Celebrating Jesus

I love Christmas! I love the lights, the music, the cards, the decorations, putting up the tree, shopping, the Nativity scenes, church plays, choir performances and advent. Most of all I love celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Saviour. It is wonderful to enjoy all of Christmas through Adela's eyes. She lights up when she sees Christmas trees or lights on houses. We are continuing our tradition we started last year of Scripture reading during advent. We haven't really decided what "to do" about Santa. She has seen him in the mall, on TV and people ask her what Santa is bringing her. She sees Santa as a part of Christmas as Mickey Mouse is a part of Disney. I often wornder if she doesn't see Jesus and other biblical characters as just that - characters. I guess, "da-ta-ta-da!!" that is where we as parents come in! Helping her separate the truth of God's word from what the rest of the world teaches will be a constant challenge. I'll be sad when the Christmas music stops on December 26th. At least we have until the 1st of the year to enjoy the lights! Next year we will enjoy these special days again through our new baby girl's eyes - just 8 more weeks and she'll be here - maybe even on Valentine's day!


Merry Christmas to you all and may the Lord guide and encourage you in 2009!

Just after visiting our family for Thanksgiving, we got to stop by Atlanta, GA and see the home of Margaret Mitchell who wrote Gone with the Wind.

The fountains in Olympic Park, Atlanta, GA. Adela LOVED these and got just a little wet!

Enjoying the Christmas lights

Only 8 weeks to go!

Last Days of Fall

Last Sunday we took a day trip to the mountains after church to see the last of the falling leaves and enjoy a beautiful fall day. This is my favorite season and I am very sad to see it end and winter begin. We spent most of the afternoon in this park that a community got together and built themselves. Adela loved climbing, exploring, swinging and making new friends.

Fun times with Dad

I want to be in the circus when I grow up! :)

Adela never got tired of spinning in the tire swing!

25 weeks along

Halloween Fun

Pretty Little Ladybug

Trick or Treat

Friends from church

Look at all my treats

Friends from church

Adela enjoyed her first "real" Halloween this year. She was so excited to dress up (although she really wanted to be a princess). Our church invited the children to visit the nursing home for "Trick or Treat." Leo and Papa took her while Mom and I went to a women's conference. Adela came home with a little bag of candy - which I was thrilled about. I'm not a big fan of Halloween because of all the teeth-rotting candy. :) You can imagine my secret celebration when she announced after 3 candy corns, "I don't like them. Can I throw them away?" She's already forgotten about her candy, so now I can eat it - just kidding!

Blogger Blues and Baby News

Time is limited, so I've had to make some choices lately. That means I haven't written in awhile. I have written dozens of posts in my head which never made it to the blog. Some were really good, too! If only you could read my mind... We've had a few milestones happen recently - Adela is now officially potty-trained which is a HUGE accomplishment to me because I thought I'd be buying pull-ups until she leaves for college. :)
Some other news is that we are expecting again! I'm due Feb. 11th and we recently found out it is a girl! Adela and her baby sister will be almost exactly 3 years apart since Adela's birthday is on the 3rd of February. We are still trusting the Lord to provide the job He has planned for Leo. I keep holding onto Jeremiah 29:11 and know that we are in His hands. These pictures are from a short trip to the beach in late September. We fed the seagulls some bread and that was a bit scary!

Snídaně/Breakfast

Not every day has Adéla breakfast out on the porch. But this day she enjoyed eating yogurt with her Mommy sitting on her new chair:-)

Ne každý den snídá Adélka na verandě. Tentokrát si ale vychutnávala jogurt spolu s mamkou na svém novém rozkládacím křesílku:-)

New Addiction

The first words I heard this morning were, "Time to get up and PAINT!" On Monday we bought Addy a Dora paint set and that is all she has wanted to do since then! První slova co jsme slyšeli dnes rano byly: "Čas vstávat a malovat!" V ponděli jsme koupili vodní barvičky a od té doby nic jiného nechce dělat!

Sun and Fun at the Beach

We've finally taken off for a vacation just the three of us! For the last 3 days all Adela has said is, "I go in swimming pool!" She loves the sand, the waves and the kiddie pool. We played Putt-Putt last night and on Monday night took Adela to Family Kingdom for a couple of rides. Adela keeps getting more and more independent. She even loved being covered in sand! Here are a few pictures. Click on the slideshow to the right to see more!

Tak jsme se konečně vydali na dovolenou jen ve třech! Poslední tři dny neslyšíme od Adélky nic jiného než:"Jdu plavat do bazénu!" Hrozně ráda si hraje v písku, ve vlnách (samozřejmě s taťkou:-) a v dětských bazéncích, které jsou tady v hotelu. Včera odpoledne jsme hráli mini-golf (takový, jako když jsme byli na Myrtle Beach s mamkou, Kamilem a Danou). V pondělí večer jsme vzali Adélku do zábavního parku. Od klauna dostala čepici z balónků, svezla se na kolotoči a taťkou řídila starý Ford model T. Je čím dál víc soběstačná. Dnes se jí hrozně líbilo, když jsme ji zahrabali celou do písku! Tady je pár fotek. Pro další klikni na SLIDESHOW vpravo nahoře!

Návštěva u „holiče“

Konečně jsem dal dohromady i já něco a tady je náš první příspěvek česky.
Jak víte, Ameriku a Američany mám rád (vždyť jsem si tu nejlepší z nich vzal i za ženu, že?:-), ale nějak mě návštěva u holiče trochu překvapila. Asi proto, že jsem si vybral opravdové, domorodé a hodně staré kadeřnictví. Abych byl přesný, nebylo to kadeřnictví, ale „barbershop“, což je specifický výraz pro pánské „kadeřnictví“. Představa toho, že budu hýčkán skončila, když jsem uviděl křeslo na kterém sedělo snad od roku 1940 alespoň 20.000 pánů! Nu což, historická zkušenost, řekl jsem si. Rozhlédl jsem se po místnosti a uvědomil jsem si že salón, který jsem navštěvoval v Brně byl luxusní sultánova komnata oproti tomu kde jsem právě seděl. Prázdné, holé a zašedlé stěny, po zemi rozházené krabice, na jedné ze stěn visel historický telefon, vedle mě ještě jedno křeslo s podobnou historií jako to moje, na jedné straně místnosti zrcadlo, do kterého se nemůžu dívat (vysvětlím později) a na druhé straně řada starých dřevěných židlí. Ve výloze několik let nedotčený nápis „Barbershop“.

Rozhodoval jsem se delší dobu, jestli nemám raději počkat až na léto a pak s dlouhými vlasy zaskočit tak na hodinku do kadeřnictví v Brně, ale to neprošlo! Tak jsem to risknul.
Paní byla moc vstřícná, to jo, ale první mě šokovala tím, že mě otočila směrem k ostatním čekajícím na sestřih a začala mě stříhat bez toho aniž bych se byť jedinkrát viděl v zrcadle! Ještě před tím se ale zeptala jak bych to chtěl ostříhat. Jelikož to byla rodilá jižanka, měl jsem problémy jí rozumět (ona mě asi taky), ale přesto jsem pochopil co chce a popsal jak si sestřih představuji. To ale neprošlo, byl jsem dotázán zda chci ostříhat vrch, boky i zadek (samozřejmě pořád mluvím o hlavě:-). To mě zaskočilo. „Že by tady měli bohatější výběr“, řekl jsem si. Žil jsem totiž v domnění, že to vše na sebe navazuje a že by mě snad ani nikdo neostříhal jen vrch a zadek a boky nechal ladem. No nakonec jsme se domluvili a paní to rozjela. Byla tam se mnou i Amy a Adélka. Amy postupně měnila tvář až nakonec odešla…
Jenže já se pořád neviděl, tak jsem pevně doufal, že Amy odešla, protože ji to nudilo.
Strojek paní taky nakonec vytáhla a použila na konečné doladění, ale tak nějak divně s ním kolem mě lítala. Vlastně ne ona, to já! Ono totiž to křeslo mělo páku, do které vždycky paní kadeřnice velmi šikovně a zkušeně kopla nebo uhodila svojí silnou paží a já se otočil do pozice kde mě chtěla mít. Ona sama se skoro z místa ani nepohnula. To pro mě taky byla novinka. Bral jsem to jako bonus – za stejnou cenu jsem se povozil i na kolotoči!
Když už i strojek dokonal svoji práci, byl jsem konečně přece jen představen zrcadlu. No…
Z křesla jsem neupadnul. Prostě jsem si řekl: „Až si hlavu umeju, tak si to sedne“. Bylo tomu asi tři týdny co jsem se nechal ostříhat a sedlo si to!
Za 10 Amerických dolarů jsem měl zkušenost k nezaplacení!

Prosím neberte to tak, že by tady snad kadeřníci neuměli stříhat. Prostě platí jiný kraj, jiný mrav. Taky jsem zjistil později, že tento „barbershop“ je navštěvován hlavně domorodou a to černošskou komunitou a oni všichni pánové jsou většinou “dohola“. No, pro příště vím kam nejít!

To byla moje první zkušenost se stříháním tady v USA. Budu se snažit zase někdy napsat o jiné zkušenosti. Téma už mám: „Rybaření na otevřeném oceánu“.

Těším se v létě na návštěvu a doufám, že nepřijedu s příliš dlouhými vlasy:-)
Leoš

Sunny Days

The house is quiet as Adela takes a nap. It's a perfect time to update you a bit on what is going on with us. This month has been filled with ups and downs as Leo has been searching for a job. We're grateful to my parents for their understanding and encouragement. We are trusting the Lord that He knows what is best and will guide Leo to the perfect place of employment. Adela is talking tons, running, jumping, singing her heart out and filling our days with laughter and joy. She is our little sunshine and our so called "hard times" are much easier with her around.

Adela loves hats and her sunglasses. Here she is singing a song using Grandma's cane as a microphone!

We recently celebrated my aunt Nancy's birthday. Here is Adela with her cousins, Audrey and Chloe.

No, we haven't been to Disney World! Adela had her picture taken with Cinderella at a Children's Show.

A giant air mattress for lots of tumbling and jumping. What fun!

Singing in the tub!

Vesele velikonoce! Happy Easter!

Consignment Shopping

This past Friday, Addy and I checked out a church consignment sell and hit the jackpot with two very nice things! (Wikipedia states that, " 'Consignment shop' is an American English term for second-hand stores that offer used goods at a lower price than new. Many offer new items as well. The dealer pays the seller a percentage upon the sale of the goods.") I have to say that I was probably more excited than Adela was with our $12 talking Barney the dinosaur! When we got home, we discovered that he can sing and even play peek-a-boo. We also got a Dora the Explorer suitcase that Addy is enjoying loading up with a few toys and toting around the house.

By the time I took this video, Adela was more fascinated by her new play shoes than Barney, but I thought you might enjoying singing along with Barney as much as I do! :)

A Bit of Travelling

I thought you might be really missing us by now, so I'm finally posting some pictures of our little sunshine (although she's been a little overcast with a cold that really gives her the grumpies!). We visited our dear friends in New Mexico the first week of February and were there for Leo and Adela's birthdays. This past week we visited family in Virginia Beach. We had a chance to go swimming and visit the Children's Museum.

A visit to the aquarium

The best oriental food at Pei Wei!

Saying goodbye to her buddies :(

A little windy and cold on the beach

This large hoop made giant bubbles with us in it. It had just popped and really surprised Addy!

Adela checked out who was in the pool everyday and wanted to go swimming all the time!

Adela singing "The Wheels on the Bus'

On the Move

Saying goodbye is never easy. The one consolation I have is that I know our goodbye to you, our friends and family in Czech, is NOT forever! We have you in our hearts and mind ALL the TIME. Here are a few pictures with our friends just before we left. And, below are some recent pictures from our new adventure!

Addy and Moni pretty in pink

Our very dear friends and our VERY "fidgety" girls!

Addy a Kubi after bathtime

Packing up Addy!

Beginning our new adventure

Many think that we Americans eat only hamburgers and pizza - well, as you can see, this isn't true! :-) One of our first meals was a delicious Southern dish of collards (kapusta, myslim), ham, white navy beans and cornbread! Of course, we DID have pizza last night for dinner! :-)

Adela in her new princess dress from cousin Emma

Still getting over jet-lag and exhausted from all the new sights and sounds!

Adela is LOVING Papa's big yard and climbing everywhere! They also have a "kocicka" so every morning she climbs up in the window to say good morning to her.