Almost Standing!

Ok, I think this speaks for itself!

Celebrating Small Victories

No, this one isn't about Isaiah, this is about me.  But first some history...

I used to have a really good memory.  I could remember random things about people, like what they wore 2 weeks ago, or where I put most things, or what I wanted to get at the store, etc., etc.  Then I got pregnant and my memory ran away.  One day, I can't tell you exactly when, it was just gone.  I couldn't remember anything, and no, I'm not exaggerating!

So, when I tell you what I'm about to tell you, I want you to stand up and cheer for me. :)  Ok, well, you can sit in your seat and cheer.

Today I went to the store to buy what I needed for supper, and horror of horrors, I forgot my list!!!!!!  This really isn't a good thing.  I just knew that I would forget something and have to go back out, again.  I carefully and methodically walked around the store racking my brain trying to remember what I needed.  Finally I made my purchases and went home.  

When I arrived, I couldn't help it, I compared my list to my purchases, and I GOT EVERYTHING I NEEDED! (at least 10 things!) I couldn't believe it; in fact, I'm still in shock.  Maybe my memory will come back at least a little bit.  Now, if only I can remember to turn off the oven when I'm done cooking supper....

Trying to Start Early

We always want to try to teach Isaiah the truth of God's Word.  We've started teaching him the children's catechism.  Here you'll get to see Isaiah enjoying playing with our strainer (I don't know why, but he likes it a lot), speaking in his language and answering, "Who made you?"  

Some New Creativity From Some Creative Friends

I don't know if you've noticed one of the "blog rolls" to the left as you scroll down, but I have a category called "Some Friends' Creativity".  I have some really creative friends.  Some of them are sharing their talents with the world on the internet from making blogs more attractive, or enhancing photographs and stationery, to making people more attractive in cute clothes, my friends can really do good work.

Well, two more sites are now available and highlight the creativity of some of my friends.

My cousin, Sharon and one of her friends have started  a site to help people save money in their regular shopping.  Check out The Checkout Chicks to see how you can use coupons and other special deals to save lots of pennies, nickels, dimes, dollars.

My friends Aimee and Candace have started Mommy Who?  A Resource for Moms Who Feel Anonymous.  They feature special moms and also give great tips for organizing the hectic lives that we moms live, meal planning ideas, helps for helping the environment in our homes, and just plain good ideas for helping moms keep their sanity and remember what's important.

So, I hope that you'll check out my friends' creativity and get some good ideas for saving money or time or have a good laugh at some interesting stories.

Celebrating Friends

Isaiah's friend, Lydia turned 2, and we were very happy to be included in her birthday celebration.  Lydia is a wonderful little girl, very gentle and kind.  Isaiah enjoys playing with her, especially when she runs from one room to another and he gets to chase her!

The party started at the park near Lydia's house, which was a big hit with all the kids.  Isaiah's favorite part was, of course, the sand box.

Here's the Birthday Girl, herself, enjoying some fun in the sand.

Isaiah enjoyed his first time to play with bubbles.

"What ya doin' over there?"  Isaiah loves to watch the other kids playing around, too.

Lydia's mom made an amazing cake, which was fun to look at and to eat after the yummy sloppy joes that she made.  I had forgotten how good sloppy joes are, and certainly didn't expect to enjoy some in Russia.

The amazing and delicious caterpillar cake!

Lydia successfully blowing out her candles.

We are very thankful that God is providing friends for Thomas and me, and some wonderful friends for Isaiah as well.  He loves being around other kids, and we praise God for providing even in this area!

This Might Seem Strange, But.....

All right, imagine that you can't feel those things that hang down from your hips very well, if at all.  Then imagine one day that you discover something way down there at the very end of them.  Then pretend that you even realize that they have a name and when someone else says the name of the 10 little things at the end of the 2 big things that you know what they are talking about and you can do something about it.  That's what you're about to see, and I'm pretty excited about it, even if that doesn't make sense to anyone else.  Bear with a proud, excited mama for about 42 seconds.

Sunday was a Good Day

Celebrating Mother's Day in a country where they don't celebrate Mother's Day is, well, just fine.  Some of our ex-pat friends actually don't celebrate it, since Russia has International Women's Day instead.  We however chose to continue to celebrate the American tradition!

Thomas and Isaiah treated me with great love and appreciation all day long with meals and gifts and the sweetest card ever!

It's funny what you miss when you're not at home, but being able to find those little things can be quite satisfying.  Thomas was able to find Honey Nut Cheerios, which is one of those things that I really miss munching on.  I enjoyed a bowl today, and they were even better than I remembered.

I was trying to think about some of my impressions of being a mom on my third Mother's Day, but unfortunately today I have a migraine, and thinking isn't exactly as easy as I would like it to be.  Maybe next year I can dazzle you with my quick whit or insightfulness, but this year, all I have to say is, I love being Isaiah's mom.

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day has always been a special holiday to me.  I have a pretty terrific mom, and I enjoy celebrating her.  She really is quite amazing!I was curious though, why in the world this day is celebrated, so I did a little research to discover the origins.  

While some holidays are often under debate in the church (halloween, of course, and even Christmas by some), I've never heard any criticism of celebrating mother's day.  And interestingly enough, in Britain Mother's Day actually was about as close to a Christian holiday as you can get in it's origins.  Originally called Mothering Sunday, servants were even allowed to have time off on the weekend to return to their "mother church" or the church where they grew up.

In America the holiday was sort of borrowed from Britain, but didn't really take off until after the Civil War (or, as some of my dear friends call it, The War of Northern Aggression).  Women actually banded together to help improve sanitation during the war, and then after the war to improve relationships between northern and southern towns.  President Wilson later made the day official to honor women who had lost sons in war.  And then the holiday became pretty commercial with Americans spending billions of dollars on flowers and meals and "pampering gifts".

So, what's my point?

Well, I kind of wish that this year I could be honoring Mother's Day in the old British way and going to my mothering church, but I can't, so I'll just list a few things in no particular order that I really like about my mom.

1.  She has a great imagination.  When I was little my mom would wash my hair in our kitchen sink.  Every time she would make up a new and really great story to tell me while she shampooed, rinsed, conditioned and rinsed again.  This also made her a really great playmate!

The snowman is mama's, not Isaiah's, but they played with him together.

2.  My mom can cook!  Anyone who has been to one of the ABFs can back me up on this one!  It doesn't matter if it's a main dish or a side salad or a dessert, my mom can make it, and it will be delicious.

3.  She reads her Bible.  Just like her mom, my mom reads her Bible every day.

4.  Every first day of school my mom had a special outfit that she had made for me.  Actually she learned to sew by making me baby clothes.  She doesn't sew as much now, but I was always proud to wear the clothes that she made for me, and all my friends were really impressed.  My senior year I searched and searched the stores for a dress for homecoming court, only to be frustrated again and again.  Mama made me the most beautiful dress and cape better than anything I saw in any of the stores!  People would ask for my hand-me-downs because Mama sewed so beautifully.  OH!  And if I needed a costume for school or halloween or anything that was going on--my mama made mine.  Once, she even made just about every costume for our

 school play.

5.  She's not afraid to try new things.  For instance, when I started taking piano lessons, Mama (and Daddy!) did too.  As Daddy says, "Broaden your horizons".  And even though she hates to fly, she flew to Berlin to meet us in January!

6.  She laid floor in her attic so that she would have a nice place to store a ton of stuff for us when we moved.  She can do pretty much anything that she puts her mind to.

7.  One of her favorite Christmas gifts was a chain saw.

8.  My mom was always the classroom mom, whether she was asked to be or not.  I loved that she didn't have a "job" and could always be free to go on the field trips or help with picnics or anything.  She worked really hard, though, don't get the wrong idea.  Whether it was collating calendars, selling programs at sporting events or folding pamphlets (or any other number of odd jobs), my mom was always working really hard.

9.  Other kids liked being with my mom.  Once she was a chaperone for our youth group's trip to an amusement park.  I remember at first that the kids that were assigned to her were reluctant to be in her group, to be with "an adult" (oh how terrible!).  Our group had the best time of anyone!  I didn't even get to ride with her very often because the other kids wanted to.

10.  She loves me.  No matter what I know that my mama loves me.  And I love her lots and lots.  

Meet Our New Friend and Helper

In case you haven't picked up on this tidbit from some previous posts, learning Russian is tough.  I had no idea.  I'm still getting over the fact that how you use a number in sentence can effect the name of the number.  So far, I've learned about 5 different ways to say the number 1. 

That being said, I've also learned that it's really, really hard to study Russian at home with Isaiah.  Twice a week I'm gone to my lesson and Thomas takes excellent care of Isaiah.  (I have a wonderful husband!)  But time to actually study during the day when my brain functions better (as opposed to after Isaiah is in bed and my brain is like jell-o) are few and far between.

After discussing this issue with several people, including our very wise field director and father of 3, we decided that we needed to get some help, someone to spend some time with Isaiah.  Over here that person is a called a nanny.  Now, "nanny" in this context does not mean

 someone living with us and taking care of all responsibility for Isaiah while go off and work or shop or get my nails done, or whatever.  "Nanny" is much closer to a babysitter or playmate with experience.

Thinking about finding a nanny was really hard for me.  Leaving Isaiah with Thomas is really hard for me, and he does a fabulous job!  We started praying about finding just the right someone.  And what do you know, God provided!  He's pretty good about that sort of thing, don't you think?

Julia (actually Youlya in Russian) is a very gentle, kind young Christian woman who is (get this!) studying to be a nurse!  We could not be more pleased with the nanny that God has provided for us.  Right now we don't have a regular schedule of when she comes (maybe about 6 hours/week), but in the fall we are hoping to have something more concrete.  She is so great with Isaiah, and she is able to catheterize him, which means that I can have some great blocks of time for studying and not have to worry one bit (well, that part is getting easier).

So, we are thankful to introduce to you, Julia, our new friend and helper!