Independence Day

I was 10 when Ukraine became a free nation - though I'm pretty sure it wasn't until I met Benj that I actually knew where it was on a map, or anything else about it.

Celebrating Ukraine's independence in Lviv, is like celebrating the fourth of July in Heartland Missouri - people come out in throngs, and proudly wear the national apparel. 

It was exciting to navigate the sea of people

and see the young, old, and everything in between listen to music, and watch traditional Ukrainian folk dancing performance.

 
Of course we stopped by Bubbles to see how the cleaning crew was managing with all the cement dust that has engulfed the store.
I tried to get a picture of the girls together - but let's just say Ella wanted to hold hands and Anne did not ... and it was a bit of a throw-down.

ps- Mom, that white pin-wheel thing in Anne's hand is her "daughter" that she was telling you stories about.

11 months and 2 days

Time flies. Little Mary Susan is growing, growing, growing!
Even Igor, our driver, commented Sunday that Mary looks longer and bigger ... and she is!

We love this little girl - love how she pats our back when we hold her, love how verbose she is as she chatters with her sisters, making sure her voice is heard. We love how happy and smiley - and then how demanding and independent, she is. We love how she fearlessly bumper-cars her way around the flat - suffering severe whip-lash at times, yet never slowing down. We love snuggling her until she falls asleep ... we even love that she doesn't sleep when we want her to - insuring she gets plenty of her own one-on-one time when we often wish we were sleeping. 

We love you Mary Susan. Thank you for blessing our lives in new and challenging ways every day for the last 11 months and 2 days. 

smile! it's nutella

*On a side-note, when Mary saw Anne with her hair in a poof, and chocolate smeared across her face, she began belly-roll laughing. If only the video camera had been charged!

Hair Cuts

Our hair was begging for a trim. My pony-tail was starting to look like, well, a pony's tail ... Conveniently Maxime's girlfriend (he'll be one of the delivery drivers for Bubbles - Anne calls him Maxi Taxi) cuts hair, and he volunteered her services for the task at hand. I was grateful for anyone with scissors, and thrilled she could come to our home so we didn't have to fight our way through a salon stay, or break up precious family time with babysitting and hair-cuts. What's more ... I felt so authentic to have a real, live, in the flesh Ukraine wearing a one-piece jean jumper in our home!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

It's not intentional, but I know I miss home when I start craving food. Every time I make spaghetti and meatballs, I call my grandma - just to make sure I have the recipe right. So it was a little bitter sweet the other day to make this meal and not call her. And yes, I fry my meatballs, just like my great-grandmother and grandmother fry theirs ... it's the real Italian way.

What to Wear?

Since Ella's dolls and dress-up clothes are in storage thousands of miles and an ocean away - finding satisfactory things to dress-up, and clothes to play dress-up with takes a bit of imagination.
Fortunately she's found a new hobby - dressing up everyone!
If only everyone would hold still like an American Girl doll while their clothes are changed and re-changed.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

Three girls in a Tub - and who do you think they be?
A princess, a rake-er, a trouble maker ...
Bundles of joy all three!

Beach

In case you didn't know, we really miss the beach.
Even so, I was surprised the other morning to find Ella had put everyone in bathing-suits.
She said if we couldn't go to a real beach, we should at least imagine we were at one.
So here they are - enjoying the warm sun, sand, and waves.

Constancy

Rock of Gibraltar

This evening Benj kissed me on the cheek and thanked me for being such a stable, constant force. If you know me, you know I'm just about as "constant" as the Texas weather (thank you Louie L'amore ). On more than one occasion Benj has joked that my 'phases' and 'hobies' change more frequently than most marathon runners change running shoes.
But, over the last 2.5 months in Lviv, I have become a 'stable, constant force' ... I heard it from the horse's mouth. I'm not sure if that has to do with my increasing wisdom and patience - as I am now a member of the 30+ club - or perhaps it's more telling of how volatile our day-to-day interactions are as we fight to get this laundry thing up and running, and make western Ukraine 'home.' So, yeah, maybe compared to that roller-coaster that is our day-to-day, I do seem pretty stable.

Lviv Churches

We explored a couple new churches in Lviv. 

This is the church where Pope John Paul visited when he came to Lviv. 

He, of course, was Polish, and this area (depending on when the maps were made) was part of Poland - so he had a soft spot in his heart for western Ukraine. Many churches, like this one, are ornate and boldly decorated. Allegedly, this is the clothe Christ was wrapped in after his crucifixion. 

And why not wear spandex leopard print to church?

View

We visited this church - love the brick exterior, and the vaulted ceilings.

Then we hit up a new park. Looks cool by day, right - sort of castle-ish.
Well, from a closer look (and the smell) we're pretty sure it's home to about a dozen homeless people.
We didn't stick around long enough to find out:)

Mary didn't seem to notice, however, and won the prize for best ice-cream beard.

 Just another day, and another Lviv outing.

A Little Home Sick

“I’ve put out a lot of little roots these two years,” Anne told the moon, “and when I’m pulled up they’re going to hurt a great deal.  But it’s best to go, I think, and, as Marilla says, there’s no good reason why I shouldn’t.  I must get out all my ambitions and dust them.” 
Anne of Avolea, p. 195


Somehow I passed childhood and adolescences without ever reading the Anne of Green Gables Novels. I can't wait to complete the series for myself ... then re-read them again with Ella ... and again with Anne ... and then again with Mary when the time comes. I may even go so far as to say it's worth having another daughter just to re-read the series with her for a first time ... though I suppose a son could, or at least should, be able to appreciate the literary and humanistic masterpiece that is Anne. 
Needless to say, this quote reminded me of how I feel at present ... a little uprooted, and though it hurts a bit to be transplanted, this is a time "to get out all [our] ambitions and dust them."

Photo Shoot and Jumping

 Ally needed a new head-shot for her Dishes and Design blog - so we used the abandoned building next door as a backdrop. Of course I snapped a few photos of the girls as well.

I can't believe how quickly these girls are growing up - and if the photos don't do it justice, we're not really lacking in the attitude/ personality department either.

Then, for Ally's birthday we all took a turn on the trampoline at the park. Ella's a regular, but it was the first time for the rest of us. Good job Anne!

 

I think maybe I'm getting to old for this sort of thing - Ella and Anne watching with consternation as "mommy" yells more than usual ...