There were some forest fires in the mountains across the valley from us. Rain came in a few days ago and doused them:
A portrait when were were at a cafe last week –
Tag: Valerie
One Morning in Podgorica
We’re staying with friends on the outskirts of Podgorica, Montenegro. It thought you might be interested to see one part of our morning the other day:
A Snapshot from Russia
St. Petersburg — Valerie by the Neva River, with a view of the English Embankment, St. Issac’s Cathedral and the Admiralty.
Valerie’s Birthday
Tomorrow (the 14th) is Valerie’s fourth birthday. We celebrated early because Olga’s mother left for Montenegro this morning, and I came to Estonia today. Our friend Olga Ryazhskikh also joined us.
Here’s a little ‘familiana’, when we ate the birthday cake:
A Snapshot from Russia
Olga and Valerie were coloring together at dacha. The light was good and the subject superb.
I love my family.
Snapshots from Finland
Three quick pictures:
Valerie got hold of our camera and made some interesting pictures, including this self-portrait:
She also used her little shovel as a microphone, singing and dancing in the yard:
And we had a classic Finnish sunset:
A Postcard from Dacha
We are back in Russia after a great visit to the US. We arrived in St. Pete a little over a week ago. After battling jet lag, we are finally back on schedule.
This weekend we are at dacha (rhymes with ‘gotcha’). A dacha is a Russian country house, anything from a hovel to a mansion. Olga’s grandparents own a house in a small village south of the city. We came here to open up the house and prepare for the summer. Part of that involves planting. Above is a picture of Olga planting carrots. We’ve also done a lot of mowing and cleaning (and eating and sleeping).
This is Valerie’s first visit to dacha and she loves it. She had her first Russian banya (sauna) last night and really liked it. We’re very happy to have time here. For those of you who have asked, Valerie is recovering splendidly from her hernia surgery. She barely missed a beat.
Next week I (Mike) go to Estonia to do some work and have meetings about the center for disabled children we plan to open in Johvi. We are renting a flat in Johvi, and I need to spend some time there, too. Recently two missionary families stayed there in our absence. It’s a real blessing to people.
Camp Elama is getting ready for a full summer, I’ll be with a team in Montenegro in July, and MIR will send about 50 foster children from Russia to a Christian camp in Estonia. Stoneworks is hoping to open a home in Belarus for young men who have graduated from orphanages; we’re calling it Timothy House. There’s a lot going on, as usual.
We are happy and thankful for all our good friends and family all over the world. God has blessed us, and we thank Him.
A Snapshot from the US
Here’s a sweet picture taken last week. We had a Stoneworks board meeting, and board member Dan Wilson took this picture at my parents’ house.
I’m in Montenegro now. Today I’ll drive into the mountains near Bosnia to look at some land we are considering for a Christian camp. More on that soon . . . .
A Snapshot from the US
I leave for Montenegro tomorrow. I’ll be there for a week and will report on that trip when I return. It will be great to visit our friends there.
For now — here’s a picture of Valerie with her new hat and ‘baby backpack’; both were gifts from friends. Valerie is having a great visit. And she’s already speaking some English!
Familiana
Here’s a bit of familiana (I don’t think that’s a word, but it’s like Americana) from a recent breakfast. Valerie thought I was going to take a picture, but she didn’t know I was making a video.
Mike and Olga Cantrell 