Snapshots from our Home Service (Part 1)

     A big reason why we have a blog is for ourselves... to look back and remember special things from our lives.  I wasn't very good about blogging while we were in the States, but there are some things I don't want to forget.  So over the next few weeks, intermingled with new blogs, I'm going to capture some of the memories we cherish from the past few months in America.

     The day after we arrived in Washington, we had a family reunion from my mom's side of the family.  The first day we met in Manito Park in Spokane (one of our favorite places in the world!)  Ike loved getting a ride through the Japanese Gardens on Grandma Great's lap.  She loved it just as much.

     This picture only shows the people who were there the first day, but it's special because it's around a bench that was installed in the Duncan Gardens in honor of my Grandpa (Charlie Parsons).  On the bench is inscribed the scripture:  "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest".  Grandpa would love that there is this bench in this beautiful place with these words of life!

     One afternoon some of us played bocce ball.  My grandma made a scavenger hunt for the kids with a lot of special toys, too.  On Sunday (my birthday), my parents hosted a BBQ at Medical Lake.  It was fun to take the kids swimming in the lake that I swam in a lot as a child.  =)

     We were only "home" for a few days, and in this time, our friends' (Kadie and Josh) baby was born and was in the NICU in Spokane.  It was incredibly special to get to visit them at the hospital, meet their precious baby, Andrew, and to pray over him and their family.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect!

      We were also able to catch our friends, the Shultz's, early one morning as they were driving through, on a family vacation.  We met at the Finch Arboretum, one of our favorite places.  The kids loved climbing the gigantic trees.  We didn't get everyone in this picture, but here are quite a few of us!  =)

    
     We moved all of our things into our apartment and then headed off to Montana for my brother's wedding reception.  We stayed in this cute cabin with my parents and enjoyed the beauty of Montana!  We enjoyed mornings together of fishing, my  mom reading to the kids, and playing in water on the lawn.

     It was hot, so it was especially nice to have the river to play and swim in.  The kids enjoyed riding in the raft with their cousin, Thaeden.  This was the first time we'd met him and my brother's wife, Paula.  We liked them immediately.

     One afternoon Ike needed a nap, so I took him to some shade and waited with the camera while Leif and the girls came rafting down the river.  They had a great time!

     We went to a lake nearby where crawdads were prevalent.  My brother had brought a bunch of traps to catch them, and here he is keeping them fresh on ice.  Ike was enamored, and it was interesting for all of us to taste them for the first time!

     We got to be with my Dad for his birthday and had a lovely breakfast outside that Leif had made. Our friend, Valera, had made a really cool picture of a fly fisherman on an artist's pallet.  We saw this at an art show in Ulan Ude, and knew immediately that we had to get it for Dad!  It was fun to be able to give it to him in person.  =)

     We had a couple more days to unpack all of our things into our apartment and then we spent most of August traveling around western Washington.  Our first stop was Vashon Island, where Erin organized an "open weekend" for any college friends to stop in or stay the night.  There was never a point when everyone was there at the same time, but it was so special to get snippets of time with each person and in such a beautiful setting!  The kids loved playing on the beach and picking blackberries.

     Stephanie gave them bottles of bubbles that don't spill (genius!)  These bottles actually made the cut of things we brought back to Russia with us, as they are so wonderful.  =)

Ella enjoyed helping Erin plant flowers in the beds around the cabin.

     And it was SO fun to have our friend Lynnette come with her little girl, Remi.  Remi and Ella are very close in age and were such sweet little friends!

     Next we visited my Dad's side of the family in Auburn.  My aunt, Sherrie, threw a baby shower for my cousin's daughter.  I loved that we were able to be there for this day!  It was a time of celebration. 

     We had a great time staying with my aunt Sherrie and uncle Mike.  The weather was hot (especially for western Washington!)- I think it reached 100 degrees.  I was quite thrilled with the heat because it felt like most of the summer we'd missed the heat.  We soaked it all in with a picnic...

... and then swimming and playing in/around the river.  I think here Anneka was some sort of mud monster. 

     After this, we got to spend an evening with Leif's aunt Reta and uncle Jerry at Green Lake.  We had a picnic on the beautiful grass, and the kids played on the playground there.  As you can see, the kids warmed up to them right away!

    We got to stay with our friends Kadie and Josh (the ones with the brand new baby!) in Renton.  I tried to tell them how crazy it is to have guests (especially guests with three kids!) and a newborn.  But they graciously insisted.  They even invited over our friends, the Ritchies, for lunch one day.  The kids had fun playing together (pictured above).

     After this we went up to Bellingham to get some time with Leif's dad, Eric, and his wife, Rebecca.  We had a special afternoon of remembering Leif's grandmother ("Grancy") who passed away a year ago).  We spread some of her ashes in the garden.  We each chose a special flower from the garden and shared special memories of Grancy.

     We also spread some of her ashes in the waterfront.  This was really important for us all, and we felt so blessed to have this time.

     Rebecca owns a flower shoppe, and on Fridays they give out free flowers (the ones that won't make it through the weekend).  The girls delighted in passing out these flowers.  Ike gave people free hugs (and often quite unexpectedly, as you can see here!)

     After this, we went to Darrington, the town where Leif grew up.  He wanted to spend a little more time here after the mudslide that happened last spring.  He gave sermons at two churches on two Sundays and we shared at another church on a Wednesday evening.  Leif also connected with a few friends throughout the week. But other than that, we used this time to relax at Leif's family cabin.  Irene stayed with us, and we enjoyed the fresh air and playing in the river.

    The kids's cousin, Gwen, was with us for half of the week.  It was really fun for them to all play together and make such wonderful memories!

     There's a little playhouse on the grounds where the cabin is.  The kids loved playing in and around it. 

   
     Of course, being outside and playing with cousin, Gwen, was wonderful.  But playing with Irene's dog, Polly, was right up there with everything else!

     Leif's Dad and brother came down for one day, and we went for a hike to this waterfall.

And throughout the week we enjoyed walking through the woods!

     Next, we went up to Irene's place on Whidbey Island and got time with Leif's grandparents and brother's family.  It's so fun to see the kids interacting with family!

     We feel so blessed that the timing worked out perfectly for us to go to Leif's cousin, Brit's, wedding on Orcas Island.  Here, we were riding the ferry to get there.  The kids were always excited when we got to take a ferry.

     We stayed in a hotel, along with Leif's mom and grandparents (in different rooms).  One day we danced around the room together.

 The wedding was lovely, and the weather was so nice.

sweet little cousins!

 

      I meant to attach a different picture than this one, but this one was so cute, I just left it.  We had a couple more days with Irene before we headed back to eastern Washington.

She lives right by the beach, so we took advantage of this!

     This was a whirlwind month, filled with many special moments. We cherish these times!

Back in Siberia!

     We're back in Ulan Ude and are getting settled back into the swing of things.   The Lord was with us in our travels.  Our flight from Spokane to Seattle kept getting delayed 20  minutes and then another 20 minutes, and so on, until we were cutting it right down to the wire of catching our flight to China.  Leif and Anneka waited at the gate to get our carryons that we'd had to check because of size, while the little ones and I ran to the gate. It was a long way across the airport to the gate, and they each had their little backpacks, but they were real troopers.  We got to the gate just as the airline attendant was about to shut the door.  I begged her to wait for us (Leif had our passports).  She was just about to shut the door when I saw Leif and Anneka way down at the end of the corridor.  I shouted, "Run!".  We made it just in time.  Then as soon as we got onto the plane, the hydraulics on the door broke, so we had to wait another 10 minutes... just enough time for our bags to make it, too.  It's a small reminder of God's care for us, and we're so thankful.

    On the day we left, it was snowing in Spokane.  Leif was so glad it was snowing because we all wore a lot of layers (including snowpants) onto the plane.  If we'd have packed them, they'd have filled a whole bag!

     The kids love being on the long flight because they get to watch movies.  And they slept.  Our most tiring stretch was the 7+ hour layover in Bejing.  The kids didn't sleep at all in the airport and were on the silly side because they were so tired.  

     We've been getting unpacked and organized this week, as well as catching up with people and trying to stay awake!  Our kids are still not completely over jetlag.  Anneka has been waking up in the middle of the night and then not going back to sleep.  At all.  And we make her stay up all day to get her back on schedule. By 6:00pm, our kids are begging us for sleep.  We try to do fun things until seven.  Then by 7:01 they're out like a light!  One morning at 4:00am, Ike came into our room and asked us a question.  I thought he asked if he could get a snack or come into our room so I said "yes".  It turns out he had asked if he could vacuum because minutes later I heard rusting in the closet as he got the vacuum cleaner out and proceeded to get everything ready to vacuum the hallway!  We try to get outside in the days to get over our jetlag.  Ike asked to play outside one day when it was -19 degrees.  We bundled up and had a great time!  That's actually pretty warm for this time of year, so we wanted to take advantage of it.  I even met another mom out on the playground with her little tot.  =)

     Another day we took advantage of the ice slides downtown with the Brubachers.  Our kids were so happy to play with Matthew and Nathan, and they loved the slides, too!

     Our friend, Asya, picked out this coat for Anneka to have waiting when we arrived.  I'd had a hard time finding anything in the States that was warm enough.  This one is so warm and works great!  We made this new discovery that by wearing a down vest under our coats, we are eliminating the need for 3 extra top layers!  This is especially wonderful with Ella, as she doesn't like to have her sleeves bunched up.  Our kids have been pretty good about the bundling process this time around, too.  The biggest problem this week has been that Ella gets really itchy right after all of her clothes are on and can't scratch with all of those layers!  The other funny thing is that Ella is convinced while we're bundling in the  hot apartment that she could never possibly get cold.  "But Mama," she'll say, "Cold never bothered me anyway!"  (she gets this from the movie Frozen).

     Ella loved the slides and often wanted to go all by herself without help.  This time she let Papa come with her.  =)

     On Wednesday we celebrated Russian Christmas with our church family.  It was so wonderful to see everyone and to celebrate this special day together.  Ike couldn't quite make it through the service without falling asleep.

     The choir sang some beautiful songs and the kids and adults both put on small plays.  We had a time for tea and treats afterwards to catch up with people.

     This little girl warmed my heart.  When she saw me, her face lit up and she came over and gave me a kiss.  She often sits by me in the services.

     I've listened to a couple of sermons on prayer this week in the middle of the night when I can't sleep.  It's such a good reminder of our good and powerful God and how important prayer is!  As we've gone around to different stores and met different people, I've been praying for them.  We may never know the results, but it's neat to think of God being at work in eternal ways.

     Leif is encouraged because the Lord brought two men to his heart/mind to pursue when we returned, and within this first week they both pursued him first... before he had a chance to call them.  We see this as a confirmation with these relationships and we look forward to good things!

A Little Reprieve And An Early Christmas

     This week we're on Whidbey Island with Leif's side of the family.  We feel so blessed because we had prayed that all of our needed financial support for ministry would be raised before this week.... for two big reasons:  One, we needed to buy our plane tickets before the prices went way up and before we lost our residency status.  Two, we are tired and wanted to enjoy this time without having our  minds in a bazillion places.  And God was is so kind.  He even brought the money in with a couple of days to spare!  The kids always get really excited to ride on the ferry to get to Irene's place.  And it's also nice to break up the drive a bit.

Such a cute father/son picture on the ferry!  I love these guys SO much!!

     We started a tradition a few years ago with an advent calendar that begins on December 1st and goes until Christmas.  Each day we do something special along with lighting the advent candles each evening and having a special time of focusing on Jesus and singing Christmas songs.  On this day we made gingerbread cookies.

     I forget how much I actually like gingerbread cookies.  It sure is busy to make them with little ones!  It was nice that there were three adults present.  =)

     Leif and I recently celebrated 12 years of marriage.  We have a little tradition of buying a new game together each year.  This year we got the game Pandemic.  We really like it and have had fun playing it in the evenings (often until very late) with Irene and Lark (Leif's mom and brother).   We've have been loving eating spinach dip and chips.  Irene's neighbor made us some spinach dip that is so good it should be illegal.  I guess we are just putting  on a little extra warmth to prepare for the Siberian winter!

     We're soaking in being able to be OUTSIDE, as soon we'll be in a super-cold climate.  On this day we went to Ft. Casey.  The sun was shining, the grass was green, and the wind smelled so good... and felt so good to breathe in deeply.

     Ella and Irene took the more gentle incline down, but the rest of us went down the fort on this ladder.  When Ike and I went down, he hung onto me (like a monkey) and I held onto the ladder.  Thankfully he's a strong little boy!

      The lighthouse had this wreath as a decoration on the porch.  It was so cute because Ike saw Leif and me kissing and wanting a picture of me kissing him in the wreath...

I love the smile on his little face!

We propped up the camera in another tree for a group shot.

     On Wednesday I helped Irene pass out food at the food bank.  It was a really good experience, and I met a lot of neat people.  One of the ladies there told Irene she would make her a cake from a family recipe (she's from Mexico).  It was this incredible chocolate flan cake.  We lit a candle and sang happy birthday to Jesus one evening.  We had our coats on because we knew that Santa would be coming through the neighborhood on a firetruck and we didn't want to miss him!

 

 Santa's helpers passed out candy canes.

     We enjoyed a lovely church service on Sunday at Irene's church.  There was a bell choir and a contata with a beautiful choir.  The words of so many Christmas songs are RICH and wonderful to reflect upon.  It truly is amazing to think of God coming to this world as a baby!  The kids even went up front to sing a song.  (Ella and Anneka are pictured here).  It's nice that they're able to adapt to
different churches and up-front situations.

     After church we enjoyed an early Christmas with the family.  It was perfect because Leif's niece and nephew and aunt and uncle won't be here on the 25th (and we won't either), but we were all able to be here for this special day.  We didn't know all of this ahead of time, but God did.  I love how He plans these things out.  

We all acted out the Christmas story.

      I love this picture of "Mary" and "Jesus" with the sheep looking on from the background.  =)

      Leif's dad is with us for a couple of days, too.  This morning we went in search of gnarly driftwood that he uses to make into artistic creations at their flowershop. 

... and we all made a trip to the vet to visit uncle Lark and the animals.  It was fun for the kids to have a tour!


     Originally when we'd made plans to come to western WA at Christmastime and so near to our departure, I'd felt kind of stressed about it all.  But it's turned out to be a wonderful reprieve and so nice that we'll be able to be with both sides of the family during this special season!

Much to be thankful for!

     Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday to be in the States for, so it was especially sweet to be here with family this year!

      I just decided today that turkey dinner (with mashed potatoes and stuffing) is my favorite meal.  Not only did we get to eat it on Thanksgiving, but a sweet lady who prays for us and supports us served us a FEAST after church today.  The abundance of food in America is quite shocking.  I gained 16 pounds within the first 6 weeks of being back here.  There's no getting away from the food!  But, oh, it's so delicious!

     The kids enjoyed a tractor ride on uncle Dan's tractors.  And Leif was so happy to watch both of his football teams play live... and both won!

     Family, of course, is my favorite part of Thanksgiving, and the thing we miss most when away (yes, even more than food, tractors, and football)!  This is me and my mom.

      Our kids ADORE their cousins, and it was so wonderful to see them giggling and running around.  Myah, Nora, and Erik are so sweet to play with them and show them such love.

     We are aware of all that we have to be thankful for! 

     Our time here has been racing by, as time seems to do.  We're now working hard to focus on Jesus in the middle of the Christmas season, wanting to make special memories with family, and also preparing to return to Russia very soon.

     We have a small window of time where we need to raise our remaining monthly financial support in order to buy our plane tickets back to Russia.  We need to be at 100% of our support before we can buy the tickets, but we will lose our residency in Russia if we wait past early January.  Your prayers for this are appreciated.  We are reminded that God always provides, and often in the last minute!  He loves to increase our faith!

Encouragement

We visited our dear friends and former Ulan-Ude teammates up near Calgary, Canada.  We enjoyed walks outside in beautiful places and a trip to an indoor mini water park for families.

We had fun visiting Matthew and Heather Ann as they worked at Starbucks.

Leif pretended to be Heidi's bodyguard and picked up her boyfriend, Josh, from the airport.  He was very surprised and was worried that he may be kidnapped!

     Our past few weeks have been filled with encouragement.  We have gotten together with many dear people from various walks of life and have enjoyed times talking with them, hearing about their lives, sharing from ours, and praying for one another.  As you can see from the pictures above, we had the chance to visit our former teammates, who are now living in Calgary, Alberta.  It was really fun to laugh with them and share our hearts with one another.

     There have been two things that have really struck me the past few weeks as we've been talking with many dear people.  One is that SEVERAL different people and families, when asked how we can pray for them, said that they want to serve God and to be shaken out of their comfort zone.  They want to be willing to go and to do whatever He asks of them.  Wow!  I love this.  It's so encouraging, and it creates a snowball effect.

     The other thing that has blown us away, is the increased prayer support we have received from many for our family, our ministry, and the people of Siberia.  Several people have told us they are committed to praying for us DAILY and one couple would like to start a prayer group for us and a handful of other missionaries.  People have written us letters saying "I'm in!" with praying, and we are deeply humbled and oh-so-grateful.  We are excited about what God is doing, and have a renewed sense of hope for the days ahead.  What would we do without the body of Christ?

Upcoming Churches

We've been enjoying the beautiful fall leaves and jumping into them!

We'll be at these churches in the next couple of weeks:

Sunday, November 30th- Cheney Church of the Nazarene

Sunday, December 7th- Addy New Life Christian Center

We'd love to see you if you're able to make it!

The next two Sundays....

We'll be at Cheney Church this Sunday (Nov. 2)
and New Community in Spokane the next Sunday (Nov. 9)

We look forward to those we will see there!!