7 Layer Salad

Sorry I've been absent for waaaay too long! Every time I try to upload photos or a post it takes forever- thanks to our slow dial up (!) so I have ended up giving up or the page times out and I lose everything. argh. But, we seem to have a decent connection today, so I try to at least get everyone a little update.

Gavin- last week he finished his last breathing treatment! We packed up the nebulizer in hopes that we won't ever have to use it again :) . He has been sleeping in his "big boy bed" at nap time for over a week now. We tried to get him to sleep there Sunday night- but he just screamed and gathered up his pillow, stuffy and blanket and threw them in his crib! So, we'll try again this weekend- until then he is loving sleeping on his toddler bed during the day. He has even been taking incredibly long naps- especially since we moved him down to one nap a day several weeks ago. Yesterday he layed down at 1:30 and we didn't see him again until almost 5:30! But at 5:30 he was ready to go! And by 8 he was ready to get back to bed :) He's so much like me... I could sleep any time of the day! We have always had his toddler bed and his crib set up in his room- mostly b/c we had not where to store the toddler bed- it was given to us by Stas and Inna when we moved out of their house- it belonged to her boys! Gavin loves playing on it and often sits up there to read. We wanted to get him out of the crib before we went back to the states so I don't have to haul around 2 pack 'n plays! Though, Gavin is already way too big for his! And it will be so nice to have the crib taken apart so he'll have a bit more space to play in his tiny room!

Krasnodar Church- For all of you who have been keeping up with the suit that was filed by the city against our church here in Krasnodar... last week the case was finally closed- in our favor! They can not reopen this suit- so we can now officially hold services in our new building. On Saturday- the first wedding was held and after the reception was the month english service- Our teammate- Donnie Mason ( check out their family blog at http://masonsinrussia.blogspot.com) preached. It's amazing to see God's continued provision for his children and we praise Him for this victory!

Language Study- Less than 2 months left! I can hardly believe it! There were times that I never thought that I would make it or even believed that I would begin to understand the complexities of this language- but God is always faithful. As it stands at the moment- our last day of study will be on May 17th- then we will have a few days to pack up our house and pack our things on the truck before I head back to the states.

Leaving Krasondar- JB and I have this list of things we want to do before we leave Krasnodar... all kinds of things from places we want to take Gavin, to places we want to eat, to things we want to buy, and friends we want to have over. When I think about leaving here, as much as I don't love the city of Krasnodar itself- there are people here whom I dearly love. The hardest thing for me is the though of leaving our Russian friends here. I know I'll see our teammates again and that we'll keep in touch and see each other several times a year, but I can't help but be sad when I think of the possibility of not seeing our Russian friends. I have spend more time with Inna over the past 2 years than any of my other friends. She has watched Gavin grown and has loved him from the minute she first held him. We've watched their boys grow and been with their family through many changes during the last 2 years. She is one person who I can cry with, laugh with and pray with. Leaving is going to be so hard. As excited as we are about the future- it doesn't make it any easier to deal with the realities of the present.

On a happier note- we had their family over for dinner last night and so enjoyed their company! Every time we have them over I can't help but notice JB and my improvement in speaking... it seems like each time it gets easier and we understand more and more. Last night was the first time where I really felt like "me...but in russian"... if that makes any sense at all. I didn't have to think too hard or stress over which ending was correct- I could just laugh and chit chat (almost) like I would in English! Everyone was very impressed with my amazing husband- he made his 'almost famous' chicken cordon bleau- yum!!! and I made garlic mashed potatoes and 7 layer salad... which was a huge hit! Don't know why I just now made it for our russian friends- it is the most russian like american salad- complete with peas and mayo! For dessert I made "not-fried fried icecream"- also yum!

I'm sure I have tons more to say- but I want to close with a huge THANK YOU to the ladies in the Pink Bible Study group at ACAC for the package! You made my week! I have been dying for some easter decorations as you can't easily find anything like that here- and now I have the cutest table cloth and dish towel... along with the cake mixes, crystal light, jolly ranchers, big red, kids medicine and a bunch of other goodies.... you ladies rock! Thank you so much!!!