Preschool Graduation

     We are praising God for a great year for Anneka at Russian preschool/kindergarten.  It was a big step for us and for her, and we can clearly see how God opened this door and how He's used it in Anneka's life in many positive ways.   Last Friday, we celebrated Anneka's class' graduation.  I love this picture, as it shows Anneka's smile the moment she spotted her Papa in the crowd.

     Anneka received a diploma, and her speech teacher said kind words about how well Anneka did, going from knowing very little Russian to speaking and interacting well with her teachers and classmates.

     I took Ike out in the hallway during a special part of the program with pirate clowns (where the kids sat and watched).  One of Anneka's classmates' Dad was in the hallway, too.  He handed this stuffed mouse to Ike, and Ike was SO serious. I couldn't get a smile out of him for anything.  He just kept staring at the man with this face.   He's rarely serious like this, so it was really funny to me.

     And Ella couldn't quite make it through the whole program with a little snooze on Papa.

     It was quite the event!  All of the kids got really dressed up.  Anneka was able to borrow a dress from her friend, Vera.  Each child was given a helium balloon with a bird tied to the end.  After the graduation, everyone went outside and sent their balloons up into the sky.

     The girls posed with the principal.  She was highly honored in the program with a big bouquet of flowers and many kind words.

                                      We just loved seeing all of the little girls together!

     After the program, the kids had a feast!  Ella was invited to join in, too.  She's sitting in the top right corner, and she loved being a part of it.   The kids were contented and happy.  Anneka came up to me at one point and said, "Mama, I feel like my tooth isn't there anymore".  Sure enough, she'd swallowed her tooth in the excitement of everything!

     We prayed that we'd be able to continue a relationship with at least one other kid in Anneka's class (and his/her family) after this year.  The day after we prayed that, we found out that one of the boys lives in the building next door to us.  He and Anneka have already played 3 or 4 times together.  Also, one of the little girls' moms and I exchanged phone numbers.  They also live quite close to us.  One bummer is that I tried to call her yesterday and somehow I'd saved a girl from our church's number under this lady's name on my phone.  So I'm not quite sure how this happened or how I can contact her.  But we trust that God is in control of these relationships and he opens and closes doors.  And if he wants us to connect with this little girl and her mom, it'll surely happen!