Joy in the Advent Season

     How wonderful that the Chistmas Season comes during the darkest time of the year.  What a gift to focus on the Light of the World when all around is dreary!  We cherish taking extra time as a family the month leading up to Christmas to be amazed together at the God of the universe coming to earth as a baby.  We light candles each night, hang an ornament on our Jesse tree each with a symbol that points to the story of Jesus, and sing songs together in addition to our normal prayer and Bible time.   

     We also have an advent calendar with something special that we do each day.  We try to do things that reach out to or connect with others... and we have lots of fun!  On this day we made Christmas cookies and delivered them to several neighbors and local store workers.  This is not something people here do, so we were met with surprise (but it was a pleasant surprise).  ;)

     We picked out toys for orphans and prayed together for these kids by name.  

     We made beautiful Christmas artwork!

... and went tubing with friends.

     Of course, it's always cold here, but this year we've been blessed with weather that's not TOO cold to be outside.  This truly helps our family to be able to get out and exercise a bit.

We had Bogdan over for a couple of days to give his Mama time with their new baby.

Leif and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary!

     ...and while we did that, dear friends took our kids and played with them!  Nettie took Anneka cross country skiing for her first time, and Ike and Ella had a wonderful time with the Blakers.

Ice skating with Bruce

We made special bird food and waited while the pigeons flocked in to discover their treat!

We made costumes for the kids' Christmas play at church

... and made ornaments that we gave to others

     At the last minute my friend, Sveta, told me that the Nutcracker was playing at the ballet theatre downtown.  It was a busy time, but we squeezed it in, and we're so glad we did!  It's so beautiful to watch the beauty and talent that God has created in people!

  This year our kids all said it was the best Christmas season ever!  I'm enjoying our kids at these ages.  These are special memories we will always treasure!

     

School of Arts

    This school year Ella and Ike have been in a special program at the School of Arts.  We are always trying to find ways to help our kids continue on with their Russian and to connect with other local kids.  This program is 2 evenings a week, and gives them experience in dance, music, art, and drama.

I peeked into Ike's dance class one evening and snapped this photo.  

     The school held an Open House one evening for parents to come and watch what the kids do in a normal class.  Here, Ike and Ella are pressing modeling clay onto their pictures.

They also danced for us:

     We got flowers for both kids to congratulate them on a job well done!  The lady at the flower shop didn't want to sell me 2 bouquets, as it's very unlucky to get an even number of flowers.  She wanted me to get one or three.  I assured her that the flowers were for 2 different people, and she acquiesced.

     The kids' favorite part is playing on the way back from the School of Arts.  At the beginning of the season, the snow was warm enough for packing into a little snowman.


     There's a skateboard ramp that the kids love to run around and slide down.


     Once it got colder, we switched to sledding on our way there and back.  It's really hard to get pictures in the dark, but they start at the top of several flights of stairs and sled down the middle on little sleds.  


     Anneka and I get to have special mother-daughter time together while Ella and Ike are at the school.  Sometimes we'll get fruit and tea at a cafe not far from the school and wait there and play games.


     And sometimes we play games at home.  This night we played with a dreidel, to go along with what she's learning in history.  Sometimes Leif joins us, and sometimes he gets a special date with Anneka, too.

     Mother's Day is in November here.  Ella and Ike were in a performance for this special occasion.

Ella has such a beautiful smile and likes to perform.

     They invited some of us moms up front for a competition.  Ike and Ella had to dress me in a silly costume.  For another competition, Leif and I had to go up front and draw each other blindfolded.

    Right before New Years, all of the young kids from the school were invited for a special "Ёлка", which is a special peformance and party with Grandfather Frost, his grandaughter, a tree, and presents for all.  The kids were supposed to dress up.  Usually little girls wear poofy dresses and are princesses, but Ella wanted to be a cheetah.  Anneka made her this costume, and Ella was simply delighted.  Ike wore a costume his sisters gave him for Christmas.

     At the end of the performance, a big Rooster led the kids in games.  2017 is the Year of the Rooster.



    Aferwards, the kids played on and around the snow sculptures and ice slides.

On the big snow throne

so fun to slide!

and so fast!!

Swimming Lessons

     When you live in Siberia in the winter, it's a bit challenging to find ways to exercise and stay active.  (by the way, Ike calls it "extrasizing").  In the warmer months I like to go running, but in the dead of winter, Leif and I do workouts in our living room.  It's a little nerdy, but it definitely helps in our overall health and energy.  With the kids, we're very blessed to have a medical building with a small swimming pool right next door!  They have swimming lessons for kids, and the water is warm!  Ike and I go together once a week for a "Mommy and Me" class.  In the past few weeks he's started swimming a bit on his own, which is quite exciting!



     I rarely take pictures during Ike's class because I'm in the water with him, but this day I brought my camera to the side in a ziploc bag.



     Ella and I also enjoyed a "Mommy and Me" class last year and the first part of this year.  Then we discovered that there's a class that both Anneka and Ella can be in.  They both liked the idea and have been growing in their swimming skills.

 

      One of their neighborhood friends is also in the group.  It's fun to see the girls playing with her!



     The first 20 minutes of the class are for free play.

This is their favorite part!

I love Ella in her pink leopard-print swimming cap.  =)

The other 40 minutes are the actual lesson part.

      The teacher is great at alternating what they do every few minutes and keeping it interesting.  Even though this picture shows the same exercise as the last, I posted it as a memory because I love being able to look right outside the window at our apartment.

     Another thing I like about this teacher is that she's very kind and smiles a lot!  Our girls have gotten so brave at trying to dive and swim under water through people's legs.  Their teacher gives a great balance of challenging them without shaming or pressure.

We're thankful for this outlet of swimming!

A Few Recent Happenings

     Leif recently was in Chita for the 2nd-to-the last Training National Trainers course.  As always, it was an encouraging time to getting deep into God's word and connecting with other men from the region.  It's exciting to think of how what these men are learning is going to 2nd generation groups.

 
     Prayer has been a big thing on both Leif and my hearts lately.  He read a thought-provoking book that talked about how whenever there has been a movement of God among an unreached people group, there have been not just hundreds, but thousands of people praying!  We are growing ourselves in prayer and are also praying about how we can invite others to join in.  Leif has the goal of having 1,000 people faithfully praying for Buryatia over the next months. 

     It's been an extra-special gift the past few weeks that our kids have been sleeping in.  Maybe it's the dark?  Or the cold?  But whatever the reason, it's a gift that we're taking advantage of and are wanting to seek God, knowing that any good work is from HIM!


 
     Leif took part in an indoor soccer tournament recently.  It was a part of an effort to reach out to the community in positive ways and to be a light.  There were participants from several different countries there, and they all had a lot of fun. 
    
 
     The team in charge of planning these sporting events had a surprise birthday party for Sasha the next night.  They used the office next door to us so that he wouldn't suspect anything at all.  Leif was supposed to call and have someone bring Sasha to our place for some important reason, but it was in the middle of our English Club, and- as he was in the middle of leading everything- he forgot until 30 minutes later than he was supposed to call.  Thankfully everything worked out okay. Sasha was surprised and had a great birthday. =)

 
      Every week our house in the village is a little more completed.  Yesterday they began working on the roof.

      We have new people coming to English Club every week!  We've been having good discussions and the students are really enjoying the time.  This picture was a game called "Upset the Apple Cart", where we used Christmas vocabulary words and people had to run and get a seat so they wouldn't get stuck in the middle.

 
     The kids are real Siberians and play outside in the ultra-freezing temperatures.  They have a special store and ice is their money.  Anneka collects ice throughout the week and keeps it on our balcony to take to the church for using during English Club.

      Ira and Erdeni had their baby a couple of months ago and have returned to our home group.  I just love seeing peoples' smiling faces as they look at babies!

     This past week our kids stayed the night at the Brubachers', so we stayed after the home group to play a game of bones.  It was my first time to actually play.  I'm really terrible at it, actually.  But it was fun all the same!  It's a very traditional Buryat game.

      Ella didn't have school this past Tuesday, so I took her to my English discussion group with me.  She got to have Toby on her lap on the bus ride back.  Oh, what joy!

     I don't think I ever posted a picture of the bed our friend made for Ike.  It's so nice and creates so much space for both storage and playing in his room!  In the left corner, you can see part of a tree.  This year we're doing the Jesse tree, by hanging a new ornament each day that has a symbol that depicts a story that points to Jesus and His coming and promises.  It's a special time for us each night as a family as we celebrate advent!


     Our neighbor has been coming over a lot lately to measure some hats on Anneka's head that she's making for a friend.  She celebrates New Years but not Christmas, so she has questions about this holiday and it's origins.  Also, another neighbor came over this week and asked if we could spend New Years together, as she will be alone.  This seems like a special opportunity to show her love and light.