An Afternoon in Z-town

     We visited Inka and the Ratinkovs in the village two weeks ago.  We enjoyed a lovely lunch together.

 

The kids enjoyed playing together.

 

We soaked in the sunshine, as it was one of the last "warm" days!  Ike liked the dog, Emma.

     The Ratinkovs have a new puppy (Inka saved her out from under a pile of rubbish).  Of course, the girls fell in love.

 

Swinging together.

  
     Ike was thrilled that Inka put him on the ground.  He would wait until the two seconds she looked away (literally!) and then stuff dirt in his mouth.

     On a walk to the site where the church was going to be.  Now it'll be the site of the Ratinkov's home and the church will likely be where Inka is.  I love how the girls all held hands!

They built the foundation and want to get the frame and roof up before winter.

 Here's the view from their lot.

     The girls enjoyed playing with Vera.  Here, Ella was pretending to be a dog (with a real dog kiss!)

 

Me, talking with Inka

It's so fun to play in a house before it's built!

A Few Family Pictures

     It feels like winter!  Not only has there been snow for 1.5 weeks, but now it's cold enough to need gloves and boots.  This picture was taken by Keith from the SEND media team outside of our church over a week ago.

     On a walk, just outside of our building.  

     Leif is such a good Papa!  The kids love to play with him.  And he's always a good sport about playing games that the girls come up with (house, princess, puppy, etc.)

We love these three funny kiddos!

Home Group

     Something Leif and I are really excited about is a home group/ Bible study that we've started up this fall.  We're looking forward to growing in relationship with the people in our group and growing in our walks with God as we study together and pray for one another!

Diana's 1 Year Party

 

     This week we were invited to baby Diana's 1-year birthday party!  It was quite the party with singing, everyone drawing pictures of our memories of first meeting Diana, a kids' play room, a huge feast and a 90 minute slide show of her life.  It was really special to see Denis and Yulia so excited to celebrate their daughter's life.  This isn't the first big birthday bash we've been to for a one year old here in Russia. We haven't asked anyone to know if it's a tradition, but it seems that it's a milestone year.

 

      Diana looked like a little princess, all dressed in blue!  She's been walking since before she was 9 months old.  Ike will likely soon be keeping up with her, as he's walking around holding onto furniture and pivoting on his own.  Soon they'll be running around together!

 

     The party was at our church... this is what the new kids' room looks like!  I love how bright and cheerful it is.  The kids loved playing together during the party. 

A Birthday Fit For A Five Year Old Princess

     Our little girl is five!  We had a fun day celebrating her life with her classmates and teammates/friends.

Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, is Anneka's favorite princess.  For weeks she's been wishing for a Belle dress for her birthday present.  We have a friend (Lena) who is an amazing seamstress.  I showed her several pictures of Belle and went with her to a fabric store to pick out poofy and yellow fabric.  And she made an amazing dress for Anneka!  Here's the underskirt to make it really full.  (later that day at school, Anneka had the girls hold her skirt for her while she went to the bathroom.  They all crowded around her and loved helping).

  

      She felt like the most beautiful princess in the world!  Lena secretly measured Anneka at church a few weeks before her birthday, but we didn't know if it would fit until the day of her birthday.  It's great because she'll be able to wear it for a long time.

John got to be with us for breakfast and the great dress-unveiling.  He gave Anneka this dog (from all the Wickers) and she loves it so much.  The dog has been her constant companion since she got him!

     We know 2 ladies who put on "fairy tale" birthdays for kids.  Since this may be Anneka's only year in Russian school, we decided to throw her a special party with her class.  I was a little nervous with planning the details in Russian (making arrangements with the teachers, finding out what I needed to buy, reserving a room, etc)... and the morning of the party it snowed so much that transporation was SLOW for the ladies.  They called and told us that every bus was full!  Thankfully they were able to catch a taxi.  We all made it in time.  Anneka was very excited to invite Matty to her party.  Here, Matty and Ella waited for the rest of the kids to come into the music room.

     A few of Anneka's friends dressed up especially for Anneka's birthday and got her a present.  It was really fun to see Anneka interacting with classmates in this environment and seeing the little girls' affection toward her.

 

I love how this little girl has her arm around Anneka here!

     The party was an hour long and was full of dancing and games and acting out a story of Anneka being the princess and then a pirate coming and stealing her and the treasure!

 

Her dress was perfect for the day!

 

 In this game, the girls had to put pigtails in the boys' hair.  It was really funny to watch!

 

Here's another action shot with the hair relay.

 

 And there was dancing, and noise-maker blowing.

 

     Then we came home and had a birthday lunch (Ella was hiding at my legs).  Anneka's choice: macaroni and cheese, chocolate milk, kiwi and peaches, and (of course) cake.

  
 Everyone in Anneka's class made her a birthday card.  One girl made her a card with a picture of Anneka in her dress.

 

     We topped off the evening with a ball!  Leif dressed in his suit and the girls and I all wore dresses and we danced.  We had too much fun to stop and take pictures.  =)

Happy Birthday, sweet Anneka!  As your name means, you are a gracious gift of God to us!  We love you so much.  You fill our hearts with joy!

Guests

     The SEND media team is here this week.  It's been fun to have them, and it'll be exciting to see the pictures and video footage that they get of this beloved city, a lot of our ministries, and many of the people in our lives.  The day they arrived, we hosted a breakfast for the whole team.  This is a picture from that morning and of planning out their schedule.

     Many ladies on the team brought meals over to help me out over the next few days.  It's SO NICE!  Just have three kids and then people will bring you food!  =)

Nettie's 30th Birthday

      Nettie recently turned 30, and I got to celebrate with her twice!  The first time was at this great new Belgian bakery downtown.  They have espresso and milkshakes and yummy, yummy baked breads and pastries!

     You can kind of see the yummy food behind the counter.  I always love when I get to see Adriana (holding Ike)!

     Nettie got her hair done by a friend... so fun!  Ike loved all of the attention he got from all of the women!

     And then the next night we got to have a surprise party, Indian style!!  Martina and Renata planned it, and Lena hosted it... and I was so happy to be invited!!  We ate yummy Indian food and sat on the floor and tried to dress Indian-style.  It was very fun.

 

     Anneka was a little disappointed when she heard that the party was past her bedtime, but she ran into her room, dressed this doll up and sent her as her representative.  And then she was okay.

 

A group shot.

     Ike was so tuckered at the end of the party.  He didn't even wake up when I put his hat and coat on.  We've been training him to sleep in his bed the last few days.  I know, kind of crazy that he hasn't really slept there before.  He's such a good baby and is transitioning very smoothly and sweetly.  He looks up at me and smiles as I sing him to sleep and even sings a bit and says "mama, mama".  I love this little guy so much!

A Smattering

A few older pictures I wanted to squeeze onto the blog at some point...

     Almost every apartment building has a little playground in front of it... and there are apartment buildings everywhere!  This creates lots of opportunities to stop and play on walks.  I like this picture that Leif took of our Ella. 

     Anneka and I snapped this picture a few weeks ago, after the first frost... knowing that there would soon be no more flowers.  We saw some ladies the other day, picking the seed pods from flowers just like these.  I also bought a couple bunches of flowers in the last weeks from babushki on the side of the road.  We love having flowers around.  The girls love to pick flowers and bring them home to put in a vase.  They are good about not picking planted flowers and always ask first if they aren't sure.

     A little tradition we've started in the mornings before school is to stand on the windowsill and pray for our day and for Ulan-Ude.  One day we forgot and later the girls remembered and were very upset.

      Something I LOVE about this apartment is that I can close off the little entryway (where we put shoes and coats) with a door.  Our last apartment was always filthy in the entryway and then the babies would crawl all over the shoes and put the dirt in their mouths... there was no keeping up.  Everyone in Russia takes their shoes off before entering an apartment because it's so dirty outside.  At school, Anneka has outdoor shoes and indoor shoes so as to keep things cleaner inside.

     Of course, Ike notices immediately if this door is open and goes and looks for little rocks on the floor to put in his mouth.  He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth!!  Today I got some Mr. Yuk stickers in the mail from my friend, Erin (a perfect thing for her to send).... and the moment I put the sheet down he started eating them!  Thankfully all of the stickers are still in tact.  =)

     This is the shared entryway between us and the apartment next door.  We keep the strollers here, which is very nice.  When someone comes to visit us, they call on a little phone at the building entry door that rings up in our apartment.  Anneka and Ella both know how to answer this phone and let them in.  And then the kids all run to this door (pictured) to let the person in.  Both Anneka and Ella like to unlock the door (and sometimes fight over who gets to open it).  Ike just likes to be where the excitement is.  The girls know to ask "KTO TAM?", which means "Who's there?".  And they don't open the door if they don't know the person.  Ella is so cute in that she always says, "It's Ella!" after she asks who's there.  This is a sight we see often- our kids waiting at the door to greet someone.

     There's a new shopping center downtown with a really nice western-style cafe. Leif and I (with Ike!) went on a date there a few weeks ago.  My mom sent Ella Cheerios for her birthday, as she adores Cheerios.  She was so excited, and Leif and I were excited because it's the perfect baby snack and distraction for Ike in this season of babyhood.  Ella was very generous with her Cheerios and happily shared with her brother.  Then Leif bought three big boxes when he was in Mongolia.  We're on the last box now, and I think John is bringing us some from Canada this week.  It's amazing how some simple things can be so wonderful and helpful!

Multiplication

It's been six years ago now that we moved to Ulan-Ude.  When we first arrived, Chingis and Ksusha were expecting their first baby (but it was early in the pregnancy) and we didn't have any kids at all.  Now look at all of our kids!!  Ella needs to be switched with the baby next to her to be in perfect age order.  Together they make up a whole circus!

     Daniel is the knight and Anneka is the bride.

     Anneka's Russian is getting better and better, which makes it fun for her to have Russian-speaking guests.  Today her teacher said that she can tell a marked difference just in these past 3 weeks in Anneka's Russian.  She's answering the teachers' questions and is talking more and more with the other kids... and she's happy!

     Leif is out of town with some men from our church (in Irkutsk), and I've been solo with the kids for a few days.  Yesterday Anneka woke up with a sore throat, so I asked her if she wanted to stay home (it's also hard to get all three kids dressed and fed and out the door and to school without Leif here)... and she got a concerned look on her face and said, "But what if I miss something fun at school?"  To me, this is a good sign.  If she was really struggling at school, she would want to stay home.  Needless to say, we got ready and went.  (and Ike and Ella both had major crying spells along the way and everyone gawked).

     Ella's Russian skills are also growing.  I'm not sure if it's her age or Anneka's school influence, but yesterday Ella started talking with me in Russian!  She also seems to understand a lot.  She doesn't seem to have any preference of watching a kid's show in English or Russian (there are some great 6 minute shows that the girls like and they usually watch one while I make breakfast), and she's not shy around Russian speakers.

     And today I really think Ike said "пока" (bye-bye in Russian).  He waved when he said it, and it's when Lena was leaving.  I think he'll be an early talker.  Lately, he's been really LOUD (screeching!) and making sure we know he's here!

жатва

Celebrating our жатва meal.  I'm not sure where Ella or Ike were the moment I took this picture!

     On Sunday we celebrated жатва, or "harvest" with our church family.  I assumed that жатва was a widely known holiday, but when I told our neighbors that we were making pizza for it, they just gave me blank stares.  Then when I said it was a type of Thanksgiving, they instantly had glimmers of recognition in their eyes.  

I went to  help get the church ready the day before, but I realized after I was there that I should perhaps wait until I don't have a nursing baby to do such a thing.  I attempted mopping the floor with a stick and a rag (like everyone does it here), but it didn't work very well... it just smeared the mud around, so I decided to just do it on my hands and knees.  Of course, there's no water, so Dave had to haul it in.  And the rags were so dirty it took two buckets of water to get them semi-clean to start with.  I got in trouble by one of the ladies for getting so dirty (my legs were all muddy), and she took the stick and rag... and also my job.  By then Ike was crying, and I was very thankful to have him as my excuse to exit!  I'll try again next year.

     But those who did decorate did a nice job.  =)  In the background, жатва is spelled out with little potatoes, hanging on the wall.  We haven't had lunch together after church all summer, so it was extra special to eat together this week!

     It's always great to take special times to thank God for His goodness to us in all that He provides.  He knows just what we need and gives us above and beyond!
 

     Martina caught this picture of Anneka and Matty playing outside.  He was her dog.  =)  They are so cute!  Anneka picked out all of her clothes by herself, as usual... but this time she changed in her closet and then wrapped a blanket around herself until we left so that we couldn't see what she was wearing.  I didn't know what we would find under the blanket!  Thankfully it was nothing that needed changing. She loves these Cinderella "high heeled" shoes that we found at a second hand store here.  They are not safe at all for walking on the ground here, but she feels so beautiful!