Never A Dull Moment

Year in Review

2011-12-31T16:27:00.001-06:00

Where did the time go? 365 days ago I was in Texas finishing up details for my sister's wedding. 365 days later here I am half a world away from Texas. This has been a different year than any I have had...ever. Here are some highlights.

*My sister, Britni, got married after a whirlwind engagement so I could be there. I stood by her side as her maid of honor and watched her marry a kind, loving, Christian man. She became also became a mother to 3 beautiful girls.

*Five days later with 15(+or-) suitcases, James and I and our girls boarded a plane bound for Krakow, Poland. We had never been to Poland but we uprooted our family to come and tell people about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We said goodbye to English and understanding signs, people, culture and most of all our friends and precious family for at least 3 years.

*We moved from an 1800sq ft home to just under 800sq ft apartment. How were we all going to fit? We have so much more space than we would have ever imagined. We live close to each other but comfortably. I have learned that I don't need as much as I though.

*We left our car, as a our primary form of transportation, and began using public trams and buses to get around. I love it! It is easy and convenient.

*I put my kids in Polish speaking schools...dropped them in and wished them luck. I have one that is just about fluent and has learned through play only. I have one that has had a lot more struggles. She has struggled with having a lack of friends, different school environment than she has been used to as well as not knowing language. But she is a fighter and learning more each day.

*I have learned to shop for a week at a time...and sometimes a day or 2 at a time. My refrigerator and pantry are much smaller and the food does not have all the preservatives so I can't keep stuff for long periods of time.

*I am learning a foreign language...and one of the harder ones because of grammar rules that don't always make sense. We are do well. Each time I speak I feel like I get better. My understanding of others is growing too. I am not a good language learner based on my high school French and college Spanish classes so I was very anxious. But I am doing better than I hoped.

*We have learned that we can make it through big holidays without family and be ok. Of course we miss them desperately but we can make it.

*We have been to 3 countries, 2 of which we have never been too and left our kids in Poland while we went. Czech Republic, Italy and Belgium.

*We have made new friends that have become like family. We really understand each other when our friends and family don't understand why we would pack up and leave with our children and move to a foreign country.

*We have had the opportunity for each of our parents to come for a visit. What a precious time each of those 3 visits have been for us. We were able to show them around Krakow and show them what we are doing.

*We have had some low points but also high points in our marriage this year. Depending on only us can be hard sometimes but we are stronger.

*I swore when I left last year that I would not lose touch with American culture...movies, tv shows, news, music. WOW!!! It only took a year and I am out of the loop. I have no idea what new shows are on. When we have the opportunity to go to a movie, I don't even know what the movies are. Haha!

*I have learned that a whole country can shut down for holidays...for even a couple days at a time and the economy will still go on. You can take 2 weeks or even a month for vacation and your company will still keep running.

*Finally, the biggest thing of this year is that God is faithful. When I was 9 years old at GA camp and felt the calling to be a missionary people told me I was young. Then in high school I continued to feel that calling and then I married James who also felt the same calling. Finally this year after 21 years, God fulfilled that calling. There is no other place I would rather be than in the center of His will.

Next year is full of more changes. We will continue to push on in learning Polish. My grandparents are able to come and visit in February. In March and June we have 2 youth teams coming from Texas to do mission work. James and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary. We have always said we wanted to go back to Austria for 10th anniversary. Little did we know we would be so close. We will be taking the girls with us this time and are looking forward to it. But the biggest event is we will be transitioning to our permanent city in the summer. James will be the team leader for a brand new team in NW Poland. We are very excited and anxious at the same time. We have made some contacts and are ready to get started.

2011 was full of first and I am looking forward to 2012 and that God has in store for us.

Polish Christmas Traditions

2011-12-27T04:02:00.003-06:00

In Poland, Christmas eve is the big celebration evening. Families spend all day cooking and then eat that night and open gifts. Get this...they have TWELVE dishes!!! I thought I might try and do but as I was reading what all it was I decided it would be wasted on my family. Too much cabbage and mushrooms. So I decided to spend the day making perogi...one set with meat and the other with potatoes and cheese...and tomato soup. Ella helped me make the perogi. I meant to take pictures of us but I didn't. Oh well, no memories. LOL

We then did another Polish Christmas tradition. They have things called opłatki. Basically they are very think wafers...I would describe their taste as similar to that of very thin styrofoam haha. But you each have one and you break a piece of and share with each other and give a wish or blessing for the other person. So we all shared and gave a wish for each person for the next year. I LOVED doing this and we will do it each year for sure. It was so special. I think as the girls get older they will understand how to give wishes more than...I hope you have a good time in Heaven when you go. Thank you Ella. Hahaha!

James sharing with Macie

Ella sharing with James

Then James read the Christmas story from Luke 2. Macie made mention of how it is the same as what was in Charlie Brown. Imagine that!

Finally on Christmas day we watched The Nativity Story and then had a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to Jesus. Unfortunately Ella had been sick and throwing up so she did not participate in this part. Not a fun way to spend Christmas.

Again, it was a different Christmas but it was good to be with our family. We had a fun day!!!

A New Christmas

2011-12-27T03:45:00.002-06:00

I have had many people ask if we will stay here for Christmas...Polish people mainly. I thought I was fine staying here...and we did ok...but it never felt like Christmas. I missed hanging out with family more than I expected to. I honestly thought it would be so nice to stay at home with just my little family and not feel pressure for 3 sides of family to spend time equally with each of them. Well I was not as correct as I thought. I missed hanging out with my mom's side on Christmas eve having baked potatoes and spending time together with all my aunts, uncles and cousins. (And this year it was at my sister's and that would have been a lot of fun.) I missed opening Christmas presents and hanging out with my dad and playing with our silly toys they always get us. (We did get to do that earlier this month and it was a lot of fun but not the same without my sister.) But what I missed most, was spending the night at James's sister's house. A few years ago we began going over there after Christmas eve with my family and would spend the night and do Santa in the morning with her kids. Having 6-8 cousins (depending on if Nicole and Pam were there) was beyond fun. The kids had so much fun together. We got over there late every year but the girls got to decorate cookies for Santa and sprinkle glittered oats on the front yard and leave carrots for the reindeer. We then had to get them all snug in their beds and asleep and then spent hours assembling toys and stockings. We would crawl into bed around 2am only to be awakened around 7am by excited children!!! My tradition is to give Christmas pjs on Christmas eve that were generally matching...although the older they have gotten I have gotten away from matching. We would then take pics on the stairs with all the kids. It was so much fun. This year we missed that. And reality hit that the next time we are able to be all together there is a chance that no one will "really" believe in Santa. Macie is the youngest and she will be 8. :( We did some new traditions that I will post about but here are some pictures of our Christmas Eve/Day.

Christmas PJs

Christmas Morning

Santa comes to Poland on December 6th so he had already come. However, we had little elves that came to visit after that. So Hania and Snowflake left small gifts for the girls for being good.

James and I found these coats in Brussels. They are so warm

We started the girls on their first Polish pottery set. Ella's is more green with little bees on it. Macie's has cute butterflies on it.

Aunt Boo sent cute Reef slippers for the girls

I walked into my bedroom and found Macie playing with her jewelry box and all the jewelry from Nonny and Poppa. All in all it was a different Christmas but it was good.

Cooking Class

2011-12-27T03:10:00.000-06:00

We have a new married couple on our team. They are doing an amazing job! Traci has been having a cooking class once a month at her apartment. I was finally able to go to one a couple weeks ago. We made twice baked potatoes and chocolate/white chocolate dipped stuff. That was all fun, but the most fun to me was being able to visit with college girls that were from various countries. Including Becca, Traci and myself, we had people from the USA, Poland, Germany, the Ukraine and Greece. But everyone spoke English...probably better than I will EVER speak Polish. We had great conversations. I am planning to go more often. Here are a few pics.

Becca giving instructions on how to make the potatoes.

I was cracking up because the girls were all anxious about using the electric mixer.

Mmm....Chocolate covered wafers, "doritos," fruit, pretzels, and marshmallows.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-16T14:02:00.000-06:00

I know I know...I am a little slow. This semester has been crazy busy. By the time evening hits and bedtime for the girls is over, I am too mentally exhausted to sit and blog. I digress. So Thanksgiving was a bit different this year...obviously. I missed hanging out with our families and of course Black Friday shopping in the middle of the night with my sister. But hey, different isn't always bad. So we were invited to spend Thanksgiving with the northern Poland teams. It was an amazing blessing! I am glad we were able to have a change of scenery for this holiday. I think it made it a lot less emotional. The Saturday before was a meeting with our youth at church and so we prepared an American Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. It was a huge hit. Here are a few pics from the week.

Reading with dad on the train

When you get to miss 2 days of school, you have to pay the price with homework!

Aunt Bev is great with kids. She had 2 great crafts ready for them.

I love this turkey. They made it with a pineapple.

This was a HUGE turkey. The pic does not do justice.

We LOVE Megan!

Sweet girl singing hymns!

Different is Different (part 2)

2011-11-18T14:51:00.001-06:00

(I meant to have this finished sooner but well...life happened!)

Ella's School...I am so glad that Ella spent a couple years in American schools because it gave her a basis for education. However, it also has worked against us in Polish schools in some ways but there are also things I like better. Ella is currently in a private Christian school here. The director (principal) is precious. (Imagine a cross between Mrs. Doubtfire and Julia Childs.) She loves the Lord and started this school about 6 year ago. Ella has 2 teachers. Her main teacher, Pani Agnieszka, is super sweet, and there is an aid who sits with Ella, Kaleb (another MK) and Igor who is autistic. She is so patient with them. Ella adores her! She also spend an hour a day M-Th with Ella teaching her Polish.

Pros: I love that here the teachers stay with the same students for 1-3 class. Ella has the same teachers she had last year and if we were staying, she would have them again next year. I love that her class size is smaller...mainly because we are in a private school setting. She has 15 in her class and it may one of the biggest if not the biggest in her class. I love that they still play dodge ball and the kids can be kids. There isn't a lot of concern for them as far as ultra protecting them or anything goes. Like we were up there a couple weeks ago and the girls were jumping rope...in the corridor of course...and then the boys got the ropes and were laying on the ground holding one end while their buddy was pulling them across the floor. I actually saw one get pulled into a wall. But hey, they were having a blast! I love that kids seem to get to be kids longer. A 7 or 8 year old seems young still here. I love that after school classes there is a class called (I don't know how to spell it so I am going to spell how it sounds) SHFIET-LEETSA. This is a class where the kids go when they are done with school but parents haven't come to get them yet. They are supposed to do their homework in this time...Ella hasn't grasped this concept yet. I love that their classes are 45min each and then there is a 10 min break to run around before the next one starts.

Not so much pros: (Negatives sounds so...negative) There is such a lack of structure in the school. Oh my! I am sure the kids love it but it is stressful to me and I think to Ella too...although I am not sure she could put it into words. Her main teacher comes to school only during the time of the classes she teaches. Only on Fridays is she there for the first class of the day and she is never there until the end of the school day. We have language everyday and this prevents me from being able to see her teacher and connect. Apparently in Poland, though, this is normal. No one else seems concerned about not seeing the teacher. I am just used to seeing Ella's teachers when I drop her off and when I pick her up. I am able to ask questions about progress and behavior and other activities going on. This has been the hardest thing for me to deal with. And Ella's lack of language along with a strong lack of focus warrants a need to meet with the teachers more regularly...in my opinion. But this is life right now. Homework is also different. A few weeks ago, her teacher was having them all do catch up work (finish all the pages in 3 different work books) after they had taken the test over these books. HW is for us is not like HW in the states. HW includes Google translate and a lot of thinking. She spent 2-5 hours a night on work and would not finish everything. It is exhausting on Mommy and Daddy...who still have their own HW to do when the girls go to bed. The good thing is that Ella is good at math and math is a universal language. It may be taught differently, but 1+1 always equals 2 no matter what language you use. I like math homework.

Running and playing in the halls

This is Ella's classroom.

These are just a few differences we have...again, not necessarily bad just different.

Different is Different...Not Necessarily Bad

2011-11-18T05:52:00.001-06:00

Several months ago I started doing a couple of posts about the differences in Poland vs. America. The differences are definitely there but either I am getting more accustomed to them after almost 11 months, or they really aren't as drastic as you would think. I think it's a little of both. There is one thing, though, that is obviously different here and I have NOT become accustomed to is the school system.

I have written in the past about how much I really like the girls' schools...especially Macie's. I will start with hers. So she is in preschool. She is doing so well and LOVES it. Her school is Monday through Friday from 8:00am until 4:00pm. Now the teachers want you to have your kids there by 9:00 so they can be there in time for second breakfast. What? They would like you there by 9? I thought it starts at 8? Well this year, her teacher asked that we would have our kids there by 8:30 so they can have some play time before structured time begins at 9:00. Macie has moved upstairs with the "big kids" this year and there is a shift in the age for starting school next year so they are trying to have them all ready to go to first class next fall.

Another difference. In the States, you start school based on your age generally before September 1st or sometimes October 1st. Here, it is based on the age you turn in a calendar year. So if you are going to turn 7 this year, you will be in 1st class. So if your birthday is in December and you will be 7 then you would start 1st class. If your birthday was in January and you turned 7, then you would start 1st class in September. That isn't necessarily a big deal when you are 7 but for some of the kids in the pre-k, you can tell a big difference in maturity...like in the 3 year old class, there are kids starting who haven't yet turned 3 and they seem so little! Ok so enough with that.

In the past couple of years, the schools have slowly started shifting back a year to start first class at 6 instead of 7. It has been optional...so in Ella's class last year there were 6 and 7 year olds because some parents opted to move their child ahead. Next school year, however, all kids turning 6 (in the calendar year) will start first class. So Macie will be pushed in with this change. It will also mean a potential for HUGE classes because there will still be kids who opted not to start this year that are 7 starting along side of the 6 yr olds that must start. Does this make sense? It also means that Macie will skip zero class (kind of like kindergarten). She will go straight to first class. So because Ella started at Poland's old normal age of 7 for first class and Macie will start at the new age of 6 they will be only 2 years apart in school here. In America, they would have been 4 years apart because Macie was a September baby and just missed the cut off. Ok, enough rambling.

Macie school takes field trips ALL the time. They go to the museum, the Filharmonia...a big concert hall thing...theaters and take walks almost everyday. We see small kids out all the time with their classes all over Krakow. It cracks us up! And we don't have to sign permission slips for all of this. She also has swimming once a week and they take her by bus to the other side of town...quite a distance...for this. I am not sure if there are seat belts on the bus or not. It isn't the newest bus so I am going to guess no.

They also have people come to school and have in house field trips. She has had authors come and read books to the kids and then give them autographed copies. They have had a man do marionette puppet shows...you know the puppets on strings. They have had people come and talk about skiing safety and animal safety. I love it!

As far as lunch goes, we can send her lunch with her. (We have to send 2nd breakfast.) Or we can order it from the school. I think at the beginning we weren't going to order it but it was getting lost in translation and she kept getting it. AND SHE ATE IT!!! This is not school food...hamburgers, french fries, pizza, steak fingers and mashed potatoes. This is regular Polish food. She gets soup each day (red beet, cucumber, tomato, mushroom) and then a main meal of fish and potatoes or pasta and sauce or pierogi and cabbage salad, for example. She has become an amazing eater as a result. So it is worth the $40 a month (eek!) for her to eat at school.

Ok...so that is her school. My post got too long. I will do Ella's school separately.

11-11-11

2011-11-11T07:21:00.001-06:00

Happy Polish Independence Day/American Veterans Day/Really Cool Date Day!!!!

I love that, as an American living in Poland, I get to celebrate 2 special holidays on the same day. Veterans Day in America is a day for us to reflect on the soldiers who have fought for our country and continue to fight for our country. They are a HUGE reason that we have freedom in so many areas. Having an uncle that has been in the US Army for over 20 years, I know the sacrifice that comes along with being a soldier. I am thankful for every one that has fought, been injured and even lost their lives for my freedom!

In Poland, today is their "4th of July." :) It is independence day. Poland has had a history of being "captured" so I looked up when this became their day to celebrate. In 1918, the 11th of November was day that Poland became independent after 123 years under the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian occupation. This became a national holiday in 1937 and was celebrated twice before Germany invaded Poland and WWII began. They were then under communist rule until 1989. During communism, the independence day was moved to 22nd of July. After Poland was liberated...again...the day was changed back to the 11th of July. (This may not be all the exact details, but what I could find in quick research.)

Finally, the date is 11-11-11. The last time this date was seen was 100 years ago and it will be another 100 years before "we" will see it again. All in all, a cool day!!!

My quick, little effort Polish Flag cake.

Team Retreat

2011-11-04T17:10:00.000-05:00

So this past weekend, we had a "Team Krakow" retreat a couple hours away in Wisła. We left Friday afternoon and came home Sunday afternoon. We had such a fun time. Friday we decorated cookies, had dinner together and just hung out. Saturday we headed out early to do a ropes course then came back and carved pumpkins. After dinner we made s'mores with American marshmallows and graham crackers but with European chocolate...best of both worlds! Then we watched The Great Pumkin, Charlie Brown. Sunday we had a mini church time. It was so nice to be able to worship with each other in our own language. I love our church here but sitting in church and not really understanding what is being said, it is easy to drift off and get distracted. This was a wonderful time just to focus on God as team. I have a TON of pics from this weekend. I will post some on here a the rest on facebook. (By the way, fall in Poland is unbelievable beautiful!!!!!)

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40 in Brussels

2011-11-04T16:09:00.000-05:00

James turned 40 years old a couple weeks ago. WOW!!! He was 27 when we met. How fast time flies!!! I was going to try and pull off some kind of birthday party...but I am so not a good party host as far as being creative and all that. So when he told me he didn't want to have a big party (which would include our few other teammates and maybe our teacher? lol) I was kind of relieved. What to do...what to get him for his big day (another thing I don't excel at)...hmm. Then I thought it might be fun to go and stay somewhere in Krakow and have a day of pampering and just relaxing. I started looking at places and costs and realized we could go to another country for about the same price as a weekend in a NICE hotel with spa for 2 etc. So we decide to head to Brussels, Belgium...why? Because it was the cheapest flight and we haven't been there. My friend Justyna came and stayed with the girls for the 4 days we were gone. We had a great time. There is nothing spectacular in Brussels...except chocolate and waffles. There was nothing we felt like we HAD to see. It was nice to just be lazy. We slept late and watched grown up movies in our room at our cute B&B. We even ate yummy Tex-Mex.

I am so thankful for James and the godly man, husband and dad he is. I love to spend time with him doing fun things or doing nothing. We have a great time together. I am glad we were able to get away for a few days. Here are some pics!

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All Saints Day in Poland

2011-11-03T17:00:00.001-05:00

We spent the day Tuesday at the cemetery. I know that sounds weird, but in Poland on November 1st EVERYONE spends the day at the cemetery. I had heard that this was a time when people prayed for the souls of their loved ones who had died. But this past weekend I learned that it may be a time when people pray TO their loved ones asking them to intercede on their behalf to God because they are already on the other side. Either way, it can be looked at in a negative way or it can be a time of reflection to remember those we have loved that have passed away. The cemetery we visited was breathtaking. We went during the day and were able to see the gorgeous flowers and then went back at night...well like 5:00 because it is already dark...to see all the candles that were lit up on the graves. I was amazed at the beauty and the amount of people. Today I was talking to a mom from Macie's school about our experience. When I told her we didn't have this in America she looked SHOCKED. This is definitely for you to experience just once.

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Nastolatki

2011-11-03T15:26:00.002-05:00

Nastolatki means teenagers. We have continued our meetings with the youth. There have been between 8 and 13 each week. And not only that but we are talking more and more on facebook and at church. I LOVE teenage girls and these girls are so fun but the language barrier is killing me!!! They speak better English than I do Polish for sure...probably because they have been learning since they were Ella's age but it is still hard. But they are so fun and laugh at me and help me. I told you I would take pics next time...I almost forgot but I got a few.

Rainbow Piknik

2011-10-05T10:56:00.000-05:00

In the Spring, Macie's preschool had a school picnic at an amazing farm. Well, for the fall they had another. I was so excited to go back because the girls had such a fun time last time. They have all kinds of animals and a large playground and just a bunch of land to run around on. I was telling James, this is the perfect place for Ella and Macie. Macie can run around and be her extroverted social self with all of her friends and Ella can be her gentle, sensitive, animal loving self with all the animals. You can't get much better than that...oh wait, did I mention we cooked kielbasa on a campfire? Needless to say, it was a great day!!

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Baptism

2011-10-05T05:25:00.000-05:00

We have a great little church here in Krakow name Misja Łaski (Mees-ya Waskee), or Mission of Grace or something like that. Anyway, there are probably anywhere between 50 and 100 people each Sunday and they are such a sweet, warm congregation. I know I say this often, but I just wish we could communicate with one another better. Ugh! Anyway, a week and a half ago, we had a baptism service at our YMCA...who knew there was a Y in Krakow, Poland! Six people were baptized including 2 adults and 4 youth. It was an amazing time. You could see the joy on each person's face after each baptism. Here are a few pictures from the day.

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Macie's 5th Birthday

2011-10-04T14:50:00.001-05:00

Last week we celebrated Macie's 5th birthday...and by last week, I mean the entire week. We had busy weekend the actual weekend of her birthday, so we had to schedule skype dates with all the many people that wanted to talk to her. And some gifts trickled in through the week. Finally her birthday party was on Friday. So she had a very full week...hope she doesn't expect that every year! Here are some fun pictures from the week!

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Macie Elisabeth

2011-09-25T02:27:00.000-05:00

Macie, today you turn 5 years old. Really? That is a whole hand!! Where has the time gone? You are a constant source of laughter, entertainment and independence. You always have to do things your way. You are so clever that sometimes I forget how young you still are. You want to read so badly and your teacher told me you are ready to go! Last night you read out of a book a police lady gave you at school. I was so amazed at how well you were doing...even read the name Weronika (Veronica)! You are speaking Polish very well. You run around with your friends and y'all understand one another...it amazes me. I wish you could rub off on your mom and dad! You color and draw pictures all the time. You are good little artist. You are also a good mommy to your babies. I love that you tuck them into their "bed," and then set a book up for them to read. You are good sister, and you and Ella are such good friends...most of the time. You love God, I hear it in every sweet prayer you say. I am praying for you that God would continue to soften your heart and that you would listen for His voice and one day ask Jesus into your heart. I am so very proud of you and thank God everyday that He gave you to me to be your mommy! I love you Macie Elisabeth!

Macie at maybe 5-6 months old

Macie at her 3 year birthday

Eating a rib at 1 year at Thanksgiving

2 year old Macie enjoying a snow cone

Macie and Allison at 4 years


My crazy 5 year old!

Youth

2011-09-23T14:19:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday we had our second meeting with the teens from church. We had a meeting in July but only with one girl because it was holiday time in Poland. So we decided we would wait until after school started again in September to meet again. This last Saturday we had about 10 or so kids show up. Woohoo!!! We were so excited. James led a Bible study about having a survival kit for the Christian life. (I was off to get pizza for lunch and didn't get to hear it but I am sure he did a great job!) We then hung out and just talked with everyone. It was a good practice for our Polish and their English...most speak English well enough to have a conversation. All in all it was a great day! We are looking forward to the next meeting in a couple weeks. Unfortunately I forgot my camera! No pics...have to remember next time.

Hiking Around Ojców

2011-09-12T03:02:00.001-05:00

Last week one of our teammate families, Janet and Ken, asked us to go with them to Ojcow on Sunday. They have talked for a while about wanting us to go out there with them. I didn't really know what to expect. I thought we were just going to a little town to see it. We were leaving right after church, and it was going to be a warm day. I wore a cool, comfy skirt, and the girls wore their cute matching sun dresses. James just wore his jeans he had worn to church. I say this all to say that the girls and I were not dressed for some of the climbing we did. It wasn't major climbing. It was little rocky hills, but still, our flip flops were not the best choice of attire. But we did fine and had a blast. The weather was perfect! There were people everywhere. And of course we had to have ice cream because 80+ degrees is just too hot not to have some. LOL Here are some pics from the "hike."

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First Days of School

2011-09-02T06:35:00.001-05:00

School is different in Poland. In the past, kids don't officially start school or Klasa 1 until they are 7. So last year Ella was in first class, which was kind of a repeat of first grade/kindergarten from the States. It was good since she needed to learn the language. Now they are changing to do away with "zero klasa" or kindergarten and starting Klasa 1 at age 6. And age is based on a calendar year rather than by September first. So Ella is now bumped back a year, which I am totally fine with, and next year Macie will start first class...kind of a year ahead of the States. So Ella and Macie went from being 4 grades apart in school to only 2 grades apart. All that is to say that Ella is in second class this year and Macie is in the 5 year old "pre-k" class. They are both attending the same schools but Ella's changed location. They have the same teachers and all the same friends. I am very thankful because I so loved both of their teachers.

Day 1 for Macie was easy as pie! She marched straight up to her classroom, gave all of us kisses on the stairs and pushed her way through everyone standing in the door before I could snap a picture. Oh well, glad she was happy. No worries there. Ella's first day was just an assembly and classroom meeting. No worries...or shouldn't have been. I was a wreck. And last night before bed I sobbed. I am so worried about Ella. I want her to speak Polish and have friends. I want her to feel like she belongs. She is such an easy kid and can find joy in anything but I can see hollow eyes that are faking a smile. Hopefully all will be fine. James and I prayed for her and with her last night and this morning. She will be good. God has called us here and hasn't left her alone. I have to claim that promise a lot...as well as remember that we have been here only 8 months and she has been in school about 6 of those months. A full year will be good for her. Ok...that is all my ramblings. Here are first day pics!

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Last Days of Summer

2011-09-02T06:35:00.000-05:00

I wanted to make sure our last few days before school started were fun times. So we did something each day. Last Thursday we took them rollerblading in the park. They are getting girl, judging by the much less falls on the this trip. On Monday we went to a candy shop to watch them make candy...it was a flop because they weren't making it when we were there and the shop was so tiny it wasn't worth standing around. So we just got the girls a lollipop and walked around the Rynek. We watched a guy do marionette puppets in the center. The girls love watching him. And then they climbed all over a statue and then ended up in a fountain...yes I said IN. Tuesday we saw "Smerfy" or The Smurfs. It was cute but of course all in Polish so I couldn't understand a lot. Finally, Wednesday Ella and I spent the day together. We started with a stop at Cupcake Corner, then went to the Rynek and bought birthday gifts for people, and finally ended up at the mall for manicures. Unfortunately, there was only one place to get manicures and there were no appointments. I was so bummed because I had told her (at least 2 years ago) when she stopped sucking her thumb she could get a manicure. This was it! Oh well...we will have to find a different time. Enjoy the pics!

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Gdansk

2011-09-02T05:07:00.001-05:00

At the end of August my mom and stepdad were coming to visit. I was so excited. However, Kent found out unexpectedly a week before they were to leave that he had a blood clot in his lung and the doctor said he couldn't fly. Needless to say we were all a little disappointed. But what could you do? I am just glad it happened in America and not in Poland. So what to do for these 2 weeks before school starts? Oh I know...let's drive 9+ hours one way and check out the Baltic Sea region of Poland, after all that is where we are most likely moving to next summer. So after a couple days of planning and packing we loaded the car and set off.

We left on Friday morning around 8 and got to Gdansk around 6. The pastor of FBC Gdansk graciously offered for us to stay in an apartment they have as part of their church...which was such a blessing because every place we looked to stay was booked. It was perfect! We got to the church, unloaded and then decided to set off for a place for dinner. We looked up on our phones the area for Old Town (love the iPhone!) and found it easily. We were in love! Gdansk had a completely different feel from Krakow. Don't get me wrong. We have loved living in Krakow, but Gdansk was just almost a "home" feel. We came to Krakow knowing we would leave and with a strong possibility it would be to head north. After spending the weekend up there, I think we are settled that this is where God wants us.

The pastor, Robert Miska, spent Saturday afternoon with us showing us around the Old Town and just visiting with us. We liked him a lot and look forward to ministering with him in the future. He has been in Gdansk for 21 years and has much wisdom for us. We attended FBC on Sunday for church and happened to sit behind a row of American M's with a different organization. They had been there for 2 years this month and will be there another 3 which means that we will be there together for the rest of our time before we head back to the States in 2014!!! That was so exciting!!!

We did spend some time at the beach which was quite chilly considering I am not sure it even got above 70 while we were there. But the girls had a blast!!! They are definitely beach babies. James has said several times how he would love to live in Southern California if it wasn't so expensive...well this isn't quite SC (and it will be much colder) but it is nice.

We ended the trip by driving to Warsaw and staying with friends and teammates. That was a great time to hang out as well as talk about their ministry and what things they are doing in Warsaw. We had a great trip and are looking forward to putting roots down in Gdansk. Enjoy some fun pics!

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A Trip East

2011-08-28T16:26:00.000-05:00

Within our first 6 weeks here in Krakow, one of our teammates, Kirstin, invited me to have coffee with some people she works with at an ESL school here in Krakow, called Graceland. I was miserably sick that night and really didn't want to go but felt like I should. I am so glad I did. One of the girls I met was named Justyna. I felt an instant connection with her. She was a speech pathologist and was great in helping me make different sounds with my mouth that sound to my English ear quite the same. It has helped my Polish pronunciation quite a bit. I saw her a couple times at Graceland when I started helping and then she disappeared. I found out that she was working and finishing school and her schedule didn't allow her to attend classes anymore. I was pretty bummed.

Then, one Sunday at church there she was...I was amazed to see her. We have kept in touch since then. She has kept the girls for me and also has helped Ella a little with her Polish. She is very sweet and I am convinced is a believer. One Sunday after church she and Kirstin and I started talking about taking a girls' trip and within a couple weeks we had it planned. So a couple weeks ago, the three of us boarded a bus and headed east to, as she refers to it, "her Poland."We would spend 4 days with her family and seeing a different part of Poland than we had before. We had a blast!!!! And ate way too much...it was such a blessing and sweet time together. Enjoy a few pics.

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My Control and God's Love

2011-07-30T14:21:00.000-05:00

So I have started a reading plan from my iPhone Bible app. It is The Essential Jesus in 100 days. Each day I read a passage from the Bible...Old or New Testament...that helps show the significance of Jesus. Yesterday my passage was Exodus 16. This story is one I have heard so many times since I was a kid. It was the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness and God giving them manna from Heaven. When I read it yesterday God showed me how this story relates to me.

The background is that the Israelites have been freed from slavery in Egypt. They have seen God's protection and provisions over and over including the parting of the Red Sea and the death of Pharaoh. But instead of being in awe of God and worshiping Him they decide to grumble and long to be back in slavery because they would have food. V. 2 says, "And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled..." And verse 3 says they wished that they "had died...in Egypt, when we sat by meat pots and ate bread to the full." They go on to say that God brought them in the wilderness to let the die of hunger. Oh how many times have I felt this way? I have grumbled to God about my present dilemmas and wished to be back to time when life was not as good because I remember the "good ol' days." And how does God respond? Does he say, as I would, "Fine...if you don't appreciate all I have done for you, then go ahead and starve!!!" Not even close. In verse 4 He tells Moses that He will send bread from Heaven for the people each morning and meat each night. WOW!!! What grace.

God also gives instructions for using just the amount of bread that each person needs and not to let it sit over night. But what do the people do? They don't trust God and decided to store the bread for the next day. As a result when they wake up it is full of worms and stinks!!!! Oh how often I try and have control of my own situations and what happens? It is full of worms and definitely stinks!!!

God continues with his blessings. So they don't have to work by gathering bread on the Sabbath, he provides double on the 6th day. Sure enough, the bread kept and was good for the next day...no worms, no stink!

Maybe this is just me but WOW!!! Why do I not trust God? God is faithful. God has always been faithful and has given me no reason to believe He won't continue in His faithfulness. Read this whole chapter and let God speak to you!

Thumb Sucking Update

2011-07-22T02:26:00.001-05:00

About 7 or 8 weeks ago Ella got her retainer to help her stop sucking her thumb as well as to begin to straighten her teeth where her thumb has pushed them apart and up. I wanted to send you an update on our progress. When she first got the retainer she was doing ok. But about a week or so into it, Ella realized she could take it out at night. So we would come in and the retainer would be in her hand and the thumb in her mouth...UGH!!!! This was going to be harder than I expected. We would take her thumb out and put the retainer back in. It would then stay in all night. So I thought well maybe as long as she had it in the majority of the night it would work on her teeth. But we weren't breaking this habit. I decided to consequence her for taking it out of her mouth. At first she would leave it in but stay awake until 11pm or midnight because she couldn't sleep. Then I guess she just got too tired and didn't care about the consequence. Will this ever end? Almost 2 weeks ago, something clicked. We were still taking out her thumb and putting in the retainer, but in the mornings Ella was so proud that she had left her "apparatus" (as she refers to it) in all night. She had no memory of us talking to her in the night about it or that she had even taken it out. We decided to just go with it. Since then, it seemed to have built her confidence and the retainer has stayed in all night. We never have to put it back in. I am so proud of her!

And as far as is the retainer working? I will let the pics tell the story...

THEN

NOW

We went the orthodontist on Monday and she compared her teeth with her molds. It was unbelievable what 6 weeks did. Her teeth have come together nicely and now she is working on pushing the teeth back and down. I am excited to see how much it changes in the next 2 months. Go Ella GO!!!!!

Just for fun here is a pic of her having molds made....

Bubbles and Blueberries

2011-07-22T01:58:00.001-05:00

Summer in Krakow, Poland has been a completely different experience than any other summer I have had living in Texas my whole life. We knew the temperature would be cooler than Texas but still warm enough to feel hot for at least a few weeks and we would not have AC. We were warned to get fans early because they go quickly. So we did. They temps are up and down. We might have a really warm day or 2...like low to mid 80s and then it rains and temps drop to the 70s and sometimes 60s. (As I am writing I have jeans and a hoodie on.) However, the temps are so nice that we can play at the park a lot. This week James' mom sent the girls Crayola colored bubbles. I didn't know what to expect but WOW!!! I was so glad I thought to suggest we go to the park before we opened the bubbles. What a mess but oh what fun! We had many kids following us around. My kids could care less about being messy but the Polish kids seemed a bit more reluctant. Here are some fun pics!

We met this little girl while we were playing. She followed Ella everywhere. It was very sweet.

Messy!

I absolutely LOVE this pic of Ella. I am not sure what it is about it but I love it!

In addition to the bubbles, it had rained recently and there was mud everywhere. Needless to say, we went straight home to the bath tub!

Markets are every where here! And fruits and veggies are amazing. We eat cucumbers, red bell peppers, asparagus, apples, bananas, avocados, broccoli, strawberries, raspberries, etc from our markets. This week I bought a pound of tiny wild blueberries. They were amazing!!! But I had so many. I made blueberry muffins, blueberry syrup and blueberry pancakes. They were so yummy! And there were more that went to waste because we just couldn't eat them fast enough. They were so sweet. The difference in the produce here and what we are used to is that here it will go bad quite quickly (like in a day or 2 with fruit) but in the States you can keep them for days or even a week or more and all is well. Haha! Here are pics of the pig shaped pancakes and syrup just for fun!

Uczyn Fifth Anniversary

2011-07-21T16:03:00.000-05:00

(I realized I never posted this for a couple months ago.) Last Saturday (first Sat of May) we celebrated the 5th anniversary of Ella's school. We are so blessed by the schools that our team leaders picked out for our girls to attend. Ella goes to a private Christian school school here in Krakow. The director is absolutely precious and loves God and has a passion for children and their education. Her name is Pani Nina. She doesn't speak a word of English and I really don't speak much Polish but we make do. She started this school 5 years ago out of a passion for children. Here are a few pictures day.

This man does something with international Christian school accreditation and presented the director with a certificate. He is American so I understood what he was saying. Haha!

AGM

2011-07-21T15:54:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we spent the week in Wisła (Wee-swa), Poland for our cluster meeting. We are part of the Central European cluster with people from various countries around us. We, grown ups, spent our days in meetings and worship times. It was so nice to have grown up time and be able to share what is happening within our teams and hear what others are doing. We were able to make new friends and see people we already know but hadn't seen in a while. The kids, on the other hand, were taken care of by sweet people from East Cooper Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant, SC. They had VBS everyday with crafts, music, Bible verse memorization etc. And each afternoon they took them swimming at the amazing indoor water park at the hotel. They had a blast! Macie of course made plenty of friends...including our pastor for the week. Haha! Ella was so glad to be around kids her age that spoke English and got her! She had a terrible time leaving. She cried for 2-3 days and still carries around her group photo from the week...the frame it is in has a chip on the corner from being bumped on something. She is having a MUCH harder adjustment than I ever expected. Please pray for her and us as we help her deal with our transition. We hear the 6 month mark is sometimes the hardest hump to get over. So I will leave you with a cute pic of the girls doing their program. I forgot my camera so I have no other pics. Haha!

Macie is the blur in pink and Ella is hidden behind the kid in the crown. Haha!

Graduations

2011-06-23T13:08:00.000-05:00

Certificates are a BIG DEAL in Poland. I am not sure why but they are. So this past week we attended programs at both girls schools for the end of the year. Both girls got certificates and books from their teachers. Both of them had small programs as well. I will post pics and do my best to post videos.

Macie sticks out from her friends!

When she came to get her certificate she hopped on her knees.

This is all I got of her.

She did enjoy reading her book. She will probably be able to read it before me!

Ella with 2 of her friends...Zusia and Iwonka.

Ella's class singing.

Sweet girl

This is the entire school...classes 1-6.

Ella getting her certificate

And her book

Ella with Iwonka and Zusia


This Ella's helper and her private language tutor Pani Jadzia.


This is Pani Agnieszka, Ella's teacher. She will have both again next year.

Couldn't get the stinkin' videos to load but they are on my facebook page.

Rainbow Picnic

2011-06-04T15:21:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned how much I have LOVED the girls' schools here? They have both been so great for the girls. Ella's school has provided her a language teacher that is at no extra expense as well as having swimming classes, taking trips to the country for a few days, and other cultural things. Macie's school, though is amazing!!! She has been to the theatre a few times, the library to meet an author, had various small plays at their school, been to a farm, and so many other things. I am beyond thankful that Macie is at Rainbow Przedskola (preschool).

Today was her family picnic. It was at a park...so I thought...about an hour from us. The drive was amazing. It was beautiful to see the countryside outside of the city. Well when we arrived we found out that it was actually a little farm full of animals and a playground. The first thing we saw as we walked up was a big black pot-bellied pig. Ella LOVES pigs...I mean she wants a pet pig so badly. This was amazing. There were goats, a baby deer, rabbits, horses they got to ride, and even a guinea pig. Haha! Ella was in heaven. She is an animal lover.

Macie was in heaven, being the little social butterfly that she is, because all of her friends were there. She played on the playground, with the animals and with a giant parachute. I don't get to see her interact much with her friends so today was fun to see. She would run holding hands with a chain of girls. Kids would rattle of whatever they were saying in Polish and she seemed to understand, answer and run off. It was so cute to just sit and watch her. I am amazed at her language skills. She even told a kids who was telling me something that I couldn't understand him because I could only speak English...really Macie? Really? Haha...

After our crazy day events I forgot to take my camera. Glad I at least had my phone. Enjoy the pics!

Ella is in HEAVEN!

Macie's friend Karolinka that lives in our building as well.

Macie on a horse

Ella getting started.

Ella was disappointed they could only go around once.

I couldn't get a great pic of the pig...so here is a snout.

Ella and a bunny

Macie with Karolinka

Macie has on different clothes because I forgot she needed to go potty. Thanks Marisia (pictured) for sharing a dress with M!

Plans can always change...

2011-06-04T14:16:00.000-05:00

We have been planning for a couple months to help with a children's day today for the orphans we have worked with in the past. I was up before 7 making little tea sandwiches when Macie changed our plans. For this past 6-8 weeks Macie has been complaining off and on about pain in her stomach. She will scream in pain. I am not sure what the deal is. I have tossed around that maybe it is a wheat allergy or milk allergy. We saw a doctor a few weeks ago that is a pediatric allergist. I asked her about it but I think she didn't fully understand what I was asking. It didn't go to far...ugh language!!

So when Macie was running to the bathroom with diarrhea ever 5-10 minutes and screaming in pain I decided enough was enough. We decided to head to a children's hospital. So how do we know where to go? I called my friend Kirstin and she informed us of how the ER system works. They are on a rotation of days to be open. In other words...all ERs are not open everyday and how do you know which is open? Look in the newspaper...really? Ok Then she suggested we call our language teacher and ask him. His wife was so sweet and told us to take her to the children's hospital close to their house and let us know that they speak English there. Ok...so we were off to drop sandwiches at church and then to the hospital.

We found the hospital quite easily but finding the ER was not so easy. I really thought there would be some sign that would be obvious that we were going the right way. NO We spent about 15 min or more wandering around and translating signs on our phones until we FINALLY found a set of words that translated to ER. Haha! So we found our way to the check in desk...it was definitely different than the US hospitals. Not bad necessarily but definitely different. We checked in and waited for the doctor like normal. He spoke decent English and checked Macie's stomach with his hands and listened to it. He didn't feel anything but felt like that she needs to see a GI specialist. So we will have to try and find one to get her into. He did listen to her lungs and said she sounded tight. (She does have asthma and has been having flare ups this week.) He decided she needed a breathing treatment. I am thankful for that because it comes with oxygen verses our at home nebulizer that is just the meds. She responded great to that. So we missed the kids' day which I was bummed about but we got more meds for her machine as well as a referral to see a specialist. Macie will always keep things exciting in one way or another...

Basia

2011-06-02T15:26:00.000-05:00

Tonight I attended Graceland. It is the ESL school I have been working with this past semester. During the semester we have read an adapted version of Robinson Crusoe and had discussion on it. Anytime I have tried to talk about spiritual topics the door has been closed on me. I was kind of discouraged about this. This week another team member started a 4 week study using the a film of the Gospel of John. After the video we break up and have discussion questions/conversations based on what we have read. Tonight I was paired with a girl...probably about my age...named Basia (Basha). She has a son (6) and a daughter (8). I have never met her but really felt it important to pray during the film and during our conversation time. And wow! She was very willing to open up. She talked about some physical abuse she went through as a child from her dad. He would go to church on Sundays and then come home and treat her and her brother so terribly. When she was about 16 she really began to question God, obviously, and so I asked her if she believed that Jesus was God's son. She just stared at me...almost surprised I asked this. It took a little while to answer. She said yes...but I am not sure she is convinced. Please pray for Basia and then I would have more interaction with her. I think God brought her to me for a reason.

Thumb Sucking

2011-05-30T16:57:00.000-05:00

When Ella was about 6 months old I started to notice her thumb finding its way to her mouth a little too often and tried to pull it out and insert a paci instead. But I also knew that when she was asleep in the night and her paci was gone there was no way for me to keep her thumb out of her mouth. 8 years later and after so much pleading, I am sad to say that thumb is still in her mouth. I have watched her suck her thumb when she is tired and going to bed or taking a nap. I have watched her such her thumb when she is watching movies or television shows. I have watched her suck her thumb when she is bored and there is nothing else to do. All of these are times I am ready for the thumb to be gone. But I have watched her suck her thumb when she is anxious, stressed or sad. These are times that it breaks my heart to have to break this habit...but it is necessary. Ella's mouth has been completely misshapen because of this habit. I am tired of family asking her when her top teeth will grow in. THEY HAVE BEEN IN FOR A LONG TIME!!!!


Ella told me she is sad to lose her bunny teeth. haha!

This past year we have undergone some big changes and the thumb was Ella's one security. There was no way I was going to change that. Now that we have arrived, settled into life and school, and things are going well...it is time to say goodbye to the thumb. So today we saw an orthodontist. She was wonderful. She looked at Ella's teeth all of 2 minutes before recommending treatment. She told us we could order a universal mouth guard on the internet to break the habit for about $50ish. Or she could take impressions of her teeth and have a retainer made to fit her mouth that would have a piece that will prevent Ella's thumb from fitting in her mouth comfortably. It would also pull her top teeth down and squeeze them back together. This is the option we chose. We decided it would be best all the way around. Of course she did say that in a few years Ella will need more orthodontics done but for now I am pleased to get this going. We did impressions today and next Monday she will get her new purple retainer. She has to wear it at least 12 hours a day...and especially at night and during tv watching. Hooray for modern medicine!!!

Ella's 8!!!

2011-05-29T16:07:00.000-05:00

So a little over 10 years ago James asked me to marry him. In that time, I have graduated from college, had 2 babies, changed ministries 3 times, moved 3 times (not counting the several moves last year), became a mom to numerous teenage girls, became foster parents, watched my oldest start school and ask Jesus into her heart and be baptized by her daddy, experienced the devastation of a our church fire, stood next to my sister as she married the man of her dreams and become a mom, experienced the death of 3 of James grandparents and my last great grandma, traveled to many countries, and said goodbye to our friends and families and moved our family to a foreign country. WOW!!! This time has flown by!!! So why am I starting a blog about Ella's birthday by focusing on the past 10 years? Because 10 years from now Ella will be 18 and graduating from high school. If these 10 years passed by so quickly how fast will the next 10 years go? I am trying to enjoy each day with Ella...although I am ready to be past the awkward elementary stage! But all too soon she will move out and I will so miss her!

Ok enough of tears...let's talk about birthday parties! This is obviously our first party here in Poland. It took us a long time to come up with a plan. Initially she wanted a party at the indoor water park...but that turned into a bigger deal so we scrapped it. Plan 2...a bowling party. However when we checked on that you had to be 10. Great so now what? We saw a movie poster that said Kung Fu Panda 2 came out the day before her birthday...PERFECT!!!! It also meant little need for Polish conversation. We went to the movie and shared a HUGE bucket of popcorn. After the movie we had cake, presents and sang Happy Birthday in Polish and English. She had 4 little girls from school that were absolutely precious as well as 2 other M kids from America. We had a great party and Ella had a great time. Here are few pictures to enjoy.

My sweet 8 year old.

Ella with her friends from left-right: Macie, Iwonka, Natalka, Kaleb, Ella, Hania, Maja, Arin

After the movie


Cake time.

This is Sto Lat...the Polish Happy Birthday song.

We decided on Friday that Ella had not had much down time since coming home from Green School and it was becoming obvious through her behavior. I decided I would keep her home from school for just a day of nothing. We had language in the morning so I was going to send Macie to school and let Ella read or watch movies and then we would start baking cakes and make icing together before Macie got home from school. Well Friday morning our teacher called and cancelled our class...that never happens so we took it as a sign from God. We decided to have our family birthday time with Ella and keep Macie home from school. We had gotten Ella rollerblades (Rolki in Polish) and got everyone else some too so we could all play together. We let her open them and then headed out to the park and taught the girls to skate. We had a great day!!! Thank you God for the day off!

Macie chose the game Piggy Pop for Ella. I think she chose it as much for herself as for Ella.

Ella and Macie can be sweet sisters. I wish it was more often!

Macie's new blades

Ella's new blades.

Such a great smile! I love you Ella!!!

Italy and Guilt

2011-05-21T15:04:00.000-05:00

View from the Hotel Regina where we stayed

This past week James and I were able to spend the week on Lake Como in Italy. It was amazingly beautiful. James and I love to travel. We love to travel alone. We love to travel with friends. We love to travel with our kids. And we love to drive to our destinations as well. We love to see new places and the history of those places. We are not ones to just go and sit around the pool at the hotel or even just sit on the beach. We want to do stuff. When we knew we were moving to Poland one of our big things was that we wanted to experience Europe as much as we can. We KNOW we are here for ministry but we also have a unique opportunity to travel to countries we wouldn't otherwise be able to.

Sun didn't cooperate but we are cute!

Three of our teammate couples have or will be taking quick trips to Italy without children. We just go here and I didn't expect us to do the same anytime soon but our amazing team leader made an offer to watch Macie for us while Ella and her older 2 were at Green School. So I started looking into travels and found cheap airfare to Milan, Italy. We booked our trip for 3 nights and found a nice hotel thanks to other team members that had stayed their before. We were actually a couple hours north of Milan by train so rather than run ourselves ragged trying to see everything we could, as we would normally do, we would just hang around the lake area. It was perfect. We had such a restful time. We enjoyed each others company and good food.

The streets are so narrow!

So nice to wear summer clothes!

Guilt...I left my children 4 months into coming on the field. Was that ok? Do we look like we are slacking because we are already getting away? Ugh!! There were several hangs up that happened before we left. 1)We couldn't rent a car because we didn't have a credit card...we did great with trains and buses. No problem after all. 2)As we are waiting for the kids to board the buses before Green School Ella threw up all over the ground. Really? What do we do? Is she sick? Is she nervous. Aagh! It was agonizing. Our friends were very sweet and encouraged us to go on and they would keep Ella if she needed to come home...she was fine and never got sick again. But I worried quite a bit. 3)My carry on luggage that should have been free cost about $50 to check because the gate girl said it wouldn't fit. Grr!!...on the way home I prayed that it would pass by someone else's standards...no problem. Saved $50. I missed my kids like crazy and was ready to have come home yesterday. We had a great time but I am not in need of a get away without my kids for a while.

A street of shops in Bellagio.

Arriving in Bellagio

Ella Bella

2011-05-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

When we found out 3 months into our marriage we were going to have a baby I had mixed emotions. I wanted to have a baby and be a mom but we had barely had time alone to be married. But this is what we had. I was then so afraid that we would have a boy. Everyone I knew was having girls so I just figured we would have a boy. I prayed and prayed that God would give us girl and He did. She was my pride and joy. Everyday she had a dress on and a bow on her head...since she had no hair. She and I did everything together. She has been so laid back since the day she was born. She was not in a hurry for anything and was content to just sit with or without toys. She was so great. She loves God. I love finding her reading her Bible alone. She will walk into a room full of people she does not know and join right in...never shy. If only I could be that bold. She is so generous and kind and loving. Someone could be horribly mean to her and then say one nice thing to her and she will see that positive and give them another chance. She will share everything with others and will give away winning a game if it makes someone else happy. I just love her! Here are some pics of her.

Macie Lou

2011-05-01T09:44:00.000-05:00

Oh my little Macie. She has been drama since the day she was born into this world. She cried for the first several months of her life. (I could seriously understand how babies could get shaken baby syndrome.) She is defiant and likes to push every boundary. She will put one toe over the edge of the line just to see what happens. She has to know for herself why something is not ok. BUT...she is so funny! Everyday is comical, even when you are so frustrated with her. Lately it has to do with her attire and hair. She likes to fix her own hair...and, for a 4 year old, does a decent job. She also likes to pick out her own clothes. If we choose her outfits it is ALWAYS a battle. Her hair has to be fixed just right. If her pony tail is too high or the bow isn't just right there will be tears. But then she makes crazy comments and silly faces and you forget about her drama. Here are some pics of her...some of outfits, some of faces. Enjoy her!

I am not sure about this face.

Holding on to PJs that are too small and need to be given away.

Desperately wanting these pjs.

Kite Day

2011-05-01T09:21:00.001-05:00

We got a surprise in the mail the week of Easter from my grandparents. It came in a box about 2.5 feet tall and slender. We had no idea what to expect when we opened it. KITES!!! And these were not cheapy kites. They were great! So on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday the weather was beautiful and we took 2 kites to an amazing park we have (one of several great parks!) and flew kites. When we got there though, Macie decided she didn't want to fly one so she and I had a photo shoot while Ella and James flew kites. It was a great day!

So if you put the "thing" on the end of your camera lens to block sun but don't zoom the lens this is the effect you get. Oops!

Ella practicing hand stands.

Discussing the option of playing Hide and Go "TO" Seek.

Polish Easter

2011-05-01T09:07:00.000-05:00

This Easter was our first real holiday without our family...the first of many. Life in a foreign country is different everyday. We do things differently. We speak different languages and communication is so unbelievably difficult. Transportation is different. We use public transportation pretty much everyday. There are virtually no SUVs and people park where they can find a spot...sidewalks, half on the curbs, in a parking space (or 2). Kids go on field trips so often...and sometimes we find out after Macie is home from school. The girls are still expected to wear long sleeves and/or jackets and tights with dresses...although it is in the 60s and even 70 sometimes. No one really wears hoodies and NO sags!!!

So of course holidays will be different. Our first "holiday" that we also celebrate was Valentine's Day. There were signs and advertisements for the day but not a lot of celebration. Then we had St. Patrick's Day. You can go all day wearing no green and you won't get pinched. The April Fool's Day came. Ella LOVES to do jokes for this day and a few more days beyond, often becoming obnoxious! So as she left for school I warned her not to tell jokes just in case. A few hours later I found out our teacher's wife had told their daughter that she had to dye her bunny's hair a different color so she needed to go to the pet shop and check with the clerk about it. Haha! They celebrate April Fool's Day.

Now we have arrived at Easter. It is a very different celebration here in a strong Catholic country. They practice Lent for the 40 days before Easter. As a result the girls are NOT allowed to have candy or sweets at school during this time. Instead of Fat Tuesday, we celebrate Pączek Czwartek...Donut Thursday. The whole country eats donuts. They do not have holes like ours. They are jelly filled with rose flavored jam. Odd! But they were decent. Palm Sunday is really big. Outside of all the churches are mounds of palm branches. Good Friday is a solemn day but the country continues as normal. Saturday many stores are closed and the rest close early...grocery stores, restaurants, everything!!! And they all remain closed until Tuesday after Easter. Easter Sunday is somber as well. But eggs are big here...not as much the Easter Bunny but people eat hard boiled eggs. Then on Monday they celebrate Smyngus Dyngus. I am not really sure the background of this but it is where boys run around throwing water on girls. Again, not sure why but it is big here. It was literally a Wet Monday this year because it was raining. Living on the fifth floor and having no hose took away from us participating this year. We will see what happens next year.

On Good Friday we were invited to our language teacher's home with a couple other families. There were 8 adults, 3 teenagers, and 6 children. We had a great time. We ate A LOT!!! The kids did a fun activity with resurrection eggs. The kids had a great time. They then went and played the grown ups had a time of prayer and Bible study. It was so nice. We had some Polish and some English mixed together.

So all of the Baptist churches had one meeting on Easter Sunday at FBC in Krakow. I had been told by other teammates that the service was a bit "high church" and would last 2 hours or more. I sat on this information for a while because I didn't want this to sway our decision to go. I didn't know what to do. When James found out we talked about it and decided that maybe this year our kids were not quite ready to sit through Polish church for that long. So we decided that we would stay at home and do our own thing as a family. James had found a cute video of the Easter story told by a little child. This was our plan. Sunday morning though we were invited to come celebrate with 2 other families on our team. It was perfect. We had lunch and just played. The kids all got along so well and that makes so much difference. It helped take my thoughts away from missing home and the normal traditions we would have. It was perfect!

Here are a few pictures of the kids looking for the resurrection egg hunt...without eggs. Haha! Sorry about the quality. I used my phone and they were fast moving kids!

They are looking like they paid attention really well...they did OK.

God's Will? Maybe

2011-04-28T11:38:00.000-05:00

No matter where we are in ministry, it seems that God always places underprivileged kids/teens in our lives. Moving to Poland, I thought we had shut the door on youth ministry. Well a few weeks ago in church we listened to a lady named Kasia share a little of her testimony about her life as a child in "the system" and how she has a heart for kids in the same situations. We visited with her a little after church that day. The first week of April she asked us to come and help with a day for the kids. We were excited to go and took our kids with them. She asked me to come up with a game to play. I had no idea what ages the kids would be but I thought charades would be fun. When I got there the kids were between 9 and 14 years old. They helped me write names of animals in Polish and then had a blast acting them out. There was much laughter. Kasia was centering the day around Easter. We did a craft that was basically making a stainglass window out of a paper picture and tissue paper behind it. Then they watched parts of the movie The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and discussed how it was similar to the Easter story. After that it was PIZZA time. Kasia made homemade pizza and it was yummy!

James and I discussed how God places at-risk kids in our lives so often and how we love it! Today was such a great time. Again, we wish we spoke the language better but we were able to find out how old they were, names, and if they had brother or sisters. Two of the girls, Ola (11) and Paulinka (14) are sisters. I heard part of their story. They live with their mom but she isn't very stable. Kasia said she sees the girls around the city streets or at the mall alone. But when they come to these sorts of activities the mom is quite controlling of their time. From looking at these adorable girls you would never guess they were living the life they are. Kasia said they were "in the system" but I am not sure what exactly that means.

I like this ministry also because I can bring Ella and Macie with us. They have always been a part of any ministry we have done. I think it is important for them to grow up involved in serving. They had a great time! I just am ready to learn Polish so I can really communicate! Here are a few more pics.

Please pray for these kids and our relationship with them! Thanks!!!

Jews

2011-04-07T14:34:00.000-05:00

I knew when we came here that WWII had been fought all over Poland and in surrounding countries. What I didn't realize or think about the number of Jews and Jewish things that would be around. I think I have mentioned before that our church is in the middle of a historic Jewish Ghetto. We are just a few miles from Oscar Schindler's textile factory and where many of the scenes from the movie Schindler's List were shot and actually took place in real life. A few weeks ago it was the anniversary of the liquidation of the Jews from the Ghetto to the concentration camp. In memory, many many Jews and other people walked the long walk from where they lined up for roll call, past what is left of the Ghetto wall and down to the area where the concentration Płaszów (Pwa-shoov) camp was located. Our family along with our pastor and another colleague family walked with them. It was quite solemn. Here are a few pics from that day.

The beginning of the march.

This man was reading something in Hebrew.

Flowers at the wall.

Another part of the Ghetto wall that remains.

Amon Göth's house...the commandant

From this balcony he would shoot and kill prisoners in Płaszów.

Looking from the house over the concentration camp.

This is an area where people were tortured and killed.

Memorial representing the hearts being ripped out of the Jews.

Fresh Fruit

2011-04-07T13:39:00.000-05:00

Something I really have enjoyed about living here is all the fresh markets and fresh fruits and veggies. As part of our language, our teacher has taken us to a few open markets. On one of the days he had us take pictures of the fruits so we could practice their names later. As I was looking back at the pictures I saw how pretty the food was. Poland is not concerned about selling on good looking produce. It comes in all shapes and sizes...and some that in the States I would have definitely picked over, but here it is just fine. Here are some pics and names in Polish

Jabłko

Marchew (mar-hev)

Pomidor

Papryka

Potatoes - ziemniak; Onion - Cebula; Cabbage - Kapusta;

Banan i pomarańcze (banana and oranges)

Kiwi (pronounced kee-vee)

This is the front of the market...not sure why I didn't face the market to take a picture.

Haircuts without Aunt Boo

2011-04-07T13:18:00.000-05:00

The girls and I could use hair cuts...but where do we go? For the past 6 years my sister has cut my hair and both Ella and Macie's. How do I go to a new hair salon with people I don't know in a country I can barely communicate in and trust them with my hair? Well I haven't trusted anyone with my hair just yet but I let Ella and Macie be my guinea pigs. We had a girl day while James went to Auschwitz. We started the morning with the Justin Bieber movie...in English. It was interesting to watch his story. I have to say I did enjoy it. We then had friends meeting us for lunch. In the meantime we had enough time to get their hair cut.
I found a place that sold my sister's favorite hair products - Kerastase in case you were wondering - and their prices were great...I assume since I really have never paid for a hair cut for them. It was about $12 for the hair cut and shampoo and blow dry. When they came back to sit in the chairs from getting their hair washed Macie's stylist pulled out an electric razor...like you would use to shave a man's head. I thought to myself, "Oh my, what have I told her I wanted done to my baby's hair?" I looked over and Ella's stylist had the same thing. Now I was curious. Well sure enough they both used the razor to cut the girls' hair. And it turned out quite cute. I was impressed. Another fun thing they had was disposable towels and drapes. Reusable towels kind of gross me out...like in bathrooms and stuff. We are all drying our hands on the same towels as who knows how many other people. But this was kind of cool. Maybe I will get brave and go back to have my hair cut there soon.

Krakow Night Life

2011-03-06T06:52:00.000-06:00

It was so nice last night so we all went into town. We ate a Polish "fast food" type restaurant. We ordered 2 plates of peirogi...should have just gotten one but I didn't realize how huge they would be...bowl of soup with boiled egg, chicken cutlet that was HUGE and 2 scoops of real mashed potatoes...all that for like $13US. Amazing! We also got a yummy dessert to share called Nalesniki. Mmmm!!! Enjoy the pics!

It's the little things...

2011-03-06T06:19:00.000-06:00

We are missionaries now...we should be sacrificing comforts and normal life stuff, right? I have been ok with that. We got rid of the majority of our stuff and it has been quite freeing. Since being here...although only 2 months today...I have not been tempted to purchase new clothes for the girls or myself. I haven't been wanting to buy new stuff just to have. Going from 1800sq feet to 800 I thought would be quite a bit more difficult. However it hasn't been. European people are excellent at creating great storage space. Our cabinets are not full...we actually have empty spaces. We have plenty of space it live in. Macie even manages to play hide and seek in the apartment. It makes me laugh. We have had another family over for dinner with 2 kids as well.

We were just fine. Life has seemed fairly easy to adjust to. So when our washing machine began to run slowly, I felt like we were due some frustration. We heard that laundry takes longer over here and especially drying clothes. Our first inconvenience was that we can't run our washer and dryer at the same time or it blows a fuse. We could move the dryer somewhere else but didn't really have another option so we just do them one at a time. No big deal. However our washing machine began acting really weird. It has a play/pause button. It began to flash several times during a cycle. We would just push play again and start the next cycle...so we thought. The cycles were taking like 7-12 hours and the water wasn't draining. I would pull all the clothes out dripping water everywhere. Grrr...I couldn't figure out what the problem was. Oh and did I mention that the user manual was in Polish or Russian? Yeah so frustrating. But I have friends all over the world that don't have consistent electricity or maybe even a washing machine. So I could make due. That is, I could make due until I had laundry everywhere because I couldn't get caught up fast enough before we all took off more clothes thus adding more laundry to the piles. Ugh!!!

Yesterday my fabulous husband spent quite a bit of time checking online for options that could be wrong making the washing machine run like it was. He unstacked our dryer and pulled out the washing machine and found a huge mess of I don't know what clogging up the hose. And guess what? I am almost caught up on laundry!!! It's the little things that frustrate and the little things that cause joy! Haha! Just a funny story for ya!

Boldness

2011-02-21T16:16:00.000-06:00

So I am doing something I have never done before but should have...I am reading the New Testament. Not in order though. While at FPO/ILC...training in Virginia...we all read the book of Acts together. It was a great way for us to see how a NT church plant should work. We also read Romans and began 1 Corinthians. So I decided I would continue reading. (Although during Romans I decided I was not intelligent enough to read Paul's writings.) I have been reading...slowly, but I am doing it. I decided that I would finish with all of Paul's writings and then read the Gospels. Then James, 1 & 2 Peter, Jude, and finish with 1, 2, 3 John and finally Revelation. Now you know all that useful information on me!

So today I was finishing the book of Ephesians. I have read chapter 6 numerous times and parts of it so many more. The first verse I recall memorizing was Eph 6:1 "Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." This book is made up of commands for children and parents, a message on the armor of God and also his (Paul's) closing statements to the Ephesians. I prayed as I opened that God would reveal something to me that was new...especially since I already knew everything in this chapter, Ha! Of course God being God answered my prayer. He put in a new verse just for me. Ok, well maybe it has always been there but I have just not noticed it until today. Verse 18 he asks them to make sure they are praying at all times on behalf of saints but also he asks them to pray for him. Verse 19 and 20 say, "and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak." (Ephesians 6:19-20 ESV) That really got my attention. This is exactly what I needed to hear. I am not a fan of small talk and especially with people I don't know. Often if I see someone I will try and hide so as not to have to talk. I know most of you find that odd. But I just feel awkward.

So here I am in Poland to be a missionary...and ambassador for Christ...and I am terrified of talking to people. I don't know how to get to know people and have them into my home and build relationships so that I can share my faith and the most precious gift I have been given. So I am asking you all as my prayer warriors to pray for me. Pray that I would have boldness to follow through on the task that God has charged me with. Pray that I would have divine encounters and would be able to build relationships with people and eventually have the opportunity to share what has changed my life.

Thank you amazing prayer warriors!

Former vs Present 2

2011-02-19T07:46:00.000-06:00

So our biggest difference is of course the language. When we walk out the door our level of understanding plummets. We knew this going in. No big deal...well I mean it is a big deal but we were expecting it. What I didn't expect was the amount of energy learning a new language would take. Most of the time when we are needing something we will start with "do you speak English"? But we really want to be able to move away from that and begin to speak their language. And we are. Most of the time the other people speak either a little English or very well but will encourage us on our language learning.

We have had 3 full weeks of language now. And our understanding of what people are saying has increased when we use the questions and listen for the answers we have learned. Ha! Our teacher is phenomenal. He comes to our house 2-3 hours each day except Wednesdays when he takes us out in the city and makes us use our language. We have had to ask for directions and listen for and then follow their directions to try and find certain landmarks, restaurants, churches, etc. Most of the time people will stop and help us. Some try to answer us in English...which I always wonder how they know we speak English and not Italian or French or Spanish but they do. We tell them, "Po Polsku" which means "in Polish." Some of them look surprised but are willing to tell us slowly. We talk to young people and people our age and old people. The old ladies are so sweet to let us butcher their language and then direct us. I think I have really enjoyed this most because it makes the Polish people around me human. We hear the language constantly and can pick out words here and there. But the people don't smile at you or greet you when you pass or get on and off a tram. This has probably been the hardest adjustment. So I just expect the people to be cold and not helpful. But it is quite the opposite. They are willing to stop and listen to our questions and then give us details back. And they smile and are so sweet. Just in their way. So after 3 weeks of language here are some videos our teacher took on our iPod that you can watch and laugh at.

Former vs Present

2011-02-09T02:47:00.000-06:00

I know you have heard about some of the differences of our life here in Krakow. I just wanted to update and give you a list of things that were common in our life in the states and how it parallels our life here in Poland.

Food/Cooking/Eating Out:

So in the states our pantry and refrigerator were full. There was so much food I got rid of when we were moving that it broke my heart. There was always plenty but yet I always needed to grocery shop or there was nothing to snack on. In Poland, we moved in with some things our Team Leader got for us...milk, bread, turkey, butter, you get the picture. And our teammates all pitched in a got us some of their favorite things to snack on or how to recreate things from the states like cream of chicken or mushroom soups. I had brought some seasoning stuff and peanut butter with us but we needed to shop. We have gotten that done pretty well. I LOVE to cook and cooking from scratch is such an art for me. I love to create. I am glad I do because you can't buy much prepackaged stuff here. There isn't prepackaged cookie dough or refrigerated biscuits. There isn't pancake mix or Bisquick. They don't even have shortening. Their butter for cooking is pretty much only unsalted. So having a quick meal for a busy night doesn't work too well. They do have hot dogs but we haven't bought them yet.

So I have begun shopping for a week at a time. I make a list of recipes on Sundays and then we go shopping for just the ingredients we need for that week's meal. I also get lunch meat and stuff for school lunches and veggies and fruit. We supplement bread, milk and cereal as needed. This works well. Our pantry is only full at the beginning of the week. By the end we have eaten what is in there along with some leftover meals. It is perfect. The food here does not have preservatives in it which is great! However, it doesn't last nearly as long as it did in the states.

We go to our little shop at the end of our street to get meat. We have met a nice lady who speaks NO English..and well our Polish isn't great...so we have fun. But she is so sweet. We figure if we keep going back to her that will build up our relationship and our language. Ordering lunch meat has become comical. We try to order half a kilo of turkey...which is about a pound...sometimes we get that and sometimes we get enough for one sandwich. Ha!

We buy fresh bread from our shop or a bakery by our tram stop. Mmm!!! There is no whole wheat bread that we have found which is a bummer but who can complain when you get to buy it fresh...as your regular routine! Ella and Macie love going to pick out our bread for dinner. We also buy milk in glass jars. There is something fun about drinking milk from a glass container. It is yummy!!! But it isn't always in the stores. So when we see it we buy 2-4 bottles at a time. LOL

We still are not sure about what some of the names of foods are. For instance: I have been looking for corn meal. I know they have it. My friends make cornbread. I couldn't find it with the flour...i was hoping I would just see a picture that would make me think it was cornmeal. One of our team wives told me the name of it. I finally found it at our "Sam's-like" store. But of course I had to buy 10 packages of them. Well it turns out she told me the name of corn flour not cornmeal. Haha! So now I have 10 packages of cornflour. It does have a recipe for corn tortillas on it.

Eating out has been interesting as well. Some places have menus in English or at least descriptions in English. A lot do not and we have to guess. Some of the waiters or people speak English and some do not. So sometimes we don't get what we thought we were ordering. But most of the food we have had has been yummy! We have learned we like peirogi and white beat soup. There are also these circular bread things they sell on the street. They are about 1.40zloty...which is about 50cents in the states. Yummy! The downfall are the drinks. Unless you go to Ikea, KFC or Subway you don't get refills. And the cups you get are small. I am fine with that but James not so much! Haha! And they think Coca Cola Light (Diet Coke) = Coke Zero. Haha! James doesn't think they are the same.

Ok, I will not bore you any more with food stuff. I will post later about other differences. Love you all!

First Night Out

2011-02-03T03:21:00.000-06:00

After ice skating I met Kirstin downtown to hang out at a local cafe with some ESL students she works with. There were 4 that showed up. They were absolutely delightful! There English varied from beginner to decent. But it gave me hope for my Polish. I understood what they meant most of the time and I am hoping that people will know what I mean eventually when I am using Polish.

We talked about all kinds of things like instead of birthdays when they become adults they celebrate their name day. Everyone has a day in the year that is the same as theirs. So on that day they celebrate like they would a birthday. I thought that was fun! We also talk about animal sounds. Animals make different sounds in Poland than in America. They think it is funny that a from says 'ribbit ribbit' and a rooster says 'cock-a-doodle-do!' I hope to continue this relationship further. It was a great night!

Tears and Ice Skating

2011-02-03T03:15:00.000-06:00

So we took the girls to an outside skating rink yesterday. My kids are fearful of new things that might be scary. Inevitably they will scream and cry and then end up loving whatever it is...like roller coasters or swimming or roller skating. Of course this was the way today ended up. We were going with friends who have kids the same age as ours and another girl of one of our M's here who is about 12. They have been ice skating for about a year. I told my girls that if Arin and Kaleb can do it so can they. We took the tram to the rink, rented our skates and paid for an hour of skating, got our skates on and went to the ice. Ella just about refused to get on the ice. I forced her to. Macie got on with "Aunt Kirstin," whom she would rather have skated with than Mom or Dad. But here we went. Ella only wanted to hold on to the side. I took Macie and helped her skate...remember that I haven't skated in years but as a kid I loved ice skating. Within about 20 min. both girls were skating by themselves. Ella was pretty fast; Macie not as much but they were having a blast! The first time they fell I was worried that would be it. But nope they would laugh and get back up again. It was great! Of course we had to have hot chocolate after and watch the Zamboni man clean the ice. We will definitely be heading back!!!

Ella falling on the ice. Abbe was so sweet to skate with her.

Macie and I before she enjoyed it and took off on her own.

Śnieg...Snow!!!!

2011-01-23T14:48:00.000-06:00

All my kids have looked forward to when talking about Poland was to see snow. They have been very disappointed. We have had no snow. When we showed up there was snow on the ground but it had obviously been there a while. This past week there were some snow flurries a few times but not much more than that. Today it all changed. We woke up to see a bunch of tiny snow blowing around just outside of our windows...being on the 5th floor helps with that since it hasn't made it to the ground and melted. The girls were so excited!!! All through the day it continued to snow enough to accumulate on the ground and get all over our boots as we walked to our small group tonight.

Now the snow was neat just to see it fall but the coolest part was what I saw while waiting at the tram stop this morning. Being that I have lived in Texas all my life, I have had few opportunities to see real snow and analyze a flake. But today I did. Remember these are tiny white polka-dot size flakes, not huge flakes. Ella was catching them on her gloves and showing them to us and of course they were landing on James and my black wool coats. As I looked closely at the individual flakes I saw that they actually look like snowflakes I used to make out of tissue paper or paper plates as a kid. WOW!!! I know it was such a kid moment for me but that blew my mind. And each flake looked different. I had heard that but today I actually was able to witness that.

So then that made me start thinking...God thought enough of tiny, little snow flakes - that are only to make the ground pretty and let kids have snowball fights and build snowmen or be annoying to those trying to travel in it - to make them all different. He created each flake not to look like any other just like he made people all individuals. Yes we all have similarities...arms, legs, heads, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair...but not one of us is exactly the same, not even identical twins. God could have just made a snowflake a white dot and we would have thought nothing of it but He didn't. And he could have made each one of us exactly the same but He didn't. He gave us different features and personalities and quirks. And that is what makes us all unique, just like the snowflakes that landed on my coat and Ella's glove today. It just blew my mind to think about.

A Whole New World

2011-01-21T16:56:00.000-06:00

Aagh!!! The last post was in May? Really? Where has the time gone? Oh yeah...I remember. We have moved 4 times since then, been in intensive training, spent our final 3 weeks in the states with as many friends and family as possible, and moved to a brand new country...all the while trying to stay sane and somewhat normal for our children.

What an amazing year this has been. God has really taken me on a journey of trusting Him and watching His faithfulness. I am not saying it has been a walk in the park everyday...because it hasn't. My marriage has had it's up and many downs. My kids could probably say the same about my role as their mom. I have fed my kids more fast food then they should eat in a life time and that nice somewhat organized and clean house I enjoy has not been there as much as I would like. But God is faithful! And my kids are well, they are fed and clothed and have had many roofs over their heads. They have been to the beach in Florida as well Disney World. They went to Sea World and the Alamo in San Antonio.

In Virginia they spent a day apple picking and another in Historic Jamestown...the first American settlement.

And even a couple days in New York City.

They even managed to be asked to be in 2 weddings!

They have made countless friends and have learned to say goodbye to each of them...often with tears.

But yet through it all they have been great! So now we are beginning a new journey that God has called us to. I will do better to keep you all informed. Thanks for the prayers and kind words! We love you all!!

Transition

2010-05-15T23:58:00.000-05:00

When we moved into our home a little over 3 years ago I said I was not moving again until Ella was in 5th grade...she was 3and a half at the time. As I said that, I thought, "God is probably going to make me eat those words." Sure enough I have. I have loved Temple and have really thought I would raise my kids here. But it appears as though God has other plans.

Our house has been on the market since January 14 and April 12 we got a contract. Less than 3 months after we listed it. Praise God! So now where we live for the next few months? God comes through again. Our church has a fully furnished missionary house and we are able to live there. Thank you GOD!!! So we are in the yucky phase of moving and getting rid of pretty much everything we have.

Through this process I have really come to see how much I have put emotions into stuff. I don't need stuff. There are so many people who have a tenth of what I have and are so happy. Yet somehow I have become so dependent on stuff to make me happy. Through all of the getting rid of and throwing away and garage sales I have learned to be happy in less. I am so thankful for that!

We still have to be presented to the board of trustees on July 20th for our final approval. I pray that all goes well. We meet with Larry, who is someone of importance, on Thursday morning. I am really looking forward to that. We have communicated with him via email but have not yet met in person. This is all becoming more and more real. I have days of excitement and days of fear of the unknown and yet I really trust that God has a plan for us.

A Day in the Country

2010-04-07T21:30:00.000-05:00

My aunt and uncle are house parents at a boys' ranch in Brenham, TX. They are the sister...or brother as the case may be...organization to the TX Baptist Children's Home where we were house parents at. We have gone down to the farm many times since they have been there. It was one of our favorite get away spots. Every year in April they have Day in the Country and have a bbq lunch and petting zoo and the boys ride their horses and show what they have learned. It is so fun! We love to go. I am so glad we were able to go. The girls rode horses this year. Macie was not one bit afraid...Ella on the other hand, well I will just let the pictures tell the story.

It also happened to be my uncle's 40th birthday that day and I was able to make the cake for it. It was a lot of fun and he was surprised!

Easter

2010-04-07T21:17:00.000-05:00

We had a different Easter this year. Usually my sister and my dad and stepmom come down so we can have family to celebrate with. This year we were alone. :-( But it actually turned out to be a good time. We were invited of to our children's ministers house along with the rest of the staff families. We had a fabulous time! The Easter Bunny visited the Brown's house and left eggs and gifts there for the girls. It worked out just right!

Bluebonnets

2010-04-07T21:10:00.000-05:00

So this is our last year to get to do bluebonnet pics while the girls are still little. The next time we will see bluebonnets they will most likely be 7 and 10...unbelievable!!! So enjoy a few of MANY we took!!!

Church Update

2010-03-31T09:41:00.000-05:00

It's been 2 months since the fire and the sanctuary and offices have now come down. It was a little emotional but also good. Seeing the post fire building is hard to look at. Here are the updated pics.

This is where the offices were. The hallway on the right is the welcome center area.

This is the last bit of the sanctuary being knocked down.

This is where James' office was.

Such a different look.

Whistle Stop

2010-03-31T09:32:00.000-05:00

We took advantage of a beautiful day to spend with some good friends at Whistle Stop Park. Everyone had a blast!

Daughters of the King

2010-03-31T09:24:00.000-05:00

The girls were able to go to a tea party at my mom's church this past weekend. We all sang Jesus Loves Me as a special music. The girls got crowns and there was a sweet story about how God loves us no matter what we do. Ella and Macie loved being able to dress up and eat off nice china and fancy tea cups.

Zoo Day

2010-03-31T09:18:00.000-05:00

We took a spontaneous trip to the zoo a few weeks ago. James has never been to the zoo in Waco. It is just the right size and has a lot of fun things to see and do.

And the walls come tumbling down...

2010-03-10T13:52:00.000-06:00

Today the demolition of our church began. It will be a 3 week process...woohoo! The offices are the first to go. I had been waiting all week for this to start so the kiddos and I had a "field trip." Because of rain it did not start until today and I had Bible study so I missed the initial knock down. Oh well. Here is a picture of what it looks like so far. I will take more pics as the progress moves along.

Snow Day

2010-02-23T12:36:00.000-06:00

This is the most unusual weather we've been having in Texas! I have spent every winter for the past 31 years in Texas and don't remember this much cold or snow for this long of a time period. Today was another day in the history books! We got an email last night that school was cancelled for CTCS today!! We started off with free pancakes at IHOP and a donation to the Shriners and then home to play in the snow! There was a small snowball fight in the backyard and the James and Ella worked super hard on a snowman in the front! We ended the morning with hot chocolate and Wall-E. Temple and Belton are delayed tomorrow...I hope CTCS gets the same! Enjoy the pics...

Sorry for the blur; there was snow on the lens!

Twinkie Day

2010-02-23T11:56:00.000-06:00

Ella and her friend Sarah Kate were twinkies!

Ella's "pinkie" friends Abby, Alicia and Dori

Olivia, Tatum, Sarah Kate and Ella

Double Trouble! Heston and Carson...too cute!

You're going where?

2010-02-15T14:33:00.002-06:00

POLAND! I know we are crazy! But this is not a decision that has been rushed into lightly. God has been working on our hearts for many, many years and now it is all coming to fruition. Let me just give you a little background on our callings and where we are at this point.

James: He has always felt a pull to missions. Different mission trips during his time in the youth group as well as his time as a student minister have caused him to know that this is something God wants
him to do as a full time position. As long as I have known him, his goal has been to take students on international experiences. These past 2 summers...and this next summer...he has been able to visit
Belize and the Czech Republic. Through these events it has solidified his desire to do full time missions in the future.

Angela: At 3rd grade GA camp, I felt an undeniable call from God to be a missionary. To this day I can remember sitting outside with the counselor after the evening session discussing this call. We had many missionary friends when I was growing up so it just seemed natural. Through multiple mission trips in high school and college my passion has grown stronger. Every time she returns from a trip I was ready to jump at the chance to be a missionary. There was never a doubt in my mind that God had called me to tell the world about Jesus Christ and I never saw myself in the United States...I don't know where I saw myself but it was always in another country.

Together: We came into our marriage both feeling called to a life of missions in some capacity. Our first mission field experience, I believe, was living at the Texas Baptist Children's Home as house parents to teenage girls. God allowed us to get a taste of what life could be like on the mission field.

In the summer of 2008 we took a couple of youth to the country of Belize to do mission work. At one point James and I were walking around the "neighborhood" inviting kids to come to an event we were hosting that night. While walking we got to talking about why we weren't doing this full time. God began to work in our hearts to prepare us for a major career change. I was ready to pack up and go but James was hesitant about taking our kids at their young ages. When we returned home, we sent an email to our family about that trip and the call we were feeling. My grandfather mentioned that the International Mission Board will not let you take teenagers on to the field. Our options were either
waiting for Macie to graduate or take them young. So we kind of put it off for the past year. I guess we weren't ready to make that decision just yet.

This past summer we went to Brno, Czech Republic. Our first day there we met Joe and Julie Silby. They were the missionaries we worked with for the week we were there. We do not believe it was by coincidence that they were who we met. They had been on the field for a little over the year. Their backgrounds were not in traditional ministry and neither had had seminary training, yet God out of the blue put the call on Julie's heart She and Joe prayed together and ended up within a year on the mission field. I loved being able to talk to them. James and Joe had and have had many conversations about all the "what ifs" we had going into full time service. Any excuse we gave as to why we couldn't do it right now...kids, just bought a new car, James in school...they countered with why those shouldn't be excuses. So we came back from Prague with a strong desire and pull from God that now is the time. So in August we contacted the International Mission Board about the possibility to become full time missionaries.

We filled out the initial applications and had a "get to know you" type interview with a representative in September. He had been a missionary since 2001 and was here on state side assignment because his daughter was having some health problems. He talked about how much his kids had become part of the culture in China. He put a lot of the concerns I had as a mom to rest. After that we were in a holding pattern. I don't stand still very well. I wanted to know what was next. (We were told that we had been accepted as candidates but that there were only 36 jobs available worldwide so not to pack our bags. There were a lot on the waiting lists.) All this time James and I have been praying about this. When we first realized that this is what we were going to do, the world became quite a LARGE place. How do you know to go to this country and work in this city with these people doing this job? So we really prayed. Something that James and I feel burdened for is to work with people that are not generally loved by others. That was part of our draw to working at the children's home as well as being foster parents. This summer we worked with the Roma people that have been shunned by many many groups of people. We did not feel that South America or Africa were places we wanted to go. I loved the idea of Asia but James wasn't as sold on that idea. But what we did agree on was Europe. Of course living in Scotland, Ireland, England would be nice but I think that we would have had the wrong hearts going there. So we really settled on eastern Europe (in our minds).

On Wednesday, Oct 14 we got an email asking if we would be interested in Serbia working with Roma people. The job was not an immediate need at this time but would probably be there next year. My first thoughts were, "Is that a safe place? Can I raise my kids there? Where is it located?" (We have learned a lot of European geography since this summer.) So we did some quick checking and prayed and sent an email back saying yes we would consider Serbia but we also mentioned that we were not wanting to limit ourselves to only Roma. We were really interested in working in the eastern European block. Within 10-15 minutes we had a list of immediate needs in that area. They told us that they receive quite a lot of requests for western Europe but not much for eastern. They had jobs that were needing filled and were praying for God to place the right people to apply for those positions. We read through each job description and each place. They were anywhere from Serbia to Slovakia to the Ukraine to Russia and Poland. The majority of the jobs were for church planters. The other job that really got our attention was for a Team Strategy Leader. The job description said, "As a Strategy Coordinator, you will mobilize Southern Baptists and other Great Commission entities to expend their resources upon the millions of Poles in a region of Poland in such a way that a clear culturally viable proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ is shared so that a church planting movement is born that is able to reproduce itself.-----Your specific duties will involve the following: RESEARCHING, NETWORKING, STRATEGIZING, INTERCEDING, EVANGELIZING, MINISTERING, IMPLEMENTING, ADVOCATING, LEADING/TEAM BUILDING AND TRAINING." OH MY!!! This has James's name all over it. I really had chills. There were 2 places that had a request for this position: Poland and Siberia. Siberia? I read the climate description from there...no! That was not where God was calling us. But Poland kept jumping out at us. We emailed back and said we would like to look into Poland. The guy told us to take a few days and pray about it and to contact the guy over this area in that region. His name is Trey. James talked to him a couple of times and felt very comfortable with him and vice versa. We found out we would be in Krakow. So after emailing back and forth for the week we received an email stating that there was a job reserved for us in Krakow, Poland. WOW!!! All that I have felt for 20 years was actually going to happen.

We then started much paperwork on health and family background and our kids and beliefs on salvation and beyond. By the time we had our final interview in December with Joel, our personnel consultant for the IMB, I felt like he knew me better than I knew me. Ha! He said this was our last hoop to jump through before being presented to the board of trustees. We passed and are now on to the board!

Timing: James has received medical clearance from the travel agency. We are waiting to hear from them for Ella, Macie and myself. We will be presented to the board of trustees for the IMB in July. After approval from them, we will be appointed September 15 in Gary, FL and head to Richmond, VA for 8 weeks of training starting on Oct 11 until Dec. 10. We will get to spend Christmas at home with our families and then head out to Poland the beginning of 2011. Woohoo!

Where we are today: James and I are very excited and at peace that this is where God has us to be. At the same time, we are leaving to go to a land that we have no friends, family or speak the language. That is unbelievably scary. Our kids will go to national school...not international. They will be in Polish schools in Krakow. They don't actually start school over there until 7...which Ella will be at the
time we get there. Macie will go to preschool like setting while we are in language school. We have been told that we don't really get the option of homeschooling because 1)we are in language school all day and 2) this is the best way for children to become fluent in the language and really become part of the culture. Every missionary family we have talked to has said that it was difficult at first but
that within about 6 months their kids were nearly fluent in the language and definitely picked it up faster than their parents. As this has become more and more of a reality I have thought more about
my fears. Dropping my kids off the 2nd day of school scares me. The first day the girls won't know what to expect but the second day they know they will go to a school that the kids don't speak their language and it is difficult to communicate. Knowing that everything will be different and we will not have the support we have in place here is a bit scary. Another thing that is difficult is knowing that for the first 3 years, our apprenticeship, we will not be able to come home. This is so that we can really build roots over there. These are just a few of our fears. But our overwhelming excitement and peace knowing that God has allowed this journey to reach its destination after many, many years makes it so worth it. I know that we will be able to take God's word to a country that less than 2% are evangelical Christians. We are looking forward to doing ministry with other Christians and figuring out the best ways to reach the lost. We also look forward to how God will bring our family closer together. An added bonus is getting to take our kids to countries and places we normally wouldn't have be able to. And also that we will all be fluent...eventually...in Polish. How cool is that?

Prayer Requests: Pray that our house sells quickly and we can do ok ongetting rid of our brand new van...ugh! Also, pray for the girls as this is going to be a big adjustment for them. I wish you all could
listen to Ella talk about and pray for the missionaries she learns about in mission friends and GAs. I don't think that the fact that Ella has that heart and love for missions is by chance...but I know
that this isn't going to be super easy for them. Pray for James as he still has to finish up his PhD. work. He will take an 8 hour comprehensive test this year sometime (It was supposed to be this spring, but with the fire consuming the majority of his resources we are not sure when that will happen.), write a prospectus on what his dissertation topic will be and finally research and write his "book."He is close but still has a ways to go.

We know that this is probably met with a lot of mixed emotions. Please know that we do not expect this to be easy for you or for us. At first I thought that if this is God's will it should all just be
excitement, but it isn't always easy to follow God...and that is where Faith comes in. We will pray that this next year will be a special time that we can spend with each of you. Our Polish home is always
open to visitors. And praise God that communication is so advanced from even 10 years ago. We can skype with you all and see one another with the use of a web cam. We also have heard that we can get vonage with a local number and take it overseas and be able to call anyone anytime. I know it isn't the same thing but a lot better than just being able to write letters and mail them. Please keep us in your
prayers. This will be a roller coaster for the next year or three. I am sorry this turned out to be so long, but I wanted you to know our individual call along with how God put us together and brought us to
the point we are at. I hope it made sense. Please feel freeto ask us anything. We would love to talk about it!

We have also started a website that we will keep up to date with info as well.

www.allthingsforgood.org

We love you all so much and couldn't be where we are without each one of you!

James, Angela, Ella and Macie

Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!"

Fire Pics

2010-02-15T13:30:00.000-06:00

Emotions

2010-02-14T22:34:00.000-06:00

Over the past nearly 4 weeks, my emotions have been on a roller coaster. I went from shock to overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from other believers in our community to peace from God to shock again from the determination of arson to exhaustion to anger to coming back to God's arms.

Anger...I became very selfish at this point. I was becoming tired from going and going. I was used to having my Wednesday morning Bible study break with childcare for our kiddos and an occasional mom's morning out date with James. Now I had just lost both things. Ugh! I had kids all day everyday with no break and James was dealing with all that was going on a work, on top of all that he had just lost. I didn't want to expect him to do a lot more when he got home. James had not had a day off since the week before the fire. We are also trying to sell the house so there is the added pressure of keeping the house clean and ready for a showing. It was all too much and it hit all at once. I was so angry and I didn't want to pray and I didn't want read anything or hear anything about how I am a mom and there is a lot expected and it's ok if it doesn't get done...blah blah blah. I just wanted to stay in bed and sleep!

However God knows what I need. He allowed me to meet a sweet little boy at Taco Bell the Wednesday after the Arson news. Cooper was celebrating his 4th birthday with his grandparents. It was a normal looking party except that Cooper was bald because he had been through 5 rounds of chemotherapy and was preparing for a surgery in 2 days to remove what could be of a fist size tumor between his heart and lung and attached to his spinal chord. His chances of surviving neuroblastoma are not high. But there he was celebrating his birthday and playing with his toys. What in the world did I have to be sad for? Really? Because I didn't have a break? I am not fighting for my life...nor are my children. After that things started getting a lot better emotionally.

The How

2010-02-14T22:16:00.000-06:00

Our church was the 8th church fire in Texas since the first of the year...only 19 days earlier. I had had many people ask me if I thought it was arson. I really searched my gut to see what I felt. I wanted to feel one way or the other. I said I really felt like it was an accident. I really did not believe that someone had intentionally set fire to our church.

The fire started on Tuesday, January 19th and by Thursday the national ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) had arrived to begin investigating the fire. James was told that because of the magnitude and size of the fire it is standard procedure that they come in and investigate. On Friday morning everyone that had keys we asked to be there to be interviewed by ATF.

We were told that ATF were planning to be gone by Sunday evening and that the ministers could hopefully go in early week 2. Monday morning, however, ATF was still there. I thought briefly that maybe they had found something and were having to investigate more thoroughly. But then I still didn't have the gut feeling. They finished their investigation on Wednesday and briefed insurance Thursday morning on their findings and then were gone.

The day James had waited for had finally come. He was able to go into the education building (building B) and video the damage for the staff's knowledge and what it looks like before the renovations began. James was giddy! There was a lot of water damage and black smoke lines going up the walls. The floors were trashed...and NO fire came into that building. He did see into his office through a window. There was debris everywhere but it looked somewhat like he could find some things in it. When James called after he went in, I was expecting to hear what it was like but he had something else to tell me.

He told me that what he was going to tell me had to be kept a secret because there would be a press conference the next morning announcing that the church fire was arson. Arson. Arson? Really? I felt like I had been sucker punched in the stomach. And I couldn't say a word. My chest hurt because I really didn't believe that it was intentionally set. I was devastated. The rest of the day was numb. My kids could have colored all over the walls and eaten every piece of candy we had for dinner and I probably wouldn't have noticed. Thank goodness it was Emme's (the little girl I keep) brother's birthday and the girls spent the evening with them.

Everything after that point moved in slow motion. All that peace I had felt seemed to slowly disappear...not that I didn't feel that God was in control because I totally did...but now this fire became personal. There was not an electrical spark in an OLD building with OLD wiring and it just went up in flames. No, someone got into our church and intentionally set a blaze to ruin all that we had. Although I know the Church is not a building, it still had so many memories and things that are reminders of different points along everyone's journeys in life. It was all gone. Even today, I don't understand!

The Aftermath

2010-02-14T21:27:00.001-06:00

The next few days seemed like a blur. It became more and more a reality of the destruction that had happened. Many questions came to mind and were asked. Why did this happen? Where did it start? How did it start? What is God's purpose with this happening? What is going to happen next? Many of these questions did not have answers.

I was at the church everyday that week. I just had to be there...nothing had changed I just needed to be there emotionally. The only building available to work in, have meetings in, set up shop in was the youth building...called the Edge. James felt like his world had been invaded. Haha! In the last year our church started a contemporary service that takes place at the same time as our 11:00 service in the sanctuary. We had done a lot of renovations for the new service. Little did we know that God was getting us prepared for a major catastrophe.

Once again our community has really stepped in to help the ministers and others that were around the church. Christ Episcopal has allowed them to use their parlor area to have multiple meetings each day. They provided lunches as well as many other people. There has never been a lack of food in the youth building. Our first Sunday we met at the Mayborn Center, our local civic center, for church so we could all worship together as a church family. Our pastor received a call on Saturday from the pastor of an Assembly of God church in town saying that he was praying for us and also that they would be taking an offering in their service to pay for the cost of the center for us. Another unbelievable outpouring of love from God's people.

In the midst of the fire tragedy another loss was our Child Development Center. Because of the extent of fire, smoke and water damage, no one was able to go into the children's building. Around 150 kids and 35 workers were out of a place to go and a job. Initially, some of the teachers were able to go to different homes and keep some of the kids. Other facilities in town were willing to allow kids to come to them. Praise God. However after understanding the extent of the damage and knowing that they were going to have to remove all flooring, I believe walls, and many things within the center because of the chance of having soot on them. A day care, so we have learned, can only remain closed for a maximum of 90 days without having to jump through all the hoops of getting relicensed. (Don't quote me on all of this. I may not have all the facts just right.) As a result, the CDC was forced to be closed. There is just no time frame of knowing how long it will be before we have insurance money and quotes and the actual stuff done. This was a difficult decision. I cannot imagine the sadness that our director felt. She had been in this position for 19 years and truly loved each one of those children. I have heard that the majority of the teachers have been rehired at other places around the area...Praise God!

Throughout this week God really gave me a peace. James and I had switched roles. I am usually a stresser and don't handle "surprises" well. James was very numb and in shock and devastated a lot more than I was...He had actually experienced a lot more loss than I had so I guess I could see that. But even still, God had just really given me such a calm spirit. I was ok and felt like everything was going to be fine.

The morning our world stood still

2010-02-14T00:38:00.000-06:00

At 6:30 am on Tuesday February 19, 2010 we woke up to a call from James' secretary, Vanessa, telling him that our church was on fire. It felt like when you are dreaming but the dream seems so real and you can't seem to wake yourself up from it. Our church was on fire? What? Really? Really? Soon James was on the phone with Gary, our music minister who was telling him that the fire was through the roof of the offices and heading toward the sanctuary. He said whatever was in James' offices would probably be a total loss. It just kept getting more and more weird. I have always been an "ambulance chaser" so I immediately wanted to go and see it in flames. Instead we got up and started getting ready for the day and watched the news. We told the girls what was happening and Ella's first question was, "Where will we go to church on Sunday?" And Macie's response was, " We can go to Goo's church or Nonny's church." James took Ella to school and headed to the church. I got my kiddos there and then we headed up to the church to see what was left around 9:30. The roof had caved in on the office area and the sanctuary. There were firemen all around and water spraying...which was quite entertaining to a 2 and 3 year old.

I learned when I got there that the Episcopal church just next door had been there immediately with coffee, donuts and breakfast tacos for everyone needing nourishment. Blessing #1. Then a few of the staff were invited by the 1st Methodist Church to look at their brand new facility for their contemporary service. They offered it to us to use as long as we needed too. Blessing #2. I saw a van drive up and unload a lot of picture frames and wondered what they were. It turns out that firemen had gone in a pulled out a bunch of OLD pictures and artifacts from out a gallery that was a tribute to the past ministers and members of our church. WOW! What a sacrifice and not for a person! Blessing #3. This was just the beginning of many ways God was going show us he was still in control through this horrible tragic.

Before noon the fireman had to tear down a part of the sanctuary wall. Apparently there were embers under the floor that the firemen were unable to reach and there was a chance they could flare up. This was the only way to put them out. It gave us a glimpse into what the sanctuary looked like and the extent of the damage. There were many windows knocked out and beautiful architecture ruined. The building had just received a historical marker in the past year.

That evening we had a prayer service in our youth building...which was, and has been since, our only working building we have access to. We had probably close to 400 people in attendance. It was such a neat time to come together and grieve and pray and praise God. We had no idea that day what would be in store for us over the next days and weeks.

Macie cracks me up!!!

2010-01-11T21:41:00.000-06:00

This is one of Macie's favorite nursery rhymes. There is never a day that goes by that she does not make us laugh! Although many of those times are when she is being ornery!

Baptism

2010-01-11T13:25:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was such a special day for our family! Ella was baptized by her daddy! What a neat example of God's love! On November 1st she asked Jesus into her heart in our church parking lot. At the young age of 6 I have seen how God really has changed her life. It has been amazing!

The background story of Ella asking Jesus into her heart...
When she was 3 we were driving in the car and talking about Jesus and asking Him into her heart. I said that when we die we get to go to Heaven. Wrong thing to say. She was convinced that if she asked Jesus into her heart she would die. She was terrified of that. As she has gotten older some of her friends have asked Jesus into their hearts and, amazingly enough, are still alive. :)

So that night at church we were walking to the van and she out of the blue said she was ready to ask Jesus into her heart. I was stunned! So James and I talked to her a little and she was ready so we prayed together right there. It was such an unbelievable feeling! I was more excited then she was I think. Yesterday she was baptized by her daddy. Another sweet moment! She was very excited! There is nothing that compares to knowing your child will spend eternity in Heaven!

Creative Week

2009-10-24T22:34:00.000-05:00

Whew! This week I feel I have not sat still. I have made 2 birthday cakes, made a pair of pants, burp rags and cute hot chocolate holders for teacher gifts. I have always said that I am so NOT creative...and I still don't consider myself creative because I steal ideas from others...but this week has boosted my esteem. And I have had fun!!! I even spent the majority of my day today with 5 other ladies doing crafty stuff. Never thought I would see the day. On the schedule for next week? Macie's halloween costume...the spider that frightened Miss Muffet away! Pictures to come!

Creative Kids

2009-10-19T22:11:00.000-05:00

My kids love to be creative. I love that. I let them make carmel apples recently and oh my! What a mess. But they had a blast. They got to put sprinkles and gummy worms all over them. Then eat them. Yummy! That was the best part!

Ella is my ultra artsy kid. She wants to be an artist when she grows up. I will support her 100%...especially since I have not one creative ounce in my body! One way she really enjoys expressing her creativity is through "photography." I love how in these pics she was even using different angles to take a pic, like laying on the ground with the camera straight in front of her. You never know what she is going to do next!

Halloween

2008-10-31T21:09:00.001-05:00

Well, tonight we went trick-or-treating. What a work out! First we had jack-o-lantern shaped pizza for dinner...yum. Then the girls got dressed. Ella was the Dorothy...yeah she was cute. And Macie was the cutest Tinkerbell! Of course I went to take pictures and yeah, my battery was dead on my camera...Good one, Mom. We went to the church for Trunk or Treat. I am sad to say but it was not a good turn out. (It was also the Belton/Temple football game so that cut down a lot on attendance.) We then came back and trick-or-treated in our neighborhood. We went with our next door neighbors. It was a lot of fun. My favorite part was have our 2 year olds with us. Macie, Dakota and McKenzie were soooo cute! They were really getting into walking up and getting candy. They were so cute and would get so excited no matter what they got.

I was annoyed with the "big" kids that would come by. They were obviously a little too old to be trick-or-treating, but I guess they were having fun. Overall it was a fun night, but I am exhausted. I am going to read my book and go to sleep.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-30T10:26:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday night, we went to the pumpkin Patch and took some very cute pics!!

Rough Day

2008-10-25T21:37:00.000-05:00

Today has been a rough day. I love my husband so much and I love being a mom. There is nothing in my life I have wanted to do more than have my own children and stay at home with them. I love it so much! This week I started keeping 2 other kids. Emme is 13 months and Paxton is 4 months. It has added quite a lot to my plate, but it is fun. However, the only time I leave the house is for about 15 minutes to go get Pam from school. I get cabin fever easily. James, on the other hand, is gone all day and when he gets home he doesn't want to do anything. Today our personalities clashed. I struggle with feeling that it is my job to do all the cleaning, fixing meals, dressing children, laundry, and discipline of the kiddos.

I told James today that I needed to go to Target for a break. I didn't ask him to come with me. But when I said this, his replied, "Put the girls down for a nap and go." That was fine, I was planning to do that, but that he had to tell me to do that instead of just saying ok rubbed me the wrong way. Then I was trying to clean up lunch, the table, do the dishes, change laundry around and Macie was going potty...and then poop...in her potty. I asked J to help her and got an, "ugh" from him. Why was this so hard for him to do? He was "spending time" with Ella watching tv and playing on his phone. Was it so hard for him to clean up after Macie?

When I confronted him calmly later about this, he turned all around on me being moody. I wasn't. He tells me how much he has going on with church and school. And I know he is busy...I do. But when he is at home and wants to "relax" that is fine. I am all for that. I just need him to also be a dad. And I am not sure how I can talk to him about this without making him mad, but helping him understand how I am feeling. So the rest of the day has been very tense because he thinks I am telling him he is a horrible person. NOT TRUE. I don't think that. I just need a little help with the kids or around the house. So that has been my day.