Reminiscing...

I think I've hit a quarter life crisis. And I'm feeling this crisis by seriously missing ballet...

You see, I grew up taking ballet, from age two all the way through college.  I was so in love with this form of dance that I took all the levels of ballet classes I could possibly take in college, multiple times...

And then I realized, oh yeah, wait, as much as I love ballet and would love to do something with it, I don't have the hips to go anywhere with this lovely form of dance.

(circa. 8th grade, see, definitely NO turnout and that right foot is completely in the wrong spot)

There's a quote from my favorite movie (Center Stage) that sums up exactly how I feel about ballet...
The able-bodied daughter says to her mother who never had the feet for ballet,
"You didn't have the feet, I don't have the heart."

Well, I had the heart (and still do love it) for ballet, but I didn't/don't have the turn out from the hips...never did, never would have.

So as Jas and I were talking the other night about how quickly life goes (he, also, was reminiscing on the days when he could once dunk a basketball :), I began to realize that I just have to soak up each moment for what it is presently AND be thankful for the moments that have been.

(photo taken my sophomore year of college by my friend Attabel)

I seriously loved my time dancing/doing ballet.  Now, I still seriously love it, but in a completely new way.  It's now more of an adoration, an amazement, at the way the Lord created some people to just simply be able to perform ballet effortlessly.

And that brought me to pinterest, of course (shamefully, I know, I'm living vicariously through a website?!?! that sounds kind of lame, but it's the truth...).  I've been pinning various photos of ballet that are just, well, inspiring.

So here you go.  The lovely juxtaposition of intense control and utter freedom of expressive movement in photo form...

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Ah, I guess my real dancin' days are over, but ya know, I think it may be time to look for an adult ballet class here in Bratislava.

Quality Daddy Time

Elise LOVES her daddy.  He makes her smile (and nearly laugh) sooo often.  And it is (in my most humble mom opinion ;) ADORABLE.

Jas does this little dance/smile combo that has her grinning from ear to ear (not to mention he looks hilarious doing it)...I caught a little clip of the action...



A couple things to note...
1)  That's our tutor Terezia who comes over twice a week to help us learn this language.
2)  I wish you could get the full effect of Jason's dance...but that's a lil snippet
3)  That is one HUGE grin for such a little girl...and then she gets a little scared of the kiss (cuuuute)

And I've also captured a few sweet moments of late:

I really love watching their relationship develop.  I realize how important it is for a girl to have a special place in her daddy's heart...and vice versa.  Thankful Elise has a dad that loves her...and am praying for the both of them daily :)

Bye Bye Bara!

I've been meeting with my good friend and language partner, Bara, for some nine months now.  We typically meet at least once a week and also see each other at church.

But this past week we met one last time before she leaves for five months to head to the Netherlands!  She'll be studying there.  It's safe to say Elise and I will miss her...definitely.

We grabbed a couple cute shots to commemorate our time before she left.

Elise is in there somewhere under that rain cover and all those warm blankets.

They're a cute pair, huh?

Bara's placka (Slovak potato pancake with lots'o stuff inside).

Bara closed her eyes on that one, but I couldn't resist posting it...too funny! (oh, and Bara, I meant to tell you, I bought you a matching hat just like that one ;)

And that last one is of our post-rain walk on the way home (around 5 pm).  Lovely.

We'll miss you, Bara, but we're already planning our next hang out for when you're back in town!

Four Months!

Four months (technically tomorrow).

Here she is in all her four month cuteness...

Weight:  No idea until we go back in February.  But I dare say she's definitely gotten heavier :)

Major Milestones:  She loves, loves holding her head up while on her back.  As of the last few days she's very good at holding her head up while on her belly.  She is a major smiley girl these days (especially at her daddy).

Other:  She usually goes to sleep between 8:40 pm and sleeps until 5:30 am.  She can eat well (mostly in the mornings), but she's not super keen on eating in general and really doesn't like a bottle...we're talking serious dislike.  She generally takes two 30-40 minute small naps, one around 9 am and the other around 1 pm.

And here are a few other shots, just for fun!

We love you, sweet E!

Rezen!

The other day my friend Zuzka was over.  It was getting close to dinner time and I was wanting to try my hand at rezen.  Rezen is a common Slovak chicken dish (kind of like the country fried steak of the American south).  Thankfully Zuzka hung around long enough to teach me how to do it just the way her family does...

Pounding that meat...and yes I did use a potato masher as we didn't have a meat hammer.  It did a fine job though, I must say.

The chef and I :)  (no comments on the cheesiness of that photo haha!)

Wait for it to turn a lovely golden brown, and then...

Plate it up with rice and dig in. Delish!

Four Eyes!

That's me...four-eyes, glasses-wearing chick.  But I'm totally fine with it, especially since glasses are a fun accessory (or so I think :)

So when my glasses came in the mail the other day, I was pretty pumped to give 'em a whirl.

I'm a fan.  But then I decided I needed a junior model to join me in trying on glasses.  So who did I recruit?  Why Elise, of course! (Jas is a lil big to be considered a junior, ya know?)

That last one is my absolute favorite...makes me laugh.  And for the record, I really do hope she never has to wear glasses...I'd much prefer her to have great vision.  I did enjoy having her model with me, however, but eh, I'm not so sure she was into it...haha.

That View...

Our balcony is one of my favorite spots in/on our flat.  The view is often quite amazing.

Take these for example...

 

Love the color display of sunrises and sunsets.  Gorgeous.

And right now there's a ton of snow a-fallin':

 

(We're going to see how long we can make our Christmas tree last :)  Wouldn't it be cool if we could use the same one next year!?  But I highly doubt it'll make it through the summer heat...we'll see!)

But I guess I better quit looking out the window and get to studying.  Round two of language test tomorrow...yikes!

A Few More

Just a few more from a recent "photo shoot" because they made me smile :)  Not to mention it was among one of the first times she actually stayed still long enough for me to get a few good shots...

So serious...but so seriously cute.

Feelin' A Bit Random

I happen to be one of those people that really likes random posts.  I like to write them and I really like to read them on other blogs.  Maybe it's because there are always approximately 10 things I am thinking of at once?  Or maybe because it gives a good snapshot of the daily (and those lil tid bits that may go unnoticed otherwise)?

Either way, here ya go, Thursday randomness...

My friend, Bara, gave me that little planner.  Cute, huh?
My mama gave me the owl journal.  At the moment it's being filled with tons of language notes (we have another big test next week...eep!)

Our bathroom currently looks like a pharmacy.  Jason is still in the healing process, but it's coming along!  He now walks more like a 30 year old instead of a 90 year old...

Sonya made these nuts for Bible study, and I just love the texture (and of course the flavor was great too).

Steph made this mobile for Elise and she LOVES it.  Every time I put her down for a nap in her crib, she takes about 10 minutes studying that thing before she falls asleep.

Oreos + Milka chocolate.  Oh. My. Yes. Amazing.

And this lil cute thing just wanted to say "peace out"!

Happy (random) Thursday :)

Nappin' Paci-In-Hand Style

Sweet baby E fell asleep sitting up in my arms the other day.  It was too cute.

She also thought it would be a good idea to hold on to her paci the whole time she slept.  Adorable.

These are the moments I don't want to forget.  That I want to cherish and ponder in my heart.

And while that is one of the precious moments that I adore, there are also the moments where she's screaming and won't take a bottle while I'm at class.  Hmmm...about that... ;)

Introducing: Cross Cultural Clarity

So I don't know if you've noticed but there is a new blog that's been appearing on the right hand side of our blog over there --->

It's called Cross-Cultural Clarity and it's a blog that Jason, Tom Holloway, and some other friends from around the world are contributing to.

In its own words...
"This blog consists of our stories. Stories to bring you clarity of what it is really like to serve Cross-Culturally. The funny, the amazing, the painful, the reality. So we hope you enjoy the raw beauty of all of this. In the end you will see, we are no different from you, we just follow Christ in another part of the world."

Flower Power

The whole theme of a new year is out with the old, in with the new, correct?

So with that in mind, I took down our stockings hanging above the couch and went to work filling the space above with something new.  I've actually been wanting something on this big, white wall for some time now, but since we rent (and I've already probably put enough holes in the wall) I haven't come up with any "permanent" solution to date.

However, while perusing the clearance rack at Billa (our local potraviny, er, grocery store), I happened upon some red and pink felted flowers.  I scooped those lil guys up for a mere 2 euros...hooray happy Charity :)

I came home, strung them up, taped them to the wall (not the world's greatest solution), stepped back and admired them, AND did it all in a fabulous 15 minutes!

It isn't going to stay there forever, and yes, I know, it's only January, but what's happier than a wall of flowers on a cold winter's day?  I'm a fan.

I present to you our flower power wall--

(for the record, our couch never really looks like this.  there is usually some sort of blanket, toy, paci hanging out on the couch...you get the picture, right?)

I think it'll have to do for a short-term quick fix...but I sure do love those felt flowers.

I guess while I'm trying to figure out what I want to fill the big white space I'll just have to check out pinterest for inspiration, huh? :)

P.S.- if you have any creative ideas on filling a large blank wall (without creating many holes), send 'em my way.  Thanks!