Sunday Evening Post, issue 21

(Wow. This is my 1001 blog post?!?)

A photo from this week:

She froze on the way home from church

Jaan: His reading skills are still surprising me. It really is different to have a child who can just take an assignment and work on it by himself. Or who is constantly telling me tidbits that he read in the children's encyclopedia that he's so in love with.

Raia... bounces everywhere, all the time, without ever stopping. She never just walks from one place to another. She would make a good rabbit or kangaroo. Even when she's just conversing with someone she hops in place. Unfortunately, our downstairs neighbor complained, so we're trying to teach her to walk like a lady inside and hop outside. No success, so far.

Asya: The sweetest part of this week was when Asya decided to list off her thankfulnesses for me. Other people have mentioned how cute her voice is, and I just melted, sitting there listening to her saying, "I'm thankful for..." with great expression and creativity and large gestures.

Baby... doesn't listen to books that say it should be getting too crowded to move around much in there!

Will... spent a lot of time this past week working on details and tickets for getting group from here to a youth conference next weekend.

School this week: We finished Week 22. When we read about St. Augustine, Jaan must have picked up my love for his writings. I had him pull down both our copies of The Confessions (in both languages), and now he says that's what he wants to read next.

My books: I'm continuing to savor The Thousand Gifts. Watching the videos, and seeing Ann's photos again really adds to it.

...and my вязание (since I can't come up with a good English word that means kitting-crocheting): I finished the little pants, at least as far as getting them off my needles. Instead of sewing up the waistband and taking pictures and such, I got sidetracked by a great new pattern, though. So, I guess you can expect photos next week, of both pants and this new hat. My newborn set is almost finished; I just want to add socks or booties. Having it all laid out on the table here just makes me smile.

Weather and nature observations: Cold and clear and sunny again outside. And we have spring inside! We forced some forsythia twigs and another butterfly came out of its chrysalis early.

Other news, ministry, notes and miscellaneous from the week: There wasn't really anything out of the ordinary.

On this date in. . . 2009: We were studying skunks.

Just a few things I'm thankful for...

• Asya's own thanks
• fun, clever knitting patterns
• homeschooling!
• Will's breakfasts every morning

A Gaia story

As you might know, Gaia is Asya's beloved blanket that she sleeps with and carries around. Gaia is almost like a member of our family. In Asya's eyes, she definitely is.

As you probably also know, Russian grandmothers run society. It's their job to be sure that all is done Right in the world. And apparently, carrying around a blanket when you're three (or ever) is not Right.

One babushka in particular is really bothered by Gaia. This babushka also happens to be the champion meddler. She was never able to have any children of her own (because her own mother let her get too cold when she was little, you know), but her education and career were centered around preschools, so she knows everything there is to know about raising children. She's always telling me about the evils of blanket-carrying (and dressing children too lightly), and I always thank her for her concern and go on with life. A few months ago, she bought Asya a nice new blanket and told me to replace "that old rag" with it. I thanked her, kind of tried to explain that Gaia is irreplaceable, and set the blanket aside for the new baby.

Today she came up with a new strategy. She bought another nice, new blanket... but this time she was going to do the replacing herself! She was going to actually do the trade out at church and get rid of "that old rag"! Fortunately, Will stood up for Gaia, and brought her home. Maybe this new blanket will have to be our church Gaia, while the real Gaia can stay home and rest once a week? Or if I just set it aside, I wonder how many blankets for the baby we'll end up with?

(I don't want to sound like I don't appreciate the older generation. I do. I love that they're so concerned about us. And I'm not making fun. Sometimes I just have to laugh, though.)

Sunday Evening Post, 20th Anniversary Edition

(20th Anniversary Edition, because I've now written 20 of these, and our 10th wedding anniversary was this week.)

A photo from this week:

Experimenting and recording the results

Jaan... has been measuring how far his different cars go when he pushes them across the floor and recording the results in a notebook. It's amazing how much and how intently he can work on this! He's also been really into writing notes and emails on his own over the past week.

Raia... wants to have a pet manatee when she grows up. I realized that they didn't know about these creatures from my childhood, so we watched a few videos, and she fell in love.

Asya... has been happily playing with Raia and their "babies" all week long. All day, every day this week, I think.

Baby... has hiccoughs. Well, maybe not right at this exact moment, but that just means that we're just having a short break from them. I don't think I, myself, have had hiccoughs this whole pregnancy, but this child almost never stops hiccoughing for me!

Will... has been trying to get our documents sorted out. It's almost time to extend our registration here. Everything is much simpler than in Russia, but it still takes some work.

School this week: We finished Week 21. Year 1 is just racing by, but I'm savoring every moment.

My books: I finished a touching trilogy this week, the life story of Dave Pelzer. It's probably not something I would ever have chosen to read, but Will picked it up somewhere. Even though it's about a very sad subject (child abuse), the author managed to make it very compassionate and victorious.

...and my вязание (since I can't come up with a good English word that means kitting-crocheting): I've continued on the baby blanket. This pattern is really fun and addicting! I also got the yarn I ordered, so I just started back up on the little pants. It really feels good to be back into the rhythm of making things, even after a short break where nothing seemed to be going right.

Weather and nature observations: Warmer and then cold again, that sums it up. I'm happy to have more winter!

Other news, ministry, notes and miscellaneous from the week: We had our 10th wedding anniversary! Youth meetings have been at our apartment this week.

On this date in. . . 2008: We had just arrived in Florida.

Just a few things I'm thankful for...

• more winter
• when the crochet hook matches the yarn color
• how incredibly active this baby is!
• sleep
• hot water

I remembered!

Actually, Asya said something very similar again today, and it reminded me of what I was wanting to write about her on Sunday.

Jaan's memorizing the first part of Psalm 19, and we were discussing how the heavens can declare or preach God's glory without even using words. Asya said, "Shashlik and hot dogs declare God's glory to me!"

Sunday Evening Post, issue 19

A photo from this week:

A winter butterfly!

Jaan... had a much better week at music school than he's been having, and just a good week overall. By today he was exhausted, though! He even said that he didn't want to get up and go to church.

Raia... has taken up with my doll from childhood. Of course, she and Asya both love dolls, but just this week Raia has actually started treating this one like a baby, taking wonderful care of her and playing with her constantly.

Asya... says really cute, funny things that I want to record, but they just slipped my mind. I'll have to come back and add them, if they return. Stay tuned.

Baby... isn't really doing anything new. Just growing and kicking!

Will... had something of a quieter week. I think. I should ask him.

School this week: Week 20 already? Yes.

My books: I realized that even though I know the story and have the "Down on your knees and thank heaven, fasting, for a good man's love" speech memorized, I must have never read As You Like It straight through. When we watched the cartoon version, Asya kept calling the play "I Really Like It," and I do!

...and knitting: I posted photos of my baby mittens from last week, and--thanks to Will for yarn and a new "knitting hook"--got restarted on my baby blanket. (Now that I'm crocheting again, I need to find some versatile word that can be used for both knitting and crocheting, like in Russian.)

Weather and nature observations: We had an early butterfly come out of its chrysalis! Unfortunately, even with our best efforts it didn't last too long, but we thoroughly enjoyed our little pet for a few days.

Sorry, I can't finish now. I need to go to bed. Good night, all!