Our Life

It is amazing that the older you get the more your birthdays seem just like another day.  However this year was unlike any other, because I had my precious daughter join us this year.  The week started off fun, because Barry started surprising me with things like my favorite ice cream appeared in the freezer, a spontaneous lunch delivery and of course flowers.  The lunch delivery was quiet something, it was the biggest burger I have ever seen, better yet it had a “cheese skirt” that was almost as big as the burger.  It came from “Squeeze In” a little burger restaurant here in Roseville.  We have both heard a great deal about the place, but never actually ate there, so Barry decided to give it a try and indeed it was a very good burger (you can find a picture below).  Later that day, my family joined us for desert and we had a lovely time talking and laughing. I got showered with greatest gifts where I felt very spoiled and loved.  My birthday did not end there, I also got my wishes come true on the weekend.  I wanted to be at my parent’s house and lie in the hammock in their back yard, I absolutely love it there.  I also wished to go on a nice long bike ride, but it was way too windy that day so I decided to do my first long run since delivering Bella.  The biggest wish was to spend a relaxing day with my family and that is exactly what I did.  My parents went above and beyond as always with preparation of food and of course mamusya made the best cake, thank you sonechko!  I truly felt spoiled!
The  funny things is I never even imagined I would live this long, we read the Word and always wonder about “the day” and I thought it would come way before my age, I didn’t’ even think I’d reach my twenties, but God has a different plan and He has blessed me abundantly.  I am grateful for every year of my life, for the best and most dear family one can ask for, the greatest husband and the absolute best daughter in the world.  Thank you precious Lord for gifting me with all that I have but most of all salvation.

We had a great opportunity to go and vacation for a few days in Carmel.  It was our first family trip 🙂 which I thought was going to be a lot more challenging but ended up being one of the best trips.  It was also the first time Bella got to see the ocean.  Too bad she couldn’t tell us what she thought, but we are pretty sure she liked it, at least the sound, because she slept through quiet a bit of our walks on the beach.  This trip was to celebrate our 5 year anniversary as well as to just get away and relax.  We certainly hope we could stay there for at least a week and God willing we will next time, there is just something about that peaceful sound of the ocean that you can never get enough of.  We stayed at a wonderful hotel that was located only 1.3 miles from the beach, that gave us easy access to go as much as we wanted.  We also had a little shopping center across the street which was very cute, full of boutique shops and small restaurants.  Barry and I enjoyed one of the best burgers we have ever had at RJ’s as well as one of the best ice creams and pizzas.  I must admit we ate unhealthy, but boy did we have fun eating all the junk food, we are both working it off now by running and bicycling 🙂  Barry had a chance to go on a nice ride on his bike on the 17 mile road, he said it was gorgeous.  Bella did absolutely amazing for being away from home, of course we had a few little crying and teething moments, but overall it was a very enjoyable trip, the one we will never forget, because we got to go with our daughter for the very first time.

It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since Barry and I said our “I Do’s”  It was one of the most beautiful days in our life.  This year was unlike any other year for us, because we had our new family member celebrating with us and we couldn’t ask for more.  It is by far the best gift we have ever received.  Marriage is an exquisite gift from God that requires constant work, but is very rewarding to see it grow and blossom.  We had a lovely dinner at home prepared by my dear husband and a nice movie at the end of the day.  Barry surprised me with Hawaiian orchid lei, remembering how we got our first leis in Hawaii and a huge bouquet of roses.  We reminisced about our wedding and our honeymoon in wonderful Hawaii.  We will hopefully be able to re-visit Maui on our 10 year anniversary.

We have a little tradition that we started a few years back, we go cherry picking once a year, right around this time.  Last year we had our friends, Annette and Steve come out with us and we had a great time, so we decided to do a little re-union this year.  When we pick cherries, we pick cherries, not a basket or a little bucket, we pick buckets of cherries.   This year the weather has been a bit questionable for the central valley and we didn’t think they’d be ready in time, but they sure were.  Many were cracked due to all the rain that we have been getting, but still a lot were just huge and juicy.  You will see in pictures below with all the fun we had that day.  Enjoy!

I finally said goodbye to my job at the DA’s office and said “hello” to my new part time job, watching Alyssa, our neighbor’s daughter who is 12 months old.  It felt absolutely wonderful to leave a job that would force me to be away from my precious daughter and even though this new job is 10 times harder it is worth it to see my daughter’s face every day.  Before I started watching Alyssa, her mom asked me how much I would charge and at the time I have not given it much thought, so I decided to do a little research and see what people usually charge to watch other people’s kids.  I was shocked, the average charge  is $5-$10 per hour, I thought to myself, what in the world?  I still do not quiet comprehend why it is so little, when truly it is one of the most difficult jobs out there but it is the truth.
At first it was overwhelming to have another child running around the house, making sure she does not get into anything like plugs and toilets and etc.  She is definitely a busy girl, so I’ll have my hands full twice a week 🙂  Bella and Alyssa played nicely, shared toys and tried to share binkies but mommy said no, I bet someone else’s always tastes better 😉  At the end of the day I felt much more tired than usual, but it was rewarding to play with two cute girls, especially to see two different stages of live, 4 months vs. 12.  Below you will find a picture of Alyssa and Bella 🙂

It is amazing how robbed you feel when someone gets a hold of something personal.  As many of you may already know, our blog was hacked and Barry and I spent quiet a bit of time putting it back into what we have envisioned it to be.  We absolutely hated the feeling of someone/something that we have never met/seen invading the privacy of our life.  If you currently have any websites or blogs of your own, please take the time to secure it, we learned the hard way and it is just so much more dear to us, as we got to put it together twice.  Please feel free to look at the photo galleries, they have been updated with most recent pictures as well as Bella’s page 🙂

May 11, 2010

Last weekend we were priviliged to see Dima again.  It was a pleasant surprise to hear that he was coming from Moscow.  Barry and I met Dima at Fresno Pacific University where we all went to school and after a few conversations, the friendship was developed to hopefully last a life time.  It has been absolutely wonderful to see him again, and most of all to have him meet our beautiful addition to the family, Isabella.  His visit would not have left him any fun memories if he did not change his first diaper, so we made sure that happened.

May 09, 2010

One of the biggest highlights this May was my first Mother’s Day.  It almost seemed unreal to be celebrated as a mother, but I had one of the most wonderful days.  My dear husband and Bella surprised me with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, wonderful card, a washed car, lovely bike ride and a lot of help around the house.  Being a mother is a very special gift from God and I feel abundantly blessed to have received such a gift.  As difficult as this job is, it is the MOST rewarding.  I never imagined such love until I met face to face with my precious girl.  To all mothers that will be reading this post, I hope you had a fantastic day where you felt loved and appreciated and not just on Mother’s Day, but hopefully every day.  God has blessed me with the most extraordinary mom that has become my best friend with years, who I can go to with my sorrows, joys, questions and of course recipes.  I believe my mom is the most giving, loving, kind and the best chef I know.  She has taught me everything about being a mom and the reason I am the type of mom today is because of my dear mom.  Thank you Mamysik, I will be forever grateful.

May 3, 2010

This week has been a true blessing.  My (Helen’s) very dear friend Olga from childhood whom I have not seen in 16 years came to visit us.  It’s amazing how one doesn’t know what God has in store for us.  Her journey on American soil started off rocky and difficult, but because of her strong faith, she is now a happy and content individual.  Olga and I grew up in Zvenigorodka, a small town where we visited each other daily and loved to play together.  I remember her going to weekly private lessons for English and Spanish, not knowing that in 16 years we will end up under the same roof, speaking no other but English,  laughing and reminiscing about our childhood years.  Her journey started off in Brooklyn after which she went to Florida, followed by Missouri and ending in Oklahoma, where she met her husband JD.  I must admit I was very nervous about our meeting, not knowing whether we grew too much apart where we would not have much to talk about or whether we would pick up where we left off and we picked up right where we left off.  We had a chance to show them Sacramento and go to an European market where we found a huge selection of Slavic food and made it into a nice lunch that we later shared together.  We also had a chance to take them to my parent’s house where she got a chance to re-connect with them and Oleg, that was a very fun time for all of us.  The biggest highlight for me was sharing the same faith and being able to talk about Christ, which I never thought I would with her.  God is definitely full of surprises, I praise Him for that.

Welcome to our blog!  We have been wanting to create a family blog for a while now, but never seemed to find time.  The opportunity has opened itself and we jumped on it (especially me- Helen)  I have learned that blogs are a great tool to keep people updated on what goes on in one’s life as well as to create memories for the  future generation, in our case, it’s our precious daughter Isabella and/ any other additions to the family in the future.