Rough Weekend

nobody@vox.com(Bliss in Poland) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:38:06 -0800

The whole family came down with a terrible stomach flu this weekend. It was no fun, and we are still recovering from it. It was especially hard for us parents to take care of three little girls while being very sick ourselves. Sophie really stepped up. She was one of the last to get sick, and she took every chance she had to take care of the sickies before finally succumbing herself. She brought blankets and gave hugs. She was also the only one to got the bowl concept once the stomach bug hit. It is fun to watch her grow up. I love watching her care for others.
We are getting better and better bit by bit, but it has been a rough weekend.

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Shot in the Arm.

nobody@vox.com(Bliss in Poland) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:46:29 -0800

Lexie got shot in the arm today. Don't worry, it was done by a nurse in a controlled environment to create an immunization to a dangerous disease. She took it well. The doctors and nurses really like her. They like us too. I think that's because they can practice their English on us, and they like that they do not have to.
A surprisingly large number of English speakers living in Lodz speak remarkably little Polish. I this this may be because so many of the Poles speak English that they can get by. You can even get a M.D. in Lodz without speaking Polish. So when the doctors hear an American speaking Polish I think they take it as a sign of respect for their culture. After all, Polish is not one of the major international languages. There are only about 40 million people who speak it out of the 6 billion on the planet.
It is funny that we Americans from the world's great melting pot of cultures tend to get frustrated when a foreigner cannot communicate properly in English where as the Poles are honored they you just try.
Personally, I cannot understand why anyone would want to live in a country and not try to constantly improve their ability in the language. Not everyone will become fluent in the language, especially if they have a business to run while they learn, but the constant attempt to get better will vastly improve your life in that you will be better able to express your thoughts and communicate with those around you. Even if you never leave America, you should still constantly improve your ability to communicate.
That's a long diversion from news about Lexie getting a shot, but hay, it's a blog not a masters thesis.

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Golden Birthday

nobody@vox.com(Bliss in Poland) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:57:33 -0800

The first of our children to have her golden birthday is our youngest. Little Lexie turned one today. She will go down in history with about 15 percent of the population who never remembers the day their age and birth date matched, but that does not mean we did not have a special day for her.
Almost from birth Sasha and I called her our "cupcake." Sophie, on the other hand, called her "Ladybug Alexis."
Therefore it only seemed fitting to make her cupcakes that looked like ladybugs. My creative wife, being the wonderful mother she is, baked and decorated several cupcakes to look like ladybugs last night. This morning all three girls enjoyed a cupcake for breakfast.
Then in the afternoon we all went to Kinderplanet at the Manufactura. The girls ran around and had fun together. Sophie and Veronica played their first game of air hockey. Sophie won twice because Veronica kept putting the puck in her own goal to see what would happen. (I think she liked the goal noise and watching the puck disappear and reappear in the slot below.)
Then we had KFC for dinner and came home to open presents. The whole ride home Sophie kept telling us how Lexie would open a ducky present. She knew because she picked out the duck for her a few days ago. Good thing Lexie did not understand what she was saying or it would have ruined the surprise.
Now Sasha's upstairs tucking our little princess in bed. It has been a good year.

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New Nickname

nobody@vox.com(Bliss in Poland) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:18:48 -0800

Yesterday Sophie was playing a game pretending that the ground was water. She asked me (David) to carry her over the water, and I told her that she can swim through the water. She did not need me. She said, "I can't swim. I'm a little girl. Your Daddy Muscles."
I tried to explain to her that you don't need big muscles to swim, but I could not help but like the new nickname. She repeated it again today. I hope it stick. Little girls are good for their daddy's ego.

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Thanksgiving

nobody@vox.com(Bliss in Poland) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:12:06 -0800

This is one of our favorite days of the year. Thanksgiving is the closest we come to an official American spiritual holiday. Granted it is not a holiday associated with any one belief system, but I always wondered who atheists thanked on thanksgiving. I guess they could thank themselves, but then what would the point in that be?
This Thanksgiving we will be spending with some Americans in town as well as some American friends who are visiting from our old city of Szczecin. It was fun for the girls to wake up this morning with their friends already down stairs and ready to play.
We will spend the morning getting food ready for the feast, and then this afternoon we will head across town to meet with the other Americans for a day of food, fun, and thanks.
We thank God this morning for all the blessings He has poured out on us. This is our first thanksgiving since Lexie was born. We are thankful for our three girls. We are also thankful for the ways God has guided us over this past year, and that He has allowed us to be a part of His work in Lodz. We are thankful for friends and family that have visited over the past year, and we are thankful for the exciting future that the next year promises to bring.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

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Morning Run

nobody@vox.com(Bliss in Poland) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:23:01 -0800

The sun was out this morning. About 90 percent of the time Poland is covered with clouds in November, so I (David) decided to take advantage of the situation and go for a sunrise jog. (Sunrise is about 8 am this time of year.) The first third of my jog was unusually difficult. While pondering why this was I noticed that I was constantly looking down rather than looking up like I usually do. (It is easier for me to jog while looking up, so it was strange to find myself doing this.) I ran with my head down because the street I was running along faces south-east and (being a November morning) that meant that I was running directly toward the sun. That, along with the uphill climb in the first part of the run explained the increased difficulty of this morning's run. Fortunately the run back was a piece of cake, and I finished at a pace that would shame my younger brother, but make my older brother proud.
It is hard to complain on a beautiful day like today. There is not a cloud in the sky, and the thermometer outside the window reads 15 C (60 F). After I came home from the run Sophie and Veronica expressed a strong desire to play in the yard. We were more than willing to send them out to enjoy this warm fall day. Then, a little later, Sasha went to the mall to hang out with Shelly. The big mall in town has a huge courtyard. Outdoor shopping should be quite enjoyable for the ladies this morning.
Gotta love the sun. Especially when it makes a rare public appearance like today.

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Time With the Grandparents

nobody@vox.com(Bliss in Poland) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:59:18 -0800

In a couple of days David's Dad and Mom will fly back to America. We have really enjoyed having them here. The girls have had a great time playing with Grandpa and Grandma, and will undoubtedly be sad when they leave.
Yesterday we took in some of the sights around Lodz. We saw a couple of monuments and took a walk down the big walking street in town. We have enjoyed sharing our city with them.

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Krakow

nobody@vox.com(Bliss in Poland) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:03:54 -0800

David's dad and mom are visiting from the U.S. this week. Earlier this week we took the train down to Krakow to show them one of Poland's most beautiful cities. The whole family came along, and we had a great time exploring the down town area together. Below pictures of our excursion.

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Extra Weight

nobody@vox.com(Bliss in Poland) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:07:52 -0700

I (David) gained 15 pounds when we were back in the US last year. I had been warned that this could happen, but all that time away from some of my favorite fattening foods caused me to eat too much garbage. Realizing that I was at an unhealthy weight I have been working hard since our return to loose the gut and I am now down about 30 pounds since Christmas. As our city team leader says, "I don't want to have to carry all that extra weight everywhere I go." We are all going to die some day, and it could be today for all we know, but a life without the fat is a better life and takes less effort to live.

Of course, body fat is not the only extra weight we carry. It is so easy to get involved in projects and plans that are a poor use of our time. These poorly chosen uses of our time can feel like an extra weight we carry around with us everywhere we go. We only have so much time in every day, and not every use of our time is the best use. Ask God for the wisdom to use your time in the best way possible. We only get so much of it, so why burden ourselves by putting extra effort into things that are not worth it.

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How to Respond

nobody@vox.com(Bliss in Poland) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:55:43 -0700

I was sitting at my computer chatting with my brother over skype when little Sophie strategically placed herself next to my right arm. She does this a lot. It is a good way of getting my attention. You see, it is very difficult to type with a four year old standing in such a position as to block your dominant arm. She does this when she wants her Daddy to do something with her, and how I respond depends on how busy I am at the time and what she wants me to do with her.
Today I did not want to get off the computer. I don't often get good conversations with this particular brother due to time zone differences, and I knew he would soon go to bed, but then I saw what she had in her hand. It was a big book of Bible stories, and she requested in her sweet irresistible tone, "Daddy, please read me a Bible story."
How can I turn down such a request?

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