Pree-vet!

Hello from Russia! So excited to get this blog up and running, though I have to admit, I have not been great about documenting these first few weeks.As I went through the camera for what pictures I had so far, I didn't have a ton to choose from:( But I will try to be better, I promise! Now that we have internet, it will be a lot easier. 

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, finishing up our jobs in Houston, saying so many goodbyes that we thought our hearts would break, scrambling to finishing things, and cross items off the to-do list: cleaning, purchases, paperwork, packing; by the time our departure day came around, we were exhausted in every way: physically, mentally, emotionally. But it was wonderful to see so many people before we left, especially the time that we got to spend with our families for Christmas. First, we headed up to the Saunders for our early Christmas celebration. It was packed with all kinds of fun stuff - a wonderful goodbye party thrown by Rachel, one last Texas brewery for Mattie, and Crescent City Classics cooking class with the whole clan - we were stuffed. And then we had our first "Christmas morning" where Santa definitely treated us all well:) Mattie and I got lots of things to help us transition to a colder climate....

But the best present was the fun times together: stories, laughs, countless rounds of Apples to Apples (which got progressively sillier as the celebratory champagne flowed)...

Then we headed back to Houston for Christmas with my side of the fam, which was equally wonderful. It definitely wouldn't be Christmas for me without the 11:00 candlelight service on Christmas Eve (which is my favorite holiday of all). The 25th was spent pretty quietly, and finished up with a massive cleaning at our apartment. Thanks to my awesome mama for helping the kinda sicky Matt and I finish up that job!

The day after Christmas Mattie spent running around Houston finishing a million errands, and my mom and I drove to Austin to get one measly stamp for Zoey's travel paperwork. It was touch-and-go for a while, and I was terrified that we wouldn't be able to get it before our flight, but it all worked out in the end. Thank goodness! We rented a cargo van (since we were now car-less and had to get to the airport at 4 the next morning) since they were out of SUVs at the rental car place, drove to a hotel by the airport, opened the really fancy bottle of wine we had been saving, and promptly fell asleep. Wine rarely goes unpoured in our house, but that night the pillows were calling much louder.

The next 33 hours were exhausting - checking in 4 bags for international flight, along with 3 carry-on bags and a dog, lent for an interesting early morning. But other than a few bumps along the way, we made it, totally exhausted, to Sakhalin. Amid the explorations and excitements of the first few days, Matt and I managed to get at least 12 hours of sleep a night - we had a lot of catching up to do!

Now that we are here, we are overwhelmed by the blessings of this place - our home is more than we could have hoped for, our community is friendly and supportive, and has welcomed us so graciously, and the city promises lots of adventures and new experiences over the next few years. I've made it out grocery shopping a few times (which has brightly illustrated my need for a Russian language class - I should be starting next week), and Monday Matt and I went skiing for the first time ever - an opportunity we plan to take advantage of here - the mountains are gorgeous, and it's super accessible. We've learned to shovel snow, Zoey has adjusted (somewhat) to the snow boots and coat (though she still doesn't like going out on the colder days), we've made snow angels, and thrown snowballs. 

Mostly, we are happy to be together, on this new adventure. We anticipate hardships, of course, and missing all of you will be tough. But this is the opportunity of a lifetime, and we plan to take advantage of the many once-in-a-lifetime things that being on the opposite side of the world offers. 

Now for some pictures!!

Zoey getting one final haircut before her weigh-in

First view of Sakhalin from the plane

Cold. Real cold.

Emmie and Zoey, tired from travel but ready to see our new home! Z was an amazing plane dog, by the way, as I knew she would be.

Yup, those are insanely gorgeous mountains.

Zoey was NOT a huge fan of her first walk in Sakhalin, and ended up tucked inside Matt's coat before too long. Check out her angry eyes.

The view out our front window - we got a lot of snow that day. Most days have been really sunny though!

Ready for some outdoor fun!

My first snow angel!

Pretty good, right?

Off our side yard - I KNOW, RIGHT??

Another angle from the side yard.

Matt getting ready to make his first snow angel - the snow is pretty high in our back yard, so you have to kind jump for a snow angel.

ACTION SHOT

So fun.

Mastering the snow shovel.

Our back porch, complete with firewood and icicles.

Oh yeah, we built a snow sled in our backyard. No big deal.

ACTION SHOT.

Y'all, this is my neighborhood. I LIVE HERE. Who am I?

Next time, I will try to have more exciting stories for you all, but now you know we're alive, not frozen, and are doing pretty ok:) I love you all more than words can say - watch for more posts!

--E