Major events of the day: Countdown to Court 5 of 7, All day with the Kids & Church
And: Happy Birthday to Cathe’s sister, Carrie!
Today was the first time we have used an alarm clock in almost a month. We both stayed up a little later last night watching a movie and didn’t want to miss church. When the alarm beeped, neither of us was really ready to crawl out of bed since we had left the window open a little bit and the cool air made our bedroom the perfect sleeping temperature. With it not getting light until later, coupled with a thick curtain, we could easily oversleep. This is also a very nice change over our first week in the apartment since it had been just too warm.
It was another cool morning, but not as cold as yesterday. This morning we headed back to the small Catholic Church on Constitution Ave. Cathe observed that it looked like the altar was set up for Benediction/Adoration. The Sister must have overheard her whisper, because at that moment she turned around to share that we will be celebrating the Holy Day prayer service to honor Peter and Paul. It was just the two of us and two sisters. The acoustics in the small church are incredible. They do use microphones, but they really aren’t necessary. We can imagine the sounds a small choir could make in there! Too bad we couldn’t record the service because it was wonderful. They told us that regular mass was at 4 pm, but we decided to stay and enjoy the wonderful sounds. We had talked about taking the kids to church at least once before heading home so they could hear the service in Russian, hopefully making it a little less confusing when we get home.
And: Happy Birthday to Cathe’s sister, Carrie!
Today was the first time we have used an alarm clock in almost a month. We both stayed up a little later last night watching a movie and didn’t want to miss church. When the alarm beeped, neither of us was really ready to crawl out of bed since we had left the window open a little bit and the cool air made our bedroom the perfect sleeping temperature. With it not getting light until later, coupled with a thick curtain, we could easily oversleep. This is also a very nice change over our first week in the apartment since it had been just too warm.
It was another cool morning, but not as cold as yesterday. This morning we headed back to the small Catholic Church on Constitution Ave. Cathe observed that it looked like the altar was set up for Benediction/Adoration. The Sister must have overheard her whisper, because at that moment she turned around to share that we will be celebrating the Holy Day prayer service to honor Peter and Paul. It was just the two of us and two sisters. The acoustics in the small church are incredible. They do use microphones, but they really aren’t necessary. We can imagine the sounds a small choir could make in there! Too bad we couldn’t record the service because it was wonderful. They told us that regular mass was at 4 pm, but we decided to stay and enjoy the wonderful sounds. We had talked about taking the kids to church at least once before heading home so they could hear the service in Russian, hopefully making it a little less confusing when we get home.After the morning service we took our time wandering back to the apartment and made a pit stop at the Iceberg. Since it was still early and there weren’t many people in the store, we took a few pictures.
The first section you pass through is the liquor section. There is an entire shelf section devoted to Vodka. You can pick up a 750 ml bottle for about $2 for the cheap stuff. The wines are a little more expensive, but there’s a good selection. For those looking for a taste from home (and having much deeper pockets) we even saw a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey for only 4385 kzt ($37.50) for a 750 ml bottle.
The next section we pass through is juices, with a pretty good selection there too. We even found “Healthy Choice” soup over by the cup-o-ramen noodles.
By the time we returned to the apartment and put away the groceries, it was already time to go get the kids. We pulled into the RBS courtyard at 11:15 and had to go hunt down the kids since they weren’t expecting us until 11:30. They came running faster than the kids heading to “The Forbidden Hallway” in search of the evening snack, and piled into the car for the short ride back to the apartment.
First order of business was lunch. Today we told them that we’re making a typical American lunch: Sandwiches, Chips, Fruit, and Choice of Drinks. Neither had tried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before, but both had helped in the kitchen and got a little spoonful to try. There was no need for Masha to translate: Yes, they like the Jif Extra Crunchy we brought from home. (You can get peanut butter at the Iceberg, but it’s expensive and isn’t as good as US peanut butter) We also made ham & cheese just in case, but those just served as the second course. 
They also thought it was pretty cool that dad cut their sandwiches in little squares. Accompanying the sandwiches were Chicken Chips and Sour Cream & Onion Chips, apples, oranges, and a little banana thrown in for variety. The chips are a little different than what we are used to, but not bad. Although they spotted the leftover cookies from yesterday while assembling sandwiches, they wasted no time in consuming the main course. We also need to mention chocolate milk. They had not tried it before either. Both thought it was pretty good and had second servings just to make sure. We didn’t even get the slightest hint of an argument about having turned off the TV during our meal either.
After lunch, we watched Ночь в Музее (Night at the Museum) in Russian. It’s the one movie we purchased which does not have spoken English or English subtitles, but we have it at home. Neither the kids nor Masha had seen the movie. Masha though it was a horror movie, but we reassured her that it was actually fun and kid-friendly. Since we had both seen the movie, it was easy to follow along and toss in the occasional comment or body language. We kept everyone focused through the whole movie despite short attention span indications. There will be some adjusting as we go from a large group setting with constant stimulation to a small family. We’ll be busy enough handling sensory overload as they adjust to life in the US.
After the movie, we dug out a couple small project items. Bill had picked up a paper model of a hovercraft which has turned out to be a lot more complex than originally thought. Meanwhile, Cathe worked with LG on a little needlepoint picture. LB was bouncing back and forth, not wanting to miss a thing. We also had a short bout of “Camera Wars” or “Dueling Cameras” again. Thankfully digital film doesn’t cost anything to develop. They are catching some good shots though. We don’t know what it is, but Dee’s observation about her kids wanting to twist every knob and press every button is right on the mark.
We didn’t get far on either project since they are complex and require steady focus. That’s obviously an area we will need to work on. We are finding out more about their individual likes and will try to work activities around those to help build concentration and analytical thinking skills. In the mean time, we will help them become “normal” kids in as normal a setting as we can.
At 3:30 we headed back to the church, this time with Masha and the kids in tow. The same two Sisters we had seen at the morning service were present and smiled at us as we entered. This time we weren’t the only ones present though! It was a very nice service and we didn’t have much trouble following along despite the language differences. Masha commented to Cathe that she was impressed that Cathe recited the prayers in English and it was the same prayer in Russian. Also, Masha shared that it was difficult to follow the Priest, since she could tell he is Polish speaking Russian with a Polish accent. His homily focused on the black and white “God Talks” billboards you see along the highways in the US (he had seen them during a recent visit to Oregon. No idea why he was in Oregon though…).
Again, it would have been wonderful to have recorded the service. On the walk back to the apartment there were several questions from both kids regarding how they will learn what to do and what church means. We reassured them that we will be there to help them understand. Cathe asked Masha about certain parts of the mass and vice versa. Masha explained that the Sisters cued the priest a few times, so maybe he was new. By the way, they also do announcements at the end of Mass (next week there will be a Pot-Luck dinner). Some things are universal!
After another quick wardrobe adjustment, mostly swapping items to be washed, we were back in the car, heading north. The topic of discussion was our plan for tomorrow. We promised the kids that we’ll bring them back to the apartment for showers and practice fitting of their court clothes so that they’ll be ready for Wednesday morning. They’re both getting really excited about going to court and letting the judge know that they want to be part of our family. Time to get this post on the wire so we can hang our laundry to dry on the hi-tech, energy conserving folding rack!
Cathe’s Interesting observations to share about church:
- When we went to the altar for communion, the children also went up for a blessing by the Priest. This is a common thing for non-Catholics and young children to do instead of taking the Host. The Priest wasn’t sure what to do and quickly gave Cathe “What should I do?” look. Cathe (being an experienced Eucharist Minister) quickly motioned to the Priest what to do and he obliged. Perhaps we started a new trend since Cathe observed another child receive the same blessing after us.
- Communion has been different each time we have visited. The crowd is mostly “old school,” so The Body of Christ is not delivered to the hand but on the tongue. Also, this time the Priest dipped The Body of Christ in the wine, something neither of us has seen prior to today. The parishioners do not reverence the Body of Christ just before receiving it.
- When we showed the Sign of Peace, we both wondered what the other parishioners were thinking when we were saying it in English. Cathe recognized some familiar faces from other visits, so they’re probably getting used to “Those Americans.”
- No one joined hands during the Our Father prayer.
- It’s pretty obvious that people have their particular spots where they always sit. We probably bumped some from their space with the large crowd we brought today. The benches are narrower, the kneelers are permanently down, and the seats are harder, thus the “dedicated regulars” have staked out their spots by leaving custom seat cushions in their favorite pew.
By the time we returned to the apartment and put away the groceries, it was already time to go get the kids. We pulled into the RBS courtyard at 11:15 and had to go hunt down the kids since they weren’t expecting us until 11:30. They came running faster than the kids heading to “The Forbidden Hallway” in search of the evening snack, and piled into the car for the short ride back to the apartment.
First order of business was lunch. Today we told them that we’re making a typical American lunch: Sandwiches, Chips, Fruit, and Choice of Drinks. Neither had tried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before, but both had helped in the kitchen and got a little spoonful to try. There was no need for Masha to translate: Yes, they like the Jif Extra Crunchy we brought from home. (You can get peanut butter at the Iceberg, but it’s expensive and isn’t as good as US peanut butter) We also made ham & cheese just in case, but those just served as the second course. 
They also thought it was pretty cool that dad cut their sandwiches in little squares. Accompanying the sandwiches were Chicken Chips and Sour Cream & Onion Chips, apples, oranges, and a little banana thrown in for variety. The chips are a little different than what we are used to, but not bad. Although they spotted the leftover cookies from yesterday while assembling sandwiches, they wasted no time in consuming the main course. We also need to mention chocolate milk. They had not tried it before either. Both thought it was pretty good and had second servings just to make sure. We didn’t even get the slightest hint of an argument about having turned off the TV during our meal either.After lunch, we watched Ночь в Музее (Night at the Museum) in Russian. It’s the one movie we purchased which does not have spoken English or English subtitles, but we have it at home. Neither the kids nor Masha had seen the movie. Masha though it was a horror movie, but we reassured her that it was actually fun and kid-friendly. Since we had both seen the movie, it was easy to follow along and toss in the occasional comment or body language. We kept everyone focused through the whole movie despite short attention span indications. There will be some adjusting as we go from a large group setting with constant stimulation to a small family. We’ll be busy enough handling sensory overload as they adjust to life in the US.
After the movie, we dug out a couple small project items. Bill had picked up a paper model of a hovercraft which has turned out to be a lot more complex than originally thought. Meanwhile, Cathe worked with LG on a little needlepoint picture. LB was bouncing back and forth, not wanting to miss a thing. We also had a short bout of “Camera Wars” or “Dueling Cameras” again. Thankfully digital film doesn’t cost anything to develop. They are catching some good shots though. We don’t know what it is, but Dee’s observation about her kids wanting to twist every knob and press every button is right on the mark.
We didn’t get far on either project since they are complex and require steady focus. That’s obviously an area we will need to work on. We are finding out more about their individual likes and will try to work activities around those to help build concentration and analytical thinking skills. In the mean time, we will help them become “normal” kids in as normal a setting as we can.
At 3:30 we headed back to the church, this time with Masha and the kids in tow. The same two Sisters we had seen at the morning service were present and smiled at us as we entered. This time we weren’t the only ones present though! It was a very nice service and we didn’t have much trouble following along despite the language differences. Masha commented to Cathe that she was impressed that Cathe recited the prayers in English and it was the same prayer in Russian. Also, Masha shared that it was difficult to follow the Priest, since she could tell he is Polish speaking Russian with a Polish accent. His homily focused on the black and white “God Talks” billboards you see along the highways in the US (he had seen them during a recent visit to Oregon. No idea why he was in Oregon though…).
Again, it would have been wonderful to have recorded the service. On the walk back to the apartment there were several questions from both kids regarding how they will learn what to do and what church means. We reassured them that we will be there to help them understand. Cathe asked Masha about certain parts of the mass and vice versa. Masha explained that the Sisters cued the priest a few times, so maybe he was new. By the way, they also do announcements at the end of Mass (next week there will be a Pot-Luck dinner). Some things are universal!
After another quick wardrobe adjustment, mostly swapping items to be washed, we were back in the car, heading north. The topic of discussion was our plan for tomorrow. We promised the kids that we’ll bring them back to the apartment for showers and practice fitting of their court clothes so that they’ll be ready for Wednesday morning. They’re both getting really excited about going to court and letting the judge know that they want to be part of our family. Time to get this post on the wire so we can hang our laundry to dry on the hi-tech, energy conserving folding rack!Cathe’s Interesting observations to share about church:
- When we went to the altar for communion, the children also went up for a blessing by the Priest. This is a common thing for non-Catholics and young children to do instead of taking the Host. The Priest wasn’t sure what to do and quickly gave Cathe “What should I do?” look. Cathe (being an experienced Eucharist Minister) quickly motioned to the Priest what to do and he obliged. Perhaps we started a new trend since Cathe observed another child receive the same blessing after us.
- Communion has been different each time we have visited. The crowd is mostly “old school,” so The Body of Christ is not delivered to the hand but on the tongue. Also, this time the Priest dipped The Body of Christ in the wine, something neither of us has seen prior to today. The parishioners do not reverence the Body of Christ just before receiving it.
- When we showed the Sign of Peace, we both wondered what the other parishioners were thinking when we were saying it in English. Cathe recognized some familiar faces from other visits, so they’re probably getting used to “Those Americans.”
- No one joined hands during the Our Father prayer.
- It’s pretty obvious that people have their particular spots where they always sit. We probably bumped some from their space with the large crowd we brought today. The benches are narrower, the kneelers are permanently down, and the seats are harder, thus the “dedicated regulars” have staked out their spots by leaving custom seat cushions in their favorite pew.
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