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!

Bigger and Bigger

Anneka and I had doctor's appointments this week, and we're both getting bigger and bigger! Anneka is taller than 98% of other kids her age, at a whopping 3 feet 3 inches and in the 90th percentile for weight, at 34 pounds. She's all updated on her vaccinations now and is healthy. The doctor was so nice to fill out a ton of medical forms that we need to have filled out before we return to Russia.

Baby Ella is large, like her sister, and my doctor scheduled an induction for June 15th (one week before the due date). So, if she doesn't come sooner, there's an end date in sight! Our lives will be a lot different 2 1/2 weeks from now!

The other day Anneka wanted to "talk to the baby". She lifted up my shirt and talked to Ella and hugged and kissed her. Then she so gently touched my belly button (a major outie) and said in a sweet voice, "I like her nose". She'll be such a good big sister!

"The Spring Thing" and friends

Last weekend I got together with my friends, Erin and Cheryl, for "The Spring Thing". We were roommates in college and started this spring tradition after graduation... where we would meet someplace in WA for a weekend and catch up on each others lives, enjoy each others' company, and have fun! We are all so different, and yet these are two of my dearest friends. I love seeing how God has directed us each so uniquely and beautifully. I treasure these friendships.




Because I've been in Russia, it's been four years since our last Spring Thing. We keep a journal each time we meet to document how we spent the weekend together and what has happened in our lives since the time before. It was fun to read through that together! This time we met in Ellensburg (our college town), as it's a midway point between Portland, Seattle, and Spokane. The campus has changed a lot, and we had a great time touring the new buildings. After such a long winter, I'm LOVING how green everything is, the beauty and fragrance of flowers, and pretty landscaping! And what better way to celebrate these things than with good friends! Erin and I had to pose in front of the CWU sign.




Here, we took a picture in the library, as Cheryl worked there through college, and as she's a teacher now, she wanted to show her students a picture of a library with real books. haha. She said that her students will complain if they have a 16 page article to read online, and she explains to them that when she was in high school, she would read articles that were hundreds of pages long in things called BOOKS.



Leif (with Anneka and my mom) shared about our lives and work in Russia last Sunday, and we've had a few people over for dinner this past week. It feels nice to be getting into a groove, and I'm feeling SO much better than I was a couple of weeks ago! (I was SO tired and couldn't sleep much more than 4 hours a night).

Two nights ago, our friends who have two daughters (the same age gap as our daughters will be) came over, and it was great to see them. Anneka and their three year old have been virtual friends over the computer, seeing each other on the blogs and watching video clips of one another. And they finally got to play in person! It was fun seeing them interact. Little girls are so funny and cute!

Enjoying Grandparents

We're finally feeling more settled! We have internet and phone now, have our apartment pretty much set up, and just finished washing boxed up baby clothes. It's been so great to be near my parents and to see Anneka enjoying them and them enjoying her.



It brings back happy memories of my childhood when I see them interacting.





Anneka helped my dad dig/haul dirt to a new flower bed they just planted.




She likes soaking up everything like a sponge. Here she's enjoying Baba's music.





She's also enjoying an abundance of new toys and books to play with.




And she enjoys all of us ALMOST as much as she likes Lucy, the cat.




My mom hosted a family brunch. It's so good to see my grandparents and aunt and uncle, too. I look forward to more time with them and others this summer!

Baby Shower

Irene was SO nice to throw me a baby shower on our last full day at her place. It was a great way to be able to invite people from the west side of WA, as we knew we couldn't travel around this time, and it was fun to see people!



I actually don't have many pictures on my camera from the shower, but these are sweet girls I went to college with.



And these are some of my family (left-sister, top middle- aunt, front- cousin)



It was SO WONDERFUL that our friends Matt and Anita and their daughter, Katie, came up for the shower and then stayed the night on Whidbey Island so that we could get extra time with them. We used to get together twice a year somewhere in the middle of the state and stay in a hotel and have full weekends together. We loved those times and miss them! Here's Leif with the girls. They're less than 4 months apart.

There were a bunch of other loving and supportive people at the shower, including a bunch from Leif's family. Thanks so much, Irene for the great shower!



On Mother's Day, we got to see both of our moms as we went to church and lunch with Leif's mom in the morning and then made our way across the state to see my mom (and dad) that night. My mother's day started out perfectly, as I was sitting on the deck early in the morning, looking out over the sound. Anneka came out to find me and sat on my lap (remember that she's not a cuddler) for a long time and we sat and talked, all wrapped up in a blanket. I'm so thankful that Leif and I both have such loving moms! And it is such a gift to BE a mom!

Visiting Gramma

We had a wonderful time visiting Leif's mom on Whidbey Island. Anneka loved her Gramma and played so well with her cousin who is just 2 years older. She called them both "her friends" and would ask me, "Mama, where did my friends go?" if they were outside or at the store when she woke up from her nap.



Cousins in their matching ladybug boots from Gramma.




Posing in the flowers.




We tromped through the woods, went to the beach, and visited Fort Casey.



Anneka loved petting the kitties!



She also liked exploring with her cousin, Clay.



We're so thankful for these days together!

Getting Settled

We have a ton of pictures from the past week, but I need to wait until we have our internet hooked up at our new place. My parents did SO much by moving most of our things/furniture into our new apartment for us, washing sheets towels and dishes, stocking us with basics, etc, etc. It's so nice! We still have a lot to do and hopefully will have phones and internet by the weekend. Then, I feel like we'll be able to settle in and begin really connecting with people!

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and all went well... we even got squeezed in for an ultrasound on short notice. This baby (Ella) is big just like her sister was. Ultrasounds are not super-accurate this late in the game, but the technician thought that the baby was already almost seven pounds. No wonder I feel like there's no more room to go for the next 6 weeks!!!

Cherishing Time With Family

Our first 3.5 days back in the States we got to be with Leif's Dad and his wife and his grandmother. It was so nice to get the time with them. Anneka warmed right up to everyone and pretty quickly has adjusted to the new time zone. Everywhere we go, she asks "What's that" to things that are normal for Americans to see- hamburgers, lush green lawns and gardens, fire hydrants, clothes dryers, etc, etc. Her learning curve is huge, but she likes the adventure. In the above picture, she enjoyed her "great Grancy" reading her a book.



Anneka also loved riding on "great Grancy's" walker.



Anneka got to see crabs on the beach, touch an eel in a puddle, and help her grandpa feed four little mice to four baby snakes (grandpa's snakes). She LOVES to be outside!



Here she discovered her grandpa's mustache, and thought it was great fun to play with! We went to a Mariner's game Sunday afternoon. Anneka got pretty tired in the middle, so I wheeled her around in the stroller so she could sleep. But she definitely got a taste of all-American culture!



Here's Leif's brother and his kids along with Leif's dad and his wife (and us) at the game. I couldn't help notice how much our culture revolves around food (not necessarily a bad thing). I also was stunned at the number of restrooms and garbage cans! In Russia, I'm often frustrated when I can't find a restroom and then if there is one it usually doesn't have toilet paper or soap. And often there's a long line to wait for the bathroom (especially in the airport!) But here, it's almost extreme the OTHER way: full restrooms with multiple stalls every few feet, complete with four large garbage cans that would each fit three of me inside (no joke) and tons of toilet paper, seat covers, kleenex, soap, paper towels, and hand dryers. It seemed like overkill. There seems to be a lot of paper waste that's not necessary. Just some thoughts.



"Great Grancy" bought a litle swimming frog for Anneka. She liked it when "Grandpapa" helped her to make it swim in the sink.

We're so blessed to have this time with family!

Traveling Back

Anneka was SUCH a good little traveler! It was almost 55 hours from door to door (Ulan Ude to Bellingham). We had a layover in Moscow where we could sleep, but it was still a LONG time for a little girl to sit! Leif and I hardly slept at all, but on the last two flights, Anneka slept most of the time. Here are Leif and Anneka waiting for our baggage at the Domodyedovo Airport after our 6 hour flight from Ulan Ude to Moscow.



Waiting for the shuttle to the hotel in Moscow. Sunshine! Warmth!




Before going to bed, we let Anneka run around outside on the grass. She LOVED it! She could've stayed out there for hours. There wasn't a bed for Anneka in our room, so we made her a little bed out of chair cushions. Here she is snuggling with her shoe (next to her head). We all were wide awake by 2:00am, as Moscow is already 5 time zones different than Ulan Ude. We came up with creative ways to pass the time until the cafe opened for breakfast at seven.




Watching a movie on the plane



Hello, Seattle! Hello Leif's parents and grandparents! Anneka warmed up to them right away and gave them hugs. It's good to be back!

Back in America!

After packing up our apartment for people to live there for 5 months, cleaning, packing our bags, and saying goodbyes, we left for the United States! I will post pics of our travels tomorrow (they're not on the computer yet). The day before we left, we took down the twin bed in Anneka's room and had a bunk bed put in. Anneka loves her new bed. I kind of freaked out when I put sheets on the top bunk... it's SO high. But great to have the storage space underneath.



Rebecca came and took Anneka outside to play while Lena helped me clean and Leif and I packed. It was SO nice to have their help! I'm so grateful for the people in our lives.



One last book with Inka while she was still our neighbor (how sad to say WAS and not IS).

We're adjusting to the new time and are enjoying time with family. More pics soon!!!