Green!

Green plants!

I Finally Found Where Spring Has Been Hiding Out!

Don't get me wrong, I love the seasons, especially winter. The ice and -10 C freezing cold temperature is very fun.....but......at a certain point, you just want it to be spring and to be warm again. For whatever reasons, this past winter seemed to go. on. forever.

It is winter no longer. I am safely back home in California after one of my most eventful trips home complete with a sprained back (that happened at Borispol) and an adventure with immigration officials which fortunately had a happy ending! Thanks to all those who were praying for me!

Despite the stressful trip, I had to hit the ground running when I found out that my grandma had a stroke the day I arrived. I barely comprehended that, watched a couple of Dodger games, ate a few avocados and then I was off to a conference last weekend. Today I finally was able to unpack my bags and start to get organized.

I found out that spring has been hiding out in our backyard so I will be sharing some photos over the next few days!

Spring Break

I will be taking a little "spring" break from my blogging for the next few weeks.

See you at the end of March or beginning of April!

Waiting For Spring

It's not spring here yet. I have been perusing my favorite blogs around the blogosphere and many are sharing photos of the beginning of spring. Flowers, trees blooming, no snow, lots of sunlight. Here in Ukraine it is STILL snowing and COLD. I took this photo two days ago to highlight what it looks like here now. It was a lot prettier looking in color, but I did not realize that I had my camera set on black and white and I don't do total post editing processing and add fake color, etc. (read photography snob) You can't see the outdoor ice rink in front of the church builidng, but it's still there today and people are still skating outside on it!

The Frozen Dnieper

With so much going on during our super cold winter months, I forgot that the Dnieper river had frozen over so I went for a walk last weekend to take a look. I am still always so shocked encountering so much snow, cold and ice. It still feels like I'm in another world after so many years.

This past week I had to put my kitty to sleep so I'm more tired than usual and don't have the mental energy to write a proper blog post. I've been posting some photos on my other blog HERE. So glad spring is coming!

Retro Butter

Look what I bought! Retro USSR butter. Made in Zhitomir, Republic of Ukraine.

A World In Constant Change

It's still very very cold in Ukraine! I don't think it's been much warmer than -13C for the last couple of weeks, with occasional dips down to -30C!

I have to say that I have enjoyed the sunshine that seems to start when it's this cold. I actually felt WARMTH from the sun yesterday on my way home and that was exciting. Spring IS coming eventually!

Growing up in So Cal I was not as aware of seasonal changes. There are seasons there but you have to be sensitive to notice them. Sometimes it's as subtle as the smell of cut grass, Girl Scouts peddling cookies and the sound of Vin Scully's voice on the radio. Those things would mean it's springtime.

This morning I was reading a friend's blog and I realize that seasons in our life change for us as do weather seasons. I think God created weather seasons to be a backdrop of the seasons we go through in our lives. When you think about it, we are going through changes of all kinds constantly in our lives. What is hard for people is when they get stuck and refuse to change. Change is uncomfortable for some people. Change usually means growth if we choose to embrace that. As an adult, I can look back and see that as children we all desire and look forward to change and growth. We can't wait to become Seniors in high school. We can't wait to turn sixteen so we can drive. We can't wait to start college. We can't wait to graduate and get a job.

I've noticed that as an adult, we don't have to keep taking tests and we get involved in work or life to the extent that we stop looking forward to new seasons. We slow down and it becomes harder to push ourselves to grow.

I think God puts changes and seasons in our lives to keep us growing. It's important at whatever age we are to keep learning about him and life and the people he puts in our lives. It's important to learn about the world around us and adapt to the changes. God allows change in our lives so we can learn more about him. As we grow we see the world differently and can engage in it with it more realistically and with greater depth.

Don't be afraid of change, embrace it.