Bishop

Most of our time in Moscow Levin was the bishop.  He became a counselor in the bishopric after our first 4 months and then 4 months after that, was called to be the bishop of our ward.

This is all potentially not true, but we kind of feel like Levin being called as bishop was based upon one decision we made.  Our first Sunday in Moscow we got a ride to church with a family that was just moving away.  So the next Sunday we took a taxi to church.  Bishop Kosak was so impressed by that he kept talking about it.  Then his counselor moved away and he called Levin to replace him.  When we knew Bishop Kosak was moving (can you tell it is a transient ward?) he kept telling Levin he would be the next bishop.  It was a difficult thing because you don't want to sound cocky if you start to believe him, but he kept saying it so you can't help but think, what if??  Because of the unique situation there, being the international ward and all, the Stake President doesn't know the members of our ward quite like he would the other Russian wards.  So often the Stake President asks the leaving bishop to recommend 5 men.  Then they interview them and make decisions based off of that.

Levin had a different counselor the first few months, but he had to return to America for work so he isn't pictured here.  On the day of their release.  Slaa, Levin, and Mike.  They made a pretty good team I do have to say.  I think they balanced each other out nicely.

Not everything about Levin being bishop was hard.  :)  Some things were really neat.  Pictured below, is Brother Browning.  He was my sister's mission president while she was in Moscow.  But now he is a traveling patriarch.  He visits places in Russia where they don't have Stakes (all but Moscow and St. Petersburg) and gives patriarchal blessings in Russian.  Well, we have a Stake, but our patriarch speaks Russian, not English which our ward needs.  So when Brother Browning came he gave blessings to some people in our ward.  Because the church was not at a good location, the blessings had to be done while Levin was at work, etc. Brother Browning came to our house.  Talk about pressure to have the Spirit in your home!  We also needed escort help.  So Levin took a day off of work, we put the kids in Day Care (I kind of miss that drop in Day Care) and I escorted the people getting their blessings to and from the gate while Levin helped them prepare for their blessing.  Oliver's room was where Br. Browning gave the blessings.  Oliver thought it was really fun to let him use his room and Br. Browning was nice enough to write Oliver a thank you note.

Some things about Levin being the bishop were hard.  It seemed we never made it through a movie without about 5 stops for phone calls or Levin to email someone.  But now that it's over I have realized two things.  One, the Spirit really was helping us.  I didn't realize how much it was helping ME as his wife until it was over.  I'm kind of sad I didn't realize the added strength I had at the time, but I guess more importantly I had it.  The other thing I realized is how easy we had it because we were in an overseas ward.  There was no youth night at the church because everyone lived too far away from it and traffic was bad and we didn't always have enough youth.  We didn't have scouts . . . there are others, but I won't list them.  

The thing I looked forward to the most about Levin being released was having him sit next to me in sacrament meeting.  Our kids are still out of control and in some ways I am just as stressed out because I have a new baby now too.  But it is nice knowing someone shares my stress.  I always worried when members of the Area Presidency were on the stand they'd look at me and my misbehaving kids during the sacrament and think, "my wife never let our kids get out of control while I sit on the stand."  It is nice to have him with us.

One problem I find is that I never used to write down any announcements and since I was usually struggling to keep my kids quiet, I hardly listened to them.  But it didn't matter, Levin knew everything that was going on and would tell me where I was supposed to be and when.

I don't want to brag, but I think Levin was a darn good bishop.  He has a lot of talents and they were put to use.  He also had the Spirit to help him and was open to the help the Spirit could give him.  He was fun to be around and really cared about people.  It was interesting to watch.

I was worried the Sunday the released him they would ask me to bear my testimony.  Not because I would be nervous like you might think, but because I was scared I would skip all the way up there with the joy.  I'm not sure an 8 month pregnant lady should be skipping anywhere.  Ha ha!  

I know I sound very relieved to have had him released, and I was, but it wasn't so bad and there were a lot of blessings.  We really felt a part of that ward because we had to be.  I knew pretty much everyone and really grew to care about them myself.  It was a great time in our lives I hope we never forget.  The last few months it seems that people really started to notice maybe life wasn't so easy for me and people really started helping me in sacrament meeting with my kids.  They were my life-savers, especially one of my young women, Ellie.  What a blessing from heaven she was!

Random

I don't know if Oliver is a budding photographer or what, but he reminds us to take pictures and takes some of his own.  Here is a shot he took of me with my new reading glasses.  This reminds me I should probably be wearing them right now or I'll have a headache later.  Ooops.

From this picture I should have realized I'd have a much harder time losing the pregnancy weight after Lance was born.  Still working on that . . . 

 Leah getting ready to go to ballet.  She really enjoyed it this year.  One of the things I thought of INSTANTLY after I read Lance's positive pregnancy test was that Leah would miss her ballet recital, AGAIN.  Last year for a broken leg and this year because we'd be moving.  I almost wanted to cry.  When I told her about it she almost seemed happy.  But as it grew closer to leaving and as they were preparing more and more for the recital and she saw one of the dances they'd use an umbrella she got a little bit sadder.  I still feel a little bit bad about it, but there was nothing else that could be done at that point.

 Oliver loves to be included in the pictures.

 I love this girl Autumn!  One of her first hair do's.

 You see why the title of this post was "Random?"  Oliver again wanted me to take his picture.  Looking at this picture I kidn of miss our toy nook/corner.  Now the toys are spread in all the kids rooms and since I have no housekeeper they have a general mess in all the kids rooms, except maybe Leah's.  Autumn's room has a carpet of toys most days.  Every day I say I'll get to it and almost every day it gets pushed back.  And the days I do get to it, it doesn't last long.

 Another picture thanks to Oliver.  When I selected this one, I didn't see that i was in it.  He had about 50 of the toy bins, his rug, and other randomness around the house.  I wonder how much computer space I have with Oliver's budding photography skills. :)  I put this one in, but just know there are about 500 more on my computer.

 The kids have an addiction to fruit smoothies.  Here is Autumn after eating one.

 We bought this stacking doll for Levin's sister Lucinda.  She called after she got it in the mail (after we were in Maryland) and said they kept thinking they'd hit the last doll and then would be shocked to see it still opened.  It is pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Gil Family Goodbye

In my post about our camp out/ward activity I featured the Gil family.  I would post that picture again, but remember, I didn't look so great so I didn't post it twice.

In our Moscow ward we had many baptisms.  Usually adult males from Africa.  So when the Gil family joined the church they made a big impact in the ward.  When they decided to move back to Pakistan it was decided that they needed a send off party.  It was at the Embassy, but we weren't in charge which was a first I think.

Here is brother Gil holding someone else's baby. :)

So to explain the pictures, let me say, Levin handed our camera to one of the missionaries and told him to take pictures.  So that may explain the random selection of photos I have to work with here. 

 Autumn had been acting a little sick so she and I stayed home from church this day, but we felt well enough to go to the party - typical right?  Just kidding.

 I don't have her permission to post this, but it looks like a cute picture.  This is the new bishop's wife.  I could see it coming a mile away, but didn't say anything.  She told me I should have to warn her, but we had so  much "warning" that it made it awkward waiting for Levin to get the call as bishop so I kept it to myself.  I'm sure her husband is fantastic, and I'm sure she makes a very good bishop's wife.  I'm not so sure I did.

 Sister Gil with the Sister missionaries.  The Gil's life was not without some drama based upon who they lived with so the Sisters got to be involved a lot in their life.  I'm sure they have a close relationship.

 I had to take some rowdy kids into the toddler play room so that the adults could talk and people say their goodbyes to the Gils.  So I didn't hear what they said, but I'm glad they got to have some time to listen and not be distracted by the kids that were literally running in a circle in this room before this.

Great times!  What a great ward we had!

Levin's Birthday

I am working on two posts at a time because our internet is limited after 8 am so I'm trying to get as many pictures uploaded as I can.  So these may end up out of order.

Anyway, we celebrated Levin's birthday in April!  Levin likes to celebrate his birthday for the entire week. :)

He had mint brownies for his birthday cake.  I think this was the second year in a row.  Hmm . . . they sound good to me right now.  I better go get breakfast. 

 Leah made him a present in preschool.  I didn't know what to get him, but I thought he'd mentioned he'd need to buy a saw when we got back to Maryland.  So . . . I didn't want to pick it out for him since I don't know what I'm doing and why should we ship a heavy, big saw to Maryland.  So I got him a book on a guide to table saws.  When Levin saw it he was like, uh . . . . thanks??  He totally mocked me for it once the moment was over and told me he wouldn't be getting a table saw, but a radial saw, I think he called it.  So his birthday present was a little lame.  Well, fast forward (I guess there is a benefit to getting back logged on your blog, more stuff has happened) and we are in Maryland and guess what Levin comes home with one day in the back of his Explorer . . . . a table saw.  I was like, what in the world??  The good news is his "farm budget" was running low so I could remind him that this was technically his birthday present and didn't have to come out of his farm budget.  That cheered him up.  But I still worry that in his head he will think he didn't get a birthday present, so I am writing about it here so that I have proof that he did.  Ha!

 We like to make birthdays fun and so I got cowboy masks instead of party hats.

 Autumn was quite scared by the masks.

 I think she was messy anyway, but she kept putting her dirty hands on her face when she hid her face and stickied up her face even more.  I think I just made up a word - "stickied."

 Levin and Leah.

 Autumn finally warmed up to the mask a little and even wore one.  She kept trying to rip them off the other kids' faces.

 We had a cowboy boot pinata.

 We must have done the pinata on a different day than the cake - did I mention Levin likes to spread out the birthday cheer all week long?  I'm guessing he talked me into doing one of them earlier than his actual birthday.  Pinatas were a tradition we started that now our kids expect us to keep up.

Family Camp Out

The US Embassy Moscow has a dacha (Russian summer house) pretty much right in Moscow even though generally dachas are out of the city.  But it is one of a few places that has a yard.  It has a kitchen a few rooms with a bunch of beds and room outside for tents.  The boy and girl scouts use it for all their camp outs and it us used for official events where for example Levin's office invites a lot of contacts and has a nice barbecue.  I also reserved it for the Stake Girls Camp the previous summer.

It was always difficult to find good venues to have ward activities.  The church was far away, and there wasn't really enough space in our chapel which also served as a cultural hall.  We had several ward activities at the Embassy, but that put a lot of work on those of us with badges because we had to escort all visitors.  And I felt like I was constantly running to my house to grab something for someone.  And I ended up being in charge of or helping with the food every single time.

SO . . . . . Levin decided to present the idea of a ward activity at the Embassy dacha.  He got some push back, but in his way he carried on with the support of those who were for it.  You have to rent it kind of like a hotel so it was rented for the Friday night before the ward activity.

So we made a family camp out of it.  We went after Levin got off work and Leah out of ballet  . . . or did we have her skip?  I can't remember.

Anyway, we had hot dogs, shashlik (sp? but it is Russian kebabs and sooo good) and smores.  Autumn and I slept inside while Levin and the kids slept in the tent.  It was technically spring . . . but still in late March or early April.  (this is why you shouldn't wait half a year to catch up your blog)  It was cold.

Here you can see Autumn sitting in a chair waiting for dinner.

 Our fearless leader at the grill.

 The kids playing on the swings.

 Trying to cuddle up for warmth.

 The only way we could do S'Mores.  You are forbidden to build a pit fire.  The only problem was the Commissary only had cinnamon graham crackers and the cinnamon would burn before the marshmallow melted.  I think we got it perfected later, but by then the kids were so cold they were inside and we didn't want to eat anymore.

 The crazy campers in their tent.  Did I mention snow flakes started whipping around in the cold cold wind?  Let's just say they didn't last the whole night out there.  They watched Finding Nemo on the iPad and I think fell asleep.  Autumn and I had by the time they came in anyway.What you can't see is the multiple layers of pajamas they have on.

I don't have any pictures of it I don't think . . . so I will mention they have "camped" in our back yard in Maryland twice since we've been here and the kids ensure they keep up the tradition of watching a movie on the iPad before going to sleep.  Both times Levin and the two older kids have lasted the entire night.

And I guess we were lame-o and didn't take pictures of the ward activity.  But here is one I stole off of Facebook from our friends the Gil Family.  I don't have a picture of their cute son who was Leah's age.  We had a wonderful time at the party.  The dacha was warm inside with a lot of pot luck food and it was warm enough outside that you could be outside talking and not freeze to death.  I just want to mention that i hate this picture of myself, but am posting it as a test of my pride.  

Cute Sayings

I know I said I'd catch up my blog, but then I didn't do it.  Well, for my birthday Levin gave me a gift card so I could print my blog into a book.  The gift card only paid for our Nigeria days, but I just ordered the book!  I hope it turns out great.  Every year I make the kids a Shutterfly picture book for that year of their life.  I'm not behind on those too, but when we moved here to Maryland I put them on the book shelf in the living room instead of hidden in my room.  The kids LOVE looking at them.  So I'm hoping the blog book will be as popular.

It reminded me that I have been meaning to blog a few cute things Leah said instead of waiting until I am caught up and current.  BUT of course I forgot one of them already.  Pooh!  But here is what she said the other day that I loved.  She is currently in Kindergarten and 5 years old.

Levin and I were talking about places we might move in the future for his job.  

Leah:  I know, let's move to Tokyo, then come back to Maryland and then move to Candyland!

Me:  Ha ha . . (pause) . . . hmm. . Leah, you know Candyland isn't a real place . . . .

Leah:  Oh. (smile)

I love that girl!

In other news, Autumn is obsessed with pink.  She wants the pink plate, the pink sippy cup, the pink ball, etc.  The only time it gets annoying is when she will only wear the pink shirt.  Luckily, she has a lot, but not quite enough . . . the green one I handed her today she kept insisting was Lance's.

Sometimes I think Oliver has middle child syndrome.  He is always worried if he is left out.  I never get to go first, type of stuff.  Well, with Leah getting ready to go back to school we may have been praying for her a lot, etc.  One day Levin prayed for Oliver and the next day Oliver told me that he knew Daddy loved him because he prayed for him.  It was so sweet.  So now Oliver gets a shout out in a lot more prayers.  I think it is working because he is getting better at using scissors. :)

Easter

Well, turns out we didn't blog our last few adventures in Russia.  So here we are at the Embassy Easter party.

 I really need help teaching our kids how to smile for a picture.  When you say, "say cheese" they really do say cheese and a lot of times it doesn't come out looking like a smile . . . . as in the case of Oliver here.  Pay no attention to that ginormous pregnant lady next to him.  Yikes!  Someone should have told her to lay off the cookies.

 Autumn by the treat table.  The kids collected eggs that only had stickers in them.  Then they returned the eggs and got these carrots with candy in them.  A good idea because now the Embassy can re-use the eggs for next year.

 Oliver and his best friend Jacob.  Makes my heart a little sad to look at these pictures.  Oliver still talks about Jacob A LOT.

 Leah and her friend Elena.  She still talks about Elena too.  Now that she's started school I think she'll be happier friend wise.  I will probably mention this later, but last night I went with Leah to her school open house and was ELATED to see her playing with some other goofy girls similar in personality to this little sweetheart Elena.  It made me really happy to see Leah with her type of people. :)

 The butterfly painted on her face.

 Somehow camera wise we failed and this is the only one we have of the kids actually hunting.  Leah was in a different group than Oliver and Autumn.

 Autumn got her face painted.  I loved it.  She sat soooo still.  The lady was really nice and wiped her runny nose.  ha ha.  So cute!  And it shows her cute pig tails that I mistakenly cut off once we got to America.  Her hair is now recovering, but still shorter than that.  But it is a nice thick all one length . . . she had a mullet.  I had to do something.  But I digress . . .

 The kids at the party.  Autumn is blocking Oliver's face, but you can see his cowboy boots poking out behind her.

 Bunnies love chocolate.

 The kids with the Easter Bunny.

After I posted this I found some pictures the Dunsons were so kind to share with us.  Here are the boys at the Easter Egg Hunt or I mean Spring Egg Hunt or whatever.