Jesus Is Risen!

Today we celebrated Easter, as it's observed according to the Orthodox calendar here in Russia. We had a nice church service, with a time to eat lunch together afterwards. I really like how people say "Jesus is risen!" and the answer is "He is risen, indeed"... even from people on the street. After church, Leif, Anneka, and I had a lovely afternoon and evening. We all took a nap, snuggled together and then we sang praise songs about all that Jesus has done for us, hid eggs around the house to find, and read verses about Christ's death and resurrection. It was a good day.



At our little store, they had little cakes that have "XB" written on them (Christos Voscres- Jesus is Risen), and you see this sort of thing all over.



Anneka slept through our lunchtime. We brought dyed eggs and fruit to contribute to the feast.



As we got ready to leave church today, we found little Vanya (who is smaller than Anneka), lying on the bed like this. All you could see was the tip of his nose! I'm sure he was suffering from a major case of heat stroke. Anneka thought he was really funny and kept poking at his lethargic body.

Goolyating

One of the most common questions moms ask me here is when I "goolyat" with Anneka each day... meaning, when do I go for a walk so that she'll sleep and get fresh air. Many moms goolyat twice a day. I think fresh air is good for babies, and often I goolyat simply because I have errands to run and have Anneka with me. But by no means do I gooyat twice a day! I'd never get anything done at home and Anneka usually wakes up as soon as we come back to the warm apartment (and I don't want to goolyat for two hours at a time). I like to goolyat with other moms and find it a good connecting point. And if Leif and I don't have evening plans, we like to walk together. It's a perfect time because Anneka often needs a "catnap" in the evening but doesn't go to sleep as easily as her other two daily naps. As soon as we exit the apartment, she's fast asleep on Leif, cuddled in the ergo baby carrier. It's so cute.

This is what she looked like the other day after goolyating. She was so tired, that she didn't stir when we entered the apartment and went on to sleep in her bed. A lady told me that I need to stuff paper in the pink hat so that it doesn't fall down over Anneka's eyes. I didn't realize it was still so big on her- I liked it because it covered her ears!

A Busy Weekend

We had a fun weekend, but a busy one- especially for Leif. Leif got a call on Friday afternoon, asking if he could share at churh on Sunday. This alone is a difficult thing to do in English on short notice but is especially hard in Russian. And he got the call right before he left for class. Directly after class, he went to a practice for a student spring performance that he was in and after that we had dinner at a friend's house.

We had plans to go on a picnic the next day with a Russian and Romanian family, and we'd all decided just to be gone between 2:00 and 6:00 so that we could do other things that day. Well, on Thursday and Friday, the weather was about 68 degrees, but on Saturday, it was 28 degrees and snowing. So much of Saturday morning involved phone calls from the two families working on a plan B. Also, Leif had to get some documents to a lady who's helping us get our next visa.

So, our plan B was to go to a dacha of a grandma in the church. (A dacha is a little cabin on a plot of land for having a garden). When we got there, the guys had to break in through a window because they couldn't find the key (apparently the grandma told them to do this!) We hung out and ate lunch, cooked potatoes in the inside stove and shishkabobs on an outdoor grill. It was windy and bitingly cold, but really fun to be with friends. We ended up not getting home until almost 10:00! Leif had written a rough draft of what he was going to share that morning and went over to Chingis' house to refine it that night, getting home after midnight. Chingis is such a good friend! The next day was filled with church, homework, and friends over. A full but good weekend.

I had a picture of a bunch of us at the dacha, but it was blurry. =( The last picture is all of us squeezed into Vitya and Sveta's van- 6 people in the back seat, 5 in the middle, and two up front. You can't even see all of us in the picture!!




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Did you say, "mama?"

Yes, there was a bit of a bittersweet moment for me this last week. For weeks now we have thought that maybe Anneka is saying, "hi," but we're not sure. It is really sweet to think that she is saying that and sometimes she will say it after we say, "hi," to her, but it certainly is not something she will do on demand. Well, that isn't the bittersweet moment. As papa, I get to take my turns with Anneka in things like comforting her to help her get to sleep when she is having trouble. The other night I was getting one of these turns and was happy for it as I had been away much of the day and was looking forward to a sweet moment like this with my daughter. Well, as I pull out my best soothing voice and gently massage Anneka's back, her cry got stronger and then she burst out with a full-lunged cry of, "mama-mama." Actually it was just a repeating of the sound, "ma," or maybe even, "am," I can't tell you for sure, but Jami heard this from the other room and is certain that it was, "mama." Of course she was very touched as our baby screamed out her "name". As her papa, I was excited to hear her say a word, but I have to say that as her papa trying to comfort her I felt a little bit sad. I asked her if she thought her papa was, "chopped liver," but she didn't answer the question other than continuing her crying with a few "mama-mama's" mixed in there. she has actually repeated this cry one or two times since so we feel like it's for real. It's okay though, I'm not overly sad as I've been trying to work on her first full sentence from the beginning--Papa, I love you! I mean it would be nice if she just said papa, but when I add the next part onto it I know it will just melt me. Keep checking and we'll continue to keep you updated on Anneka milestones.

Happy Half Birthday, Anneka!

Anneka is 6 months old today, and to celebrate she had her first meal of rice cereal. She seemed to like it- she just got a look on her face like, "My parents are subjecting me to something a little strange again"... but she took it in stride and especially liked it if she got to hold the spoon. She's growing so fast!

The horse pizza turned out pretty good, as long as I didn't think about it. I fried it up before I put it on, and our apartment stunk like horse afterwards. Leif said it was all in my head, but it's true!

Birds With Bar Codes and Horse Pizza

Okay, so at the store today, I had to get a picture of these birds that just sit in the chest freezer as whole birds... with bar code stickers on them. It's so funny. I felt really self-conscious taking a picture (with all the guards standing around), so I just snapped it really quickly and went on my way. But we left the store, I told Inka that it wasn't a very good picture and she said we could take a picture with her holding it. So we went back inside and took this picture...


... and we got yelled at. But it was worth it. Inka just sweetly replied, "Oh okay, now we'll know for next time". And we left.

Here's a question. Are onions any good when they sprout like this? This happened after only having them a week. I've been using lots of onions and potatoes lately, but I buy big bags of them and don't know what to do when they sprout.

You're probably wondering what "horse pizza" means from the title. Should I tell you about my blunder? Okay, I will. I accidently bought horse sausage today. It was right next to the normal sausage I get but it looked better (less wrinkly) and so I asked the meat lady for it by pointing instead of using the name (like I normally would do) and realized my mistake when I got home. But I've been CRAVING pizza and had planned on making it for dinner. And I'm a little embarrassed to say that it's still in the plan. We'll see how it goes. I told Leif and he was really sweet about it and said it's supposed to be healthier and leaner than other meat. What a great husband!

Another Store Picture

Anneka and I went to get eggs and milk yesterday at the little store in our building. The ladies who work there are so nice and are always so happy to see Anneka. The lady pictured said, "The little miracle girl has arrived". She was SO happy when I let her hold Anneka. She walked around with her, showing her all of the products behind the counter, and said several times to her coworkers, "I've never seen a baby smile this much". She kept squeezing her little baby body, and I almost thought she wasn't going to give her back! =) I like that I can connect with these ladies through sharing Anneka. I feel like more doors are open with people than ever before.
A sweet moment from today: On my way home from being out, a little boy offered to carry my bag for me, as I was holding Anneka. He carried it all the way up the stairs and stopped at our door. I thought that was so sweet! Someone trained him well.

Anneka With Her Papa

This morning Anneka hung out with her papa while he read his Bible. They were so cute together in their matching white shirts and jeans! She likes to hang out with us, but is content to play by herself, too. It's so nice. Yesterday I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, and I moved her between the johny-jump-up, her walker, and an infant chair, and she was so happy and talked with me while I worked. Yesterday and today there is a conference put on by local Buryat believers (and others) to pray for the Buryats, be encouraged by different speakers, and to talk about how we best share the great news of Jesus with the people of Buryatia. Anneka and I went for a little while yesterday, and I was so touched by the songs we sang (in both Buryat and Russian) about how people from every nation and tongue will one day be singing praises to our Father. Leif is there now and I look forward to hearing how today's time went.

This picture is a little more close-up so that you can see Anneka's little lower teeth. They came in a month ago, and I think her top ones are coming soon because she keeps biting everything and her mouth seems like it's sore.

Jami In Her Russian Lesson

A New Mentality In Grocery Shopping

I just got back from the grocery store, and I realized that I have a different mentality shopping in Russia. My nice neighbor, Inka, takes me shopping every week to a bigger grocery store, so I plan out a menu and try to buy everything we'll need for the next seven days. Upon first appearance, this grocery store isn't too different from a supermarket in America, but if you look further, it really is. When you walk inside, there are guards in policeman-like uniforms everywhere and in every aisle, staring to make sure you don't steal anything. (I just learned today, however, that the biggest problem is with workers stealing, and the guards keep their eyes on the store employees). Also, the store may have something one week and never have it again... or not have it for many months. This creates a "hoard-it-now-while-I-can" mentality. Last week, there were frozen peas and beans, and I bought many, many bags. The quantities of some items are often much smaller here. Today I bought eleven packets of powdered sugar, because each packet is only about 1/4 cup and many recipes call for 3 cups. This makes me feel self-conscious, though, when people are staring at the many many packets. My theory, though, is that most Russians don't bake. They just buy cookies. Each week one of the aisles is closed. You never know which one, and you are not allowed to go down that aisle. Today, the baby aisle was closed. Thankfully, we have everything we need in that area for another week. We've come across little free sample stands before for tea and beer. Lastly, I have to be flexible. Usually a few main items from my menu aren't available, so I have to have other options in the back of my mind. The last two weeks, the store didn't have chicken, so that threw off a couple of meals. You'd better believe that the next time it's there, I'll buy a lot and freeze it.

The picture above is of our friends, Marios and Adriana's kids, Ionna, baby Kristina, and Naomi. They're from Romania. We love them. Baby Kristina is 3 1/2 months. It's funny because when I looked at her, I thought, "she's about the same size as Anneka", and then I held her and she was way lighter... and then I looked at the two of them together and realized that Anneka is growing like a weed!

Our Mailbox But Not Really

This is a picture of the mailboxes at the side of our apartment building, and Leif is standing by ours. As you can see, they're not exactly safe... this is why we have another mailbox at the post office. Speaking of which, once I forgot the key to our mailbox and there was a lot of mail in there (we share with teammates). There's a slit in the mailbox, so I stuck my hand in and pulled out what I could. I couldn't reach the stuff at the bottom of the box. But then I tried one of my keys (to one of the seven locks on our front doors) and it worked! However, if we want to pick up a package that someone has sent us, the process is very secure. Nobody else can pick it up for us (unless we have a signed and notorized letter granting permission), and the process goes like this: Open the mailbox and pull out an addressed envelope. Open the envelope to find a package slip. Fill out the back of the slip (it's a little form), including information like your passport number. Go up to the counter and give the lady the form. She gives you another addressed envelope. Open the envelope and find a package slip. Fill out the back of the slip (the form again). Go to another post office. Wait in line (however, we've discovered which times to go to minimize the line). Give the lady your passport and the slip. Wait for her to fill out paperwork (about 3 forms plus recording it in a notebook). Watch the lady dump the package out of a burlap sack onto the floor. Sign another form. Go home with the package!
It's so nice because our teammate and neighbor, Inka, usually picks up our mail for us and gives us the second envelope. And the second post office is right next to where Leif has his classes, so this process is drastically shortened.
Speaking of classes, we've been taking them this week. My first class began with a long grammar test. Oh, my! It was hard. I missed 22 out of 114. I guess it'll just help us to know what to work on. But it made me realize how little I really know in the scope of the language. Yikes. It was perfect because Anneka fell asleep for her nap three minutes after my teacher arrived and woke up just as she was leaving. I had prayed that this would happen and knew that it was God answering that prayer. I need my full brain to focus on this difficult language, and it definitely helps if the little one is sleeping.