Third and final...

Today, March 7, 2014 marks our third anniversary of moving to Russia.  I say final because very late last night, we received THE email, notifying us of Ryan's next job assignment.  We are very excited, but I will wait to share the details until later.  For now, it is our third Russian anniversary.

I took a moment to look back on my blog post for the first and second anniversary of our move.  The first year I talked about the language challenges, reflecting on the my growth over the first year.  Second anniversary post was much shorter. I can tell I was just "not in the mood." I focused mostly on the idea that it would most likely be our last anniversary.  HA! Should have known, I jinxed myself.  It is our third anniversary, but this time I can officially say it is our last.

I cannot say the past three years have been the easiest.  At times I found myself struggling with myself, with our location, with any random thing.  But, it was through the struggles that I have grown. I realized this during our last trip to Houston. I used to live inside this bubble.  I used to think that my world inside the bubble was so large. I pushed myself to do well in school, get a job, and I was happy, but did not push myself too much.  My bubble sprung a leak when I moved to Houston, and it popped when I moved to Russia.  There is so much more out there if only we are willing to take a chance, experience something new, and push ourselves a little bit farther.

Now that I know our time in Russia is dwindling, looking back our on move day, I would board the plane again on March 7, 2011, knowing everything that was in store for us. I could not possibly give up the incredibly memories Ryan and I have made during our time in Russia, our travels together, and our growth together. But, if I must be honest, I would change one thing. I would have purchased, and put a proper kitchen trash can in our shipment. :)

I have grown to love our kitchen hamper. 

In case you are confused, read my blog from March 15, 2011. :)