Our intended route

Many have asked about our intended route so here is the plan, though we have not booked all the legs yet:

1. Night train from Moscow to Helsinki
2. Night ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm
3. Day train from Stockholm to Oslo
4. Day train from Oslo to Bergen, with a slight detour to do the "Norway in a Nutshell"
5. Ferry from Bergen to Newcastle (with coal in our pockets, of course)
6. Drive in rented car south through England, stopping in the Cotswalds
7. Southampton: board the Queen Mary 2 for the Atlantic Crossing (we do have the tickets for this one!)
8. Arrive in NYC in time for the Fourth of July and fireworks over the Statue of Liberty. As Christopher put it, "It will be like America is throwing us a welcome home party!"
9. By car from NYC to Niagara Falls.
10. Niagara Falls to Chicago to visit my alma mater and good friends
11. Chicago to New Hartford, Iowa to visit family Todd has never met and to see the farm where my mother grew up. As a special treat my mom will fly out for this portion to share about her childhood with the kids. I think Dad has to stay back with the cats.
12. Iowa to Colorado to stay with Todd's aunt. We were here last summer and this will be the first time the kids are on familiar territory and it will be much appreciated by this point!
13. Colorado to Salt Lake City
14. Salt Lake City to Reno
15. Reno to Oakland! !!

Don't you all just get tired reading about it? If you are anywhere near this route during the latter part of June and the early part of July, drop us a line. Someone compared our trip to the Amazing Race, and while we probably won't require anyone to shave their heads or perform some weird local ritual, we will be moving pretty fast. Come run along with us for a leg or two, if you would like! Maybe it will be more like the Olympic Torch Relay, without all the protests. Also if you know how to post all this here in map form, technical advice would be appreciated.

The god of the traffic police

Just got back from a retreat with about 35 Young Adults from our church. The theme for the weekend was the Passover and Saturday night we celebrated a seder dinner together. The idea of the Passover, and the Exodus had been on my mind lately, and as I read the story with Andrew, I was struck again by how feeble the faith of the Israelites was. They had watched as God had demonstrated His power over all of the Egyptian gods but had spared His own people. They had been led out of Egypt by pillars of cloud and fire to the edge of the Red Sea. There, on the banks of the sea, just as they were about to be attacked by Pharoah's army, God opens a way for them through the sea where they can walk on dry land. As soon as they are safe on the other side, He completely destroys their enemies while they watch. How could they not see that God not only has the power to protect and provide for them, but He has clearly shown his desire to do so? Wow, what a faith booster!! But it lasted 3 days! Seriously! 3 days in they start getting thirsty and instead of asking for water they start complaining and griping about how much better things were in Egypt. How totally pathetic!!! Except I am no better. How I wish I could have said that my faith has never wavered in this journey. Since we began to feel God's leading us to return to the US, I have often asked for clarification, direction, assurance, but I had not yet doubted that God would lead and provide for us. Until last week.

Todd was explaining to the group on Friday that the Egyptians, in some ways had a stronger faith than we do, because they knew they depended on something outside of themselves. They just had faith in the wrong something. They had faith in the gods of fertility, water, sun, life, death, and they made sacrifices to appease those gods. God's demonstration of his power over these gods, in the plagues, was actually an act of mercy to introduce the Egyptians and the world to the one True and Living God who actually does have the power of life and death. We Western, rational, scientifically minded people (meaning Todd) tend to have faith in ourselves and only ask God for help when things get over our heads. Todd's message was that we should depend on God in all areas of life at all times.
But I, the unscientific, irrational one have lived here long enough to be well acquainted with the wide range of local gods. There is the elevator god (who got lots of attention when we lived in a nine story building and had frequent breakdowns). There is the credit card god who makes transactions go smoothly at the store. There are of course the weather gods and the travel gods. Most terrifying is the god of the traffic police. He often appears in human form standing along the road holding his black and white striped baton ready to strike. He can usually be appeased with a sacrifice of cash, but he can be angry and demanding! Lately we have been introduced to the gods of real estate and international shipping. It is so tempting to lose faith in the true and living God when the local gods are so visible and active and seem poised to destroy us.

This week we have begun showing our apartment. Our attorney seems to think that it is priced too high. Also, because of a clerical error in a lawsuit filed in our building 3 years ago, we may be subject to a 13% tax on the sale instead of being exempt. At the same time we got the quote from the shipping company and it was about twice what I expected. The weather is lousy. Certain key documents have gone astray. The vet isn't answering her phone and we need to get a passport for the cat. The elevators are still working .....for now. I was looking at my circumstances and feeling very discouraged. That's when I was reading the bit in Exodus with Andrew about the Israelites losing their faith. Three days? It took me about 3 minutes of cloudy skies to send me into a funk. But, wait a minute! Am I not following the same God? This God that has led us so faithfully and clearly through this decision over the past several months, this same God that has provided a soft landing for our family in Florida (furnished apartment and DisneyWorld passes, as well), is the same God that parted the Red Sea and provided sustenance and guidance for the Israelites all the way to the Promised Land. I am such a feeb to doubt for a moment His provision for us! The wonderful message of Passover is that our God is stronger than the god of the traffic police and he has already been appeased!

Project Mueshka

Mueshka is our cat. He's a beautiful Russian Blue housecat who has been part of our family for 9 1/2 wonderful years. He thinks he is an extremely rare Pygmy Gray Tiger (we let him watch way too much Animal Planet) but for US Customs purposes he is a neutered housecat whose only value is in the comfort and companionship he provides for our family. To us he is priceless and so we will do whatever it takes to get him to the US. It will take quite a lot. Grandma has graciously offered to come and get the cat and fly with him back to the US, but Mueshka is a terrible traveler. When we moved to this apartment he arrived foaming at the mouth, feet dripping sweat, inches away from a heart attack. Our previous residence was 15 minutes away by car. This is NOT going to be easy.

So, a couple of months ago we began Project Mueshka. We pulled out the cat carrier and tried to get the cat used to the idea of traveling. The first night we tried to take him down the elevator and back up (20 floors each way). It did not go well. He drooled and yowled miserably. We tried again and again for weeks and were seeing no progress. Friends suggested sedatives for the flight but I don't think we could give him enough sedation to keep him calm without killing him. I begin to wonder if this is all possible after all but the kids are firm and I can't bear to say good-bye either. So we press on.

Last week, Christopher and I went to the pet store with the airline's dimensions for a proper cat carrier and bought him a leash and harness as well. The weather has been unseasonably warm and so we slipped the harness over Mueshka's unsuspecting and trusting shoulders and headed for the elevator. No drool! We came back up the elevator, got Andrew and Katie and some sand toys and headed for the playground. Mueshka and I sat on the bench and listened to the birds while the kids played for about 20 minutes. Still no drool! This is starting to look promising! We repeat the exercise a few more times and now it is time to start phase 2 of his training.

Phase two is a trip in the car. Due to scheduling reasons, this trip ends up being a bigger deal than we originally planned. On our way to Awana we stuffed the sleeping Mueshka into the new cat carrier and packed him off to school. We arrived with a rather unhappy cat, but still no drool and he seemed to enjoy the story time and the attention of the girls. Then off to baseball practice in the park. Mueshka is little bit scared of the dogs, but is still holding up heroically since he has been out and about for about 3 hours now. Remember, this is the cat that had a panic attack in the elevator 3 weeks ago. On the way home from practice Christopher begs to hold the cat in his carrier on his lap. About 3 blocks from our house we are stuck in heavy traffic and Christopher says "Uh, oh. Mueshka is beginning to drool!" Poor baby, I thought, maybe we've pushed him too far on his first day. Andrew asks if he can hold the cat and comfort him, so we shift him over to Andrew's lap. I look at the wet spot on Christopher's pants and it begins to dawn on me. "Um, Christopher, I don't think that's drool." Now both boys are shreiking "EWW! Grooossss! Drive faster Daddy!" but it is rush hour and it's a really slow light. Now I am really glad that I caved in their request to hold the cat!!

So, the good news is that Mueshka clearly feels at home in his cat carrier and is fine to travel. Also, we have discovered just how at home he feels. It's good to know this info now and not when Grandma has him on the airplane so we can take some precautions.

Chestnuts and Toilet Paper Rolls

A few years ago we were packing to attend a conference on the outskirts of Moscow. I was busy packing clothes, groceries, bikes, etc for a 10 day trip and so I told the kids to pack their own toys and books. In the craziness of loading the car, I never managed to double check the kids backpacks to see what they were bringing. I should have been suspicious about Andrew's extremely light backpack as we lifted it into the car. Once we had settled in at the conference and were getting ready for bed, I sent Andrew to go pick a book for me to read to him. He came back empty handed and it was only then that I checked his backpack. Inside were his 2 most cherished possessions: his precious horse chestnut collection and about 16 empty toilet paper rolls. Nothing else. Not one toy, or book. Fortunately he has a brother who took a much more practical approach to packing and so we were able to get through bedtime and the next 10 days on borrowed books and toys.

Now as we prepare for moving companies and garage sales I am drowning in decisions about what to take, and what not to take, what to sell, what to give away and what to simply throw away. Andrew would gladly sell every single one of his toys if he could keep a few chestnuts and paper scraps. Life doesn't work that way and so we will pay movers to ship the Legos and the train sets and not his precious collections. He's taking it very stoically, but I know he's sad about it.

I was thinking about all this this morning and realizing that I'm feeling a great sympathy with Andrew. The things I value most I can't pack up and take with us. How can I pack up all my friendships, the thrill and adventure of living and thriving in a culture different than my own, Katie's ballet class, the friends made at Russian school, the way I still catch my breath as we drive past the Kremlin, even though we do it every week on the way home from church, and did I mention all our friendships? It seems crazy to pay so much money to pack up things and then still feel so empty because I am leaving behind what I value most .

Cooler heads will prevail and we will pack carefully and rationally, but oh, how it hurts to say goodbye to what we can't bring along!