I'm going to use my handy dandy ipod for a review of the last almost month (sad, but true)::
Friday, May 18:: Sveta and I got our haircut, and our family had a yard sale.
Saturday, May 19:: Yard sale, and I'm pretty sure we went to DQ. My girl LOVES her chocolate ice cream.
Sunday, May 20:: Church
Monday, May 21:: Sveta got to play at Nana and Pops and I went off to a meeting at church. Where we discussed distributing meals to a local apartment complex for the summer (kids 18 and under). AMAZING. Then we too Griffen to the vet. Sveta asked if she could ride a horse there. No understanding of what the vet was until we got there. She didn't like him, she wanted to find the other animals.
Tuesday, May 22:: Calendar is blank...I have NO idea.
Wednesday, May 23:: I went to Newport with two of my best friends for Katie's birthday. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, and plan to be together more (but thus far, we've not succeeded (how do you spell that word?). My favorite was getting home and Sveta had had a rough time going to bed with me out. But I walked in her room and kissed her. She said something like...I look and you not anywhere. I promised I'd always come home and she said she loved me and was so happy I was home. MELT-MY-HEART.
Thursday, May 24:: Aunt Jill's birthday.
Friday, May 25:: ? And sadly, I think we did something really fun. I just have NO idea what it was.
Saturday, May 26:: Sveta and I went to my mom's for a Pampered Chef and others extravaganza. Sveta got to swim with her "Goppa" in the pool...for a really long time! She LOVED it. And apparently kept asking for more toys....even though they were all in the pool.
Sunday, May 27:: Barry declared this day one of his absolute favorites!! We went to church, then it was time for a little resting for Sveta before we went to our friends' James and Jada's wedding. Barry was an usher in the wedding (although he was trying to convince people that he WAS Usher). So Sveta and I sat and watched the ceremony. She did GREAT. Then it was back home to wait for Papa. We took a few pictures, and then we were off to the dinner. YUM. Got to sit with friends Brad and Vannah and their little one, and a new friend. Then we went outside for the reception. It was HOT. And that's an UNDERSTATEMENT. Like 93 degrees and humid. Well, we got to visit with the other Sefton's and Sveta found the dance floor. It was like she came to life. She loved it. She was out there with all the other kids, and even got Barry and Pastor Jon to dance with her. FUN Fun Fun. Then she hit a wall, started screaming, and we made our exit! But, it was such a blessing to be part of an event that was centered around Jesus. There is NO doubt that James and Jada love our God, and that they will seek to love Him and then each other more and more each day. (Thanks for blessing us, by allowing to witness such an incredible covenant!)
Monday, May 28:: Barry was off work. We hung out and did stuff. I remember it being great. I don't however know what it was we did. (I posted this, and was reminded of what I did...thanks sis). So, we went to my dad's house. He hadn't met Sveta yet...so she got to meet him, his wife (Chrissie) and the dogs. She liked riding the four wheeler, and playing with her cousin, Grace in the pool. It was great to catch up. My little neice isn't so little anymore...she's getting so big...and more cute by the day! :)
Tuesday, May 29:: Sadly, the long weekend came to an end. We rested.
Wednesday, May 30:: We drove to Indianapolis for out first of 4 post-placement reports. We met with the social worker, and she'll write everything up. 1 down, 3 to go. YAY!
Thursday, May 31:: Sveta and I spent the day with my grandparents, uncle Tim, cousin Jen and her girls Stella and Olive. Then we had dinner with more of the women in the family. Barry went to my parents house to have a pre-Father's Day dinner with an incredible guest of honor. Ask him about the Doolittle raid sometime.
Friday, June 1:: ZOO day. Lots of animals, snacks, fun, and a little zebra face paint and our day was complete. We enjoyed KFC for dinner with family that couldn't make it...and we loved it all. Sveta especially loved the Zebra. It was so so fun to watch her see the animals and take it all in.
Saturday, June 2:: Oil change and car wash at the church. 94 (I think) vehicles in Decatur county with oil changes that day...cost to the owners of the cars??? Nothing. Great to go and visit the men and women serving. Then it was off to Michael's (my brother's) graduation party at my parents' house. It was TOO cold to swim, so we hung out inside and visited. Lots of fun was had...and I'm SUPER proud of my not so little brother!!
Sunday, June 3:: I left the church with Sveta screaming in my arms. I mean SCREAMING. Yeah, you think we overdid it and she was beat? I think so. I can't blame her for screaming. We napped, and were back at church for the evening service. Sveta was much better after her nap, but still had recovering to do!
Monday, June 4:: Recovery.
Tuesday, June 5:: Sveta went to Nana and Pop's to play. I went, with Barry & some others, to serve lunch at the aparments behind the church. 20 meals served. 34 volunteers to serve and love on kids. SO glad to be part of serving in Jesus' name! I think this was the day we watched Bekah play softball!!
Wednesday, June 6:: I'm pretty sure this was the day my Chaco flip flops bit the dust. I may have shed a tear (ok...not really, but I thought about it). We drove to find new flip flops. No luck. We also made a bucket list of fun things to do this summer, and we made Monkey Muffins.
Thursday, June 7:: Play time at the Elementary School playground with Sveta's friends and their mom's (my friends)...it really works out great!! Sveta played in a large bucket full of water, and when Barry got home he took off his shoes and got in with her. Jeans, and socks, and all. Then somehow before I knew it we were ALL soaked from head to toe. So we came in, changed clothes, went to Maddux auction and came back for Burgers, potatoes and pineapple. Yum.
TODAY:: Finally...never waiting that long again. (Although somewhere in there we went to DQ with the Porter family and had a great time).
We had family pictures taken today (Thanks Angela Jackson for the donation to our fundraiser last April...and thanks Mom and Mick for bidding on it to give to us as a gift!!) Then we had lunch and DQ. Then we were off to Picker's Paradise where I found a little ladder I'm going to use to frame pictures on the wall. 10 bucks. Pretty excited. Then Barry surprised us and took us to see Madagascar 3. We love these movies (thanks Noah and Berea for buying the first one in Russian and letting us borrow it so Sveta had a Russian movie she could understand). We ran into Katie and her two kids and sat with them. Popcorn was had. Then Sveta and Barry went to deliver wood for a guys night camping/fishing/shooting guns event. And I went with Katie and the kids to the farmer's market. I bought green beans and a lime basil plant (that I hope NOT to kill). It's got a lime scent to it and I plan on using it in fresh salsa. That is if I can keep it alive long enough! Then we came home, Sveta and Barry played in buckets of water again, and we had Chili's for supper. One episode of Frog and Toad, 4 books, and a little rocking and Sveta's been out for a while. Barry left to go be with the guys...and I'm writing to you.
I want to write about what I'm learning from the Lord.
And about how God is so BIG and small at the same time.
How my new friend Jessica leaves in just a few days to see her daughter for the first time, at an orphanage I've been to many times. Her daughter is being loved on this week by a Boaz team...
But, I will leave with this:
www.boazproject.org. Check it out. Get involved. Support. They will always be near to my heart! Their founders are amazing. They've walked with me through so so many things...and if it weren't for them: I wouldn't know Jesus like I do. I wouldn't have a view of being the family of God like I do. I would have my husband, or my daughter. Thank you Jim and April, and Noah and Berea. For loving me like your own, for fighting for me when I didn't want to fight anymore, and for introducing me to the two most incredible people in my life. I love you, and am praying for you this week as you love on the orphans you taught me to love!
