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!

Tummy Time!

Elise is getting pretty good at tummy time.  Our little three month old can lift her head and hold it there for some time.  She can also turn her head back and forth like a champ.  And she's started to roll from her tummy to back.

Oh, and did I mention she looks really cute while doing all of that? ;)

Little grin.

And this is how we keep her attention.  There's a ladybug on that toy that she just adores.  Goodness, goodness, soon enough she'll be crawling!!!

The (Fire) Works

So until now we'd thought we had seen some pretty cool fireworks.  Well, we were wrong.  On New Year's Eve we got to witness the most amazing firework display we have seen to date.

You see, here in Bratislava, you are allowed to shoot fireworks (and we're not talking the puny kind) for a certain amount of time around this time of year (I think maybe a week or so?? not sure exactly).  Irregardless, on NYE the whole skyline on both sides of our flat was one big colorful array of firework happiness.

The fireworks were literally right outside our balcony.  Many people were shooting them right off their roofs.  It kind of sounded like a war zone (intense).  We took a bunch of pictures...

That shows just how close they were!

And here are the two best, for last...

A pretty awesome sight they were :)