Hello!

I’m writing to you from a friend’s home. We moved last week, without any real problems, but settling in is a long, slow process. The day after we moved, they were changing out the main pipes in our new building, and that dragged out for a few days. They also broke our toilet in the process, so pretty much our whole week has been spent with plumbers coming and going, and plumbing in various stages of disrepair. As of yesterday, we have a fully working toilet and washroom, though! It’s still a little leaky in one spot, but everything seems to be working.

Oh, the funniest part was that one day, Will had asked a certain plumber to come install the new toilet. They were calling back and forth, and the plumber was just next door. He was done with what he had been doing there. . . but the owner of the apartment where he was working had gone out and locked him in! So, even though the plumber was ready and willing to work, we still had to wait.

All the space we have now is just wonderful! I’m trying not to dread already when we’ll have to move back to a normal sized apartment. I didn’t even realize how crowded we were and how much we constantly tripped over each other until now, when we’re not. It is a little awkward since we’ve never lived in an unfurnished apartment before. Most of our belongings are just sitting around in boxes and piles, since we don’t have anywhere to put them. At least there’s room for them, though!

There are tons of children in this building and neighborhood. Trying to get to know them and sort out who is who is almost a full time job for me! One morning after we had come in, I realized there was an extra wandering around our apartment. We didn’t lock the door after us, so he came in looking for Jaan.

I’ve already met two families with three children each! One of them is actually the family of the pastor of the charismatic church, so we have something in common right off. And maybe the mother of the other “large” family is about as desperate for friends as I am? She asked if I had breastfed our children and started telling me her nursing problems and asking for advice, before we even knew each other’s names.

Yesterday Jaan and I had our last day of school for the year. I had been saying that after school was out, we’d start going swimming, so today was the big day: the opening of the swimming season! Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t quite right for that, but we went anyway and had a great time.

That’s all for now. Please continue to be patient with us about internet and email! We don’t have internet at home yet. And now a random collection of recent photos…

The kitten on moving day

First night in the new apartment
Jaan didn’t fit into the picture, but his feet are there, under the kitten.

Wildflower bouquet
Asya didn’t understand that we were trimming the ends of the stems. She carefully cut the top off of each.

Raia's bouquet

Napping in a nice, warm spot

Pentecost: the birthday of the church

Watching a thunderstorm (one of many in recent days!)

Ice cream at the beach this morning

“It’s not cold, Mama!” (Then why are you turning blue?)

Watching a pheasant on the way back