Monday, April 30, 2012

Ocean in a Bag

This past weekend Jon had to travel so we invited Jojo's friends over for a sleepover Friday night. They all had a real good time but I got to confess that I was exhausted on Saturday.

Saturday morning after breakfast and some Wii action I had them do a craft. I got the idea from a blogger I follow. You basically draw an underwater scene on the outside of a Ziplock bag with permanent markers. You then fill the inside of the bag with hair gel. We added some little seashells for extra dimension. It was a quick craft and only took about 15 minutes for the kiddos to do but they liked it and had fun.



Isaac (in the middle) didn't know what hair gel was so I put 
some on his hair to show him.




Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tulips!

The tulips arrived early this year.......usually they pop up the second week in May. I think it may have to do with our long and harsh winter and the fact that one day it was freezing cold and the next day we jumped straight into a warmer than usual spring. I'm not complaining though! Tonight we took a walk to a nearby war memorial where there are a ton of red tulips. We do this every single year and every single year when we round the corner to the memorial my breath is taken away.


 On our way back home we found a lady selling tulips so Jon
bought me a handful of tulips!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

A Milestone

Yesterday was a big milestone in Jojo's life!  He finally rode his bike without training wheels. When you live in Russia there is a brief window of opportunity to ride your bike. We thought of taking the training wheels off last year in the fall but he just wasn't ready nor did he really care. He was happy to ride with his training wheels and didn't even care that his friends didn't use training wheels on their bikes. Yesterday was the first day we took the bikes out since the end of fall last year. I really didn't think he would be ready but he asked Jon to take them off and off he went. He was obviously ready and he surprised both Jon and I! He was also pretty ecstatic about it.
 As a mom it was kinda hard to "let go" of him but when I saw
how confident he was I knew he was ready!




Naynay says he's not ready yet!



To celebrate we went and had lunch at KFC by
the train station. 
 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Week 25 - Lemon Meringue Dessert

I love, love lemon meringue pie so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it! I was afraid of making the meringue since this was my very first time but it actually turned out great. I made this dessert for Easter this past Sunday and I gotta say that it didn't taste that great on Sunday but  on Monday it tasted delicious! Don't know what happened. One thing I would change next time is doubling the lemon filling......there just wasn't enough lemon taste. The recipe is on my "sweets" board on Pinterest.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Resurrection Sunday

Today is the day we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord! We had a great time at church. The boys had Sunday School during the regular church service while Jon and I enjoyed some amazing music and two messages. Thankfully I did well in comprehending both messages.......that may be because I didn't have 2 little boys sitting next to me!

On the way home we asked Jojo what Sunday School was all about. He told us they talked about the plagues of the exodus. At first Jon and I were a little confused but it turns out they had a Passover meal.  As the day went on he told me he how he had to take his shoes off to eat the meal and wash his hands in a special bowl. He said he ate meat and celery and drank salty water and grape juice. I'm so thankful that even though he doesn't understand any Russian that he is able to follow along with the lessons he's taught in church.
 My handsome boy!




After lunch we had our egg hunt and the boys got some surprises.



I know that most of my friends and family reading this have
already celebrated Easter last week but our pastor today
reminded us that every single day is a celebration of the 
resurrection of Jesus Christ! Happy Resurrection Day!



Saturday, April 14, 2012

Today was another busy day! I did more baking and cooking in the morning. Thankfully I was able to get it all done. After lunch, Jon and the boys dyed eggs. This year is probably the best year we've had with egg dyeing.............that may have to do with the fact that the boys are older!


 
 Later on we headed over to our team meeting. Before our dinner, the kids and dads headed out for a walk and bike riding.


 
Even though the Saturday before Easter is usually pretty busy 
for me because of all the prepping....I always think what it would 
have been like for the disciples of Christ and the women who 
selflessly served Christ. I can only imagine the sorrow and 
emptiness they felt in their hearts. Or maybe they remembered
the words of Christ and had hope that He really would be 
raised from the dead!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Prep Day

Thankfully we were able to do school this morning but I spent the rest of the day shopping and prepping for our Easter weekend.

I boiled a bunch of eggs so we can color them on Saturday.


 I also made some sugar cookies to decorate on Saturday. The 
cookies are for the boy's Sunday School class.


These little breads will get passed out to the sweet "babushkas" who
we sit nearby on Sunday mornings at church! I've got lots more
to do on Saturday plus we have a team Easter get together to cook
for!
 

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Week 24 - Hot Cross Buns

I have always wanted to make hot cross buns and today we finally got around to it. Since we are celebrating the resurrection of Christ according to the eastern calendar this year............we got a little head start on Good Friday.

First we watched this little video on you tube and the song was in our heads ALL. DAY. LONG!!!!



Then we read about the meaning of hot cross buns. The boys thought some of the superstitions regarding them were quite silly.

Next we found the recipe I pinned on Pinterest. Hot cross buns are a great lesson in patience........with all the time it takes for them to rise it is about a 4 hour process!
Nathan helping out with the dough......



while Jojo read me the ingredients and directions aloud. 



And here we have hot cross buns! They were yummy!!!
The recipe I used was real simple plus it only makes 12
buns.......by the time we shared them with our next door
neighbors and friends............we only had 4 left.



Before dinner I rant to the grocery store real quick and lo and 
behold they are selling these Russian Easter cakes. They will be
everywhere now until Sunday!



Wednesday, April 11, 2012

S.P.R.I.N.G

Today for school I had Josiah do an acronym with the word spring. I didn't know if he would get the concept but surprisingly enough he did. He actually thought it was kinda fun!


It was another beautiful day in Samara! A little later we got outside for a while and enjoyed the day.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Spring has Sprung

Thankfully Tuesday was beautiful! Sharon(teammate,friend, and upstairs neighbor) and kids headed outside around 11 a.m. to enjoy the sunshine. The kids had a blast and enjoyed going on a bug hunt expedition. Sharon and I enjoyed catching up with one another. There's a brief period where you really can't go outside because of all the mud and water from the melting snow but since the sun was shining yesterday it all dried up.


Later in the day the boys and I worked on an art project. The idea came from this blog. It was a pretty quick project and the boys really enjoyed it........especially painting over the chalk pastels and seeing the paint "resisting" the chalk pastels.

First we drew the patterns on our eggs with the chalk pastels.

Then they painted over the eggs and these 
were the end results! 

Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter Week

This week is Easter week for us. Our family celebrates according to the Eastern calendar since that is when Easter is celebrated here. I trust that those of you who celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ yesterday had an enjoyable time. This week I'll be doing some Easter crafts, Spring/Easter assignments in school, and reading special stories with the boys as we all anticipate Resurrection Sunday!




 Jon brought me back one of my favorite Easter treats when he 
was in California. They taste soooooooooo good when you 
haven't had on in a long time!!!!
 

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Week 23 Marble Loaf Cake

I haven't baked all week and today I was in the mood to bake. I tried out this marble loaf cake from one of my pins on Pinterest. It didn't turn out quite right. Not sure if I didn't grease the pan well enough, or whether I didn't let the loaf sit in the pan long enough.............I had a 4 year old begging to eat a slice so I only let it sit in the pan for 5 minutes! The recipe also called for milk chocolate but I used dark chocolate but I don't think that would have caused the bread to stick so much to the pan. Either way, it tastes real yummy!!! I have small group tomorrow but I won't be serving this!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Spring?

The pictures below were taken just last week! I can't believe it but winter is hanging on forever it seems. I am sort of a weather geek and for all the years we've lived here I have kept daily records of the temperatures and weather. According to my calculations all the snow should have melted by the week of March 19..........at least that's what it has done for the last 5 years!  Not this year, even as I write we are getting snow flurries and there is still a bunch of snow on the ground. I have to confess that I am so anxious for spring to get here. I am just tired of the cold, snow, and all the bundling we have to do just to get outside..........thankfully I only have 2 kids so I really shouldn't be complaining but I have California warm blood that runs through my veins!!! Of course it's a good lesson for me to learn patience and it's also a good reminder of the season where we celebrate the resurrection of Christ........waiting for the fulfillment of prophecy like His disciples were.



And once spring does arrive with it's warm weather
I know that I will be grateful for it! Good things
come to those who wait!!!!