Monthly

“HOW TO STAY DELIRIOUSLY HAPPILY MARRIED FOR TWELVE MONTHS”

Recently Marie and I have joked that we should write a book with the above title. Whilst in the States we celebrated our one year anniversary. I have to say that we are both loving this thing called marriage. So we are now old pros and know all there is to know about love – kidding.

Life truly is “Better Together”. (Not to mention having someone to watch your bags at the airport when you “need to go”)

MARIE’S CORNER

One nice thing about being from a big family is that there are lots of weddings to go home for! Jono and I had a really lovely time visiting my family in the States for a few weeks in July to celebrate my youngest sister’s wedding. She, of course, was a stunning bride and the ceremony was beautiful. I’m grateful that I was able to be a part of this special day in her life.

Pull Out Some More Adjectives!!

This month my class, along with all grade three students across Australia, will sit NAPLAN tests. If you don’t know what I am talking about, consider yourself blessed. One of the tests focuses on writing. We are trying to help the students improve their writing with adjectives. When was the last time you read something and were transported into another realm, not because of the plot or the philosophy, but purely because of the choice of words? Words are powerful. They move us, inspire us, challenge us, motivate us, captivate us, arrest us, embolden us and empower us – and then there are times when the dictionary and the thesaurus combined do not contain enough or the right words to describe how we feel.

Life In The Big Smoke

The Sun in Scotland?!?

My picture was printed in the Scottish Sun Tabloid last week. I was with my friend Simbo 7 ½ years ago and . . . well he saw it first, so he tells the story.

“They say every picture tells a story. Well what a story this one tells today. It was taken on October 11th 2006, me and Jono Miller soaking up the atmosphere on Independence Square, Kyiv, a few hours before Ukraine beat Scotland 2-0 in Euro2008 qualifying. Kenny Miller missed a glorious chance at 1-0, there was a dive for the penalty that made it 2-0. Anyway, this picture appeared TODAY (88 months later) in a Scottish newspaper as the draw for Euro 2016 was revealed. Today, while thousands in Scotland looked at this picture and thought about football, I was on Independence Square in Kyiv, sharing all kinds of emotions with thousands gathered to remember the 88 people who died here in the last week, fighting for a better future for this country. And today, I added the Saltire you see round Jono's neck, to the many other flags hung from the Independence Square Christmas tree, a few feet from where this picture was taken.”

Holiday Time

Marie and I are enjoying holidays in NZ and will have reports and photos in our next JAM. For now we would like to thank those who love us and encourage us.

UTSIM UPDATE (Sveta's own words)

"Natasha told me that you wanted me to write a few words about how the things are going here. Ok, I'll try..

Holidays are coming! I'm glad there will be a little break, ready for it.. :)

We are still renting the same room at the Culture House, which is a big blessing - very convenient and central spot. Because of the New Year's season there is a big Christmas tree (the main one of Rzhyshchiv) just outside my window so I can enjoy the lights from it when it's dark :) and also there is another one inside. That's a beautiful time of the year!

The kids are also beautiful ;) Some of them are very beautiful - so obedient and so sweet!!! Some have behavior problems, nothing has changed - it has always been that way... :)