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 :)

And we're back.....

So, it has been quite awhile since I posted here.  I sort of lost my groove I guess, became unsure of what to post about and basically lost interest in this little project.  Well, for the moment, at least, I am interested in giving it another go.  The most recent mile high event in the Haskew household was little Katy's 3rd birthday.  Every mother says it, but where does the time go.  This little stinker is growin' up too fast.  Currently, she loves Cars, Playdough, harrassing playing with her big sister, and singing.  She's speaking a wee bit of German and understands a whole lot of it.  We had a small party here at our house yesterday and invited a few of her favorite people.  This kids played in the backyard (yes, we moved recently and are now enjoying a green area right out the back door), we ate sandwiches and cake, and had a low key afternoon.  BTW, highly recommend these types of birthday parties.  Forget about that over the top stuff the kid doesn't care about anyway.  Anyway, I'll leave you with a few recent pics of both the girlies. *Note to self, upload better pics from camera.

P.S.  Anything in particular you'd like to read about or see from our side of the pond?

Giveaway

Hey, friends. Head over here and check out a great giveaway. She was has some great things in her newly opened Etsy shop. Good luck.

Furlough

For six weeks this summer we made a groovy, little trip across the pond. We had a great time seeing friends and family and talking about what we do here in Vienna. Here are some pics of our time in the US. I have more pictures to post, but they aren't on my computer yet.

Abby and her hero. We love Natalie.

The girls at Rocky Mountain National Park.
Abby, Katy, Grandpa and Nana
Jake, Abby and our nieces Madison and Taylor.

Katy, Mary and Abby

First Day of School

Today, Abby started the second year of her school career. She was full of jitters and jetlagged as we started off the day on slightly rocky ground.

Once we got to school and she met up with some of her friends again, the storm clouds seemed to pass.

We started off the day with a short Bible lesson and corn flakes. Then off to school for the semi-anticlimatic (is that even a word?) first day, a whole 1 hour long. One of the many things I love about school here is that the kids stay together in the same class for 4 years. So, as Abby was getting reacquainted with some of her friends I was doing the same. After school, we headed to the mall for the traditional first day doughnut. She opted for pink this year, not that this was a hard choice since pickin's are slim in the doughnut department around here.

Afterwards, we headed home, not before baby sister had a total meltdown, to have lunch.

This afternoon we also had special friends join us. Abby and Tom were in the same kindergarten 2 years ago, before his family moved back to Nepal to do mission work. We love Tom and his family and were so happy to spend a few precious hours with them today.

All in all, a pretty good first day.

Coming Home?

Hello, all (or more likely 3 people who still attempt to read this blog)!!! I've been a bit quiet on the blog front, but have no doubt that life is rolling along here in the land of schnitzel and lederhosen. Spring has flown by and has given way to summer. Abby finishes up first grade in just 2 days. I'm slightly mortified that this chapter is about to close for my little girl. She has done so well this year and I'm so proud of her.

Four years ago (July 1, 2007) we sold out and packed up to move across the world. The days and nights since we chose to accept that call have been filled with tears of sadness, fear, joy and relief. We grieved the loss of the familiar and safe and slowly learned and embraced the new and strange. While we will, of course, always feel a slight pull to land where we came from, we've made a home here in Vienna. And that for that today I am thankful. And also because of that, I can look at pictures like this and get teary eyed. Because I have a tiny inkling as to what these photos really mean.

So we'll be headed back west in two weeks. We will be in Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas. We're going to hug necks, kiss cheeks, sing praises, catch up, and hang out. All the while, though, we'll be feeling a little pull to cross the ocean one more time and go home.