Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Christmas Past: Part 3

Kremlin in the background

If you ever have an opportunity to visit Moscow...then go in December. Red Square is absolutely gorgeous during the Christmas season.

We had to renew passports at the U.S. Embassy this time and we're so thankful we did. We had such a memorable time.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Gingerbread Houses

The J and J house


We've been decorating gingerbread houses for a few years now. It became a little tradition when we lived in Samara. You wouldn't think they sell gingerbread house kits in Russia but thanks to IKEA we were able to find some.

This year Nathan teamed up with me and went a little wild with the candy! Jojo let Jon do whatever he wanted to do on their house so Jon got a bit artsy!


The boys got their fair share of candy!

The "N" house...



Monday, December 14, 2015

Christmas Past:Part 2



The very first Christmas away from home was a hard one for me. It was also a hard one for my mother-in-law who lost her husband that year. She actually flew out to Novosibirsk to spend Christmas with us.

We attended an extremely conservative Baptist church that also housed the seminary where Jon taught at. The women all wore head coverings and no one wore make-up. It took me a while to get used to but at least on Sunday mornings we all got ready super quick....didn't have to do much to my hair or face!!!

Monday, December 7, 2015

Christmas Past : Part 1


I never experienced a "white Christmas" until we moved to Novosibirsk! It's so strange now not to have snow around this season.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Family Picture

Thanksgiving marks the time when I beg my family to take our annual family picture for our Christmas card.  Unfortunately as the boys get older it's not so well received anymore. I suppose when they were younger they really didn't have a choice...

So this past Saturday we headed to our local park to take our picture. My husband is such a good sport and was the force behind getting the boys excited....plus he did give them a strict warning of what would ensue if they complained too much!

I took over 80 pictures and I think we got a handful of decent ones! These are some of my favorites....








 I think next year I'll work harder at the matchy, matchy outfits!