Rock, Paper, Scissors: Finding Stability in Transition

I've got lots of great posts to write--we've been busy having fun over here--but I'm working on something else right now.  I'll get around to it, soon (or maybe later).  Until then, here are some fantastic articles I read today that really hit home.  Want some insight into some of the craziness of a Foreign Service life?  Read these:

Rock
Paper
Scissors

We do pretty well with this, I think, and it's one of the reasons that I know this crazy life will be a blessing rather than a disaster for our family.  But it's still hard.  We've been here in DC a little more than 5 months now, and I finally feel settled.  There was a moment about two weeks ago when I took a deep breath and accepted that this is home.  It really took that long.  Now I have about 6 months to enjoy it before we start all over again.  Yikes.  But we have plenty of rock in our lives, and we keep working on the paper and scissors.  We'll be just fine.

Здравствуйте Киев!

It seems like we were only just getting blown over by the news of our first assignment to Chiang Mai, but since My Man has a Russian language obligation to the Foreign Service, we already found out our second tour assignment!  Although there are actually lots of options for Russian-speaking assignments in the Foreign Service, because of training requirements and timing, we didn't have very many options that would work for us this go-around.  Basically, we had three options: Kazakhstan (relatively stable but remote), Moscow (familiar but huge and crazy), and Kiev (politically uncertain, less developed, more European).  With the current headlines in Crimea, neither Russia nor Ukraine looked very welcoming (I'd been really hoping for something in Georgia or Armenia perhaps)!  But, 2017 is so far in the future that it's difficult to predict politics, so we did our research then prayed hard that we'd be sent to a place that would be a good fit for our family. 

We are so excited for Chiang Mai and the adventures we'll have there, but I have to say that I was a teensy bit disappointed when I found out we didn't get the Russian spot on Flag Day.  Ever since starting to think about possibly someday joining the Foreign Service, serving in Russia (or at least a Russian-speaking post) was the way I imagined it.  I've sort of romanticized the Russian language and peoples and countries and have wanted to go back practically since I left almost 14 years ago.  So the past few weeks I've been waiting excitedly to find out where we'd be sent. 

With far less drama and fanfare than on Flag Day, My Man received an email announcing that we'd be going to Kiev, January 2017! 

To get a feel for what it will be like, here are a few pictures from Google images:

Though the winters will still be harsh, Kiev is a lot further south than Moscow and will be a bit less Siberian.

 A river runs through the town and the architecture is quite beautiful.

Although Ukrainian is the official language in Ukraine, it is very similar to Russian and we've heard that most people speak Russian, so we will probably focus on improving our Russian rather than learning Ukrainian, but if it turns out we need Ukrainian more, it should be an easy switch.  It's bound to be a bit of a shock to head to a Ukrainian winter straight from the sunny climes of Thailand, but we're excited about the adventures ahead (and grateful for this rare opportunity to know our plans for the next five years!).

Slices of Life: Spring in Virginia

Just a few of the many day-to-day adventures we've been having the past few months:

 

One of the very best parts of apartment living here is the abundance of easy playdates.  I love how easy it is to invite kids over to play without too much planning.  The kids love it too.

These are just a few of Funny Guy's and Darling Daughter's many friends here.  Funny Guy and his friends had a great time with our left-over moving boxes.

One of my favorite pictures of My Man at work during A-100. 

For 100 Day at school, Funny Guy's class all dressed up as if they were 100 years old. 

Funny Guy made quite the adorable old grandpa.  He was very excited when his class picture made it in the school newsletter.

One of my favorite things is when My Man pulls out the guitar and starts playing.  All the kids are drawn to the music like bees to nectar and the pure joy and happiness that ensues as they sing and dance their hearts out to his tunes makes me give thanks for the blessing it is to be alive and to have such a beautiful family.  Thanks for playing, Love.

Although he started into his choir class mid-quarter, Young Man caught up quickly and by the time the choir concert came around he knew every song perfectly and sang with gusto and enthusiasm.  It was so fun to watch him sing (sadly the picture is terrible--it was so crowded!).

Young Man has a great scout troop here.  One of his last activities with the 11-year-old troop before his birthday was a long hike around Burke Lake, followed by a great game of Frisbee golf.  Most of his campouts here have been rained out so far, but we already signed him up for his first scout camp this summer!

For Funny Guy's birthday, My Man and I were able to sneak over during our lunch break to take cupcakes to the class and celebrate with him.  It was fun to see him at school.

Funny Guy needed just a little persuasion to pull out his first tooth, which was loose for months before My Man helped him out!  Although he wasn't excited to pull it out, once the gory deed was done, he was very excited.  He was even more excited the next morning when he found that the tooth fairy brought him a silver dollar!

Ever since we got an ice-cream maker for Christmas, we've been experimenting with different ice-cream recipes.  The best ones are custard based, which is a lot of work.  Luckily the kids all have fun pitching in.  And it's worth it--the ice-cream is sooo good.

Young Man's first soccer game was ushered in with a great rain storm, but that didn't stop him from playing hard.  He's so fun to watch pour his whole soul into the game like that.

Funny Guy had almost as much fun, playing in the rain with his dad.

The next week, Young Man didn't have a soccer game because of spring break, but he had a scrimmage in the field near our apartment.  I decided to use the chance to walk to the library since we had books due and it was such a beautiful day.  When Funny Guy found out, he begged to join me.  I'd expected to have it be a quick walk, but it turned into a 4-hour adventure, stopping at every park along the way, drinking in the sunshine and spring flowers, and truly appreciating the beauty of spring.  I didn't mind a bit.

My last week of Thai classes felt like a big party.  We started off the week with a full-day Songkran celebration (the Thai New Year).  My Man and I were somehow roped into leading the Thai section in the sticky-rice dance (a semi-complicated dance depicting a sticky-rice eating ceremony).  The other language section had their own demonstrations (Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar).  We got to bring Darling Daughter and Young Man with us since they were on Spring Break (Funny Guy went to a fun spring break camp all week).  There was dancing and lots and lots of food and some interesting cultural explanations.  All in all it was a fun time.

Then on Wednesday, we got to go out to a Thai restaurant with our class and teachers.  The Thai teachers asked the restaurant staff to only speak Thai and then made us order everything and ask the waitress questions.  It was pretty fun and we got to sample lots of great food.  In addition to our usual fare of pad Thai and mango cashew chicken, they had us order them fried fish and seafood drunken noodles (we initially accidentally ordered a drunk man . . .).

As kind of a final project, My Man and I wrote our biographies all in Thai.  It's not much and we still have so much to learn, but it was pretty exciting to be able to write so much and to have something so completely foreign become a little less intimidating.

Spring took its time coming to Virginia, but when it did, it was beautiful.  We took advantage by taking as many walks as possible.  (It's still beautiful outside--I think I'm using the past tense because today has been cold and rainy and these pictures look as if they were taken in a golden age long ago . . .)

One day during spring break, I got out of Thai early so the older kids and I walked to pick up Funny Guy from his camp.  It's a few miles away but we enjoyed the walk, stopping to play at the playgrounds along the way.

 These are some of my favorite pictures of Darling Daughter.  She's growing up so beautifully!

One of the very best parts of being done with my Thai class is being able to chaperone the kids' field trips.  I had a blast taking Young Man and a few of his friends through the USA Science & Engineering Festival.  They had great time with the many hands-on demonstrations, experiments, projects, and freebies.

One of the other best parts of being done with Thai, is getting to take long walks and runs in the mornings.  Although this week has been cold and rainy, last week was full of sunshine and flowers.  Even better are the days when My Man can join me before class.  (The first week out of Thai class, I logged almost 50 miles--I was obviously exercise deprived!)

With soccer season in full swing, Young Man has a game every Saturday.  The last one was sunny and beautiful and Young Man played hard and well.  Watching his corner kicks is one of the highlights, especially remembering back to the drills My Man put him through when he was only 4 and 5 years old to learn them.  The lessons obviously stuck!

After the soccer game, we drove out to Sandy Point, a Maryland State Park along the Chesapeake Bay.  Some of our great friends here had invited us to spend the afternoon there with them and we were glad we did.  When we first got there, I thought all the people in bathing suits were crazy!  It was sunny but windy and the water was cold!  But it didn't take long for our kids to jump right in. 

They spent most of the time excavating a big "swimming pool" and filling it with water.  We enjoyed a picnic, Young Man had the brilliant idea of bringing his hammock and graciously shared it, and I read almost half a book sitting on the beach with my toes in the warm sand, watching the kids play and listening to the crashing waves.  It was wonderful.  The reason our friend had invited us to that particular beach was so he could practice kiting (he kite boards out there).  He let My Man try it.  It was easier than kiting a paraglider so he took to it easily and helped Darling Daughter and Young Man give it a go. 

Another day, we were able to make it out to the temple in Kensington, MD.  As I sat inside the celestial room, I just couldn't help but pour out my heart in thanks to our Father for all the blessings and direction our family has received over the past few months.  I still can hardly believe how well everything has fallen into place and how richly our faith has been rewarded.

It has been a wonderful start to the year.