Aaron is in full swing at work, this week he is leading a retreat with the student life staff. August is typically his busiest work month, and last week and this week will be no exception. He has met with a number of people and continues to adjust to his new job, new responsibilities, and navigating it all in a different culture. It's a lot to take in, but he continues to feel God's providence in being here. His training today included an afternoon at the sauna, not too bad:) And his 5 minute bike commute to work is helpful.
For me, I continue to adjust to being a full time, stay-at-home mom. I didn't quite realize how many different tasks I had on my plate back home, lots of little roles that gave me more a sense of self than I realized. Here, I am a mom and a wife. I am not a school psychologist, school volunteer, or Sunday School coordinator. I realize the self-worth I find in all those roles, and the purpose they can give to my days. I'm guessing I might find my way into a few roles like that here and there, but am praying that I am more settled with the roles I came here to play. Wife and Mom.
We try to get out in the mornings, to the grocery store, a few parks, or the mall. I know, the mall, but it rains quite a bit here, and the mall is really quite spectacular. It has a bowling alley, lego store, and an ice rink! The kids all have scooters now, so they get their daily fix outside. We've gone down the path behind our house quite a bit, as well as to LCC (about a 10 minute walk). Quincy and Annie both said that their favorite thing the past week was scooting to Aaron's office in the rain:)
And we play a lot of games!
Quincy and Annie are slowly beginning school. We have a week of math behind us, which went well. It was quite a bit of review, and I am not their beloved LSA teachers, that is clear:). This week, we are adding in handwriting and Science (the solar system). Next week, we'll start phonics and comprehension, along with introducing reading and writing journals. Nala takes a 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon, so we do school then. Not sure what Jackson will do all the time yet, but he does participate in silent reading time!
Of all the kids, Jackson seems the most out-of-sorts still. We've been working to help him adjust, using many of the sensory-regulation strategies we did in the spring last year. I don't think we can hang up lycra from the ceiling, but we do our best to get out and be active every day. If you could say a prayer for him, that would be great.
Nala still sleeps like a champ, even when her yellow room has full sun in the afternoon! She has developed a very LOUD screech when she doesn't get her way. Not fun. And I'm pretty sure I was scolded by someone at the grocery store the other day because of it.
All in all, we are largely doing things we would be at home. We all went to watch the Lithuanian national basketball team play a game on Saturday night. J, N, and I lasted 2 quarters (nothing new here), Aaron stayed with the other 2 for both games. His comment, it all seemed very familiar, until everyone started singing in Lithuanian:) We had friends over for dinner; we made my mom's chicken and my friend's blueberry cobbler. So nice! And we went to church. On the whole, it was a great experience. There was something both amazing and jarring about worshipping with others in a different language. Our God is good, and hears us no matter what language we speak, or where we are worshipping.
A couple fridays ago we woke up to about 20 hot air balloons outside our window. It was amazing! The balloons left from the parking lot at LCC and were only a couple hundred feet from our window at one point, so beautiful.
So, that's been life in Klaipeda, Lithuania! Thanks for your care and prayers, much love:)
So glad you are settling in! School, scooters, basketball, church, and student life retreats--sounds like life! Love and prayers from us to you!
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