Snapshots Summer Camp 2015

For some reason my blog does not want to upload pictures right now.  So this is the only one I will post for now from our camp last week.  We had our first English Camp of the summer at the same pension we always host it from.  Our theme this year is "snapshots," as in the snapshots we take of ourselves, and the snapshots we view other people or events by in life, and what those snapshots say about us or others.  We're also looking at some different snapshots of God and what we can learn about Him from those.  We're asking questions about why we take the snapshots we do of ourselves, why we set up the moment in certain ways, what we're trying to express to others, why we judge others by only a snapshot of a moment, what can we learn from them, and what can we learn from God and about God.  The first camp was a wonderful camp and being with the students and our helpers was awesome. We made many new friends and some great new memories.

The kids also did well and handled the changes and the chaos well.  In our lives here they are accustomed to a lot of change, being with various groups of people, and being away from us at certain times, so once again they managed going through these experiences well and as best they could at their ages.  Some of our dear friends and students here came to camp to solely help us with the children while Josh and I were away helping with English classes and leading many different games and then discussion groups and programs in the evenings.  Thankfully there are many fun things to do around the pension that the children were able to do with our friends.  They enjoyed playing outside, playing in a gym, playing on a playground, swimming inside, and watching the older students play various sports and activities. Jakub even participated in some of them alongside Josh, like water-balloon wars, skits, and frisbee.

It was an enjoyable, exhausting, emotional week with the students and I think we all loved it very much.  This week we're back in Olomouc doing various programs and devotionals for the students, as well as getting ready for the next camp, which will begin this coming weekend.

CThanks for your prayers for our church here, for these summer camps, and for our family as we do these various activities and events.  Please keep them coming!

Pretty things...

This beautiful little girl has started finding many things "pretty."  She will notice if I change my shirt or if I have showered and fixed my hair and make-up, and then she'll say "Mommy, that's so pretty!" or "Wow... I like that.  It's pretty."  She has such a sweet and gentle voice when she says it, and sometimes she'll then close her eyes and make this really big, sweet, close-mouthed smile and point her face up and it's like she's soaking in the whole moment or the whole thing that she finds so "pretty."  I just love it and I just love her!

Today I took Jakub for a little spoiling while Sofia stayed home for her typical after-lunch nap time.  I took Jakub to the mall for lunch with friends, then play time for him at a children's indoor play center, and some shopping.  I found this sweet little dress for Sofia on sale (and a cool shark shirt for Jake) with multi-colored birds on it and I knew she would love it.  When we gave it to her at home she immediately wanted to wear it, and twirl in it, and she said it was so pretty.  I loved that Jakub was just as excited to give it to her and see her in it as she was to have it.  Such a fun moment and fun day of spoiling them both.  It's something we don't do too often, which makes these moments such a sweet treat!

On a side-note, I have to brag on Jakub a little bit (and I just want to write down the moment to remember) for being a very kind brother today.  His treat was to eat at KFC in the mall for lunch.  And when he found out he could have the kid's meal box for lunch, with a toy in it, he immediately said he wanted to pick a toy for Sofia to have.  He picked a tiger flashlight that was just perfect for her and was so excited to give it to her.  He already has a flashlight at home and he wanted her to have her own as well.  I was proud of him for thinking of her and giving it to her without taking it for himself or taking it back from her.  I was proud of him.

What a good day with lots of blessings and love!  And pretty things!

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Happy Summer!

Yeah!!  This sweet boy finished school this week and our summer times are officially beginning!  Here in the Czech Republic they finish school the last day of June and usually resume with school the 1st of September.  The summer heat arrived just in time as well- it's around 90F each day this week and it's a sudden and hot change for us.  It's made for some beautiful play dates outside this week... and an eagerness to play in the shady parts of the parks.

Above you can see Jakub 2 weeks ago on his school field trip (with his beloved friend Johanka).  The weather was still cool then.  And his brave and wonderful teachers took the whole class on an all-day field trip that required a bus and train ride to a nearby village.  There, they hiked through the woods, and paths, and creeks, learning about wildlife, picking berries to eat, making small woodpiles for fires, drawing on rocks in creeks, and being treated to a village restaurant lunch.  I know the kids had a magical and memorable day with their teachers.  Jakub loved it!


Here are some more pictures:

Here's Jakub's life-long best friend, and school mate, Míkulaš.  They learned how to pick wild raspberries.  I'm sure they were delicious!

Here are the 5 year olds- who have grown so much in the last year!  Next year they will officially start Kindergarten together.  It will be their last year at školka and almost all of them have been together at school since they began at the age of 3.  It's been a joy to watch them grow together over the past 2 years.  I can't wait to see what the next school year will bring for all of them.

Some facts I don't want to forget about the end of this school year and Jakub:

- His closest friends are still Johanka, Terezka, Mikulaš, Filipek and Maxicek.
- He still loves to go to school each day and learn and play with his friends.
- He can count to 300, but he gives up sometimes in the 200's out of boredom.
- He can write his name, Sofia, Mom, Dad, Papa, Nana, Grandma, Pop, and Book
- He's beginning to try to read on his own, can sound out some simple words, and likes to read books with us each night before bed.
- He can still do simple addition and subtractions, he even quickly does addition in his head and surprises us with some of his correct thoughts and answers with numbers.  Seems that numbers are his thing.
- He speaks Czech as well as any other 5 year old and the teachers say his pronunciation is spot-on.  I'm so proud of him for trying and for speaking and not letting it hold him back from anything.  He's even helped me already in a couple of situations with kids.  It was great!
- He did well at the school olympics this year and loved the various competitions.  He had one of the longest jumps in the triple jump.

That's all for now. :)