POLAND :: WEEKS 16 & 17

April 22 - So Isaac wanted to take our picture of the day this day. So he chose
to take pictures of the snacks I put out when their friends came over to play. 

April 23 - We joined some friend's for our first BBQ here
in Poland. It was fun to have grilled food again and meet
some new people from many different countries.

April 24 - We figured out that we can order our groceries for such a small
delivery fee (around $2.00) and it has been a huge help in my week, not
having to haul three kids to the grocery store, instead I can shop from my
computer at home (or app on my phone) and have it delivered when I am
home. I have to say, this is one of the things I have really appreciated here!

SO APPARENTLY APRIL 25 PICTURE GOT DELETED FROM MY PHONE! 

You can chalk it up to the fact that I still don't understand how to use my phone ;)

April 26 - In Poznan, down in the main square in town, at
Noon everyday, these two goats come out above the clock
and butt heads. There's a whole story behind this, you can
read more of the history on wikipedia: CLICK HERE

April 27 - Steve and I got to have a date day. One of our
partnering churches back in the States sent someone to
come visit us and she cared for our three kids for a day.
It was a true blessing to get out and spend uninterrupted
time together as a couple. Also, we wanted to eat some-
where we hadn't tried yet, and I requested it to not be
traditional Polish food. So we happened upon this
restaurant, The Mexican. We were very pleased with
the quality of food and enjoyed eating some spicy foods!

April 28 - Shannon (the lady we mentioned in the previous picture's caption)
was a joy to have in our home and the kids loved getting to know her. She
also brought TONS of goodies in her extra suitcase and it was a fun surprise
for all of us! 

April 29 - On National holidays here, you will see most buildings and many
residential locations hang out the Polish flag. Sometimes we don't even know
there is a holiday coming until we see the flags being hung. These flags were
being put up in preparation for Poland's Constitution Day.

April 30 - It's not often that we get all dressed up, but this
day we had the opportunity to do so and attend our first
Polish wedding. It was such a beautiful ceremony and
we were honored to be invited.

May 1 - With the arrival of Spring here in Poznan, we get
to see such a neat variety of pretty trees, plants and flowers
in bloom. We are very thankful for the warmer weather!
This is taken at a park nearby our home that has a lot of
walking and bike paths, in addition to playgrounds for
kids to play on. It is a place we often find ourselves
going on the weekends when the weather permits.

May 2 - Our friend, James, came in town to
visit us. We first met James shortly after we
arrived, he was working in a local area coffee
shop in Poznan, also helping to plant churches
and we developed a fast friendship with him.
He has since moved on to working in other
parts of Poland and heads back to the States
(where he's from) to attend seminary. We
pray the Lord leads him back to Europe one
day and know God has big things planned
for his life. Since he came to visit, Steve had
a running buddy for the week and James joined
him on all his runs that week. Since James
ran the Poznan marathon last year (the one
Steve is training for to run this Fall) it was
neat for Steve to get to hear from him more
about what to expect for the marathon. 

May 3 - James jumped right into life in the Valentine home
this week and even put up with going to the Zoo (joining with
several other families from our church). Since it was a holiday
weekend, and kids were out of school, it was fun to explore
the zoo here, and we definitely hope to go back sometime!

May 4 - I'll go ahead and admit it, I love my dishwasher!
This was one of the things we were really excited about (well
at least I was) when we moved into our house. So when the
dishwasher died, it was a lot of hand washing in our home.
I honestly didn't realize how many dishes our family of 5
goes through in a day until I was washing them all by hand!
But a funny story came from this, our oldest daughter walked
into the kitchen and asked me what I was doing. To which I
responded, I'm doing dishes! To my surprise she said, "can
you teach me?" Well yes I can sweet child! Haha. Anyway,
our landlord, the best landlord might I add, had a new dish
washer ordered and installed. The guys installed it in a short
time and we are very thankful for the generosity of our land
lord and how he has cared so well for our family!

May 5 - We haven't been drinking too much afternoon coffee
lately but today was one of those "I need coffee days"
after language class in the morning and several long
nights with kids having bad dreams.