Eight is Great!

     Our Ike is eight!  We had a wonderful day of celebrating him and his special day.  Ike is such a fun balance of little boy and yet growing up, too.  He's such a kind boy who loves to laugh and make others laugh, too.  We are thankful to God for the gift of Ike.  Our family wouldn't be complete without him.  

On the morning of Ike's birthday, his teachers came early and we all had a special breakfast together.

The girls were so excited to give gifts to their brother!

Even the school day was special, as the kids got to make elephant ears in their U.S. History class!

We had a picnic dinner on the floor of the schoolroom.

     The next day was Saturday, and we got to have a birthday party with friends!  We rented the sports room at a local sauna.  Ike wanted a Lego theme, and our friend, Adriana, made an amazing Lego cake!!

     The sports room was a perfect place for a kids' party!  In addition to dry and steam saunas, there were three pools.  This was the biggest pool and easiest to swim in. 

The kids swam and swam and swam!

The pool had bubbles and a wavemaker.

The second pool was a freezing cold ice bath!!

The third pool is shallow and had a waterfall.  

So much fun!!

The sports room also had sports equipment!!

Ike was delighted with a huge flame shooting out of his cake!

It was an almost magical moment.

I love seeing everyone's expressions in this picture!

     Ike's good buddy, Bogdan, came home with us after the party.  We ate a snacky picnic dinner on the floor and watched a movie.  A perfect ending to a perfect day!  We love our Ike so much!!

A Milan

     In Buryat culture, your child's first birthday is a very big deal!  Traditionally, this is when a baby is considered a person, and everyone celebrates the life of this new little person.  We felt very honored when our neighbors invited us to their daughters first birthday party, which is called a milan.  They double-checked with us ahead of time, to make sure we would all be there, as it was at a restaurant and they were paying per-head.  Our friends and neighbors, Sasha and Yulia, were invited, too, and they, too, were pleased and honored that we were all included among the guests.

     I took these first pictures before most guests had arrived.  The party was scheduled to start at 3:00pm, but what we learned is that Buryat relatives tend to straggle in for the first hour and a half.  By 4:30, the program had begun, and every seat was filled.  They had two huge tables prepared for all of the kids.  Their appetziers included fruit, waffles, and carmel popcorn.  The first course was chicken nuggets and french fries and later came a bunch of pizzas!

     For our 40th birthdays, our friend, Lena, sewed us Buryat-style shirts as a present.  This was the perfect occasion to wear them! 

     As you can see, many people came to the party, and almost everyone was Buryat!  People took turns getting up to share well-wishes with the family.  Many of these words and songs were in the Buryat language.  Leif shared a blessing with the family, and I sang Numbers 6:24.  There were several courses of fancy foods, all very delicious.  Before they served the first course, they passed out mugs of mutton bone broth for everyone to drink.  This is a tradition at special occasions.  Mutton and buzzi (meat dumplings) are also always standard fare, with many salads, fruits, and appetizers such as stuffed eggplant, as well as fish and potatoes, beef and rice, and many other foods!! 

They had special games and competitions for the kids, too!

Here, they were running around, gathering items for a boys-against-girls scavenger hunt.  

There was even a special play room for the kids.

     Part of the tradition is that the baby has her hair cut on her first birthday.  This man had to be made "clean" by someone waving an incense stick in a circle over him.  Then he cut a couple of locks of her hair (later, at home, they will shave her whole head, for new growth.  It will also then grow back evenly  and thick).  They wrapped the hair in a Buryat scarf called a hadok.  They told the family to hang this hadok wherever the idol of there house is located, and if they don't have one, to hang it very high in the house.

     One cool story is that I had a migrane the day of the party.  I didn't know how I could go, but I knew it was important that we went.  I asked a few people to pray for me, and my headache rapidly got better!  It was a huge encouragement to me, and a reminder that God answers prayer, the battle we live in, and His presence. 

A Trip to Celebrate Grandma Dorothy

     It's always amazing how God can bring such joy, even in the midst of sad times.  These past two weeks have been just that- both sad and joyful.  We've known that my Grandma's life was nearing it's end for several months now and have been praying for God's perfect timing of her transition out of this world and into the next.  Although we never wanted the day to come, it is amazing at the perfect timing of it all (a definite answer to prayer) and that Ella and I were able to make a trip back to the States to celebrate Grandma Dorothy's life and to be with family!  

We traveled through China.  It was special to have this mother/daughter time together.

The day of Grandma's service was beautiful- sunny with fresh snow.  

     Grandma was always a planner.  She had planned much of her service already.  She would have loved the view on that day.  And she would have loved the pretty Christmas decorations everywhere.  She loved Christmas.

     It warmed my heart to see how many people braved the snowy roads to come and honor my Grandma.  This picture was taken after a few people had already left.  The family gathered around up front to say final goodbyes.  The service was very precious.  My cousin Brenda's husband, Dave, officiated and did a wonderful job of sharing what life is all about and the hope we have in heaven when we believe in Jesus! Grandma invested her time, money, and energy in the things that are eternal.  Thinking of this brought such joy and truly made it a celebration!  My cousin Daryl read the eulogy (that  my Grandpa had written years before, thinking Grandma would probably pass away before he did).  Daryl also shared touching memories he had of Grandma and read letters from the rest of us grandkids.  It was perfect.

Of course, it was extra special for Ella and I to get time with family!

Ella with cousin Nora

     My mom had Ella try on this dress that I wore when I was the same age.  Ella is taller than I was at 9!  It was a bit too short on her.  =)

We got a lot of special time with my parents.  My Dad took us to an art show downtown.

Ella got to pick out a piece of pottery to take home.

     Our family usually has a special advent activity each day.  For two weeks, we celebrated advent across the world from each other.  We read from the same advent book, however, which was a special way to stay connected across the miles.

Looking at Christmas lights in Medical Lake one evening.

Much to my Dad's joy, Ella had several opportunities to plow snow!

He took her on a special Grampa-Granddaughter date to the Nutcracker.

One of the benefits of being an only child is that Ella got to pick out the Christmas tree!

Reading Together

Hamburgers!

A visit to the Davenport Hotel to look at the trees!

     It was nice for Ella and I to experience warmer weather and to go on walks with just light coats!

My mom helped Ella with her schoolwork.

And Ella helped my mom by sorting through "Grandma Great's" old jewelry.

     Ella learned how to do self-checkout at the store!  We were able to get some items for our family for Christmas (and some things we can't buy in Siberia) to put in our bags for the trip back.

It was really a gift to have this time together.

     I'm so blessed to have had Grandma Dorothy as such an important part of my life.  I will always be inspired by her sincere faith.

And I will always remember, with a smile in my heart, her quick-wit and sense of humor.

 1Thessalonians 4:13-18

     And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died  so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.  We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.  Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.  So encourage each other with these words.

Edited Note: Months later, we saw even more clearly what a gift the timing of Grandma's homegoing was!  Just a few weeks later, and China would have been closed because of COVID-19.  And any later than that and the whole world shut down!