Back in the USA

Our first week back has gone rather smoothly. Everyone adjusted quickly to the time. Luke had the hardest time. He has asked several times when we are going to go back to our home. He is out of his comfort zone and feels unsure of himself. But day-by-day he seems to be doing better and we are seeing more of his real personality. With Olivia, you'd never know she's in a new country. She prissed right into church on Sunday and showed the nursery worker her dress and sandals.
It's fun to see America through Luke's eyes. He's so iniquisitive and easily excited about the little things. Our life in Central Asia is very simple, so there is SOOOO much in America. Too much to take it all in. So far the mail man, trash truck, drinking the water out of the sink, water/ice in the refrigerator door all bring great joy to Luke !

My sister's daughter is just 6 days older than Olivia. It was so fun to see Julie and her kids and especially to see SK. Hopefully she and Olivia will get to play together a lot this summer.
Our kids are thoroughly enjoying the food. Especially since everyone wants to feed them cake and ice cream all the time!

Getting over jet lag was harder for Luke. Waking up from naptime was the worst. Olivia just popped right up!

Driving in style at Nana's house

Pool time- yay!

Olivia didn't understand about girls' bathing suits. She wanted shorts to be just like Luke.

Oops - pics out of order. Here's the result of Luke having fun in the next 2 pictures.

Meeting the cow Fifi at my grandmother's house

Our 40hr journey across the world

We just made the journey from our side of the world to the USA for the summer. Overall we had a smooth trip and the kids actually slept. We had a million trips to the potty and a million snacks, but we all surived. Luke and Olivia are both at really fun ages, so I'm sure we'll have some great stories to share this summer.

Waiting not so patiently for the first of 4 flightsMy view for way tooooo long

Thankfully Luke conked out on the longest flight. And thank you Lord for the extra seats near us. Withouth those we might not have made the 10hr flight from Moscow to DC.

Our dear little super active one decided to sleep on the 10hr flight - hallelujah! I love sleeping baby pictures. Especially sleeping babies on long international flights.

May in pictures

Ok, this is my attempt in getting caught up. I got so behind! But now I'm back in the land of unlimited super high speed internet, it should be easier! Here is a few pictures of May in our house.

Best buds

Who in the world does impromptu potty training? Well, one day I was letting Olivia "air out" from a bad diaper rash, and so Luke got excited about her trying the potty. She actually successfully used it about 4 times that morning . Of course M & M's were a great motivation (and for Luke for helping). Baby even had to sit on her potty too. These days baby does whatever Olivia does. And Olivia does whatever Luke does. :)

What a sweet Mother's Day I had! Especially this year, I am reminded of what a great privelege it is to be Luke and Olivia's mom. They are precious gifts from the Lord, that I don't want to take lightly. I got showered with lots of hugs and kisses, breakfast in bed, and a yummy strawberry cake. Luke even sang "Happy Mother's Day" to me with the cake.

Madi invited us over for a dress-up tea party. They were so excited to wear a pretty dress and handsome shirt, as Luke says.

Luke's preschool class

Rainy spring days = stuck inside. I couldn't come up with crafts fast enough. For some reason we made dinsaur hats one day. They were a hit!