HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year Everyone! (We get to celebrate before most of you.)

We had fun bringing in the New Year at Mark and Lera Hamilton's home. They live on the 5th floor of a building so we could see fireworks going off everywhere! It was fantastic. (Other than when one hit near the open window we were taking pictures from!)

Then we ended the night with sparklers. Funny to do sparklers in the winter :) (The pictures show a bit of the fun.)

To top it off...this was the night of the "Blue Moon" in Lithuania. That is when you see a full moon twice in one month. We saw ours tonight. So, if it happens "once in a Blue Moon," it could have been tonight!

Snowy days

We have been having snow this week and it is looking like a winter wonderland!!!!!!

This is our yard area and street.

Isn't it beautiful?!

Time with friends

We have lived in Lithuania since 1997 and God has blessed us with so many friends. This weekend we had Josh and Sandra Doan with us for games, movies, pizza and lots of fun! Josh is Matt's MK friend from our arrival. He is now married to Sandra and they are waiting for the arrival of their first child.

Neighbors from our first home were over for dinner. We are so thankful for their friendship too. George and Julija, Stasys, Alina, Gediminas and Oksyte will always remain neighbors in our hearts!

These times remind us of how long we have lived in Lithuania and how many ways God has blessed us through relationships here.

Christmas Baking

Today was a big baking day in our home. Bette Sue made two of her family's favorites...Mice and Linza cookies. These are German recipes passed down through her family.

The Mice are the tiny puffy pastries that Kristina, our dear friend, is holding in the pan before they were baked. The final result is on the plate. Before eating them, we sprinkle them with powdered sugar and they are really tasty. So light that you can just keep popping one after another into your mouth!

Kristina was a huge help to Bette Sue today. They rolled and baked Mice for five hours! This is one of those recipes that is worth all the work!

Buddy Dog

On Sunday we traveled to Birzai for Bob to preach. The pastor's family owns Matt's dog now. So, it is always fun to go and see Buddy while we are there.

Buddy is 11 1/2 now and losing eye sight and some hearing. He was still very active in his quiet, growly way of begging for food though. Bob even got him to give him his paw for a special treat.

It was a very good day in Birzai!

He is back!!!!!!

Matt arrived home late last night after traveling for 24 hours on four planes. We are thankful for his safe arrival.

He is with us for 3 1/2 weeks!!!!

It is so nice to have our family together again.

It is always fun to watch people greeting their friends and family at the airport. This group was waiting for two friends and they were all happy to be together again too.

501 Campaign Update

25th Wedding Anniversary

On December 8th we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary! We were in Riga, Latvia and are so thankful for our marriage! The time has gone by quickly and we look forward to another 25 years!

Cold Day for sightseeing

Recently we saw the place where the Grand Duchee of Lithuania died in battle. It was a cold day as you can see how well Bob was bundled up!

501 Campaign Status