Sweet Times

We're blessed by so many amazing friends and supporters! These past weeks we've had some sweet moments of sharing, playing, singing, praying, learning with the people in our lives. I wish I'd remembered to get out my camera more. Above are visits from Erin (Oregon), Stephanie (Montana), and Carol (California)... what a gift when our friends can come to us!!



The girls loved having Erin here. She played with them and colored with them. She's so great. I love when our kids are included.


Egg dying with three generations of friends (only the kids are pictured.) =)



Great conversations with Ron and Gretchen

The time is zooming by until we leave for Russia again. This is always my least favorite part- the packing and moving and saying goodbyes. I'm praying that we'll go through this time well, filled with God's peace and abiding in Him.

Anneka's Preschool

Since January, Anneka has been going to a local preschool two mornings a week. We decided to do it for mainly cultural/social reasons- allowing Anneka to get a taste of her parent's home culture and playing with other kids who speak English. They also take the kids outside every day, which Anneka loves. And they feed the kids lunch- a definite bonus. Anneka really likes her school. She has made a lot of friends there and is a delight to her teachers.



Here's a close-up of the same picture, taken when Heidi was here. Our camera broke, so we don't have any new pictures. But our new camera came in the mail today... so we'll be taking new pictures soon. I'm so glad it broke while we were in the States- it makes it much easier, less expensive, and quicker to replace! =)

Heidi

As missionary kids, Anneka, Ella, and Ike have already experienced many hellos and goodbyes in their short lives. There are some hard things about this, and yet there are many wonderful blessings they have, too. We had to say "goodbye" to Heidi last summer. Her family lived in Ulan Ude and now is back in Canada for a few years. Since Heidi is already in the second part of high school, she won't be returning to Russia with her parents. This is sad for us, as we LOVE her, and our kids do, too! It was a gift a couple of weeks ago when Heidi was able to miss a couple of classes and fly down to spend a long weekend with us. How fun it was to say "hello" to Heidi once again! We loved having her stay with us! Anneka was above-the-roof excited, as Heidi is one of her very favorite people in the world. They have a special relationship.





On Saturday we went to Riverfront Park for a nice day outside. We slid down the wagon slide, looked at the waterfalls, fed the goat garbage and rode on the carrousel. Then we headed to Finch Arboretum for a chilly-but sunny- outdoor picnic.



Heidi went with us as we shared at Cheney Community Church and talked with people at the potluck afterwards. Ike liked it when he got Heidi cuddle time.




We took advantage of the sunshine and had barbequed hamburgers with my parents later that evening. We don't know when we'll get to see Heidi again, but we're thankful for these moments and even more thankful that our friendship will continue- even across the miles.