The Caldwell Journey...

... on that beautiful, scandalous night.

2009-06-20T21:13:00.003+02:00

Just a song that Danny & I really love to listen to by SmallTown Poets.

Beautiful, Scandalous Night

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Follow Christ to the holy mountain
Sinner sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flowed
For you and for me and for all

CHORUS:
At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night

On the hillside, you will be delivered
At the foot of the cross justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that poured
From our blessed Savior's side

CHORUS

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Our Cherry Tree

2009-06-19T21:30:00.003+02:00

Since we moved here we have really enjoyed our yard. It's a nice size and it has a huge Cherry tree and 5 apple trees and a rhubarb plant. Well ,we lost a couple of apple trees a couple of years ago to a really bad storm and in part I think to their age. So we planted a new apple tree and added a pear tree. Both are already giving fruit! The boys love fruit and so having these trees helps cut down on my grocery bill :)

A week or so ago we started picking some of the ripe Cherries and we probably picked 20 lbs. Danny thinks.... and didn't even make a noticeable dent in the sea of red on the branches. We bagged 'em up and started sharing with neighbors, friends, and Nate even took some to Kindergarten and they ate 2 bags full for their jause time (snack time) A couple of days ago Danny picked another 10 or 15 lbs. to take to football practice and I think now the cherries are just reproducing as they get picked :) haha. I finally bought a Cherry stoner and that's made it so much easier to get them ready for freezing. Last year Danny & I de-stoned cherries for hours one night and our hands were stained for DAYS!

Danny is our caretaker here at the Caldwell house. If you've been following this blog you know I've mentioned how I was not born with a green thumb. Not even close. It's sad really how easily I can take a beautiful plant, bush, ivy (aren't those supposed to live thru anything?!?!), or flowers of any kind. Any of those are certain to die within a few days in my care. I have watered them (Danny says I do it too much), I've tried to not water so much (Danny says I waited to long if they've not already drowned from the watering), I have even tried 'talking' to them (Danny says I talked them to death--ok, that's not true, but I've been married to him nearly 10 yrs. and he probably has thought it LOL!).

I guess I've blogged about the weather and gardening enough this week... you know, since I'm not exactly the person doing any of the love and care to these wonderful things that fill my little boys tummies. But I will say, I'm really good at mowing and enjoy it. Though Danny says I do it wrong too. hahahaha. Do you see a pattern here? Yes-- the love of my life is a perfectionist. I mean, he did ask me to marry him , didn't he?!? haha! I tell him the grass likes being cut differently sometimes. It livens things up :)

So have a fantastic weekend. We have some ministry opportunities awaiting us, a football game, family time, helping a family move from an apartment to a house, and preparing for a Bible study/Grillin' get-together! One of my favorite things about this time of year (though I'm more of a winter-lover) is getting together with the friends God has placed in our paths. I love the diversity. We have such different backgrounds and yet, in God's special way we've come to be friends and in some cases like family since we are away from our real families.

-Krista-

Berries from the garden

2009-06-18T11:06:00.000+02:00

Last Fall Danny planted different berry bushes. Well, harvest time has arrived! haha. We have some raspberries and red currants right now. Hopefully, some blueberries, blackberries, and lingonberries (mountain cranberry) will bloom soon. The boys love fruit and are fully enjoying the produce our plants are giving.

Firetrucks in Fernitz

2009-06-17T22:00:00.002+02:00

This past Saturday we took the boys to one of the parks/squares that we like up the road from our house. They were going to have a parade of fire trucks. Old and new. Well, being that we have a 5 yr. old and a 2 1/2 yr. old this was right up our alley. The boys had a blast! There was lots of pointing and 'Oh look at that one!' There were horse drawn ones too.... some were so old I was amazed they had them out and were actually driving them. For the past few weeks Nate has been telling us that when he & Micah "get big" they are going to work at the Fire station by our house. I think the desire is even stronger after seeing these trucks up close.

Mia Grace is here!

2009-06-16T22:25:00.001+02:00

Nearly 3 weeks ago, my friend Karen gave birth to her 3rd daughter, Mia. She's just a doll and such a good, good, baby. Which is much needed after Karen (and my) experience with our 2nd kiddos-haha. Nina & Micah are awesome toddlers, but they gave both families some sleepless nights in their early months. So, Congrats to Hannes, Karen, Emily & Nina! Mia is a keeper :)

I have to brag on Karen too. She's a great friend and so good with my boys. Our kids are best buddies. On my 2nd or 3rd visit, she said I should bring the boys around (by the way, she had to stay 10 days... that's normal for a c-sec. birth here). While I was lovin' on Mia... Micah took an interest in her cool moving bed and so she helped him up and they read a book... well, Nate wasn't going to be left out. I know she had to be exhausted, but she was treating the boys like little Princes.

Rainbows

2009-06-14T22:09:00.002+02:00

I've seen more rainbows since moving to Austria. Let me re-phrase... I've seen more DOUBLE rainbows since moving here! It's just gorgeous and wonderful reminders of the teaching moments I can have with our boys. A year or so ago I was able to share the story of Noah with a friend and her daughter. I love those little moments that just fall into our laps.

Clouds

2009-06-14T21:58:00.002+02:00

We've had some cooler weather lately and last week we saw the clouds rolling in like clock work. But as we were picking up toys in the yard, I noticed these dark clouds coming over the house. It was a little freaky. We've also experienced more hail this season then we can remember having the last couple of years. By the way, I didn't "tweak" these photos or anything... the sky was really these cool colors!!

Distraught

2009-06-03T11:52:00.003+02:00

So this isn't going to be the 'catch-up' blog that actually needs to be written in terms of family life, but here's a couple of things to update you.

First of all, about 2 weeks ago I made a huge mistake. Danny & I were exhausted and we decided to put in a movie in my laptop and watch it in bed (because usually one of us falls asleep really fast!). Well, as I was getting everything in place, I forgot/did not see that I had placed a glass of ice water on my night stand (something I never do) earlier and with a light bump of the nightstand the glass spilled all OVER my open laptop. I jumped up and as the laptop shut itself off, I turned it upside down as I watched in horror all the water that came pouring out. My ever calm hubby tells me we can't do anything about it now and to let it dry out over night. I cried myself to sleep.

The next day was Nathan's actual birthday (the party was the weekend before). He wanted to spend the day out because some generous family members (M & S and G & G) sent him money so he could actually try shopping on his terms (by the way, he loved it and was already making mental lists of things he was going to buy next year). So that worked nicely because we took my laptop to the Mac store while we were out and about. We had the extended warranty from when we bought it not quite 2 yrs. ago in the States. I was sad that it was going to take nearly 2 weeks to fix, but relieved that there shouldn't be any reason that my 'stuff' was gone. Please don't send me emails about backing up my computer. I am fully aware of it. That is Danny's territory and he kept telling me I needed to do it awhile back... I explained I've not the first idea how to do that so he said he would...........!

We soon realized that this beloved laptop of mine was more than just missed by me. Nathan & Micah were supposed to do a video chat with my parents for Nate's birthday... well, my laptop is the only computer with a camera. Also, I usually do a video chat with my brothers and their families and one of Danny's sisters too. Then that first Sunday without my laptop came and we realized that all our worship music was in my itunes. So Sunday we just did an acapella song with the kiddos that were there.

Fast forward to this week. It's now official--my laptop is dead. They said it's not covered under the warranty because spilling something is a form of "abuse". I tried to get Danny to tell them I would never 'abuse' my laptop... I love it! It was an accident. Just ask anyone in our house and they'll tell you I am soooo very particular about how close you get to my Mac with food or drink. Anyway, they said they would get everything off for us (we're thinking some kind of disc, etc) ... well, when we picked it up yesterday they gave us the hard drive. That's it. They charged us for unscrewing the back of the computer and taking out a piece of hardware and closing it back up! Well, good grief! Danny could've done that since the computer is "worthless" now.

So, technically I can still blog and check email, facebook, etc. but it's just not the same. Danny's Mac is so very old (we got it before Nathan was born!) and you can't unplug it for more than 3-5 minutes (I might be exaggerating, but it's really a short time span) before it'll die. We have replaced the battery and it just won't hold up. We're working out what we need to do now... some of you may think this is silly, but it's my "life-line" to family back in the States. I send and post lots of photos and now I can't download them much less "tweak" them. It's got all our music, video capabilities, and well, it was just so nice to have my own computer. Ok, I'm whining... I have just been so distraught about this because it was my fault.

There you have it.

On to happier thoughts... our "church" plant is going well. We had a very constructive meeting a couple of weeks ago and got some great imput from those attending. The summer will be slow as nearly all Europeans take some very extended vacations and since we're a small group as it is, we'll try to work with everyone's schedule.

Nathan has about 3-4 weeks left of school. I don't remember the actual date because I'm down in the basement on Danny's computer and it has none of my info/calendar stuff on it... oh stink! I'm sorry... I'm whining again. Nate is very excited about Kindergarten being out. He wants to have play-dates with all his friends here at our house! YIKES! He has also learned to ride his bike with no more training wheels. He announced to us in early May that he was going to be 5 yrs. old and no longer needed pull-ups at night. I really have just been too busy to tell him that, but you know... this is Nathan. When he puts his mind to it, he'll get it done. I'd say we've only had 2 accidents in about 3 weeks or so and those were nights that we were out late and he had something to eat/drink till nearly bedtime and then slept so deep.

Micah is so much fun! He's talking soooooo much and so clearly too. He wants to ride a bike as well, but his little legs aren't long enough. He's potty training himself and doing a fantastic job! We kinda held back because we just didn't do it right with Nate (we were such rookies!). It's nice that it's getting to be summer time because he can just run around in the backyard and find a tree! haha. FYI, I grew up in the Philippines where people urinated on our wall to our house... we also now live in Europe... please don't tell me he can't pee outside or be naked in our private back yard :)

Wow-- ok, seems like I did just do a lot more updating than I originally thought. On the previous post I mentioned

Nate's actual birthday- check!

My clumsiness- check!

Tears due to... - check!

Potty training and dry nights- check!

The rest I just don't have it in me and/or need photos to accompany them. So we're working on what we can do to get a stable/reliable MAC laptop for me/us... technically Danny could use one too. haha. Till next time...

-krista-

Upcoming posts

2009-05-21T23:35:00.003+02:00

Ok--

It's nearly midnight and I have no business being up this late with all I have going on this weekend, but I wanted to leave a 'what's coming' post.

Nate's birthday party

Nate's birth 'day' in general

My clumsiness that has occurred lately

My Mac being in the shop (thus, not a lot of posting lately)

Tears due to my Mac being gone and clumsiness (also, reason why there won't be any pictures for awhile)

Upcoming football game on Saturday

Encouraging conversation with a friend

Potty-training and dry nights!!

So, are you intrigued!?!?

-Krista-

Pirates & Computers

2009-05-17T07:49:00.000+02:00

Are they not the cutest, roughest, toughest, handsomest, little pirates you've ever seen?!? They are Spiderman lovin', gigglin' Pirates. Nate was telling me one afternoon that he didn't want a pirate birthday party because he didn't want to write on his face because it would hurt (actually he really did want one because in Kindergarten that is the current trend with his buddies). So I told him it wouldn't hurt and we got one of my eyeliner pencils out to give it a try. I think the pictures will show you that Nathan & Micah really got into it. It was a fun afternoon :)

*Side-note: We didn't have a pirate party afterall. haha. He liked Handy Manny for the theme of his party better (if you don't know who he is--think: "Dora the Explorer meets Bob the Builder".

I had my computer in the kitchen last week so I could listen to music. I walked out to get something and when I came back this is what Micah had done. He put his "computer" next to mine. If I'm sitting on the couch writing (like right now) he comes over and says, "I wok on my 'puter too." He's such a cutie!

Dear Lord Jesus. Amen.

2009-05-08T14:46:00.000+02:00

A few days ago at lunchtime, Micah asked if he could pray before our meal. Of course we are always overjoyed when either of the boys express an interest in doing so. His prayer was simply this: "Dear Lord Jesus. Amen." My first thought after he finished was that his prayer was incomplete. I mean, he didn't even thank God for the food we were about to eat, much less throw in any extras, like thank you for our family, our home, etc. Upon further reflection however, I have come to the conclusion that it would benefit most of us to grasp the power in that simple, incomplete prayer. (I'm obviously not saying that Micah does at this point). If we would come to the point of total surrender and total submission to God and allow him to truly rule our hearts as the one and only Lord of our life, if we would put away the idols and false gods (anything that we put before God) that hinder our daily walk with Christ, if we would learn to live by faith in all we do, not leaning upon our own strength or understanding and not trying to simply "follow the rules," but rather completely trusting God to take the worthlessness that we are and to transform us into something truly worthy, totally apart from anything we can do, trusting him to provide our every need and to teach us what real joy and happiness is and to allow us to experience it, yes, if we would just acknowledge him as Lord, there would be no need to pray anything more than: "Dear Lord Jesus. Amen." Maybe that is a deep analysis of a simple child's prayer, but there is truth to it. We use the word Lord quite regularly in Christian circles. More often than not it is used as another name for Jesus, rather than His title and desired role in His relationship with us. He is the Lord! "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).

Danny

Big Store Shopping

2009-05-07T08:04:00.001+02:00

A few weeks ago we were having lunch at the Bischof's home (we met our 2nd month in Austria, nearly 5 years ago) after church and she asked if I had been to a store called Metro. I told her I had only been once with another friend whose husband had a card there thru his work. But that had been a year or so ago. You see, it's a store like Costco or Sam's. You have to be part of a corporation, group, or something like that. Our church plant isn't at that point yet. Anyway, she knew we had purchased a deep freeze a couple of months ago because the boys are growing and eating more (my freezer that is part of the fridge is 2 1/2 drawers). My schedule lately just doesn't leave room for me to run to the store every other day. So she gets an envelope out of a desk and pulls off a card attached. She said she rarely goes and gave me her card to use! We've had it for about a month and a half and what a blessing it has been! My freezer is full and I've saved a lot of money with the bulk items that I did purchase. They have a few things that are "imports" that Danny & I have also enjoyed :)

I know it's kinda funny to write about this, but it was such a small gesture and she knew I liked shopping and I had told her of the 'big stores' we have in the States. haha. She figured I'd feel right at home. We really enjoy watching God grow our friendships with people. When we first met this family we couldn't communicate. But thru our learning of German and their learning of English-- our lunches, play dates, hikes, Bible studies are so much more enjoyable! I just wanted to share how someone was used to bless me this past month :)

-krista-

No more Training Wheels!

2009-05-06T21:26:00.000+02:00

One afternoon after Nathan got home from Kindergarten, he wanted to ride his bike. Danny got it out, took his tools and removed the training wheels. We told Nate he was ready to learn to ride like a big boy. He was a bit nervous and really struggled to keep his balance. But Danny is so patient and we practiced going up and down and up and down our little street. After a few minutes Nate said, "Ok, let's put them back on." Danny said that they weren't going back on to the bike. There was some discouragement on Nate's part.... but we kept telling him how good he was doing. We practiced for about 25 min. then as you can see the clouds were rolling in and lunch was waiting, so they had 'quiet time' and played inside.

The next afternoon right after Kindergarten again, Danny told Nate to get his bike. He really didn't want to but this time we let him ride about 20-30 feet from Daddy to Mommy. He had a goal instead of the long road in front of him. He kept blaming his bike for his lack of balance and falling. So we told him that HE was the boss of his bike and that HE should tell it where to go. The bike wasn't the boss... he was! haha. He can't take off or stop very well on his own so we'd let him get going and the other parent would 'catch' him. He started handling that well and we'd step further back... he did a lot of crashing, but never really got hurt. He learned to fall first :) Danny taught him the first day how to catch himself and how to put his leg out and so on.... Once Nate said to Danny, "I think my bike is trying to break my bones." HA HA! Anyway, after about 30 min. I had to rescue Micah with a band-aid (he tripped and scraped his knee). When I came back outside I saw Nathan--riding his bike-- ALONE! He did it! He stopped in front of me and said, "I did it. I'm not hurt! I'm the boss of the bike!" Awww!

Another milestone has come and I'm constantly being reminded of how fast time is going by with my boys. Nathan will be 5 yrs. old 2 weeks from today! Oh, my Baby is growing up.

-krista-

Micah bringing Nate his helmet:

Are you ready for some Football?!?

2009-04-30T22:36:00.004+02:00

I'm so proud of Danny. If you know him, he's not the most out-going guy (those of you who know us as a couple are rolling laughing because you know we are so opposite). So last summer/fall (I can't completely remember when it was...) when he found that our city, Graz had an American football team he said he would be interested in seeing what it was all about. It all kind of happened pretty fast, actually. The deadline for tryouts was actually already over, so he emailed the person on the website just to get info and well, the rest is history. We had no idea what all it would entail, but God has been good. Danny goes to almost all the practices. They have 2 during the week and 1 on Sundays. Most games are on Saturdays so that doesn't affect our church services. Playing on the team has helped his German a lot, especially "dialect". He's made some good friends and it's given him an outlet from the 'everyday' stuff. It's a way for him to also do ministry. He's been asked to pray for/during games and has given 'spiritual' pep talks too. Some guys on the team have asked him for advice, talked religion with him, and shared some of their life stories with him. These are things that wouldn't have happened unless he took a step out of his comfort zone.

**Insert question: Are you stuck in your comfort zone? Is there something you need to try that might stretch you? Stretch your faith? Stretch your social circle? I know there are times that I feel like I've been stretched as far as I can be... then something crosses my path and I just think... "Lord, I don't want to miss an opportunity. If this is in line with Your will... give me the time, strength, patience, words--in GERMAN to try this." He won't let you down.

Nathan and Micah really like going to the games. Shortly after his first "friendly/exhibition" game last Fall the boys were watching a sports channel at home that had some highlights of the NFL from the States and they thought it was their Daddy. It was soooooo precious and hilarious at the same time :) We've had fun at the games because we've always invited friends and the boys, Nate especially has enjoyed pointing out his Dad to his friends.

Danny has a game tomorrow (Fri.) night in Vienna. The boys & I have opted not to drive the 2 hrs. because we'd be on our own and I'm not familiar enough with Vienna to drive just me & the kiddos at night. Danny will go early with the team so we thought it safer to stay home. After this he'll only have home games so we're excited for those.

Though this is fun for Danny. Please do keep him in prayer. This is a hobby and an outreach. Pray that he stays safe and will always be able to keep pointing his team mates to Christ thru his testimony and sportsmanship.

-A proud wife-

p.s- for those of you (probably only my female readers) that are wondering--No, I have no clue as to why they wear all white uniforms. A couple of weeks ago, the wife from the family we invited to watch the game with us just kept mumbling to herself "why would they pick all white?"

They scored a touchdown on he first drive! **Added later** I forgot to mention they've won their first 2 games. The pictures below are from the 2nd game and they won! 49-0! It was said that the other team was better and the Bears probably won't win much, if any of their games since they're a newly developed team this year.

There he is- #73. He plays O-line, right tackle.

The picture below is a proud Nathan. He is looking at the teams program and loved seeing Danny's picture in it. He was pointing him out to all the people in the stands around us.

A tradition for most sports teams here to come and thank the crowd- win or lose.
He's so handsome!
The Styrian Bears

the last day of April

2009-04-30T15:54:00.002+02:00

So I've been busy around here! We've touched base with some families and are ever praying for them to see Christ in us. Several families were out of town this past weekend and so our services were very low in attendance.... actually, our lowest since we began in November of last year. Keep praying that we would be able to develop a 'core' group. It's hard to develop any set plans when our group changes every time. We're just here living life day to day and making sure we give honor to God in the big and little things of life.

In terms of home life... Danny always has some kind of office work to do. But he's also been working on our yard. We have a rather large flower bed and it's in need of a lot of work since Spring has arrived with weeds popping up everywhere. I don't do much of the gardening (though I thoroughly enjoy mowing--really, I do!) because well, poor plants don't have much of a chance with me for whatever reason?!? So I cheer him on and bring cold drinks to all 3 of my guys :) I don't mind being outside... especially with the beautiful weather we've been having, but I'm not very good at keeping plants alive. haha. We have 4 grape vines and Danny's building something to help them grow up around our patio.

Austrians enjoy visiting around a table and a lot of good, important conversations happen over coffee or a meal. We have a beautiful house and have decided to focus a bit more on being able to host more than a family or two at a time. So we're working and saving up to do a few things this summer.

Tomorrow is a holiday and usually things are closed around here so I'm off to make a small grocery run. Nathan will be home from Kindergarten and since it's been raining I need to prepare to have stuff to eat/do around the house for them tomorrow :)

-krista-

Soccer or Fußball as it's called here

2009-04-27T08:06:00.000+02:00

Nathan has started playing a sport! A couple of his buddies from Kindergarten play and when we asked him if that was something he'd like to do as well, he jumped on it! He has practice on Monday and Wednesday evenings, then games on Saturday mornings. I'd like to say he's in the middle of it all and just running with everyone, but well, we fit into the category of parents who have hilarious stories to tell about their kids that are in their own "world". haha! As it goes for everything in life, Nate is learning to 'listen'. Listening to instructions is a daily lesson for him :) I think this will be very good for him.

Our handsome, almost 5 yr. old is full of life. During practices and during the 3 games he had this past Saturday--Nathan has been caught with arms out and pretending to fly thru the air, a couple of times he 'high-fived' the other team when they scored (I have to admit that made me smile that he was happy for them... instead of being all upset and throwing a fit), he's been seen watching the other teams play (while his game is in progress), and asking me (also while his game is in progress), "What is Micah playing with? Can I have one too?" LOL! Ahhh, I love it!

Danny has been asked to help out because our team is actually 2 teams. I guess there weren't any other parents that were available, so Danny said he'd help out. He did tell the Coach that he doesn't know that much about soccer, but the Coach said that was fine. So Saturday arrives and Danny got stuck coaching Nate's entire team--all 3 games. Neither of our 2 teams won, but the Coach told all the kids that it didn't matter... we are here to learn how to play and have lots of fun! He congratulated all the kids for all their hard work and that he was looking forward to seeing them at practice. He's a nice older guy... though a bit spastic at times :)

After the games, one of the moms bought the boys some ice cream snacks. We then spent the afternoon with these 2 other families at one of their homes. We were there about 8 hrs. What fun we had connecting with them! It helps that our kids all get along and are buddies from Kindergarten as well. One of the most relaxing and fun afternoons we'd had in a long time.

-krista-

*The first 3 photos are from practice. The rest of them are from this past Saturdays games.

He did a lot of 'poses'. It was so cute!
Can you see Micah? He was getting tired by the end of the 2nd game. He's having a snack here and trying to be happy ;)

Lunch in Slovenia

2009-04-24T12:35:00.003+02:00

One day during Spring Break we drove to Slovenia (45 min.) and had some so-so Mexican food. It's better than nothing :) We walked around and I found some Yankee Candles!!! It made my day. The boys rode some rides thru-out the mall (cheap thrills-ha!), got some snacks and saw a very cool display made from oranges and lemons. They were promoting the Pinocchio film from Disney. It's also refreshing to go to a country where you don't speak their language and you can give them 2 options (English or German). Thankfully, almost everyone speaks one or the other so we can order food or purchase something :) It also makes coming home to Austria even more relaxing. We know we can talk to anyone here!

I'm almost caught up... I just need to share about Danny's football game he had recently and some stuff from Nathan's Soccer (Fußball) practices and his first game--ever-- tomorrow!

-krista-

Gardening

2009-04-23T07:28:00.000+02:00

The week before Easter we spent preparing for our church services, but also some outside yard work. The weather was really nice and Nathan was out of school for the week. The boys really enjoyed being helpers and working on the garden. The last couple of years Danny has only grown peppers, so this year he decided it was time to expand. One side of our house gets good sunlight and receives rain well (no flooding). So they took up the grass and replanted it where the kiddie pool was last year. They picked rocks out... studied bugs and were protective of the earth worms. After a day or two of working the ground, they planted watermelon (Nate loves fruit), carrots (probably the boys favorite vege... mine too!), onions, 5 types of peppers (big surprise I'm sure ha!), and tomatoes. Then came inside to make signs. The pic below with Nate & his signs are for the watermelons. This should be an interesting summer!

-krista-

Alot has happened....

2009-04-20T21:09:00.000+02:00

...since I last posted. I didn't have time at first to post anything and then I just didn't feel like it. Ever have one of those days or a week of just "blahs" and nothing seems to feel/go right? Well, I have and just didn't feel like writing since I couldn't be all that upbeat ;)

We did have a wonderful Easter. The week before we had our annual get together with friends and let our kids hunt eggs since we don't all go to the same church.

Then Easter Sunday we had 15 bodies present. The Bible study time was good and always great conversation around the Scripture that we read and discussed. We're a work in progress and learning more about how to connect everything together. We have some great ideas, but just aren't in a position to put them to use yet. Keep us in prayer as we have quite a few kids when everyone is there... that's one area that needs some tweaking.

We always get to church early and Easter Sunday was no different. It was just beautiful outside and the boys wanted to run around while Danny set-up. We didn't have to bring our heaters on this day so there wasn't as much unloading from the car. I got "camera-happy" :) But when you have these 2 handsome faces to work with... well, it's just fun!

I am teaching English to a group of --as my mom says-- 'mature' women ;) It's on Monday mornings right after I drop Nate off at Kindergarten. Then Tuesday mornings I teach English to Nate's class. We have a few nights a week that either Nate or Danny have practice. I try to fit in visits with fellow moms, do house keeping, and keep up with life in general. Lately I've not felt like I'm doing a good job because I can't seem to say 'no' to some of the appointments I've made. I just don't want to miss an opportunity to be there for someone. So this is all I'm going to write tonight. It's a little after 9pm and I'm going to bed. For those of you who know me this is strange! I'm usually catching my 2nd wind about now. But I'm zapped today.

Hope your week is off to a good start. Next few posts will include: Gardening/Spring Break, Soccer (Fußball), and Football (American).

-Krista-

Flower beds

2009-04-09T11:02:00.001+02:00

These dainty little flowers have started sprouting up all over our flower beds. Danny's planting a garden and I'll get some pictures up when he's done tilling, fertilizing, planting, etc.

Bike/Tractor

2009-04-06T21:22:00.000+02:00

Nathan received a bike last year for his birthday, but he just didn't seem to take to it very well. This year he's a riding machine!

He wants to learn without the training wheels. I was holding the back of the seat and once he got pedaling he said, "ok, mom, let go!" (mind you, he's never gone without the training wheels and this was the first time I've held on for him). I told him it might not be a good idea yet, but I'd stay real close if he wanted to try. Well, he started to lean and kept leaning....
After some cleaning (he never cried--a little wimper because of the medicine, but I can't get over what a tough little boy we have!) and a band-aid he said it might be a better idea if he kept his training wheels on a little longer ;) But I told him that we could keep working on it this Spring/Summer and I was sure he'd get the hang of it really soon. I think he didn't realize how much of a help those training wheels are to him. Like I said, he didn't ride it much last year. He struggled just riding with the TW last summer. This year he's quite fast with the help of the TW, he just needed to do it step by step.

Micah is enjoying having the tractor all to himself. He can really tear down the street in it! But it does frustrate him that he can't keep up with Nate. So he pedals for awhile and then stops and yells at Nate (who is at the end of our dead end street) to "Come back here!". He also insists on wearing the helmet he normally wears when I or Danny take him on our bikes. Safety first :)

Laundry & Tractors

2009-04-05T14:30:00.000+02:00

I went down to the laundry room early this morning and found the boys' riding tractor sitting on top of a pile of laundry! They had been playing outside yesterday and the laundry room is next to the garage, so I thought someone had been playing in the LR which is a 'no-no' in our house. I went to ask Nate & Micah about it and Nate knew nothing about it. So that left, Micah. I ask him and he said, "tactor durty... Mommy peez wash." LOL!

-krista-

aka-- 'tactor washer'

Around here...

2009-04-03T08:28:00.001+02:00

Danny & I are busy making plans for Easter Sunday. Please keep us in prayer. We're praying that those we've invited and have yet to come will take us up on our offer to come that Sunday. If everyone would show up we would probably have standing room only in our meeting place. But we'll take one step at a time. God has coming who He wants there for now and that's fine with us!

We also want to squeeze in a family day or two next week since Nathan will be on a break from Kindergarten. He's got some ideas of what he wants to do.... we'll have to see what we can do :) haha. He's been seeing a speech therapist and I can see little improvements every week. It's tough learning two languages.

This week we got a letter saying the Kindergarten is already full for the Fall enrollment. So Micah won't be starting there (he would've started in November because he doesn't turn 3 till October) this year, unless there's a cancelation. That's not really a disappointment for us because I don't know if Micah would be as ready to go as Nate was at 3 yrs. old. Last summer the government made all Kindergartens free of charge in Austria, so there has been a rise in enrollment. We had placed Nathan in the school so he could get a start on learning German. He begins "elementary" school in the Fall of 2010. So that means Nate & Micah won't have a year together in Kindergarten and that makes me a little sad. But don't worry.... they'll pull--I mean, I'll pull thru (sniff). haha.

So have a wonderful weekend and if your weather is looking as good as ours is... go outside and play!

-krista-

Now I've seen it all!

2009-04-02T18:34:00.002+02:00

Danny said this is his new favorite sport! What craziness!

Still seeing my prayer answered...

2009-04-02T07:50:00.000+02:00

When we made the decision to move to Austria in December of 2001, I began praying for a friend. We made it to Austria July 27, 2004 with a 9 week old baby. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I believe it was the end of September that we started attending a church in Graz while going to language school. On our first Sunday we met Penny & Ian (from England, so as an English speaker I took to them!). We really enjoy hanging out with their family. Their boys are a bit older, but Peter & Simon have always been so good to entertain our boys. Also, they are so sweet to pass down "boy" toys and Nathan thinks they're the coolest. A couple of weeks after meeting we had lunch at their house and we've been friends ever since. We laugh a lot when we're together. They are dear to us. Now, they read my blog--so PIPS, don't get to excited that you made it here! haha.

Then I met Dora (from Hungary and married to Herbert from Austria) who had 2 older daughters, and a son just 2 months younger than Nate. But we couldn't communicate. Karen (also from England) walked in to the church and started chatting to Dora in German. We exchanged 'hellos, where are you from, etc.' then services began. After services, while having coffee we started talking again. After a few minutes Dora, Karen, and myself had made a plan of getting together during the week and Karen would come to also be the translator. We've been having play dates and dinners together ever since. Dora and I have spent many hours learning languages. I can remember sitting on her couch both of us with dictionaries in hand looking up words for the simplest of conversations. She now speaks great English and I'm jealous of how fast she picked it up. She has tutored me in German and our boys are good friends. Herbert & Dora have also become our Catan couple. It's a German board game that we really like and thankfully they do too! Here is Herbert & Dora's family.

Karen & I were able to grow as friends faster because we didn't have a language barrier. She was wanting kids and just 3 weeks after we met she came up to me at church and shared the good news! Emily was born 2 weeks before Nate celebrated his first birthday. What friends they have been! Nina was born 5 months after Micah. They are funny together! Now Karen is expecting #3 and it's another GIRL! Before we lost our baby last December, our due dates were only 3 weeks apart. Karen is one of my closest friends here. She's a great friend and always so fun to hang out with for a girls night. She also introduced me to Angela (that's another post) who has become a great friend as well. Here's Karen & hubby, Hannes.

Here are some pics I took a few days ago. We hadn't seen them in a few weeks due to illness, Karen's family visited, and then she went to England. Have I mentioned how much I like taking pictures?!?! haha. I'm quite impressed with these.

So these are just some of the people with which God answered my prayer. I know for our family and friends in the States you've asked about our life here, so that's why I've posted pictures of places we go, things we see, and now people we know. These friends we have known the longest since moving to Austria. I prayed for a good friend and now I've got so many that it's hard to keep up with each other sometimes. Thank you, Lord.

-krista-