It's been great to see so many of the people we love here. Our friends, the Giura's, invited us over to their place one Saturday. They made a feast and we had a good time catching up. They had a new kitten, as someone they knew had brought it wrapped as a present around New Years. Of course, the kids were thrilled. But they are looking for a new owner. ;)
Marius got some good workouts with kid-lifting!
Ike was delighted to see his friend, Bogdan! He had been asking for weeks (even while we were in the States) when he'd be able to see Bogdan again. When we left their home that evening, Ike sobbed and sobbed because he wanted to stay.
We also enjoyed an evening with Masha, Vlad, Ilya, and Masha's brother, Dima! When Ike saw Ilya, he first asked, "Can I hold him?" and then he said, "He's not a baby anymore!"
It was great to see my friend, Asya, and her family again. We went ice skating near their home.
The kids loved being together. Ella days later, out of the blue said, "I like Asya. She's nice".
Asya and her mom made us piroshky afterwards. They were soooo good! I watched them make them and hope to duplicate it! I chatted with the ladies while the kids hung out together in the living room.
We also went sledding one day on the hill by our house. We met some nice boys from the neighborhood. This boy was so sweet to Ike and helped him get back up the hill. He liked sledding with all of us and we shared rides a few times. =)
The kids' faces got so dirty! But they were so cute!
Weeeeeee!
We've had the wonderful discovery that our local swimming pool allows people to come and swim for fun if they want! This is the first we've ever heard of this here. Most of the people who go are serious swimmers who lap-swim, and the water is deep (not designed for young kids)...but we are allowed and we are happy! Our friend, Yulia, invited us to join her and her daughter one morning. We were happy that a bunch of other ladies from our church were there that day, too. It was like a pool party! This picture is really funny because it doesn't at all show the truth that both Ike and Ella were super-excited to go swimming! It was quite the process to actually get into the pool (hence, the grumpy faces). We had to rent water wings and shoes and then wait until a certain time before we could enter the locker room (which was hot like a sauna). Then everyone is required to shower for a full 15 minutes before entering the pool. The other ladies were so sweet in helping with Ike and Ella in the water, and both kids have been asking me since then, "when can we go swimming again?!" This was kind of a landmark day for me because it's not exactly easy to get on a bus with little ones and all of our stuff. And I forgot towels and lost my sock and the locker room lady yelled at me at least three times. And probably a few more things that I'm not remembering anymore. But the cool thing was that I realized I had joy amidst it all and wasn't really bugged by the mishaps. This is evidence of God at work, and I'm so thankful!!
2 comments:
So glad you are having a good time catching up with friends! That's cool that you found out about the swimming place! But I totally hear you about the "process". We have pool access about 15 min. away but I never take the kids because it takes as much time to prepare as it does to get there! Plus they don't heat the locker room in winter so it's about 55 degrees and everyone is SOO stinkin' cold it's not worth it!
So happy to see these great pictures of the fun things you all have been having with dear friends. God bless you. Happy Birthday Ike. Hugs, Grandma Irene
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