Odds 'N Ends

     In this season of life, I feel like I'm living so much moment-by-moment (with these sweet busy kids) that I often have a hard time remembering what happened earlier TODAY much less a few days or weeks ago. So I looked through the pictures and will give little captions and catch up a little on the things we have photos for.
     Leif leads a Buryat Partnership every month.  People from different churches come together to pray for the Buryat people and to share anything they may know about how people are being reached with the good news of Jesus.  Each month they focus on a different region of Buryatia and the people living there.  Irene snapped this picture after the partnership when she was here.

     The clay that kids use here is really hard, but Anneka has become a pro at making things with it and whips them out very quickly.  She always knows exactly what she wants to do and sees it in her mind beforehand.  The one on the right is baby Jesus in a manger and then the cross, to show how God came to earth as a baby and then grew up to die for us.  I am often surprised that she thinks about these things. 

     There's a family that the Kerins were friends with before they moved away that we're becoming friends with.  We had them over one evening to play a game and this evening will take their son to the circus with us.

     One day I made lunch for the guys who were working on the construction at the church.  Our family ate before they came, but Anneka wanted to sit with them when they arrived.

     Irene snapped this picture at our little fruit stand.  There are two ladies who work there and they are both soooo nice!  Often there is not a line, so it's easy to talk for a few minutes with them.  They are always interested in our lives and only sell us the best of the fruits and vegetables.  Anneka loves to go there by herself (while I watch her from the window), and the ladies are always so sweet to her.

Spring flowers are here!  These are literally translated as "beneath the snow" flowers.

     Ella is AMAZING at a game called "Pass The Pigs".  She always wins and always gets these amazing high-rolls.  Before Ella, I always thought it was a game of luck, as you just roll the pigs to see how they land.  But she is so consistently good at it that we now try to imitate her hand and the way she rolls them.  So fun!

Ella and Ike just LOVE each other.  Here they are in their boat.

And here Anneka made a special bed for Ike.

     We had the Jordan family over for dinner and games before they headed back to the States for the summer.  A lot of our team is gone this summer, and all of the families with kids will be gone for a good chunk of the summer.  I'm praying to meet new friends/families on the playground this year!

     It was so nice having Irene with us for Easter.  Because of how the dates fell, she got to have Easter with her other son's family before she came and then Easter here with us.  She brought fun egg dyeing kids and American candy.  What a special holiday to share the meaning with our kids!