Roxie the Reader...Roxie Ctenarka

Roxie learned how to read!!! She is also reading a bit in Czech!!! We are stoked and she is excited too. She has been wanting to read for a long time. Today I am taking her out to ice cream to celebrate.

Nejlepsi kamaradky...Best friends

These are my best friends here in the Czech Republic. Lenka is on my right and Dasa is on my left. I am so grateful to these ladies who have patiently listened to me butcher their beautiful language, they have listened to all of my problems, they have helped me enormously. I only hope that soon I will be able to give to them friendship and love as generously as they have given to me. I love them both dearly.

Finally!!...Konecne!!!

OK, so I am a big jerk. I have complained all winter about how there has been no snow...and this week it has snowed everyday...so I humbly admit to being a complainer. Sorry.

Domaci Anglicke Skupiny...Home English Groups

Here I am teaching my Tuesday afternoon English clubs. The first club I have Eliska (6th grade) and Veronika (5th grade). I am pretending to be mad at Veronika...she is one of the girls' best friends. The second picture is of my next club which consists of Marketa, Daniela, and Kaja (all in the 2nd grade). They are all girls from our neighborhood and they are friends of our girls as well. Today we were making visitky (business cards) and talking about where we live and what our phone numbers are.

Nase Kamaradka Eliska...Our Friend Eliska

Our friend Eliska is 12 years old and goes to the sixth grade. I was her English teacher until we switched classes. Now she comes once a week to our house for English lessons. We also hang out with her and her mum, Hanka. She hangs out with our girls and they love her so much. I see her everyday at school as well. And she always visits Rebekah at the break and asks her if she has any homework. Then, sometimes she comes over to help with Bekah's homework. I am so glaad that she is a part of our lives.

V Jidelne...In The Cafeteria

Here is Bekah eating baked pork and dumplings (pecene veprove maso s knedlikama) at her school cafeteria. Kids are served on real plates with silverware at small tables like a restaurant. The eat with their fork in their left hand and they use the knife in their right hand to scoop the food on the fork. They don't put the utensils down in between bites. Pictured also are some of Bekah's friends from her class. Bekah is pictured with Sarka and Roxie is pictured with Hana.

My kid Rebekah in her bubble cave in the tub

Keramiku ve skole...Ceramics at the school

At our school here in Hluboka nad Vltavou there are over 50 extra-curricular activities (krouzky) to choose from. It is a lovely system as the children go to school from 8 til noon and then can go home or go to krouzky. Rebekah goes to three krouzky. Ceramics, oriental dance and art. She really likes them, they are inexpensive and they are super fun. Here she is at ceramics.

Ve Skolce...In Kindergarten

Roxie is pictured here in her Kindergarten class at Materska Skola in Hluboka nad Vltavou. Her teachers are lovely and she has many friends. She gave me a list...Felix, Dan Fux, Kristian, Pavel, (notice they are all boys..man are we gonna have problems later), Kacka, Milan, Michalka, Verunka, Anicka, Barborka, Marketka, Lucka, Lucka (there are two). She also wanted to include Roman and Jirka but they spit when they talk so she didn't know if they should be on the main list. This I thought was hysterical. She has made friends very easily and we are so thankful to God for his grace and mercy for my littlest girl.

Sestaci...Sixth graders

These are my sixth graders to whom I teach English grammar and conversation. Pavel, Sara, Eliska, Robert, Sarka and Daniel. I love these guys...they are so fun (but a little wild sometimes). It is fun to have a small group like this as I feel that I can get to know them better.

Devataci...ninth graders

These are my new ninth graders. I teach them English conversation. I really like these guys. They are smart, eager to learn and respectful. I am glad to have them. I really thank God for all he has taught me this year, for all of the blessings he has given me, and I count this class among them. This week I taught them the words "stoked" and "bummed". Total surfer slang. It is so cute to hear them in the hallways saying "I am stoked!". Some of the smartest kids in the school are in this class...I think we will have a fun semester together.

Roxie's last iceskating lesson...she is much improved

Beacuse of the wind Kvuli vietru

Well, to be honest, these aren't my pictures. I stole them off the internet, but this is a close approximation of what our trampoline looks like after last week's wind storm. I have never seen a trampoline fly, and why I didn't think of grabbing the camera is beyond me. Well, our trampoline flew over our fence, over our neighbor's fence, over the next fence and blew apart. I am so glad that noone was hurt and not much damage was done. I am also glad that it didn't happen during the night where we wouldn't have been able to stop it. We are very fortunate that one of our neighbors came out to help us. We hadn't met him before and he was so nice. We brought he and his family cookies the next day to thank him. Many people were affected by the storms. Thousands were without power. Hundreds of trees are down in the forest behind our home. And I have heard reports of roofs being ripped off by the wind. Last winter was the first year that such wind storms came to CZ. It was also the first winter without snow. This year is following the same pattern. No snow and destructive winds. It is really weird.

Family Day Den Rodinne

Today was such a lovely day that we walked into town and got some pizza and then went to the castle and bummed around. It was beautiful weather, cold but clear and sunny. My hands were so cold that I surprised Danny with them in the first pic by putting them on his bare back...hence the look of pain on his face. This has been a crazy couple of weeks for us as I was sick for a week with a fever and Roxie has had a fever for this week. So this was our first day out where we are feeling OK...

Iceskating Rink Zimni Stadion

Every Tuesday Roxie goes to iceskating lessons, taught by Roman, the hockey coach. This was her last day of lessons as it is unseasonably warm here and the ice is melting. The stadion is under the castle which provides a neat view for us spectators. At the end of the hour long lesson Roxie is invariably pooped...they walk from the school to the rink and back...so it is a long morning.