16 was never sweeter than when this girl turned it. Her classmates surprised her with 16 gifts, some of which were 16 things each, like a batch of cookies or 16 roses. And a few other friends made it extra special as well, including our teammates who came for dinner and ice cream cake to help us celebrate. So much sweetness for one day!

Our 7th grader and 10th grader…both ready to see their friends and get back into a routine after a summer of fun, travel, and busyness. The hair-pulling photo is now a well-loved tradition and proof that sometimes Casey does start it. =)

After a very busy summer of travel, we ended the summer with our dear friends from seminary who live in Georgia, which was the perfect place to finish…except that Jason couldn’t stay long. We went to a high school football game (first ever for my kids) and had a day at the lake all together before he had to leave to go to a class. But the girls and I stayed longer, and our kids got to go to school with theirs two days to […]

Our trips to the States are fun, and we love visiting with many of you, but they aren’t generally relaxing. Our parents’ homes are the exceptions–places where we can breathe deeply. Since our home is in an old Soviet apartment in a city of concrete high rises, we thoroughly enjoy retreating to the fresh air and beautiful vistas, both in the Texas Hill Country and in Colorado. This is Jason’s parents’ home in the Rocky Mountains, overlooking Colorado Springs. What a blessing to be able […]

We didn’t expect to spend yesterday at the ER, but all is ok. Sophie took a fall and has a mild concussion, but the doctor said it doesn’t seem serious…just to watch her. Best possible answer. Amazingly, with all her antics, this is our first emergency with her in 12 years. (And she got to keep the high-tech finger monitor as a souvenir.)

Casey went to a master class yesterday with a friend in my parents’ town who bakes professionally. And we all got to partake! 

With Casey and Sophie playing on two separate teams this year (middle school and high school), we’ve watched more basketball in the past two months than ever before in our lives! The girls have both learned a lot about playing the game and have loved being on their teams…Casey even got to be a starter (as a freshman!) in one of the tournaments.  And the teams really bonded through adversity. Casey’s team had a very tough coach, and Sophie’s team didn’t have enough players to have […]

We have good news to share with all of you who have been praying for Kerri’s back pain to subside. What began a few years ago as lower back pain and a pinched nerve slowly progressed into neck/shoulder/jaw pain, and then all-over pain, and fatigue. After innumerable consultations with doctors, physical therapists and massage therapists, an American missionary doctor in Kyiv finally suggested a treatment that is helping her. Now, instead of asking for prayers for Kerri’s back, now we can say that she is […]

In Ukraine, soccer is called “football,” as it is in most of the rest of the world besides the US. And girls typically don’t play it. But our girls do! This fall, not only are Casey and Sophie in school together, but they played soccer on the same team. All of the girls in the bottom row of this picture are in Sophie’s 5th grade class, but they were allowed to play on the middle school team because there weren’t enough middle school girls signed up. […]

Casey turned 14th this year, and for a party, she wanted to do a scavenger hunt with her friends from school to a local mall, called Dreamtown. And she wanted us to make really fun and daring. (This is our introvert who is usually nervous talking to people.) So, Jason and I got creative…we had three categories: items to find, photos to take and videos to make. And the options at Dreamtown are endless. It’s divided up into areas that resemble places around the world, like Greece, Brazil, France, […]

Exactly 4 days after we arrived in Ukraine, Casey and Sophie started back to school. Sophie was very excited to get to label her school supplies in English this year! Proof that it isn’t always Sophie who starts it! The van that picks them up and drops them off every day, along with 6 other students who live in our area. Chili is sad that her favorite playmates are gone.  

We’ve been listening to church bells from our local Orthodox church all morning while Sophie and I decorate eggs. She had a fever last night, so no church for us this morning, but still a happy Easter!