жатва

Celebrating our жатва meal.  I'm not sure where Ella or Ike were the moment I took this picture!

     On Sunday we celebrated жатва, or "harvest" with our church family.  I assumed that жатва was a widely known holiday, but when I told our neighbors that we were making pizza for it, they just gave me blank stares.  Then when I said it was a type of Thanksgiving, they instantly had glimmers of recognition in their eyes.  

I went to  help get the church ready the day before, but I realized after I was there that I should perhaps wait until I don't have a nursing baby to do such a thing.  I attempted mopping the floor with a stick and a rag (like everyone does it here), but it didn't work very well... it just smeared the mud around, so I decided to just do it on my hands and knees.  Of course, there's no water, so Dave had to haul it in.  And the rags were so dirty it took two buckets of water to get them semi-clean to start with.  I got in trouble by one of the ladies for getting so dirty (my legs were all muddy), and she took the stick and rag... and also my job.  By then Ike was crying, and I was very thankful to have him as my excuse to exit!  I'll try again next year.

     But those who did decorate did a nice job.  =)  In the background, жатва is spelled out with little potatoes, hanging on the wall.  We haven't had lunch together after church all summer, so it was extra special to eat together this week!

     It's always great to take special times to thank God for His goodness to us in all that He provides.  He knows just what we need and gives us above and beyond!
 

     Martina caught this picture of Anneka and Matty playing outside.  He was her dog.  =)  They are so cute!  Anneka picked out all of her clothes by herself, as usual... but this time she changed in her closet and then wrapped a blanket around herself until we left so that we couldn't see what she was wearing.  I didn't know what we would find under the blanket!  Thankfully it was nothing that needed changing. She loves these Cinderella "high heeled" shoes that we found at a second hand store here.  They are not safe at all for walking on the ground here, but she feels so beautiful!