So stinkin' presh. Bogdonchik giving Linda a little loving.

Please just look at those blue eyes.

:)

Ruslan's Grandma taking apart a pumpkin.

Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful, isn't she precious?

That famous smug expression.

Bogdonchik.

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night.."

Fly my pretties, fly, fly!

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters (while typing, I pictured Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen singing this song in White Christmas)

From left to right: Bogdon, Bogdonchik, Vika, Yulya, Diana, Sneezhana, and Alona.

I found another friend...hehe.

What do you do when the kids are close to killing each other? You.make.crafts. Four little monkeys and one little elephant.

My first care package! Thank you Sandra, "Aunt Benny", and Cristen for sending me some of my favorite things!

This is where it's at: a precious letter, Skittles, Seventeen magazine, Tropical Starbursts, Almond Joy pieces (the first thing I opened, my bad), and a Nightmare Before Christmas card!

...there are no words to describe the joy I felt when I received this package.

Thank you Daddy and Mama for: my winter coat, Notre Dame sweatshirt, Old Navy jacket, jeans, house slippers, AE gloves, Germany scarf, 2 Almond Joy pieces packages, bobby pins, hair bands, Chick-fil-A cow, sock monkey lip balm, Cheez-Its, Christmas ornament, sour gummy pumpkins, wax lips, Clorox Wipes, Haribo gummy bears, and cute hanging owl....but most of all...the sweet notes filled with your encouragement and love.

Rachel Hopper, we are best friends.  Along with my new friend, Woody, I now have Almond Joys (if you haven't been counting, this is the 4th bag in the past month. oops), Degree girl "Just Dance" deodorant, wisps, and a hilarious/real talk/tear-jerker letter.

How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You.

I thought dogs couldn't be scary...I was wrong.

My little John Lennon

Alona and one of the sweetest dogs ever, Linda

Watching a real Picasso at work...

Yulya enjoying fresh walnuts

Why am I sporting this medical mask? Sasha and I were at the CP Center and I was still getting over the cold I had. I had a tickling cough (you know, the one that always comes at the worst times) and sneezed a few times. One of the teacher pulls out this mask and tells me to put it on...30 minutes later we had to leave.

It.Is.Good.

Smiling potato cakes...yes please.

Sasha,Dasha,Pasha...yep.

The things you do to make kids laugh.

Tiger hot dogs. Rawr.

I fly like paper, get high like planes (while typing this, I burst out in song)

Someone's a Mr. Frowny Face :(

Sneezhana (far left), Alona (next to Sneezhana), and Yulya (the one squatting down like she has to go potty) doing their thing at dance.

Picture of Rach and me, picture of Jordan and Grandmother (standing in Ukraine), picture of Mama and me, daisies, and Chanel perfume. What could be more wonderful?

Dear obnoxious teenage boy, your Jurassic Park jacket made.me.chuckle. That is all.

Whenever Rachel and I talk on Skype, it's either a laughing fest or an epic fail. Our conversations end up in segments because my connection is a little fuzzy.

I sure do miss those big ole' buggy eyes

Spencer (my best friend of 13 years) and Jack :)

Sending me a little loving from Nashville, Tennessee. Miss you like crazy, Tori!

"What If It's God Speaking."

For the past several days, the Holy Spirit has really been on my heart about different matters. Some of these matters included fixing my spiritual and mental states. The others have been a search as to why I am truly in Ukraine. 'How can my past experiences effect my present experiences? What makes my heart swell with joy? When am I going to see doors opening?....'

In the 12 years I have been in a relationship with Jesus, I know this full well: He never answers me in ways I think He would. Let me explain...

In September, I wrote a blog about Abba opening a HUGE door with the CP Center. I was 99.999% sure that this was my reason for coming to Ukraine. I mean, I could see myself doing most of the things that were offered. Sure, I could see myself singing there...but was that all? I knew that I wasn't giving my all when I was going to the center. That's not fail to anyone involved.

This morning, I had the choice to either go to the CP Center alone or stay home and clean/chill. I decided that I wanted to stay home. Well, Sasha and I had to go drop the older kiddos off at school. While we were there, he wanted to introduce me to some of his teachers. I pouted and said, "Do we have to?" He insisted that we go into an English class and sit for awhile. 

I sat in two English classes, answering questions that students had, listening to their presentations, chatting with the teacher (whom I had met previously at the CP Center...what?what?). I could hear from the Holy Spirit that this was it. 'Hey Raegan, remember that time when you were 10 and you sat in on English class in Tibet? The students were hanging on your every word. They delighted in the mere fact that they were having a conversation with an American. Remember them giving you and Dad (Jim) Tibetan names (Dawa: moon & Dondrup: luck)? That was their gift, their act of love to you." Jesus, you know what gets me. 

The overwhelming kindness from the students was touching. They wanted to have my autograph, a picture of me, my birthday, etc. I was given a box of chocolates...yes please. I think one of the most precious things one of the students said to me was, "We wish our best regards to your friends and family and they are lucky to have a daughter,sister,and friend like you."

"It Is Well With My Soul"

Today has been spent just resting and praying. For those of you who don't know, my sweet daddy had to have an aorta valve replacement today (October 12th). I'm going to rewind a few months back...my dad found out that he had to have this surgery TWO days before I left Knoxville. At that moment, my heart shattered into a million pieces. I just couldn't handle that I was leaving him. My initial thoughts were, 'I can't leave the country...I have to stay here to take care of my ailing father.' A tremendous amount of grief and guilt weighed me down. However, I got on that airplane to go to Ukraine. My parents affirmed that this is what they wanted for me...to go after what Abba has so strongly placed on my heart. 

 

   I have spent the majority of the day just spilling my heart out to Jesus. I told Him that I was concerned,scared,unsettled...that I needed some kind of comfort to get me through the day. He did bring this comfort that I longed for. 

My most thoughtful and loving Daddy brought it through the beautiful fall weather, precious hugs I received when the kids came home from school, the lighthearted laughter and smiles around the dinner table, the 8 little prayers that were lifted on my dad's behalf, the bright crescent moon in the night sky...

I've always believed that hymns will stand the test of time. They will surpass any form of Christian music not because of their age or who wrote them, but because of the lasting impact the lyrics have. This hymn is one of my favorites and has been on my mind today. I find it to be filled with glorious Truth.

"When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul."

Thank you family,friends,co-workers,church members,friends of friends,classmates,and complete strangers for being prayer warriors for my dad and our family.

 

"Holy Grape, Batman!"

   One of my favorite things about the house is looking out my window and seeing a vineyard in the backyard. The grapes also grow around different parts on the outside of the house. Of course, this beautiful vineyard has to be kept up. If you're like me, you see a vineyard on television  and I think, "Man, I'd really love to have one at my house. It doesn't look like it would be that hard to maintain." False. It is hard hard work. I spent most of my Saturday morning helping Sasha climb (yes, you read that correctly) and pick grapes....out of trees. Yes, I'm fully aware that grapes do not grow on trees, but the vines decided that they wanted to wrap themselves around the tree. Let's just first say that it took Sasha maybe a good 30 minutes to try to coax me to climb a ladder, climb up a tree, and climb on the roof to pick grapes. I saw bad things happening in my future. I would climb up to the top of the latter and say, "Sasha, I can't do it. I'm not a girl who climbed trees when she was little...what if this latter falls and we're both stuck up here...no one is holding the bottom of the latter, I don't feel safe..." So, using my super creative thought powers I got another ladder that was smaller and safer (for me). Here I am, picking the prettiest green grapes out of a tree when all of the sudden I feel like my finger has caught on fire. I lifted my finger to see a bee hovering by it...with it's stinger stuck in my finger. Stupidly, I tried to pull the stinger out with my other hand and it broke off. Awesome blossom. Now part of the stinger is stuck in my skin. In under 15 minutes, I had a "man hand" and a "hot dog finger." That's really pretty.

My grape picking adventures continue as I help Ruslan's Mama pick grapes from the vineyard "out back." As I'm putting the grapes in the crate, I'm noticing that there are little spiders crawling over some of the grapes. I hate spiders. However, I put my big girl panties on and kept doing my job. I did get the feeling every once in awhile that a spider was crawling up my arm. 

Let's just stop here and say, stupid language barriers. Ruslan's Mama cannot speak English and I speak very little Ukrainian. This made the task a little difficult, but still very enjoyable. She has been a great nurse the past 2-3 days...I've come down with a cold. This cold is gnarly fo sho: sinus pressure, ear pressure, cold sores, cracked lips, chest cough, runny nose, fatigue. I have tried my best to understand and to respond to her directions. She has been extremely patient with me, but has threatened to give me a "spanking" if I don't wear socks around the house. I understood that perfectly :).

"If I Were A Rich Man (Woman)."

....I just did an impersonation of Topol dancing in the barn from Fiddler on the Roof.  Good thing no one is around.

  This month I have been spending my money like none other (Insert "Got Money" by Lil' Wayne...'if you got money and you know it, take it out your pocket and show it. This a waayyy, thatta waayyy)'. Sasha and I find ourselves at the Bazaar (market) maybe three times a week. Of course, everything is MUCH cheaper than it is in America. Here are a few things I've purchased in the past 2 weeks: gum,perfume,daisies,roses,Sprites,Nestea,marshootka tickets,cakes,candies,earrings,hairdryer,batteries,face cream,bread,cookies,coffee,hotdogs,french fries...the list goes on and on. Not all of this has been just for me, I've shared some of my "wealth" with the kiddos and Sasha. Not a problem.

As Sasha and I were walking around the Bazaar, we passed an elderly woman who was sitting on the side of the road begging for money. Sasha took some change out of his pocket, and placed it in her hand. My soul smiled at the act of generosity towards this woman. I'm sure someone is going to stop after that sentence and say, "HE GAVE HIS MONEY TO HER? WHAT IF SHE SPENDS IT ON CIGARETTES OR ALCOHOL..." My answer to that? It's not for us to worry about. It's not what that woman is going to do with "our" (or should I say, Abba's money), it's the gift of love and compassion that was given. 

After Sasha gave the money, something hit me hard. Here I am blowing cash like there's no tomorrow while there are people walking around me who don't have secure jobs, warm homes, food to eat. I have never thought that I was a spoiled girl, but in the bigger picture? I am a spoiled girl. I have grown up in a country with wealth and have known nothing else. I have come to this country as a "rich" woman. The question here is...would I be stable if all my money was gone, if I had nothing but the clothes on my back, if I had to sleep on the streets? What a thought.

"It's a Crazy Life, but It's Our Life."

(I'm a little ashamed that I took a quote from Kate+8, but I have a purpose for it)

    October 1st. Wow.Wow.Wow. I can't believe September has already gone by, but I do love welcoming in my favorite month. I hope you all will enjoy the "fall face-lift" I gave the blog. It still has some work to be done to it, but I'm satisfied so far.

Archie, Katya, and Isabella have gone to America this month to spend some much needed time with family and friends. This leaves the Ruslan, Sasha, and myself to hold down the fort. Woof. Ruslan will be gone until next Saturday (Oct.9th) due to business that has to be taken care of in Kiev and Vinnytsia. Thankfully, Ruslan's sweet Mama has come to help Sasha and I with the kids. Praise the Lert!

Today has been cuuurrrfreakingazzzyyy. Sasha and I have been running around Mohyliv basically all day. Our schedule consisted of: taking kids to school and sadik (kindergarten), going to Sasha's college, CP Center (another one specifically for kids), shopping (I was in desperate need for a hairdryer, face wash, batteries, etc.), getting a snack for the kids, going to pick up kids from school, taking them home, eating lunch, picking up the little ones from sadik, going to dance, staying at dance for 2-3 hours, taking girls home from dance, dinner, Scooby-Doo....after dinner, Sasha looked at me and said, "We did it. It's finally done. Thank you for your help." I responded with, "I NEVER want to become a parent. Ever."

So, about the title. I think that phrase sums up life in the Tkachuk home. It's a wonderful life.