If you're happy and you know it...

Here is a video of Carli and one of her German-speaking friends singing "If you're happy and you know it" in English. So not only is Carli excited to learn German but her friends are also excited to learn English!

God's Family

Some of you may be wondering why I am posting on our blog, or you may be wondering why I have not been posting on our blog all along. Well, frankly, Kim is a better storyteller than I am, and she is more diligent to post. There are those rare occasions where I feel the need to share something or when Kim asks me to. So, here we are.

Kim made the comment the other day as we were driving on the autobahn that she is so glad to be a part of God's family and cannot imagine what it must be like for people moving to a foreign country and not immediately having people who are willing to befriend and embrace them. God has blessed us with several people who have reminded us that God's family is a unique type of family where community can exist or form almost immediately.
A few weeks ago, Rudi Krassnig, one of the Christian men at the Inzersdorf congregation here in Vienna, expended much time and effort to help us purchase our car. Multiple times he picked me up from the train station and taxied me to the car dealership and even took me to his house for lunch once. His help through the car-buying process was a great blessing.
Less than a week later Rudi's brother Josef and his wife had our family over to their house for lunch and then coffee and dessert after church. We really enjoyed getting to know this part of the Krassnig family better and are thankful for their kindness as well. All of the Krassnigs in the Inzersdorf church have been extremely kind and encouraging to us.
Because of encounters like these, we quickly thank God for the opportunity to be a part of His family and are further challenged to share God's love with the Viennese so that they too may experience this family.

A Day to Remember

In life there are some days that you simply cannot forget - either because they are so strange, so bad, so fun, or so special. Wednesday, December 12, 2007 was one of those days for me. Early in the morning my children serenaded me with "Happy Birthday" and then led me on a scavenger hunt to find my gift - a new tennis bag. Then, my wife Kimberly, the greatest wife God has ever made, baked me scones for breakfast, and not just any scones but delicious cinnamon scones and a hot latte macchiato. (For those of you who have enjoyed the privilege of tasting my wife's cranberry-orange scones, imagine something even better.) During breakfast the postman delivered three boxes full of gifts from our families in the States. Later in the day we also ate cornbread and beans, an ideal meal on a cold Vienna day. After picking up the kids from school, we purchased a Christmas tree and decorated it just before I left for German class. Though years down the road I may forget the food we ate, the gifts I opened, or even the Christmas-tree hunting experience, I will surely not forget the loving and serving attitude of my wife. Her efforts to make this day a special birthday will always be remembered.

Christmas Trees

We bought our first Austrian Christmas tree today! And let me tell you, they are very different than American Christmas trees. We went to 7 different tree lots before deciding on one. There were trees ranging from 2 feet to 10 feet tall and the price was determined by the thickness of the tree, not the height. So if you wanted a tall skinny tree with very few branches, then expect to pay around 10-20 Euros, but if you wanted a medium size tree with lots of branches, then expect to pay 45-60 Euros. Josh and I had a hard time paying the equivalent of $90 on a tree that in a month we would throw in the trash! So, after walking in the rain with our umbrellas through 7 tree lots, we found the perfect "first Christmas in Vienna" tree. The kids had a blast playing in the mud and getting soaked by the rain as we sang Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Field Trip

Today, I went with Carli's class on a field trip to the Christmas market at the Rathaus. It was a lot of fun, but stressful at times. We had 22 six year olds going from bus to Strassenbahn, to U-Bahn, and it was a little crazy at times. Not to mention the fact that if a kid was out of line, I couldn't tell him to get back, in a way that he could understand! But I'm still working on that. We actually went inside the Rathaus and they had little stations set up for kids to do crafts. Carli went to the Cookie station and made sugar cookies and cut them out with cookie cutters. She had a lot of fun.

Great day!

I woke up yesterday to my kids singing me "Happy Birthday" and Josh carrying a heart-shaped pancake with orange juice and flowers on a tray. I was so impressed that not only did Josh make me pancakes, but he even made it into a heart! We had a family devotional in the morning and had team church in the afternoon, we played Candyland, drank coffee, ordered a pizza, and then Josh and I went out to dinner. We had a romantic Italian dinner and walked around Vienna looking at Christmas lights and caught the end of a Christmas market. It was a wonderful first birthday in Vienna!

One thing I miss...

One of my favorite things to eat for breakfast is bacon. When we lived in Edmond, our neighbor sold us some Blue and Gold bacon and I was hooked! It is so thick and flavorful, and I ordered some anytime I had the opportunity! Here in Austria, the bacon is very different. Instead of nice thick slices, it is paper thin. If you're not careful, the first piece that you put down on the pan will burn by the time you put the others down. Oh, how I miss Blue and Gold!

Taxi Service

Today was my first day as a taxi driver/ mini-van mom in a foreign country. We started off the day dropping Carli and Caleb off at school and then we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the bakery across from Carli's school. I had my favorite Schokocroissant with a Latte Macchiato and Josh had his usual Vanilleschnecke also with a Latte Macchiato and Cotter had a Donuts Zimt (cinnamon sugar donut). We then went to the mall and ran a few more errands before it was time to pick up the kids. All of that was very enjoyable, because Josh was driving. Then, we switched places and he went to work on the internet while I picked up lunch and then Carli and I went to Toys R' Us to pick up a present for a birthday party that she was going to later today. Then we picked up Caleb to take him to a birthday party that he had, wrapped presents in a grocery store parking lot, dropped Caleb off, then Carli, enjoyed more coffee with a friend, picked them both up and finally came home. The driving here really stresses me out. The roads are very narrow so I constantly feel like I am going to hit something, the signs are very confusing so I'm never quite sure if I'm going the right direction on the road, and everyone is in such a hurry! The pace of life for the Austrians is very slow and calm, except when they drive. After today, I think that I am going to sign up for a Driving in Vienna class!

It's finally here...

After a long time of waiting, Telekom Austria has pulled through. We now officially have internet in our house! After many long phone calls (in English and German) made to the other internet company in Wien, and after they cancelled our order without us telling them to, we decided to go with someone else. Two weeks later, Josh and I are sitting side by side in our office, enjoying the fact that we don't have to worry about how much data we are sending or receiving. God has definitely taught us patience through this whole ordeal! Now you are all going to be sick and tired of all the blogs there will be.

Dogs

One thing there are a lot of in Vienna are dogs. That is why the other three families on our team who brought their dogs fit right in. In fact, some Austrians like dogs more than kids. In some restaurants, it would be more appropriate to bring your dog, than bring your kids. I went to a really nice cafe one time, full of chandeliers and everything. Before I knew it, someone brought their dog in and I thought to myself, "Surely the dog is not allowed in here." Not only was the dog allowed, they brought out a jewel covered water dish and set it down in front of the dog. I guess I am just going to have to get used to it!
Tonight, Caleb and Cotter were playing and I came to see what they were doing, and Caleb had found a black strap and attached it to Cotter's shirt and tied it to the railing on our stairs. He was pretending that Cotter was his dog and he had gone into the grocery store (which is one place that dogs are not allowed). Cotter was barking and everything! It was pretty funny.