Happy New Year !!!

As we ring in this new year, here is a look at our latest family pics. We had these done on a beautiful Fall day outside the Wawel Castle in November, but had to wait for the unveiling until after Christmas gifts had arrived back in the States. Hope you enjoy them:

Some in Black & White:

Then we got Sepia too:

We are thankful for the memories of 2010, and the ways we've seen God provide and meet our deepest needs! We are thankful for our prayer warriors !!!

Speaking of prayer warriors, we have an urgent request: While ringing in the new year, a faulty firework exploded in Albert's hand. After a lovely visit to the Emergency room, we are waiting for the swelling to go down before we will know if there is any ligament damage in addition to the fractured finger and burns. He must return to the MD on Monday, the 3rd. We are very thankful that he didn't lose any fingers because he had his ski glove on that hand !! But we would very much appreciate prayers for healing and wisdom for the doctors during these follow up visits.

As Albert says, "We know how to bring in the new year with a BANG!"

Tis the Season........

Tis the season for baking !!!!

We decided that we really miss cinnamon rolls, so Arin and I tried out a homemade recipe ! And they looked and tasted like real cinnamon rolls..............we were all pretty excited !!!

Tis the season for Christmas plays !!!

Kaleb and Arin once again got to participate in our Polish church Christmas play! They did a great job, and Kaleb actually had some lines this year! He was the lead shepherd, and Arin was angelic (as always).

The best part was that we invited 2 families to come see our Christmas play, and they both came!!! One is the Polish family who has been doing our Family Devotion Time with us each week -- and the Dad came too !!! This was a tough crossing of the boundaries for this Catholic father! We were so glad they came !!!

Tis the season for packages !!!!
We received the most amazing Christmas care package from one of our supporting churches --- FBC Edmond! One Sunday school class blessed us beyond measure !! We are so thankful for all these goodies from home !!! Take a look at our stash.........

Tis the season for decorating !!!!

Here is our handiwork as a family !! We upgraded from a gingerbread house to a gingerbread train this year!!!! Thank you, Nana.............you are so fun !!!!

December Fun !!!!

It is definitely a winter wonderland here !!! We are getting snowfall everyday, and it is just beautiful. Our city does a great job keeping the roadways and walkways clear, so life just goes on............all bundled up !!!

We have recently met a new family through Arin's polish gymnastics class. They have 2 kids the same ages as ours! They invited us to their home one Saturday for sledding at the Wawel Castle! They live right next to the castle. Here are a few shots we took amidst this winter wonderland at the Wawel Castle.

Where else but Europe can you go sledding with as gorgeous of a backdrop as this castle..........absolutely amazing !!! We had a great time building a friendship with this new family. Please pray for opportunities for us to share with them about our Savior. We get to celebrate their son's birthday with them this week !!!

Another ministry we have just begun is a family devotion time with Polish families. This is one of the opportunities we had mentioned that we were praying about. We were already doing family church with our kids one night a week, so we began asking around to see if any of our Polish friends wanted to join us. So far, we've been meeting with one other family to see how it works out. The idea is to provide something geared toward kids, and then bring the spiritual application up to adult level for us parents. We have 3 other families in mind to include, but we want to make sure we are following the Lord's leading. Please pray for this new opportunity for our family and the technical problem of having enough space to include other families. Here are a few shots from our last meeting......we were enjoying a little praise and worship -- kid style!!!

November Catch-up!!!

Our November began with a celebration of Daddy's birthday........complete with breakfast in bed, party hats, and NFL football with the football players that evening!

That same day, we got to help celebrate our Polish friend, Jas, and his 5th birthday !!

fun with the little brother, Jonathan! He's a ham for the camera!

Albert had the opportunity to preach one Sunday morning at our Polish church again. Our pastor, Krzyszyk, is translating for him in this picture:

Then we had the opportunity to celebrate our American holiday, Thanksgiving, with some of our favorite Polish athletes! For 5 of them, this was their first Thanksgiving! It was fun to talk with them about this holiday in our country and how we celebrate it as a family. We are very thankful for the opportunity to be here living among them, and this holiday makes for an easy opportunity to thank God for them IN FRONT of them !! We had to convert our living room into a full dining room to fit all of us in, but then we rearranged the house again to accomodate the long standing tradition of watching NFL football on this holiday !!

We are now getting ready for CHRISTMAS !! YIPPEE !!! Arin is preparing to sing a new song this year: "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth" -- granted, it is her 2 front bottom teeth, but she is excited none the less !!!

1st tooth lost !!!

2nd tooth gone !!!

Decorating the little tree for the kids' room.

Enjoying our first bowl of snow ice cream !!!

Enjoying our first snow and first sledding of the season !!!

Fall in Krakow !!!

I feel like there is so much to blog about, I get stuck in where to begin, what to leave out, etc. So, while I have a few minutes, I thought I would just be OK with posting random-ness from our lovely fall season here in Krakow:

1. Our JUNIOR Krakow Tigers team had their first game! This is the group of younger guys (15-18) who are training to one day be an official Krakow Tiger!!! They practice faithfully, come and serve as water boys at the games, and attend any open practice that the big boys have. Al got to officiate the game, and loved getting to see these guys finally get to enjoy the work they put in week after week.

The kids found one of their favorite friends, "Bolek" -- who belongs to one of the Krakow Tigers. He been to our house to play during Bible study before.........Kaleb and Arin think he is so cute!!!

Helping Daddy clean up after the game:

It was such a beautiful Fall day, we decided to go to the park after the game. Mommy had hopes of fun Fall pics...............the kids, well, not so excited !!! But they're precious none the less !!! :>

2. October also holds a National holiday for Poland..............."Wszystkich Swietych" - the day of the Dead. This is a day where the nation flocks to the cemetery to pray for their deceased relatives who might be stuck in pergatory. It is always a family day and often a time of reunion as families gather together for the weekend. I had a chance to walk to the cemetery this year to do some prayer walking. My vision was to take some Living Hope among those focused on the dead. Although the sight of the cemetery is amazingly beautiful, my stomach physically ached as I walked in this year. I felt such a strong sense of hopelessness............the millions of lit candles and praying families symbolized a mere hope that their prayers might make a difference in the eternity of those that came before them. I was overwhelmed! How I long for this people to have security in their existence...........in their future.

( my heart is sad to think about the hopelessness that's being passed down to this next generation in this last picture.)

Please continue to pray for the SON to shine all the more brightly here...........even through us: Speaking of us, here's a pic of our Team Krakow.............His hands and feet on the ground here in Krakow.

3. Ok, the last pic of randomness.......................here's Arin on the way to school. She thinks she's so cute in her new Uggs from Nana and her new jean skirt. She's a mess !!! :>