Annual visit to the Botanical Gardens

The lilacs are in bloom here, so we took a break recently to enjoy them, and to enjoy an excursion with our very pregnant friends Oksana and Zhenya. These pictures are all thanks to Zhenya's excellent eye. I'm thrilled to have such a lovely version of this iconic Kyiv image.



The gardens are pretty big, so I had never seen the plot of magnolia trees.



It rained earlier in the day, and the long worms crawling all over the sidewalk were a source of fascination. Dietrich insisted on calling them snakes.



We went to the gardens about the same time last year. Last year's baby is this year's big boy.

The week in work

Last week, I made a brochure, thus completing Step One in a fund-raising push for Kyiv Theological Seminary that should keep me occupied through December. The seminary has been offered a $450,000 matching grant, and we have until Dec. 31 to raise funds.

Meanwhile, I'm feeling rather out of my league.

I keep kicking myself for not paying more attention in the one public relations class that was required in my undergrad journalism program. I know a lot about presenting news. In a newspaper. Brochures? Letters to foundations? These are unfamiliar ground.

But exciting ground! I don't think I would have said that two weeks ago, before I started talking to people, gathering information, trying to gain a sense of where the seminary is and how it hopes to grow. At the beginning, I mostly just felt overwhelmed and frightened (my general responses when I try to lay all the responsibility on myself rather than focusing on doing my best for the Glory of God).

The seminary's story is a good one, and I'm going to get the chance this year to tell it in many different ways to many different people. I'm looking forward to the process.

Thank goodness for washable markers

Happy Easter!

Ukraine celebrated Easter on Sunday, so I got the delight of putting together Dietrich's first Easter basket. Displaying goodies is one of the things I really enjoy about being a momma. It's so fun to see his little face when something new and interesting shows up someplace unexpected.

We'll be home for Easter next year, so I didn't use a conventional Easter basket that we'd use again. Instead, I stuffed a hand-me-down wooden toolbox with superballs, a CD, a new book, sandbox toys and some sweets. Probably my favorite item was a handmade little item that I spotted in the outdoor market on Saturday — a knit chicken who sits on top of a chocolate egg.

Dietrich found the sweets first, so it was a little hard to get him to concentrate on the rest of the box. I was interested in his basket-unpacking technique. He was very methodical: Find an egg full of candy, take it to dad, wait for a candy, go back for another egg. Only once the eggs were done could he move on to the toys.



We celebrated the holiday with our friends Jon, Andrea and Joy, whose return to Kremenchuk was delayed first by a lack of tickets and then by a sick baby. We dined on pizza, since I hadn't planned on making a big meal just for the three of us. It was one of those Easters that I think we'll remember for a long time ... like the Thanksgiving when my Aunt Donna served lasagna. Although, I'm pretty sure that wasn't due to lack of preparation, just a love for Italian food.

We also celebrated our five-year anniversary this weekend, and we enjoyed a delightful dinner at our favorite restaurant, watching the fish jump in the lake and relaxing in the warm spring evening air.

Back-on-the-growth-chart baby

At Dietrich's 9-month immunizations, he was at 5 percent on the growth chart. I got a little nervous. Actually, I worried to the point that for about a month, it was all I could focus on. That was a bad month, a month I'd probably still be living in if it weren't for prayer.

After his 12-month immunizations, he wasn't on the growth chart at all. Thankfully, God and I had already dealt with the all-consuming worry, so while his weight was definitely something I thought about, it didn't take over our lives.

We found out yesterday that Dietrich's back to 10 percent on the chart. (And a little over 15 percent on the World Heath Organization chart, which averages breast-feed babies from all over the world, unlike the charts commonly used in the States, which only sample the US population.) And for that, I thank Dannon. Here, they sell an amazingly tasty yogurt called Dannissimo. Second ingredient: cream. For me, it would be dessert. For Dietrich: breakfast and morning snack.


No, Dietrich, don't eat the block. Eat the yogurt.

Repurposed

The last few weeks, briefly: Eric came home. (Yay!) He got sick. (Boo.) Dietrich got sick. (Boo.) Dietrich learned to say "uh-oh," mightily entertaining us by using it in quite random, non-uh-oh-appropriate contexts. (Yay! I mean, "uh-oh!") I got sick. (Boo.) I am sick. (Boo.)

But I finished Harvest Heartbeat before the sick set in. (Yay!) Most of the time, I only focus on the editing and design, but this time around, they asked me to write the Missionary Focus. I said that I'd try, but that our lives have taken on such a nice, ordinary routine that it might be hard to find anything interesting on which to focus. And from that observation sprang this article:

After four years of living in Ukraine, cultural differences rarely surprise us. We’ve found roles to fill at our church, and we’ve settled into a more-or-less normal work schedule.

Eric teaches theology and apologetics courses at Kyiv Theological Seminary and helps to administrate the new Talbot School of Theology — Kyiv Extension master’s degree program. It’s a busy, sometimes-stressful, often-fulfilling job. He writes and receives a lot of e-mails and goes to his fair share of meetings. There are parts of the job (working with students) that he loves. There are parts (see aforementioned e-mails and meetings) that aren’t as fun.

I work two mornings a week at the seminary, producing brochures and other public-relations materials. Our 18-month-old son stays home with a Russian-speaking babysitter. (We consider this his language school.) When I get home, we try to strike a balance between playtime and letting mommy do housework.

Our days feel routine. Husband works, wife works part-time but mostly stays home, baby demands attention. It’s a story that many of our friends in the States could tell.

But occasionally something will remind me that our lives are a bit different. Most recently, an e-mail titled “Fun info about your friends” landed in my in-box. You answer the questions and return the e-mail to the person who sent it to you, giving them insight into your life. Here are some of my answers:

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30 a.m. my time. 9:30 p.m. California time. I often think in two (or more!) time zones.

2. Diamonds or pearls? Many people we work with are struggling financially, so I don’t wear either.

3. What is your middle name? Amy. But Ukrainians don’t use a middle name. Instead, they use a patronymic — a form of their father’s name. I’ve had many conversations about why we gave our son — Dietrich Mark — two first names. In Russian, he’s Dietrich Ericovich.

4. What food do you dislike? Sardines, but I’ve learned to eat them with a smile.

5. What kind of car do you drive? Public transportation.

6. Furthest place you are sending this? North America.

7. Favorite saying? “Thanks for the bread and salt.” It means, “Thanks for the hospitality,” but the first time someone said it to me, I was quite confused. I’d served bread, but not salt.

8. What is your shoe size? 38

9. Any new and exciting news you would like to share with us? You can buy coconut milk, tortellini and peanut butter in Kyiv now!


The Oldenburgs: Eric, Josie and Dietrich Mark Ericovich

Missing dad

Eric left Monday night for a SEND leadership conference. He'll return Saturday afternoon. Three hours after he left, we had our first injury accident (a fall with a bitten lip, and lots of blood). Thankfully, that's been our only injury accident. So far.

Though we miss dad, this conference comes at just the right time for Dietrich and me. Eric and I were so busy during the Talbot session that Dietrich needed a week of extra love ... and since I don't cook or clean much when Eric's gone, I have lots of extra time to give the extra love.

But we do miss dad! Dietrich is in the habit of saying "mama" when he's nursing at night. He suckles a little, then he looks right at me and says "maMA." Music to my ears! I can't get enough of those two syllables. But tonight, the poor little guy looked right at me and said, "dada?" Soon, kiddo, soon.