Christmas 2012 Cards

**Warning: tons of pictures comin’ your way. Cute ones, but a lot****

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We took Monday to go to Mt. Hood to take some family Christmas card pictures. I love how they turned out. 

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 I have learned that it is very important to keep the ‘kissy kiss’  as I call it, in a marriage.  I really look forward to taking these type of pictures when we’re old and gray haired. Things get better with age.

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Emma wasn’t having a great time. It was either one or the other extreme. Either she was so happy playing in the snow she didn’t want to take pictures, or she was too cold and didn’t want to take pictures. This is why there’s lots of Travis and I.

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I cannot tell you how cold we were when we were done. The fireplace made all the females happier.

(aka: no more drama)

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And of course, Emma and Rylee….

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We went with some friends and got some good shots of them too.

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Their last name starts with  ‘G’, thus the G in the picture.

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***Check out my blog tomorrow for the bloopers. Yes, Amy I said that. muahaha!****

Last post before flying out

The dragon is a napkin holder…interesting and very artistic. The other picture is of a new scarf. Some last minute things before we leave. Pack everything. Harder than it sounds. Calling taxi’s, meeting with friends, playing with play dough with Emma, calling the landlord, etc.

Emma got a pair of shoes a couple days ago. We were getting back from Wrocław and Emma was really fussy. We went through Galleria and decided to just have dinner there- food always makes Emma a happier person. It took forever for the food to arrive so Emma and I went to surrounding shops to distract Emma walk around. We entered a shoe shop and she went crazy! She was so excited to see colorful shoes that she immediately wanted to take her boots off and try some on. She kept holding up her feet and asking, ‘help, help?’ I was shocked, this was the first time she really showed her preference for shoes. So I bought the cheapest pair and she was beaming I tell you carrying her shoes to the counter. She couldn’t wait to show daddy too. They’re pretty cute if I do say so myself.

This is in one of the surrounding parks by the square. Trav took this and I think it’s absolutely beautiful.

We are leaving at 5am tomorrow morning and will first be flying to Warsaw-stay there 5 hours (oh yuck) then flying to Chicago (9 hours-not bad) then to Portland. *sigh It will be a long day. Would appreciate your prayers.

Really quick

OK, really quick before Emma freaks out in Trav’s lap and screams bloody murder. That’s just what we would need…

It’s been snowing here all day, but the light dry kind. It’s cold here too. 18’F We’re bumddled up though and once you get used to the cold it’s not so bad. You just learn to love snuggies. 🙂 (Brandon where is mine you promised me for Christmas!?)

We used the WIFI here to look at some possible flats here for rent. There are a couple that are really nice. Emma though is not doing well and her time is just about up. We’ve bribed stuffed her with french fries and soft serve ice cream from McDonalds. The rhythm of our daily schedule is showing us how much slower things will be like for us here. It will definatly be an adjustment. But it is good and insightful. I have a new found respect for Kerstin, The Balons, Robyn and Katie.

We’re having a couple come up from Nowy Targ with their daughter to stay with us for a night. It should be nice. I think we’ll see some of the city with them, then have a nice quiet WARM night.

Well, I think that’s it for now. If you have any questions just ask. I promise we will post more when we move here. It really sucks being out of the loop of the world for days on end. We just found out about the earthquakes in Haiti. What the heck?! It’s horrible. Anyhoo, I’m also dying inside because I can’t post any pictures. I wish I could…but when we live here we’ll be able to. Promise. OK, that’s all. Peace out my peeps. 🙂

Our time here in Krakow

We are feeling less like visitors staying in someone’s home and beginning to see what it will be like for us to live here. It is exciting and a little nervous. We’re using our polish as much as we can though, and speaking it a lot more in our home. It’s growing my courage enough to order cheese from the grocery lady by myself. A lot of giggling and pointing on my part and smiles on hers; so gracious. People here are SO nice and are patient with us. I’m noticing that I speak a lot quieter when I’m unsure if I’m saying the right thing and what I need to do is just boldly speak it out. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. We’re staying in a little comfortable flat that is 50 sq. meters. I could get used to living in a smaller place, it’s just nicer, cozier…who said bigger is better?! For diner I made one of Travis’ favorite Polish soups. Zurek, a salty soup that has sausage and hard boiled eggs. We had it with grilled cheese (gouda) sandwiches. Yummy, and great on a cold day. We already had pirogi on the first day (my favorite). I know a lot of you told me to take pictures of the foods here and I promise to start- tomorrow.

As we landed at the airport, we saw snow everywhere. It’s so beautiful and not too cold, although today there was a wind and nobody likes that. I dressed Emma up like an abominable snowman, er I mean snow baby. Some observations: When a faster person is walking behind someone who is slower, the slow person stands to the side and lets the fast person pass. Common courtesy. Not too common in Gresham, it’s nice. In the grocery stores (I’m buying all our food and am enjoying it!) There are no shortages of packets. They like their packets of soup, mixes, spices, marinades and everything else you could want. It’s incredible and I always smile when I pass the walls of packets. They do have peanut butter (a favorite of mine) but it’s a little expensive. I’m sitting at a mall with free wifi but it won’t allow uploads…horrible! I took pictures of the flat and I guess you’ll see them later. We’ll find a place that allows it-I hope.

The kitchen is nice, and I’m realizing that I don’t really need a dishwasher. It’s not a hassle for me to hand wash everything, but I’ve only been here for a short while- we’ll see. I am dependant on ovens though. While ‘living’ here it will prove to be a challenge to cook everything on a stovetop. But, as Travis says, I like that challenge and it hasn’t proven to be an obstacle yet. Emma is L-O-V-I-N-G all the time and attention from daddy. I could get used to him not working and staying with us all day…well maybe. 😉 I must say that my butt is being kicked by jet lag. Man, I want to pass out around 10am and then 3pm…I took naps with Emma today and it saved my life. Literally people. I’m frustrated by the lack of wifi. I would be posting everyday if I could. Sorry about that. We’re meeting with a missionary tomorrow at a coffee shop Coffee Heaven (which is far better than any Starbucks). We’ll be visiting friends in a nearby town from Friday to Saturday. They have a little girl and I know Emma and Esterka will love each other.

***On the flight over, Emma slept and didn’t yell once. She showed all those people who gave us the evil eye, as we boarded, that they were wrong. Hah, so there. (tongue sticking out) I was praying like nuts that she would do fine. The flight from Chicago to Krakow was 9 hrs 30 min. She is getting used to the time change, and I think she’ll be fine in a couple days. OK, people, time to go to bed- it’s 9:30 and Trav is a walking zombie, Emma is stalling with her toy laptop (what a savior mom!) and I’m finishing this. Dowidenzia!