We're Expanding...

We're expanding! Or, more precisely, I'm expanding while John and Jack go about their normal routines. But some time in late April of next year, we'll be adding a new member to our family!

It's a little early for an announcement like this (I'm 13 weeks pregnant), and believe me, I have debated when and how to share the news a lot over the past few months. But since the news doesn't just stop at "we're having a baby," and things are getting down to the wire, I figured it made sense to let people know what was going on now, rather than waiting.

So, to make a long story longer, Jack and I will be leaving Russia in ten days. Permanently. It's a complicated topic and one I will explain in more detail later, but for now, let's just leave it at: I didn't feel comfortable getting the majority of my prenatal care in Yekaterinburg. I also didn't love the idea of spending another winter here, pregnant, or waiting until I get put on bed rest again to make the journey back to the States with Jack in tow. So Jack and I will be spending December, January, and February in Montana with my parents, and then we'll meet John in DC some time in March.

I'm obviously thrilled to be returning to the US next week, but it's a little bittersweet, because I feel like I didn't quite finish my time in Russia. I wanted to see St. Petersburg, go dog sledding and horseback riding in the mountains, and maybe get just a little less terrible at Russian. I'll miss my job and our Consulate family, the Russian friends I made, and this glorious, massive apartment, the likes of which I'll probably never see again.

But this pregnant lady is also beyond excited about the prospect of being with family, seeing good friends, and eating all the amazing delicacies I have missed so much these past 13.5 months. Wish me luck packing (I have to decide which clothing I won't miss for the next year and a half, since the majority of our stuff will go to storage next year and remain there until we go to Peru in June of 2015), pray we get our upgrade on the looong journey to Chicago next week, and above all else, THINK PINK!