Sunshine and Spring!

The whole time we were sick, the weather was grey and drippy. Yesterday the sun came out. We are feeling better, so we headed outside: Jaan and I in rubber boots, Raia in the stroller. Spring is coming, so the slush is knee deep in places. But the weather was beautiful, and we had so much fun! Jaan couldn't quite believe that he really was allowed to walk through the puddles in his little red boots. At almost every step he would ask me, "Можно?" ("May I?"). I would answer, "Да, можно." ("Yes, you may.") And he would say, "О, спасибо Мама!" (Oh, thank you, Mama!") with as much enthusiasm as if I had just given him the whole world. Then again, "Можно?"

Another Jaan funny: I noticed that when he gets farther away from me in the bigger puddles, he gets a little nervous. And he starts repeating to himself that something won't bite. He couldn't explain what he was afraid of. Sharks in the puddles? Or has he gotten words mixed up again? He's pretty good at that.

The sun is shining again today. Jaan and I spent a good part of the morning planting seeds. Today we moved our workplace from the bathroom, to the balcony, so we enjoyed the sunshine while we planted. We probably won't get too much more outside time, because after nap time--when we would usually go out--the youth groups from Kinishma and Viazniki are coming to visit. Fun!

We're still not quite back online. As I write this, it's Wednesday afternoon. The internet hasn't been working since yesterday morning. It goes off for whole days, and then just comes back for a few minutes. We continue to write, so don't be confused if this goes out later, or if you get a bunch of emails from us all at once on another day; everything is just sitting in our Outbox for now. And please don't worry if we're silent.

Masha just sent us a bunch of photos from when she and a group visited the orphanage here in January. If you want to see them,
click on one of the recent photos here, and then go back from there. (Маша, спасибо! Теперь Ян каждый день с большим удовольствием смотрит на "Тётю Машу" и говорит о тебе. Он очень любит фото где ты с ним. Конечно, мне тоже понравилось. )