I love this...

Bogdan's birthday

Cookies at breakfast!

On Wednesday our sweet little boy turned three. He insists that he's not big. According to him, Jaan is big, Bogdan is little. But we had a really big celebration for our little guy!

We didn't tell any of our children where we were going. However, for several days I had been whispering in Bogdan's ear that we would see monkeys and wolves and bears and....

We got up in the morning and ate breakfast. Bogdan (Mr. Sweet Tooth) got a whole tin of cookies to share around. And then we left for the bus station, took the bus to Nikolaev, and walked to the ZOO!

Getting tired

Recharging those batteries

After a lunch break, we went right back to business. No nap for the birthday boy! His absolute favorite part of the zoo was the building with the fish tanks and reptiles and amphibians. We spent quite a while there, then the rest of family went on to look at more, while Bogdan and I stayed on. I finally dragged him out, after I don't know how long. We both loved it, but I just got too hot after an hour or so.

We stayed at the zoo so long, that we actually got locked in at the end of the day. The security guards told us that it was time to leave, and by the time we got to the gates, they were closed and no one was in sight. Will went and found someone to let us out, even though we were thinking it might be fun to spend the night.

Bogdan's older siblings were concerned, because he didn't get any birthday cake. Last night we took cupcakes and candles to our friends' home, though, and sang a double happy birthday to Bogdan and their littlest, who turned two today. Then all were satisfied that it had been a real birthday.

Please keep praying for Ukraine, especially for peace in the results of the referendum today.

Two quick links

This blog post really reflects my own thoughts these days:

So, in answer to the many messages and emails that I have recently received:

Yes, I am safe. 
Yes, I have an emergency plan. 
No, I’m not okay. 

I’m not okay because my Ukrainian family is not okay....

I also found her title very apropos: "When Everything Changes Overnight." That part has been particularly disconcerting to me: it seems like so often the bigger events of the past few months have happened at night. I'd go to bed, having read rumors online (or with no warning at all!) and find out the next morning that something had happened. I've been learning to go to bed and sleep well, having left all of it in God's hands, though. Anyway, go read the rest of what she wrote....

And, second link: it's almost time for us to start reading Lenten Lights (English and Russian), and we're actually on the same schedule as the other half of the world this year. So, maybe some of you will be reading along with us? I'll get candles tomorrow, and we'll begin preparing our hearts for Easter.

Agape web site

One of the main things Will has been doing for Agape is getting their English site going again and keeping it updated now.

I've mentioned this before, just a little, I think, but I didn't really give details. The story of the English site is that quite a while ago someone started it and worked on it for some time. Then, it was hacked, and so it disappeared for several years. When we arrived, they got it back online and passed it on to Will, as it was. So, he's spent some time learning how to run it. We've updated it, and Will translates and posts articles from the Russian site.

So, that's that. Last time I said it was under construction; that designation can probably go now. Although, it's always a work in progress and learning experience!

Please take a look and let us know what you think.