Here we are.

Life has just kind of taken off here and it's hard to believe we just arrived back a week ago. One of the best things about arriving home was the sweet banner some of the kids had made. It definitely made me cry. After a long week of goodbyes and a long day of travel, it felt really good to say some HELLOS!

We met the Kellers boys at the park one day and the beauty of the city was just breathtaking. Taking this picture made me smile thinking of all the other pictures all over the world that I've taken with these two standing just like this.

 

It is a new feeling for us to leave family, head to the other side of the world, and find family waiting for us there too. Coming back to our dear friends comforted our hearts and energized us. We are so thankful.

This next picture makes me laugh. It was right after a group of policemen had walked by (you can see them on the path behind us) and had almost caught us letting the kids play on a slide that was "out of order." That was a close one :)

One of the things that has struck me most being back is how the kids have changed and adjusted in the last 5 weeks. They are talking about Petrin Hill, and where the tram 5 stop is. They're going to pick up milk at the corner store and walking themselves to school. I am blown away. They have adapted so well already. Look at those 3 city boys walking down the street! This blesses my heart.

Hydrangeas also bless my heart :) I just planted a pretty pot for our balcony along with some jalapenos, cilantro, banana peppers, blue bonnets (!), and an aloe vera plant. Seeing all the little seedlings and the pretty blooms makes me feel settled and at home. And it makes me feel connected with those at home in Texas- my Mammaw, the hydrangea whisperer, my Gma, who always had aloe on her back patio, and Clay's dad who's green thumb always brings good peppers to the table from his garden.

The other night we called an impromptu Wii gathering, which turned into a time of appetizers, dessert, stories, youtube videos, laughing, and a little crying too.

My how blessed we are.

Today

Missing this...

  and this...

and this...

 Thankful for this...

 and this...

 and this...

 

 It's good to be back.

We're in our apartment.

We just spent our first night in our new apartment!!!! It is so incredible to sit here with the window open, cool breeze blowing in. Through the courtyard-facing windows I hear the sound of neighbors tinkering around on their balconies- readying them for spring no doubt, and the street-side windows bring the hustle bustle street noise from the ground 7 stories down. It is so good to be home!!!

Last night we made an epic trip to Ikea. We were there 4 hours and had just made it to the warehouse when we hear "The store will be closing in 30 minutes." 

Is there a greater fear at Ikea? That the registers will close, the lights will go out, and someone in an apron will inform you that the fruits of hours of labor will be restocked to their shelves for you to return for again tomorrow?

I really didn't think it could be done, but we managed to check out and arrange for delivery before they turned us out. 

We were the last customers to leave the store. 

Here we are on the metro platform heading back into town. 

The trip to Ikea was not without its costs- unbeknownst to us (but knowst to our storage facility) the storage building locks down after 10pm. So there was no air mattress to bring home for our first night.

We slept on a pile of our clothes. No lie.

It was hilarious and uncomfortable and hideous. We woke up a lot, and at one point, probably around 4am, one of us started laughing and we just couldn't stop. Last night was one of the funniest experiences we've shared together. I am laughing now just typing this.

This morning we toasted the sunshine of a new morning and are so happy to be where we are.



And are planning a daytime trip to our storage unit to bring home our air mattress!

Here's a peak at our apartment.

It's the attic level of our building so has these sweet beams.

 Clay's office/guest room. 

 

Today shall be filled with laundry. I am so thankful to have a washer!! And the beams are pretty good drying racks for now :)

  And begin washing dishes and stocking our cabinets. Can't wait to start on these fun junk-shop finds :)

I'm looking forward to this day.

We just completed week 4 of our 6 week language course. We love our class and wish it could go on longer! We have a great teacher and our classmates are just so fun- sometimes we have lunch together after class and we're all playing badminton next week :) We are so thankful for these new friends.

One thing occupying our minds right now is moving into our apartment in 2 weeks! We are making all the moving arrangements, planning trips to Ikea, and scouring Prague classifieds websites for good deals to furnish our new place. It's too fun. I LOVE house hunting and moving and settling in. It is one of my favorite parts of our life over the last few years. We are picking up a small freezer and a second-hand kitchen island this afternoon! Yay! My diet requires a lot of cooking-from-scratch and the two things we're picking up today will make that so much easier!

The rest of our team arrives in 2 1/2 weeks!!! So excited! Can't wait to see those familiar faces.

We did get to see one familiar face last week. It was fun to see you Justin!

Happy weekend everyone!

School days.

It's been a big week! First week of school! Thankfully, they went easy on us- 2 days of  registration and information, and only 3 full days of Czech study. I don't know if our brains could hold anymore!

The day is long- 4 1/2 hours of language study. The first day I cried in class. I don't think anyone noticed but Clay, but there were tears. 

Real, frustrated, what-have-I-gotten-myself-into tears. 

It was SO much information on a topic that neither of us had even scratched the surface of before. So different from our experiences with Spanish and French, where atleast there are comparisons to be made to English. This is a whole other realm.

But then day 2 was so much better! We left class being able to count to 20 (!) and with a pretty good grasp on the alphabet and its sounds. It was encouraging and just what we needed.

And then with today's class we were back in the mire. I think this will be the theme of our Czech language learning tale- really good days followed by really hard days followed by really good days. And so on.

Our walk to school is pretty slippery right now- lots of snow and ice on cobblestones.

 

Today, we both fell down stairs. And then almost had to sit back down on them we were laughing so hard :) I am so glad we are together on this adventure.

Here's the view from our classroom. 

And here's a quick shot of the classroom before class began. We're 6 Americans, 1 Chinese, 1 Austrian, 1 Colombian (that I speak Spanish with in the bathroom), and 1 Swede. And a Czech teacher named Jana.

 

 In other news- I have a new phone!!! Courtesy of some sweet friends in Texas- thanks ya'll!! My heart couldn't have been more blessed. Yay!

Also, we are getting close on securing housing for the whole team! Can't wait to show you our new home!

The rest of the group purchased their tickets and are set to arrive in March. We will be so happy to see those 11 faces! What a joyous day that will be!

In the meantime, we will continue with language school, getting to know new friends, navigating the visa renewal kingdom, and exploring these beautiful (albeit mushy) streets:

*Exciting update (for those of you playing my game with me)! We found the first female installment of our graffiti name game!!!

Rachel, Prague is ready for you!

 Add that to these guys, and we're off to a pretty good start!

Gluten-free restaurant in Prague

Last night, to celebrate beginning Czech school today, we went out to dinner at a place I've been wanting to try a really really long time. It's a 100% gluten free restaurant that has been all over the Prague forums since it opened in April 2011.

What do I think of it? It has changed my view of living in Prague. It is so good that it makes this city even better and more beautiful to live in. With a restaurant like this, where I can get incredible gluten free meals any time- life just got really good, people.

It kind of makes me want to cry. It is a true gift from God. There wasn't even a gluten free restaurant in Tomball like this. And God provides it for me here. He truly goes before us and behind us and hems us in so incredibly.

So, the restaurant.

It's called Na Zlaté Křižovatce (The Golden Crossroads) near the Florenc metro station (for those that might visit Prague).

We split a chicken caesar salad appetizer and it was huge. And it had strips of bacon and crunchy toasted parmesan croutons. The waitress actually commented on how fast we ate it. And I said something brilliant like "I haven't had bread in weeks!" which is not even true- it's been a lot longer than that, AND that is a lame thing to say :) I was deliriously happy at that moment and beyond caring. I have never stuffed croutons in my mouth so quickly.

Clay had a pork loin with parmesan risotto and I had my first Czech pork schnitzel. It was just as good as I'd imagined. It is so exciting to finally be able to enjoy Czech cuisine!

We split a dessert (for research sake ;) and decided on the Czech cheesecake. Wowsers.

They even had a  shelf at the front selling some gfree pantry items. Even muesli cereal!!

I cannot tell you how happy we were to have found this place. It is at the top of the list of Trip Advisor's restaurant in Prague, so we are hoping that that will guarantee it sticks around awhile!

Just wanted to share this huge encouragement. It is truly such a gift.

Wanderings.

The exploration of our new city continues.

We took the metro out to Ikea one day to take stock of what they had and what we might like to have in our eventual apartment. 

Ikea is nuts. 

It's the magical place you most want to be and the place you most want to flail your arms at and run away from. All at the same time. They sell duvet covers, washing machines, and cinnamon rolls. Ikea takes time. And energy.

We used one of their baby strollers to haul all our winter gear around (we've got to figure out how Czechs handle the temperature change from outdoors to indoors) while we searched out housewares for our future home.

Clay thinks he might have found his chair. 

 

We ended up buying just one thing (which is deserving of an Ikea medal, I think, but then you'd be leaving with 2 things...), and it's something I've wanted since my farmer's market days in Belgium. A grocery pull-cart!!! I haven't seen many people my age with one, but I do not care!! Who wouldn't want to effortlessly pull their heavy load instead of carry it with their freezing, windchapped hands??

Yes!!

 

She is proving herself most handy at the grocery store.

At the laundry mat.

And trudging home from said laundry mat.

In our further wanderings, we found this gluten free shop! It's small and doesn't offer too many products, but they have tortilla chips and really good cookies. "Bez lepku" means gluten-free. 

On the opposite side of the block from the gfree store is a restaurant that is 100% gluten free! What?? Yes. It's true. 100% gluten free, from its pork schnitzel to its chocolate cheesecake. Further research required. We're on it.

Last night we had our first real introduction to Czech. Keri and her sister Marketa have been so helpful over the last few months as we made our transition to Prague. Keri had us over last night for tea and a little Czech lesson before our first day of Czech class (tomorrow!). She took us through the alphabet and all the sounds of the language. So cool. We are so thankful to have such friends.

Yes, Czech language school starts tomorrow! We are ready to dive in and begin the journey towards communicating well in this culture. It's exciting. And scary too. School. It's not my favorite. But back again we go! We'd love it if you'd pray for us as we begin learning Czech.

Highlights.

One, we are officially registered in the Czech Republic! The building looked ominous and the language flew over our heads, but with help we received what we needed quickly. 

Two, we ate our first homemade meal in Prague a few nights ago. It felt so good and right and like home. I felt like it was a big step in settling in.

Three, I lost my iphone a few days ago. Gasp. I know. It was horrible. It still stinks, but does not feel as horrible any more. I realized as I cried that night that it wasn't so much the iphone I was crying about (though I will miss texting my family at home on it :( ), but just the added complication that this occurrence added to our already complicated first days here. It hurt me. But I am feeling better.

Four, I went on a sweet walk with my new friend Carrie yesterday. She took me to a part of the city I haven't been to yet (there are a lot of places like that :) and we just walked and talked. It is so good to have a friend here. I am so thankful.

Here are some pictures from our walk:

That's Charles Bridge down there. How gorgeous is that?

 

This is a great playground area that overlooks the city. I got excited picturing the Wilkins and Keller kids running around up there this summer. Like most Prague parks, there's a beer garden in the middle where people meet their friends, watch matches, and just hang out on summer days. Summer is going to rock. I am already looking forward to it :)

  

This is a big metronome (it actually works) that sits atop the hill in the park. It's viewable from down in the city too. This hill used to hold a huge statue of Stalin looking out across the city. Now it holds a giant metronome to symbolize 'change.' I like it.

There will be picnics had on top of this hill. Count on it.

So thankful for a new friend :)

The first few days.

We are here! It's been 3 full days and I think the jetlag is wearing off. We've been running around like crazy which has been a great thing- all the emotions swirling around in me make idleness dangerous. It's strange to leave family and friends, the people who love you the most, and then arrive in a new land where you don't really know anyone and you don't really seem to fit. This wasn't a surprise, thanks to our time in Belgium, but knowing that something is coming doesn't make it all that much easier when you hit the ground.

A few updates.

One, I found the next installment of our team challenge to capture eachother's names in graffiti.

It's not the correct spelling, but phonetics count in this game. Only 10 more to go :)

We house hunted on Friday and saw some options for our team. We saw some great stuff.

Yesterday we wanted some adventure! So we rented a Smart car and drove to Cesky Krumlov!

In the summer, this city is a huge tourist magnet for it's kayaking, camping, and brewery tours. In the winter, it is an ice village with fewer people but is just as beautiful. 

This is the same river that flows through Prague, the river Vltava. Can't wait to go back and kayak this summer!

This is a picture to give props to Clay for all the weird food he has to eat with me as I figure out how to eat gluten free in foreign countries. He is a champ.

We walked the city. It was so gorgeous.

We set out Friday and some of today to do some grocery shopping and have been really encouraged. This living a big international city is going to be pretty fun. I actually started singing "I think I'm gonna like it here" from Annie today in the grocery store :) So many options! 

Favorite finds so far? Dried beans at a Lebanese store (black beans that are currently in our pantry to be turned into soup tomorrow), a canned gluten free soup (Lentil Bacon, yum) which I went back and bought two more servings of, and a really great Indian gluten free frozen meal.

 

Clay also found a frozen pizza that was his favorite in Belgium- it made us so happy to see something familiar. We were happy campers at dinner tonight, me with my Indian food and he with his pizza :)

The whole gluten free thing has been really encouraging so far. There have been a few times when I felt like crying, but for the most part the options are pretty good. We went to our storage unit and picked up a few kitchen things that will make preparing our own food really convenient. And this is good considering we are starting an intensive language program next Monday and energy for the kitchen will be scarce.

Even eating out hasn't been so bad. Yesterday was one of those days that I was feeling overwhelmed with the huge task of figuring out what to eat. (Those of you with strict dietary needs know what I mean by overwhelmed. It's so all-encompassing sometimes!) We walked into a mall food court, and I was just so sure we wouldn't be able to find anything. I was prepared for defeat. 

Then we almost walked into this sign.

 

 Ya'll, I started crying. God is so good to us! We couldn't stop laughing. He was telling us that he is taking care of things and that he loves us. And we are so thankful. And I ate pasta :)

So. Things have been hard at times in the last few days. But we feel his presence and we trust him.

Tomorrow we head off to the immigration police to hopefully get registered to live here. 

Keep the adventure coming!

Love you guys!