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365 Czech Republic

“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.

The 300th Blog Post (4/19/15)

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!

The 300th Blog Post (4/19/15)

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).

The 300th Blog Post (4/19/15)

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.

The 300th Blog Post (4/19/15)

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!”

Categories
Articles

Slaying the Wifi

So nerdy, but so true. Well written story on one warriors battle against the WiFi beast:

“Lo, in the twilight days of the second year of the second decade of the third millennium did a great darkness descend over the wireless internet connectivity of the people of 276 Ferndale Street in the North-Central lands of Iowa. For many years, the gentlefolk of these lands basked in a wireless network overflowing with speed and ample internet, flowing like a river into their Compaq Presario. Many happy days did the people spend checking Hotmail and reading USAToday.com.

But then one gray morning did Internet Explorer 6 no longer load The Google. Refresh was clicked, again and again, but still did Internet Explorer 6 not load The Google. Perhaps The Google was broken, the people thought, but then The Yahoo too did not load. Nor did Hotmail. Nor USAToday.com. The land was thrown into panic. Internet Explorer 6 was minimized then maximized. The Compaq Presario was unplugged then plugged back in. The old mouse was brought out and plugged in beside the new mouse. Still, The Google did not load.”

Read the rest here: “In Which I Fix My Girlfriend’s Grandparents’ WiFi and Am Hailed as a Conquering Hero”

Categories
Friends Personal Shaycam.com

Writing “Letters” to a Friend


Photo © Shay Thomason, 2009

Over the past few months I’ve begun a correspondence with a friend from college over email that is highly irregular during our times, but something I’ve really enjoyed. What we’re doing may come as a shock to many in our culture, but we’re writing letters to each other. Some looking to judge me are already saying to themselves “oh come on! Letters over email? Lame!” But these “letters”, though delivered electronically, carry more weight to me than any other email I receive. The main reason: they have substance.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that email is horrible or doesn’t serve a purpose, or whatever–that would be wrong. Quick messages to transfer information will always have it’s place. Twitter, instant messaging, Facebook wall-posts, etc. have their place too. But what I’m finding is that as I’ve forced myself to wait to respond to these letters and really write from my heart, I’m getting a lot back from the experience. That’s the trick. We don’t write every day. In fact, we have actually let weeks go by without responding. It’s been a fun way to keep up with a friend that’s over a thousand miles away, but also show him that I’m willing to take the time and write him. I guess those are probably the key ingredients to building a relationship with someone: time and substance. Without both you’ll probably never see any of your relationships grow.

I think you should try it. All it takes is a commitment from another friend that you may not have regular contact with, but want to continue to build a relationship. Take the time to write them about your normal life. What you’re doing at work, or how you’re involved in your church. Tell them about your spouse or your dog, or your love for cars. But make sure you keep it simple as if you were writing with pen. Don’t over communicate, but summarize when the details don’t really need to be explained. Start each letter with “Dear ______” and end it with “Sincerely,” or another appropriate ending. I think it’ll be a rewarding time for you and I can guarantee that both you and your friend will appreciate each other more through the process.