Estonia's largest island, Saaremaa, is home to, among other things: the best preserved medieval castle in the Baltics, a crater, former Soviet bases, a nature preserve, windmills, lots of livestock, cliffs, and about 12 people. Outside of Tallinn, this country is shockingly sparsely populated. Saaremaa was also essentially cut off from the mainland by the Soviet army, who used the island for various military purposes. Estonians needed a permit to visit, and islanders found themselves stuck on the mainland, separated from family and their birthplace by unfortunate history, infamous bureaucracy, and a significant number of guns. Today, there are about 14 ferries each way on any given day.
The weather this weekend was fortunately spectacular: sunny, but breezy and chilly. It was a perfect September trip.
On a side note, I've now gone through three years of motherhood with very few pictures of me with my children. I keep waiting to lose the baby weight before I step in front of the camera, waiting to remember to wash my hair. This weekend I came to Jesus, and realized that I, as I am now and not as I wish to be, am a part of the kids' lives, a part of their childhoods. I do them a disservice if I hide all evidence of my existence. So I bravely sought out opportunities to take photos with them, only to find that Boy, when asked if he would get in a picture with me, kindly answered, "Oh, no thank you." We did the best we could. A few of our attempts are below. More to come.
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