in recent weeks i’ve tried to make both bagels and english muffins from scratch. because my bagel story didn’t end well and because they ended up being flat instead of round, i will tell you of my other story. my success story. my story about ENGLISH MUFFINS.

josiah venture is made up of all these women who cook. like, phenomenally. they are master creators and no doubt they can do it because they have more patience than i do. but some of these women just bust out the good stuff so naturally! anyway, i attempted english muffins a couple weeks ago. this is how it made me feel making dough rise… twice.

okay, so i was also making pumpkin pancakes and home made pumpkin-maple syrup at the same time. maybe that’s why i look so psycho. anyway… the dough rising twice would have given only half of this reaction.

but this story has a happy ending! i made some killer english muffins that made my husband, myself and other missionaries happy to eat them! this is including nationals which is a big deal! they even looked like english muffins!

hence… audrey’s response.

it was worth it. don’t these look way better than the ones at the grocery store? so much more love in the ingredients.

yummy.

okay, maybe i am being a little dramatic but there are times here when my soul feels like it’s dying and that czech republic has it out for me! is that a fair enough correlation? let me tell you a little story.

i love pumpkins. the taste, the look, the smell, the texture, the crafts, the artificial scents that spawn from pumpkins… everything about pumpkins is my love language. last year, during the hardest season of my life here in czech, i searched high and low for pumpkins to cook, to craft and to enjoy. i found 2 pumpkins the size of softballs. they were sweet and everything, but i couldn’t help but want more. i did what i could with what i had to work with.

in march of this year, several  new missionaries came on the field to join our Cesky Tesin clan and it was a privilege to be able to help inform them of the things that they wouldn’t be able to get here, mostly to cook but also to decorate. i loved helping prepare them in a way that i hadn’t been prepared when i first came here! one of those things that i warned them about was that czech wasn’t very big on pumpkins. they didn’t sell them, cook with them, carve them… nothing. they would be oh-so-lucky to find one bigger than a softball!

enter: christine czech republic

well, october rolls around and guess who suddenly is carrying LOADS of pumpkins. like america sized bins of pumpkins. pumpkins with curvy stems. big ones. little ones. orange ones. red ones. wonky ones. round ones. along with even- yes even- CARVING INSTRUCTIONS! how dare this place? what an idiot i must’ve looked like to the others! first off, it was amazing that i literally felt bitterness towards a place. i was bitter that czech provided this for all these new missionaries but when i was in my lonesome, horrible and lonely year last year, czech couldn’t squeeze out one ounce of a happy pumpkin for me. why would it? it hates me!

do you see what i mean? most people blame this on the western culture that keeps revealing it’s face in these parts of eastern europe, but i know the true reason. it’s me.

is it just in my mind? i don’t know. you should ask all of the people who have driven christine… maybe they could tell us the answer.

i have a human in my stomach. well, technically in my uterus, but we won’t go into that lesson today. i’ve never experienced this in my “normal” culture however, i’m pretty sure that the way i experience it is a little bit different than your typical visit to the OB in the u-s of a. what things that are now familiar to me in my only context of pregnancy are…

-knocking on the door to the OB’s office greeting everybody corporately with a typical and cultural ‘dobry den’ (good day).

-going to the back room behind reception, routinely grabbing a pee cup, going back to the waiting room to use the facilities and then proceeding to carry my own urine through the waiting room to bring it back again to the room behind reception. no lid might i add. good thing i’ve never tripped!

-having my blood pressure taken by the sweet receptionist who almost always wears a spearmint colored dress with matching knee-high striped socks on.

-never having a body cover-up during an exam. ever.

-enjoying ultrasounds with my amazing OB and translating baby Hughes’ body parts into english so that we know what we’re looking at. have you ever translated your own receipts from the doctor’s office? how about a letter stating permission for flights?

-leaving the OB with again another typical and corporate ‘na shledanou’ (goodbye).

my life is funny. looking forward to comparing these appointments with appointments in Arizona!

this is the fourth munchkin i got to meet while i was in the states during winter time. his name is gavin williams. i have been friends with his mama, tracee williams, since my first trip to czech republic in 2006. she has a special place in my heart because of it. gavin’s daddy and nate go back quite a few years. we love them individually and we love them as a married couple.

gavin isn’t like any other baby. gavin was born at what the doctors believe to be around 24 weeks old. there were times over the phone with tracee or by reading the william’s blog that  hope for gavin’s life was purely hope alone. he was so tiny, had quite the list of health issues but one thing he had, that was against any medical intellect, was the Lord’s favor. the Lord pushed gavin through all of those things and gave him life! gavin is beautiful beautiful and is a little chunk of a baby now and he’s already. one. year. old. it’s really unbelievable! God wanted this little miracle to be alive and despite all the trials he and his parents have had, he is alive, well and he glorifies God through every bit of it. here is the sweet little buddy.

it was so great to finally meet him and hold him!

have you seen prettier eyes?

even a small cold could be detrimental to gavin’s health, so wearing a mask was best!

the beautiful family (seriously, right?) .

so glad you are where you are t & j. you’ve done an amazing job at getting to this place.

this little guy’s name is jaxson matthew mills. i’ve known jaxson’s mama, jaime mills, since the day i was born. literally, her and her family were there when i was born. we grew up together barbies-and-all, got engaged within a month of one other, got married within a year of one other and are still great friends. she will always be one of those friends that will be there. it’s more like a sisterhood. i also have to mention the fact that i LOVE her husband. matt mills is a loving friend as well who always welcomes me warmly with a big hug! like i’ve said previously, it’s one of my biggest joys to get to know my friends’ spouses over time.

oh little jaxson, i just love you. i’m so thankful i got to hold you in your first two months of life and enjoy your newborn-ness. you’re ADORABLE and this adopted aunt thinks you’re such a joy. i can’t wait for more times together and for my kids to play with you one day! HOW FUN!

25 years of lovin’

“jaxson, do you want to fly home with emily?”. what do you think this look says?

i think it says “duh.”

the sweet little mills family

we planned this pose together

daddy love time

all growed up

the moms giving some hints…

p.s. i’m listening to the biebs’ “baby”. so appropriate.

her name is katelynn staggs! her mom & dad are cody & krystal staggs. i met this little beauty’s dad about six years ago, became great friends with him and was there the night he met his perfect-for-cody wife. i totally remember that night and remember how much i loved krystal! she & i became great friends as well. i love knowing my friends before they’re married, meeting their spouses and then seeing that morph into a special relationship with the three of us. it’s been one big highlight over my walk inside of christianity, especially before i was married myself.

cody & krystal’s story of how they got to know each other, found each other and then dated, got engaged, etc makes me love this little girl so much more. they both walked alongside me in the process of discovering myself and they helped show me what a healthy marriage looks like. i love looking back at how friendships start and seeing how they evolve. cody & krystal are solid friends, love each other and people so well and are great to have in life. i’m so thankful for them and this sweet mini-lady they’ve brought into the planet.

the ears pierced is the icing on the cake with this cuteness

i got to hold her for 5.5 seconds before she ate

the second best thing to hanging out with katelynn would be watching my mom hang out with katelynn <3

this is baby number one of the phoenix baby meeting extravaganza.

his name is eliot gordon! his mom & dad, tereza & joe, are so special to this hughes family. tereza is one of the few friends we got to see during pregnancy as her and joe were in czech visiting tereza’s family last summer. we love their friendship, the way we all know each other individually as well as couples and love seeing this little one that is a part of each of them. i love joe & tereza the same, but because i love them both and eliot is a part of them both… should i love eliot more? probably.

those cheeks are delicious!

beautiful beautiful tereza.

true love.

i like his muscles too, eliot.

i would love to be along side of my brother as he heals, but so thankful to have been there for his surgery. no other appropriate heart entry as this one today.

i love this picture of him with his beads of courage from the hospital. it’s a pediatric thing but eric was and always will be a pediatric case because his cardiac issues started as a baby. they called him “the big kid” in the PICU. cute.

beads of courage is a program in which the child life specialists and nurses give different colored beads to kids who have been through different things. they get courage beads when they’ve hit a milestone (like standing up for the first time after heart surgery. ow.), they get stars for every other major surgery they’ve had (eric has 5 stars…), a rainbow bead for seeing a child life specialist, and so on. he should have a string from here to the moon! it’s a special program.

this picture encompasses eric’s attitude during this whole process. he never doubted his Lord and he never complained. not once. i love my brother and am so grateful for the last three weeks. he is my hero!

explanation needed? i think not.

love to you.