For the love of Kazakhstan

I was going through all of our "back-up" discs trying to find our pictures from our time in Kazakhstan. We have no album of our time there and I do love to look at a good photo album every now and again, especially one as significant and special as Kazakhstan. I can't think of a better coffee table book, so I plan to make one soon now that I found all the pictures. I wanted to put up a few of them. There are far too many good ones to put here, but I did my best to pick some of the greatest. What an incredible 10 months that was. Some of the best memories for me are (in no particular order):

1)Learning to speak Russian... or at least enough to make it around the city
2)Taking a taxi ride by myself for the first time
3)Finding out I was pregnant with Elle (trying to buy a pregnancy test?!)
4)Being sick and throwing up for 3 months
5)Having my finger pricked with a razor blade for some "routine bloodwork"
6)Regulating my own IV as I received fluids on the bed in my doctor's house
7)Trip to Kulsai
8)The gorgeous mountains, particularly when they were covered in snow!
9)Fresh fruit and vegetable stands on every corner
10) Shashlik
11) The Horsley's house (anytime but especially Christmas)
12) New Year's Eve (nothing will ever compare)
13) Getting bitten by a dog
14) Potato logs at the Hyatt

I could list many more. I have never felt as "close" to God as I did when I was there. It might have been because I was in His Word daily, or that there weren't the many distractions of life here, or because I was with a group of people who encouraged my faith everyday, or any number of reasons. I treasure my time there as one of the greatest in my life. I hope that we will be able to go back one day, especially to take Elle. For those of you who've been there, I hope this will bring back some great memories for you too and will encourage you to continue to pray for the people of Kazakhstan!




The view from the back of our apartment



Snowboarding at Chimbalok



A walk in the park near our house (Mom & Madison)



A positive pregnancy test



A nomadic family sharing "chai" with us at Kulsai



A canyon on our trip to Kulsai



The Green Bazaar

No more appendix

My brother just came out of surgery. He had to have his appendix removed. AK says he's doing well and should go home tomorrow. Please pray for a quick recovery and say a big thanks that they caught it before it ruptured!

The joy of razzing

I just wanted to put up a few recent pictures of Grady. I've given him cereal a couple of times. He really wasn't that interested. We'll try again in a few days. Grady has been such a sweet and fun baby. I definitely think the second baby is easier. At least for me it's been that way. I will confess, I am much more laid back than I was with Elle. I know a lot of the "hard times" we had when she was a baby were most likely the result of my high anxiety. I had no idea what I was doing. And I certainly don't claim to know everything now; all I can say is I'm more relaxed in being a mom. It truly is one of the greatest gifts I've known... Grady was 5 months old on the 16th. He is such a wonderful sleeper (Hallelujah!), loves to roll over and over and over, and smiles all the time. He's started making that spitting noise (all the developmental books call it "razzing") and coughing for attention. It's so funny to see them realize they can do something and then do it over and over. Perhaps I should learn from them and remember to find such pleasure in the little things. So the next time you see me and I "razz" at you, just know I'm happy:).

I do not think this word means what you think it means

For those of you who don't know the movie The Princess Bride, you won't get the connection, but I think you will still laugh all the same. I was going through some of Elle's old clothes this morning, sorting what ones I would keep just in case we have #3 and what ones to donate. She came across an outfit from the summer and laid the shirt and shorts out perfectly and then said, "This is my dam shorts and this is my dam shirt". I know what you are probably thinking, that she's heard this word used in a different context, but I can assure you the only usage has been to refer to the home a beaver makes. I immediately thought of that movie and the scene where the one guy keeps using the word "inconceivable" and the other guy says, "I do not think this word means what you think it means". And so without further delay, here is a picture of the dam outfit.

It Snowed!! (Part 2)

This poem by Robert Frost was one of the things that kept coming to my mind as we enjoyed the beautiful snow day on Saturday. Mostly it was the parts about the snow and woods but something about the line, "and miles to go before I sleep" rings true too:). These pictures are from our backyard...





Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

It Snowed!

We had our first snow day yesterday. It started falling around 8 AM and didn't stop until around lunch. It was beautiful! Elle liked it once everything was totally white. She even went down our neighbor's hill on a "sled" (a big canvas sign) with him. There was a little accumulation of mud at the bottom of the hill and Elle wasn't too thrilled about sliding in to that. But we made minature snowmen, snow angels and even caught snowflakes on a black piece of construction paper so we could examine them with our magnifying glass. We had to test the theory that no two snowflakes are alike! The only disappointing part was Steven had to work and by the time he got home, all the snow was melting. Even poor Mr. Mitch's (our sledding neighbor) snowman's head was beginning to slide off and his smiling mouth was becoming a frown. I'll put some more pictures up later and might even have some deep thoughts to go with them!

Grapes are not in season

I might be the only one who didn't realize this. Grapes are not in season. That can be the only explanation. I made the weekly trek to Wal-Mart yesterday (without the kids I might add), and finished up the shopping trip by selecting my fresh produce. What a healthy choice for my family. I think I'll get some of these delicious looking green grapes. Would you like to know how much the healthy green grapes were? $9.26!! for grapes! That was the most expensive item I bought, more than any meat. These grapes cannot be dropped on the floor. No, no, not one of these precious gems will be wasted. They will be washed and eaten or put back in the bag. The lesson I learned is to know what "fresh produce" is in season and buy that.

No More Monkies

Mom got this trampoline for Elle for Christmas and she has had a blast on it. The first day, she kept saying, "I love this trampoline! Thank you so much for getting it for me!" The only downside is that it plays music--the downside being that Elle found one song that she plays over and over and over. But it's worth listening to the same annoying tune over and over for her sheer joy... and that there will now be no more monkies jumping on the bed, couch, chair, etc.

Sweet Sandwich

A few days ago Elle and I were having our usual turkey sandwiches for lunch. A small glob of something white was oozing out of my two pieces of bread... "Mommy, is that mayonnaise or icing, icing or mayonnaise, mayonnaise or icing? Huh, huh?" Now there's an idea for a sweet sandwich. Would you like mayonnaise or mustard on your sandwich, ma'am? No thanks, I think I'll just have icing.