A Dream about my Lost Brother

The title of this post may have grabbed your attention.

To clear things up, I want to tell you that the boy I will talk about was never certainly going to be my brother.

I will give more details later, but although he was never officially my big brother, he will always be in my heart.

 

That being said, here is the post I had planned to write:

Last night I had a vivid dream.

Before I tell it, I want to give you a pit of background.

After my parent were married, they hosted a sweet, young boy from Belarus in the summer.

His name was Stas.

He began coming home to spend summer with my family, before I was born, when he was 8 years old.

In fact, Stas was here in the US with my parents when I was at the time of my birth. 
It was a work of God for us through him that I was born at home instead of in VA.
My parent were going to Virginia to see family for July 4th, but Stas suddenly got a high fever and my parents decided to wait. 
And then I was born unexpectantly the next day 6 weeks prematurely on July 3d.
God worked for me and my parents through this sweet little boy, and I will always have him to thank for that, among other thing. 



Stas came every year for 10 wonderful summers.

My parents and I (though my parents remember it better) had the privilege of seeing Stas grow up from a sweet little 8 year old, to an even-sweeter-still 18 year old.

One year my little 6 year-old heart was broken when my big brother, Stas, never showed up.

I have missed him every year since.

 

Stas was wonderful.

My parents could speak more to this, I have absolutely ZERO memories of Stas misbehaving or giving us a hard time.

What I remember is my "big brother" playing baby dolls with Brandon and me,

swimming in the pool with him, his sincere smile,
 and - maybe my favorite - Stas reading Brandon and me a story book in Belarusian and not being fazed when we laughed our heads off because of how funny the language sounded to us.


 

And then he would leave.

I don't remember many of the early years,

but I do remember one year when I woke up early (after he had left) and I went upstairs to his room.
All his things were gone.
Every toy was put away.
Every trace of him vanished.
I looked for a picture of him, and couldn't find even that.
That may have been the last year he ever came.
Somehow my 6 year-old heart knew that I'd never see him again on earth.



Stas had a special possession.
It was a stuffed animal Pooh Bear, who he would never take back to Belarus with him for fear of it getting stolen.

 He loved it, and I, as young as I was, could see that.
Years after he left the last time, I gathered Brandon and David in my room and showed them the Pooh Bear. 
I told them how Stas had cherished it.
Then I told them that I had promised to myself that I would keep it for him every year until he returned.  I would not let it get thrown or given away.
I was Stas's, and Stas's it would remain.

*sigh*

But, in my dream,

I was standing in our playroom (of our new house, which Stas has never seen) with my parents.
Kaden and Bethany were there playing as well.
I turned around, and there was Stas, about 16 years old, not saying a word, only standing there with a huge smile on his face and joy in his eyes.
My mouth dropped open and I just stood there, speechless.
Words escaped me and I didn't know what to do.
Not like the awkward silence that occurs when someone forgets their line in a play or anything.
No, it was nothing like that. 
It was a total, joyous overpowering that rendered me speechless.
Suddenly, I ran from the room to get something.
I came back with the Pooh Bear, and placed it in his hands.
And then my dream ended.

In my dream, Stas looked exactly like this

I don't know what exactly it means.
Maybe I will see Stas again on earth.
Maybe God's trying to tell me that I'm released from my promise, as simple as it may be.
Maybe Stas has found a family wherever he is.
Perhaps I can stop remembering him with the twinge of sadness over my loss.
Whatever it may be, I know that God has it under control, and I can simply trust him.
I love you, Stas!




Kaden Quote 15

While driving in the car to the park my mom looked puzzled.

She looked towards the back seat and saw Kaden sitting with his mouth open, without his lips moving.

"Kaden," she asked, "why is your mouth open?"

Kaden looked around... and closed his mouth.

"I... I singing!" he said.

"Singing without moving your lips!?" we all asked.

"Ommm, yes!" He answered. 

Well, of course!  What else would he be doing?

Needless to say we all spent the rest of car trip singing with the music... Without moving our lips.

 



The Wonder Kids Diner

The Wonder Kids Diner goes way back.

Back to when the "Wonder Kids" first began.

We had moved to a new neighborhood and didn't really know any kids who lived near by,

and we wanted to start a club.

So we started the Wonder Kids. 

There were three members,

myself, Brandon and David.

We would hold meetings and play out side and talk.

We were all best friends.

Then one day the Wonder Kids decided to do something special for their parents.

So they started the Wonder Kids diner.

The Wonder Kids Diner served a variety of dishes.

The first, according to David, was macaroni and cheese with cinnamon sugar toast.

We were so excited about our dinner!

We got dressed up and lit candles and served two of the few dishes we knew how to make.

the time stamp says 2010, but it was really 2009

Mom and Dad were great sports, and I think sincerely enjoyed their odd dinner.

Fast forward several years and the Wonder Kids Diner has opened again.
And this time
the food it is serving is a little bit less odd than the times before.

We decided to make the main course a Mexican style rice and beans with chicken, sour cream, cheese and avocado, with carrot cake for dessert.
We started around 4:00pm and hoped to have it ready by 6pm.
We started with the cake.
David began grating carrots while Kaden and I mixed the other ingredients.
 


Soon the oven preheats and I take a turn grating carrots and promptly grate my finger by mistake.
Oops!
Luckily little doctor Kaden is all ready with medicine and fixed me up.


About this time Bethany wakes up from her nap and finds her way down stairs.
She signs for a drink, and when I ask her to smile for a picture first she angrily through her blankie down on the floor. 

 
Now its nearly 5pm.  The cake is in the oven and Bethany is happily drinking out of her sippy cup.
Things are going smoothly and as planned!

Now we start on the beans.
I decided to do an experiment and not use a recipe. 
I just put two can of black beans in a pot and add garlic salt, onion powder, olive oil and several other spices.  I turn it on low and let it cook for over an hour.

With that done and the rice on the stove I turn to washing the dishes while Kaden and David set up the dining room.


They start by clearing off the school books.

5:13 and Dad is home from work (Yay!), and the cake is almost finished baking.  Things are still going well!

The dining room is all set up!  It looks great, and the boys even have the keyboard playing soft music.

Now everything is just about ready and Kaden decides to do my hair while we wait for the rice to finish.


The rice is finished and we make the plates!

On to the table they go and we call mom and dad to come down.




They like it! We sit them down and are off to the kitchen to finish the cake.
The boys are, as Kaden puts it, "so hungry!" so they eat while listening to hear if Mom or Dad need anything.

The cake is finished just in time!  Its a hit and everyone loves it.

We wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen.  Soon dessert is finished and everyone is happily full.
The wonder kids diner will be closing soon,
but hopefully it will open again in a few day, weeks or months.
So, now you know about the Wonder Kids Diner.
You're welcome to stop anytime you like.
We don't have regular hours,
but we always open upon request. 
Come by soon!



 



Kaden Quote #5

This Kaden quote happened just tonight.

We were getting ready for bed when my mom motioned to my forehead.

"How'd you get those," she asked, pointing to two little scratches.

"I don't know I replied when Kaden walked in.

"what? what?" he asked.

"I have two little scratches on my forehead," I answered, bending down to show him.

"oh, cute!" he replied.

Kaden Quote #4

When we were in Galinburg, there were two air hockey tables

that almost everyone loved playing.

One day I was playing a game with Kaden when he hit the puck in his own goal.

I was just about to tell him that the goal didn't count against him

when he looked up with a huge smile on his face.

"16 points!" he yelled excitedly looking up.

Oh, Kaden.  Only Kaden:)



Kaden Quotes #3

Yep, I have another Kaden quote!

 

Today we were shopping for a coat for Bethany,

 and Kaden was looking at shoes.

Something that is really cool about having an internationally adopted brother is that he doesn't

really understand how most people view pink things and dolls as "girl" things.

He likes pink things and baby dolls almost as much as his other toys.

Anyway, he picked out a pair of bright pink crocs and was looking at them.

After trying them on he set them down for a minute to look at something else.

An older lady who didn't know he was has been looking at the shoes

 walked up and began to examine them.

Kaden, not know what to do and wanting his shoes back looked up at her and said,

"That your size, NO."



Kaden Quotes #2

Kaden can say the funniest things!

 

While we were out on a walk,

 he bent down to pick up a golf ball.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, "I rescue you!"

He picked it up and put in in the bike's basket.

Then with a cruel smile on his face he said,

"Hah! I putta you in a cage!"



Angel Spotting in the Bathtub

"Kaden, who's this?" I asked him one night when he was taking a bath.

I held up a toy he got from the first restaurant we went to (about a year ago).

 

"Ummm, a baby?" he answered.

"No, that's not a baby.  what do you think it is?"

"An angel!"

Yeah... it has wings kind of like angels do pictures, so I can understand the reasoning behind the "angle" answer.

and you know what?  I kind of like Kaden's "angel"

 Bethany must have too, but she didn't offer any words of wisdom.  She just sat there looking cute the entire time:)



Light-Works!

Not just our weather is crazy,

our town is crazy!

Let me explain,

tonight at about 9:00pm we heard these loud banging sounds. They honestly sounded like gun shots,

and I got a little anxious after 5 had gone off and they just kept coming.

We looked out the windows, but couldn't see anything. 

Then my Mom realized it was fireworks!

Yes, fireworks! 

We all went out on our front porch, (Kaden was awakened by the banging) to watch it.

I was a little nervous about how Kaden work react, (there was a lot of war in DR Congo)

At first he was timid and went back inside, but when he saw that we weren't afraid and were enjoying the strange lights he came out again.

"Lights in na sky!" He told us wonderingly.

We told him that they were really fun to watch, and he didn't have to be scared.

"light-works."  he said, and we told him, "no, they were fire works,"  but he

insisted they were "light-works", and really that makes more sense anyway.

After watching them for a while he said, "Na Congo, no.  In na 'Merica."  (not in Congo, in America)

So I guess this was his first time seeing fire works.

America is kind of neat and really strange, he must think, and it's true.

I think most Americans will agree we do some pretty weird stuff over here, but we have fun with it, right?

Anyway, just chronicling our late-Friday-night-surprise for the blogging world.

Good night!

My Thoughs on Valentines Day, and Our Party

Happy Valentine's Day to all from the Gilbarte family!

 

"Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep."

Pslams 36:5

 

Valentine's Day is about love, right?

When I think about Valentines day, I think of well, valentines. 

Candy, hearts, cute cards with sweet messages.

But do any of you know who St. Valentine was?

Yeah, I was a little rusty too, so I decided to do a little research.  

I know I'm about to sound like a history book for a minute, but bear with me, because this guys story is amazing.

St. Valentine was a Christan man who lived when the emperor believed people shouldn't get married.  In his eyes, his strong soldiers would be too distracted with wives and children that they wouldn't do well in the army.

Valentine, though, (yes, that really was his name!) believed other wise and refused to stop preforming marriage ceremonies.

Well, he was caught and thrown in jail. 

While there he met the jail keepers blind daughter who brought food for the prisoners.

Over time they grew to be friends and Valentine prayed for the girl, and asked God to heal her eyes.

God answered his prayer, and the jail keepers daughter was able to see.

Valentine, however was eventually killed.

 

His story is really amazing to me.

He lived boldly.  He knew the emperor was wrong, and was willing to die rather than pretend not to believe what he did.

Even when he was thrown in jail, probably realizing his days were numbered, he didn't give up.

He made a friend in a girl others thought was worthless. 

He prayed for and over her, and she was healed.

Because of this her father became a Christian and she probably did as well.

Valentine was killed, but not in vain.  He saved people from dieing eternally. 

 He was a wonderful example.

 

For our little party celebrating a day that honors this man, we started out with a heart themed breakfast.

 

this was followed by baking and decorating a batch of yummy sugar cookies, which involved a little nibbling and finger licking:)

 

I love decorating cookies. 

 It makes me get out my creative side, which hasn't really shown its self in a while.

But when I am doing it, I take forever. 

After a while the boys kinda lost interest.  They did about a cookie or two each and them decided to move on to finger painting.  That was fine with me! 

I enjoyed finishing decorating theirs and kept working at the rest of mine for a couple hours.

I like them.

 

Yeah, so after that the boys made a couple Valentines, and soon nap time was upon us.

I finished up my cookies and then make couple Valentines myself.

By then my creativity was drying up, so I decided to finish the rest of the valentines later and made some Valentine's Pretzel Snaps.  They turned out well.

 

This morning my Dad surprised us each with a Valentine card, even Kaden got one.

I love that about my Dad.  He's always so considerate.

So that sums up our day.

How'd yours go?