Russian Villages

*UPDATED*

We have been without a computer for about a week, so I am sorry that there are no pictures for this blog post! I have quite a few of pictures sitting on my camera waiting to be put on the blog, so keep checking back! We will get our computer returned to us next Wednesday, so you can be sure that next Thursday there will be loads of pictures for you to look through! (Though I forgot my camera when we went to the village today! Grrr!!! But Kerry was kind enough to let us take some pictures on her camera!) Today we went to the village with our other GP friend, Kerry, and Russian friend Nastya! We had so much fun! Kerry and Nastya go to the village once very other week to bring groceries to the older people...grandmotherly type...Babushke. This ministry is called the Stephen Ministry. You can find out more about the ministry by going to Kerry's blog over on the right side bar (Ministry in Vladimir with Kerry). 

Kerry and Nastya picked us all up at 9am this morning. Yes, all 4 of us went, the little girls and all! The girls had their little head wraps on, ready for village life at its best. The drive is a little over an hour to Karpovo and Nikola Ushna. 

Once we arrived we stopped by Babuska R's house to drop off groceries and pick wild strawberries from her backyard! Adalynn LOVED the strawberries. And if Adalynn LOVED them, Gwen was IN LOVE with them. I think the girls ate a bushel between the two! The bugs weren't bad, and the the breeze made sure we were not too hot. After filling our stomachs with strawberries, we walked around the village (really we just walked down the street). We were able to meet the Babuska who broke her leg earlier this summer. She held Gwen, and of course Gwen giggled and chit chatted with her! Adalynn kept her distance. 

 The strawberry patch

It was time to drive to Karpovo, which is not but a 5 minute drive away from Nikola Ushna...a bumpy drive at that. Here, we met Babushka L. She also had some strawberries that the girls ate. Every time Gwen saw any green plant, she would reach her cubby little arm out and make noises and do the baby sign language for "more"! Babushka L showed us her lovely garden. It was full of beets, tomatoes, onions, garlic, strawberries, fruit trees, potatoes, cucumbers, and flowers! Her neighbor came by and I asked her if she had a garden too. She took me over to her garden and showed me all her vegetables and fruits. The gardens looked amazing! These ladies are hard workers, is all I have to say! Adalynn picked two cucumbers to take home. (She ate them for dinner tonight and loved them!) For lunch Babushka L made borsch from the fresh vegetables and greens from her garden. It was yummy! We sat outside and ate, which was hot because of the sun, but we all enjoyed it. Then we went to the neighbor's house and had tea. The neighbor and her husband were quite nice. They had Loui Armstrong music playing in the background, and the husband even mentioned that this type of music was his favorite. They even got some toys out for the girls to play with, which the girls thoroughly enjoyed! 

 The bathroom where they shower...they have to walk across their yard to bathe...we didn't try it out!

Around 2:30, both girls were getting tired, so we headed back to Nikola Ushna to Babushka R's house. Nastya and Philip carried water from the well to her house for her, and the girls and I picked strawberries to take home. Gwen and Adalynn ended up sitting on a blanket by the strawberry patch. Adalynn had a little basket that she would ask to be filled, then she would take the basket over to blanket, sit down, and then proceed to feed her little sister strawberry after strawberry. Gwen was in heaven. The only noises I heard while I was picking the strawberries, were of little Gwen as she grunted while signing "more", and Adalynn saying, "Gwenie, do you want some more?" The girls had strawberries smeared on their faces as proof of their "pickings". Philip, Nastya, and Kerry joined in the strawberry picking. 

 So much fun!

 Multi-tasking:  Picking strawberries and holding Gwen up!

 

We left around 3:30 and headed back to Vladimir. Gwen cried for awhile in the carseat, one because she was tired, and two because she never sits in a carseat. She finally fell asleep along with Philip and Adalynn. Once home we enjoyed some fresh strawberries with homemade shortcake and whipped topping. I think village trips should happen more often... 

Blessings,  

Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen