Spring in Ohio

I made more cards last week for Pascha, the feast of our Lord's Resurrection.  I left some of them blank so that you can color them in as you wish, or let your children help color.  Check them out in my etsy shop:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/homemadegoodness ♥

Friday our homeschool co-op went to the Krohn Conservatory, which is a giant greenhouse, and was so humid in the rainforest room that my camera lens kept fogging up, hence this fuzzy group photo:

One of the boys reaches toward a cacoa pod!  That's our chocolate starts off...pretty cool, huh?

The main room was Avant-Garde theme, lots of glass flowers and bowls in bold colors.

 In the cacti room, isn't this aloe stunning?

This is in the bonsai room! 

My friend, Anya, took this picture of some of us after church yesterday.  You can see 5 year old Sofia in her wheelchair and my Godson, 1 year old Timothy in his mom's arms. Her husband was working with the other men helping to assemble the new playground!  My daughter Hannah holding my nephew Timothy, who is now a month old!

St. Oliva

Today is Olivia's namesday (following the Old Calendar), the day we celebrate the saint for whom she is named, St. Oliva of Brescia, Italy, who was martyred under the Emperor Hadrian in 138 AD. This icon was hand-painted by Fr. Paul Akmolin and given as a gift from my parents to Olivia:

Since it is Great Lent, we are making an effort to go to more services, and give alms by helping  others.  Unfortunately, we are not able to attend as many services as the new church is much further than the old church was...

Olivia is collecting money to donate to OCMC (Orthodox Christian Mission Center), in this little box with a slot on top, that we got while at the homeschool gathering at Christ the Savior church.  I also want to start this prison ministry with my Sunday school class:  http://theorthodoxprisonministry.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BBB_diy.pdf

We were able to attend Holy Unction (the anointing of oil, for the remission of sins) while the Kursk icon visited our parish last week:

Post by St. George Russian Orthodox Church.

One of the passages from the Bible that is read during that service is:
"A certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him." Luke 10:33-34

And another (although the healing is not merely for those sick of the body, but those who are sick of the soul...whose soul is pure?):
"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."
James 5:14-15

Little 5 year old Sofia is home!  The surgery went very well.  Tomorrow is her little brother's first birthday! 

Sofia is 5

Our dear friends from church celebrating Sofia's 5th birthday together on Tuesday.  Please pray for her as she is having another surgery tomorrow, they will put healthy blood vessels from the top of her head into the part of her brain that was damaged from the stroke, so they can grow and repair.

Sofia and her grandma (or "babushka") who came from Ukraine to help out in January.  She leaves in a couple of weeks.

 Another dear family, little 1 year old Ksenia has an enlarged heart and is also in need of prayers.

Opening birthday gifts.  We gave her jeggings (you know soft jeans/leggings) and a teal blouse with stars on it:

I ♥ this picture...Sofia with her Ariel cupcakes and her mama and grandma with strawberries!

 The whole family:

It was truly a happy birthday.  The best thing was seeing little Sofia smile, as everyone sang happy birthday to her.  There is a lot of love here.  ♥

Little Sofia

In two weeks, our friend, Sofia, will turn 5 years old.  She was diagnosed about 2 years ago with cancer in her brain in Ukraine.

They were treated in Israel next and finally, were able to come to the United States.  In Cincinnati, the Children's Hospital is one of the best when it comes to cancer treatments.

After so much radiation, proton therapy, chemotherapy, stem cell therapy (from her baby brother, Timothy's umbilica cord)...her brain had undergone so much stress and was weakened.  She had a stroke Dec. 17, 2013.  Then, a few days later, she had a much more serious stroke.  The left side of her body was affected and she is still trying to regain strength  by physical therapy.  She also lost her ability to see.
She has been in the hospital 3 months today, but was able to come to church yesterday for the first time in months!!!  All the children gathered around her wheelchair, holding her hands, kissing her cheeks and greeting her with love.  She went to Holy Communion.  I took her little brother to Holy Communion, as I am his Godmother.  

I took these two pictures of their whole family in October 2013 when our parish moved from the old building into the new large church!  Everyone carried an icon to the new church. 

I ♥ Sofia's smile in this photo.  She is supposed to be going home this Thursday Feb. 20th.  We are all praying she continues to heal little by little. 

Yesterday...

After church yesterday, we had a Christmas party for the children...
First, Hannah sang "What Child is This?" as she played guitar with Maria, who is 25 years old and teaching Hannah:

Olivia with Liza, my sister's little girl, who is 1.  She got this new pink dress, for a Christmas gift...with a snowman on the front and a hat with a white puffy ball on it.

Then, a few children recited poetry...and then they moved plywood out for the girls to do Irish dancing: 

Russian dancing!

The audience.

I'm holding my Godson, Timothy...isn't his little comfy tuxedo so cute???

He did not want to sit on Grandfather Frost's lap!

His mother was at the hospital, yesterday in the afternoon...they have been taking turns.  Today marks 4 weeks of Timothy's big sister, Sofia's hospitalization after a stroke.
They were told on Friday at a meeting with the doctor that 75% of her brain is unrepairable and damaged.  Lord have mercy.  ♥  Please keep all of their family in your prayers, Sergiy and little Timothy, who you see here...and Maryna, the mother, and especially 4 year old Sofia.

Here is little Sofia and her mother, Maryna.  You can read more about them here:  http://savesofiakharchyk.org.ua/en/

Today, Maryna's mother, Nataliya, arrived from Ukraine to help out...I look forward to meeting her very soon!

First week of winter...

 A bit of merry-making and music...

My dad's little sister, Sarah, and her 4 year son have been in town this week, all the way from Vermont.  She is musically talented, plays the guitar, flute and sings...she taught Hannah a few new songs, including "I can see clearly now the rain is gone."

We had a good amount of snow before it was officially winter and then warm weather rolled in and lots of rain...but the past few day have been lovely and sunny.

 Olivia working on her rainbow bracelet loom...given to her from a karate friend.

We took our family visiting from Vermont and New York to see our new church!  There has been a lot of joy in being together.
Then, we headed north to spend time visiting with Rob's folks.  He cut up a fallen tree. 

I just heard that my Aunt Valerie in New York was admitted to the hospital today, she has congestive heart failure.  Please say a prayer for her. 

And little Sofia today ♥  (this is like the Russian and Ukrainian version of Facebook, where her parents update her current status:  http://vk.com/club28427969).  She had another stroke since I last posted an update...and is now unable to see!  I babysat for her little brother Timothy on Dec. 25th.  Many people have helped, by taking a day this week...  I am  thankful to have such a great community of people in our parish, who drop everything in their life to help out this family in need.

One week...

Our 4 year old friend Sofia had a stroke one week ago.  I went to the hospital to visit her today.  She was so cute, telling her parents, the nurses and doctor that she wants the mosquito out of her arm.  That's what she calls the needle!   She also said "golova bolit" which means "head hurts"  many times.  She had a tube that is draining fluid from her head, where she had surgery last week.

My friend Lena and I went to the store together and bought her a Christmas tree.   Our homeschooling group also gave her a bunch of gifts, some arts and crafts items and little toys to keep her entertained.  She will probably be there for a few more weeks.
Her mother is spending a third of the day, approximately at the hospital, but needs to take care of Timothy, who is still breastfeeding, too.  It's not easy.  Her heart is pulling both ways.
I was feeding her lunch when she threw up.  All of it...
So, please please keep her in your prayers. I took these photos before I left.  Hannah and Olivia would have come and visit her, too, but they only allow visitors over 14 years old.  She was drinking some water and fell asleep.  Her father (in Ukrainian they say "Tato") hasn't left the hospital all week... 

Popcorn and cranberries...

We used a needle and thread to string cranberries and popcorn...and then hung it on the Christmas tree we got last year (which we planted in our front yard), for the animals to enjoy.  There are a few pinecones hanging on the tree, too...we smeared peanut butter on them and then rolled them in birdseed.

We made vegan gingerbread.  This is one of my favorite recipes!  I decorated mine using all natural nuts and raisins and some dried ginger for buttons.

We made icing using the juice from 4 lemons and confectioner sugar.  Yum!  I ♥ ginger and lemon.  The girls used lots of coloured sprinkles. 

Olivia made 2 special cookies, one for Grammie (with white coconut for hair) and one for Peepaw (beard of white coconut)!

We babysat my Godson, Timothy, yesterday and today again for a few hours.  His big sister, Sofia, is 4 years old and battling cancer...her heart stopped twice late on Monday, so she is at the hospital.  They did surgery and she is still in a lot of pain.  Please keep her in your prayers...and her parents, Sergiy and Maryna.
Sofia a few months ago with an older woman from our church:

We made paper snowflakes, while he took a nap.

He admired them.

Olivia dancing with Timothy.

Tomorrow is St. Nicholas day for those of us Orthodox Christians who follow the old calendar.  I sewed 14 fabric bags 2 weeks ago, for the kids in our homeschooling group...and plan to put some goodies in the two for my girls.  I ♥ fabric bags you can reuse!