Clay And Megan

We made it!

2012-01-26T15:27:00.001-06:00

We made it to Prague! We arrived around 5pm, just in time for nightfall. We caught a pretty sunset on the plane, and also caught a glimpse of the winter that awaited us. Brrrrrr!

It feels so good to be here! We dropped our bags as soon as we arrived to our temporary home, and ran out the door for dinner. We grabbed some hot drinks on the way back to the apartment.

Our bags are unpacked (yay!), and we're about to turn in. Tomorrow we are doing a little apartment hunting! Oh yes, the fun begins again! I love house-hunting! And we get to do it x 3!

Goodnight friends! We love you all back home and miss you already.

Today is the day!

2012-01-25T08:39:00.001-06:00

We move to Prague today! It feels weird to even be typing those words! We're excited, emotional, exhausted, and hopeful. This move feels right and good. I feel peaceful about it. God has given us such grace in these last few weeks as we've said our goodbyes and begun the transition from one home to another. The anticipation of leaving was sometimes harder than I could bear, but the actuality of it has been truly sweet. I am so thankful.

We're on our way! See you from the other side!

Back from Prague.

2011-12-11T15:01:00.001-06:00

We spent one last morning running around Prague, doing last minute things that needed to be done. We even visited our storage unit on the way to the airport to check on things and to stow away a few things we had brought from home. It was strange to see those things again, the stuff we packed away so long ago in March. It was like proof that Belgium happened. That living in Europe happened. And amazingly, that we actually have ingredients for a life on that continent.

It fueled some excitement. Some expectation.

We've been home a few days, and after dealing with jetlag (and a stomach virus for me, hooray) we feel energized and excited.

Ready to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. Pumped to finally be home during this season having spent the last few years away.

Excited to enter this final stage of preparation. Sharing with others what we are about to embark on, raising that last bit of financial support (we're just over 90%!), enjoying time with precious friends and envisioning eachother towards lives spent for the Kingdom!

We are so thankful for this time. For our team we can't wait to be with in Prague, for the way God is strong when we are weak, and in that case, for our very WEAKNESS. Because goodness knows, we are weak! And oh how strong he is!

During our week in Prague God gave us a small glimpse of the wonders he is capable of.

Sign me up.

We leave Prague tomorrow!

2011-12-05T14:27:00.001-06:00

We are leaving for Texas tomorrow. It's strange to be packing up and deciding what to leave in our storage unit and what to take home. There's even some food that I'm leaving that will still be good by the time we get back- talk about a reality check!

Yesterday was a good, restful day. We visited an international church and then went to lunch with some new friends.

After lunch the group all went their separate directions- some doing more housing research, some grabbing another church service, and me, I went shopping! I took the metro all by myself for the first time and headed back to the center of town to pick up some things I've had on my list. It felt really good to be able to navigate transportation by myself. Driving will be another story :)

We met the group for dinner and some more get-to-know-you time. We love this group and look forward to the day we're all together again in Prague.

In March I mentioned in this post about finding some fun graffiti in the city:

Well, yesterday while I was on my solo voyage I found this!

New game, friends. We find the whole team's names graffitied throughout Prague. It's an ambitious goal, and may take years, but there is going to be a mega-prize at the end when we accomplish it :) I'll keep you updated on our progress.

We pack our bags and head to sleep tonight, and my heart is both a little anxious and a little excited.

One side of me longs for our life here to begin. To have purpose and a specific task. To rally around a vision with this group of dear friends. To work together. To fall in love with this city and the people God puts in our lives.

The other side of me panics. Leave home again? Tell my family goodbye again? Learn a new language again? Make new friends? Again?

Jesus, please give us peace. We trust you to lead us.

2011-12-03T15:17:00.001-06:00

The team that is heading to Prague to join us next year!

And the 6 of us. Surveying Prague in the distance. And loving being together.

We walked around today, re-visiting some of the places we have already seen this week. It's exciting to further catch the vision for what these next few years could look like for us here.

We explored a neat park with a pubic basketball/soccer court, and had fun dreaming about getting to know the people of our new neighborhood.

After a few days of heavy discussion it was nice to take it easy.

Rachel spent a little quality time with a gnome :)

We found a farmer's market! There are several throughout the city on different days and I'm looking forward to trying them all!

Walking home after a long day of running around the city. We spent the rest of the evening eating pizza and sharing our hearts with the visiting team.

A great day!

2011-12-02T15:27:00.001-06:00

A group from the US joined us today in Prague. These are the folks who are working towards joining us here in the city for 2 years. It's been a joy to finally meet them today in person, get to know them a little bit, and hear their hearts as they talk through this journey they are about to embark on with us.

We stuck to chatting and site-seeing today so we could get to know eachother and also take their jet-lag into account.

We visited Prague Castle, which is great because in our two trips to this city we have yet to check out one of its most common destinations.

The guys also made a new friend :)

We walked.

And talked.

Such incredible views of the city. It made my heart feel good to see it this way. I am going to fall in love with this city.

We ate dinner around 5pm (but it was dark by then so it felt later :)

Tomorrow we'll spend some time in prayer all together, share more about what their 2 years with us could look like, and show them more of the city.

It's neat to see how God has worked the first part of our trip to flow so well into the second part. We're excited to share with the group what he's shown us this week so far!

2011-12-01T17:18:00.001-06:00

We spent the entire day like this:

All day around a white board hashing out details. It was awesome. And something that this group needed after being spread across the country for the past year. So good to be able to have these conversations in the same room together!

We needed to get out of the apartment for dinner after being cooped up all day.

The city is so gorgeous at night.

Tomorrow is an exciting day! A group of 5 from the States is arriving to check out what God may have for them in Prague. We hope that many of them will end up returning to spend 2 years with us working in the city.

The week is going by so quickly and yet we feel like so much is being accomplished! We're so thankful to have been able to make this trip together. So many things are coming together.

It's been so great!

2011-11-30T16:19:00.001-06:00

We checked out housing options in several different districts today. It was lots of driving, stairs, and lots of thinking. It was a good full day.

And felt like and episode of House Hunters International.

And the guys were nice in cozy in the back seat as we drove from apartment to apartment :)

2011-11-29T16:47:00.001-06:00

We checked out Prague 2 today. We visited some parks and visited a school that may be a possibility for the kids. Such an encouraging day.

And we had some really good Vietnamese food. When Keith was asking another patron for advice on what to order she told us it was such a great restaurant, that it is a "treasure." So fun to already be finding these places that we'll be regulars at :)

Note: I need to learn Czech so I can start being more adventurous with food. Their pho looked so good over my plate of plain white rice :)

Meeting with more Prague experts.

So thankful for their wisdom, their humility, and their warm welcome.

We've been walking the city until dark (not quite so dramatic- it starts getting dark around 4pm).

And we're enjoying the Christmas markets!

Looking forward to our day tomorrow- we're meeting with a professional expat relocator to hear her advice on where would be a good place for us to live. We're learning so much and are so thankful for this time.

Day 1

2011-11-28T13:49:00.001-06:00

It is amazing we just got here yesterday! Jetlag hasn't hit yet and we're hoping it stays that way- it turns out taking Ambien on the plane to get 8 hours of sleep is a great idea :)

One exciting tidbit is that we found a restaurant that serves gluten free Czech food!

This morning started well with a happy Autumn- yay for fresh juice bars.

And then lots of walking and discussing ensued.

We checked out grocery stores (and REAL sleds for REAL snow!) ....

Tortillas!

And neighborhoods....

We checked out Prague 5 and 6 today.

Here we are grilling a new friend that has been living in Prague with her family for a little over a year. You can't see her in the picture but you can see how intense WE are about our questions :)

Prague team, rocking out Prague 6! :)

We just finished our recap meeting of the night, and are off to bed. Lots more to see tomorrow! Thanks for praying for us, friends!

2011-11-27T03:05:00.001-06:00

We made it to Amsterdam and we're about to board the plane to Prague! Clay and I were able to sleep most the flight. Hooray!

Here we are before our long flight.

When we walked off the plane here in The Netherlands, my heart did a little leap- the Dutch wooden shoes!, SPA bottled water!,the tulip bulbs for sale!- we're BACK!

I didn't expect these emotions as we stepped back onto European soil after so many months. God is sweet to encourage my heart. As excited as we are to move to Prague, it is hard to think of leaving Texas and our families again. It's painful. But then there's God, present with me. He shows me wooden shoes and reminds me of the last 3 years- how he's provided for me in the past. Oh how I love him!

What was the first thing to make us laugh out loud on this trip?

The way they spelled our name on our coffee cups a few minutes ago:

Dragon and Blee, signing off!

Prague, here we come!

So thankful!

2011-11-25T23:06:00.001-06:00

When we got home in March I had no idea we would get to be home for Thanksgiving! In fact I had prepared myself to miss the holidays again. To be at home with family, both our families, was a gift. (As was the meal. Thank you Hubbel and Hudson for your frozen gluten free pie crust! :)

The annual pumpkin toss began with the selecting of pumpkins.

Then, the warm ups before the the toss.

After the competition. This picture was not their idea :)

This picture was very much his idea :)

And, for the record, Aggies may not always win, but they sure are cute.

With Thanksgiving barely behind us, Clay and I are off again! This time....

To Prague!

We will be in the city with the Kellers and Wilkins' for the next week. We'll be meeting with different people in the city, looking at housing options, and spending lots of time listening for the Lord to lead us.

It's exciting... and also scary. Sometimes it's hard to believe we're really doing this!

See you soon, Prague!

Recent happenings and we're in Haiti!

2011-11-02T09:06:00.005-05:00

Life has gone on as normal the last few months.

Lots of travel, visiting people, getting visa stuff in order, and raising support.

Oh and loving on my new niece :)

We made it to DC and applied for our visas to the Czech Republic!

We owned it, ha :)

All our paperwork Clay has slaved over for months was in order and our interviews went really well. So encouraging. Now we wait 3-4 months for our visas to come in and continue raising support in the meantime.

This week we are blessed to be in Haiti with our dear friends. They are considering a move to this country and asked us to join us on the trip to help with their kids and be a part of this step with their family. We love them and are so excited.

Here we are heading to the airport. Very excited. You will notice the little one is clutching his suitcase, ready to go! :)

We arrived in Haiti ready for an adventure!

This has been our view for the past few days. Lots of touring around trying to soak everything up.

We visited a lookout point above Port Au Prince.

There are reminders everywhere of the earthquake that hit almost 2 years ago. There are tent-cities all through town housing people that lost their homes.

This building was several stories tall before it was crushed down during the quake.

We got a tour of Maxima, the company Daniel would be working for. Such an incredible place that employs over 200 Haitians.

One of Maxima's projects is producing shelters and small homes that can replace the tarp-tents so many people are living in. It's neat to see this company creating jobs for Haitians and providing products for Haitians.

We went up to Ft. Jacques to get another view of the city, holding hands tightly near the steep drop-offs :)

An afternoon getting to know another family who works for Maxima.

The kids making new friends.

Our group! We love this family.

Around and around!

2011-08-13T11:10:00.007-05:00

There hasn't been much sitting still this past month.

We've been around and around, and it's been exhausting and fun.

Mom and I got to visit Aunt Barbara and Uncle Orland for Barbara's birthday. It was my first time to see my Auntie in years and years. We were so happy.

Connie came down for a baby shower for Clint and Mel. Notice the mashed potato bar in the foreground. There was never a better idea than that one.

We are loving reconnecting with our dear friends, young and old :)

We spent a fun weekend with the Meadows. Can't get enough of their sweet babies.

We explored Yonder Way Farm (and met these special people ).

I am soaking up time with my kitties.

These friends came to town!!

Michelle and I attended a non-existent farmer's market.

And had a farewell breakfast with them at Snowflake in downtown Tomball.

After our garage sale our room finally had enough space to be whipped into shape. It's so nice to have a little space of our own.

We've spent lots of time in Austin. It's so fun to go downtown and be able to walk places. It makes us miss Europe!

We checked out the bats of Congress Ave. Bridge. It was cool, but all I could think was "Rabies! Rabies, everywhere!"

Look at them swarm over the trees!

I know it's not cool to take pictures of other peoples' kids, but this little guy was just too cute watching the bats.

We love Austin.

More jet-setting to come in the next few weeks. We'll be heading to D.C. soon to apply for our visas! Woohoo!

Transitioned

2011-07-14T15:03:00.005-05:00

August 13, 2011

Some words from a month ago:

We've been home for 4 months! It has flown by!

Today we were talking about our time back here in Texas and it caused me to think back over the last few months. I realized something.

I think we are officially 'transitioned'!

I am sure there will still be off days here and there, but for the most part I feel like we have healthily grieved leaving Belgium, readjusted to America, and just overall feel NORMAL again.

It's a really good feeling.

It wasn't until looking back today that I realized how hard those first few months were. How out of sorts and out of place we felt. Kind of lost and overwhelmed. Like we didn't belong anywhere.

Through spending good time with family and friends, good time with the Lord, and the debrief we went through in Colorado, we feel like we're on the right track, and are feeling ready for what's next!

We've had fun catching up with family and friends since being home.

And had a great 5 year anniversary getaway!

It was soooo fun reconnecting with family at WWAC!

And not quite as much fun getting ready for our (hopefully) last garage sale :)

The last month or so!

2011-05-23T19:26:00.006-05:00

Blogging happens better for me when I'm out of the country.

Obviously :)

When I am home I like to soak up every bit of every moment and tuck it away, and sometimes the way I feel about it all can't really be expressed with words.

I feel a rendition of John Mayer's "3x5" coming on :) Blogging may continue to be sparse while we're home.

So, in summary, The Last Month or So! :

Building sandcastles in Galveston.

Building sandcastles in Florida.

Having heart-to-heart talks with friends deep in the woods.

Casa Bonita.

Debrief program at MTI in Colorado Springs. And the gorgeous mountains.

New miniature donkey friends.

And a whole lot of this.

And this.

Very very good stuff.

Oh, and P.S.

Clint and Mel are giving me a niece! It's a girl!

AND I'm getting a new sister!

Life is very good.

Berry-picking

2011-04-17T23:13:00.004-05:00

We've been on a blackberry kick ever since our little picnic yesterday.

Dad had the great idea to eat leftovers on quilts out in the pasture.

It was perfect.

Afterwords, Clay, Q, and I poked around a little bit and managed to fill 2 Solo cups to brimming with ripe berries.

We couldn't find the illusive tart recipe from our childhood, so we decided to go with a cobbler.

It wasn't bad by any means, but we knew it could be improved upon.

So, after church today (and after Q drove us all home, and I thought I would have to dig Mom's fingernails out of my leg)...

... the three of us set out again, this time armed with long pants, boots, and buckets.

After 3 hours, we came in the door with 20 cups of black berries!!!

(P.S. We call them blackberries now. After extensive online research, we have concluded that you can call them whatever you want. Dewberries, blackberries, snozberries. There is no clear answer out there, so I'm going with blackberry for everyday use, and dewberry when I'm feeling nostalgic for my PawPaw Wells. Snozberry, probably never, but the reference makes me smile)

Tonight's recipe:

Oh heavens.

Indeed.

Happy campers all the way down to the floor.

Now, on to other recipes!

The last few weeks.

2011-04-09T20:57:00.007-05:00

This past week was a special one.

We FINALLY got to spend some time with our entire team that's going to Prague! We went on a retreat together in the Hill Country to talk about and cast vision for our future in Prague.

It was good just to be in the same room with everybody.

And talk and talk and talk.

Sweet Jack and Shirley let us stay at their ranch for the week.

The kids had a blast.

Can you find Clay way up in that tree?

He reminded me of one of those baboons you see on TV way up in trees in the jungle :)

Team Prague!

So good to be in Texas!!!

And to be with good friends.

On our way out they took us past this castle. Wow! Can you believe this??

2 Happy Texans.

Cute Autumn and Morgan.

We stayed up past midnight on our last night getting some final work done.

When we got home.... bonus! Rob was home! It's Q's birthday this weekend so the family is heading this way.

Today we ate Mel's for lunch, then headed out with Gma to feed the neighbors' horses and enjoy the pretty day.

Her daddy was born on this land.

When the horses see us they run to the fence. They know they're going to get some carrots :)

She was so brave. Go Gma!

We had a fun time checking the progress of the dew berries. They are getting close!

They are EVERYWHERE!

That entire bush in the foreground of this pictures is covered in them!

We snagged a few early bloomers.

So good! We can't wait for tarts and jelly!

I can't get enough of this land.

It makes me so happy.

We lost track of time, and pretty soon the cart started losing battery power.

Luckily we had other forms of power :)

Then Rob discovered he could pull more power if he went in reverse.

I was laughing so hard by this time.

There she goes!

And all the way home!

I am a happy happy girl.

Flittering

2011-03-22T08:11:00.002-05:00

One of the nice things about home is that once you're there, you kind of feel like you always were.

I was surprised just now as I counted on my fingers how many days we've been home.

Just 4.

But they've been packed. And so good.

We've been flittering around, back and forth between houses. We've eaten A LOT. And around laid on couches and talked and talked.

One highlight was riding around with Gma in the back pasture on her new golf cart. Clay, Gma, and I squeezed in the front, and Rob and Q hanging onto the back. We exceeded the weight-limit big time so the boys kept having to hop down and push when the cart refused to move. It was so fun.

Yesterday Clay and I went on a little date. It was great because we've been so busy the last few days we haven't had too much time together.

We went to the Woodlands and ate at La Madeleine's. Tomato basil soup never tasted so good. The table we sat at was the same one we sat at over 5 years ago- the evening Clay proposed. That night we were supposed to go to some Spanish restaurant for tapas but after he asked the question my stomach got so unsettled with nerves that all I could eat was soup. That makes me laugh.

We needed to go to the mall, and in the past would have driven ourselves across the street. But when we noticed the distance was about what we used to walk back and forth to the grocery store in Huy, we decided to hoof it.

And it felt good to stretch our legs. It was a sweet reminder of the last 2 years.

Home.

2011-03-19T16:37:00.004-05:00

Our days in Charlotte passed quickly but they were great.

The rental place only had a convertible so we got to cruise in style.

We spent some time with Billy and Kate and their sweet new baby Rush. We also spent some good time de-briefing with some folks within our organization.

Then, home to Houston.

Our flight got in early so I got to sneak up on Mom while she was ordering at Starbucks.

It was so much more fun carrying all those duffels TO the car rather than FROM the car 2 years ago.

We grabbed some Chic-fil-ay.

We stopped at Gma's.

Then HOME!

It is so beautiful right now! So much green and the temperature is perfect. Texas is welcoming us home.

A big hello to my kitties!

Then it was time to go find some Sandozes.

Driving to their house was the first time I had driven in 2 years. Wow. It didn't feel strange at all either. It felt great.

It was a great afternoon catching up and drinking coffee.

Then all the Pasches came over to celebrate in true Sandoz fashion- a big barbecue! Pork chops, pork loin, sausage! Oh man.

Kenny made us some pinatas to celebrate. We laughed a lot.

It was just so good to be together. Nothing like it.

And then this morning, a HAIRCUT!

I can't describe how awesome it felt to talk in English to the person cutting my hair!

Thanks Chandra! Well worth the 2-year wait.

And now I am doing laundry and watching Nacho Libre with Q.

Things are really really good.

Last day in Prague!

2011-03-14T16:32:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a metro day.

I haven't quite figured out buying tickets but I'm getting there.

It kind of feels like a fortune should come out by the time you hit the right buttons.

We wanted to check out the living situation all the way down the metro lines, so we rode one of them out as far as we could.

Not too impressed with what we saw, but I keep hearing from people that there are options out there so we'll keep looking.

We spent some time in the Lesser Quarter checking things out.

And dreaming whenever we would see buildings for sale or for rent.

We found a super cool English bookstore. So many books! I'll be heading back here for sure.

Oh and we had the grossest lunch ever. Oh man.

Then we came back to Mosaic House to chill for the rest of the afternoon. We also hung our clothes out the window to get the cigarette stench off of them from lunch :)

Today, our last day in Prague, was a good day. We ate lunch at Country Life, a vegan restaurant/health food store near Town Square.

It was so nice to have vegetables! Food can get pretty heavy here.

We also did some shooting around town.

We finished the day by meeting with some of the people that run Mosaic House, the hostel we've been staying at the last few nights. They are some pretty neat people. There is also a group here that work with Breakaway in College Station, and we've had fun hanging with them.

After a long day of flying tomorrow, we land in Charlotte for a few days for some UWM stuff. And then Friday it's home to Houston!!!!

YAY!!

Posting will more than likely be sparse for the next few days.

Thanks for exploring Prague with us!

See you on the other side!

Saturday

2011-03-13T00:41:00.007-06:00

Yesterday began in a quite a ceremonious fashion.

Just as our teammate Kevin's bean sprouted last April when he left Belgium, this week was our own beans' turn.

And not only have they sprouted, it was time to plant them in Prague soil.

It was kind of an emotional moment. Grow strong, little beans!

We then caught the metro in search of a really big park we found on a map.

It turned out to be a cemetery. Not what we were hoping for, but it was beautiful in its own secret-garden kind of way.

We explored that part of town.

We ate lunch over there, and for the first time this week the wait-staff had a hard time communicating in English. This was actually an encouraging thing since we are thinking of starting an English tutoring/teaching business, and so far EVERYONE we've talked to already knows it! :)

We walked some more and found this sign:

I think it means Farmer's Market, and this makes me very happy. We are leaving the day before so we can't go, but it is still nice to see evidence of one.

Just some store-windows.

This is where one can buy a little parka for their little dog.

This is walking down the street towards the park we like from the other day.

People were out lounging around enjoying their Saturday.

There's a shopping center inside this old building.

And an Albert's grocery store, which seems to be pretty common here.

Just a glance at what they have.

Dried fruit and nuts.

Tabasco sauce, jalapenos, salsa, corn chips, and tortillas. Well hot dog!

Frozen pizzas.

Poultry and lunch meat.

Cereal.

This store reminded me of what we had in Belgium. Plenty big and plenty of options. We'll do just fine here. (Especially factoring in a farmer's market and a co-op I found online! Woohoo!)

We thought this little cafe around the corner looked cool, though we didn't stop.

This is not just a pile of dirt, though that's how the picture came out. Behind those scrubby trees was a big play area where families were playing basketball, soccer, and just running around. It was cool to see. There was also a little playground. I would have gotten closer for a pic but people don't usually take kindly to strangers photographing their kids :)

Another little grassy space across the street from the pile of dirt.

It was a pretty part of town.

Yesterday was a great day. Lots of walking, exploring, metro-taking, and people/little dog watching. It was warmer too- we were wishing for our Chacos.

Oh, and P.S. we had really good Thai food for dinner. So happy.

Out to Prague 5 and 6.

2011-03-12T00:18:00.009-06:00

The apartment we are staying in this week is inside this big old house. It's enclosed in its own courtyard and is just the quietest, most peaceful place. We've loved it.

Breakfast yesterday.

We took the metro out to Prague 6 for some exploring in a more residential area. We hopped on a tram here to head out a little further into the district.

We rode the tram out a little ways.

In the distance you can see all the huge, ginormous apartment buildings left over from the communist days. They are so GIANT. They paint them up pretty colors to make them look a little more cheery. If I lived in one of those apartments I wonder if I would ever find my way back to it? So many HUGE buildings!!

I liked the rooftop balcony on this place.

Pretty similar to downtown but a little smaller and really quiet. There weren't many people around.

I liked this house.

We were on the border of Prague 5 and 6 just to give an idea.

We went into a grocery store just to check it out.

Not super quality photos but I was trying not to get caught.

There was plenty of produce.

Cereal options.

They even had Uncle Ben's rice! :)

We continued walking through this apartment complex.

We were following a GPS map trying to find a house we had found online.

We found it! It's that white duplex, the left side.

It sat on a really pretty little park.

Thoughts on that part of town? I think we'd need to see it at a different time of day to say. It was so quiet and there were no people around. The park was dead. Maybe this is a part of town where people are at work all day, and come back and enjoy the area at night? More research needed.

The tram ride back to the city center.

We got dropped of in Mala Strana, the west side of the river.

It's a really cool part of town.

Crossing Charles Bridge.

There are some great street performers.

A little food festival in Town Square.

Happy campers.

A yummy pastry that they roast on those big rollers then roll in sugar. Oh my.

We didn't try this but we sure were tempted!

We ended up back here for dinner. Incredible.

"You know, I think I'm starting to like Prague."

2011-03-11T01:24:00.006-06:00

Yesterday the main goal upon waking was finding a pharmacy.

Clay is sick. He's been fighting a cold since before we left Belgium, and all the running around and no-sleep of the past week have really taken their toll.

So off to a pharmacy! It's a really cool thing in Europe how easily you can find one of these. Pretty much any street you turn down in a big city will have the familiar green cross sign.

(Notice the blurred-out sign on the right. Lots of what we would call "inappropriate" advertising around here.)

And pharmacies are a little different here. People go to one kind of like you would a doctor's office for minor illnesses.

This picture is me trying be sneaky while taking pictures, and the pharmacist walking around the corner RIGHT when I snapped the picture. Oh well. She's on to us.

There is stuff you can choose from on the shelves, and also a counter where you can go to request anything else you need.

That's the counter to the right.

Thankfully the pharmacists spoke English (a reoccurring theme here), we described Clay's symptoms, and they gave us some pills. They also wrote the dosage info on the front of the box for us, and gave us some tea that would be helpful too. Awesome.

It should also be noted that what you mostly get at pharmacies as far as meds leans more towards the homeopathic route. Atleast so far in our experience in Europe. I am not sure what you do if you need an antibiotic? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

The rest of our day was mostly spent inside taking care of some homework. We're starting to process through the past 2 years, and had some paperwork to fill out before we meet with some of our leadership in Charlotte next week.

While I was sitting in the living room getting ready to work, I was surprised by how silent it was all around me. Like deafeningly. We are staying in an apartment that's part of this huge old house near the city center- like 700 years old old. The walls are 3 feet thick, and the living room is right next to the inner courtyard. So it was totally silent. I think it's the most quiet I have experienced in our entire time in Europe. It was incredible.

I took a little nap before getting back to work.

Here's a little part of the courtyard that I like. If you want a garden, just bring in some dirt! I love this. It's such a cool house. I keep expecting Belle and the Beast to walk around the corner.

We haven't been able to resist Bohemian Bagels breakfasts. They are unreal. And every time I see the weird little leek frond they stick in every bagel, I am reminded of Huy and how it was there that I learned what a leek even was and started cooking with it. Memories.

P.S. Yes, those are hashbrowns. And they were crispy and perfect. I don't even know what to say. This place is blowing my mind.

After working most of the afternoon we went walking in a new direction.

I was excited to see this sight near our apartment:

It's the Guerilla Knitters!!!! I had heard about them but had never seen one of their marks in person. They attach their knitting somewhere out in the public in cities all over the world- parking meters, statues, even entire phone booths and vehicles. It's like graffiti but more light-hearted and fun. I was so happy to see it!

We found the big shopping district on Revolucni Square. It had a fun vibe with lots of people hanging out after work.

I was pumped to see a Patagonia store.

And the mall reminded us of the ones in Asia! It was so intense. It's funny though, it was taller than it was wide. I guess that's what you get when you build in a city. The top floor was mostly casinos.

Something cool about yesterday was that we started to actually feel familiar with the city. We were using our maps, but when we looked at the map, we had a better idea of where we were or where we were headed. We knew which metros would get us where. We felt more oriented.

It feels really good.

We don't "know" the city by any stretch, but it's getting easier to get around.

Yesterday was the day that Clay said, "You know, I think I'm starting to like Prague."

That is awesome. Because it's kind of like an arranged marriage this Prague business. You know you are going to move somewhere, but you have never even met the place. You're sure it's a fine place, and people keep telling you it's awesome and that they want to visit you there, but inside you're thinking, "yeah, but you don't have to marry it!"

There's been some anxiety on my part about how much we were going to dig this city.

So Clay's pronouncement yesterday was an important step. For us, familiarity and feeling "at home" is what does it for us. It'll take time, but we'll get there.

One random sight last night was this:

The city's waiting for you!

Also, my last glimpse of the city last night as we were walking home. It really is a pretty surreal place sometimes.

Further exploration.

2011-03-10T02:28:00.006-06:00

Any morning is a good one that starts like this.

Yesterday we went exploring in a different part of the city. We were in search of an English bookstore/cafe and a thrift store I had seen online.

It was cool to see a different side of the city. Not quite as polished, but lively you know?

We heard some French when walking by this store in New Town and it made our hearts skip a beat. We miss it already.

(Sirin, does this look like Turkish food to you?)

As we walked on we found several outdoor stores, which made us happy.

And then we arrived at the English bookstore/cafe. It was something we wanted to see since we may go in a similar direction once our whole team moves here. It was a cool place.

We tested out the tram system on our way to find the thrift store. We weren't sure how to do it so I asked a woman next to me how we needed to validate our tickets. She responded easily in English and showed me where to get our tickets stamped. It's amazing how many people speak some level of English here. Even if it's just a few words, it is so helpful as we navigate this city.

We also noticed on the tram that as older people got on the tram, younger ones would stand up to let them sit down. This warmed my heart. A teenager even opened a window for an older woman who was so thankful for the cooler breeze. It surprised me to see these two interacting. It's not something we see too often.

We passed a pottery shop which made me very happy.

It's comforting to see these kind of activities available. Just fun.

We found the thrift store! Owned by a couple who lived in Florida for a awhile, they also spoke great English and were super friendly. I am so thankful that God has put such kind people in our path this week.

(For those who care, the thrift store was mainly clothes, knick knacks, and some small appliances. I am still on the lookout for second hand furniture. This store is really close to the Christian international school to give you some bearings.)

We had no other plans after this, but could see some open grass a few blocks away. We decided to check it out.

It was a park. A pretty big one too!

Oh and there were people!

Real live people, with their children and dogs. And they were all talking and playing and throwing frisbees!

I have never before seen a sign that commands you to walk on the grass, but I think I now have. Any other way to interpret this?

There was a big playground and people everywhere. Happy people.

I started to cry. Literally.

I haven't really cried at all over the past few weeks. There has just been too much to do, too much emotional exhaustion.

But something about being surrounded by all of this LIFE at Riegrovy Savy (the park) opened the flood gates.

The idea of a place like this was just so nice. So comforting. To be with others, to meet people, to laugh at dogs and their antics and little kids as they explore and play. It felt restful.

It was so good to see this in Prague. Up until then we had mainly been in the more popular tourist areas which are super fun but make it hard to imagine what life would really be like.

As if to just make it too good to be true, there were even homemade birdfeeders everywhere :)

And also several preschools lining the park with names like:

Oh the cuteness.

So, we were pretty happy to randomly come across this park.

We didn't expect to find something like this in the city.

I was scanning all the buildings around it looking for an apartment to rent to be honest :) It was that great.

We walked on, meandering our way back home for the afternoon.

It should be noted that Prague's not all pretty buildings, big old clocks, and frisbees.

There's normal every-city kind of stuff too.

I am already dreaming what kind of incredible Czech country-side can be reached on these train tracks.

Random moments from the day:

Lots of kids on scooters. This one mom in the blue jacket sent her kid off on one and then walked away in the other direction- it must be safe here? You can also see the park we visited down the street on the right side of the picture.

More scooters on the metro. I could just picture the Keller and Wilkins kids :)

I did a double take when I thought my mom was listed on this sign. Wow. Mom, it's crazy how popular the name Jana is here. They'll love you :)

We ended the day with refreshments and took some time to reflect back over our day.

It was a really good, encouraging day. We got to peek in on some of the real life happening in Prague and God knew it was just what this heart needed. The cupcake and cookie were pretty good too :)

Getting to know you.

2011-03-09T01:43:00.005-06:00

The first handshake with Prague was a good, solid one.

Living in a land that serves American breakfasts.... yes, I think that could work.

We realized at breakfast that we hadn't prepared at all for this trip. I had done a little reading about the city, but as far as what we wanted to do yesterday? We had no idea.

So we spread out our map and asked our waitress to point out where the heck we were.

We walked towards the Old Town Square.

The only thing we knew about the Square was that there was a Starbucks there and some kind of big, old, famous clock.

(I know, don't you just want to visit us and have me tell you all about this wonderful city? I promise I'll get better at it before you do :)

There's the clock! This is when we knew we had in fact made it to the Square.

I like this building.

Kind of like the Grand Place seating in Huy or Brussels.

It was also good to see some familiar brands in this health food store we passed. The packaging's the same, the language is most definitely NOT. Oh dear... language is going to be a challenge.

A big shopping street.

After more walking around, and maybe a nap, we ate some Thai food for dinner and then walked to Charles Bridge.

That's it on the left with Prague Castle on the right.

We only made it halfway across the bridge when we decided that that was enough exploring for one day. Gotta start slow, you know?

So first impressions? Prague is BIG. There are fun, ornate old parts of the city (which is what we saw today), as well as just normal modern city stuff- not all of it beautiful, but definitely bustling. It's a little overwhelming after living in such a small quiet town for the last 2 years. And the language is pretty daunting.

Oh and everyone has on black wool coats. And there are lots of little dogs in sweaters. I need one of each, I've decided.

Today we are going to venture a little further in our explorations.

Here we are.

2011-03-08T01:14:00.015-06:00

I'm sitting on a comfy couch in Prague wondering if the last week really happened.

Did we really just pack up our apartment? Did we really just say goodbye to our friends and our life in Belgium? Did we really just drive back AND forth all the way across Germany?

I am looking back at pictures and marveling at how the last week was so beautifully woven together. So sweet and so hard. We'll treasure it always.

Reality set in last Wednesday when I realized I would more than likely never have the delight of a weekly market right outside my front door.

RIGHT OUTSIDE my front door. It's been awesome.

And then Thursday it was time for our couch to be taken away.

I remember how excited we were to get this couch 2 years ago. It drew our weary travels to a close and invitingly pronounced us "Home."

Here we were then:

And here we were last week, about to disassemble our lives again :)

Any sadness was immediately sweetened as we watched Ali and Nada ride off with it in their friend's car. Giving is just plain GOOD. And giving to friends is almost too much joy to handle.

After the couch was gone, we went ahead and moved the table over to window.

Just to better get the full expanse of our view.... it's one of the things that made us the saddest about leaving our apartment.

The view was just so so wonderful.

Last lunch with Ali and Nada, and a birthday cake to celebrate Clay's day.

It was a pretty hard goodbye. Tears and hugs.

Then off to Josh's for another home-cooked meal (we ate really good last week).

Friday we were back to the packing grind.

Clearing out your house to move is kind of like digging around in a giant time capsule. It causes you to reflect on times past and remember. The remembering is good even if it makes you sad sometimes.

It was really hard to get rid of our pile of marathon shoes. I still can't believe that race day ever even happened. That's something we'll definitely carry forever, even if we did get rid of this ridiculous pile of running shoes.

And slowly, box by box, things were sorted, packed away, thrown away, given away.

One last goodbye to our sandwich shop ladies, a quick pass by the pita place to shake hands with those sweet people who have fed us so many times.

We saved Le Bolus for last.. why oh WHY did we only find this place 3 months ago?? I lamented this fact to Rita, one of the owners, and she cut me off before I could finish the sentence. She pretty much became Aunt Rita on me and chided me for having such regrets. We found this place just when we should have, she said, and the time we spent visiting here were special regardless of how short a time that was.

I suppose you're right, Rita.

And your special "goodbye" crepes were pretty darn good, too.

(P.S. for those of you that have been here, that is crunchy speculoos spread on the right-side crepe. The best crepe I have ever had.)

Saturday was the day to leave to stay the night in Brussels so we could be there for our early flight the next day. We swung by the cheese shop for one last sandwich for the road.

I can't believe we got to live above this for the past 2 years. Oh my. It was incredible.

Sunday morning we flew from Brussels to Prague, rented a moving van at the airport, and drove right back to Belgium.

We stopped about halfway to visit my cousin Jake and his wife Heather in Germany. So special and fun to randomly see family during one of the longest days of the longest weeks of my life :)

They even gave us Dr. Peppers for the road. Sometimes God just throws around some sprinkles to rejuvenate you and help you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This short visit was that.

We got back to our apartment late and moved a few things to the truck that we needed to deliver that night. Thankfully Josh was there to help Clay lower things from the window.

We had one last dinner with our team.

This goodbye was a hard one. The 4 of us have been together a long time, shared experiences, tears and laughter. It's painful to be leaving knowing they will be in Belgium without us for 6 more months or so. It's also just plain awesome to have friends that we will always share this bond with.

Early, so early, the next morning, friends started pouring in to help us load up the truck.

It was overwhelming the amount of love and care we felt yesterday morning. They rolled up their sleeves and got us move-ready.

The birthday boy himself. Moving from Belgium to the Czech Republic on his 27th birthday.

Daniel and Michael were on furniture-lowering duty while the rest of us made trips up and down the stairs with the smaller stuff.

We laughed a lot.

And then it was all over.

It kind of came as a surprise when everything was finally loaded up. It was a bizarre moment for me when I realized this wasn't just a fun morning working alongside friends.

This was IT.

We toasted our time in Belgium, Clay on his birthday, and I tried to say thank you to this group of people who mean so much to me.

I choked up right after "Thank you."

Then they sang Happy Birthday, and I looked around at those faces. These faces that make up the layered, beautiful collage of our years here, the ones that have changed us and grown us in their own way.

Ali was there.

The guy and his wife we met at language school. That we picked cherries with in the middle of town one day after class when all the too-cool Belgian high school students looked on.

And their sweet baby that I have watched grow.

And their daughter that makes me laugh she's so dramatic. And how when I gave her her first cupcake ever she dropped it 2 seconds later. And we all laughed. And she cried.

And Josh was there.

Josh who has made us laugh so hard! Oh how we laughed when he tripped the alarm at church that time when he was there to clean his maggoty trash can.

And then how our whole team cried when Kevin left. And the 4 remaining ones weathered that together.

The good friend, sharing lunches and talks that I know have meant so much to Clay.

And Blanca and Michael were there.

The couple we met our first day in Belgium. The ones that shared their home with us, talked with us in Spanish so we could understand SOMETHING in this new country.

Who threw us "latino" Spanish-only birthday parties and made us dance til we fell on the floor we were laughing so hard.

And talked about life and the faith as we shared meals and many bottles of wine.

The couple that shared their sweet little Sophia with us, and almost fell off the couch at how funny it was when she tried to take our picture the other night "all by herself."

Daniel was there.

The leader of the Belgian team. The one we went to Spain with to shoot video, the one we brought in to help solve our cultural quandaries, the one that bought me an ice cream cone on our last mega-day of filming a few weeks ago. The constant during our time here.

Catherine and Pascal where there.

The couple we made gingerbread houses with 2 Christmases in a row.

The ones that would invite us out for drinks spontaneously. The ones we love to play Cranium with, and who we died laughing with when Pascal had to "marrionette" Clay.

And Xavier was there.

Xavier who's sweet wife Sirin was introduced to me by Daisy 2 years ago.

The couple who shared Turkish food with us, loved Tex-Mex and pumpkin pie. Sirin who would meet me in Liege to go shopping or just walk around when I was lonely. Who would cook special meals for me when I was struggling with what I could eat. Who watched movies with me.

The couple who ran around Belgium with us, taking us to museums, Germany, The Netherlands, dams, hedge-mazes. OH we've had fun!

Yes, they were all there. All together for the first time.

It was like seeing God's blessings to us over the last 2 years all lined up in a row.

I was in awe.

And then we took our last photo together in Huy.

And pulled away from the curb.

As we crossed the bridge, we tried to take it all in.

Here we go!

Nada sent Ali with a big bag of sfia and mini pizzas so we were set for our long drive. Such sweet friends.

We arrived at the storage facility in Prague around 5:30pm, unloaded our things, turned in the van, caught a taxi, and were at the place we are staying by 9:30pm.

What a day. Stressful. Heartbreaking. Exhausting. Incredible.

We then enjoyed one last taste of Huy for Clay's birthday. I had the cheese shop pack us a little meat/cheese/bread plate.

Then we went to SLEEP!

This morning I am thinking back to last week, but also to 2 years ago. When on a similar days to yesterday, our family and friends in Tomball and Austin gathered to wish Clay happy birthday and then sent us off. The tears that were cried when we left, and the tears that are cried now as we head back.

How amazing is it to have lived such life in the last 2 years, so far from home and family and friends. That God has restored shrunken lives. That he has filled us to overflowing with friends and experiences yet again.

It makes me think he may actually know what he's doing :) And I trust him more. I am so thankful for our time in Belgium, I am already missing my friends there, and I CAN'T WAIT to get home and hug the necks of those who are precious to me in Texas.

In the meantime we are about to venture outside and see Prague for the first time. I am nervous and excited. This is huge.

Final stretch.

2011-03-01T04:25:00.002-06:00

We had on last spaghetti lunch at Edgar and Liliane's. And one last game of Rummikub. Edgar and Liliane and Guy and Betty are some of our favorite people here. Just cute. And so fun.

And they also have the sweetest little pets. Here is Cacahuete (Peanut) in his high chair. I love this.

They pulled out an old drawing of Huy and we found our apartment!

Saying goodbyes it hard, but the time spent together with friends while saying those goodbyes has such a special sweetness to it.

Last night Blanca and Michael had us over. Nothing like a bread, wine, and cheese dinner. Yum.

We laughed and talked, and got so excited talking about LOST that we even watched a few episodes. It was awesome. Such fun, funny friends. We'll miss them a lot.

And I'm sure they'll miss us, ha :)

We tried to get Sofia to take our picture, but it didn't really work out :)

When we first arrived Sofia was only a year old.

Back to the packing grind today! Clay is walking our city trash can to the trash office right now... seems unreal. If anyone ever doubts that we were actually ever here, there is now a trash can floating around with a big Austin sticker on it that Jamie Hatcher sent us 2 years ago :)

Lot's to do in less than one week! Here we go!

Yesterday.

2011-02-23T13:16:00.002-06:00

Yowsers, we're flying by the seat of our pants here!

After 13 hours of filming yesterday, the majority of the Belgian pastors video is complete. Well, it's been shot atleast. Now Clay has to work his editing magic. Something that will happen while we're in Texas, because, um, we have like less than 2 weeks to get this apartment packed up and then we're out of here! Not stressing, not stressing... breathe.

It was really nice to get to do most of the shooting yesterday in Brussels, because it felt so special to get to spend one of our last days in Belgium there. We love Brussels. Its waffles have cheered us, its English bookstores have comforted us, and its Willie Nelson concerts have knocked our chaussettes off. What a great city. We'll always love it.

The 3 of us were pretty delirious after such a long day of shooting. On the way home Daniel shared some of his CDs with us and we laughed and reminisced about the day. We even stopped at McDonald's and he bought us ice cream! So fun. What a highlight to get spend this time with Daniel. I'll always remember this day.

In this picture you can see my tiny little ice cream cone stump. I wanted to document the occasion :)

Today the day was spent hanging out with Ali and Nada. The served us yet another fabulous lunch and then we passed the afternoon doing what all friends do when they are about to be separated by a vast distance...

...they watch ridiculous b-movies :)

Snuggled up on the couch of course.

Sometimes it's just too sad to talk about saying goodbye, but just being in the same room together was sweet, and I am thankful for that time. We love them so much.

Tomorrow we will tackle the beast that is our currently unpacked apartment.

I am not grown up enough for this.

Countdown.

2011-02-20T10:21:00.005-06:00

Isn't it amazing how quickly time passes? I remember when I was small it seemed like ages between each birthday, each Christmas, each new school year.

I now find myself packing up an apartment that I feel like I just moved into. I find myself saying goodbyes when the hellos (bonjours, really) are still fresh on my tongue. Crazy.

It's been fun. And lonely, and hard, and really too much on some days. The years teemed with adventure and frustration. Exploration and the rediscovering of roots. It's been too much and just right.

2 years in Belgium. And we're down to the last week and a half. The happy and sad tears are already mingling on my face... it's that time again. Time to hit the road and start a new chapter.

I think that saying goodbye to everything 2 years ago makes saying goodbye to our everything now a little easier. We've seen how God takes care of us through transition, how you wonder if you are ever really going to make it, to feel settled again, and then you wake up one morning feeling like you've arrived, that you are finally wherever it is that you were going.

We know that will happen again. We know he's leading us on the path he has marked out for our lives.

So I'm trying to live through this time of transition well. To enjoy every drop of bittersweet-ness instead of pushing it away for fear that it will hurt me too much. It's sad to leave, but how incredible and beautiful is it that there are people and experiences in our life that are worth the tears?

This past week, we have laughed so hard we cried and cried so hard we laughed....

We had dinner with Sirin and Xavier. Thank you for all of the meals and for running around Belgium with us!

Last night we had a game-night at Josh's. Cranium just refuses to get old- it is so fun.

Amy is thinking about how to best "marionette" me here. Have you played the newer version of Cranium? So creative!

Here's Pascal preparing to "marionette" Clay... We are all laughing because we'd already read the card and knew what he was about to have to do. Oh how we laughed!

This morning was our 2nd to last Sunday at church. It was such a good morning. I spent most of it trying to soak up every face, every song. These people have let us be a part of their family.

Daniel called us up on stage (which we were NOT expecting and I would have atleast washed my hair that morning if I had known :) and gave a nice goodbye presentation. They also presented us with a special gift.

Eric Lefebvre is an artist that is famous here in Huy. He's painted many murals around the town, many of them on our street. The church gave us a lithograph of "Le moulin des 4 saisons" (the wind mill of 4 seasons). We will treasure it always, and remember the different seasons that God brought us through while we were here.

Sometimes I feel strange pointing a camera in people's faces, but this morning I didn't CARE! It was awesome.

Nina and Marie. These 2 ladies are the matriarchs of the church. Pretty much everyone in the church is related to them in some way :)

Simon and Clay. Every week this kid would come up behind Clay and put him in a headlock, and eventually they became friends :)

This sweet little lady here with Elizabeth is one of the most precious things about every Sunday. She spends a good part of her week writing special Bible verses on index cards and then passes them out each week. Everyone has stacks of them at home. She is a treasure.

Boris, our friend and artist gave us one of his original paintings as a momento. Such talented and special friends!

Oh and then there's Lillian. I might just not say goodbye to her. She's just too wonderful.

Laughing with Josh. Those two have shared a lot of coffee over the years.

Blanca. My Colombian friend who spoke Spanish to me in the early days so I wouldn't feel so isolated and lonely. We stayed with them our first 2 weeks in Belgium, and will always be thankful for their hospitality and friendship.

This is just after Denise shared with Clay that not only is the prune tart a classic Belgian dessert, it will also help you if you're constipated... priceless.

Nathalie, who fed us and shared her backyard and animals with me, and Sarah, who kept us supplied with Guatemalan coffee and Latina flair for 2 years.

And Daniel, our fearless leader, who was a constant presence during our time here. So nice to have someone to answer our cultural questions and speak English with. We appreciate your leadership.

The weeks leading up to a goodbye are more full of life it seems. We're riding the wave, enjoying every speck of these precious people and this little town in this little country that we love.

We're moving to Prague!!

2011-02-16T08:45:00.003-06:00

I haven't shared yet on the blog what our plans are for AFTER Belgium and I figured it was time :)

After some good time back in Texas seeing family and friends...

...we are moving to Prague, Czech Republic!

We're going with these 4 people and their combined crew of 7 kids!

We are so excited to be going with folks that have been our friends for a really really long time. What a blessing! And what a blast!

So what are we going to be up to in Prague?

After 2 years in Belgium and around the world, Clay and I can't say enough about what 2 years overseas can do to a person- what God does inside of you, and what incredible ministry you can share in with him. It's been life-changing for us.

We 3 families are moving to Prague to start a new hosting ground for more of these 2 year people, young adults interested in life and ministry overseas. We want to provide a place for them to plug into and also walk alongside them as he reveals whatever steps he may have next for them.

We are also excited about our own fit into life in Prague. The group is waiting until we get there to settle on what our official roles will be, but it is looking like we are going to be involved in the language acquisition realm. Learning Czech, obviously, but also in English teaching and tutoring, which we hope will develop into some sort of language cafe or bookshop/bookswap. We are excited about the possibilities!

Whatever we do, we want to do it as a community of Christ-followers loving eachother and striving together to know him more.

We couldn't be more excited :)

We are going to be sending out a paper mail-out soon reflecting on the past 2 years and sharing more about the future. Send me an email (megansandoz@gmail.com) with your address if you'd like to receive one!

Lately.

2011-02-15T06:06:00.003-06:00

Not gonna lie. The entry back into Europe from Thailand was shocking.

I rocked purple socks and Chacos the whole way home :)

The past few weeks have flown by in sometimes fun, sometimes anxiety-filled gusts. This whole less-than-3 weeks left business is intense.

There are a lot of official "moving" tasks and then just a lot of emotions too. Two years is a long time in some ways. Long enough for a life to be built. And even though Texas is still most certainly "home," "home" has also somehow become where we now sit.

I am trying to embrace the ups and downs of this transition. It is what it is.

And right now, it's spending as much time with our friends here as we can.

Nada and the kids came over a few days after we got home from our trip and Clay and Nagham watched some cartoons.

And just this past weekend, we celebrated Mazen's 1st birthday with the family.

The birthday boy didn't quite know what to think of silly string.

Present time!

Yay! I love this boy.

We love this family and will miss them so much.

Southeast Asian Goodbyes

2011-02-01T07:39:00.004-06:00

One last quick tea-party this morning and then we were out the door!

We were welcomed for one last night in Bangkok by our dear friends. The boys walked down the street to pick up dinner at the family's favorite neighborhood restaurant.

So good.

And my favorite, Som Tum, a spicy salad made with green papayas and served with sticky rice.

It tastes a lot better than it looks in this photo. Michelle, however, is just as cute as (and even cuter than) she looks here :)

We're soaking up our friends on this side of the world before heading back home tomorrow!

And enjoying wearing Chacos and shorts while we can!

Singapore

2011-01-31T07:24:00.003-06:00

We've been in Singapore the last few days visiting the Fishers, our friends from Austin Ridge. So great!

It's been great to catch up with friends, and so random to be in Singapore doing it! They are such a sweet family and we've loved our time with them.

Kristy dropped us off in China Town today for some exploring. Man, Chinese New Year is alive and well in these parts. Such a colorful, lively time.

Tomorrow we're back in Bangkok for a 1 night layover and then back home we go!

We'll have a month to pack up our apartment! Yikes!

Thailand

2011-01-30T02:32:00.005-06:00

We just finished up our week in Thailand.

We had fun catching up with friends.

Here's Nate making Clay laugh while he's trying to work.

We had some good down time with dear friends.

Clay and I gave a talk on communications to the big group, and Clay also taught a couple of breakout sessions on producing videos.

The last day we headed out with some friends for a walk. Gotta make the most of the time we have together, right?

We found an enormous field of beautiful GRASS! Grass like none of us have seen in years due to the places everyone lives. Actually I don't know if I've ever seen such an incredible expanse of well-kept grass.

Here's Clay and some of his guys.

The frisbee came out, and the moment was complete.

It was INCREDIBLE to all be on the same side of the world together. We talked and talked. And laughed a lot.

I think 'belonging' is one of the best feelings out there.

The sun set, and it was pretty much the perfect afternoon.

We are so thankful for the privilege of being able to return to Thailand this year. We're thankful for the friends God has given us over these last few years, and how they challenge and inspire us as we seek to know the Lord more.

Blarg.

2011-01-25T10:10:00.002-06:00

Oh sad day :( Internet is extremely slow here!!! No pics any time soon. But we did our presentation today and it went well! It was fun working with Clay the past few months preparing the talk we gave on different forms of communication. We are a good team :)

Clay is teaching two more sessions this week on video, and it's been fun talking about all this stuff. As has spending time with all of our dear friends on this side of the globe.

What incredible, precious people God has introduced us to over the last 2 years. We are thankful to him!

Hooray!

2011-01-22T04:36:00.002-06:00

We made it to the big BKK!! Bangkok is crazy!!! Cars and people everywhere. Street vendors and spirit houses. It's intense and hot and loud. And wonderful! :) We were so excited to get to return this year, and in the dead of Belgian winter too. Our feet are very happy to be in Chacos again.

We've been recovering from jet lag the last few days, spending time with friends who are so nice and patient with our brains that still think it's 6 hours earlier than it is... I think we kept them up until after 1am our first night. Sorry guys.

The elephant building is alive and well. As are the hot pink taxis.

And, Land of Cute that it is, Thailand is rocking my socks off once more with its incredibly cute ways. They add big cute eyes to a toilet, and you find yourself wanting to love it forever.

Not only could I resist the Nativity set for myself a few weeks ago, but a set for my Thailand girls seemed necessary as well. We had fun playing with it after breakfast this morning.

We ran around town a little bit today. There is nothing like time spent with good friends. Precious precious friends.

SO happy to be in Bangkok and thankful to God for being able to share life with friends!

Month 23!

2011-01-18T11:15:00.003-06:00

We're cruising right along here and just entered our 23rd month! Yikes! Time is flying! And we are trying hard to enjoy every second!

Last week Sirin came and spent the day. We had fun putting together the nativity set I found onsale at the grocery store. A month or so late, but Jesus' birth is pretty cool all the time :)

We've also been spending a lot of time at our new favorite pub. It's bittersweet finding such a welcoming and special place in our last few months but we are enjoying it. Rita and Jean Claude are neat people.

This is the night she made us chicons au gratin, a Belgian specialty.

The weather has been extremely beautiful, which I take as a personal farewell gesture from Belgium. Thank you, Belgium. You really are stunning when the clouds peel back just a bit.

Oh, and I found a little cat friend!! A real one, this time ;)

Yesterday we had lunch at Ali and Nada's and I couldn't wait for Nagham to get home from school, because I finally was able to bring over her gingerbread house!

It was so fun.

The boys had fun on their computers as usual. Sweet friends.

For the last week, most of our days have found us at our dining table working on a talk we are giving next week in Thailand.

We are leaving tomorrow to join a group of folks we work with to give a little presentation on communication and video. We are super excited!! My jeans got soaked with chilly rain as I walked home from the grocery store today, and all I kept thinking was "Bangkok, Bangkok, Bangkok..." 80 degrees, here we come!

So long!

2011-01-12T04:36:00.003-06:00

We had a nice, relaxing, belge kind of day with our friends yesterday.

First things first, we grabbed some frites. Mmmmmm.

Then walked all over town through the mist. It was good to catch up with my dear old friend.

We bought some bread and looked for the swan family that hangs around town.

Some of our earliest memories involve large birds. Thankfully these swans were a lot less aggressive than Laura's childhood pet geese.

It's Belgium, right? Last night we led them in a sampling of some fine brews.

And crepes.

As the four of us walked to the train station this morning we noticed halted traffic and frantic street cleaners. Oh yes. This really happened. A trash can filled to the brim with cow parts from a recent butchering flung it's contents all over the main round-about in town.

It was hilarious, random, and disgusting. Jut perfect for our group's final jaunt across town. Also fitting considering our back to back evenings of B-movies (last night was "Tremors"). The four of us are no strangers to ridiculous gore in ridiculous places :)

I don't believe those actually dealing with the cow parts this morning found it quite so humorous.

Laura and Andy left today, on their way to Paris. It was so good to see them, our last visitors here in Huy.

We coped by eating breakfast at our new favorite pub. And wouldn't you know that this place that we discover mere months before moving is the one that serves a full American breakfast.

Sigh.

If you look behind Clay's shoulder you'll see an interesting cultural sight. In Belgium it is not at all strange to see beer being consumed at all times of day or night.

Exhibit A:

Off to clean and process some veggies! It's market day after all!

Laura and Andy are here!

2011-01-11T06:28:00.004-06:00

An old friend came to town Sunday! And she brought her new husband! If you had told us as little girls sitting next to each other on the school bus at the age of 6 that we would someday we running around Brussels together we wouldn't have believed you (or known where the heck Brussles was).

We walked around Huy with them and thought it would be fun to take them up to Old Huy to watch the sunset.

Old Huy is a place we really love. There's a great view of the city, and in the summer we've had a lot fun BBQ picnics.

Good times like these:

And these:

But the other night we found this:

A bricked up wall. What??? No more Old Huy, people. Sad but true. Apparently the city is cracking down on the youth drinking and drug situation and this secluded meeting spot was targeted.

So we walked around a little bit in disbelief.

And then found a way in! Andy is a genius. A deputy Macgyver for sure.

Our eyes beheld this view for what will more than likely be the last time. Sigh.

And the sneaks themselves. I was so nervous we were going to be caught. Even the flash on my camera made me jumpy.

We went to Liege yesterday, and Laura tried her first Melocake. Epic moment for any Belgian tourist.

Last night we got some wine, bread, and cheese (we are going to miss living over a cheese shop) and settled in for one of our traditional B-movie nights. The selected film was the original 1970s "Piranha". Nice.

2 things

2011-01-08T14:48:00.003-06:00

I am pretty sure I got my last Belgian haircut today.

I headed out in the rain today, not knowing which salon I was going to, but clutching a printout of Alyssa Milano with cute short hair. When you lack vocabulary, a picture is always a good idea.

I ended up at a place called Veronique's. And it was the best salon experience I have had yet.

1. I didn't have to make an appointment.
2. She kept saying my hair was beaux, just so beaux. A stylist that loves your hair for some reason is a stylist to keep. It made me laugh.
and 3. It cost 15 euros less than everywhere else I have gotten a cut. Score!

She ended up ignoring Alyssa's picture, but I decided to see where inspiration would take her.

Ay chihuahua! Believe it our not, I love it. Veronique did a great job.

My last Belgian haircut experience was a success. Whew. Here it is after a wash.

Another momentous occasion today.

The removal of the Christmas tree. The tree pick-up is not until Wednesday, but we have company coming tomorrow (the former Miss Laura Mszar and her new husband Andy, yay!) and this thing takes up half of their bedroom!

We wanted to avoid as much needle-shedding as possible, so there was only one option.

Out the window with it.

These are the moments that Clay Sandoz lives for.

I was so torn. I didn't want to be the one on the street (ie I didn't want to be the one that was arrested), but I wasn't quite strong enough to lift the tree.

My main job was watching to make sure no one passed by when he dropped the tree. Can you even imagine how horrible that would be?

And this is what a tree looks like falling from 3 stories up.

And here it is dejectedly lying on the cobblestones in the rain.

And thus concluded the Christmas chronicles of 2010.

More Sunshine!

2011-01-05T11:04:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was dinosaur museum day! On our way to catch our train to Brussels, I screeched to a halt.

That's my bird.

That's MY bird!

I took a couple of craft classes last year and in one session I made a mould of a bird. I brought the produced bird home, but left the mould with the teacher. And now apparently SHE'S USING IT!! Oh how we laughed! That weird, crooked-necked bird morphed into a flower wall-hanging and is now headlining in a shop window! Now, to observe and see if someone actually BUYS it! This is awesome.

We made it to the museum. I am craving Jurassic Park now.

Here we are deciphering some masonic clues listed in my book "Secret Brussels." Luckily for us, Xavier knows Latin and Ancient Greek- is that not incredible? I feel like we should all be out solving mysteries together! It was fun until I started feeling really creepy out there. Like DaVinci Code creepy. We kept waiting for Tom Hanks to walk out and give us a hand.

Sirin and I enjoyed watching our guys walking through Brussels, one so European and the other so American. Clay even has the backpack and water bottle. It can be hard finding your place here, but after some time and settling in with good friends, it's a blast.

And then today, today! When I went downstairs this morning the living room just looked... different. Then I realized that it was SUNSHINE!! In a room that hasn't seen direct sun in months!

What an incredible day! We were all outside, bundled up, trying to catch some vitamin D!

Happy Wednesday!

First Monday

2011-01-03T07:22:00.003-06:00

The sun came out yesterday!

Well, really it just winked at us for a few minutes before going into hiding again, but dead-center of gray winter that it is, we wanted to get out and make the most of that sliver of sunshine!

We stopped taking our long walks through the hills above Huy over a year ago when we began training for the marathon. During training I just couldn't muster the enthusiasm to run AND walk all over town.

And we've missed our walks. We laugh a lot during them. We share frustrations. We have good, deep conversations that usually end up producing new and improved plans of action.

Yesterday our walk also included playing in the snow.

Well, Clay played.

Here he is trying to get me to come out into the field with him and help him roll that huge snow ball.

I declined. There was a really big ditch you had to jump over with running water in it. Not worth the risk- I don't have a very good track record with those sorts of things.

I was getting bored and a little cold watching him roaming back and forth in the snow so I told him to just "do something!"

He obliged.

Clay's snow-angel. I think it looks like a stick-figure in a dress.

We had to crawl under some barbed-wire at one point. It's amazing how snow and sunlight can make even a little cyclone of cow hair beautiful.

After weeks of mounting snow and ice, it was good to go outside.

And now, Monday Monday. Here we are again. This first Monday of 2011 finds me de-nesting. De-nesting is the opposite of nesting. It means I am beginning to slowly dismantle our life within this apartment- starting with the pantry. It's helping me realize that this is all real, that we really are leaving Belgium in 2 months.

Mind-boggling.

This season!!

2010-12-21T10:39:00.005-06:00

I can't believe it's December 21!!! But who says a lickedy-split season can't be savored?

We have been loving every second!

The Jamails laid-over in Brussels for a day just to spend time with us! They were incoming from Rwanda so the cold was a little shocking! These gals scurried around Brussels in not much more than borrowed scarves and rain boots! Such friends!

We braved the strange looks at the grocery store once more in preparation for the gingerbread house party. Candy-buying time! It's so fun to change things up and roam the aisles in search of building materials instead of meal ingredients. Cereal= roof shingles and gummy bears= garden gnomes.

Clay has continued meeting with Belgian pastors putting together some videos to be used as teaching tools. It's neat to get a broader perspective of what's going on in other parts of the country.

Oh, and news flash!! You are not going to believe this. We finished it. We have been working our way through MacGyver since before we were married. It has accompanied us many places (even the side of a mountain). And inspired much action (to be witnessed here, password: "secret").

And just this past week, the fellowship ended. We'll miss you Mac. Say hi to Jack, Kate, and Sawyer for us. Show 'em a thing or two.

Last weekend we benefited from some more friends laying over in Brussels. We got to share lunch and some Belgian desserts with Gabe and Janet. Such a fun day!

The day got better as not only was it Amy's birthday, but it was also the night of the light parade!! Which we got to watch from the warmth of our living room! Living on main street is where it's at!

It wasn't so much a Disney World light parade, more of a people wrapped in light ropes kind of thing. There was loud music and people were dancing. It was super fun and very "belge."

This past weekend it was mostly just a lot of this:

So what do you do when it looks like that? Watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, of course. If you have yet to do it this year, I encourage you. It really should be an annual thing. And make sure to pause it every few hours to pull back the curtains and ooo and aaahhh about the weather and your incredible fortune at being inside with the hobbits.

Huy really is gorgeous right now. Very icy and fresh. And slushy around the curbs. We love it.

And of course, Clay busies himself perfecting his snowball craft.

And that's our life right now. A quick-paced fun season, some work and some play. We are enjoying it all right now!

2010-12-08T10:35:00.002-06:00

At the market today I beheld this sight:

A sad man not believing what his eyes were seeing.

Yes, Christmas trees for sale mere steps from our apartment.

And half the price of the one we lugged across town 2 days ago.

I think we'll laugh about this a long time. And neither of us regret Monday's trek in the least :)

Ali and Nada came over for enchiladas today! So fun. It was their first taste of Tex-Mex so we had no idea what they'd think.

Not only did they have seconds but the Chalula was even broken out!

Even Nada tried the hot sauce. When I saw this I immediately ran to my stash and presented her with their own bottle to take home. I was so proud.

We had a fun afternoon with our friends watching the snow falling outside the window. It was a great day.

Pray for sweet baby Mazen if you think of him. He has a horrible chest cold and has this breathing machine thing that the doctor gave him. Poor little love.

Now, off to construct some gingerbread houses!

Christmas-time is here!

2010-12-07T09:49:00.004-06:00

I feel very motivated this Christmas. Motivated to focus on and soak every drop out of this season in which we celebrate God coming to earth to give us life. Last year Christmas just kind of came and went. I think it had something to do with it being our first solo Christmas away from family. Kind of lonely and sad to be honest. I realized last week that if we were going to really do Christmas this year, we were going to have to make it happen ourselves.

I keep hearing about Advent on some of the blogs I read, so we've been giving it a shot. We haven't quite found the right study yet (maybe I should start researching before December next year :) but being reminded everyday to really focus on Jesus' coming and what it means to us has been really incredible.

We watched The Nativity Story a few nights ago and have plans to watch The Star of Bethlehem with some friends soon. (The guy that does the Star of Bethlehem presentations is going to be in College Station Dec. 23. We highly recommend it!)

The season is starting to kind of take on a mind of its own and I'm LOVING IT!

We decided to really festive-up the apartment this year.

We got our first real tree!!!

We've never had a real tree as a couple or even an artificial one taller than 24 inches, and decided that THIS would be the year we officially deck our halls.

We called around and found that Mr. Bricolage had some real trees for sale. Only a 30 minute walk to get there.... in the freezing cold.

Consider it done.

The chosen one. (And our lovely nuclear power plant in the background.)

Here we go.

The walk home wasn't quite so much fun as the walk there, but it was pretty exciting thinking about getting home to decorate our new little friend.

As we were walking we texted Josh and Amy to come over for tortilla soup and to decorate tree Sandoz.

Clay has decided that we shall never cease to tell our future children how easy they have it. "Why, back in our day, we didn't have fancy cars to lug our Christmas trees home for us. We had to stumble for miles and miles through the snow to ol' Mr. Bricolage, only to have to carry the darned thing on our shoulders all the way back home."

Yes, our kids will thank us for this Christmas.

We had to split up so I could find a tree-stand, so Clay muscled the final quarter-mile himself. Can you see my little tree-carrying man crossing the bridge?

Clay and Josh did the hard labor while Amy and I strung popcorn and buttons into garland.

I like this picture because Josh just got stabbed by some incredibly sharp needles.

The finished product.

It's Christmas-time, friends!

It's that time of year again.

2010-12-03T14:03:00.004-06:00

Guess what time of year it is again?

The time of year I do what I swore last year I would never do again.

Gingerbread time!

This year, I shall not be outwitted by dough. No more tears. I bought a HUGE mixing bowl and ditched the wooden spoon for a hand-mixer. My forearms are thanking me and I am thanking Clay who is currently cleaning the kitchen because he is wonderful.

5 batches of gingerbread dough never came together so easy.

Now, to the fridge with you! We meet again tomorrow.

It's interesting going through the exact same process that I went through one year ago with this gingerbread. I think the whole experience is telling and something for me to learn from. This 2nd time around is no big deal. The stress level is turned way down. Making the dough was a cinch due to my notes from last year and the nearly 2 year-old comfort of my Belgian kitchen. My expectations for the party are super mellow, mainly because I am better friends now with everyone that will be there, my French is better, and most of the guests are all old pros now at decorating strange little cookie houses.

I want to remember all this when it's time to dive back into a sea of "firsts" again. That it just gets easier.

Oh, and you want to see something cute?

Check out Mazen in his winter suit.

I am in love.

Goodnight all!

Pumpkin Pie.

2010-12-02T02:52:00.003-06:00

Sirin and I had a fun snow day yesterday. Xavier had a meeting near Huy so he deposited my friend with me for the day.

Last year they mentioned they wanted to try pumpkin pie so that's what we set ourselves to. (Sidenote: I also discovered something new at the grocery store- we have evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk here! Thank you lait concentré. You are worth your weight in the cheesecake that I can now make with you. Indeed this changes everything.)

We felt like little apothecaries measuring our powders and grinding cloves. All done in super-cute aprons of course.

O it IS the holidays, it really IS!

While our masterpiece cooled we went out for a walk to the shops in Huy. The snow was intense. The flakes were coming down in clumps. And their shapes were incredible

Can you make out the big one in the middle there? A perfect star! We stood there staring at it until we finally had to start letting people pass on the sidewalk.

The perfection and intricacy of snowflakes kind of blows my mind. To see something so creative and then realize that there are a gazillion more of them falling unceasingly in buckets all around you... God is kind of overwhelming. If we had stood there much longer I probably would have been weeping.

After dinner Clay and I enjoyed a piece of pumpkin pie and saluted Leslie Nielson in Naked Gun.

We'll miss you Mr. Nielson. Thanks for making us laugh so hard.

"This is our hill... and these are our beans!"

P.S. We will see how much fun snowflakes are when I have to walk to the laundry mat today to dry our clothes...

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T09:19:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving! The 4 of us Americans decided to share the day with some of the Belgians in our lives and introduce them to a proper Thanksgiving meal.

Our guests started arriving before we even did. Nothing was ready. The table wasn't set, food was still in the bags we carried them over in. We just told them that chaos was a part of the American Thanksgiving tradition, and they rolled up their sleeves and jumped in to help. We set the table, which included spreading miniature pumpkins and pumpkin seeds around the plates. Center pieces are not something I would normally call essential for Thanksgiving, but there is some switch that flips on when you are celebrating an American holiday outside of America that makes these details non-negotiable :)

We went easy on them for appetizers. Spiced wine was served alongside a tray of typical snacks- stuffed olives and peppers. We did however shake it up with the Tabasco jalapeno jelly.... I wish you could have seen their faces when I poured the jar out over a nice big brick of cream cheese. We needed someone to break the ice for sure. I called Clay over to try some on a cracker and also be the official taste-tester of the group. All it took was a first taste and they were hooked.

Amy made a pumpkin soup the get things rolling, and then we cleared the plates to get ready for the main course. Only...

The huge rooster we had prepared wasn't cooked through. Awesome.

We turned the bird over to Sam and Nathalie who are way more experienced.

While we got the rest of the meal table-ready, Clay entertained some of our guests. I love this picture because you can tell by Clay's face he is speaking French. The guy is so belge. It cracks me up. I also like all of their faces. We get looked at like this a lot :)

My full plate. Yum.

The bounty: Ham, stuffing, salad, beer bread, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and a rooster that was still in the oven.

They loved the ham. The sweet potatoes had them all scratching their heads, though. The whole concept of something sweet mixed with the main meal is pretty uncommon here. Oh and the cranberry sauce had me laughing. I bought some in a jar at our grocery store, but when I went to put it in bowls I realized it was really just jelly. So we ate straight up jelly with our meal. You can blame us if you ever come across a Belgian that claims to be "just like the Americans" by eating jelly with a fork. Yeah, that one's on us.

Dessert was apple pie, brownies (Betty Crocker, a true treat), and ice cream (Blue Bell wouldn't ship so we settled for the local brand.... it sufficed). Pumpkin pie isn't something that has gone over well in the past so we decided to abstain this year. You have to pick your battles.

It was so special sharing one of our traditions with people that have been sharing theirs with us for the past 2 years.

Another thing that had me laughing was the pumpkins. There was this one particular mini pumpkin that I was saving to take home. I had grand plans of making the world's smallest jack o lantern. It was going to be awesome.

Which pumpkin do you think Anthony chose to destroy by fire?

The favored one.

When I saw it I couldn't stop laughing. He reminded me of that creepy neighbor kid in the first Toy Story that mutilated all those toys. Boys.

This week looks to be a slower one. Lots of video work to keep us inside, which is great considering the snow that's been coming down.

This was the view out of our kitchen window yesterday around 5pm (yes, FIVE! It gets dark so early!). The flakes had just started sticking to rooftops.

And this is the sight that greeted us when we woke up.

Time to pull out the thick socks, boots, and those fabulous jeans that are huge enough to accommodate an extra layer of long-johns underneath.

The up-side is that it's gorgeous. I wonder if snow will ever get old? Years of Houston winters has me loving it!

Jiggedy-Jig

2010-11-05T12:28:00.005-05:00

Guess where we were the last few days:

!!!

It was a quick trip home in between our flights from Latin America to Belgium.

And it was perfect.

We were able to spend close to 24 hours with each family. After such a long video/photography trip, I was ready to put the camera down, but I snagged a few of Mom's pictures that make me smile.

As usual, the Pasches were laughing together from pretty much the moment we walked in the door. Gma had brought down some jeans she had found in her closet from the 8os. It was so good to be together and laugh! (how were zippers ever so long??)

Of course most of the time was spent like this. LOTS to talk about!

Gma made her meatloaf on Wed. night and it felt like Christmas all being at her house.

I for one am happy to finally see one of these Gma-dining-room-shots with ME in them! :) Mom even gave us all a Christmas present just to take advantage of it feeling like a holiday.

You really can't beat this.

We flew out at 6am on Thursday morning and arrived back in Belgium today.

As the train from the airport got closer and closer to Huy, we were just so happy. To have completed our month-long video trip well, to have snagged 2 incredible bonus days with our family, and to then be traveling closer and closer to our little apartment and more importantly our BED, which we were pretty ready to fall into by that point.

It was so good to be home!!!

And the leaves are changing! Huy had such a pretty welcome ready for us.

It is rainy and chilly outside, but we are warm in our sweet little home, nestled down deep into our cozy burrow of dirty laundry and unopened mail :)

It all feels really good.

The Dominican Republic

2010-10-27T22:01:00.002-05:00

Whew. Well here we are in the Dominican Republic. The beautiful, tropical D.R. We have enjoyed the warmer climate after several cold weeks in South America. There are more bugs here, but I'll trade that for not having to sleep in sweat pants and socks. Score.

We did an interview on a family's porch yesterday and their dogs were the cutest. Have you ever seen a Cup O' Dog before? Just add water.

It is nice to have Billy here as an extra pair of hands. Here he is rocking the boom mic.

There is just so much vegetation here! We heard once that in the DR all you have to do is plant rocks in the ground and something will grow. It really is that lush.

Here's Ramon showing off some of his beans :)

And yes, we eaten a lot of them too. Seriously I could live off of Dominican rice and beans. They are an art.

Today we went out to this little village way up in the mountains. Way cool. They usually take their motorbike, but I am pretty glad we had to take the car. Lots of up-hill driving through mud and gravel. Oh and we forded a river (that sounds a little more dramatic that it was, but it was pretty cool). We had a lot of fun and got some great shots out there.

One family had the coolest property. Lots of fruit trees and flowers. Chickens running everywhere. It was all so neat and tidy too. Even the outhouse was beautiful- a raised, clean-swept wood plank flooring, lots of light, and a pretty curtain covering the door. If Anthro was into outhouses this would have been the one.

It was kind of hard to take a picture inside the outhouse, but the outdoor kitchen I can show you. Airy and light. Just precious.

And they had 2 week-old goat triplets.

I am in love.

We finished the day getting some final footage of Billy. This picture shows you the grief we put our on-camera people through.

I laugh out loud when I see him sprawled out that way. What a great sport.

Billy leaves tomorrow and we sure will miss him! We'll be sad to see him leave but happy he can return home to Kate and their soon-to-be-born baby boy. Woohoo!

Adios y gracias, Billy!

2010-10-24T14:48:00.003-05:00

Early this year there was a massive earthquake. Like a 9 or something like that. For people living on the coast an earthquake means a tidal wave is coming.

Especially if you live in a valley like this:

Can you see the ocean on the other side of those mountains?

Most of this valley was spared, but the ladies of the town have still slept up mountain in a little tent village ever since. They are so scared of being swept away by a tidal wave. I don't blame them.

Billy found a friend while we were there. Soon after one of the older women saw this cat walking by, picked up a rock, and hit it right on its back. It got out of the tent pretty quickly after that.

Sometimes video takes a back seat to more pressing adventures.

After meeting together the ladies pulled their resources and put together a snack of cake and cookies. They made us sit at the table and served us tea. It felt kind of awkward to be honored that way, but I know that to be able to serve us meant so much to them. They don't get to be hostesses often, you know? I spent the rest of the time holding back tears. Such precious precious people. I am so thankful to have spent time with them.

We drove several of the women back down the mountain afterwards. They live like ON THE BEACH. Fighting the cold wind and the tide. It's pretty brutal out there.

We've been some pretty cool places, my love and I.

And met some of the sweetest and most beautiful people.

How could one spend their 27th birthday better? It doesn't get much better than this.

To Chile!

2010-10-21T14:34:00.005-05:00

We spent our last day in Montevideo walking around the city and shooting b-roll.

The seaside is just cool. Somehow even the smell of dead fish is nostalgic there. It was fun to sit there for a minute, watch people fish, and listen to the waves.

Some of the buildings were just so ragged there, but grand at the same time.

Then we flew over the Andes to Chile.

We are staying on old Wycliffe property where the New Testament was translated into Mapuche, the native language here. Kind of cool history. It makes the whole place feel kind of intense to me.

The missionaries that lived in this cabin used to get live trees to decorate for Christmas, then take them outside afterwards to plant. So these HUGE trees you can see here are 30 year-old Christmas trees! The breeze smells very festive around here :)

These yellow flowers were brought to Chile to be planted as fences because of their big thorns. Useful, but hard to control- they grow and grow and cannot be stopped. Atleast they have pretty flowers.

We visited some Mapuches on their land.

These are Mapuche gods.

They turn pigs and chickens into their fields to turn over the land and fertilize it. Awesome idea!

And sweet baby piggies too.

We had lunch with Daniel and Blanca and then passed the maté around.

We then visited another Mapuche home. Such sweet people. They all wanted to know why I didn't have babies yet :) They also asked Clay how much he paid for me.

The cute ham of an abuela :) Precious precious.

Where are we?

2010-10-15T17:08:00.010-05:00

Yesterday we were on our way from Miami to Montevideo, Uruguay. Early early flight and then a little layover in Panama. It was fun to be in Panama since my parents lived there when they weren't much younger than us. Super cool to see the same mountains that I know they saw every time they flew into Panama City. It made me happy.

We then boarded what was to be our 6 hour flight to Montevideo.

Silly weather.

We couldn't land.

So they took us Buenos Aires, Argentina.When they said they were re-routing us we got a little excited. Buenos Aires sounds cool. And someone on the plane said that it's pretty easy to take a boat from the Buenos Aires to Montevideo, so we were kind of ready for a fun adventure. It turns out we had to just sit on the tarmac in Buenos Aires for a few hours.

There were numerous announcements made, all of them in Spanish, which unfortunately has been pretty sufficiently replaced by French in our brains at this point, so we didn't really know what was going on.

But the plane took off, so we were happy. We landed less than an hour later and I was so excited to finally be in Montevideo.

We weren't in Montevideo.

We were in Punto del Este, a different Uruguayan city, where they let us disembark (sweet freedom) and chill in the airport while they figured out what to do with us. I felt so sorry for the families with babies and little kids. They were all so tired. And I bet the diaper bags were running low.

Around 4am they loaded us on buses and drove us to Montevideo where we arrived around 6am. It was crazy. One of those "this will be funny to look back on moments" :)

Here's a picture of us on the bus finally on our way to Montevideo.

After getting some sleep we hit the town to get a feel for the city and plan out our next few days.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the day.

Just our luck, it's strawberry season :) 2 lbs for 1.50USD!

$.50 reward for a day well-spent shooting b-roll. The little family making this yummy fried dough was so precious. If they hadn't been selling something so dangerously good, we would have bought more :)

2010-10-07T22:15:00.002-05:00

We're enjoying things this week.

Like seeing the bread my family eats at home.

And standing in awe in front of such a large selection of ziplocs.

The Cheesecake Factory.

Gi-normous glasses of ice water.

Oh, and pancakes.

And of course between meals and gawking down the aisles of Walmart/Target there has been plenty of work too.

Here's Clay's makeshift office.

Video-planning for our Latin America trip next week.

Shooting.

It's been a great week!

The more I see, the less I know.

2010-10-06T09:03:00.003-05:00

Any day that begins like this...

...is a good day for Clay Sandoz.

We had a little free time yesterday.

Yes, we took to the roads.

The beautiful, big, open roads. Radio blasting more country music than Clay could stand.

We started the day in Black Mountain for lunch at My Father's Pizza.

You each want two really huge glasses of ice water and Dr. Pepper? Sure! Free refills? Of course! Can't decide between two pizzas? We'll just make it half and half, and do you want some Ranch with that?

We are so not used to this.

We made a quick trip out to Asheville after lunch to visit the Mass General Store.

And then...

To the mountains!

I am not quite sure how to express what summitting Hawk's Bill was like. Unbeknownst to us, the whole day was just so perfectly designed to end here.

It was 2 years ago that these were our stomping grounds as we went through training. 2 years ago we were eating our way through Black Mountain and Asheville. Hiking and camping in these mountains (that sounds a little dramatic... we only tent-camped there once and I didn't really like it... but enough about me, the mountain-girl) As we got to the top of the trail and the North Carolina mountains came up to meet us in their hazy, sage-like way, all we could think about was how much had happened since we last saw them. How our lives and hearts had changed since we stood on that exact spot.

It was different yesterday from 2 years ago. Cold and windy. Sprinkles of rain. Absolute silence as we looked out over one of the most majestic sites we've ever seen.

The last 2 years have been challenging at times. Really hard. We've been rattled, in some ways crushed, had so much of who we were deconstructed until there really wasn't much left. Our thoughts of who God is changed. We've seen how we've made him into something we want him to be and then freak out when he doesn't fit that any more, as if he'd let us down.

Coming back to North Carolina, a place where so much of this experience began, gazing out over the same mountains.

We both felt words wrapping themselves around our hearts. Solemn and salving words:

He's the same.

He is exactly the same.

We may have painted him differently 2 years ago. We may have had years of pain since then as some of the boxes we kept God in were destroyed.

But that doesn't mean that he wasn't who he was then.

And it doesn't change that he still is who he was and is now.

It's we who have changed, really, not him.

Our hearts are quieter now. Less sure of more things. Thankful for the humility he's made us drink though it wasn't so sweet on our tongues.

He's busted out of some of our confining and self-serving boxes. Yeah, he pretty much flattened them.

We descended the mountain yesterday aware of what he's done and wanting to know the real him more.

I'm seeing stars and stripes.

2010-10-05T09:13:00.002-05:00

Well.... we're in America.

Gasp. It's true.

We are on American soil here in North Carolina and pinching ourselves :) It is so good to be home!

We are on our way to Latin America for some video projects next week and stopped off here to do some work for the home office while we're in the neighborhood.

I've been documenting our numerous delightful restaurant experiences and will share those pics soon. For now...

Guess who we saw?

Agh!!! My heart literally jumped out of my chest when I saw them! Truly a family reunion. Precious precious friends that we miss so much.

It's been a year since Daisy and Brent left Belgium and it was sooooo incredibly good to see them again. Oh, how we've missed them.

And now I will post all of our goofy pictures because I am still feeling goofy from such a great night last night.

Our last minutes were spent laughing together on the driveway. Ah, good friends. There's nothing like them.

P.S. Sirin, this picture's for you :)

"Last Dance"

2010-09-28T14:11:00.008-05:00

It's done!! If it weren't for the screaming pain in my thighs every time I go down stairs I wouldn't believe that it happened :)

It was pretty gray on Sunday.

Luckily, we trained in Belgium and are no strangers to rain and soggy shoes. It was actually perfect. Nice and cool.

Here we are before the race.

Oh, we're getting excited here!

In marathoning there is this thing called the 23-mile wall.

I hit it a little early... my wall began around mile 3.

“To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who’s never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind.” - Jerome Drayton, winner of the 81st Boston Marathon

I don't know what happened. It might have been all the people, the noise, the anxiety. Whatever it was, I was in a different world. A sad one. It lasted until around mile 12 or 13, I'm not sure. Clay just kept rocking it out and tried to keep me motivated. He's so great.

As you can see, I had started feeling better by this point.

We ran pretty much near the back of the pack the whole race. We were surrounded by the injured, the elderly, and those in cumbersome costumes.

I was passed by a man dressed up as a Rubik's cube.

The pace was nice at the back, but the thing that made me the most nervous was knowing that "The Bus" was somewhere behind us. There was a 5 1/2 hour time limit to the race, and if the bus caught up to people running slower than this pace the runners had no choice but to ride the bus back.

No finish line.

I was petrified by this bus. I think I asked Clay about every mile "Are we ok? Is the bus coming?" I imagined it had this giant claw that would reach out and scoop me up mid-stride.

Oh horrors.

I LOVE this picture. On the very far left you can see a man we kept pace with for most of the race. He was hunched over and had a twisted knee. His endurance and drive was incredible. After we passed him (only during the last few miles- he was pretty speedy) we kept looking back to make sure "Paw Paw" was doing alright :) This attests to the comradery one feels towards fellow race-runners.

A real smile. Things had turned around big time by this point.

We rounded the last bend and the song "Last Dance" was blaring from the speakers. It pumped us up, and we sprinted on home! :)

Yes!

Some of our support crew.

A big thank you to Babette, Doug, Martha, Allie and John for all the cheering, standing in the rain, and sporadically running alongside us during the hard times. And a huge thanks to Randy for all the pictures. They are absolutely priceless.

We tore through our treat bags they gave us at the finish line.

That banana tasted so good.

Then the chills hit. Oh, it was sooo cold!!

But the deed was done and we felt awesome. We leaned on our friends and limped home, showered, and then went out for a BIG dinner.

Oh, the nostalgia. Here's the picture from our first training run in December.

And another milestone, the first pair of Spandex :)

Our first race. I remember it was a 13.3K and I had no idea how we were ever going to be able to run the 42K marathon.

And the morning of our big race. So excited and nervous.

Clay, you're the best. I couldn't and wouldn't have done this with anyone else. I remember the day I first ran for 30 minutes straight and what a victory it was. These past 9 months have held so many milestones.

26.2 in Budapest was a blast, but it was those 600 miles in Belgium that I'll cherish the most :)

We are running a marathon tomorrow!!

2010-09-25T05:30:00.002-05:00

I can't believe this day is here.

9 months.

600 miles.

100+ hours

We are running a marathon tomorrow!!!!!!!

We've been training since last December. Tomorrow it all comes together :)

P.S. Oh and do any of you recognize these people?

Babette has been our long-distance running coach these past 9 months, and she and Randy surprised us here in Budapest to cheer us on! Sweet friends!

Reeling.

2010-09-22T12:03:00.003-05:00

I am kind of surprised myself at how busy life has become. I think summer tricked me. Slow-paced and back to back visitors has quickly transitioned into a full on sprint towards some point approximately 6 months from now when will step off a plane in Houston, Tx. That thought brings with it loads of different emotions.

Let's just talk about a few highlights from our recent past.

We had a virtual birthday tea party with our sweet girls last week. They attended the event decked out as princesses while their brother donned a fireman's costume. Precious.

This is a current advertisement in a lot of the train stations these days. The metric system nightmare strikes again. Do you think they intended this lady to be so tall? Silly feet and inches.

We made it to Sheffeild, England to spend some time getting to know The Crowded House, a network of really dynamic churches in the area. Ummm. Incredible.

We spent the weekend talking and talking and talking and trying to soak up what these people are about. Turns out they're about the gospel and community. Funny thing is we actually could SEE this. Ummm. Incredible.

Still reeling.

There's a little peek into Sandoz living. We're off again tomorrow to Budapest.

Like I said, sprinting to the end!

A Belgian Wedding

2010-09-12T11:40:00.004-05:00

Our friends Elizabeth and Bertrand got married last week! I thought I would walk you through a typical Belgian wedding :)

It starts off early afternoon when family and close friends cluster around the front of the bride's parents' home.

The groom then arrives in a car to officially greet his bride. He knocks, she answers, the men clap and the women cry. It's really special.

The groom then gets back into his car, and the bride gets into a decorated car with her dad. They all ride to the Town Hall with guests trailing behind.

A quick civil ceremony at the Town Hall makes the marriage official. They sign papers, there are witnesses, pictures are taken, and the groom gets to kiss his bride. There were so many well-wishers for this wedding that guests poured out into the hallway and down the steps outside the building.

Then, since Bertrand and Elizabeth are a part of the Protestant church here in Huy, the whole crew moves on to the church for a religious ceremony. This step also can be in the form of a Mass or can be skipped altogether depending on a family's preference. This ceremony is simply tradition. The bride and groom are officially already married by this point.

After the church ceremony there was a small reception.

Then those invited to the dinner/reception make their way to the reception hall. I enjoyed spending time with one of the younger guests in attendance. Sweet baby Lois.

Dinner is served, people relax and laugh a lot, and then the music starts. The bride and groom do their first dance and then others can join them on the dance floor. Super sweet. Bertrand and Elizabeth had been dating for years and years, so this wedding was much anticipated and very precious. What a sweet couple.

After a lot of dancing (by Belgians of ALL ages, we're talking ages 3 to 83), the cake comes out. There are always sparklers on cakes here. The cake was an ice cream cake this time. Well chosen, friends. Yum.

As usual, the cake came out well after midnight, and after tasting it, the Americans decided it was time to get home to bed. We heard they partied until about 3am. The couple left a few days later for their honeymoon in Oslo, Norway. Cool choice.

And there you have it. A Belgian wedding. Very similar to our American traditions but with definite flair that makes it there own.

We were so thankful to be included in this couple's special day, and to get to be part of a true Belgian celebration. It was a long day, but one that truly allowed us to peek inside the community here and see them love eachother and feel loved ourselves.

It was a day that warmed our hearts.

Congratulations, friends!

Sometimes you just wish you were there...

2010-09-04T01:34:00.001-05:00

I'm wish I was in Breckenridge today! Y'all have fun :)

Epic.

2010-08-27T11:05:00.005-05:00

I loved the way the bathroom smelled like my mama's soap. And that every morning I entered the kitchen to find Dad's signature coffee spoon resting on a quarter-folded paper towel.

The family came to town. It was epic.

The pace was perfect. We had some fun daytrips, but for the most part we let ourselves just "be." I got to take Mom to my favorite second-hand shops here in Huy and everyday for lunch we bought fresh stuff for big baguette sandwiches. We lounged around inside while it poured outside, and we played rounds and rounds of Ticket To Ride.

I'll let Mom's blog speak for all of our adventures, but I will say that it was wonderful.

So, the sheets are clean and back in the closet. That coffee spoon was washed long ago. And the bathroom smells less like Mama's soap and more like the french fry grease wafting up from our neighbor's kitchen.

But I am still happy remembering my family's sweet visit. It lightened my heart.

My favorite memories:

The day came.

2010-08-11T16:17:00.003-05:00

I am laughing as I type this. Summer 2010 will forever be known as the Summer of Hellos. All of these visitors have been a blast, and my how quickly time flies when loved ones are coming in and out of your home. What a wonderful summer.

Yesterday we caught a lunch with the Daileys' travel group as they were passing through Brussels for a few days. They didn't know the Jacksons would be with us so we had a fun surprise Austin Ridge reunion. So fun. Thanks for spending the afternoon with us guys!

We then did the ritual Mannekin Pis visit and waffle sharing with John and Lezlie. They have now officially lived Brussels.

Clay and I stayed over in Brussels last night so we could meet my family at the airport today. We had some time to kill before catching the train and nothing calms my anxiety like a good junk shop to dig around in. Sigh. Brussels has become quite the treasure trove.

Even Clay found something to interest him. An old camera the size of our apartment. We are thankful we are able to travel a bit more compactly for our video trips.

This banner always makes me laugh. Finally, an exposition for that person who thinks he knows everything. Quite specific don't you think?

Ah, and finally. They made it. The plane was delayed and I thought I would jump out of my skin watching those sliding doors exiting baggage claim. Airports are so emotional anyways with all the crying and hugging going on around you that I thought I might explode before my family arrived. They walked out when I least expected. I heard Clay say "There they are!" and I kind of turned into a blubbering limp noodle. I didn't jump up and down. I didn't wave. Is it strange to say I just watched them? Seeing those 3 Pasches made my heart dance and I wasn't going to rush that moment for a second. My 8 ft tall baby brother almost walked right past me which made me laugh. Then Daddy hugged me so tight I couldn't breathe and kissed my cheek. And then my sweet little Mama with her bright blue eyes all teary. I don't get these moments often. GOODNESS I love hellos.

They really dug into their cheese snack on the train. I know what my people like :)

Oh, and Belgium? Do prepare yourself for my mother's neon shoes. She's a retired PE coach with a sprained ankle, and she doesn't want any of your lip, ça va? :)

I'm going to sleep now. With Mama, Dad, and Q under my roof.

I am very happy.

2010-08-10T02:51:00.002-05:00

Time with the Thorntons flew by!

We dominated the maze... Actually we just tried to steer clear of all the live actors that were running around inside of it. Creepy.

We had a little BBQ on "the grassy space" up in Old Huy.

I got stung by a bee. Awesome.

We shared some bread and cheese with some new friends that were passing through from Ireland and the UK. They were kind enough to let Sheryl try their tin flute. She was a real trooper :)

The carnival's in town!

And our friends were off! Thanks for coming to see us!

And a big welcome to the Jacksons on the same day! You can see them really tiny on top of the fort. John was able to pick up our wireless from the top and give us a call :)

Off to Brussels today to meet up with some folks that are passing through from Austin and then tomorrow....

Hooray!! Mom, Dad, and Quinn!!

For those interested, Mom is continuing her tradition of a travel blog. I am sure it will be quite entertaining :)

2010-08-09T09:18:00.002-05:00

I just washed a bunch of sheets and towels- getting ready for Mom, Dad, and Quinn!!

I hope there aren't any clowns.

2010-08-06T03:38:00.003-05:00

More visitors! Josh and Sheryl are here from Austin. No pictures but lots of good times spent with friends. Yesterday we had lunch at Ali and Nada's, which we are now all referring to as the "American Restaurant" since so many of our friends and family have enjoyed a meal there. Today we are striking out to find a cornfield labyrinth that is somewhere nearby. Not quite sure what to expect.

According to the website, this is what we have to look forward to:

After harvesting the previous Labyrinth, a new maze is planted. Its design is entirely modified. It leaves the place to new heroes, the time of a summer, within de green dead ends to surprise once again the visitors come to play at loosing themselves. For this great hide and seek game, the 14th edition of the labyrinth draws balloons to give life to Yakari, the little Indian of DERIB and JOB and its friends.

I can't wait :)

Those crazy American neighbors.

2010-08-03T10:41:00.004-05:00

I heard a cat meowing while I was cleaning the bathroom this afternoon. It went on for a few seconds so I quickly threw open the window, already envisioning my new cat that I was about to rescue. I scanned the rooftops behind our apartment and saw nothing. Thinking maybe the cat needed a little encouragement, I meowed a little myself thinking I could call it to me.

I don't have a new pet. What I do have is a creeped out neighbor who I made eye contact with while I was meowing. He must have heard the cat and opened his window to check things out too. All he found was a crazy cat lady meowing from her window.

Awesome.

And now, one of my babies from home because I am sore I did not get to rescue a kitty to be my new pet today.