For the second time in as many weeks, the Niles family made it to church EARLY! For those of you who know us well (or who understand Pathway Time), this is a minor miracle, and proof of the hand of God! Rachel and Masha signed in for KidZone and the adults sat together again for worship time. When we got back home, Masha went up to her room, listened to music, and organized her toys until lunchtime. Mark made tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches; the toasted cheese was a hit, but the tomato soup was not a particular favorite. […]

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We took Saturday as our only opportunity to sleep in for the week, and we let Masha sleep until nearly 9:00! While she slept, I ran to the store to get milk and fruit and laundry soap, and Mark started to make pancakes and fried eggs. Masha was up and going by the time I got back, and we thoroughly enjoyed Mark’s culinary handiwork. Following breakfast, we drove up to Auburn to introduce Masha to my mom, step-dad, and brother Scott. We showed them all of Masha’s photos, shared some stories from the past week, and watched the video from […]

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Not every morning can begin smoothly. After a particularly difficult time waking up, Masha made a couple of poor breakfast choices, and I invoked the Parental Veto. I’m sorry, but leftover ice cream and diet coke might be a great breakfast for me, but it’s just not appropriate for a growing girl! The strangest thing? I felt perfectly comfortable holding a firm line on this! “Nyet.” Period. Because I said so. (Yes, I feel certain that my own parents are all howling right about now!) Masha doesn’t hold a grudge for very long, and once we had the Barbie Princess […]

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I admire parents. All of them. I finally understand the challenge of balancing priorities of family and work, as Mark and I had scheduled Thursday as my “focus on work” day. I dropped Masha off at camp, staying only for the first ESL class where they focused on weather and the appropriate outerwear and accessories (a critical lesson for a fashionista like my Masha!) When Mark arrived at camp to pick Masha up, she volunteered him to drive for the afternoon field trip to the medical clinic. Although Masha had already been to both the doctor and the dentist, she […]

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A week and a half into Masha’s visit, we are finally settling into a groove. Masha has adjusted to the time change well enough for us to get familiar with her natural sleep cycle. She is definitely my child…she likes to stay up late, and to sleep in!! As each day goes by, it’s harder and harder to wake her up. I feel certain that this is God’s little payback to me! Once she wakes up, though, she gets up and around quickly. She makes her bed, brushes her teeth and cleans her new pierced ears without being reminded (OK, […]

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