Here's Matt's new mode of transportation around Ulaanbaatar! Cuts the walk time by more than half and is even faster than the bus sometimes! And it gets lots of looks from the locals. Made in the good ol' U S of A.
Big thanks to our good friend Corrie for the box of stuff she brought for us from America last week!
Well, spring has sprung all over the world. I hear that the tulips and daffodils are blooming in MN. Here in Mongolia we're seeing green, too! Well, at least indoors, but soon outside, too! This week, it looks like every day will be in the 50s! So, I decided that my little plants needed their own signs. And they wanted me to introduce you to them individually....so, here they are!
"Hi, my name is..."
And we have some new little buds on our mystery plant! How cute!
Yesterday, I celebrated my 29th birthday. I'm officially in the last year of my twenties. It's been a great decade so far! I'm looking forward to what the next year will bring. This last year was pretty sweet with the arrival of our little Ezra. :) Each day is such a joy to see him learn new things and explore the world around him.
I started out my birthday with a team meeting at our house! This is our team: Sarah, Craig, Ezra, Matt, Josh and Jennifer (L to R). Right before they came over, though, our buddy Munhuu stopped over and gave me a beautiful birthday card, a book, ice cream and candy. It was super sweet of him!
For lunch, I made my mom's fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. But come to think of it now...I forgot the gravy! No one could ask if there was more (little family joke there)! I must have been a little preoccupied. Oh, well. Jennifer also made homemade buns (their family's secret recipe)! Mmmm...
And Sarah made me a birthday cake! I actually got two birthday cakes! Jennifer made a chocolate cake for supper. Our team had supper together at our pastor's house. Two chocolate cakes in one day. Hard to beat that!
And in between chocolate cakes, I spent some time in my garden. Here is a picture from just 3 days after I planted my seeds!
Now, the two little sprouts in front of the 3 day picture is in one of the big pots on the right at only 9 days old (it's squash!). I spent the afternoon of my birthday re-potting some of my new plants.
Just about all of them have sprouted now except the lavender and garlic chives! In my garden I have: chives, garlic chives, cilantro, rosemary, oregano, savory, Thai basil, sage, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes, squash, zinnia, lavender, aster, and Sweet William. Should be interesting!
And I found a bonus plant that was growing alongside a dead bush in our apartment. If anyone knows what this is, please let me know. :)
So, for my birthday I got a new ivy plant, a bunch of "dirt bags", and new plastic pots for my little seedlings.
I also got this beautiful blue pot. It caught my eye and looks great with the doily that Mama Betty made.
We ended the day with a birthday serenade from our pastor's daughter! Check it out!
Thanks for all the birthday greetings! It was a great day with my sweet little family and dear Mongolian friends.
Some of you may remember from last year that I had quite a little greenhouse going. I didn't think I had any survivors, but sure enough! My geraniums (that were supposed to be gerbera daisies!) survived with the help of my dear teammate Pam!! She just brought them back on Friday. I hope they like their new home, cuz they were doing so well at Pam's. :)
I also received a little gift when we arrived in our new apartment of some cuttings that I just put into pots, too.
Anyhow...I was inspired with warmer weather on the way to plant some more seeds (which, by the way, today it got over 50!). So, here goes another shot at making the place a little greener.
I brought back a little greenhouse help with these starter disks. Hopefully they work out ok. The dirt here is a little hard, so I thought it might give them a good jump start. First, you add the water and watch the little pots grow like Chia Pets. :)
Then, you pull back the mesh.
And last, you fluff up the soil and add a few seeds.
As I was doing this I was reminded of the parable of the sower and the soils. Please remember to lift up the "soil" of those we meet that they will be fertile and receive the implanted Word. We look forward to giving you updates as we watch new life sprout. :)
Big thanks to our good friend Corrie for the box of stuff she brought for us from America last week!
