Normally Ukraine celebrates Easter on a different day and therefore we get to celebrate two Easters. The Orthodox calendar uses the Julian calendar and has different dates for Easter and when the vernal equinox occurs, but this year they happened to be on the same day!

This year for the first time (possibly the last time) Lance and I decided to attend a sunrise service for Easter. I can’t say that we are early risers but we thought that one day out of the year we can rise well before we needed to. We met in a park by the lake and sang a few worship songs. We read through the Easter story and prayed for our city and Ukraine. It was special time that can only be enjoyed at the crack of dawn. Sadly it was a foggy morning and we did not get to enjoy the sunrise but it was still fun to fellowship by the lake in the wee hours of the morning.

By the lake at the crack of dawn

After our jaunt to the lake we had friends over for an Easter meal. We ate WAY too much food; roast chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, salad, banana cream pie, and apple pie. We played games and finished the evening with a movie.

The day before we had also gathered together with friends for a pre-Easter celebration. This time we colored some eggs and then hid them for a few kids who were quite excited about finding them. Of course there was tons of food and plenty of desserts. We were fooded and peopled out by Monday, but it was all worth it!

Mr. & Mrs. Egghead

Getting ready to hide some eggs

Our front door

I know many of you have wanted to see what our apartment looks like. We have been putting off showing too many pictures until we actually had some furniture to show you. Now I think we have enough that it actually is looking like a home!

Here is what our place looked like before we moved in:

The bedroom

The kitchen with small balcony/pantry

The living room

The shower room (toilet is in a small separate closet-size room)

In the midst of moving in and unpacking:

Organizing the kitchen

First meal… picnic style!

Now that we have settled in, we have been able to buy a sofa, a desk, some lamps, and even a treadle Soviet sewing machine!

Our lovely new couch, it also turns into a bed!

Looking away from the window

A Podolsk 142

The sink is out of view since it was full of dirty dishes…

The bedroom

We are still hoping to get a few more items, a small freezer, a drill for Lance, a coffee table, a chair or two, and a cabinet for our pantry.

There is also a spare bed for anyone that would like to come visit! Please come see us! It’s not pictured since that room is being used as a storage space and it just doesn’t look very neat and tidy…  🙂

Sunset view from home

April 12th is Cosmonaut Day, its a rather obscure holiday that many people forget about.

This year, a friend of ours decided to celebrate her birthday on Cosmonaut Day. She told us to dress up. So we did.

M.E.R 1 and Jetpack Lance

Apparently no one else got the memo about dressing up. Needless to say, we were a hit at the party!

My birthday is shared with George Washington’s birthday, February 22nd. I always thought it was pretty cool, basically my birthday is marked on everyone’s calendar… via our first president.

This year though, my birthday was marked by something else, something exciting. No it was not just that I was turning 30 (that is pretty cool though!) It was a new day in Ukraine, a day without corrupt leaders. Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted and new leaders took control! It was a new independence day!

Photo credit: KyivPost

There has been so much happening in Ukraine politically. People became tired of the corrupt leaders and wanted an end to the lies. Now, former president Yanukovych, has fled leaving ruins. He stole millions from the country, he put his friends and family in power who followed his lead and also stole from the country.

Photo credit: Anastasia Taylor-Lind

Though February, 22 was a happy day in Ukraine, it was also a day to remember those who gave their lives to help rebuild a new Ukraine. It will be a long a bumpy road to rebuild a strong and thriving Ukraine, but the people are not afraid of hard work. Ukrainians are tough people and will not shy away from getting their hands dirty.

I’m so happy I got to celebrate my birthday with a whole country!

I know this is old, pictures to follow soon.

Lance and I (just) traveled 1,989 miles… in a car. Does anyone else want to vomit at that thought besides me? Ick! Way too much time spent in a car, but it is a love hate relationship. We love getting to where we want to be, just not the time it takes to get there.

This last road trip went from Auburn, WA to Culver, Or to Baker City, Or to Nampa, ID to Lakeside, MT to Yakima, WA and finally back to Auburn, WA.

Culver, OR

We had a late Christmas and New Year’s with Lance’s family. It was a great week of just spending time with family.

Baker City, OR

We got to spend some extended time with Lance’s relatives. We wanted to have more than a “hi” and “bye” like we did at the wedding.

Nampa, ID

Lance had some relatives that were not able to make it to our wedding so we wanted to be sure and find time to talk with them.

Lakeside, MT

We have close connections and friends with the YWAM base in Lakeside. Besides catching up with our friends there, we wanted to have some time to debrief and reflect. This was a great opportunity since we are lately married and coming into a new season of our lives.

Yakima, WA

My great aunt and uncle live in Yakima and since they just recently had to move into separate assisted living homes (due to physical reasons), we thought it was important that we make a stop to visit.