From Russia With Love

Chinese Lanterns

2012-01-28T04:28:00.000-08:00

Last week in our Geography studies we learned about China. As usual it was fun learning some new facts about a country we don't know too much about. For the craft we made Chinese lanterns. It was a pretty easy craft for the boys and kept them busy since they had some cutting to do.......keeping them busy means a few moments of silence! I found the instructions for the lanterns here.

Jojo busy snipping away.

We added some "jewels" to make the lanterns fancy.

Week 19 - Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2012-01-27T04:24:00.000-08:00

I had small group yesterday and a busy day in general so I tried this pin. If you click on the picture of the muffins it will take you to the blog where you'll see the darling muffin liners that were used. Of course I don't have the cute liners but will definitely be buying them in the future. This recipe was super easy and my boys also loved it. I will definitely be baking these again.

Week 18 - Cinnamon Crescents

2012-01-22T07:49:00.000-08:00

This week's creation would have also been easier if I could buy Pillsbury crescent rolls here in Russia.

I made my dough the day before.

I think I used too much butter for the filling because during the

baking process these made a HUGE mess.

Thankfully they turned out fine.......phew! Jon had to take

these to meeting and I kinda panicked when I took them

out of the oven!

There were only a couple left for us to taste test and the boys loved them!

Snowmen At Night

2012-01-19T21:29:00.000-08:00

Over a year ago I began following an art teacher's blog called "Deep Space Sparkle". I absolutely love her projects and it's been a great inspiration for me to do several projects with Josiah and Nathan throughout the school year. In the past we have also had Jojo's friends join in on the fun. Last semester though was absolutely crazy and every week I planned to do an art project something would come up or Jojo's friends would get sick. One of my New Year's resolutions was to re-start the art projects so yesterday we finally got to work on one.

Since it's Winter time and we're living in a wonderful Winter wonderland I thought we'd try out this "Snowmen at Night" project over at Deep Space Sparkle. I don't have the book though and it would have been nice to read the book and then work on the project but oh well!

As we were working on our project it was snowing.

Mod Podging some tissue on to look like buildings.

Nathan's snowman in the night.

Jojo's snowman. Jojo had the idea of painting arms and so

everyone else then added arms. Notice the snowman's left

eye has red on it...........Jojo said it was a bloody eye. At

one point Josiah was going to start painting something in

black on the snowman's hand but I stopped him. I asked

him what he was going to do and he said he was going to

paint a gun for the snowman to hold. BOYS!!!!

Everyone's creation. I think they all turned out great!!!

Creation Conference

2012-01-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

This past week Dr. Terry Mortenson from Answers in Genesis was here speaking at a conference on creation. Dr. Mortenson has a Ph.D. in geology and also a Masters of Divinity. I'm thankful that I got to attend a couple of evenings and even brought the boys with me. Obviously the material was way over theirs heads (and mine at times) but it never hurts to expose them to the great truths of creation. I'm blown away that so many believers do not hold to a literal six,24 hour day creation............Jon would say that I've been in my Grace bubble for too long.

Dr. Mortenson teaching on dinosaurs!

By this point the boys were going crazy! They sat pretty well

during the sessions we attended.

Dr. Mortenson and the men.

Week 17 :Orange Coffee Cake

2012-01-15T02:07:00.000-08:00

This weeks Pinterest find was a Paula Deen orange coffee cake. Of course it called for Pillsbury Biscuits which meant I had to make biscuits from scratch. I made the cake for small group and the girls liked it but I think there was something missing............the biscuits just seemed to make the cake bland but it did turn out well thankfully. For those who live in the States, this is an easy recipe to make if you buy the Pillsbury Biscuits. I wasn't crazy about it so I don't think I'll be making it again. You can go here to see the pin!

Night Time Reader

2012-01-13T01:39:00.000-08:00

Jojo has recently been borrowing my flashlight that I got from a white elephant gift exchange 6 years ago! I love hiding around the corner and listening to him read.

Good-Byes

2012-01-12T01:25:00.000-08:00

If there's one thing about ministry that I enjoy the least it would have to be the good-byes that are involved. Yesterday was a real difficult day for me and one that I have been dreading for a real long time. I always knew it was coming from the day my Russian friend married a Ukrainian. I did say good-bye to her over 3 1/2 years ago but by God's grace her husband wanted to come and attend the training program here. I was so relieved when they returned to Samara but I knew that yesterday was inevitable.

Several friends came to the train station to say good-bye.

Not only has Christina been one of my closest

friends but she has also taken great care of our

boys. They love her like an auntie and both boys

were so sad yesterday. Nathan even cried at the

station. Today Jojo told me he woke up missing

Christina, Zhenya, and baby Martin.

The train starting to leave.

I was a basket case all day yesterday.

My eyes hurt today from all the crying.

I am really happy for them of course. I

am excited to see how the Lord will

use Zhenya and Christina in the Ukraine.

I also hope and trust that we will see

each other again.

Stuck?! January 1st Sketch

2012-01-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

So, this is my first time ever entering any sort of online sketch challenge. It is actually one of my goals for the year to enter 1 challenge so I am happy to cross it off my list. I really need to get to scrapping again and I figured this is a great motivation. Obviously living in Russia doesn't make things easier for this hobby of mine. I've basically got to work with whatever I have...........so as I compare my layout with others, I'm a bit embarrassed. Lot's of bling going on in so many layouts and my style is pretty much classic. I always desire that my photos be the centerpiece of a layout, but that's not saying that I don't like using bling or glitz because I certainly do.

So, here's the sketch:

And this is my layout.

I probably could have spent more time on this layout but

I needed to start somewhere. One thing is for sure though,

entering a challenge like this is great motivation to

try my hand at more scrapbooking!

Grocery Store Souvenir

2012-01-04T09:04:00.000-08:00

Look at what I brought home from the grocery store yesterday!

The grocery store workers here in Russia don't bag your groceries, and I'm assuming it's probably this way in most of Europe. When we first moved to Russia we were told to bring your own bags to the grocery store and to quickly begin bagging your groceries or sticking them back into the grocery basket. Whenever I have several items I just put all the items back into the basket and that's what I did yesterday but there was something going on with a customer and a cashier that distracted me. Instead of going to the little table near the exit to bag my groceries, I walked straight out of the store with the grocery basket and straight home. I didn't even realize what I had done until I was walking up the stairs to the elevator of our building. I started laughing hysterically and when I got home I quickly showed Jon what I had done. He told me to take it back right away but truth is I was so embarrassed about what I did that I fed my family lunch first and then sheepishly returned to the grocery store to return the basket.

Week 16 : Egg Rolls and Sweet and Sour Chicken

2012-01-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

For New Year's Eve we had a nice Chinese meal. We actually have a pretty decent Chinese restaurant here in Samara which Jon and I usually go to when we go out on our date nights. Not too long ago I found egg roll wrappers at a deli kiosk in the mall and I couldn't wait to put them to use.

My little food critic about to enjoy his

meal. He loved it by the way.

The recipe for the egg rolls can be found here on Pinterest. And the recipe for the sweet and sour chicken is here. This is the second time I make the sweet and sour chicken and it is absolutely so easy and delicious. It is a big favorite for our family. The recipes calls for 1/2 cup of vinegar and at first it seems like that is way too much but it really turns out great.

New Year's Day

2012-01-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

Last year, I started the tradition of giving the boys their stockings on New Year's Day. I know this is against the norm but I never grew up with stockings and Jon had to actually "coach" me on what goes inside of them.

Nathan was up first on New Year's morning and decided to wake up his

brother. Jojo was upset because he said he was having a good dream.

At least Jojo cheered up when I let them get into their stockings.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-01T00:34:00.000-08:00

Our New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful in comparison to the way most Russians celebrate. We stayed inside, played lots of games, and had homemade Chinese food for dinner. As night time came every once in a while we could catch a brief firework show right outside our living room window. Jon and I stayed up until 1:00 so that we were tired enough to sleep through all the partying.

We played several rounds of UNO!

We also enjoyed playing the Wii. As you can tell Jojo was really

into it!

During our trip to Spain this summer I bought some turron. I

remember growing up as a child and having turron every

New Year's Eve.

Aside from myself, Nathan is the only one who liked the turron.

2011 Blessings

2011-12-31T00:46:00.000-08:00

I love the hymn "Count Your Blessings". One day we sang it in Russian and I quickly fell in love with the melody and the cheeriness of the song. Little did I know it was originally a hymn in English. I guess I never sang it before. Ever since I have found myself singing this song throughout my days, especially on those rough days. The chorus goes like this:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

As the year now comes to an end I have been reflecting upon all the blessings the Lord has bestowed on me. A lot of times there were blessings in disguise but every time gave me an opportunity to thank the Lord for His goodness in my life.

Amidst all the challenges of homeschooling I am so blessed to have the opportunity to teach my children. On top of it all I am learning so much myself and learning a lot about myself and how I fall short in so many areas.
We are blessed to be in a new church with a great Sunday School program for the boys. Leaving the church we attended here for 5 years was not easy but it was necessary. We went through some tough times but praise God for blessing us with Transfiguration Baptist Church and for new friends we are making there while getting better acquainted with other friends.
It was a blessing to be able to stay in Samara this summer. Usually we return to the States but because of the kind of visa that we have now we did not need to return. I do confess that at first it wasn't easy, especially for my eldest son, but having our friends and fellow teammates the Klassens staying here for the summer helped us to have a great summer. Jon's mom also came to visit for 5 1/2 weeks and the boys just loved that.
Staying behind this summer allowed us to make a trip to Mallorca, Spain where I have 1 uncle and 5 cousins who live there. I had not seen them in over 27 years. Family is really so important to me and what a blessing it was to be reunited with them. Thanks to frequent flier miles, and my gracious cousin Dario, the trip was low cost!!!
I am also blessed by my husband who stands on God's Word alone even if it means rejection from friends and (sadly) family. I won't go into detail on this blog but let's just say when one lives by the Word their life will be radically different and will require the confrontation of sin in the lives of others if necessary. I'm thankful for his example and for his desire to practice what he preaches day in and day out!!!

I could probably go on and on but really those are the top blessings for me this year! I look forward to the New Year but as always with a little trepidation. One truth is for sure though, that God will continue to sit on His throne in sovereignty over all the details of my life in 2012!

So.....Happy New Year !

By the way, here's the whole hymn just in case you never heard it:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

Refrain

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

Refrain

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Refrain

"God Made Us Cute"

2011-12-29T23:25:00.000-08:00

The other day I asked Josiah, "Why are you and your brother so cute?". He answered, "Because God made us cute!".

Christmas Continues

2011-12-28T22:57:00.000-08:00

The tree is still up, the stockings are still hung, the lights continue to twinkle, and Christmas music continues to play. We have had all our Christmas decor up since the Sunday after Thanksgiving.........this is always a bit unusual to our Russian friends. Christmas in Russia is celebrated on January 7 but New Year's Eve is actually the bigger celebration. During Soviet times, Christmas was not celebrated so New Year's Eve became the substitution in a sense. On December 31, a big meal is eaten, fireworks light up the sky at the stroke of midnight, and Dyod Moroz(Father Frost) and Snegoruchka(the granddaughter of Father Frost) bring presents. This year New Year's Day falls on a Sunday and even the church we attend is changing the service time to accommodate all those who will be celebrating the previous night! We find it a bit humorous and strange but so it is and church service will begin at 3:00 on Sunday. We will welcome the New Year in quietly at home and I plan on wearing earplugs to bed since fireworks will go off all night long!!!

Week 15 : Sugar Cookies

2011-12-27T22:45:00.000-08:00

My love affair with sugar cookies continues. I am always trying out new recipes I find for sugar cookies. This Christmas I tried out these sugar cookies on Pinterest. They were yummy and the recipe made a ton of cookies............more than I knew what to do with. I had a nice batch for our Christmas Eve party, I sent a batch each to both of the boy's Sunday School classes, and a batch for our family to munch on. I still had a whole container of unfrosted cookies left but thankfully we were invited to some friend's home last night so I took that batch with us but still had enough left for our family!!! So, if you need a bunch of cookies these are great.

I have to confess that I used Pinterest for all my recipes this Christmas. I don't know what I would have done if our internet would have gone out!!! Thank God it didn't.

Frosting and decorating cookies while

listening to MacArthur's "Battle for the
Beginning" series. Trying to make the

best use of my time.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T04:50:00.000-08:00

We are enjoying a white Christmas! It has been a blessed day celebrating the birth of our Savior. Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year we had to set aside a few traditions. The poor boys were so patient since we didn't open presents until after lunch. By the sounds I hear coming from the living room it seems like they are thoroughly enjoying all their presents!!!

From our family to yours - Merry Christmas

Countdown To Christmas: Christmas Eve Party

2011-12-24T20:13:00.000-08:00

Every year since we've lived here, our family has hosted a Christmas Eve party with our fellow team mates. It's a always a fun night. Unfortunately this year the Klassens couldn't join us but instead we invited some cool British friends.............I mainly invited them so I could listen to their lovely British accent............just kidding of course.

Nathan with his best girl Miriam.

Christmas Countdown : Christmas Party #2

2011-12-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had our annual Christmas party with all the helpers from the training program. As always it was a great night with lots of great fellowship, and yummy food. We even sang some Christmas carols.

My man and I!

Christmas Countdown : Week 14 Raspberry Linzer Cookies

2011-12-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

My friend Heather makes these cookies a lot and I've been wanting to try them out for some time. Unfortunately I don't have a little cookie cutter for the cutout in the middle so I used a bottle cap instead. I think hearts would be darling!!! There was a special Christmas chapel today with the men at the program and the wives made cookies for them to enjoy. I hope they enjoyed the cookies because I didn't even get to taste them. I saved only 2 for Jojo and Nathan. Of course I found it on Pinterest and you can go here for the link.

Nathan helped me with his cookie and that's why it's cracked!

My cookies don't look as pretty as the ones on Pinterest though!

Christmas Countdown: 2011 Christmas Ornament

2011-12-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

The first year Jon and I were married, a friend of mine gave us a "First Year Together" ornament (from Hallmark). It is one of my favorites and just looking at the ornament brings back a flood of memories for me. That first year that we were married I had all my ornaments stolen out of the trunk of my car. I was devastated.........all of the ornaments I made as a child were stolen along with angel ornaments I started collecting as a teenager. Even writing about it still makes me a bit emotional. I remember crying about it for days. I'm pretty sentimental and hoped to pass on those homemade ornaments to my own children one day. I actually remember receiving a lot of ornaments from friends and family that year to make up for the loss. Since then, we've purchased one special ornament per year. Usually the ornament is related to somewhere special we have been or something special that happened that year such as the birth of our boys. Since we used to return to the States every summer, it was easy finding ornaments with the year on it even as early as the summer since most souvenir shops sell Christmas ornaments year round. Well, enter 2011 when we didn't return to the States. For months on end I've been thinking what in the world were we going to buy this year for our annual ornament. Thankfully, on our trip to Moscow I found a beautiful glass ornament of one of the Russian Orthodox churches in the Kremlin that we visited.

I will have to find a gold glittery pen to write the year on the back!

Christmas Countdown : Small Group Christmas Party

2011-12-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

Last night I had the girls from my small group over for a little Christmas Party! I am so thankful for each of the young ladies the Lord has placed in my life. Many of the girls I've known since we first moved here to Samara (almost 6 years ago) so it's been so exciting seeing them grow in the Lord, get married, and then having babies of their own.

Christmas Countdown : Snowman Ornaments

2011-12-19T00:39:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas week and we are all so excited! It's going to be a fun and crazy week with lots of cooking, baking, and cleaning. There will be 3 Christmas parties this week, two of which I'm hosting, and a cookie Chapel for the men at the program. Jojo also needs to do 3 days of school before we begin our two week vacation on Thursday.

This past week I babysat the Moorhead kids and of course I took up a craft. I didn't get pictures of the kids doing the craft but I took some of my boys afterwards. I found this craft idea on Pinterest. It was real cute and easy to do plus I think the snowmen look darling.

The Kremlin

2011-12-15T01:58:00.000-08:00

Jon suggested we take a tour of the Kremlin. Initially we wanted to see the armory museum but the timing just didn't work out. So, instead we did the cathedral tour. It's great because you get to walk inside the Kremlin and you are actually able to see quite a bit behind the red walls!

This is the Assumption Cathedral and it was the country's central place

of worship. This is also were the Russian Tsars and Emperors were

crowned. It was built in 1475-1479. The ornate door was made

specifically as the entrance to the royals. During these times, the

capital was St. Petersburg so they had to travel quite a bit to get

crowned and make their grand entrance into the cathedral.

This is the Archangel Cathedral built from

1505-1508. It's where the Great Princes,

local Princes, and Tsars are buried. Too

bad we couldn't take pictures inside!

This is the Annunciation Cathedral buildt

from 1484-1489 and it was the home church

of the Moscow Princes and later of the Russian

Tsars.

The bell tower of Ivan the Great was built throughout

the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1812 as Napoleans

army retreated from Moscow, they blew up the

bell tower but the pillar of the bell tower survived

while the annex connected to it was destroyed. It

was rebuilt and restored in 1814 to it's original state.

Week 13 - Cranberry Bliss Bars

2011-12-14T04:46:00.000-08:00

I made these bars for a cookie exchange we had with our wives' group. They turned out quite yummy and the combination of white chocolate and cranberries is delicious!

It's always fun to see what the wives have

baked. Some of them can be real creative.

You can find the recipe for the bars here and

then linking to the site.

Jojo in Red Square

2011-12-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

This was Jojo in Red Square a little over 7 years ago! It was on

our way to Novosibirsk and we got stuck in Moscow for a day.

Couldn't get him in the exact spot because an ice skating rink

would have been in the way but you get the idea!

Kicking Off the Christmas Season

2011-12-10T03:32:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to see all the lights and Christmas trees in Moscow! I thought what a great way to begin the Christmas season. One thing I miss the most about living in the States during this time is not being able to drive around and look at Christmas lights so being in Moscow with decorative lights all around was quite a treat.

All the squares and shopping centers had huge

Christmas trees. The first picture is outside Red

Square, the second one is outside a big shopping

mall, and the third picture is inside Red Square.

Red Square was absolutely gorgeous with all the lights, there was

even an ice skating rink in the square.

These last two pictures are inside of G.U.M.....

the State's shopping mall right on Red Square.

It was gorgeous inside but I was a bit embarassed

taking pictures because it is really fancy inside!

The Moscow Metro

2011-12-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned before I was pretty much terrified of the Metro. I think it's the whole idea of being underground and not being in control of my surroundings...........especially if something should go wrong. You really don't have much of a choice in the city center though if you want to get around town quickly. The boys of course enjoyed riding on the train but what they enjoyed even more was picking up the discarded Metro tickets.........funny boys!!! Unfortunately we weren't in Moscow long enough to visit most of the stations but thankfully most of our stops were in pretty popular stations.

This is Ploshad Revolutsiya (Revolution Square) with bronze

statues on the archways. This station was opened in the 50's. I

read in a book that many weren't impressed with the statues

and thought it a bit plain but when Stalin took a walk through

the platforms he said that the statues were so lifelike that it

seemed as if they were going to walk right out of the wall.......

this pretty much saved the artwork from being destroyed.

These are all from the Kievskaya station. This

was the Metro station that was closest to where

we were staying. The images are all mosaic and

pictures don't really do it justice. This station

was opened in 1937 and is dedicated to the

relationship Lenin had with the Ukraine.

This is also taken in the Kievskaya station. I can't even imagine

what it would have been like in the bombing that took place in

March of 2010. Thirty-eight people were killed in that terrorist

attack. It must have been pure chaos!

This is the Metro system map. Once you

get the hang of it, it really isn't too hard to

navigate.........thankfully Jon was great at

getting us to and fro!

Taste of Home

2011-12-08T04:21:00.000-08:00

The week before we left for Moscow I spent some time scouring the internet to see which American delicacies I would find in Moscow! I knew that there was a Dunkin Donuts and Cinnabon but lo and behold there was also Burger King and Wendy's. Did we have a taste at all of these places? Why, yes we did. Thankfully we walked so much that I think we burned off most of the calories ingested.

Friday night we took the Metro to Arbat Street. We weren't quite sure where we were going to have dinner but when we saw the Wendy's or should I say "Vendy"(there is no "w" sound in Russian) sign we almost started crying.The place was packed but we found a nice spot and enjoyed our meal.

Wendy's had wi-fi so we looked to see where the nearest Cinnabon and Dunkin Donuts was and we headed that way next. I am crazy in love with Cinnabons and I almost kissed the floor of the Cinnabon shop. The place was super busy but my eagle eyes scouted a cozy spot for our family. That first bite of my Cinnabon was amazing! We also found Dunkin' Donuts and bought 1/2 dozen to eat for breakfast the next day. The kids were ecstatic about the donuts.

I was nice enough to share a Cinnabon with Jojo.

Of course Jon had to have a chocolate one!

Just in case you're wondering that's Dunkin Donuts in Russian.

Moscow

2011-12-06T22:26:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for the opportunities our family has had to travel this past year. I have really enjoyed seeing so many beautiful sites and experiencing such different cultures. This past weekend we had to make a trip to the U.S. embassy in Moscow to renew passports so we took the time to do a little bit of exploring. Moscow is a huge metropolis and very different from Samara. When we lived in Novosibirsk we were told by our neighbors that all the money is in Moscow and now I saw firsthand the truth of that statement. The city center of Moscow is very European and wealthy! We saw countless of Jaguars, Range Rovers, BMWs, Mercedes Benzs, Porsches,and any other high end vehicle you can think of. Moscow fashion is also up to date with women wearing all the latest trends. Even the babushkee are sophisticated.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon and met our guest outside a McDonalds near a Metro station. Thankfully we were given great directions and were able to get out of the airport via Aeroexpress (a train that takes you into the city center).

(We saw our first Starbucks in the airport)

On the Aeroexpress and headed to the city center.

The train only heads to one stop........the Beloruskaya train and Metro station. From there we hopped on the metro with 2 suitcases and headed to the Kievskaya Metro station. I am terrified of the Metro

but thankfully I was able to get through many Metro rides throughout the whole weekend!

This is the Beloruskaya train station. It's a gorgeous building.
I'll write another post about the Metro!

The Tree Is Up

2011-12-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

Our Russian friends think it's funny that we put our tree up so quickly. In the past we've put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving but this year we waited until the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It's so much fun getting all the ornaments out and setting up the manger scene.

Jon is responsible to put the lights on first. I guess I haven't been doing it right the last few years so it is now his responsibility!

The boys are checking out all the ornaments. Since we've been

married we have bought a special ornament for each year. It's fun

to look through the past years in ornaments and the memories

we have made so far! Not sure what we will buy for 2011 since

we didn't return to the States this past summer.

Week 12 - Pumpkin Crunch Cake

2011-11-30T19:53:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving I actually tried out 3 new recipes from Pinterest but I'll only feature this one. Actually all 3 turned out great and I was surprised because lately some of the recipes flopped! I saw this recipe quite a few times being pinned and I am glad I tried it out! If you want to try it out yourself check it out on Pinterest. On the left is Lena and her husband Miron(aren't they a gorgeous couple?) getting ready to put on some whipped cream on the cake!! I think vanilla ice cream would taste great too.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

I don't know why, but I didn't take a bunch of pictures of Thanksgiving this year! I think I was just trying to enjoy my time plus I was probably exhausted from all the cooking and baking!!! The week before the boys learned a bit about Thanksgiving through some books daddy read to them. Then we did a little craft project. My boys love cutting and gluing and this activity kept them real busy! I suppose you could print any template off the internet and repeat the activity with maybe a big Christmas ornament or tree.

Bath Time

2011-11-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

The other night I came in to check on Nana while he was taking his bath and this is how I found him. He is a nut!!! He cracks us up all the time.

Monet

2011-11-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago we studied France in Geography. We are currently in the continent of Europe and thought we'd learn a little about the French. Nathan was mesmerized with the Eiffel Tower or "Awful Tower" as he kept calling it. I have no idea why but he just couldn't stop talking about wanting to go see it.

We also touched a little on Claude Monet and tried our hand at a painting, specifically trying to copy the
"Bouquet of Sunflowers". I think my little artists did a great job at interpreting the painting!

Jojo giving me a karate chop or doing the robot!

This one is Nathan's but he was too busy to stop and take a

picture with his masterpiece.

Week 11 - Apple Fritters

2011-11-19T07:14:00.000-08:00

When you live overseas there are a lot of comfort foods that you miss from back home. Apple fritters is one of those. Thursday evening I tried them out. They didn't quite taste like I thought they would but they turned out ok. I can always tell by Jon's expression if something just tastes ok.........he gave me that shrug of his shoulders and silly smirk on his face which means that whatever I baked was just ok.........not great but ok. It's funny though because he ate quite a bit of them!!!

If you want to try them out, then check them out here on Pinterest!

Praying for Missionaries

2011-11-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

During our family devotional times we pray through a booklet of missionary families from our home church. It's fun to hear the boys pray for other missionaries and it's a great way to get to know the missionaries and their needs. Last night we prayed for a couple in the Netherlands. Jojo always wants to know where each country is and what it's like to live in the country. Last night he said "Oh Netherland, where Peter Pan lives!" Ummmm, not quite Jojo!!!

Felt Faces

2011-11-14T04:39:00.000-08:00

When we first moved to Novosibirsk a family from Jon's home church sent us a care package. In the package she included these felt faces. I've kept the felt faces and have added more noses, eyes, etc. It's real simple and Nathan loves playing with them. You simply cut cardboard into a circle, glue felt on top, and then make shapes for eyes, lips, noses, hair and so forth! Real simple!!!

This is a quiet activity Nathan works on while Jojo and I are

in the kitchen doing school! Actually, I have a special drawer

that Nathan can access with a bunch of different activities, so

if he wants to join us in the kitchen he knows that he needs to

grab a quiet activity from his special drawer in order to join us.

Week 10 - Little Pumpkin Cakes

2011-11-12T00:44:00.000-08:00

Fruits and vegetables are very seasonal here in Russia. I grew up in California where most produce is available year round so it's fun for me to see and experience the proper fruits and vegetables according to their proper season. I have never been a huge pumpkin fan but every year I am learning to enjoy it more and more. Yesterday there was a meeting planned in my home with a few ladies but it got canceled at the last moment so I initially made these for the meeting but my family had no problem taking care of them. The recipe called for apple brandy which I don't have sitting around so instead I used apple juice. The recipe also called for molasses which is something that can not be found here but thankfully my mother in law brought me some when she was here this summer. Oh, and I also needed brown sugar but I think it was definitely worth it considering that I can only make this recipe in the fall. My little foodie Jojo definitely recommends this recipe!!! You can check it out here on Pinterest............by the way I didn't have the little bundt pans so instead I used ramekins.

Best Ikea Purchase

2011-11-11T01:19:00.000-08:00

One of the best things I bought at Ikea a few weeks ago was this craft thingy. Not sure what it's called but it kept the boys busy for 1 whole hour!!! Nathan now works on one a day and he loves creating new patterns with different colors. It's great because while he's working on one of his "projects", Jojo and I have undisturbed time for school.

First Snow

2011-11-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

Tuesday evening the snow started falling and it is still going! It's been 4 years since we have had snow so early in the season. The boys couldn't wait to get outside when we woke up yesterday morning. Jojo has been praying for snow for a while now so he was so happy to see it. It was too cold for snowman making but great for snow angels!!

Christmas Gift

2011-11-09T02:39:00.000-08:00

The other day I asked the boys what we should buy for daddy for Christmas. Jojo quickly replied "An iPhone 4." I told them that I didn't have that kind of money to buy daddy an iPhone so Nathan said "How about a Batmobile?" I think Jon would love both of them but they are obviously a bit over my budget!!!!

IKEA

2011-11-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the Mervyn's commercial? The "open, open, open" one? If you don't remember that commercial you can check it out here. In the last 5 1/2 years I have pretty much felt like that woman and have been tempted to go to the store door and yell "open, open, open" but alas IKEA has finally opened. The grand opening was on September 29 but we only recently made our way there. It is really quite impressive to see IKEA in Russia. It was so much fun walking around and seeing all the great furniture. We didn't buy any big furniture pieces because truthfully we don't need anything but there were some odds and ends that I have been wanting to get so we did a little shopping. We also enjoyed a nice meal at the IKEA restaurant and we even had the nerve to leave the kiddos in the children's room!! I was relieved when I went to check on Josiah (Nathan didn't go in at first) that there was a young lady from our church working in the room.

The covered parking entrance. We were really impressed with the

parking and the parking security guiding cars.

This is a play area for kids. IKEA is located in Mega Mall which

is not opened yet. Along with a bunch of stores, indoor ice skating

rink, McDonalds, and food court, a big ASHAN(huge grocery store)

will also be opening in February 2012! Oh the little things that make

us happy!!

Conference on the Family Part 2

2011-11-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

One of the things that we did during the conference is have a few hours were just the women met together every day. It was helpful to hear what some of the women are dealing with in the churches they attend. We also wanted to encourage the ladies to see how the Lord may be directing them in regards to women's ministry, something which has become a bit of a passion for me the last few years. Karen also had an opportunity to answer several questions. The women were so curious about her since it is very rare for a family to have 10 children in Russia!!!

Irina (top photo) and Vera sharing their testimony!

Worship time. These women are amazing singers!!!

And here's Karen answering questions through Tanya.

Week 9 - Cinammon Apple Cookies

2011-11-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I didn't do my challenge last week but it was a crazy week for us. I did do a lot of baking though - banana bars, fudge brownies, holiday squares, and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies but none of these recipes were from Pinterest...........instead they were oldies but goodies. Yesterday I tried this recipe. The cookies were pretty good but I have to judge the finished product according the value of the ingredients I use. This recipe required 1 whole cup of brown sugar which is a valuable commodity here. We can now find brown sugar but it isn't cheap. So, I ask myself the following : "Is this recipe worth repeating considering that I have to use so much brown sugar?" The answer is probably not. If I had access to cheaper brown sugar, I would repeat it. And as you can see on Nathan's facial expression; he wasn't quite sure about the cookie either!

Conference on the Family

2011-11-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

Last week the Preacher's Help Program hosted a conference on the family. The guest speaker was Paul Tautges who is a pastor from Wisconsin and also blogs at Counseling One Another. Paul even brought his wife Karen along. Paul and Karen are authorities on marriage and children considering that they have been married for 25 years and have 10 children!!!

Paul taught on the role of men, the role of women, parenting,

discipline, and several other family topics. Everyone was real

receptive to the teaching. This was the first conference of its

kind on the theme of the family, hopefully in the future there will

be more because it's a huge need here!

It was great seeing all the couples together during the sessions.

There was even a children's program so that both parents

could attend the sessions.

Zagarodni Park

2011-11-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Over a week ago we headed over to my favorite park. It is absolutely beautiful in the fall and I love going there to take pictures. The boys just love walking around, finding sticks, picking up leaves, and spending time as a family. On this day there were so many people out and about..............one of the things I love about Russia. It's pretty rare in California to go to the park and see so many people just out for a stroll. I know that we are all just trying to soak in the last few days left before the harsh winter hits!

Ukraine

2011-11-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

After Germany, Jon headed over to Kiev, Ukraine where John MacArthur completed his European speaking tour. Actually, all of the men in the program here in Samara flew to Ukraine also along with all the faculty.

This is the central church in Kiev where the conference was held.

Some of our men from Samara enjoying a meal together.

Dinner with MacArthur, fellow teammates, and the Ukrainian missionaries.

The men from Samara got to tour the facilities in Ukraine. They

have quite a student body and Jon says their facilities

were quite impressive.

Jon and Bruce Alvord

For those of you who follow our ministry here, I'd like to ask you to pray for our fellow team mate Jonathan who is still in Kiev, Ukraine. He is not able to enter Russia due to some complications with his entry visa. He has already been there 2 weeks while his wife and 5 kids are here in Samara. Please pray for a quick resolution as they wait upon the proper authorities to make some decisions on how to get Jonathan back here to Samara. It is quite a complicated topic but the Lord understands what is going. Also pray for Sharon as she holds down the fort alone with 5 kids.

Happy Reformation Day, Happy Harvest Day, or ...................

2011-10-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween. For us today is just a fun day to dress up, eat lots of candy, and hang out with our good buds, team mates, and neighbors the Moorheads.

Anakin Skywalker

Batman

All the kiddos together!

Germany

2011-10-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

Jon had the opportunity to attend the TMAI European conference in Germany a couple of weeks ago. Of course it's never easy when he leaves but in all honesty I'm so thankful he gets these opportunities to be encouraged, to travel and be a part of ministry. Plus he gets to hang out with friends he hasn't seen in a while.

Gus-husband of Melissa from the Nearness blog.

Jon and Ken-thankful for his friendship and support throughout

the last few years.

Jon and Todd from Croatia.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that John MacArthur was there to

teach at a conference and to participate in the graduation of

the ThM program from Irpin Seminary.

Week 8 : Zucchini Boats

2011-10-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

I know this isn't a sweet treat but now I can't remember if I said that I was only going to do desserts or if I was going to do whatever new recipes I wanted to try. These didn't turn out quite as tasty but I think that's my own fault...........I used oregano instead of whatever spice the recipe called for. I also think my zucchini's were bitter.

But here's Jojo being a good sport and trying out mommy's experiment.

He's my little food critique...........he said the zucchini boats were just

o.k. Go here to see the pin on Pinterest.

Fall Decor

2011-10-19T03:26:00.000-07:00

I wish I had more fall decor in my home but the stores here in Russia don't really sell any. A lot of times I find real nice do it yourself ideas but there are usually one or two items I can't find here. But thanks to Pinterest I found an idea that I could do myself!!! I was real happy with how it turned out also. I plan on buying a couple of more clear vases to make more.

It's also a real economical craft. I already had the vase and ribbon.

The total cost of buying the candle and the beans = $6.00 and I

have enough beans to make 2 or 3 more! Here's the original pin

on Pinterest.

Hell!

2011-10-18T03:05:00.000-07:00

Last night Jojo and I had a conversation about H-E- double hockey sticks. We were talking about heaven at first. He asked me if he would be able to see Jesus in heaven and if he would also meet Jesus' disciples. He then wondered if the disciples were going to share all their "stories" with him about what it was like when Jesus was with them. He also reminded me that only people who love Jesus and know Jesus go to heaven to which I wholeheartedly agreed. Then his little face began to change and his eyes got real serious and he asked "Where do people go who don't love Jesus?" Since he was in bed already, I didn't necessarily want to go into detail about hell. First of all I don't know if he can totally grasp the idea of eternal punishment since he can't even grasp the idea of eternity in heaven. Secondly, I didn't want to scare him. And lastly, I didn't want to scare him into a false profession of Christ. I simply told him they go to hell where they will have to suffer and that one day Satan will also be sent there. He then asked if they will have a chance to change their mind and then go to heaven . I told him no and that made him sad. We continued to talk about heaven and Jesus.......and then he was ready to go to sleep!

Today I've been thinking about our conversation a lot. I wonder at what age most parents tell their children about hell? Obviously it depends on the child's maturity . I also realized that all of the children Bible story books that we have never mention the topic of hell. I can't even remember when I first learned about hell. I do remember being terrified of hell and praying a "prayer" every night so that I wouldn't go there! As a child I used to have nightmares of me falling into a pit of fire but even that wasn't enough for me to truly repent! All I know is that these kinds of conversations cause me to examine my own life! Am I being a good testimony to my sons? Is my life leading them to Christ? Am I being faithful to train them in the Lord in every single aspect of their lives? And am I daily pleading with the Lord to save both of my sons one day!?

Fall is Here!

2011-10-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to get outside with the camera to take pictures of the boys in the Fall foliage. Today I finally brought my camera along on the way to the grocery store.

Since we've moved to Russia I have slowly come to appreciate

Fall. I've always been a Summer fan and that's probably because

in California there is no true Fall. So, it's that time to start baking

with apples and pumpkins, sweater weather, and shorter days!

Week 7 - Pumpkin Scones

2011-10-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

This was my very first time making scones. They turned out great aside from the fact that the bottom was burned. I think my oven may be a little too hot or maybe I should have just watched them better. The glaze is what really makes these scones so tasty. The boys loved them too and they tasted fresh the following day.

Click here for the recipe.

New Guest

2011-10-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

We have a new guest in our home for the next couple of weeks. Daddy and Nathan love him but mommy and Jojo aren't very thrilled. We are pet sitting for our friends who are pet sitting for our teammates the Klassens. Does that make sense?

This hamster has captured Nathan's heart. The first thing

Nathan does when he wakes up is to go greet him......he

says "Good morning little guy. Are you awake?".

I am not sure what the hamster's name is. I think it's Theo but

we have renamed him. The first day we got him, the boys

named him Sandy. The next day his name got changed to

Sammy. Then it was changed to Rhino. Now they call him

Apple Rhino. Jojo wants nothing to do with Apple Rhino and

neither do I really.

Thankfully Jon likes the rodent but bad news for me is that Jon

leaves in a couple of days on a trip and he'll be gone for 10 days.

Week #6 - Oreo Cupcakes

2011-10-06T03:25:00.000-07:00

When we were in Spain this summer I was so excited to see that there were Oreos in the grocery stores. I think the boys definitely got their fill of this popular American treat. I brought back two packages of the cookies hoping to find a good recipe to use them. So, of course I searched on Pinterest and found this great recipe and since it was my sweet friend Christina's birthday a couple of weeks ago and since I'm such a horrible friend that we didn't celebrate until this past weekend I decided to try them out.

Happy belated birthday to one of my dearest friends. I often

think I'd be lost without her in Russia and guess what? I will

be since she and her little family will be moving to Ukraine soon.

Christina and her sweet baby.

For All Have Sinned

2011-10-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

During lunch after church on Sundays we always ask the kids how their time was in Sunday school. Jon and I are especially curious since Sunday school is in Russian and the boys have a very limited understanding of the language. Thankfully though the boys are very familiar with Bible stories since they have learned them all at home plus it also helps that Sunday school is taught visually with pictures and a felt board. This past Sunday Jojo learned about Cain and Abel.............a story which he is very familiar with. After he shared with us that Cain killed Abel by chopping his leg off (I have no idea where he got that from) we then went on to talk about sin. Jojo defined sin for us and Jon asked him if we are all sinners to which Josiah replied "YES"! Nathan was not very happy to hear that we are all sinners(he has been taught this by us already) and proceeded to tell us that his Sunday school teacher was very nice and that she was not a sinner!!! He was absolutely heart broken that we would call his very nice Sunday school teacher a sinner. I think that most people are offended by the word "sin". I'm thankful that we have the opportunity to teach our boys that they are great sinners. I just pray that one day they will see the great need for a Savior!

A Boy's Best Friends

2011-10-02T05:47:00.000-07:00

1. Mommy's iPad
2. Brother's stuffed animal
3. His very own "gun"

Week #5 - Apple Braid Bread

2011-10-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had wives' group at our home and I baked this bread that I found on Pinterest. I was a little scared to try it but truthfully it was super easy. I am awful at getting my idioms right and yesterday I told my husband "Today, I've reached a new plateau in my baking!" He looked at me strangely and said "Ummm, I think you mean you reached a new level!" DUH!!!!

The directions said to cut the strips on the baking sheet but I

found it much easier to lay a piece of baking paper on the table

and cut the strips directly on the table. Then I braided it and

lifted it up onto the baking sheet. Using a pizza cutter also

makes it super easy to cut the strips!

I actually made 2 of them and between all the women and my

boys there are only 2 more slices left!

Pharoah Menes

2011-09-28T05:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know where I was in school whenever Egyptian history was taught! Actually my husband often wonders what I learned in school.............he can't believe I actually graduated with honors. It seems I've retained very little from my public school education!!! Now that Jojo is in second grade we are studying Old Testament and Ancient Egypt. I'm really enjoying going through the Veritas Press History course and so is Jojo. It's amazing how much he remembers all the details we are learning. The last two weeks we've been learning about the unification of upper and lower Egypt and ~~I've~~ we've been learning lots of exciting history tidbits here and there. I recently taught about Sarah in my small group and having some of the information I learned about Egypt really helped me to understand Abraham and Sarah's journey into Egypt.............you know the time that Abraham gave his wife to the Pharoah!!!!!

Here's Jojo wearing Pharoah Menes' crown.

The red crown represents lower Egypt and

the white crown represents upper Egypt...he

wore both crowns to demonstrate his rule

over the unified Egypt.

Here I am being a dork wearing the crown.

I tried to wear it every time we did our

History lessons but Jojo didn't think

that was very cool.

Here's our clay map of upper and lower Egypt.

Magnet Play

2011-09-27T04:48:00.000-07:00

In my continuing efforts to keep Nathan busy while I do school with Jojo here is our latest activity!

I completely forgot about our little bin with all our magnets that

I stored away months ago. Nathan had a blast just going through

all the different magnets and putting them up on the fridge. This

activity kept him busy for 25 minutes!! Not too shabby!

Bauman Street

2011-09-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

I'm still blogging about my trip to Kazan! On Saturday we walked around Bauman Street. This is a closed off street only open to pedestrians with lots of souvenir shops, restaurants, and shops. Once again I was so struck how clean everything was.

Muslim fashions.

I think someone borrowed the letter "M" from another establishment!

This is a Russian Orthodox bell tower.

My dear friend Christina!

Jojo and baby Martin. He loves his little buddy!!!

Week #4 - Banana Cupcakes or Muffins?

2011-09-21T00:21:00.000-07:00

So, I had mushy bananas to get rid of and so I searched Pinterest to see what I could make with them. The thing I loved about this recipe is that you just throw everything in the bowl and mix!!! Totally makes my life easier. The recipe also calls for cake flour but you can't find that here in Russia so I just used plain old flour.

You can find the recipe here.

Weddings!

2011-09-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

Friday and Saturdays are the two days that grooms and brides wed. They usually go to the courthouse and then drive around the city taking pictures by their favorite spots..............usually by statues, fountains, popular buildings, etc. I actually love this idea and think it would have been so neat to have wedding pictures taken at some memorable and sentimental sites in Los Angeles. Since we were in Kazan on a Friday and Saturday we got to see several bridal parties.

A Muslim bridal party in front of the big mosque.

A Muslim bride.

The Kremlin was swarming with brides!!

The cars get decorated as well. It is very seldom that we see a

limousine. Every time Nathan saw the decorated cars he thought

that the cars were also getting married!!!

Faces and Flowers

2011-09-18T03:33:00.000-07:00

One thing that really struck me about Kazan was how clean and beautiful it was. The inside of the Kremlin actually reminded me of Disneyland with all the pretty flowers and how well manicured the lawns were. Thankfully people really respect the grounds and do not litter which is unheard of in Samara!! It almost didn't even seem like we were in Russia during our time in Kazan.

Week #3 - Samoa Bark

2011-09-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have to confess that I wasn't as impressed with this recipe at all even though my husband and 4 year old loved it! It may just be the caramels that are sold here that didn't quite make this taste as I imagined it would. Or it could be how annoying it was unwrapping all those caramels!

Another problem could have been these

cookies. The recipe calls for shortbread

cookies but I can't find those here so

instead I used plain cookies.

Maybe you'll have better results.........you can find it here.

Kazan

2011-09-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of September we headed out on our first Russian road trip. Our destination was Kazan in the republic of Tatarstan. The majority of people in the republic of Tatarstan are Muslims but there are also a lot of Slavic Russians. Tatarstan has it's own government but also answers to Moscow. People who live in the Republic of Tatarstan have 2 passports............a Russian one and a Tatarstan one. A few years ago, Jon's language teacher told us that we would definitely want to visit Kazan one day. Kazan is over 1000 years old with a rich history. Kazan also has an IKEA but we didn't end up going to it. I'm so thankful we took a little slot of our time to get there, now I only wish we would have spent an extra day visiting all the sites. One of the first things that struck me about this beautiful city was how clean it was. Then I was so impressed with all the beautiful flowers.

This was a view from the rooftop of our hotel. This is looking into

the Kremlin. Jon found a great deal on a room at the Marriott. It

was so nice, just like the States, and great customer service.

This is a mosque inside the Kremlin. We

actually went inside and saw some men

praying. The inside is beautiful also.

One of the several Russian Orthodox churches inside the Kremlin.

This is a bell tower I believe and it sits on

the edge of the government buildings. It

is also leaning a little bit to the right.

This is the entrance to the government buildings. I suppose

their "duma"(similar to congress) is here.

Week #2 - Orange Pull Apart Bread

2011-09-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

Over the last 2 months I've seen several of the blogs I follow bake this cinammon sugar pull apart bread. Recently on Pinterest I saw a pin with an orange pull apart bread so I thought I would try it out. Twice a month I have small group in my home and I usually "try" to wow the ladies with something special I bake and I think I may have accomplished my goal because there was very little bread leftover!

I love working with dough!!

Doesn't it look lovely? I need a new bread pan though.

The end results. It was real tasty and not too hard to bake.

You can find the recipe here.

Faith Like A Child

2011-09-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Nathan said he was going to pray so he closed his eyes, folded his hands and prayed the following: "God please send me a pet!". He then opened his eyes, looked at the table, and in a pitiful little voice asked me: "Where's my pet?" I wish I had such faith when I offer up my prayers!!!

Celebrating Jojo's Birthday

2011-09-05T02:57:00.000-07:00

Josiah's birthday was last Tuesday and we all took the day off to celebrate. One of the things to do on my list this summer was to go on a little cruise on the Volga River and Jon thought it would be fun to do this on his birthday so off we went to the port and hopped on a boat.

There are some huge homes on the banks of the Volga.

After the boat ride we ate lunch at KFC. In the same mall where

the KFC is, there is also a little Baskin Robbins. I am always

checking the Baskin Robbins here to see if they have Jojo's

favorite ice cream - Rocky Road.............they never have it but

on this very special day they actually had a fresh tub of Rocky

Road ice cream. I almost started crying. Often times I feel

so bad because there are "things" the kids want but we just

can't find here, even something as simple as Rocky Road is

totally impossible to find but not this day!

After Baskin Robbins we went and picked up Jojo's favorite

cake to celebrate back home but as we were headed back

to our apartment we saw the Moorhead kids playing

outside so the boys played for a while with their buds.

Then we came inside, had cake, and Jojo got to open his

present. We'll celebrate soon with our team this weekend.

Week #1 - Blueberry Muffins

2011-08-31T02:41:00.000-07:00

I started checking out Pinterest over 2 months ago. At first I really didn't get all the hype about it. Then a lot of the bloggers I follow started raving about it like crazy; they even started posting about all the "pinning" they've been doing. Overall, Pinterest is a great "bookmarking" site and an amazing site to get ideas. So, I thought I'd give myself a 52 week challenge and pick one thing to bake from searching on Pinterest every week and preferably bake something that I have never done before.

So, this week I baked blueberry muffins............sounds boring, huh? Well the truth is that I didn't even know I could get frozen blueberries here in Samara until a few months ago when my friend Sharon baked some blueberry muffins a few months ago. Plus, I've never baked them in my life! So, I went on Pinterest and searched for blueberry muffins and a gazillion pin boards popped up. I found one recipe and tried it out. The muffins turned out real yummy but not quite as good as the ones they sell at the Vons grocery store in L.A.

The recipe can be found here!

Harvest

2011-08-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Harvest early this year with the church that Jon's been preaching at in Toliatti. Harvest is a big celebration here in Russia. Churches decorate a table with fruits and vegetables, have a special service, and usually have special treats after the service.

For the last 5 Sundays we've been traveling to Toliatti since Jon

has been preaching on a series on the authority of Scripture. It has

been a great time for all of us. The church was really packed

yesterday,this picture is only one part of the church.

There was a bunch of special music. The head pastor invited

several churches from the Samara Oblast and all the churches

shared music.This young lady had such an amazing voice. She

seriously has the best voice I have ever heard in my life.

There was also excellent preaching

but I'm not partial or anything!

The service was exactly 3 hours long..............the boys did

great. At one point Jojo turned around and told the children

in the row behind us to stop talking.

The Harvest table!

Yes, I'm wearing a head covering. This church is quite traditional.

Even though I usually don't wear a head covering in the churches

here, I didn't want to offend these sisters in Christ.

First Week of School

2011-08-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

We officially began our school year last week. Aside from a couple of rough starts to our days, I am happy with the way things went.

Jojo has started 2nd grade and he's afraid it's going to be really

hard. His favorite subject once again is Math. We use Saxon

Math and we both absolutely love it. I've read several reviews

about this curriculum and people either love it or hate it. He's

looking forward to Science but we won't start that for another

week. This year we added History and he seems to like it so

far. One thing about living overseas is the lack of library books.

I often wish I could just go to the library and check out a ton of

books to help supplement what the boys are learning, but I've

been real thankful for Google books and the amount of free

material that is available through that site.

Nathan officially started pre-school. My friend Heather let me

borrow Heart of Dakota, Little Hands to Heaven and Nathan

is really loving it. I have to confess that when I first looked

through it I wasn't horribly impressed but I thought we'd try

it and thankfully Nathan is having a blast. I feel a little silly

doing the "fingerplay" chant or song but I can see how effective

it is to get him to remember the sound the letter makes.

Turtle Cheesecake Truffles

2011-08-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

If you haven't made these balls of yumminess yet, then get to it!! The recipe is simple and the end result is absolutely delicious. It's also a great dessert to make for summer because there is no need for baking.

You can get the recipe here !

Motocross Show

2011-08-17T03:08:00.000-07:00

About 3 weeks ago there was a motocross show in the big square in our city. It's always fun to do something different around here. We met up with the Klassens at their home since they live within walking distance of the square. Considering how large our city is, it wasn't as packed and crazy as I thought it would be. I think Jon and I enjoyed it more than the boys but that's probably because it wasn't as easy for them to see all the action.

Group shot.

Bri getting pecked on by a raven. This man was walking

around with it for photo ops.

I know these pictures aren't great but the stunts were pretty amazing.

At one point they were flipping upside down on their bikes.

Sunflowers

2011-08-15T05:43:00.000-07:00

On our way to Toliatti one Sunday morning I saw a sea of yellow on the side of the highway. As we got closer I realized they were sunflowers!

The cooking oil here is sunflower oil and lots of people eat

sunflower seeds.

Jon was nice enough to pull over and let me take a couple of

pictures.

Vacation:Day 9 Heading Back Home

2011-08-12T03:16:00.000-07:00

In all honesty it was hard to head back home after spending such a nice time on a beautiful island. Due to the fact that we traveled on frequent flier miles, Jon was not able to travel with the boys and I until the flight from Germany to Russia. Now that the boys are older it was really a piece of cake to travel by myself with them. They also did a great job plus they love going on the airplane and hanging out.

1. Bye - bye Mallorca!
2. We flew from Mallorca to Barcelona. Poor little Naynay looks so tired. It was quite an early morning for us.
3. The airport in Barcelona is absolutely beautiful. We had not eaten breakfast yet so we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the McDonalds in the airport during our 3 hour layover. Believe it or not it was the boy's first time having a McDonalds breakfast!
4. I just had to stop by the official Barcelona soccer league team store. The amazing Argentine Leonel Messi plays for Barcelona.
5. Thankful for Jojo's Nintendo DS, it keeps him occupied. This was our flight from Barcelona to Frankfurt, Germany.
6. We had 6 hours to kill in Frankfurt so we just wandered around a lot. Nathan wanted to take a ride in this sports car.
7 and 8. Being silly at McDonalds. We tried to eat as slow as possible. After dinner we went to our gate to wait for daddy. I was starting to get nervous because he wasn't coming. I even asked the attendant at the gate to check his flight.............his flight came in late but thankfully he made it to our gate on time!
9. Arriving in Samara is always a bit of a culture shock. After waiting in a super long line to go through passport control we finally got to the window, got questioned, and then got our passports stamped. Our suitcases were waiting for us and then our friend Zhenya was there to pick us up. It was 4 am by this time and we got to see the sun rise on the way home! Home sweet home!!!

Vacation: Day 8

2011-08-11T02:42:00.000-07:00

On our last day of vacation we basically decided to just relax! We needed a vacation from our vacation. So, we visited a big grocery store that we also have here in Samara. We enjoyed a nice lunch. Packed up our suitcases and then went out for a nice dinner with my cousin and his family.

This is Auchan (which we also have in Samara) but in Spain

it's called Al Campo. I was so surprised by all the products

that are available in Spain.............definitely a ton more than

what I find in Russia. So, we stocked up on a few items and

very few because we didn't have enough room in the suticases.

Good - bye Coke Zero..............until we meet again. The lemon

Fanta was also amazing and refreshing.

Near a nice little park by my cousin's home.

My cousin's apartment building.

My cousin Dario and his sweet wife Vilma.

One last look at the beach. I am so thankful for the time

we got to spend in Mallorca! It was an amazing trip. I

hope I never forget all the beautiful things I saw and all

the friendly people I met. The best part for me though

was being able to spend time with my cousins and uncle.

It makes me so sad to think that I did not have the opportunity

to grow up with my cousins. Even though moving to

America was in our best interest I feel like I missed out

on spending time with extended family. It even breaks my

heart now that my boys don't have the opportunity to be

with their own cousins.

Vacation : Day 7

2011-08-09T03:22:00.000-07:00

By our seventh day we were all exhausted. The boys didn't even want to go to the beach or drive anymore. My cousin suggested we go visit some caverns. They are called the "Cuevas Del Drach" or the Caverns of the Dragon. The caverns contains one of the largest underground lakes in the world. This was the boys first time walking through a cavern and at first they were interested but after a while it got a little boring for them.

My pictures inside the caves aren't that great because you can't

use flash. At the end of the tour you come upon the lake. Then

we all sat down on some benches and some row boats lit up with

white lights came out with a quartet and organ and played

some pieces from Chopin, Bach, and Mozart. It was beautiful!

You then had the choice to exit the caverns walking or on a row

boat. We chose to exit via the row boat!

Vacation : Day 6 Part 5

2011-08-06T01:49:00.000-07:00

I promise this is the last part to our 6th day! It was quite the long day for us but I think our last site was one of our favorites and we definitely spent more time exploring in this little town of Alcudia.

One of our favorite things about this town

were the city walls dating back to the 14th

century!! We were having fun using our

imagination and getting the boys hyped

up about us defending the city from pirates.

And of course there was a big cathedral!

The boys a bit delirious from our travels.

These are the remains of a Roman town but unfortunately we

weren't able to walk through since it was closed on the day we went!

After we wandered around the town for a while we had a nice

little picnic and headed back home! We were all exhausted!

Vacation : Day 6 Part 4

2011-08-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

The next stop was the Cap de Fermentor which was our main goal.........the northern most point of the island. Getting there was a bit tricky with extreme winding roads but Jon is such a great driver that he made it all seem effortless. The views were amazing and the beach was absolutely gorgeous with crystal blue water! It was well worth the long days trek of getting there.

There you have it.............the northern most part of the island.

Pictures don't do this site justice. It was gorgeous!!!

The beach was beautiful but we didn't plan on swimming

in the water even though once we got there we wished

we would have brought our suits!!!

What a life! I'd love to do some sail boating one day!!

Vacation : Day 6 Part 3

2011-08-04T05:34:00.000-07:00

The next stop was the Port of Soller. It was a beautiful port with a trolley bus down the main road. We also ate lunch there at the super expensive Burger King! Parking was also a nightmare but the beautiful seaside made up for it.

I think I'll buy a summer home up in those hills overlooking the port!

Vacation: Day 6 Part 2

2011-08-03T00:26:00.000-07:00

After Valldemosa we continued on our little road trip. There were 2 little cities on the way to get to the northern most part of the island but unfortunately whenever we got to the little 2 cities which were nestled in the mountains we could never find any parking spots alongside the winding road. So, we just continued and took a couple of rest stops.

The road trip took us through some major winding roads. Thankfully

the boys didn't get car sick.

There were a few of these cool tunnels we drove through.

The boys just kicked back in the car while Jon and I took turns

looking at the scenery at the turnouts.

Vacation : Day 6

2011-08-02T03:52:00.000-07:00

Jon wanted to take a long scenic drive so my cousin mapped out a course for us. Thankfully Dario has a GPS so he set it all up for us and on this day we set out for a little road trip. Our destination was the northern most point of the island with a few stops on the way.

Our first stop was the beautiful little town of Valldemosa. Valldemosa is best known for the following:

"Mallorca's popularity as a tourist destination helped get its start from an unusual source. In 1838, the pianist Frederic Chopin and his lover, the writer George Sand(female, this was just her pen name), rented a former monk's cell at the Royal Carthusian Monastery. The couple and their illicit affair were the subject of intense gossip in Paris, so they decided to take refuge in Valldemossa to escape the 19th century equivalent of today's paparazzi. Chopin suffered from tuberculosis, and they thought the sunny, warm climate would help him recover. Unfortunately, the winter was a disaster for the couple. The weather was wet and cold, and the Mallorcan citizens shunned them. Chopin's health declined, the couple feuded with the villagers and each other, and Sand took out her frustrations with a pen in the scathing novel, A Winter in Majorca."

The beautiful view of the city as you drive in.

The Monastery where Chopin lived.

This little fountain/sign reminded me of something you'd see in

Santa Clarita, California............like maybe at the entrance

of a housing project or a mall!

Vacation : Day 5

2011-07-30T04:32:00.000-07:00

Day 5 equals Sunday. We had the opportunity to visit my cousin's church. The pastor there is actually from England but speaks Spanish fluently. There are actually quite a few people from England at the church so the service is translated simultaneously in English via earphones, so Jon got to hear the sermon in English.

Here's a picture of the church...........as I took this picture I almost

fell. I slipped on something and when I looked down to see what

I slipped on I was so upset. I slipped on dog poo poo! Eeeeww!

After church we headed to the beach which was located in a cove.

The last 3 pictures were taken by my cousin Dario!

My cousin took this picture also. Jon and I

are standing in front of a signal tower. When

pirates were approaching the island years and

years ago, the townspeople would light a fire

on top of the tower to notify the town that

pirates were coming!

Vacation : Day 4

2011-07-29T00:03:00.000-07:00

On day 4, which was also a Saturday, we all took off to a local water park with my cousin, his wife, and their daughter. It had been real long since I had been to a water park and thankfully they are still just as much fun. Jon and my cousin right away went on the huge straight drop slide and they were quickly acting like little kids.
The following pictures were taken by my cousin-we didn't take our camera.

Jon is the figure in the middle getting a ton of water dumped on him.

Both boys aren't too sure what to think about this owl.

Vacation: Day 3

2011-07-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

On day 3 we ventured out to the beach on our own. The water was so clear and beautiful. It was a bit windy and then these para-surfers(I think that's what you call them) started coming out. We enjoyed watching them,especially when they got major "air". The boys enjoyed playing in the sand and collecting seashells and Jon and I took turns swimming out in the deep Mediterranean Sea.

After arriving from the beach we thought it would be best for all of us to take a nap since that evening we were going over to one of my cousin's home for an "asado" (cookout).

My Tio Daniel cooking up all the meat............it was absolutely

delicious and I had not eaten that much meat in a while!

All the cousins.

My Tio Daniel and I.................he is my mother's only brother.

Vacation: Day 2 Part 2

2011-07-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

So, we walked a ton in the old part of the city. There were so many amazing sites, I just have to keep sharing!

There are lots of people entertaining the tourists along the narrow streets.

The local police.

There is a lot of Roman influence on the island

and even ancient Roman ruins!

My three boys!

I had to take a picture of these flowers because here in Russia

the bouquets are wrapped the same way.

Cute little cafes all over the place.

Can someone please make the front of our

apartment building look like this?

Bless my husband who is super duper allergic to horses - he

was trying to get some good shots of the horse drawn carriages

and ended up with a bit of an allergy attack.

Vacation : Day 2

2011-07-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

We did a lot of walking on day 2 and walked all over the "Old Town". We decided to take a bus into the city center (which was only 5 minutes from my cousin's home) because the center is just total chaos and parking is impossible. The main attractions in the Old Town are the Cathedral and the Palace which sit side by side.

I found the following on Wikipedia regarding the Cathedral:

"The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, more commonly referred to as La Seu, is a Gothic Roman Catholic church located in Palma, Majorca, Spain, built on the site of a pre-existing Arab mosque. It is 121 metres long, 55 metres wide and its nave is 44 metres tall. Designed in the Catalan Gothic style but with Northern European influences, it was begun by King James I of Aragon in 1229 but finished only in 1601. It sits within the old city of Palma atop the former citadel of the Roman city, between the Royal Palace La Almudaina and the episcopal palace. It also overlooks the Parc de la Mar and the Mediterranean Sea."

I have never been to the cathedral of Notre Dame nor have I seen

the Vatican but the architecture of this cathedral is absolutely

incredible. Pictures don't really do the building justice. It is

huge, but when we were inside Jon told me that this cathedral

would fit inside the Vatican...........amazing!

Being inside of a Catholic church or Russian Orthodox church

only brings me one kind of feeling and that is one of total

sadness. I felt the same way inside this cathedral.

So, now for a little humor. One of the few

reasons why we paid 4 euros for each adult

to get inside of the cathedral was for Naynay

to use the restroom. We were a bit desperate.

The restrooms were at the exit of the cathedral

in a courtyard. As we approached the bathroom

there was a sign up above that had a man and a

woman so Jon assumed that the bathrooms were

communal. So.......he took both boys in with

him but as I was waiting for him I realized that

the left entrance was for men and the right

entrance for women!!!! He totally went to

the right! As I peeked in and saw when he was

finished and about to wash hands I yelled at him to

get out quick. This is a picture of him coming out

of the men's bathroom after washing hands! I

couldn't stop laughing, it was hilarious.

This is the courtyard area.

The foundation of the cathedral.

So, what did we learn on our second day?

1. Eating out in Spain is super duper expensive. I don't even want to

write how many Euros we spent at Burger King...........ouch!!!

2. There's Coke Zero in Spain! One of Jon's all time favorite drinks.

3. Don't believe everything you read in the internet. Before going to

Mallorca I read up a lot on safety and health issues on the island.

Everything I read about this cathedral always warned tourists

about Gyspies who try to sell you a flower and then pick-pocket

you. As you can imagine, I was totally horrified and on the look

out for women selling flowers. I didn't see a single one and never

felt threatened at all. I found all the people we encountered to be

extremely gracious and welcoming.

4. Always make sure you double check the entrance of the bathroom!

Vacation : Day 1 Part 2

2011-07-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Once we got our suitcases we met my cousin at the airport. It was really great seeing him and hard to hold back the tears. We then rented our car and followed my cousin home where we had some pizza. By this time it was already 4 pm (6 pm in Samara) and we were pretty exhausted from all the travel. My cousin wanted to drive us down to the local beach so we waited for his wife to come home and off we went.

My uncle stopped by real quick to say hi. It was amazing seeing him again.

As we drove towards the beach I took some pictures.

I quickly fell in love with the architecture!

Beach, oh glorious beach!

My poor Naynay was so tired by this time.

The big cathedral in the old city. More on that on our Day 2!

By the time we got home it was already 9pm and needless to say we were worn out. Vilma, my cousin's wife, started preparing dinner and by 10 pm we ate dinner. We heard already from our friends the Pidals that dinner is served super late in Spain, so that was something we were definitely going to have to get used to. After bathes we all got to bed by midnight which felt like 2 in the morning for us. We slept very well!

So, there are a few things I learned on our first day:

1. You kiss both sides of the cheek in Spain.

2. Dinner is not eaten until late in the evening.

3. One is always greeted with "hola" in a sing

songy kind of voice.

Vacation : Day 1

2011-07-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

Since we did not return to the States this summer we decided to take a little family vacation to Mallorca, Spain. Mallorca is a part of the Balearic Islands...........I had never even heard of Mallorca until a couple of years ago when I was reconnected with my cousins and uncle via Facebook. They all live there and since reconnecting they have been asking when we were going to come and visit! I think I surprised them when I told them that it was going to be a reality.................this summer! Thankfully we had frequent flier miles and my cousin Dario invited us to stay with him and his family.

1. Before leaving for our trip I made these "treasure" containers. The boys weren't allowed to see the contents. Inside I included candy, cookies, crackers, and some new small toys. The boys couldn't wait to see what was inside but they were only allowed to open it on the airplane. It was a big hit!

2. This is inside the Samara airport. Unfortunately the flights to Germany now depart at 4:45 a.m. which means we have to leave our home at 1:15 a.m. After getting hassled and questioned by passport control we were finally waiting to board our plane.

3. This is my favorite article in the Lufthansa magazine. I seriously look forward to this article every time we fly. The idea of the piece is that they interview a famous artist/actor/singer and ask them what is in their carry-on.

4. On the moving walkway in the Frankfurt airport getting to our gate to fly to Duesseldorf, Germany.

5. Waiting at our gate to Duesseldorf. The airplane was late meaning we were going to pretty much miss our connecting flight to Palma De Mallorca. I look pretty exhausted in this picture.

6. Taking the bus to get to our airplane to go to Duesseldorf.

7. On the airplane to Duesdeldorf. At this point making the connecting flight was going to be super duper tight if not impossible.

8. We actually made the flight and it was like a scene out of a movie. I sent Jon ahead of the boys and I to find the gate while we waited for our stroller to come which seemed like F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!! As soon as I got the stroller I opened it up, ~~threw~~ put Nathan in it, and Jojo and I took off running. Jon was nowhere in sight and I couldn't find the screen to check our flight............................................................................then as I rounded a corner I heard Jon yell my name. We took off running and barely made our flight. Jon was able to get the boys and I sitting together but he had to sit in the back. We think they may have been holding our seats. When we boarded the plane everyone was seated and waiting for the plane to take off. This is also the flight where the flight attendant spilled Coke all over me. She felt awful about it but I was just glad to be headed to Mallorca.

9. Flying into Mallorca was just gorgeous. The beautiful beaches were calling my name!!!!

Sleepover

2011-07-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since I blogged. That's because we went on a little vacation which I will be blogging about very soon. Before we left though we had Jojo's bud Brucey Old Boy(this is what Jojo calls him) spend the night.

The boys played with Legos of course.

Then they watched some Star Wars: Clone Wars.

As soon as the movie finished they started some light saber fighting...................BOYS!

Toliatti Part 3

2011-07-13T04:59:00.000-07:00

After church we headed to our friend's home for a great lunch and for some fellowship time with his wife. After lunch they wanted to show us the campsite along the Volga River where their church was holding their youth camp that week.

One of the lookout points on the way to the site. It was quite

a ways to get there, especially as we got closer. There had

been a lot of rain and we basically went on a dirt road with

potholes bigger than our car.

The boys happy that we finally got there!

Some of the campers.

On the banks of the Volga with my two boys where I got eaten

alive by mosquitoes.

Toliatti Part 2

2011-07-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

While we waited for daddy to finish talking and meeting people the boys and I headed to the car to have some snacks and to hang out.

Nathan managed to touch every single button and knob in the car.

He even turned on the seat warmers so when the car started Jon's

seat was quite warm.

Jojo acting a bit delirious!

The pretty flowers in the church's garden.

Jon gave us all a fair warning about

the bathrooms. He said they had

squatty potties, but since he had never

been in the women's bathroom little did

he know about the toilets in there! I

guess the men get to deal with the other!

This is the little area where you wash hands, but I had to take

a picture because I thought it was so pretty.

Toliatti

2011-07-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

At the end of June we made a trip to Toliatti where Jon had the opportunity to preach in the local church there. One of the students who finished the Preacher's Help Program here in Samara currently serves in the church. The trip there is 1 1/2 hours.............quite a long trip for the boys followed by a 2 hour church service! The boys did real great though and it's always fun for them to watch daddy up front preaching.

Good News Church in Toliatti.

Jon making fun of "V's" attempt to grow facial hair!

The boys after church-they were acting a

bit silly after all that sitting!

Sunshine and Flowers

2011-07-08T06:09:00.000-07:00

June was pretty much full of rainy days!!! We tried not to let the rain put a damper on our plans while Grandma Judy was here but there were days when we couldn't get out. She was waiting for these flowers that are in our courtyard to bloom and thankfully a handful of them did bloom right before she left. Soon after she left though the hot summer days began and the flowers started blooming like crazy. She called them "holly hops" but I'm not too sure what they are since I can't find holly hops online anywhere.

There are so many of them! When people walk

by our courtyard they stop and take pictures.

It was so hot this day! The boys weren't too excited about

having their picture taken!

It's such a contrast of beauty vs. ugly,

gray, concrete building!

Beach Days

2011-07-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

This is our first full summer here in Samara and we've been heading down to the Volga with our friends and teammates the Klassens. The boys have absolutely loved going down to the shore, playing in the water, making sandcastles, soaking up the sun, and hanging out with their buds. Only problem is that even though we are fairly close to the Volga River we really don't have transport that takes us down to the shore. The other day it took us close to 1 hour just to get there...............but that's o.k. It is really worth it! Next time we go, I will have to take a picture of the treacherous hill we have to walk up to head home, but for now here are some pictures from the last few times we've been there.

This is what happens pretty much the whole time......Jojo and

his bud Bryce chase around Bryce's oldest sister Bri.

This is the lifeguard station and we've pretty much made the area

in front of this post our "spot". The first day we arrived the life-

guards seemed a little nervous with 6 crazy kids running around

but they soon realized that the mommies were actually taking good

care of the kids and they seemed to chill out after a little while.

This is "spinning man". He literally spins around and around

and around and around...........why? I have no idea!