Coffee break

4th /birthdays

2009-07-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

Andrew's homemade grill

I saved a few fireworks from the new year, to celebrate the fourth of July, the kids absolutely had a blast. Eugene got more pictures which I will try to get from him later.

The birthday girls, Veronica and Nastya

a singing birthday candle it serenaded us while we had cake, and then it wouldn't stop singing even after all the wax was burned. Then Eugene threw it on the ground and stomped on it, though injured the thing was still singing!

In Back Eugene and Ira, front: Veronica Alina and Lera.

Sorry. . .

2009-07-02T04:19:00.000-07:00

It gets bad, when you have to start every post with, "Sorry, I haven't posted in awhile". . . Things have been a teensy bit hectic around here. I am staying afloat, but barely. I don't know how all you people can have umpteen bazillion kids, and have time to do this, and have everything illustrated with photos!!!!

Benjamin has to work through the summer, so I am busy with him doing that. I forgot what it is like to live for the weekend. Although if it wasn't that, he would be bored, and then I would have to find other things for him to do. I am trying to teach him a little Russian. He has learned how to count to twenty and he knows his colors now. I am trying to figure out what the next step should be, We brought back a childrens picture dictionary, which he kind of enjoys pointing out the words I say, but he really needs to learn some sentence structure and grammer as he is learning vocabulary. I have made up a few little obstacle coarses for him. The process will probably be a very slow one, he was excited to learn, but I think it is starting to get a little old. I try to remember to speak Russian when I know how to say it. That is the other challenge, I am afraid I am teaching him incorrect grammer. Russian is next to Chinese for the most difficult langauge in the world, reason being, because of the grammer. Which if you read my blog at all probably know, that that isn't one of my strong points! My russian friends have been very supportive and are careful to speak with him in Russian. Adele just repeats everything, so as I teach Benjamin she will pick it up. Today I told her to take the 'maclo' (butter) to the table, and she goes "nope butter!" I am thankful, Julian is such a laid back baby. He will usually just kind of 'hang out' till he is hungry. We will see how long that lasts, but while I am so busy with the other two, I am very grateful for his laid back disposition.

So that is what is going on in the Green household for now. I will try hard to post more frequently. I enjoy reading everybody elses blogs, even though I don't comment all that much, I actually visit them quite often.

back home

2009-06-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

Avery Patrick's daughter

Tea and Benjamin

Adele' holding Zane

Grandpa Ted, my mom's dad, mom Julian and I

Benjamin in the emergency room with his broken arm

I think it is hilarious (and very nifty) that they make kids drinks in these little cups, so the kids don't have any idea they aren't having the exact same thing you are.

It was this. . . no, THIS big!

Adele wanted broken arms too.

Benjamin's 'blue belly' lizard

setting up camp with dad, we camped out a few times while we were traveling, for one, it is cheaper, for two the kids thought it was a blast.

Adele' setting up the sleeping bags. They got to be quite the experts, after setting up and tearing down a few times.

Julian after the cheese

We kind of mozeed up the coast while we were visiting some western churches taking the kids to see the ocean. And we saw a couple of light houses, amongst our travels. We were there during a kind of stormy time of year, which really made it scenic, the waves were huge!

This is called and octopus tree. Benjamin and Andrew took a potty break and this was outside the rest area, I never got to see it, because I stayed behind with the other two.

it is impossible to get a normal picture of a five year old

Julian had thrush, but I didn't want to get to the doctor, just to get a prescription, while we didn't have insurance, so we went with a natural rememdy called gentian voilet so Julian had purple lips for a few days

Back in Minnesota just before we left. Adele and Avery loved to sit on their little chairs on Patrick and Corinne's porch

The science museum is free of third Sunday, of the month so we took the kids. They had a blast! They run water through all these pipes and you put ping pong balls in it, and turning the valves you have to make the water go certain directions to get it to carry your ping pong ball where you want. Or this thing was for the little kids, in other places they had bubbles in the water. Who knew water could be so much fun?

Tea' 'working' in a factory. Its to bad they don't have these kids actually doing something, 30 kids running all over the place, could be powering a city!

Talking on the phone

Sorry I haven't had a chance to blog since I got back. We are doing great, just getting back into the groove here.

We had a great time traveling in the States. Although it is good to be home. Benjamin is back to his studies, which he is just thrilled about. He has to work through the summer, as we weren't able to do much while we were traveling in the States. Adele is being your average, aggravating little sister. And Julian is growing so fast! He has just this week started to hold toys in his hands. His favorite toys, of course, are his feet. He sits on a chair and his feet 'float' around in the air while he tries to catch them and eat them.

The rest

2009-02-18T18:26:00.001-08:00

Finally, I got a second to finish the post. Julian came Friday morning at 6:38 I went into labor at 4:00 I could have been in labor in my sleep, but the first I knew was at 4. I threw up and which woke up Andrew. We figured I was coming down with the flue that the kids had. But I wasn't sure if I was also feeling contractions. I told Andrew to start timing, but he kind of doubted I could be in labor yet. My due date wasn't till March 12. I hoped I might have the baby earlier though I didn't really expect to be so lucky. Julian is 7lbs 9 oz. Benjamin was the bigger of the other two and he was only 6lbs 9 oz so I guess Julian was on time, we just had the date wrong. I don't think I would have wanted to carry a bigger baby. I know people have huge babies, but wouldn't want to be one of them.

Julian Reese (post to be finished later)

2009-02-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

all packed?

2009-01-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

Not really, and not really ready to go, whoever is? I'll be seeing you on your side of the ocean. I'll try to keep this updated, but I'm not promising anything.

Christmas program

2009-01-09T05:13:00.000-08:00

Its a little dark sorry. I started the song at the end of the third verse, but other then that the kids did pretty good.

Meet the cast

2009-01-09T04:30:00.000-08:00

Eugene our photographer, with 'Mary'

My gingerbread house, It didn't really have anything to do with the play necessarily, but I have wanted to make one for a long time. It was really fun and the kids had a blast decorating it.

Mary and Joseph, the stars of the show. In my own very humble opinion

Our Angels Veronica and Alina

A sheperd, apparently caught up in the glamour of the moment

Joseph and the other sheperd, who apparently got confused, and thought he was supposed to part the red sea

mostly good

2009-01-04T05:27:00.000-08:00

Things around here have been just a teensy bit hectic. The holiday season isn't over yet, Ukranians operate on a different calendar, there is the Gregorian and. . . Anyway, one of them celebrates, Christmas on the 7th of January. In a way, it is kind of nice, we can have our own christmas on the 25th and then we have the "church christmas" on the 7th. It kind of spreads the stress out a little. The kids have been working on a little christmas skit, so I have been busy with that. Andrew is to tired to lift a finger. He just returned from a hunt for a preacher to replace us while we are gone, He sort of found an solution, maybe. (Visit the church blog listed on the right, although, you should probably wait till tomorrow, I doubt he will be posting tonight) Then he managed to get a short nap, and we went out to visit some friends, Then this morning after church we had a baptism(wee!!!) Praise God! This young lady has some very serious health problems and there is a chance she won't be alive when we come back. Visit the church blog for details on that also. So Andrew has been exausted. The stress isn't going to slow down yet though. We are leaving in a week and a half. So we still have some things to wrap up here. Pray for the congregation here and for our youngest addition, her name is Lena.

Then Andrew needs to be putting his tour together. He has not had a chance to look at it to much, I will be staying in Vermont the majority of the time, with my mom and dad, and the two kids, anticipating the birth of our child. Its a little uncomfortable, to travel for 3 weeks, 8 and 9 months pregnant) and it is hard on the kids so Andrew is touring alone mostly. Which isn't easy on anyone. He will return for the birth and then go tour again. After the baby is born I will fly out to the west coast and tour with him for a couple of weeks there. So its a little crazy. Mostly good going on around here, but we won't be upset when things settle down.

merry christmas

2008-12-31T08:12:00.001-08:00

Ben a little busy recently, Christmas season is a little longer for us. We have our christmas on the 25th then Ukranians celebrate christmas on the seventh and then when we come back to the states we will be celebrating with our family. The kids are overjoyed.

one false move! We have been trying to train the cat, the kids are more then happy to help out. They are very strict.
Benjamin has a the cardboard from the inside of a roll of toilet paper. Many of you have probably heard the story about Andrew when he did something simular, you would have to hear the story to appreciate the photo
Family tradition, that Benjamin is kind of starting to get into a little. He found quite a few of the pieces himself.
That is gorgous! I can brag on myself without feeling bad at all. Pie is NOT my thing.
The kids painted picture frames and decorated their own photo for a gift for Daddy.
This is a 'spaceship', it doesn't look like one to me either, more like one of those old aluminum trailers. It is huge though, it is the size of a two man tent. It is just to bad our living room isn't a little bigger.
Andrew thinks my 'smoking wise men' are hilarious. They are actually insence burners, and they each have what looks like a bong, that goes in their mouth for a pipe. I don't know, can you smoke frankensince? I don't care, they were free!

Thats it

2008-12-31T08:06:00.000-08:00

apparently this is our only picture from Christmas! I was pretty busy cooking I guess. The town is pretty when it is covered in snow. This is a picture of the outside of our apartment building pretty much identical to every other apartment building.

seeing double

2008-12-22T06:59:00.000-08:00

This is our cat
But who's cat is this? Maybe a brother? Yesterday I opened the door and he marched right in like he owned the place. We put him back outside and he waited outside our door for two days for us to let him back in. I finally felt sorry for him and decided, I could take him and buy him some fish or something. Well we didn't get very far, and he decided he was uncomfortable with me holding him. So he ran away. It was just a few hundred feet from our door though. So he might come back. If he does I don't know what to do. The poor thing, is skinny, and has fleas. He is so pretty, but we can't have two cats, one causes enough mischief.

Mocha

2008-12-17T01:29:00.000-08:00

Mocha had to have an opperation yesterday. She had what the vet called a tumor on her tail. Although a tumor in Russian can be a zit. It was just a ball about the size of a ping pong ball that she had developed. She had fleas and the vet said probably she bit herself, and developed an infection. She also had fungus on her back. After two baths and buying the drops to put on her back we seem to have finally conquered them. Then we got her a flea collar just for good measure. The vet gave her a series of shots to get rid of the fungus on her back. So she seems to be back to normal. One Ukranian remedy we learned for fleas is motor oil! Has anybody else ever heard of putting used motor oil on fleas? It was a little late when we were told about it, but two people told us the same thing.

Momma said there'l be days like this

2008-12-15T05:33:00.001-08:00

Adele' had gone potty in her pants, again, and I was in the middle of cleaning up a broken bottle that had broken in a grocery bag and got sauce all over the groceries. Adele' was fussy, probably because she was tired and hungry, and I barked at her. Andrew heard me, and he was in the middle of giving me a 'look' when Benjamin spouted off the memory verse he has been learning in Sunday school

'but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self control, against such things there is no law. Gal 5:22-23

Nothing like having your five year old correct your attitude! The little booger, Andrew thought it was absolutly hilarious.

Just give it a good talking to

2008-12-13T04:15:00.000-08:00

I didn't expect beating the rug to be our family activity for the day. But the kids had a blast! I was hoping beating it would get a little cleaner then vacuuming, It probably was but after we got it down, and dragged it through the dirt, it probably was a little worse then when we started!

Giving it all she's got! The thingy (beater, or whatever you would call that) was almost to big for Adele' to swing! She almost knocked herself down a couple of times. The weather was beautiful that day, we were a little warm in our sweatshirts! We enjoyed it while it lasted believe me. It has already cooled down considerably. No snow, but our turn will come!

Ain't we sweet

2008-12-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Ya, my life is mostly wrapped around my kids, but they are so fun! They have their moments true, but then they have these kind of moments, that make everything worthwhile.

The saga continues

2008-12-08T01:02:00.000-08:00

Benjamin has become quite concerned about his appearance recently. I am sure you can guess why. You wouldn't know it but it took him a half hour to accomplish this extremly stylish hairstyle, and he has asked for a years supply of hair gel for christmas.

In love

2008-12-07T06:32:00.000-08:00

Benjamin has apparently found the love of his life. He drew her a very romantic picture of Alien heads and nightmare teeth, enclosed in an envelope with hearts and smiley faces. He definately has a way with the ladies!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T05:31:00.000-08:00

Costya and Sasha, Andrew had been studying with Costya (the guy) He was booted from the Jehovah witness church for dating Sasha. So we have been trying to fire up a Bible Study with them again.

Eugene

We had a great time. I think the food tasted better, because we made it ourselves. Adrian also came over, but he was actually the photographer, which is why he isn't in any of the pictures

confused

2008-11-29T05:30:00.001-08:00

It's not a girl that we named Esther, If anybody else got confused.

It's a boy!

2008-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is what we call a baby bump Esther!

This is all a geuss as to just exactly what this is a picture of, I mean we are pretty sure it is a baby, (not a bicycle Carrie!)I guess Ultra sound equipment is probably a little older here, then it is in the States. Or maybe it is just me.
We didn't really want to know if it is a boy or a girl but I guess I was asking to many questions, the doctor was feeling especially ornery that day too. I haven't actually been seen by a doctor, we just managed to get the ultrasound and blood work done. The Obgyn (different doctor from the one that did the ultra sound) is way over worked. The government as I understand has started to offer people money to encourage them to have more kids. They get a certain amount for the first and then a little more for the second and more for the third. It must be working because I went to the hospital twice and called the doctor 4 times before she could find time to write on a peice of paper, what I needed, and send me off to get the blood work and the ultrasound done. Even when I was there, I waited for about a half hour and there were about 5 women waiting and I could tell at least one of them was in labor. She doesn't sound like she is going to try to see me either, She just asked that I come back at 28 weeks to get a shot. (I am rh negative) and I am lucky to get that. I don't think she could possibly be the only doctor in town, the only reasoning I have been given is just that she is a good doctor.

At long last

2008-11-07T22:45:00.001-08:00

Well, it has been a little while since I posted last. I am sure most of you have heard about Stuart. A lot has changed here in Nikopol since Thursday afternoon. Stuart should be going in for surgery today, we will keep everyone posted. Fortunately they were able to take him to Dnepropetrovsk to do the operation where medical care is much better. ( this is what socialized medicine looks like by the way, it isn't pretty) The more we hear, the more things are looking up. It sounds like he is stable and able to respond. Justin and Kyle have come, which was good. The family needed them.

Benjamin has picked up little bits of what has happened. Yesterday he questioned Andrew, as to just how sick Stuart is. It is amazing to watch his little mind wrap itself around such a big concept. He kind of teared up (which he fearsly denied) when the reality hit him that Stuart wouldn't be able to pick him up anymore.

Fall fun!

2008-10-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

We had a great time playing in the leaves until we saw people throwing trash in them. Too bad, we will have to get a rake and rake up our own pile of leaves for the kids to jump into.

Enough to be dangerous

2008-10-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

I know just enough about computers to be dangerous. I saw a link on some of the blogs I visit, called "thecutestblog" as you can see, I decided to try to change my background and am not being very successful. Andrew is going to have to come home and save the day. In the meantime, bear with me. = )

Baby shower

2008-10-16T04:43:00.000-07:00

We threw a baby shower for Ann. A young lady in our church that just had a baby. This is actually her third, but it was her first boy. So we decided to show everybody a little American tradition. Everybody had a great time. We played two games. It was a challenge to think of games that they could play, anything with rhymes was out. I don't know enough Ukrainian rhymes and they don't know Americans rhymes of course. A lot of people that came don't know the Bible well enough to do anything on a biblical theme. And we couldn't get materials for lots of other games. For instance cotton balls, cotton comes in a wad here. I thought about using popcorn, but we would have needed a table which was covered with food. So we were limited but, I managed to come up with two games. The first one (I am sure many of you have played) where everyone pins a mini diaper on their shirt and at the end of the evening, we all open our diapers and someone gets a little "surprise". And the second, was where, you put your hand in a bag, and everyone has to try to guess what was in it without looking. You are supposed to have more objects then I had, but it was difficult to come up with things that they would be familiar with. For instance they don't use safety pins for cloth diapers, they kind of have a certain way of folding it, so safety pins aren't necessary. Or fingernail clippers, some cultures don't clip babies fingernails for superstitious reasons. So it was a challenge but it was very fun.

I wish I could take credit for this cake. But Valerie did it. She did a very nice job.

Ann's mother, and the honored guest, Anton. Ann has had some issues with her mother, because of their differences in belief. So we were excited when she decided to come, especially Ann. I just forgot to get a picture of Ann herself (oops)

Being goofy, wearing Benjamin's hats. Valerie didn't want to be in this picture, but she was a good sport. She happened to be sitting next to the other two girls and got roped in.

This is Lena. I am teaching her English and she is teaching me Russian. Which is going very well. She seems to actually speak English better then I speak Russian, but she is shy about speaking. So we can communicate very well. She is very fun.
Our winners of the second game "Whats in the bag" We had 4 people that were able to get all the items in the bag. We only had nine things, because it was so hard to come up with stuff. Everybody had fun anyway, and they were all happy with there prizes. So all in all it went well, and was very fun to put on, with the extra challenges.

oops

2008-10-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

Andrew took the cat in to get him neutered this morning. I was so glad to finally get him neutered he has been spraying in the bathroom and, making it very stinky and he seemed to be getting very aggresive. I was hoping a little operation would change some of that. He can get down from the balcony (we aren't sure how, we still haven't seen him do it) and I was afraid he was going to become an alley cat, and wander the streets and just come home to eat. Andrew took him to the vet this morning. As he left he told him(the cat) this was his last day to be a man.

Well they gave him the shot to put him out, and went to begin the operation, and discovered 'he' was a 'she'. The vet sure got a laugh out of that one, he didn't announce it quietly either. When Andrew called to tell me, I could hear the chorus of laughter in the background. It was my mistake and Andrew had to stand there and look like a doofus. They had already given her the shot, which Andrew was going to have to pay for anyway. So they decided to do the other kind of operation. Which unfortunately was a little more expensive.

The kids want so bad to make him I mean her feel better. Adele' tried to give her (or maybe it) her doll then she wanted to try to feed it/her and give her a blankey. They just can't seem to comprehend the poor thing just wants to be left alone.

Good morning!

2008-09-30T06:59:00.000-07:00

There's a face to greet you in the morning!We took Carol to the market,(like several weeks ago now I know! I have been lazy) so I downloaded her pictures and finally managed to post them. We never bring our camera to the market so we never get pictures like this.

We mostly figure that the meat market is probably a part of culture here that is most different from any thing in the States. Other then this, there isn't to much that is really interesting in the market. I have never been to a farmers market in the states, but I would imagine it isn't much different. We buy our meat from the grocery store on styrofoam trays wrapped in cellophane. There might not be any difference, it could be cut from the same cow. But I feel a little more comfortable.

Kiev

2008-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

If Peter Williams built a castle

This isn't all that great of a picture my photoshop couldn't really fix it either. But it is interesting. This is an escalator to the underground metro, I am told it is one of the deepest in the world. Some of the escalators or a ten minute ride.

After we dropped off Carol at the airport we kind of wandered around the city and discovered we happened to be there the day they were setting up for races. Unfortunately the races were the next day.But we got to see the race cars, which Benjamin was pretty excited about.

This is a mural at the entrance of one of the many orthodox churches in Kiev. As I took this picture I wondered how many snap shots I happened to be in that people have taken all over the world. You can never know.

Inside the gate

this is a building off to the side, where they had souveniers and bathrooms, and stuff. I thought the window was pretty

From what we could gather from the inscription written in old Ukranian we guessed this is a part of the original foundation of the church. The date on it was around 1090 which was shortly after the Greek orthodox church first evangelized Russia. When the Greek orthodox church got to Russia before the Catholic church, which caused money from Russia to go to the Greek orthodox church, which made the Catholics mad and so they excomunicated the Greeks. Because they can decide who is going to heaven and who is not. The church buildings are beautiful, but peoples hearts are so empty. It is sad, But people don't turn very easily from something that is so deep in their culture. All we can do is offer the truth and let God work in peoples hearts.

This church is 900 years old. It also dates back to about the same time as the previous picture.

visit from Grandma

2008-09-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with my blog while we had company. For one I have been terrible about taking very many pictures, much less downloading them and posting them. Andrew's toe is much better, He was already on his feet the day he got home, It was still pretty swollen but he could hobble around on it.
Carol seemed to enjoy her time here. She was glad to finally get to meet the christians she had heard about and been praying for, for so long.
And Adele and Benjamin enjoyed their visit with their Grandma too.

Hide and seek

This is Adele's birthday party. I got her two big toys rather then a lot of little ones. The stroller you can see was a hit with her, and you can see Benjamin playing on her giant ball in the back ground. They both enjoy it, but the ball was definately a hit with Benjamin.

Then on her last day here, they made brownies together. Carol had brought some bakers chocolate from the States, so they were extra special.

travels and toes

2008-09-02T06:11:00.000-07:00

Benjamin and Andrew just left for Kiev to pick up Carol from the airport. They will take the overnight train tonight and and be there in the morning. Carol's plane should be arriving in the afternoon sometime, and then they will be back on their way down here. It is a very long trip to travel overseas, not so much because of the flight time, but because once you got to Kiev you've got to wait for the evening train. And your body is trying to tell you, you are supposed to be in bed. Carol is pretty nervous. She hasn't flown to often in the States much less overseas, especially by herself. We excited to have her, and a little touched that she was willing to brave the treacherous airports and hairy flight changes, and venomous security checks just to come see us.

Benjamin was pretty excited to go, Just dad and him. He has been planning to help Carol with the luggage, for a week now, since that would be the manly thing to do. Then when it came time to go, he started to get a little homesick. This is the first night he has ever spent away from me. I must admit I already miss him too.

Andrew thinks he may have broken his toe just before he left. It wasn't swelling or anything, But he said it hurt pretty bad. He hurt it about twenty minutes before he left and it hadn't changed color or anything. He said he would be fine, but he took along the Arnica gel and some ice. If you don't know what Arnica gel is, it is really neat gel that helps any kind of internal injury to heal, its pretty neat stuff, the only homeopathic medicine Andrew believes in. Tonight he will be on the train so he shouldn't need to walk much, but tomorrow in Kiev he is going to have to be on his feet most of the day. I don't know what you are supposed to do about broken toes. You can put a cast on a foot but not a toe. If he is hurting bad enough he might be able to find a doctor up there.

So they are off to a little rocky start, hopefully things will smooth out soon

school

2008-08-27T06:07:00.001-07:00

We started school with Benjamin almost a week ago on the 21st of August. Mommy and Daddy were a little antsy to get started but so was Benjamin. We had intended to have Carol (Andrew's mother) bring curriculum when she comes to visit in September but decided it was to expensive. We can watch for it on ebay and get it for half or less of the full price. Kindergarten is simple enough I think we can probably figure it out anyway. Benjamin really enjoys sitting down with daddy and doing his words . I am glad because Andrew is much more patient then I am. Andrew is making up work sheets on the computer with words that have the same letters as in sat or bat, just the first letter changes and Benjamin has to sound out what the first word is going to be. Then after letters, we work on his numbers, Mommy can sometimes take over from this point if Andrew has somewhere he needs to go. Benjamin is learning to count to 100 before we start any addition or subtraction. Then we learn about animals or bugs from the science websites like National Geographic. I am so thankful for the internet, it is so nice to have so much information at your fingertips. So Benjamin is really excited to learn, as you can see Adele' also has to be part of the action. The excitement I am sure will wear off soon but for now we are all having fun.

Saying verses at bedtime, Adele' likes to take the piece of paper with a verse written on it and "say" them too.

Youth group

2008-08-23T05:11:00.000-07:00

We don't usually go to youth group, but we have some neighbors that we invited so we went to accompany them, and really had a good time. I was very surprised at how much it has grown. There were 21 people there that night, 8 christians, including Andrew and I. So it is quite an outreach. Our neighbors that we invited are pretty excited about it. (Their parents are too, so we are going to see if they are interested in a bible study)

I don't have a picture but there were 42 people at the concert that we had on Wednesday, 22 of them guests, and of those that aren't geusts there are a few that regularily come to church but have not yet become christians. So that was pretty exciting. It is so neat to see people excited about the church. A lot of the geusts we had were invited by church members. I just hope we will get some permenant growth from all of it.

Benjamin is growing up

2008-08-18T04:05:00.000-07:00

Benjamin would sit down with Adele' and "read" to her while she had to sit on the potty. She actually preferred him. And he was so good and patient with her. It is nice when your kids can actually do things like that for you. And he was so happy to do it, cuz he knew he was making mommy happy.

Andrew went to the grocery store last night and told Benjamin he had to pick up his toys and we would do something together when he got back. Well, that sure was a good motivation for Benjamin, he not only picked up his toys but he organized them! And let me tell you they each have their proper place. I returned a toy to the wrong place last night and he saw it and put it right where it belonged. I should take a picture of Andrew's tools some time the comparison would be very interesting. Andrew is not a neat nick, but when he organizes, he really organizes.

nothing to report

2008-08-15T04:27:00.000-07:00

Not much has been going on around here at all. (the reason for my lack of blogging recently) I just haven't had much to report. The guys have been working on the ceiling of the church building all week. I am going tonight so I will take pictures of the progress.

Adele' has really taken well to potty training. A week and a half ago I just couldn't see when she would ever learn. But we started rewarding and since, she has done very well. To me it seems more difficult to potty train in the winter when kids need to be bundled up, and then when they have an accident you have a lot of laundry. So I wanted to try to get her trained in the summer. But I was really afraid I might have been jumping the gun. She hadn't been waking up dry at night or anything, but she is 23 monthes so I decided I had better bite the bullet and go for it. I am glad I did. She started waking up dry after we started potty training. Last night she even went while we were watching a movie! We aren't getting through church without accidents yet though, so everybody has been warned. It has been interesting to learn about Russian culture in this area. They don't have money to buy daipers, and cloth is a lot of work if you don't have a washing machine. So they actually rarely put daipers on their kids. A friend told me that her two girls were trained by the time they were a year old. I know some people in the States have tried to potty train their kids straight from new borns, but they still put daipers on them. I am wondering if maybe we untrain our kids by putting daipers on them, and make a lot more work for ourselves. Russian people just let their kids go on the floor and wipe it up. I am intrigued but not sure If I am brave enough to try it with our next one. Daipers here are actually much more expensive then they are in the States. And we don't have all these nifty coupons for CVS and Walgreens, you people make me so jealous.

In other news Andrew is now closer to 40 then 30. He had his 36th birthday Teusday night. We had a nice little party. Which he enjoyed. He doesn't like to make a big deal. So we had a good time. I successfully made a black berry pie. Pie crust is not my thing. Someone (I don't remember who) told me butter is the secret. And it sure did the trick. Only I baked the shell before filling it with fruit and then discovered I couldn't pinch the crusts together, as one was baked and one was not. Oh well, he enjoyed it.

out for a swim

2008-08-07T04:38:00.000-07:00

Baby baths here are much bigger, It is one thing I like better here, then in the States. This baby bath fits both the kids in it. It is a lot smaller then our "other" bathtub, but playing in water in swimming trunks outside is way more fun.

Big blue eyes!
After I got her out and dried up and dry clothes on, I had to go do something, and so she thought she might go take another swim! I didn't get a picture of her though.

We haven't really been doing very much that would be newsworthy. Unless potty training is newsworthy. I have been trailing my two year old for two weeks and haven't had much success. Yesterday, we decided to start rewarding her. Which she connected very quickly. Yesterday I decided we would try going to church without a daiper. She did fine through the service, which I was happy about as she spends most of it sitting on my lap. We warned everybody so she wouldn't go on anybody. But while she was playing outside she had an accident. I was talking with someone inside, and she came in with a big grin and a little spot on her shorts, so I was optimistic. I rushed her to the bathroom, and her clothes were all wet. She still thought she was supposed to get a peice of candy for going potty. Oh well, someday.

nothing much

2008-08-04T22:27:00.001-07:00

Concert

2008-07-30T05:19:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying some visitors from the church in Minsk. Two of them are part of the band that Zach and Adrian and Kaylona are a part of. So when they are together they like to do a concert.
After church we had a little lunch. Valerie and I had kind of thrown a few things together, and a couple other ladies brought a few things. So we had a nice little lunch, we were happy because we didn't have to do much work.
You can see the lady serving water in the back behind the cups.
These guys are going to be famous someday. The guy in the middle, Anton, is their lead singer from Minsk and you can barely see the head of their base player, Sasha, behind Kaylona.
We had a about ten visitors. a group of boys that hasn't come to church previously. We met Them when we did English lessons in April and three girls that have only been coming for youth group on Saturday. Then there was a few kids, and a neighbor boy sitting on the fence watching from behind the band, I don't think you can see him in the picture. Anyway we had a good time. Most of our visitors from Minsk are in the Crimea for this week and then will be heading back up to Minsk.

The rest

2008-07-25T05:38:00.001-07:00

I don't know how to post more then five pictures in one post, so I will just finish with a second post.

The only glitch in our trip is that we didn't manage to accomplish what we had gone there to do. The embassy was not willing to change my visitors visa to a religous visa. She said the reason was that I already have a valid visa. The same lady did the same thing for Andrew just a few weeks ago. When Andrew showed her his passport, she said it was just a mistake she had made, but was still not willing to do it for me. This means Andrew can't register me or the kids here in the Ukraine.

Back home!

2008-07-25T04:42:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed our time in Moldova but we are sure glad to be back home. I was surprised how different it is from the Ukraine. Outside of the capital it seemed very poor. In the city it was very westernized, but outside the city it reminded me of Fiddler on the roof. Every town had several wells, and horse drawn buggies and old old houses. In the city it was beautiful architecture, parks, and a very nice mall. Although we didn't do any shopping. It was set up really strange. It was like a maze with little long hallways in-between shops. Andrew said he felt like he was supposed to find the cheese. We enjoyed a good pizza place, and a Greek restaurant the next day, every restaurant had a play ground so the kids were happy. We stayed in a very comfortable hotel. The weather was nice, it was even a little chilly one day. And the whole trip was really cheap. Traveling on the train was hot though. We were glad to get home and take a shower.

Just a quaint old house
Probably a barn(?) I was just impressed with the thatched roof
A well. There was at least two or three in every village. They looked like they were probably used too. Some of them looked recently repaired. When we were crossing the border, they were doing some construction and the workers kept a bucket full of water that they all drank out of. I never thought about it. I always kind of figured Jesus had a cup when he asked the woman at the well for some water.
We also saw quite a few horse drawn buggies. It was hard to get good pictures because we weren't there for sight seeing.

More Green in the world!

2008-07-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

This next spring we will be expanding our family once again! This baby (we think) is due sometime in March. Which is about the time we will be in the States anyway. The more I know about Russian medicine the less I want to have a baby here. A baby was just born to some friends in Minsk. She had a 8 lb 5 ounce baby. It was her first so she was having a little trouble getting it out so the nurses, in an attempt to help, pushed on the woman's stomach, and caused the baby nerve damage in his shoulder.

Prenatal visits are about as much as I can put up with. Visits to the doctor when I was pregnant with Adele' were a culture shock everytime I went. There is no concept of privacy no attempt at preserving a woman's dignity. The bathroom doesn't have a door on it the door to the doctors observation (?) room (whatever you would call it) didn't close and it was open to another room where people were free to walk in and out as they pleased. And actually Russian people really don't care. Once a woman stood up in the waiting room and began to undress herself. They would kind of chuckle at me when I asked them to close the door, I can't imagine what having a baby would be like but I would really rather not try it.

5 years old!

2008-07-20T06:32:00.001-07:00

Big boy!
Benjamin is 5 years old! How time does fly! We had a little birthday party for him after church on Sunday. He got lots of trucks and robots and more trucks. I also made him a batman outfit. But he was to shy to try it on. We will have to post a picture later. Adele' is soon going to be two! It is hard to believe, they grow up fast!

Last lesson

2008-07-17T06:48:00.000-07:00

Watermelon eating contests
should be nap time
Really getting into it
(left to right) Benjamin, Masha, Dasha,(Dasha is visiting from Minsk) Maxim and Edik) We painted T-shirst the week before,(the ones that painted are modeling there artwork) but we had to skip a week because of the construction going on in the building. I had wanted to have classes outside, but it decided to rain that day, so we had to cancel, then the next week kids were already going different directions. So we didn't have as many kids. I think there is probably a good chance it isn't the last time we will see them anyway. Kaylona and Adrian and Zach are doing a concert soon, so I am sure some kids will be interested in that. Hopefully thier parents will come too. We talked with Edik's father (far right) He said he is coming on Sunday. So lets hope. He likes to play the drums, so he might also be interested in the concert. We had a lot of fun. And the kids retained the lessons very well, and they are all waiting for next year.

Finished!!!... mostly

2008-07-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

Pretty crowded!
shouldn't be now! The slab of wood you see in the middle of the floor is where the heat was. Where the tile is is where the old main hall was and where the wood is was the storage room. It will all eventually be tiled.
The ceiling has to be replaced but before we do, the roof is so bad we have to do the roof first, so leaking doesn't ruin the new ceiling. As you can see it is sadly in need of repair, yes that is the sun light shining through the planks! So we still have a lot of work to do, but we should be able to do it a little at a time now.

Benjamin and Veronica working on the wall.

2008-07-10T02:34:00.000-07:00

The kids got to be the first to tear a hole in the wall. It wasn't long before we decided we were going to be there all day. So they had a little help from behind the wall. I think Veronica's little sister took a wack at it a little later in the video too.

work at the church building

2008-07-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

Andrei and Jenya just getting started. We had to tear this wall out to expand the main room at the church building
We only had one wheel barrow so the guys passed bricks through the window and the ladies formed an assembly line outside to put them in the pile of rubble. While they carried loads out with the wheel barrow. Two wheel barrows would have gotten in each others way anyway. And we could get about as much accomplished in the same amount of time as the guys could.
Benjamin after we were finished for the day standing on the top of the pile of rubble wearing daddy's big work gloves. He would have liked to be in there lifting the heavy stuff with the big boys, but it was too dangerous
Wheelbarrow rides.
They decided while they were at it to tear down the ceiling. It was going to have to be done, anyway, so they figured while they were dirty they might as well tackle that too. I will post before and after when it is all finished.

one room finished

2008-07-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

This isn't really a great before picture because it doesn't show what it was before we started working on it at all. I geuss we decided we didn't want to remember how bad it was. A layer of concrete had fallen off the wall where we put up the sheet rock It took us awhile ( what am I saying? I didn't do anything) It took Andrew a while, and an awful lot of plaster to get it all smoothed out,

Here the wall to the right is the wall in the first picture. The blue is actually more of a sea blue green kind of color. It looks navy next to the navy in the blanket. Navy is what we were shooting for but we are very happy with what we ended up with. The walls are buttery yellow. It is very pleasent in the morning when the sun shines in the big window.

The only unpleasent thing is having the neighbors balcony right outside our bedroom window. I have a big curtain, but have not figured out how to hang it up yet. Curtain rods here, are oddly enough very expensive. And they are great big things that take up the whole wall. What I wouldn't give for a wal-mart. We had been stringing it up with a piece of twine, but the kids kept stepping on the curtain and pulling the nail out of the wall, or the cat would hang on it. Anyway it is really nice to have just one room done. The living room is also close to being done. I know we have probably broken all kinds of decorating rules because we have no idea what we are doing. But it suits us. Phooey on all those people who think they know what they are talking about. We are quite happy.

mud volleyball

2008-07-01T03:16:00.000-07:00

Apparently it got worse after I left

We got to use our new baptistry for the first time yesterday! You can see it in the background. We had to drain it into the yard which was the reason for the mud. Then Stuart figured the boys were already muddy, so he decided to water the lawn. So Benjamin played in the water. Everybody had a blast anyway. You can probably read about the baptism on the COC blog. If you don't read it in the newsletter first.

photography bug

2008-07-01T03:15:00.000-07:00

I have always thought this little house behind the church building is kind of picturesque. People here build a small temporary house to live in so they can build a bigger more permanent
house while living in the little one. Then they use the little one for storage, or sometimes they just use the kitchen in the little one, so they don't heat up their house in the summer when they are doing all their canning. I have wanted to take pictures of it for a little while. Thanks for the inspiration Casey!

2008-06-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

English lessons have taken off! Yesterday we had ten kids. This is a good size for me. I don't think I would want more. Unless we were running a full scale VBS. A lot of them are neighbors so they can come by themselves. Hopefully it will be easier to meet the parents. A lot of people in the neighborhood are getting to know us and so far we have a good reputation. Which is good because a lot of people are suspicious of anything but orthodox.

These little stinkers were cheating! I didn't notice until I saw the picture. They are peeking under the blindfold! Everybody had a blast anyway.

Tom's married!!!!

2008-06-21T06:32:00.001-07:00

Tom is also now living in Japan, I don't know which is more of a shock. His wife is a very sweet lady. Japanese of course, but she speaks good English. It is a little strange that I have a Japanese sister-in-law. In Japan when you file the documents you are married. So there was no ceremony. I don't know if they are going to do a ceremony or not. They are a pretty cute couple anyway. I know not everybody that reads this will know Tom but I don't have any news so I thought I would just post somebody elses.

English lessons

2008-06-12T06:32:00.000-07:00

Play dough
This is the second week these girls have come. I had planned two classes a week. However as you saw in the last post, the first class is a no-go. The older class, just these two girls have showed up both times we have had class. We had another girl last week, but as you can see she didn't make it this week. I am still hoping we can meet these girls families, and witness to them. We are having a blast though. They are so fun. And they are retaining the lessons really well. Kaylona hates when I take pictures of her, it is a good thing she doesn't have a blog. She won't see this or she would kill me.

English lessons

2008-06-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

Studying hard
This week no one came for English lessons. I came around the back of the church building and here they were taking a break. The photo opp was irresistable. Kaylona is the one in the middle, by the way. She is helping me translate. Benjamin is on the left and Adele on the right. They adore Kaylona.
I hung balloons on either end of the street, and had gone back to the church building to repair one of my signs and came back out and saw a couple of girls running off with my balloons. I asked politely where they had gotten them, and they told me from school I said how funny I just hung some balloons just like that at the end of the street. Well I invited them to English classes anyway, they were the right age for our Thursday session. Then I went back in and came back out and decided I had better go check on my balloons at the opposite end of the street, the direction the girls had been walking in. There they were making off with the rest of them. They were caught red-handed and were going to try to tell me a lie. But I kept interrupting scolding them in broken Russian. One had already ran away. The other one gave me back the balloons that she had, and helped me hang them back up. She asked me where I was from and upon discovering that I was American, was very interested in the lessons. I thought the whole thing was hilarious. I told her to come, I have 40 balloons waiting for her.

2008-05-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

When kids graduate from highschool it is Ukranian tradition to commemorate their childhood by dressing up like kids and walking up and down mainstream making as much noise as they can with whistles or just yelling or singing. These kids were standing less then a block away from our old apartment. When we saw this our first year, we were kind of wondering as you can well imagine what in the world was going on. Our new apartment is on a fairly main street but it isn't THE main street. So we are enjoying the quiet.

This kid, before I asked to take his picture was smoking a cigarette with a bonnet on his head and a bib around his neck. I thought that would have almost made a funnier picture.

much better

2008-05-31T07:02:00.000-07:00

Benjamin

2008-05-22T22:03:00.001-07:00

Benjamin got a nasty little burn on Tuesday it goes up in to his hairline a ways I am glad he didn't turn and get it on his chest or anything. When this picture was taken it was already 2 days old. It wasn't quite bad enough to go to the hospital. (Mostly because I hate Ukranian hospitals) But it is healing well. He turned off the burner on the stove and then thought he might try to poor the coffee. If we had taken him to the hospital they would have tied him up and treated it with iodine (which is not recommended anymore, but here they don't know that) and probably kept him for three or four days, and hospitals quite frankly are not the cleanest places to be. They keep them clean here, but the hospital is where everybody takes all their sicknesses. To me it just seems like it would be smarter to treat it and send the patient home. In the States they try to keep hospital stays to a minimum, here they like to keep you as long as they possibly can. Benjamin was sick with something last year, we weren't sure if it was sour milk or a pesticide that didn't get washed off of an apple. They treated it by running an IV, then they gave him some medication, and he was doing much better, whatever they did it worked. What I was complaining about was after that they wanted to keep in the hospital for another two weeks while they administered his medication. We convinced them we would give it to him at home, and they let us go. Actually he only needed his medication for two days after that. I met a young lady at the hospital who was walking with her little son in the garden who had been there for ,I can't remember how long, and had to stay for another however long, (I think it might have been a total of a month) because the kid didn't want to drink his water with the nasty medication in it. Anyway, I was thankful Benjamin didn't get burned badly enough to need to go. We had been cleaning it with Hydro Peroxide, but found out that, that is no longer recommended either. So just soap and water and putting Vitamin E and Bacitracin on it. He is already back to his old self. I just hope he doesn't get a scar from it.

New Kitty

2008-05-14T04:54:00.000-07:00

Benjamin and I found a little stray kitty today. We just didn't have the heart to leave him. Andrew took the camera that I know how to load photos with so I can't post a picture sorry, I tried. Andrew is in Moldova right now so he doesn't know about it. We will have to see what he says. = ) I don't know how to tell if it is a boy or a girl. He won't let me look at his belly long enough. If it is a girl, we shouldn't have trouble with it spraying, and if we don't let it outside we don't have to worry about babies. (as you can see I know all about cats.) He perches himself on my shoulder like a parrot. He hasn't stopped purring since we brought him home. It is really going to be tough if Andrew says we can't keep him. Haha. He keeps sneezing does anyone know what that might mean? Andrew told me that cats carry lots of diseases so that does make me a bit nervous. We picked up all kinds of stray cats in Taiwan and never had any trouble with them, but now I am an adult, so I worry about these things.
Andrew is in Moldova again. His last trip was a mess. They took $250 dollars at the border and purposely didn't stamp his passport so they could charge him for it when he crossed the border again. This time, they took a taxi and the driver had some connections so he took them through a check point that was much better. Stuart forgot some papers, and they didn't even charge him for that. $60 for the taxi is a little better then $250 for extortion. Plus the ride in the taxi was half the time. So they were pretty happy. They went to the Ukrainian embassy this morning, and they should be able to get their visas today and be back Friday. I wonder if I should tell him, or surprise him when he gets home. (heehee)
By the way we finally have one bird that visits our bird feeder. We named him Bingo. (curtesy of Benjamin) He is a pretty bird but I don't know what he is. He is yellow on the back and black on the head and Except for white patches around his eyes. The cat and him should have fun together. The cat and the dog just love each other.

Thankyou!

2008-05-10T05:10:00.001-07:00

Thank you for all your comments. I got lots of great ideas. The program should be fun. I tried to focus it on God having a plan for his people throughout the Old Test. (At least to Joseph since that is as far as we are going) Then at the end of our lessons we are planning on the kids doing a little program for their parents. They will each have a little line, summarizing each lesson, using a paint brush as a prop. Showing how God throughout the old testament was "painting" the church. Sort of, Andrew is going to explain it a little hopefully the idea gets across. We are hoping this will drum up some contacts, hopefully with the kids families and in time even the kids. I just have to try to figure out where I am going to get plain t-shirts that the kids can paint. No wal-mart here. I thought about just buying second-hand t-shirts from the market that are plain whatever colors we can get. They are only about 60 cents a piece if we do it that way. Anyway, I appreciated all your help.

Ukrainian birds don't understand bird feeders

2008-05-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

We put this up a few weeks ago and haven't had any visitors yet. If I put bread or sunflower seeds on the window sill birds come and eat it, but they won't touch the bird feeder. I had some bread sitting on top of it, and some sticking out of it so they would see it but it sat their for a week before I gave up. I bought a stick of bird food, (seeds and stuff stuck on a stick, here they call it a cracker) And hung it in the bird feeder so they could see it, but they wouldn't touch it. Then I moved it down and tied it to the bars that cover our window, down lower so they could eat off of it, while standing on the window sill, but they won't touch the cracker either. Adele' thought it looked interesting. She licked the bars trying to get a bite of it. I thought about hanging it in a tree. But it would be difficult to get it high enough so the kids could see it from our second floor window. Then keeping it full of food would be a chore too. Once one is brave enough to try it, maybe the rest will follow.

???????????

2008-04-27T05:58:00.000-07:00

You probably aren't supposed to ask questions on a blog, but I thought this would be the best place to ask.
I am putting together kids classes and need some ideas. It is difficult for me to come up with things that are fun, for children other then age four. I tend to think of things that would be fun for Benjamin to do but not fun for a 12 year old. I have two classes, from ages 8-10 and 11-12. I am teaching on the creation and Adam and Eve's sin and on Cain and Able and probably on down through Noah maybe even to Joseph. If anyone has ANY ideas please share them. They don't even necessarily have to correspond with the themes. I have a few ideas nothing relating to the lesson, I am just looking for something. I have tried to look for curriculum for these age groups, but it always seems like curriculum written for the age group, is written in language that is too difficult.
Games or crafts are both welcome.
I also wanted to ask anybody out there, mothers of these ages or teachers, if making figures from clay and painting them would be boring, or beads or making things with magnets. Boys and girls are different too. I can't really see 12 year old boys interested in making necklaces and bracelets with beads. Then again I could be wrong.
Thankyou

Spring!

2008-04-22T04:14:00.001-07:00

Well the internet has been pretty fussy so I am just going to write a note off line, and try and attach it. It only works if the planets are aligned and when it does somebody else usually needs it. So I thought I better try and do something here.

The weather has been beautiful here. Everything is blooming. The apricots are the first and then the cherries, the apricots have already bloomed and the cherries are in full bloom. Cherries are the first fruit we get so those should be coming out soon, then strawberries then rasberries, then everything. Which is exciting for us. Through the winter fresh produce is very expensive. Most Ukranian people don’t eat fresh fruits or vegetables until spring, when they can afford them. Bananas are about a dollar a pound. It hurts but we won’t do without. Ukranian people give their children cod liver oil for vitamins to get them through the winter. They do a lot of canning and so have that, but other then that they mostly eat their borsht. Which is about one carrot and maybe two potatoes and a beet and a handful of chicken in a 3 quart (approx) pan of water. Of course they also have breads and cheeses and sala (which is pork fat rolled in salt) So they are pretty happy to see the trees starting to bloom.

The other day I pulled a grape vine down that had covered our balcony and had climbed up to the fifth floor of the apartment building. It was too bad I don't know how to basket weave. Some of the vines were an inch in diameter some even bigger then that and would have made some big baskets to put toys in, or lap blankets or something. I probably would have tried to figure it out if I had room in my house. But I don't, so I tried not to dream.

I will attempt to post some pictures here. Usually Andrew is here to help me. We will see how this goes.Cherry trees I think (?) Apparently I must have been on someones property when I took these because, a lady that came out and yelled at me. I think she must have been speaking Ukranian because I didn't understand a word. Finally I just had to pick up the kids and go

English Lessons

2008-04-09T06:12:00.000-07:00

English lessons have been pretty slow this year, but who knows what God can do. So I am trying to post some pictures here of people that you could keep in your prayers.

Dasha ^

New brother in Christ, Andrei ^

Ulia ^

At long last

2008-03-31T03:46:00.000-07:00

The living room

Dining room
Benjamin's new bed
We have finally gotten reconnected with the outside! It is nice to get back in touch with people. We have gotten a lot done on our apartment although there is still a lot to do.

On our own

2008-02-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

They took off down the street without me, Fortunately I was quick and got behind them with the camera. It was too cute I had to take the opportunity.

mundane

2008-02-15T05:28:00.000-08:00

Not much going on today, well, nothing different anyway. Nothing interesting to tell you about. That picture of the bagels was annoying me.
Things are coming along at the apartment. It looks better with bare concrete walls then it did with that awful wallpaper that was up. Fabric softner works pretty well to get it off. I tried warm soapy water and fabric softner, and the fabric softner worked better. There was still quite a bit of scraping to do though, where there must have been more glue or something. In one of the bedrooms when we went to pull the wallpaper off, the wall tried to come with it. So we are going to have to do some sheetrocking or something. But life wouldn't be fun without a few surprises. The battery on the camera was low, so I couldn't take any pictures. I have a Russian lesson tonight so I have homework assignment I just can't wait to tackle so I will catch you all later.

Homemade bagels!

2008-02-11T22:16:00.001-08:00

If you only could have smelled them!

Our chef

The critic

Bagels is one thing we haven't learned to do without. It is a good thing they can be made pretty easily and cream cheese is available. They are a very special treat for us though! So, You are all invited over for a cup of coffee and a fresh homemade Bagel!

the kitchen

2008-02-07T07:06:00.001-08:00

here is our kitchen. this is the wall that we are supposed to fit a fridge and a table and chairs on.

Here are cabinets which will be removed promptly

spooky

2008-02-05T23:54:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of our new apartment! Fully furnished, how nice. Unfortunately everything has the smell of cigarettes and burn holes and you can never be quite sure if something is going to fall if you dare to sit on it. I think the bed frames (there are actually two beds) can be used with some repairs and new mattresses and the vanity is very nice, if we put the cabinet doors back on. Hopefully all the wallpaper is coming off too, it is all brown from cigarette smoke.

Our new living room

2008-02-05T23:21:00.001-08:00

The thing standing is a couch, it has already been dismembered and is laid to rest in peace. The landlord is planning to take all the furniture we don't want, however Russian people are terrible at keeping their word. There is a hutch along the wall on the left, and there is a door to the right of the window, leading to a balcony. The door to the left of the couch is potentially Adele's room. And you can't see it, but there is another bedroom to the left of the left chair. So we will have lots of room, for all of you to come and visit! Notice the wood floors, which I am very happy about. I didn't get pictures of the kitchen and the entryway and the bathroom, which are very spooky. Fortunately we can do anything with it we want, short of tearing out walls. And we have a long term guarantee, which is very hard to come by here so we can put money into it. (by money, I mean not more then $1000 should have it in very nice condition, because prices here are very reasonable.) But as you can see, we will be pretty busy, for the next month getting it ready to move in. I will try to get "after" pictures for you.

Just couldn't go on

2008-02-02T05:17:00.000-08:00

A long day of feeding the dog

back to life

2008-01-31T04:11:00.000-08:00

Well we have been back to everyday life for awhile now. Which isn't all that different from living in the States. We wake up and stumble out of our bedroom and kick a toy in the door way sending it crashing across the floor and and scare the dog to pieces, and wake the kids up. Or they wake us up. tapping me on the shoulder to let us know he(Benjamin) has to go potty. Or Adele wakes us up screaming, she probably started out crying but after we didn't hear her for twenty minutes she starts to get a little worried. Or else she manages to wake up Benjamin and he wakes us up. Children are a joy, just only after eight o'clock. They have a way of getting you up and moving in the morning. Chipper or not is up to you.

Then after breakfast we have chores, Benjamin makes his bed and it used to be his chore to feed the dog. But Adele has taken over. She walks from the dog bowl to the dog food with little fist fulls of food. Her fist can carry about 3 or 4 pieces of dog food so it takes her awhile but she stays at it diligently, for a good hour sometimes. And the dog eats every piece as she puts it in the bowl making it very hard to fill the bowl. But they just have a wonderful relationship. Sometimes she tries to use the scoop putting a fist full into it and dropping a few pieces, so she bends over to pick them up and drops the pieces that made it into the scoop. So she puts the pieces that she picked up back in the scoop and bends over to pick up the pieces that fell dropping those pieces so it goes for quite some time. She doesn't ever seem to get tired of it though. The other day I asked Benjamin to put some water in it. Adele ,I guess, thought it looked refreshing, so she dipped her pacifier in it and returned it to her mouth. I screamed horrified, and scared both the dog and Adele to pieces. Andrew and Benjamin both thought it was hilarious.

From there our day can take on different forms. Around 10:30 just like Abbi said to do, we sometimes have a snack. Today it was ice cream. That should take care of the kids blood sugar levels! We made sure it had nuts and bananas so it would be nutritious. Aren't you happy with us Abbi?

Today I have an English student coming over any moment. He is a twelve year old boy. We have been reading Benjamin's childrens bible but I think it is probably a little to young for him. It is a little bit of a challenge to come up with something for someone his age that is in simple enough English for him to understand. If anyone has any ideas I would welcome them. He likes to cook, we made cookies once but the kitchen is right next to the kids room and they are supposed to be taking their naps during our class.

Then dinner, bible story, and back to bed. I don't think days are really twenty-four hours I think they have shaved a few hours off and just let us think they are still twenty-four hour days. I don't know about you, but our days go by way to fast.

New at this!

2008-01-29T04:09:00.001-08:00

This is the first time, I have actually managed to post anything. So bear with me. It is kind of hard to not treat it like a letter, and ask you all out there how you are doing. Well, I guess I can catch you up to speed.
We just got back from the States, I got back and on the second and my husband Andrew was delayed till the 11th. His passport didn't come in time, so I flew with our two children alone. What a trip! First we have a 5 hour drive to the airport, then the flight was about 7 hours, then we had a lay over in Poland for about 3 hours. (mind you this is in the middle of the night as far as the kids were concerned) Then we had a short hop over to Kiev, where after customs and passport check, I was met by some friends who took me on an hour long bus ride to the train station where we waited for another 4 or 5 hours to get on the train. Which was an over night trip down to Nikopol. Once we were on the train, we could make up beds and sleep. We had a whole little sleeping room to ourselves. Sheets and pillows are all provided, of course by then our bodies were telling us it wasn't time to sleep. The kids fortunately are excellent travelers ,in some ways, better then me! They had a blast playing with all the gadgets on the airplane, the earphones, and we were sitting in a the first row of coach so we had those neat tables that fold up and go inside the arm of your chair and it had a baby bassinet that could be attached to the wall. Then on the train the kids had fun hoping from bunk to bunk and back again.
Andrew was very concerned about me making it through the passport checks and customs. But again it was smooth sailing. I guess a woman with two children isn't suspected to be someone that might be a terrorist. So they didn't question me to much. By the time I got our luggage and went through customs There was no one there at all! They like to check your luggage and make sure you aren't bringing in drugs or guns or anything into the country. Well you all know me, and how I like to smuggle illegal narcotics, well there was no body there at all, so I got away with it.