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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…

New Year's Day (1/1/15)

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.

New Year's Day (1/1/15)

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.

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365 Czech Republic

The Last Day of 2014 and the Best of the Blog

Even though it’s the last day of 2014, it felt very much like a normal day here in the States. It definitely doesn’t feel like New Year’s Eve, but I’m thinking that’s mostly because I’m getting old. But here’s a few highlights from the day.

First, Titus shaved. Yup. He got a little kids shaving kit in his stocking and he was really excited about trying it out. The razor is just plastic, but it comes with foaming soap that we had fun playing with today.

The Last Day of 2014 (12/31/14)

The kids played dress-up in their new Buzz Lightyear and Jessie outfits. We ran around the house for an hour which was also a lot of fun.

The Last Day of 2014 (12/31/14)

The Last Day of 2014 (12/31/14)

Later in the morning we went out and did a little shopping and ran some errands. We came back home for lunch and then took a nice afternoon nap. When we were all awake again we went out for more errands which included getting Avery’s dress for the upcoming wedding tailored. We arrived at the shop at the exact time they were closing today but they were kind enough to let us in and get Avery measured. Avery was a little scared and cried, but the lady who did the measurements was really nice and sweet. Here’s a photo of it.

The Last Day of 2014 (12/31/14)

The Last Day of 2014 (12/31/14)

Finally, I thought it would be fun to include some of the “best of the blog” for this last year. All the blogging began back on June 24, but here’s the top 5 posts from the blog in 2014 (based on views):

1) Applying for Visas and Paying for a Ticket in the Middle of the Freeway – July 8, 2014

2) From Sour Milk to a Spaghetti Meal – June 26, 2014

3) Literally Stuck in Frozen Czech – December 1, 2014

4) Driving East and Foreign Police – June 25, 2014

5) Hanging With the Millers in Poland – October 10, 2014

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365 Czech Republic

We’re Coming to America

That’s right. Amazingly, on Christmas Eve we are flying to Washington state for just a few weeks. We really weren’t expecting to be returning this soon, but Bethany’s brother is getting married and our family is part of the ceremony. Since we’re flying all that way we decided to spend the holiday there with Bethany’s family and flights out of Prague were much more reasonably priced on Christmas eve. We’ll be there for about two-and-a-half weeks and coming back in January.

Jesus (12/12/14)

I don’t know how all missionaries do trips home, but we’ve been keeping a list of things we want to bring back with us from the States. You know, things like: ranch dressing mix, salsa, green chilis, coffee beans, and even hand soap! Oh sure, you can get hand soap here in Czech, but we’re just used to the smells of the kinds we would buy in America. It’s so funny how you miss the little things you have grown up with your entire life. We just got done video chatting with Bethany’s parents about the trip and we were dreaming about American food that we might be able to enjoy. Call us silly, but sometimes you just miss that good ole’ Tillamook cheddar cheese.

With the help of Bethany’s parents we’re also going to be able to get our annual letter out in the mail this year. We worked hard on it the past few weeks and it’s all printed and ready to be shipped. Bethany’s family is going to help get all the envelopes stuff and shipped out which is a huge blessing! Hopefully you’re on our mailing list because something special is on it’s way very soon!

Finally, please pray for us as we travel in less than two weeks. It’s a long way to go and it’ll literally take planes, trains, and automobiles!