International Breakfast

After our little family church service this morning, we went to our favorite Bagel shop (Bohemia Bagels) to meet up with some friends of ours. Heiko and his girlfriend Debbie (to the left of us)are from Germany, and they are here in Prague for New Years, visiting our hostel friends Mathias and Carrie. An additional bonus for us was seeing Jo (far right) from Australia, whom we first met in Prague over 4 years ago when we first visited (and Lucy was just a lump in Shanna's belly!). Jo was just back for a little vacation with some friends of hers. It was great to catch up with all these guys (and meet the other random Germans whose heads are just poking in on the left)...

Santa came back?!?

We thought Christmas was all done, but who would have known that we woke up yesterday morning, and Santa had visited us once again. He apparently forgot to leave a very important gift, and so he made his way back to Prague on his way home. We found a great big slide in our living room! (We think that he meant to leave it Christmas morning but realized he had left a very important part - the stairs - at home, so a special delivery had to be made)

Regardless, the kids were very forgiving of Santa and have spent the last 2 days riding the slide.

Lucy's friend from school Millie came over to play and tested it out too. The girls had lots of fun together.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We miss and love you all...

Love Phil, Shanna, Lucy and Clark

Lucy's Red Box

In the Davis family we girls take Christmas and Red boxes from Talbots very seriously.
There are lots of ooohs and aahhhs when a red box is unveiled and the ladies know that whatever is inside will be fabulous. Although Lucy only just turned 4 she too knows the excitement of the "Red Box" and when she ripped off the paper and saw that she had a red box she screamed "I got a Red Box" and had a huge smile on her face as if she too had just joined the Davis big girl club!

Christmas Dinner

We had a fabulous Christmas dinner with some of our favorite people, Chris, Laura, Owen, Miss Red and Miss Sunny. Complete with Christmas ham and turkey, green beans, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, biscuits, snickers pie and Laura's famous pumkin pie! They all joined us for food, presents and fun! We love you all and it was a pleasure to celebrate with each of you.

more and more

Lucy's perspective

From Lucy's new camera...

Christmas Morning

Paper was flying, toys were being ripped into, and camera flashes were popping - Christmas morning was full of fun and energy for us. Santa did in fact visit us in Prague (despite no chimney), leaving a kids camera for Lucy and a Bob the Builder workshop for Clark. Lucy has now become the designated family paparazzi, so be on the lookout for more of her pictures.

Other highlights include train whistles and train hats from Yaya, a new princess dress for Lucy, stockings full of candy, and a policeman outfit for Clark. Clark even issued a ticket to Lucy for running naked through the house.Mommy and Daddy weren't left out, of course - I got a coffee grinder, computer bag, and FIFA '07 for the Xbox, while Shanna got 2 purses, a "coupon" for a massage, and some bubble bath stuff. We had more than enough stuff to occupy us for the rest of the day!

The Ski Trip Without Skis

I took a 2-day ski trip with Chris and another friend Billy, who's here with Athletes in Action. We went to Spindleruv Mlyn, the most popular ski destination in the Czech Republic. The problem was, there has been so little snow this year that no slopes were open. That was fine by us, since we're not the biggest ski-ers. So we decided to make the most of it and do some hiking around. It turned into one of the most intense and adventurous hikes I've ever done.

We decided to hike up to Snezka, the highest point in the Czech Republic. (Forget for a moment that we're talking about 5200 feet, or as high as Denver.) We were dropped off by bus to a point near the Polish border, where we would hike along the ridge to Snezka. When we got off the bus, we could barely see anything - a huge cloud had moved in which would stay with us for the whole hike, meaning we could only see 20-30 meters in front of us the whole time. If it weren't for our map, the giant trail posts sticking out of the snow, and the one set of footprints in front of us, we would have been very uncertain as to where to go. Every few kilometers there was a very "helpful" sign like this to tell us which way to go...

We finally made it to the top, where it was extremely windy and we ended up looking like true ice climbers. But it was also where we had our only moment of clear visibility because we ended up above the cloud and could see some blue sky. It was an amazing moment of beauty and personal victory.

I also took the time to have a Mentos Fresh-maker Moment.

There was even a post office (closed) at the top of the mountain.

I'm sure more pictures will come soon, but it was a great hike and a very fun trip with these guys, even without the skiing.

candy cane cookies

Growing up one of my favorite Christmas traditions was making Christmas cookies with my mom and sister. Chocolate chip, sugar, peanut butter, and my all time favorite - candy cane. They take a lot of work but they are so much fun. You must first make two snakes one red and one white, then you twist them together and make a hook at the top. No two look alike and the recipe said to expect 4 dozen, but Lucy and Clark were quite fond of the dough so, I think we only produced half the expected amount.

Also on a side note the blue night gown that Lucy is wearing in the picture below was actually my most treasured night gown as a four year old. I have saved it all of these years and when Lucy turned four gave it to her. She has latched onto it as if she has been wearing it for years. She calls it her blue princess night gown. And this picture of her is especially sweet to me because I too have one of me in the beloved gown making the beloved treats.

so you think you can dance.. and sing?

A few of us get together most monday nights for supper club and our weekly viewing of last season's so you think you can dance reality show. Well this week as we were making some mighty fine burgers, onion rings and fries, Lucy and Sunny led us in some amazing impomptu Christmas caroling. We had Santa Claus is coming to town, Ruldoph, Feliz Navidad, We Three Kings, just to name a few. All accompanied by sprinkle shakers. It was a very festive evening.

Frosty

Lucy and Clark got matching snowman sweaters for thier birthdays from Yaya and Papa. And they love to wear them together. In fact today is day two for the sweaters and I am sure that when I ask them tomorrow what they want to wear they will laugh and bring me frosty.

Czurch?

We visited a Czech Church yesterday in our neighborhood called Cirkev Bez Hranic (Church Without Borders). They use a theater and cafe for their facilities, and we are considering using this space one day when we start worship services. We wanted to see how they do church, and it was great. The theater is a beautiful 300-seat auditorium, and they had a good electric band with a projection screen for words. Most of the songs were ones we knew, only sung in Czech.

They also had these cool wireless headphones which we wore for translation purposes during the sermon. There were a few other native English speakers there, but the kids especially loved the headphones. It was fun to worship in Czech and imagine what an international church could look like there.

Lucy's Party Pics

With all the parties we've had, I realized that I forgot to post Lucy's birthday pictures from last week. She had a cupcake party at school with her class, and then came home for a nap before cake and presents.She was extra excited about getting Ariel, a red box from Talbot's from Yaya, and some makeup from Mommy.A few friends came over for cake and ice cream, followed by a sugar-high-dance-fest and then a very fast sugar crash before bed! Phew! We love you, Lucy - Happy 4th Birthday!

"I Two"

He's grown 2 1/2 inches the last six months... His favorite color is blue... His sister is "Soosy"... He loves playing with choo-choos... and now watch out, Clark is 2!

We opened presents in the morning - Clark got lots of trains and dinosaur-related items. Then he helped Mommy add sprinkles to his blue cake. And we had a few people over for cake and ice cream last night - it was a day full of "fantasticism," as some would say.

(Notice some whipped cream in his hair)

We are so glad that Clark is part of our family! He makes us laugh so hard, and he is always full of vigor - even if no one else is. We love our future stunt-man so much - Happy Birthday Clark!

sweeties

Lucy's nursery class had a joint Christmas party with the reception class at school. I am one of the class rep moms so Clark and I got to join in on the day of fun. They played lots of games and had quite a spread, The hightlight was after each game the children were given a "sweetie," which was a small pink marshmallow-type candy.

One Big Happy Family

The Syvertsen's were having some work done on their flat so we had the pleasure of having them move in for a few days. It was great family time for us as a team and lots of fun!

Christmas by mail

We now have TONS of presents under the tree, thanks to the SIX packages that I picked up yesterday at the post office. Papa and Yaya sent five of them, and the other was from Uncle Bob and Aunt Loretto from Pennsylvania. Thanks for all our goodies!

Yaya had said she cried just a little bit when she left the post office. At first I thought that was because she was sad we weren't going to be home for Christmas, but now I realize she was crying over how much she spent in postage.