Talking with Abby

Yesterday, as we were sitting down to eat lunch after picking Abby up from kindergarten, I asked a simple question......

Me: Abby what did you do at school today?
Abby: Played with Tom.
Me: That sounds fun, what else did you do?
Abby: I found something green on my finger, it was a booger, so I hid in in the couch so no one could find it.

I have a new love also

From the day we first looked at our apartment in Vienna, I loved it. I love the location, the amount of room we have, our neighbors and many other things. I never imagined I would be able to live in such a great place on the mission field. My vision of what we would have here was be small, dark and in the middle of a busy city. I have been so grateful for God's blessing us with our home here. When we moved in there were already kitchen cabinets and appliance here, a rare thing in Vienna, so we were happy not to have to build a kitchen from the floor up. The only think I lacked was a dishwasher. I do have a double sink, another rarity in Vienna, so doing dishes by hand has not been too bad. Last week, however, my hand washing days came to an end. Jake and Ira installed a brand new dishwasher for me. We figured with the baby coming it would be nice to have a little help in the kitchen since we'll be having more dishes with bottles, etc. I love the feeling of loading up the dirty dishes and just walking away. Another bonus is it has freed up some countertop space by not having dishes drying all over the counter. Now, hopefully, by the end of the year, I might be able to get a clothes dryer. Man have my perceptions changed since arriving here. I took for granted so many things before coming here. I am so thankful God takes care of us and blesses us more than we ever deserved.

Finally, some pictures

Here are a few pictures. Some of these were taken before Christmas, but it is better late than never, right?


Eating Cotton Candy at the Christmas Market. She ate like 2 bites and then we had to throw the rest away.


Killing time while we await to apply for our residency permits in January. Fun times.


The snowman she built with Daddy.


Having fun making up her own game.


When you want Olive Garden food in Vienna, you search the internet for copycat recipes and then spend about 3 hours making said recipes. So worth it, even the hour clean up time.

Some projects

Here's are some of the little projects I would like to make before the baby comes:

Burp Cloth

Hooded Towel

Birthday gift for my niece and Valentine's Day gift for Abby (this one is already almost done!!)


Pt. 2 of above mentioned gifts

I'm also approaching my 100th post. That's very exciting!!! I'm contemplating a giveaway. We'll see what I come up with.

What's been happening?

Well, the blog has taken a back burner lately. Things seem to be running in full speed around here. Sure, I've had plenty of time to blog stock and do Facebook, but actually finding the the time to do a post, not happening. So, here are some a few highlights. The ongoing prep work for baby's arrival continues. I've been sewing up a storm and picking out paint colors. I've also done a bit of sewing for Abby and my neices--some pj bottoms. Jake and Abby were down for a week with the flu. This week ended with me being exhausted and having a slight emotional breakdown. After a long email to Carla, I'm feeling better. Next year, flu shots will be had by all. Jake has two Bible studies going on now, which require him to do a lot of prep work since they are both in German. I'm so proud of his German acquisition. I know he has been/is working so hard to get better and I think it is really paying off. We had our first English worship/devotional time this last Friday. For a while now we have been doing team worship totally in German, so it was nice to sing and read in our mother tongue. We had a few guests join us--fellow Christians. We are planning on doing these monthly. Jake and I have also been making plans for our furlough next summer--August and September. We'll have a new baby with us, which should make international travel, and just travel in general interesting. And finally, I had an OBGYN appointment today. She said everything looks perfect. Hoorah!!! I was totally exhausted after the 3 hour round trip, but managed to sneak in a short nap. To leave you, here is a recent pic of Abby. Not the best, but the grandparents can at least see her. Sorry, I'll try to do better.

Have your cake

I won't even tell you how long I spent on this blog today.

Nursery Inspiration

Ava Rose Collection
Originally uploaded by Tanya Whelan

I just got my Christmas present from Jake in the mail yesterday. It was a big stack of these fat quarters. I'm planning on using fabric from this gorgeous line for the baby's room. I want this room to be super girlie, very pink and feminine.