Saturday Preparations

According to Russian tradition, spring cleaning is done on the Saturday before Easter. We did a little extra, and the boys volunteered to clean the balcony. This is the open balcony where they have been playing 'hockey' in the warm sunshine. I think they might be disappointed that it's no longer slippery without the layer of dirt. We took two dustpans of dust and grime off of this little space! And then wiped and mopped a few times until it was clean enough to go barefoot.

I think we hit 50 F (9C) today. Outside, the boys begged to take their coats off, but all the Russian kids were wearing coats and hats, even while rollerblading in the sunshine. So we lived it up American-style on our balcony-shirtless and barefoot.

Finally, we've hit the age(s) where egg-dyeing is not too out-of-control! I even had fun. I only wish we had more eggs! My favorite was Ella's collection of purple eggs--she was the most productive and monochromatic. But Danya came up with the 'globe' idea yesterday at the Huddlestons' and I was inspired. We colored continents green, polar ice caps white, and then dyed the eggs blue.

Documenting the Snowpack

For the last two weeks or so, we've had some sun-power that has reduced the volume of snow. And today, a light rain tamped it down more. Cars are emerging, like the window now visible above. This snow fell in mid-December. A few weeks ago, a loader worked all day to widen this road so people could park on both sides. (It's still just one-lane wide, which is confusing, since there's no agreement about which way people should drive!) At the time, we wondered how the loader driver knew where the buried cars were. Did they tear off any bumpers?









All our playgrounds are buried up to the swing seats. Those are the backs of the wooden swings you see. Most have been dug out so that kids can still swing...

My favorite vision of our snowpack. That's the top of a bench sticking out on the left side of the path. The weirdest thing is that the packed down paths are the same level as the surrounding snow. But it's like a swamp. If you step off the path, you're up to your knees (or worse).

Danya is Eight! ...continued

It rained on our parade... well, on our party, today.
After debating what to do with a promised birthdeay party for Danya's classmates, we settled on sledding on a nearby hill. Despite the late invitations (two day warning!) only one child couldn't come. But we didn't go sledding. The rains came. Well, the drizzle, drips, and 'plus' temperatures that meant sticky snow, and soaking kids.

We decided to stay inside. This is not a decision to take lightly in a 64 sq. m. apartment. Even without Ella (thank you, Trisha, for babysitting!) that means eight eight-year olds for two hours. But with a little game-storming and Eric's deep reserves of energy, we did it. I don't know where he gets it from, but Eric is very capable of leading, cajoling, reprimanding and explaining games to kids.

Some highlights:
Masha gave Danya a box of magic tricks. With great excitement, she set up one to show me. First she covered a fuzzy ball with one of three cups. Then she tapped the cup three times with the magic wand. Dramatically, she lifted the cup... and was shocked to find the ball still under it.

As they were sitting around the table, the kids started singing the 'Goodbye to the Alphabet-book" song which they just performed last week. Only one boy didn't join in with gusto. The kids are all in class together, and it's obvious they are all comfortable with each other. There is a spirit of innocence and enthusiasm that we are very grateful for. And it's great to see how Danya is truly a part of the class.

The presents were great. A Lego set (which Danya worked on for hours) a puzzle, a board game, a magnifying glass. I was surprised how education they were--although he also got a realistic looking toy pistol.

From Eric, clockwise: Masha, Gleb, Nikita, Dima, Tima, Danya, Sasha, Paulina.

Danya is Eight!

Can you believe it? Danya turned eight years old on Saturday. To celebrate, we went skiing for the first time! We rented cross-country skiis in the wooded park in our neighborhood (thank you Edings, for discovering it and communicating it!) and Trisha and Nick joined us for an hour-long tour.

The boys both did well, though I was pretty helpless to explain how to do anything! Especially problematic was how to get your skiis pointed in the same direction after falling. But though they fell a lot, neither boy was frustrated or discouraged.

Our only tears were at the end. Tima discovered that 'to rent' doesn't mean 'to own'. And he wailed that he wanted to take them home, or buy some new ones immediately. The owner gave the kids a free ride on the 'carousel' to stop Tima's tears. (Yes, the ski rental place is right with two swing-carousels, and a shooting stand, and who knows what else! In the summer they rent bikes and roller blades.)

And what better way to celebrate the first birthday in awhile with a car, then drive to McDonalds!

The biggest part of the celebration was actually having Nate and Nick stay the night. Next weekend (when we have more energy) we're planning to do something with some friends from school!

This birthday was noteworthy because it is the first one in four years when Danya has celebrated in the same city as the previous years. The last 'stable' birthday was his fourth, in Irkutsk, where he had celebrated every year. Then, 5 was in Colorado, 6 in Kiev, and 7 in St. Pete. In fact, we hadn't moved to our own apartment yet; we celebrated while living with the Huddlestons.

Winter Images

Star Wars Lego Olympics

"One revel is a biathlont." (That's Danya's phrase for a rebel is a biathlete.) "Two rebels are snow-crossers. The captain clone is a cross-country skiier. Annikan is a snowboarder-crosser. The pilot storm trooper is a snowboarder...crosser. A storm trooper is a bobsledder. Another rebel is a speed skater. A clone trooper is a speed skater."

There are advantages to being legos. They can easily clip back in if they lose their snowboards. And Tima even showed me how Annikan 'used force' to get his back when it fell off. (There are advantages to being Star Wars guys, too.)

When watching the Olympics, Ella definitely likes the female figure skaters. Even when watching the pairs, she comments, "I like the girl." And whenever hockey comes on (which is often!) she comments, "I don't like pockey." Or, complains, "Pockey, again!" She claims her favorite is 'kee-gwumping.' And more than anything, she asks, "Mama, can we wat' de commer-tal?" since commercials are a novel thing in our household!

Tima claims his favorite sports are ski jumping (which we see a lot of here) and bobsled, both short and longtrack speed skating, and snowboarding cross. When I asked Danya to choose three (from the list of 10 he first told me) he finally decided on speed skating, half-pipe and the crosses.

Ella is Three!

Ella enjoyed a very special day yesterday! We kept it very simple, since in our opinion a three year old doesn't need much to make the day special. She enjoyed her gifts, got a lot of attention from her daddy, and enjoyed a party with our teammates. Although we were disappointed that the Skoks couldn't come, we enjoyed the Huddlestons, Cheryl and Lena. Ella chose pelmeni for dinner and a pink cake. (No surprise on either count!)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3999097&l=6fb870558c&id=593736915
Here are a few more photos!

Olympic Fun

We are having another week of geography and sports science.

Ella notices the letter "E" in everything, including results lists of the competition. "That's my letter!" she exclaims.

The boys are very interested in the different countries. The US and Russia are favorites... sometimes Danya cries when they lose. But they are passionate for Korea as well. And this mroning, watching speed skating, they were all for the Japanese because of their shiny gold 'super hero' outfits.

Danya has a week off of Russian school, since all first graders get four vacations each year. He thinks it is for the Olympics. My goal is to do extra American homeschool. We're doing a medal chart and some geography to go along with the Olympics. And we found a list of apporopriate spelling words. But the weather here is warmer, and we're trying to spend more time outside doing our own winter 'sports'.

There are huge piles of snow in front of our building, and the boys love to scale them and slide down the 'cliffs'. On the southern side, where the business entrances are, they have piled all the snow in the ramps, and the boys love to tunnel through them.

We haven't made it to the woods to sled or skate much. The weather was too cold for awhile, especially for Ella. And the paths packed by walkers down are a too skinny for the baby jogger, which means I'm either carrying Ella or she's crying on the sled. THe last week it's been warmer (about -5 to -10C) but Tima and Ella have been quite sick with croup-like illness. Now, they're getting better, but Eric and I are fighting something off. So it goes, I guess! But even home-bound, we are enjoying more sunshine and longer hours of daylight.

Winter Student Conference

Tima and Ella, along with our friend Sam, spent hours each day playing with the little animals. Their babysitter started bringing a book when she watched them because they were so engaged with their play.

Beauty.

Today I talked with a friend in Krasnoyarsk. Ella and Tima are coughing and feverish, but did well for most of the conversation. Ella wanted to see who I was talking to and showed Tima their family's photo.

Quick update

We are spending the week together with staff and students from about ten cultures across the Russian-speaking world, plus our traditional group of Korean students! Ella and Tima are having a great time with the one other child-Sam McFadden. Their babysitter started bringing a book since the kids only want to play with their little animals and Snow White. Right now they are having a feast …some of the Jedi and dwarves are in the pile to be eaten by the tigers.

Danya is having a good time staying with our teammates in St. Petersburg. Trisha was so gracious to take him in for the week, though her husband is with us at the conference. And Danya’s definition of heaven is Nate and Nicks’ home! He’s playing Wii, Monopoly Deal, and Legos. Just like I have three kids of similar interests who are intensely playing with one another, Trisha says the three at her house are just as intense, though of course at a different developmental level!

It’s been great for me to watch Eric in action, leading the staff and students of Russia. I sat in on his vision casting meeting with the Korean students, and my own vision for Russia was renewed. And for the first time I experienced Korean style prayer at its most intense- with us in the center, hearing the many shouted prayers poured out with literal tears. And though I worried I would have no common ground with students (in my old age, having missed this conference for 5 years!) I have been blessed by the 45 students who live in cities without staff members, who are looking for mentors and friends. The atmosphere among our staff and students is very hopeful, as we all trust God together!