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. :)