Open Houses and Countdown

Both my parents and grandparents threw/are throwing Open Houses for us last weekend and this upcoming one. It's a time to connect with people we haven't seen yet and share about our lives in Russia. Above, my mom, grandma, and aunt came over to address invitations.



We left Ella in the car seat until she woke up at my parents' Open House. The poor girl somehow got an ear infection last week. She hates her medicine, too. She totally spit out the first two days worth of doses, and we tried every trick we knew (blowing on her face, shooting it in the back of her mouth past her tastebuds, holding her nose, rubbing her throat, wrapping her like a burrito, etc!). Saturday night we finally called the pediatrician's office and the nurse said that we just need to tell Ella who is boss. Leif was on the phone and he was thinking, "Do you realize that she's not even 3 months old?" He asked what to do when Ella spit the medicine out, and she said to scoop it off of her chin and jam it back into her mouth. So we tried it, and it's working! So funny and crazy at the same time. I'll be glad when she's done with day 10 of her medicine!!!




Here's Leif answering questions at the Open House.



My friend, Erin, drove up from Pullman. It was fun to see her! We've known each other since we were babies.

This week I've been feeling overwhelmed. We leave for Russia in less than 3 weeks, and there is SO MUCH to do! Raising financial support, buying last minute clothes and items, packing up our apartment, deciding what to pack to bring with us and what to leave here, seeing people, etc, etc. We haven't been home hardly at all and the place is a disaster and I'm just behind on everything. And besides all of this I have "baby mama brain" as I call it and just feel scattered and unorganized. Anneka caught a cold this week, and it's been a good reason for me to stay home with the girls yesterday and today. It meant cancelling some things, but I think it was necessary. I have a hard time saying "no", but it's easier when I can see that our girls need it. Anyways, I appreciate your prayers. The last month before heading back is always hard emotionally and physically.