A Break From the Norm

We were blessed to get to go to Turkey for 10 days, just a little over two weeks ago now.  Here are some pictures from our time there.  We loved seeing old friends, making new ones and soaking up all the warmth and sunshine.

A funny story:  When we landed back in Moscow, Harper was sleeping.  I had to wake her up so that we could get off the plane.  She was not happy.  Then we had to gear up before we got off.  She was already crying, then she cried more, and when we stepped off the plane she cried even more!  There was no jetway (jet bridge or gate), we had to exit the plane and then get on a bus and ride it to the airport.  This is not an unusual experience where we live.  When we got off the plane, it hit us.  The COLD and SNOW!!!!  She was still crying on the bus and all the way to the airport.  The locals started joking that she was just expressing how everyone felt.  They all wished that they could cry too, but couldn't.  They said, "she is thinking, where did you bring me?  Where is the sun, the ocean, the ice cream, the warmth?  It is not here.  It is cold here and there is snow on the ground."  It was pretty funny because we all felt the same way!!!

Here are some pictures from our time having fun in the sun!

 Harper with a friend.  It is so sweet to see her playing and having fun with friends.  We hated to leave this!

 Harper with her friend and her friend's sister.  Seeing sisters together makes Harper want a sister even more.  She says that she wants there to be 2 boys and 2 girls because she knows that this next baby is going to be a boy!

 They are crazy.  That water was cold.  Ha.  But they don't care.

 Sweet sweet friends!

 This cracks me up!

Harper getting her face painted like a princess, of course! 

 Harper's friend getting her face painted too!

 Elias getting some girl love! Haha.

 Three cute princess rugrats!

Life Updates

1.  It has been a REALLY long time since I have updated this blog.

2.  Our life has been very crazy since the last time I updated this blog.

3.  We found out that we were pregnant since the last time I updated this blog, SURPRISE!!

4.  I have had the flu, either a bacterial infection or parasites, and a bad head cold/sinus infection in the last 2 months.  Craziness.  Weakened immune system?!

5.  We moved/relocated since that last time I updated this blog.

6.  We have settled into our new apartment and celebrated Thanksgiving with some great people on a retreat outside of the city.  A very encouraging and needed time.

7.  We are excited about Christmas, decorated the house, reading John Piper's Good News of Great Joy: Daily Readings for Advent.  It is encouraging stuff.

8.  We are looking forward to our Christmas break and are hoping to get out, meet people, and explore the city.

9.  The sun doesn't shine here and it doesn't become light outside until 9:30 or 10 ish.  It is definitely dark by 5 pm, maybe earlier.

10.  I am a very tired momma these days.  Growing a baby and having two little kids is very tiring, add to that the fact that it is VERY cold and dark outside, makes this momma never want to get out of bed in the morning.

11.  The other night I feel asleep from 7 pm to 9pm.  That just shows what living in an urban setting can do to you with travel time, language learning and growing a baby.


Ok those are the high points of the last 6 months.  Now here's to trying to keep up better with the blog.   Oh, and we have a reliable internet.  YAY!!!  That is of utmost importance to staying connected with you all!  So sing and clap with me!!!  WAHOOO!!!  Until next time.  

WE'RE BACK!!!!

Surprisingly and shockingly we made it back into our host country.  We are now in our city and back in our apartment.  The kids are loving being home.  They love seeing their friends, toys that were left here, and their room.  We still need to get registered, so nothing is 100%.  We are taking it one day at a time and counting each day as a blessing.  We are so thankful that our Father answered many requests to get us here, and even if it is not long lived we are still thankful that we all were allowed in together and will be together in whatever comes our way.  We had a great vacation, and I can't wait to post some pictures from our trip and from Elias's first birthday party.  We loved visiting with family and friends.  We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to go "home" for a few weeks and attend my brother's wedding.  We are feeling rejuvenated and refreshed and ready to begin life here again.  I am feeling more motivated and excited about getting back into a fresh and new routine.  I am excited about becoming more disciplined in my use of time and getting out more.  I am also happy to announce that I have weaned Elias.  This will free up some more of my time throughout the day.  But, for now we must get over jet lag.  Today we ALL slept in until 11 am.  Elias is teething and has an awful diaper rash.  He is also very fussy and cranky and is not sleeping very well.  He is waking up in the middle of the night for hours, maybe another reason why we all slept until 11 am.  Please lift us up during this time! Pictures are sure to come soon!  

The time it takes just to live life

I could write a book on that one.  If you are wondering where I have been lately, and I know that some of you are, I have honestly just been living life making it through one day at a time.  My normal everyday routine is busy and takes a lot of time.  It takes more time to run errands since most of it is done on foot with two beautiful little kids, more time to cook, more time to do laundry and hang everything up because we don't have a dryer, cleaning is done more often from living in a place where you need the windows open all the time and dust and dirt often fills the house more quickly, more time and effort to talk, study, meet people, etc.  Not to mention that I still have a baby who is nursing.   It can get overwhelming at times.  There is never enough time in the day to meet all the demands placed on me either from myself, family, or others.  I could go through my days feeling like a failure before they even begin, living in tyranny of the clock, or I could focus my efforts on the praise of my King and what is accomplished or done that day is done for Him.  My, how I need this shift in my attitude on most days!  That is why I am so thankful for the Word to remind me and point me back again to my need of the gospel and it's power in my everyday life.  I have been encouraged lately in the gospel and asking God to break me again and again, to humble me and remind me that I cannot prove myself to others or to him.  I don't need to earn approval because Jesus has already earned the favor of the King for me.  I need to live in His power and strength everyday and I want to live a life that His praise is always on my lips and in my actions and then that would naturally flow out from me to others.  Ministry is not something that has hours set to it.  It is a lifestyle.  It is everyday situations.  It cannot be compartmentalized.  It is an overflow of our hearts.  I am letting the gospel rain down afresh over me, and I hope that it will flow out from me to others I am around and come into contact with.

"The gospel is a word; so the church must be word-centered. The gospel is a missionary word; so the church must be mission-centered. The gospel is good news. It is a word to be proclaimed. It is a message. You cannot be committed to the gospel without being committed to proclaiming that gospel.

The church exists both through the gospel and for the gospel.

The problem is the gap between our rhetoric and the reality of our practice. The continual challenge for us is to apply this principle to church life and ministry without compromise." Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

I don't want there to be a gap in my life.  I want to put to action what is already true in my own life.  I want to put feet, and hands, and lips, breath, and voice to it.  Please pray this over me and our family.

Here is a song by Sara Groves that has also encouraged me lately as well, it is called Finite:  It is a great reminder that I am finite and I will come to an end.  It helps me to keep the most important things in the forefront of my mind.

I'm not every woman
It's not all in me
I’m proud and guarded
When it comes to my needs
Try to keep the whole thing rolling
Try to keep an on time train
This frenetic fascination's
Really driving me insane
Anybody feel that?
Anybody feel that?
Anybody feel that?

What God meant by woman
I’m hard pressed to find
I'm chasing paper dreams
And a guilt undefined
Fighting to stay younger
Trying to stay thin and in control
Searching for a magic formula
A thing to soothe our souls
Wonderin' where the peace went
Wonderin' where the peace went
Wonderin' where the peace went

I'm finite I come to an end
I'm finite I come to an end

Try to keep the whole thing rollin'
Try to keep an on time train
This frenetic fascination's
Really drivin' me insane
Anybody feel that?
Anybody feel that?
Anybody feel that?

I'm finite, I come to an end
I’m finite, I cannot pretend
I'm finite, I come to an end
I’m finite, I cannot pretend

The past 2 months

Here it is already, June 1st, and I realized that I haven't written a post in two months.  Our lives have been packed with interesting and exciting adventures, mishaps and various language miscommunications these past couple of months.  First, we traveled to another country to renew our visas.  We had an amazing time in "The Big City" as we call it.  We were able to visit friends, do some shopping, see some amazing tulips and parks, as well as, visit the doctor and find out that we are having a BOY!!!  We got our visas (and were delayed a few days, of course!) and have been back in our city since April 23rd.

Things are definitely busy and lively around here.  We have been working on potty training Harper.  It has it good days and hard days, as with anything in life!  We are getting new wallpaper in our apartment and preparing for baby brother's arrival.  I am already 29 weeks and can't believe how fast time is flying by, although I know it seems to drag at the end.  Our summer is filled with transition and traveling.  We have already spent our last night in the apartment before traveling and the new wallpaper.  One thing we have learned is that our new normal is living in constant transition.  It definitely reminds us that we cannot rely on our own strength, but that we must rely on Father's strength.  The city has definitely changed in appearance the past couple of months.  When we returned from renewing our visas, there was green grass, green trees, and flowers blooming.  The weather is wonderful and I have never loved spring so much in my life!  Our goal before all of our summer travels: to go camping with nationals.

Remember when:

* Harper got her haircut for around $4 and I got my haircut in a totally new language, but it turned out to be a success!
* We saw the most beautiful tulips in all the world.
* I went into a completely new culture shock when visiting "The Big City."  They have everything, even Gap and Sephora.
* We saw the most amazing dance concert (more to come in another post).
* I thought I was meeting our fruit and vegetable lady to pick up strawberries, but instead we went with her to pick strawberries in the village.  And buying 5 baskets was not enough so we bought 20 instead!
* I visited the doctor in our city.  Definitely not the same as in America.

Things we have learned in the past 5 months:

* Be flexible!
* Keep your expectations low.
* Living in transition is our new normal.
* Language learning is going to be a life long process.  We will never arrive.
* Great is His faithfulness.
* We can accomplish nothing without our Father.
* When we are stressed, get out in the culture.  Don't retreat.
* Don't complain, not even about the weather.
* Be thankful in all situations.
* The key to contentment is in our Father himself.  Our circumstances will constantly be changing, but our Father is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
* Our hearts have been too easily pleased by the comforts of this world.  This is still a struggle.
* Never forsake The Word and talking to our Father.  This is essential to our daily lives.
* Take it one day at a time.  I am never going to have it all together.

More to come.....

Taking a walk

Last week, I decided to take a walk around the city for some exercise and to just get lost and explore.  Well, as it turns out, it's pretty hard to get lost in our city.  You can walk from one end to the other in about 40 min, but it was fun to explore.  I decided to capture some of the sights that I saw along my walk and share them with you.  You will see different style homes, buildings, and places of worship.  Hope you enjoy my walking tour.  I hope to do more and share more pictures of our city with you.  I still find the market intimidating and will have to get pictures of buying meat, which I find the most intimidating, for you later.  For now enjoy!

Not sure if this is a house or what?!