A bit of catching up.

Well, it's been a while again, whoops!  As I am writing this, the sky is clear and blue, and the temperature a balmy 6 degrees Celsius.  The days are increasingly longer, today the sun rose at 6:44am and sets at 20:28 (that's 8:28pm!).  Some of our children like to rise with the sun, so our days are starting earlier...we're hoping that trend hits an endpoint.  None of us want to be up at 430am in June!

(this was not from this morning, we aren't up to take pictures that early!)

We have hit another good stride these past few weeks.  We've been able to watch a few NCAA tournament games, gone to LCC tournament games, and had an Easter egg hunt at LCC.  Our landlords have had a couple of loads of wood delivered the past few weeks.  For those of you that know our kids, they LOVE helping with wood.  So they helped load the wheel barrel and move the wood to be stacked.  And our landlords were pretty pleased with the help too;)  All of our kids are in training to become the next American Ninja Warrior, or the worlds best spinning toddler...  They are all growing and changing, so fun to see how God is shaping them and who they continue to become.

The end of homeschooling is in sight, which has increased all of our motivation.  April has been declared the Month of Math, and May will be the Month of Writing.  Then done!  And lots of praying that they aren't too far behind when they rejoin their LSA classmates next year.  I have so SO much respect for all you home school families.  It's a different rhythm, that's for sure.

LCC staff kids Easter Egg Hunt!  (inside due to inclement weather).

 This is Nala and her best buddy, Liva:)

 An away tournament game, with all second floor seating.

 We are back out fishing!

 This is the "park" on the path along the river behind our house. There are parks like these all over Klaipeda!  Jackson and Nala love it.  Above is Nala's swing!

 And new place to burn of energy, a climbing wall!

But this still happens while we are home. Someone is always climbing something!

Aaron was able to take a trip to Georgia right after my mom left.  This is from Aaron: In late February I had the privilege of representing LCC at an international university fair in Tbilisis, Georgia with our vice-president of marketing, Aiste Motekaitiene.  In addition to meeting with prospective students and their families, Aiste and I met with a Bishop of the Baptist Church and with the Lithuanian Ambassador to Georgia.  What I enjoyed most, however, was the amazing hospitality we received.  One night, for example, we went out for traditional Georgian dancing, singing and food. Oh, so much food!!  In all of my travels I have never experienced hospitality like I did in Tbilisis.  On many occasions I was told, "In Georgia we believe all guests are a gift from God, and so we treat them as such."  The Georgian landscape is stunningly beautiful--but the people I met there made an even stronger impression.  

During LCCs Spring Break, we made an eventful to trip to Talinn (the capital of Estonia) and Helsinki (the capital of Finland), filled with typical attractions, sled dogs and reindeer, a surprise visit from LCC friends, and Aaron's first breathalyzer (a common occurrence when driving through Estonia)!  Really, it was such a wonderful trip.  We are much more relaxed traveling with our kids, and try to hit a balance between what they want to see/do, and what we want to see.

Talinn is a beautiful city.  It has never been damaged in a war, so the medieval external walls are still standing around the old city.  The city is quite walkable and so quaint.  We also found our way to the Sea Plane Museum, which did not include any sea planes.  But it did have a submarine (can't imagine living in one of those!), and lots of fun hands-on kids activities.  And the flat we rented included a climbing wall (not all may view it that way, but our kids took advantage!).

 Inside our flat.

 Always climbing...

 Outdoor skating.

 We all may have fallen after taking this picture...no more selfies on the ice!

 Always racing to the top, and keeping track of who arrives first.

A beautiful church in Talinn.

 The old town market area.

 Part of the remaining outer wall of the old city.

 The Sea Plane Museum.

 Inside the submarine.

Sisterly love.

After spending a couple days in Talinn, we took a ferry up to Helsinki.  The ferry itself was fun, with a kids play area, game room, and plenty of restaurants.  And Helsinki lived up to all our expectations. Quincy had wanted to see a reindeer farm since we decided we were coming, so we took a day trip out of the city to see and feed the reindeer.  But the highlight was definitely the husky sled dogs.  We were able to interact with the dogs quite a bit.  Quincy helped get the dogs in and out of their harnesses (the musher told him he was the most helpful kid he has had on a trip), while Annie became "the dog whisperer," helping to calm a young pup that was along for the experience.  We roasted sausages over an open fire in a tent after the sled dogs, and learned how to roast sweet bread over the fire at the reindeer farm.  The Finnish folks pride themselves on the outdoor life, and it was a great way to experience a bit more of Finland.

Our trip also included outdoor ice skating, the zoo, and a bit of exploring the city.  Two of Aaron's colleagues and friends, Josh and Alisha, joined us for our trip to the zoo.  The zoo was quite a highlight.  Alisha and the kids were up close with the brown bears, fresh out of hibernation.  And the zoo had the most amazing big cats exhibit, with so many big cats in each of the exhibits, including 3 lion cubs and 4 snow leopard cubs.  I may have damaged Nala for good though, while we were facing away from the lion exhibit, a lion sauntered just behind us.  I kind of freaked out when I turned around (I like to think of it as a protective mother moment), but Nala then cried for a good 10 minutes and didn't want to see the lions anymore.  whoops!

  CHEESE!

 There was a ball pit on the ferry!

 Leaving Talinn.

 The best pillow Aaron could find;)

 Happy skaters...

 ..and super dad.

 Living the dream!

 There was not much snow left, we were probably there on the last day the dogs could pull the sled.

 Reindeer!

And more reindeer?

 The Helsinki Zoo.

 At the zoo playground.

 Hey, a picture with all of us in it!  If you look reeaalllly close.

Happy kids at the Helsinki Cathedral (just don't look too close).

And then we had the best surprise visitors ever:)  Our great friends, Susie, Luke, and Asher VanderGriend, came to experience life in Klaipeda with us for a week.  The weather while they were here was amazing.  Every day was sunny, so we took advantage.  Our kids had so much fun spending time with friends, playing outside every day, going skating and bowling, eating Kepta Duana, and just being together.  It was such a treat, and really the most extravaggant gift of friendship we've ever experienced.  It is so good to be known, to be loved, and to be reminded of all the big and small ways God has provided for us in this year.

 They made it!!!

 At the beach.

 Love the coffee car!

 The kids found/made a GaGa ball pit at LCC!

 Kepta Duana...Nala loves it.

 It's fried rye bread smothered in garlic and cheese...mmmm!

 We celebrated Asher's birthday a little early, because who can resist a candle like this?!?

And a quick stop at IKEA for lunch;)

We have one more major trip next week, then we will do our best to take in as much as we can in Lithuania in our remaining time here.  Our hearts continue to be opened to all that God is teaching us about justice, caring well for our brothers and sisters, living with more than we need, and embracing different ways of living.

Much Love, Betsy (and all the rest).