POLAND 365 :: WEEK 3

January 15-We were given several cash Christmas gifts and chose to put it
all together and use it for buying a T.V. The children were thrilled to say the
least! It was fun to have our Friday night movie night on a bigger screen rather
than the computer screen. And Netflix came to Poland, which is exciting for
nights when we want to chill, but maybe a little distraction when we need to
be studying ;) The fun thing is that we do have access to Polish television
because of how our internet service works here and it's good to hear the
language more and more for me since I'm not out and about as much as Steve.

January 16-Eggs, milk and creamer...all found on the aisles in the grocery stores
here rather than in the cooler section. This was very different from what we were
used to back in the States, but these are the little things that are fun to learn and
figure out as we walk through each day of life here.

January 17-We have been going full steam ahead learning to
juggle all the new roles and responsibilities for life here
(work, ministry, language study) and sometimes we forget
to stop and take a break, to rest. If you're a pastor or in a
pastor's family, I'm sure you can relate. So on this day, we
forced all the kids to lay down (usually only one still naps
these days) and we laid down to rest alongside them. And
I was shocked to find, we ALL fell asleep! If you know our
oldest child (pictured here) you know that's next to the
impossible! We are thankful for the rest and continue to
ask God to help us grow in being more diligent at making
time to rest and finding balance in our work and study.

January 18-We will go ahead and say, another lesson we needed
to be reminded of (like rest), is making special times to go on dates!
This was not something we had to try to hard at doing in the States,
because we had several people who were willing to come take
care of our kids at the drop of a hat (shout out to all you lovely
people and we miss you A LOT and how you loved our family
in this way!) So since moving here, it has been more of a challenge
to find time to date each other (mostly because of childcare) but
God has been gracious to us in beginning to provide people
around us to care for our kids (and our kids don't totally freak out
now if we leave for a little while without them)...so it was fun to get
out for a few hours together alone. We chose to do something different
than our normal dinner dates and also something that didn't require
much talking-you may laugh at that but, you see, Steve lost his voice late
Sunday evening and didn't have much of a voice to chat on our date. So
we went to the movies for the first time here in Poland. And a few things
that we loved: 1) when you pay for your tickets, you also pick your
seats, 2) the cost of two tickets, popcorn and a drink is half the
price then in the States and 3) the movie was in English (which
was nice as we are still working on understanding conversations in
Polish) but it had Polish subtitles and that was fun to read the
Polish words along with hearing them in English. So we decided
that was our language session for the day ;) 

January 19 - Some may be wondering what exactly are we
doing to our french press-becuase usually in our home you
will only see COFFEE in our french press-makes sense right?!
Well, not only did Steve become sick, but he passed it along
to me as well. So instead of coffee today, we enjoyed a batch
of Comfort Tea instead. What is Comfort Tea you ask? Well
some friends of ours introduced us to this amazing drink last
year and we love it anytime our throats are so sore and need
a soothing, hot drink. I don't have a recipe, but what I can tell
you is it's black tea, fresh grated ginger, honey and milk. Then
strain it through the french press (we just found that was easier).
Next time you have a sore throat and want to try it, send us
a message and I'll write up how we make it! 

January 20-mommy is much more sick today and daddy
is on the up, yay! But I'm not too sick to play dolls with my
{not so little, almost 2 year old} baby girl. She walks around with
Elsa and Rapunzel saying "Elsa and Anna" and she just looks at me
confused when I say no, "Elsa and Rapunzel". Guess she's giving us
 a hint of what she wants for her birthday ;) I never thought I would
say this, but I like that she likes all things Disney (Minnie and
Micky are also some of her favorites) and it's a constant reminder
of home for us. No, we did not go to Disney on a regular basis
when we lived in Orlando, but Orlando is basically Disney
central and we have so many fond memories from our time
there and we miss it terribly on many days. Olivia is too young
to even remember any of our time there and that actually makes a
part of me sad. But we trust God has us in Poland at this time for
a reason and thankful that our children get to have their eyes opened
to a much bigger view of the world and what it means to be faithful
and obedient to the Lord even when it is not always easy.

January 21-HAPPY DANCE people! I mean this
is a huge day...our son {the VERY picky, I don't
want to try new things eater} tried something new on
his plate today! I never wanted to force our children
to eat food they didn't like - sorry dad, you ruined me
on this one ;) But it has come to the point where Isaac
would not try anything if it wasn't chicken nuggets.
We have tried many new ways to get him to try new things
but it usually always fails. Steve, the genius that he is,
sold Isaac on trying a grilled cheese sandwich today
by telling him it's like the garlic toast he likes with
the cheese that he likes in between the bread. It worked!
Ultimately we are seeing that his picky eating is more than
just food, it's a hesitancy to try or experience anything
new...so while acknowledging his fears, we have been
continually attempting to add in "new" things for him
in a pace that will work best for him. Neither of us have
had to walk through the emotions of a move overseas
together nor those of our own children and we are
finding that it is a day to day process and completely the
grace of God that guides us, sustains us, and helps us know
how to do so gently and with much patience with ourselves,
each other and our children. Thanks to many of you who
pray (and continue to) for our children during this
transition (especially Isaac!)...God is answering many
prayers and we are grateful for the support from
y'all back home. And by the way, next time you have
grilled cheese, you must try it with a little garlic salt!