1 Year

Yep. That's right...back to class for the Hecocks! It wasn't much of a vacation for us as we were so busy with everyone that was moving to and from Krasnodar and dealing with everything related to that, but I have to say, it kinda feels good to be back into the regular swing of things. It was so wonderful to see Inna again when she came on Tuesday! Gavin was thrilled to have her back and I so enjoyed drinking coffee with her and catching up on the happenings over the last month. When you walk into our house, you always know she has been here- not only does it smell wonderful, but everything is always orderly and Gavin is usually smiling ear to ear. Right now he's dealing with an ear infection, but has still been very pleasant. He's always 'reading' books on his own and 'telling' stories- mostly using animal sounds (roar, meow, woof-woof)... very funny! The funniest part is how he makes the sounds- not entirely american... here dogs say "gaf-gaf" and cats say "mouh" (sounds like owww...the sound you might make if you bit your tongue?) and though he hasn't mastered the 2 syllables in "bow- wow" he has the first one down... every dog either says "gaf-gaf" or "bow"! JB and I have just been spending so much time just watching him lately- we could probably sit around half the day and just watch him play and discover and listen to him "talk".

I know I have been MIA for quite some time- sorry! We've been busy welcoming our new family members- Donnie & Blythe Mason with their kids Isaiah and Katya, and Sarah Rowley! We're so excited that they are finally here an have enjoyed the time we've had to get to know them. It has been so strange for me going through this time with them- almost like I'm re-living my experiences from last year... all the saying goodbyes, packing your things, unpacking your things to find broken treasures, buying things for your apartment, learning to grocery shop, learning to use public transportation, finding a nanny, dealing with a nanny that doesn't speak any English and finding ways to effectively communicate with her... The list could just go on and on. Going through this time with them has allowed me to see how difficult of a time it really was for us, and for me especially. There was so much going on in our lives a year ago (becoming parents, selling all our possesions, leaving our church, saying goodbyes to our best friends and our families, moving to a new country and not speaking a word of the language, etc) that I think I was functioning in 'survival' mode and have little by little moved out of that to a place where I feel I'm beginning to really thrive and feel comfortable- and now I can look back and see how very far God has brought me and our family. For a long time I have told people that "it wasn't that bad, or at least not as bad as I thought it would be" and that is still very true, but in reality I believe that God only allowed me to experience what He knew I could handle and what He knew would cause me to grow- and through all that drew me closer to Himself. Tomorrow will be 1 year that we have been in Russia- it is also the day that my mom and sister will arrive! I absolutely can't wait and thinking about seeing them tomorrow makes me cry- it hardly seems a reality that my family is really coming to visit. I had prepared myself to not see them for 4 years and am so blessed that they are right now boarding a plane to fly halfway around the world to see me!.... I know, I know- they are really coming to see Gavin, but I still can't wait!

Catch up- this last few weeks have been full of surprises... our washer has overflowed, I burnt american brownies trying to figure out my new oven, I made peach cobbler for the first time, our cat has been to the vet 6 times and recieved 11 shots- he was very sick...and all that only cost us 25$ (not possible in the states!!!), Gavin has slept in multiple days till almost 9 (!), I have enjoyed wonderful, long talks over the phone with my mom, Gavin & JB have had competed in several laughing contests with each other (they take turns laughing to see who can laugh louder...it goes on all through supper some nights!), Gavin's favorite word has become "choot-choot" (little bit in Russian- meaning whatever you have he wants some of...coffee, ice, lemons, crackers...doesn't matter), I saw my first Graco stroller and smoke detector for sale here, and of course, we've started back to class!

Thanks so much for all your prayers and words of encouragement to us over the last year. God has worked in our lives in amazing ways and has blessed us beyond what we ever imagined. It's amazing to look at all the Russian we've learned over the past year- I can really communicate .... at times I thought that would never happen! God is good. He has given us great friendships, and haw allowed us grace to be able to say 'good bye for now' to several of those close friends.... there is so much I could say, but JB and I are working on putting together a highlights list of the things that have happened over the last year. Keep your eyes peeled...it will be in our next newsletter and I'll try to post it here too! Blessings!