Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Space Invaders



Every time that Grandma Judy and Grandma Maria call, they want to know what the boys have been up to. Lately they have been invading my space! I didn't mind too much considering this kept them both occupied for about 1/2 hour.

Afghan Memorial


Around this time of year we eagerly await for the tulips to bloom at the Afghan Memorial. It is absolutely beautiful and the pictures on the slide show don't do it justice. The memorial is mainly to commemorate soldiers from Samara who died during the Afghan war in the early '80's, but there are also some other conflicts from other countries like Cuba, Korea, Czechoslavkia, and a few others that soldiers from Samara have been remembered. The engravings says "An eternal memorial for soldiers from Samara".

Check out my Slide Show!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Tour around Samara Part 2

Lada monument

Slava monument

Russian Orthodox church

Inside Russian Orthodox church.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Where we live.

The entrance on the first floor. Not so nice.
View from the 17th floor. As you can see there are just blocks and blocks of concrete buildings. It is like this pretty much in every part of Russia.
Our building is the one on the right. We are on the fifth floor.
Well here is our apartment building. Even though the outside isn't that great we are so thankful for our home. We live in a 17 story building..........the tallest apartment building I have seen. Our landlord is one of the local pastors and he lives right next door to us. When Jon is away travelling it is a great comfort knowing that our neighbor is a couple steps away. We share an entrance with our landlord but we do have our own entrance into our apartment.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

A tour around Samara

Our neighborhood fire station
Revolution Street but I like to call it 3rd Street Promenade
The Catholic Church

The Lutheran Church

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Tulips


Tulips are absolutely my most favorite flower. Here in Russia the prime season for tulips is now beginning. Next month they will be everywhere and you can bet that I will be posting a bunch of pictures. It has become a ritual for me to buy the very first tulips I see. Last week a sweet little babushka was selling some on the street. Even though they were small I just had to buy them. They were only 10 rubles, which is about 60 cents (thanks to the falling dollar!!). I only wanted two but she talked me into buying three.

Why is Nathan smiling? Because....................

Monday, April 14, 2008

Everyday Life Here in Russia


The other day when I was coming home from my Seminary Wives group I saw this man passed out on the grass. He was most likely recovering from a long drinking binge. The sad thing is that I see this pretty often here. The other sad part is that no one really cares or even does anything. I mean, what if he was dead? Who would know?

The other evening Jon and Josiah were outside and a drunk man came up to Jon to ask for the time. Jon says he was so wasted. Jon told him the time and then the man asked him if it was morning or night time. How sad.

There are days when I question how wise it is to be raising two boys in this kind of environment but I know that there are great lessons to be taught. The depravity of man is everywhere. Here in Russia it is all out in the open.....drugs, drinking, promiscuity, back in the States it is all done in private.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Check out my Slide Show!

Seminary Wives


Once a month, usually on the first Friday, we have our Seminary Wives meeting. Not only do the student's wives come, but we also invite the alumni wives and the female staff from the Seminary. This past year we have been going through spiritual disciplines. Back in January I had the opportunity to teach on Bible Intake and on April 4 I taught on Prayer. This was our last Seminary Wives meeting for the school year.

Monday, April 7, 2008

BROTHERS


Nathan just adores Josiah. He follows him around everywhere. Every time they are sitting together Nathan just stares at his big brother in awe. Most of our pictures of the two boys together show Nathan looking straight up at Josiah. So, this picture is a classic. I just love Nathan's expression.