Unexpected gift of Christmas

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone. We had some busy yet fun days. Some of out of town friends were in town and we spend time catching up. Ruth and Faith (Chris' sisters) were in town too so we spend a good bit of time hanging out with them each day. They enjoyed some one on one time with emma as well while i worked for 2 days. Emma is a big fan of both her aunts. She has been a fan of Pam and Mateja already but it seemed like Ruth and Faith were new discoveries. She was truly excited each day when she saw them. It was fun for me and Chris to see how much she enjoyed spending time with them. It made me sad sometimes realizing that all of her aunts are far away and she sees them once a year, yet at the same time i was happy to see how emma does not need any warm up time with her aunts. When we were in Croatia Mateja was an instant hit and the same happend now with Ruth and Faith. Praise the Lord for technology and webcameras so emma can keep in touch.

This year I was trying to think some more about Christmas and why we do what we do. Emma enjoyed the gifts even though it was overwhelming still. Our pastor in church had a great sermon about the gift of Christmas. The gift that Christmas bring is an unexpected gift. Gifts we give are to make us more beautiful (clothes...) or to distract us from what is going on (gadgets...), to make us more efficient...Our gifts are all about self reliance. But what would it look like to give gifts that aren't about self reliance. But the gift that God gives at Christmas is a little baby born in the manger. It is a very unexpected gift. The gift God gives says as much about God as it tells about the recipient of the gift. It tells us that we need a counselor, a mighty God, a Father. It tells us that we are sinners that need rescue from the outside because self reliance is destructive and dehumanizing. God knew us better then we knew ourselves. Emma was very excited about baby Jesus in the manger laying under our christmas tree. She would take Jesus each morning, give Him some milk to drink, she would carry Him everywhere around, she took care of him. She does not understand who Jesus is and why He came yet. But in a way it is like she knew there must be something special about baby Jesus-she would not play with any of the other figurines in the manger scene. I want to remember what is the whole reason we celebrate Christmas. That the reason we even give gifts is because Christmas is God giving us the ultimate gift of Jesus our Savior. I pray that all of you reading this would find the gift God has given you and that Christmas will never be the same. That it won't be just about the new shirts, or days off, or a good party, but about celebrating the birth of your Savior and receiving the gift God has prepared for you.

Isaiah 9:5
"Unto us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the goverment will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Stari Zavjet: Izaija, poglavlje 9:5
" Jer, dijete nam se rodilo,
sina dobismo;
na plecima mu je vlast.
Ime mu je:
Savjetnik divni, Bog silni,
Otac vjecni, Knez mironosni."

Christmas 2008

Here are some pictures from Christmas.

Click on the slideshow to view the web album.

No longer just a Croatian Sensation!

 
 
 
 

Today I became an American Citizen! Some of you may be surprised that i was not an american citizen by marriage already but the process was 6 years old but finally over:) This morning I had my citizenship interview. The interview consisted of a 3 part test, including english, american history and goverment, and an interview. The last few weeks I studied for the history and goverment part. I figured I should not have problems with the english portion. The test was not hard. I got 100% of the answers correct. The interview part was not hard either-since i really am married to Chris and it was not hard to answer facts about our marriage and him. So i got reccomended for approval for american citizenship. I was not aware but they offered me to take the Oath (prisega) today. Of course I said I will do that since who wants to wait for yet another letter and go another time to do that part. I was blessed by my mother-in-law being close and able to keep emma for the extended period so i can stay and do the oath. Chris came from work to witness this historic moment:) What was amazing about the whole thing was that in that room there was 137 new american citizens coming from 50 different countries. When they called out all the countries it was amazing. Like traveling around the world in 60 seconds. As i was waiting there in the waiting room, i was amazed at all the skin colors, and all the different languages i heard all around me. I brought a book to read but could not concentrate but rather listened and observed the different cultures all around me. TO me that was amazing. Sometimes i picture heaven like that-people from all over the world and different cultures all at one place pursuing the same goal praising God-in this case pledging allegence to the US. I loved being one of the "different" folks. I think when they called out Croatia I was the only one to stand up. The lady sitting next to me was from Ethiopia, girl in front of me from Kenya, The lady on the other side from Phillipines, the man from Republic of China.....There was a lots of celebration going on in that room after the ceremony. Not everyone was here by choice like i was, some were here because they were persecuted in their own countries and US was a place where they can find peace and freedom, there were people there because they were refugees, there was young and old. But at the end I think they all stood there proud to be american at last!

Christmas Tree!

This last Thursday we decorated our christmas tree. Chris and I were not sure how will that be with Emma being so interested and investigative of everything but we had a ton of fun together just doing it. Chris got the boxes out from the attic with all the christmas decorations that we have and Emma was just so eager to see what is in each box. I took the box that has the christmas tree stuff and Emma helped me to do the speedy unwrapping and revealing of each decoration. After checking each decoration out, she was a great helper taking the decorations out from the box and giving them to Chris to find a perfect spot on the tree for each one. She watched with amazement as the tree was getting more and more decorated. When it was done, she was so excited she made a few circles around the house saying "Tree! Tree!" and pointing to the tree. We were even brave enough to put a manger scene under the tree-even though our figurines are ceramic and breakable. Emma was instructed not to touch anything but just to look at it. In the last week she wakes up every morning with the same excitment as that first night to see the tree still there. She lays down on the floor and finds baby Jesus in the manger, takes the baby out to give it a morning kiss and some of her milk. Then she proceeds to take the apples we have on the tree as well and feed the apple to her bear and other stuffed animals. Chris says she has already discovered the forbidden fruit:):) Even though we told her she can not touch anything we learned she will only take one ornament down, play with it for a second and then give it back to us to put back. So we let her have fun with it. She is not into destroying the ornaments and that is the goal:) So yes, we are excited about the Christmas season, and teaching Emma about baby Jesus and his birthday especially when we see how excited she is about all that has changed around the house and new stories we share each day. I am curious what will happen when the tree goes down and baby Jesus goes for a year long sleep. Hopefully it won't be too sad for Emma. After all Easter will be just around the corner!

Our Tree and Nativity Scene

Halloween

Here are some pictures of Emma from Halloween!

New York City

This past weekend Chris and I went to visit our friends Patrick & Rachel (for those of you who do not know them - Patrick and Chris went to Law School together, and they were also part of our small group) and celebrate our belated 5^th anniversary in New York City. This has been the first time that we left somewhere for an overnight stay and left Emma with grandparents for a long weekend. I was hesitant in a way because I was not sure how will it be to leave Emma for 3 nights. But Conways agreed to keep her for the whole weekend so we decided to go for it. We had a great time sightseeing, hanging out with friends, going to a Broadway show, ice skating at Rockefeller Center, walking and shopping at SOHO and Fifth Avenue, visiting the Immigrants island (Ellis Island)- Chris thought that was a sight to see since I am an immigrant even though I was barely walking at that pointJ- and so on. I absolutely LOVE New York City. It reminds me so much of life in Europe. Walking places, taking public transportation, common areas everywhere, people all around, grocery store (or your favorite Starbucks) right around the block…..I loved the freedom of not having to worry about the car and parking. I love how Chris was able to walk to the store in the morning and get us some nice goodies for breakfast. We were so blessed with great weather and Flemings being our tour guides. It was so much fun to see them and just hang out. We stayed up late each night and it all reminded me of life before Emma. In spite of all the fun we did miss her and talked about her every day some. We did not want to be boring Flemings with Emma stories but we had a few to share.

We are so glad we were able to do this but happy to be back home and see how excited little Emma was to see us. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

Weekend Away and Weekend at Home

This past weekend I (andreja) traveled to Callaway Gardens for a Church of Redeemer Women's Getaway weekend. This was my first time away from Emma for overnight and i was excited yet sad that i will not see her first thing when i wake up. Fabienne, Laura and I drove together. We met up with another group of friends in Lagrange, GA for dinner. Everyone was so excited about dinner at Crackel Barrel and this was my first time there. Of course everyone was surprise that in my 6 years in US i did not eat there yet:) I am so glad i went and had extended time to spend with my girlfriends. We had great time driving together, hiking through the gardens on saturday, talking till early morning hours in out cottages and hanging out over meals. I am thankful that i was able to go and that i was at peace having Chris home with Emma.
Eleanor's little boy David (only 5 weeks younger then Emma) spent most of the Saturday with Chris and Emma while eleanor was with me, and Rich was with the other two kids camping. Emma loved having David around and was covering him in kisses (literally). Not sure if David liked it or not. Maybe he thought it is a price to pay for his stay at our place and he cooperated:)
Chris (even though a little under the weather with a cold) had a great time with Emma. Once little David left, big David (fabienne's husband) came over for some fun football watching time. I don't have any pictures from my time away with the girls but here are some of Emma and David!


David, are you ready for a ride?

Here we go! Emma loves to push the walker! With or Without passengers!

One of many kisses Emma gave David. Is there love in the air?

Happy playing together!

Swedish Visitors!

Our good friends Curtis & Therese came to the States for a 3 weeks. Therese is swedish and they have moved to Sweden 3 years ago, which was also the last time we saw them. In the meanwhile we both had kids and they are both over a year old. Jacob is only 20 days older them emma so the two of them had a great time playing. The first day they were suspicious of each other and fighting for toys but after day one they were great friends. Emma was visibly sad when Jacob left and kept of looking for him around our house for a whole day after. Chris and I missed our friends too. Even though it was a full house with 3 adults (Therese brother Markus was also visiting with them) and 2 kids, we loved the company and were sad when they left. It was european style living and we all have experienced it:) Next time they will just have to stay at our place longer:)
Here are some pics of the kids playing and having fun!


Jacob loved all the new toys!

Look at that cute face! We are hoping we can maybe do some marriage arrangements:):)

Emma loved therese and loved smiling and cuddling with her!

Investigating the outdoors-or maybe i should say the Conway back yard:)

Taking the bath together!

While at our place, Emma and Jacob enjoyed taking baths together. In case you are wondering, they did not notice that they are different. They simply enjoyed some good time together in and out of the bath!

Hanging out with Ty!

Out friend Ty Davis came and spent a morning with Emma and Chris last week. They had fun playing together and following each other around. When Anna (TY's mom) told me that Ty is into everything I replied that Emma is too. But then sometime duringb the morning Chris calls me and says that he needs to redefine the phrase "being into everytyhing" to me because now, watching TY, he understand what people mean by saying their little boys are into everything:):):) Emma was thrilled to have a playmate for the morning. Her dad gets boring since they hang out together all the time. She enjoyed following Ty and learning new tricks from him.

At the Playground

Emma's favorite thing to do while in Sisak was to go to the playground that is behind my parents apartment building and play with rocks and other kids. So that is what we did each evening. Mia would come also and join us in the adventure. It was cool to see all the older kids play and take care of the smallest kids-which were Mia and Emma. They all are buddies with Mia of course as she is there all the time but they welcomed Emma the first day and Emma loved them all as well. I can not describe the excitement when we would say we are going to the playground. Some of the pictures can maybe show why it was lots of fun. But Emma & Mia sure did enjoy those times. When it was all said and done Emma would crash in bed each night, totally exhausted from all the play and excitement of hanging out with other kids and being outside (Emma's favorite things to do).

Pictures from Sisak

Here are some photos of our time in Sisak and visiting with friends.

Welcoming party at Marija's garden!

We arrived in Sisak August 1st and the next day which was saturday my best friends from highschool had a little welcoming party for us. Marija has fixed up a part of their back yard with a little garden and nice grass and deck furniture and was proud to invite us all to come and hang out there. It was a special treat because we had some guests of honor as well-Marija's husband Zvonimir-who is currently serving with Peace Corp in Kosovo then my friend Melita's boyfriends Mario-this was his first appearance on a group gathering like this:):):) and my friend Masa with her daughter Anja and husband Vlatko who came from Zagreb for the weekend just to see us.

Everyone was thrilled to see Emma and hang out with her and Emma like a true champ was having a blast with almost no signs of jet lag eventhough this was her first real day in croatia.
The most exciting thing for Emma were all the animals. Marija lives in a little village and has a dog, cat and turkeys. Emma was sooo excited as she loves dogs and this was her first experience with real live turkeys. She has only seen them in her picture books-I don't think they even show them in her Baby Einstein McDonald Farm video. She got a little startled when they started making noise but quickly warmed up to them even though I personally could not stand the smell (even for a short time while taking some pics).

Emma and Anja enjoyed the little pool Marija set up for them. That was an awesome refreshment for a hot day. Since Emma loves the pool there was nothing better to win her heart.
We had some nice food (thanks Zvona for grilling) and girls for making all the differenct sides and a delicious cake (melita-i did not even know you are such a baker).

It was a great day and we enjoyed hanging out with everyone. Chris liked it a lot too because unlike when we have parties at our house, he did not have to do anything but simply enjoy some beer and good conversation.
We miss them all now that we are back in the states!

More pictures of Plitvice.

Click for larger pics of Plitvice:

Plitvice Lakes

On the way back from the beach we stopped to see plitvice jezera, which is national park made up of a series of lakes and waterfalls. I have always wanted to visit the lakes but each time that we've come to Croatia in the past it has been in the winter and not a good time to enjoy the water. We walked for 3 hours looking at different lakes and waterfalls. We saw the lower lakes. To see both the lower and the upper lakes would take at least 7-8 hours. It was amazing. One of the lakes we saw was 47 meters (154 ft) deep. The water is crystal clear and the waterfalls are beautiful.

The view from the start of the hike.


Emma loved looking at the fish and the ducks. The water was so clear that you easily see all of the fish.



A view from a boat we took across one of the lakes.


A family photo.

Ruth and Erfon visit us in Pirovac

While in Pirovac my sister Ruth and her boyfriend Erfon visited us for a couple days. They are on a trip backpacking through Europe for two months. It was fun to see them both. We rarely see Erfon and had not seen Ruth since Christmas. Emma enjoyed hanging out with Ruth and was comfortable with her in no time. You can see some pics Ruth took here and a video here.

Ruth and Erfon


Emma and Ruth.


Emma was thrilled to hang out with Erfon:)


Back with Daddy, happy again:)

More from Zadar

Click the slideshow to see more pictures from Zadar.

Visiting friends in Zadar

One day we visited the town of Zadar. Andreja's best friend from university, Ivo, and his wife Tina live in Zadar. It was my (Chris) first time in this beautiful city. We had a lot of fun walking around and enjoying the sights. One of the coolest things that they have is a sea organ located in the shore. It is a musical pipe organ that is played by the sea at the water hits the shore. (for more about it go to http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om24550.html). We also enjoyed seeing Roman ruins and Saint Donatus' Church which was build in the 9th century. The foundation is actually build on Roman ruins.

Emma sitting on Roman ruins in from of the church.


Us with Ivo and Tina.


Family photo


By the sea.

More pics from Murter

Click the slideshow below for more pictures from the fun at Murter.

On the beach at Murter!!

One day we went to this beautiful beach near the town of Murter. It was on an island right off the coast. The water was so clear that you could see the bottom from any point, even where it was at least 50 feet. It was awesome. This beach also had a small part with sand where Emma and Mia could walk and play with their beach toys.

Emma and Mia getting ready for a swim.


Jakov, Emma and Andreja waiting for some pizza at a cafe right on the water.


Emma loved playing with Kristina. Kristina and Jakov are neighbors from Sisak who have an apartment on the beach in Pirovac. They were right next door from where we were staying. It was fun to hang out with them. Emma is a huge fan of both Cristina and Jakov.


The beach and the beautiful clear water.