Ceria's Celebrations

My Two Two year olds!!!

2010-12-18T15:11:00.014-05:00

Happy Birthday to my precious Nadia Noelle and Julia Elise!

Two years ago, you miraculously entered my life, and everyday since has been full of adventure. I am so thankful for both of you and the ways God is blessing me through you.

A look back....

A year later.....

And NOW!!!

Nadia

Julia

Three girlfriends.

Who are these two-year olds?! -by Nadia & Julia

2010-12-18T14:43:00.006-05:00

Dear Readers,

We know my mom (and dad) have been total slackers about blogging, so we decided that we'd have to take over and make a post about our newest acheivement - our turning two. Mom and Dad haven't written about us in a long time so we thought we'd clear the air a bit about who we are and how you can learn to tell us apart.

First of all, I am Nadia, the older twin by 3 minutes. When I was a newborn they would paint my nails, so people would say, "Nadia with the nails" and know who I was. But then I started eating off all the nail polish and even though mom bought me this really earth-and people-friendly nail polish, she still got really nervous about me eating it and stopped painting them, or started painting my toenails instead. I am not sure, I can't remember, I was pretty little then, you see. I am now known as "Nadia the narrow," because I am not as chubby in the face (and all around) as my sweet sister Julia. I love her and Yanna so much, I always try to take care of them. I love to clean up toys, books, and crayons, because I get to sing "leen up, leen up" (the clean-up song). When Mom or Dad tell me that we are going to do something special or go somewhere, I always ask, " and is Julia going too? and is Yanna going too? and daddy? and mommy?" I just love them all so much, i don't want anyone getting left out. I really love Julia, she's my best friend. Even when she bites me, or steals my toy, I end up apoligizing to her and giving her kisses to make up. I just can't stand being at odds with her. She, by the way is testing Mom right now, big time... throwing temper tantrums and stuff. I know Mom's not going for it, but Julia sure is giving it a good try. I am learning to take turns and share with Julia but sometimes it is so hard to remember.... Playing in the snow outside is fun. I love to slide down the slide, or climb up the monkey bars when mom isn't looking and then give her an almost heart attack when she finally sees how high up I am! I love to eat things like ICE CREAM, and Cookies. Regular non-sweet foods are ok, like the things we eat for meals, but I am not into eating as much as Julia. She can't be quite a pain to sit next to at the table. Here's why - she loves food soo much, she finishes her bowl and then grabs for my food and steals it if Mom's not watching. And she has no remorse about it, it's like it's her right or something. And I am just sitting there chatting away about something, but it doesn't mean I am not eating too! Sheesh! I love to give kisses and hugs to my family. Especially when mommy gives me ice cream, I just can't stop kissing her, she is just so nice for giving me that heavenly stuff!

My turn. I am Julia. I love it when Mommy sings. I know she sometimes uses it as a distraction when I am not going to get something I am whining for, but that's ok, because I just love to sing, and dance. My favorite songs are "Jesus loves me," "Old MacDonald," "Head & Shoulders, knees and toes," and some Miss Pattycake songs. And eat. I love to eat, especially noodles and soop and chicken and cheese and meatballs and.... But my absolute favorite is "the boy." Timur, he is the neighbor boy. He's only 1, but he is wonderful! I just love to see him and talk about him. And whenever we pray, I always say, "boy! boy! and Dina, Dina!" (his mommy) 'cause I want to pray for them. I love my sis Nadia alot. But I really want to be just like Yanna. She can color inside the lines and write letters. I am practicing with crayons, but so far it just all comes out as scribbles. I am working on it everyday though. I really like swinging on the crib rails too. It's super fun. I recently found out that going on the potty means getting a piece of candy! SWEET! I keep trying to get it right, but so far just alot of sitting on the plastic potty with no results. I keep bugging mom to give me candy for trying, but she is not giving in to that one. I also have recently fallen in love with balloons. I can't blow one up for the life of me, but I love trying! I love making jokes because when mommy or daddy laugh at me, it is the best feeling in the world. My funniest jokes are when I find random things and put them on my head to make a funny hat, then I find a parent and say, "yook, yook!" (look, look) and they always laugh! My favorite hat is my bib pulled up halfway over my forhead and flopped over, it works every time!! Tomorrow is church, that means afterwards, when everyone is talking around the tea table, I can sneak in and stuff my mouth with sugar cubes and cookies. YES! Mom's biggest complaint about me is how I always try to take my clothes off at naptime and bedtime. I just can't stand them! So she has had to pin closed my snuggly jammies and even though I got the pin open a few times, she is smarter and pins them from the inside now and I can't figure out how to un-pin them. Bummer. I need to think of something...

Lateness

2010-06-11T07:23:00.006-05:00

Lateness. I am really late on updating the blog, sorry. this is for Zhenya who keeps bugging me about the fact that we seldom blog. :) today I bought lunch meat at the deli counter of the grocery store. yummy sliced ham. okorok delikatessni. yummy. it was 470 rubles for 1 kilo, comes out to about $15 for 2.2 pounds. it's like virginia honey ham. i thought it was a good deal, but now i am thinking not so much. oops. :) while the worker was slicing it up, i heard the two ladies behind me talking about waiting for guests to arrive at their house. this has been a topic of much interest to me, because tardiness in this country is very normal, but their are definately levels of tardiness. These ladies were saying that if guests come early they get nervous because everything might not be ready. between 15 min to half and hour late is normal and acceptable (especially because so many people rely on public transport and that can be unpredictable). But if it is an hour or more late, they begin to wonder if the guests will show up at all. The conversation made me smile. I was glad that extreme lateness bothered them too, because we had friends in K-town whom we love dearly, but would show up at least an hour and a half late every time we invited them over. This is frustrating when you are trying to serve the food hot!! Even when we moved dinner way up to 5pm, they would show at 6:30pm. It's Russian custom to never show up as a guest without a gift (flowers, etc.) for the hosts or something to go with tea like cake or cookies. So our friends extra lateness was also because they were out shopping for something for dessert even though we told them a million times, dont worry about bringing something. I guess I will never be able to change that! Oh well, it is nice to have something yummy that I didn't have to go to the store for.

Todays Events in Moscow

2010-03-29T14:06:00.002-05:00

Many have expressed concern about the Moscow Metro bombings today and our safety. We are all fine, thanks for your concern. We are actually in Kiev right now renewing our visas. Please pray for those affected by the blasts and for those who carried out the attacks. May God work His purposes through this terrible event.

I love living in Russia. Я люблю жить в России.

2010-03-21T06:52:00.003-05:00

I love it. I know there are many things that make it hard, especially the separation from family and friends, the constant struggle to legally live here (i.e. visa obtainment) but.... I feel so fortunate to have been able to study russian language 2 years in K-dar. To now be able to communicate. To be starting friendships. To be where I know God wants us right now. Jeff is in the kitchen with a friend of ours, who is a foreigner from another land, who has been reading the book of John for the first time ( and in his own language, not russian). He is going through it with Jeff, covering the things he didn't understand when he was reading and asking Jeff those questions. I am in the living room, I feel like jumping for joy because this man is feeding on the truth of Christ!

There are times of discontentment in life wherever you may live. But then there are times of contentment, when your cituation is such that there is just no way you can deny that God is orchestrating everything and you just want to shout Halelujah! This is one of those days for me. Lord, help me to remember to be content in any circumstance like Paul, (Phil 4:12).

The more I pray, the more I see that God is working and am open to it. The less I pray, the more discouraged I feel. I am learning to follow closer after God. Teach me Lord!

This adventure with God continues. Thanks for your prayers, friends.

Isolation and Neighbors

2010-03-17T15:11:00.004-05:00

Lately I have felt very isolated. I am never alone, always with the children, yet isolated in terms of friendships with other adults. How can I feel isolated in this big city, in this 16 floor building that probably houses around 500 people? I had met our naighbor lady Valentina once previously in the hallway. She was delighted to make our acquaintance and said "beautiful!" when we said we are from the states. :)This was already a month and a half ago.

Well after weeks of feeling like "how am I going to make friends here when my only free time is when the girls are sleeping at night and I have to be at home?" I realized there are people in my hallway that I can get to know. I called Valentina tonight and invited her over for some chai (tea) and russian language. This was a big step of faith for me because she's a virtual stranger. She agreed and came over. She admitted to not being a teacher or expert of Russian language and I assured her that all I need is a native speaker. So we went through my lesson together and she corrected my mistakes and seemed to enjoy the process. As we studied, she shared that she has lived in her apartment for around 20 years and never met the previous tenants of this apartment and only sees the other neighbor lady once a year. She doesn't like to get out where there are lots of people for fear that she will get sick. She is "allergic to people," LOL! I think I might be the polar opposite, but she assured me that she is ok with small groups of people when I told her that I hope she's not allergic to me!

This lady, since we saw each other in the hallway several weeks ago, has been writing for me a list of "beautiful" russian words that she shared with me tonight. They are words that she said will make my speach more "beautiful." I thought that was so sweet. She also brought over a pair of wool pants that she was given by her neice that were way to small for her and wanted to pass on to me. They fit me and I thanked her, but she was just so happy to have found someone to pass them on to.

All this to say, being afraid to call her was no good. Living in isolation is no good. Calling her and stepping out in faith was good. It is easy to be afraid to do alot of things when you are living in a culture and speaking a language that is not your own.

But God, You make it so worth it when I trust in You and jump out there and act in faith instead of shrinking back in fear. Show me the things I am missing out on just because of stupid fears. Thanks for Valentina, and please cause this to become a great friendship.

RJ

He gives GOOD gifts

2010-02-13T15:17:00.004-05:00

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Tonight Jeff and I went to Alpha Course. As we were driving there we were both kind of complaining about how tired we were. The girls hadn't napped, Nadia just screamed during naptime (we think because of teething)and I had been rushing to get potato salad made for Alpha and dinner made for the girls and Vera. Not feeling like talking to anyone, especially in Russian (but the main part of alpha is conversing with others)we walked into the room.

Immediately a friend from our old church in Krasnodar brushed past us with an arm full of dishes. It was a babushka (grandmother) of one of Yanna's friends from church, Vika. Her name, although I had forgotten at the time, was Lyooba. She grabbed me and hugged me and we spent the next several minutes catching up. She and her son were in town because he is auditioning for musical school with his tuba. She was helping set up the food because they are staying with one of the leader couples for the alpha course. While she was setting up, she kept hearing them say that Rebecca was going to bring salad and dessert and she was hoping it was "her" Rebecca, but she thought the chances were so small to run into me in such a big city!!!! Chances are small, but God is sooo BIG.

I know maybe you are thinking, so what. Big deal. So I ran into an old friend. Maybe it's hard to understand unless you have lived somewhere as a foreigner yourself. The national people who really befriend us and help us adjust and are interested in us and care for us are really such a blessing, no a valuable, precious gift to us. They make us feel welcome here. They make us feel like even though we speak like children and will never fully acclimate to the culture, (because we always have our american "baggage" - pun intended!) they love us anyway and really appreciate us being here. They give us a feeling of BELONGING when everything else is telling us we stick out like a sore thumb. The miss us when we are not there. When you are missed I think you know you are really loved.

This lady befriended me because of Yanna. Her granddaughter is the same age as Yanna and they would play together during church and we would chat. It was really awkward at first and I didn't know what to say to her. But she really cared about me anyway, even with the language barrier. When we went back to the US to have the babies, she said, "God is going to bring you back. We will be waiting and praying." When we returned, she was so glad to see us and love on all three girls. We brought her granddaughter some bracelets from the states and she was soo happy.

When we said goodbye to our church friends in Krasnodar, it was very sad and I thought I'd never see the babushka again and I "just happen" to run into her tonight. And they are going to try to come for dinner monday night. Wow. Thanks God. You have far exceeded my expectations yet again.

the new nanny, Vera

2010-02-13T04:22:00.002-05:00

this is the lovely lady who is watching the girls for us when we are out studying or at events. Thank you Lord for providing her for our family and for her love for my kids! And thank you all for your prayers!

a few pics...

2010-02-12T15:36:00.011-05:00

snuggly girls. Nadia always wants to put her head against someone and snuggle.

My new haircut....

The faithful guys who take care of all our snow and ice and garbage. I appreciate them so much, they work long hard hours. Here they are using shovels to chip up the ice covered parking lot.

Princess Yanna at home and at the children's theater with Jeff in Kiev. (recent visa trip).

In Centennial Square - Kiev

two trouble makers!

our metro stop - chertanovskaya

Freshening Up!

2010-02-12T15:03:00.003-05:00

Hello dear readers.
Sorry for the long delay. So much has happened since we last posted. We have finished language school in Krasnodar and relocated to Moscow to begin our formal work here. We sold our car to a good friend's brother who was going to have it repaired and use for his family. The babies birthday was the day we loaded the truck with our stuff so there was no big party, but the movers ate cake with us and the babies got a few gifts. We flew to Moscow the next day and stayed in the guest flat and waited four days for our truck to arrive. On Christmas Eve our stuff arrived and we moved in. We got everything in and after kids were in their beds for the night, pulled out the Christmas decorations and the fake Christmas tree. Our friend Diane came over to help us decorate. Christmas morning we opened presents among the boxes, but it was nice! Even one of the packages from family back home arrived in time!

We slowly got unpacked and waited for things to start happening. At first, it seemed people are in such a hurry and not interested in talking to anyone else. But people smile at us and wave when they see us out with the girls. The first few weeks here were very cold, often temps not climbing above 10 F so we didn't go out too much with the babies, because we still didn't have a car. The babies & Jeff were sick for about a week with stomach bug and an ear infection, but all have returned to full health and we are thankful that Yanna and I steared clear of it all.

Just last week, Jeff was able to go car shopping and found us a family size minivan. What a blessing! We have been to Ikea and back already! Yahoo!

We have gotten acquainted with our teammates and our Russian coworkers and are excited about the possibilities of a new church in Butovo, southern Moscow. Zhenya is making contacts in the theater and his wife is hosting a weekly women's craft event and we are hoping to help them out as much as possible. Some other events we hope to start in the coming months as well. We need to find a location for this small fellowship to meet in. So far it is about 15 people meeting in Zhenya's apartment.

Yanna had a birthday last weekend and is now a big girl - 4! We had a small party for her with some Russian friends. She's so funny. She says, "mommy, that can't be 'yummy to my tummy' because my tummy doesn't have a tongue or tastebuds!" Smarty-pants! She also likes to say that something is "oojasna fkoosna" when she eats something yummy (that means terribly tasty!) She loves Vera her new nanny who watches the kids when we have events at night. Vera is catching on with the girls schedules really quickly and we are so thankful for her. Thanks for praying her in!!! She doesn't speak any english and it doesn't seem to bother the girls at all, we actually prefer it that way, it's better practice for all of us. Oh here's another funny Yanna moment - Last night Yanna prayed before dinner, " Dear Jesus, thanks that Mom made this yummy grilled ham and cheese sandwich for me even when I didn't expect it. Thanks that she did the right thing. " HAHAHA!!! She cracks me up,never knew it was a moral decision!

Gena, a guy who cleans up the snow outside our building and shovels the steps is becoming our friend. It is good to be making friends again.

Our apartment is nice, its a three bedroom and just enough space to move around in. We are very thankful for the Lord's provision for us. We are slowly getting used to the enormous city and are constantly reminded of the needs of people around us, both physical and spiritual. Thanks for all your love and prayers which keep us here. Love to all - RJ for the five of us

Then & Now

2009-11-19T12:48:00.007-05:00

Nadia and Julia are 11 months old today. They were born 4 and 1/2 weeks early. Nadia weighed only 5 pounds 2 ounces and Julia 5 pounds 3oz. Their first few weeks were very sleepy due to their prematurity. But they gained weight and grew. They slept face to face in the same cradle, and then crib. Then feet to feet in the same crib, and after kicking and rolling-over started, they were separated to sleep in different cribs at about 4 and a half months.

Now they sleep in 2 cribs, side by side. They have learned that if you are tired, you go to sleep even while your sister is screaming right next to you in her crib. But if you are not tired, you can scream with her or just start a conversation with her to calm her down. Mom will come in if you make noises long enough, to check your diaper, and then leaves the room disappointed if its still clean. Upon waking, the girls often giggle or chatter to each other and stand up, clap and smile when I open the door.

They are almost walking, eating foods, repeating sounds and having a blast playing with each other and their big sis. Yanna is learning the fine art of being a big sister - gentleness, both in actions and in words. She is ready to start teaching the babies abc's and numbers. Peekaboo is her favorite game to play with them because she can get them laughing hysterically. Our first year of this twin-venture is almost over. We have survived days of craziness, but enjoyed many days of laughter, joy and snuggles.
All glory belongs to God for protecting these two precious babies throughout these 11 months. He does great things.

How would you like to be...

2009-08-01T15:36:00.002-05:00

carless for two weeks?

I know there are people in the world (even people with three children) who don't have a car... but for someone who is accustomed to having a car and then all of the sudden nothing; it is going to be tough. The parts for our van need to be ordered FROM JAPAN!! Two weeks is the estimate. BUMMER!

I am thankful for so many things... including my bike.

Jeff

Blessings

2009-08-01T07:06:00.004-05:00

Today I snuggled and kissed my kids alot. It's a good day and it's only half over. :)

Yesterday our car overheated when we stopped at some friends' house to drop off some things on our way to a picnic. We had to have it towed to the repair shop and it's turning into a big repair - radiator replaced and two fans and maybe some other stuff. I am sure Jeff is report on that later. Thanks for your gifts to our car fund which pays for these repairs.

Our Landlord's daughter, Christina, 12, has been spending alot of time with us. She loves the babies and helps me give them baths, hold, and feed them. It is such a blessing to have her around. She helps Ina too, when we are at school. I have also been having her help me with some language questions and we practice verbs together. Cool to have unexpected help so close at hand. God knows our needs.

Yanna is so fun to play with. Lately we play, that we are sisters, or that She's the mom and Jeff and I are brother and sister. Today we played that and I said, "but mom, why does Jeff always have cooler toys then me?" She answered, "well honey, sometimes God just gives us the toys He gives us - It's difficult to explain." She is hilarious.

oh - and we made m&m cookies today. yummmy.

Thanks God for this good day.

-RJ

Yellow Squash Carbonara a-la-Rebecca Jo

2009-07-28T07:17:00.004-05:00

Ingredients:
1-2 med. yellow squash, cut in half long-ways and then sliced thinly.
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp butter
1 med onion sliced thinly
1/2 tomato diced
1 cup shredded, thinly sliced, or diced ham

Directions:
Melt butter in large frying pan. Saute garlic & onion in butter until your house smells heavenly and onions are tender. Add ham to the mix and saute a few more minutes. Then add squash slices and saute until tender but crunchy. Add fresh tomato and mix. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Remove from heat and serve with pasta or alone!
Enjoy!!!!!

2009-07-22T11:31:00.001-05:00

Sheep that can read?

2009-07-22T11:28:00.002-05:00

Tonight I was praying with Yanna at bedtime. I prayed, "Lord help us to be good sheep because You are our Good Shepherd. And help us to remember to read our Bibles every day so that we can get to know You better." Yanna interrupted with - "Mommy! Sheep that can read???!"

2 weeks break...

2009-07-19T14:03:00.008-05:00

Greetings.

First, I want to say that I just read an article about narwals... fascinating. I copied the link for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narwal Check it out for yourself. I have a new dream in life... trip to Greenland anyone?

Second, the plural of crisis is crises.

Third, I have had a bit more free time recently because of a two week break--we had no choice, our program shut down. жаль! We had a chance to spend a few days at the Black Sea, and had a rockin time because we had a friend from Moscow come with us. THANKS DIANE!! We got to spend some time with our Yanna's old nanny Katy and her son Sergei. RJ bought a new style of beach attire--and that's all I will say about that.

Also, Elianna went to the movies for the first time-Ice Age 3... it was great.

Other highlights, let's see... Both babies have two bottom teeth (you probably already knew that), Yesterday we had our pastor and his wife (plus two kids and a cousin) over for shashlik (grilled meat)--it was great.

We love life in Russia.

Tomorrow we were expecting to start back to our regular schedule, but our new teacher hurt her back, so we will have a day of self study. Russian is a really hard language.

I recommend the movie Joe Something with Tim Allen.

Some pictures:

Julia (L) and Nadia (R)

Just hanging out--Julia and Nadia

Yanna was fearless (well almost) at the water park. We did the biggest slide in the park together.

I don't know how RJ can manage everything she does and still hold the SUN in her hand.

Gotta go, It's time for bed.

Jeff

Famous Parents & Grandparents of Twins

2009-06-30T07:03:00.002-05:00

Some more twin-formation….
From website: http://www.nomotc.org

There is a very long list of parents of twins on this website….
These are some that were particularly interesting to me:

Sports Personalities

ALI, MUHAMMAD - boxer - girls. (changed name from Cassius Clay).

ARMSTRONG, LANCE - Author, cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France champion - girls (Isabelle Rose - 5 lb. 12 oz. and Grace Elizabeth - 5 lb. 2 oz.), born November 20, 2001.

Entertainment Personalities

BACH, JOHAN SEBASTIAN and MARIA BARBARA - composer - boy/girl. Johann Christoph and Maria Sophia, born 23 February, 1713, and died, 23 Feb and 13 March.

BERGMAN, INGRID and ROBERTO ROSSELLINI - Oscar winning actress and director - girls (Isotta and Isabella. Ingrid Bergman is perhaps most remembered for her roles in " Casablanca" (1942) and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1943). Born August 29, 1915, Ingrid Bergman died the same day in 1982. Roberto Rossellini died in 1977.

BOONE, PAT - singer/entertainer/evangelist Pat Boone and Shirley (daughter of the late Red Foley are grandparents of twin girls, Gabrielle and Dustin. They are daughter Debby's children.

COLE, NAT KING and MARIA (Ellington) - Grammy Award-winning singer - girls (Timolin and Casey born 9/26/61). Nat King Cole was a very famous jazz pianist and singer. (Maria was also a singer and sang in Nat's band for a time.)

CROSBY, BING AND LEE, DIXIE - actor/singer and actress/singer - boys. Twins, Philip and Dennis, were born in 1934 and Dennis died in 1991. Dennis and Philip joined brothers Gary and Lindsay in a nightclub act during the late Fifties, often appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show. Dixie Lee, born Wilma Wyatt, was a singer and an actress. She died November 1, 1952 from ovarian cancer at age 40. Bing (Harry Lillis) Crosby, both actor and singer, won and Oscar for best actor for playing an easy going priest in "Going My Way" (1944). He died in October, 1977 at the age of 73 while playing golf in Spain.

CURTIS, TONY - actor - boys. Tony Curtis was born with the name Bernard Schwartz on June 3, 1925. He started his career in movies in 1949. Twins were born to Tony and former wife, Leslie Allen.

D'ANGELO, BEVERLY and PACINO, AL - actress and actor - boy (Anton)/girl (Olivia) twins on January 25, 2001. The twins were the first children for D'Angelo, 46, who has been with Pacino, 60, for four years.

DE NIRO, ROBERT and SMITH, TOUKIE - actor/producer - twin sons, 1995. Girlfriend, Toukie Smith, conceived via in vitro fecundation. Robert De Niro has acted in or produced dozens of films.

FOX, MICHAEL J. and TRACY POLLAN - actor and actress - identical girls, 1995 (Aquinnah Kathleen and Schuyler Frances)

GIBSON, MEL and ROBYN MOORE - actor - boys (Edward and Christian), 16 years old.

IGLESIAS, JULIO - international recording artist (Spain's most famous singer) and wife, Miranda Rijnsburger - girls (Victoria - 6 lbs 10 oz. - and Cristina - 6 lbs 3 oz.), born May 2, 2001.

LYNN, LORETTA - country music singer - girls (Patsy and Peggy).

MATTHEWS, DAVE - vocalist/guitarist of Dave Matthews Band - fraternal girls. His twin girls, Stella Busina and Grace Anne, were born in August of 2001 to Matthews and his wife Ashley in Seattle.

NELSON, RICKY and KRIS HARMON - entertainer - boys (Matthew and Gunnar Nelson)

NORRIS, CHUCK and O'KELLEY, GENA - actor (Norris) and model (O'Kelley) - boy and girl (Dakota Alan and Danilee Kelley), born August 20, 2001. Carlos Ray Norris Jr. (born March 10, 1940), better known in the entertainment world as Chuck Norris, is a martial artist, an American action movie actor and Hollywood star. He is the star of the former TV series, "Walker, Texas Ranger".

PACINO, AL and D'ANGELO, BEVERLY - actress and actor - boy (Anton)/girl (Olivia) twins on January 25, 2001. The twins were the first children for D'Angelo, 46, who has been with Pacino, 60, for four years.

PAULEY, JANE and GARY TRUDEAU - TV journalist (Today Show and Dateline NBC) and cartoonist - boy/girl, 1983

PATTI, SANDI - Grammy award winning contemporary Christian and gospel singer - boy/girl, 1988

ROBERTS, JULIA and MODER, DANIEL - Oscar-winning actress (Roberts, b. 10/28/67), cinematographer (Moder, b. 1/31/69) - boy/girl twins (Phinnaeus Walter and Hazel Patricia), b. November 28, 2004 .

SEYMOUR, JANE and KEACH, JAMES - actress/producer and actor/producer\ /writer/director - fraternal boys. Jane Seymour, 45 years old when her twin sons were born, is also the author of Two at a Time: The Journey Through Pregnancy and Birth (© 2001).

SHEPHERD, CYBILL - actress - boy/girl

STEWART, JAMES (JIMMY) and GLORIA - Oscar-winning actor - girls, Judy and Kelly. Gloria died in 1994 and Jimmy Stewart died July 2, 1997. Jimmy Stewart will be remembered for his roles in many movies including It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

WASHINGTON, DENZEL and PAULETTA - actor and former actress. The Washingtons are the parents of 4 children which include 9-year old boy/girl twins, Malcolm and Olivia.

WAYNE, JOHN - actor -grandchildren - boy/girl. John Wayne was born Marion Michael Morrison in 1907 and died in 1979. He was a grandfather and great-grandfather of twins. He was grandfather to Molly and Patrick Munoz-- children of Wayne's daughter, Melinda Wayne Munoz. He was great-grandfather to identical boys, Matthew and Luke-- grandsons to Wayne's daughter, Toni Wayne LaCava, and sons of Toni's daughter, Anita.

Government Personalities

ALBRIGHT, MADELEINE KORBEL - First female Secretary of State - girls, born in 1961.

BUSH, GEORGE W.and LAURA (WELCH) - America's 43rd President and First Lady. George W. is the son of former President (George H. W.) and First Lady (Barbara Bush), and the 46th Governor of Texas. Fraternal twin girls (Barbara and Jenna--named after their grandmothers) born in 1981.

KENNEDY, JOSEPH and KENNEDY, SHEILA RAUCH politician/U.S. Representative and author (Shattered Faith) - fraternal boys (Joe and Matt). Joe is the eldest son of the late U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy. The couple divorced after a 12-year marriage.

KENNEDY, ETHEL SKAKEL and SEN. ROBERT F. (b. 1925- d. 1968) - United States Senator and brother of the late President John F. Kennedy. He and his wife, Ethel are grandparents of twins. Daugher Kerry Kennedy Cuomo and son Joseph are both parents of twins.

ROCKEFELLER, NELSON - former Vice President of the United States - boy/girl

THATCHER, MARGERET - former Prime Minister of Great Britain - boy/girl

other Personalities

ROCKWELL, NORMAN - artist - grandfather - boy/girl

SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM - playwright and poet - boy (Hamnet)/girl (Judith)

STOWE, HARRIET BEECHER - author - girls. Eliza and Harriet (Hattie) Stowe were born to Harriet Beecher Stowe and husband Calvin Ellis Stowe on September 29, 1836. Mr. Stowe was a theology professor and Harriet Beecher Stowe was the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. She died in 1896. Hattie Stowe died in 1907 and her sister died five years later. Neither twin married.

CARR, GERALD - astronaut - 2 sets.

CLEOPATRA and MARC ANTHONY - Queen of Egypt and Triumber (after Ceasar's death) - boy/girl (40 BC). Their twin children were officially recognized by Antony and were given the names of Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. Antony committed suicide by falling on his own sword in 30 BC. Cleopatra died on August 12, 30 BC at the age of 39.

KING HUSSEIN (HUSSEIN IBN TALAL) - King of Jordan - twin daughters. Princesses Zein and Aisha were born April 23, 1968.

LOUIS XV - King of France - girls.

MAHAL, PRINCESS MUMTAZ and SHAH JAHAN - two sets of twins. Princess Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess was the second wife of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. He began construction on the Taj Mahal in 1631 in memory of her. It was completed in 22 years.

NORIEGA, CARLOS - Astronaut. The father of 8-year old triplets Elizabeth, Rudy, and Robert, and two teenagers, Ryan and Shayna, Carlos Noriega recently completed his second flight on the Space Shuttle. During his most recent flight on STS-97 in December 2000, he performed three space walks to assemble the solar panels on the International Space Station. Upon his return, he was assigned to his next mission as a commander on the Space Station for a stay of 4-6 months. On his previous flight, he rendezvoused with the MIR, the Russian Space Station.

SANGO OF YORUBA - Sango, one of Yorubaland's most prominent dynastic leaders in history, is said to have fathered the first pair of Yoruban twins. It is for this reason that twins among the Yoruban culture are thought to have the power of thunder and have even been called "children of thunder."

SILVAGNOLI - 1984 - 2 girls, 2 boys.

TAYLOR, NIKI - supermodel. Niki Taylor is the mother of twin 6-year-old boys, Jake and Hunter. One of the top supermodels since the early 1990s.

TIEGS, CHERYL - supermodel. At age 52, Cheryl Tiegs and husband her husband, yoga teacher Rod Stryker, became the parents of twins born to a surrogate mother. The twins were born in July 2000.

Our Elianna...

2009-06-23T13:57:00.003-05:00

I love to spend time with Elianna. She is so funny, and grown up. She loves to play make-believe: "Daddy, do you want to play school, doctor, or family?"

Today while were hanging out in our yard, I was sitting on a swing, and she was sitting on our front step. She said to me, "Dad, do you want to watch a movie?" I said sure! So she went around a corner and came back with a blue plastic bucket and set it on the ground in front of me. "There," she said, "can you see o.k.?" "Sure" I said.

She made her way back to the steps and sat down. I started pretending "Oh, yeah, I love this movie... It is so funny." To which she replied, "But dad I haven't put the movie in yet." I looked over and she had a stack of plastic plates in her hands. She said, "Let's see, I have... Mickey Mouse and the Lemon Which Talks, Mickey Mouse and the Queen of Corn Magic, and just plain Mickey Mouse. Looks like all I have is Mickey Mouse movies... Oh, here is my favorite--Mickey Mouse Goes to the Doctor. Let's watch this one."

I took a picture of the situation:

Children are such a joy to a parent's heart.

Thanks for reading.

Jeff

more pics

2009-06-10T14:49:00.001-05:00

new pics

2009-06-10T14:28:00.002-05:00

some pics

2009-06-10T14:12:00.007-05:00

cute princess...

my birthday party

Did you ever walk into a turnstyle?

2009-06-08T13:25:00.002-05:00

today I did. ouch! talk about no fun. on the theme of no fun...

I have been wanting for some time to write about an experience I had a few days ago. it all started when I broke the left front turn signal cover of my car. bummer-big-time... but I decided to face the music and go to the Honda dealership to buy a new one. I learned something that day... I don't know how to talk about cars in russian. that became evident when I just had to ask the guy from the parts department to come out and look at it. then he told me what it was called and I promptly forgot. I went back in and had to talk to someone else, and because I forgot what I wanted, I had to go and find the first guy again and ask him to explain what I needed.everyone was kind (enough) but there was no way I could help but feel like a child.

there was a highlight when two of the people behind the desk were arguing about whether the part would be delivered in two weeks or six weeks. I was able to joke with them and ask who was right. it feels really good to understand and use enough Russian language to make people laugh in a good way. the lady who works for security also laughed when I ran full steam into the turnstyle... but that kind of laughter was less enjoyable for some reason.

we had some really cool things happen recently too:
-Jeff got to take Elianna to a puppet show of the 3 pigs story.
-Yanna is doing much better with her Russian language. thank you for your prayers about that.
-we had a guy who used to be my language helper (who now lives in St. Pete) stay at our place for a few days... very encouraging.
-I was able to share my testimony with the pastors of our church the other day.
-yesterday RJ baked a cherry pie with cherries from a neighbors tree.-tonight on our walk we talked to one of the babushkas in our neighborhood and she gave us some mint plants as well as some sweet mary for our garden.

please pray for my dad who is very sick with the flu... please pray that he won't pass it on to anyone else. all right enough from me.

thanks for loving us for who we are.

Jeff

what they've been saying...

2009-06-05T10:17:00.002-05:00

Nadia, just a few days ago, started making a throaty-gargly GGGGGG sound. Julia, today, started saying "buh bwuh buh"

Yanna, yesterday, looked at me and said,"Mommy, what good is a day without a skirt in the way?" I asked her where she got that from and she said I made it up. Every day should include a skirt she said. It's fun seeing her using big words correctly, like "fantastic" and "I realized".....

Out of Touch

2009-06-04T00:02:00.001-05:00

Hey, our internet is broken right now. We'll be checking our email in about a week.

Bantling Eden

2009-05-30T05:19:00.002-05:00

a rattle toy from our friend Joy. Made in China. The descriptions are hilarious:
"Bantling Eden"
Accompany with your baby health growth
best gift for your baby!
let us have a health and clever baby!
such interesting

Warning:
Do must let children play under the adult
Do not put small parts into the mouth, avoid eating
Do not touch the fire, it hasn't a function on ultraviolet radiation

In Response to Olga...

2009-05-27T14:28:00.002-05:00

Ugh...
я уверен в том, что он придёт (предложный падеж).
я доволен всем. (творительный падеж).
Он достойн хвалы. (родительный падеж).
я благодарен за свою новую жизнь в Иисусе. (внительный падеж).

(я забыл жаловаться на предлогах.)

в других новостях

Белла--с Днём Рождения! Всего хорошего!

джеф

Ugh!!

2009-05-25T12:24:00.003-05:00

1. In order to use short form adjectives, you have to remember the case that goes with the verb with the same root.
2. Today in class (after almost two years of language study) we learned how to say "both."

Jeff

any takers?

2009-05-25T06:39:00.002-05:00

if anyone out there is dying to go shopping for something we could really use, here's your chance! We are in need of a meat thermometer, preferrably one that has both Fehreneit (sp?)and Celcius, but if no such thing exsists, only F would be doable. Any takers?

PS - Tracy, don't send us anything that can explode or start fires this time. :)

Two teething babies on a hot day in May

2009-05-23T12:15:00.002-05:00

that's what it was today. hot. 85degrees in the shade. haven't turned on the AC yet cause we don't wanna be wimps who can't even take the heat in May! The babies seem to be starting to have a hard time, and I'm thinking its teeth cause they just gnaw on their hands like crazy these days. It doesn't seem to affect their attitudes too much, except that they have been fussy and crying at nap/bedtime. But they have coordinated their schedules so that one day it's Nadia's day to fuss, and then Julia takes the subsequent day when Nadia is on her day off. :) I wonder if both of them will cut their first tooth on the same day. That would be wierd.

One of our teammates got them these cute beret summer hats and they look like little french chefs in them. I'll have to post a pic of that soon.

Yanna said, "mom can I tell you a really really scary story?" Sure I said. She continues, "there was a man who looked through a magnifying glass and he noticed two bugs. Isn't that scary?? " She's so funny! She asked me this morning to watch a really scary movie with her. It was Barney and the guest for the day was Rainbow Beard the Pirate. I was pretty scared but we snuggled and got through it together. :)

We went for a walk with the double stroller tonight and Yanna ran ahead, enjoying the freedom. We saw lots of kids playing, some in their underwear (I think because they don't have shorts). Yanna thought that was funny, "mommy, he's in his undies!"

RJ randomness

2009-05-21T07:10:00.005-05:00

Yay it's thursday.
No school tomorrow.
RJ here.
It's time to dust off this blog.

We have been having fun lately. Krasnodar has been getting warm and there are flowers everywhere and little fruits on the trees. In our yard we have teeny-weeny grapes on the vines, baby plums and strawberries. Ah, spring is so wonderful!

It has been an interesting adjustment for me being back here in Russia as a mom of twin babies. Sometimes I feel guilty leaving the babies while I go to study russian for four and a half hours, but other times I feel so thankful for the opportunity and that the babies are content with taking bottles in the morning and they love our nanny Ina. We have seen an interesting change in Yanna. At first she really had a hard time with Ina because Ina speaks almost no english, whereas our old nanny Katya spoke some and used it often. Yanna was really rude to Ina at first, would yell nyet (NO!) at Ina and cry when we left to go to school. But Ina didn't let it bother her and was kind and patient with Yanna anyway.

Now Yanna really loves Ina, can express herself more and more in Russian and they are playing together great. She has learned how to play by herself in the time Ina needs to put the babies down for their naps. We are so thankful and relieved about this. It's so hard sometimes to trust the Lord to work out the hard things. We so much want for Yanna to be happy and comfortable all the time, but it's just not possible nor healthy. The more I live, the more I notice how God teaches us through difficult things or situation. We can either stress out or trust that He is capable of taking care of the situation. When we chose to trust Him, eventually we see how He is changing us - our wrong attitudes, misconceptions, etc. I know that the difficulty of Yanna having to stay with Ina has forced her to adjust and she has become sweeter and less demanding of Jeff and I as a result. Thanks God, that you care about every detail of our lives and you do take such good care of our children.

Lately I have been feeling overloaded with mothering, wifing and studenting. Russian language is so complex and intense that if I don't get time to study for a few days, I feel like I am so far behind and there are always 50 more verbs to review, 100 more vocab, etc. But I am learning to give myself grace and understand that this is a busy season of my life and I can only do my best with the amount of time and energy I have in each day. Some days I feel so frustrated when I compare myself with others in class or with Jeff, but then I remember that I should not measure myself against other people's acheivements - only what God thinks really matters, well, and what Jeff thinks too. So God is working out some things in me.

Sometimes the only freedom to be away from home is the time that I am at school. On the weekends I sometimes feel so trapped at home because it's so hard to get out with both babies. But, last night after all the girls were in bed, I went to the mall with a friend and bought a pair of jeans. It was so fun to not have any kids with me and to be doing a girl thing - shopping!

I feel very thankful. We have friends and wonderful teammates here. They are like our family away from home. Things are good. It also seems there are several women around who are either pregnant for the first time or first-time moms who are in need of advice or support of some kind, which is a big-time interest for me.

The twins are growing. Their hair is getting longer and darker. They have really strong grips on things. Jeff jokes that they only will spit up on him if he has just put on a clean black shirt. :) They both take turns having days where they roll over several times in a row. Nadia is more relaxed at bathtime and Julia seems uptight about it. funny. They both love to smile and laugh and have tickle spots on their tummies.

We continue to plug along in language school, not knowing when exactly we will finish. We pray about and throw around ideas about what kind of ministry we will do when we finish language school. If you would like to pray for us about this -please do. Its a big decision.

peace out homies. God is good!

Heard a few days ago and yesterday

2009-04-28T14:50:00.003-05:00

A few days ago, I heard the cutest thing... It really warmed my heart. I heard "Elianna, Let's pretend that we are sisters." (Lydia next door)

Yesterday when we returned from a trip Elianna went up to her room for a few minutes and came downstairs and said about her room: "My room is georgously fantastic and perfectly splendid!" She really likes the new bunk beds.

Sorry to be so busy that we don't keep you up to date.

Jeff

5 in K-Town

2009-04-10T22:29:00.003-05:00

Hello Friends,
We have been quite delinquint in posting to our blog for the past few months, because well frankly we were back in the states and life seemed, well, just kinda normal. That is all over because we are fully back into life in Krasnodar, Russia--where our lives seem anything but normal.

This morning my mom left to head back to the US, so we are starting the process of adapting to being just our family in our little home. Please pray for us as we get adjusted to life without an extra set of helping hands (Thank you so much for all your help mom.)

Some random things:
1. Our double stroller was broken on the way over here (bad Lufthansa), but that is o.k. because it doesn't fit in our car anyway ~ unless we fold up one of the seats :-( .
2. I made maple syrup this morning: 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of boiling water, and 1 tsp of maple flavoring. Pretty good actually... now I just need to find a recipe for making pancakes from scratch.
3. Our new dryer is working nicely, but we haven't had to use it because it has been so sunny and warm outside during the day. (I learned that having a dryer, a refrigerator, a microwave, a toaster oven, and a small stereo plugged into a power strip/extension cord--all in one outlet-- is too much.)
4. I head back to full time language school on Monday. Uh, not real sure how I feel about that right now.
5. Our "forum" happens in a few weeks--Elianna is really looking forward to the indoor pool.
6. I think that maple syrup does just as good a job of waking me up as coffee does.
7. We are going to miss J.B. and Iris at Forum.
8. You are invited to visit us anytime you want!
9. RJ is awake and I am going to help her burp babies in about 10 minutes.

Jesus loves me every day.

Jeff

they are growing...

2009-02-21T22:14:00.005-05:00

9 wks old (I was counting wrong when I made the sign,

my brain is mush these days :)

eight weeks old and almost 10 pounds

7 weeks old and lookin around :)

the rest of the pictures have the correct week on them...

2009-02-21T21:18:00.000-05:00

From Jeff

2009-02-10T11:49:00.003-05:00

Hello All,
I just wanted to put a short news blurb onto our site regarding Mike Tomlin for those who may be interested. It was news to me.

taken from: http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29752
TAMPA, Fla. (BP)--Since becoming head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers two years ago, Mike Tomlin has talked often of his appreciation and respect for former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, who first brought him into the NFL as an assistant coach.

Until this week's Super Bowl XLIII between the Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, Tomlin had never had the international platform to follow his mentor Dungy and speak about his faith in Jesus Christ. But that's exactly what he did before hundreds of reporters in Tampa.

"First and foremost, I want people to know who I am and what the most important thing is in my life, my relationship with Jesus Christ," Tomlin said in response to a Baptist Press question about his personal faith.

"Football is what we do; faith is who we are all the time."

I thought that was a great quote, and an encouragement coming from the man who leads the Steelers.

Sorry that I have been so absent from this blog... No excuse other than busy-ness and lethargy. One thing follows another here, and I am ready to get back to Russia. God has been so good to us in providing for our needs, and has given us great times with family--but I am ready to get back to my life in Russia. I miss friends, and am anxious to get ourselves adjusted (once again) to our new family size... not to mention I am itching to get into deeper ministry among the Russian people.

Anyway, that's all from me. I hope all are well.

Jeff

Save the Date

2009-01-26T21:45:00.004-05:00

For any of you ladies who may be interested:

There will be an Alliance Women's Meeting on Feb 3rd at 7pm at our home church (Hillside Alliance) in Ithaca, NY where I will be sharing with the ladies about life in Russia with slides and prayer requests. If any of you lady readers are interested, let me know and I will give you the details.

Thanks!
RJ

End of January Update

2009-01-26T21:30:00.003-05:00

Well Nadia and Julia are doing great, they now weigh in at over 7 pounds each at 5 weeks old. A couple from our church lended (lent?) us a baby scale and they are each gaining about 1 oz everyday. Julia weighs about 1/4 pound more than Nadia. Most of the time they nurse and sleep, but are starting to have some more awake time, fortunately during the day. They have given us a few smiles, although usually it's when their eyes are closed. Jeff has mastered his diaper changing skills and can now change one in about 30 seconds flat, especially right after the 3am feeding.

Elianna's profound statement for the day was, "I'm a good doctor, but my favorite color changes every day!"

She is such a goof!

We plan to return to Russia mid-March and purchased the babies tickets today - they get to fly in bassinets - so nice! We also will be travelling back with a teammate of ours who will be able to help us with Elianna on the flights. We praise God that all of this is working out. He is truly in charge of the details.

Elianna turns 3 in two weeks. We can't believe it! Thanks, God for such a wonderful girl!

-RJ

Yannochka

2009-01-17T17:01:00.003-05:00

Elianna will turn 3 in February. She is definately not a baby anymore and honestly much of the time, our mouths drop when we hear some of the things she says. For example, she knows our phone number just from overhearing us say it a few times, we never actually taught it to her!! Here are some of the funniest things she says...

"I don't like being dead, Mommy."

"I feel winter in my bones."

"My tummy feels frustrated."

At a restaurant she wanted to order "saucerella" - which turned out to be mozzerella sticks with sauce.

Christmas morning, when she really liked one of her gifts, she asked, "can I go put this in my suitcase right now Daddy?"

When we asked her what Santa Claus did, she advised us that he "fixes peoples' roofs," and "gives people new sleighs."

I told Jeff I needed to sanitize the sink and she said, "just like Santa Claus!"

Please pray for our little Yanna. She has been through alot of transition lately and has more to come in the next few months. Our prayer is that although we have been moving around alot and things change, that her security is in the fact that we love her and are here for her - but more improtantly that her heavenly Father loves her and will never let her down and is with her to help her through all the transitions, goodbyes and changes. Please pray that even at this age she will feel the Father's arms of love surrounding her and trust in Him.

what we've been up to...

2009-01-14T20:43:00.004-05:00

these last few days have been spent organizing baby clothes, writing thank you notes, changing diapers, nursing, burping, applying for passports (which we already received!), pediatricians visits to check on healthy weight gain and growth, physicals for the rest of us, visits from friends, family and out of town friends, and the list goes on... We have been so blessed by the generosity of family and church friends in bringing us meals and giving gifts for the babies. It is amazing to see the Body of Christ in action supporting us during this time back home. Thank you Lord for providing for our EVERY need through your people!

the latest on the twins...

2008-12-29T22:13:00.002-05:00

It's official! We heard from the midwive's office today that the results came back from the placenta and ulmbilical cords lab work. The babies are identical! I was pretty sure they were, but it is nice to know for sure.

Also, the girls are now 10 days old and up over their birth weights, which is really good. Praise the Lord for healthy babies!

Thanks everyone for your love and prayers.

RJ

They are here!! Welcome to Nadia Noelle and Julia Elise!

2008-12-27T18:59:00.002-05:00

I profusely apologize to those of you who faithfully check our blog for our tardiness in updating.

Here's the news! The twins were born at 35 weeks, on December 19th. Nadia Noelle was born at 12:06am at 5lbs 2oz, 18inches; Julia Elise was born at 12:09am at 5lbs 3oz, 18.5 inches. They were both healthy and big enough to room in with mommy and not have to visit the infant ICU. Praise God for a healthy, natural, midwife assisted birth, like we had hoped and prayed for!!!

Thank you all for your love and prayers. Photos soon to follow!

pink, pink, pink!!!!

2008-11-12T16:14:00.002-05:00

Well the news is in - the twins are girls and mostly likely identical! Yay!!!
They are measuring very well, are as big as they should be and there's only 3% size difference between the two, which is realy good! Everything looks healthy and we are very glad to hear that. Think pink everyone!

Our return

2008-11-04T06:00:00.002-05:00

Hi guys! We are back in the States safe and sound. Our trip was not as bad as we thought it would be and Yanna did amazingly well with the lack of sleep. She did take a few naps on our laps, which is always fun because she's soo cute when she's sleeping.We always have her sleep in her own bed, so it's fun sometimes to have her sleeping leaning against one of us. She was a great traveller throughout most of the trip and while we waited to board airplanes, she would perform shows to the other passengers waiting at the gate - singing mother goose rhymes to them and doing dances, then she would smile at people and they got such a kick out of it. She is definately not a shy kid. We bought a small piece of luggage from some Krasnodar friends that has a pull out handle and wheels, and so Yanna would ride on the top of that when we were rushing from one flight to another, through security, etc. Speaking of security - Frankfurt airport is seriously thorough - they took away Jeff's shaving cream and had to scan our DVD player for explosives.

I have been enjoying being back at mom and dad's and getting a bit spoiled by them. I forgot about wonderful conveniences like - being able to flush the toilet paper, open a can of soup for lunch, put the dishes in the dishwasher, eat already sliced lunchmeat, using a stove that lights itself, etc.

Right now we are a bit jetlagged but hopefully within a few days will get back to normal (I am typing this at 5:30am :) )

This week will be full of doctor's appointments and getting moved into our "new" house.

Love you all & thanks for praying -
Rebecca Jo for the family

twin fact for the day

2008-10-29T13:48:00.003-05:00

I am almost 28 weeks along now and we will fly back to the States on Sunday.
Here's some more twinfo for you:

Most twins are born before their due date, so it is important that they receive enough nutrition in the womb, to reduce the risk of being born with a low birth weight.

Your babies increase their weight most in the third trimester (after 28 weeks), but, interestingly, the weight you gain in the second trimester has the greatest impact on your babies' final birth weight.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommend an extra 300 calories per day per baby, making 600 calories per day extra in total if you are expecting twins.

Twin fact for the day...

2008-10-18T07:59:00.004-05:00

Since I am thinking double now and have been reading alot on the subject, I thought I would begin a new series of blog entries about twins...

#1 According to www.babycenter.com

About one-third of twins are identical or monozygotic twins (when one fertilised egg divides in half). Two-thirds are non-identical or dizygotic twins (when two eggs are fertilised). The chance of any woman having identical twins is one in 300. Your chance of having non-identical twins varies according to whether they run in your family or not.

This is what life will be like for me soon...

Sorry to interrupt...

2008-10-15T12:00:00.004-05:00

Hello Friend,
As you know I have not blogged personally in a long time. I blame it on the fog I have been living in for about the last 2 months. Anyway, have you ever had one of those times when things get blurry, and you feel queezy, and you think "where am I?"

I am sure most of you have (at least they are common for me...)

I had one of those the other day. It happened last in class, and as I looked at the handout we were working on, I realized what was the cause. Russian Language. We have been in our language program for about 13-14 months now, and that means we know a fair bit of "stuff". Usually, the teachers are kind, and they just give us nice little exercises that work on one simple grammar concept, or a few verbs that we are reviewing. Well the other day, the cruelest thing happened... The teacher gave us a handout that tested us on everything we have learned up to this point, in one page. (That is a slight exaggeration, but not really.) We whizzed through it as a "warm up" and each student answered one line (blank) at a time. For your enjoyment I have pasted a clip of that very handout here--the empty spaces are the places where I didn't have time to write down the answers the other students had given:

(If you click on the clip it will open in a new window and you can see what I mean.)

I coined a new phrase a couple of days ago: constipation of the head. I was trying to say that I was congested and had a headache, but constipation is the only word that would come out.

If you love me, please pray for my brain as we work through the last two weeks of school. Thanks,

Jeff

P.S. I now return you to your regularly scheduled stories about the cutest kid in the world (read below).

7 Yanna-isms to give you a smile....

2008-10-15T09:53:00.004-05:00

Yanna-ism #1:
Tonight Jeff made chicken scampi with spaggetti. Yanna smelled the garlic in the frying pan and said, "Daddy, it's smells yummy and delicious too!"

#2:
Last night during story time, (right before her bedtime) Jeff was reading and Yanna interrupted, pulled her finger out of her ear and surprisedly proclaimed, "my ear has a hole in it!"

#3:
Today after naptime Yanna asked me, "does a bear go pee in the woods?" When I answered yes, because they don't have special bathrooms for bears in the woods, she was shocked.

#4:
A while back we inherited from another family a really old, kid computer-type game that only works half of the time. But it always repeats the phrase, "please insert a card."
Yanna has been trying to pray on her own at bedtime and mealtime. Sometimes she just lists the things she's thankful for. One night she said, "and thank you for my computer and ... and thank you that it says 'please insert a card!' Then she giggled and stuck her tongue out at Jeff like she had just said the funniest thing!!!

#5:
I don't know if this is normal for girls but Yanna is into matching everything: accessories, underwear, hair ties, shoes, tights, pants, shirts, skirts all have to match. Sometimes it's annoying when you want to dress her in a hurry and the top that exactly "matches" the bottom that she picked out is dirty and she is whining that she really wants to wear it anyway. Forunately, Jeff the genious, has been teaching Yanna about "blending" colors and there have been way fewer fights when it's time to get dressed. She is also picky right now about how we do her hair, she wants two pigtails today, not one ponytail.... Who knew a 2.5 year old would have such strong fashion opinions.

#6:
She is also sock obsessed. Jeff showed her while we were in Norway how to put socks on her hands and turn your hands into sock puppets. Since then she likes to wear socks on her hands as well as her feet and makes sure that every stuffed animal or doll that she owns is wearing a pair of her socks too, so that their feet don't get cold. No wonder there are no socks in the drawer when it's time to get dressed!

#7:
"when I grow up to be a lady, I can wear nail polish and lipstick and go to ladies' lunches and Birthday parties that are only for ladies." :) Too bad she hasn't realized that there's no jumping on the couch at those parties.

Till next time...
RJ

pregnant with twins...

2008-10-12T08:00:00.004-05:00

These were taken a few weeks ago already when I was wbout 5.5months along. Right now I am 25 weeks, so you can see that when there are two babies you get bigger faster. And I will keep getting much bigger! Hopefully they will be able to fit me on the plane in three weeks when we fly home.

fun times

2008-10-09T04:50:00.000-05:00

It's fo real, yo!

2008-09-29T10:58:00.004-05:00

We are getting so excited! Our tickets for our flights home have been purchased! Woohoo. It's really real that we are gonna be back home soon. Wow! Jeff is counting down the days to a good steak. (And probably also for the time when he can watch Pittsburgh Steelers games at normal times like 1pm, 4pm or 8pm on TV instead of the middle of the night on the internet!!!) There are a few loose ends here that we need to tie up, packing, trying to set up our home to accommodate 5 people instead of three, etc. But in a little over a month, we will be there baby!!! We are hoping maybe we can even vote, but not sure if we could swing that.

We have been stocking up on Russian langauge resources to keep up some level of exposure to it - like books on CD and music CD's. So if you see us at some point and we answer you in Russian, it's not that we are showing off, we are trying to "maintain" our language. :)

We had lunch today at a Russian cafe, called Lyooba Doroga (which means, I think, "dear love (a russian name)." ) Anyways, it is a small place that is decorated like an old fashioned village house and the waitresses have on traditional outfits. It was really fun to eat there - Jeff ordered chicken pelmeni (like russian dumplings) in a cream sauce with tomatoes and I ordered borscht with rolls. We both really enjoyed what we ate and having the experience of understanding almost all of what was written on the menu.

Before that we purchased our tickets to Moscow for the first leg of our trip home. It was great timing because our current lesson in school is about being at the airport and buying tickets. Jeff does such a great job with handling situations like that, it's so impressive. I would much rather sit and have a chat with a babushka or another mom at the playground than have to handle some official business with a cashier behind a counter - Yikes! I'm sure my day will come.

I wanted to send out a continued request for prayers for safety when we are on the road in our car. Every day we see at around 2-3 car accidents in the road on our way to and from school and it is only 5km from home. The cars stay in the positions they crashed in and wait for the police or ambulance to arrive, so that the police can see the positioning of the cars to determine who was at fault. This is often the cause for probkee (traffic jams - literally "bottle necks").

Please pray for our continued dedication to language study while we spend this last month getting ready to head back home for the birth of these two active babies. Thanks for all you love and support. You guys rock!

love - RJ for all of us

where in the world have we been? And some photos to make up for it...

2008-09-17T10:43:00.015-05:00

Okay, so I know I owe you all a HUGE apology for how moldy this blog has gotten in the last month, with no new posts. I have some excuses and some of them are very good ones!

First of all, we found out about a month ago that I am not only pregnant, but pregnant with twins! This came as both a shock and a pleasant surprise to all three of us. SO we have been adjusting to the news, thinking through how to prepare and making various plans.

Part of the planning has been a return to the US for the birth of the twins, since pregnancy with twins is in the high risk category. We (and our mission) thought it best to be in our home country for the birth and be able to work with doctors who speak our own language in a more serious medical situation. So we have been working on those plans. It has been amazing to see the Lord orchestrate the details in it all and it so clearly shows his loving care for us.

First, a parsonage in my (RJ's) hometown has been offered to us as a living space for only the cost of utilities. Second, we needed a car, and the couple we sold our car to last summer has decided to lend it bcak to us for our use, since they have a reliable second car and the cost of gas is too high to use both cars anyways.
Third, I have already found a midwifery practice, an OB, and a hospital within close range that are all very highly recommended and covered by our insurance company. YAY GOD! Thanks for taking care of the details even when we are so far away!!!

SO I think it is safe to say that we are not as nervous about the whole international move as we were a few weeks ago - during the blogging silence! Our move back to Russia however, having gone from a family of three to a family of five, may be a different story!!!

As far as processing this all, I was, for a while, feeling a bit blue about having such a huge break from language school and not knowing when I will be able to return even after we get back to Russia with the babies. I really want to be someone who can speak this language well someday rather than just get by with understandable but grammatically horrific Russian. But I got over all of that and realized that these twins are not a surprise to God, nor is this break from school. And He is going to help me to learn the language in His way, in His timing, and it will be the best way for me. I also prayed for strength and energy for these last two months of language study before we return to the states. And I can't believe how psyched I have been about school, and doing my homework and studying! I feel like a real geek, but really I want to make the most of every language study moment I have before my life turns into babycare 24/7!!! So thank you Lord for answering my prayers!

Here's some pics of recent life with the Ceria's to make up for lost time...

Yanna begins her skating lessons with Daddy at the mall...

sports her new look...

We had "Zhatva" or Harvest Celebration at church on Sunday, Yum!!

Yanna eating at Daddy's favorite fast food place, Rostick's (AKA Kentucky Fried Chicken)

Yanna and her new nanny Sasha.

What Yanna does when she's tired. It doesn't matter where she is or what she is doing at the time. When it's time to rest - put your head down!!

Two wierdos...

Two wierdos in love...

priceless...

Yanna doing a bit of cleaning outside of church.

Yanna eating noodles with Daddy after school.

till next time...
RJ for the growing clan!

Menu Translation Funnies

2008-08-13T13:14:00.002-05:00

Jeff's birthday was Monday, so we decided to celebrate by going out to dinner. The restaurant was a nice Hungarian place and they even had english translation menus. What a treat, especially when you are trying to read hungarian food words in russian. We got quite a kick out of how they translated some of the food descriptions into english. Here are some of the funniest ones for you to chew on...
Enjoy!

Fried Champions (in light of the olympics!) (supposed to be champignons)
Salad with boiled language (tongue)
a house brynza with yogurt refuelling (we think it was supposed to be filling)
salad with pink a tomato "Fet's" cheese
gigantic mussels - moves with totatoes and olives
fast mutton moves with broth. (we think "moves with" is supposed to mean "comes with")

anyone can do it...

2008-08-10T08:07:00.005-05:00

This is to show that if a 2.5 year old can memorize a chapter of the Bible, so can you!!! Take the challenge and do it!!!!

Psalm 23
The LORD Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

what has been, is, and is to be...

2008-08-03T11:44:00.007-05:00

For the last few weeks we have been busy. A new family, the Jordans, have just arrived from the US and we have been helping them settle in. From remont (renovations) in their apartment to lots of shopping and looking, they are slowly getting to where their house is a home.

Their two kids seem to be doing great so far and they love their new nanny Vika. Yanna is so happy to have some new kids around now that the Fishers and Masons have left. We look forward to the Lovells returning from home-assignment in a few weeks. Our team will have more to it soon!!!

Yanna is growing up so fast. She's now 2.5 years old. She can recite Psalm 23 from memory and we are working on teaching her the Lord's Prayer. I will try to post a video if I get a chance. Today she was being fussy at the park because she was tired and she started reciting, "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want..." She's so funny.

She spent a long time in the pool today with Jeff - oh by the way we bought a huge inflatable pool at our local Okey (like a walmart) for a really cheap price. Anyways, Yanna came in and saw me cooking with my shoes on, and she scolded me - "Mommy why do you have your shoes on in the house? Take them off right now." and she proceeded to take them off me and put them on the shoe shelf! It was so funny!!! Cultural note - in Russia, you take shoes off at the door all the time, even when you are a guest, and when it's cold they offer you slippers. It's a great practice. I don't know why it's not part of our culture back home.

Please pray for patience for me. Yanna is in the motor-mouth phase of toddlerhood. She talks all day about everything and it's so exhausting, and she is asking "why?" about everything too. When you explain why, she asks another why. I am trying to teach her the discipline of silence and see who can keep their mouth shut the longest!

Well tomorrow is a big day for us. The first day our second year of language school. Wow, I know it's going to go fast. Thanks Lord for faithfully getting us through the first. Please help us with this next one.

love you guys.
RJ for the fam

PS, here's the traveling princess, as mom has nicknamed her in the airport in Moscow...

this book

2008-07-26T14:16:00.010-05:00

I just finished this book that I started in Norway and I loved it. I grabbed it off Jeff's mom's bookshelf last year before we came to Russia. It is definately worth mentioning. I will probably read it again. It's about what it might be like, if Jesus lived among us these days...

Joshua: A Parable for Today by Joseph F. Girzone

Happy Pregnancy to me....

2008-07-26T13:55:00.002-05:00

Well guys I have been dying to tell you all, but since today is officially 12 weeks, the word is out. We (well mostly I) are expecting a baby, next year in Febuary. Yay for new little ones! We are very excited. I have been feeling pretty tired and nauseaus in the AMs but hopefully it will get better soon. Please pray for a healthy baby.

Love, RJ

Norway photos

2008-07-17T11:32:00.003-05:00

we are back home safe and sound.
Click here to see our pics of the beautiful land of Norway
http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffandrebeccajo
or just watch the slideshow below.
The billions of boat pics are for my Daddy. Love - RJ

2nd letter from Norway

2008-07-07T15:27:00.004-05:00

Just to let you know what we've been up to....
relaxing
napping
eating
reading
hiking
seeing AWESOME Fjords
fishing
catching and eating crab
swimming (brr)
riding bikes
picnicing
seeing awesome views
relaxing
meeting cool people
learning about this culture

we have been here a week and a half and we only have one week left. we are getting a bit sad.
We had two days that were actually warm (80's) which is rare in Norway, they usually only get about 20 days like that in a year. So we took advantage and took a trip to a beautiful fjord inland a bit. A fjord, in case you didn't know (I didn't) is a valley between mountains that is filled with salt water from the ocean. Norway has some of the longest and deepest ones in the world. We visited the most popular one in Norway a few days ago. I am not sure if I can post pics here, but wil try. It's amazing how deep the water is in those valleys- huge cruise ships can pull up into the mountain valleys. Jeff and Nate swam in a freshwater lake that was filled with water from the snow melting on the mountains. BRR!!!

On another of the warm days we went swimming in the cold ocean! Yanna walked into the water up to her neck and said "I'm crazy just like my Daddy!"

Yesterday a decent size boat got stuck on the bank of the ocean right by our house. It called for help and within 5 minutes a little boat pulled it free. We are not sure how it happened but the North wind was very strong. It is very cold and strong, but when you walk up the hill and around the corner it can be 10-20 degrees warmer because there's no wind.

Today we took a hike up our local mountain and had a picnic at the top. Jeff carried Yanna in the backpack. She said she enjoyed her time, but it was hard work! We also picked wild blueberries at the base of the trail. We're hoping Gunnhild makes something yummy from them.

Yesterday Gunnhild's sister's baby was baptised in their Lutheran church. It was a beautiful service in an old pretty church. Afterwards there was a all-day gathering of family (30 people) to celebrate and give songs and blessings for the baby. We got to eat lots of interesting food. Fresh trout (the whole fish was served on the platter), bacalau (a spanish dish of salted cod and potatoes in a tomato sauce), chicken, rice, salad, potato salad, pasta salad, fresh fruit, crescent rolls fillied with pizza fixin's - yum!!! . For desert there was a billion cakes (all except one were homemade), ice cream, home-made norwegian almond cookies, fresh fruit, brownies, candy, jello, etc. Needless to say we are not losing weight on this vacation!! Also- at the church service, all of the ladies wore their traditional norwegian dress that is unique to the island or region that they come from (it's called a boonar).

Eating schedule here is quite different.
Breakfast is when you get up,
snack/lunch at 11:30 or 12pm
supper at 3:30pm
coffee and dessert at 5:30 or 6pm
night food 11:30pm (sometimes fresh crab that Nate and Jeff just brought in off the boat)

Yanna has lucked out with this eating schedule a few times because she naps through supper and wakes up and gets to eat dessert right away. And then eats supper right before bed. She loves it!!!

we've been going to bed around 1am or 1:30, but Yanna has been sleeping in to 9am, but today she slept till 10:15am!!! And she's going to bed at 8:30 like normal.

That's it for now folks. Stay tuned till next time.
RJ

First letter from Norway...

2008-06-28T14:43:00.003-05:00

Hey friends,
We are doing well on our third day in Norway. We had a great time today. Elianna got to climb the mountain with us this morning. She did really well... I think she made it about half way up with only us holding her hands. After that I put her in a child's backpack, and she loved that. The whole way down I carried her in my arms, and she kept saying "I love you daddy-I want to kiss your face. I kissed daddy on the face and we are almost married. I am almost married to my daddy!" It was so cute and heartwarming. She also learned the song "She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes." After her 3 hour nap, we went out fishing and I caught two small fish which we used as bait for the crab traps. Should be fresh crab legs for dinner tomorrow.

Gunnhild's parents are wonderful. They live about 200 yards from the shore, and have mountains all around. They have a very nice grassy lawn with a swing set. Elianna is having the time of her life here.

The sun "sets" at around 11:30 at night, and rises at around 4:30, but it never actually gets dark. Everyone seems to handle it differently, but we have been told that most things during the "summer" don't really get swinging until around 10:30 at night-and often run til about 2:00 am.

No telling what tomorrow will hold. Maybe a bike ride with a kid's seat on the back. Maybe a hike up the mountain--but maybe not because it is Sunday and they take the Sabbath very seriously here. Whatever we do, I know it will be relaxing. Please pray for our visas to be processed and sent back in due time.

Gotta go, getting chilly sitting out on the deck watching the scenery and listening to the gulls sing.

Love to all.
Jeff for the family

Do you know the way to Norway?

2008-06-21T12:28:00.005-05:00

This is one of Yanna's current favorite phrases. It's because soon we will be leaving Russia in order to get a new visas that will allow us to remain in Russia (pasta-yanna, which means long term).

We fly out on Wednesday morning. And thursday we'll have a day in Oslo, and we hope to go see a Viking ship. We will arrive (Lord willing) at Nate and G's on Thursday night very late.

I am very excited about this trip because Yanna is not a baby anymore and she can handle so much more and if she doesn't get a nap it's not the end of the world. It hopefully will be very relaxing. We also really look forward to cathcing up with our friends. Thankfully all of our paperwork has come in time to process the Letter of invitation for our new visas as well as Jeff's ID card.

click here to see more pictures of Alesund.

Hopefully I will be able to post while there. It is supposed to be an amazingly beautiful place, right on the sea.

Later, folks! - RJ

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T13:22:00.003-05:00

Thanks Daddy, (Paul and Dick too!) for your love and support. We appreciate you guys and how you have raised us and loved on us through the years. Hope you are enjoying your day!!

We went to a worship event tonight at a racetrack and it was so cool to see maybe a thousand believers gathered to worship our King! Halelujah! Thanks to our heavenly Father who is in control and has a plan for Russia. I am thankful to be able to gather with faithful believers and proclaim his greatness!

We are understanding more and more at church are starting to feel like we are somewhat engaged in what is going on. It is hard to worship when you feel confused all the time! But now instead of needing to look up every word in a worship song I only need to look up like 6. That is so encouraging. Praise the Lord - we are learning some things!!!

plugging away in Russia,
RJ

can you hear me now?

2008-06-15T07:37:00.001-05:00

Russia's Victory Day was May 9th. I forgot to post this dude's picture...

life with Yannuchka...

2008-06-13T12:45:00.004-05:00

It's a four day weekend here in Russia, because yesterday was Russia's Indepedence Day. We have been enjoying soo much just spending quality time with our girl. This is some of what it is like to live with Yanna...

she wakes up from her nap and lies in her crib and says "mommy, I was singing Jesus loves me, and baa baa black sheep, and march in the infrantry (the Lord's Army), and the la la la song, and rock a bye baby, and animal crackers in my soup.... and I didn't sleep!"

we go on a walk and she says, "Daddy, that sound is a morning bird, oh a morning dove? Yeah a morning dove. Look at the pretty honeysuckles! That's my favorite color! Yellow is my favorite color! Is that your favorite color too Daddy? Oh look Daddy, Jesus made my owie all better!"

When we show her something special in a shop window, "Thanks for showing me that Daddy!"

She loves to paint, play with a glue stick, "wash dishes," clean the outside of the fridge, swing, slide down slides (when she musters up the courage), give hugs, dance, sing, go to the park, and tell stories.

She has an imaginary friend (or little sister, we are not exactly sure) named Fuddah-Fuddah. And when she jibber-jabbers through her entire naptime and doesn't sleep, it's usually because she was talking to Fuddah-Fuddah.

My mom sent me two Shirley Temple DVDs for my birthday and Elianna loves to watch the one called Curley Top. She watches the first 20 minutes until Shirley sings "Animal Crackers in my soup" and then loses interest, but she wants to watch it everyday!! She loves to sing "when their inside me where it's dark, I walk around like Noah's ark."

She also loves to talk about "when I was a baby, I would ..." or when I grow to be big I can ____, right Mom?"

She is such a joy to be around and we are so thankful for her.

Raisin Bread

2008-06-12T11:11:00.002-05:00

So we have realized that certain foods are very comforting, when we feel very far from loved ones and familiar things...

For me the most comforting of foods (besides a homemade milkshake) is cinamin raisin bread. It's not high in fat or sugar, just white flour! But it's so good with a bit of butter!! We can't get raisin bread here, so it's nice to make once in a while. I use the betty crocker cookbook recipe. If you are in a faraway land and need the recipe- let me know, I'll pass it on!

love,
RJ

PS - Jeff went to prayer meeting tonight and understood 50% - Good job Jeff!!!

what we've been up to in several pictures...

2008-06-09T12:06:00.013-05:00

Sorry for our long silence, this is an attempt to bring you up to date with what we've been up to the last few weeks...

we waited for a marshrootka to give us a ride to church...

But not anymore, now that we have our van!

we have a new nanny, Vika, while Katya is away on her honeymoon...

(Thank you Lord for caring women to care for our child while we are at school!)

We saw a septic truck with a pretty fence on it...
We saw some cows out in Adigea,

where they put up a huge new mall with an IKEA!! WOOHOO!

Yanna played, and grew...

We visited Gariachi Klooch again (a beautiful resort town an hour away)

And jumped on the bouncy thing!and had a picnic on the thick soft mowed grass by the airport.

and another picnic in our local botanical garden...
and snuggled...

and posed on Katya's wedding day
and grew and grew...

and found the old wooden cossack dude again.
and Jeff climbed.

and Katya was bridal showered. I made the cake!!

We took Andre and Katya to a steakhouse for her birthday

so they could enjoy some good food. He ordered greek salad and she ordered tongue!

Two weeks ago (almost) they were married. They received the blessing of a city official...
After they signed the papers...
And then they took tons of pictures in tons of parks throughout the city...
Yanna snuggled Daddy...
And gave her princess nanny a big hug!
And the food was yummy too. But I skipped the caviar.

With Love,
RJ

Dear Friends!!

2008-06-07T14:40:00.002-05:00

Hello All,
It has come to my attention that one thing, more than any other kills blog readership--INACTIVITY. Well, sorry we haven't updated in so long.

We are alive, and well.
Life has changed in that we have a car now, and are more free to do things that we couldn't do in the past... which has meant that we are a bit more busy than we have been recently. Today for example, we went to a city about an hour away called горячий ключ for some time away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Jeff had the pleasure of meeting one of the friendly "traffic control employees." This was a cultural experience that I had hoped to avoid, but through which God has carried me. It didn't cost me anything though--which was nice and a bit unexpected.

We have been through a lot in our language course in the past few weeks. We have embarked on the journey of learning the 6th of six cases (Instrumental). I can't really say how I feel about this. I feel good for the new things that I learn, but at the same time, the more that I learn about the language and its usage, the fewer excuses I have for UN-exceptional speaking ability. God knows.

Hey, thanks for your continued support and prayers. We are thinking a lot about our summer visa renewal/vacation trip, as well as the arrival of the Jordan's in July. Please join us in seeking the LORD for grace, peace and strength as we work through these things! We love you.

~ Jeff

This past Saturday...

2008-05-19T16:12:00.004-05:00

Dear family and friends,

A few days ago I had the opportunity to attend a meeting at our church on the subject of apologetics. It featured an American who spoke Russian extremely well. For two reasons, the idea of big shoes to fill has been kicking around in my head ever since.

The first is that I realize how much growing needs to happen in my own life as I get closer and closer to "FT ministry" in Russia. We are now 50 lessons (and 9 months) into our language program, and we still stumble in basic conversations. We can comprehend a lot of what is said to us (if it is raining and the moon is aligned with jupiter on the fifth friday of the month) but we still have such a long way to go. Let's just say I feel like Elianna when she is tromping around in my shoes. I am having fun and people are praising me, but I feel like I could fall flat at any moment.

The second way that I need to grow is too general to even point a finger at. Just in life. I need to learn how to be more loving to my family, a better friend to those around me, more willing to give my life and all that I have and am for the cause of Christ--regardless of the outcome. I need to learn how to better put my concerns (and anxieties) in the hands of the Lord and to trust Him for his leading and His desired outcome.

Please pray for us as we are going to soon face some serious changes to our southern team. Two "new" families are coming, but 4 families are leaving. Please pray for God's piece and comfort as we go through this transition. бог помоги нам и утешай нас. Please also pray for our nanny (Katya) who will be getting married on May 31st. We need to trust the Lord for a fill in nanny for two weeks while she is on honeymoon.

Sorry to sound down about all this. Please smack me around a bit through the comments page if this message seemed to gloomy :-)

We love you guys, and think of you often.

Jeff

P.S. And now I am going to bed.

some more things... I love about this new land

2008-05-16T14:21:00.003-05:00

A long time ago I started a list of things I love about Russia, it was really good for me to keep perspective when I was missing home.

Now I am not struggling so much with missing home, just missing the people who are there...

But here is my list continued...

cheese spread in all varieties - with ham, with dill, with mushroom, etc.
frozen blini warmed up for breakfast

people who are interested in us and patiently wait for us to explain who we are in terrible russian grammar and accent - I really think that the average Russian is patient with and interested in foreigners

the depth of feeling - people give blessings and well wishes to each other for bithdays and weddings face to face
people outside picking up garbage around our street and park almost every morning
the availability of more and more things here that used to not be available

the sauna

the dark chocolate

the roses in almost all of my neighbors yards

spring in Krasnodar

the fruit and veggie and herb stands everywhere

the small shops that have anything you could possibly be looking for (except clothes)

the big parks

the fact that when you are pregnant or have a small child with you - you automatically get to go to the front of the line or get a seat on the tram or bus

the adventure of the public transportation system

riding the marshrootka (taxi van) home from school and not having to say anything to anyone in order to get out at a certain stop, because the last stop is at our reenok. So I just get out and walk home when the van parks!
when something unusual happens on the tram or trolleybus and people on their morning commute with previously stoic faces, crack into a chuckle or smile.

(one day a few weeks ago the funniest thing happened. The bus was really packed and the conductor lady was on the hefty side so she didn't push her way through all the people and check to make sure everyone had paid, she just stayed in the back and checked the people who got on through the back door. Well at one stop she apparently got off the bus to let some other people push their way on and the bus doors closed and took off without the driver! People started yelling to the front of the bus, "the conductor is standing outside, you left the conductor outside!" So finally the bus stopped and we waited for the conductor to jog back to the bus, we were all looking at each other and giggling! She looked very annoyed (needless to say) when she got back on. But it sure broke up the monotony of the morning commute that day!

the regard and care for children that Russians often display. Yanna is on this kick of wanting to greet everybody and ask their name in Russian. She says it right and people are always impressed that she can hold small conversations all in russian. She has started conversations with security gaurds, nurses, sellers at the market and in stores, random people everywhere. And their reaction is always so kind, not like she is bothering them at all and often they want to give her something like candy or a flower.

have a great day friends, and don't forget to count your blessings. love - RJ

My Sauna Birthday Party

2008-05-10T11:31:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow I will be thirty!!! Crazy, I know! But today I had a super birthday part with 10 other women at a sauna at a local health club. It was great!!! We rented out the bottoom floor of the building which had a sauna, pool, couches, TV, billiards, and huge table with place settings. It was so nice!!! We sweated together then jumped in the freezing cold pool and repeated the cycle several times in between birthday cake, chips, cookies, juice and tea. I got two really cool suana hats for my brithday from the girls. Thanks girls for coming - it was soo fun and thanks for the prayers and nice things you said you appreciate about me!!! Oh, and I drove to and from the health club! Soo cool! I feel soo tired now!

When I came home Jeff had made homemade chicken parmesan with pasta. And he did the dishes and clean-up. What a great man!Yummy!

Goodnight dear friends and family. Love - RJ

We got a car! We got our CAR!!!

2008-05-05T13:28:00.005-05:00

Yay! Today we got our car!! Thanks again and again to all of you who financially contributed!

When Yanna woke up from her nap today I told her we got our car and asked her if she wanted Daddy to take us for a ride, and she answered, "yes, to MacDonalds!"

So we drove to MacDonald's to celebrate and ate in the car because the line for the drive-through window is much less busy than the inside one! I should take a photo of a MacDonald's "line" someday.. It makes american consumers look so organized!!! By the way, MacDonalds is a big deal to us because it is something familiar. Familiar things = comfort.

We have to give the car back to the owners for a week or two later in the month when they return to Russia and then it will be officially ours at the end of May.

It was such a feeling of freedom to be able to drive to the mall at 5pm with our girl in the back, not smooshed into a marshrootka (a minivan taxi) with 20 other people. And we were able to go grocery shopping and not have to pay an outrageous taxi fare for the trip home! oorah! (as we say say here).

We are so thankful and blessed and almost can't believe it!!

Who can sufficiently celebrate without ketchup all over themselves??? (and new pigtails!)

Here she is- the long awaited and much anticipated....

She is a Honda Odessy...

She has to be a she because car in russian is a feminine word - mashina...

maybe we should name her...

any suggestions??

Thanks Lord for your awesome provision. Please protect this car and let it be used for your purposes. May it be used to be a blessing to others as well. Amen.

Love - RJ

Watch out for this stuff...

2008-05-05T13:00:00.001-05:00

Hi Diane,

I just wanted you to know that if you felt bad about dumping the hot sauces, think about it no more. I was able to pick up this stuff today, and it is HOT. I can't wait to make Buffalo Wings again! Love you guys!

Jeff

Blog-o-darenia

2008-05-04T12:10:00.005-05:00

So the Russian word for thanksgiving is благодарение. I wanted to tell you that for several reasons. First, because I have been wanting to post now for a few days and the idea of thankfulness has been on my mind. Then I realized that the Russian word for thankfulness contains the word blog. The coincidence overwhelmed me, and hence I sit and write.

I have been realizing lately that I have so many reasons to be thankful, and often I am UNfaithful at sharing my blessings. I feel at times like I just "get through the day"--often because I am so exhausted at the end of most days. Unfortunately I tend to think that because I am so exhausted, that the day was full of drudgery or hum drum stuff, (certainly nothing that anyone would be interested in reading about) and then I realize that that is often not the case.

Today is a perfect case in point. The time is now 9:16 pm and my brain is pretty much done for the day. (Most days this happens around 8:30 pm--but then I press on and study for an hour or so.) This morning began with a short time of personal devotions, where most of my thoughts were somewhere along the lines of "I really need to get more sleep," or "maybe I should just close my eyes for a few seconds and have some time 'being still' before God." (aka sleeping) But then just when I think I am wasting my time because my thoughts are so disoriented, I come across a Scripture like:

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth." John 1:12

and just like that, I am wide awake and thankful that I serve a loving, all knowing, all caring, all right, all just God. One who knows what/how much I can handle, and doesn't expect more of me than I can possibly give. (Do you know that I have twice recently seen, during prayer, that God looks down and smiles at us--not me or my family--but all of us that desire to serve him). The Spirit of God, who knows all of our actions, and all of our thougths (however disturbed, perverted, selfish, or unjust) loves us, and is pleased at our attempts to serve him. Even when we fail in our own eyes.

So much happens in my life, and I have so many reasons to rejoice, and proclaim God's faithfulness, but I rarely do.

After devos, we rode the marshrootka to church, and Elianna sat contentedly on my lap the whole way there-that is a reason for praise. At the service, the A/V equipment was acting up, so the words to the songs were not projected, but we were still able to worship God--That is a praise. We talk to people at church--that is a praise. There is a great kids play room so one of us gets to play with Elianna and the Russian kids, while the other gets to listen to 1 or 2 or 3 sermons--That is a praise. Immediately after church we went with a Russian speaking Brazilian family to a birthday party and although Elianna didn't nap, she played contentedly with the kids. We came home exhausted--but that also is a praise.

I guess what I am getting at is that no matter how long a day seems, and how life seems to be slogging along, God is still being found faithful by his people. Reasons to rejoice abound in spite of little energy to worship or remark about them. God is pleased by our lives-as they happen.

(Please take a deep breathe and say--that was long, but now Jeff is done rattling on.)

HOWEVER, we do have some other reasons to rejoice that I would be remiss if I did not mention.

We purchased our travel stuff for our trip to Aalesund, Norway in June. We will have 2+ weeks of much needed R&R. (I wonder how much Norwegian we will pick up while we are there???)

Tomorrow is our first day with our new car. Please pray for our nervousness about driving here in a new environment. Knowing HOW TO DRIVE is only half the battle when you are in foreign country. Please pray for our safety as we acquire this new (and much anticipated) skill. Thank you to all who gave and prayed on our behalf.

Please pray for a family named the Jordans--they are planning uproot from their lives in America to start at the language school in July/August. We are going to be doing "whatever it takes" to get them settled in. Please pray for us, and them-Jason, Joy, Ethan, and Laurel.

Our little girl is growing up fast.

благодарение -- джеф

Easter in Pictures

2008-04-27T11:50:00.020-05:00

Here are some pictures from our Easter celebrations...
hugs with friends...

Yanna being nosy, checking out the neighbors party!

Some of our decorated eggs. They have really cool plastic decorator things. Which is your favorite?

This one is my favorite - white church & snow!

Easter bread, from my lovely landlady!

Happy Easter Russia!

... time to go conjugate my verbs for tomorrow!

Love,

An Update in Bullet Points

2008-04-27T10:59:00.004-05:00

Quickly, here is an update on the Cerias.

Today is Easter in Russia. христос воскрес--воистину воскрес (not sure on the spelling, but it means "Christ is Risen--and the response is--In truth He is Risen!" Jeff went to an Orthodox service last night and that was THE phrase of the night. People lined up around the church with various items to have them blessed by the priest as he did a procession around the church. It was a great cultural learning experience.
In our church this morning, the same phrase was used time and time again. Thank God that we are able to celebrate the resurrection of Christ twice every year!
I had a great chat with my neighbor Nina the other day. Did you know that she just became a "pensioner" after teaching school for 50 years! She is a wonderful neighborhood figure, please pray for our continued relationship with her.
Jeff (I) got to drive our car today for the first time. It was just a practice run. We have completed all the paperwork for it, but the people who we are buying it from will need it until their last day in Ktown before moving to Ukraine.
Did you read the last point? We will have a car very very soon!!! Thank you to everyone who prayed and gave.
We had a nice party at our house today. four families and we mostly spoke in Russian!
We have begun to develop relationships with some people from our church, which is SUPER COOL and makes us feel like we are becoming a part of the church body here.
Every day now Elianna is saying "what is that in Russian dad/mom?"
Please pray for motivation to study! I speak for myself in saying that I feel like I have a language carrying cart, and it only holds so much. When I put new stuff on the front things seem to fall off the back. We really need to keep our thoughts on our lessons--please pray for us about that.
Did we mention that we may be going to Norway soon?
This is the last bullet point.

We love you our friends and supporters.

~ Jeff for the fam.

sneak peek...

2008-04-21T13:52:00.015-05:00

Hello All,

Spring has sprung, and it is beautiful here. The sheer, and overwhelming beauty of our surroundings has compelled me to take some pictures of the things I see daily. Even though the camera on my phone takes terrible pictures, I thought it would be cool for you to see some of the things that you would see if you were me! ( I do, however, think this is cheating... if you really want to see what life is like here--COME FOR A VISIT!)

First picture is for my mom--The lilacs are incredible, and EVERYWHERE. I think these are whisteria. what do you think?

Second picture is also for my mom: this is Nina's garden (she is one of the babushkas you met while here).

The third pic is for my dad... he's a dog lover. Believe it or not this harmless looking Chow Chow terrified me when I first saw him. I was walking along the street and passed by his staircase (when he was sitting up) and I thought for sure I had just walked past a real live lion.

The fourth is also for my dad--think volgograd in miniature.

This one is just cool.

Everyone will apprecaite this one! (we sure do)

This one is just hilarious. The word иностранец (pronounced ee-no-STRAN-etz ) means foreigner. This is the kind of thing that makes you do a double take. Every once in a while it feels like my brain needs to reboot because I will see something here in perfect English and my brain doesn't know what to do with it. (If you don't want to stay with us when you come, you may end up here!)

The last pic is for my brother Jerry. You see Jer, some things don't change no matter where you go in the world!

WE love you all, and thank you for taking this journey with us!
.

Please pray for all the Christian Churches as this coming Sunday is the Russian celebration of Easter. Please pray that the message of Christ's resurrection will be clearly proclaimed through all of this massive country!

~ Jeff

Waiting...

2008-04-15T10:30:00.003-05:00

Up to this point I thought I knew how to wait. I am generally a patient person, and don't have a hard time sitting quietly in waiting rooms. But recently I have about had my fill. Last Friday I started the process of aquiring the necessary "spravkas" (certificates) that are part of obtaining a new visa. Sounds simple enough, four tests--no problem. My day began at 7:30 am at the drug addiction clinic in the center of the city; first test, addiction to narcotics. I arrived 30 minutes early for the exam because because I wanted to get in and out as quick as possible to get to the next center (20 minutes away by public transport). I walked in and paid my 325 rubles ($10.25) and was told to exit the building and go to the small building across the parking lot. I walked in and the person took my paperwork, stamped it and said "fsyo" (which means "that's it.") I said "fsyo?" and she said "fsyo," I was confused, and so again I asked "fsyo?" (and this time added a motion towards the door) and she said, "da, fsyo" No idea what any of that means, but I have the paper that says I passed that test.

The next place was the TB test. Here, my friend told me, is where you wait in line to leave an oral deposit in a cup. (And take a chest X-Ray.) The only problem was that there were four or five men in front of me in line with large stacks of passports in their hands. That must be why there were 25 people standing outside the building. I stood in line for an hour plus (or maybe it was two hours, I kinda lost track). I paid for my test, deposited in the cup, and went to have my chest XRAY. I was in and out of that part in about 5 minutes. (Weird.) The sign said come back the next day between 2 and 5 to pick up the results--No problem.

Did I ever explain "peri-reev"? Break in the middle of the day--No Problem, except one office has it from 12-1 another office from 1-2, and today I found one I needed with perireev from 2-3. Did I mention that at one time I thought I was a good waiter.

The third test I took was for STDs and that one was at a hospital 20+ mins away. Very professional, and almost no waiting (all right, 10 mins in the registration line, and 2o minutes in the cashiers line.)

The final test was for HIV or вич . This place opened at 1 pm and I had heard that the list of people trying to get in starts circulating at 8:00 am. I got there and put my name on the list. #43. Not too bad, until I realized that there were two people (in spots 1 & 2) that just said "group" and 3 or 4 names on the list with "9 people" in paranthesis. That makes me probably somewhere around number 75 or so. No Problem, I am a good waiter. About an hour and a half later, I decided that I need to check on the process that the list had made. I saw number 16 go in to the cashiers office, and then I saw number 26 go in. Hey, I'm number 43 maybe I will get lucky. What I found was a lady who was further down on the list than me saying in a very quiet voice "number 36, 37, 38." Number 38 announced that she was there, and I said I am number 43... she said, o.k. you go after her (#38). Strange. Then I just had to wait to turn in my passport and cashier's receipt, and then wait to be called. 30 more minutes and I had my test. Nothing to do now but go back and pick up my results. No Problem.

Picking up the results was for the most part better than waiting to take the tests. But there were still the travel times, and the perireevs. Oh yeah, there was that one time when I went at two like the sign said and was told to come back at 4. No Problem.

Why am I exhausted at the end of the day?

Today I finished the process of having my passport translated, and notarized. Funny, we haven't had the lesson at school yet that contained the verb for "to have something notarized." No wonder the secretary looked at me funny.

So all of that to say I think I have completed the first phase of the new visa process. Yeah!

Thank you for praying for our family as we go through cultural adaptation and adjustment. We live in a very, very beautiful country, filled with people that God loves very much.

In Christ,

Jeff

oh, the things you see....

2008-04-14T12:16:00.002-05:00

...the other day I saw an old babushka wearing some really sweet racing flats made by adidas. The kind I used to wear in track. Hehehe.

...today I saw a boy holding onto the back bumper (for lack of a better word) of the tram, going along for the ride in his white shirt and black pants school uniform. Must be he didn't have his 6 rubles for the tram fare(25cents)

..more next time...

rj

quote of the day... by Yanna....

2008-04-12T23:46:00.001-05:00

(this morning as we are getting ready for church)

"I forgot my passport, I need it for my testimony!"

I have no idea what she was really talking about or whether she was just trying to impress us with new big words, but it was funny!

We're Baaacckkk!

2008-04-12T13:18:00.003-05:00

Hey Guys,

Our Trip...

We got back wednesday night from our Field Forum at Anapa on on the Black Sea, after a week of worship, meetings, playing, relaxing etc., with our american (and one Brazilian family) colleagues here in Russia. It was very relaxing for me to be away and I had so much fun just hanging out with people every night till late. They put all the families with small kids on one floor together, so after our kids were alseep we could sneak out into the main lobby area of our floor and play games and hang out. I feel like a new person!!! I didn't have to cook, clean, do laundry, shop or speak Russian for a week. But I chose to - I did speak with the nannies and the Brazilian family in russian, since I don't know portuguese.

Now I am hoping real life is really not going to start again when I have to go back to school on Monday, :(

Our Nanny...
Today Katya (our regular Nanny) came over to play, she hasn't been here the last month because of her school session, so we missed her so much. I spoke Russian with her today for 10 hours! She's going to be a lovely bride at the end of next month! This will be our first russian wedding! Gee- I hope we will be invited! :)

OUR GOOD NEWS....

At long last we can share with you... that I am not pregnant, BUT next month we will be getting our new baby! A CAR!!! It is with both happy and sad feelings that we share this with you - we are purchasinging it from some of our teammates for a great price, but they are selling because they are moving to Ukraine to help with a church-plant there. But that in itself is a cool opportunity that seems to be God's leading, but we will miss them so much here in K-town. We are so thankful for the Lord's provision for us through your financial support. We have in our account just what we need for the selling price, so we will continue fundraising so that we have a buffer for maintainance and repair costs. Russia's roads are hard on her cars, so I have heard. The car we will (if all goes as planned) be getting is a 98 Honda Oddessy van. We are pretty excited to say the least. Not that I am psyched to drive here, since there seem to be no rules at times and it can be scary even as a passenger in a taxi. But, my learning shall continue in all areas of life and my trust in God shall increase.

Spring Fever...
Spring is so beautiful here! There are tulips out now, and lilacs and fruit trees blossoming everywhere. I love it!! There seems to be new life all around, our neighbors cat just had three cute kittens, our other neighbors adopted a cute little puppy from the street outside, our neighbor's baby is such a cutie, and there are flowers and budding trees everywhere!! We came in July so I think most things were already dry and brown by then, which is why it is so nice to see this beautiful part of the year.

I hope you are finding beauty around you, whatever circumstances you may find yourself in today. The Lord is near. Thanks everyone for your prayers and love and support.

Love,
RJ

Yanna-isms

2008-03-31T11:44:00.003-05:00

So its been a while since I did a whole post dedicated to Yanna...

I have to write this one before I forget it...

every night I get Yanna into her pj's and then I tell her to go to the top of the stairs and yell down to Jeff "gatova, Pappa" which means , "ready, Daddy!" and Jeff usually answers, "harasho, ya preedoo," which means, "ok, I am coming." Tonight Jeff did her bath and dressed her while I did the kitchen clean-up ( which by the way I need to brag because Jeff usually does the supper dishes and kitchen clean-up!!! He's a great man!!).
Anyways, tonight she yelled down the stairs to me, "gatova Mama" (ready Mama) and before I could answer her she yelled "tee preedyosh?" (are you coming?). I can't believe it! She conjugagted a russian verb correctly!! Neither one of us taught her how to do that, maybe she learned it from Ina, her nanny this month.. Wow.

She has been memorizing books lately.. some of her favorites that she knows almost by heart are Amelia Bedelia, The Giant Jam Sandwich, and Danny & the Dinosaur.

She loves to hear "Jesus stories" too, especially the story of the hurt man (the Good Samaritan), the man born blind, and the changing of water into really good "grape juice" story.

One night we were making tacos and Jeff yelled out to me "don't forget the taco shells in the cupboard" and Yanna replied, "that's like in the Mary-Mary song!" the song goes - Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow, with silver bells and cockle shells (TACO SHELLS!) and pretty maids all in a row...

She is very excited for our upcoming trip to the Black Sea this week. Ina, her nanny for this month while Katya is in school will be one of the nannies at the conference and Yanna is so excited that every day she says "Ina go to Anapa with us? Right now?"

She also is learning to pray more, and every night she reminds us to pray for Aunt Judy and John Vasta. When we pray for healing for somebody she always asks, "is ___ feeling better?" Recently she's been saying "pray for Jesus, pray for Jesus!" I tried to explain that He's got it all together and he's the one we pray to.

Yesterday at church Yanna fell down on the hard ground outside and she was crying and I asked two of the little girls if they wanted to pray for Yanna. One of the girls answered, "uh I can't right now because I have stuff in my hands!" (it was Sophia, Steph, she was soo cute!) and the other one said, "ok, but in my heart, not out loud and I want to go over there while I pray!" It was so funny! But Yanna felt better that these two girls cared for her.

Kids are so great aren't they?
No, I am not pregnant to all you conclusion-jumpers!!

RJ

Some photos/video from the ballet....

2008-03-31T09:34:00.007-05:00

Hi Friends,
Last week we got to attend a ballet with some classmates. It was a conglomeration of several Shakespeare plays. We all had a hard time following the story line but the costumes were great and one guy who wore red tights got some serious air when he jumped.

Here's one of the early scenes...

Jeff and I snuggling during intermission...

Ha! The lady who sat in front of Jeff. You can see how something like this might impede your view of the performance...

A video for your viewing enjoyment...

By the way, Krasnodar has tons of concerts, ballets, plays, etc., during the spring/ summer months, so come on over and get some culture! Our tickets were only $12 a person.

Till next time,

This is not fair...

2008-03-24T08:15:00.002-05:00

Just a side note. Yes, the blossoms on the trees are incredibly beautiful and the Hyacinth are in bloom, but it is just not right for it to be hot out in March. Please pray for me as I face the heat! Seriously, I don't have a hot weather physiognomy--I don't rest well when its hot.

~ Jeff

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T13:07:00.008-05:00

I hope you are taking time today to think about what Christ's death and resurrection means in your life today. I am so glad Jesus is alive and will come back again someday! What a great hope that is!

I returned this morning from my trip to Volgograd, which was definately a cultural experience, by the way. Our train left the Vokzal (station) at 12:10am and we arrived in V-grad at 1:30pm. We rode the cheapest way - in non-private cabins in a wagon. There were 6 beds to each small room and maybe 6 or more of these rooms in our wagon. It was really wierd at first to try to go to sleep with so many strangers around. But I am learning to get used to being around tons of people all the time and not having privacy. I realized that in some ways it was better than travelling on an airplane because you could actually lay down and sleep. The trip one way was 500rubles, about $20. For the private coupee rooms it would have been double the price, plus it was good to have the "rough it" experience that is the way so many Russians travel between cities.

We did not get a chance to see much of Volgograd because of the shortness of the time, and we did not stay with a Russian family. We stayed in a sort of hotel, seemed like a hostel to me, with bunk beds in the rooms, but the place was a big, beautiful house. The best part of the conference for me was getting to hang out with these ladies back at the house. Friday night at 10:30 we walked in the snow across a large highway to go to a supermarket. We sat around the table and had чай (tea) and our suppers while getting to know each other.

These are some of the ladies from Elizavetinskaya, a town near Krasnodar who befriended us. (L-R) Sarah, Lyuda, me, Yanna, Alyessa.

There were about 200 women at this conference, and I think it was a big deal for them to have a chance to get away from their family responsibilities and have some time just for themselves. They seemed to really enjoy the conference. I understood about 40% and that was when I was really concentrating and trying to understand, but honestly it was very exhausting. I ended up making a list of words that I heard and looking them up in my dictionary to pass some of the time.

Here is one of the special cultural songs they performed:

Someday I want to learn the words to a song like this...

The themes of the speakers centered around being a woman and what that means, how to take good care of yourself, including makeup, nutrition, dress, etc. There was even a lady who gave tips for how to have excellent etiquette. She was hilarious and you could tell some of the laides thought she was over the top too (glad I wasn't the only one). Here's some of her advice:

Women should always: have perfect posture, be perfectly made up and in very nice clothes, even when home relaxing, wear shoes with a heel, even if just a little one because doctors have proven they are good for your health. They should never sneeze, cough, blow their nose in public unless they absolutely HAVE to , then it should be as quiet and decreet as possible. Always have your purse with you. Never clean your teeth with your fingernail, pull fuzz off of someone else's clothes, or crack your fingers. Hands and nails should always be soft, clean and manincured. Bright nail polish should only be worn for nighttime or parties, softer colors are for daytime. You should always look your best even when just taking the trash out to the dumpster.

The best part of the conference for me was worshipping with these women. I definately only understand about half of the words in the choruses, but I just felt so honored to be there with those women, living in their culture, singing in their language & worshipping God together. I could see their love for God in their worship and it made me want to worship God more even if I don't understand the words. I felt like all of the diffulcutlt things about life here melted away at that moment, because I could worship with those women. That is why I am here, to worship with them and help to bring more worshippers into the kingdom. I am still processing alot of the weekend but I feel like God met me there and showed me again what is most important - loving Him and others.

On Saturday the pastors wives met for lunch and shared some of their burdens and struggles. That was also a impactful moment for me to remember these ladies in prayer and encourage them whenever I can. This weekend was a cultural experience for me, but a much needed break for them.

The ride back home was on a bus, since their were no tickets left for the return train ride. So we were on a bus for about 17 hours (6:30pm - 10:30am) on bumpy roads. I am so gald to be home again and sleep in my bed. Thanks for your prayers for my trip.

We had Easter dinner (a picnic) with our teammates this afternoon and the kids did an Easter egg hunt. Peace and love - RJ

highlights of life in the middle of March...

2008-03-20T06:49:00.007-05:00

Hi friends. Just a few words (ha ha ha) of update from RJ. Tonight I will board a train for Volgograd with my teammate Sarah. We are going there for a ladies conference that will be all in Russian. We will stay with a family there. I am so excited to observe what life is like as a houseguest of a Russian family. I am sure they will overfeed us and make us as cozy as possible. I hope I will learn tons of new words this weekend and God will bless the time that I will have with these women of God. Hopefully we will also be able to browse around v-grad before the conference starts. It is a hero city, which means the Russians beat the Germans there in WWII.

Also, we have moved to the genetive case in school. It's the fourth out of six cases. We can now say, "that's Jeff's pen. That is Jeff's brother's dog," etc. We are slowly getting there folks. We are learning to be patient with ourselves. That is the hardest thing about learning russian maybe, it is so complicated, you have to practice and practice something for weeks before you can move on to the next thing or it will not make sense. So please don't buy any of those "learn Russian overnight" CDs, its a hoax, I promise!

This week I had to joy of picking up a few packages from the PO, and now I actually know how to fill out the slip to pick it up. But I almost had a breakdown at the counter when I had to sign my name, because it's been so long that I have written my name in english, I couldn't remember what a lower-case cursive r was supposed to look like. I guess that is a good thing, because it means that I have been practicing Russian alot - but instead of being proficient in one language and a beginner at another, I feel like I am stupid in both languages now - especially writing them out!! Oh, well.

Thanks guys, for helping out with our vehicle fund. We are getting there bit by bit.
It is so cool to see people giving sacrificially to help us out, especially those of you who also are working in foreign lands and have your own needs. May God bless you in abundance.
I am feeling like I am gettting over some of the culture stress right now. I have begun praying for the people who I share the bus or tram with in the morning and afternoon. I am not afraid of people asking me questions or staring at me (as much as I used to be). I am so thankful for our great language school that has taught us so well because if we weren't learning this language it would be so hard to do life here. When I first came, I was so afraid to go out, because when I heard people talking or looking I always thought they were talking about me or staring at me. Now at least I may be able to get the gist out of what they are saying. (what does gist mean anyways? Is it a real word?) And I am not as afraid to ask questions even if I know I might now say it right. It is very humbling to speak russian because I know I will probably make a mistake every other word, but yet we find people willing to be patient and listen, and correct us when we make mistakes. Thank you Lord for our wonderful language helpers!!
This is my challenge for you today - If you know someone who has immigrated to the country you are in, please help them if you can - with the language, culture, running errands, be their friend, etc. We know it is hard even with a language school community around - you are still in a strange new place.

Spring has been here for a few weeks with temps in the 40's and 50's, but just last night snow fell, which you know I am not going to complain about!!! But there is water and mud everywhere. Our city doesn't seem to have canalizatsia (drainage pipes, tunnels, etc.) so the water just makes huge lakes on the sidewalks and roads. Speaking of roads, in our outback region of Slavinsk, they have for the first time laid asphalt down on our road. CRAZY! But we heard a joke that after a nice road is laid down, they then tear it up to put int the drainage pipes, so we are waiting to see if that will happen.

Our friend Olga, came to visit last weekend. She was in one of my classes at Wheaton Grad School. She has finished her degree and moved back home to Moscow, but came down to visit her grandparents who live near the Black Sea and us during her spring break. It was fun to show her around the "city" a bit and do shashleek. (Shishkabob on the grill). Here she is with Yanna on the tram.

Also, my classmate Steph, hosted a makeup/massage party for our teachers. She did the make-up demos with another classmate Aleida, and I gave foot massages. It was a fun way to say thank you to our teachers for their hard work. Here is a picture that we took after many had already left sorry! From L-R (Tanya (director of our school), Brianna (steph's daughter), me, Megan (daughter #2), Steph, Sophia (D #3) and Olga. It was fun! And Steph made some amazing food!

And lastly.. My two favorite people!!

Till next time!

Something good to blog about...

2008-03-19T14:32:00.002-05:00

Hello Friends,
First I want to say thank you to our friends who pray for us regularly. One of my biggest frustrations has been finding reliable, long term language helpers--Often when I find people to work with, they end up leaving for one reason or another to go on to more lucrative things.

For the past two months or so, I have been working with a 5th year institute student named андрей (Andrei)-who shares my love for Christ, and His Kingdom. We have had some really great times of study together, and he sees making me a better Russian language learner a part of his ministry.

About three weeks ago I found and started working with another language helper, дима (Dima)-a student at a nearby Bible College. Dima helps me work on pronunciation and we have also been able to do a few practical things together that require language, but more than that help me to learn more about life and business in Russia. He is also helping me to understand Russian anecdotes (jokes-not antidotes) which are a very important part of Russian hospitality.

I thank the Lord for giving me these two great guys to work with as I strive to obtain the Russian Language. Thank you for your prayers--the Lord has provided!!

In other news...
This past Sunday RJ wasn't feeling well, so I went to Dima's church alone and had a really great time. (We have been to several different churches in our city, but we haven't really found one yet that we call home.) Dima's church was a bit longer than I would have liked (a full 2 hours and 20 minutes) but meeting the pastor afterwards, and getting a tour of their BEAUTIFUL toddler area made up for it. The pastor was very welcoming to me said that he would be willing to support me if I had an idea for a ministry through his church!! I can't wait to take RJ and Yanna there and get their impressions!

One other thing and then I will close. Yesterday I met with Dima and one of the things on my agenda was to take a suitcase into a bag and shoe repair shop to have a broken wheel fixed. The interaction didn't begin the way I would have liked because the shop owner seemed very busy, and gruff, and generally uninterested in helping a foreigner who was butchering his language. I told him as best I could what I wanted done--in short "Please fix this so that it works, I don't care what it looks like."

We agreed on a price, and he told me to return in two hours. When I returned to pick up the bag, the man's curt, uninterested (crusty--now there's an adjective) attitude had gone, and in it's place was a really tender guy. He started a discussion to ask me about why I am in Russia, and as the discussion led to faith issues, he even offered for me to sit down to talk with him. I told him I couldn't, but that I would return another time, and he invited our family to his house for coffee and relationship. When I went to pay him for his work (which was very sturdy, good work) he refused payment and told me that he was glad to talk to me about "God". Please pray for my interactions with this man "Samsung" (I wonder if his name might refer to the Biblical character Samson).

I better be going! Love to you all,

Jeff
P.S. We may have some really good news that is mixed with some sad news, which I can't tell you about for another month or so.

Sensing a pattern...

2008-03-17T15:11:00.004-05:00

Hi,
I am sensing a pattern. I usually only want to blog when I feel a burning desire to complain about how (mentally) difficult Russian language study is.

And for that I apologize. We know that people are checking up on us through this blog to see how we are doing, and to see how we are in need of your prayers--and our last post was on the 80' snow anomaly.

We are doing well... (that's "well, let me think...") pretty good. In Russian the answer to how you are doing is нормально, which sounds like "normal" but means something closer to "not terrible or fair or O.K." In English we usually say we are doing slightly better than we really are because we don't want to dampen anyone's spirits, and we know that most people aren't really listening to the answer anyway. So we are doing pretty good.

We have had a busy few weeks: We had Women's Day (March 8th), we visited a Cossak Museum, we had a Russian friend from Wheaton (who now lives in Moscow) visit for a few days, we visited a bunch of new places. Each of these things is worthy of a blog post of their own. A few things that are not really worth a whole blog post are things like -- the first warm days have come, people here break up the soil where nothing is growing and it looks nice, Elianna loves her new swing, We just received a box full of books, so Elianna is in her glory with about 15 new books to choose from.

In a few days RJ is going to Volgograd for a women's retreat. Please pray for her in her growth there and for Jeff and Yanna who will be having about 4 days of "special daddy time." Please pray for strength and wisdom for me--Having a 2 year old is exhausting.

Speaking of Exhausted, that's me.

Here are a few peeks at our life here:

Life on the tram.

This is one of the garden areas we pass every day on our way to the tram.

RJ and Yanna practicing their trumpet skills.

Guess.
Our girl is learning to be more daring now... climbing!

Gotta go. Too close to midnight.

~Jeff

Some serious snow...

2008-03-04T12:31:00.002-05:00

I know this has nothing to do with Russia, but...

My sister just sent me an email about this... you gotta check it out - a jinormous snow-woman!
http://www.bethelmainesnowwoman.com/webcam.html

if you go here http://bethelmainesnowwoman.com/blog/ you can see how they built it!! I am inspired to do something big now!!!!

love - RJ

Thank you

2008-03-03T09:07:00.002-05:00

Elianna would like to say thank you to whoever sent us the "puhtsee moles" (aka tootsie rolls).

learning

2008-02-25T12:22:00.009-05:00

Hello All,

Jeff here. I have come to realize lately that I process through analogies (or at least I often blog through analogies which helps me process). Either way, here is what I have recently been chewing on. It is not super spiritual but interesting (I think).

First picture a basket (maybe 12" X 12" X 12"--wicker maybe).

Then picture 64 of these baskets lined up as a big square, (8 across, and 8 down). 64 is an arbitrary number, the actual number may only 30, or 140, or who knows how many.

The important thing is that as I try to learn and speak Russian language I see how much of a Western mindset I have. I was told in school that people from a western mindset have the tendency to like things neatly organized and catagorized according to subject--things that don't fit into any one particular category, either get discarded, or put in a separate box labeled ????

Recently I have started to feel like I am sitting on the floor in front of this massive spread of baskets, and as I speak, I have to reach into one of the labeled boxes to try to pull out something that works for that particular situation.

Random I know, but let me explain: In the top left box I have nominative singular masculine--that box is the fullest. Right next to it are the boxes for nominative feminine, neuter and plural--these boxes are fuller than the rest, but still pretty much empty.

In the next row of boxes I have simple prepositional case--these boxes help me to say where I have been, or what I was thinking/speaking about, but they do not help me to talk about the place I am heading.

That requires the Accusative case which is in the column of boxes all the way on the right. That column contains direct objects, which I understand, but sometimes forget to change according to gender or number.

Each case basket contains a set of about 40 adjectives (that I know), but they all change according to the basket I took them out of, so I have to read the label carefully before trying to describe people, places or things.

Prepositions have a box, but it is in the lower right hand corner, and my basic set of personal pronouns and these thingees that help make complex sentences are all mixed up right now, so when I reach into a box to grab one for a sentence, I often pull out the wrong one.

Most of the rest of the boxes are still empty. They have labels on them... Dative Case, Instrumental Case, and Genetive Case but I still can't pull anything useful out of them.

Another box is for spelling rules. After к, г, х, ч, ш, ж, & щ you never write ы but и unless it is at the end of the word, and the stress falls on the last syllable. (Or something crazy like that.)

This box is perhaps the most frustrating right now because you have to look in your Nominative Plural Adjective box to figure out how to form the Prepositional Plural Adjective, but be sure to check your spelling rules box before you add an ending because something may appear to have a soft stem--but it is really a hard stem because of the spelling rules and requires a different ending.

In english, my baskets are so full of words that I don't have to even look in the baskets at all to form sentences--I can just see what is overflowing from the top, and take from there... In Russian I have to grope around at the bottom of the basket to find some kind of word to fill the thought in my mind.

But I often look in the wrong box and pull out something silly.

Did I mention the box for nuances? Or the one which describes the situations where certain phrases or words are, or are not, culturally appropriate? Verbs have Imperfective, Perfective, and Imperative--mention verbs of motion and my head feels like it is going to explode. Don't even talk to me about prefixes--or reflexive, intransitive and transitive verbs. (I could go on and on and on...)

You are a brave soul to have read this far... I commend you. (Susan, if you read this give me a shout out on the comments page.)

The end of my thinking on this subject: I know God will provide me with everything I need in order to not only learn this language, but to truly excel in it. OVERRIDING PRINCIPLES--> I need to take my eyes off of me, and my ability or inability to speak Russian well--and focus on the eternal, immortal, omnipotent God, who can do more than all I can ask or imagine. FOCUSING ON HIM (AND NOT ON MYSELF) IS A LOT MORE PRODUCTIVE--not to mention encouraging.

Please pray for us as we seek to grasp the Russian heart, culture and language. AMEN!

Please consider giving to our Vehicle Fund as well! The world is opening up to us more and more as we gather and use the language we are gaining. Please help to open our world further by giving to our Vehicle Fund and helping us to experience more of life in Russia than public transportation can provide.

You are are supporters, and we need you!!!

By the way, we are famous now. Check us out in one our church's newsletter!
http://www.lbccma.org/images/stories/Newsletter/2008/200803.pdf

Fun Night Out

2008-02-23T13:16:00.003-05:00

Last night Jeff and I went on a date and it was so much fun! It was the first time we had been out since our anniversary in July, so it was definately time! Yanna said good bye to us with a big smile because Katya was watching her for us.

We ate at a Japanese restaraunt and had some amazing sushi, pork, rice and soup. Then we saw our first movie in a russian theater. It was a russian made movie called "we are from the future." It was very interesting about four guys in the outskirts of St Petersburg (long story short) who jump into a lake and come up out of the water in the middle of a WWII war zone and they have to figure out how to get back to the present time. I understood maybe 50% of the words, but got most of what was going on by the context. It was not stressful to watch a 2 hour movie all in russian without subtitles! Praise the Lord I can now say that!!!

Anyways, we had a great time out together and hope to do it again sometime soon. And while we were gone we learned that Yanna was playign games with Katya at bedtime, listing a thousnd excuses why she was not ready to go to sleep yet- need to read more books, need another blanket, need to go potty, etc. This morning we asked Yanna if she cried last night for Katya at bedtime and she said "yes, just like this..." and gave us the complete replay of the whiny cry! She cracks us up!!!

Today was very warm, upper 40's and we got out to the park. She loves to run alongside us and get tired out so now she is sleeping peacefully with no excuses. love from Russia. RJ

Our little parrot

2008-02-21T02:15:00.003-05:00

I just had to write real quick...

Today Elianna picked up the phone and pretended to call someone. She said, "Hello, Did I call you at a bad time?"

Other updates:
bought a bike,
talked to a taxi driver about faith in Christ,
went to a costume party for valentines day.
went to 9 stores in 1 day to find a bike lock...

that's all i have time for now... but i have a good idea for a blog post about boxes.

love jeff

Update - Yanna turned TWO!!

2008-02-19T13:08:00.008-05:00

Hi dear readers.
Sorry for the delay in posting. I hate for the blog to get moldy like this so I will get my act together once again. During our time of silence, our precious baby girl turned TWO on February 7th. We can't believe how time has flown these past two years.

This little guy is David James. He was born on Elianna's birthday at 1:30am to our dear houseneighbors Paul and Becky in a Russian hospital with no problems, praise the LORD! I got to hold him when he was only a week old!! How sweet!! It has been such a cool thing to have a pregnant lady and now new mom next door! During Christmas break they asked Jeff and I to go through the Bradley method of childbirth with them which was very fun, since I love that whole topic! Anyways, here's the little precious boy!

Yanna's birthday cake (from scratch), that Jeff decorated with twizzlers! We had about twenty people in our small house on that day!

Yanna's birthday morning face!!

We had a talk and decided that she is definately not a baby anymore, but she's still my big little girl!!!!

Here she is at 12 months and as a newborn. Time does fly when you are a parent!!!

Thanks everyone for the birthday cards and Valentine's Day cards. We love you and miss you and think of you often.

Love,

PS - we finally got some snow in K-dar!! about 5 inches! WOOOHOOO!!! More photos to come soon!

Urgent Update

2008-02-08T04:26:00.000-05:00

In order to say the Russian verb "to smile" your mouth has to make a frown.
No kidding --улыбаться

Also, if you type the word "verb" on the computer while it is still set to produce russian characters, you will get муки which literally translates into torment, torture or sorrow.

Jeff

The Abyss

2008-02-05T07:57:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

It is time for Jeff to Blog again, (so if you are looking for cute pictures of Yanna--see below) this post may not be for all readers.

I remember seeing a movie called The Abyss. The plot (as I remember it) went something like this: there are some people who work as deep sea drillers (or researchers or something). Then there was a submarine emergency, and some of the characters had to figure out a way to dive deeper than is humanly possible to save a friend (in the submarine at the bottom of the ocean). Well one of the guys... (who's best friend is a rat...) suggests a theory--that if you submerse an animal in oxygen rich liquid, the lungs will readapt themselves and learn (immediately) how to function on the liquid... Kind of like a baby breathing amniotic fluid. That guy was willing to sacrifice his rat to prove his theory.

When they put the rat into the liquid (to test the theory) he thrashed a little bit, and refused to be submerged until at last he had no choice but to breathe the liquid.

Eventually one of the main characters has to try this method (liquid breathing) to save his friend. As they were putting the man into the oxygen rich liquid those around him were saying, "just relax, don't worry, everything will be fine, the more you struggle the harder it will be." But for the guy who had to breathe the experimental liquid oxygen, (picture coughing and sputtering--kind of like you might imagine a person drowning) things are not very peaceful.

Well that is a little bit like I felt yesterday on the way to school.

The things I take in (see) every day are different than I am used to. Imagine for a second that you walk out your door, and all of the sudden the houses are different, the way people landscape/garden is different. The cars are different, the garages are little individual buildings built in small clusters near huge multi-family buildings. The streets are made of different material (more potholes and unmarked speed bumps). The people dress differently, speak differently, drive differently.

But one thing is the same as in America--the graffiti. I have been fascinated by it ever since my first day here, and I think I understand why now. It is the same as you would see in any city in America. Sure the words are in Russian, but you can't read them anyway, so it doesn't matter.

Today I saw a man lying in the street. The cars just drove around him.

(I don't want to even get into the thoughts about the good samaritan and how I was UNLIKE him as I saw this scene today. Like all the others, I too had places to go, and a schedule to keep.)

I can't help but take in the things that are before my eyes--no matter how much I try to thrash and keep from seeing and swallowing the "DIFFERENTNESS" I can't get away from it. It is difficult to adapt to something that is so foreign. I feel like the guy in the movie who has to breathe liquid. Weird.

This morning I read Psalm 111. Verse 4 reminded me that the Lord is GRACIOUS AND COMPASSIONATE. I needed to read that.

Please pray that will see the unchanging character of the Lord every day. He is the source of our hope, and our strong defender.

Jeff

Photos by Yanna

2008-02-03T12:36:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone, these photos are narrated by Elianna.

This is me with Mommy and Daddy while we were waiting forEVER at the port waiting to get our boat to go into Ukraine a few weeks ago.

This is Mommy with my nanny Katya. She and Mommy are good friends and she teaches Mommy Russian alot at home.

Mommy and I sharing lollipops at the tram stop, waiting for a ride home

after a fun time at the park.

Riding on Daddy's shoulders at the park.

Playing under Daddy's desk with (little) Katya.

Me and my beautiful nanny, Katya. She is great!

She is silly though, she comes over all dressed up like this and

then changes into old clothes to play with me.

Swingin on Daddy's shoulders...

Reading a Russian storybook with Uncle Dima (mommy and daddy's teacher)...

I have been doing this ALOT lately - watching my "little bear" bear DVD from Grandma.

I beg Mommy to let me watch it everyday!!!

I like to tell the little bear stories to my tub-time friends...

PLEASE MOMMY CAN I WATCH IT AGAIN???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIERRA!!

Till next time, Keep having fun, and PLAY, PLAY, PLAY!!!!

in the news...

2008-02-02T05:52:00.000-05:00

This past week has been a busy one. Our team leader, Tim came down from Moscow to visit, and encourage the southern team. It was good to be updated about what is going on around the Russia field at our team meeting Monday afternoon, and then Mon night Tim came over and met with us as a family and then spent the night on our couch. We wanted so badly to encourage him because he is so overwhelmed and exhausted with sorting through all of the visa issues with keeping all of us on the field as well as finding ways for those returning from US to be here this summer. Please pray for Tim, our leader. He is working on getting alternate visas (by this summer) for some 40+ people to live and work here long term to share the love of Christ alongside the local believers here in Russia. It is an incredible amount of paperwork, legal documents, local laws and quotas to sort through and all in a foreign language. Another request is for the lawyer who has been helping our mission for many years is now in the hospital with cancer. Please pray for this man to be comforted and healed by our Father. And pray that God would provide some back-up legal help for our leadership. Thank you for your prayers.

Our talk with Tim was both encouraging and challenging as always. He is a great leader and cares for us well.

Last night we had a guest over for dinner, Dima, our teacher for the last month. He is a great guy to talk to, especially about Russian history. He reads alot and loves to talk about history. He is very down to earth and we shared alot of funny stories and jokes. He also speaks excellent english which also helps immensely!

We had our language assesment this past week. It was a written exam and then a 20 minute conversation with our director and she taped it and then evaluated it. I think Jeff and I did well. We are where we are supposed to be at this point in our studies, maybe even a little higher than expected but nothing earth shattering. Which, I think is encouraging, because this is Russian language we are talking about.

My beautiful sisters-
a grammar lesson dedicated to Rene and Rhonda -
Today I worked with my language helper Oksana for 1.5 hours on accusative animate nouns and the possessive modifiers and adjectives that need to match them. Let me give an example. The word "sister" in Russian is a feminine noun (ends in -a) which means that if I say "beautiful sister," the adjective "beautiful" has to have a feminine ending (-aya) to match the ending for "sister." But if I use this phrase as the direct object of a noun, like "I love my beautiful sister" the endings on "beautiful" and "sister"change from -a and -aya to -oo and -ooyoo and even the possessive modiefier "my" changes from "maya" to "mayoo". It gets even better, if I pluralize "sister," it changes completely to "mayeekh kraseevikh sestyor." This is such an incredible language - just when I think things can't get more complicated, they do!! BUT, I heard good news, the accusative case is much like the genetive and it is supposedly the hardest case, so if I can get this one down and recognize it and know when to use it and with which verbs, it might be a downhill jog from here. Maybe. We appreciate you continued prayers for our language learning.

Elianna's birthday 2nd birthday is coming up on Thursday and we'll be having a bit of a shin-dig for her. Anyone out there know the origin of the word "shin-dig"? Just curious.

Here's some Russian entomology for you. The word commonly used for thank you is spasiba - which came from the old "spas Bog" which means "God save you" or "God saves." The word "slav" means "worshipper." Please pray for the people of Russia to return to the true God as true worshippers of Him in spirit and in truth. And pray that we would be helpful to this cause and we learn to adapt to and live in our new culture.

love,
RJ

На Тебя

2008-01-27T07:50:00.000-05:00

Dearest readers -

Here's a song from church. I like it alot, especially cause of the photo with the Daddy holding his baby, just like the Father holding us. Sorry about the Pastor swaying back in forth in front of the screen, Jeff had to mount the camera to the seat in front of us and we couldn't exactly ask the guy to move!!! Here are the words and I will transcribe them:

На Тебя (Na tebya)
Надежда моя, (Nadezhda maya)
На Тебя. (Na tebya)

На Тебя (Na tebya)
Упованье моё, (oopavanye mayo)
На Тебя. (Na tebya)

Верю я (Veryoo ya)
В исцеленье Твоё, (v istselenye tvoyo)
Верю я. (Veryoo ya)

Ты со мною, (ti somnoyoo)
И я это знаю, (ee ya eta zhnayoo)
Рядом Ты, (reeyadom tee)
И смелее иду. (ee smelaay eedoo)

Мысли все, (meeclee vsye)
Мчты и желанья (mchtee ee zhelanyah)
Лишь Тебе, (leesh tebe)
Мой Господь отдаю! (moi gospod otdayoo)

repeat last two stanzas

Now you have sung in Russian, great job!!! Here's the translation:

on You (Lord)
is my hope on You

on You
my hope is set upon
On You

I believe
in your healing
I believe

You are with me,
and I know that,
You are near,
and I boldly come.

To think of all,
my dreams and wishes,
I can only surrender
them to You, Lord.

Insulation vs. Isolation

2008-01-24T07:25:00.000-05:00

A building in our neighborhood at dusk.

Insulation is a wonderful thing. Our landlord told us recently that our side of the duplex has better insulation than the other side of the house (it was built in two phases). We were glad to have good insulation the other day because our heat went out three times... we barely noticed.

We had prayer meeting here again last night, and for some reason the idea of insulation came into my mind--Insulation is that which protects us from the harsh/unpleasant elements in life. I started to think about our house in a diffent way. We have a very nice kitchen area, furnished with all of the modern appliances one might expect in a kitchen... good countertop, nice cabinets, refrigerator, stove, microwave, toaster--you know the usual.

Well the other day I met a lady and her daughter (5 months old) who live around the block from us. Yesterday, while out for a stroll, I saw her down the street and told RJ that I wanted to head her direction so they could meet. We exchanged pleasantries, and then Rebecca asked her where she lived. The house (and yard) she pointed to did not look like ours. There is no easy way to say it other than to say that hers looked much more shabby, run down and downright poorer than ours.

I thought it would be nice to invite her over (as a ghostie as they say here) but then I had to think twice about it. When we got home from our walk I realized the question in my heart and mind. "What would it be like for someone with next to nothing to get invited into a really nice, warm, well furnished home (where food is plentiful, and there are relatively no "money related problems" on the surface of life)?" We are well insulated from many of the problems of life that most Russians live with every day.

It is hard to think about, and I don't want to even mention it, but in most ways (with the exception of not having a car) we live like most Americans--only in Russia. The things that we have, and the freedom with which we procure the small niceties of life (cheese, meat, eggs, fresh veggies in winter, computer related things, internet, clothes that will keep us warm, toys for Elianna, etc, etc, etc) are all types of insulation from the harsh/unpleasant elements of life. Those same things, I fear, isolate us from the people we so greatly want to love.

Maybe Jeff is just starting his culture shock a bit late, but this insulation/isolation issue is weighing heavy on his heart. Please pray that things that God has blessed us with will not be a hindrance that keeps us from loving and reaching those he loves.

Thanks for your prayers for our adjustment to the cultural differences we face everyday.

Thank you for praying for our language learning ability... we had an assessment today and both feel like we did pretty well. We will have results by the middle of next week.

Thank you for loving our family!

prayer requests

2008-01-22T00:05:00.000-05:00

Hey All,

Prayer request:

Please pray for our friend (Jeff's sister in law's father)--John Vasta. He has advanced cancer in his waste elimination area. He is starting agressive chemo and radiation on Monday the 28th. Pray for healing, that he may have a life saving testimony.

Also please pray for Jeff (aka me) because I am getting a cold.

Thanks,
Jeff