It was nice to go to church yesterday. These kids loved holding baby Ella. Anneka kept calling them the little boys. We had to explain that the ones wearing dresses were girls. =)



Leif has been so wonderful this past week, taking care of his girls. On Saturday I encouraged him to go check out Hoopfest (the world's largest 3 on 3 basketball tournament) and then today he's helping my aunt and uncle move. I took the girls to the park this morning. Ella slept and Anneka always enjoys being outside! I've discovered that she likes juice boxes (she's never been a good fluid drinker) and it's nice to tote them around with us.



I love living by lakes! We're within walking distance of two!! Anneka dug around in the sand and fed fishy crackers to the birds.



Sliding down the slide. We stopped at a thrift store on the way to get her a new sunhat. I love that about America- yard sales and second hand stores!



The girls and I hung out with Baba and Grampa on Saturday. My dad made dinner in the dutch oven over a campfire.



Ella sleeping sweetly on her papa.

Fishing With Grampa

Today my dad took Anneka fishing while Leif and I took Ella in for her checkup. They had such a good time!



Anneka caught three fish and was so proud! It's so wonderful knowing that Anneka is having so much fun while we take care of other things that would otherwise be boring for her. What a blessing!

Settling In

We've been home from the hospital for a week now, and starting on Monday, we set aside this week to rest and have time together as our little family (with Anneka also spending time with grandpa and grandma, which is more fun than watching her mom take a nap). People have been bringing us delicious meals, which is such a blessing!

The labor and delivery was so fast (a little over 4 hours)- 12 hours faster than with Anneka! Ella was so large coming out that she broke her clavicle (collar bone). Poor girl. The doctor suspected it at birth because she heard a snap, but we didn't know for sure until the following Saturday. Ella had stopped moving her arm, so I called the doctor's office. Since it was the weekend, they had us take her into the emergency room, and sure enough, it was broken. She seems to not be in pain, though (except for a few little moments), so that is good. We saw how God's hand was on our family the entire time in the hospital. There was a very scary time right after Ella had her first bath that she choked on amniotic fluid and turned very blue for what felt like a long time. The nurse had me call two other nurses in and they gave Ella oxygen and sucked out her stomach. Leif and I both felt so scared and prayed outloud right during everything. We're SO THANKFUL that we were in the nursery at that moment with a nurse who knew what to do and had the right equipment. We know that this was God reminding us of His care and love... and a reminder that our children are not our own. They are the Lord's and He has entrusted us with them. We pray that we raise them in a way that is honoring and pleasing to Him!

Another special thing is that Ella was born on my grandparent's 63rd wedding anniversary! They came to the hospital before they went out on a date, and my grandpa prayed over Ella. What a gift!




Leif's grandparents, mom, and our niece came to visit over the weekend. Anneka enjoyed getting time with her cousin, Gwen.



And with her grandparents (and the greats!), too.



Here's cousin Gwen with little Ella.





Ella is such a joy! She is so sweet and cuddly and adorable. We love her so much!!



My brother stopped in last weekend, too, and brought a baby crow that he's caring for until he takes it to it's new home.




Anneka loved feeding the crow dog food.



Here's Leif with his two girls on Father's Day. He's such a wonderful husband and papa!! This week he's been spending a lot of time playing with Anneka while I nurse Ella and take naps. I'm so thankful for him!

Some of you have asked how Anneka likes being a big sister. She loves it! She's so proud of little Ella and the first thing she said of her sister is "I like her". When others hold Ella and she cries, Anneka wants me to hold Ella and comfort her. I'm so thankful that Ella has been welcomed into the family by all!

Ella Pics

Ella is here!

Ella came today!!! She is a big one! 9 lbs. 6 oz., 22 inches. The labor went pretty quickly, and both she and Jami did great! Look at these, two aren't they beautiful! Anneka came by to visit with her baba and grandpa and she gave her approval, as you can see from the huge smile on her face. It is a beautiful day and we feel so blessed by our amazing God! Thank you everyone for your prayers for us.

The Last of the Pregger Pics

Yesterday we got to share at our home church, New Community. We all wore our Buryat-style clothes.

I seriously feel like I'm about to pop! It's hard to sleep or even to be in one position for more than a few minutes. I'm ready to have this baby!! And to see her sweet little face and to hold her in my arms.





Here's my last pregnant picture for this pregnancy- 39 weeks. This morning Leif and I got the apartment ready. He was so nice to do things like clean the floors that are hard for me to do! Then Anneka and I napped together this afternoon. Ella, you can come any time now!!

Appreciation and Bocce Ball

I haven't taken as many pictures these last couple of weeks. We continue to see friends and supporters and share at churches and Bible studies. It's amazing all that can happen in just a couple of years! People who were single before we left now are married with kids, people have new homes and jobs, etc, etc! It's been a blessing to be with people we love.



Anneka loves to hold other kids' hands. It's really sweet. Older kids (unless they're way older, like 9) often don't want to hold hands, but babies are usually game. =) She's seen A LOT of kids lately. Anneka's whole world here in the States is so different from our lives in Russia. She's been happy, though, and seems to like new adventures and people. (She doesn't forget the old friends, and still prays for them at night.) Speaking of bedtime, my friend Gina shared with me a gold nugget that her family has begun doing together. Along with the rest of the nightly regime, each member of the family goes around and shares something specific they appreciate about the other members from that day, including about themselves. Our family has done this the past three nights, and it's been so great! Anneka LOVES it, and I think it's a great way to focus on the positives of how God has made us and to celebrate one another and build each other up. I think this is definitely a little tradition that will continue!



We've been loving the weather. The other day we went to the school next to our apartment (so Anneka could play on the playground) with our friends, Paul and Rachel, and played bocce ball. I played terribly, but it was still lots of fun. Anneka sometimes would throw our cue ball for us.



It's the perfect game for summertime with friends!

Many Reasons to Celebrate!

Among the many reasons we're here this summer (to have a baby, to be with family and friends, to share what God has done in Ulan-Ude, to visit churches and supporters, to raise more financial and prayer partners, to rest), we also really want to take time this summer to PRAY and evaluate the past four years- to reflect on how God has been at work and to have wisdom in knowing how God would like us to continue in ministry as we return to Siberia in October.

Leif took a morning this week and decided that he wanted to start by celebrating all that God has done in our first term in Ulan Ude. He looked up all of the verses in the Bible that pertain to celebrations, and he discovered many different reasons to praise God. Leif then made a HUGE list of different ways He'd seen God at work all around us, following the model of the list he'd made of reasons to celebrate from the Bible verses. It really was astounding and wonderful to reflect on these together, and to say "Wow! Praise you, God, for your work!!"



Anneka was laughing a split second before this picture was taken and right when I snapped, her mood suddenly changed. She must be two.



I feel like there's so much more time to see people here and to get things done... and so much less time spent on cooking, cleaning, dishes, etc (even though we've had a lot of people over. It's so NOT stressful here!). I'm really enjoying this, especially as I know I'll be really tired with a newborn very shortly. We've been taking advantage of each day, seeing or having people over almost daily and getting good time as a family, going on walks. Today Anneka and I visited Leif while he played basketball. Here we are on the old middle school track that I used to run on when I was twelve. It hasn't changed a bit!



On Thursday, I got together with my friend, Rachel and her mom and daugthers and my mom. Our moms have been really good friends for a long time, and Rachel and I are good friends, and now we have daughters the same age. How fun! Here, Anneka was pushing her little friend in the stroller on the walk home.

Off to have dinner with my Grandpa and Grandma!

Coeur d'Alene Lake

One of my favorite places in the world is my grandparents' lake house on Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho. I love being with family. I love the beauty of the lake and trees. I love how peaceful it is out there. And I have so many great memories from my childhood from being out there. We've already been able to be out at the lake a couple of times (trying to cram it in before baby Ella comes!)
Our first time out there was with my grandparents and then just Leif, Anneka, and me. The second time my aunt and uncle, our cousin Nora, my grandparents, and my mom were out there, too (my Dad had a ceramics/fishing class that week in Montana... what are the chances of finding a class like that?!?!).



Nora was SO GREAT with Anneka, and Anneka LOVED her! Nora played with her pretty much the whole time, which was really nice to see Anneka so happy and was more relaxing for us!



My aunt Judy gave Anneka doll clothes that my grandma Violet made when Judy and her sister, Sherrie were little girls. Here my mom, Nora, and Anneka were playing with them. It's so special to have these clothes!




The family cleaned up the beach from winter (while I napped!) and later that evening we burned all of the driftwood, etc, and roasted marshmallows for s'mores.



Anneka went around and gave everyone hugs and kisses before bed. Here she is with "Grandpa Great".




And with Grandma Great.




The first night Nora let Anneka sleep with her. Anneka was so happy. In the morning, Anneka was totally perpendicular to Nora and was kicking her. So the next night she slept in a toddler bed next to Nora. =)

While we were at the lake we were able to visit a church that supports us. We'll go back later this summer to share more with them, but it was good to make the connection.

It's so nice to have these times!