Family Pictures

I'm too tired to upload pictures from yesterday and today's adventures, but I realized I've been wanting to post these family pictures for awhile. Our friend, Angela, who owns Stillpoint Photography did them, and we love them! SO MANY were so good, it was hard to choose which ones to show you. =)

Here And There

Since we've been married, Leif and I have tried to go on a date every week. Sometimes it's not a traditional date, but we want to guard that time together, as it's so important. This past week, we brought Ella with us and ate at a restaurant on a pier in Coupeville. Ella doesn't talk yet, so we can still have delightful, uninterrupted conversation. =) And in my opinion it's less stressful to bring a newborn along than to worry about her needing to eat and me not being around. Outdoor seating is something I DREAM about most of the year in Russia. Before we came back to the States I told Leif, "we need to eat outside every meal, all summer!" It hasn't quite been that frequent, but we do it when we can.



The last night we were in Coupeville, Leif's mom realized that we hadn't gotten a family picture right after Leif's brother and family had left. It was the last time we'd be together until we're in the States again. So I suggested we go over to Lark's house and get a late-night photo. The kids were in their jammies, but it was a fun memory. And great to have a picture of everyone.





On Saturday, our friends Brian and Lesley hosted a BBQ for CWU friends. It was really fun to see people and catch up on their lives. Hot dogs were another thing I was dreaming about for months (you're not supposed to eat them when you're pregnant). Mmmmm. I've been eating tons of hot dogs and hamburgers this summer.



It was so nice to sit outside and enjoy the nice day with friends.




Our friend Erin came at the end. A CWU party wouldn't be complete without her!



After the CWU party, we headed up to Darrington, where Leif's family has a cabin (his great grandparents owned it and it's been passed down through the family.) Anneka's cousin, Gwen, came and they had fun playing in a little playhouse close by.



On Sunday, we shared at two churches back-to-back and then Lark and the other two cousins joined us. We ordered pizza that night and hung out outside. Ella liked kicking around on her blanket. By the end of this day, I was wiped. We'd had a LONG lunch out after church and I had a migraine (and had gotten little sleep the night before. Thankfully, I've caught up a bit now!



On Monday, Leif, Anneka, Ella and I went for a walk down to the river where he'd go a lot growing up. The cool water felt so nice on a hot day! It's fun to show Anneka parts of our lives from our childhoods!

Swimming and Sharing

A couple of days this week, we went to the local pool. At first Anneka was timid, but by the end, she was squealing, giggling, and even "swimming" (with flotation) without us holding onto her!



Anneka really liked riding on our backs. Here she is with her grandma.



Splashing!



Ella slept serenely by the side of the pool one day and in her aunt Fawn's arms the other.




While in Coupeville, we had a chance to share about our lives in Russia with the church Irene goes to.



It was such a wonderful surprise when I found out that my elementary school music teacher, Jodi, also goes to that church! She came to our sharing time and it was wonderful to see her and to catch up. Jodi used to teach me piano and voice lessons, too. And she lived across the street from us. And her daughter was my favorite babysitter. Anyways, it was really great to see her again after so many years!

The Zoo

On Monday, Leif's mom came down to Seattle with her other grandkids and we all went to the Woodland Park Zoo together. My sister met up with us, too (pictured above). Home service is such an intense time- wanting to get quality time with friends and family, wanting to share with churches and supporters, wanting to rest, wanting to have fun and do things that we can't do in Siberia, etc, etc. Today I am feeling like I miss Anneka even though I've been around her every day. I just haven't really "connected" with her like normal. But I also want others to get special time with her. Anyways, it's an interesting time. And we're enjoying the parts that are good about this unique time.


The cousins looking at the komodo dragon.



Grandmama Irene with her two little grandgirls.




The penguins were so cute.




Before we got to the zoo, we tried to explain it to Anneka. "Will there be a boat there?", she asked. Leif told her that he didn't know if there would be or not and thought it was a random question. But sure enough, here was the boat she was wishing for. So funny.



A trip to the zoo wouldn't be complete without petting a goat!




Anneka and her cousin, Gwen, were our guides. They were so funny in that they both had maps and were constantly consulting the maps. They would tell us, "now we're going to the otters. Now we're going to the bears", etc... even if they didn't know where in the zoo we currently were. It was fun to watch.

On The Road Again

Our next stop was Seattle, where we stayed with Leif's grandparents for a night. Anneka DELIGHTED in them and it was so fun to watch them interact! Here, Great Grandma Margie and Anneka are playing with a Russian matroshka doll.



We enjoyed a neighborhood walk.



Playing with train tracks with Great Aunt Reta.




Anneka REALLY wanted both Great Grandpa Jack and Great Grandma Margie to play the piano with her. She patted the bench and kept inviting them until they both joined her.



And here's a picture of Leif doing the children's moment at church on Sunday.

On The Road

Last week we began a whirlwind tour of Washington, visiting friends and family and churches all over Washington. It's both crazy/tiring and fun/wonderful. Our first stop was the tri-cities. We saw Mandi and Terry and their family. They were in our life group in Spokane before we left for Russia.



We also saw Leif's great aunt Peggy and cousins, Gary and Diane. Anneka enjoyed being at their house and feeding the birds and playing with a mound of stuffed animals and blocks.



The next night we got to see our friends, Dave and Marsha and their two kids. Dave and Marsha discipled us in college and are a huge part of our lives and our spiritual growth. Anneka was pretty tired and kind of sensitive while she played with their kids, but she had fun them, too (love-hate). They played outside in the water and painted on this really cool screen.



Dave is in medical school. Here he was dressed up and ready to head out for his first day of the school year.



The next day we headed to Auburn and stayed at my aunt Sherrie and uncle Mike's. They were so nice in throwing a big family BBQ for us, so that we could see everyone in one place. It was great to see everyone, and Anneka especially loved her cousin, Emma, who is five. Here, Anneka didn't want to smile for the camera, so my sister Cory and I made pouty faces along with her.




On this morning, I had put Ella on the floor to sleep and Anneka saw her there, left the room, and came back with her own "baby Ella" and a blanket. It was so cute to see them laying side-by-side.

On Sunday, we shared at a church in Milton. The people there were welcoming and warm, and it was nice to be with them. My grandma, Violet, went to that church before she passed away.

Stay tuned for more pictures from our trip!

Family Conference

(SEND missionaries who have recently come for a time of "home service")
It feels a little strange to talk about a family conference when I left my family back in Medical Lake while I traveled to Michigan for the annual SEND conference, but that is what we call it in the world of SEND so I will call it that too :). Even though I was without my family, it really was a great time to connect with other missionaries including some of our teammates. I got to see John and Sharon Wicker again, they are the ones that visited us with their family a few weeks ago. Dave and Martina Brubacher were also there (that's who I'm sitting with in the picture above), and they are going to be our new neighbors in Ulan-Ude. We're really looking forward to that! They were nice to hang out with me so that I didn't feel all alone without Jami and the girls. It was also good to catch up with people that we had gone through training together with before we left. I even got to ride from the conference to our mission office with Wes, Michelle and their son Sidney who I was meeting for the first time. Connecting with people is always the best part of a conference like this, but I was also encouraged by stories of God's good news spreading through the world, and encouraged by the new missionaries who are moving out to new parts of the world. This picture shows some of the people who are just joining SEND to go to various parts of the world where God's message is not being shared. If you are interested in hearing more about these things you can check out the send website www.send.org. Acutally we have our own page on the website www.send.org/Gustafson.

We miss you and love you, Leif/Papa!

Leif's been gone this week to a couple of conferences with SEND International this week in Michigan. I've been staying at my parents' place and got some good girl time with my mom and daughters while my Dad was in Montana. But I wanted to take this opportunity to tell Leif how much we love him!!

Leif, you've been SUCH an amazing husband and father, and I've especially been appreciative these past 6 weeks after Ella's birth. You have been so helpful in watching Anneka in the mornings while I catch up on some much-needed sleep. And I SO appreciate how you've been on top of planning our schedules, calling churches and pastors, making dinners so that we can have friends over, etc, etc. And amidst all of the craziness of being on home service, you always put people before tasks. You always make time for me and the girls... and we feel loved and enjoyed by you! I couldn't have a more wonderful husband. You're a superstar!!


I dressed Ella in her Daddy shirts this week. I meant to take a picture of Anneka in her Daddy shirt, too, but I'm not as handy with my mom's camera and computer. So Ella will be the star of today's post.

We love you, Leif/Papa, and look forward to seeing you again in a couple of days!!

Opportunities

(photo by Anneka Gustafson)

I am amazed at how God opens opportunities for us to talk with people and be an encouragement and to share a little bit of Christ with them. Having worked with Campus Crusade for Christ in the past, I have heard countless stories of how Bill Bright (the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ) got on a plane somewhere, struck up a conversation with the person or persons next to him, and before the plane landed that person had given their life to Christ. I loved the boldness and urgency that he showed in his life, and have always sought to love the Lord with a similar zeal and passion. I am in Michigan this week at a SEND conference and will spend a couple days at our home office to connect there too. I am by myself because it seemed insane to bring a toddler and a 6 week old here, so Jami is home with the girls enjoying some good time with her mom. Unfortunately, I missed being with her for her birthday yesterday :(. But on the flight here, I used Bill Bright's inspiration and began to talk with the guy next to me on the airplane. His name is Justin and we had a really good conversation. I can't say that I took a guy that didn't know Christ and brought him to a place of reckless abandon for God, but I had a chance to encourage a guy that has a history in the church and is dealing with ideas of religion as he interacts with his girlfriend's parents who are ultra-conservative. It was such a good time to talk with him about God and about how we worship Him and how the truly important thing is to worship God both in spirit and in truth. Justin lives pretty close to us in the Spokane area, and he gave me his email. I hope that we will get a chance to talk more. Please pray for this new friend of mine, as well as for his girlfriend and her parents.

Art Show

The pictures on Irene's camera of the vacation Bible school weren't super-great, so I'll just leave it to your imagination. =) But I did find these from her camera:



On this afternoon, I lounged outside with Ella napping on me. It was so wonderful and peaceful!



This one is funny of my grandpa reading to Anneka.




On Saturday, we went and visited my Dad at an art show in St. Maries, Idaho. It was a pretty location on the St. Joe River and fun to see him there.



Leif and Anneka posed behind this picture at the show.




Then Anneka stripped down and had a hay-day playing in the river. So fun to watch her!

Out At The Lake

We were asked to be the missionary guests at a vacation Bible school in Harrison, Idaho this week. My grandparents have a lake home just a few minutes from the church, so we're "suffering" here this week! Our VBS pictures are on Irene's camera. I'll try to get them and post them later. Ella is growing and growing! She's a month old now and is very strong! She holds her head up and grabs at things frequently. She seems older than she is. She took off my glasses yesterday, and it really seems like she's smiling. She's so much fun



Leif's mom, Irene, is with us this week. It's been so great to see her and Anneka playing and having fun... and it's so helpful, as I spend a good deal of the day feeding and attending to Ella.




Leif and Anneka tried out my cousin, Brian's jet ski.




Fun on the dock.



My grandparents have been out here, too. I love every minute with them!