For Those Experiencing Baby Withdrawal...

It's been too long. I'm just not on the computer much these days. Not really by choice, but the break from it has been nice. We had such a good visit with family last week. It was hard to see everyone go, and we really missed Nelu's family during our celebration. We wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas and an upcoming Happy New Year!

A durat prea mult timp de cand am scris ultima oara. Nu stau prea mult la calculator in ultima vreme. Nu este ca nu vrea, dar in acelasi timp a fost bine sa iau o pauza de la calculator. Am avut un timp foarte bun cu familia mea saptamana trecuta. Ne-e dor de ei acum, si ne-a fost dor si de voi de sarbatori. Va uram la toti (putin tarziu) un Craciun fericit si un an nou fericit!

Baby Daniel chewing on a Christmas decoration--lovely
Daniel musca ceva de la brad--frumos

Trying to crawl
Incearca sa mearga pe branci

The nice playhouse Nelu made from a huge box
O casuta facuta de Nelu dintr-o cutie foarte mare

Samuel and his beloved dump truck
Samuel si basculanta lui iubita

A family Christmas picture
O poza cu toata familia de Craciun

Visitors

Mom's here! We're so glad to have her again. And the rest of the family is coming tomorrow, so we're all very excited! There's a lot going on now. At least finals are over. And weekday work for me will be over in another few weeks. I'll be glad to have that done. I've been so busy and stressed that I'm very exhausted now, and I've caught a couple bugs that I just can't shake. I look forward to a break one of these days.

A venit mama mea! Ne bucuram tare ca este cu noi. Si ceilalti din familia mea vin maine, deci abia asteptam! Avem multe de facut acum. Cel putin s-a terminat semestrul meu. Si nu o sa mai muncesc asa de mult dupa cateva saptamani. Abia astept. Eu am fost foarte ocupata si stresata in ultima vreme in cat sunt foarte obosita acum, si m-am imbolnavit cu doua lucruri si nu ma mai fac bine. Abia astept sa iau o pauza intr-o zi.

Introducting...Katie Collins

Evi had her play Sunday night. She did her part very well. I was impressed. I just wasn't sure what to expect from her, and I think most people from our church were surprised to see her up there saying her lines and doing her part--she's normally so quiet at church. While we were driving to the church before the play she said, "I'm not going to be nervous. I'm going to be brave." And she sure was!

Evi a avut sceneta ei duminica seara la biserica. A facut foarte bine. M-a uimit. Nu stiam ce sa astept de la ea, si cred ca a surprins si majoritatea oamenilor de la biserica la noi, pt. ca de obicei este tacuta la biserica. Cand mergeam la biserica inainte de sceneta, mi-a spus, "Nu o sa am emotii. O sa fiu curajoasa. Si asa a fost!

And this is what the boys were up to.
Si asta faceau baietii in timp ce se pregatea Evi pt. sceneta.

Finally

I got a good picture of the kids all together. A very rare experience....We've been busy, busy, busy. I have been trying to fit in some studying for my final this coming week at school. Then just trying to get ready for Christmas and all. I imagine I'm not alone in this busyness.

Am facut o poza buna cu toti copiii. Nu se intampla prea des....Noi suntem foarte ocupati zilele astea. Incerc sa invat cat pot pt. examenul pe care o sa-l dau saptamana viitoare. Si cu pregatirile pt. Craciun avem multe de facut. Cred ca nu sunt singura care este foarte ocupata acum.

Another Haircut

It was Samuel's turn this time. Nelu did it while I was at work. I tried to take some pictures of Samuel with his new 'do tonight, because it's just too cute. But he kept running away, as you'll see. Evi finally got him to stand still so she could get a good shot.

A fost randul lui Samuel data asta. Nelu l-a tuns in timp ce eram la munca. Am incercat sa-i fac cateva poze in seara asta, pt. ca este asa de dragut cu tunsoarea lui noua. Dar a fugit in fiecare data, dupa cum o sa vedeti. In sfarsit Evi a reusit sa-i faca o poza buna.

Advent

We're celebrating Advent again this year with our Advent wreath. This something that brings back many good memories of Christmases past and of Grandpa Bobrowski. We'll keep doing this as one of our Christmas traditions. We spend only a few minutes each Sunday night lighting the candles, reading the Scripture and meditation, and singing a carol. But the kids love it, and I hope they're learning to prepare their hearts for the real celebration of Christmas.

Noi am inceput sa sarbatorim de Craciun cu o coroana si lumanari. Cand facem asta, mi-aduce aminte de sarbatorile de anii trecuti si de bunicul meu care mereu a condus sarbatoarea noastra si mai ales partea asta. O sa facem asta in continuare ca una din traditiile noastre de Craciun. Ne ia doar cateva minute in fiecare duminica seara sa aprindem lumanarile, sa citim versetele din Biblie si inca ceva despre fiecare lumanare, si sa cantam putin. Dar se bucura copiii cand facem asta. Si sper ca invata sa-si pregateasca inimiile pt. sarbatoarea adevarata de Craciun.

Having a Blast

Our house is a flurry of activity on the weekend. Cleaning, cooking, baking, chasing the kids around, doing the laundry. It's definitely not a break, but it feels so good to me to be home and doing these things rather than being at work. Nelu would most definitely rather be working than staying home. He feels the need to be out being productive. It's a strange situation for us, and it's not been easy. But for now we're doing what we have to do.

It snowed again today. And this time some of it stuck! So the kids went out and played. They froze, but they had a blast!


Casa noastra este plina de activitate in weekend cand sunt acasa--cu curatenie, gatit, grija de copii si rufe. Nu este o pauza pt. mine, dar ma simt foarte bine facand lucrurile astea acasa, si prefer sa le fac decat sa fiu la munca in fiecare zi. Iar Nelu vrea mai mult sa fie la munca decat acasa in fiecare zi. Simte nevoia sa faca ceva, sa munceasca. Este o situatie ciudata pt noi, si este putin greu sa fim asa. Dar facem ceea ce trebuie, si incercam sa mergem inainte.

Azi a nins din nou. Si data asta a ramas putina zapada pe jos. Deci copiii au iesit afara sa se joace. Au inghetat afara, dar au avut un timp bun!

Making a little snowball
Se joaca in zapada

Out in the cold
Afara la frig

Fascination with the Christmas tree--He didn't play outside today. =)
Este uimit de bradul nostru--el nu s-a jucat afara azi. =)

And here is not the most exciting video, but it's fun to just watch the kids playing outside together.

Asta nu este cel mai interesant video, dar este frumos sa vezi ce fel se joaca copiii impreuna.

Candy Tree

Today Nelu hung candy on the Christmas tree like they do in Romania. And this is how I found Samuel tonight after he snuck a piece. At first I wasn't sure what was all over his face! You can just imagine...

Nelu a pus bomboane pe brad azi, cum se face la voi. Si asa l-am gasit pe Samuel in seara-asta dupa ce a luat una si a mancat-o pe ascuns. Nu stiam ce are pe fata la inceput! Puteti sa va dati seama ce era in mintea mea...

(Almost) Winter Scenes

Here we are getting ready for the Advent season. It even snowed today. What a way to start December!

Asa ne pregatim de Craciun. A si nins azi! Un inceput bun pt. luna asta.

Evi decorating the tree
Evi impodobeste bradul

Evi and Samuel working at it together
Evi si Samuel lucreaza impreuna

Two snuggly boys
Doi baieti confortabili

Two bundled-up boys going to get Evi from the busstop
Doi baieti bine imbracati pt. un drum spre statia de autobuz s-o luam pe Evi

Giving Thanks

I promised a Thanksgiving picture of the kids. The more you have, the harder it is to get a good one. So this is the best we got this year.

Am promis sa pun o poza cu copiii de Ziua Recunostintei. Cu cat mai multi copii ai, cu atat mai greu este sa faci o poza buna cu ei. Deci doar atat de bine am putut sa fac in anult asta cu trei...

Disclaimer: I said before that I wasn't going to share so much my thoughts on things, but I just have to today.

I must say that this year I am very thankful. I kept hearing a commercial on the radio on my way to work of some businessman wishing everyone the best Thanksgiving celebration ever. And in my mind I kept saying, "There is just no way! Not this year." I knew already that I have so many things for which to be thankful. But at the same time I've been dealing with a very difficult work situation that has left me pretty discouraged. However, it struck me yesterday as I was driving home from work that in these difficult circumstances that my family and I have experienced lately, I have felt more than ever the comforting of the Father. In the very difficult work situation that I just can't run away from, I have felt Jesus' warm embrace. Not that I want hard stuff in my life...but after these past couple months of feeling hopeless to change how things are going (despite all our attempts), I am so grateful to have felt God's hand upon us. And I do now have hope. I know for sure that God is with us. And what better time to come to this realization than now, with the season of Advent upon us. And now I see that this has truly been one of the best and most meaningful Thanksgiving celebrations I've ever had.

Am spus inainte ca nu o sa scriu asa de mult despre gandurile mele, dar ma simt ca trebuie azi.

Trebuie sa spun ca in acest timp vreau sa-I multumesc lui Dumnezeu. Am auzit de multe ori la radio pe drum la munca o reclama cu un om de afacere spunand ca spera ca toti sa aiba cea mai frumoasa sarbatoare de Ziua Recunostintei. Si eu, de cate ori am auzit acest mesaj, m-am gandit, "Nu se poate! Cel putin nu in anul-asta." Stiu ca am multe lucruri pentru care sa-I multumesc lui Dumnezeu. Dar in acelasi timp, am experimentat o situatie foarte grea la munca in ultima vreme si am ramas foarte dezcurajata. Dar ieri cand veneam de la munca, mi-am dat seama ca in toate problemele pe care le-am avut eu si familia mea in ultima vreme, am simtit cel mai mult mana lui Dumnezeu peste noi. Mai ales in problemele mele la munca (de care nu pot sa fug) am simtit imbratisarea calda a lui Isus. Nu este ca vreau sa am numai probleme in viata...dar dupa ultimile trei luni in care ne-am simtit fara speranta si fara putere sa schimbam situatia noastra (chiar daca am incercat de multe ori), ma bucur foarte mult ca am vazut cum lucreaza Dumnezeu. Si acum pot sa spun ca am speranta. Stiu ca Dumnezeu este cu noi. Si nu este un timp mai potrivit decat acum sa-mi dau seama de asta, cand incepe sarbatoarea de Craciun (Advent). Si acum vad ca asta a fost chiar dintre cele mai bune sarbatori de Ziua Recunostintei pe care am avut-o vreo data.

The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker

Daniel got his first bath in the big tub last night. It got a little crowded, though. We're going to have to rework the bathing arrangements, I think.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Maybe I'll take some pictures of the kids today. I've been busy cooking, so I hope I can remember...

Daniel a facut prima lui baie in cada mare aseara. Pana acum am folosit un fel de lighian mic care se pune in chiuveta. Dar cada a ramas putin aglomerata aseara. Trebuie sa ne gandim cum sa facem baie mai bine la toti.

Este Ziua Multumirii/Recunostintei la noi. O sa incerc sa fac poze cu copiii. Am gatit toata ziua pana acum--curcan, doua feluri de cartofi, paine speciala, salata de legume, si placinta de bostani. Deci, o sa incerc sa mi-aduc aminte....Ati avut si voi o petrecere azi?

First big-tub bath!
Prima baie in cada mare!

Daniel is gonna be one tough little guy! (after all that his big brother does to him...)
Daniel o sa fie tare cand creste mai mare! (cu tot ce-i face fratele lui mare...)

Three kids in a tub
Copiii in cada

After the bath--all cozy and in a box
Dupa baie--in pijamale si intr-o cutie

Ba-ba Baby

Here's just a little more of Baby Daniel and how he was talking the other day. I don't have time to write anything else for now. I worked all day and now have to finish my big research paper. So off I go!

Aici este un video-clip de acum cateva zile cu Daniel vorbind. N-am timp sa scriu mai mult acum. Am muncit azi, si acum trebuie sa termin de scris lucrarea mea mare. Gata, am plecat!

Six Months

Our baby Daniel has turned six months! As of yesterday. He just wants to be on the move but can't figure it out yet. His arms and legs are always kicking and swinging. In this way he reminds me of his cousin Victoria when she was a baby.

Scumpul nostru bebelus a facut sase luni ieri. Vrea sa se miste--sa mearga, de fapt--dar nu poate inca. Da din picioare si din brate tot timpul. Asa imi aminteste de verisoara lui Victoria cand era bebelus.

Little Elf--I put one of his newborn hats on him to try it out for size.
Un elf mic--i-am pus un fes de cand era nou-nascut sa vad ce fel ii vine.


More hats--this one's Samuel's.
Inca una--asta-i a lui Samuel.


Sweet pajama baby
Scumpul nostru bebelus in pijamale

Cool Kids

Because I've been gone from home so much lately, I don't have so many little stories about what the kids are up to. Plus, I have much less time to post anything about them. I really miss them during the day, but I'm trying to suck it up and move forward. At least I'm not going to work teary-eyed now like I did that first week. Now I'm just going blurry-eyed, trying to shake the sleep out!

De cand muncesc si nu mai stau asa de mult acasa in ultima vreme, nu mai am asa de mult de scris despre copii. Si oricum nu prea am nici timp ca sa scriu ceva aici despre ei. Mi-e dor foarte tare de ei ziua, dar trebuie sa merg inainte si sa fac ceea ce am de facut. Cel putin nu-mi mai vine sa plang cand merg la munca in fiecare zi (din cauza ca mi-e dor de ei). Acum merg doar somnoroasa la munca!

Haircut

Evi and I went out this morning. We hardly ever have time to spend together just the two of us. She had been waiting for months to get her hair cut short again. She let it grow out for Aunt Leah's wedding. And then we just got too busy to get it done over the past couple weeks. But now here she is.

Eu si Evi am iesit in oras azi dimineata. Nu prea avem timp stam impreuna numai noi doua. A asteptat luni de zile sa se tunda. Si-a lasat parul sa creasca pt. nunta in California. Si dupa-aia am fost prea ocupati s-o ducem sa se tunda. Dar uite-o acum.

Sweet Girl

Here she is. Playing jumprope with Samuel before school this morning. Nelu brought home Kung Fu Panda to watch this afternoon, so Evi wanted to make a movie theater. She was so excited. She closed the curtains in the living room, we set up the tray tables and sat down on the couch, and we had pop and pizza. Then 20 minutes into the movie, Evi got scared and didn't want to watch it anymore. Oh well.

Iata Evi. Aici se juca cu Samuel inainte se plece la scoala azi dimineata. Nelu a inchiriat un film pt. copii (Kung Fu Panda), si Evi vroia sa faca un fel de "cinema" in casa in seara asta. S-a bucurat tare. A tras perdelele in sufragerie ca sa faca intuneric. Ne-am asezat pe canapea si am mancat pizza si am baut suc. Si dupa 20 de minute, Evi s-a speriat si nu mai vroia sa se uite la film...

Mama's Boys

I need to put more pictures of Evi up here. I should show you her school picture--she looks so sweet. Here are my boys, though. Samuel got a toolbox from Grandpa this past weekend. He carries it around with him almost everywhere. And he even "fixed" a table for me, for which he asked a hundred dollars. I'm serious. I gave him a few coins to put in his little pocket, and he looked at me and said, "Dollars."

Trebuie sa pun mai multe poze cu Evi aici. Ar trebui sa va arat poza ei de la scoala--arata foarte dulce si draguta--dar nu se poate. Oricum, aici sunt baietii mei. Samuel a primit o trusa de scule de la tatal meu in weekend. O cara peste tot. Si chiar ca a "reparat" o masa pt. mine pt. care a cerut o suta de dolari. Serios. I-am dat niste bani marunti sa-i puna in buzunar, dar el s-a uitat la mine si a zis, "Dolari." Adica, bani mai mari.


And here's my little guy with his crooked smile. He would brighten anyone's day.

Si aici este baietelul meu cu zambetul lui stramt. Ar inveseli ziua la oricine.

Busy, busy

Just when we thought things couldn't get any busier here, I've been given more hours at work. I'm not sure if this is a temporary or permanent thing. Nonetheless, it is about to wear me out. I'm very glad to have a little more income, though, so I'll not complain. It's just that at the moment I'm working during the week and the weekend, so I'm trying to figure out when my homework is going to get done, and when I'm going to see my kids. At least I have a day off today. And, really, I am very thankful for this job and even the extra hours at this time.

Other than that, we're well. We're happy that Daniel slept through the night last night after several nights of waking up every hour or two. The doctor just gave him a clean bill of health today after a bout of ear problems. So we're very thankful for that. Here's my sweet baby. This is what he looked like when we went out trick-or-treating. I just hadn't gotten any pictures of him up from that night.

Am crezut ca nu putem sa fim mai ocupati decat eram deja, dar am amflat ca, da, se poate! Am primit mai multe ore de muncit la slujba mea. Nu stiu daca programul meu la munca o sa ramana asa permanent sau nu. Oricum, am multe de facut acum, si uneori ma simt ca nu pot sa fac fata. Ma bucur ca pot sa am un venit putin mai mare, deci nu vreau sa ma plang. Dar acum trebuie sa muncesc si pe cursul saptamanii si in weekend, deci nu stiu cand o sa-mi fac temele pt. scoala si cand o sa-i vad pe copii. Cel putin am liber azi. Si, de fapt, ma bucur ca am slujba asta si ca pot sa muncesc mai mult acum cat este nevoie.

In rest, facem bine. Ne bucuram ca Daniel a dormit toata noaptea azi noapte dupa ce a avut multe nopti in care s-a trezit cam la fiecare ora sau doua. Doctorita a spus azi ca este sanatos, dupa ce a avut probleme cu urechile. Si ne bucuram foarte mult pt. asta. Jos este o poza cu el. Asa arata cand noi am mers la trick-or-treat. N-am pus poze cu el din seara aia pana acum.

La Multi Ani, Nelu!

It's Nelu's birthday! Although he was born exactly two weeks after my sister, he's not 27 like she is! =) But I won't say how old....We had a tiny little party for him, with Dad here and also some friends of ours. I made him a cake, got pizza, and stopped by the European store on my way home from work for a couple Romanian-like foods that he really likes. Evi made him a cardboard spider (which is actually really cute). But unfortunately I forgot to get any pictures of Nelu's birthday. Just can't get it all, I guess...

Este ziua lui Nelu! El este deoseama cu sora mea (s-a nascut cu exact doua saptamani dupa ea)--ea spune ca are 27 de ani, dar noi stim altfel! =) Am avut o petrecere mica pt. el--au venit tatal meu si niste prieteni ai nostri. I-am facut un tort, am luat pizza, si i-am luat cateva lucruri (aproape) romanesti de la magazinul european cand am venit de la munca. Evi i-a facut un paianjen din carton (care, de fapt, este dragut). Dar din pacate am uitat sa-i fac o poza lui Nelu de ziua lui. Am incercat sa ma gandesc la toate lucrurile, dar n-am reusit pana la urma.

Big Frog

We don't know how many more days before it starts getting cold here, so the kids have been taking advantage of the trampoline. They invite the neighbor boys over and have a great time. But one day last week Samuel just wanted to get out there by himself while Evi was at school. You can tell here that he was having a good ol' time.

Nu stim cate zile frumoase mai sunt pana se face frig la noi, deci copiii folosesc cat mai mult trambolina. Ii invita pe baietii din cartier sa sara si ei, si au un timp foarte bun impreuna. Dar intr-o zi saptamana trecuta Samuel a cerut voie sa sara pe trambolina singur, cat Evi era plecata la scoala. Puteti sa vedeti ca a avut un timp bun acolo...

More Fall Photos

I got the kids back to the park to take more pictures yesterday. This time we had good batteries in the camera, a warm afternoon, and lots of time to play. It was fun for the kids.

I-am dus pe copii inapoi in parc sa le fac mai multe poze ieri. Data asta am avut baterii in aparat, o dupa-amiaza frumoasa, si mult timp de joaca. Copiii au avut un timp bun.

Evi and Samuel after they jumped in their pile of leaves
Dupa ce au sarit intr-o gramada de frunze

Daniel sitting in the grass
Daniel sta pe iarba aici

Princess Ariel out trick-or-treating on our street
Mica Sirena merge la trick-or-treat pe strada la noi

And this is Diego out for his first time of trick-or-treating
Si el este Diego de la desene animate--este prima oara cand merge la trick-or-treat

Finally, the lovely mountain of laundry I washed yesterday. I don't know how we ever wore that many clothes in just one week! Good thing Nelu helped me fold them--otherwise, who knows when I would've finished!

Si asta-i muntele de rufe pe care le-am spalat ieri. Nu stiu cum noi am purtat asa de multe haine intr-o saptamana! Bine ca m-a ajutat Nelu sa le pun la loc--altfel cine stie cand le-am fi terminat.

Fall Photos

Every year (that we've been here) since Evi was a year and a half old, I've taken the kids out to take pictures of them playing in the fall leaves in the park at the end of our street. I made an attempt at it again yesterday. But Evi wasn't feeling it for some reason. And then after one picture, the batteries went dead in my camera. So this is what we got.

In fiecare toamna (cat am fost aici in Berea) de cand Evi avea un an si jumatate, am facut poze cu copiii jucandu-se in frunze intr-un parc mic la capatul strazii noastre. Am incercat sa fac asta ieri din nou. Dar Evi nu prea vroia--nu stiu de ce. Si dupa ce am facut o singura poza, s-au terminat bateriile in aparatul meu. Am ramas doar cu asta...

Paper Trail

This is what Samuel's been doing today. Cutting everything in sight. Maybe he's a little too young to try out the scissors, but he's doing a pretty good job at it. And he's really into it. We had little papers all over the house for a while today.

Asta face Samuel azi. Taie tot ce gaseste. Poate este prea mic sa aiba un foarfec, dar face destul de bine cu el. Si ii place foarte mult. Am avut hartiute peste tot in casa azi.


And the mess in the background is what I've been doing--reorganizing the kids' clothes--getting ready for fall and winter!

Si ceea ce vedeti in spate este ce fac eu azi--organizez hainele copiilor din nou. Ii pregatesc pt. toamna si iarna.

Sitting Up

Just yesterday I said that Daniel wasn't sitting up. But today that's changed. Although he's had a couple tumbles backwards, he is holding himself up really well and sitting for several minutes at a time. Here's the proof.

Chiar ieri am spus ca Daniel nu stie sa stea pe fund. Dar azi a invatat. A cazut in spate de cateva ori, dar se tine bine in sus. Jos sunt poze ca dovada.