Our trip in pictures...

So, here are some pictures from the trip, if you have Facebook, you can check out TONS more! :) I have about 100 in an album and Michelle has a ton too! There are plenty of sweet Russian faces to look at.... but here are a few of my favorites!

This is a picture out Blythe & Michelle's hotel room window our last night in Moscow (at about 11:00pm might I add)... one of my favorite things in Russia are the sunsets, so this was a great way to end our trip...

This is a great picture! Chris and Aaron in their cowboy gear with 2 of our translators and one of the graduates! :)

Chris enjoyed those s'mores a little too much I think! Priceless!

These are our Texas-style s'mores that we brought and then cooked in their little toaster oven! They were a big hit! Along with the chips & queso!

I love this girl! It was her birthday the day we saw her and she turned 12!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe that she is so old.... she is precious!

We got to see Igor & Danil!!!! They were not in the 2 groups that got to come to the city from Solotcha, but God is good, and we got to see them the day before we left! Pray for Igor (left) as a family from our church is in the process of adopting him & his siblings... and pray for Danil that God would move a family to adopt him! He is one of the sweetest boys I've ever met...

I love this picture! This is sunday morning walking from our hotel to the Baptist Church in town.... getting ready to worship with our Russian brothers & sisters!

Great picture of Aaron and some of the boys at the bowling alley! I interrupted their game for a photo-opp!

John, Artyom and Atrur!!! Sweet little ones:)

YAY! So happy I got to see sweet Nadya! Last year she was at camp during our time at Solotcha! Again, she has grown so much...

I love this picture of sweet Masha! I love seeing her... she has one of the sweetest little hearts!

Blythe and Sasha! Sasha is new to Solotcha from a different orphanage... she is so sweet!

ALOSHA! We love him.... what a cutie! He was so excited to see the team... especially Chris!!!!! :)

Leavin', on a jet plane...

We leave tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't finished packing yet... maybe I should do that! Haha!! In honor of our departure, I have a few things to share with you about what I'm excited about!!! :) hehe! Some silly, and some super great! SO, here we go!!

Top ten things I'm looking forward to in Russia:

10.) Getting to practice my Russian!

I am very nervous about this!! I was telling Anya (my amazing friend/Russian teacher) that every time I get around a native Russian speaker, everything I learned leaves my head and all I can think to say is "da!!" haha!

9.) Cheese Sandwich & Cappuccino at the Coffee Bean

There is this super awesome coffee shop and they have the best grilled cheese & the biggest cappuccino!! Picture below to prove it! :)

8.)Greek Salad @ Pizza at La Plaza

Yes, another food item, but the cheese in Russia is SO good that it has become something I crave!! So, the greek salad and pizza at our favorite pizza restaurant definitely make the list! (The one on the left was some meat salad that Chris got, but the right is my FAVORITE greek salad ever!)

7.)Russian Sunsets

The pictures will speak for themselves! (Oh, and sunsets are kind of one of my favorite things!) God's beauty displayed!

6.)Seeing our translator friends!!!! :):) Yay!

We have built some great relationships with the translators we've had in years past, and they are definitely our friends more than our translators! I can't wait to see them!!!

5.) Getting to visit the local church!!

The last few trips I've taken, we've gotten to spend some time with a few of the local churches, and I'm SO excited to hopefully get the chance to see them while we are in Ryazan! :)

4.) Seeing our brother Viktor!

We met a guy that graduated from our orphanage a few years ago, and he has definitely become part of our family! We are all looking forward to seeing him!

3.) Seeing our Sweet kids!!!!!!!

Even though we are not going to be able to go to the orphanage (we are still playing for a miracle!!!) we will hopefully get to see the kids! They are SO amazing, and I can't wait to see them!

2.) Hanging out with the Grads!!!!

We will be working at the ministry center and hanging out with the kids who have graduated from various orphanages! I can't wait to see all of them, and to meet some new grads as well! :)

Last, but not least, and definitely most important:

1.) Getting to tell people about my Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!!! :):)

I will definitely update before we leave with some specific prayer requests, for all of you prayer warriors out there!! And, we should have access to the internet every now & then, so hopefully we can update you guys through blog updates! :)