crazy

life. It had nearly got the best of me over the course of these past two weeks, but we've survived! We're not fully moved in, but we're over the hump. I can actually count the number of boxes still to unpack and our house is beginning to resemble a home! JB has been frantically putting up shelving, lights, hooks, etc. and we've been busy trying to find a place for everything. A week after we moved, Stas and Inna also moved. I took dinner out to them their first evening there- it was so good to see Inna, it felt like it had been so much longer than a week! She and Stas were just exhausted- they still have sO much work to do on their new place. There was barely running water or gas when they arrived! The toilet and shower are still outside and Stas said his first night there (he spent thursday night there to get the water, gas, and kitchen stove working) that there wasn't even any light! Crazy. It's basically the shell of a huge, unfinished house. Everything is concrete (walls, floors, stairs) and the wiring and plumbing are started. Stas has the month of July off and he'll be busy working on the house and Inna is taking this month off too- she'll come back on the 2nd of August- the day school starts.
Our friends, Patrick and Janet, were out of the country, so we were able to have their nanny- Natasha- come and take care of Gavin so we could get a little studying done and get things finished up at the old house. They had such a blast together! Gavin tried his hands at fingerpainting for the first time! He enjoyed coloring his hair and entire high chair green! That event was quickly followed by a bath!
Gavin is full of giggles these days- loud, belly laughs, like I've never heard before. He often gets the "midnight giggles" when he's overtired- then you can just look at him and he'll roll around laughing, but these past few weeks it's been all the time! We'll be riding in the car and he'll just bust out giggling for no apparent reason! I love it! i can't get enough of it! He's been thoroughly enjoying the new house b/c it gives him lots of new places to explore and more room to run around because it's all on one floor (with the exception of our bedroom). He's also learned to love hide and seek. JB or I will run and hide and he will come giggling after us- and we'll play over and over again! He's also been enjoying the long sheer curtains that are everywhere! He hides behind them and giggles because he doesnt' think you can see him :) He is so much fun these days!
With all the ups, there have been plenty of downs... we've had problem after problem with the electric and water here- JB is frustrated to his wits end. The first night here, each time we plugged a powerstrip in (w/o any thing plugged into it!) it would blow a fuse- and as far as we can tell, everything in our house is on the same circuit! Refrigerator, freezer, washer, 2AC's, TV, lamps, etc! No wonder it blew the fuse so many times! After talking with our landlord we've come to find out that there is a pump downstairs that is on a seperate curcuit and that pumps water up to our apartment- so he came over and... ran an extension cord from the pump closet, through our balcony window, and into the house- so we could run our dryer and vacuum! We also have a tiny washer here (only holds 6.6 lbs of clothing!) - it is in our bathroom and was running off an extension cord that ran across the bathroom floor! And to top it off you had to hook the drain hose into the toilet each time you used it... I was just imagining the tub or sink overflowing with little Gavin standing there, or forgetting to put the drain hose into the toilet and water flowing onto the floor...! So, we ran a different cord and now all the plugs are off the floor, and we've hooked the drainage hose into the bathtub- next week our friend is coming to hook it directly into the bathtub drain, so, no more worries. for now. Aside from all of that- within the first 2 or 3 days, JB and I turned to each other and remarked about how this place feels like 'home' to us. It's hard knowing we'll only be here a year, but at the same time, a relief knowing that the electric and the steep stairs to our bedroom are only for a years time...
The 4th of July was not a huge celebration for us- not because we didn't party, but rather, because it was the going away party for our dear friends who are moving to Germany. Phil and Melissa have been so precious to us over this past year- It was so hard to know that the 4th was our last day all together. JB drove Phil and their son Ben to the airport yesterday morning and I spent the afternoon with Melissa, Abby and Rachel- We ate chipori, peroshki, berniki together and then Abby got her fingernails done. We enjoyed spending a few last hours together and started making our plans to go see them next December for Christmas in Germany! Melissa flew out with the girls early this morning. We're going to miss them so very much, but we know that God will use them in amazing ways as they will be dorm parents to the CMA elementary students at Black Forest Academy. If Gavin was a student there, I could think of no one else I would rather have loving on him, than Phil and Melissa Arndt- We love you guys!
Other exciting news...there has been no shortage of packages here! Liesl sent me a box filled with pampered chef goodies and quite a few magazines! And JB's parents sent us 2 boxes full of girl scout cookies, our gear we ordered with our rei dividend, and a build-a-bear they made for Gavin! Gavin is now super cool sporting his new Nalgene todler grip 'n gulp- he loves his big boy sippy cut and likes that it clips onto the side of his stroller with a caribeaner! But more than his Nalgene- he loves his new bear- Denali. Oma and Opa stuffed him and put a voice box in his paw- that tells Gavin how much they love him! When we opened it, I bawled like a baby! How sweet of them- Gavin listens to them every night before he goes to sleep- and each time gets a huge grin across his face! I've tried talking my parents into videoing them reading a few books- so I can play them for Gavin, but it hasn't happened yet...maybe we'll get them to do it when they're here (very very soon!!! yeah!)
Okay, enough for now- Gavin is up from his nap and we're going for a walk! I've been trying to upload pics, but between blogger and our dial up- nothing is working in my favor! Hopefully our dsl will be up soon!!!