It isn't 100% sure yet but seeing as there are comments re. us coming home and we are commenting re. coming home, yes!! we are planning on having a short visit home!!!! seeing as we already have tickets to get home for May 2oth. (they were one year max return tickets) and because peter and kate are getting married june 17thish and because we want to see amy's baby boy too (due june 12thish) and so we can celebrate emma's 5th birthday (june 10th) in canada this year... we thought it a good time for a visit. we were going to wait another year from now but then with the tickets and the wedding and all it seems to make sense. so we are just getting the final ok's and schedule suggestions from here and will post all the dates when we figure them out.. we do know that we will arrive in chicago on may 20th. after that probably we will make our way up to tbay and then to calgary. estimated length of trip maybe 2 months total. we'll see. we don't want to be out of russian language study for too long. we'll try to find some ways of studying at home. find some russians to entertain.:) anyway. Yay! yaaaay! it will be great to get some vaccinations and such too. and i want to get contacts. glasses and walking and getting on the bus and metro and going in stores in russia just doesn't work. they fog up everytime i change places. and i do pretty much need them now. we will get some of you to book appointment's etc. for us as time passes and our schedule is more firm.
so. can't wait to see you all!!!!! yay!
Tuesday, February 28
Monday, February 27
2 pics for you!
Here is emma and jo playing outside, and wait david too though you can hardly see him behind the tree:) i can't zoom or anything anymore, hurts my thumb too much so i just cut it down on the computer cause they were really small on the original picture.
Huddy watching Emma, Josiah and Daddy play outside. Everyone is back to normal although huddy has the runs a bit. No, we didn't get a camera I just held the batteries in and managed to get this shot. i miss taking pictures though. soon we should be able to get a camera. i've missed so many great shots :) funny that we never really took pictures of emma or jo when they were little but i feel like we are missing so much of huddy's life and it's only been 1 month? without a camera. it is usually the first kid that has lots of pics and then by the 3rd kid they only get pics of birthdays and so on.. we do things backwards:) anyway. it is so pretty outside, lots of snow and not tooo cold. -8? i dunno. nice anyway.
Saturday, February 25
sicky update
still just me and emma and i'm done i think. i'm at that stage where i am just sore all over like i've done some huge workout or some olympic record. but all i did was poo:) owell.
and emma is doing good although has still been throwing up every hour and a half. but now it is just her juice or water so she should be pretty much done. she is a trooper though. i woke up from my nap and came into the living room and i noticed that there was something in her bowl, she had just barfed on her own and continued on watching tv without needing help or anything. she says she is a good sick girl. yep.
and emma is doing good although has still been throwing up every hour and a half. but now it is just her juice or water so she should be pretty much done. she is a trooper though. i woke up from my nap and came into the living room and i noticed that there was something in her bowl, she had just barfed on her own and continued on watching tv without needing help or anything. she says she is a good sick girl. yep.
was it something we ate?
last night as david and i were watching pride and predjudice (which was not so good i thought) i started to feel not so good. i spent the next few hours frequenting the bathroom. yucky. thankfully it ended up only being bad poops:) what is the polite term for that kind of thing:) as many of you know i am a big wimp and am terrified of it coming out the other way. but this morning emma was crying in her bed after having thrown up. she is all cheerful and feeling fine now though 1/2 hour later, we'll see if she is done. i am pretty much better just hoping the boys don't get it. owell. it was bound to happen as this is the first time we have been sick since coming here. glad i got it last night so i should be able to help out.
so. other than that everything is going great. it is soooo beautiful outside as there is lots of snow stuck on all the trees and it isn't too cold. though i think we will be staying in today:)
so. other than that everything is going great. it is soooo beautiful outside as there is lots of snow stuck on all the trees and it isn't too cold. though i think we will be staying in today:)
Thursday, February 23
+ 1 C!!!!!!!!
I just put the boys to bed, it is 8pm and it is + 1 c!! and raining not snowing... pretty amazing. if it wasn't pitch black out I'd go run around or something. hopefully tomorrow will be warm as well and we'll get the kids out in it. my language helper Anya said it is really dirty outside. i bet. when there isn't grass and the snow melts....yuck. anyway. Tommorrow morning instead of normal class I am going to a russian movie with my 3 of my teachers. Pretty funny now that i think about it. i have two language helpers, one language teacher and one grammar teacher. takes a lot of people to teach me I guess;) anyway. i'll post tomorrow after the movie. It is a cartoon style kind but is about russian history. tonight i'm gonna do a little reading so i might be able to sort of follow the movie.
Tuesday, February 21
hard work
so i thought the conference was for the others to learn something and for us it was just going to be a time to observe russian culture and pick up a little more language... well the kids have demonstrated that we definetely need to put more effort into this parenting thing. I did really like what the speaker had to say and having raised 4 kids himself i guess he is living proof that discipline works. we do discipline of course but what our kids need is more of it, given sooner and more consistently. if it is to the point where i am angry about something they are doing i have waited toooo long. discipline needs to be training not punishment. to train it needs to happen before not after. the kids need to know their boundaries, what is a yes and what is a no and they need to know what the consequences will be. the consequences need to be known and consistent not dependant on what kind of mood i am in or how the child reacts. the kids need to know what will happen if they disobey so that when the discipline is needed they can focus on the actions and not worry about what mommy will do this time etc.
For example, sometimes i'll tell emma to clean her room and she will head off to do it, but then as she is cleaning she starts imagining and soon she is simply playing with the toys or she gets into a book for hours instead of cleaning. this is the kind of disobedience that i often don't deal with. after all she is playing nicely in her room, and i can do whatever she wants. she can clean later right... but HE does not give us as parents authority to let our children disobey. I am not training her to be obedient if she can just do something else nice to distract the boss from seeing what she didn't do. does that make sense? anyway. somedays all i might get done is discipline with these three little ones to train but i need to learn that that is ok and all is required of me. i could write forever, someday i can tell you in person if you want to know all the details and methods etc.
but please remember us and that we wouldn't be lazy in our parenting but would be responsible and attentive and focus on what the children really need and crave. the speaker spoke about who children admire most and appreciate -it is the coaches and parents and adults who make demands more and are tougher, who are not manipulated. not the adults who are pushed around by the kids. kids know when good times to disobey like when you are on the phone or in the bath or working on the computer. i need to remember that kids are not an interruption and need to deal with them right away so that they know that even when mommy is busy she is not too busy to let them disobey. anyway. fun stuff:)
and yes a couple paddly daddlies occurred while i was writing this email:) Huddy sure likes to climb but it is a no. hopefully he'll remember soon:)
It is true that kids who obey have more fun. they get invited to peoples houses for dinner, get to go to ballets and grocery shopping and have people over. they can play with things that you wouldn't want other kids to play with and on and on.. i'm reassuring myself it is worth it:) i know it is and it is for their best. (even if they cry, they will love me for it someday:)
For example, sometimes i'll tell emma to clean her room and she will head off to do it, but then as she is cleaning she starts imagining and soon she is simply playing with the toys or she gets into a book for hours instead of cleaning. this is the kind of disobedience that i often don't deal with. after all she is playing nicely in her room, and i can do whatever she wants. she can clean later right... but HE does not give us as parents authority to let our children disobey. I am not training her to be obedient if she can just do something else nice to distract the boss from seeing what she didn't do. does that make sense? anyway. somedays all i might get done is discipline with these three little ones to train but i need to learn that that is ok and all is required of me. i could write forever, someday i can tell you in person if you want to know all the details and methods etc.
but please remember us and that we wouldn't be lazy in our parenting but would be responsible and attentive and focus on what the children really need and crave. the speaker spoke about who children admire most and appreciate -it is the coaches and parents and adults who make demands more and are tougher, who are not manipulated. not the adults who are pushed around by the kids. kids know when good times to disobey like when you are on the phone or in the bath or working on the computer. i need to remember that kids are not an interruption and need to deal with them right away so that they know that even when mommy is busy she is not too busy to let them disobey. anyway. fun stuff:)
and yes a couple paddly daddlies occurred while i was writing this email:) Huddy sure likes to climb but it is a no. hopefully he'll remember soon:)
It is true that kids who obey have more fun. they get invited to peoples houses for dinner, get to go to ballets and grocery shopping and have people over. they can play with things that you wouldn't want other kids to play with and on and on.. i'm reassuring myself it is worth it:) i know it is and it is for their best. (even if they cry, they will love me for it someday:)
Sunday, February 19
our first russian conference
yesterday we had a great cultural experience by joining in with russian families and attending a seminar/conference on child discipline. we knew the speaker was an american from texas so we would hear it in english and the rest would hear the russian via a translator. there were times of course when everything was just russian but not too many awkward moments. the meeting was from 12-6 which was a long time for the kids to all be in childcare upstairs. getting all three in their proper classes took quite a bit of work, filling out forms about what to do if and so on. the kids all had a great time though and survived quite well.
anyway. the conference was good. after being here for 8 months we could see the things that the american just didn't know about russia. he started saying how we want our children to be successful which all made sense but he mentioned that we want them to grow up and move out of the house when they are maybe 19 and this is part of success. the thing is he doesn't know that the majority of people live with their parents after they are married due to the cost of apartments, even the babushka lives there. So things like that may have made the russians maybe insulted a little. things are different here but the speaker did stress that you don't have to do what they do but you have to do something. it was great i thought. he brought new methods of discipline that are so different from the traditional russian methods. no candy when they start to cry or have a fit:) but he really stood out with his loud manner of speaking english overtop of the younger girl translating. Hopefully they could hear her over his loud english. anyway.
as for russian conferences here are a few of the differences we noticed:
- no coffee at all, no milk for the tea but we went through gallons of tea.
- the lunch was only bread slices (no butter) and a million different kinds of creamy mayonaise salads or cabbage salads or one salad that was seaweed:)
- we sat on little wooden stools. ouch.
- when it was time to discuss about their children's behaviour and what they do about it they seemed very honest. i liked that.
- oh, and if you didn't bring slippers to wear you had to wear these tacky bright blue plastic baggies over your boots, where is a camera when you need one!
great experience, you guys must be thinking about us a lot cause the last week has been so good as far as having fellowship with others. thanks!
anyway. the conference was good. after being here for 8 months we could see the things that the american just didn't know about russia. he started saying how we want our children to be successful which all made sense but he mentioned that we want them to grow up and move out of the house when they are maybe 19 and this is part of success. the thing is he doesn't know that the majority of people live with their parents after they are married due to the cost of apartments, even the babushka lives there. So things like that may have made the russians maybe insulted a little. things are different here but the speaker did stress that you don't have to do what they do but you have to do something. it was great i thought. he brought new methods of discipline that are so different from the traditional russian methods. no candy when they start to cry or have a fit:) but he really stood out with his loud manner of speaking english overtop of the younger girl translating. Hopefully they could hear her over his loud english. anyway.
as for russian conferences here are a few of the differences we noticed:
- no coffee at all, no milk for the tea but we went through gallons of tea.
- the lunch was only bread slices (no butter) and a million different kinds of creamy mayonaise salads or cabbage salads or one salad that was seaweed:)
- we sat on little wooden stools. ouch.
- when it was time to discuss about their children's behaviour and what they do about it they seemed very honest. i liked that.
- oh, and if you didn't bring slippers to wear you had to wear these tacky bright blue plastic baggies over your boots, where is a camera when you need one!
great experience, you guys must be thinking about us a lot cause the last week has been so good as far as having fellowship with others. thanks!
Saturday, February 18
From Russia with Love
As you heard I did manage to get david a few things for valentine's day though they weren't what i wanted to get. Since we have had our playstation 2 we have only had the two games it came with which we really like but david has beat the james bond one so when I saw From Russia with Love back in January i knew it was the gift to get him for valentine's day. Everytime i was at the mall or the other store that has the games i checked in on the game but didn't want to buy it yet, where would i hide it and David would see it come up on our statement:) so i waited till the day and of course neither store had it. It was fun using the little bit of russian i know talking to the salespeople though. The package is all english of course so when I asked if they had From Russia with Love it sounded funny to them as I just kept my english accent. I got to describe david to the one guy as he kept asking me if he would like ninja games or NHL games etc. I said in russian that he isn't a sportsman but is more like James Bond. he laughed at me. He was quite helpful though and he managed to try a little english himself These are new games, he said.
anyway david just came home tonight and asked when i slipped the game into his jacket pocket. funny david:) turns out all i had to do is cross the street from the other store i was at. owell. So emma and david are on the couch exploring his new game. Emma is very proud of david when he wins his fights and gives him kisses. Bond. James Bond. I like to hear Sean Connery's voice in our place. He has an amazing retro-flex.
Watching the men's skating was soooo exciting. i could hardly watch as I was so sad thinking that Stephane wasn't going to get a medal. i like watching him. The three that won were my three favorites so it was just perfect. Evgeny is pretty amazing. today they are showing his skate over and over and over. but they never show stephane or Jeff. I like evgeny's skate more and more each time and the music is going through my head non stop. David stayed up late with me last night to see who won. He wasn't as interested in all the outfits and tears and all as i was but he was great company.
anyway. i miss taking pictures. maybe we will get a camera soon.
we seem to have switched weather with thunder bay as we have the -9 to -11 range today and you are freezing:)
oh, and though we don't have the official results yet david completed his 2nd language check and did really well they say. he is probably at intermediate mid which is very impressive for the short time we have been here and with our lack of russian contacts. yay david!
thanks for all your comments. we love you all.
anyway david just came home tonight and asked when i slipped the game into his jacket pocket. funny david:) turns out all i had to do is cross the street from the other store i was at. owell. So emma and david are on the couch exploring his new game. Emma is very proud of david when he wins his fights and gives him kisses. Bond. James Bond. I like to hear Sean Connery's voice in our place. He has an amazing retro-flex.
Watching the men's skating was soooo exciting. i could hardly watch as I was so sad thinking that Stephane wasn't going to get a medal. i like watching him. The three that won were my three favorites so it was just perfect. Evgeny is pretty amazing. today they are showing his skate over and over and over. but they never show stephane or Jeff. I like evgeny's skate more and more each time and the music is going through my head non stop. David stayed up late with me last night to see who won. He wasn't as interested in all the outfits and tears and all as i was but he was great company.
anyway. i miss taking pictures. maybe we will get a camera soon.
we seem to have switched weather with thunder bay as we have the -9 to -11 range today and you are freezing:)
oh, and though we don't have the official results yet david completed his 2nd language check and did really well they say. he is probably at intermediate mid which is very impressive for the short time we have been here and with our lack of russian contacts. yay david!
thanks for all your comments. we love you all.
Thursday, February 16
Climb In Love
I failed this year as a valentine. I didn't do anything. I didn't even say "I love you." You know, I didn't even say "thankyou" for the gifts (yes that is plural) that Erin gave me. I am not sure why. I used to be quite a romantic guy... I certainly used to have some manners anyway. I could always think of something new, something right, and pull it off as a surprise to boot. But lately I have been failing. I don't mean that the things I have done for Erin have been a flop it is just that I haven't done anything. A few flowers here and there, some candy now and then or a day to go shopping by herself (if there is any money... although she enjoys window shopping so money isn't an important factor). But nothing with some thought or heart in it. I used to know (or at least thought I knew) what she liked, what she wanted, what her desires and dreams where and so I could do things, say things, write things or buy her things (and I worked hard at it) that seemed to be just the right thing at the right time. So what is going on?
I did not "fall" in love with Erin. I saw there was something really good that I wanted, that I needed and that I believed God wanted me to have. I desired her, saught her, I asked for her, I cried and worked for her. I see that more of a "climbing" into love than a "falling". I don't think that it was the easiest climb but I knew that it would be worth it. Even before she was mine I knew it was the best thing for me and that I would be the most happy there.
All that to say, I have not "fallen" out of love with Erin. That is not the problem. Even if I "fell" in I could not "fall" out (maybe you can but it just seems strange to me that you could fall out of something that you fell into). You would have to climb out. I have not climbed out. I don't want to climb out. I know I am in the right place and that she is all I want. I have become lazy I have stopped being loving... stopped... loving. She is such a selfless server that I became lazy and began to think that I deserved to be served in that way. She convinced me I deserved it. She admires me, loves me, trusts me, follows me, respects me, puts me first in everything, gives me confidence through her admiration, encouraging words and compliments, she takes care of me. And somehow I came to think that I deserve it and that she owes it to me to serve me like that. Who would do all that for someone who didn't deserve it? Rather than being thankful I simply view it as her rightful duty to pay me back for being such a great guy (wow! I am really starting not to like this guy).
Well, I am sure it is clear to you, it is becoming pretty clear to me that I need to change. I need to enjoy the wife of my youth, I need to appreciate all that I have in her, honour her, serve her, know her, love her.
I know that this is no light matter. Christ set an example for me as a husband and I have been ignoring His lead. He died for Erin... and she is worth it.
So what now? Do I make promises? I know I won't be able to keep them. But I can follow. I can submit, yeild to the one who made pomises and is able to keep them. There is nothing lacking in His love.
Erin, I am so thankful for you. I want to love you, serve you, cherish you and enjoy the rest of my life with you as my valentine.
I did not "fall" in love with Erin. I saw there was something really good that I wanted, that I needed and that I believed God wanted me to have. I desired her, saught her, I asked for her, I cried and worked for her. I see that more of a "climbing" into love than a "falling". I don't think that it was the easiest climb but I knew that it would be worth it. Even before she was mine I knew it was the best thing for me and that I would be the most happy there.
All that to say, I have not "fallen" out of love with Erin. That is not the problem. Even if I "fell" in I could not "fall" out (maybe you can but it just seems strange to me that you could fall out of something that you fell into). You would have to climb out. I have not climbed out. I don't want to climb out. I know I am in the right place and that she is all I want. I have become lazy I have stopped being loving... stopped... loving. She is such a selfless server that I became lazy and began to think that I deserved to be served in that way. She convinced me I deserved it. She admires me, loves me, trusts me, follows me, respects me, puts me first in everything, gives me confidence through her admiration, encouraging words and compliments, she takes care of me. And somehow I came to think that I deserve it and that she owes it to me to serve me like that. Who would do all that for someone who didn't deserve it? Rather than being thankful I simply view it as her rightful duty to pay me back for being such a great guy (wow! I am really starting not to like this guy).
Well, I am sure it is clear to you, it is becoming pretty clear to me that I need to change. I need to enjoy the wife of my youth, I need to appreciate all that I have in her, honour her, serve her, know her, love her.
I know that this is no light matter. Christ set an example for me as a husband and I have been ignoring His lead. He died for Erin... and she is worth it.
So what now? Do I make promises? I know I won't be able to keep them. But I can follow. I can submit, yeild to the one who made pomises and is able to keep them. There is nothing lacking in His love.
Erin, I am so thankful for you. I want to love you, serve you, cherish you and enjoy the rest of my life with you as my valentine.
Tuesday, February 14
Monday, February 13
busy weekend
it was a great weekend hence no posts. we had company for supper twice (fri and sun supper) and were invited over for supper on sat! It was refreshing and exciting to have so much fellowship and activity. it wasn't too cold but did have the kind of snow that flies right in your eyes while you are walking which made some of our walks to and from places very hard. pushing a stroller each through snow squinting for one hour there and then another hour home. sometimes it seems like a huge mountain to climb where you just couldn't do it if you thought about how far you still have to go. just keep going. times like that we have wondered why we don't have a car. i'm sure we are the only expat family in moscow with 3 little kids that doesn't have a car but we do appreciate the exercise and the kids love the walk:) besides, I'm not sure how easy driving in moscow would be for us either at least till we got the hang of it.
ANyway, the only bummer about having so much company and things to do is that we didn't watch much of the olympics. small price to pay. though amy, we did see the tail end of the women's hockey game. can't believe 12-0. wow. I have no idea when things are on here as i know when the event are in real life in italy but to figure out when they are on our channel in russia hmmmm. i hope i figure out when the figure :) skating is on cause me and emma want to watch that.
gotta get back to bed, middle of the night here:)
ANyway, the only bummer about having so much company and things to do is that we didn't watch much of the olympics. small price to pay. though amy, we did see the tail end of the women's hockey game. can't believe 12-0. wow. I have no idea when things are on here as i know when the event are in real life in italy but to figure out when they are on our channel in russia hmmmm. i hope i figure out when the figure :) skating is on cause me and emma want to watch that.
gotta get back to bed, middle of the night here:)
Thursday, February 9
the russian olympic team headed off last week. i am excited to watch both russia and canada this year. looks like it will be easy- just cheer for the red and white? I really like watching sports here which is strange cause i never watched at home. i guess it is because it is the only channel we have that i can figure out what is going on even if i don't know what they are saying:) Emma and me watched mens volleyball last night and now if you ask her who she wants to marry (if she changes her mind about being a ballerina) she will say Alexander! he was one of the giant skinny russian players. she liked him from first glance. she said before i saw him "mom come see my new husband, he is the one with the blonde flat hair. i call him good player" when i found out his name she said "oh, that is a handsome name:)" she'll probably to switch to some figure skater next week. though she is still talking about alexander so he's had two days anyways.
Wednesday, February 8
watching 7 brides for 7 brothers
emma has become more interested in marriage lately. she is growing up too fast. like other little girls emma wants to marry her brother. A couple of weeks ago (when i took this pic) emma said to me "it's ok if i change my mind, instead of being a ballerina I could get married..." i gave her a funny look I guess.. "mom, it's ok. i just want to marry josiah." when i asked her why she said " well sometimes when he is running and running and running he just gets so warm and sweaty and I just want to cuddle him and I know that i can't sleep in the same bed as him only if we are married but he'd be so cuddly and warm like my haven (her stuffed dog)." yikes. though lately she has switched to wanting to marry hudson. cause he is so handsome and warm she just told me right now. funny. I guess she has a thing for hot guys:) Well, soon she will realize that she doesn't want to marry one of her brothers. hopefully. and you'll be able to confirm that she wanted to if she doesn't believe me.
Anyway, 7 brides for 7 brothers is one of the kids favorite movies. even huddy likes it cause of all the singing and dancing. I like it to. they also are enjoying the veggie tales from Grandma Charlotte. Lord of the Beans especially i think. and Emma really likes the Miracle Maker.
Tuesday, February 7
-30 C again
it has been getting colder again and just reached -30... poor emma has been told and has already agreed to obey that she must wear pants and a long sleeved shirt tomorrow:) she tries to avoid substantial clothes everyday. i need to exercise today she says or i'm just pretending it is summer.
Monday, February 6
New experience
We had a scary call last night. I was listening to David talk to Amy and I knew it was something pretty bad. Matt and Jon had gone out in the mountains and did not come back when they should have Saturday night. Sunday morning a helicopter was sent out looking for them. Amy was going to call back when she heard any more. Yikes. David and I have never experienced anything like that before... Here we were just wondering if two of his best friends were dead. Anyway. I had to do something to help:) so I began searching for avalanche reports and all on the web for the kananaskis area and I didn't like what I saw. The warnings were all high and extreme high and there had been some small avalanches sat morning. So we were imagining them stuck in an avalanche and of course thinking about them non stop. It seemed like an awful long time but Amy called maybe 45 min later to say they were in the helicopter. We are thankful to report that the only loss was a snowshoe and they recovered nicely in the hot tub in kananaskis. Wonderfully anti-climatic. We love you Jon and Matt. You gave us a good scare though our time to wonder was much shorter than those back in Calgary. We can't wait to hear the full story:)
Sunday, February 5
good job huddy
I have a sore thumb now but i took this picture just now. Hudson has finally put his good climbing/adventure skills to good use. i thought it was time for me to check on huddy and was pleasantly suprised to find him simply doing the dishes:) he has a good little bruise on his head you can see, just from walking into the wall though, how boring.
that felt good
so yesterday i had a bad day, well maybe it was good. i let out all my frustrations and cried. I don't often cry, and when i do i guess i make it a good one.
There were lots of things making me wonder, worry, doubt and just things i don't like here and about our situation being so far from everything we know and love. so i just let loose and made david listen to the whole deal. and as usual i feel much better now. It isn't like we are here because we thought it is nice or fun or the best place for getting what we like or want. There are bigger purposes in life than enjoyment and he will keep giving us light in this dark place. he will get us a new camera too i believe. and gosh there are just some great things here to learn. i am already different now, i think for the better. we miss out on a lot of events and things but we also get to experience things that you just don't do at home (like the banya:) so just to let you know i ain't always happy which is a relief to you i think.
i don't often blog about specific frustrations for many reasons, this is the www and all. But i do miss you all somedays more than others. though i don't at all feel far from any of you in fact i feel closer to you in a way. i miss english and sears and family get togethers. i miss our jeep but not the car seats. i miss sour cream. and milk. anyway. I feel refreshed today, I've read about Ezekiel and puts things in the right perspective I think.. we aren't using the world's wisdom as our guide so things may look dumb to us and other's sometimes but it doesn't matter. lots of people in history did seemingly strange and "unwise" things before for him and I'd be proud to be one of them. though some days I may cry a bit or a lot but somedays maybe I'll shout out with joy too. or maybe not.
But for now we are here trusting that we should be, looking for the lesson's to learn, listening to the one's we didn't look for and thanking him for every new day to be stretched pulled and even to be bored. thanks for thinking about us and encouraging us along the way. we never feel alone out here even if we don't know anyone in russia. you guys are great.
There were lots of things making me wonder, worry, doubt and just things i don't like here and about our situation being so far from everything we know and love. so i just let loose and made david listen to the whole deal. and as usual i feel much better now. It isn't like we are here because we thought it is nice or fun or the best place for getting what we like or want. There are bigger purposes in life than enjoyment and he will keep giving us light in this dark place. he will get us a new camera too i believe. and gosh there are just some great things here to learn. i am already different now, i think for the better. we miss out on a lot of events and things but we also get to experience things that you just don't do at home (like the banya:) so just to let you know i ain't always happy which is a relief to you i think.
i don't often blog about specific frustrations for many reasons, this is the www and all. But i do miss you all somedays more than others. though i don't at all feel far from any of you in fact i feel closer to you in a way. i miss english and sears and family get togethers. i miss our jeep but not the car seats. i miss sour cream. and milk. anyway. I feel refreshed today, I've read about Ezekiel and puts things in the right perspective I think.. we aren't using the world's wisdom as our guide so things may look dumb to us and other's sometimes but it doesn't matter. lots of people in history did seemingly strange and "unwise" things before for him and I'd be proud to be one of them. though some days I may cry a bit or a lot but somedays maybe I'll shout out with joy too. or maybe not.
But for now we are here trusting that we should be, looking for the lesson's to learn, listening to the one's we didn't look for and thanking him for every new day to be stretched pulled and even to be bored. thanks for thinking about us and encouraging us along the way. we never feel alone out here even if we don't know anyone in russia. you guys are great.
Saturday, February 4
Lots of Snowmen
Well, too hard to take our own pics now so i'll just find ones that others take of the area. If we had more energy today we could have gone to see this street.. arbat street (one of the most fancy areas, where you buy souvenirs etc.) you can see the university in the back too, remember our view of it from our first apartment here? anyway, some group put together these snowmen (300 snowmen in total I've heard) and though they don't look like the prettiest snowmen I've ever seen, I'd sure love to walk through them all, and so would the kids for sure. who knows maybe we'll make it there still if the snowmen haven't been trashed. We have some more snow but to make these they did use a snow machine. too hard to bring all the snow to the one street etc. maybe it made the balls too? It is colder again (-20's) though doesn't seem like it will get as bad as the last cold spell.
Huddy is up to 5 teeth now and seems to be talking, practically as much as jo, he says hi and ow. and he says da da da (yes yes yes) all the time but it is probably just a noise. well noises I guess.
Huddy is up to 5 teeth now and seems to be talking, practically as much as jo, he says hi and ow. and he says da da da (yes yes yes) all the time but it is probably just a noise. well noises I guess.
Friday, February 3
emma and her boys
well, we'll have to get a new camera (this is a pic from before) cause it just hurts to take pictures now, my finger hurts from holding all 4 batteries in really tight while trying to get a good pic. we have been wishing for a new one anyway as our current one goes through batteries like crazy, though i know i do take quite a few. but it is also quite big causing us to just leave it at home and miss some good shots. we don't just want pics of our little apartment:) so if you have any suggestions on a good smaller digital camera with a display on it let us know which kind. and hope with us for a little extra blessings in the next few months to pay for it:) i'll try to take a pic every now and then till we get one that works good. or I'll start putting on pics of emma when she was 2 and so on...
Thursday, February 2
May the steam be with you!
David here- I have finished my write up for my culture file and as it is very long and detailed I thought I would just cut and past a few of the most important moments and let you fill in the blanks and if you get really lost and just have to know then you can contact us personally rather than us posting it for the whole world to see. Keep in mind that the Russian culture is much more communal orientated where as we are very independent, private etc.
"The banya is a place to bathe, a weekly (or monthly for the not so fortunate) deep clean. It is sort of a combination of a Turkish bath and a Finnish sauna and a social club all in one." (If that helps anybody)
"He told me to undress and then I could head to the banya and there I would see all that they had and it would be clear to me what to do next."
"In the banya there was a main room with numerous marble type benches a few basins (bowels) with branches soaking in them, two wooden barrel-type tubs full of ice cold water and some open shower stalls, a pool, massage room and of course the steam room. There was nobody there."
"I headed to the steam room. At this point I was wearing my towel and was unsure if I should be. I needed some guidance."
"I spotted two young guys arriving and decided to follow them in and do as they do but who would beat me with the branches? I was too intimidated...scared to ask them for help or advice... they were buff, russian and naked! So I just watched (which was a little uncomfortable in itself) I learned to go toweless in the steam room. I also learned how to add steam and that I should be wearing a funny looking felt hat."
"Back to the zal (main sitting room). I asked for a cup of tea and sat on my bench thinking that I was really going to miss out unless I asked someone for help. Right about then a very drunk but very friendly Russian appeared, apparantly the friend of the big guy sleeping on the opposing bench. He found out I was Canadian and we hit it off... toasting to health, my 3 children, Canada, Moscow, (and a few other things that I didn't understand) he with his whisky and me with my tea. He bought me two more rounds of tea with varenya (jam...to drink) and taught me how to drink it, horse meat sausage with bread and red onions and best of all a real live Russian banya MASSAGE. He told me that this was the best masseuse in the world and that he used to work for Sharapova (the tennis player)."
"By now my two hours had long since passed by but I though this might be my only chance to find out what this is all about and considered it worth the cost."
"My massage started in the steam room that was by now full of men. Luckily (or not so lucky depending on how you look at it) there was enough room for me to lay down on the bench... of course I was toweless. A few seconds later my masseuse came in (also completely toweless save the felt banya hat and mittens) carrying two bundles of branches. I wasn't a bit worried."
"...this generated incredible heat. He picked up the pace a bit and things got pretty intense (the heat...pain i mean) just when I thought I couldn't handle it any more he ran out to wet the branches some more. It was a very welcomed break but the newly wetted branches only made things worse."
"I was then asked to turn over (honestly this is what I feared from the beginning.... I felt...a bit vulnerable!) the front side is just as painful as
the back side but I trusted that he was a professional and that it was probably something like the 39 lashes thing and knew just how much a man could handle and, as it turns out, he did." I am not quite sure of all the reasons behind the branches but supposedly it helps to generate sweat, open pores and exfoliate the skin as well as a bit of aroma therapy.
"The steam room only lasted for about 10-15 mins and then we headed straight to the cold pool. I was a little woozy on the way over."
"From the cold pool into the massage chamber. It was actually more of a washing than a massage really, I think Darren described it well, hope you don't mind me quoting you, when he commented on his Turkish bath experience; "when the dude gave you the massage/bath he washed you all over with a prickly mitt. Even the EXTREME upper thigh. Oh My! But it wasn't sexual, at least not to me." It wasn't an oily massage it was a soapy one and it even finished off with him washing my hair. Every now and then he would dump a bucket of either hot, cold or luke warm water over me. This is part of the theory of the banya- the drastic and sudden changes in temperature are somehow good for you, they certainly wake you up."
"I don''t think I have ever been so clean all over in my entire life. I felt really good."
"I exited the banya to find my drunk friend sleeping on our bench and his friend (actually his driver) finally awake and eating what looked like a very good dinner. By this time I was about 1.5hrs overtime and I did not know what I would have to pay for (the extra tea, food, jam, massage, time..) but all I was charged for was my original pass and the cup of tea I ordered for 40rbls. I told the driver to say thankyou for me and that who knows maybe I would see them there again some time."
Erin has already mentioned some of the worldview issues that these experiences caused us to think about so I won't go into that any more.
"Slyokum Parum" - May the steam be with you.
"The banya is a place to bathe, a weekly (or monthly for the not so fortunate) deep clean. It is sort of a combination of a Turkish bath and a Finnish sauna and a social club all in one." (If that helps anybody)
"He told me to undress and then I could head to the banya and there I would see all that they had and it would be clear to me what to do next."
"In the banya there was a main room with numerous marble type benches a few basins (bowels) with branches soaking in them, two wooden barrel-type tubs full of ice cold water and some open shower stalls, a pool, massage room and of course the steam room. There was nobody there."
"I headed to the steam room. At this point I was wearing my towel and was unsure if I should be. I needed some guidance."
"I spotted two young guys arriving and decided to follow them in and do as they do but who would beat me with the branches? I was too intimidated...scared to ask them for help or advice... they were buff, russian and naked! So I just watched (which was a little uncomfortable in itself) I learned to go toweless in the steam room. I also learned how to add steam and that I should be wearing a funny looking felt hat."
"Back to the zal (main sitting room). I asked for a cup of tea and sat on my bench thinking that I was really going to miss out unless I asked someone for help. Right about then a very drunk but very friendly Russian appeared, apparantly the friend of the big guy sleeping on the opposing bench. He found out I was Canadian and we hit it off... toasting to health, my 3 children, Canada, Moscow, (and a few other things that I didn't understand) he with his whisky and me with my tea. He bought me two more rounds of tea with varenya (jam...to drink) and taught me how to drink it, horse meat sausage with bread and red onions and best of all a real live Russian banya MASSAGE. He told me that this was the best masseuse in the world and that he used to work for Sharapova (the tennis player)."
"By now my two hours had long since passed by but I though this might be my only chance to find out what this is all about and considered it worth the cost."
"My massage started in the steam room that was by now full of men. Luckily (or not so lucky depending on how you look at it) there was enough room for me to lay down on the bench... of course I was toweless. A few seconds later my masseuse came in (also completely toweless save the felt banya hat and mittens) carrying two bundles of branches. I wasn't a bit worried."
"...this generated incredible heat. He picked up the pace a bit and things got pretty intense (the heat...pain i mean) just when I thought I couldn't handle it any more he ran out to wet the branches some more. It was a very welcomed break but the newly wetted branches only made things worse."
"I was then asked to turn over (honestly this is what I feared from the beginning.... I felt...a bit vulnerable!) the front side is just as painful as
the back side but I trusted that he was a professional and that it was probably something like the 39 lashes thing and knew just how much a man could handle and, as it turns out, he did." I am not quite sure of all the reasons behind the branches but supposedly it helps to generate sweat, open pores and exfoliate the skin as well as a bit of aroma therapy.
"The steam room only lasted for about 10-15 mins and then we headed straight to the cold pool. I was a little woozy on the way over."
"From the cold pool into the massage chamber. It was actually more of a washing than a massage really, I think Darren described it well, hope you don't mind me quoting you, when he commented on his Turkish bath experience; "when the dude gave you the massage/bath he washed you all over with a prickly mitt. Even the EXTREME upper thigh. Oh My! But it wasn't sexual, at least not to me." It wasn't an oily massage it was a soapy one and it even finished off with him washing my hair. Every now and then he would dump a bucket of either hot, cold or luke warm water over me. This is part of the theory of the banya- the drastic and sudden changes in temperature are somehow good for you, they certainly wake you up."
"I don''t think I have ever been so clean all over in my entire life. I felt really good."
"I exited the banya to find my drunk friend sleeping on our bench and his friend (actually his driver) finally awake and eating what looked like a very good dinner. By this time I was about 1.5hrs overtime and I did not know what I would have to pay for (the extra tea, food, jam, massage, time..) but all I was charged for was my original pass and the cup of tea I ordered for 40rbls. I told the driver to say thankyou for me and that who knows maybe I would see them there again some time."
Erin has already mentioned some of the worldview issues that these experiences caused us to think about so I won't go into that any more.
"Slyokum Parum" - May the steam be with you.
Wednesday, February 1
more thoughts re. banya
still just my thoughts as david is still working on something we can put on here. what i guess i should have written was possibly wrong things in our culture or different things in our culture. these are some thoughts that are going through my head, keep me in line, keep the comments coming, we are alone here and don't want to go way off track. don't worry we aren't planning on coming home and opening up a russian style banya!
Amy, you asked why the guy giving the massage was in the buff too. they would be as curious why we would wear clothes. they just don't wear clothes in the banya, too hot for unneccessary clothing. it is just normal. not an issue at all. just normal. not saying it is right or wrong, that is just what they do here.
at home we get changed in our women's change room without showing anything, we pride ourselves on being able to go from fully clothed to a little bathing suit without any of our friends or the strangers seeing anything. it is just different.
at home we think it is cute to see little girls holding hands but when they get to be teens it becomes wrong it seems?
here my language helper irina showed me around town holding my hand the whole time. no one here would think we were a couple. yes, it made me uncomfortable because we don't do that at home but does that make it wrong? we just do things differently i guess. but there is something nice about the hugs you see amongst guys here, the displays of affection amongst friends. the russian men seem more able to show their feeling with eachother, and at the same time they are very masculine. they cry together and stuff. though maybe if we had so much vodka as they do we'd be more relaxed to. more to come.
Amy, you asked why the guy giving the massage was in the buff too. they would be as curious why we would wear clothes. they just don't wear clothes in the banya, too hot for unneccessary clothing. it is just normal. not an issue at all. just normal. not saying it is right or wrong, that is just what they do here.
at home we get changed in our women's change room without showing anything, we pride ourselves on being able to go from fully clothed to a little bathing suit without any of our friends or the strangers seeing anything. it is just different.
at home we think it is cute to see little girls holding hands but when they get to be teens it becomes wrong it seems?
here my language helper irina showed me around town holding my hand the whole time. no one here would think we were a couple. yes, it made me uncomfortable because we don't do that at home but does that make it wrong? we just do things differently i guess. but there is something nice about the hugs you see amongst guys here, the displays of affection amongst friends. the russian men seem more able to show their feeling with eachother, and at the same time they are very masculine. they cry together and stuff. though maybe if we had so much vodka as they do we'd be more relaxed to. more to come.
looks innocent enough
this is huddy playing peekaboo with the lace curtain that came with the place, he has made a rather large hole in it. we do keep our place neat and tidy yes, but we have never had a house that is falling apart so much. but then we've never had a kid like huddy before. i often hear ripping of wallpaper and then the concrete wall that is falling apart behind it sheds a few stones and some dust. i'm not sure we will get our damage deposit back this time:)
right next to our table
the playroom, our kids love playing there even though they basically have the same ikea toys at home. sometimes they have cartoons on the big screen on the other wall but not today, maybe due to the lack of kids. you can see huddy climbing onto the table again! did you notice what the bibs say in the pic below???
just like home
we decided to all head out to ikea today. we love eating up at the restaurant as it is sooo cheap and soooo good and so fun for the kids, free bibs, nice bathrooms, playroom, microwave, all the ketchup and mayonaise you want for free... and because it was a tuesday we had the place basically to ourselves. Emma had been wanting to go skating again so we thought this would be a good day, not so many people on the ice. The bad thing is that huddy got a hold of the camera yesterday and dropped it. it works but the battery door won't stay closed tight like it needs to be for it to turn on. so you have to squeeze the camera together with the one hand and try to take the picture while you are holding it really tight which makes it very tricky. i suppose we will have to buy a new one though it is quite bad as it works fine it is just missing one little piece of plastic on the battery door. robin, you have the same camera do you think we could fix it somehow? anyway, so i only got a couple of not very good pics of the day and none of her really skating as when i'd take one the power would dim too much or someone skated in front of her. we'll have to go back again sometime! she ain't very good but she loves it, even when she falls she still smiles so that is great.
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