Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Can I get a witness?
Yes!
And she’s a better blogger!
Evelyn Pieper, who lives in Almaty with her husband and adorable 10month old daughter, packed up her little family and took the 2-day trip north to our village and stayed with us for three days!! We have become great friends over the year that we’ve all been in Kazakhstan. There have been only four American (Mormon) women I’ve come to know in this country – Sister Anne Welling, Robin Wikle, Sister Pat Vincent and Evelyn Pieper – I want to remember these women FOREVER!!
There has been a picture draught on this blog (as well as prose) but if I still have any readership left you will be rewarded by clicking over to Evelyn’s blog for tons-o-details and images from their visit with us – she’s posting up a STORM (even photos of our bathroom!)
The Pieper Family
Couldn’t Ask for More
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Thursday, April 09, 2009
Something happy is in the air
With no pictures to upload due to the incapabilities of dial-up speed -- and just today DesmondPJones broke my camera -- I suppose I’ve been operating under the impression that one simply cannot blog.
Am I wrong?
Oh, and I NO LONGER have a laptop computer of my own. That would be ZoeDKJones, the ninja-sommersaulter. She splits screens from keyboards with a single tumble.
Happily, other diversions are emerging. The world was puddle-wonderful for about a week. Huge, massive puddles that made me think of Russia. We arrived at the dawn of spring this time last year and it’s quite strange to think that we’re still here going through another spring season. Stange and, yes, kind of exciting. I’m feeling the spring excitement. I walked up my street, toward the sunset, for the first time in 5months and it was exhilarating! I love smelling the earth, esp. the soil of village life: the small fires burning leftover leaves and debris, the animals thawing in their small little winter spaces. I LOVE these smells.
The world seems friendly again.
Des&Zoe are responding enthusiastically and have showed increased interest in going outside again. We bought some rope and put the swing back up on the big tree near the front gate. They’ve already dug a huge hole in the ground about the size of Zoe and gathered up a sizeable portion of the rubbish around the property and created a little ‘home’ for themselves. They have spent hours out there and it feels so good! One blissful evening I brought out a bowl of potatoes and a paring knife (just like my great-grandma!) and peeled potatoes and watched thebabes play around with the neighbors, Sasha and Tanya. It had been over 5months since they’d last played with other children their age in this way.
Our friends the Piepers from Almaty, the other Fulbright Mormon family here in KZ (!), have decided to pay us a visit with their little babeSophie. ohmyheart! I can’t express how excited I am to have people visit us!! Evelyn said she had to see all this for herself – she may be in for a shock, starting with the little box we keep beside the toilet for used tolietpaper (to burn later). We are going to get a lamb, fatten it up, and while they’re here feast on plov, shashlik, bishbarmak – all things juicy and lamb-y!
Today we went to the Catholic Church to see how green the grass is getting. Can’t wait to lounge on the lawn again. I went back this evening for the Easter services. A nice solo night out. I cried through the whole thing. It was very touching -- I LOVE spiritual spaces and the people that worship in them. Father Bonaventura at one point in his service (which was spinkled with English -- he's from Colorado) knelt down and washed the feet of his alter boys and two of his workers. I cried some more.
HAPPY EASTER!
Am I wrong?
Oh, and I NO LONGER have a laptop computer of my own. That would be ZoeDKJones, the ninja-sommersaulter. She splits screens from keyboards with a single tumble.
Happily, other diversions are emerging. The world was puddle-wonderful for about a week. Huge, massive puddles that made me think of Russia. We arrived at the dawn of spring this time last year and it’s quite strange to think that we’re still here going through another spring season. Stange and, yes, kind of exciting. I’m feeling the spring excitement. I walked up my street, toward the sunset, for the first time in 5months and it was exhilarating! I love smelling the earth, esp. the soil of village life: the small fires burning leftover leaves and debris, the animals thawing in their small little winter spaces. I LOVE these smells.
The world seems friendly again.
Des&Zoe are responding enthusiastically and have showed increased interest in going outside again. We bought some rope and put the swing back up on the big tree near the front gate. They’ve already dug a huge hole in the ground about the size of Zoe and gathered up a sizeable portion of the rubbish around the property and created a little ‘home’ for themselves. They have spent hours out there and it feels so good! One blissful evening I brought out a bowl of potatoes and a paring knife (just like my great-grandma!) and peeled potatoes and watched thebabes play around with the neighbors, Sasha and Tanya. It had been over 5months since they’d last played with other children their age in this way.
Our friends the Piepers from Almaty, the other Fulbright Mormon family here in KZ (!), have decided to pay us a visit with their little babeSophie. ohmyheart! I can’t express how excited I am to have people visit us!! Evelyn said she had to see all this for herself – she may be in for a shock, starting with the little box we keep beside the toilet for used tolietpaper (to burn later). We are going to get a lamb, fatten it up, and while they’re here feast on plov, shashlik, bishbarmak – all things juicy and lamb-y!
Today we went to the Catholic Church to see how green the grass is getting. Can’t wait to lounge on the lawn again. I went back this evening for the Easter services. A nice solo night out. I cried through the whole thing. It was very touching -- I LOVE spiritual spaces and the people that worship in them. Father Bonaventura at one point in his service (which was spinkled with English -- he's from Colorado) knelt down and washed the feet of his alter boys and two of his workers. I cried some more.
HAPPY EASTER!
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