American Independence Day In A Russian Village With Our German Friend

     We were so happy to spend the 4th of July with Inka!  We roasted hamburgers and even had tortilla chips and watermelon.  Independence Day is a special time to share with our kids what a privilege we've been given being born in America and having the freedoms that we do.  We were able to share how this is a gift from God, and our ultimate freedom comes through Him!  We sang a few of our national songs so that the kids can become familiar with them and hopefully know them well someday.  Anneka has been singing a song (a long song) about the Russian flag over and over.  It's actually a really cool song and it's fun to hear her singing in Russian...  but after a few days of hearing it over and over, I have to say it's time for a new song!!  We think it's good for her to know some American songs, too, and to know the meaning behind them.

     The weather was on the cooler side and rained a few times.  But that didn't hinder us from enjoying being in the village and having fun together.  Besides a man from the village stopping in for lunch one day and Leif working on his sermon for Sunday, it was largely a vacation time.  All of our kids love Emma (Inka's dog, pictured above) and playing with her.  Ike even shouted out "Emma, Emma!" several times.  And the other night he was calling her name in his sleep!

     We took advantage of having a fire outside, and Leif grilled chicken and pork on two other evenings.

   
     I just love how much our kids love Inka!  Ike and Ella and I had weird rashes last week, and Ella and Ike had conjunctivitis, and Inka came down with a really bad sore throat and fever.  There were times when we weren't at our best, but it was still nice to be together.  And it's nice to be with people you're comfortable with when you're feeling under the weather!

     One day we walked into town and Inka had made Anneka this dress out of one of her skirts.  She also painted the girls' fingernails.  They felt so pretty!

     As per Anneka's request, we got to help plant some of the vegetables in Inka's garden a few weeks ago.  It's fun for us to watch them grow, and it's really fun to eat some of them!  We had real salad (with lettuce!) every day.  What a treat!  All of the kids like to help water the garden.  Ike really likes to play in the water barrel and drop objects into it.  Leif spent an evening digging around the potatoes to protect them from light (or something... so they don't become poisonous).

      We found some sparklers at a stand before we left for the village.  The girls loved swinging them around.  Leif also got a few other small fireworks.  Ella was really scared, so we cuddled inside and watched from the window.   It gets dark so late that the kids didn't get to bed until after 11:00.  We've changed their schedule for the summer so that they're going to bed around 10:00 anyways.  It's a little crazy because this means that Leif and I don't usually get to bed until after midnight.  But it's also really great for connecting with people in the evenings.  Everyone (with their kids) is outside at 8 and 9 in the evening.  We decided that it was worth it to try it out and do the Russian schedule for a time.  We'll see how long it lasts!  The kids do sleep in later in the morning now, which is a definite plus!  Last week we had relatively free evenings so we prayed each day after dinner what God would have us to do.  We ended up calling lots of people and connecting with people (new and old) that we don't normally get to connect with.  And meeting more neighbors.  It was fun for all of us, and I think God used us to encourage others in the process.

   

     There's a great hill for hiking behind Inka's place, and our family went up on top one day.  

     Here are Leif and the girls on top of a big rock.

     And another day we washed the rug in our living room and the van.  It was a family affair!

     Busy, busy, busy!

     Right now I'm waiting in a quiet house (all three kids sleeping!) for Leif to come home with two American guys from one of our supporting churches.  As I typed that sentence, Leif called to say that their train is late and won't arrive until about 12:30am.  I feel bad for them because they want to do laundry and the cycle takes an hour and then the clothes have to be hung.  It's rainy today and they won't dry by 8:30 in the morning when we have to be leaving for a trip to Baikal.  I guess we can just put them in a bag and hang them once we get there.    But anyways, we're really excited for them to come.  They'll be camping with us and about 65 others from our church.  I'm sure it'll be an adventure!