Happy St. Patrick's Day, 2009

Felt cutout with a little spray adhesive makes a great one day shirt....at the end of the day just remove the cutout and wash the shirt. Now Ella, can still wear her green shirt!

Evan and I had so much creating a Leprechaun Trap, I got the idea from Family Fun Magazine. It was made using an empty oatmeal container. We cut slits in the top and placed gold coins on top of it, in hopes that he would fall inside. Evan took the trap to school but the Leprechaun was too cleaver to be captured. He stole the gold coins, broke the ladder off of the trap, and made a terrible mess of the classroom, but he did leave a note! Evan's teacher was so sweet to send it home with Evan, it is one of his prized possessions right now! Thanks Mrs. Bailey!

We made homemade cookies from scratch that were soooo yummy!

Happy 4th of July!!

We didn't do much for the 4th but what we did was about as special as it can get! We just hung around the house and enjoyed our time as a family. We decided it would be a great day to clean out the garage. Amma and Ampa took the babies for a little while for us to get started and then they took a great nap which provided us with lots of work time. We went to Applebee's for dinner and Amma joined us. The babies did great! We decided to forgo the fireworks this year since it would be hours past the babies bedtime and Evan isn't a fan of loud noise anyway. Though he did promise to take me to see them when we go to the beach...my sweet baby!

Evan and I had a ball making his shirt. I cut out a star shape and he painted the inside like a stencil and had so much fun, he loved it! I alsom made the ones for the babies.

Happy Memorial Day, 2008!

We always look forward to any holiday because it means more time spent with Daddy. We had a big time celebrating the holiday! Amma and Ampa took Evan to watch the motorcycles that drive through every Memorial Day and what's any spring day without a little baseball?! Then the Three E's enjoyed a nap and later we had our family over for a cookout. We grilled hamburgers and had lots of yummy sides and homemade ice-cream...forget the diet today!

Clay just loved that we all matched. :-) I assured him that I would post something cheesy on our blog about our matching t-shirts, so here goes....

2 baby, I love the USA outfits...$ 10.00, Evan's shirt...$2.50 (gotta love Wal-Mart), Matching shirts for Mommy and Daddy... $6.00 (again, gotta love Wal-Mart),

all wearing our matching shirts, Celebrating the holiday... PRICELESS!!!

The Hodges Five and Toet-Toet (Clay's Grandmother)

By The Way...You'll probablly see us in the same Cheesy Outfits on July 4th!

April Fool's Day

Evan was out of school week for Spring Break and we had so much fun! We are really going to miss him when he goes back. We had a blast playing April Fool's jokes on each other. He got Momi good when he told her that she had ants all over her floor, in a panic she jumped up and he yelled, "April Fool's!"

For dinner Evan and I baked a Faux-Berry Pie to surprise and "trick" Daddy. It looked like Strawberry Pie, but it was actually a meat-loaf with mashed potatoes on top of it that we died pink. It was a lot like Shepard's Pie (so the recipe said I've never had nor made it so I'm not sure). Clay was a bit confused when he got home from work and saw green beans and pie on the table for dinner. He knew we had to be up to something. It really was good, we all enjoyed it! Evan ate 3 pie size slices!!!!

Eating the "icing" Potatoes.

Happy Easter 2008

Easter morning, Evan making bunny ears to match the babies.

We had a wonderful Easter celebrating our first as a family of five! Easter will always hold special memories for us since it is when we first met our son Evan, Easter 2004. It is so hard to believe that was 4 years ago and 3 since he came home. We had to say good-bye to him on Good Friday, not knowing when we would see him again and finally one year later we were reunited.

Anyway, I've posted about that every year so we'll get back to this year. I was lucky enough to have Ampa watch the babies so that I could go to Evan's egg hunt at school. Evan and I baked Bunny Cupcakes the night before. He was so excited about decorating them, but quickly became board and asked, if he had to help. ha ha

Evan and his "best buddy" at the school Easter Egg Hunt.

On Saturday, we hosted the Annual Passion Community Church Easter Egg Hunt at our house. It is always so much fun. We had a blast even though the Easter Bunny wasn't able to make it this year. The babies missed out on all the action as they slept in the stroller the entire time...

Elijah in his "Chicks Dig Me" shirt and Ella in her "Some Bunny Loves Me" shirt and of course the cutest bunny ear hats.

Evan and "best buddy" Issac at the Church Easter Egg Hunt.

"Come on, Mom....There are Eggs to be found!"

Sunday, the kiddos woke to see what the Easter Bunny brought. Evan could hardly wait to get downstairs. He was super excited about the money and the wrestler that the Easter Bunny left among other things. They each wore their Easter best. Ella and Elijah wore matching smocked outfits with bunnies on them. After church, Mommy and Daddy broke their diets with good ole' county cookin' by Amma. The babies later posed as Easter Eggs in their baskets with Evan for Easter Pictures.

The Bunny Loot

Evan and his two precious Easter Eggs...

weighting almost 10 pounds each now.

Thanks to Amma the babies the have Easter baskets that match their big brother.

Trick-Or-Treat

Buzz Lightyear..."To Infinity and Beyond"

Wesley, Evan, Emily

Evan proudly shows off his "I want Candy" Halloween

pajamas and his Bat Pumpkin that we carved.

Happy Halloween...yes we participate in Halloween. Here's my chance to vent on the subject. This year we experienced a bit of controversy over the matter. Some people do not believe that we [Christians] should participate in this "pagan holiday" and they are entitled to their opinion. However, that opinion was brought up to Evan by an adult who teaches him once a week. I don't pass judgement on anyone who chooses not to participate in the fun as we do, but I do not wish for judgement to be passed onto my family for our "opinion" on the night. Evan was told that "we don't talk about Halloween in school or church" Jee, that's funny...at our church we do!!! This was very confusing to a 4 year old. Also, he was told that we should do something else other than trick-or-treat...like go to a movie. It was also said that we shouldn't participate in Halloween because we won't do it in heaven, but who says that we will celebrate birthdays or anniversaries in heaven. All of this could cause him to question the moral decision that we as parents have chosen to be okay for our family, which is the part that really burns me up.

Our opinion of the "Holiday" is that it's okay to participate in the fun and be amongst the trick-or-treaters....Every year our church sets up in 3 neighborhoods where we invite everyone to jump on a moon walk while we give out cotton candy, pop-corn, glowsticks, candy, and information about our church...the moon walk gives us an opportunity to talk to the parents and let them know why we do what we do...but I guess that's not a "good thing". I believe that an email sent out by our pastor articulates the way that I feel very well...so enough venting by me. Here it is..

I am not a Halloween alternative type-of-guy. I have no problem with churches providing such things (events). So I cast stones at no one. For me, the point of John chapter one ( John 1:14 in particular), is the concept that God came to us and “dwelt among” us. This is what Jesus came to do. I sincerely believe in my heart if we were to ask ourselves the clichéd question, “What would Jesus do?” the answer would be, He would get in the middle of trick-or-treaters, and reveal the glorious love of The Father. Jesus, I do not believe, would have boycotted “that pagan holiday” or provided an alternative with the condition that no costumes are to be worn. No, I believe he would have seen crowds of people gathering and recognized an opportunity to bring love and grace right in the middle of it. He would be making no judgments, condemnation, or accusations. Rather, He would look at the crowds with compassion, seeing them as “sheep without a shepherd.” AND HE WOULD ENJOY THEM! God loves and enjoys His creation.

In our effort to do ministry the way Jesus did, we have made every effort to put the “dwell among” concept into practice. Wednesday night, our “Community Connect” project accomplished that very principal. Many of you invested time dwelling among trick-or-treaters in one of three neighborhoods. I had a wonderful time talking to adults and children who were blown away at our church’s generosity. Many parents sent there children to seek me out simply to say thank you. To all who donated their time and resources to help us be in the middle of the crowd, saying, “Come and see,” (like Jesus did)…thank you for your efforts. Every bag of candy donated, every bag stuffed, every minute spent serving is very much appreciated. For those of you who did not get the opportunity to be involved in the hands-on part of the ministry, mark it for next year on your calendar and try to arrange it. Halloween is usually on the 31st. You will be glad you did!

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th of July 2007!! We went to a secret location to watch the fireworks. We went with Amma and Ampa and took Momi along too. We also met up with a few friends there. We had so much fun. Evan has never been afraid of the fireworks in the past but was a bit nervous to begin with...but it didn't take long and he was enjoying every minute of it.

Here are some pictures...

Evan and Mommy cuddling on the blanket and watching the fireworks.

Evan or should I say, Spiderman and Momi...

Our Russian Christmas Celebration...Jan 7, 2006

We had a great time celebrating Russian Christmas on January 7th. We take down all of our trees and decorations after our Christmas celebrations except for the ones in Evan's room, we leave those up for Russian Christmas so that Babushka can visit.

Babushka is a traditional Christmas figure who distributes presents to children. Her name means grandmother and the legend is told that she declined to go with the wise men to see Jesus because of the cold weather. However, she regretted not going and set off to try and catch up, filling her basket with presents. A snow storm covered their tracks and she never found Jesus, and that is why she visits each house, leaving toys for good children. Every year Babushka visits Evan and leaves a Russian book. She left, "A Little Story about a Big Turnip" Next year, we will hang the Russian Stocking that Judy Holmes picked up for us in Angarsk for Babushka to leave candy. It can be a little confusing so I pasted a little bit of Russian History at the bottom. Basically, Babushka visits on Christmas Eve and Ded Moroz and the Snowmaiden visit on New Year's Eve. You can read why below...it's pretty interesting.

We went to Dunwoody to visit Russian Calvary Church. We had a great time listening to the music and hearing Russian speaking voices. The sound of Russian voices will always warm my heart and take me back to a place where everything seemed so simple...no jobs, no obligations, no bills, (though it was all waiting for us) but just our family.

After church we went to the Groff's house. You've heard us mention them often. Their daughter Anicka and Evan were in the same groupa in the baby home in Irkutsk. There beds were right across from each other at one time and now they both live in GA. How amazing is God's plan for that!!!

Anyway, we attempted to have a traditional Russian Christmas meal. Russian Christmas is very ritualistic and was a lot of fun to attempt. Here is what we did...

I made Kutya (Kutia) and Kirsten made a Russian type soup. The Wimpy family was also there with their two sons from St. Petersburg. The Kutya is the primary dish and to be eaten fist. The ingredients symoblize hope, happiness and peace. We ate with white on the table to symbolize Christ's swaddling clothes. We brought hay as a reminder of the poverty where Jesus was born and a tall white candle is placed in the center of the Table, symbolic of Christ "the Light of the World." A large round loaf of bread, symbolic of Christ the Bread of Life, is placed next to the Candle.

As following our online instructions...Vince as the head of the household said the Lord's Prayer and a prayer of thanksgiving for all the blessings of the past year is said and then prayers for the good things in the coming year are offered. Vince then greeted us with the traditional Christmas greeting: "Christ is Born!" We responded by saying: "Glorify Him!" Then this we just said and didn't actually do... ;-) The Mother of the family blesses each person present with honey in the form of a cross on each forehead, saying: "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, may you have sweetness and many good things in life and in the new year." This part we did...Following this, everyone partakes of the bread, dipping it first in honey and then in chopped garlic. Honey is symbolic of the sweetness of life, and garlic of the bitterness. The "Holy Supper" is then eaten.

We had a great time and the kids enjoyed playing with each other as always. It had been a few months since we had seen each other and Anicka and Evan have grown so much. It is very important to us that Evan's culture always remain a big part of him and we will never deny that. We are very open with him and his story and where he came from. We want him to learn lots about his Russian Heritage because after all...that's a big part of him.

Merry Christmas, 2006!

What a fun Christmas we had! Evan is at a very fun age this year to really be able to experience the joys of the season. We were very busy celebrating. Evan loves Santa again this year! He sat in every Santa's lap that we saw. Mimi won a silent auction for a Private Santa Party at her house so that was tons of fun. I really enjoyed taking pictures. Email us for a link to Shutterfly to see them. We have some that are just priceless, like Evan wearing Santa's hat and Evan hugging Santa and sucking his thumb.

We really enjoyed all of our Christmas traditions as a family; it's hard to believe that this is Evan's 2nd Christmas home. Boy time flies now that he is home. He is such a joy! I know... you're right...I always say that...but I mean it. He has so much love to share and loves to hug and kiss us. Whenever we've been gone, he greets us with the sweetest smile and says, "I been missin' you!"

Christmas was GREAT! Evan had so much fun...and loves everything Santa brought him. He told us on Christmas Eve that Santa didn't come see him when he lived in Russia. Boy, did that throw us foTryingrve...trying to come back with something to say to that. We later found out from Judy Holmes, (who was visiting her son over Christmas at the baby homVladimirr. Validimir (the director of the baby home) dresses up as Ded Moroz (Father Frost) and delivers an apple or orange (a treat) to the children.

Christmas night the three of us laid on the floor together watching The Santa Claus with Tim Allen. Evan was lying in the middle of us and I asked him what his favorite Christmas present was. He rolled onto his back and put one hand on me and the other on Clay and said, "My Mommy and My Daddy." How sweet is that?!?! I believe that he understands so much more than we give him credit for about what it means to be in our family. We then asked him what his favorite toy was and he said that it was his Art Easel.

He loves to paint pictures on his art easel. His first picture was of an airplane flying over our house and Amm and Ampa's house. And it is very good...I believe we jusfuturet have a futrue artist on our hands. He also painted a picture of our house (which is "Bulldog Red, Yellow Jacket Yellow, and Green") next to Aunt Carol, Hannah and Uncle Mark's house. He painted dots on the house and when I asked him about them he looked at me like I was crazy and said, "They're windoooows, Mama!" He also added a door and steps. I dictated onto the paper what he said about everything. When he painted the airplane at the top, he said, "Tell Aunt Carol, Uncle Mark, and Hannah that we are in the plane...as to say...you can't see us and I'm not going to paint us but we're in there.

He also got a 4-wheeler for Christmas from his Amma and Ampa. I agree...he's just three! I lost that battle LOL! "A 4- wheeler, Reeeeeal 4-wheeler!" as Evan would say. He is so cute riding it through the pasture, with his helmet and head bouncing with every bump.

One of his favorite gifts was from Momi...a Dare Lion like the one that Mr. Ken Malcom gave him when he first got home. The Lion from Mr. Ken was Evan's favorite stuffed animal, he loved to play with it's hair. After MUCH use...the hair "wasn't soft" anymore. When Evan opened the bag and saw the Lion he held it so tight and said, "My needed a new one of Every nightove him." So now...everynight we have to make sure that he has his Monkey, "Monk", his hairy ball, and both Dare Lions.

Much to his Pop's liking and much to his Daddy's disliking...he is all about the Georgia Bulldogs right now. He even asked Santa for a Bulldog hat for Christmas...and to Mommy's surprise, he got one! Everything red is "Bulldog Color" so much in-fact that I had him start saying "Bulldog Red" because he wasn't going to say just red. ;-)

Merry Christmas,
The Hodges Family...Family of Three!

The Chimney...

Well, our trees are up and the stockings are hung by the chimney with care! Evan is so cute about Christmas. We've had pictures made with Santa...What FUN! Evan is so excited about Santa and so curious about the whole chimney thing. We must read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" at least 100 times a week. Every time we read it, he pauses to ask about Santa landing on the roof and to fuss about Santa smoking a pipe.

He often goes outside just to inspect our chimney. He'll say, "Mama...I'll be right back, I want to see our chimney." Then he'll come inside and look in deep thought at our fireplace. He sometimes worries that Santa might "get on fire." We assure him that we won't turn on the fire the night that Santa comes and that Santa is magic anyway.

Whenever we are riding in the car, he will point out houses that have a big chimney and ask about the houses that don't appear to have one. His curiosity is so funny.

Can't wait for Santa to come down our chimney!

Happy Thanksgiving

What a happy Thanksgiving this has been, so very different from the last. Last year, we spent every month thinking that it would be the next month that we would go get Evan and now he is finally home. Our Thanksgiving was wonderful and we are so Thankful to God for his blessings. We can't believe we have been home 6 1/2 months. Evan has changed so much since then. He is talking more and more in sentences and says the funniest things. On the way home Wednesday, he sat in the back seat singing and smiling "no, no, no, no, night, night, night, night" he knew we were on our way home and that it was nap time it was so funny and he thought he was so cute.

Sunday we began our Thanksgiving feasts at Clay's parents house. As we said the blessing we all teared up a bit...being thankful for Evan. Sunday night we had Thanksgiving dinner at Church, Evan was so sleepy but was so sweet.

Monday Evan went to school and had a Thanksgiving feast. I so love doing the Mom things with school! I baked cookies for their party but becuase of our busy day Sunday I forgot about it until 9:15 Sunday night. He brought home a Turkey, a Indian headdress, and a Thanksgiving Book that he made. His book had his hand print Turkey on the front with pictures that he had colored. His teacher said that she is "Thankful for Evan because of his big smile and for his hugs that he always has for her." How sweet is that!?! I have to admit, I am a bit jealous at times that Evan can't tell me everything that he did at school but it is so neat to see the excitement is his eyes when he shows me his school work. Everyday when I pick him up at carpool, we pull over into the parking lot and look in his folder, he loves it and so do I! Every time he shows me his work he says "Gu Job"

Wednesday we went to MeMa and Bepa's house for dinner. Evan put on such a show for everyone there. Wesley had a friend with him and Evan was so funny, he thinks he is 6 years old like the big boys. He was so sweet with his little cousin, Emily too.

Thursday morning we went to Am Ma and Am Pa's (Clay's parents) house for breakfast and later went to the lake to have dinner with MiMi and Pops (My parents). Evan did so good in the car for the 1 1/2 car ride.

We had a very busy Thanksgiving and loved every minute of it. We are so truly thankful for God's gracious gift in Evan. Which is so appropriate that Evan means "Gracious Gift from God."

We also saw Santa Sunday morning at Am Ma and Am Pa's church. Evan could not wait to sit in Santa's lap. While we stood in line he kept saying, "My Turn" when it was his turn he ran and jumped up in Santa's lap like a big boy. Evan had been watching Santa give the children candycanes when they sat with Santa so when Santa asked Evan what he wants for Christmas, Evan's reply was "Andy" (Candy). Then he also said he wants a Choo-Choo. I am sure Santa will come through!

This is a very joyous time for us but the thoughts of other families are always on our mind. We continue to pray for all of our friends who are still waiting and we ask that you do the same. We know it is hard for them and they are going through more paperwork trials than we could have ever imagined. Some are past the one year mark now still just...waiting and praying...and so are we for them. Please especially remember Bryan and Debbie Ninmann and their son JJ who are all waiting to return to bring Nathan home from Irkutsk and that they will receive a court date soon.

We really miss reading your comments...PLEASE leave us one! :-)

The Hodges...family of three!