Such a good big brother

Best buddies
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

I know I brag about Jaan being such a good big brother a lot, but seeing him with Raia really is one of my favorite parts of having two little ones in our family. A few days ago, I had gotten them dressed to go out. Then, I left Raia on the couch so I could get myself ready. Jaan was with me. Raia started crying and he ran to her. Then, all of a sudden, she stopped crying. I flew out to the living room to see what Jaan had done, almost expecting to see him sitting on her or something. I found him sweetly patting her, while she cooed at him. Of course, I had to take a picture.


Taking care of his baby sister
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Boys are such fun!

Just in the past few days, Jaan has managed to make a dent in his forehead, skin his chin, and swallow a ruble! I can't figure out if he's trying to keep me young or make me go grey prematurely. Through all that he continues to be a very happy, active little boy. We've spent hours outside watching big digging machines (I guess I'm going to have to learn what they're called) and then coming in and reading "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel." At least he also enjoys butterflies, ladybugs and flowers.

Will's in Moscow again today, still working on visa stuff. He had hoped for this to be just a quick day trip, but he just called and said that it really doesn't look like he'll be able to get back tonight.

I think I was going to write out several thoughts below the picture of us going for a walk. First, did you notice that nice green grass in the background? That's part of our ministry to our neighbors. You can't see the flowers in the picture, but there are quite a few that we've planted out there, too. It started in the beginning of spring, when we got sick of all the trash the the melting snow was revealing. I was too pregnant, and Jaan was too busy, for me to help much, but Will cleaned up around our building. Once it was clean, we decided to put in a flower bed. Soon, we knew all our neighbors and everyone knew us by name, people were bringing us flowers to add, and some of the older men would come out to sit and talk to Will while he worked. We didn't deliberately start out to do anything like that, but we're really glad that it just happened like that.

The other thing that I was thinking of writing about was how much attention we attract. I feel like an exhibit in a museum when we go out. I know people talk about The Woman with the Two Babies. It's somewhat unusual to have two children here, and it's very unusual to have two close in age. Also, letting a little baby like Raia be upright is a sure way to have her turn out as a hunchback or cripple, according to Russian medical wisdom. People are always shocked to see Jaan as a healthy little boy, running all around, when I tell them that I carried him the same way. Sometimes I get tired of the stares, but I thankful for the opportunities to talk to people. I've had to explain quite a few times already why I didn't have an abortion. That's a very sad commentary on society; it always makes me want to cry, but I'm still thankful for the opportunity to share.

I'm sorry to end on a sad note today. Pray for Russia!

Just quickly

Today is a busy day, but I did add something cute to Conversations with Raia.

This is the way we go for walks

Jaan in the stroller, Raia in the carrier, and Phyllis on foot
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

I might add more here once I get Jaan to sleep.

Playing outside

If I don't answer emails, haven't updated this blog, and can't come to the phone, it's because WE'RE OUTSIDE!

Conversations with Raia

Have I mentioned how else Raia takes after her Aunt Leetra? She loves to talk! Sometimes if there's not a face nearby to talk to, she'll get fussy just because of that. I know all babies babble and coo, but I've never seen one who does as much as Raia. We can even talk her out of crying. One of us just has to get close and tell her that we'll listen, and she stops crying. (If you want to see something cute, click here.)

The beautiful days continue. We're spending as much time as we can outdoors. After all, we need to soak up our vitamin D before the winter!

Looking around for someone to talk to
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

"Yawn!"

What a day! Jaan woke up around 3:00 this morning, an hour before Will's alarm was set for him to catch his train to Moscow. And Jaan didn't get back to sleep until 7:00 or so. Of course, Raia slept peacefully through all of Jaan's wakefulness, so she was ready to go at 8:00, and she woke him up then. The two of them couldn't get their naps coordinated, so one or the other of them was up all afternoon. Now Jaan's in bed for the night, and Raia just woke up from her evening nap. Will should be back late tonight, and he'll be yawning tomorrow, too. After getting up at 4:00 this morning, going all day long, and arriving home late, he'll have to set his alarm for about the same time again tomorrow in order to go save a place in line at the passport office to register our visas.

Even though we're tired, we three had a good day today. Poor Jaan had a slow start, which included breaking his favorite cup at breakfast and lots of tears over that, but helping me wash the dishes made him forget about it. After a grey, drippy morning, we had a beautiful clear afternoon, so we had fun outside for a while. A friend from another town dropped by quickly to give us a message for me to translate and pass on to someone in the States, so Jaan was thrilled to have company. And then we spent almost two hours helping our poor landlord do some paperwork that we'll need to register tomorrow. Maybe that wasn't too much fun for him and me, but again, Jaan was happy to have a guest to visit with.

So, good night to all! I hope. . . I mean, I hope we're headed to bed and a good night's sleep before too long.

(Well, just as I finished typing that, I heard a panicked shriek from the bedroom: Jaan waking up with one of his nightmares or whatever it is bothering him. I ran in there and got him calmed back down. Then Raia started screaming and woke him up again. Yawn. But Will should be home soon!)

Beautiful days

Well, after I wrote that autumn had come, it warmed back up. Still, the real heat is gone. Yesterday was the first time that the temperature at church has been bearable since we moved to the new place. And the weather is just beautiful!

Today, when we got up, we just ate breakfast and then went outside. Raia slept while Jaan and I walked all over the neighborhood. Usually I take her in the carrier, but today we used the stroller. Jaan took his big brother responsibilities very seriously. At first he tried to get in the stroller. After all, that is usually his place. However, when I explained that Raia got to be in the stroller today, he put all his things in various places on the stroller to free up his hands, turned his hat around backwards, and got ready to push. He had to have his hat on backwards, because he's still so little that he almost has to be under the stroller to push it, and his hat gets in the way. He can't see anything at all from down under there, so I walk along beside him and steer, but he supplies all the forward motion, plus sound effects.

Right now it's nap time, but when they wake up, we'll probably go right back outside to enjoy the beautiful weather some more. Which means I'd better get some things done around here while I have the chance. . . .

Autumn already?

Brrrr!
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Remember what I said about yesterday seeming like this first day of Fall? I took this picture of Will enjoying (?) our first cool day yesterday.

Jaan's favorite poem

Jaanchik Jaan
(adapted from A. A. Milne's "Cradle Song")

O Jaanchik Jaan
Has ten pink toes,
And ten pink toes
Has Jaachik Jaan.
They go with him
Wherever he goes,
And wherever he goes
They go with him.

O Jaanchik Jaan
Has two brown eyes,
And two brown eyes
Has Jaanchik Jaan.
They cry with him
Whenever he cries,
And whenever he cries,
They cry with him.

O Jaanchik Jaan
Has one brown head
And one brown head
Has Jaanchik Jaan.
It sleeps with him
In Jaanchik's bed.
Sleep well, brown head
Of Jaanchik Jaan.

We have all the Pooh books on a shelf above Jaan's bed. (Thank you "Aunt" Jules!) Several days ago I started reading them to Jaan, just randomly. Now that we've found this poem, he insists on "boo" before bed, and he won't be satisfied until I choose the right book and the right poem. Of course, the right one is this one, "Jaanchik Jaan."

(Happy Birthday to me! I'm 25 today. We're greatly enjoying a nice, quiet family day. It seems to be the first day of Fall.)

All wrapped up

All wrapped up
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

This is how Miss Houdini sleeps. I seem to remember hearing that at this age her Aunt Leetra could squirm out of her clothes while napping. Raia would do her proud in similar escapes. However, she loves to be swaddled and gets upset when she finds herself unwrapped. The only way we can keep her wrapped is to actually tie her in. With Jaan Will would ask, "Do you want me to swaddle him?" when he started getting fussy. For Raia Will says, "Should I go tie her up for you?"

And, speaking of sleeping, she pulled another long sleep stretch last night. This one was weird, though. We put her down in the living room for her evening nap, which is usually about an hour around dinner time. She still hadn't woken up by the time we were ready for bed! I went to bed, expecting to be woken up as soon as I had fallen asleep myself. I woke up with a start at 2:00, when she usually eats and ran out to check on her: still peacefully sleeping. She finally woke up at 3:00! I think that was more than eight hours! Now, if she could just do that starting at our normal bedtime. . . .

Glimpses of Jaan

First the promised finger painting pictures, and then some others:


Just getting started
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

"This is fun!"
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Hard at work
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Cleaning up
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Watermelon!
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Observing a ladybug
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Jaan and Mark at the baptism yesterday
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Jaan with his beloved "Ear" (Ira)
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

They're beside Ira's sister Lena, who was baptized yesterday, and Lena's son Andrei.


Where's Jaan?
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Two months old

Raia is two months old today, so I want to post a little update on her. I think I can do that much, even after our very long, full day. Hopefully, I can get to photos tomorrow.

Raia is finally over her fussy spell. She does seem to have became quite a mama's girl, though. Is that possible at this age? I thought everyone was just holding her wrong. She likes to be upright, and according to Russian rules, she's not old enough be held upright yet. However, Will knows all her tricks and isn't afraid to hold her the way she likes, but she wouldn't go to him when he got back from Moscow. She stops crying right away when I take her.

Her smiles have gone from being a rare treat to a constant joy. She loves to coo and goo and carry on to anyone who will take the time to stop and talk to her. Her big blue eyes take in everything that goes on around her, and she's very interested in everything these days.

Raia is getting big, and we can tell that she's gained weight. I have some friends who are selling vegetables now, so I'll take her to get weighed at their vegetable stand soon. She holds her head up some, but she's still pretty wobbly. She continues to do very well with using her potty; we usually only have to wash one poopy diaper a week!

We love our sweet Raiechka! (And of course, we love our sweet Jaanchik, too, but today was Raia's "birthday." Jaan will get his turn.)

Sunshine!

We've had two rainy days in a row here, but just now the sun is coming out! Jaan's going to be so happy when he wakes up from his nap and sees that we can go outside. Maybe we'll even go over to play with Katya and Alyona.

Raia seems to be getting back to her usual sunny self. She pretty much lives in the sling, and we're both drinking lots of fennel and chamomile tea, but that's enough to keep her happy. I certainly don't mind; I love having her snuggled up to me all the time, and the tea tastes good. It's so nice to have her back!

Jaan's really missing Will. Last night at 11:00, when I finally fell asleep myself, he was still sitting there, fighting sleep and waiting for Papa. Jaan did have a really good time with finger painting yesterday, though. (I'll try to post photos soon, if they turn out well.) And, like I said, he's going to be very happy to go outside when he wakes up.

Will should be back tonight. Well, it might be really early tomorrow morning before he actually gets here. He wasn't able to meet up with a doctor in Moscow to get our letter notarized. All the homebirth-friendly doctors are on vacation right now. We may see if there's anything more that we can do here. Otherwise, we'll just wait until next week, and Will can go meet up with someone in Moscow then. At least he was able to see all the Gospelink men and get things moving with our visas, as he had planned.

Home alone

Will left early this morning for Moscow, so we are Papa-less here. So far, all is going smoothly, even though we miss him. Raia seems to be getting less fussy. Yesterday was better, but then she gave us a hard time during the night. Today she's had fussy spells, but I think it's better overall. That's a big answer to prayer, because I don't think I could survive without Will, if she was still screaming so much.

Jaan and I have been busy with fun little projects. He's become quite an artist just recently. He loves to color. We bought him a paint with water book, which just fascinates him. (That's what he's doing in the photo below.) I made the mistake of letting him use my scissors (with help, of course); now he thinks he should be able to use them all the time. It's fun to see him enjoying all this so much.

The artist at work
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

See how we avoid too much mess? He gets a whole bottle cap full of water.

Please be praying for our document problems to be resolved!

Potty pictures

I feel like I'm having to give up on anything that can't be done while bouncing a crying baby. You know, all those unimportant things like eating, going to the bathroom, cooking, and such. Just kidding. It does get frustrating, though. I finally got Raia to sleep, so I'm going to type fast now. Hmm, if I could just learn how to type with my nose. . .

Actually, after I told everyone what a hard time we're having, Raia did give me one really thoughtful gift yesterday: she slept all the way through church. Jaan did, too. Seeing both of them curled up together so sweetly for two whole hours probably made everyone wonder what I meant about fussiness. It was a very refreshing break for me!

OK, on to the photos:


Potty partners
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Unfortunately, Raia was indulging in her recent favorite pastime when Will took the picture. She doesn't like to sit any longer than it takes her to do her business. She's happy until she's done, but then she's DONE. I guess not even posing for a photo will keep her interest. I still thought it was cute though. (There had better be some Langers reading this to make posting such a silly photo caption worthwhile! Kristin? Kara? Are you there?)


A happier potty picture
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Crybaby

Lately Raia has had good days and bad days. The last few have been pretty bad. She seems to cry a whole lot. We've noticed that she's developing an umbilical hernia like Jaan had. This time I know that it's nothing to worry about, and I know what to do for it, but I think it must be uncomfortable for her. Jaan was at his fussiest when he had his hernia, too.

She's crying so much that one of our neighbors stopped me yesterday and told me that someone must have put the Evil Eye on her. She then started listing off strange things I should do to counteract that. So, pray for our neighbors, when you pray for us. Pray for them to be patient with the crying, but also pray that they would come to know the Truth.

Who wants to come hold Raia for me?

In the words of Jaan

Jaan still doesn't talk much, but recently he's starting saying his
name. At least, he says "Ya." It's pretty funny because that means
"I" or even "I am" in Russian, so when someone asks him what his name
is, he replies with "I am." I hope that not sacrilegious! I know he
doesn't mean it to be.

Hide and Go Seek

Caught by the monster in the closet!
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Another beautiful day in Russia

I waited to post today, because I was hoping to have a certain piece of good news to share. Alas! not so. (Hmm. Can you tell that our current read aloud is about King Arthur? I don't think I would usually use "alas" in everyday speech or writing.) Several people had told us that we could get the letter notarized here, and so get the birth certificate right away. Will went to the notary, and found out that it would be impossible. Now the birth certificate is on a back burner until we get Gospelink business arranged so that Will can make a trip to Moscow to meet with the missionaries in that region. Then he'll be able to go to a notary there.

I also haven't written much because I've been busy with tomatoes. Monday morning Will got me 23 kilograms of tomatoes. That's more than 50 lbs.! (He had to bring them back from the market on a borrowed bicycle. ) So, I've been cooking and freezing tomatoes. Today, while Jaan and I were working on that in the kitchen, Raia slept in the living room. We heard her start fussing, and while I washed my hands, Jaan ran out to her. By the time I got to them, he was sitting there, babbling to her. She was smiling up at him. He's such a good big brother!

Anyway, I've thoroughly enjoyed that work. Also, last night we went over to the Korneichuk's to get our pool out of their yard before they come home. We ended up staying for quite a while and working in their garden. That was fun work, too. Of course, Jaan enjoyed the time to play outdoors, and Raia got a good fresh air nap.

Oh! I do have some other good news. After three months of being off, our hot water came on yesterday. It's so nice, but I'm having trouble getting used to having it back. What a wonderful trouble to have to deal with!

Getting closer!

The people at ZAGS today were very nice, which is a direct answer to prayer. They were very surprised that we had such a hard time in Moscow, and kept telling us that they weren't going to refuse to give us a birth certificate here.

The woman in charge of birth certificates had never dealt with a home birth or a family where both parents are foreigners, so she went straight to her boss. The boss didn't know what to do either, but she found out by calling Vladimir, which is the capital city of our region. Apparently all we need is to have the doctor who wrote our letter come out and sign in person (not very likely), or have her letter notarized. Will is probably going to have to make a trip to Moscow to do that.

So, I'm a little sad, because this new delay kills all my hopes of a trip to Romania to see my sweet Daniela and renew our visas. But I'm also very encouraged by the kindness of the officials here and by how close we seem to be to getting this birth certificate.

A smile?
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

I had Will take several photos, trying to catch a smile, but Raia was too fast each time. Does this one count, though? It's pretty close.

Raia's name

Several people have asked about Raia's name, so I'll write about that here. (I remember that I answered everyone's questions about Jaan's name soon after he was born, too. Click here for that.) Now is a good time, while she's asleep, and Jaan's "swimming" right here near me on the balcony. There isn't that much to say about it, though.

Really, we just chose the name because we like it. It is a Russian name. It's usually short for Raisa, which our name book says is from Greek and means obedient and compliant. Our Raia is just Raia, not Raisa, though. That's also really close to the Russian word for paradise (rai). The other Raia that we know says that her parents named her Raia, because she was such a heavenly baby. We can say the same about our Raia.

". . . try, try again."

Sigh. They only do weddings on Fridays and Saturdays. Now we have to
wait until Tuesday.

"If at first you don't succeed. . ."

We'll be trying again tomorrow. ZAGS was closed today. At least
that's not an insurmountable problem.

Please pray for us today!

We're going to the local Kovrov ZAGS, and we really don't want to run
into another overly strict official there. Pray that we can get a
birth certificate with no further hassle. Thanks! I'll let you know
how it goes.

The Wonder Baby

Yes, she did it again! Yesterday was another no-dirty-diapers day, and
she slept for almost seven hours again last night.

(Will needs the computer today.)

Random bits

Raia is still pretty fussy. This morning while I was bouncing her and walking back and forth, listening to her scream, Will said, "Well, at least you can brag about her being potty trained and sleeping through the night at just six weeks old." That's not quite true, but I'll brag anyway. (The six weeks part is true; Raia is six weeks old today! For me the newborn stage ends at six weeks, and she does really seem to be growing up.) Yesterday she didn't dirty any diapers. There were wet ones, but she did all her pooping--and she's still like a newborn in that she does a lot of that--in her potty. So far today she's kept that up, too. That means a much easier load of laundry for us. She also slept seven hours straight last night. I don't know if she had just worn herself out with all her fussing, or if she's starting a new trend, but it sure was nice!

Jaan's tantrums are greatly diminishing, and his behavior is almost back to what I would expect out of him. We've been doing "Toddler School," which he loves. We start by singing together, and then have lessons on subjects like Following Directions, Holding Mama's Hand, Picking Up Toys, and just to make it a little more academic, we started working on learning colors. As I said, he loves it. He's constantly going over to the side of the living room where we usually start, standing up straight, singing "la-la-la," and trying to get me to start a session of "Toddler School."

In other news. . .
Yesterday Jaan and I found butterfly eggs! This time I'm pretty sure that we'll have Cabbage Whites, unless there's some other really similar white butterfly here. Of course, they weren't on cabbage, but I looked in my books, and the weed they are on is one of the kinds that Cabbage Whites like.

OK, I did think of a few more things:
I'm afraid Raia's hair is going to fall out. It seems to be starting in the front. That's what Jaan's did when he was little. His hairline started receding and didn't stop until there was nothing left. The rest of her hair is getting longer, though. I'll just keep hoping that it stays.

Jaan used to call me "Baba" (which means grandma) and Will "Tata." These days we're both "Mama." What's so confusing about plain ol' mama and papa?

Fennel tea is a very good thing. It's helping to calm Raia's poor tummy.

It's Monday

Fun in the pool
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

I hadn't really planned to post any pool photos from last week, but this one was just too cute.

Jaan and Raia at church
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

You can always tell that our church meets right in the middle of nap time. Yesterday Jaan and Raia had a nice rest on the floor behind our seats. Their little friend, Mark, was stretched out across two chairs on the other side of the room, with his grandmother's purse under his head for a pillow. Will's preaching didn't put anyone else to sleep, though.

(Grandma and Grandpa Burton, he's wearing the new shirt from you. Thank you so much!)

Yesterday, last night, and today Raia has not been her usual happy self. Please pray for strength for us and comfort for her. Nothing is wrong; she's just a little fussy, but it does get to be tiring. It seems that I remember Jaan had a little fussy stage at about this age, too.

I'm taking a weekend break. . .

. . . but I did update our prayer requests and change the format around again. (There's a link over on the right side of this page.)

A chip off the old block?

Will cooling off in the dog's water
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

This is the photo Mom was talking about in her comment yesterday. So, what do you think? Does Jaan really look much like Will did? They at least enjoyed some of the same pastimes!

Also, here are some photos from this summer, taken by Dan Nordell of the MN team:
http://www.dnordell.serveftp.org/tmp/album/Russia_2005_slideshow
There are quite a few of Jaan and the rest of us.

Is anyone other than the faithful grandmothers out there?

Summer days

This is one of Jaan's favorite activities on these hot days:

"Swimming" in his "pool" on the balcony
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Today he also got to do some more serious swimming. Will had set up our birth pool over in the Korneichuk's yard, so that we could use it while they are on vacation. (Don't worry, Susan, we're being really careful with it, so that it will be in good shape for you. ) Jaan and his friend Andrusha loved playing in it this evening.

A smile!

Yesterday Raia smiled at me for the first time! I was beginning to wonder when she would do that. She really loves to interact with faces, but up until now there hadn’t been any smiles. Yesterday I was talking to her, and she turned up one corner of her mouth. . . then the other. Then a smile!

Also, I keep forgetting to mention that we weighed her to get an "official" 1 month weight. Our scale is really inaccurate, but it said that she weighed about 5.4 kgs. That's almost 12 lbs!

I won't go on any longer now, because I'm typing this with one hand, while standing and bouncing a fussy baby. Maybe I'll post a little more later, so as not to completely leave out Big Brother Jaan.

Happy Birthday, Tanya!

We celebrated Tanya's birthday on Sunday. Friends from church got together, and we tried to beat the heat by sitting in the shade by Tanya's garden.


The birthday couple (Pavel's birthday was yesterday)
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Pavel and Raia
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Yum! Birthday cake!
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Ira, Anya, and Jaan looking for strawberries
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Just having fun together
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Worn out from all the partying
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Please be praying for Pavel, Tanya, and their girls as they travel now to visit relatives.

I thought I'd just add this story about Jaan from an email I had sent to Mom:
He was so funny when it was time for us to go. I was afraid he was going to cry when I told him that it was time. Instead, he said, "Nyum?" I told him that it wasn't time to eat, it was time to go home for bed. Again, he said, "Nyum!" waved goodbye to everyone and took off running toward the gate. We were all rather puzzled as to why he was talking about food and what was making him leave so enthusiastically. Then he stopped at his favorite berry bush and started getting provisions for the road. And he ate berries all the way home. Lately, when we've had to leave, the girls have given him various berries to take with him, so that he wouldn't cry. (Leaving there is always a great tragedy.) I guess he figures that it's just the thing to do now.

Final installment: Moscow trip, part 4

Saturday: In the early morning Will's sisters and Adam (from Will's home church) arrived in Moscow from the camps they had been working at in our region. Will met them and brought them to us at the apartment. Later Nathan came to pick Adam up, so we all just sat around and talked. After Nathan and Adam were gone, Anna and Abby made a delicious Mexican meal for us, while we took Jaan out to play on the playground. Slides were another of his new discoveries in Moscow, and he enjoyed scaring us with lots of near-falls from the top.

Sunday: We all went to Nathan's English-speaking church and met up with a group of friends from camp there. After church we went out to lunch all together, and then walked around the center of the city, on Arbat Street, by the Kremlin and in Red Square. I think Raia must have broken some kind of record for nursing while we walked all the way from one end of Arbat to the other. When it starting raining our group broke up, and we dragged our tired selves back to the apartment.

Monday (Will's 29th birthday!): Will and Jaan took Anna and Abby to the airport. That night we celebrated Will's birthday by having a supper of Mexican leftovers with Nathan and his friend Masha.

Tuesday: In the morning Will and Jaan went to the office of our visa consultant to talk things over with him, but he was home sick, so they went on to the Christian bookstore. Raia and I went for a long walk in the same area where we had picked berries earlier, but instead of berries, we enjoyed the river and bird watching. Our certified copy of our marriage license arrived by mail, so we went to bed thinking that we'd be able to get the birth certificate the next day.

Wednesday: We went to ZAGS early, hoping to be able to get done there and at the embassy all in one day. It turned out that a certified copy wasn't enough. We needed something called an apostile. (Are we the only ones who had never heard of such a thing before?) The result of the meeting of the authorities had been that either we bring in an apostile or sue the ZAGS and go through that whole legal process.

We realized that we were really stuck, so we decided just to finally go home. That afternoon we were able to officially show Raia at the embassy, fill out all the forms, and pay the fees, so that Will can just take the birth certificate in when we get it, without having to bring Raia back. We also went and talked to our visa consultant. We didn't get anything finally settled, but we do have several options. We'll probably end up paying to renew my visa without me leaving the country. (I'm still praying that we can figure out some way to get Raia's papers in time, because I was making plans for a nice visit with my friend Danielle in Romania when we had to renew!)

Thursday: We just went got on a bus to Vladimir. It started out as one of those not-good travel experiences. Will paid for three seats, so that Jaan could have his own, but that got tangled. We ended up with Will in the front alone, and Jaan, Raia, and me further back. At least Jaan did have his own seat; that was nice. Jaan started screaming right away because he wanted to be with Papa. It was also almost unbearably hot, and time for lunch and naps. For the first little while we just crawled through Moscow traffic, Jaan laid on the dirty floor and screamed, Raia cried, and all the other passengers practiced their murderous looks on us. Finally we got moving, and things cooled off. Then Jaan was able to sleep, and Raia could settle in to eat. The rest of the trip went great. Will was able to move back with us as the bus cleared out. In Vladimir we had to wait for a while for our train to Kovrov. Jaan loved the waiting room, which overlooks all the train tracks. We couldn't peel him away from the big window; he just stood there and exclaimed over all the trains.

It was wonderful to finally arrive at home! Jaan dove straight in to his own toys and played happily for the few minutes before bed. We were amazed at the instant change in his attitude and behavior, just from being back in his own place.

Thank you all for your prayers! We could tell many of you were praying. For now we're waiting for the apostile that my parents are getting for us and also for a new doctor's letter. We're going to try getting a birth certificate here in Kovrov next, even though we had been told that would be impossible. Please pray that we'll be successful.

I'm going to have to have Will read this and check to make sure I got everything right. Like I said, it's kind of a blur in my mind, but I do think I got most of it.

Since I started with one photo of one sleepy kiddo, I'll end with another of the other one:

A very tired Jaan, happy to be sleeping at HOME after our trip
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Remember our caterpillar?

Admiring the chrysalis
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

When we came back from our trip, we found that our caterpillar (June 30) had turned into a green and shiny gold chrysalis. Today the butterfly emerged! It is a Pavlinii glaz Inachis io. I should probably know what that is in English, but I don't. I'm going to get our English butterfly book out. . . OK, it's a Peacock butterfly. Unfortunately, the photos didn't turn out too well. In this one below you can at least see the beauty of the colors. I have another one that shows the pattern, but the color isn't as good. If anyone wants to see that one, let me know, and I'll send it to you (Dad ).

Jaan was very excited by this new creature in his jar. I don't know if he made any connection between the caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly, but we did talk about it, and I showed him the empty chrysalis. Maybe he understood. If not, I'm sure we'll be doing this again next year, and by then he'll get it. For now it was just an exciting adventure. He was pretty upset when we let the butterfly out of the kitchen and watched it fly away. Now he keeps looking on the balcony for his "bird" and waving goodbye.

Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Moscow trip, part 3

Thursday: In the morning we left the guest house, and met up with our friend (and wonderful helper!) Dima S.. He took us to an apartment near ZAGS, where several of his relatives live. Most of them were out at their dacha or busy with work, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We were so thankful to have this place! We just spent most of that day resting. Jaan actually got a nap, lying down in one place, for the first time since we left home. That makes life a whole lot better for all of us.

I think Jaan and Will also went shopping in the supermarket just across the road on Thursday. In Moscow and other parts of the world a supermarket isn't a big deal, but we've gotten unused to them. We really enjoyed the convenience and treats like fresh broccoli, avocados, celery, chips and salsa, and Mexican food!

Friday: Another nice rest day. . . we went for a really long walk and explored the natural monument area that the apartment looks out on. We actually got to go hiking and berry picking in Moscow! Jaan loved that, and so did the rest of us. Well, Raia slept the whole time, but I think she enjoyed it anyway.

I'm really not going to drag this out too much longer. There's not much more to write, but now I need to go get myself and two little people ready for church. So, once again, to be continued. . .

Milestones

I forgot to mention that Jaan has two new teeth: his bottom right
canine broke through yesterday, and the left one came up today.

Moscow trip, part 2

(Note: I added a photo to yesterday's entry. )

Wednesday: After two days of running all around with our own feet, we hired a driver for a few hours. That was a nice break! Jaan was very disappointed, because somehow when we told him that a car was coming, he assumed that meant Uncle Pavel from Kovrov would be the driver, but he got over it and enjoyed riding with a different "uncle." It took longer, because of the traffic, but we could just sit while he drove us to ZAGS again. We still didn't have a official enough marriage license, but we had the other documents, and we were hoping to try what they recommended at the embassy: registering Raia's birth as if I was a single mother, and then declaring that Will was the father.

The ZAGS lady was pleased with our two new documents, but refused to register us as unmarried (which would have been the standard way to take care of this problem. We know of other people who have done that.) According to her, we are married, just not married enough to register a baby. Argh! She also refused to marry us there so that we would have a Russian marriage license. (ZAGS handles marriages, so she could have done that.)

So, we went back to the guest house for one more night. . . and more Veggie Tales for Jaan. His special treat each night there was getting to watch one of their Veggie Tales videos, something he had never seen before. The next day a team was coming in, so we would have to find another place to stay, since we wanted to wait in Moscow for the decision of the higher ZAGS authorities and lawyer, as well as for the official marriage license from my parents.

Again, to be continued. . . .

Moscow trip, part 1

Ready to go to Moscow at about 4:00 am, wearing Grandma Kathy's sweater
Originally uploaded by fylliska.

A short summary: as I had said we were planning on "two days in Moscow to get Raia's documents." And, as you can see, we just returned from that last night, after ten days. We still don't have any papers for her, so we can certainly use your prayers.

If you want to hear more, keep reading. The trip is already something of a blur in my mind, but I'm going to try to remember and give all the details, for those who are interested.

Monday (a week ago): At 4:30 in the morning, we left to catch our train to Vladimir. I made the observation that I felt sorry for people who have to travel without a toddler. Jaan turned everything into an adventure. He had so much fun watching the trains and everything else! (Of course, there's a flip side to traveling with a toddler, too. It can be complicated by tantrums and constant potty breaks. We had never had tantrum problems until this trip, but now Jaan has certainly perfected the art of tantruming.)

In Vladimir we switched to the Moscow express train. When we arrived in Moscow, we met up with our midwife friend to get a doctor's letter that we needed and then went straight to the northern end of the city, to the ZAGS (registration office), where we planned to get Raia's birth certificate. We made that long trip, only to discover that they only register deaths on Mondays, no births. That was slightly discouraging, but we thought we could still get the birth certificate the next morning, and make it to the embassy for the passport Tuesday afternoon, in order to go home on Wednesday, as we had planned.

So, we went all the way down to the south to find the guest house we would be staying at. By the time we got there, we were pretty exhausted, so it was wonderful to find a friendly face waiting to let us in and a nice place waiting for us to crash.

Tuesday (Raia's three-week birthday!): we went back to ZAGS, and this is when we really started running into problems. The first woman took us straight to the head of that ZAGS, which didn't surprise us; that had all had to consult about us when we registered Jaan, too. Last time they just accepted the fact that American documents are different from Russian documents and registered us. Not this time! After a long consultation, we left with a list of things that we needed to do or get:
1. Correct the spelling on one document. (My name can be spelled two ways in Russian, and this lady wanted my doctor's letter to match our marriage license.)
2. Get a letter from the American embassy saying that my last name had changed to Hunsucker. (Our marriage license does not specifically say that my name has changed, like a Russian license would. Last time they just took the fact that all my current documents say Hunsucker as proof of that. Again, not this time.)
3. Get an official marriage license. We weren't sure about this, but the lady refused to give in. The only concession that she made was to call a meeting with her boss and a lawyer.

So, we left and started making calls to find a doctor who could write me a new letter, since the one who had written the first one was on vacation. We found one who could come that night, so we headed off to the embassy. They are always nice and helpful there, so we had the letter about my name change in no time.

Back at the guest house, we got in contact with my parents, and they started the process of ordering our marriage license. The doctor came, and not only wrote us the letter exactly as we needed it, she also prescribed some natural remedies for our colds.

To be continued. . .

We're home!

Let us catch up a little, and then I'll tell you about our trip. Right
now we just need to rest and figure out where we are.

Just two cute photos

Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Originally uploaded by fylliska.

Here's Raia sleeping (always cute!), and Jaan showing off our "new" bed. Will extended our bed just before Raia was born and bought new butterfly sheets for us just a few days ago.

There's not too much else to write about. Jaan and I have colds. Please pray that Will and Raia don't get sick. Tomorrow we're leaving for two days in Moscow to get Raia's documents.