Life this Week

Did you think for a minute that you had a hard time brushing the snow off of your car this morning?! There was a sign up the other day saying they would be removing the snow from the parking areas (the road) around our gated apartments. I suppose people are suppose to move their cars for the day or the time. We do not have a car, thank goodness, so we did not have to worry about it. As you can see, I suppose they just shovel around your car if it is not moved! They actually bring in a big truck and remove the snow and then there are often a few men or women who are shoveling snow after the truck here and there along the road.

It has been snowing every day this past week. Not blizzard like snowfall, but enough to have mounds of snow piled up here and there!

Gwen started off sitting straight up in the sled...

...then she started to slide...

...and slouch...

Philip is gone this evening at the English club that he has helped out with in the past. Anja, the girl who actually teaches the class, asked if I wanted to have coffee this weekend! I am so excited about this opportunity! I have been praying about meaningful relationships for 2012 here in Russia...with Russians. I met Anja right before we left to go back to the States before Thanksgiving. She is extremely nice, knows English, and even has a little girl between the age of Adalynn and Gwen! Please pray with me this weekend as we meet. Pray that she can see that I have been with Jesus. Pray that she is drawn to the Lord and that the Holy Spirit would begin to work in her own heart and life. Pray for courage for me as I speak in Russian, talk about life, and just be myself in a country that is not yet my own.

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen
(who by the way is sleeping THROUGH the night...7pm-7am!!!)

God is Good

I wanted to take a minute and share with you all how the Lord answered one of our prayers since being here. We arrived in Russia 2 weeks ago on a Wednesday. Before we left the States, Adalynn starting running a low grade fever. The morning we left for the airport, she had a temperature. We decided to go ahead and go and pray for the best. Of course she did fine on the flight and we thought we were in the clear. The next couple of days were pretty rough. Adalynn threw up (probably mainly from exhaustion and not eating good food for a day), and still ran this low grade fever.
I think it was Sunday morning when Adalynn starting saying that her bottom hurt. After about 2 times of going to the bathroom (#1), she started to cry whenever she went. She kept saying, "It hurts! My bottom hurts!" Of course we tried to coach her through going, but she still cried and cried. We got slightly concerned and started talking to people via facebook (friends and family who are in the medical profession). I thought maybe it could be a urinary track infection from her symptoms. All of the people I talked to via facebook also thought this was true. Concern did set in then. We had only been in country for 3 days and now we were having a medical need for our child. Now, before we even came to Russia for the first time, I remember someone asking me what would be the hardest thing about living in Russia. I remember saying it would be anything with the girls. Medical problems or something along those lines because I would have no idea what to do and how to go about it. Of course we have our field directions and other missionaries here to help, but it is not like in the States. That was my big concern.
Well, here that concern was at our doorstep, our field directors had not returned from vacation yet, we were all jet lagged, missing home, and tired. The enemy was trying to defeat us. We started to pray. We asked some close friends and family to pray for Adalynn. Our missionary friends here called a doctor to come to our house on Monday to look at Adalynn. We knew there was possibilities of blood tests, urine tests, and other things that might happen to Adalynn. Adalynn does NOT like any of these things including doctors. As a parent your heart just aches for your child when they have to go through something they are scared of or dislike. I was dreading the doctor's appointment and the tests that were going to have to take place.
Sunday night we pumped Adalynn with cranberry juice, prayed, tried to get her to go to the bathroom (which she refused and just cried), and prayed some more. Philip and I went to bed discouraged, concerned, and a little overwhelmed. I went to feed Gwen late that night and I remember tears streaming down my face as I cried out to the Lord, asking Him to be with us and to give us a sense of His peace and presence.
Monday morning Adalynn still didn't want to go to the bathroom. She knew it was going to hurt, so she just held it. It was sometime around 11am when Adalynn all of the sudden decided she had enough and had to go to the bathroom. She sat down and went...without crying! She even looked surprised that it didn't hurt! We were surprised too! Every time after that time when she has gone she hasn't cried!
The doctor came later that morning and looked Adalynn over and said she thought Adalynn looked fine. The doctor put her on some herbal supplements just in case and then left. (We had our missionary friend there to help interpret)

(There are drops that Adalynn takes 3 times a day and then she has to soak in a tea bath for 4 days)

We also decided to go ahead and take a urine sample the next morning just to check for bacteria. It came back from the family medical clinic's lab with little concern. We are pretty sure Adalynn had some sort of UTI, and we believe with all our hearts that the Lord heard our cries and healed our little girl.
We told Adalynn that we need to thank the Lord for healing her bottom because He is the one that made it all better.
Now before every meal when Adalynn prayers she says, "Dear Jesus thank you for my bottom!"
...and we say, "Praise be to God!"


Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Snow

The other night we were headed to the Ministry Center and then to the Whitney's for dinner. We took the girls in the sled and set out around 5:00pm...did you know it is already getting dark? (side note: In the morning the sun doesn't come up until 9:30-10am!) There is a school next to the bus stop close to our house. As we were heading to the bus stop, we encountered a group of students from the school...on cross country skies! They were having lessons for school. Talk about a fun physical education class, right?! Sorry the picture is blurry, but I was trying to discreetly take the picture, while holding Adalynn, while having the camera in night vision setting (if I had the other camera it would have been better, but I don't think I could have taken a picture very discreetly!)
We got off at the second bus stop and found that the Christmas/New Year lights were still up! (picture above) Adalynn loved the lights and kept saying, "It's like at Grandpa and Grandma's house!"

Below is a picture of Gwen in the stroller our field directors let us borrow. This is a little more of a winter stroller than ours. The wheels are a little better at plowing through the snow, though it is still hard if the snow is too deep.

She looks warm and cozy, right?

Adalynn's friend Sophia has returned!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Snow

Looks like someone is actually enjoying the snow!

This morning we took a walk to the place where we can put money on our phones. Phones here are like the pay and go phones in America. We just put 100rubles ($3) on our phone and we are set to go for about a week, sometimes more if one of us gets chatty talking on the phone. Anyway, my phone had no money, so I could not send or receive any calls or messages. We bundled the girls up, retrieved the sled out of the closet, and away we went!

On our way home, we stopped by the playground and Adalynn actually got out of the sled and walked in the snow! I think she liked that the snow was just fluffy and crunchy as apposed to slippery and wet like the other day. Adalynn played on the swing, went down the slide, and threw snow up in the air...and in her face...accidentally of course!

Our family is feeling back to normal. Everyone is better and nights are getting better...Gwen is still not quite adjusted, but Adalynn is going to bed at 7:30pm and sleeping until 8:30am without waking up!

Thanks for you prayers! We hope to begin language lessons again in a week! We better get reviewing!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

The Outdoors

We ventured outside today...just to get out...and to have a good reason to get dressed for the day! (kidding...I think)

It hasn't been too cold here yet. Still in the 30's F, which has been nice, though the ground is slushy and wet!

We also saw someone cleaning/beating their rug outside...I just remember this picture from a book I read when I was little. I suppose it is a good way to clean your rug without a sweeper...or a good way to get tension out from too much family over the holidays. I am not sure which reason this guys was outside... (picture below)

We just went to the store across the street. The whole family went. We bundled every up, Russian style, and headed out. Yesterday (Christmas here in Russia), Philip went out for the afternoon to join our church for a Christmas dinner with all the small "churches". He said it was a good time. He also had a chance to meet some new people who have been coming. I stayed home with the very tired children:)

Here is Gwen dress warmly for the outside. When we got inside, I took her hat off and she was sweating. Poor girl.

This girl did NOT like walking in the snow/slush. DID NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT. I was sorry to inform her that this her new life. We had some crying break downs on the way to and from the store because of the snow...it ended up being kind of a long trip. But we did get some butter for what we needed, which of course was one of the most important things of the day...a birthday cake for later!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

What Day is It?!

The days have been down hill since we have arrived! The girls seemed to be doing good until the next morning when Adalynn threw up (hopefully from just extreme fatigue), Gwen threw up, and I started feeling ill. All the while my awesome husband was able to run to the grocery store, get our internet set up, wash the dishes, and take care of his ailing girls. Yesterday, I started to feel better and we thought we were doing ok...until night hit. Gwen woke up numerous amounts of times. She would not be consoled. I had a hard time trying to decide if it was still jet lag, teething, upset stomach, or hunger. I tried many things. She finally fell asleep on her own at about 1am, but minutes after she was quiet little Adalynn decided to wake up. She was crying, so then we had to figure out what to do with her. I held her for awhile, prayed with her, sang a few songs, and back down she went. She talked for a little while in her bed...and then Gwen woke back up...wailing. Let's just say it was a LONG, or maybe short, night for us all.

This is Adalynn this morning as I was finishing unpacking...

I have decided that though it has been nice to see family and be in the States numerous amounts of time during our term, it has been quite hard on all of us. The going back and forth from country to country, from time zone to time zone, saying goodbyes over and over, truly wares on a family. Again, we are fervently praying that our residency is accepted within our 90 day visas so we don't have to return yet again to the States in 90 days. Thank you for praying with us!

Gwen is back to bathing in the big red tub!

We have felt your prayers throughout the last few days of haze. I was reminded last night as I laid in bed of a song that I had heard. "I love you, and so I will trust You." Yes, I love the Lord with all of my heart, and so I will trust Him and His plan for our lives even when sometimes I wonder what in the world I am doing.

Here is a smile to brighten all of our days!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, a tired Adalynn, and a grumpy Gwen

And We're Back!

After 2 diaper blow outs, 3 outfits changes, 2 episodes of throwing up by a 7 month old, and 1 throw up from a 2 year old, we have arrived back in Vladimir! Behavior wise, the girls did an excellent job on the 10 hour flight from DC to Moscow! They slept most of the way, which was nice. Our flights were all on time and we arrived back to our apartment at about quarter till 5pm Vladimir time. Once we all brushed our teeth, each of the girls got a bath, and Philip and I showered, we started to feel like human beings again!
The night went alright. The girls slept well. Gwen woke up a few times and only had one time where she didn't want to go back to bed. Adalynn wanted to play from about 10:30pm-2am, but then went back to sleep.
Thanks for your prayers for us over the last 24 hours. We know the Lord has been watching over us!
On Saturday is Christmas here in Vladimir! We hope to get out tomorrow and view all the decorations! Hopefully we can get some pictures to show you! And yes...there is snow ALL OVER the ground here! Welcome home, right?!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen