Saturday, April 28, 2007

Sheep shearing festival.


We went to the sheep shearing family festival today. I did not really plan on going since we've been on a "go" for the whole week, but woke up this morning and did not feel like staying at home, so we packed up and left. It was a pretty neat place to visit. They shear sheep once a year and besides there were so many newborn lambs in the nursery, they were so cute that I don't feel like eating the lamb meat now.

But we ate a lot of sample cheese (didn't buy any, though, it was $20 a pound), watched a lady spin the wool and make the yarn, Ivana tried to weave a basket, and Mirek watched a blacksmith work, Leonka was excited to "drive" a real tractor, and I just enjoyed being outside and nursed Milanka while watching the sheep graze on the field.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Baby update.


Milana is a little more than two month old and it seems that we've had her forever. I don't remember the time of not having her anymore! We are really enjoying having her as she brings a lot of sunshine into our family life. The older sisters adore her and I can tell that the love is mutual, as Milana happily responds to them talking and playing with her. It's such a joy to watch them create a lifelong sister bond, or at least we hope that they will have one, because we constantly remind them that they should always be best friends and watch out for each other in life.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Earth Day celebration at PEEC.


We had a fun weekend. On Saturday we went to the Russian American Kids Circus performance in Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg. I was not sure about bringing Milana along, but then decided to give it a try, anyway I could walk out with her any time if she would get fussy. So, our two months old had visited a theater already. Boy, kids start early this century! It's like when you have you first baby life seems to stop or at least slow down for a while, but when there are older siblings in the house, you just keep on going and the younger ones simply come aboard!

On Sunday we went to the Pocono Educational Environmental Center for an Earth Day celebration. It was a great day to be outdoors and the girls had an awesome time at the PEEC. There were guided nature walks, pond mucking, gardening presentations, eco-crafts, a live animal presentation, recycling tips, useful information for myself as well. I learned a bit about the herbs growing locally that are edible and we can use for medicinal purposes. And maybe I'll even take a class in the fall at the Center and learn even more.

We managed to make a wind mill and heard a short presentation about the wind power, build a bugs' house and took a set to make a bird house home, did tie-dye shirts, painted rocks and did a flower project out of the plastic caps. Ivana and Leona did not want to leave, but I was exhausted after trying to help them with all the fun activities, attend to and nurse Milana, have some kind of lunch, make sure everybody was getting enough fluids and the girls were not getting a sunburn. After two and a half hours I was done. Literally. Thank goodness the ride home was only 5 minutes!

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Family blessing.


I have just finished reading a book "The Blessing", by Gary Smalley and John Trent, Ph.D. and decided to share the most important highlights of the book.

The flower can not grow unless it has the necessary elements of life. Every flower needs soil, air, water, light, and a secure place to grow, one where its roots are not constantly pulled out. When these five basic ingredients are present, it is almost impossible to keep a flower from growing.

Just like the basic needs a flower has, the family blessing also has five key elements. These five elements, blend together, can cause personal acceptance to blossom and grow in our home today. Each individual part provides a unique contribution.

A family blessing begins with meaningful touch. Meaningful touching has many beneficial effects. The act of touch is a key to communicate warmth, personal acceptance, affirmation-even physical health.

The second element of family blessing is based on a spoken message. In many homes today, words of love and acceptance are seldom head. A tragic misconception parents in these homes share is that simply being present communicates the blessing. Nothing could be further from the truth. A blessing becomes so only when it is spoken. Children who are left to fill in the blanks when it comes to what their parents think about them will often fail the test when it comes to feeling valuable and secure.

Meaningful touch and a spoken message, these two elements lead up to the words of blessing themselves, words of high value. Telling children that they are valuable can be difficult for many parents due to the busy schedule, or by only attaching the words of value only to a child's performance.

A fourth element of the family blessing is picturing a special future for the kids. When it comes to predictions about their future, children are literalistic-particularly when they hear predictions from their parents. When ones feels in his or her heart that the future is hopeful and something to look forward to , it can greatly affect his or her attitude in life. Words that picture a special future act like a campfire on a dark night. They can draw a person toward the warmth of genuine concern and fulfilled potential. Instead of leaving a child to head into a dark unknown, they can illuminate a pathway lined with hope and purpose.

The last element of the blessing pictures the responsibility that goes with giving the blessing. The active commitment is very important, because words alone cannot communicate the blessing; they need to be backed with a commitment to do everything possible to help the one blessed be successful. We can tell a child, "You have the talent to be a very good pianist."But, if we neglect to provide a piano for that child to practice on, our lack of commitment has undermined our message.

These are things I will always keep in mind...

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

When the mother is sick....


That is how I have been feeling for the past three days.

When the mother is sick the world seems to go crushing down...
The dark clouds gather above the household, as the pile of laundry gets bigger than an avalanche, the dishes would have runned away if they had legs, the possibility of somebody in the house breaking a leg is huge since there is no empty spot on the floor to make a safe step, there is not even a chance of a hearty, freshly cooked dinner, kids hair gets so tangled up that I cry when I finally have time and energy to brush it, I have to go to use the bathroom with my eyes closed otherwise I get even more depressed by the chaos around me, the lack of O2 and sunshine adds to my poor mood on top of the physical pain...

But then I get a little "sweet treat", as I see how good my kids can be and occupy themselves for hours. Ivana would make PBJ sandwich for herself and help Leona with JO ("Jam Only") sandwich. They would go through tons of books, Leona blabbing out loud for herself and Ivana reading silently her favorite stories. Then they would play very nicely together, and then come up with some kind of project. When they run out of ideas the movie would come for a rescue... And the day is almost over.

We have survived, somehow... and the hopes for tomorrow to be brighter are huge...

Saturday, April 07, 2007

In preparation for Easter.


Today we were getting ready for our family's Easter celebration. The girls had fun dyeing the eggs, then frosting and decorating the cupcakes. The weather forecast is not too promising for tomorrow and some snow showers are expected. But we are still on for the Easter egg hunt!

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Baby's first hike.


Well...can't really call it a hike since she was in a stroller. She slept through for over 3 hours, but I documented her by the falls for her future photo scrap book.

Nature walk.


Yesterday was such a beautiful day and we decided to go for a nature walk. It was neither hot nor cold, but the air was freshly crisp, a bit breezy and with a spring flavor.

As much as I love to visit old places as they usually bring nice memories back, but there is a lot of excitement about going to a new destination since you do not know what to expect. And as long as I do not place my expectations too high, I will always feel revitalized, refreshed, re energized, in a way alive.

The walk yesterday cleared my head, lifted my spirits, gave me new hope, reminded me to cherish what I have, and definitely helped me to get my daily exercise as we'd managed to hike up about 6 km, according to Mirek's estimate.

We went to Digmann's Waterfalls, which are very close to our house. There was no long driving involved, a long stretch of the road was paved so we could take the stroller rather then the baby carrier for Milana, and Ivana and Leona were great hikers. Only on the way back Leona got a bit tired and asked Mirek with her puppy eyes for a neck ride.

Mirek taught the girls how to determine the age of the tree and how to know whether the year was a dry one or with plenty of precipitations for the trees to grow. Ivana discovered that some pine cones do not have seeds, and I learned why the dead trees are as important for the healthy forest as the live ones. You know, if it was up to me I would've taken all the rotten stomps away, because I just like the things neat.

The falls were beautiful, as it was the right time to visit them. All the snow had melted and the amount of roaring water was astounding. I waited down by the falls, and Mirek took the girls all the way up to look at the water falling from the top.

It was a nice walk and we will definitely be visiting the falls again...