Our Baby

Medical care here in Russia has been a dilemna for us as we prepare to have a child. The system of prenatal care is quite different from the States and has caused us to pray about what to do. Thankfully, there's a midwife here (from the Spokane area, no less!) who is happy to do checkups for us. I met with her last week, and I am so thankful for her care and expertise. She had a kit of babies of different sizes, depending on how old they are in the womb. This picture shows the size of our baby now at 16 weeks.

We're still enjoying this time with the Brunos. Yesterday with took a passenger train to Lake Baikal. The weather was nice and it was so nice to breath fresh air and take in the beauty of God's creation. Ron and Gretchen have been such servants... washing our dishes, cleaning our floors, taking the garbage all the way out to the garbage cans... it's been really nice. Gretchen continues to give me new ideas for cooking. I feel more empowered to try new things.

More Fun Visitors

We have the privelege this week and next of having Ron and Gretchen Bruno visiting us. They're from our home church in Spokane. It's been really nice having them here, speaking in English, sharing things on our heart, and feeling connected with home. Today Gretchen helped me at the market to buy some ribs and a whole chicken. She's going to teach me different simple recipes to make with the ingredients we can find here. It's sooo helpful, because I find that we get stuck in a rut of what we eat: tacos, tuna melts, spaghetti and pasta dishes, beef stroganoff, etc... but I love learning how to make new (and easy) things. The Brunos were missionaries in Guatemala years ago, so they are familiar with a lot of what our lives are like.

Today we introduced Ron and Gretchen to "KVAS". This beverage comes in big wooden or metal barrels and is very popular here in the summer. Today, Leif and Ron had to stand in line before tasting this treat. Gretchen describes it as tasting like iced tea with molasses. It's definitely an acquired taste.

The second picture is from church on Sunday. I think Baba Ira (in the red scarf) is so cute. =)

Goats and Embarrasing Moments

The other day in class, I had an embarrasing cultural moment. My teacher asked me if I noticed what was on the trees. "Yes! I exclaimed! Horrible white paint!"... and then I realized that it wasn't at all the paint that she was talking about... she was talking about the little green buds that were beginning to form. I felt badly because 1) it is cultural (and seen as beautiful) to paint the bottom sections of trees white. (it is also "useful" for the trees, as Russians would say), and 2) I really am happy about the buds that are forming. They were just so tiny on that tree that she pointed to, and the paint was so WHITE. Thankfully my teacher is really nice and just laughed with me. The picture above isn't the best and was taken at dusk, but you can get the idea. I also don't understand why most trees have all their branches cut off. Some trees look just like straight poles with white paint at the bottom.

This monument and these goats are in front of our apartment building. The goats are so funny. On of the little kids (goat) came up to Leif when he was taking the picture and nudged his hand. Leif took a picture of him, but he was so close, it was just a picture of goat hair. haha.

A Housewarming Party

Yesterday we invited our church over for lunch after the service. When we were sitting in the service, I had this horrifying thought that nobody would come... but I think EVERYONE there ended up coming! (no exaggeration... I really think everyone came... although our church is quite small, so that only meant 35 or 40 people). It' so convenient living within walking distance from the church, and it was so fun to have a "housewarming party" now that we're settled into the neighborhood. Afterwards, Leif and I both reflected that we feel like having everyone over really helped us to feel more connected with people. And we really felt loved by everyone.

The top picture was taken after a few people had left and is of us "girls". The bottom picture is of our room. We feel so blessed! The sweet babushka in the above picture (Ira) kept saying "Slava bogu" (praise God) for all of His blessings. We agree.

A Little Bundle of Joy

Yesterday we got the meet Chingis and Ksusha's new baby, Daniel (Danya). He's so cute! Even though he's 3/4 Buryat, he has light hair. It was so neat to see Chingis and Ksusha with their little son. Babies are such miracles.

We're really happy because Chingis, Ksusha, and Danya will be moving to our neighborhood soon. We're especially excited because we're expecting a little bundle of our own in about 6 months!! It'll be so nice to ask Ksusha questions and have them within walking distance of our apartment.

We'll keep you posted on news with our baby. So far he/she has developed all the major organs, has fingers and toes... even fingerprints. It's amazing to think about. We appreciate your prayers for our growing family.