Boy, Howdy!

First, I want to thank all of you who read our last blog entry & prayed for me. I don't know if it's because of your prayers, or because of the fact that my staff & their student leaders successfully moved into the new residence hall over the weekend, or because I finally got some down time in the past couple of days to start regrouping (or a combination of all 3!)...but whatever it is, I've felt more peace over the past 36 hours than I have in the past two months. So, THANK YOU! We are so very thankful to have such a broad community around the world supporting & praying for us doing our times of need.

Now, a fun little story about our bilingual daughter. As most of you know, we have a wonderful Lithuanian nanny who spends the days with Ieva. Aurelija is a complete blessing in our lives for many reasons: 1) she's wonderful, 2) she's a committed Christian, 3) she adores Ieva, and 4) Ieva adores her! She also speaks to Ieva only in Lithuanian, which we love. And now as Ieva's vocabulary is increasing exponentially every day, she's coming up with some new phrases that at times, take some translation, regardless of the language she's trying to speak.

Over the past week, there have been certain times when Ieva has consistently said a phrase that sounds kind of like "boys howie" & we, for the life of us, have not been able to figure out what it is she is saying. At one point I wondered if Andrew taught her the old expletive "Boy, Howdy!" just for fun. But when he heard it, he didn't know what she was saying either. When she said it at our friend's house, they asked if it could be something in Lithuanian. "No - " I said wisely, "it doesn't sound like anything Lithuanian" (and I would know because my language skills are SO advanced!!! as if...)

So I came home from work tonight & as Aurelija & I were talking, Ieva said it again. I interrupted our conversation to ask if Aurelija had any idea what Ieva was saying. "Oh, yes - " she said matter-of-factly. "būs owie." Ahhh....it was starting to make sense to me now...
"Būs" is the Lithuanian word for "will have" and "owie" is our American slang for what can hurt our precious kid. Since Ieva (& us) refer to her getting hurt in terms of owies, Aurelija has fit that into her Ieva-language system, and would warn Ieva anytime she was doing something that had the potential for getting her hurt "būs owie, Ieva!" (you'll get hurt, Ieva!) It makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

So, now the mystery is solved, and we were reminded once again of how much more difficult it will continue to be for us (and others) to understand our daughter as she learns two languages while she's learning to talk. But, oh well...it's fun to keep guessing! And ultimately, we'd never trade away her gift of growing up bilingual for anything!

Kim and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Please forgive our delay in keeping you up to speed on the happenings of our life. The title of this blog pretty much sums up my day today, as well as many of the days I've had over the past month & a half. This has been a difficult season, and I need your prayer.

Within the joy of opening a new dorm on our campus, there have been many setbacks, mistakes & delays that have caused stress upon stress for many of us involved in this amazing project. I am passionately committed to this incredible facility and the opportunities it will provide our students for community development, but it's been a long hard road to get us there. Tomorrow we should have permission to occupy the building. The RDs who will live there already have their belongings in their apartments & will move in tomorrow. Our student leaders are showing up ready to move in. In a week, the building will be teeming with life. Only the Lord can give me the strength to make it to that day.

I have a Caedmon's Call album playing as I write this. Just now the song "Rest Upon Us" came on. It's lyrics are my prayer:
My soul is weary and my cup is dry. I am so in need of You. Though my righteousness is rags, your mercies are new. Holy Spirit, rest upon us. Breath of God, touch my soul. Come, unfailing love of Jesus, rest upon us. Rest upon us.

Please pray for me. I've been pushing too hard for too long. Thankfully, the light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter. Classes begin on September 3rd and life should go back to some degree of normalcy at that point. My folks will also be coming to stay with us for a month at that same time. I'm in desperate need for some TLC that only a mom can give, so the timing is perfect!

Please also pray for our entire community as LCC International University (our new name) goes through a variety of significant changes this fall.

Thank you for your prayers, your support & your encouragement. We are blessed to have such a gracious & loving community around the world supporting us.

Where's Waldo?

Ieva's new favorite pastime is finding Waldo. Remember him? He's that skinny guy with big glasses and a red & white striped shirt & hat? Oh yeah...and he's always surrounded by lots & lots of crazy people and scenery with lots of bright busy colors that make it difficult to find him.


Yep - that's the one!


























She's actually gotten pretty good at finding him! In fact, she knows exactly where Waldo is now on every page of both of our books & not because we point him out to her. I still haven't figured out if she's really that smart or just has a really good memory. Regardless, we think it's pretty fun! Here's to more fun-filled Waldo searches!

The Good & the Bad of the weekend...

After a terrible start to the weekend, it has grown increasingly better. It began with a crazy afternoon at LCC with 10 things demanding my (Kim's) attention at the same time. This craziness was followed with the nerve-wracking realization that my wallet had been stolen in the midst of it all. Once I realized what happened, I spent the next hour retracing my steps from the afternoon & then the next hour on the phone cancelling my credit cards & other important documents. Because of all that, I missed the annual SLI BBQ that my staff & I had been planning (I'm so thankful for an amazing staff that can run the show without me!!) which was a bummer as well. YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!!!

But, in the midst of all that, our dear friend Sabine & her mom Hedwig & Aunt Annamie came to spend the weekend with us. Sabine was a German exchange student in my high school & lived with our family during our senior year. During that year, she was the sister I never had & we became dear friends. We've stayed in contact over the years & I've been to Germany to visit her & her parents a few times. Sabine's parents (Hedwig & Joseph) have become our European family while we live here in Lithuania, but none of them had been up here to visit us until this weekend!15 years ago we played together on the dunes of Lake Michigan. This weekend we played on the Nida dunes on the Baltic Sea.

Since Klaipeda used to belong to Germany in the first half of the 1900's (then called Memel), Hedwig & Annamie's generation had heard a lot about our region & specifically the Curonion Spit. On Saturday, we took the ferry over to the spit & then drove to the end to the resort town of Nida where we wandered around, climbed the huge sand dune & saw the German Foreign Minister who was there dedicating a museum to the German author Thomas Mann. We had a great time together & the ladies especially enjoyed meeting & getting to know our Ieva! Ieva was especially drawn to "Annie" (as she called Annamie) & couldn't get enough of her. Since Annamie is an experienced Oma (German for Grandma), she was great about it & even spent our morning coffee together in the hotel today at the kids table coloring with her! They all headed back to Germany today (Sabine to Frankfurt & Hedwig & Annamie to Koln and then on to their village of Lamersdorf).Annamie, Sabine, Kim, Ieva & Hedwig in Klaipeda's Theater Square

Being with them this weekend reminded me that in the grand scheme of life, losing a wallet stinks, but ultimately it's just another thing. I have a beautiful & healthy daughter, a loving husband, wonderful family & friends all over the world and am able to live in a unique place & have a ministry that I am passionate about. Those are the truly important things!! What's a couple (hundred) Litas and ID cards when compared to that?? It's amazing what a little love & perspective can do for you.Sabine, Kim & Ieva being silly together in Nida

From Sea to Shining Sea

We're back in Lithuania after flying from the Pacific Coast to the Baltic Coast...and subsequently having one of the most convoluted & frustrating flights of our international traveling career. But, looking on the bright side, we've now received 3 of our 5 suitcases with hopes that the other 2 will arrive tonight & the airline says they'll reimburse us for the repairs of the 2 suitcases that they damaged...so I guess it could have been worse. (or could it??)

In general, our time in the US was absolutely fabulous! We were in a total of 12 States, spoke at 4 churches & with a 5th mission committee, saw more friends than we can count & spent hours with all of our immediate family members & many extended family. Thank you to all who carved out time to spend with us or chatted with us in church. We were encouraged by your words, honored by your hospitality, and blessed by your gifts.

Below you can see some of the highlights of our trip through our photos:

From our time with family & friends in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois & Kentucky:















At Covey Hill Baptist Church for the last time with Kim's dad as pastor














The family all gathered in Kentucky for Dayn's (Kim's cousin) graduation from Transylvania University















Hanging out in Niles, MI with Alyssa, Madeline & Hannah (& their parents!)



















At Science Central in Ft. Wayne with Emma















Our 1st night back was spent in Chicago with our old family friends, the Kueltzos, where we met Kristen's twins for the first time!















Shaltibarschai made by authentic Lithuanians in Ohio - thanks to Rita & her family for cooking and to Joe & Kayne for hosting all of us!



















Ieva with Nina, Ava & Livi Taviano in Ohio


From our drive from Michigan to Oregon:










Loading up the moving van...mom & dad's last day in Michigan!















Our first stop heading west: Minneapolis for the ACSD conference. We also got to spend a day at the Mall of America with current LCC colleagues Natalija & Casey & our old LCC buddy Rachel!















Ieva in the Badlands of South Dakota















Waiting for Old Faithful to blow in Yellowstone



















At Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota



















The newest Oregon residents - we finally made it!

From our time with family & friends in Oregon:















4 generations of Staves















With Great Grandma & Grandpa Smith in The Dalles















8 months ago, Stave family members were in 4 different places, including 3 continents & Hawaii. Now they're finally back together again on their native soil.















With the Cliffe parents now in Oregon, the entire family got together for the first time since 2002.



















Cousinly love...Eli is 6 & Ieva 21 months
















My dear friend Jen happened to be back in Oregon at the same time we were so I got to attend both of her bridal showers to celebrate her upcoming wedding!















Ieva & her friend Ava Beasley got to spend lots of great quality time together (as did we with Ava's mom & dad) - here they are at OMSI making creations out of flubber!


















Playing at a park with Elijah & Becky













There are a lot of Cliffes in the NW!! A mini family-reunion at Buz & Barb's new home was a great way to end our time in the States.

Happy Father's Day, Dads!

Happy Daddy's Day, Andrew, Buz (my dad), Tom (Andrew's dad) and all the other dads out there! We're thrilled to be in Oregon now - my folks have gotten settled into their new home in St. Helens & we've been down in Eugene with Andrew's family for the past few days.

Yesterday I joined many old friends to shower my dear friend Jennifer Swanborough before her upcoming wedding, and today we spoke in the two morning services & Sunday School at Eugene Friends Church.

Now we're sitting in a rental apartment on the Oregon Coast in Florence with a huge living room view of the Pacific. It's a wonderful way to relax with family & celebrate father's day together. We'll spend the next 10 days between Portland, St. Helens & Newberg before flying back to Lithuania on June 27th.

It's been a great trip!

Heading West...

In case you haven't heard: my folks - Buz & Barb Cliffe - have recently retired & decided to leave their home state of Michigan to spend their retirement near their kids in Oregon! So...we (the two of them & the three of us) are currently on the road heading west!! At the moment, we're in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and are driving across the state to Mt. Rushmore where we'll spend the night tonight. We're making it a somewhat leisurely trip - for those of you with toddlers, you can imagine what it's like to do this kind of a road trip with your kid strapped in a car seat for 10 hours a day...so we're only doing 5-6 hour days with breaks in between to see the sights. So far, it's gone okay.

We just spent the past 4 days in Minneapolis at the national ACSD conference reconnecting with friends & colleagues & getting re-charged professionally. For those of you we got to connect with there - it was FABULOUS to see you! It was truly an energizing time personally & professionally.

Now that we're on the road again, we're looking forward to seeing sites like Mt. Rushmore, a rodeo in Cody, Wyoming, the badlands & other national parks. And what's crazy for me about this trip, is that exactly 10 years ago to the month, my folks & I took the same route with a loaded UHaul as they moved me to Oregon to work at George Fox University. Never would I have imagined that 10 years later, my husband, daughter & I would be escorting my parents across the country to do the same. God is so good!!

Back in the USA...

We apologize for the long delay since we've last written...in our busy preparation to come back to the States, we ran out of time. And, in what has seemed like an ironic twist, we've had far worse internet access since we've been back than we ever have had in Lithuania.

So - by way of brief description of what we've been doing for the past 2.5 weeks since we've been back, I'll sum up how much I've enjoyed it by decribing our current scene:

Ieva & I are sitting outside on my Aunt & Uncle's lovely patio escaping the Kentucky heat under two huge shade trees. Their two small dogs & two huge cats are providing Ieva all the entertainment she could ever want as they run around in the lush grass of their huge yard. Just beyond the yard are miles of paddocks with horses grazing. Andrew is out golfing with my cousin. I'm doing work on the wireless laptop on the patio while sipping lemonaid. It feels like a little piece of paradise. And even though every moment of our trip hasn't felt this luxurious, our time in general has truly been this relaxing & energizing.

One of the biggest things that has struck me on this trip is how much I miss having a yard for Ieva to run around in. Soon after we arrived we went to Ohio to visit some friends who have 3 small girls & live in a neighborhood full of kids. Ieva was in heaven running up & down the sidewalk & through the grass with the other kids! My parents live in a parsonage next to their church and last Saturday the church threw a huge retirement party for them (which was an amazing testimony of my Dad's incredible ministry throughout his career as a pastor!) and there were at least 15 little kids running around throughout the yard. Watching Ieva run & play with them was so great!

Every morning this week that we've been down here in Kentucky, the first thing Ieva wants to do when she gets up is go outside. She'll wander through the soft grass in her bare feet & pjs in hunt of the kitties (whom she calls "Asti" - our cat's name) & is so cute!

In general, our time reconnecting with old friends & family has also been a blessing & our entire trip has felt as good as this afternoon has been. Below are some photos of our time so far. Notice that many of them revolve around water, which means...it's hot here!Bedtime with Grandma after our long flight

Playing with the hose in Grandma & Grandpa's yard

Picking flowers at Glenn & Reka's home in Niles

Getting her feet wet with Daddy in Lake Michigan

Getting our feet wet again in a fountain in Columbus, Ohio with the Taviano girls: Marla & her daughters Livi & Ava (Nina is missing)


Getting soaked in another fountain in Columbus - so much fun!!

A rough week for kids & kitties

Poor Ieva & Asti have had their fair share of "owies" this week. It began with Ieva last Sunday at the beach during a special worship service in the dunes. Our church, the International Christian Fellowship, met for a more informal service at the beach for a time of sharing & worship. As we sat in a circle in the sand, Ieva was enjoying running around us playing with the twigs & shells she could dig up. She came around behind me & reached her hands up around my neck, so I held her hands & leaned forward, resting her up against my back as I pulled her feet off the ground. We did this a few times until she suddenly started to cry and wouldn't stop. I took her down to the water to try to distract her, but it was clear that she was in pain & was refusing to use her left arm and hand. I was mortified to think I injured my baby!! So we called our colleague Sharon (who was a physical therapist in her former life) and asked her to meet us at home to take a look at Ieva's arm. After crying for nearly an hour straight, we finally had her bundled up with her blanky & bear on the couch distracted by Shrek on TV. Sharon assessed that one of her shoulder muscles was probably strained, so we treated it with baby Advil and put her to bed. Monday morning she woke up as happy as ever & was using her left arm as if nothing had ever happened! Ieva looking pathetic (but sweet!) after her arm injury

Then today, our kitty-boy Astorija started showing signs that his reoccurring urinary tract infection had returned. We called our vet (who speaks English & makes house calls!) and he said he'd come over around 8:30pm. In the 4 hours between when we called & when the vet came, Asti's lethargic movements evolved into a lot of whining, growling & hissing when anyone came near him & it was obvious he was in a lot of pain. When the vet came and felt Asti's bladder, he was very concerned & said Asti was extremely bloated & in a lot of pain. Apparently, he couldn't urinate...which, I can only imagine would be pretty painful. The vet said he couldn't force him to pee, so he gave him a shot to put him to sleep (which worked within about 10 seconds after receiving it!) and then was able to massage his bladder until the stone that was apparently causing the blockage popped out, followed by massive amounts of urine. Our poor kitty had kidney stones! (or the cat's equivalent to it.) It's taken him a couple hours to wake up & he's still pretty groggy, but seems to be on the mend. Keeping Asti warm as the anesthesia wears off

In both situations, we're so thankful that they have turned out to be okay & haven't been worse than they were!
Thank you, Jesus, for protecting our little family!!

Graduation Day

Practicing for the class of 2028!!

With gorgeous blue skies & lots of sunshine, today was a beautiful day for LCC's 12th graduation ceremony! As the graduates proceeded out of LCC's main academic building, the DeFehr Center, they are each handed a rose. This was the second year that an LCC staff or faculty married couple was asked to hand the graduates their roses & we were invited to do the honors this year! The graduates then walk toward our multi-purpose building, the Michealsen Center, through a lineup of staff & faculty on the front sidewalk before the ceremony begins.


















Ieva tests the roses before we hand them to the graduates to make sure they smell good!

Beside the typical awarding of diplomas and Lithuanian graduation sashes (hanging around graduates necks in photos), this year the ceremony included a Lithuanian invocation done by our American chaplain Sharon Brubaker - one of the few expatriate LCC employees who is fluent in the language. The commencement address was given by Vytautas Umbrasas (seen in LCC's promotional video), who is the advisor to the President of Lithuania, and who is a big supporter of LCC. Then there was the awarding of diplomas & turning of the tassels, which were followed by very nice thank you speeches to parents, done by Kristina in Lithuanian & Katia in Russian. Another new touch this year was the processional & recessional done by LCC's bell choir, rather than the external brass group that we've hired in years past. And since 2 of the bell choir members were graduating & couldn't play, Andrew was one of staff members asked to step in & play, which was fun for him.













The commencement speaker, Vytautas Umbrasas & his English translator

In Hawaii, graduates recieve laiis from friends & family members. In Lithuania, graduates recieve flowers. As you'll notice in the photos, some of our graduates have gorgeous boquets in their arms that continue to grow as they are greeted by family, friends & LCC staff & faculty.















Celebrating with Fabian from Albania

















With Agata from Latvia and her fiance, Dan















With Viktorija from Klaipeda

Aside from the festivities, Ieva was also quite a hit today, as she charmed everyone with her sweet smile & innocent curiosity that kept her running throughout the swarms of black gowns & flowers.


















Our colleague Natalija giving Ieva a rose

A University of Oregon fan already!

We were pleased to come home from work this past Friday to find Ieva dressed like this:Ieva's Auntie Ingrid should be happy to know that the t-shirt she gave to Ieva before Ieva had even entered the world now fits her! And it was even more fun to know that Ieva's nanny Aurelija, who has no idea that the t-shirt had anything to do with anything more than just promoting the state we come from, had also put a yellow bow in Ieva's hair - decking her out completely in U of O colors!

Like Father, Like Daughter: Go Ducks!!

Making cookies

Ieva got her first taste of a cookie-dough covered beater this week! She was helping Mama make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies & as any good cookie-baker does, she also helped lick the beaters clean! I have wonderfully vivid memories of licking the beaters when my mom made cookies when I was little, so it was fun to start the same tradition with my daughter. She tends to be a little picky about some foods, so I was slightly worried that she might not like it...but...like mother, like daughter - she's a sweet tooth like me & LOVED it!! :) Am I doing it right?

Let Mama show you how it's done!

Soooo yummy!!