Tag: kids

Singing and Speaking

Every day before I write the blog, I ask Bethany if she has any photos or stories from the day that would be worth sharing. Usually we both go through our phones and see what we have, but today we only found this photo of a guitar (above) that I got today at the Josiah Venture offices. Our teammate, Daniel, has his brother and their friend here in Czech for a little while and they brought him this guitar from the States. Daniel brought the guitar in today to show us and we even enjoyed a few minutes of him playing and singing. I joined the fun too and played a few worship songs which I haven’t really done much of lately. Actually, one of the songs I played is a favorite modern hymn-like song from Matt Papa called “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery.” The truths described in this song are great and it was one of the songs we should sing on Easter or at least the week before to get our hearts prepared. Here’s a YouTube video of it for you to listen to.

Other than singing for a little bit today, we spent a lot of time this after speaking during our Czech lesson with Jenny and Landen. The Czech language has been kind of piling up in our brains so we spent time today just reviewing and trying to see how much we could speak and remember. Jenny was kind enough to put together a little sheet for us to help learn a few of the different cases in Czech. It’s hard when you learn just how hard Czech is. There are so many cases and endings to words you can literally have dozens (yes, plural dozens) of forms for the color green, for example. Whereas in English we have one word for “green” Czech has a billion (not literally, but it feels that way). So we spent time today working through that and making statements like “five green pens.” It might sound simple, but it’s not. Hard or not, we are plowing forward and continue to do our best to get as much Czech in our brains as possible.

Lastly, and sadly, Avery’s sickness has gotten much worse. Today she had a really bad cough and was running a fever in the afternoon. We may end up taking her to the doctor this week if she doesn’t improve. Tonight we kind of wheezing and I think her throat is hurting because it was the first time she has ever asked us to give her medicine. Normally she despises the meds, but tonight she was walking down the hallway saying, “Medicine…medicine!” It was really sad, but she’s been a sleep for a few hours now and I haven’t heard her. Hopefully she’ll get rest tonight and feel better in the morning. Thanks for praying with us!

Tags guitar, kids, sick, song, worship

365 Czech Republic

Enjoying Spring and Burger King

Post author By Shay
Post date March 24, 2015
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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

Looking to Easter

I sat by myself up in the second story of church this morning because everyone in the family is sick. With the kids having coughs, sneezing, and runny noses we weren’t about to put them in to their classes and Bethany hasn’t been able to stop coughing all day. It probably doesn’t help that it was rainy and about a high of 35 degrees today, but needless to say the sickness continues. I’ve had a sore throat all week, but today was my best day yet and I really didn’t want to miss church. I did my best to follow along with the message and all I can say is that I heard the word for “now” a lot. I’m not exactly sure what that was all about it, but I’m glad I was there with God’s people.

Back at home, however, Bethany didn’t really want to lose the entire day so she spent some time with the kids decorating for Easter. When I got back they had hung up a big sign that our church in the States made for us which says, “He is risen” in Czech. It was up above our couch and now we get to see it and enjoy it. Also, the kids put up little sticky letters on one of our doors which says, “Happy Easter!” Above is a photo of the big sign and below is a photo of the kids with their door decorations, including the little egg basket above them and the little sticky eggs you can see behind them.

It’s always a joy to look to Easter. Even though we won’t be celebrating the risen Savior in our own language, I’m looking forward to seeing how our Czech church will celebrate. And I had the added joy of listening to Avery today as she talked about how “Easter is about Jesus rising from the dead!” It’s such a simple truth coming from her lips. Jesus did rise from the grave. He has power even over death! It’s those truths that have changed the hearts of many and by His grace will continue to be proclaimed to the nations. I’m really looking forward to Easter Sunday. It’s one of the best days of the year and I’m thankful that my family was helping me prepare my heart for the celebration of remembering our risen Lord.

Tags church, Easter, Jesus, kids, Sunday

365 Czech Republic

The First Saturday in Spring

Post author By Shay
Post date March 21, 2015
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Even though the weather people are forecasting rain and snow for tomorrow morning, we had incredible weather today! It really felt like a beautiful spring day so we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine. You’ll notice in the photo above that our kids are wearing jackets and that’s just because it’s what we’re used to doing, but they probably didn’t need them. We enjoyed the park this morning and Titus and Avery love going down the big red slide together. There were definitely a few more people there than normal because everyone agreed it was the perfect day to be outside.

Our friend Romi and Michal needed some help with a little video they were making. Michal is making a short commercial for a company that makes these stretchable laces for shoes. They are actually really convenient here in Czech because you have to take your shoes off often. In the above photo we actually went back to the park with Titus to get some shots of him wearing the laces on the playground equipment. If you look closely you can see he had special colored ones that he said were like Lightning McQueen (you know, the main character from Disney’s Cars). I also was part of the filming and we re-laced my shoes and I rode down the street on my skateboard. It was a fun little afternoon event and it was great to see our friends, especially on such a beautiful day.

I didn’t take any photos tonight, but I attended our church’s youth group which meets on Saturday night. It was a good night and Landen preached from Ephesians 4 on being part of the body of Christ. His wife Jenny translated for him, but for me it was nice to be able to hear some preaching in English. Afterwards we had a small group time that was a lot more challenging because of the language barrier. It’s always just another reminder to keep pursuing the language as hard as I can. One of the guys in our group translated for us which was nice, but it feels so awkward to talk about spiritual things and have to keep translating and listening that way. But overall it was a great night and I enjoyed being there.

After youth group I went to the store to get some things for tomorrow and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I turned down the dairy aisle and saw Philadelphia cream cheese! We have only heard rumors that it exists here in Czech and today was the first time I had seen it. Bethany says she may have seen it one other time, but I was excited and it was a double blessing because it was on sale. Bethany uses cream cheese in a few Crockpot dishes we like and of course in dessert so I bought a few of them. Sadly, there are no bagels in Czech to spread this creamy goodness on, but maybe we’ll have to dig up a recipe and start making our own?

I still can’t believe I’m writing this, but we continue to battle sickness in our house. This entire week both Bethany and I have struggling with sore throats and now the kids are starting to sneeze and have runny noses. Depending on how they are in the morning, we may just take them to the main service with us as opposed to going to their classes. With the weather going up and down, that definitely doesn’t help but we’ll just continue to pray and trust the Lord with these challenges.

Tags kids, outside, park, Saturday, sunshine, youth group

365 Czech Republic

Cuddles and Haircuts

Today has been full and it’s late so I’m going to make this post shorter than usual, knowing that I have more to do still tonight. Above is a photo Bethany got this morning of me and the kids laying on the couch. I don’t really remember how the kids started climbing on me and cuddling, but Bethany caught the moment with my iPhone and I’m thankful. As I stare at that photo tonight I’m reminded just how gracious the Lord is. I love those two little ones so much and I’m thankful to the Lord for the gift of children. Every day is not easy with them and parenting is hard, but the joy they bring us far outweighs the struggle to train them.

This afternoon Titus and I got hair cuts and Titus has been doing such a good job holding still and letting the hair dresser cut his hair. He kept asking me, “Is this the last part, daddy?” as if to find out how much longer he would need to sit there. I love that little guy.

Other than cuddles and haircuts it’s been a relatively uneventful day. I worked from home today, but had to run to a meeting after our haircuts in a nearby town. One of the big projects I’ve been working on is a 20th anniversary book for Josiah Venture which includes photos and quotes from various ministries. I met with the printer today to work out some details for the cover and I can’t wait to get one of them in my hands. It’s going to be a beautiful book and one that stands a testimony to what God is doing in this part of the world.

With that I’m out. Good night!

Tags cuddles, haircuts, joy, kids

365 Czech Republic

The Sunday Shredder

Today was a another great Sunday at church with our kids. I think it may be one of the last Sundays that I stay in Titus’ class, and we’re trying to figure out what to do about Avery and her class. In the States we would normally just let her cry a little when we leave the room, but it doesn’t seem to be allowed that much in her class here. However, we’re having fun spending time with each of our kids in their classes.

Below is a photo that I took of a board game that Titus got out during the play time after they had their Bible lesson. I have no clue what the game is, but the kids gathered around Titus when he started getting the pieces out and helped him set it up. It’s always fun to see him playing with other kids, even if they have no clue how to talk to each other.

Traditionally Sunday is a day of rest, but today our shredder was working over time! This past week Bethany and I realized the amount of paperwork that we have just lying around has gotten out of hand and we wanted to make space and clear out old files. So this afternoon we spent a few hours just separating the recycle versus shred piles and let the kids go to town putting paperwork through the “shrinker” (as they were calling it). Spring is only five days away, so we really felt like we were getting some Spring cleaning done! As I type Bethany is still going through files and I think we’re going to have a few days of this left, but it end we should have cleaner desks and a little more space.

That’s all from us today. We hope you had a blessed Sunday!

Tags filing, kids, paperwork, shredder, shrinker, Sunday school

365 Czech Republic

Play Place

Post author By Shay
Post date March 14, 2015
No Comments on Play Place

Today Bethany and the kids had fun with our friends the Yormans at a new play place we had never been to. I stayed home because I haven’t been feeling great the past two days and we also had a lady cleaning our windows which our landlord hired. Above is a photo of the play area that they went to and Bethany said there were only two families there, ours and the Yormans. Titus and Avery haven’t really had a lot of time experience playing in a ball pit, so this was really exciting for them and they loved it. When they came back Titus couldn’t stop telling me all about the ball bit that “had two slides!” An indoor play area like this is really great on days like today where it just basically rained all day. I’m so glad they had fun. Here’s another angle of the facilities.

While they were out I spent my afternoon working on our next support letter email which I’m hoping to send out this weekend (if you’re not on our email list you can sign up here!). We have been trying to hard to make time for that important piece of communication in between sickness, languages lessons, and other things, but it has proved harder this time around. I also spent some time writing thank you cards to our supporters which is also something we try and make time for every week. Every time I write a card I’m reminded just how thankful I am for all the people who support us and desire to the gospel brought to Czech. If you are one of them, thank you!

While sitting at our dining table tonight, I was putting some final edits on our email. Avery was sitting across from me and diligently working with Playdough. She was so content to sit there and make things and finally I peaked my head over my computer and took the above photo of her. It seems like lately she has been growing so fast and continues to be more independent. It’s bittersweet to watch our kids grow. I love that they are maturing and are more independent but so often it feels way too fast!

Tags ball pit, friends, fun, kids, play

365 Czech Republic

Sliding on Sunday

Spring is only a few weeks away, but it really felt like it arrived today. The weather was beautiful, sunny and even a little warm. A lot more people were out walking and riding their bikes because it was just the perfect day for a stroll. When I walked out of church this morning I looked up at the bare trees against the blue sky and loved just the contrast of the light and dark branches. I converted the above photo to black and white to really bring out that contrast and I know soon those trees will begin to bud and fill up all that empty space.

I continue to feel my strength and health returning and even though I’m not 100%, the whole family was able to make it to church this morning. We ended up staying with the kids in their respective classes again, which is always fun. Whether we’re in the main service or the kids class it’s a Czech language lesson, so that’s helpful! Right at the beginning of Titus’ class all four of us (that is, me, Bethany, Titus, and Avery) were together in Titus’ classroom and the kids were singing Czech Bible songs. We could understand that melody to the song “Read Your Bible Pray Every Day” and Bethany was singing in English to Titus while the rest of the class sang in Czech. When they finished they asked Bethany to lead everyone in the English version of the song which she did, and I could see one little Czech knew most of the English words! It was a sweet little moment and it’s always nice to do even just a little song in English.

After church we had lunch and had to run a few errands. We needed a few things from the electronics store and then some small things from IKEA so we took a little trip out of town. Next to IKEA is a mall with a huge 2-story slide which we’ve talked about before and the kids asked if we could go there so we did. The kids had a blast climbing up the big tower and heading down the slide (they must’ve done it fifteen times!). I got the blast of photos that you see above and you could hear them laughing from a mile away. It’s really fun to watch them play together and laugh.

Tonight we have mostly just been picking up the house and getting ready for the upcoming week. One of the things we picked up at IKEA is a new clock for our living room and I’ve been trying to figure out how to drill into our concrete walls to hang it. Our friend Greg is going to come over tomorrow afternoon to help me so hopefully I can get a photo of that when it’s up. Other than that, it’s just been a great Sunday and I’m thankful to get back into the swing of things, including language lessons tomorrow!

Tags church, fun, kids, slide, Sunday

365 Czech Republic

Making Us More Like Jesus

Post author By Shay
Post date March 1, 2015
No Comments on Making Us More Like Jesus

Only seconds after publishing last night’s blog, I heard Avery cry from the room her and Titus were asleep in. They had been a sleep for a few hours by that point and I really didn’t think much of it. I closed the lid of my laptop and heard her crying again and then I heard Bethany’s voice calling for me. “Avery just threw up all over the bed,” she told me as I entered the room. That was around 11:30pm.

Before Zach and Kara left the flat we were staying in last night, we made plans to join them for church. Zach was going to meet us around 9am today and help us manage the trams over to their church. But as soon as we began to get Avery out of bed and into the tub where we could clean her up, I realized it was going to be a long night. I texted Zach that church was probably not going to happen, and I’m honestly glad I did. It took us about 30 minutes to get Avery cleaned up, her hair washed, and all the bed coverings taken care of. Avery was in a better mood and said she was hungry. We had some bananas and pretzel so she ate some of that was happy. She laid back down and went to bed but we still had all these dirty clothes that we were hoping to wash. It was now just past midnight.

Since we were in downtown Prague I figured I would go down to the little shop at the bottom of the building and buy some laundry soap. Amazingly, it was open and so I purchased the soap and ran back upstairs. Upon inspecting the German packaging some more (and translating it on my phone) I realized I had actually purchased fabric softener. So went spent some time researching shops near us where I could find a brand that I knew was actually soap. I went back outside and walked down a few different streets and blocks and nothing else was open so back to the little shop I went. I spent a good amount of time staring at the bottles and trying to figure out which one was not fabric softener, made my selection, and bought a second bottle of soap. I went back up to the 5th floor where I did more research only to find out second time that I just bought another bottle of fabric softener! A little defeated and sad we decided it was just time for bed and we would deal with it in the morning. That was 1am.

Avery threw up again at 2am and then at around 4am. We repeated the same process at 2am that we did the first time with a clean up but at 4am she didn’t have much on her stomach. Titus and Avery were both awake for the day just after 6 and I honestly think the most sleep we got was from 6-8am when let the kids watch something on the iPad because we were exhausted. When I did wake up I went back down to another store that I recognized, bought the soap that I knew was correct, and we started washing everything this morning. The lack of sleep hurt my cold sickness recovery and I just didn’t feel well at all and went back to bed for another hour.

We made plans to have lunch with Zach and Kara as well before we got our train back to home today (I’m actually writing this post while on the train). I wasn’t feeling great, and we missed our first tram, but we did end up joining them. The food was delicious and I was really glad we got to spend a little more time with them. This afternoon they helped us get packed up, played with our kids, and then get checked out of our flat on eventually on to the train that we’re now enjoying.

The day is ending much better than it started and for that I’m grateful. It was a hard night but for now it’s over. I’m sure I had nights like Avery’s when I was little. By God’s grace we make it through and you spend a train ride thinking about how hard it was, but also how gracious the Lord was. We had a great weekend and really sweet time with our friends and for that we’re very thankful. You never know how the days will go, but I guess that’s part of the “fun” of life! We’ll be home in a few hours and maybe another long night is ahead of us, only the Lord knows? What I do know is that God is using it all to sanctify us and make us more like His Son. And when I think about it like that, it makes it all worth it.

Tags Avery, hard night, Jesus, kids, sick, sickness

365 Czech Republic

A Little Trip to Prague (pt. 2)

Post author By Shay
Post date February 28, 2015
No Comments on A Little Trip to Prague (pt. 2)

Note: This is “Part 2” of our trip to Prague. If you’re looking for Part 1, click here.

Last night was a little rough. It was our first of two nights staying here in Prague and apparently this is a loud place on Friday night. The flat that we’re staying in is really close to some big tourist areas and we’re on the 5th floor, but I think there were a few party animals out and about because we could pretty much hear them all night. At one point we were awoken to the sound of maybe a dozen people singing “happy birthday” in the stairwell of this building. The kids slept right through it, but Bethany and I were wide awake.

Despite the rough night of sleep we actually had a really fun day today. Our friends Zach and Kara lead us around Prague a bit, but we also spent a lot of time just talking and catching up with them. It was really nice just to hang with some friends. In fact, I’d say I enjoyed their company more than Prague.

We took trams and subways around and just kind of visited a few random spots throughout Prague, but we also stopped in a coffee shop and talked for a while and spent an extended time in the park with our kids. Below are a few random photos of the kids enjoying all the fun and things we saw today (captions below each).

Here you can see Avery hanging on for her life while Titus and other kids peddle around on this different kind of merry go round thing.

A quick photo of Kara and Bethany at the park.

Titus has his “game face” on while we peddle around the merry go round.

In a section of the city there was a man making big bubbles and the kids loved watching it.

If you look to the left of “Le Patio” you can see Titus’ reflection in the glass of this store. He’s holding my huge camera because he was on a kick today of taking photos. He kept saying, “Dad, can I take some photos?” I said sure and he was really getting the hang of it. Here are two other photos he took all on his own (below).

The kids needed naps in the afternoon from all the walking we were doing so we went back to our flat and just hung out in the afternoon with Zach and Kara while the kids slept. As dinner approached we went out back on the town to see if we could grab some food at a Mexican restaurant. Sadly, it ended up being completely full and they turned us away. Kara knew of another place she likes so we enjoyed some of the best pizza I’ve had in Czech. Afterwards we took a tram (or “trolley” as Titus calls it) around the city and made our way to the Charles Bridge. Here’s a few photos form that part of our evening.

I believe this is the longest escalator in Czech. It takes 2.5 minutes to go from the bottom to the top if you just stand. It feels like you’re going straight up and I found myself getting a little dizzy when I looked up.

Above is the Charles Bridge at about 8:15 tonight. It was a cold, clear night and the kids loved seeing the river beneath us. In the upper right you can see the Prague castle all lit up on the hill.

On the other side of the bridge was a little town-like area (I don’t reall know what it was), but we looked down and I took this photo because well…I’m in Europe.

Above are the kids on the tram, just loving life. We probably could’ve just rode on the tram all day and they would’ve been happy.

What a fun day just to spend time together as a family and with friends. I just texted Zach to tell him we had a blast and just really appreciate him and Kara and our friendship. Zach and his family are such a big part of my story and testimony and I’m so thankful to God that He sovereignly placed them in my life. What a joy to now serve alongside him and his wife with my own family. The Lord is too good to us. As always, it’s all grace.

Tags fun, kids, mini vacation, Prague, trip