I don't really have anything earth-shattering to report. Like all of you, I am busily trying to get ready for Christmas. Of course, when you have to go everywhere on foot, that's a little harder, but what's really been difficult for us is being somewhere no one else is celebrating Christmas. There will be no Christmas Eve service at our church. In fact, it probably won't even be mentioned in Sunday's sermon. (How would I know if it actually was mentioned? I only understand about 2 out of every 10 words.) There are decorations up everywhere, but they are for New Year's, not Christmas. Russians celebrate Christmas on January 7th, but it isn't even a holiday. So that's been kind of yucky. But we're learning not to let it bother us too much.
On Thursday, I took Hannah and John sledding at a park near us. This is really the playground we use most often, since we don't have one due to construction. They had a great time, and I enjoyed watching them laugh and giggle and compete to see who could go the farthest. I have to say, we are really enjoying the snow. We haven't really gotten our "real" snow, yet, but we love the way it looks when it snows. And because the alternative is walking on the ice, we always prefer there be a nice covering of snow on the ground. (I'm sure Marc will talk about his fall on the ice in his blog, but let's just say it's difficult to walk on the ice.)
On our way home, a lady stopped me to ask if I knew where a women's group was meeting. I didn't, so I replied, "я не знаю." (I don't know.) John tugged on my coat and said, "Mommy, you mean я не понимаю." (I don't understand.) I replied, "No, John. I understand what she's saying, but I don't know where the meeting is." Of course, this was completely done in front of this poor woman who was just looking for her meeting. Finally, John looked up at her, rolled his eyes, and said, "извините." (Excuse me/I'm sorry.) That's right--my six-year-old not only tried to correct my Russian, but then apologized for me to the very nice woman, who giggled at him as she walked away. Not a dignified moment for me.
Yesterday, my friend Karla met me with her car and took me to Megamall, which has not only the Russian version of Wal-mart (where I stocked up on groceries), but also a big toy store and Ikea, the wonderful and glorious store where I purchased many, many Christmas presents. Literally, by the time we returned home (eight hours later), Karla's van was completely full. Now let me say this--Karla was basically done with her shopping, and she didn't need any groceries, because she'd been already that week. She completely went in order to help me make a nice Christmas for my family. How awesome is that? I am thankful for people in our mission--like Karla--who already have lives that are well-established, but are willing to take time to make this newcomer's life a little better. We also went to Stockmann's, a Finnish store that has (extremely expensive) American products. I bought cake, brownie, and cookie mixes, another can of pumpkin, some actual peanut butter, and four things of actual Betty Crocker icing. To top it off, at the grocery store, I found actual Philadelphia cream cheese, real mozzarella that you can shred, and cheddar cheese. I have a whole shelf of my fridge dedicated to cheese. (Russians don't eat cheddar, so there is never any to be found. It's a huge treat for us.) It was a really fun, exciting day. At the food section in Ikea, I bought a cookie tin full of ginger snaps (I bought it for the tin, but John-John and Hannah probably ate half the cookies last night), frozen meatballs and pizzas, and a delicious German pastry. It was just the best day...I know you probably don't care about everything I bought, but I have to tell you that I was really, really excited--about anything that makes Christmas feel Christmas-y.
Well, I'd better run, because my family is starting to stir and I need to feed them. Today is Marc's big shopping day, so I'm looking forward to a day of baking, watching old Christmas movies, and wrapping presents. Pray for us--Sarah Beth, Marc and I are struggling with very sore throats, and it looks like we're going to have to start some antibiotics. None of us treasures the thought of being sick on Christmas. Pray for us, too, while we struggle with loneliness for our families at Christmas. We are trying to make new traditions, but that isn't always as easy as just deciding to do it. Most of all, pray that our celebration of Christmas will be a witness to our neighbors, who are not believers. I'm praying your day is as relaxed and fun as mine promises to be. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
p.s. Here are some pictures from our sledding trip.
1 comment:
I love hearing everything you bought so we know what you can get now and don't need to send. It opens up room in our boxes. Should we pray for snow everyday? Just kidding.
Love ya'll,
Kay
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