Steve and Jenny Valentine

September 16 - Steve waiting at the train station here in Poznań awaiting the arrival of friends from the U.S. September 17 - Visiting a cathedral in Poznań, this is a very important part of Polish history - said to be where Poland began. September 18 - Our friends who came in town blessed us by caring for our kids one evening and told us to go out on a date! This was such a blessing to us and we were very grateful for the time alone together. September 19 - Tesco is one of our favorite places to shop here in Poland. We even have the option to order online and have it delivered to our home (which we usually take advantage of as it is very helpful to not have to cart 3 kids to the store). This was the first time I had actually gone into this particular store and it was like a small reminder of America in that it was a cross between a Target and Wal-Mart (if you can imagine that).   September 20 - Taking our guests to one of our favorite cafes in Poznań. This place ...

September 2 - Off the school. We walk the kids to school each day usually as it's just a 5 minute walk from our house. Please notice Isaac's hands in the air...he was singing loudly as we walked and is doing really well this year at school! September 3 - Karis and mommy out for a Saturday morning coffee and one on one time together. Karis has recently been feeling sadness about going to school this year and we're trying to make sure we get some one on one time with her. September 4 - Sunday afternoon naps are sometimes needed and we welcome any opportunity we get to rest. September 5 - Studying for our Polish driver's test! September 6 - This is Aneta, she has become a friend of ours and we are thankful for how she has not only invited us into her home and her family's life but also how she has been so kind to us as we continue to learn the many new things about life in Poland. Aneta is a mother of one of Karis' favorite classmates, so we get t...

August 19 - Random volleyball tournament set up in town. August 20 - the day our peanut turned 6. We are so proud of the girl she has developed into and enjoy getting to see her passion for life and new adventure explode as she grows. Her compassion for others is amazing and her curiosity is strong. She is bubbly, talkative, talented and loves big. We are thankful for God allowing us to become parents 6 years ago to this beautiful blondie! August 20 (a second picture for the day) - Karis blowing out her candles at her party. We enjoyed a small gathering with some of her classmates and other friends. August 21 - Olivia is our wild child these days. She can often be found causing all sorts of mischief and keeps us on our toes. Pictured here she is posing with her brother's lego piece on her leg (probably to keep it from him and make him mad!) August 22 - We always enjoy care packages from friends back in the States. This particular box was the highlight...

Almost two months ago now, we crossed the one year mark of living in Poland. I've wanted to write an update about where we are at (emotionally) as we passed this one year mark of living cross culturally and so many thoughts have gone through my head that I just haven't been able to sort through them all; the memories, emotions and lessons learned into one pretty little blog post. All these things just keep swirling around in my mind. So I have attempted to do my best at narrowing it down to blog post length and not a novel-because believe me, we could probably write a novel at this point about our experience in the first year here! So here are some things we would say... We have learned a lot . A LOT! About Poland, the people who live here, the language (oh the language), about ourselves and mostly about how much God loves and cares for people. We find that it's important for our family to keep some type of routine in traditions (ie. family movie night each week, etc...

August 6 - Sometimes we have a hard time sleeping and on occasion will find ourselves surfing the web and we enjoy catching up on what are friends are doing around the world. We can't help but giggle at this meme and please pass the XL coffee!  August 7 - Have we mentioned our amazing neighbor who brings us treats? Haha, yes I think we have. He is from Belgium and always brings back the most tasty treats. This, my friends, tasted much like the chocolate covered donuts we used to eat as kids. Delish! August 8 - I got this picture in a text from Steve that said, "moving in Poland is different!" haha! He was helping some friends move from one flat to the other and this is how they transported the big items. And then carried up several flights of stairs...quite the work out! August 9 - This isn't the best picture, but meet Roma. She is a blessing from God to me and I'm excited that God brought her to Poland for studies (and to be our fri...