Happy Memorial Day!

I'd love it if active duty family members would leave a comment expressing a current prayer need for your family. And if you are not military, please pray for those who are, and leave a comment regarding something about America you're thankful for. And then enjoy a hamburger on the grill for me!

One Thing Leads to Another...Deal!

Just hopping on for a moment- I'm preparing for Baby Girl's second birthday party tomorrow evening and planning a little Memorial Day get-together here on Monday evening. Plus our sitter just said she's free on Sunday night so Mr. YH and I are having a date. AND, since we missed two of our YH holidays this year due to the move (Cold Day and Spring Day), we are going to have a "Summer Day." Sveta found some pails like these except mine are not painted, don't have the wooden handle, are probably heavier, and I only paid $10 for the three of them. I thought that I could use them in our school area or playroom after the big day, so I ordered 4" letters from Leen the Graphics Queen. And she's having a sale right now. Additionally, if you're military (or military by marriage), she'll give you free shipping. So scoot on over to her site and do a little shopping- she is absolutely wonderful to work with!

Taking Inventory

• 1 happy family when Daddy came home from Moldova Saturday night.
  
• 2 small sized cookie sheets that are still too big for my oven.
  
• 3 naps in 3 days.
  
• 4 boxes did not come in when we were checking numbers as the crew carried them through the door. We thought they were here, but indeed, they are missing. I know of a few things that didn't arrive, but for the life of me, inventory #220, "plastic basket with clothes" is not ringing a bell. I guess I didn't need it?! But how do I claim it?
• 5 Mondays in May: 3 are Ukrainian holidays and 1 is an American one. I love it that Mr. YH gets them all off!
• In 6 days my youngest will be 2 years old!
  
  

Progress

January 2010
Del Rey Oaks, CA

128 days later...
Kyiv, Ukraine

The crew arrived shortly after 9 last Friday morning
and requested me to come down to the truck
to look over the crates and authorize
them to unseal them and begin the unloading process.

The kids' room...

Paper that had been around the furniture...

In the midst of all this, the lady who takes the garbage down from each floor came up and informed me she needed the elevator to take trash out. I did the Ukrainian thing- shrugged my shoulders, referred her to the crew, and walked away.

We were so thrilled to have garbage cans again!

Glassware...
{and a lot of it-because the choices make me happy}

Dishes in the drawers...
{By the way, it is a lot of work to get
all of this washed up after unpacking it!}

Bake-ware- oh my word, cooking is so much easier!

Clothes in the wardrobes...
{Hooray for spring clothing!}

American diapers
{but she's still taking them off}

Books are on the shelves...

And more books....
(there are still more books than this!)

Our comfy new recliner suffered a slight casualty- they set a box on the seat when they packed it into the crate and it left an indentation which won't go away. A little disappointing, but at least we can file a claim on it.

Beginning to put out a few personal touches...

And soon, I'm going to crash here, in my own, comfy bed!

Mr. YH left on Sunday for a business trip to Moldova, so I've been unpacking, and I'm a little tired since I have the regular mama duties as well! Slowly, but surely, the house is becoming home! I am pleased that we didn't bring too much that we can't use at all here (like shower curtains and a few small cookie sheets that I bought that are still too big for the oven). There was very little damage done- a few scratches {on furniture we just had repaired from the last move!}, but so far, nothing is missing, broken, or ruined. Most everything has a place and it's a good time to get rid of a few things that should not have made the cut at all! I have a few boxes of artwork to unpack and the last box is a reward- my trumpets are in there and I've saved it until last so I can sit down, relax and play. I've missed it. Usually, I hand carry them, but there was no way to do that this time with 3 kids and their gear on an overseas flight. I'll call the company tomorrow to have them come get the boxes next week and then begin making a list to claim. After a couple of weeks, I'll schedule the guys at the embassy to come by and hang pictures- the walls are cement and they'll come out once to hang pieces. And then we'll just keep on living and enjoying it all until we do it again: summer 2012!

Home is...A Family Heirloom

Mr. YH was stationed in Anchorage and I was in Atlanta when we rekindled our romance. When we got married, the majority of my apartment was packed up and carted off to his parents' home in Michigan until we could get back down to the lower 48 and reclaim my belongings . Then- glory!!!- we found out about an "address on record" move. This simply means that the military would do a one-time move from a permanent address on a member's record. Perfect! All of my pretty things would be moved on the military's dime to Alaska so I could replace Mr. YH's bachelor things (seriously, the dart board had to come down from the dining area wall)!! His mom thought it was perfect, too, and took the opportunity to clean our her house, adding all of his childhood memorabilia to the pile.

When I unpacked boxes, I found a gift box with a letter from his grandma and a silver dollar. She had made copies for each of the children and grandchildren and gifted each with one of her precious silver dollars. If you click on the photo, it'll enlarge and you can read it.

Isn't that amazing?! When Mr. YH got home that night from work, I immediately handed him the box. I believe it is safe to say that he appreciated the gift far more then than he did when he first received it!

I requested a copy of Erv and Rhoda's wedding photo
and then put it all together at the base frame shop:

This letter represents to us our most precious family heirloom: a spiritual legacy. We hang this on our wall as a reminder to ourselves and as a testimony to all who see it that we possess an even greater heirloom: God Himself.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade..." I Peter 1:3, 4 (NIV)

I'm linking up with Sandy at the Reluctant Entertainer.

Oh. My. Word.

It looks like a bomb went off in our apartment! ☺

The kids are in their own beds. And I'm going to keep unpacking......

It's Hard to Pick Just One!!

Kelly has a great theme this week: favorite {children's} books. Be sure to visit her blog to hear what others have enjoyed reading themselves and to their children!



Books and dishes probably make up at least a third of our total weight that we move every few years! We love to read Inside the Yellow Hat! {and as you read this, we're FINALLY receiving our crates which were packed in January, so we're really excited to get all of our books back!!}

Choosing just one book is hard because there are so many good ones out there. Years ago, however, I discovered Christian author Elizabeth George and very much enjoyed the message she had. I was thrilled to discover her children's books.

This is affectionately called the "God's Girls" book in our home. We gave it to our firstborn on her first birthday (each child has received one on their 1st bday). The author included a special to/from/date page to sign in the front, so it is a lovely gift book- I often give this as a baby gift and simply tie it with ribbon because the cover is so pretty. She goes through a verse or two of Proverbs 31 on each page through a rhyme that explains the godly character quality desired. Each is accompanied by beautiful illustrations that have captivated my kids. She put the Bible verse at the bottom of each page. At the conclusion, there is a page with a blank picture frame where you can place a photo of the child and the story has been told in such a way that the child understands she can be a little girl after God's own heart. We have used this as an early devotional and refer to it often: "How does "God's girl" act?"

There is also a boy's version which we own. Elizabeth and her husband, Jim, teamed up to compile this one.

I also suggest you get a catalog from Sonlight whether you choose to home school or not. They have a wonderful list of literature for all ages!

Blessings~

The Pink Potty

This morning we had an art lesson scheduled. I've been putting Baby Girl in her play yard for her alone time during the first hour when I need to be nearby to help with any language difficulties for the older two. I had been checking on her every 10 minutes or so to make sure her diaper was still on because as soon as anything is in one, she has it off in 5 seconds flat. I was so tickled by her chatter and pretending. The older two were doing a great job communicating with Lena. Everything was going smoothly until.......I smelled something. Yes, you most certainly can see where this is going- it was a dirty diaper this time. Baby Girl went into the tub, the toys were all washed and sanitized, the sheets changed and a load of laundry started. And as soon as Sveta came, Big Girl and I left for Antoshka to buy a potty chair. It's pink. And I was going to post a picture and show you our big people potties in the respective baths. But I'm not posting about that anymore, because Mr. YH just called to let me know we could pick up the van tomorrow at the embassy and then asked if I had any plans for this Friday at 9 a.m.- and if I didn't, would it be ok if our HHG could be delivered?!?!?

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
{Happy Dance!!!!}

Thank you for praying and being so encouraging
as we waited these past 128 days
(not that anyone was counting!)!!

P.S. Don't worry- we'll get back to the pink potty! ha!

The Ship

...is in port (Black Sea) and our things are waiting to be scanned. Then 3-5 days through customs. I am assuming it has been sitting there for a while and because of the holidays last week and yesterday that no one was around to get them moving this direction. So, maybe- I'm not even holding my breath anymore- next week. And just to keep it real for you all, I cried because we have to wait another week or so. I told Mr. YH that Sasha needs my cell number because I will take delivery while he's on his business trip.

Like Coming Home

After we walked the Botanical Gardens on Monday, we came home for naps and then headed back out. We had been invited to dinner at the home of Sergey and Ira Gladishko. These are my wonderful friends from a LONG time ago (pre-marriage) and perhaps you remember this photo from my December 1999 missions trip- you know, the one where the girls and I were car-jacked on Christmas Eve.

Here they are now.

Alona (L) and Masha (R) are completing their first year
at different local universities and Anna (holding Baby Girl)
is now a mama herself!

Ksenia turned 2 today!

Sergey and Mr. YH manned the grill...

...while these two became fast friends.

I told Ira that it felt like coming home- not much has changed and we just picked up where we left off! Of course, the food and fellowship were as good as always!

A Monday Morning Stroll

Last weekend was International Worker's Day here, so Monday and Tuesday were holidays. Yesterday was Victory Day- 65 years since the Nazis surrendered- so today is also a holiday. It's a little weird to have holidays when the rest of you are not! But, we'll take them! These photos are from last Monday when we met our friend Lesya at the Botanical Gardens. Mr. YH had not yet seen her, so it was good to meet up after several years and they enjoyed discussing Ukrainian politics as we walked the grounds. There are a lot of photos and I'm going to just let you look without much commentary. Enjoy!

{smelling the flowers}

The lilac orchard was not quite at peak, but it already smelled good!