pictures of the dresses later but these are two of them. The gray one matches a dress that I made for myself. The other she calls her ladybug dress. It has a black velvet bodice and then also a black velvet jacket!!

I also wanted to share the pictures of the kids in their Ukrainian national shirts, that were made by my friend, Maria (Vitaliy's mom). She made them red and black ones about a year ago but they have almost outgrown them so she made these new blue and yellow ones. They are so beautiful!! I am blessed to have such good friends here and other places.

Also, Ryan wanted Sydney Katya to practice riding a bike so he took one of the boy's old bikes and sprayed it. It is cute! She loves it!

Bring a friend day!

2009-07-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was "bring a friend" day at Wild Adventures. We could bring one friend with every season pass that we have. Well ,we had 4 passes so we decided to bring Mike and his kids!! It was a very warm day and thank goodness most of the rides weren't open when we arrived at the park so we could go straight to the water park!! The kids enjoyed their day. Mike and I enjoyed sharing some stories too! I forgot sunscreen so we all got a little burned but it tanned today so that is good. I am thankful for good friends. We were talking about how surreal it was that we have been friends for so long and now we have kids. Time FLIES!!! Anyway, I was thankful again for the Wild Adventures passes. Thanks, Mom! We had a great day.

Ukraine pictures!

2009-07-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

Vitaliy, Igor, me and Big D, they were kind enough to wake up early and take me to the airport!!

Lyuda, my interpreter and Iryna and I

My friend Tanya and I at the bowling alley in Kiev!

My friend Igor and I! We switched roles this day. I am Ukrainian and he is a Gator fan!

Some of the kids in our class, our teachers and interpreters!

The last day of classes!

Terry, me and Vitaliy (I think he wanted me to get off his phone:))

My friend Sveta and I!

Sasha presented this to me. It is a cloth (can't remember the name). It had been in his family for 60 years.

This is another one of the soccer game. It is on a concrete area beside the hospital.

My interpreter and friend, Vitaliy and I are playing soccer!!

Some of my soccer friends at our night class.

This was a home visit!

This is Igor's mom and dad. Such wonderful and kind people!

Lena, one of our interpreters and I on a water break!

the kids in my class LOVED singing too!!

Some of the kids we played soccer with each night. The soccer ball popped this night. Mom, that is Vlad in the black and red on the outside edge.

We were ready to go see Don Quixote, a ballet!

This is where I ate breakfast every morning with Leeza and Galina and Vitaliy too!

One of my favorite things to do : SING!!

Our group when we had finished playing basketball.

This is Galya in a dress I made and my dress I made too!

Galina (my host mom) and I

This was what I had to wear into a church in Yalta!

Our group went to church in Artomosk, a town near Dzerzhinsk

A few pictures from Crimea!

2009-07-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

The Black Sea

On the shoreline in Yalta with the boats!

Botannical Garden

Livadia's Palace (summer home of Anatasia)

Another palace with the beautiful mountains in the background.

This was where the Yalta Agreement was signed. This is my friend

and translator Igor.

Dima came to get my luggage.

My friend, Vitaliy and I at the airport. It was about 90 degrees!

Trip to Ukraine 4000 miles there...and then back

2009-07-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back! Yes, back to blogging and back from my trips. I think that this is the longest I have ever gone without blogging since I started my blog. Our last big family event was the wedding. Not long after the wedding I left for Ukraine on the 15th of June to be exact. Mr. Jackson took me to Jacksonville to catch my flight. I flew from Jacksonville to Atlanta. In Atlanta I went to board the plane, they scanned my ticket and said I HAD NO SEAT ON THE FLIGHT. I had to go wait in another line and there were several people before me. All of us had been bumped because the flight was OVERBOOKED!! A mom of a guy standing beside me came off the plane to check on him. He didn't make the flight either. This mom saw me crying at the desk and she told the guy PLEASE GIVE THAT GIRL (ME) MY SEAT BECAUSE SHE OBVIOUSLY NEEDS TO MAKE THIS FLIGHT. I said thank you and ran onto the plane. I really needed to make that flight. By the time I got to the gate in New York, the plane was boarding!! I flew first class from New York to Kiev. It was wonderful. Lots of food, plenty of sleep and very comfortable. I arrived in Kiev the next day the 16th of June. I made it through passport control, picked up my luggage and went outside to wait for my friend. Vitaliy arrived a little later. He is my friend and translator and his friend Dima drove him to pick up my luggage (it was very heavy). He also bought me some coffee and a piece of pie and then showed me the other airport that I was flying out of later in the day. He then had to leave because he was taking finals. I walked back to the airport and sat around for a few hours from about 11:30 to 2:15. Then it was time to board the plane for Simferopol which is the capital of Crimea which is somehow still in Ukraine. I talked with a very nice lady and her children on the plane. They were from Baku and going to Yalta for vacation. Her children spoke English very well!! I arrived in Simferopol a little while later, gathered my luggage and met Igor. We boarded a bus that drove us about 2/1/2 hours to Yalta. This is where we were staying. I slept the whole way there because by then I was EXHAUSTED. We arrived and were met by the lady with the flat. We walked there and looked at the place. It was nice so we said we would stay there. We paid our money and then unpacked our things. It was a two bedroom flat with a kitchen, bathroom and frig and it was only $24 a night. Not bad!! It was walking distance from the shoreline. We walked to the shore every evening. It was very pretty there and busy with people. We had a market nearby and bought food and made sandwiches for lunch. We went to many castles and other neat sights. We went to a botannical garden and Sevastopol which is a navy city. I was also able to meet with and visit one of our former interpreters, Yegor. He lives in Yalta and Igor and I had dinner with he and his mom. It was so nice to see him. I will not go into all the stories from the trip. We met many rude people there but the mountains were beautiful. The Black Sea was awesome. It was so clear and it was also VERY cold. I did swim but not for very long. We saw lots of sights and then left on Sunday for Dzherzhinsk on the train. The train was so HOT. There was no air conditioning and the windows didn't open either. Igor tried to open one of the windows and it broke. The two ladies in our compartment said not to say anything to the conductor because they would charge a large amount because I was a foreigner. We didn't! We arrived in Donetsk on Monday morning at 5:30 AM and caught a taxi to Dzerzhinsk about 1/1/2 hours away. We arrived as the translator camp was starting. This first week was a week to get ourselves and our translators ready for the camp with the kids the following week. We had a good week that week, everyone had to do presentations. We also had devotionals in the evenings. We played soccer some too! My translator and friend arrived on Thursday. I enjoyed visiting with Tanya. She stayed for a few days and went to the lake with us on Saturday. Vitaliy also arrived with her. It was great to have he and Lyuda as my translators during the camp week. The children LOVE him!! We had a great group of kids, many of the same ones I had last year so I was thrilled!! I enjoyed so much playing soccer with the kids in the evenings. We had so many kids come. Many of them came to the night classes too. I was also thrilled to meet with Vanya's mom and Granny on Sunday afternoon. Igor went with me to translate because Vanya was helping an adoptive couple in another town. I was able to see Vanya the day I left Dzerzhinsk. I stayed with Gayla and Viktor, my Ukrainian parents. They are wonderful people and I enjoy my home away from home!! I was also able to meet Igor's parents. They are such wonderful people. His dad was always trying to get me to eat. His mom washed my clothes for me. They were very kind people! I always love seeing everyone! It was great to see all our interpreters friends. I was the emcee at Friday's program. Dasha helped me with the translation. I have so many pictures from all the trip and will try to share them. I went back to Kiev with Lyuba, Terry, Igor and Vitaliy on the train. I was then able to stay with Vitaliy for a few days and see some more of my friends from Kiev. I went to the Percherska Lauvra an underground monestary, did some shopping and went bowling too! It was a nice trip. It took me two days to get back home due to flight delays. I was to be home on July 7th but arrived on the 8th, finally. I was glad to be off the plane. We left a few days later for the mountains and just returned late last night. It is nice to be home. This is your update...sorry if I lost some of you in the length. I will post pictures tomorrow.

Some wedding pictures and the week before.

2009-06-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

Update and LOTS of pictures!

2009-05-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that 2 weeks have passed since I blogged. I guess I have been so busy, I forgot to blog:( Sorry for all of those who faithfully visit each day waiting for an update. I have been busy in the school gardens and our home garden. Thanks to Mr. Jackson I have also been able to sub several days. He is my babysitter when I sub :) This is one of the reasons I have been so busy. I worked 4 days last week. That is too much for me (and I am sure too much for him too). We have been busy with ballgames and school. My mom and sister came for Mother's Day. Ryan cooked us a big dinner. It was delicious! Mom surprised Landon and took off work to come to his Kindergarten Circus. Landon did a great job. He was a lion and even had a special part as Simba. I am so proud of him. Bryce has earned 50 points in AR (accelerated reader). This means that he has read over 70 something books. Way to go, Bryce!! He gets to throw a pie in his teacher's face as a reward for this. His class had a Mother's Day celebration. It was very cute. I took pictures of everyone and their mom and forgot myself. Parker Reid had kindergarten registration. He is so excited about starting school. I forgot to take pictures of Kindergarten round-up. I have been sewing some too. I made some dresses for some twins. Summer took a picture of the dresses so maybe she will post it for me. I finally finished a birthday dress for a little girl. I also decided to make Sydney Katya a Wildcat cheerleading outfit! I was going to buy one but they were $50. I decided this was RIDICULOUS so I made one. It turned out cute and I am going to have a paw print monogrammed on the front but otherwise it is finished. I made a little mistake on the skirt but I will make another one I am sure. Also, yesterday Ryan went and made bread with Bryce's class. It was so cool and I forgot my camera. He made challah bread and rolls. The kids were learning about their story of the week and vocabulary words which were knead, ingredients, recipe, dough!! Thanks again, Ryan! This will catch you up a little bit. I am sure things aren't going to slow down. I leave for Ukraine in about a month.

Happy 30th to Bryce's teacher!

2009-04-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a surprise birthday party for Bryce's teacher. I wrote letters home to ask the parents to help buy a tree. I collected some money but one dad stepped up and got the tree and planted it. Mr. Crist who runs a lawn care business in town said, I can get the tree and plant it!! I was so thrilled. I made some cakes and pies (so we would have a variety). Another parent got balloons and one parent bought ice cream. One parent brought the plates and forks and another the drinks. Several parents came to help out too!! It was so much fun. We surprised her because I had taken her class to the playground while she ran to get her son's feeding supplies. Everything worked out perfectly. She was so surprised and loved the tree. I had each of the kids write what they love about her and then they said it to her while giving her a flower. Please pray for her and her family. This morning she received some bad news about her son's health. He is almost 2 years old. Pray for her strength in dealing with this situation and for her son's health. We love her and I am truly blessed that my children have wonderful teachers in their lives.

Visiting the gators again

2009-04-29T20:09:00.001-07:00

Payne's Prairie, again!

Baseball

2009-04-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

These are baseball pictures that I have taken recently!!

New parenting technique for FIGHTING :)

2009-04-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday morning Parker Reid and Landon kept fighting about EVERYTHING!! It was driving me nuts. I had talked to a lady the other day and we were talking about fighting. She said that her friend had 3 girls and would make the sit holding hands in a circle until the girls fixed their problem and worked things out. She also said they had to leave smiling and with a hug. This is what I tried with the boys. It worked pretty well. I am sure I will try it again. I didn't get the after smile and hug but they DID IT!!

1,2,3 strikes at the old ballgame

2009-04-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

He really wants to get in the puddle of water :)

Landon talks to the guy on base.

Climbing up and down the bleachers.

I can dress myself, mommy :)

Baby Abigail (Abby)

2009-04-20T11:35:00.003-07:00

Many of you know my friend Sarah Musgrove, this is her new baby girl. Sarah found out last week that Eric, her husband was cancer-free. She also found out on the same day that she would be adopting a baby girl named, Abby. They picked her up from the hospital and she weighed 4 pounds and something. So tiny!! I got busy sewing dresses for her. They are still a little too big although they seemed so small when I was making them. They were for up to 7 pounds. Wow!! She is so beautiful and I am thrilled for Sarah
and her family.

The rest of Easter

2009-04-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

A little of Easter, more to come...

2009-04-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

The Jackson family
Easter 2009

"Summer" Bunny

2009-04-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

My kids are so lucky! They have the Easter Bunny and then they have the "Summer" Bunny. The "Summer" Bunny gives them a basket EVERY Easter in addition to their Easter basket! This year they got goggles, and lots of candy. They also got money eggs from Mrs. Jackson and bubbles from my mom! Thanks to everyone who helps make my kid's Easter and every holiday so special! We missed you Aunt Summer and Gran :)

Some sewing projects that I just didn't take time to post until now

2009-04-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the wet hair, she had just had her bath! These are her chicken dress and her ladybug dress.

Landon's egg hunt

2009-04-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

All last week was very busy, despite the fact my younger two were with my mom. I helped Bryce's class prepare for the CRCT and stayed at the school almost everyday. It was fun but I was exhausted. I also helped another parent transplant the plants that we had let the kids plant before spring break in the school garden. It was so much fun and is going to be so cool! Friday I helped hide eggs for Landon's egg hunt. He enjoyed it!! He had to look for all the eggs with one certain number on them. It was a little more difficult than your normal hunt. Thursday we played a scrimmage game and these are the rest of those pictures. Games start next week which will me I might as well live at the ball park :) I am trying to post some pictures of Easter but not sure that I will be able to get them all up tonight.

Take me out to the ballgame...

2009-04-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

Bryce had a scrimmage game on Thursday. This is what he wore to the game. I know that that is not unusual for Bryce because he wears this outfit ALL the time. Ryan said, "Are you going to a soccer game or baseball :)" I love you, Bryce! He will always be a soccer player through and through!!

Part 2 Spring Break (Bat house, Payne's Prairie, Lake Alice)

2009-04-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

When Missy and I arrived in Gainesville, Misha had on this suit and we were a little more casual!