Shay Thomason – Page 20 – everything beautiful in it's time

Shopping and Friends

It was another early day thanks to our good friend, Mr. Jet Lag. All four of us were up by 4:00am and we were even out the door at 8:00am to go to Target. Bethany has been keeping a list of things we wanted to pick up in the States so we decided to do that errand this morning and when you’re already up early, it makes getting out of the house a little easier. We were able to secure a bunch of things we wanted to take back to Czech, mostly clothes for Avery since they can be pretty expensive over there.

This is a picture (above) of Bethany’s dad playing with a toy we found in one the aisles. Titus and Avery thought he was hilarious.

After Target we headed to Costco where I was scheduled to have an eye exam. I’ve been wanting to get new glasses so I go that all squared away today. They should be ready before we leave which is great. We also found wool socks and a winter jacket for Titus which are huge blessings because not only were they very cheap, but they are very warm. Another great thing Costco had was allergy medicine. I’ve been concerned that maybe my allergies have been getting worse over there so hopefully the stuff we bought today will help bring relief.

Tonight we just returned from hanging out with some friends and their families. We had a really fun time and while we were there the family’s youngest daughter got engaged. We were able to celebrate with them and enjoy those first few moments of hearing the news and seeing all of their happy and joyous reactions. Unfortunately, I felt really tired throughout the night, but did my best to keep my spirits high while fighting sleep and jet lag.

That’s all for today. I’m very tired and I’m sure the kids will be awake soon. Today was the hardest day so far on them, especially Titus, but we’re hopeful they will sleep in a little later tomorrow.

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A Relaxing Christmas

Christmas started at 2:00am. At least that’s what time Avery came in to our room explain that she was awake and didn’t want to sleep anymore. I don’t blame her. She went to bed at 6:00 so that’s a full eight hours for her. We did our best to try to get her to go back to sleep, but we were all struggling so everyone was up. By 4:30am, Nana and Papa (grandma and grandpa) were up too and we were brewing coffee and playing in the living room.

We actually didn’t do a big Christmas morning today; that won’t happen until Tuesday. Bethany’s brother is a cop so he’s working and in order to do have a big family Christmas together we’re going to wait until the 30th to celebrate and open gifts together. That left today as a rest day which was good because even though we’re doing pretty well, jet lag still has it’s hold on us. Thankfully we only took short naps this afternoon and as I write it’s 7:00pm so I feel like I’m doing pretty well all things considered.

The weather was great today so spent some time outside playing with the kids and enjoying the sunshine. When not outside, the kids have really loved all the toys that Nana and Papa have in their living room. We have a few things planned tomorrow, including a trip for an eye exam for me. Hopefully I can keep my eyes open!

Here are a few photos from today.

365 Christianity

A Lot of Travel, A Little Sleep

Post author By Shay
Post date December 25, 2014
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Now I know how Santa feels. We have spent over 10 hours in the sky today (I am writing this on the airplane), and even though the miracle of flight is still amazing, it’s just a long time on an airplane. By the end it’ll be close to 13 hours on a plane, a few hours in airports, and another 3 hours in the car. The kids have done pretty well all things considered (e.g. early morning, a plane change, and basically just sitting in chairs literally all day). However, at one point about halfway through our flight Avery said, “I want to go outside.” Poor kid.

What’s really strange about today is it will be a very long day for us. Flying from Prague to Seattle means we actually gain nine hours of time during travel because of the time zones we cross. So I guess we’re just extending our Christmas Eve to squeeze in more holiday shopping? I’m sure there are a few shoppers out there that would appreciate the extra time more than I will today.

I’m finishing this blog in Yakima where it’s 7pm and I’ve manage to stay awake long enough to finish this. And before I type something weird, I’m going to end this quickly. Here’s a few snapshots I took today (a photo from each country we were in). Hopefully tomorrow’s post will be more inclusive but I am so tired right now I can barely focus my eyes to type this

This is Titus in Prague early this morning before boarding our plane.

Here’s us walking through the airport in Holland. Bethany is Dutch so it was like she was back with her people (OK, not really, but that’s what I was saying while we were there)!

Here’s the snow we saw on the way to Yakima, Washington today. And………. good night!

Tags Christmas Eve, travel

365 Christianity

A Trip to Prague

Oh, you know how it goes. You spend two days packing and making sure everything is ready to go. You stay up late the night before the big trip just to make sure you’ve packed everything. A few things get added to your luggage, you mark off your packing list, and then you zip up your bags and put them by the door for an early departure. Then, you barely make your train. But barely is still making it!

The train ride today was a lot of fun and I’m actually really glad we got to experience this trip in this way. It’s 4 hours from our place to Prague, but we had our own little mini room with four seats and plenty of space for our all of our stuff. The trains here are incredible and come complete with free coffee, free juice for the kids, and even free WiFi–not to mention pretty reasonably priced tickets. It’s just really nice to be able to sit and relax on the train and let someone else do the driving.

We are staying tonight in a hotel by the airport and will depart early tomorrow morning. Our Czech friend Martina sat with us on Sunday to explain just where to go and how to get around Prague and we had no trouble figuring it out with her directions. To get to the hotel we took a train, a bus from the main train station, and then a shuttle to the airport. It was a lot of maneuvering of baggage and kids but we made it work.

One of the highlights was on the bus from the train station to the airport where we talked with a young college student from Instanbul named Umur. He’s studying mechanical engineering in a town near ours but was traveling back to Turkey to see his family for the holiday. He was a really nice guy and was laughing and smiling with our kids. We talked about Turkish kabobs, which he told us were the real ones, and just chatted about different cultures and language. Near us were some young girls who gave their seats to our kids and they were from Portugal. Since everyone spoke English we had fun chatting and joking. It’s so fun to be around so many different cultures and people from different nations. I truly do praise God for the opportunity to talk and meet these young people today.

We had a simple dinner tonight and are getting prepped to give the kids baths and get a short night of sleep. We’ll be up early tomorrow (around 4:30/5:00am) to get to the airport for our 7am departure. Hopefully we’ll get good sleep and be ready for the big 17+ hours of travel ahead of us!

Here’s a bunch more photos from today.

Tags family, nations, Prague, train, travel

365 Christianity

Thy Perfect Light

Driving home this evening I saw a lot more houses and trees with Christmas lights. From what I have been told, Czechs usually don’t decorate until Christmas Eve or a few days before Christmas. Based on what I saw tonight, that’s definitely true because even our own landlord had Christmas lights hanging from her balcony and a little wreath on our shared front door (shown below).

I made a stop at the grocery store when I got town and the place was crazy. There were a ton more cars than normal and people were in super shopping mode. Christmas Eve is the day they open presents here, so I guess I was just caught in the middle of the last minute gift shopping. Everything was on sale, so I honestly don’t blame them. I actually made a stop at a second store for some other items and it too was full of people, and both stores had vendors outside selling live carp (that’s fish), which is a tradition here.

But as I was out, I was listening to the carol “We Three Kings” as sung and arranged by Steven Curtis Chapman. I’m sure I’ve heard the song a thousand times, but the words just really sank in tonight. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m aware of just how spiritually dark Czech is, but the song ministered to me as I saw the flickering lights and Christmas shoppers.

The carol walks through the life of Christ from His birth, death, and resurrection. The refrain ends with a line that just stuck with me today that says, “Guide us to thy perfect light.” I think I’m interpreting this correctly, but the light here is Christ. The imperfect star the kings are following is just leading them to a perfect light, the source of light, the Light of the World.

As I listened, my heart was heavy for the Czech people. So many will hang lights and celebrate this year without any knowledge of the True Light, Jesus Christ. My heart was filled with compassion for the many around the globe who will exchange gifts and travel to see family, again, without an understanding of the gospel of Jesus. My prayer tonight is that God would guide the lost to the Perfect Light this Christmas. I hope He uses me to do it, and I hope He uses many others around the world as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Tags Czech, decorations, gospel, Jesus, light

Christianity Czech Republic

All Packed!

It’s very possible we’ve gone mad over here, but we’ve been packing pretty much all day. I just weighed Bethany’s bag with our trusty bag weighing thing-a-ma-jig and it was 51.3 pounds. That’s 1.3lbs over the limit so we’re moving things around to make it work. Why so heavy you ask? Well, we’re trying to take things back with us that we just don’t need over here or want to leave in the States. For instance, we have a 2.3lb bag full of American coins and we’re taking it back (I think it may have been from the kids’ piggy bank?). We have old VHS movies, a hair dryer that doesn’t work on European power, and a few gifts to take back as well. All that to say, we’ve got big, full suitcases that we’ll be hauling around the globe here in the next couple days.

Basically, our plan is to have 4 large suitcases since we are allowed 1 bag per seat at no extra charge. On our way to the States we’re hoping to only take 3 and pick up another suitcase for our return. With Christmas presents and other things, we’ll probably have a lot more stuff coming back to Czech so we’re trying to plan well on this end. In the photo above the kids thought it was hilarious to put pillows and lay in our in one of our large suitcases. In the photo below, Bethany has laid out all the kids clothes to make sure we have it squared away. Since we’ll be at church 3 times and also attending Bethany’s brothers wedding, it’s actually a lot to think through for all of us. I realize a lot of people take big trips like this, but we’re just trying to be prepared.

All the travel will be a lot on our family, but that doesn’t bother me nearly as much as jet lag. Since we just came over here in June, we’re definitely familiar with the toll jet lag can have on the body. It’s a weird feeling trying to eat a meal at a certain time when your body thinks it should be sleeping. Lord willing, it won’t be too bad, but we are prepared for some interesting days in the coming week. Jet lag or not, we are definitely excited about visiting family and being able to attend Bethany’s brother’s wedding. That’s worth all the packing, jet lag, and travel any day!

Tags jet lag, packing, suitcases, travel

365 Czech Republic

Traditions and an Early Christmas

Post author By Shay
Post date December 20, 2014
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Traditions are important. I haven’t done a big study on the topic or read any books, but I think one of the main reasons people like traditions is because they are a constant in the midst of a changing world. No doubt some traditions need to go, but some are ones we look forward to year after year.

Bethany grew up with the tradition of enjoying breakfast, cinnamon rolls, and reading Luke 2 all on the floor around the Christmas tree. This tradition has carried it’s way in to our family and it’s one we now enjoy. Today we celebrated our own Christmas on the floor around the tree. With traveling to the States on Christmas Eve we felt like we should just have an early Christmas of our own here in Czech before we leave. Below is the mini-feast we enjoyed today, complete with cinnamon rolls.

We didn’t tell the kids a single thing about the plans for this morning. Bethany had the big blanket laying out by the tree and Titus, “Hey, what’s this blanket doing here?” We told him to look under the tree and when they saw the all the presents they were giddy with excitement. Once the food was ready, we brought everything out and enjoyed our eggs with cheddar cheese, bacon, coffee, orange juice, and of course the cinnamon rolls. After we finished we cleared the area for present opening. I took the photo below of the kids before we started opening presents.

Below are the photos I got during present opening. Nut much explanation needed, just a lot of happy faces and excited screams.

Here’s Titus playing with his new sword and shield. We bought these at the Christmas market in Poland on Monday. He loved it!

This afternoon we did a ton of work cleaning the car and the house. We want things to be nice and tidy for when we return from the States in mid January. Bethany also worked on making chicken and dumplings which we enjoyed for dinner! While we were outside cleaning the car, our landlord came down and gave our kids a little plate of cookies and gingerbread gifts. This little house (below) she gave to Avery has incredible detail!

Titus and I had to walk to post office this afternoon as well, so I got a few photos of the amazing weather we were enjoying. The sun was shining and even though it was a little windy, it was just a nice walk.

It was a really fun day and I’m excited were able to make it happen. Tonight we reminded the kids just why we celebrate Christmas–the birth of Jesus. I look forward to celebrating it again next week with our family in the States.

Tags Christmas, family, fun, presents, tradition

365 Czech Republic

Prepping for the States and an Early Christmas

Post author By Shay
Post date December 19, 2014
No Comments on Prepping for the States and an Early Christmas

It’s a big deal to fly to the States with two little kids and four large suitcases from Central Europe. Today I took the kids with me to try and secure train tickets for the first leg of our trip which will take us four hours to get to Prague on Tuesday morning. There’s not a ton of room on the train so I was hoping to get seats where we can fit all of our luggage. We’re trying to bring empty suitcases so we can bring stuff back with us. I did end up getting tickets and we’ll see just how the luggage is going to fit. After the train ride we’ll grab a bus to a hotel near the airport. On Christmas Eve our flight leaves early, but Lord willing it will all go smoothly.

Tonight Bethany spent time wrapping up some of the gifts we have for the kids so we can do our own little Christmas morning tomorrow. Since we’ll be traveling, we thought it would be fun to do something at our own place here in Czech. As you can see from the photo above, the kids are doing just fine this Christmas. We’ve been picking up little things here and there and we got a few things in Krakow this past week as well. Bethany made cinnamon rolls tonight, so that will be a little treat in the morning as well. They will definitely be surprised and it’ll be a lot of fun.

Tags Christmas, luggage, travel

365 Czech Republic

Avery’s First Haircut and Another Full Day

Post author By Shay
Post date December 18, 2014
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Bethany had a “baby check up” early this morning that we took the whole the family to. Even though she wasn’t having an ultrasound today, they always do the little heart monitor on the baby which we had fun listening to. Titus and Avery thought the little “whoosh whoosh whoosh” sound of the little tiny heartbeat was great, and so did I. The next appointment we’ll be able to find out the sex of the baby which will be fun as well. Below is a quick photo of Bethany and Titus at the doctor’s office today while the doctor had stepped out for a minute. Everything happens in one single office from the medical side to the office side of things which is different than in the States.

As we were saying goodbye to our very nice, English speaking doctor, we said “Merry Christmas” in Czech to her. Then she started to say that she thinks people don’t understand why they say that phrase. It was a little confusing what she was trying to tell us but I think she was making the point that culturally people say “Merry Christmas” without really thinking about it. She said she knew it was clearly religious which is why she questioned whether people realize what they’re saying. We told her that we say it because we’re excited about the birth of Jesus and she just nodded her head. It was kind of a strange interaction, but maybe it will lead to more conversations about Jesus in the future?

We have never done a family haircut session until today. That’s because Avery has never had a haircut in her little three year old life, but that all changed today. Avery got a little trim and did really well. Bethany was a good distraction for her, but she was still squirmy (Avery, not Bethany).

This afternoon there was a special thing for families at Titus’ preschool that Bethany, Titus, and Avery went to. Everyone was supposed to bring an apple to decorate, along with toothpicks and “gummies.” When they arrived, they had candlesticks to stick through the top of the apple, juniper branches, ribbons, and cloves. With these they decorated their apples and ate cookies. Bethany texted me during it saying it was really full of people and that they were having fun at the party. Below are a few photos she took.

School is out now until the New Year which is great for us since we’ll be in states until the 13th of January. We’re getting clothes washed and ready for packing as we’ll be leaving on Tuesday to head to Prague. Our flight is early Wednesday morning so we’ll be staying in Prague one night to make sure we can get to our flight on time. Lord willing, all will go smoothly, but I guess you’ll have to wait until that blog comes out to find out!

Tags Avery, doctor, fun, haircut, haircuts, party, preschool

365 Czech Republic

Passports, Patience, and a Party

Post author By Shay
Post date December 17, 2014
1 Comment on Passports, Patience, and a Party

Today was officially our 9th wedding anniversary, and it’s a good thing we did all of our celebrating earlier this week because today was kind of crazy.

I walked with Titus to school this morning in the dark. It was his first day back in over a week because last week he was too sick and this week we were out of town. So this morning we walked in the cold, but Titus was in a really good mood. He was laughing and racing me so I go the photo above of him as we were playing. Since it had been a few days he was a little more clingy to me as I was leaving him this morning, but he didn’t cry.

As soon as I walked back to the house, Bethany and Avery and I jumped in to the car and headed off to the foreign police in Ostrava. Ostrava is about 30 minutes from our house, so it’s a bit of a drive. We were scheduled to meet our friend Katka to get all of the paperwork in for our 2 year visa application. Katka texted me this morning and said, “Make sure you bring all of your passports.” I said, “Will do” and added, “Do we need anything else?” She wrote back, “Just passports and patience.” Any time you’re working with government offices in Czech you need patience! Above is a photo of Avery practicing patience while playing the iPad while we waited.

We have been working on all of the paperwork for weeks, but it’s funny how you can still forget things. There were still forms we forgot to sign and things that needed to be filled in. Above you can see Katka writing in something that I honestly can’t remember. Thankfully the man helping us was very helpful and Katka said he was very thorough. Here’s the guy who helped us, along with our passports sitting on his desk. We’re not sure if he was be sarcastic or was just unhappy, but he said it was going to take him a few hours to finish up the paperwork and said, “I guess you can go and not wait for me.” Thanks, pal!

Bethany drove me straight to the JV office where I had meetings this afternoon and she headed home to pick up Titus from school and get things ready for tonight. On her checklist: 1) find a babysitter for tonight 2) clean the house 3) make dinner for the kids and the sitter 4) find and wrap a white elephant gift 5) make an appetizer and dessert for a party tonight. Incredibly, she got it all done! I don’t know how she did it, but she drove back to the JV office around 6pm to pick me up and head over to the international team Christmas party tonight.

We had turkey and a lot of fun food that everyone brought. There was also a white elephant gift exchange that, to be honest, was a lot nicer than most I have been to. Bethany and I had a joint gift so we were working together on the choosing of the bags. We got a bag with a big pole sticking out of it which contained a curtain rod, a new curtain, a can of paint, and some ends to a curtain rod. It was actually hilarious and you can see me with the rod in the photo above and the curtain in the photo below.

Besides the silliness of curtain rods and paint, we had a good time sharing about Christmas memories and asking each other questions related to Christmas. Everyone has such unique traditions and favorite things from playing Monopoly on Christmas morning before presents to watching a Finnish Christmas movie about an orphan. It really is so fascinating to listen to people from different cultures and even missionaries who have made this place their new home and how they do traditions and Christmas. For me, it was a learning time and a way to experience other cultures.

Here’s a few photos we took at the very end of the night. Thanks to Connie Patty for emailing me these tonight, along with the photos of me opening the white elephant gift. Be sure to check out her blog for lots more photos of all the fun.