Get Well Soon, Kristynko!

We hope you feel better soon! May this video of you and Adela bring a smile to your face! We love you.

Merry Christmas to YOU!

As you celebrate this holy season of Christ's birth with friends and family, know that we are thinking of you and wishing you a very Merry CHRISTmas.

Saint Nicholas Day

Last night we went downtown to see a gospel choir perform in the square. Our music director, Milos, plays with the group. You can see that Adela thoroughly enjoyed the beat!

Today is St. Nicholas (Mikulas) day in Czech. On the eve of St. Nicholas day, children anticipate a visit from St. Nicholas, an angel and a devil. All three ask the children if they have been good and then the children usually recite a poem for them. "The St. Nicholas tradition is supposedly based on a 4th century Greek bishop named Nicholas who is said to have left a gift of money on the windowsill of three poor girls to enable them to get married." (taken from the MY Czech Republic website which is http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech_culture/czech_holidays/saint_nicholas.html)

Check it out if you'd like to learn more!

The Fourth Day of Advent

I know you are all just dying to hear how our Advent is going! :) We are having so much fun and it has been wonderful to have this short family time together. First we set out the tablecloth, candles and Bibles (English, Czech and Adela's Bible), then we light the one candle which represents hope. We read the short scripture verses, sing "Away in a Manger" and then pray together. Adela has gotten used to the short routine and seems to really enjoy helping me set up. Today our great friends Susan and Roger gave us this Nativity scene as a gift! It was wonderful to read the first poem about Gabriel and let Adela open the first box of 7 which had a figurine of Gabriel inside. All of this has given me a new sense of joy and love for Christmas that I didn't know I was even missing! I can truly say that it isn't about decorations or gifts, it's about celebrating the birth of Christ and looking forward to His return.

Season of Advent

Aunt "Teta" Eva and Adela decorating apples

Craft time

Babicka making snowmen

Our Advent Stockings

Tomorrow is the first day of Advent. I have thought a lot about family traditions and how important they are. We really want to teach Adela and show her through our example that Christ is the center in our home. This past week I bought a set of "Advent Stockings" I call them. I'm excited about putting something small (a sticker, page to color, etc) in each stocking for Adela to take our every morning. In the evenings we will pull out a short scripture reading to read together, sing a Christmas hymn or song and light the Advent candles. Czechs look forward to Christmas and have advent calendars everywhere. The most popular calendars are made of cardboard and there are 24 little windows to open with a piece of chocolate inside. Adela and I just returned from spending 3 days in Lipova with Leo's family. Here are some pictures from a craft time at the pre-school in Lipova where we made some decorations for Advent and the Christmas season.

These are some links where I got ideas for celebrating Advent:
http://www.crivoice.org/cyadvent.html

This is a great link for activites with kids.
http://www.homeschooled-kids.com/advent.html

Not a Butterball

This was an important Thanksgiving for us this year - we (I should say Leo) cooked our first Turkey! We had an oven bag from Reynolds Wrap, but the turkey was definitely not a Butterball with a pop-up thermometer! Our turkey weighed almost as much as Addy! Leo LOVES Thanksgiving and all the fun with family and friends surrounding it. Here he is donning my apron which says, "I run this kitchen!" I have to say that I didn't even want to touch the turkey, but Leo happily washed and prepared it.

Adela didn't know what to think of all this fun in the kitchen, but she didn't mind posing!

Three hours later and we have the prettiest cooked turkey in the Czech Republic!

Aren't you impressed? You can call Leo next year to come to your house to cook your turkey!

This year was a special Thanksgiving at Majak because we invited our Czech friends who we are very thankful for. This is Monika and her parents and they have made our life easier here in many ways. Milos has helped us get Majak buildings up to fire code. Adela and I spend a lot of time with Jarka and Monika playing, going to exercise class, shopping and just hanging out. We are so thankful for their friendship to us.

Some more guests

Marian, with her guests

Adela and Moni laughing together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Lord's Army

No words necessary! Enjoy.

The Things You'd Do For a Grandchild

We visited Leo's family on Sunday and Adela was so excited to see the rabbits, chickens, dog and cat! Leo's mom actually caught a chicken so that Adela could pet it! I thought it was something you just had to see. (Push play twice)

Test of Toddler Patience

Last night we splurged and bought Adela a swing. Leo had planned to hang it up Saturday when he had more time, but it was evident when we got home that Addy wasn't going to sleep until she had swung! As I prepared dinner and tried my best to distract Adela with her favorite activity of the moment - coloring, Leo was drilling holes in the doorway for the hooks. Addy would stand by him saying/crying, "Houpy, houpy....Daddy....houpy, houpy (swing, swing)." It was humorous and pitiful at the same time as Adela's and Daddy's patience was tested. As you can see, she was overjoyed to finally swing. I must say that having the swing is a great bargaining tool: "Finish your dinner first and then you can swing... Let's put your pajamas on and then you can swing..." Getting the dishes and dinner done while pushing the swing WILL be interesting though!

Salzburg in the Rain

Reading a favorite Bert and Ernie sign language book

Castle in Salzburg

Mozart's birthplace

Mirabell Gardens

Walking back to the car

We just returned from a very brief vacation to Velden and Salzburg, Austria. At the missions conference in Velden, we had a great time visiting several missionary families that are serving in Europe. (I'll send more pictures to you personally, Hickory Chapel family!) Adela enjoyed the time with the kids as well. The best part of our time in Salzburg was relaxing in a nice pension and having a pleasant breakfast with some interesting people. The weather was cold and rainy, so we couldn't see much of the mountains or anything else for that matter. I think we were the only crazy people in the whole city chasing a toddler around historical sites in the rain. I guess the rest of the world knows better. The best part for Adela was waving bye-bye to strangers in McDonalds, splashing in puddles, collecting rocks in the garden, admiring the fountain and riding up and and down the escalator in a store for 15 minutes! We drove straight back from Salzburg to Brno last night while Addy was sleeping. The whole trip was a true test of patience and endurance for Leo and me, and I think we have learned a valuable lesson - home is a wonderful place to spend a vacation! I look forward to seeing Salzburg again when Adela is about 20!

Happy 60th Birthday, Daddy!

Today my wonderful father turns 60. For him, I know this day is just another fantastic milestone. Daddy lives his life to the fullest and does his best to look on the bright side of everything. He has a smile and a kind word for all that he meets. He loves his Savior and puts Him first. He is a great encourager. I'm thankful for all that my Dad has taught me and I look forward to all the years ahead that I will have to learn even more from him. Have a wonderful birthday, Daddy! We are celebrating with you across the ocean.

Under the Weather

All day yesterday Adela had a high temperature and just wasn't herself, especially when the medicine started to wear off. She was just beautiful and sweet sleeping here on the couch. I feel so blessed to have her in my life. She really has brought sunshine to our lives. God is so good and I feel honored and humbled that He would give me the privilege of raising this little angel. I realize every day what a huge responsibility it is. I'm learning a lot about what it means to "train up a child." She is feeling much better today and seems to be back to her chipper self.

Hats, Mommy, Bubbles, Socks and Cans

What do these things have in common? You guessed it! They are all things Adéla loves. She loves trying on new hats - even ones that are garbage pail lids! She gives me the best hugs ever and wakes up every morning saying, "Mommy, Mommy" with the happiest expression especially when she wakes up beside me! She's into bubbles. She tries to do it herself and gets a bit fiesty when you try to take show her how. Weve been doing a lot of cooking lately! (I'm experimenting with soups at the moment.) Addy is a great helper and loves to rearrange the cans and jars in the cabinet. She also loves trying to put on clothes. Here you see her wearing my socks! Her feet really aren't that big. :-)

Adéla's Name Day

Here in Czech, each day on the calendar has a name. When a child is born, most families choose a name that is on the calendar. It's best if you don't choose a name close to their real birthday, so they can celebrate two days! Well, today is Adéla's name day. She got a postcard from her "babicka" (Grandma) and lots of kisses from us! If you want to remember Leo's name day next year, it is June 19. :-) This picture was taken in Leo's home village, Lipova, during their kids day. The fire department filled the parking lot with foam! It was lots of fun.

Some say we look alike

Just recently my Mom sent me this picture of me at about 18 months old. Here is one of Adéla taken last week. What do you think? I think we actually look a lot different!

Little Genius?

A few days ago we showed Addy a group picture of kids that she has played with here at Maják. We asked her, "Where's Abby?" and she pointed right at her picture. We got excited and decided to challenge her a bit more, so we pulled out a picture of all the adults - about 20. We were quite amazed when she pointed at almost everyone we said! We clapped and clapped, and she loved the praise. So, lastly, we showed her a picture from this past Christmas and said, "Where's Olivia?" and she pointed right to her! Do we have a little genius or what? Okay, maybe she's just a real people person!

Back from Camp

Wow! We had a super time at camp! Addy climbed up and down stairs and hills, over and under railings and mastered her new slide! It was a welcome break from city life and fun to see Addy blossom in new surroundings. Addy's friend Monika and her Mom and grandmother joined us for 3 days. You should have seen how well the two of them got along! In the mornings, Addy would run down the hill towards Monika's cabin yelling, "Moni, Moni, Moni!" Addy is comunicating more and more and adding many Czech and English words to her vocabulary. She loved camp food and fell asleep in her high chair at almost every lunch. You can imagine how funny that was!

An Inside View

Last Monday I had a colonoscopy done. I had been having some problems, so my doctor insisted on this "procedure." After 3 days of a liquid diet and 500ml of a magic drink, I was quite ready to get it all over with! Despite the way the "polyklinika" (clinic) looks from the outside (pictured above), the doctor's office was very clean and professional. I couldn't have asked for a better doctor or nurse. They gave me a shot of something to supposedly ease the pain. I was awake through the entire procedure. When they got the camera where they wanted it (after a lot of pushing!) they turned the monitor towards me and showed me the inside of my colon! It was very fascinating and I have to say that I thought it looked beautiful and healthy! I felt very blessed at that moment that God gave us such a wonderful organ, and He gave man the ability to see it from the inside! The doctor said I was a great patient and she could see nothing wrong with my lower intestine, except that it was unusually long. On Wednesday I had an ultrasound done of my upper intestine which also showed nothing. I am very impressed with how thorough the doctor has been. I'm also grateful that I was given a clean bill of health! Thanks for your prayers!

Just a Click Away

I've decided to join the world of bloggers. After countless months of enjoying other bloggers' posts and pictures, I thought it was about time for me to give it a try! Of course, you can imagine who each post will be about. Pictures of sweet Addy are now just a click away - no more downloading large files that take forever! So, this blog is for you, my dear friends and family who live far away and near. I should have made your life easier months ago. So, here is the first of many cheesy grins coming your way!