Some Fun Recent Things

     I always have random pictures on my phone that don't really fit into any one category.  So here's a recent conglomeration....

     We found this mandarin orange on a plate that was forgotten on top of a refrigerator for a month.  It had turned black from sitting there.  Anneka's friend told her he'd give her 1,000 rubles if she ate the inside of the mandarin.  Guess who is 1,000 rubles richer?  ;)  Anneka was pretty proud of this feat.  She bought a new sweatshirt with the money.

     Leif and I celebrated our anniversary in January this year (because our actual anniversary was during the time I was in the States with Ella).  The kids stayed the night with friends, and we had a really nice time catching up and relaxing.  It was a great time for everyone!

We always love the fun ice sculptures all over the city in the winter.  

     The slides are very fun, too.  The kids convinced me to slide, too.  There's a slide in our neighborhood that our kids take sleds down with neighbor kids.  Ike has come home a couple of times recently with wounds from it.  They get going so fast!  But it doesn't seem to stop them.

     We were encouraged by how people came from several different churches to pray for the unreached people of the world.  It was a great time of singing praise songs in Buryat and praying with one another for the nations.  

Getting Water at the Well

Ella and Papa, drinking tea together.

     Anneka was busy one Saturday and Leif and I traded off dates with Ike and Ella.  We always like to get one-on-one time with our kids when we are able.

 
     I took this picture of Anneka and Nadezhda, preparing food for our home group.  I couldn't help but notice how tall and grown up Anneka has gotten!!

     Some of the ladies from our church had a baby shower for Olya.  The girls helped me make the diaper cake. 

     We celebrated Leif's birthday with a family dinner at home.  We've had a lot going on lately, so it was nice to not go anywhere and to play a game together.

     Leif had several meetings on his birthday (our family dinner was actually the day before his birthday), but we were able to squeeze in lunch together downtown between meetings. 

     Ike likes to experiment and is always busy!  On this day, he was trying to make a hot air balloon with a candle and a plastic bag.  I love watching him delve into these types of things!