Chocolate for Men...ONLY

In honor of Men's Day, one of our teammates, Kerry, bought all the guys on our team some chocolate. I thought it was really funny to see that the chocolate was specifically for men. So specific that there was even a picture of this on the chocolate!

(picture of a woman with a line through her!)

Can't wait to see what Women's Day chocolate looks like!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Mail

A little bit of Indiana and Ohio came in the mail today! We got a package slip on Wednesday, but couldn't go pick it up until Friday since Thursday was a holiday. When Philip went to the mailbox today before going to the post office, he found another package slip! Yay! He picked both of them up this afternoon. One was from Philip's parents in Indiana and the other was from my sister who lives in Columbus! It was so fun to receive these packages of love! The girls each got to "open" one, so that was fun! (Did I mention that I just LOVE to get mail! I even had a pen pal in school because I loved mail so much:)!)

Aunt Alicia sent some undies for Adalynn, which she immediately insisted on putting on...and they had to be the PINK ones. They both got some adorable TARGET clothes (yeah!) and we also got some stylish muffin liners!

We also got some goodies from Philip's parents which included some Fruit Roll Ups (actually from Philip's socking back at Christmas!), Gushers (Philip's too), muffin mixes, cards, Puffs for Gwen, a cord to attach my lens cap to the camera, beef jerky, and treats for the girls!

We loved our packages! Adalynn has already been using her dry erase crayons, which by the way are really cool!

Now, what do you do after you open your packages, and taste one of every goodie there is in the box? Well of course you...

...pop the bubble wrap...then...


...you eat the tags off the new clothes...

...then daddy sweeps your mouth for the paper you just ate...(but it was no where to be found...oops)

Thank you Mom and Dad Gormong and Aunt Alicia!!! We felt extra love from you today!!!!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Coffee and Friends

Our small group still has not met since our return because of different circumstances. I have been thinking for awhile that I would try to get together with Vika (the girl pictured) for coffee just to catch up. She is traveling to the States this summer for a school/work program. She is very interested in learning more English and also very understanding of us as we learn and practice Russian. I debated for a few weeks, trying to get up enough nerve to ask Vika to coffee. I prayed about it, thought about it, got nervous about speaking Russian to her...you know all that stuff. Well, last week I decided to be brave and just facebook her. I wrote a few sentences in Russian, simples ones, but I basically asked if she wanted to meet for coffee. She responded and said that she would love to meet.
So, this afternoon after Russian class I went to meet Vika for coffee at Coffee Bean. I was glad that I just finished my Russian lesson so my tongue was somewhat loose to be able to speak Russian with her. As I rode the red 27 bus to the mall, I was trying to go over in my head things to talk about, making sure I knew some key words for conversation. I even had a dictionary hidden in my purse in case a situation called for it (which it didn't! She even commented how well I spoke without a dictionary...little did she know it was hidden in my purse!). We had a really good time! I talked my best in Russian and she talked her best in English, which is pretty good! I am sure my grammar was everywhere, but I do remember I used a few cases correctly! It is funny how you can recite a conversation in your head in Russian, but when you start talking words just come out, some correct, and some not. The Lord helped me and I was excited that she asked 3 TIMES when we were going to meet again to study the Bible! I was encouraged and glad that I took this step forward. I invited her to an event we are having in a few weeks when a team from Kingswood University comes to Vladimir. I thought she would enjoy practicing her English, plus it would put her in fellowship and connection with more believers. Please pray for this relationship as it has potential to grow in the coming months. Also begin to pray for her as she leaves at the end of May for South Carolina for 3 months. Pray that somehow she would meet and be connected with some believers in SC and during her time in the States.

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Holidays

We hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day with your friends and family this week! Some people have asked if Valentine's Day is celebrated here in Russia. It is not a holiday, but it is recognized. People don't go all out like in the States, but Valentine's Day is becoming more recognized. I am sure the flower shops and candy stores like that people buy a little more come February 14th!

There is a national holiday next Thursday, February 23rd. This holiday is called Defender's Day or better known as Men's Day. This is a day set aside to honor the men who fought/fighting in the armed services. It has become more of a day to honor men in general.

Women's Day is on March 8th, which is of course one of the biggest celebrated holidays in Russia. Men's Day is basically the counterpart to Woman's Day.

We will probably not have Russian class next Thursday due to the holiday. I am not sure what we will do. We will find some way to celebrate the man in our lives---Philip! Maybe the girls and I will take him out to eat! If you want an excuse to celebrate next Thursday, just tell them it is Men's Day and that is all the excuse you will need!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

p.s. The weather is warming up! Today the high is 18 degrees or something "warm" like that. Earlier this week we were in the negatives for temperature highs!

p.p.s. Continue to pray for our residency to be accepted by the end of March. We are praying fervently for this request. We have not heard anything yet, but when we do, you will be the first to know!

These 3 Things

What do these three things have in common?

a window...

cotton balls...

...and a ladder?

Any guesses? Well, all these things are items used to seal our windows to stop the cold draft. We tried tape, but the walls and widow seals were so cold the tape came off. We tried plastic wrap, but the draft was blowing just hard enough through the windows that the plastic wrap kept coming off too! So, on to a Russian trick...cotton balls. Philip took an afternoon and stuck cotton balls in the gaps between the frames and the windows in our living room. (Gwen would play on the floor and when we would get her up, her little hands and face would be ice cubes!) It took awhile, but you know what, it did the trick! Philip said his fingers were a little raw from sticking the cotton balls in the little cracks. But it was worth it because now we are warmer whenever we are in the living room!
The temperatures are still cold, but after a few days in the negatives any single digit temperature feel warm! Everything is in Celsius here, so we are constantly trying to figure out the Fahrenheit equal! Talk about a trip back to 4th grade math!

What do you suppose these three "things" have in common?

a handsome, loving, helpful husband...

a cheerful, squirrely little 8 month old...

...and a sweet, loving 2 year old?

They are very special people to me! They are my support and loves of my lives!
(I actually just wanted to share the pictures with you!)

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Steve

We lost a dear friend this past weekend. Philip's good friend, Steve from Wesley Biblical Seminary. He too was a missionary serving in another country. Please be praying for Steve's family this week...please also think of us as we grieve the loss of a friend who was dear to our hearts.

For more about this please check our family blog here: Gormong Life

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Pictures

This afternoon it was sunny outside...and VERY cold. The previous days have been colder though. We are in the negatives. Yes, Fahrenheit negatives. You walk outside and instantly are rather cold. When the wind blows it is hard to breathe because it is so cold. I lost my gloves last January and never replaced them. All I have are my thin running gloves---yes, my hands froze and then went numb. I decided to just wear a pair of Philip's gloves for the time being. They are much warmer!

Since the sun was shining and I had a few errands to run, I decided to take the camera and take a few pictures. I hope you enjoy them!

See, people really do wear fur coats here!

Yet another child making his way across town on a sled! Man, sounds like the life doesn't it? I don't know why no one wants to push me around on a sled!

Golden Gate (this is a bus stop we frequently take back to our apartment)

We have snow. Lots of it.

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen