A Very Present Danger

This past Monday, the kids were excited to have the day off from school. Our reason for being "absent" was not so exciting but, none the less, they didn't have to do any school work! Instead of hitting the books, we took a trip to downtown Krasnoyarsk for each member of our family to receive an immunization. 

It may be surprising for some of you to know that we have a dangerous little critter living among us here in Siberia.

 It's this little guy.

The tick.

Although we don't have deer here in Siberia, we have lots and lots of ticks. Unfortunately, our area of Russia is a very prevalent area for ticks which carry tick-borne encephalitis or, TBE.

Here is a site which has important facts and includes a map that will show you which parts of Russia and Siberia are endemic areas. Our city of Krasnoyarsk falls right in the middle of the high risk area that stretches across Asia.

Since we live in a village which runs along a forest and our children are able to enjoy playing outside any time the weather permits, we wanted to do the best we could to protect them from the risks of such a serious illness. We also have a summer camp through the ministry of the Krasnoyarsk Baptist Church that our children can attend each summer. Even though the camp is held a bit later than the "peak" time for ticks, the site is still next to a forest and tall grassy areas. 

The camp site.

If you are bitten by a tick here, you must remove it very carefully and put it in a plastic bag.  You also must take the tick along with you to the nearest hospital in your area to turn the tick in for analysis where you should receive a shot of Immunoglobulin to prevent the risk of TBE infection. Often, there are so many cases of tick bites in one season that there is a shortage of the Immunoglobulin. Smaller, private insurance companies here even offer "tick insurance" which can be purchased  in order to assure that a person receives the immunoglobulin in the case that they suffer a tick bite. Recent articles even say that in many European countries which are considered endemic regions for TBE, Immunoglobulin is often not administered as a post-bite preventative measure since it has been found to actually have a negative effect on the course of the disease. So all things considered, the best preventative measure against tick-borne encephalitis possible is vaccination.

We had lived here for quite a few years before I found out about the availability of these vaccinations. Every year at camp time I prayed and prayed for safety and protection of my husband and oldest daughter as they spent a whole week away in the woods. Then, we moved out to the village and although I never saw one tick, I constantly prayed for our children as they played outside. A few years ago, our dog was out of her pen enjoying a summer day with the kids. While everyone was busy playing and working, she found a way to escape from our yard. We searched and searched for her and shed many tears fearing that she had run away. The next morning we were awakened by her barking for breakfast right outside our window. Over the next few days my husband and I pulled nine ticks off of her head and neck! I knew our children would not be running through the woods as our dog did that day, but it still confirmed to me that I needed to check further into finding vaccinations for our family. 

After doing much research into the brands of immunizations available here in Russia, I chose the one I considered the most effective while also considering any possible side effects of the vaccine. This is one of many times I am grateful for my Nursing degree!  

Here we are at the immunization clinic which is located inside the AIDS center building. The immunization we received on Monday was the third in the series, so we are not due for anymore shots until the year 2015 when we will receive one booster vaccine.

Our boys having their temperatures checked the old-fashioned way to be sure they are healthy enough to receive their immunizations.

There are many people who file in and out of this building each day since anyone who is receiving temporary or long term residency permits must come to this building to be tested for AIDS. It is also one of the best places to go to receive immunizations of the highest quality. They only administer vaccinations to paying patients. No free immunizations are given here. For our family, this is the only place we have ever received immunizations in Russia and this particular vaccine is the only vaccine I have allowed anyone to give our children in Russia.  All of their regular childhood immunizations are given in the US.
My husband had to get a tetanus shot here in Russia and even though he went to this clinic, they gave it to him in under his shoulder blade of all places! It swelled up larger than any vaccine site I have ever seen!  That was enough to make me do my best while on our last furlough to get my tetanus shot before I got on the plane!

Just after we had been to the clinic to receive our second vaccine in the series against TBE, our kids had been outside playing in our field and yard. As they came in to eat lunch, our youngest, Timothy said, "Look Mom! Is this a spider crawling on my arm?" Then I hear the other two kids say, "No, that is not a spider!" It was a tick. But, thankfully we were already safe with having at least received the second vaccine!
It is a blessing and a great peace to this missionary momma's heart to be able to get such vaccinations for our children so they may freely enjoy the warm weather, while we have it, in the middle of Siberia!

Valentine's Day Celebration 2012

I was so excited to celebrate Valentine's Day this year. Usually, my hubby and I enjoy a nice date without the kids. He often gives me flowers and we might buy the kids some special candy as a small token of love to them. I have always mostly celebrated Valentine's Day as more for my husband and I. This year I found several great ideas I wanted to try!

I love ice cream and I love ice cream sandwiches even more! This recipe I found online was exactly what I was looking for. Although it called for strawberry ice cream and I was only able to get vanilla, they were still YUMMY!

The kids really enjoyed them and I was even able to give some of them to each of our church people and to some ladies when we got together right after Valentine's Day.

One thing that I had wanted to try to do this year and now that we have moved into the new house is to spend more time "doing" things with our children individually. This idea that I shared with you in a previous post was a perfect way to give the kids Valentine's cards that include an activity to do with Mom and Dad each month.

I used the DIY scratch off Valentine's Day card idea from Come Together Kids. We decided to do things a bit differently and give the kids one card each month to scratch off revealing this month's special activity. This way the kids look forward to receiving a new card each month and Momma didn't have to make 36 cards before February 14th! Now do you understand me?

The kids LOVED this idea and were so excited to scratch off the cards!

So, for the month of February, Rebekah gets a movie night with Mom. 

Ryan will enjoy lunch with his Dad. (He is voting for trying out the new Papa John's that just opened in town! Can you believe it?)

Timothy was SO excited to see that he had a "date" to read some books with Mom. He can read on his own but since he has to do this every day in school, he was very excited about the idea of snuggling on the couch with me so that I can read to him.

This Valentine's Day turned out to be very special and I am so thankful for the "Valentines" in my life to celebrate it with!

Freeze Frames

Ever wonder what can freeze up when the temperatures drop way below zero? Here are a few pics of some  of those unexpected things!

The front door of our new house!

There was just a tiny space around the lock which allowed air to be exchanged. The combination of warm air from the inside of the house and the cold outside air would cause our keyhole to freeze up every night when the temperatures were below -30 degrees Celsius.

Hair dryer to the rescue!

Every morning when we went to unlock the front door we had to plug in the hair dryer and melt the ice that had gathered around the lock that previous night while we slept. So, that brings me to another all-purpose tool here in Siberia...the hair dryer! We have gone through several because some of them are not only used to style the hair on our heads but, to thaw pipes, to warm car engines...the list goes on!

The front wall of the old house was not insulated very well, maybe even not insulated! We would be very anxious to see the insides of those walls if we ever decide to tear down that house. As a result, any boxes or containers had to be moved away from the walls especially during the winter months since the humidity in the air would not get "stuck" in the corners between the walls and any containers and freeze. So, that means that several toy containers would have to be regularly cleaned out to remove the water standing in the bottom of them. Sometimes we waited too long to do a clean up and the water froze the toys (Hot Wheels in this case) in place!

Both cars have a layer of ice on them.

During our first winter living in the old house, 2006, our daughter's bed had to be set up along that bad wall in her room. This meant that when her bed was made her comforter also touched the wall.  

Beka showing off her icicle collection (2006).

One morning she noticed her comforter was unusually cold in one spot and she then found that icicles were hanging from it! Beka had a great time telling that story the next time we returned to the US for furlough!

You're Going to Love This!

One of the great things about blogging has been finding other great blogs and making new friends as a result. This blog, It's Just Laine, has been a great blessing to me and a great source for recipes and ideas. 

I love how she decorates and does such cute things with her kids. She is a cutie herself! Right now she is having her first giveaway and it is a great one that I would love to have! I had to laugh when I read her giveaway post about being a "wannabe scrapbooker"! Her description of herself fits me as well! Check it out and be sure to enter to win her giveaway.

A must have item when living in Siberia

This past summer we had a load of sand brought in for work that needed to be done around the house and property. Unfortunately, with how the house and existing drive is positioned, there is little space to dump loads of coal, sand or gravel upon delivery. (We have already had to rebuild our front gate to the driveway since several tractors and trucks making deliveries have hit it while backing into our property! But, the new fence is a bit wider and looks much better than the existing one did!) Due to the lack of space, this particular load of sand had to be dumped right over the access hole which is used to pump the septic tank. We felt most prepared for the load of sand to be delivered since we arranged ahead of time for the septic tank to be pumped one last time before the sand truck arrived. 

Speed forward to this winter and the sand pile which was not all used before the snow fell is now frozen. We moved into our new house and about a month later, unexpectedly for us, the septic tank needed to be pumped! Oops! 

Now the temps are in the mid -20's and it is a bit chilly to be "playing" in sand. But, life goes on even when it is cold outside! So, off my hubby went to dig out the septic tank access hole in the middle of a frozen pile of sand. Thankfully, a friend of ours who lives in a village not too far from ours called to ask if David needed any help with this fun project! He came over and joined David in digging. 

They got it done much quicker than if my hubby had been digging all alone. Thankfully, my hubby guessed the position of the "target" pretty accurately and they dug right to it quickly.

The septic pumper guy who we had used the last time had already changed jobs (don't blame him one bit) and we had to find a new guy this time. If there is one thing you learn when living in Russia it is that "svyazy" or connections will help you get it done! Knowing people is very important here to survive and not go insane in the process. In this case, we asked our next door neighbor if he knew of anyone who pumps septic tanks. Turned out he had worked with a guy in the past who was now had a septic pumper tank rig and he gave us his number. Score! So, ended up being not very long after the guys finished digging out the access hole that this guys' son-in-law shows up to do the job.

We were excited because within a short amount of time we were pumping away! Just as the job is about done, David notices the guys seems to be "disturbed" about something. As soon as he pumped the tank the "contents" were running back into the tank! He told us the shut off valve had broken so he was going to have to drain the contents back into the septic tank, drive the truck home to fix the valve and come back tomorrow to empty the tank again!

A few minutes later he explains to David that the valve had actually froze open and he could not shut it off to keep the contents from flowing back into the tank. So, when something freezes in Russia what do we do? We break out the gas/propane torch! 

No kidding! These little contraptions are used in many situations to keep things warm or to defrost them. I may be able to get some good pics of other uses for a blowtorch around here. If so, I will be sure to share them with you! 

Today's use is to defrost the shut off valve that has frozen open on a septic tank truck. That's right! If it is metal and frozen, just take a blow torch to it! So, that is just what our septic truck driver did!

See the flames!

Within a few minutes he was good to go and back to, again, pumping our septic tank. I was a little concerned about the fumes from the septic tank and the torch usage at the same time but we are all still alive and the guy drove away unharmed. Maybe I was just alarmed for no reason as I often get here when I see men using these things! Well, I do recall some remarkable blow torch stories....

Great Idea for Valentine's Day

I have tons of other things to post about but I saw this idea on a great blog I follow called, Come Together Kids, for Valentine's Day to make for our kids and I thought it was so cute I HAD to post it here for you to see it. I LOVE this idea!

You could also easily use it to make a great Valentine's Day card for your hubby with a secret message to scratch off! I also am super excited because I wanted to try this idea and I needed silver paint. Just in time for Valentine's Day,  a new hobby store opened up here in our city of Krasnoyarsk! This is the first ever "supermarket" of hobby stuff here in Krasnoyarsk. 

When my dear hubby was so nice to take me to this new store yesterday I found "Folk Art"  brand paints of all colors and even in Sterling Silver as I needed. I am thrilled that this new store opened here in Krasnoyarsk! They have everything crafty and even scrapbooking supplies and albums. I was in shock at the stuff I have long wished to be able to find here! Thank you, Lord! Now I can use up some of those precious craft supplies I have been hoarding for VBS and Sunday school because I can replace them without shipping them from the US! 

Take a look at this craft idea for making valentines. I am sure you will like this very original idea!

Just Some Cute Kids

Here are a few shots from a quick impromptu photo shoot I did with the kids. I didn't get good enough pics from Christmas of them in their new Christmas outfits so we decided to take a few pics in our home and back yard. These were taken in early January when the weather was not THAT cold. Although we did run back in the house for some hot chocolate after Mom was satisfied that she got enough good shots!

Duck, Duck...

This was my bathtub. (old house)

This is my duck in what was my bathtub.

Any questions?

I know crazy, huh?! Yes, there was a duck in my bathtub. Actually, it is a Muscovy duck. You saw them on my previous post about our pets when they were small and really cute. Now, they are large. 

They were living out in our chicken coop. At least until this guy, Duke's, feet got frostbitten. Yes, frostbitten. So, we put him in a container of warm water to "thaw out" his feet. Turns out the chicken coop wasn't warm enough for the ducks. "Then what?" you may ask. We had to move them to a warmer place to live through the winter. What place would that be? The basement of our new house. Yes, the ducks moved in to the new house before I did! Duke's life was short lived as he never recovered from the frostbite. He had to be slaughtered. Poor Duke. 

Good thing the basement is all cement so I can clean it out easily when the temperatures warm up and the ducks move back to their chicken coop.

Guess what we are building this summer!? Yes, a new, WARM duck pen!