Author: Helen

When I picked up our Christmas photos and looked at them, I was sad.  It was not because they did not turn out, but because Buddy was not in it.  This year we did not take out own Christmas picture but had a proffecional photographer take it, I can not be more pleased with the quality, but the fact that Buddy is not in it still remains.  So, I decided to do his own little photoshoot in our back yard 🙂  Before Bella joined out family, Buddy was in the spotlight, he had our full attention and he loved it, now he is not getting as much attention from me unfortunately, but him and I still go on our regular runs and he absolutely loves it.  Barry spends much more time with him and makes it a priority, which makes me very happy 🙂  Buddy is a very well trained dog, thanks to Barry, he knows anything from sit and stay to even “cross” when we are at the intersection.  We love our little guy and glad we have him 🙂  Enjoy a few pictures of our Mr. Buddy.

As I write this post, I feel very proud of my dad and my brother Oleg who concurred 26 miles on foot, better yet, running.  I woke up at  4 A.M. on December 5th to the sound of rain and wind, my heart sank.  I looked outside and could not help it but to simply pray, I asked God to let the rain stop and make it a comfortable condition for all the runners to run that morning.  I couldn’t go back to sleep for a while, just kept praying, plus I was very worried about papi (dad) who decided at the age of 53 to do a marathon.  I can not be more proud of him, what a trooper.  He encouraged me more than ever to get out and do things that you always think of doing but wait and then you get older and you end up never doing it.  I will be registering for my own challenge, I will start with 13 miles and move up to 26 🙂  I was blessed to see them crossing the finish line, my heart was beating so hard, as if I was running. Before they showed up on the horizon, I just kept hoping that they were both OK and healthy and what a wonderful son Oleg is, to run it to the very finish with papi when he could have taken off and ran it much faster for the working out machine that he is known to be 😉  I am a very proud daughter and sister.  Enjoy some of the memories captured on camera.

Every year we get our tree a bit earlier than others would even consider it, a few days before Thanksgiving, but since we were out of town the day after Thanksgiving we brought it home on the 29th.  This was our first year picking our tree with Miss Bella 🙂  she did a great job p0inting out the trees she liked we just had to all come to agreement which one will actually go home with us and we believe we picked a beauty 🙂  One of the highlights this year was having my parents there at the same time picking out their tree and they gifted Bella the most beautiful first Christmas ornament, it brought tears to my eyes.   I forgot to mention that we pretty much always get our trees from Costco, they sell gorgeous trees for a very reasonable price, so if you ever wonder where to go to get your tree and not spend $50 or $60 go to Costco 🙂
It was a lot of fun to decorate it with Bella this year, that girl moves so fast we can barely keep up with her.  Somehow she managed to open 3 boxes with tinsel and get it all over the place.  She absolutely loved the tree when she saw it in the house, the look on her face was absolutely priceless, we didn’t get a camera out fast enough 🙁  At first there was a face of shock that turned into a big grin and she started jumping in my arms, it was great!!!

What a wonderful holiday of thankfulness.  There is so much I am thankful for, I don’t think I can name it all.  This year however is a special year of thanksgiving, we had a very special member of the family join us for the first time, Isabella Nellie 🙂  It was such joy to have her celebrate with us, we love that girl unconditionally.  I thanked God again and again for gifting her to us this year, we could not have asked for more.  I was also very thankful for my wonderful family and how they are always there for us through thick and thin, I feel undeserving.  I have done nothing to deserve so many blessings that God sends our way on daily basis, the roof over our head and not just a roof, a beautiful home when some sleep on the street; a table full of every dish you can think of when so many are hungry; warm and loving atmosphere when so many are cold and have no one to lean on or to even love.  This holiday comes around once a year, but what a great reminder to be thankful, to appreciate everything that God blesses us every single minute- thanks be to Him our dear Father and only Him!
On Thanksgiving Day our family went over to my parent’s house where we had beautiful array of dishes such as turkey, ham, “sunflower” salad, brussel sprouts, green bean casserole, sweet potato with cranberries, cheese spread, stuffing with mushrooms, carrot cake, chocolate pecan pie and much more.  Let’s just say it was definitely a day to wear elastic waste clothing 😉  You all should know what I am talking about 🙂  It was a wonderful family time!
The next day we went to the Griffith home in Fresno, where once again more and more food was presented and much more was eaten.  About 25 relatives have gathered and had a great time bonding and sharing a meal.  It was a lot of fun to watch Bella interact with Barry’s cousins kids, she had a great time playing with them 🙂

So many times, our precious daughter does something new, I tell myself, oh I need to write it down or oh I need to put it in the blog and then time slips away and my regrets start piling up.  Tonight, I decided to sit down and write some of the highlights from this month.  The biggest highlight for me personally is her saying “mama” for the first time,  I could not believe my ears and just wanted to jump for joy.  She has been saying daddy for a little while and I thought it was great and all, but hearing her say mama, just puts a smile on my face.  She likes to say it many times a day and when I leave for a little while and come back, that’s the first word she says and then asks for me to take her right away.  Oh how I love her.  She is currently 9 months and 19 days young and is full of curiosity and joy to be with.  Finger food has been discovered a few weeks ago and I am not talking about snacks, real food, such as chicken, cheese, corn and so on.  She loves eating with her fingers and it makes me so sad when she tries to put something inside her mouth and misses, but she never gives up, just keeps picking things up.  When Bella likes something very much, she claps, in fact clapping has been one of her favorite things to do, especially in the middle of the night, yes, not when parents feel like clapping very much 😉  The other day, she climbed two flights of stairs all on her own, Barry and I were absolutely blown away.  She is getting stronger and stronger each day, she walks with confidence as long as she is holding on to things, so I am thinking by 10 months our little peach will be walking, but I might be wrong.  One of the fun things have been listening to her talk and you would not believe the vocabulary this little girl has.  One of the first words was water, which was followed by ball, duck, Bella, Buddy, daddy, light, car and just recently mama.  Just a few days ago, her and I walked into our garage and she pointed her finger at our car and said “car” even pronouncing letter “r” I was absolutely blown away.  When asked to show where is the nose, she shows it on her toys, bears and dolls.  We are currently working on body part and colors.  She is grasping so fast, that sometimes we don’t realize how intelligent God created us to be.  Just think about human body and every single part that works, the mechanism is so complex…I just sit in awe of how amazing God is to create such creature.  Every time I think of what her future holds, I pray that God uses her in ways that He will find best for her and that He will help us raise her the way He wants her raised.  I can not even express the love I have for my little girl, just imagine how much our Father in Heaven loves us, just think how forgiving He is and the gift of His Son- oh how undeserving we are.   Every time I think about it, my eyes fill up with tears, He has blessed us so much and sometimes all we are is ungrateful, we get so wrapped up in day to day busyness that we forget what truly matters and it’s our Heavenly Father.  He is the reason we exist and function, it could be seconds and our life could come to an end, we need to praise Him and thank Him for every breath.  I thank God for our little girl every single day and for showing me what unconditional love really is.  Thank you precious Father!!!

It’s Fall and we love to go to Apple Hill in Fall, it has been a tradition of many years and we were very excited to go as a family for the first time since Isabella has joined us:)  When Barry and I went last year, I was 6.5 months pregnant and couldn’t help but think of how fun it will be next year to bring our baby to see all the pumpkins and take hundreds of pictures.  This year it happened and we enjoyed every minute of our lil’ family time:)  Bella loved the pumpkins and ponies that were there for kid’s rides.  She even got to pet one, we are thinking she is an animal lover 😉  Buddy lights up her face instantly, I can’t wait for them to run around together.  We have enjoyed some fresh squeezed apple cider, chocolate caramel sunday with apples and some kettle corn.
Pumpkin patch was also a very fun experience, last time I went to one was in college, so it was great to go with my parents and Miss Isabella.  She had so much fun looking and touching pumpkins.  She also got to see some pigs and goats, we had a wonderful time and could not leave without tasting some local chocolate ice cream 🙂  Below you will see some of the memories that we have created.

God gave us a wonderful opportunity to go on a little getaway to Pismo beach.  We have decided to join my parents, Oleg and Lilya for a couple of days and more so to surprise them with our presence 🙂  Every day I talked to them on the phone and every time they would say “Oh how we wish you could be here with us” and little did they know, we were aleready planning on it.  The facial expressions were priceless when we surprised them by just showing up at designated lunch location.  The trip was absolutely wonderful, the ocean was breathtaking and warm.  For the first time in Bella’s life she was very excited to see the ocean or get close to the water, I loved her facial expressions every time we approached the ocean.  She also got to stand in the sand with her cute little feetsies.  One other thing Bella tried for the first time is go in the pool and to our surprise our pumpkin did not like it, but at least we will have pictures to show her when she is old enough 😉   I do no recall being at the beach in October and having heat up to 80 degrees, but it couldn’t have been better.  Also for the first time in my life, I tried boogie boarding- what an awesome thing to try (not sure if I can call it a sport 😉 ) If you have never tried it, I strongly recommend it, it will rejuvenate you!   Below you will find some of the pictures from our trip.  Enjoy!

“I am all around you, hovering over you even as you seek My Face.  I am nearer than you dare believe, closer than the air your breathe.  If My children could only recognize My Presence, they would never feel lonely again.  I know every thought before you think it, every word before you speak it.  My Presence impinges on your innermost being.  Can you see the absurdity of trying to hide anything from Me?  You can easily deceive other people, and even yourself; but I read you like an open, large-print book.”  (Author, Unknown)

When I read that paragraph in my study book, it  brought tears to my eyes.  With all the busyness in our lives we completely forget that God’s presence is truly with us every second of the way.  Somehow this life takes over and just the fact that we are breathing should be an utmost glory to Him, the One that lets us breathe and go on about our daily duties.

When I was deciding whether I should get back to Bible study, all I could think about was leaving Isabella at home with daddy and not being the one to put her to bed, but after praying about it and talking to Barry, we have decided that it’s best for me to get out once a week and spend some time with other ladies.  The first day back, I realized as soon as the video of Priscilla Shirer came on, that it was one of the best decisions I have made.   The study is about Jonah titled ” Navigating a Life Interrupted.”  Whether it’s loosing a job, getting sick, loosing a loved one, having a new addition to the family or etc, it’s all interruptions.  God sends us these interruptions to discipline us.  He wants to prepare us for what He has in store.  Many times we overlook the facts and it’s only after time goes by and we trace all the steps we see God was completely in control, even when we did not acknowledge Him.  He is the most gracious Creator that sits on His throne and listens to our needs and wants only what is best for us.  Being His daughter is the best gift I ever received, because no matter what happens in this life, I know I can always count on the One who created me.

If you ever get a chance to do this Bible study, jump right in and go through it, you will never regret it.

In the last week, we had two things to celebrate, another great year of my dearest brother’s life and his engagement to a very lovely, kind and giving girl Lilya.  For so many years I have prayed to God to choose a girl that He thought would be best for Oleg and He has done just that, he picked him his soul mate.  I can’t even discribe how well they compliment one another, I couldn’t have picked a better life companion for my brother.  Since I promised him not to write much about it 😉  I will only mention that he proposed in Yosemite on the cliff overlooking the Yosemite village and from the pictures I saw it was breathtaking!  She said “Yes” right away without thinking and they celebrated at a local restaurant.   Below you will find pictures of the lovely couple, the ring and some family pictures from our celebration last weekend.  Enjoy!

p.s.  You have probably noticed that I post many pictures of food from our celebrations and you might wonder why.  I LOVE food!  I love making food, when I am not too busy and I absolutely love to bake.  To me my mom is the best chef out there, whether it’s cooking or baking, she makes magic happen.  Since you (my readers) could not see it or taste it, I thought I would show it through pictures.

I just got Isabella’s 6 months photo-shoot pictures sorted and thought I would post a few for those that might want to see them.  I have known Tori (owner/founder of TWPhotography) for over two years now and I had no idea how amazing and talented she was until she asked to take Bella’s pictures.  About a month ago, I started assisting Tori with her business a little bit, so far it’s only one day a week, but I absolutely love working with her.  If you are ever interested in having photos taken of you or your family, I would highly recommend TWPhotography.

Blog address:  www.twiblephotographyblog.com

Website:  www.twiblephotography.com