From Fall to Winter

     Not too many weeks ago we were able to still sit outside in some comfort, watching the fall leaves swirl around us.  Here is our little neighborhood friend and neighborhood dog (inside of Anneka's coat, of course).

     Then we had a few snows that came and went.  And then the kind of snow came that we knew would never leave for 6+ months.  And then it dipped down below 0F.  Winter is officially here. 


          But our spirits aren't too low about it.  We've had special things to keep our minds off of the weather.  ;)  One exciting thing was that our teammates, the Brubachers came back!  We met them at their apartment the morning they arrived.  The kids were happy to see one another and promptly began putting together the boys' lego sets that they'd disassembled before heading back to Canada.

     One not-so-fun thing is that Ike's sickness (likely Scarlet Fever/strep) traveled to Anneka and then to Ella.  We were able to get them on antibiotics more quickly (Ella the very quickest), which sped things along.  One minute the kids and I were playing with moon sand and the next minute, Anneka was on the couch sleeping.  That's when I knew she was really sick!  I took her in to get a throat culture, and the nurse said her throat was so bad that I had to take her to the ear/nose/throat doctor.  The ENT said her throat looked like diphtheria.  She was thankful when I told her that Anneka had had several immunizations against it.  The culture turned out to be for the wrong thing, so we'll never know for sure, but it was likely the strep bacteria, as the symptoms go with it, and the antibiotics helped so quickly.

   Anneka missed her theatre class on Monday, but on Tuesday her teacher called us 2 times, asking for Anneka to come to a special thing.  We told her we didn't know, as Anneka was still recovering from being sick, but she said "She doesn't even have to come to class, she can just come to the special thing at 6:00".  Anneka was feeling quite a bit better by then, as she'd been on antibiotics for a day and a half, and she really wanted to go.  We had no idea what it was, but thought it must be special/important if her teacher was practically begging her to come!  It turns out it was a haunted house that some of the older theatre kids had put on!  Anneka knew the kids, so it wasn't scary at all, just silly (crawling through tunnels, getting flour thrown on her face, etc).  I thought it was funny because I never in a million years would have guessed that that's what it was!  It seems like this year a lot of Russians have started celebrating Halloween.  Who knew?

     And then on actual Halloween day, we met some friends from our neighborhood and drove to the river for a walk. There was ice on the river (the first sign that winter is here!).  But it was nice to be outside and to be someplace pretty.

 
     There is a new mall by the river, and we went in and got ice cream.

      Then, we looked over and dozens of kids were gathering for a big Halloween celebration of games.  I hadn't even told the kids it was Halloween because I seriously thought that nobody celebrated it here. (and to be honest- it's not my favorite holiday!)  Ella was the first to run over and get in line.  She's so cute and brave.  Soon all of the kids joined into the relay races and obstacle courses.

      It was really LOUD and festive.  It was the never ending party, and we left before it was done.

      Last week was a vacation week for school kids, so we visited our Romanian friends one day.  All of the kids dressed up like princesses/super heroes.  Then we took all 8 kids downtown shopping because Adriana had heard of a place that was selling shoes for liquidation prices.  It was pretty crazy with everyone, but I found dress shoes AND winter boots for BOTH girls.  This was truly amazing, as shoe shopping is usually a very complicated process with Ella.  And the prices WERE great.  Normally winter boots are super expensive, but I got each pair for less than $10 each.  American kids boots usually don't come close to being warm enough, but these are perfect for the middle of winter.  I loved this unexpected gift from God!

 
     Our friends, the Zaitzevs, can't meet for our home group on the same day as us, so we've already multiplied into two groups.  We had one girl come who had to walk 30 minutes to a bus stop and then take two 40 minute bus rides to come!  It was nice to have her and to get to know her a little.  I thought that was very brave of her to come somewhere new all by herself!

      Ike and Ella's new thing is to set up a lemonade stand in the hallway.  They even go through a tedious process of straining the water and swishing around soap before it goes into the cup to make a "special recipe".

 
     I've been running more lately, and Leif's also been working out more regularly. We'll have to figure out indoor workouts soon, as it is torture to run in negative temperatures.  But it's been nice for this season at least!  Both Leif and I have been enjoying listening to great sermons as we walk to pick up kids from school, exercise, or travel to and from places. 



     ...And on Mondays, Anneka and I have the tradition of going to the local swimming pool together.  It's nice to both get exercise and to have some one-on-one time.

     Last Saturday our friends invited us to the puppet theatre.  They live far away but were in town for the school's vacation days. 

      Afterward we went to a playground, which was INSANE because it was so cold and windy.

  Like really, really cold.

 These kids are tough ones!  I'm glad they still can have fun!