Tag: family

Storming the Castle

I was up and out the door early this morning to get our car to the mechanic. Again our friend Tadek met me and drove with me to the mechanic’s shop so he could make sure everything was taken care of and that I would be able to get a ride home. It was a gamble leaving our car for the day with Bethany so clue to having the baby, so I had a “back pocket” plan of using a friend’s car should we need it. Thankfully we didn’t to go to plan B as we’re still waiting for our little girl’s arrival. I got the car back late this afternoon and it’s all fixed. This week alone we’ve put on new tires, had an oil change, brakes changed, and even some joints repaired along with a realignment. Driving the car today felt like a new experience and I’m excited to have that stuff all done and taken care of.

Before lunch Papa and I took the kids to the park while Nana and Bethany worked on the house. They are trying to get our bedroom ready for the arrival of the baby which involved some furniture being moved and getting things organized so we have a spot for the bassinet and changing table. It’s looking good! Back at the park we had the place to ourselves and I think it was mostly because it was a little cooler out this morning. Above is a photo of Papa and Titus on the little spring seat thing that goes back and forth.

Avery had begun working in the sand so the boys joined her and thus began construction on a super sand castle. I appreciate Papa’s willingness to literally get his hands dirty with the kids and just sit in the sand and play with them. As the castle grew in size they began adding flags to the top of the towers (shown below).

While walking back home for lunch we stopped off at a little memorial thing that I’m pretty sure was erected by the Germans at some point. Here’s Titus and Avery climbing on it and claiming it as their own.

One of the things we’ve been wanting to do since Papa and Nana arrive is walk over to the castle ruins that are literally down the street from our place. If you’re an avid reader of the blog, you’ve seen this place before but each time we go it’s more amazing than the last. The sun broke through just as we were walking there today and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Here’s a few photos with captions beneath each one.

This is the river the separates Czech and Poland.

Just across the river in Poland.

Just another shot of the city that sits right next to the castle ruins.

The view from the top of the tower. It cost $1.50 for us to walk to the top. I carried Avery up all the stairs while Titus and Papa walked it. The views are incredible up there and everything just looked so peaceful. Everything to the left of the river is Poland and to the right is Czech. Our city is a little like Kansas City in the States as it sits across two countries. Pretty wild! Click the photo for a much larger view.

It was just a great time together and we’re continuing to enjoy our time as a family and having Papa and Nana in town. Until tomorrow, good night!

Tags car, castle, family, Papa and Nana, town, walk

365 Czech Republic

Polish Mother’s Day and Papa and Nana Are Here!

Post author By Shay
Post date May 24, 2015
2 Comments on Polish Mother’s Day and Papa and Nana Are Here!

Happy Polish Mother’s Day, I guess? I’m still trying to figure out if that’s what we were celebrating at church today and I have a feeling I’m at least close on that guess. Poland celebrates Mother’s Day not on Sunday, but on May 26th every year. We were tipped off by another missionary that our city (which is literally on the border of Poland) would be celebrating the holiday this weekend. The town square had lots of things set up and today at church there were all kinds of special things going on.

Titus and I were the only ones that went to church today because Bethany just isn’t feeling well and I didn’t want to have to try to wrangle both Titus and Avery (thus Avery stayed home too). When we got there things were already in motion and the kids were lined up in the hallway to go on stage. I didn’t know this was going on, but they tried to hand Titus some flowers and usher him on stage too but I just ended up taking him upstairs since we didn’t really know what was going on. By the time we got up there, the kids were in place on stage and music had begun so I got my camera out and started getting video (shown below). We also took the above photo to send to Papa and Nana because while we were at church they sent us a text message updating us on their trip progress. They had just landed in Amsterdam and had one more leg of their trip to Prague. You can see just how excited Titus was!

As fun as Polish Mother’s Day is, it pales in comparison to Papa and Nana coming to town! We spent the afternoon getting the house ready but the kids were asking all day, “Is it time to go get Papa and Nana!?” Their train wasn’t schedule to arrive until about 8pm tonight, and it was running just a few minutes late. But we ended up coming over to the train station and finding a spot on the platform where Bethany could sit and we could wait for them. I wasn’t positive which platform they would be coming in on, and I really wanted us all there to receive them when they got off the train. Incredibly, the spot we chose couldn’t have been more perfect. We sat and waited and just happened to be sitting right where their train door opened! Here’s a video I got of them pulling in which was really fun.

Papa and Nana had a pretty good trip from Seattle, but they did have one little hiccup in their trip when Papa fainted on the airplane. He said he felt like he needed to walk around a bit and headed towards the bathroom on the plane when he fainted and he told us when he came to “there was a Dutch doctor and a Norwegian nurse working on me.” He got a few scrapes on his face from the fall, but overall he’s doing alright. They made all their connections, all their bags arrived, and they made it on to the train towards our house all by themselves. Not bad for their first time flying to Czech! They also came bearing many gifts for us, including lots of our Christmas gifts that left in the States when we visited them this past Christmas. The kids of course were going crazy about everything and it was like Christmas in May in our living room as the suitcases were opened. There’s so much I could say her, but it’s getting late and everyone needs to get some rest. Here’s a few more photos from our time tonight and we’re excited about three weeks with Papa and Nana in town for the birth of baby #3!

We forgot to grab Avery her jacket before we left for the train station, so I gave her my sweater and she was all bundled up as we waited for Papa and Nana.

We decided to just walk home from the train station. I brought the car to bring the bags, so Bethany drove the stuff home while we all walked. It was just all part of the experience of coming to Czech. Avery held hands with Nana and just kept telling her about everything. It was a lot of fun.

Above you can see Titus and Avery opening the suitcase which held all the goodies. In the second photo Titus got to open a belated birthday gift from his uncle and aunt which Papa and Nana delivered. This was just part of the fun and there was so much excitement in this house for every little thing that we opened. It was a lot of fun and I was really happy to be reunited with some of my books that I got for Christmas as well other things that were brought over. Not bad for day one with Papa and Nana!

Tags family, Mother's Day, Papa and Nana, Poland, visitors

365 Czech Republic

A (Mon)Day of Rest

With a full week of conference behind us, my family and my team took today off for a little rest. It was nice to sleep in a bit today (whatever that means with little kids running around the house) and just spend time together as a family. I did my best to stay away from email, but I must admit I had a few things to take care of and made sure I wrote some people back that had been waiting on things from me all week. Mostly we lounged today, did some laundry, cleaned the house a bit, and I began reading a new book I got called Gospel-Centered Counseling by Robert W. Kelleman. We even had time this afternoon to watch Wall-E and that’s just a great movie. It was a nice Monday of rest.

This morning Titus came to my desk where I was sitting and reading and said, “Dad, you gotta see this” and grabbed my arm to pull me towards the other room. Upon arrival to the living room he said, “It’s a battlefield!” That’s when I saw what you see in the photo above. Like a scene from Braveheart, all of his toys were standing on the floor ready for some kind of fight. I’m pretty sure I heard Olaf yelling “Freeeeedooooooooommmm!!!” Titus really should’ve been in school today, but he’s sick right now which is a bummer. I think it’s just a bad cold, but he’s got a cough that’s bad enough that it caused him to throw up today which is a bummer. Avery had the same thing yesterday so we’re pretty sure it’s just something that’s going around but hopefully won’t last too long. We’ve been so blessed with good health for the past 6-7 weeks so we’re thankful for that.

Late this afternoon after we all had taken naps, Bethany made the comment, “I could really just go for a Starbucks today.” In the States that may have been a normal comment, but since Starbucks is about a 30 minute drive from us it’s a pretty rare treat. But something in me just thought, “let’s do it!” and I told her, “Yes! Let’s go and we’ll just have dinner out there.” So this evening we decided to take a little drive and head in to the big city that is Ostrava and enjoy some family time there. With such a full week and with me already feeling guilty about the lack of Mother’s Day celebration, it seemed like a fun thing to do and I knew it would bless Bethany. When we got there the kids somehow convinced Bethany to let them get “shakes” (aka: Frappuccinos) from Starbucks. To my knowledge this is the first time they’ve ever had them (editors note: they only ordered the non-coffee based ones…we’re not that dumb!). After take her first sip Avery said, “This is the best treat ever!” Here’s a few photos of them guzzling.

After enjoying our family Starbucks, we went over to the play place that the kids love so much. Since it was a Monday, it wasn’t very busy which was nice and the kids just love going up and down the huge slide. Next to the play area is a little store where you can get cosmetics and other things that you can’t get at a regular store, so Bethany went in and got a few things that are not easy to find. I was glad she had a little time to do that and more glad that she was able to find a few fun things for herself. I think it was a fun night for everyone.

That’s all for this Monday!

Tags coffee, day off, family, Monday, rest

365 Czech Republic

“I Gotta Go Work on the Blog”

Post author By Shay
Post date April 19, 2015
No Comments on “I Gotta Go Work on the Blog”

We had lunch this afternoon at home and Titus was the first one done. The kids know they need to ask to be excused from the table to take their plates and silverware to the kitchen sink. As Titus got down from his chair, he said, “I gotta go work on the blog.” I began laughing hysterically, but Bethany missed what he said the first time, so Titus repeated himself and then we were both cracking up. It was in that moment that I realized just how many times he has heard me say that since we moved here. Actually, it’s possible he’s heard that a few hundred times.

Today marks our three hundredth day in Czech which means there have been as many blogs. Although I don’t usually start working on the blog until we’ve put them to bed, not all nights are the same so no doubt the kids have heard me say, “I gotta go work on the blog” more than once. It has become such a part of our lives that even this morning I said to Bethany, “Wait?! Did I write a blog last night?!” I genuinely couldn’t remember. It’s like when you can’t remember if you brushed your teeth or put deodorant on (maybe that only happens to me?). It is just part of the routine and some things get some routine you have a hard to remembering if you forgot to do it! We ended up letting Titus go over to my computer and “work on the blog,” so I got this photo of him in front of the computer this afternoon (shown above). This is spot where the blog happens every single day. It’s a joy for the whole family!

We’re preparing for Titus’ birthday this weekend and we needed to go to the store to get a few supplies and try to find out if they have cupcakes. Instead of shopping in Czech, we actually went to Poland because they have a big store there with a ton of variety, and we also knew they had party supplies. Titus has been really in to Hot Wheels for some reason, so we tried to find some themed items there. They did in fact have Hot Wheels plates and even some of those noise makers that you blow air in to so we picked those up. Unfortunately they didn’t have cupcakes, but we’re going to try to figure out another solution to that problem. We’ll be joining up with our friends, the Stephens, whose twin boys turn four the day before Titus. All of us are going to the zoo on Saturday and hopefully some other people will be able to join us!

As we walked in to the Polish store late this afternoon all I could see were people holding ice cream cones. You would’ve thought they were handing them out for free by the sheer number of people eating ice cream. Then we saw the line! There were a ton of people waiting for ice cream at this little pop up style store just before you walk in to the store. I told Bethany we needed to see what all the excitement was about when we leave the store. We did just that and above you can see the photo I took of the place, complete with American flags. It was called “American Ice Dream” and I have no idea why it was named that. We were trying to figure out the Polish words for vanilla and “mixed” when the guy behind us said, “Do you need some help?” We were very thankful for him and we chatted for a few minutes in English which was nice. In the end we spent $2.68 (USD) to get all four of us ice cream! It was awesome and check out my “large” ice cream (below).

Since we didn’t want to eat in our car we settled down in a bench near a little kids play place in the mall and enjoyed them as a family. The kids wanted to play so we let them for a few minutes, but right next to was this little merry go round that Avery was excited about. I’m guees I’m a bit of a softy when it comes to Avery, so I ended up spending the fifty cents to let her and Titus ride around. She loved the fish she chose to ride and when they were finished we left for home.

It’s gonna be a full week with one of our pastors from our sending church and his wife coming to visit, Titus’ birthday, a doctor appointment for Bethany, and final preparations for the upcoming Josiah Venture spring conference. I’m excited for whatever the Lord has in store for us this week and look forward to telling you all about it right here on the blog. It reminds me of the classic line from Pinky and the Brain. “So Brain, what do you want to do tonight?” “The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try and take over the world!”

Tags 300, blog, family, Poland, shopping, writing

365 Czech Republic

Enjoying Spring and Burger King

Post author By Shay
Post date March 24, 2015
No Comments on Enjoying Spring and Burger King

The kids might be battling sickness, but that didn’t stop Bethany from making sure they got a little sun today. We had a nice warm day today (around 60 degrees) and in the afternoon Bethany and the kids had a little lunch on our driveway. Bethany sent me this photo (above) of Avery relaxing in her chair. Every time I look at it I start laughing. Both the growth of our kids and their personalities is just a joy to watch. Avery especially has been making us laugh a lot this week with the things she’s saying. She has been so talkative and full of questions. I love to watch her explore and figure things out. Below you can see Titus playing on my skateboard. He too has been growing a ton and continues to surprise us as we see his gentle heart come out. He love his little sister, even though he often is way too rough with her. Titus requires a lot more energy right now, but I’m also seeing him mature so much. Please continue to pray for them as they cough and sneeze and hopefully are still able to get some rest tonight.

Speaking of children, I took a silhouette photo of Bethany (below) because today marks the 30 week mark in her pregnancy. While praying with Titus and Avery at bed time tonight Avery reminded me to “Pray for the baby to come, Daddy.” Pray we did and I was thankful for the reminder to ask the Lord to continue to grow this new life inside of Bethany. As the day approaches, I’m getting more excited to meet this little girl and watch her grow and change. This Friday we’ll meeting with another missionary to talk through hospital stuff and birth plan for the Czech hospital. I think we may have found a good place to deliver, but we still need to take a tour and see what we think.

We needed to go to the mall to get a few things tonight, so we decided that after our Czech lessons late this afternoon that we would eat out. Tonight’s speciality was Burger King and the kids loved it. Burger King in Czech is way better than the States and I say this without any hesitation. Maybe you’re thinking “well, that’s not too hard,” but I can say that it genuinely hit the spot tonight and we all enjoyed our food. We’re finding that Czech has absolutely changed both are taste and appetites. The kids really wanted “prince” and “princess” crowns as they called them and during dinner they were telling each other “Hello, prince” or “Hello, princess” and bowed to each other. They were especially happy tonight for some reason, but I’m definitely not complaining. We had a fun time together and I told Bethany when we got home, “I needed tonight.” It was a really fun evening that ended with a great cup of coffee.

Here’s two photos of the kids being silly at dinner.

Until tomorrow…good night.

Tags Burger King, dinner, family, fun, kids, silly, spring

365 Czech Republic

A Sunny Saturday

Today was the best day yet in regards to sickness. I’m feeling like my energy level are much higher and my head is starting to clear up, although I’m not out of the woods yet. I’m thankful for many who have prayed for our family during all the sickness!

We tried not to overdo it today, but we got a text message this morning from our friends, the Yormans, asking if we wanted to walk to the park and Lego store. We have only driven or walked past it the Lego store, so we were excited to go check it out. This was really the first time we’ve had an “outing” in a week so it was nice to just be out in the sunshine. For some reason Titus wanted to wear one of his new mustaches, so here’s a photo during our walk where he posed and said, “Dad, can you take a photo of me?”

As we walked the square right near our place, the crocuses were shining brightly against the green grass and we noticed they are all in a perfect half-moon shape. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Czechs did this on purpose. We have been seeing a lot of fresh flowers being planted of late and when you got to the store there are various sections of gardening and other things to get ready for spring. Here’s a photo of the white flowers in the half-moon shape.

We made it to the Lego store which was really fun. The kids were mostly just running around looking at all the Lego boxes from behind glass. We were only there a few minutes before other Czech friends just happen to walk in, including our language teacher Tamara! It was fun to see familiar faces and say hi. Here’s a wall of Legos that I took a photo of (below). It’s actually really nice to have everything behind glass because little hands can’t pick it up!

After the Lego fun, we made our way over to the park and hung out there for a while and just chatted while the kids played. Avery loves any toy she can sit on, so here she is playing on one of those springy rocker things.

Before long it was time for lunch and the Yormans invited us to join them at a local place in our town. I love Czech soup and this place has great soup, so we joined them and had a really fun time together. At one point Titus and their two boys, Beni and Caleb, were all playing a game on the iPhone (funny, it was a Lego game). Bethany took this photo of all three of them (below). Thanks, Yormans, for letting hang with you today!

Immediately after lunch we came home and took naps which was really nice. The sun was shining most of the day and it was nice to wake up and see it coming through our windows. We had our usual Saturday afternoon video chat with Bethany’s family and decided that it wouldn’t be best to push it too hard and try to make it to youth group tonight. We’re hopeful to go to church tomorrow and enjoy some fellowship there.

Tonight as we were video chatting with the family, Titus got out the mustaches again and quickly put one on my face. We were laughing about it and Titus wanted to take a photo of me. Here’s the photo that he got. I wish I had a photo of my dad to compare this to. We look a lot a like.

And now…I’m very sorry, but… I mustache.

Tags family, friends, Lego, lunch, mustache, park, store

365 Czech Republic

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

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

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

The Last Day of 2014 and the Best of the Blog

Post author By Shay
Post date December 31, 2014
No Comments on 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 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.

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.

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