Family time

(picture by Lucy) Another bonus of going to Chicago was being able to visit Shanna's Uncle Drew and his family. We love these guys - Drew and Tina have two beautiful daughters - Allie and Elizabeth, who played so well with Lucy when we were there. (Allie was in our wedding when she was less than 2 years old, so it's amazing to see her grown up now!)

They live in St. Charles, a very pretty suburb of Chicago, and it was so nice to finally see their home - they have a great yard with a trampoline and swingset, so the kids had a blast. The girls bonded over Polly Pockets, Lion King, and ice cream. Thanks for a great time!

Rubbing it in

Chris and Laura, this is for you... it was conveniently located right next to our hotel. We miss you guys, but man, we have missed this too.

Wedding Festivities

The wedding weekend was great - we got to see almost all of Phil's family in one place and celebrate with Michael and Julie. The kids came with us to the rehearsal dinner (with a Hawaiian theme), but only Lucy came to the wedding itself. She loved seeing all the "princesses." The reception was a blast - great food, music, and dancing. They even had 2 violinists roaming around the room, taking requests. When they came to our table, we brought a little Southern culture to Chicago and had them play "Dixie." How refined we are!

The dancing portion of the evening was highlighted by cousin Alan's crazy moves - he had recently been to prom so he was "showing off" what the kids are doing these days. He probably lost several pounds of sweat.

Here is Aunt Loretto, Yaya, Papa, Uncle Bob, and Aunt Margaret.

More airports

We flew with Papa and Yaya to Chicago for the weekend and just got back today. We went to Phil's cousin Michael's wedding. We had a great time - the flight seemed like nothing after our long trans-Atlantic flight 2 days earlier. During our cross-cultural training, we learned that as missionaries, our kids would start to feel most at home in an airport! I think we're starting to believe it.

Water in America is just as fun

It's just as hot here as it was in Prague, but the big difference is the oppressive humidity! My, how I have not missed that. So we celebrated our first day here by going to the nearby outdoor mall with sprinklers for the kids to run around. I wish I could have done it myself.
And the video... Not in this one, but several other times Clark got a shot of water in the face!

Travels

We made it to Richmond last night after a loooooong day of traveling. Everything went relatively smoothly, after a moment of panic in the Prague airport when we were informed that Clark did not have his own seat. I had specifically asked for a seat for him (because holding him is like wrestling a pig covered in jello) for the 9 1/2 hour flight. The flight was completely full, but as we got on the plane, the ticket counter guy said he had done some "rearranging" (did he kick someone off?) to allow all four of us to sit together. It ended up being a good day of flying.

We're excited to be here in America and are loving being at Papa and Yaya's house. Here's Clark and Shanna (in Clark's car seat) taking a load off in the airport yesterday.

Ahoj!

We are flying out of Prague in a few hours - pray for our flights, especially the 9 1/2 hour first leg to JFK airport. We have food, drinks, toys, and car seats ready to go...

We had a fun last pizza/movie night with the interns last night - we're going to miss them and the Syvertsens while we're gone, not to mention all our other friends in Prague.

We'll hopefully keep blogging while we're gone. Pray for our next five weeks in the States - thanks!

There's a Party Going on Right Here...

We had a celebration/good-bye/birthday dinner last night with our summer team, filled with much laughter and good food. As we get ready to leave (tomorrow!) for the States, we wanted one more meal together. We have been so blessed by our three fantastic interns, and we look forward to seeing what God does in the lives of these young ladies.

And we celebrated (quite early) Chris and Laura's birthdays, which are really in August but we won't be here on the official days. We're trying to slowly introduce the concept of big birthday blowouts to them, so we embarrassed them with some gifts, singing, and a cake with a candle that probably would have been illegal in the States.

We love our team and will miss these guys while we're gone!

Levi's Birthday

Friday afternoon was a birthday party for Levi, who was part of our zoo craziness. He turned 2, so that meant there were cupcakes - that meant we were there! Lucy and Abigail (Levi's big sister) have really gotten along well - they spent a lot of time dressing up and modeling their outfits for us. Levi's favorite present was a motorcycle that he rode the whole time after he got it.

We'll miss these guys while we're back in the States, but we're looking forward to lots more playtime and parties with the Crossan family.

Daddy-Daughter Time

When Lucy was still in school during the year, we would have special time in the car, to and from school every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (about 30 minutes each way!). Now in the summer, however, we haven't had that time - so we went on a special date together last week. One morning we went to the nearby train station and got on a train going to the next town over, called Řičany. We explored the town, found some parks, had some ice cream, and took pictures of some of the cool buildings. Then we took the 30-minute train ride home. Lucy loved the train ride and the ice cream, and Daddy loved the special morning together.

Prayer Walk

Our last Thursday night Bible study of the summer was a special one - instead of meeting at our house, we met at the Jan Hus statue in Old Town and did a prayer walk around the city. This event was organized by Lauren, and she did a great job - we had slips of paper with some ideas of things to pray for as we walked around Old Town, and it was a great time to just pray for the city, for the church in Prague, and for the people we walk by everyday.
Shanna and I started the evening with a fun dinner with Chris and Laura at the nearby Thai restaurant - Chris and I sweated through the entire meal with our spicy dishes in the non-air-conditioned establishment.We met back up at the Hus statue in our prayer groups after it was over, and then we finished by getting some ice cream (of course).

girls trip

Last weekend we girls (Laura, Becca, Christa, Lauren and myself) took an overnight adventure. We went to a small town 2 hours out of Prague called Karlovy Vary. It is known to be a spa town. Laura did such an amazing job articiculating our adventures that this is our adventure in her words...

"Road Trip!Becca, Christa, Lauren, Shanna, and I went to Karlovy Vary Sunday for an overnight trip to this famous Czech spa town. It was really a beautiful town, but we realized that as Americans, we just don't "get" the definition of spa here in the Czech Republic or maybe even in Europe. More on that later...

Once we found our beautiful 4-star hotel, we headed right into town. It was picture perfect...parts of it didn't even look real to me it was so nice. There is a small river running through the town, lots of pedestrian streets, horse-drawn carriages going by, and lots of spouts for people to collect "therapeutic" mineral waters. We just walked a bit and had a great dinner before trying to find some dessert unsuccessfully. Not a cafe or centimeter of chocolate was to be found. Which brings me to our first funny story:We got back to the hotel and realized there was a cafe there. "Great," we exclaimed, "maybe we can get some hot chocolate or coffee!" Shanna went in and asked if that was possible, and the man looked at her and proceeded to turn off the lights simultaneously. We took that as a NO, and went upstairs to raid our mini-bars. All that was in the mini bars was liquid, mostly alcohol (right after Shanna and I closed ours, a glass water bottle inside exploded into several large shards). Well, at least there was a candy on our pillows. Surely it is chocolate, right? WRONG! A mint. Not quite what we were looking for. Shanna remembered that Lauren had M&Ms with her. When she came to our room without them, we were sad. Not a shred of sweetness after dinner. Anyway, we talked for a while and headed to bed. Note to our readers: Shanna and I stayed up later than the girls! We are NOT old!!!

The next morning, Shanna and I awoke to someone trying to open our door. I opened it and saw another guest thinking she was at her room. I just pointed to the number on the door and said, "wrong room," as I shut the door. I know that sounds rude but I am a mommy enjoying 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep for the first time in eons! We all finally got ready and headed to breakfast.

Funny story number two:Breakfast was a slightly sad display of sliced meats, cheese, strange fish salad, hard-boiled eggs and various veggies and fruits. All I wanted was coffee, but I had to wait for someone to replenish the supply of cups. We all sat down and started to eat. A few minutes later, the waitress comes to us and says, "I'm sorry. It is time." She points to her watch as she says this. We could tell they didn't mess around in this place, so we left.

After realizing that the spa treatments at our hotel were quite medical, medicinal, and meditational, we got a little scared by all that and decided not to have any facial lymphatic drainage, colonotherapy, or even massages. We planned on only the pool and sauna. (People in the town of Karlovy Vary can be seen walking about sipping mineral water from special ceramic cups. You fill the cups at various spouts around town and each one of them tastes different and is supposed to be good for different parts of your body. The cups have a spout like a teapot, only it is really one big ceramic straw. Very interesting.)

So, on to our next funny story. It was only 10:00 and check-out was at noon, so we headed to the pool and sauna for some relaxation. The pool was really beautiful. There were lots of signs with instructions about the protocol there. We had to take a shower before entering the pool, and, eager to follow the rules after our first few encounters with the staff, we began to look for the shower. It was nowhere to be found until Becca opened the door to the coat room. There were the showers! I really wanted to swim, so I jumped in the shower. It was, however, a sensor shower (think public restroom sinks at most American rest stops and fast food joints). The sensor was not very sensitive, so to get the water to come on and stay on, I had to do quite the hip-shaking dance! I was glad no one else was in there. Becca followed suit and we ended up in the pool for a few minutes.We got out of the pool and went to grab some towels. There were only three towels left and right after Becca got hers and I was about to get mine, a very dry couple took the remaining two towels as I stood there soaking wet and cold! Becca kindly offered half of her towel to me, so we stood there looking pathetic and cold with our one towel. Time for the sauna! The sauna was really great and there was a very cold pool of water right next to it, so it was wonderful. Back to the pool we went, and that experience was over. In spite of all of our small road bumps it was incredibly nice and relaxing.

We all went back to our rooms to shower and pack up before checking out. It was 11:45 and our phone rang. Guess who? Reception, telling us that check-out is at 12. So much for relaxing, huh? The maid hovered outside our room as we tried to get out in time.We checked out and headed back into town.

Then, the shopping began and oh what treasures we found! I think the best finds were my new Italian purse, Shanna's new multi-purpose dress, and the heavenly chocolate store with chocolate delicacies piled into high mounds of wonderfulness. And, Lauren got a Lord of the Rings poster in Czech - for free. She has been looking for various movie posters in Czech and has been unsuccessful until yesterday. Sadly though, the tape she bought for our ride home is still somewhere in Karlovy Vary...So, to recap, the trip was really fun and relaxing, the town was beautiful, and I just don't understand the spa towns of Europe. I wouldn't have done it any other way, though. We all had fun together and came home very relaxed..."

Here are a few pics of the adventures!

Kiwi Bursting

For those who haven't visited before, our entire flat has stark white walls. That's a very European thing - color is added with rugs and wall hangings. But it was getting a little too psych-ward-ish for us, so we decided to add some color, starting with Lucy's room. Ben, Michael, and Christa were able to knock the room out in the course of one morning. We used Kiwi Burst #5 - reminiscent of Lucy's old room in Charlotte.

But now it is Lucy and Clark's room - we moved Clark's crib into the finished product. They're ready for lots of late-night giggling fests - I think we are too.

Animals visiting other animals

We took a trip to the Prague Zoo with the Crossan family, missionaries with Athletes in Action who just recently returned to Prague after an extended time in the States. They have two children the same age as Lucy and Clark - their names are Abigail and Levi. The zoo was lots of fun for everyone, and we were all impressed at how big the whole complex is. (We have a lot more visits to go, if we want to keep up with Owen - he even has a membership!)

The favorites were the polar bear, the giraffes, and the cat who was sleeping under the drink machine. But with these cool hats, it was hard to distinguish which were the real animals!

Homeless Feeding

After the castle was stormed (see below), Lucy and Phil went to Sir Toby's to help with a homeless feeding event. Christa was the mastermind behind it, so we assembled 44 bags of food at Sir Toby's and then drove over to the train station to pass out the food. It was a beautiful day, and it didn't take long for most of us to find people hanging around outside the station who really needed it. Despite the language barrier there were many smiles and looks of appreciation. We also gave them a small slip of paper which said (in Czech) that the food was a reminder that Jesus is the true "bread of life."

Storming the Castle

On Saturday we took the kids on a little trip to a nearby castle, called Konopište. It's only 30 minutes away, so we arrived and rode the motorized train up the hill to the castle itself, passing by a nice pond and waterfall. In the former moat of the castle is an enclosed area for a bear who walks around and scratches his back. We convinced Lucy that he was not going to eat us (but she asked us to pray about it just to be safe!).

After we walked around a bit we had a picnic and came home - it was a fun family morning.

Dinner with the Interns

It's hard to believe that our time with these three young ladies is coming to an end in a couple of weeks. We have had such a great time with them this summer in Prague.

Shanna and I took them to two of our favorite Prague establishments last night - Ambiente for some Tex-Mex (and the best steaks in Prague) and then Cafe Ebel for coffee and dessert.

They keep us laughing a lot! We've been very blessed by their presence here this summer, plus we love to live vicariously through their crazy adventures. Pray with us for their last 2 weeks here.

Overnight getaway

Everyone's favorite babysitter Andrea spent the night with the kids last night so that Shanna and I could get out of the city and spend the night without having to worry about waking up at the crack of dawn! We drove 2 hours south to a small town called Telč (rhymes with "belch"), which was rebuilt after a fire in 1530 and has pretty much been preserved since. It was added to the several Czech UNESCO sites in 1992, making it officially cool.We stayed at the Černy Orel ("Black Eagle") Hotel, which was right on the little square - not too posh but quite nice. Here's the view from our window...

The little town has a castle surrounded by two man-made ponds, originally to keep the people safe (protection) and well-fed (lots of fish). Little shops line the square, so we did a little shopping after we SLEPT IN this morning.

After we finished exploring, we hopped in the car again and drove a little further south to another well-preserved town, Slavonice. Not as big as Telč but just as impressively quaint. Their main square is called Namesti Miru ("Square of Peace") which is what ours is called near our home in Prague.

We then hopped in the car again and made our way back home, driving through dozens of other little vilages on the way and eating ice cream (which we didn't have to share with the kids). It was a great 24 hours and some much-needed rest for the two of us.

Movie Time - and Git Down Time!

We tried something new Friday evening - a family trip to the movies. We went to see "Over the Hedge," which was playing in English with Czech subtitles. Fortunately, we were the only people in the entire theater, so we could talk and let the kids roam around a bit.
They loved it and sat quietly for the vast majority of the movie, which was quite surprising. One of their favorite parts was once the movie ended and the lights came on. They could finally see where they had been (we came in late when it was already dark), and the background music was impossible to NOT dance to. It was like their first Euro rave. Check out the video below...

Holidays and Ministry

This week were two big national holidays, both centered around major religious figures in the history of the Czech Republic. July 5th was Saints Cyril and Methodius Day - check out the dudes in the picture. Who wouldn't want to hang out with them? They were the original missionaries to what is now Eastern Europe.

Then the next day, July 6th, was Jan Hus Day. Jan (or John as we'd call him) was the Reformer before Luther and Calvin, who preached in Prague at Bethlehem Chapel. His life was marked by trying to bring about reform in the Catholic church, including preaching in the native language (and not Latin) and distributing both the wine and bread at communion. He was burnt at the stake for heresy on July 6, 1415, on his way to the Council of Constance.

To celebrate these two momentous days, most Czechs head out of town for a long weekend! We decided to take the opportunity and pass out flyers at the big Hus statue in the middle of Old Town Square. These were one-page flyers on who Jan Hus really was. Our teammates and friends helped out, and we distributed about 100 of them to tourists and passers-by. A few people even stopped to linger with us and chat, which was our hope!

Lucy and Clark even got in on the fun!

lucy

Yaya I love you and will see you in three weeks!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th everyone! We celebrated probably like most of you with friends at the pool, watermelon, hot dogs, ice cream and a special berry flag cake (thanks to our interns Lauren, Christa and Becca). Fun was had by all. We were a huge group of Americans, a few Czechs and a few South Africans. No British friends were keen on celebrating with us.