My children

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5

Since it's the week of Thanksgiving, I thought it an appropriate time to tell you what I am thankful for and what I am learning about my children. Because I am homeschooling them, and because we are here together so much of the day, I am learning things I never knew about my children, and it is causing me to have a brand-new appreciation for the people they are turning out to be. And for those of you who don't know my darlings, this is a chance for you to get to know them.

Sarah Beth is fifteen, and when she was thirteen, I could not imagine a time when I would just love being around her. Cranky and rude, disrespectful and hard-headed...it was not a pleasant year. But she has turned into one of my favorite people. She is funny and compassionate, and she is more thoughtful and sensitive than I knew until we came here. Sarah Beth does the dishes for me while I'm in my language lesson every day. She often bakes something for the family (which is great, because she is really, really good at it). She daily checks to see if there is anything new from her friends, and she worries about those in high security places we can't mention. She is creative and talented, and we've turned over decorating the apartment to her. She can take stencils, markers, tape, and butcher block paper and make something neat for her room. She's just talented at it. And with no training at all, she has picked up how to read Russian...a feat I am particularly impressed with since it took me much longer. She can even understand much of what is being said around her in Russian. She walked to the store (a mile each way) yesterday in the freezing, freezing cold (it was about 10) so that she could get the stuff to bake cookies for us last night. She has embraced much about this adventure in a way that has been very, very gratifying for us to watch. As I look at her, I see glimpses of the woman she will one day be, and I have to tell you...I really like so much of what I see. This tells you much about S.B.'s heart: on the way home from church on Sunday, I heard her say, "Oh, Mommy...I feel so bad for that doggy. He must be cold." On closer perusal, it was a black trash bag caught in the wind. But the thought of something being stuck out in the cold was more than her heart could stand. That's just Sarah Beth.

Hannah is my middle child, and in many ways, she is a typical middle child. She is the social butterfly of the family, and her adjustment to living in Russia has been the hardest by far. When we were at FPO, Hannah was never in her room. Instead, she was out with a whole circle of friends, crocheting and working on different projects together. She misses her friends tremendously, and she has mourned them in many ways here. So, what I've come to appreciate about Hannah is her absolute loyalty. She sticks with people. She checks her email and is always delighted to write back to whomever has written her--a difficulty on many days, since our internet is often down. She is loving to others in many ways, and she is delighted by the many "aunts and uncles" she has gained in our time with the IMB. She is more of a math kid than I thought, and she is daily gaining confidence in those abilities (though division escapes her, much to her chagrin). She is probably the child who is least like either of us. I can see a little of me (she's the same kind of student I am) and a little of Marc (who is fiercely loyal to people), but there are lots of things about Hannah that I have no idea where they come from. She is quickly growing into a young lady, and a pretty one at that, but she is still, in her heart of hearts, a little girl, which we are very, very pleased with. Every morning, Hannah is the first kid out of bed, and I almost always find her curled up in our bed, snuggling under the blankets, loving on her Daddy. She is talented and loving, and she is trying to find her way here. I believe Hannah will grow into her role here in Russia, and I'm excited to see what that will look like.

And then there's John-John. Our friends Pat and Jane laughed when we found out we were having a boy, because we had no clue how a boy was going to change our lives, and they were right. John-John is much more tender than I knew before we came here. He said something last night that hurt my feelings, and he was crushed. He doesn't like to hurt people, though he loves to terrorize his sisters. And while he can be the most frustrating of my three children, he can also be the funniest and most loving. He has mastered the armpit fart since we've been here, and he has made some of the funniest movies on my iMac that I've ever seen. Even the girls love to watch them and giggle at him. While his hyperactivity can be a challenge in a large city like this, I rarely hear him complain about the cold--this is all a big adventure to him. And while his mommy is sometimes reluctant to speak Russian if it isn't going to be absolutely perfect, John is not concerned with a language barrier. Frankly, he has made contact with more Russians than the rest of us, because he has charmed the entire city of Moscow. Irina is in love with him, pronouncing him a "wonderful boy" on a daily basis. He runs so that she will chase and tickle him. He has charmed the babushkas who sit in the guard booths at the bottom of the metro. He has learned to ride the metro with the best of them, maintaining his balance even while he's being absolutely crushed by all the people. Here is a perfect example of John's magic at work: while we were at the conference center, some teenage boys came in to play ping pong. Of course, they were pretty good at it, and our little boys all wanted to watch. The adults didn't want to watch, because the teenage boys all had terrible, terrible body odor--the kind that knocks you out when you open the door. So we stayed in the conference room and talked and laughed. When I went out to use the restroom, I found that John has talked his way into the game, and one of the teenagers is helping him learn how to hit the ball with the paddle, holding his hand on the paddle and helping him swing. The other teenagers are clapping for him. And to be honest, I felt kind of ashamed. I hadn't wanted to be around them because they smelled so bad, but John-John was right there with them, playing and laughing and talking. He didn't care how they smelled. He was just glad to be with them. It may turn out that John-John is the actual missionary, and Marc and I are just the way he got to Russia.

Well, those are the things I am thankful for about my three arrows. I am getting to know them better each day, and while they aren't perfect, and there are days I'm ready to climb the walls, I am glad for this chance to really get to know them well. It turns out that they are people I like. Now THAT'S something to be thankful about this holiday season! Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye