From What I Hear...

Belated Spring & Easter Post

I have a love affair with Spring.  There's just something transcendent about everything waking to life seemingly all at once.  Just before heading out on a Spring Break vacation, I took some photos of our back yard because it is just made me so excited to see all that color and blossom spontaneously burst into existence.  

Houston is a green place.  It's warm and humid and plants like warm and humid.  Plus, there's lots of pine, so even in the winter, when it's cool (and humid) things are still stubbornly green.  Of course, Spring does make its arrival and brown things become green and the green gets greener, but it's not the same as when it feels like that whole wide world is gray and brown and then...pow!...in a matter of days the world explodes with new life.  I love Spring.  It's tranformative.

Things are even more bloomy-beautiful now, three weeks later and it just makes me so happy.

Not just happy.  Joyful.  I believe an inherent truth-seeking part of our Spirit recognizes the beauty and rebirth of Spring and easily draws the correlation to the Resurrection, which is the most joyful idea there is, so...yes, Spring is transcendent, beautiful, joyous and I love it.

St. Stephen Basilica

There wasn't a lot of time for me to go site-seeing, what with looking for a house and getting the kids settled in school, but I did manage to take one afternoon to go see the Christmas market outside St. Stephen's basilica just before the kids got out of school for the Winter break.

This church is named after St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary, who lived about 1,050 years ago.  His right hand is housed in the reliquary and you can pay extra to see it, but I passed.  Seemed kinda morbid to me and I wasn't sure even how to ask about it, considering my Hungarian is so poor.  The structure is the same height as the Parliament building, at 96 meters (315 feet) high.  It took about 54 years to build, mostly due to a collapse of dome during construction which required demolition and major redesign and rebuild.  Organ concerts are regularly given and I hope to take the kids to one in the spring, maybe around Easter.

My favorite part is the artwork on the cupola:

But the altar and side alters are equally magnificent:

One thing that was kinda strange:  the internet and the guide books say that the tour through the chapel is free, but a small donation is appreciated.  I would have to disagree with the assessment that it is 'appreciated' and go right to required.  When I got to the entrance, there was a priest standing next to the "donation" box.  The box had a sign that clearly read "200 ft".  The priest's poster and demenor made it pretty obvious that his sole purpose was to check to make sure everyone "donated".  I actually don't mind that they charge to view the building, especially such a nominal fee (200 ft = $1), afterall, the basilica requires maintenance just like anything else, but I wished they would just come straight out and charge the price, rather than asking for a donation that isn't really optional.  It was weird but shouldn't discourage visits.  It's really just strange they don't come clean with the whole deal.

Okay, so last picture.  Here's the back of the basilica.

Christmas 2011: Our first Christmas Abroad

Whilst sitting on my very own couch, I type this ole blog entry.  

Yes, we are in our new, if somewhat temporary, home.  Things went about as smoothly as can be expected.  Our stuff arrive mostly unscathed and the movers got everything unloaded and eventually un-boxed in one (very long) day.  Then came the week-long job of finding a place for everything.  That job is nearing completion, and for those with the penchant to call, my magic jack is now working full-time, so call as you will.   

You're probably thinking, "I thought this entry was about Christmas."  It is.  I just needed to inject a quick bit of updated information for those that have asked for it.  

Anywho...

Ah...Christmas 2011:  Our first Christmas abroad.

We spent the special day in our hotel, of course.  We did Christmas Eve dinner at home and as per tradition, we gave the kids their Christmas Eve present:
Then, off to bed, so that in the morning, this would appear:
Much to the surprise and delight of the boys, Santa brought an Xbox Kinect.  For those aren't down with the latest gaming systems, this type of Xbox has a special attachment that allows the player's body to become the controller (at least for those games designed to work with Kinect--otherwise you have a regular controller).  So the kids jump and the game character jumps.  The kids were so jazzed...until they realized that, like all of our games, we couldn't play them in the hotel room.  The tv was too old and had only the European style hookups.   So, instead they broke open their other presents.  

Kyle got a Lego Super Car (that really works).  It was by far the biggest Lego set this Christmas and we all took a hand in helping put it together.  His other gift was the Ninjago Lego board game.

Dave got a Ninjago Snow dragon, and a Cops-n-Robbers Lego set and a game for his DS.  He and I also had a lot of fun with the boys' collection of Lego men.
Lincoln  got two Lego set from The Pirates of the Caribbean.  
The Mill set and the Queen Anne's Revenge.
We spent most of the day contently building Legos and playing games.  2011 was a remarkably relaxing Christmas, especially considering the circumstances.
A sad little side note:  turns out, Adam is allergic to Christmas trees.  Seriously.  He broke out in a rash about 3 days after we got our Christmas tree and it remained, despite numerous doctor's visits and daily applications of expensive creams.  The itching about drove him batty.  Then, we got rid of the tree and the rash instantly got better and was completely gone within 2 days.  Guess it's artifical trees for us. :(

Merry Christmas

As I've been going about my week, I keep replaying the lyrics of a Christmas song I listened to recently: "It's Christmas Time All Over the World".  Here's a few applicable lines:

It’s Christmas Time All Over The World

It’s Christmas here at home

The church bells chime we 'ere roam... 

Though the customs might change

And the language is strange

This appeal we feel is real

In Holland or Hong Kong

It’s Christmas Time All Over The World

In places near and far

And so my friend wherever you are

Ein fröhliches Weihnachten [German]

Kala Christougenna [Greek]

Yoi kurisumasu [Japanese]

This means a very Merry Christmas 

To you

Merry Christmas, my friends and family.  May the Spirit of Christ enter your hearts and stay with you all year long.

A Trio of Firsts

We have been in Budapest now for 3.5 weeks.  As you might expect we have had a lot of firsts, but I will share three big ones.

First day of school for Lincoln and Kyle:

As you can see, the boys wear uniforms to school.  Kyle's uniform is a white polo shirt, blue sweater and gray pants while, Lincoln's uniform is a white dress shirt, school tie, gray sweater and black pants.  They weren't all that excited about the uniforms, honestly, but now that they've done it for a while, I don't think they actually mind all that much.  The kids go to the British School of Budapest or BISB.  

 As I mentioned earlier, Lincoln has gotten to be friends with a boy who is also from Cypress and who has been here in Budapest about 18 months.  The boy's mother also works for Exxon and his dad works for Texas A&M (abroad, obviously) and they will be our neighbors, assuming we get the house we've been trying to negotiate for.  (Did I mention we picked a house.  Well, we have.  We like it and it's in a good location for both school and work.  Hopefully everything will go smoothly with the leasing negotiations and we can take occupancy once our things arrive from the US.)  Lincoln has also made friends with a couple other boys in his year whom I met briefly.  I've been very pleased with how welcoming the school and kids have been thus far.

 Kyle made some connections as well.  Just down the street from our future home about 1/2 mile is another family with a boy from Kyle's year.  This boy's dad also works for Exxon.  This family has lived in Dallas for 3 years and they've been here in Hungary for a while, but they're originally from Belgium.  The boy invited Kyle to a party over the weekend and the two seem to be hitting it off.  Kyle has mentioned several other kids from his class whom he has played floor hockey or soccer with during recess.  He seems to be easing into life here okay although I think he and Lincoln are both a little homesick for the comfort of home.

So, now for the second of our list of firsts:  David's 1st Day of Preschool:

 David really enjoys his school.  He goes Monday, Thursday and Friday from about 8:30 am until 3:30 pm.  It's a longer day than he's used to but he has lots to do while he's there.  They have art, music, language, math, and then a rotational activity of either Judo, Swim or Skiing.  He has 2 teachers for a class of 9 kids.  One of the teachers is Hungarian but she also speaks English and the other teacher is American and she speaks a little Hungarian.  About 1/2 the kids are Hungarian and the other 1/2 are from an international background.  As you can see, no uniforms for David, but next fall, he will begin going to BISB and then the uniforms with start with him, too.  He really wants to go with the boys to the "big school" but SuperKids is a good transition for now.  I just hope the academics are challenging enough.

Finally, here's the pics from our final 1st:  The first week of church.

So this is our ward building.  The building is the Stake Center and on the Pest side.  For now, it's taking us about 15 minutes to get to church, but once we are in our home, it will be more like 25 minutes.  The building is new and up-to-date, but small in comparison to what I'm used to.  There is about about 140-150 people to church every week and I'd say about 70% of them are Hungarian.  We use headsets for English translation during sacrament meeting and Priesthood/Relief Society, but we split up by language for Sunday School.  The ward is still in the midst of figuring out their combined status as the International/Pest Ward.  

Also, I've already received a calling.  I will serve as the Primary Music Leader, which will be interesting as I don't speak Hungarian or have any musical talents.  Another woman, who does speak Hungarian, but not much English, has been called to serve in the same capacity.  She and I will work together to do the music for Primary and I hope we can communicate enough together to get it done.  I'm sure this will be one of those things people always call a "learning experience".  Hmm.

Well, enjoy your week as you drive around on your wide, evenly-spaced, straight, pothole-free roads and think of me while I navigate the gauntlet.  *wink*

Remember

9/11/2001:  I was a new mom, living in a new city with just a few close friends.  My typical day was filled with changing diapers and housework but this day wasn't supposed to be a typical day.  It was my 5-year anniversary.  Although Adam and I had no specific plans, I held out hope that my sweetheart would surprise me with something special.  As per routine, I turned on the morning news to fill the quiet while I fixed breakfast for myself and my 18-month old little boy.  

And then it happened...Katie Couric paused.  Her voice cut out.  She touched her earpiece.  Announced that she had breaking news.

Horror followed.  Tears.  Anger.  Anguish.  Fear.  I made so many calls that morning.  To friends and family, but first...first, I called Adam.  It was our anniversary.  What if what they're saying was true.  What if there were more targets?  High value targets like an oil-and-gas capital and port city of Houston.  It was our anniversary.  My gut twisted with anxiety.

By the end of that day, I got everything I wanted for my anniversary.  I got my husband home safe and sound.  But so many did not.

Remember 9/11

Birthday Wishes

 So, I turn 34 this year.  No, I'm not fudging my age and yeah, that means I am officially kinda-sort-old and that's okay.  I like my thirties.  The thirties have brought me into the stage of life where I'm done having babies and I'm working real hard to raise the ones I got.  It's demanding but rewarding.  I have a loving husband, three healthy boys, a handful of beautiful and talent friends and an extended family that loves and supports me.  I like my neighborhood and church group.  

You might read this and feel like that's nothing to write home about.  Pretty normal, right?

Well, the alternative to normal could be rainbows and unicorns, but it can also be ugly skies and goblins (so to speak--don't come lock me up just yet, people).  All I'm saying is that I've had a bad year day or two and I have a great appreciation for anything resembling normal. Normal is pretty darn great.  

So today is a normal day, relatively speaking, and 34 is a normal number, and I'm thrilled.   So here's my birthday wish:

I wish to see more clearly the miracles in my day, like the sound of my boys' laughter or the look in my husband's eyes when he tells me he loves me or the miracle of sunshine and a healthy body, but most especially, I wish to appreciate the tender mercies that come from my Father in Heaven.

This is my birthday wish for me and you and pretty much everyone.  Here's to another normal year!

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July!  I hope you had a great Independence Day.  The first thing we did on the Fourth was to hustled our way to church, being that the Fourth was a Sunday, and because it was the first Sunday of the month, we had Fast and Testimony* meeting.  The interesting part was that out of the 8 or 9 people that shared their testimony, 6 were born in a country other than the United States.  They all offered gratitude for the freedoms and blessing of this country that has now become their home.  They were from Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina and Bolivia.  This great showing of thanksgiving helped remind me what a blessing we have in our country––a blessing I may be taking for granted seeing as how it is all I know.  I hope my kids were listening and I hope they felt what I felt.  What a great way to start out the day.  I hope amongst the BBQs and fireworks, these same feeling resonated with you.
*For those not familiar with this term, it is a special meeting held the first Sunday of each month, where members are invited to abstain from food and drink for two meals and to dedicate that time of prayer and fasting to a specific purpose.  Additionally, at the meeting members are invited to share their testimony of the Gospel of Christ. 

Small town meet big city

My parents, residents of a small town in Idaho (population 1,771) came to visit our humble abode here in Houston (population 2.2 million).  On our way home from the airport, my dad muttered, "It's a good thing you're driving.  We'd get squashed driving here!"

That being said, I hope they had a good time.  They arrived Friday and we let them settle in as I made Chicken Capri, with pasta, green beans and bruchetta. 

The next morning after some yummy 'Good Morning Muffins', we headed out for Galveston, where we watched a short film about the pirate, Jean Lafitte and his short residence on Galveston Island.  Then we toured the Elissa, a working sailing vessel from the 1800's.  
The boys even got to help set one of the 20 sails, while aboard.   
Finally, we toured the Bishop's Palace.  (Man, the guy had a lot of money)
 On our way home, we stopped for an early dinner at Pappadeaux's for some cajun seafood.  Oy vey, we were full!

The next afternoon, after church we had Kyle's baptism.  He was so thrilled and I know it meant a lot to him to have his grandparents be there on this day.
 

Easter Comes Early

Easter came a little early this year...at least for us.  Last weekend, we visited some family friends.  Their kids and my boys dyed some eggs and then we did a quick egg hunt.  It was low-key and perfect for my boys.  Thanks Bybee Family!