Before I Left

I think I finally learned a lesson ~ never make the plans because for some reason it never turns out the way you plan it to. We had “planned” to go to Romania in September but for many reasons that didn't work out. I sent post cards to all my family telling them to expect us on a certain date in September, and then the following week, we realized we would not be able to travel in September. And then we made other plans, and somehow those didn’t work out either. I’m a person that likes to plan. Rarely do I like to just “wing-it”. Sure, I can “wing-it” when it comes to many things. But as a general overview of my personality, I like to plan. I like to make lists. I’m a very thorough person. And "winging" a 20+ hour trip overseas was just not going to work.

Then, the night we got home from visiting my in-laws {love them} in much cooler weather {love that}, we sat down, went thru some dates, and I bought my ticket. Yes. I did just say, my ticket. That was something else we hadn't planned on. But life happens and sometimes things happen you had not planned on.

The moment I purchased my ticket, I felt calm and knew it was the right thing to do. And then after I purchased the ticket, I freaked. I was going to be traveling alone overseas. I will admit that I was a tad nervous because this whole experience is still new to me. And still very raw and emotional. Being back in my native country is an experience that brings back some memories I probably haven’t thought about since I left so long ago. I was worried about traveling alone without my constant companion because I rely on his strength more than he knows. Just his presence calms me.

In the week following, I was emotional. Most of my days were fine, until I started thinking about traveling alone and then I would cry. I didn’t want to travel alone and was worried I would panic mid-flight over the ocean. I actually have a paranoia of enclosed spaces that have no escape as well as deep waters, so flying over the ocean is a bad thing for me. So here I am a girl who gets claustrophobic and is afraid of dark waters, flying over the Atlantic Ocean to get to Europe.

And then all of a sudden, I stopped crying. The calmness that we felt about my upcoming trip was an answer that God was in charge of this one. I trust Him. I knew that if this was not a good idea, He would tell me.

As the day approached, I started to feel calm and have a general feeling of peace surround me. Of course I cried when I thought about being alone without my babies and my husband.

But I had a feeling that this experience was something that I needed. I didn’t know all the reasons, but I knew that I needed it. I need my mother. And somehow in Albina’s home, I feel her there. I just felt like this was the right thing to do. Although it wasn't our original plan, it was the right plan. And I was so excited to be returning home again. Nothing is as comforting as returning to my home country - well, with the exception of returning home to my husband and babies.

I'm Back

Hi y'all! I am back! I feel like I've been so absent from so many things for quite awhile. Our fundraiser was in September and it was a success. I want to thank everyone who donated, helped and shopped at our event. We raised a lot more money than I expected and it was so exciting! I appreciate everything! I really do. Without your donations, I wouldn't have been able to raise a 1/4 of tha money.

First, I have to thank my husband. Not only did he help me by picking up donations, he also helped with the whole yard sale. He worked a full grueling week in the blistering Az summer sun, and then spent his “free” time helping me. He put in so many hours to help me organize the sale and get it done. Not to mention he handled all the money. I don’t handle the money at the sale. Mathmatically, I’m just not quick enough to instantly figure out the correct change so I let others handle the goods. I couldn't have done it without him! I'm a lucky girl!

I also want to publicly thank “Weez” & her man for letting us take over their whole driveway and yard with our donations. They were incredibly helpful. And stayed up way too late helping me set up and sort. I appreciate their kindness and help. It’s so nice to meet people who are so willing to offer their help. I am so thankful for them for letting us completely take over their lives for +/- 48 hours.

I also want to thank Marnie who was so awesome and stayed up with me til 4am to make sure our stuff wouldn’t get stolen, etc. It was a long night. And I also want to thank her for helping me sort thru and organize thousands of donations. As well as her kids who were so helpful and watched my little bugs for me. Thanks Marnie! You rock!!

Now that I'm back and my life has returned to normal, and the jet-lag has finally gone away, I will be updating you all on my trip. It was the most amazing experience and I can't wait to share the details and photos. So stay tuned. And I will apologize in advance if the updating is a little slow. I just started school again and it's not easy to do with little kids at home.

Fundraiser Yard Sale Details

We’ve collected thousands of donations to bring you a HUGE FUNDRAISER YARD SALE

Date: SATURDAY, SEPT. 18TH
Time: SALE STARTS AT 6 AM
Place: 3815 E. CLOVIS STREET {Near Val Vista / Broadway}

Just a preview of some of the amazing items we have for sale…

Above Ground Swimming Pool w. Pump for only $100.00. Everything in the box & works.
Drum Set for Guitar Hero
Bikes
Full Size Adjustable Bed
Futon
Mattresses & Box Springs
Tons of Scrapbooking Supplies/Layouts, etc.
Stereo System
Crafting Supplies
Tons of Brand Name Clothing {Lucky, Gap, Miss Me, 7’s}
Tools {like Ryobi Tool Set just needs batteries}
Peg Perego Black/Pink Stroller

As well as … Furniture, Decorations, Tons of Clothes & Shoes, Toys, Tools, Home Décor, Baby Items {including crib bedding set} & Toys, Books, VHS & DVDs, & Lots Lots More!!!

PLEASE JOIN THE FUNDRAISING BY DONATING TO

OR SHOPPING AT OUR EVENT!!

This sale is going to be HUGE!! We have TONS of donations and I still have more donations to pick up. I am excited to do some serious fundraising so that we will be able to purchase the necessary items for my brother and his family in Romania.

THANK YOU to EVERYONE who donated items for this sale! I appreciate!!

Yard Sale Update

Just wanted to give everyone an update that our Yard Sale has been moved to Saturday, September 18th. This date works better for everyone involved.

I wanted to publicly thank a friend for letting us have the sale at her house. The location is perfect.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 18th. I will add a flyer shortly with all the details. Come out and see us! We have tons of stuff for sale. All the donations we have received have been so wonderful. One side of my garage is jam packed to the ceiling with donations. We have some good stuff to sell!

Guess what came in the Mail?

Yesterday was a happy day. I received these 2 packages in the mail from a good friend. I was so excited to get these because I could not wait to see what treasures they contained. And I was not disappointed!

It's a little hard to see everything, but here’s what was inside box # 1 ...

and box # 2...

These packages were filled and stuffed to the top and contained all sorts of goodies. Sketchbook, mini colored pencils, bowls, spoons, action toys, cars, band-aids, vitamins, medications, lots of work gloves and socks, coloring books, hygiene items, bags for the kids, bubbles, household items, sweet treats and so much more.

So, Rhonda, I want to offer you my deepest thanks because you single-handedly fulfilled my Fill a Backpack project! And I am so grateful to you for your kindness and generosity. I've packed the backpacks and they are very full. The children will be so thrilled to receive their backpacks which are filled with all types of toys, activities and even some sweet treats.

I am so thankful to you for your donations. I could not have done this on my own.

Thank you sweet friend for your kindness!

Party with a Purpose

My good friend Aliece is throwing a Mary Kary Party with a Purpose for me. She is donating 20% of the sales to help us raise some funds for the stove and supplies we are buying for my brother in Romania. This really is a Party with a Purpose! :)
And…. If you place an order online she will ship your items for FREE!!!

You have until September 10th to place your order and get free shipping!

To place your order, go to: www.marykay.com/aliece

Thanks Aliece!!!

Guest Posting at Not So Crafty

Hey y'all! I'm guest posting at Tonia's blog, Not So Crafty, today! Come check me out! I posted a favorite recipe this time.

Fill a Backpack Update

I wanted to show what we’ve got so far for our Fill a Backpack project. To find out all the details about it, go here. We have backpacks for my niece Gabriela, and my nephews, Andrei and Cristian, and we’re collecting goodies for their backpacks. I’m especially excited for this because they don’t have any toys of their own.

Here’s what we have so far…

If you’d like to donate anything to fill these backpacks, please let me know. To find more specific details, go here. You can give any personal handmade gifts or donations, your kid’s used toys or clothes, etc.

We also have a yard sale coming up. More info on that here. If you have anything you're getting rid of, please consider sending it my way. ALL proceeds will go towards purchasing a stove for my brother and his family, as well as some food and supplies for them.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at savetasstory@gmail.com.

My First Guest Post

I did my first guest post over at Trisha's blog, 3 Four and Under. Go check it out! I'm so excited. Thanks Trisha!!

What's Next?

{1} We’re going to Romania!!! Our trip is scheduled for September {yahoo!}. I’ve been busy trying to make some personal gifts for my family. I’ve also enlisted the help of a friend to make some superhero capes for the kids. More on all that later.

and

{2} We’re gearing up for another yard sale to raise money to purchase a stove for my brother Nicu and his family as well as some food and supplies. With the success of our first yard sale last fall, we decided that having another one was the best way to raise funds. I just want to emphasize that ALL funds raised will go towards Nicu and his family. We’ve been saving our pennies and dimes and are using our own money to pay for our trip. That means that every penny we raise will be used for Nicu and his family!

{GOAL}: Raise enough money to purchase a stove for Nicu, as well as food and supplies.

I feel awkward asking, but if you have anything in your house you’re planning on getting rid of, please consider sending it my way. I wish that I could do it all on my own, but the truth is that I rely on the kindness of others to help me raise funds. Please feel free to donate anything you have laying around your house.

We will willingly come pick up your donations, or you’re also free to just drop it off at my house anytime.

Please contact me at savetasstory@gmail.com or call 480-219-2477 if you would like to donate items for the garage sale.

I appreciate your donations! I really, really do.

Picture of the Day

Awwww. Isn't she cute? This is Aurel's calf. {Aurel is my uncle in Romania}. He has a momma cow and a baby cow. Living in Straja, which is a farming village in Romania on the Ukranian border, the people live a simple life. They are all extremely self-sufficient. My uncle Aurel has a farm with a milking cow, a calf and chickens. He also has a large amount of land that he grows crops on. They have a beautiful garden right in front of their house with many different fruits and vegetables. They also have a horse and wagon which they use for work {like plowing fields or carrying heavy items} as well as transportation. Almost everything they eat is grown on their land. Life there is simple and peaceful.

Marius the Chef

I wanted to show some more of the delicious food that we ate while in Romania. My cousin, Larysa, has a fiancé and his name is Marius. He is an excellent chef. He specializes in all types of international cuisine.

We arrived in Romania late Monday night. On Tuesday night we ate dinner with Larysa at the restaurant that Marius and her both work at. This is what he made special for us.

I ate the spinach and sage stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon. It was so good. I can't remember exactly what the husband's meal was. It was sirloin. The meat was really good too. I loved the figs. Larysa had the chicken salad which looked really good.

Dessert: Tiramisu

This dessert was heaven. It was creamy, decadent and delicious. I felt so spoiled. Did you notice the crystallized sugar ball on top? It has toasted walnuts inside of it. And the blueberry sauce spread around the plate. Oh.my.goodness. This dessert was so good. We both became fans of tiramisu after eating that.

On our last day in Suceava before we had to return to Bucharest, we took Albina, Ionica, Vica and Razvan to dinner at the restaurant again. Marius surprised me with this awesome creation for dinner.

Doesn't it look amazing? The flower petals are thin potato slices, topped with 3 thin rolls of spinach and cheese {I think} stuffed chicken and sprinkled with cheese.

Sarmale cu Smantana

I remember eating sarmale as a little girl in Romania. After all these years, I still craved their delicious flavor. I told my husband all about it, and how much he would like it. When I returned home for the first time last October, I was so excited to {1} eat sarmale again and {2} have my husband try it. I just knew he would love it.

The first time we ate sarmale was at Saveta’s house on Saturday night. I wish that we would have taken a picture of it. But to give you guys a visual, here is a picture I found.

{photo credit: danagrad.blogspot.com}

Sarmale {stuffed cabbage} is a traditional Romanian food. {Actually, I think it’s a pretty traditional European meal with different variations found throughout Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, etc}. It’s made by taking pickled cabbage leaves and stuffing them with different types of meat {usually pork or lamb}, rice, onions and different seasonings. It simmers in a pot for a long time, usually in some red sauce. It is traditionally served at weddings or for Christmas dinner. {Maybe someday if I ever master the art of cooking sarmale, we will eat it for Christmas}. To me, this is true comfort food. I could eat a whole pot by myself. I kid you not. It is so good. And I think that’s due in part to the fact that for me, it has many memories attached to it.

In Romania, we had something called smantana which is similar to sour cream, only the consistency is thinner. I had to google the correct definition, but it is basically a dairy product that is made by souring heavy cream. And for some reason it just tastes better than sour cream. Albina made a lot of soup for us, which I loved, and we always put smantana in it. We also poured it over stuffed bell peppers and of course, sarmale. The combination of the delicious sarmale with smantana drizzled over it was so good.

I hope that I can learn how to make this dish in the traditional Romanian style. I want to have my kids grow up eating sarmale. It just seems right.

And when we return to Romania this fall, I’ll get to eat it again.

Blue, Yellow and Red

I noticed something yesterday while working on the blog. My color theme is blue, yellow and red. When I drew out my template I told Jenn that I wanted the color scheme to be yellow and blue with some red.

Notice something familiar between the colors of my blog and this….

{Photo Credit: Google Image}

I didn’t even realize the similarity because the colors of my blog are a bit different {especially the hue of the blue}, but the color scheme is the same. This is probably only interesting to me – but I had to document it.

I think that means I am a true Romanian {at heart}.

Albina

Yesterday morning, Albina called me. I love to hear her voice and how she says “Hello”. We only talk a little on the phone because I speak very limited Romanian. Then we get on Yahoo IM and chat away. I use the help of Google Translate to speak to my family. I’m so thankful for that tool. Sometimes I get so frustrated with my inability to remember and speak my native language. I can understand more than I speak but it is frustrating for me because I am never able to truly express my feelings. I am more determined than ever to learn {or remember} the language. I just have to. I have so many questions and without the language, the story of my family will remain largely untold. I want my children to know their heritage. I want to know my heritage. I want to know their life stories. I want to know the story of my parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

Anyways, since Albina called me I decided that today I wanted to tell you about her.

This is Albina. And I love her. A lot.

Albina is my mother’s older sister. Out of 4 siblings, she is the third oldest. She was married to Ion and has 1 son and 1 grandchild. She worked in a shoe factory for 32 years. She makes everything. She grows and cans everything herself. She sews and knits. She gave me a pair of really thick wool socks she knitted herself. She is the best cook. All of her food was wonderful. She makes the best soup I’ve ever had. Her food is true comfort food. I think she is the hardest working woman I know.

But the most amazing quality I noticed about her was her loving disposition. She cares for everyone. She envelops you with such love that it feels like a nice warm blanket over you. That is the only way I can describe her quality. She is comfort to me. When I think of home, I think of her. When we finally saw each other face to face, she hugged and kissed me. And it felt like I was truly home. Being close to her makes me feel like I am closer to my mother. Even after all the years that have passed, she never gave up hope of finding me. She just kept searching and praying. It feels good to never be forgotten. I was a part of her life. Her sister’s only daughter. A little girl she loved like her own child.

I hope someday {soon} I can fully express to her {in Romanian} how much I love her. She saved some of my mother's belongings for me. My mother’s traditional dress and head scarf are one of my most treasured possessions. Her dress hangs in my closet and sometimes I just like to hold it close because I miss my mother. I hope to be as kind and loving as Albina. She serves all those that she meets. She is always happy. I truly admire her for her strength. She is a woman who has survived many hardships and yet maintains a strong faith and a loving disposition.

Albina, I miss you. And I love you more than I could express.

Romanian BBQ

This activity was one of my favorite things to do while we were in Romania. I am sure there is a correct Romanian word for it, but since I don't know it, I’m just going to go with a Romanian bbq.

Our first experience with this was Friday night at Saveta’s house. After dinner, we went outside to cook the meat {some sausage} and sit around and visit. It was a pretty cold night. My aunt Zamfira came down and sat with us.

{Sorry for this b/w photo. It was taken with the video camera.}

On Saturday night, it didn’t seem nearly as cold as the night before. After dinner everyone went outside to sit, cook the meat and talk. My cousin Ionica even turned on some music for us. You can read about that here.

In this photo you can see how the meat is cooked. It is actually a really neat thing they have. It cooks the meat pretty quickly and evenly. Saturday we cooked meat and potato wedges.

After the meat is cooked, everyone heads back inside for some food, laughter and conversation. The meat and potatoes were excellent. We were so full from dinner, but we just couldn't stop eating the meat and potatoes. They were really delicious.

Although we couldn’t speak Romanian, it was fun to sit around and spend time together. I could understand some of the conversations and was proud to be able to somewhat translate it to my husband. We just loved to be in their company. It was very enjoyable and relaxing to be together as a family.

Fill a Backpack

I’m so excited about this little project because I think it will be lots of fun. Just to give a little background, on our last trip (see Trip Updates) we weren’t able to bring that many toys for the kids because all of our luggage was filled with necessities such as blankets, clothes, shoes, medicine, etc. We brought toys that were specifically given for the kids, but other than that, we didn’t take anything else. We felt that it was more important to bring the necessities.

I thought it would be fun to Fill a Backpack for each of the kids with different toys and goodies. I’ve purchased these three backpacks for the kids. The pink one is for Gabriela (obviously), the Iron Man is for Andrei and the Mario is for Cristian. I am really excited to fill these backpacks with all sorts of goodies for the kids.

Here’s a little information about the kids and some general ideas of what to put in each backpack…

Gabriela (girl, age 6): Barbies, baby dolls (can also include accessories), slippers, pajamas, underwear, socks, toothbrush, markers, colored pencils, coloring books, jewelry, play makeup, nail polish, hair accessories, etc.

Andrei (boy, age 5): cars, trucks, small balls, soccer ball, action figures, markers, colored pencils, coloring books, legos (but not too small), slippers, pajamas, underwear, socks, puzzles, games, etc.

Cristian (boy, age 3): cars, trucks, small balls, action figures, markers, colored pencils, coloring books, large legos, building blocks, Lincoln logs, slippers, pajamas, underwear, socks, etc.

I’ve also got some handmade goodies that I am really excited to make for them. I’ll post more about those projects later.

If you would like to donate any thing (whether new, used or handmade) to put in these backpacks, please let me know.

Thank you for your help. :)

Math and Me

I have no more brain power because that’s what happens when you study for a math final. I am almost positive this happens to everyone who studies for math finals. And if it doesn’t happen to you, then you’re one of the lucky few and I envy you.

Wish me luck! And if you don’t hear from me, then it means I passed. And I’m leaving it at that.

This is Maritza. And she is an angel.

You see, without Maritza my story would have remained a silent one. I would have never reunited with my family had it not been for Maritza, her website and her genuine kindness. When I first started searching for my family, I didn’t know where to start. I had posted a question on Yahoo Answers asking about genealogy in Romania. A lady emailed me Maritza’s website. To my surprise, her entire website was all about the village I came from. As I read through her site, I saw that she had helped other people find their ancestry in Romania. I got brave and e-mailed her asking her about my family. She responded immediately and called on her friends in Ipotesti to start investigating. One minute I was searching for my family and the next minute I was talking on the webcam to my brothers. Each day she kept e-mailing me more information about my family. I remember those moments like they were yesterday. How I stalked my computer day and night waiting for more e-mails. We constantly talked back and forth.

She is an angel. She once told me that she likes helping people with their genealogy. It’s a hobby. What an amazing hobby, huh? She does it because she loves genealogy. She told me that she was touched by my story and that she wanted to help me. I am not the only person she has helped.

Maritza – if you read this, I want you to know how much I love you for your kindness and for the angel that you truly are. With out you, my miracle would have never happened. One day we will meet in Ipotesti and I will kiss your cheek with my tears of gratitude. I could never repay you for your kindness. There are not enough words to express how I feel. Your kindness has changed the course of my whole life and brought me home again. You are an angel in my life.

Cu dragoste,

To check out Maritza's website go to: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/ipotesti-suceava/index_anglais.html

Thank You

I want to give a huge shout-out to Jenn from Munchkinland Designs. A couple weeks ago I hired Jenn to design my blog for me. I had seen her work on another blog and was really impressed with her style. I already had a vision and a template drawn out, and I had been attempting to work on the design myself but it was too much for me.

Working with Jenn was such a great experience. She truly brought my vision to life. THANK YOU Jenn for your hard work and total awesomeness! I LOVE it. Or I am IN love with it. I don’t know. But it makes me very happy!!!

I Did It...

I finally broke down and have "hired" someone to design the blog for me. I just couldn't do it anymore. Between work, school and kids, it was taking everything I had to try to design it out myself. It was going so slow and I reached a point where I just needed help.

I'm hoping very soon that the blog will be all done. I've already had the design drawn out. It was just a matter of getting it done. I'm so excited for this new change and am eagerly awaiting to show off the new blog design. :)

Stay tuned!

Big Dreams

I've spent a lot of time thinking about all of the things that I would love to be able to do for my brother and his kids. I've decided to write them down so that I can keep focusing and slowly work my way through some of these BIG dreams.

* Build an indoor bathroom in Nicu's house

* Add another room to Nicu's house and provide heating in every room

* Make improvements to the house - many things are falling apart

* Build a kitchen for Nicu's house

** My BIG dream is to fix up my brother's house (my old house) so that they can live comfortably. That's my biggest dream right now.

And someday, one day - I want to be able to purchase some land for myself and build a home in Straja where I could spend my summers with my kids. *Sigh* Now that's a big dream. :)

Current Projects

Because of the many different goals I have, I feel like I always have ongoing projects. I really try to focus on having a current project at hand that we are working on. Our next trip is scheduled for September 2010. Our main focus for this upcoming trip is to raise money to purchase a food supply for Nicu, Mihaela and the children. On our last trip, we were blessed to be able to purchase some food for Nicu. It was such a neat experience for us. We were so grateful to my cousin and his wife who took us shopping and recommended food items to us. It was a really emotional experience for me. I was in tears the whole time we were walking through the store and while we drove to his house. I just remember being hungry all the time as a little girl, and I was so excited to be able to bring them food. I am so thankful to everyone who donated items for our yard and bake sale, as well as those who donated the auction items and also donated money. And of course, so thankful to family, friends, neighbors and everyone else who came to our sale and purchased the items. :) Without their help, I would not have been able to do that. It was so rewarding for me to be able to purchase that food for my brother and his family.

My goal is to be able to do that same thing on our next trip. In my trip updates, I mentioned that Nicu and his family cook on a 2 burner camping stove that is set up on a little table in their room. I would love to be able to purchase a real stove for him. It would make their lives so much easier and more comfortable. The money that we raise will go towards purchasing this food supply as well as purchasing the stove.

** As always, we accept any donations - clothes, shoes, garage sale items, auction items, items to sell, monetary contributions, etc.

I Have Reunited With....

Nicu ~ my older brother

Mihaela ~ Nicu's wife

Gabriela, Andrei and Cristian ~ my niece and nephews

Florin ~ my older brother

Albina ~ my Aunt (my mother's older sister)

Ion - ~ my counsin (Albina's son)

Viorica ~ Ion's wife

Razvan ~ Ion's son

Saveta ~ my cousin (her mother & my mother are sisters)

Vasile ~ Saveta's husband

Elena - Saveta's daughter - we are the same age

Rodica - Saveta's daughter

Aurel ~ my Uncle (my mother's brother)

Zamfira ~ Aurel's wife

Vasile ~ Aurel's youngest son

Alex ~ Aurel's grandson

Vasile ~ my cousin (my father and his father are brothers)

Luminita ~ Vasile's wife

Larisa & Mirabella ~ Vasile's daughters

Mihai ~ my Uncle (my father's brother)
*I wasn't able to meet him in person on my first trip, but I hope to on my next trip.

Maria ~ Mihai's wife

Niculina ~ my neighbor

** While on our trip I met a lot of people who remembered me when I was a little girl. I also have more family members to reunite with. I have several family members who do not live in Romania. Some are in Germany and some are in Italy. I also found out that I have a half-brother from my father's first marriage. We were not able to meet in person when I was there, but I hope to meet him when we return again.

It's been amazing to me to see how many family members I have that are in Romania. I come from a large family.

New Changes Coming ...

Well, I decided that I would post more often on this blog because I have a lot more stories to tell and more pictures to show. Plus once I figure it out, I want to post some videos of our trip. First, I have to figure out how to get the video from the super tiny dvd onto my computer. It will be fun to post some videos.

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to customize my blog. It took me awhile but I did manage to make a 3 column template. I was way excited about that. I consider myself pretty computer savvy, but I feel so overwhelmed and completely out of my element when trying to customize my blog. I drew out my template but I am still trying to find some tutorials on how to make buttons, backgrounds, my menu, etc. So much to learn!

Hopefully soon I can get this little blog of mine completely customized and post some more stories, pictures and some video. :)

Missing Home

Is it ok to say that I am really homesick for Romania right now? Well, actually ALL the time but especially right now. It probably has something to do with these photos I just received from my cousin Elena. Her parents live in Straja and she was just there visiting them. (She lives in Italy).

I know it's the dead of winter but oh how beautiful Straja looks blanketed with pure, white snow.

I miss Straja.

I am inspired by this quote:

"In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance. Let us open our eyes and see the heavy hearts, notice the loneliness and despair; let us feel the silent prayers of others around us, and let us be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer those prayers."

- - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

La Multi Ani

Thank you to everyone who supported our latest endeavor to send Christmas to Romania. We appreciated all of the items that were donated and purchased. Some of you even sent your own packages to Romania. Thank you, thank you!! I have been truly touched by everyone's kindness and generosity. Thank you!

A a new decade has begun, I look forward to a very bright and beautiful future. I don't know if it's just me, but 2010 seems like the start of a very promising and bright future. Not only do I personally have new goals for myself this year, I have many new goals and plans for this blog. I never thought I would start a blog about the Romanian legacy that is a part of my life. This blog has offered me a place to record my memories and my feelings for not just myself, but for my children, my family and for everyone else that has supported my endeavors and has read My Story. What a wonderful year it has been! My trip in October changed the course of my life forever and I am so thankful for that. With the dawn of a new decade, I look forward to continuing my journey as I learn more about my Romanian ancestry.

"The future is as bright as your faith." - - Gordon B. Hinckley

La Multi Ani (Happy New Year)!!