Unexpected Trip

     Soon before Christmas, we got the news that my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer.  As you can imagine, this came as quite a shock to everyone!!  As a family, we knew that we would do whatever we needed to do to help my mom.  We knew she'd be having a lobectomy soon and would need help after the surgery.  We decided that the best thing would be for me to go to be with her and to take one of our kids.  Bringing a grandchild would help to bring joy, and leaving 2 (instead of 3) kids with Leif, would help make things more smooth for him.  This is Anneka's last year to count as a "child" for air tickets, so she was the one we chose to come.  I was so touched by how Leif, Ella, and Ike all had such sweet attitudes, even though I knew this wasn't anyone's favorite situation. 



     It's so wonderful to be a part of Gods' family!  Ephesians 6:18 came to mind:  "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints".  We definitely felt covered in prayer and mom's operation went "beautifully" (the words of the surgeon).  We were carried by the prayers of brothers and sisters from all over the globe.  What could have been a really hard time was actually a time of God's sweetness and blessing. And wow!...My mom has lot of friends!  She was showered by cards, flowers, meals, and love in many other ways.



     Anneka wanted to have a special surprise ready for my mom for when she came home from the hospital.  She made chocolate-covered strawberries and bananas.   She had such a heart to serve and to take care of her "Baba". 



     One of my mom's friends ordered meals for us from Blue Apron.  All of the ingredients came delivered in a box with step-by-step recipes.  It was fun for me to prepare the meals, and we all enjoyed them!




     Anneka made special desserts for us several evenings.  Our favorite was tapioca with mandarin oranges.  =)




     Here in Siberia, Anneka has a spa business with her friend, Christina.  She brought her business to the States and mom regularly benefited from foot massages and manicures/pedicures. 

Anneka, painting cousin Nora's nails

Anneka, working on her Tornado oil painting

     Anneka had a day of testing in Spokane while we were there (and did awesome!) and did a unit study on horses for the 4 weeks we were gone.  But her favorite part of school was all of the art lessons she got with Grandpa.  She made an oil painting for the first time, learned some new sketching techniques, and made some really cool ceramic pieces.  It was a special time for both of them.

Anneka and Grampa, on frozen Medical Lake

     Everyone talked about how cold it was while we were in Washington.  But it was not cold.  It was snowy and white and beautiful.  We could feel our skin, our dry hands turned soft, and we could take deep breaths.  It was a little reprieve from the Siberian winter. 



      A special gift from our time in the States was getting to celebrate my Grandma's 92nd birthday.  It was wonderful to be with family and to see her joy at us all being together.



     Anneka drew a picture of hollyhocks (her great-grandma's favorite flower) as a birthday gift.




     And the very next day we celebrated my mom's birthday!  Anneka and my Dad ordered a special cake with an ice cream cone on top (my  mom loves ice cream!)  Anneka drew her a picure of ice cream, and we enjoyed a day of being together and celebrating her life.  Anneka's spa offered free services for the birthday girl all day.  =)


      When we bought our tickets, we didn't know the exact date of mom's surgery.  This was another way that God showed His kindness, as we arrived a few days before she went in to the hospital and were there until she feeling better and was able to even go on short walks.  It was encouraging for us to see the day-by-day improvement in Mom, and it was nice to leave knowing that she was in a good place.



     The Friday before we left, my Dad took Anneka to the Lion King musical.  They both LOVED it!   It was so cute to hear them talk about it afterward.  It is a memory they will treasure always. 



     While we were away, God took care of Leif, Ike, and Ella, too.  Ike had his seventh birthday while we were gone.  Our friend, Adriana, made him this amazing cake!  I promised him we could celebrate again when Anneka and I returned, and that helped him to know he would get two birthdays this year.  ;) 


     Leif took the kids skiing and sledding one day with neighbors.  Ella loved skiing, Ike- not so much.=)  Different neighbors, friends, and teammates pitched in with watching the kids at times when Leif had obligations.  Once again, we saw how beautiful it is to be a part of God's family and to be surrounded by His love and support in difficult times.



     It was very bittersweet to say goodbye to my parents. My heart felt very torn between them and my waiting family in Siberia.  We also didn't yet know the biopsy results from mom's lymph nodes. 

I posted the following words on Facebook after we arrived back home....

Anneka and I made it safely back to Ulan-Ude! Our first flight to Seattle was cancelled because of the snow. Amazingly, we got on a different flight that was supposed to have already left a couple of hours before but was perfectly delayed and then they held the doors for us to board (after they'd prepared the cabin for takeoff....there were even 2 seats TOGETHER!). We had other bumps along the way- airsickness, no shuttle in Beijing because of Chinese New Year, my purse strap breaking, our carry-ons being too heavy for them to allow us to bring them on, a problem with Anneka's passport, a few other things I'm not remembering. But before we left in the morning, as I was reading Psalm 91, the part in verse 15 that says "I will be with him in trouble" really stuck out to me. I had this peace and assurance the whole way. And He WAS with us! Every little bump was taken care of (for example, they checked our carry-ons for free and then we didn't even have to worry about hauling them through the Beijing airport!) My favorite story of all is that I kept trying to connect to the airport internet to find out Mom's biopsy results. But the internet wasn't working (not for other people either). Somehow for one split second, it worked enough for mom's message to get through to me. Only hers. (And others had written me during that time, too. None of my outgoing messages were sent either.) And we found out there is no cancer in her lymph nodes!! What a happy celebration Anneka and I had right there in the airport!! Thank you so much for your prayers for our family these weeks. We are truly grateful. It's so wonderful to be upheld by your prayers.♥️♥️♥️