Category: Czech Republic

Every post I wrote while we lived overseas.

Wedding Day And My First Time As A Flower Girl

Post author By Shay
Post date January 10, 2015
No Comments on Wedding Day And My First Time As A Flower Girl

Today was wedding day, the reason we flew to the States. Bethany’s brother Adam married his best friend, Taylor, and we had a blast celebrating with them.

Both Titus and Avery were part of the ceremony as ring bearer and flower girl respectively, so we were there early to take photos. Avery normally takes a nap around the time we arrived, so we were a little nervous about how she would do. Overall she and Titus did great during photos and were both in good spirits. Here’s a few photos from around that time (captions beneath each).

Bethany holding Avery while we waited for our time to do photos.

Titus with his uncle Adam (the groom).

Avery and Bethany looking beautiful.

Little Avery showing off her dress.

Titus laughing and watching the the bridal part out the window. When we arrived they were still doing photos outside, so we stayed in where it was warm and enjoyed the view out the windows.

While the bridal party came inside, uncle Adam (the groom) picked up little cousin Jude and Avery and Bethany said hi to him and the bride.

After photos were finished, there was a little down time before guests started arriving. Avery kept asking me for her basket of flower petals. When I found it, I figured this would be a good time to practice before “the big show” so we did just that. She did really great and I was excited about her attitude. Here’s a few photos of her practicing (in the second photo you can see that she’s only taking one petal at a time. Eventually she started taking handfuls).

When it was time for the wedding to start, I was given the job of organizing the family and bridal party and sending them down the aisle (as well as helping my own kids go down the aisle). We started the ceremony on time and everything was moving smoothly. Titus and his cousin Jude walked down together beautiful and now it was time for Avery. But then… all the heads turned. Avery took one look down that aisle and wouldn’t budge. Despite my prodding, she wasn’t moving. I tried to tell, “Do you see mommy? Walk to mommy.” That’s when she sat down. With all eyes on her and I, I made the quick decision to pick her up and carry her down the aisle. The place broke into laughter and clapping and that’s a new first for me and for Avery!

Other than that minor hiccup, the wedding went great. I really enjoyed the intimate feel of the entire event, and for me it was really neat to be just a participant and not doing the photography. I had my camera, of course, and I loved this moment (above) of Adam and his mom during their dance. But throughout the night Titus kept asking me, “Daddy, can we dance now?” We had told him there would be dancing and that’s all he could talk about. Eventually the dance floor did open up and Titus stayed until closing time. Other than a moment where he stopped for a water break, he spent the night jumping and dancing with his second cousin, Savannah. Here’s a little video I got.

When we got into the car tonight, Titus said, “That was fun, fun, fun!” I agree. It was a lot of fun and I’m so glad that we were able to celebrate with Adam and Taylor on their special day. It has been equally as special to be here with family and enjoy the time together!

Tags dancing, family, fun, wedding

365 Czech Republic

A Wedding Rehearsal

I must have been caught up in the moment, but I didn’t take any photos of the wedding rehearsal tonight. On the bright side, I did become the wedding line coordinator (at least I think that’s what I call it?). It’s the person who guides the people walking down the aisle. I guess all of those years of doing wedding photography comes in handy when you need someone to tell people when to walk slowly in a straight line.

I may have forgotten the photos, but that shouldn’t spoil this blog. On the really bright side, we had the blessing of seeing our friends Blaine and Kelsey from our church in California. We had a fun time catching up with them and eating dinner together and it was just really fun to see our friends, even up here in Washington. As a bonus, tomorrow at around 4pm we’ll be related. You see, Blaine’s sister is marrying Bethany’s brother. Don’t you just love when that happens?! AND… yes, there’s more… They came tonight bearing gifts. They literally brought an extra suitcase full of stuff for us to take back to Czech from our Bible study in California. It was packed with the essentials: chocolate chips, yellow mustard, baby clothes, and even little twisty plastic straws for the kids. Thank you, friends!

The rehearsal and dinner went really well. I think everyone knows where to stand and I appreciated the officiating pastor who kept reminding us that “this isn’t a performance, it’s a celebration.” So often weddings become more of a performance where it all has to be perfect and we lose site of the celebration. Dinner was delicious and we had a great time of sharing about Adam and Taylor (the happy couple). There were some tears shed as people shared, but of course it was all in genuine care and love. It was a great start to the weekend and I look forward to a wonderful wedding tomorrow. I’m especially excited about seeing Avery as a little flower girl and Titus as a ring bearer. I’ll be coaching them down the aisle, so we’ll just see how it goes!

365 Czech Republic

Camping in the Living Room

Post author By Shay
Post date January 8, 2015
No Comments on Camping in the Living Room

While I was on the phone, Titus burst in to room and exclaimed “Dad, we’re going camping!” Confused, I shook my head at him and finished my phone conversation. A few minutes later I came into where Bethany was and said, “What’s going on?” Apparently Papa (grandpa) came inside telling everyone, “We’re all ready to camping!” What Papa didn’t know was that the little three and four year old ears would take him literally. Now, Papa wasn’t really saying we were about to camping but he was excited about his new trailer hitch for his tent trailer that he installed. After the kids calmed down from their own excitement, Papa came up with a plan to camp in the living room instead. So he set up a tent in the living room, threw some sleeping bags in there, and the kids were camping in no time.

Unrelated to camping, here’s a photo of the kids with their younger cousin, Jude, while playing on the iPad. The moment didn’t last long, but I thought it was fun to see them all so engage in what was happening.

Tonight we had dinner out and outside the restaurant were some art pieces, including this one of a saddle. The kids tried it on for size. I think the stirrups are a little low, but overall Titus was a good fit.

When we got back from dinner there was a large box waiting for us on the doorstep. It was our new stroller! We only have one chance of getting the stroller back to Czech, so we had to secure one while we were here. This one will be much better for the sidewalks in Czech and with the baby due in June we’re excited to get him or her out on the town! The kids were excited too and climbed in to it and test it out.

That’s all from me tonight. Tomorrow is the rehearsal dinner for Bethany’s brother’s wedding and we’re all getting excited about the festivities. Good night.

Tags camping, dinner, stroller

365 Czech Republic

Making Little Memories

I don’t know what memories my kids will have when they are older. I think about that sometimes when I’m playing with them. Will they remember this moment? Like today, we were outside and I decided to have some fun with them and “go on a hunt for pinecones!” We were just in the backyard and there was a wheelbarrow and lots of tiny pinecones scattered on the ground. I told the kids, “Find as many pinecones as you can and we’ll put them in here!” So off we went. Will they look back on our time today and remember what we did?

Whether the memory sticks or not, we had fun. Pinecone hunting was a success and every time they found one on the ground I would get really excited which made the kids just want to find more. In the end we had enough to cover the bottom of the wheelbarrow.

Beyond the pinecones, we just played more outside today. You can see in the photos Avery wearing little “butterfly wings” (as she calls them). She was really attached to them (no pun intended) today and just wanted to wear them most of the afternoon. Here’s a few more photos of us playing.

Tonight we had dinner with friends who have spent about eight years overseas serving in Germany. It was fun to talk with them and swap stories about living in a different country and culture. The husband of the couple we were with is our main contact at one of our supporting churches so he keeps up with us on a regular basis over email. It was a fun and relaxing dinner that ended with a short time of prayer. What a joy to have such special people around us.

After dinner we brought the kids home, put them to to bed, and Bethany and I went out for dessert. We have the blessing of having grandparents who can stay at the house while the kids sleep and so we took advantage of that tonight and enjoyed a late night out. That time is so crucial and it was really nice to just talk and enjoy a little ice cream. We need more time like that!

Tags dinner, fun, kids, memories, pinecones

365 Czech Republic

Three Crockpots, Twister, and a Gospel Devotional

Post author By Shay
Post date January 7, 2015
No Comments on Three Crockpots, Twister, and a Gospel Devotional

I joked with the family that it felt a little like Thanksgiving today. No, we didn’t eat turkey and to my knowledge there wasn’t a football game on, but there were three crockpots full to the brim with stew. Somewhere along the line, we (the collective family) decided to have a big meal for dinner. When the decision was made, the kitchen went into overtime peeling carrots and cutting potatoes. Someone had to run to another house to pick up extra crockpots and eventually everything was slow cooking throughout the afternoon.

While the crockpots worked over time, the kids found the game Twister and we did our best to have a family game. I joined a game already in progress and when I asked Titus if I could play he said, “Dad….it’s a kids game!” and abruptly me showed me the box cover adding, “See, it’s for kids!” (the cover had a picture of kids playing the game). I convinced them it would be awesome if I joined in and they obliged. The game lasted about 90 more seconds before Avery couldn’t reach across the board and Titus couldn’t figure which was left or right. Needless to say, I won!

Things are starting to heat up with the wedding approaching this Saturday. We picked up dry cleaning today and are working on getting Titus’ clothes hemmed to size. For Bethany’s family this will be wedding three of three and will marry off the last sibling, Bethany’s brother. The kids and I have been practicing our dance moves in the living room which mostly consists of flailing our arms and jumping up and down. By Saturday we’ll be ready to own that dance floor.

On a lot more serious note, we’ve been reading out loud from the book New Morning Mercies by Paul Tripp. The book is a daily devotional and it may be the best one I’ve ever read. I realize that throughout history there have been many such books, but I think Paul Tripp has a way of applying the gospel to all of life that is unlike any author I’ve read. We’re only a week in, but I have been blessed and challenged by the devotions and I can’t help but recommend the book to everyone. And as a bonus, the title of the book has caused me to have the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” stuck in my head all day. I have been walking around singing “…morning by morning, new mercies I see!” and been contemplating that truth. Praise the Lord that His mercies are new every single day!

Such a helpful tool for preaching the gospel to yourself every day. Thank you, @pauldavidtripp, for this book

A photo posted by Shay Thomason (@shaycam) on Jan 1, 2015 at 10:01am PST

Tags book, devotions, family, food, game, Paul Tripp

365 Czech Republic

Good Times and Playing Outside

Post author By Shay
Post date January 6, 2015
No Comments on Good Times and Playing Outside

The weather in Yakima today was amazing. For the past week it has been below freezing and today it shot up to 60 degrees which meant Titus and I could play a little baseball outside! We played a little outside, but you can only last so long before your hands are frozen solid, so today was a nice change. Titus loves baseball and I always announce the game as if it’s a major league playoff which Titus thinks is hilarious (OK, I think it’s funny too).

As we approach our final week here, we did some final shopping today just to make sure we’ve covered everything we’ve been hunting for. We browsed through Costco today and while we were just hanging out the kids and I found some sweet leather chairs to sit on. I was pretending to lay in the chair when the kids jumped in and joined me, so Bethany got the above photo of us. Too bad you can’t fit leather chairs on airplanes…just kidding.

Titus got in on the leather chair action too. Here he is testing out another option.

If Costco wasn’t enough America to take in, we also enjoyed a little Asian-American cuisine and had Panda Express for lunch. The food was a little disappointing (maybe it’s our changing taste buds), but it’s one of those weird things you miss when you’re in Czech. Here’s a photo of Avery playing with one of Titus’ cars as we waited for our food.

Tonight I had the joy of spending a little FaceTime (video chat) with my friend Matt. I don’t know how long we chatted, but it was really special to be able to catch up and just talk about our new lives overseas. Matt and I used to meet regularly for coffee and I think often of those times and miss them. That is definitely one of those things you sacrifice when you move across the planet…close friendships. Matt and I will be friends for years, I’m sure, but it’s hard to be in a different time zone on the other side of the world. I’m thankful for the time we got tonight and hope for more in the future.

Tags friends, outside, weather

365 Czech Republic

Blessed on a Sunday

Today we had the privilege to worship at one of our supporting churches, Harvest Community Church in Selah, Washington. It was a pretty special morning as we had time to share during the services, but more importantly, to hear from some of the people about how God has been working in their lives this past year. As a church they took some time today to have an open microphone where they could share and we heard incredible testimonies of God’s goodness. One testimony was from a lady who talked about how her brother who was born deaf was able to hear for the first time in his life at age 53 because of medical advances and a surgery he was able to get. Another was from a young man who talked about a friend of his who was contemplating suicide. By God’s grace, the friend called this young man and he was able to talk him out of it and he asked for prayer for his friend to come to Christ. That young man knows what his friend truly needs, a relationship with the One who can save his soul.

Along with the blessing of being at church, we had the chance to video chat with close friends of ours who live in California. Since we’re on the same time zone right now, it made connecting with them a lot easier. It was a sweet time just catching up and seeing each other’s kids. It meant so much just to spend time chatting about life, even though it was over video. I’m thankful for the friendships God has provided us and the technology to keep up with them, even if it’s from a distance.

I got the above photo tonight of Avery trying to get every last drop of her ice cream dessert out of her bowl. After she tried this for a few minutes she said to me, “Daddy, can you help me?” Somehow she wanted me to scrape more out of the bottom of the bowl for her. I did my best and she was happy. It was a cute moment.

We watched more home videos of Bethany and her family tonight and it was a lot of fun. Our kids love watching one in particular of Bethany when she was about 3 years old sledding in their front yard. I’m glad our kids get to see the footage of Bethany as a kid. But it’s also a reminder to me to make memories for our kids. As I watch Bethany’s family react and talk about what’s on the screen, I’m challenged to think about how I can lead my family and make sure we’re just enjoying life together. It’s so easy to get caught up in the work of ministry or even pursuing language learning that I can forget to take time for us to enjoy family and make memories. By God’s grace, we’ll make sweet memories together in the years ahead and one day we can look back and enjoy talking about them (or watching them!) together.

Tags church, Sunday

365 Czech Republic

Brunch, a Puzzle, and Home Videos

Post author By Shay
Post date January 3, 2015
7 Comments on Brunch, a Puzzle, and Home Videos

This morning we enjoyed a nice brunch at (stay with me) Bethany’s sister’s in-law’s. There were two food items on the table we just can’t find in Czech 1) bagels 2) English muffins. You would think us being closer to England we could get English muffins but that’s just not the case. But I digress. The food was great and we had a fun time talking about Czech and answering lots of questions about what we’ve been doing and how God has been working in our lives since moving over there.

Mostly we had a leisurely afternoon. I actually spent a few hours reading and everyone decided to work on a puzzle. When I made it out to see their progress, I found Avery sitting with Bethany, Nana (grandma), and Bonnie (Bethany’s sister). It cracked me up to see all four them hard at work on the puzzle. Here’s a photo I got.

I ended up helping with the puzzle later and we finished it this evening. Not bad!

As I write, Bethany’s dad is putting another reel of film on the super 8mm film projector. We’ve been watching old home videos in the living room tonight. It’s kind of mesmerizing to watch the film being projected. It’s like I’m being transported into another life time. In a day when we can make HD videos with our phones and post them online in seconds, it’s kind of amazing to watch videos that haven’t been seen in many years and which also require a special, noisy machine to view them.

Watching old home movies really does make you think about how quick time goes by–not just time, of course, but life. Each reel of film is only a few minutes long before it ends and Daryl reloads another one. There’s a box of reels that he’s pulling from and every time we watch one, another big span of time (life) goes by. You can record life, but you can’t stop it. It makes me want to make the most of each moment of time I get. We only get so much anyway, so why maximize the little we get. The Apostle Paul didn’t have a projector, but he definitely knew what he was talking about when he wrote to the Ephesians to “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time…” As I begin a new year, I hope I make the best use of the time this year.

A video posted by Shay Thomason (@shaycam) on Jan 1, 2015 at 6:41pm PST

Tags family, home video, memories, movies, puzzle, time

365 Czech Republic

Relaxing in the New Year

It’s nice not to have too much on the schedule right now. I know these days won’t last long, so we’re enjoying the time of relaxing while we can. This morning we went over to where Bethany’s sister and brother-in-law are staying and played a little Mario Kart with uncle Andy. Titus has literally been talking about doing that for months and totally his dream was finally realized. Uncle Andy actually works for Nintendo so he has all the best stuff to play on, so above you can see me, Titus, and Andy playing.

This afternoon we had fun playing in the living room with all the different toys that Nana and Papa have. Above you can see the wooden train set, Lincoln logs, and marble track. We tried building a log cabin with the Lincoln logs, but they didn’t last long until the kids destroyed them. I love that the kids are playing with all of these older toys that have been enjoyed by kids for years. I also think it’s just good for them to not always be enjoying the “screen toys” (iPad, computer, etc.) which are and will be a big part of their lives.

Bethany and I began packing for our return even though it’s over a week away. We have an extra suitcase that we’re packing all the Christmas gifts and American goods in, so we want to see how much room we actually have. In total, we have 4 large suitcases that we need to keep down to 50lbs each. So far, so good, but we’re still buying a few last minute things. Hopefully I can bring all my books back!

Tags fun, kids, relaxing, toys

365 Czech Republic

Ringin’ in the New Year

We made it 10:30pm last night. That’s the latest we’ve been awake in over a week because, well, you know…jetlag. You’d think we would be in the clear by now, but we’re still getting up pretty early. So we were up early enough to set things up on the TV to watch the Rose Parade this morning which was pretty fun. Even though we could watch the Rose Parade on multiple channels, I found a way to watch the KTLA5 (local Los Angeles broadcast) online–the same one I grew up watching. It’s the little things in this life…

We had to do some more shopping today, but I think we’re just about done. We’ve been trying to find shoes, shirts, and sweaters for the upcoming wedding next weekend. I was able to find some shoes that I’ve needed for Czech. I’m not use to all the weather over there, so now I have some leather shoes which should help on the wet, cobble-stone streets.

American cuisine has been widely enjoyed on this trip and today was no different. We went to a local favorite, Miner’s of Yakima, and had burgers and fries. There was a really fun college football game on, Michigan State versus Baylor, which we ended up watching while enjoying our meal. America! At one point Bethany’s dad and I were yelling at the screen which brought a little too much attention toward our table. Honestly, I’m not a football fan, but that game was really fun and Michigan made an unbelievable comeback.

American football has been a little bit of a theme this afternoon as we’ve continued to watch the bowl games. Bethany and her mom continued to shop later in the afternoon, so her dad and I took the kids back to the house where we’ve been playing in the living room and enjoying some college football mayhem.

One more thing I want to mention is about my Bible reading program. For the past three years I have been enjoying a daily Bible reading program that has been challenging but life changing. It was actually created by one of our professors at The Master’s College and it’s aptly named the Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading System, after Prof. Horner. I recreated his printable bookmarks to make them a little more visually appealing, and here’s the link to the PDF that I made: click here to download the PDF (I suggest printing the bookmarks on photo paper). It’s a serious commitment, but I can tell you that my understanding of God’s Word has increased exponentially and hopefully, by God’s grace, I’m becoming more like Christ each and every day.

Tags America, Bible, football, reading