A January Morning

The Czech language is often very poetic and colorful. For example, the word "January" in Czech is "Leden", which literally means "the time of ice". The other day the ever-present winter overcast cleared up, and I took the opportunity to take a walk into the forest. Most of the snow has melted, although the frozen ground still has a satisfying crunch under my feet. Just beyond our house at the edge of the forest is what looks like an old train car. It is a beehive, and our first summer here we could sometimes hear the buzzing of bees from our window. Last summer the bee population dropped precipitously, and what few bees came seemed slow and lethargic. Now in the dead of winter, it sits silently with it's small colony huddled inside.

In the middle of the field behind our house sits a hunting chair. These are everywhere in the forests and fields of Czech Republic, and are used by hunters during season to hunt deer. We like to climb up these and take a look, although in this particular one last summer a group of angry wasps (the insects, not the demographic) chased us out.

A few kilometers from our house, a footpath runs beside the mighty Vltava River. This river flows through Prague and is crossed by the famous Charles Bridge. Here near Hluboka it is now frozen and especially beautiful on this winter morning.

A few hundred meters above the Vltava River, the trail climbs up to the top of this hill called "Baba". "Baba" is Czech for "granny", but usually in a negative sense, like an old crone. I'm not sure why it is called Baba, as it is really a lovely peaceful place. This pic is taken on top of the hill. There isn't much here now, just a starkly beautiful forest saving it's strength for the coming spring.

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

There is a saying here that "Češi umí". It literally means "Czechs know", as in they know how to do just about anything. For example, if something breaks, rather than call the repairman, they will often figure out how to fix it themselves. In another example, just about every Czech woman knows how to cook every typical czech food. Another thing many Czech men know is how to cut wood and start a fire. With energy costs in Europe extremely high compared to the USA, many town or village dwellers rely on wood for heating. This is becoming a lost art in the cities, however, as most city residents live in blocks of apartments.

For me in California, having a fire meant putting the duraflame into the fireplace, turning on the gas, pressing the ignite button, and then enjoying the peaceful ambiance of my 1-lb cylinder of petroleum-soaked compressed sawdust. However, here the situation is quite different. For example, Duraflame-type "logs" can be purchased here, but they are viewed as a silly luxury for the lazy rich, as they are small and expensive (about $4 US for a mini-sized chunk of instant fire). So this past fall our friend Milos decided to teach us to be like proper Czechs and learn how to cut wood and start a fire. Milos works as a woodsman (really - a woodsman), and he brought us a few carloads of wood. He also brought us a big tree stump to use as a chopping block, and sold us a proper axe. My first few attempts at splitting logs were a mix of funny and scary, as I often missed the log entirely with my axe (kind of like swinging a golf club too hard and completely missing the golf ball) and a few times almost sucessfully performed self-amputation with it. But now I have really got the hang of it, and enjoy pretending to be Paul Bunyan out in the yard splitting logs. Here is a pic of one of our piles of split logs...

Krista has become quite the expert on getting a good fire going. She knows just what size kindling she needs, and which logs to put in first, and how to arrange them. Most cold winter nights, I come home to a nice warm fire in our small fireplace. This is not just for ambiance, but is very practical. Compared to most American houses, our house is quite small at about 900 square feet. Also, unlike most american fireplaces which are set in one of the exterior walls, our fireplace is right in the middle of the house, and the chimney comes up right between the three small upstairs rooms. Combined with the small size of the rooms, the fire manages to heat the entire house from a small fireplace. I guess when it comes to being very efficient with heating, "Češi umí".

Resolutions Update #1

1. Daily Bible reading: Every evening before bed I am reading passages of Scripture from The Message which is a translation that makes it feel less like Bible study and more like reading a letter from your friend. As I am praying for a renewing of my mind I am finding that I am going to bed with God in my thoughts and waking up with God in my thoughts. This is how I want to live.
2. Exercise 4-5 times a week : Everyday this past week we have gone iceskating for a couple of hours...yesterday the lakes were a bit sketchy (come to find out that the Czech Government has issued a warning not to skate right now as there have been many drownings this week) so we shoveled snow at our house and also our neighbors for an hour and then went for a alt in the forest and sledding for another hour. So I am doing OK .
3. Eat healthier and very little sugar and sweets : Not yet as I still have an abundance of Christmas cookies in our house. My friend and I are starting Thursday I think.
4. Read to my kids each night: Right now we are reading Roald Dahl's "BFG" and the kids are really enjoying it. It is a time for us to get calmed down before bed and cuddle. I love it.
5. Eat together at the table and talk: This is making a big difference. We set the table, light candles and TALK...actually converse. I think this is going to be my favorite new habit. I am concerned, though, about next week as I start teaching students in the evenings...we will see if I can still make it work..

Thanks for listening...and please contact me if you want to join me in making New Year's resolutions stick!! czkrista@yahoo.com

Here I am iceskating on a lake next to our house...see resolution #2

My New Year's Resolutions for 2009

1. Daily Bible reading...I am using a program called Powered by 4 (I need a renewing of my mind...I get so caught up in work, tasks and daily life that I need to refocus on what is truly important, God and His plan and will) http://blog.poweredby4.org/challenge/


2. Exercise 4-5 times a week (I have let myself completely go...I am weak and mushy. It is gross. I have focused so much of the last year and a half on surviving life, now that I feel that I am myself again I need to take care of the body that God has given me so that I might serve Him for as long as possible with strength and vigor)


3. Eat healthier and very little sugar and sweets (I am teaching my children bad habits, and destroying my body. When we first got here I felt entitled to treats as we had made such a huge change..it was like self comforting, or self medicating...I don't feel well...it is all the sugar, white bread and a serious lack of fruits and vegetables. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that I have scurvy!!)


4. Read to my kids each night...(I find that with my schedule I don't have much quiet, uninterrupted time with my kids. During the holidays we spent most every evening reading, singing and praying together...these quiet times together really became imprtant to us. So, I want to continue this.)


5. Eat together at the table and talk...(we are in a seriously bad habit of watching a show while we eat or even reading at the table and not talking. To be honest, I am usually so tired that I don't want to talk to anyone...but I feel in my gut that this scenario is wrong and that my girls are reaching the ages where soon they won't want to talk to me at all...I want to dig deeply the roots of our relationship and I think this will help.)

I will keep you posted as to how these resolutions are going...want to join me in one or all ...email me at czkrista@yahoo.com

A look back on 2008

I am normally not sentimental nor do I have the habit of waxing eloquent. Having said that, I have been really reviewing my life over the past year and come to find that it is good. My life here is good. 2008 came and went so quickly and with much learning in the process. The first half of the year as we were coming up on our one year anniversary in CZ, saw me rejoicing as depression was fading (especially for Rebekah) and we were settling into our roles quite well. To state that more clearly, we were finally defining our roles here. We came not knowing what to expect, got thrown into a blender, scratched and bruised along the way, and lo and behold 2008 came with a new sense of purpose. I was able to speak more coherently, and felt that with just a bit more time and experience I could actually enjoy my job as a teacher. My relationships were blossoming even as I was making new friendships. We felt the purpose of our being here in CZ was coming into focus and I was seeing God's provision, mercy and love as I looked back on the year and not just on my day to day life. I could see where He had led me, how He had cared for me and how He had let me get banged up a bit so I could grow stronger and trust Him more. The latter half of the year we grew in joy and faitha nd came to be a family that praises God for His goodness, praises come easily from our mouths now...not strained cries for help. Thank you God for holding our hands as we walked through the fire and for bringing us to this pasture of peace and rest. Help us, our good Father, to enjoy the rest, to be thankful to you and to not take it for granted. Help us to trust in you when we are faced with another furnace that we must go through, knowing that you are there with us.

Things I am thankful for in 2008

• our deepening friendships


• sense of belonging to our community


• that I can see God's hand in our lives this past year


• my girls are content


• my husband finds real joy and fulfillment in his work


• God is showing us each step that we are to take...we can trust that His timing is perfect


• dreams and goals that we had and couldn't imagine how they would be accomplished are coming to fruition by the hand of God...for example, we really wanted to start a Biblestudy here in our home and we had no idea how that would happen, but God has orchestrated everything and we begin on January 16th. To me this is a miracle, it was not contrived by me...only a seed of thought planted in our hearts and God's own work to bring it together.

Christmas this year was so much better than last year. Last year we were really missing family, slightly depressed, still trying to adjust and Rebekah was really struggling...so basically we were just surviving. This year we really embraced our new home and the rich traditions that are here. We participated in every thing that we could and we really focused more on God and enriching ourselves spiritually during this season. We all felt so much more unburdened and jolly, jolly, I tell you! I feel like God gave us joy this season...a joy we didn't have last year. Thank you God!!!

Me and my friend, Ana. She is a friend, mentor and mom all rolled into one. I am so thankful for her...even when she gets on my case about stuff. I feel cared about...

The Coyans and the Potíškas...notice Miloš (all the way in the back) looks slightly annoyed...that is his default look.

Miloš and Ana with their girls...Miloš is looking super annoyed. He was annoyed with me because I made him take a picture even though, as he said, he wasn't dressed for the occasion. I was totally cracking up at him.

Danny with their dog, Orina. This dog loves Danny.

štedrý den u Potíškovi...Christmas Eve with the Potíška family

We got to spend Christmas Eve with our "adopted" family here in CZ, Ana and Miloš Potíška, who have really taken us under their wing. The girls have come to see Ana as a grandma type figure and Miloš as the typical grandpa who is a little grumpy but you know that he loves you. He loves to tease the girls and goof around with them and he loves doing us favors and then pretend he is a little annoyed. So we chatted with them, ate cukrovi (Czech Christmas cookies) and drank svařák (mulled wine). We exchanged Christmas gifts and had a great time. We really miss our family at the holidays and so it was nice to spend Christmas Eve with our Czech family.

Na štedrý den zpíváme koledy...On Christmas Eve we sing Christmas carols

At the castle near our house they have an annual tradition of singing Christmas carols for an hour or so in the afternoon. It seems as though the entire town of Hluboká and the outlying villages came out for the singing. Czechs celebrate Christmas on Christmas eve, so this carol singing is part of the celebration of the day. We all packed into the atrium of the castle like sardines and were given song books (thankfully, as I had no idea what we were singing) and Roxie had a bell as well. In between each song everyone would ring a bell. The live band was great and most of the songs were traditional Czech folk Christmas carols...with two exceptions..."Jingle Bells" (Rolničky) and "White Christmas" (Bílé Vánoce). We went to the carol singing with our friend Ana while her husband was at home decorating the tree. Most Czechs decorate for Christmas on Christmas Eve.

Přatele v čechach...Friends in the Czech Republic

These are our friends, the Kennings, who work and live here in CZ. Jared is from Idaho and Dana is from Moravia. Their daughters, Hana and Lydie, are friends with our girls. We are so fortunate to have such good friends here. Because Dana is Czech (Moravia is the Eastern half of the country we know as the Czech republic) she really gives me insight into the culture. Jared studied the Czech language here for two years and speaks nearly perfectly (I am sure having a Czech wife helps). They have been a great encouragement to us spritually and emotionally. God has richly blessed us with friends like these!

Here is Bekah handing our gifts at her 4th grade Christmas party






Roxie and I are pictured with her whole class at their Christmas party.

These are my 3rd graders seated around the Christmas tree ready to open gifts.

Here are some of my 2nd graders at their Christmas party.

Vánoční čajovná party...Christmas tea party

Here we are celebrating Christmas with our friends, Fiana, Yarra and Kily, at our first annual Christmas Tea Party. We had a roaring fire, Christmas music and a lovely table set in order to provide the holiday atmosphere. We ate a special curry chicken pasta salad and homemade Czech Rohličky (a type of pastry) and exchanged presents. I really would like to make this a yearly event and next year I would like to invite many more people. We had a great time.