"Hey guys, I have an idea. Let's go to a playground and we can play". Great idea, Anneka. The weather was so nice on Sunday. We had to run errands after church. (we've been making multiple trips to the hardware store lately for things like parts and paint for the workers who are fixing up our new place). The girls had been patient, but it was time to be outside! A famous supermodel in Russia funded a really nice playground that we like to go to when we're in the area. And on Sunday, the amusement park next door was open. I'd been wanting to ride the ferris wheel all summer, and this was our chance!

It went really high up and had no seatbelts. I was thankful that Leif held squiggling Ella. Anneka enjoyed the ride and the view!

And last Saturday was really nice weather, too. The girls and I went to the ethnographic museum with my new friend, Ira, and her son, Sasha. The kids fed the goats, and Ira even fed a bear! That's something you don't see in America! I was thankful for this time to be outside before winter officially sets in. It was also a nice reprieve in the middle of our packing and preparing to move.

Leif took apart our bed today. We don't know the exact day yet, but we'll be moving our furniture into our new place early this upcoming week (could be as soon as 2.5 days away!) It's a little tricky because the work is not yet done in our apartment. But we have to move out of this one, and that's when the guys from the rehab center can help us and let us use their truck. We've had some interesting things happen- paint dyed the wrong color, the wrong tiles delivered (and we didn't know it until they were already pasted on the wall for the backsplash), being a little short on flooring and then the store being all out (but miraculously finding it somewhere else), etc. I'm realizing that the more time goes on I don't even care about the mistakes.... I just want to settle in and be done with it! As you can see above, Ella is a little "helper". She took the laundry off the drying racks at least three times today, she climbed in the boxes I was trying to pack, she screamed and dramatically cried while I vacuumed, etc. The poor girl has a cold and is a little on the wild and temperamental side. Sometimes I wonder how we'll make it out of our place in time, though! And then today when I started working ahead for a lunch I need to make for everyone at church on Sunday (together with Katia) all of the water shut off. And my hands were all goopy with zucchini. It's just one of those days.

But on a happy note, the girls have been playing together more and more. They love to take food out of the pantry and bring it into the living room for a picnic. I'm so glad that I allowed this (I almost didn't let them when I first saw it happening). They are entertained for so long and it's so cute. And Ella's the one who takes the food out to Anneka- one item at a time. Praise the Lord for little blessings!

Pine Nuts

Pine nuts are all the rage here. Everywhere we go, we see pine nut shells everywhere- on the ground, on public transportation, bulging out of people's pockets. Pine nuts, pine nuts, pine nuts. Don't get me wrong, I like the taste of pine nuts, but I think they're a lot of work to get out of the shells and eat. I suppose if you were on a diet, it would be good to burn all of those calories chomping and spitting to get one little nut. But Anneka and Leif just love them. Anneka is SO happy when we give her pine nuts. She likes them as much as candy (and she loves candy). Above is about the number of pine nuts that come out of one pine cone.



Someone at church gave Anneka 2 pine cones, and she was thrilled. Here she is showing off one of them.



And when Leif went to Zakamensk a couple of weeks ago, he was given this HUGE bag of pine nuts plus another smaller bag (also a ton of them). Wow. We are set for the winter!

Beloved Baikal

My parents flew out this morning for the long journey back to America. We're so glad that they came and are thankful we'll get to see them again this winter! I haven't been very good about posting these last weeks... the days get so full and then my pregnant eyes can't stay open anymore to do one more thing. But one of the highlights of our time together was a couple of days out at Lake Baikal. My dad loved stopping and buying potatoes and carrots from these people at the side of the road. They even inspired the painting he made for us.



The wind was so strong and it felt so cold that I had the girls dressed in every bit of clothing I had for them. Thankfully I had thrown in their hats at the last minute! We went for walks along the beach, but there was no sitting on the sand or swimming, that's for sure!



The room my parents stayed in must have been the honeymoon suite. The way it was decorated made us all smile, with lots of frills and hearts and pink. The girls hung out in my parents room a couple of times, which was nice for all of us!



Anneka likes climbing and posing.

As I was looking through pictures, I realized I never posted pictures from Baikal when Irene was here. I was so struck by the difference in weather in just 1.5 months time!! (see below for a few from July)



Ella LOVED playing in the sand, and was self-entertained for hours (of course, we played with her, too!)



Irene built a sand castle with Anneka, Nathan, and Matty


... and I had to post one more of little Ella's back. It's pretty irresistible.

If I had posted a blog at that time, I would've told you the more extensive story about how we called ahead and reserved rooms for us and the Brubachers but when we got there, the owner had given our cabins away already. And then she had mercy on us when she saw me holding Ella and let half of us stay in her own private home. Always an adventure!

Little Glimpses with Baba and Grampa

It's been so nice to have "Baba and Grampa" here. Here are a few little glimpses of some times together this past week.





I'm so excited- my dad is painting us a picture to go in our new apartment! He set up a little "studio" on our balcony. Yesterday and today the weather was nice, but earlier this week the temperatures were very cold! He got some inspiration from a village we traveled through earlier this week. We bought a ton of potatoes so that Dad could take pictures of people selling their produce along the side of the road. =)





Last Saturday and today were work days for the whole church. Dad helped the guys put up sheet rock in a room that will soon be for the kids during the service. Today they finished the ceiling. On a side note, my dad wished he'd had his camera today when Denis (a Russian guy from our church) cut up the meat for the soup with his skill saw on the work table. Dad and mom have both really enjoyed whenever we have Russian food.







Anneka plays SO nicely outside during the work days! She loves to explore, dig in the mud, pick vegetables from the garden (the ones that she is told to), and find strange pieces of fabric and wrap them around her head. This week I (Jami) helped clean the inside of the church while Dad did the construction and mom stayed home with Ella.





Leif is in a village this weekend for meetings, but last weekend he and Dad and Anneka went to the church while Mom, Ella, and I went shopping. There is a new shopping center here that feels like North America! It was very fun to go there and have lunch with my mom while Ella slept in her stroller.



Anneka loves for her Baba to read to her before her rest time and bedtime. My mom brought some of my old Berenstain bear books, and Anneka is just eating them up!




The girls love tickles and fun games with their grampa! As I type, Anneka is all snuggled in bed, sleeping between my parents. She was just delighted to go to bed! It'll be interesting to see how much sleep they get tonight. She's quite the squiggler!

It's a boy!

My parents arrived last week, and it's so nice to have them here! On just the second day after they flew in, I was able to schedule an ultrasound, and the doctor allowed the whole family to come in with me- Leif, Anneka, Ella, Mom, and Dad. It was so fun to see the baby on the screen, to hear that he's healthy, and to know that it's a boy! Anneka prayed that morning that we would know if it was a boy or a girl. And the doctor said she was sure. So fun.

I love how having the ultrasound adds to the reality of this little one growing inside of me. And what a special thing to share with my family!