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365 Czech Republic

A Stroller for Two Kids and Celebrating Zach

It was another one of the full days today from start to finish. Bethany got a call yesterday about helping out at the same preschool where she taught English a while back and decided to go ahead and do it again today. I dropped her and the kids off early at the school and headed in to the Josiah Venture office for our weekly international team meeting (shown below). Bethany and the kids actually finished a littler earlier than normal and had to walk home because I had the car. She told me it took them 40 minutes to walk back and that our little umbrella stroller was just, in Avery’s words, “too bumpy.” When trying to console Avery, Bethany told her that we would probably be getting a more heavy duty stroller for the Czech sidewalks and Titus piped up asking, “A stroller for two kids?” We’ll take that into consideration, buddy.

Future Day (10/21/14)

Dave taught again this morning out of the book of Philippians. He brought a few visitors with him all the way from Louisville, Kentucky. I believe they are part of a church there that has had a long history of partnering with Josiah Venture and we were blessed to have them in our Bible study today (Dave’s wife, Connie, has a few photos of them from their time together this past weekend up on her blog). The passage in focus this morning was Philippians 1:12-26, looking at Paul’s time in prison and his perspective during that time. Dave broke the passage down in to two categories: 1) Prison Problems 2) People Problems and we looked at how those things could affect our own ministry today. In the end, it’s Paul’s focus on Christ that is really the point of it all and that’s what radically changes in perspective and ours. Great stuff!

Future Day (10/21/14)

Tonight we had the privilege of celebrating with my good friend, Zach Zegan, on his birthday. His wife Kara secretly invited us over for what a mini surprise party and we just had fun enjoying dinner and spending time together. Zach has been a close friend since the 4th grade and he and his family are very special to me. I think often of the great memories we had growing up and how blessed we are to be serving together in Czech Republic today. God has done incredible things in both of us, given us incredible wives, and given us a passion for the gospel. Happy birthday, friend.

The kids came to the party too and decided to make “Uncle Zach” birthday cards. Here’s Avery (left) and Titus holding up their creations:

Future Day (10/21/14)

Oh, and here’s another one of Zach being Zach:

Future Day (10/21/14)

Categories
365 Czech Republic

Bethany’s Birthday In Vienna

Today is Bethany’s birthday, so I decided to take her to Vienna, Austria. Yes, those two things are real and I honestly can’t believe I get to write that last sentence.

We have been planning for a few weeks now to get away after fall conference was over. Because of the number of hours our team works during conference, everyone usually takes a few days after conference for a little rest and relaxation. Since it was Bethany’s birthday weekend and we had the time off anyway, we decided to make the three and a half hour drive down to Vienna.

Bethany's Birthday in Vienna (9/28/14)

The drive was really nice today. It’s been raining all week, but today we had full sun the whole way down to Austria. Right before the border we have to stop to buy a highway tag for our car, so we went to pretty much the only place available–some little shop called “Travel Free Shop.” It was packed with people when I went inside and there’s basically three things to buy: cigarettes, alcohol, and candy. And you better believe people were stocking up. The funny thing to me was that it’s not like those things are behind glass, you just grab whatever you want and pay. I took a photo of the wall o’ cigarettes just because I think it’s crazy.

Bethany's Birthday (9/28/14)

Once you get in to Austria you really feel like you’re in Europe. All of sudden you’ve been driving on a highway and now you’re on narrow roads with old buildings, statues, and old men outside building wooden benches by hand. Most of the drive in is rolling hills and repeating grape vines, but as you approach Vienna the big city starts to take over. We made to the hotel in the late afternoon and after getting settled we ventured out for something to eat. Bethany found a place online that had good reviews and was supposedly some of the best pizza in Vienna. The reviews were all in German (which is what they speak here) so we figured if the locals enjoy the food then it must good. They were right! The food was great and we had a fun time at the outside tables on the sidewalk. When I asked the waiter if he spoke English he said, “Of course, or we could talk Italian, Serbian, German, French…whatever if you want.” He wasn’t joking! He could speak five languages with no problems and I heard him speak at least three while we were there. Here’s a few photos from dinner:

Bethany's Birthday in Vienna (9/28/14)

Bethany's Birthday in Vienna (9/28/14)

Bethany's Birthday in Vienna (9/28/14)

Bethany's Birthday in Vienna (9/28/14)

After dinner we grabbed a quick dessert, some ice cream from a gas station of all places. We stood outside of a big church and enjoyed that, and then we drove around town just to get a feel for Vienna. It looks like this town has a lot of different things to see and I’m excited about tomorrow. More than anything it’s just nice to get away and spend some focused time with my family. Hopefully Bethany feels blessed today on her birthday and that the next few days will be really fun and relaxing. We don’t have much of a schedule, but have a few things in mind to see so we’ll see how tomorrow goes and hopefully have lots of fun stories and photos to share.

Bethany's Birthday in Vienna (9/28/14)

Categories
Family

Avery Is 2

Today is Avery’s 2nd birthday.

We have been in Kentucky spending time with my (Shay’s) family and we knew we would be celebrating Avery’s birthday while we were out here. Though we weren’t able to invite a bunch of friends and family, we had fun today unwrapping a few gifts and taking Avery to Chick-Fil-A for some chicken and a peppermint shake (OK, maybe the shake was more for Bethany and I but it’s a good excuse). Bethany baked some cupcakes which we’ll enjoy later, and hopefully tonight we plan on going to see a Christmas tree lighting in Louisville or a nearby town. And you know I wouldn’t leave you without a few photos so here’s some of Avery opening presents.

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Categories
Family Friends

Titus is 3

We had a little birthday party a few days before his actual birthday and enjoyed breaking the fire code in our condo with all the kids and families. It was a sports themed party and we had funny taking “baseball card” photos of all the kids. Here’s a few photos of the day.

Titus' 3rd Birthday

Titus' 3rd Birthday

Titus' 3rd Birthday

Titus' 3rd Birthday

Titus' 3rd Birthday

Titus' 3rd Birthday

Titus' 3rd Birthday

Titus' 3rd Birthday

Titus' 3rd Birthday

All the photos from Titus’s party can be found here.

Categories
Family Friends

Day Out With Thomas (and Titus!)

For Titus’ third birthday we really wanted to do something special, and since Nana & Papa (aka: the grandparents) were flying into town to celebrate too, we thought we would go and enjoy the Day Out With Thomas event that was happening just 20 miles from our house.

If you’re not familiar with Thomas, he’s just a simple train engine that gets himself into trouble on occasion and has to find the right way to solve his problems. Titus really likes the show and honestly, who doesn’t love trains?! But every year in a little town near us called Fillmore, they host a special Thomas event where you get to ride a full-size Thomas train and enjoy some county fair-like activities. I was pleasantly surprised by how well done it was and Titus really, really loved it. It was a great start to an extended weekend with our family, and below are a few photos our time together. But for the full experience, you can view all 26 of our photos (with captions) on my Flickr page by clicking here.

Day Out with Thomas

Day Out with Thomas

Day Out with Thomas

Day Out with Thomas

Day Out with Thomas

Day Out with Thomas

Day Out with Thomas

Day Out with Thomas

Day Out with Thomas

Day Out with Thomas

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Personal Photography Shaycam.com

Titus Is One

Titus at One Year Old