
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving Day

Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thought for Today
Looking out the window on the other side of our church I noticed this outdoor shower. I am grateful that no one was in it at the time!!
What conveniences do you take for granted... is your water always piping hot in your shower? Is is always clear? There are times here when we don't have water, times when there is only cold and of course times when they turn the water back on and it is a lovely shade of muck! I am grateful that our shower is modern and comfortable and indoors!
Remember to be thankful for all of the blessings in your life... large and small, hot or cold, indoors or out!!
We should be safely in Kiev today!! Thank you for your prayers!!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wild Mushrooms
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
MOPS Memories
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
thought for today
We even have new little stools for the kids to sit on in the childcare room!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
MOPS logo in Russian

I will show it off tomorrow and then let you know which one is the keeper!
Monday, November 17, 2008
taking out the trash
Thursday, November 13, 2008
MOPS is coming to Krasnodar!
to this!!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Thought for today…
What can you see when you look out of the windows of your church??
We can see clothes hanging on the line in a garden, new construction, and even catch a glimpse of some chickens! The clothes hanging out on the line remind me of my childhood. Spending summers at Grandma’s, or Big Mama’s as she is affectionately called now, I learned how to hang clothes out on a clothesline. She only used the dryer in the summer time for towels. Everything else was hung out on in the hot
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
noticing the haves and the have nots
Yesterday I left the house for a bit because Tom had someone over who needed his help. I chose to sneak off to the Mega Mall in New Adigea a city not far from here. I had fun walking around the mall, seeing all of the new technology, and looking at the overwhelming amount of products for sale in the fancy new supermarket.
After getting off of the free shuttle bus that took me half way home from the new mall I walked over to the other side of the street to catch a bus that would take me back to our apartment. This bus stop is located near a large outdoor market. As I was walking I heard a woman calling out for people to buy her crawdads that she had for sale, saw people lined up on the street to sell their various wares, and noticed a little old lady sitting at the bus stop with a towel spread out beside her selling empty 5 liter water bottles.
One of the things that Russian President Medvedev promised to address in his State of the Union speech last week is the living situations of people here… it will be interesting to see what changes take place over this next year. And if there will still be a need for a pensioner to sit at the bus stop with a towel spread across the bench selling her empty water bottles so that she herself can survive.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Russia's Got Talent
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Shopping on Krasnaya
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Somebody pinch me!!

I grew up during a time when there were not many African Americans in the public eye. Especially not on TV. This morning, here in Russia, I woke up to see Barack Obama on every channel that was showing the news. This is simply unreal!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008
There is one student in the class who does not talk much. However, yesterday Tom needed to fax in our votes for the election in America. So of course the topic for the day became politics!! The gal who does not talk much helped get the fax machine up and running. She began asking Tom lots of questions about the Electoral College, the voting process, party affiliations and so on. She landed with the right person to ask because Tom is not Red or Blue… he is one of those highly coveted Independent voters!!
We received our Ballots here in the mail back in September. Tom took in the entire contents of the envelope and that became an item for show and tell. The students were interested in every little detail. How the ballot looked, how his Russian Address was spelled with English letters, the number of parties on the ballot and the instruction booklet that came in the packet.
Here are a few family voting facts:
This is our first presidential election with us not living in America.
This is the second time in almost 27 years of marriage that we voted the same way.
This is the first time that both of our children are old enough to vote.
Here is an excerpt from my friend Cyndi’s blog that I wanted to share:
“Unfortunately battle lines are being drawn in the church. You can see it in the news, on blogs and even in the pulpit. God is calling us to be humble, we need to be careful about defining our own opinions. There is nothing wrong with being passionate. Passionate people thirst for God, hunger for truth. No political system can ever be perfect. So how do we find common ground? 1) We must move to higher ground, 2) keep our face to the ground, and 3) find the middle ground. Jesus Christ is our common ground. We must have humility and believe in God. Christians will be going to the polls on Tuesday and pulling different levers. When we wake up on Wednesday morning people will still need to be saved. At the end of the day take off the donkey and the elephant and put on the cross. Put your faith in Christ! On November 5th there is no us or them. Your brother and sister in Christ is never your enemy. Jesus can heal our land. Let the will of God be done.”
Monday, November 03, 2008
Peacocks!!
Tom and I took a walk in the Botanical Gardens not far from our apartment. We enjoy people watching and yesterday we not only saw people but a few peacocks as well!! I don't know if this is a new addition to the Gardens... but it was certainly exciting.
Hearing kids gleefully whoop and holler is a treat for us. Seeing the peacocks up close and personal was awesome too!!
