A Few New Videos

This is of us driving to Spain. We have lots of fun, and sometimes not quite so fun,
time in the car. :)

We went to a park and this "bridge" was so slippery that it was more like a slide.

This is a video of the boys trying out a fun trampoline. Nikita had so much fun trying to get as high as he could! We didn't think Noah was old enough atsket first, but then the guy said that you only had to be 2, so Noah was strapped in and off he went.

This is Noah's new thing. In the middle of playing his basketball game, he has to call "time out." He blows the "whistle" and gathers his players for a "talk."

Sometimes a Baby comes with Morning Sickness

We are expecting our 3rd child!!! That's right, the Kravtsovs are going to be 5, Lord willing, around May 6th. This may explain my absense from most contact as I've been enjoying the pleasures of morning sickness, which in my case turned out to be more like all day sickness. I have watched almost every movie we have, including 2 full seasons of "Reba." At first I tried to fight it, but it won, let me tell you. Andre has been a saint, picking up the slack in all areas and even cheering me on when I got very down. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful man. :)

I hope to be more active now that things seems to be subsiding. I am 15 weeks pregnant, and all is good so far. The baby has arms, legs and a heart beat, which as Angela wrote on my facebook page, "Those are all good things for a baby to have."

Please pray with us that all will go well with this pregnancy and that baby Kravtsov will be healthy and ready to join this crazy family!

Happy Birthday to Soren!!!

Happy Birthday to Soren from Noah and from all of the Kravtsovs!!!

VICTORY!!!

The small victories are so wonderful!!!

Whatever happened with the "Document Predicament"

So, the Kravtsovs landed in Chicago on Tuesday, May 11th. We drove to Iowa City, spent the night, and left the next day, Wednesday, May 12th, for the Ukrainian consulate, again in Chicago. Jet lagged and ready for some answers, we got there just in time to be the first ones in line. After explaining our confusing story, they said that there was no problem. We had done everything that we were supposed to do in Ukraine, and we could move forward. After some more paperwork and info, which would really bore most of you, all is good! Andre can return to Ukraine as a Ukrainian until they have finished the process of getting rid of his citizenship. At that time, they will contact us, we will go back to the States and give his Ukrainian passport back, and then he will no longer be Ukrainian. At that point, he can pay $10 and get a visa back to Ukraine. Once arriving in Ukraine at that point, he can get the equivalent of a US green card. :) So, we have documents saying that everything we're doing is legal and good, and we are prepared, documentally, to head back to Ukraine on June 24th. Lord willing, that's our plan!!! Woohoo!!! Praise God!!!

Our Family in Poland

Here's the whole family in front of the cathedral in the Krakow town square. We had a bad angle, so we couldn't get the whole church.

Still in love! Check out Nikita's camera skills.

The boys in front of a big head. Not sure what it was about, but Nikita just had to take a picture in front of it.

Gotta love Krakow.

Our sweet boys! They take it all in stride. God has blessed us!

Here's a longish video of Noah feeding the Krakow birds. They were very well fed that day. :)

Here's Nikita at the Hash's just being silly.

The boys at the Hash's. This is Noah's new favorite hobby (picking his nose).

So sweet... sometimes. :)

So, we can't decide if Noah is actually German. Whenever we ask him how he's doing he says, "Gund." Listen and see for yourselves. :)
Oh, and by the way. I was waiting at a red light when I took this video, so the craziness at the end is me realizing that the light had already turned green. :)

What do I live for?

Our lives are but a "mist." We are here today and gone tomorrow. So, what is it that I live for? Do I live for the mission that God has given me, the calling I feel so strongly to accomplish? Or do I live for God? That may seem like the same thing, but for me, lately, it's not. God has given me a calling, but He knows how He wants it to play out. If I live for the calling, then what happens when God adjusts or changes that calling? Then my whole life and stability are challenged. BUT, when I live for God, no matter my location or calling, my life purpose will be the same. I can live for God as a missionary in Ukraine, as a doctor in the States, as a store worker in Spain, etc. My occupation and what fills my everyday life isn't as important as my life with Christ. As long as I'm with Him, I'm fulfilling my purpose each day, and thanks to the cross, I can be with Him everyday!!! Praise God!!!

Drama Drama Drama

The most recent drama of our life began last Thursday. Due to some everyday mis-communication, Andre left the house in the car without the documents. (I had taken the documents out of the bag they're usually in and put them in my purse. Whoops.) Since our car has Spanish plates, we often get stopped by the police and asked for our documents. Well, this fateful day was no different. Andre got stopped while taking Nikita to school, and it was then that he realized that he was driving documentless. Well, to make a long and confusing story short, they impounded our car. (What!!! I know, it was crazy.) Anyway, we went to pay a fine and they said that they had to check with the border control to make sure that everything was all right with our foreign car, so we had to come back on Friday.
At this point, we were a bit nervous. I mean, not everything in Ukraine is always clear, in fact most of these kinds of situations are anything but clear. Would they search for some random law that says that they get to keep the car? Would we have to go to court or something like that? This is going to totally change our everyday life.
So, we freaked out, prayed, freaked out some more, calmed down and went to the police station on Friday. After a talk with Andre and some discussion amongst their people, they gave us our car back!!! Just like that! We praised God immensely and then began to prepare for our trip to Poland the next day.
That night, before our trip to Poland and after we had gotten our car back, we received our tax return to our bank account!!! Wow!!! I love the US government! Amidst all the excitement, I thought to myself, "Hmm, I hope God isn't giving us this money because we have to use it for something specific, like some sort of problem." (This is the part in the movie when everyone looks at each other and thinks, "Uh-oh.")
Well, the next day we left for Poland. And, sure enough, at the border, the passport control people informed us that Andre and Nikita have 6 days left in the country for the next 3 months. What!?! It's a long, confusing story that even the head of the immigration department here in Rivne doesn't understand, so I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say that we entered Poland a bit shell-shocked. We went shopping, ate at McDonald's and did all the fun things one gets to do in Poland, and then returned to the border.
On re-entry, Andre asked, "So, since I only have 6 days..."
Border Guard, "Who told you that? You have 90 days."
What???
So, right now we are packing to go to Poland to save days, which we might not have to save at all, in hopes of figuring out this situation, maybe getting a visa, maybe something else. Who knows!!! This is our life. Welcome. It's definitely not boring. :)

i'm lovin' it!

So, McDonald's slogan right now is "i'm lovin' it." I don't know about you guys, but I can safely say that they have read my mind. One does not really appreciate MikeyD's until you live overseas. It's just a fact. And, I think the food is better here, too. It seems like it's always fresh and hot, and it just hits the spot. We do not have McDonald's in our city, although "they" have been promising it for a long time (I'm not quite sure who "they" are, but "they" promised none the less). So, when we went to Kiev the other weekend, I ate there 3 times in one day. Woohoo!!! Here are pictures of me enjoying my meal.

i'm lovin' it!!!

Playing with Cars

Here's Noah playing with his cars.

I Need God

Coming back to Ukraine this time wasn't so easy. We had a great time in the States, and it was hard to come back without a place to live. One night, while I was feeling really down, I decided to start reading a book. Reading is a great distraction for me. I love getting lost in a good book. Well, all I could find on the shelf were non-fiction books. (My other books hadn't gotten here in the box yet.) I kept looking and found the closest thing I could to a fiction book, A Heart Like His by Beth Moore. It's a reflection of the life of David.



I can safely say that this book has been a huge blessing to me. I have been challenged in many different ways. One of the biggest ways is this: I need God. I know that sounds stupid, because "of course you need God." I always knew that fact, but it has really been hitting me for the first time lately. Praise God for this!!! I need God for my salvation and for my everyday life. I need Him to live in Ukraine and in the States. I need Him in my life constantly to give me patience with my kids and others in my life. :) I need Him to give me love for others and for myself at times. I need Him to show me what's the next step in life. I need Him to just be with me, to be my companion, my love, my all. I need God.

Count the Cost

So, the other day I got an email from my mom, and she told me that my sister is going to be visiting the Iowa City group for a few weeks. Although most people, including myself normally, would consider this simply information being exchanged, it has brought up a whole lot of emotions in me. I am not there to be a part of it this time. After spending 6 months in the States, being able to participate in all the family gatherings whether based on a holiday, other major event or just because, it's hard to go back to a life 8 times zones away.
Don't get me wrong, I love being here in Ukraine. It has all the elements of a great life: a wonderful church, fantastic friends, awesome school and even a grandma who cooks us wonderful treats and helps take care of our kids (and tells some great stories too). Although these things make life here interesting, satisfying and wonderful, there's still something missing. In fact, there will always be something missing, the family left behind.
Jesus told us to "estimate the cost." He said in Luke 14:25-32 that it's important to really be wise about your decision to be one of His disciples, to make sure it's worth what you might have to leave behind along the way. I think that applies here too. Is it really worth it to serve God here in Ukraine at the cost of being away from family in the States (and Andre's mom in Spain)? The answer, although harder to say now than before kids, is still yes. It is a privilege to serve our Lord here and to see those around us get excited to do the same. Will we always live in Ukraine? I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. What I do know is that while we're here, I want to serve Him to the best of my ability, being thankful for the intermittent visits back to be with family and their visits here to be with us. I love Him, and I want many more people to find that love that is better than gold, silver or anything else. To Him be all the glory.

Our Quadplex

So, we have found a place to live. It's one fourth of a house, hence the quadplex reference in the title. I thought that I would give you guys a visual of what it looks like right now. We are planning a few different projects for the future, but who knows for sure when those are going to get done, so instead of waiting until then to share pictures with you, we'll just do it now. :)

This is our garage! We don't have access to it from the house, but it's still really exciting to not have to scrape everyday. :)

This is our door. If you look at the picture above, you can see our door is on the right hand side.

This is the entryway space after you go through our front door. We have two doors, the one in the picture above with glass and another more solid door.

This is one view of our living room. We got a great deal on a new tv, which was super exciting. Nikita could finally play the Wii that we got while in the States.

This is the kitchen which is connected to the living room. We love being able to cook and spend time with people at the same time. Andre's on the phone, which is a normal pose for him. :)

One view of the bathroom. See if you can find the Lighting McQueen underwear. :)

Other view of the bathroom.

This is the master bedroom. It's really narrow but super cozy.

This is the boys' room, Nikita's bed.

Noah's bed for now. We are planning on getting bunk beds in the next few months. We have a friend that has offered to give the frame, so we just need to get some mattresses. :)

These are our stairs that lead to our basement room.
The picture is from the bottom of the stairs.

Here's our other living room downstairs. It's kind of cold down there right now, because the gas fireplace isn't working. When they get it finished, we will put a tv down there and have it as a meeting space or a space for guests. (hint hint: feel free to visit)

AND here's Noah. He's been sick the last couple of days, so this has been how he's spent most of his time lately. Poor kid.

I'm glad that we could share our new home with you guys. Hope you have GREAT day!!!

Spain Trip Winter 2010

Here are a few pictures of our time in Spain. Since the weather there wasn't so great, we spent a lot of time in different malls and stores trying to wear the kids out, so that they would get back onto the right sleeping pattern. :)

Noah really wanted to take this picture, honest.

Nikita was super into this motorcycle game. Look at that concentration!!!

Andre's mom was happy to have us for a week and a half, and we were happy to be there.

It's always great to be in Papa's arms.

After a long day of playing. We finally got them wiped out enough to sleep.

Well, I thought I'd give you guys a sneak peak at what it's like to be in the car with a 7 year old and a 2 year old for 4 days. Enjoy.

We're here!!!

We've arrived in Ukraine!!! We are very excited to be back!!! Thank you for all your prayers!!!