I am not sure if it is because I am afraid to tell everyone how I feel or afraid that people will critique every word and sentence I write. Either way, I have fallen short on this thing called a blog. I hope that I will get better at writing on here. No more excuses...
On to the holidays...
Thanksgiving: I know... Thanksgiving comes before Christmas. I can't believe that I forgot to include it in my other post. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Although we couldn't be with family, we were definitely surrounded by lots of friends. My friend Kenna and I cooked all day long. I think we had enough mashed potatoes to feed an army. We were so blessed to be able to spend Thanksgiving with some new Czech friends. Many of my Czech friends had never experienced Thanksgiving before. It was great when they tried the new foods and found it funny how we gorge ourselves on Thanksgiving. Along with the new friends, we were able to spend some time with some old friends. (Not old in age, just old in time that I have known them.) My friend Brian Zajick and his family came to spend Thanksgiving with us. I have known Brian since I was born. Our families are long-time friends. Growing up, our families would get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holidays were never the same when we moved from Richmond, VA (where we all lived) to Tennessee. Since Brian, his wife, and 3 children live in Germany, they made the 5 hour trip to see us. Brian and I had not seen each other in over 20 years!!! It was fun to see them. Plus, our kids became good friends. Eli, Ada, and Gabe play games over the internet together.
That is Brian holding me when I was just 10 days old.
Thanksgiving
After a wonderful Christmas, John, Eli, and Ada and I went to Cerny Dul, CZ. We stayed in a nice hotel in the mountains. It was beautiful! There was snow everywhere. We actually had to leave the car that we rented at the base of the mountain. The owners of the hotel had to pick us up and drive us up the mountain in a Land Rover with chains on the tires. We were definitely in a winter wonderland. We had planned to go to Poland to get some Polish pottery after our trip since we were near the border. However, I got sick the last night we were there and spent the night in the bathroom. Fun times!
On New Years, John and the kids went to see the fireworks in Prague. I stayed home recovering from the stomach bug. The kids loved the fireworks! Our friend, Celieta, who took our Christmas photos, took a picture of the fireworks. She gave us a magnet to put on the fridge so we will always remember the beauty that night.
After New Years, we got back into the swing of every day life. I must admit, it was a little depressing. The beautiful Christmas markets were no longer full of life in the squares around town. The lights were taken down. Prague in January is overcast and cloudy. However, we pressed on and looked forward to the days ahead.
