Airport Fun...

We had a great, uneventful, but long trip. Praise the Lord we made it safely! Pray we have a wonderful 3 week time here and the kids stay healthy and have a great time in their classes.

Funny Faces

Mr. Incredible!!!

ME modeling Gideon's undies!!!

SPUD---Sullivan Pray Up-Date

Praise the Lord, we are all home safely and had a wonderful time in Ivanovo. The Church Planting Conference was a huge success. It presented many new ideas to Russian pastors and church planters on ways to start new churches emphasizing the importance of widespread evangelism and discipleship. Keith really enjoyed his time. Pray everyone who went through the conference will apply the things they learned and obey the Lord in their ministries.

Kristie and the kids survived their first week without Keith (which is a blessing in itself!)

We leave today morning for a three week training in Prague, Czech Republic. Please pray for safe travels and that the kids would adjust quickly to there new schedules, routine and teachers.

We will have great email access while in Prague, so write us and let us know how you are doing!

Happy Birthday Sarah!!!

Happy Sweet 16 Sarah!!! I hope you have a great Birthday!!! To learn more about Sarah, check-out her blog at http://www.xanga.com/sarkin. We love you Sarah and hope you enjoyed your shopping spree!!!

Happy Birthday Grampy!!!

Happy Birthday Grampy! We hope you enjoyed your cake!!! We love and miss you!!!

The Dramatic Conclusion...

OK, it is not really dramatic and probably only even interesting to a stay at home mom that has stayed at home with two kids way to long and is in much need of adult conversation!!!

Our landlord sent two really nice electricians over last night and they worked for 2 1/2 hours repairing the electricity. At one point, they had to turn all of the lights off in the house, so the kids were able to have a candle lite bath---which was really fun, until we heard a little explosion and smelled smoke!

Praise the Lord, they were able to get all of the appliances working, I was able to do some more laundry and Keith came home early with take-out pizza!!!

The Continuation of the Electrical Saga

The “public repairman” did not exceed my expectations. He came and said, “Your lights are all working.”

I said, “I never said my lights were not working, but my wash machine, etc. does not work.”

He said, “That is not my problem or my job to fix.”

I said, “What am I suppose to do?”

He said, “Run an extension cord and plug your things in that way.”

I said, “What a brilliant idea!”

What a stupid idea! Since I am not going to run an extension cord across the kitchen to the refrigerator, unplug the refrigerator when I need to cook or run the dishwasher, microwave or wash clothes (what would I do if I wanted to cook, do the dishes and the laundry all at the same time!!!), I called our landlord and he is sending a real electrician! Thank the Lord for an understanding and resourceful landlord!

Where is Simba when I need him???

After 4 days of having Simba around to clean up ME's messes, I really miss not having him around! If you look close you will see the big mess on the floor.

What a day---and it is still not over yet!!!

Today has been a day filled with blessings and challenges! In Russia, little children are highly valued. If you are with a small child, people are often more friendly, will frequently give you a seat on a completely crowded bus and will even allow you to move to the front of the line. Our children have been a blessing after a long trip back to Russia, we have been able to move to the front of very long, slow custom lines. Today, since Keith is still in Ivanovo, I had to go to the Passport Office to verify a new rule for leaving the country. Usually, Keith leaves the house at 7 AM, stands in line outside (in the winter in very cold temperatures), and then waits for 2 or more hours inside for his turn. Today, I had to take the kids and we were in and out of the office in 10 minutes!!! What a blessing!!!

The bad news was when we were leaving, I grabbed ME by the arm to help her down the stairs and her arm popped out of the socket! I so thought I had dislocated her arm. She would not move it and I would lift it up and it would just flop back down. My cell phone was almost dead, we had not eaten breakfast (because we were in a hurry to get to the Passport Office), so I decided to come home and call a doctor or 911. Gideon suggested we pray for ME (isn’t that sweet), so in the Taxi, we prayed for her. When we got home, she was still fussy and babying her arm. I gave her ibuprofen and in a few minutes she seemed to start using her arm more and seemed a lot better. I still have not called the doctor and am just waiting to see if she continues to improve. Praise the Lord we did not have to spend the day in the Russia hospital! Please pray her arm is fine and that I will be more careful---I felt like such a terrible mother!!!

I am in that post plus pre-trip craze…so, as ME was napping and Gideon was watching a movie, I was busy repacking our bags for our trip to Prague on Sunday….WHEN the wash machine stopped working along with the stove/oven, dishwasher, refrigerator, and microwave. I called Keith---OK, what did I really think he could do from Ivanovo??? So, I called our landlord and am now waiting for the public electrician to come to our house to see what is wrong. This just adds more fun to an all ready eventful day. Our experiences with “public repair men” have not been that positive. In Russia, each apartment has their own repair men. The last one who came to our house in Ivanovo was so drunk. He told us he needed to go and get a part to fix our problem and did not return for 2 months!!! I hope I am not waiting for 2 months to finish my laundry!!!

Pray Keith makes it home safely tonight and we get our wash machine, etc working TODAY!!!

We Made it Home!!!

We made it home!!! We had such a fun few days in Ivanovo with the Skinners. We are so thankful for their hospitality, generosity, and encouragement. Kristie is also so thankful for Anna and Ethan providing entertainment to Gideon and ME on the trip home! Thank you for going the extra mile for us!!! We know the Skinner family has gained a new appreciation for silence!!! We love you all!!!

Please continue to pray for Keith's time at the Church Planting Conference. I have heard that it is going very well. Pray for his safe return home late tomorrow night.

Anna and Ethan

I wanted to try and increase the number of hits on our blog, so Anna and Ethan thought a picture of them would get me at least 20,000 more visitors! Thanks Anna and Ethan!

Sarah and Anna...

We just wanted to say thanks to Sarah and Anna for being such sweet friends and playmates to Gideon and ME. Thank you for being so patient with them, helping pick-up toys with them, and most of all being such Godly role models for them! We love you both so much and are so thankful for this fun time with you all!!!

Where is Sydney Bristow (AKA Jennifer Garner) When You Need Her???

Tonight, the bathroom door got locked shut. Nancy needed to go, so I (remembering the many nights we watched Alias), told Nancy, "No problem! When you get home, the door will be unlocked!" I tried several obvious solutions, but the lock would not budge. Sarah joined my mission, but nothing we tried worked. We decided to Google: How to pick a lock?, only to be informed that "picking a lock is not as easy as it looks on TV." Sarah called one of her more experienced friends, whose efforts also failed. In desperation, we considered even breaking the lock...fortunately, we did not. When all else fails---call Keith! He was in the middle of the conference (even thought the session was suppose to have ended), sitting on the front row, practically by the speaker. He had to get up, walk in front of the speaker and video to go outside to take my call---what a sweet husband! He said he would try to come help us (since he was only 15 minutes away and desperately missing his family---HAHA!!!), but would ask Mel what he wanted us to do. Mel said, "Oh, I know where the key is!!!" Fortunately, we found the key and unlocked the door right before Nancy came back.

Old and New Friends...

We had lots of fun while we were in Ivanovo seeing many old friends.

Olga was Gideon's first nanny and a great friend and language help to Kristie.

Lola was Gideon's second nanny and continues to watch the kids when we are in Ivanovo. She is a dear friend and such a blessing to our family.

Julia was one of Gideon's first friends in Russia---if a 6 month old can have a friend!

Mark is Julia's little brother and a new friend to ME.

ME's New Friend...

ME loved playing with Simba and Simba loved ME...when she ate! I loved having Simba around so I did not have to sweep the floor every time we ate! Now I know why they say "Dogs are man's best friend!"

"Let it snow, let it snow!!!"

We had a blast today playing in the snow! We went to a play ground covered in fresh snow. The kids had a great time making snow angles, swinging, and sliding down the slide into a big pile of snow. Thank you Lola for joining us on the fun adventure!!!

Hats...

The kids had so much fun playing with Sarah and Anna. They loved playing dress up and hide-n-seek.



Here I am!!!

The Mimic

Mary Elizabeth loves to copy what others do. She loved watching Sarah play the piano and tried to play a song for mommy.

Gideon's New Do

On The Road...

We leave today for a trip to Ivanovo. Kristie and the kids will be hanging out with Nancy, Sarah, and Anna Skinner, while Keith is joining 60 other pastors and missionaries at a Church Planting Conference. Please pray for all the Conference details and that the hearts of the participants (especially the Russians) would be open to the many new ideas and all would have a great burden to start new healthy churches. Pray that Kristie and the kids would be a blessing and not a burden to the Skinners.

Kristie and the kids return to Yaroslavl on Thursday (Keith returns late Friday night) to repack bags to head to Prague, Czech Republic on Sunday the 11th for a three week training with 8 other IMB missionary families. The kids will be participating in VBS (Vacation Bible School) lead by American volunteers, while we are in conferences all day. Please pray that the kids would adjust well to this new schedule, busy routine and long days. Pray they would really connect with their teachers and other kids and that they would really look forward to spending the day at VBS. Pray we would be attentive during the conference and that the information would be beneficial and applicable. Pray we would all stay strong and healthy and enjoy this great opportunity in Prague.

We appreciate your continue support, encouragement and most of all your prayers!!!

The Daffodil Principle

5 acres of daffodils

50,000 bulbs
One women
Began in 1958 (almost 50 years ago!)

The Daffodil Principle is a great example of perseverance---learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing and learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things.

Thanks Jill for this great testimony! If you would like to read the entire story, please send us a note.

Fun in the...SNOW!!!

This morning we took the kids sledding. We stopped off to pick-up our car and before we were completely frozen, we let the kids play on the playground. ME's lips are not turning blue, her face is just dirty.

Lunch Time at Gideon's School...

Lunch time starts around 12:45 at Gideon's preschool. Around 1:00, they finish up lunch and the kids prepare for nap time. Gideon only attends half a day, so we pick him up after lunch. The teacher requires the kids to eat all of their lunch before they can be excused. Some days it takes Gideon a little while to finish his lunch. Today, at 1:30, I was still waiting on Gideon and all of the other kids had left for nap time. I went to see what was taking Gideon so long. For lunch they were having beet soup (which he managed to finish), fish and peas. He still had part of his fish and peas left to eat. I waited until the teacher left the room and shoved the rest of his lunch in my mouth so he could be excused. Gideon gave me a big hug and we went home.

A Night at the Sullivans...

Playing with the light up toys Granny sent...thanks Granny!!!

Excersing.

Wrestling.

Laughing.

Total Chaos!!!

Finally...a moment of peace!

Mary Elizabeth...

Mary Elizabeth is modeling her new dress as she waits to go to Church. She loves to go any where and when anyone leaves, she runs to grab her shoes...just in case she gets to go too!

O' Christmas Tree...

Yes, Gideon is playing hide-n-seek behind our Christmas tree and no this is not an old picture---Kristie took it this morning. And yes, we do think it is time to stop celebrating Christmas and put away the tree!!! In Russia, people put up trees to celebrate the New Year and leave them up until around the 15th of January---through Orthodox Christmas (celebrated on January 7th) and Old New Year (on January 13th). We wish we could say we have been "busy" but actually it is more on the lazy side combined with the fact that Kristie (and the kids) love Christmas so much the Christmas tree has actually been up since November and has become a part of our living room. However, Kristie's goal this week is to say good-bye to our tree, because if she doesn't it will be March before the Christmas Season will come to an end for us! We leave next week for Ivanovo. While Keith is attending a very important conference there, Kristie and the kids will be hanging out with Nancy, Sarah, Anna, and Lesa (our teammates). We will return to Yaroslavl on Friday (February 9th) and leave for Prague, Czech Republic on Sunday (February 11th) for a three week training at the IMB regional offices. Please pray for fun, safety, and adjustment for our family as we travel, visit friends, and participate in these training opportunities.

Meet the SPUD Family...

Pirate Gideon and his skate boarding friend, Mommy, Daddy (look at those muscles!) and Mary Elizabeth (what a cute smile and pretty teeth!). I thought this Potatoe Head family was funny, since our news letters were once called SPUDs---Sullivan Prayer Up-Dates. Thanks Uncle Troy, Aunt Jill and Parks for such a fun present...we love it!

Progress...

ME is enjoying her potty chair and is making some progress! We have had over 5 successes in the last week! Way to go ME!!! We are proud of you!

Dinner Guests...

We invited some friends over for dinner a learned many lessons...
*American kids like mac & cheese; Russian kids like shredded carrot salad with sugar.
*American kids like lemonade; Russian kids like hot tea.
*All kids like hot dogs and chocolate!
*Spiderman and all other Super Heroes are Satan (not from Satan, but actually Satan!)---this was sort of funny, because Gideon has Super Hero plates, cups, blankets, costumes, toys.
*Watching non-Christian cartoons is also bad.
*Women must wear skirts or dresses, not pants, and must cover their heads when praying.

What an eduational evening!

Good-bye Ellie!

Tonight we had to say good-bye to the Craigs (our friends and neighbors here in Yaroslavl)...hopefully just temporarily! Please pray for them as Tom is getting medical treatment in the states.

A Rare Moment...

After Church today, Keith and Gideon went sledding with Gideon's friend Dima and his dad Egor. While ME took a tap, Kristie had a whole hour of peace and quiet!!! It was so quiet that she was even able to hear the neighbor's telephone ring! She celebrated this rare moment of peace with a cup of coffee and a piece of cake...she also took a little nap herself! Keith and Gideon had a great afternoon in the forest playing in the snow. We are so thankful to all be feeling better...thank you for praying for us!

An Unexpected Visit to the Police Station...

Keith and I were on our way to have lunch on Tuesday, when we were stopped by a police officer. What initially started out as a minor traffic violation, resulted in a 5 hour visit to the police station. We were taken to the police station because with were without our documents (passports, visa, etc.), which were in the process of being registered. It is a very long story that involves a large knowledge of the Russian ever changing laws, but thankfully has a happy ending. Kristie was finally permitted to leave to go get Gideon from preschool and returned home. Thankfully, our business manager was able to send us copies of our documents and Kristie and the kids went to rescue Keith from the police station. As they were preparing to leave, Gideon said, "ME hurry we have to go get daddy out of jail!" I never thought I would hear one of my kids say that! Thankfully, we can laugh about the fun adventure now!

New Potty Chair...

Mary Elizabeth has a new potty chair and pull-ups (daddy and Granny's idea).

We have had a good week. Thankfully, we are beginning to feel better and ME has gone 4 days without throwing up! We are also so thankful that Gideon's return to preschool was less dramatic than we anticipated. He has done great and has only shed a few tears on Tuesday morning. We thank you for your faithfulness to our family and for your prayers, love, and encouragement. Please continue to pray for our health---Kristie is still not 100%---and Gideon's preschool adventures!

Gideon's Friend Arena

Last week, we went to visit our landlord's new home. Gideon had a fun time playing with their daughter, Arena and we enjoyed a fun time of fellowship and an unusual, but yummy meal---fish pie, caviar and fresh mushrooms! We are so thankful for such kind, generous landlords.

Momentary Laspe of Sanity...

Keith, Kristie, and ME are still trying to recover from the flu, while Gideon is full of energy and bouncing off the walls! ME is improving, but has still had minor, occasional relapses. Please continue to pray that we will all be better soon!

After over a month long break, Gideon is scheduled to return to preschool tomorrow. Please pray that he will adjust quickly and love school, his teacher and playing with his classmates. Please also pray that no tears are shed by Gideon or Kristie.

The Flu!

Keith, Kristie and Mary Elizabeth all have the stomach flu! Keith is actually doing better; Kristie is sleeping (or doing laundry) all of the time, but has managed to not throw-up; and poor ME has had a terrible week! She has hardly been able to eat or drink anything and in addition to throwing up, has a very tender, red bottom! We think she is improving, but this morning she developed a fever. On a positive note---the flu is a great way to lose those extra holiday pounds! Please pray we would all feel better soon!

HOME!

We made it home around 4:30 PM---almost 30 hours traveling! We were also so happy to finally be home...especially ME. She got sick on the plane and threw-up numerous times. She also managed to spill orange juice and 7-UP on Kristie...not to mention her diaper also leaked while sitting on mommy's lap :-). Please pray that ME would feel better today and that we would all recover quickly from jet lag. Kristie and the kids have been up since 1:30 AM and by 4 AM, Kristie had already unpacked suitcases and put ME down for a nap!

The Last Supper...

Grandpa & Grandma

Uncle Greg, Aunt Leslyn & Kamryn

We can't believe it is already time to say good-bye and return to Russia. We have had an incredible time with our families and friends. We said good-bye to Kristie's family at Chili's. We hated that it got cut a little short when ME got sick. We love you all and already miss you loads!!!

Mary Elizabeth's First Hair Cut

Aunt Leslyn cut ME's hair today. ME did great and loved all of the attention. Thanks Aunt Leslyn for making me look so beautiful!!! We love you!!!

Great Grandma ...

Our last day in the states, we spent in Sapulpa visiting Great Grandma, Dimple Anguish-Barbara's mother. Thanks for the yummie lunch and wonderful day! We hope you are feeling great!