Shay Thomason – Page 10 – everything beautiful in it's time

Our First Easter in Czech

Post author By Shay
Post date April 5, 2015
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“Mom…Dad…” whispered a little voice from Bethany’s side of the bed as we were asleep early this morning. The voice continued, “…it’s Easter!” And with that proclamation we were awake. The voice was that of Titus and he was pretty excited because he knew today meant a “party” at our friends house after church. We got out of bed and made our way to the living room. I looked out the window when, “what to my wondering eyes should appear,” but freshly fallen snow (minus the sleigh and reindeer). Yes…snow on Easter Sunday. Such was the start of a really fun and joy filled day.

Bethany had put together the kids Easter baskets last night and set them out for the kids to discover them this morning (shown in the photo above). Inside each were a few eggs with some candy and just a few small presents that Bethany had picked up, including new placemats for the table, shoes, socks, and some stickers. Other than the candy and stickers, I think the other things were mainly just those things you know you need so you turn it in to a present and everyone wins. The kids really loved opening everything and discovering what was inside the eggs (gummy bears and chocolate).

We made it to church this morning and were dressed for the occasion. Bethany had the kids all dressed up with Avery in a dress and Titus in a suit. I had actually ironed different clothes but when I saw Titus in his suit I decided to do the same and made a wardrobe change. At church there was a lot of special music, a lot of which was done by this women’s singing group. They were actually really talented and sang a bunch of different songs, including an old Stephen Curtis Chapman tune that had been translated in to Czech. Someone actually brought us a translation headset so we got to listen to the message in English, which was a great blessing because the message was really good and focused on Christ. There wasn’t any Sunday school for the kids, but we enjoyed having them with us. Here’s a photo of Avery and Bethany–Avery’s face is classic.

Church actually ended early to our surprise which was the Lord’s blessing because we needed to get back to get the food prep done for our lunch with friends this afternoon (which was at the Yorman’s house). Mostly, the party and lunch consisted of a bunch of Josiah Venture families getting together. Bethany made a green bean dish, deviled eggs, and fresh salsa! They were all delicious. Everyone brought different appetizers and parts of the meal so it was one big potluck. Here’s a couple photos of some of the meal. We ate like kings!

We enjoyed sweet fellowship this afternoon together with the other missionaries and even had time to talk about Jesus with all our kids, as well as enjoyed a time of singing worship songs. Casey and Kristin asked if I would be able to bring my guitar and sing some songs which turned out to be a really fun time. Our friend John actually brought a small hand drum and his accordion, so we had a small band. While we were singing it started to snow pretty good outside, so we ended up singing two Christmas songs. Why not celebrate Christ’s birth and resurrection in the same day?!

The women had planned to do a egg hunt for the kids, so everyone pitched in to put eggs together and hide them. This was probably the highlight for the kids so we I got a ton of photos of it. They are below and I’ve put captions beneath ones that need more explanation.

This is Titus deep in thought over where his eggs might be. All the eggs were divided up by kid and Titus’ were “sports” themed while Avery’s were all pink in color.

Some of these hiding spots were pretty tricky.

There’s a pink one under there for Avery!

And another one!

When it was all said and done every kid had ten eggs. There’s was a little confusion for a bit because everyone thought they had hidden eleven eggs, but we think it was just a miscount. Each egg had either a sticker or a little toy inside. In the photo above Avery is enjoying discovering each little toy and you can even see on the ground that she lined them up as she opened them. Great times! What a fun day celebrating the risen Lord, Jesus Christ (even though the snow made it feel we were celebrating His birth)! It stayed pretty cold all day, but we definitely felt the warmth of friends and fellowship all day.

Finally, here are a few shots I got of the kids in their Sunday best. He is risen!

Tags church, Easter, first things first, friends, party

365 Czech Republic

Opening the April Envelope

Post author By Shay
Post date April 4, 2015
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It has been on our agenda this week to open up the April envelope which is the second to last envelope we get to open. This one was signed by our friends the Millets and it was full of lots of fun things. As you can see in the photo above, the wrapping itself was something special and the kids loved trying to figure out how to get in to it. I took a lot of photos of the process today, so here’s the story in pictures (with captions beneath some photos).

It took the kids a bit to unravel the string and the large white plastic table cloth that the envelope was wrapped in.

Alongside the envelope was a big frame celebrating both Titus’ birthday and our resurrected Savior (Titus’ birthday is on the 24th). It was really fun to open this on Easter weekend!

Avery was pretty excited to find some colorful Tic-Tacs at first grab in the bag.

Titus found a present with his name on it and immediately got to work opening it. We were proud of him because he opened the card first and tried to read it, as well as asked if it was OK for him to open it even though it’s not his birthday. Since we were having so much fun, we though an early birthday present would be alright.

While Titus was opening his present, Avery was finding all kinds of things in the envelope.

Insides Titus’ gift were special markers with Bible story books! We love these kinds of books because the markers are special for this kind of paper and usually don’t cause a big mess. Titus was definitely excited about this one.

Titus got right to work coloring. I had been distracted by the other books that Avery had pulled out of the envelope and Bethany nudged me to take a photo of him coloring all by himself. He was very focused and as usual he picked the color red (his favorite color) to start with.

There were a ton of books and stickers inside, along with a sticker pack for the Passion week and Easter. The kids spent a lot of time working with their stickers and we had fun talking about Jesus and the tomb. We are so blessed to have friends from the States who were willing to sacrifice their time and resources to bless us like this. As always, thank you!

Beyond the envelope, the only other thing we did today was take the kids to the play place at the mall. This has become more of regular thing, but it made a lot of sense today because the weather was cold and mixed rain and snow. We talked about going to the zoo, but I’m glad we didn’t because it was just miserable outside most of the day. The kids had a fun time at the mall and we were able to do a little grocery shopping while we were out. Tomorrow we’ll have the Easter service at church and a bunch of missionaries are getting together for a pot-luck style meal in our town. Bethany is cutting veggies and prepping food as a type and I’m looking forward to celebrating the risen Lord tomorrow!

Tags April, birthday, envelope, gifts, presents

365 Czech Republic

A Good Friday On a Snowy Day

Post author By Shay
Post date April 3, 2015
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We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland and the sound of Titus saying, “Mom! Dad! It snowed!” Getting out of bed I wiped my eyes, blinked a few times, and couldn’t believe all the snow that had fallen last night. Knowing this would slow down the morning, I hurried to get dressed and try to get out the door to get Titus to school. Instead of walking, I decided to dig the snow around the garage doors and get the car and drive Titus. Bethany needed it for Avery’s doctor appointment today, so I figured it would be best to get it out for her. As we drove Titus was giddy about the falling snow all around and said, “It’s Christmastime!” Not quite, pal.

After shuffling through the snow with Titus we made into the school where we got our shoes off and then it hit me–I don’t think there’s school today. Looking around I didn’t see very many jackets hanging in the little cubbies and there were only a handful of shoes. I took Titus upstairs to his class and sure enough the doors were locked. I think this is the third time Titus and I have experienced this. What’s really strange is we thought Titus was going to be “tested” today to see if he can move up to Kindergarten next year. In fact, we had prepared Titus for his teacher to question him and were trying to tell him to be ready and make sure and listen and obey. Come to find out tonight after retranslating the email we got from his teacher, she was actually trying to ask us to “consider whether we should send him to school today.” It’s hard being lost in translation. I told Titus there wasn’t school today and said “let’s go,” and he stopped and said, “Daddy, I want to stay.” He has never done that, but we think he was just excited about something different and what we had prepared him for. We found out later that there’s no school on Good Friday and there’s no school on Easter Monday (the day after Sunday). Oh, the life of a foreigner.

The day wasn’t a complete lost as Bethany was able to take Avery for her check-up which is required for her entering preschool next year. I had a few big meetings at the Josiah Venture office and carpooled with another missionary which allowed Bethany to have the car. The Lord was definitely working behind the scenes on that one because we didn’t know it was going to snow like it did and it was great that Bethany had the car instead of trying to walk.

Tonight we attended our church’s Good Friday service. I don’t think there was anyone doing English translation, so that was tough, but it was a really full service and we struggled to find a place to sit at first. Above you can see a photo I took and we were way up high in the balcony. They didn’t have any kids program tonight, so we had Titus and Avery with us which was a challenge. The service was long and since it started at 6:00pm it pushed into their normal bedtime. We actually ended up leaving a little early because the kids were restless, but I was glad to be there even though we couldn’t follow what was going on. We were blessed as well tonight by the music of Keith and Kristyn Getty which we listened to before and after the service.

I think I was especially blessed by listening to the song “The Power of the Cross.” It’s a wonderful song with amazing truths, and a perfect song for Good Friday. Here’s a recording of it I found on YouTube and I’m putting the lyrics below the video for you to read. I will echo what many Christians will likely say today, “It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming.”

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought,
Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

The Power of the Cross
Words and Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

Tags church, Good Friday, music, snow, The Power of the Cross, weather

365 Czech Republic

A Baby Checkup and Snow in April

Post author By Shay
Post date April 2, 2015
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Today Bethany had a baby checkup and since there was going to be an ultrasound we decided to take the whole family. We got everyone out the door and to the doctor’s office on time, but when we arrived there were more people in the office than we really had ever seen before. Normally we get right in and out, but today it took about an hour before we got in to see the OBGYN. Once in, the doctor had lots of questions for us which were really good. I appreciate how thorough she is, even if it means things take a little longer.

Since the kids didn’t have much to play with at the office, and we had been there a while, they were getting a little restless so I was really glad when we all moved in to the ultrasound room. We had been telling the kids we would be seeing their baby sister today and they were excited to watch the screen as the doctor showed us the baby. At first, the baby had her hands in front of her face, but I think she moved and we got one really good photo of her. The technology of a 3D ultrasound never ceases to amaze me. Look at this face.

It was really cold this morning as we were walking in to the doctor. I think all four of us were surprised how cold it was and with the cloud over I thought, “What? Is it going to snow today?!” Titus even said to me as we walked across the parking lot, “Daddy, it’s really cold.” But nothing transpired…well, at least not until about 4pm today. I was in a meeting at the Josiah Venture office and got a picture sent to me from Bethany of snow falling hard at our house (shown below). I looked at the windows of my office and there wasn’t anything happening, but I could see the wind was blowing. About ten minutes later it began to snow and another missionary walked in to my office and we stared out the window in shock. I had to remind myself it was April 2!

A photo posted by Bethany (@wifeyness) on Apr 2, 2015 at 7:54am PDT

And here’s some video Bethany got.

Snow in April from Shay on Vimeo.

I finished up my meeting (which was over video chat), packed up my computer and headed outside. When I got to the car it already had at least a half inch of snow or more piling up on it. Here’s a photo of the car and then me clearing off the window shield in the second one.

Driving away, I couldn’t believe how much was coming down and that it was sticking so well. I called Bethany from the car and we were just laughing about it. She wanted to make sure I would be safe and as I got on to the highway things looked good, but it was pretty slushy. I made it home safe and the snow let up a little as I came into our town. As I pulled in to the drive way the kids met me from the kitchen window and were really excited. I couldn’t help but a get a photo of their little faces too.

The kids and I ended up playing out in the snow for a bit while Bethany made dinner. It was just crazy to see the new planted flowers in our landlord’s garden covered in snow. As well, the church next door has trees lining the property that we can see over our wall. It was as if we had jumped back to Christmas with all the snow. Here’s a few more photos of the flowers and trees.

No, it’s not Christmas, it’s just Czech Republic. I checked the weather and it’s supposed to snow late tonight and in to tomorrow morning. I have a meeting at Josiah Venture early so I’m hoping things won’t be too bad. Our jaws are still on the ground. April in California is when you hit the beach and work on your sun tan, but in Czech you get out your snow gloves and make sure there’s enough fire wood!

Tags April, baby, snow, ultrasound

365 Czech Republic

A Chocolate Lamb

Rain/Snow/Sleet/Hail Today from Shay on Vimeo.

I don’t want to spend too much energy describing the weather, but it has been pretty wild the past few days. Today was no different with rain, hail, sleet, and snow all falling at different times. Again, the sun only shown through the clouds for a few minutes this evening, but mostly it’s been overcast and dreary. Bethany took the video above today of the snow and rain falling, but even tonight we had a lot of hail coming down. What’s weird is that at the Josiah Venture offices today it was mostly dry and I may saw a snowflake or two, but the weather didn’t do much. It’s amazing how much different the weather was at home versus there and they’re really not that far from each other geographically.

Tonight we enjoyed eating our “lamb cake.” I put that in quotes because I don’t know what else to call it. It’s a lamb shaped cake covered in chocolate (which you can see above). It even had two little icing dots for eyes. I did a quick Google on the subject and here’s an excerpt from one site about this Easter tradition,

Even before the days of Christianity the symbol of the lamb was widespread in Mediterranean culture, with its long pastoral tradition. For Christian churches the lamb came to symbolize the Lamb of God – Jesus Christ. In the southern Czech Sumava Mountains there used to be a tradition that blessing a lamb would help wayfarers to find their way through the forests. These days lamb is rarely eaten in the Czech Republic, but this does not mean that lamb has disappeared completely from Czech Easter celebrations. It still appears in the form of a cake.

Above is a photo of us sacrificing our lamb. It seemed appropriate during the Passion Week.

Finally, today Bethany and Avery were counting plastic eggs. This weekend we were invited to spend Easter with some other missionaries and their kids, and we’re going to combine our eggs for a little fun. Bethany said she separated the eggs by color and then Avery lined them up. I’m especially proud of our baseball eggs which you can see in the bottom of the photo.

But more than plastic eggs, Easter is coming Sunday and I’m excited to think on the cross and our resurrected Lord. I know it will be hard to not hear the sermon this week in English, but to join the saints in worship here and around the world to proclaim the gospel will be a great joy. I can’t wait!

Tags Easter, hail, lamb, rain, sleet, snow, tradition, weather

365 Czech Republic

Mommy Is Back

After 3 days away in Krakow, Bethany came back today around 4pm to the delight of the kids and me. I did my best to have the house clean and ready for her return because well, I think that’s some kind husband law. We actually left the house shortly after she arrived to take the kids to play, so I enjoyed hearing about her time with the ladies. They did a study through the book of Job on “Doing Hard Things Well” and Bethany was blessed. She also told me that the weather was pretty wild today in Poland with wind, rain, sleet, and snow coming down as they were trying to grab lunch and leave town. It’s never easy being pregnant and walking through an old city when its cold and miserable. Thankfully they all made it home safe and we’re happy to have mommy back!

Speaking of the weather, it’s been a little wild here in Czech. This afternoon we saw rain and hail, but tonight there were crashes of lightning, thunder, and heavy rains as we were getting the kids ready for bed. Like yesterday it was pretty gloomy and cold today, but the sun broke through late in the day and gave us a wonderful view from our kitchen. Above is a fifteen second timelapse video I did, but it’s actually tewnty minutes of footage that has been condensed down.

Before Bethany came home today we had some unexpected visitors. Zach and Kara stopped by late this morning because they were in town for a Czech conference. I actually didn’t know they were going to be in town, but it was nice to see them for a short time this morning. They moved to Prague late last year and they used to be only about twenty minutes from us. They brought the kids some chocolate and treats and even a few things for Bethany and me, so that was fun. One thing they brought are these caramel wafers that melt in your tea or coffee…mmm…can’t wait to try those. And with that, I’m out!

Tags Bethany, friends, sunset, video, weather

365 Czech Republic

Easter Eggs and Stormy Skies

Post author By Shay
Post date March 30, 2015
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Today was day two of just daddy an the kids and thankfully it was about as uneventful as yesterday. Titus struggled a little bit today going to school, but I think Mondays are generally tougher for him since he’s had the weekend off and then goes back. I never thought this would happen in preschool, but Titus tried to convince me today hew as sick and said, “Dad, I’m sick…see!” and began fake coughing. Of course, I’m not OK with him lying so we dealt with that, but in my heart I was kind of laughing because that’s one of those classic “I don’t want to go to school today” things. I mean, John Hughes even made a whole movie about it. In the end we did get him off to school and I think he did alright.

Above you can see a photo of Avery outside of Titus’ class when we picked him up this afternoon. Hanging on the little bush outside were plastic eggs which I just assumed were from the kids. Titus told us as we left that his class had done that and I asked him which one and he picked red (no doubt that choice is because he loves Lightning McQueen). In the photo below Avery is touching the blue one, but the closest red one is the one Titus said was his. He also said they colored eggs and played outside, but I honestly never really know if he’s telling me about something that happened all today or compilation of a few days.

Speaking of Easter eggs, we have a box of plastic eggs called “Resurrection Eggs” that Bethany made a year or two ago. This afternoon the kids really wanted to go through them and they walk through the story of Jesus during the Passion Week. Each little egg has something inside like nails, thorns, rope, etc. that all relate to the verses regarding Jesus’ death. I had a really good time talking it through with them and even using the Bible we read them every night to show them pictures and relate the story for them even more. I’m amazed at how much the kids can remember and I also love that when we get to the last egg it’s completely empty! Avery knew what was coming already and said, “See! Jesus is alive!” Just that simple exercise of walking through the gospel with my kids was a blessing to my heart and a reminder of what we will celebrate this Sunday. I really am thankful my kids are hearing about these things at such young ages.

It was pretty cold and rainy today and it even hailed more than once. But the sun came out for about 15-20 minutes this evening while I was making dinner for the kids (oh yeah, I make a mean frozen chicken nugget). Since the sun was low in the sky it made everything golden and I ran out with my iPhone and took a few photos. From gray to gold is such a contrast so it’s always strikingly beautiful when that happens. Above is a photo of Avery being silly with the sun shining behind her. And below is a photo of the church next door when the sun was at it’s brightest. It looks like the storm clouds are rolling away, but only a few minutes later it was dark and overcast again. Either way, I’m thankful for just a few minutes of that wonderful sunlight.

Bethany called us from Poland tonight for a few minutes, but those turned into the the most exciting moments of the day. A few minutes into our phone call Titus knocked an entire cup of water on the table, chair, and floor in the kitchen and Avery dropped a little toy that has colored oil in it and it broke. Naturally this cut into our talk time and I had to hang up, but I think I’ll give her a call when I’m done writing this. She’ll be back tomorrow afternoon and I hope she has had a good time. She said it was stormy in Krakow today too and that they had been doing a lot of walking, but I’m sure I’ll get more of the details when we talk later. Overall, I think the past few days have gone fine and I’m thankful that she was able to get away. But…I really can’t wait for her to come back!

Tags church, Easter, eggs, hail, mommy, sky, storm, sunlight

365 Czech Republic

Mr. Mom and the U.S. Military

Post author By Shay
Post date March 29, 2015
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Bethany left this morning for a Josiah Venture women’s retreat in Krakow Poland which left me and the kids at home alone. Today was an unfortunate day for this to happen because it just so happens that it was the day in which the Central European Timezone pushes the clocks forward thus meaning we lose an hour of sleep. Bethany was up early getting ready for her trip and even had time to go to the grocery store for a few more items so I would have food for the kids me (yeah, she’s awesome), but even she admitted she had misunderstood the clocks this morning thinking it was earlier than it was. With the time change, Bethany leaving, and church already being difficult enough I actually decided to not try and push it today with just me and the kids and we didn’t go. I was up and showered in time to make it for Palm Sunday, but the thought of trying take Titus to his class and then sit through Avery’s with her was just a bit much for me. Even Avery is still coughing a lot for sickness so I just thought we’ll see Bethany off and call it a morning.

A little after she was picked up, I got a text from Bethany telling me she was still on the Czech side of the Czech/Polish border and that they could see crowds of people lining the overpasses and highway. If you follow the international news at all, then you might be aware that the U.S. is kind of on a parade right now through Central Europe as a show of force to the nation of Russia. I believe it’s part of a NATO deal, but the U.S. military has been driving tanks and military vehicles through Czech and other countries and I think they will eventually stop on the eastern side of Germany. Today, Bethany and the other woman happened to be driving the main highway where the military was driving and above is a photo Bethany got of onlookers. Bethany told me on the phone that it seemed most people were for the event (some even flying American flags), but she definitely saw the protestors. If you check the news, it’ll mostly be biased towards the voices who are against this show of force, but I’ll save the politics of it for another writer. However, it should be noted that the Czech government is supportive of this event as Czech and U.S. are allies. Also, here’s a few videos Bethany captured while they were driving.

U.S. Military in Czech (1 of 2) from Shay on Vimeo.

U.S. Military in Czech (2 of 2) from Shay on Vimeo.

My day alone with the kids actually went alright. Before lunch I ended up taking them to a local play place and letting them play for an hour. As we left our house I could lots of people walking towards the Catholic church holding branches (or “fronds”) in honor of Palm Sunday. Over the weekend we saw a ton of people picking up branches and sticks throughout our area and we wondered what it was all about and now I’m starting think it was for Palm Sunday.

I did manage to make both lunch and dinner successfully with the food Bethany was kind enough to provide (along with a little schedule!). There was only one blunder involving a hand mixer and a jar of peanut butter but my pride won’t allow me to write about it here. We did naps this afternoon and afterwards we headed over to the nearby park for a little fun outside. It was still pretty cool and overcast today, so we didn’t stay long before heading back home and getting dinner started. Below is a photo of Avery sitting on the bench at the park.

Tonight we did bath and Bible time together and even spent a little time talking with mommy over FaceTime video chat. Titus kept saying all day that he “missed mommy,” and then would ask, “What’s today?” (as in, “What’s the day today?”). I told him, “Sunday” and he said, “Then Monday…and what’s after that?” “Tuesday,” I said, to which he quickly replied, “And that’s when Mommy comes back!” Yup. She’ll be back on Tuesday, but I hope she’s enjoying a little time away with some of the other women in this ministry. I’m trying to do more than survive this, but actually enjoy it and I can definitely say today was a success. It was fun to spend focused time with the kids, but we’ll just have to see how tomorrow goes.

Tags daddy, kids, military, mommy, United States

365 Czech Republic

The Big Blue Penguin at the Grocery Store

Post author By Shay
Post date March 28, 2015
No Comments on The Big Blue Penguin at the Grocery Store

Bethany will be leaving tomorrow morning to go to a women’s retreat with other Josiah Venture ladies, so we’re prepping the house for three days without mommy. Of course, this includes making sure that Daddy can actually take care of the kids and feed them so we headed out today to stock up on groceries. We realized late last night that Bethany forgot her cell phone at our friend’s house so we ended up driving out to a different grocery store than we usually go to and I’m glad we did.

We don’t have an Albert (that’s the name of the store) in our town, so whenever we can shop at one we take the opportunity. They have a great selection of Mexican food which is probably more than half the reason I want to go there, but they also have different products and brands that we don’t get often (including Dole bananas and Mission tortillas!). Today they were running some kind of promotion for Kinder chocolate and there was a giant penguin walking down the aisles pushing a cart. At first it startled the kids and me, but then I just began laughing. Titus actually spotted it first and squealed “Woah!” as it passed by us. Later we saw the penguin again and a women’s voice was coming from it in Czech. I told her I didn’t understand, but then she started speaking perfect English and said, “You and the kids can take a picture with me!” I was open to it, but the kids were a little scared so I didn’t push the point. I just ended up taking the photo above of her and they gave the kids a few pieces of chocolate which they enjoyed.

You can definitely be praying for Bethany as she’s away, that it would be a restful and fun time with the other women. And you can pray for me as I take care of the family here at home from Sunday to Tuesday. We’ve been trying to prep the kids, but I’m sure they’ll be a little sad when they realize mommy will be gone for two nights. I’m actually looking forward to some focused time with the kids, but I’m secretly glad there’s a McDonald’s within 30 minutes of our place just in case things don’t go well for me in the kitchen! Tomorrow we’ll be pushing our clocks ahead an hour and I’m not looking forward to losing an hour of sleep and then having Bethany leave in the same day. I guess we’ll just have to wait until tomorrow’s blog to see what happens.

Tags grocery store, Kinder, penguin

365 Czech Republic

Spring Rain

As you can probably tell from the photo below, it was a little rainy today. I don’t think the sun came out at all and I woke up this morning to rain hitting our windows so I assume there was just a little bit of a breeze. The temperatures dropped significantly from where they’ve been, but that didn’t stop Avery, Titus, and me from going outside later this afternoon and playing.

Titus was back at school today, but he struggled again this morning. He’s been out all week with sickness, so that’s not too surprising. Bethany took him this morning and he was really wanting her to pray with him, which of course she did. It’s hard to evaluate how he’s doing there, but we have noticed when we pick him up the other kids will say goodbye and he just kind of ignores them. This has always been a concern for me that he is doing the same thing to his teachers, but again we really don’t know.

Normally on Fridays we take Titus to school and then drive to our Czech lessons in a nearby town. But this morning our Czech teacher, Tamara, called and asked if we could do them at our house since she was coming this way with her son to see their family. Her coming to our place is great, but I actually ended up walking out of our lessons and laying down because I wasn’t feeling well. I ended up sleeping another two hours! I don’t know if my body is fighting something or I’m just actually that tired, but I ended up missing the rest of the lesson which Bethany finished by herself with Tamara.’

We just got back tonight from spending some time with another missionary family. The wife, Lauren, is going to be helping us with all the hospital and baby stuff and we had a great time talking through the details tonight. Lauren has delivered all four of her own kids here in Czech, speaks Czech, and is actually a certified doula in Czech! She knows a ton about the systems and how the hospitals work so tonight we had dinner together and our kids played with her kids while talked through some of the process of having a baby in Czech. Mostly it sounds similar to the States, but there are still many cultural things that are different and will probably come up. It’ll be nice to have Lauren’s help and we’re blessed to have her be part of this journey with us.

That’s all from me. Good night!

Tags baby, birth, Czech, doula, rain