the weather outside is frightful

It has finally hit!! The snow has come and other than the fact that I'm a frozen by the time we finally make it to the school, I LOVE IT!!!

I honestly can't believe it's the Christmas season already. I can't believe it's gone by so incredibly fast.

Here's our first snow fall, yesterday morning....I woke up and saw it out the window, screamed to wake up Em and she flew out of bed to see it. SO beautiful!

Yesterday, being the Monday after our Thanksgiving weekend, I began teaching the kids American Christmas songs and planning some Christmas fun.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer:

Yesterday we made a giant Christmas tree with green construction paper, with a beautiful yellow star up top. Today we made ourselves a construction paper fire place:

Happy Holidays everyone!!!

Cerveteri

Less than 3 weeks til I leave Kiev...I can't believe it's already been 4 months. I'm looking forward to settling down into my new home in Rome. It's going to be an incredible experience, I can't wait! Except that I can, and I will :)

I'm glad that's I'm not right in the center of the city, I'm not a real city girl...I've been living the city life here in Kiev for 4 months and I'm excited to at least live on the edge of Rome, right out of the big city part...and right by the beach too, very excited for that. 

I'm also right in the middle of a huge archaeological sight, over 6,000 burials from before Christ's birth. Being a history major makes me thrilled at this part...my grandpa is a professor of archaeology and my great uncle was a paleontologist and discovered the thigh bone of a new species of dinosaur. 

I know I've got lots of cousins interested in anthropology and archaeology...it just runs in the family.

my thanksgiving post

We were lucky to be given tomorrow off for Thanksgiving so we could have a long weekend. It's weird not being in America for the holiday's, it's going to be different for sure. But I'm excited to discover differences in culture...tonight is American night though, I'm about to go start cooking for our host family. They bought us some turkey!!

I feel I need to express my gratitude more often than I do, but let me take the time to do it now:

I'm so grateful for my family, my little sisters are my world and my parents rock it. I know you all probably think your parents are the best, but mine really are. I'm sorry to tell you.
Along with family I include the extended members as well, cuz mine are awesome. I'm so proud to say that some of my greatest friends are my cousins.

I'm grateful for the International Language Program that has brought me here to Kiev to experience the world in a new way. I'm grateful for my kiddies I get to teach everyday, even when they flick me in the forehead, kick me over, or bite my arm (all of which happened yesterday).

I'm grateful for my friends that love me no matter what and are always there for me when I need them. They each hold a special gift that they have shared to help me become the person I am today.

I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life, for my Heavenly Father who loves me and sent His son to offer me a chance to go back to Him again. I'm grateful for this Earth he has blessed me with and for the people he has placed in my life. What a wonderful gift it has been.

I'm grateful for my body, for the health that I have been given. I'm grateful for my new found confidence that makes me feel so happy no matter what I look like. He doesn't make mistakes.

I have so many gratefuls that I can't express in full but I can meantion just a few of them:

quesadillas. beds/wooden planks. coats. spare buttons. chicken. Lyuda and Jenya. freedom. airplanes. passports. scriptures. medicine. books. deoderant. snow. rivers. elephants. education. thunderstorms. balloons. nutella. bathtubs. puppies. chocolate. holidays. ohio. utah. pheobe. monica. rachel. chandler. joey. ross. mail. scarves. hats. comfy old lady sweaters. skirts. make up. washing machine. dish washer. faith. erternal families. home. prayer. clean water. blankets. clean air. safety. hope. temples. avacados. autumn. swimming pools. fruits and veggies. vacuums. mountains. Mr. Darcy. health care. smiles. Kleresa and Alicia. internet. money. H&M. fireworks. gelato. stars. sewing machine. sleep. food. lipstick.

dO tHe AlPhAbEt

One of the activities I did with the kiddies was making the alphabet with their bodies, CUTEST thing...til Masha got her attitude moving along...for crying out loud. Here are some cute ones, guess the letters:

City of Kiev

where is my motivation?? I just haven't been coming to the blog world, I think it's just because I'm stressing about leaving in 3 weeks. I can't believe I'm leaving in 3 weeks.

After over 3 months of living here I finally got some pictures of the art work down stairs.  The artist that lived in our aparetment before us tagged the building in so many ways... You walk around on all levels and you'll find something from him. Maybe he owned the building...

Grand Theater

When the Lviv Theater for Opera and Ballet was first built in 1887 it was called the Grand Theater, but in 1939 it was renamed by the Soviet Authorities. 

There is a story that when this building was being built, it slowly began to sink because the Poltva River runs underneath in in a tunnel. This sent the poor architect into a deep depression and he hung himself 3 years after it was finished. THEN the building stopped sinking and now, obviously, remains stable today.

Lviv, Lvov...HiYAW

This weekend we took a trip to southern Ukraine...to a city that is known as the most "western European-like" over here in Eastern Europe...Lviv.

With no tour guides, we took ourselves around everywhere, we now know that town like the back of our hands.

We had to take advantage of this city by horse and carriage...

and yes...that is a McDonald's back there, they are taking over the world.

stop looking at me swaaaan

Take a little trip with me to the Kiev Opera House and see some bits of Swan Lake...
The title of this post throws things off a bit, but I can tell you this was the best show I've ever seen
...well it comes in pretty close with Wicked actually, but it was incredible. Our Ukrainian friend, Vera got us the best seats we have had yet and I loved every second of this show. It didn't even seem close to 3 hours.

The evil Rothbard and all of the poor girls that he has turned into swans, including Odette, Queen of the Swans, in the back:

The prince meets and falls in love with Odette and promises to free them all from this spell:

We come into the castle. This was my absoulte favorite backdrop, the ballroom of the palace:

You can see the Queen at the ball, she wants the Prince to pick a bride this night:

Rothbard and Odile (the fake Odette) come in and trick the Prince, he makes a vow of love to the wrong girl:

The Prince realizes what he has done, is mordified,  and runs off to find Odette:

The Prince fights Rothbard and after an amazing fighting scene, defetes him, frees Odette and the girls from the evil spell and...they live happily ever after:

baby your a firework

I thought I would add one more video. Yesterday I saw Katy Perry's music video for her song Firework. I was nervous at first but it was such a great message and such a good video.

BUT the best part? The second it started playing I recognized where she was. This was filmmed in Budapest and I was able to see everywhere that is in this video. What a thrill it is to see my life being filled with magic moments like these, the beauty you see in this video is exactly what I see in this world...

show the world what you can do

I just saw something incredible. There is a very talented Ukrainian girl named Kseniya Simonova who works with sand art. Here is her depiction of how World War II seperated her family...

...all roads lead to Rome

I'm extatic about Rome today, it's the day I buy my plane tickets...loving my life right now. 52 days!!!

i wish i was an acrobat...

Here's the other half of my circus fun, it was soooo amazing. I didn't get bored once:

Tales In The Big Top

I checked off yet another thing on my bucket list, I got to go to the circus!!! It was incredible, for sure but I got mixed feelings...Examples? Ok:

I got to touch a living, breathing alligator!! ... This poor crocodile is being forced to sit here for everyone to stare at him and is being restrained from moving his mouth...

Look at those ADORIBLE tigers, getting treats for doing tricks like puppies ... look at these poor creatures caged in being forced to do what their trainers watch for the sake of others entertainment...

NO WAY is that lady riding a LION! I want her job ... that poor lion is being forced to walk around with that lady on his back...

WHOA he's putting his HEAD in it's MOUTH, SWEEEEET ... that crocidile was taken out of the wild to have his mouth pryed open in front of a thousand people and is forced to NOT protect itself...

As I'm sitting watching the animal shows I tried to imagine them in the wild...sitting together as a family and the baby lion goes "when I grow up, I want to be in the CIRCUS!" 

I love Shamu...Sea World was amazing, why didn't I feel this way there? They are having Shamu do tricks for treats and live in this little space that's hardly like his home.

I love zoos...Columbus Zoo is #1 in the nation, it's incredible! I never felt this way about those...while they are caging in wild animals for us to just be able to see...

I enjoy the circus and I had a lot of fun...but I couldn't shake that feeling of saddness for those guys. They kept poking them with sticks ... and I'm pretty sure that a lady got REALLY mad at that skunck for not walking to the edge of the ring like he was supposed to. 

What do we think?

your journey has only begun

21 Ways to Happiness

1. Be your own best friend Enjoy your own company. Embrace everything about you!

2.Smiling releases serotonin in the brain, which instantaneously gives your mood a lift.

3.Pull on your best pair of warm socks, wiggle your toes and enjoy a cozy kind of bliss.

4.Shut the doors and the windows tight, put on your favorite song, and let your voice ring!

5.Indulge in dark chocolate

6.Believe that something wonderful will happen for you today. 

7.Meditate or pray;Research shows that people who are spiritual tend to be happier and healthier than those who are not.

8.We all make mistakes; none of us is perfect. Forgive your imperfections, accept your faults, and laugh.

9.Seven or eight hours each night should increase your energy and decrease moodiness.

10.count your blessings daily. Gratitude, the emotion of thankfulness, is one of the key ingredients for living a happy life. Make gratitude a habit and happiness will be yours.

11.Wake up early. Start the day off on a happy foot, with a happy thought. The morning hours are full of spiritual energy and prana.

12.20 minutes of sunlight per day improves mood and wards of Seasonal Affection Disorder (SAD).

13.Think it, read it, say it, sing it! "My happiness brings me more happiness."

14.Recognize your accomplishments and positive qualities.

15.Remembering that happiness is contagious, surround yourself with happy, positive people who share your values, goals, and dreams.

16.Grow a garden. Watching plants grow and thrive under your care is thrilling!

17.Each and every day sit awhile, without television, without magazines, without the Internet. Just be!

18.Set goals and then make plans to succeed and take action. Pursuing something we value always makes us happy.

19.Don't waste your precious time, energy, or thoughts on something that is beyond your control. Let it go.

20.A 10-minute nap is all it takes to rejuvenate your spirit and get the happiness to flow.

21.Love Everything. Love who you are. Love what you are doing. Love the person you're with. Love your friends and your enemies, too.

~beliefnet~

St. Stephen's in Vienna

Our first glance at St. Stephen's Cathedral was at 4 in the morning...Em ran around taking pictures while we guarded the car. It was so beautiful with nobody else around.

Of course we had to go back in the day light, it's such an incredible cathedral...so gothic and romanesque... built in 1147.