Happy Birthday to me!

Today was a great day. Other than the fact that I turned one year older...man, 29 is a tough year ;)  Really, even though the weather was misty rain all day, I still found joy in my day.  It was a restful morning.  Steven got the kids all ready for daycare, and I got to sleep in.  Now, before you think wow, what a great guy...just wait, it gets better. He actually does this most days during the week.  Okay, now you can be jealous!  Yes, he gets them breakfast, makes their lunch, and sometimes even dressed, all while letting me sleep.  I am so spoiled!  But hey, I did walk them all to daycare in the drizzle, so I pull my weight.  After dropping them all off, I came home, did a lttle laundry, cleaned up a little and watched a movie.  Yep, one exciting lady here!  The best part of the day was the mexican reseraunt we found. It reminded me of a Chipotle, but with way fewer ingredients.  However, the ingredients they did have were the closest we have had yet to real Tex-Mex.  Then Steven and the kids got me an ice cream cake from the store.  All in all, it was one of those days that you look back on and can't really remember doing anything spectacular, but you just remember it being a really great day! 

I vow to do better!

Okay, as of today, Sunday here, I vow to do better at keeping our blog updated.  I am going to pick one day a week to be my blog day, and if anyhting else pops up before then I may even post more than once.(but don't get your hopes up :)  Language is going good, and Steven and I have found that we are starting to pick up words in conversations.  We have also learned how to ask, " Do you speak English?"  and how to reply, "I don't speak Bulgarian.  Only a little, I am learning."  This has come in handy.  I was very proud of myself just this morning for understanding that the sweet little old lady next to us on the bus was asking me how old Eli was.  I was able to give a brief answer then interpret that she had 2 grandchildren, one was 2 and the other was 4.  I then was able to tell her that Jonathan was 5 and Audrey was 7.  Now, before you get the impression that I am anywhere near proficient, all of this was relayed in broken, very badly spoken, Bulgarski.  But, hey, that was my victory for today! 
         Eli's potty training is going good.  He has gone a couple of days with no accidents and these are very good days!!!  Then there are days he does it just to spite me.  Okay.....maybe not, but it feels like that.  His personality is very much like that of his sister.  Very headstrong, and determined.  As usual this kind of freaks out other parents around us on the playground.  Steven and I have observed that parents here are very protective of their children.  Even the bigger ones.  They are never far away from them on the playground, and if the child climbs anything over 3 feet high, the parent is right there for assistance.  Well, you can imagine how it looks when I am letting my little guy scale a climbing wall, flip over the top, and descend the other side.  All while passing up what looks like a 5 year old little boy.  As I puff up with pride at my sons gross motor ability, I look around and see all the other parents looking at me in sheer horror and disbelief that I would even let him attempt it.  I simply smile, tell him "way to go!" in english, and they all understand...oh, they're just crazy Americans. :)
   Jonathan and Audrey are doing good.  Audrey is on holiday until Apr.11, so she has been working on her American schoolwork this week, and will be going with the boys to childcare next week.  We are getting used to living in an apt. and I think the park right down the street is helping.  The weather has been really nice for the past couple of days and there is always alot going on in the park.  Plus we use it as a meeting place.  Steven has already met another man and his child that were from England, and we are getting to know the family of the little boy that translates for Audrey in school.  They are really nice and have a neat story.  He is from Mexico, she is from Bulgaria, and they met in college in Colorado, USA.  HA!  Isn't that great! 
     Well, I have babbled on enough.  Overall, life here is good!  We are loving exploring the city(sometimes getting a little lost), eating yummy new foods, and meeting new people.  May God be glorified in all we do here!

Newsletter 1

The cold crisp air of Sofia hit our faces, along with the reality, we were finally here!  Our team members greeted us at the airport and took us to our new home.  After a few days of recovering from jetlag we ventured out into the city and found the people here to be distant, yet friendly.  They are especially considerate of the kids and you can tell children are valued in this culture.

             Small tasks in America have now become feats of achievement here.  Stacie has managed to conquer the shopping more than once, while Steven has triumphantly learned to navigate the public transportation.  The children never cease to amaze us in their ability to adapt and make friends wherever we go.  Jonathan even tried to help take up the offering in church Sunday.

Overall we feel extremely blessed to join God in His task of reaching all peoples!

View from our apartment

Bridge near our apt.

Aleksander Nevski Church

  

· We arrived safely and are settling into life in Sofia.

· Support from our team as we enrolled Audrey in school and Jonathan and Eli in childcare.

· Pray for us as we begin learning the Bulgarian language.

· Pray for some contacts already made with Bulgarians, that these relationships would grow and present an opportunity to share the hope we have in Christ.

· Pray for Audrey, Jonathan, and Eli as they continue to adjust to a new life and culture.

Waiting

Many of you have asked how we are doing and the only response I have is...we are waiting. We hope to hear on the progress of our visa approval soon, but it could be as long as a month.  We have been blessed with a place to stay until we depart just north of San Antonio.  We appreciate and ask for continued prayer on the quick approval of our visas.  We know that everything is in God's perfect time, but we hope this comes sooner than later as we are ready to head over the ocean.  We have had some great time visiting with family over the holidays and the last few weeks.  We were hoping to drive to Livingston this weekend but Jonathan has come down with a pretty bad virus with high fever and such.

Tomorrow is the ninth anniversary of my cousin Rachel's dissapearance and my aunt and uncle still have heard nothing.  Please pray for the Cooke family tomorrow as they remember Rachel. 
Steven

Final days of Orientation

We are ending our time here in Virginia.  It has been a blessing to be among such fine families, and to develop life long friendships.  Now we will head back to Stacie's parents house for Christmas with several stops between here and there. We are waiting to hear back on the approval of our visas, and hope that it happens sooner than later.  I have posted a few photos of some family fun we had while here.

 Apple Pickin

 Snow

Jamestown