Spring has sprung!

We’ve had some sun, along with some spring showers.  Overall, I have to say it rains so much less here than in Salem.  Before we moved we heard Zhytomyr was super rainy city.  Ummmm no.  No, it’s not.  I can’t remember where we heard that, but the source needs to spend a winter in Salem to truly understand “super rainy”.  I love you Salem, but I don’t love your rain.

The spring showers are much more “interesting” when you live without a car!  Addy and I got D-R-E-N-C-H-E-D yesterday afternoon on the way home from gymnastics.  Hilariously wet.  I do have to say, that was a magical moment that I won’t forget.  Addy and I, laughing our heads off as we ran down the street in the pouring rain…

Today was the first day the Littles and I walked to get the Big Kids from school without any jackets on at all.  Woohoo!  Had we been in Oregon we would have done without jackets several times before this, but, believe it or not we do our very best to try not stick out like sore thumbs around here.  In order to blend in (at least a bit…and that only works if we aren’t speaking) it’s in our best interest to wear a jacket at all times.  But, today I just couldn’t do it!  I needed to feel the sunshine on my skin.  The Littles begged to go without jackets and I caved.  Of course the first words out of Addy and Ezra’s teacher were “You’re not cold?”  Ha!  If she only knew my hot-blooded genetics she would never ask again.  🙂

I usually feel like my blog posts have to have a “theme”.  I think that’s due to the fact that I’m a bit of a control freak and I like things wrapped up nicely into little packages of order.  Well, I’m learning that often times my need for having a “theme” or certain topic to write about keeps me from just talking about normal life.  Annnd people tell me they want to hear more about normal life, so I’m going to try my best to break the habit of needing a theme.  (See, like this post!  It’s so random…not theme-like at all…look at me!)

We went to Kyiv for Easter so we could be with our Vineyard friends.  It was a great weekend with people we love, but hard too.  We really missed our family and church family.  It was a fun time, it just didn’t feel at all like Easter.  I think next year, when I have my head on a little straighter, I’ll try to incorporate more of our US Easter traditions in to our Easter here.  I think we would all really benefit from it- not just the kids.  I think Jed and I are both still kind of processing all our feelings from this weekend.  I’m trying to learn to grieve properly, and not just push feelings aside.  I’m learning that grief isn’t a bad thing- or a “lack of faith” thing.  Grief is a real thing that needs to be worked through properly.  Sigh…more on that at a later date.

Tomorrow Jed gets to go to Kyiv with a bunch of other volunteers and MTU staff.  They’re taking some of the older boys from Romaniv to see dolphins!  FIELD TRIP!!!  I can’t even imagine how much fun that will be.  I don’t know if it’s like an aquarium type deal or a dolphin show…we just know it’s “dolphins”.  These are not boys from our Isolation Room, but some of the higher functioning boys.  Each boy gets a volunteer buddy while they are out and about.  Seriously?  I can’t stand it.  That is going to be amazing.  I’m kinda, sorta, a lot jealous.  😉

Welp, I guess that just about does it.  I had a super deep, share-my -heart-post planned for today, but I decided not to go there.  I’m a little tired and I was afraid that would cause some emotional “spewage”.  Hehe.  I still want to share, but I think I’ll wait for another day.

I hope you all had a fantastic Easter weekend!