My Mom

Saturday was the anniversary of my mom's death. She died shortly after Lucy was born six years ago. It seems like it was just yesterday in many ways and then at the same time it feels like a lifetime ago. My mom was an amazing woman who raised my sister and I sacrificially. She was a woman who loved us well and those around her. She was a teenage single mom who beat every statistic. She went back to school and got her GED, ate dinner with us every night, was the swim team mom and always involved at school, put herself through college, and a week after I graduated from high school she graduated with her Masters. She laughed hard, she always made room for one more, and would drop everything to listen. She loved me well, and I am who I am today because of her. I miss her.

My mom's health declined a week after I had Lucy. The day I got home from the hospital I was at the grocery store and filling prescriptions for my mom. Not the way I had planned it. Not what I wanted. I wanted my mom to be caring for me and loving on me. I was sad and confused and felt a tinge of "life is so not fair" while at the same time marveling over this amazing little gift that God had bestowed to me. Wondering what lay ahead. I saw the world so broken, I saw myself so broken. I was stripped.

The weeks and months that followed were some of the hardest and the most joyous I have ever experienced. I was learning how to be a mom and so enjoying this little bundle and at the same time watching my mom's health decline rapidly. As I tried to do it all and failed I saw an amazing thing happen. God intervened. The church, our church, stepped in. They loved us well. He sent someone to my house every morning at 8:30 to babysit Lucy... whether I needed it or not someone showed up at my door every day to see if they could help. My lawn was mowed, my plants were watered. Every other day for 3 months a hot meal was on my stove waiting for us. A friend picked up my laundry and returned it the next day washed and folded. Friends took their children to visit my mom and loved on her by just being with her. Friends called everyday to check on me and to listen to me and to pray with me. They did this all so I could be with my mom and my new baby. I was amazed. I was loved. I was restored.


At the wedding on Saturday Phil spoke of the wedding between Christ and the church and it struck me the my mom had met her Bridegroom. That she was in the presence of the Lord. That her earthly body which failed her was restored and that she was in the glory of the Lord. It made me long for heaven.

As I look around at Lucy, Clark and Piper I often wonder which one of them I was most like as a child, which one of them I most looked like as a toddler, I often wonder what my mom would think of them and how she would tickle and love each of them. I wonder what kind of advice she would give me as I parent during the good and hard days. I long to live daily life with her. And when I least expect it amazingly I see her in each of them. A smile, a squinting of the eyes, a giggle or funny remark. A gift like no other.

I piper

She still doesn't say much although we have always thought she could and is choosing not to. This week we caught her saying "I Piper" so now we know the truth!

Swim Club

We started swim team today for the year. Lucy was ready and so excited, and she also has swimming during school PE so she was good to go. Clark has also been VERY excited because he started swimming on his own this summer and one of his best little friends Grace was going to be swimming with him. Lucy jumped in and was off. Clark also jumped in and started the lesson out well for the first half... but then as he was waiting for his turn coldness set in and he wasn't sure he wanted to swim any more. There were some tears but he finished. I was very proud of him for that...and we are hopeful that class will just get better and better each week.

A Czech Wedding

Our friends Lauren and Ondra met here in Prague 3 summers ago, while Lauren was a summer intern for us. They quickly fell in love (slightly complicating the internship program!) and got engaged soon after Lauren moved to Prague. I had the privilege of doing their pre-marital counseling this year and then conducted their wedding last weekend.

Actually, they were already married (as of July), but this was their Czech ceremony for Ondra's family who couldn't make it to the States in July. This made it even more fun for me because (a) I couldn't mess it up - they were already married, and (b) I had a translator and didn't have to speak in Czech.

It was really a fantastic day! We were in Sumperk, about 3 1/2 hours from Prague, in a quaint hotel garden with a great group of friends and the two families. The ceremony was nice, Ondra and Lauren looked great, and the rest of the day and night was spent celebrating. Ondra is a very talented musician (he leads worship at church fairly often) and comes from a very musical family. Needless to say the music and dancing were the highlights. People would start playing a song, and Ondra or someone else would jump up and pick up an instrument and join in to jam. Ondra also plays in a ska band, so our music went from Czech folk, to Irish dance, to ska, to country-western, to "Moon River" in Czech, etc.

Before lunch Ondra's father delivered one of the most special toasts I've heard, first in Czech then in English. He really celebrated Ondra and Lauren and Lauren's family, and was able to put this marriage in perspective. He noted that if communism had not fallen in 1989 that we would not be there and Ondra and Lauren would never have met. He and Ondra's mother grew up around the corner from each other, but Ondra and Lauren grew up thousands of miles apart. It was a very meaningful toast.

And Ondra, always full of energy, convinced me, Chris, and Scott to play some music! Fortunately it was near the end of the evening and people were probably more agreeable to hear us rookies, but it was super fun. Ondra assured me it would only be 4 chords and gave us nice direction. At one point Ondra's dad was on keyboard with us and their family friend on saxophone. It was awesome!

Congratulations, Ondra and Lauren! Thanks for a beautiful day!

Rules?

You don't have to know Czech to understand that this sign (in red) is telling you "Do Not Enter." This is a new playground that's been built in our nearby park, and since the weather was nice today we went by on our bikes. The entire playground was surrounded by fencing and signs. Funny thing is there were tons of people playing inside anyway. People had climbed under and around the fences. We're still not sure why you weren't supposed to be in it yet, but when in Rome (or Prague)...

...do as the Romans do - bust in and have fun!

A Czech experience

While the Krugers were here, Mike and I decided to go to the nearby Strahov monastery for 2 reasons:

1. They supposedly have an impressive library with lots of old manuscripts (Mike loves old manuscripts)

2. They brew their own beer, much like the monks actually used to do for centuries (Mike loves beer)

We arrived at the monastery (actually a beautiful section of buildings in the castle area), paid our 80 crowns for the library, and walked up the steps to find this:

Mike's expression pretty much sums it up - the magnificent Philosophy Hall (pictured on the tiny frame next to Mike) is undergoing a renovation, so the books, shelves, and ornate ceiling were covered up by scaffolding. Not ideal, especially when you pay money and they don't tell you it's being renovated. The rest of the library was at least visible, so it wasn't a total bust. And mission #2 (beer) was definitely a success.

Krugers in Prague

Last weekend the Kruger's came to Prague and we had an amazing time together. Mike is a pastor at Uptown church and also the Dean of Students at RTS (where Phil went to school). He is on sabbatical working on a book in Cambridge, so he and Melissa and their three kids moved to the UK for a semester. And since they were so close they popped over to Prague for a long weekend. Mike did a lecture on Friday night for us where we had over 50 people attend to hear about the Top 5 Biblical objections to the Bible, and he also preached at Faith Community on Sunday. It was so neat to worship together as families. They also just lived life with us, Melissa came with me for pick-up on Friday, and they attended the Welcome Picnic at school on Saturday. We went to the park and walked around the city and just got to be with each other for a few days. The kids had so much fun making up clubs, dressing up, putting together plays, watching pipi, staying up late and climbing on any and everything they could together. They had a familiarity with one another that was so neat and they also look very similar that people kept asking me if they were cousins. It was a refreshing and encouraging time... we were so blessed by their visit. Thanks, Krugers!

Welcome Picnic Sweet Piper and Kate...I mean Tinkerbell and Belle

We had a special date night out with The Krugers and the Syvertsen's at our favorite Italian placeCrazy swinging at the park
Pipi movie nightMore park funTrouble

Fun Run

This evening was another Fun Run, something that we like to do when we can. It was just over 2 miles, which is perfect for our kids. Sadly Shanna had to stay home with a runny-nosed Piper, so it was just me, Lucy, and Clark. There were lots of friends there from school and church, and it's always fun to run through the streets of Prague with people cheering you on.

The best part? A medal when you cross the finish line followed by ice cream to replenish your energy.

Lucy, Clark, and Grace

Celebrating the victory with Mr. Haig, Lucy's teacher from last year...

last hot day

Thursday was just a beautiful day and we think it will be the last hot day of the season for outdoor swim. We were kindly invited to come for a final swim of the season at Clark's good friend Grace's house and we naturally accepted. Warm sun, lots of friends, and an afternoon of swimming...perfect. We are now gearing up for fall....oh Mr. Sun how I will miss you!

First Day of School

Lucy and Clark had thier first day of school on Monday. Lucy is in year 2 or first grade. And Clark is in Reception or Pre-K. They LOVE school and are delighted with their teachers. Lucy has Mrs. Gower who is British and I can already tell Lucy's accent is back. Clark has two teachers who team teach Mrs. Falk and Mrs. Jelineck, one Canadian and one American. They eased right back into where they left off with their friends. We feel so blesssed that they can receive this education and experience.

miss p starts preschool

Piper started preschool this week! She is very excited - she will attend the same school that Clark did called Our Submarine. We went to orientation on Tuesday and then started on her own on Wednesday. The big kids don't go back until monday so this was a morning all for her. She got dressed and we said a special prayer with her then gave her her backpack to put on and she was EXCITED! She really wanted to know what was in it so she opened it and saw her indoor shoes for school and change of clothes, sippy cup and snack for later... or now as she decided that it was snack time right now before school. Phil dropped her off and she only had a tear but her teachers said she did great and that she had no more tears the rest of the day. She was also was quite inquisitive and did not talk (babble) at all. But when I picked her up she gave me a huge smile and started in her own language to tell me all about the day, pointing, waving and laughing. She will go three mornings a week - Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday until 12:30. I really can not believe that she is old enough to go to school - our little sweet p!

summer

The summer is quickly coming to an end here in Prague and we are squeezing the last few moments of sunshine we can get and relishing in it.

Donkey Kong prepared me well

I knew all those hours playing Donkey Kong in the 80s would pay off - I had heard that these certain elevators existed in Prague but finally saw one for myself this week in the city center. Basically they are constantly moving elevators with no doors - to get on you have to time it just right to step on, wait until it takes you to the floor you want, and step off with more precision timing. It was freaky and awesome.