a "free" day!

Yesterday, Friday, was a "no school" day for any of our kids because report cards were handed out on Thursday (end of semester) and Friday was off. So, we decided to go to a new aqua park near Prague for a couple of hours. Check it out on this link: http://www.aquapalace.cz/en/

Surprisingly, Nate didn't jump right into the water. You should see him in the tub! He did warm up and enjoyed the little kids pool. One mom, watching nearby, restrained herself from jumping up to save him after he dumped a big bucket of water on his head. He does this all the time in the bath and gets huge eyes and flaps his arms around as if in distress, then starts laughing! She was relieved to see him laugh. I wonder what she thought of Tom and I just sitting casually talking instead of "helping" our boy.

After swimming, we drove a short distance to a mall where we ate at "Old McDonalds" for lunch. That is Nathanael's name for, well, you know where! We met up with Amy who had spent the couple of hours shopping with a friend for jewelry to wear to tonight's Winter Banquet.

Tonight is the Winter Banquet for the school where Amy and Matt go. Tom and I will be there, but on the other side of the room, hanging out with the parents. I will get some pictures and post them sometime!

Thanks and prayers for our friend, Renee, who is coming to babysit the younger three kids. Pray, especially, that Nathanael would have fun and go to sleep easily for her. The kids love her and are excited to get rid of Mom and Dad and have fun with Renee!

This morning we woke up to snow and the sound of shovels clearing sidewalks and driveways. I know most of you in the US are sick of this sound, but we were down to freezing mud and if it is that cold, it may as well look nice and add some beauty. So, we will enjoy it today, I'm sure!

more thoughts on peace...calm

When Tom is away, somehow it takes me longer to get to sleep, especially the first couple of nights. I don't know how that goes for you. Anyway, he is coming home tomorrow and I am tired, but I just thought I'd write while I had some thoughts still coming.

Hannah is memorizing Psalm 27, my personal favorite Psalm. As I connect the dots between peace and Tom being gone now and the planned conferences in Feb, I thought I'd look, again, at Psalm 27.

Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

What a good reminder...dwelling in the house of the LORD all the days of my life. How can I do that?

Notice His hand throughout the day.

Look for Him when I am walking with the kids to their afternoon activities at the art and music school.

Thank Him for his graciousness to me and the extreme wealth I have compared to most of the rest of the world, as I purchase coffee, tea and chocolate grown and marketed to help farmers in various countries at the EcoCentrum store.

See Him in Nate's laugh.

See Him in Rachel's brave smile as she listens to a story. (She is home with a REALLY red, sore throat and temp.)

Ask Him to show Himself to Tom and connect him with just the right people at the CB pastors' conference

Hear Him in Matt's violin playing

See Him in Hannah's artwork...a true gift from God

See Him in Amy's writing and creativity

Whoa, that is a potentially long time, all the days of my life, God help me dwell in Your ever presence...

...just some of my thoughts. Can I send this question out to you? Write me your thoughts, please!

Lord, You are my light and my salvation...whom shall I fear? You are the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?

Jesus peace to you. Good night!

Kids having fun

What do my kids do for fun? They play dress up with their little brother. Poor kid isn't aware of the incriminating pictures we are taking of him. So, enjoy and smile a bit at the creativity! And, please, don't show him these when he is 14!


little red riding hood and ???

cowboy and....is that really my boy? He looks amazingly like Rachel when she was younger!


colonial kid

baby with an attitude and crazy drummer boy


Yes, we did do some work this week as well. Only 4 days of homeschool although we doubled up on the work Thursday so Hannah could have Friday off. We had our Czech teammates here for a business meeting on Friday so Hannah played with Jair Mobley. All the kids drove with me to pick Rachel up from school before lunch so she could play, too!

Amy and Matt had semester exams this week as well as a three day week of going in to Prague! They are tired, but did really well on their exams. We look forward to them coming home today, Saturday, as they spent the night with friends.

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Now, just for fun, can you guess what these are? I went to a local store which is having "American week" and found this. At first I wasn't sure either! Scroll down to the bottom of this post if you want the correct answer!


















Answer:
frosted flake cereal...NOT powdered sugar or something like that! My only clue was the way it sounded when I shook it!

sick days

Two of our kids have been home sick. Hannah is home schooled and we usually do school anyway. This time with both Hannah and Matt hanging out on the couch and in their beds, I have only read some history and a bit of the story book we are currently reading. Which, by the way, is excellent! It is called Beyond the Desert Gate by Mary Ray and is about Roman rule in Palestine.
Amy's quilt top

So, besides the normal cooking, cleaning and bits of school, I have worked on Amy's quilt. Hannah and Matt have theirs and they took me 2 years to make as I am particular and will only hand quilt it. I am in a rush with this one as I want to have it finished before Amy graduates from high school next year. Amy's top is all together now and I am looking forward to watching a movie tonight so I can start quilting! Or, maybe someone will read while I quilt, or we will listen to Adventures in Odyssey.
Nathanael talking to me while I iron the quilt backing fabric.

Besides working on Amy's quilt, I have taught Rachel how to quilt, using the squares and pieces I don't need. She is home today as she didn't have a ride home from school. Rachel goes to Czech school in a town about 20 minutes away. She is feeling fine. Rachel learned to sew on the machine this morning and is taking off like a pro!



Hannah, not to be outdone, looked up a pattern for turning her jeans which are too short, into a skirt. She is using the purple fabric which is the leftover from the back of Amy's quilt as the "filler" fabric. I will get pictures of it when she is done. Obviously she is feeling better so there will be a full day of school tomorrow! (Don't know what is up with the picture...downloaded funny)



My other activity is encouraging Nathanael to sit on the potty chair! He LOVES the candy that I bought him and has been sitting and putting some pee in the pot. He then gets up with his pants around his ankles and says, "I go more potty!" and sits and puts more in... So, the stakes went up to having to put a lot of pee in the pot before getting candy and if he keeps sitting and asking for more, he gets pretzels! "I don't want pretzels. Want candy!" says Nate! We are getting somewhere, however, as he is actually mentioning when he wants to go and going. We are making forward progress. Seems I forgot how labor intensive potty training could be!

Matt has been reading Piercing the Darkness by Frank E. Peretti. Today he went to school as finals are starting next week. Having missed Tuesday, he really felt he needed to get the information from his teachers. Tom was nice enough to drive Amy and Matt in to Prague today. That saves them the 2 hour each way trip in to school. Tom is working on his sermon at a coffee shop.

After school they are going to a mall to buy a suit coat and dress shirt for Matt and a dress for Amy to wear to their school's Winter Banquet. Shopping isn't Tom's favorite thing to do, but Amy will help Matt if he wants it, I'm sure.

Some thoughts about what "peace" from my Bible reading. Today I finished the book of Esther. Jehovah Shalom - the Lord is Peace

Peace:
1) in circumstances.
2) at home when surrounded by loud/chaotic life
3) knowing God's timing is good
4) inside, because of God's Word in my heart
5) because enemies will be destroyed

So... when potty training absorbs my energy and time....peace
kids need help NOW with school work or other things.....peace
sick children lying on the couch....peace
upcoming renewal of visa paperwork....peace
kids travel to and in Prague....peace
when we have no van or money in the country for it, yet....peace

Snow!!! and Back to School

Nate eating snow


Rachel about to get me with a shovel full of snow!!!!

We love snow! Especially Nate as he eats it until his face is really chapped. I like snow because it makes the cold fun. Mind you, I would MUCH rather be somewhere warm...just trying to look at the positive side of things! As I write this, Hannah, Rachel and Nathanael are outside playing in the snow. I KNOW we have the loudest kids when they play outside...oh well! At least it is happy squeals.

Matt dumping snow on Nate


Nathanael

Getting back in the school groove is no fun after two weeks off, but I am getting used to getting up at 5:30 again, instead of my vacation wake up call from Nate at 6:30. I get up at 5:30 so I can exercise and have a few minutes of devotions before getting others up. Some days, when Amy and Matt are going in to Prague for school, they get up at 5:30, too! Anyway, we have had 2 1/2 days of home school and Rachel is getting back into the groove of Czech school.

Hannah with her tabernacle

Hannah and I are really enjoying the Usborne World History interactive book that we are using throughout history this year. The time spent on the web looking at subjects we just read about helps bring it to life. We are also getting back in the saddle on math...a subject not loved by Hannah, although she is quite good at it. Reviewing multiplication tables has helped timed tests go much better!

Rachel is reading 1/2 hour is Czech each night and we are having her translate what is written to be sure of what she reads. She can read it easily as Czech is completely phonetic, but understanding what she's reading is a different story. She has found that looking the words up in the dictionary can be fun and gets absorbed in it.

I hope you enjoy your January!

New Years 2009

Welcome to my blog. This will be updated at least weekly and include pictures. It is the view from where I sit as missionary mom to 5 kids in the Czech Republic. I have picked you first group of "subscribers" (sounds scarey doesn't it?) to see what you think of this blog.

Will you let me know what you like and ask questions? I'd like to interact with you! 2009! Tom and I have a tradition of thinking about and praying for a word or phrase that God wants to teach us/work in us for the new year. My words are peace-calm. Hmmm, makes me a bit scared about what might be coming up! But wait, isn't that the opposite of peace and calm? I guess I have a lot to learn.

We were home this New Years' Eve, except for Amy who went into Prague with some friends to welcome in the New Year on Charles Bridge and Old Town Square. She said the place was mobbed.

We had the Luklovi, our Czech pastor's family, for homemade pizza. After they left, we did our own fireworks and watched, "Bringing up Baby" until just before midnight when we turned it on to a Czech station and watched the countdown on Wenceslas Square.

Our neighbors went out into the street with these huge fireworks and set them off. Nate, thankfully, stayed asleep! We had fun watching them from the upstairs windows. Enjoy the pictures and write me sometime!