Winter is Here!
Tristyn's snow angel
Isn't she tall?
Daegan's tunnel
The attack on Dad
Tristyn is armed!
Okay, after much waiting for snow, we finally have winter in Moscow. The temperatures are running in single digits with it getting down to about 5 below zero at night. We have had a lot of snow over the past week, and it is now here to stay. The kids are excited to finally play in the snow, and by play, I mean bury themselves. We haven't been able to go sledding yet, but hopefully we will before too long.
This has been an exciting week for us. It started out with Christmas packages from our church family. We knew they were coming and we have enjoyed everything so much. See our tree above. We are especially excited that we received some new family games to play, since we love playing games with the kids. The treats from you all like the Velveeta and candy just make everyone full of joy and laughter around here. Thank you all for those wonderful blessings.
We also celebrated Tristyn's 11th birthday this week. He had 3 boys spend the night and go bowling. They ate a lot, played a lot, and had a great time. Tristyn is such a blessing. He is always thinking and analyzing (who does that remind you of?). He has recently shared with us that he is searching for what God wants him to do with his life. We tried to assure him that God is okay with him playing and learning right now. He has a long time to figure out those things.
Language study is coming along. I have completed my fifth language exam, with one more next month to finish full-time language. I will then study 3 days a week. Doyle has his fifth exam this month and should finish full-time in May. Little by little, we are making progress. We are actually able to follow along during church services a little more. We can make it through the first two hours, but after that, the third hour is still a blur. It is encouraging to understand at least some of the service now. And the kids are trying to follow along with the songs, even if they don't understand completely what they are singing.
The church that we are currently going to is the Golovinsky church that our team started. They are a small group of believers (averaging 25 or so on Sundays) who have now moved forward with renting a small hall on Sunday mornings for worship. The funny thing is that at the back of this hall is another door leading to a veterinarian clinic. You have to come into one door of the hall and walk all the way through to get to the clinic. So, during worship services, frequently people are walking through with dogs on leashes or cats meowing. A few weeks ago, there was a man waiting at the back of the room for his turn to go in with an Irish Setter, whom he had removed the leash. During the Bible lesson, the dog simply strolled up the center aisle. But the most interesting part that Sunday was when 4 adults carried a big black furry dog (about 5 feet long) out. Whether the dog was drugged, dead, or what we don't know, but it was a little distracting to say the least. Oh well, as we now say...Eta zsheezen! (That's life!)
We are still praying about our move this summer. Another family here had a little trouble finding an apartment. It seems the prices have grown incredibly and much over our budgeted amount. We know that as we are praying now for an apartment this summer, God is working out the details.
Falyn did come through her first mouth procedure, the frenectomy, well. Although she lost a lot of sleep anticipating her wisdom teeth extractions on Friday, and much to our frustration, she still has them. We are getting conflicting information from the dentist, so we will wait until the middle of February when the orthodontist is back in the country and the two of them can confer. Thank you so much for your prayers for her during this frustrating time. Doyle's elbow has been a struggle. He did get the cortizone shot, but he did not respond as he had done before. He had a bad bruise this time and stinging for over a week. Now, after several weeks, it is almost hurting just like before the shot. We really aren't sure what to do about it. He needs to have physical therapy, but he will not be able to do that until at least May.
This has been an exciting week for us. It started out with Christmas packages from our church family. We knew they were coming and we have enjoyed everything so much. See our tree above. We are especially excited that we received some new family games to play, since we love playing games with the kids. The treats from you all like the Velveeta and candy just make everyone full of joy and laughter around here. Thank you all for those wonderful blessings.
We also celebrated Tristyn's 11th birthday this week. He had 3 boys spend the night and go bowling. They ate a lot, played a lot, and had a great time. Tristyn is such a blessing. He is always thinking and analyzing (who does that remind you of?). He has recently shared with us that he is searching for what God wants him to do with his life. We tried to assure him that God is okay with him playing and learning right now. He has a long time to figure out those things.
Language study is coming along. I have completed my fifth language exam, with one more next month to finish full-time language. I will then study 3 days a week. Doyle has his fifth exam this month and should finish full-time in May. Little by little, we are making progress. We are actually able to follow along during church services a little more. We can make it through the first two hours, but after that, the third hour is still a blur. It is encouraging to understand at least some of the service now. And the kids are trying to follow along with the songs, even if they don't understand completely what they are singing.
The church that we are currently going to is the Golovinsky church that our team started. They are a small group of believers (averaging 25 or so on Sundays) who have now moved forward with renting a small hall on Sunday mornings for worship. The funny thing is that at the back of this hall is another door leading to a veterinarian clinic. You have to come into one door of the hall and walk all the way through to get to the clinic. So, during worship services, frequently people are walking through with dogs on leashes or cats meowing. A few weeks ago, there was a man waiting at the back of the room for his turn to go in with an Irish Setter, whom he had removed the leash. During the Bible lesson, the dog simply strolled up the center aisle. But the most interesting part that Sunday was when 4 adults carried a big black furry dog (about 5 feet long) out. Whether the dog was drugged, dead, or what we don't know, but it was a little distracting to say the least. Oh well, as we now say...Eta zsheezen! (That's life!)
We are still praying about our move this summer. Another family here had a little trouble finding an apartment. It seems the prices have grown incredibly and much over our budgeted amount. We know that as we are praying now for an apartment this summer, God is working out the details.
Falyn did come through her first mouth procedure, the frenectomy, well. Although she lost a lot of sleep anticipating her wisdom teeth extractions on Friday, and much to our frustration, she still has them. We are getting conflicting information from the dentist, so we will wait until the middle of February when the orthodontist is back in the country and the two of them can confer. Thank you so much for your prayers for her during this frustrating time. Doyle's elbow has been a struggle. He did get the cortizone shot, but he did not respond as he had done before. He had a bad bruise this time and stinging for over a week. Now, after several weeks, it is almost hurting just like before the shot. We really aren't sure what to do about it. He needs to have physical therapy, but he will not be able to do that until at least May.
Though it may seem strange to mention this as a prayer request, buying groceries has been much more difficult lately. Our grocery store near our apartment closed, which means we have been having to travel by Metro two or three stops away to buy groceries, then carry them all the way home. Imagine after buying your groceries, carrying all those bags (hoping none of them bust) downstairs, onto a crowded subway, back upstairs (don't forget the glass doors you have to manage to open), and then walk only a short distance home (but it's 5 degrees!). Actually, the cold is the best part because you are pretty much sweating at that point!
Prayer Needs:
- Falyn's dental issues
- Doyle's elbow
- Apartment and moving
- Grocery shopping
- Language study
- Doyle and Daegan illness this week
posted by The Fletcher Family | 11:15 AM
1 Comments:
Being the grocery shopper in my household,the account of your grocery gathering experience makes me shutter! You will be in my p's for that.
and of course your other concerns as well.
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