Is anyone still out there???

So, wow, over a year since I gave this little place any love.   Hmmmm ..... Let's try this again, maybe. We are, in fact, alive and still in Vienna.  Although, we are gearing up for the Haskew Family World Tour 2013 edition in a couple of weeks.  We have kids camp in the beautiful mountains of Austria next week, I know, rough life, huh?  We get back home on Saturday, where I'll do laundry like a mad woman and then it's off to the US on Monday.  To say, I am excited about this trip is an understatement.  It's been a long few months here in Vienna and we're all looking forward to a bit of a break.  We'll be in Colorado and Kansas the last half of July and then in Oklahoma the first part of August.  We'd love to catchup and chat if you have time.  Just shoot me an email or facebook message and I can check our schedule.  I'll leave you with a few pics, because who wants to read a blog without pictures, right?

Love these babies, so much.  How can they be growing so fast?

Jake and I celebrated 13 years of wedded bliss in April.  He's still the cutest, sweetest, most amazing guy I've ever known.

After a long, cold winter it was so wonderful to sit on our patio one morning drinking coffee and scouting some local talent.

Stadtpark Fest

One of the many great things about living in Vienna is that there is always something to do.  Last week was no exception and we headed to the City Park for a free program that was taking place.  One of the men who worships with us was going to be working one of the stations so mainly we went to say hello to him.  Once we got there we were surprised to see all that was going on and all for free.  All the different city programs were represented with different stations for kiddos to do.  We found our friend first off and then went around to look at and do some of the stations.  It was amazing to see all the programs Vienna offers.  Here are a few pics of the day.  

Abby with an elephant sculpture.

Katy holding a walking stick bug.  It should be noted that big sister would have no part of this.

Abby all decked out to do some tree climbing.

Abby building a bird house.  

There were these people walking around dressed like flowers and bug.  The girls got a kick out of them.

Jammies

Here are some little pjs I sewed up for Abby last week.  I've had this Ikea hippo fabric for a couple of years, and finally dug it out last week for its intended purpose.  I think they turned out pretty cute :)

Prater

Here in Vienna, we have a great little amusement park caller Der Prater.  If you've ever seen a picture of Vienna, odds are pretty good that it included the huge ferris wheel that is there.  We visited this place on our survey trip as a team in 2005 and have been there one time as a family of three since we've lived in Vienna.  Last Saturday, though, we made the trek over for an event our friends told us about.  Apparently, it was science fiction day, and to celebrate there was going to be a Star Wars parade.  Even though Abby has never seen the movies she was interested in going, and you know my husband was excited, too.  So, off we went.  It took us  a bit to find out where this big even was going to happen, but eventually figured it out.  So, we waited around for the "parade" to begin.  It turns out, in Vienna a Star Wars parade consists of about 40 people dressing up in their costumes and walking down the middle of the Prater.  The whole thing was a bit anticlimactic, but Jake and Abby had fun.  Afterward, we let the girls do a couple of the rides and grabbed a bite to eat.  All in all, a pretty fun family day.  

A Little Shout Out

I want to give a little shout out to Lora over at Eager Hands.  I was introduced to Lora via a Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day of couple of years ago, and quickly added her to my Reader.  She's a pretty amazing lady raising five kids, keeping up with an Etsy shop and maintaining her blog.  Head on over to her blog and read today's post and then head to her shop.  I've ordered from from her a few times and always LOVE what I get.

A Bit About Sunday

Here in Vienna, we do Sundays a bit differently.  The biggest difference being that we meet for worship in our home.  When we were still living in Oklahoma and all this was just one big dream, a piece of that dream was house churches.  We came here to plant house churches, small groups of believers meeting in a very intimate setting each week to sing, pray, share the Lord's supper and grow together as a community.  I'll admit that having a group in our home each week can be challenging.  It would be very easy to stress about decor and how clean everything is (at times I do this), but I'm blessed to be able to open my door each week and welcome friends to share the Lord in our home.  
I thought I'd share with you the recipe I use to make the bread each week.  Give it a try yourself and you'll be experiencing a bit of our Sunday.

Communion Bread
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup butter or shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-4 tablespoons milk

Combing flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl.  Cut in butter/shortening until small pea size crumbs form.  Add milk a little at a time until soft dough forms.  Roll out to about a 10 inch circle.  Score with a knife to form small pieces.  Bake at 425 until golden brown.

Kindergarten Here We Come

On Wednesday, Katy and I took the bus and headed to an appointment to speak with the director of the kindergarten she will start attending in September.  In Vienna, children start going to kindergarten around age 3 and go until they enter first grade at age 7.  So, it is what Americans would consider preschool.  This is the same kindergarten that Abby attended near where we live.  So, most days Katy and I will ride the bus about 10 minutes, while Jake and Abby drive to Abby's school, about 20 minutes by car.
I'll admit I went back and forth on whether or not to send Katy this fall, but in the end decided the earlier she can be exposed to proper German the better.  It is only a half day program so I think I'll survive.  Here are a few pics of her playing in the Puppenecke (doll corner).  I think she'll be just fine :)