A couple videos

Here is a video of Beth and Sophie from a week or so before Christmas:




Here is another one taken this morning (27 December 2010):

More pics!

Here are some shots of Sophie from yesterday (the 26th):

Christmas Pics

Here are some shots of our Christmas in Vienna!

Bath time!

An ogre with a baby.

Prepped for presents!

Baby shoes!

Merry Christmas!

I find it completely baffling that Sophie is now eight weeks old. I'm not entirely sure what's happened to the last two months of my life. They've gone by SO quickly. All I know is that my daughter laughed yesterday for the first time, and my heart melted. I'm in love!



They say the way you sleep as a baby will continue to be the way you sleep as you grow up. This is how Sophie likes to sleep. Hmmm...... :)

Cold

Here's the current view of our apartment's balcony. That chair will probably remain unused until April.

Good morning, Sophie!

Here's some Sophie action after first waking up in the morning. She's getting more and more responsive and interactive with us every day!

Life, etc.

Hi all! Quick note from Jeff this time...

Things have been a whirlwind here over the last couple months. Sophie is incredible, and both Mom and baby are in good health. Being a parent is pretty fun; exhausting, but enjoyable and rewarding.

We had a great time visiting with both my mom and Beth's mom over October/November. Both of them came to greet our new addition!

Things at the school have been moving right along. Due to a shortage in high school guys available to be a part of the Fall Play, I was asked to step in and take a small role. Performances were held the week before Thanksgiving, and it was a BLAST! I'd never been a part of any theatrical productions, and found that I really like it! Beth and her co-director (who took over for her when Sophie was born) did a marvelous job, and the play was a big hit! I'll be sending a video of the performance to The Academy soon.

Anyway, here's some pics of our most recent happenings (with captions):





Here's my
Mom holding Sophie.













Here's a shot
of Beth and
her Mom.














Cast from the Fall Play hanging out.









Here's Sophie--
she's learning
how to smile!

















Hanging out at
the ICSV staff
Christmas
party.

Not Much to Say

Just thought my daughter was pretty cute this morning, so I decided to post a few pictures.... :)





P.S. There's almost a foot of snow here this morning. I love it! Kramer loves it, too. He's laying with his head resting on the step leading out onto our balcony just staring intently at the snow piling up at his eye level. It might be time to let him play! :)

I've made the plunge!

Hey all!

I was pretty much threatened on pain of death by the grandmothers if I didn't give regular updates on Sophie...not to mention that they wanted pictures, pictures, and more pictures. :)

So, as the title of this blog post clearly states...I've made the plunge. In the past Jeff has been forced to do most of the blogging because 1) I'm a terrible typer, and 2) I'm usually more fond of the newsletters...but, this is my commitment to my grandmothers and to the rest of my dear family and friends who deserve to know how we're doing. All of that to say..."Hello blog, my name is Bethany. Get used to seeing a lot of me."

Well, I can start by saying what an incredibly hard and wonderful month it's been. I've loved being a mom despite the fact that I haven't yet learned to speak "Baby" and have been on the verge of crying myself a few times. :) But, God is good. He is teaching me patience, what it means to really pray and how to better love my husband (and Kramer) through learning to raise this beautiful baby girl. What an adventure...and it's one that will, literally, never end. Thankfully.

As I mentioned above...the Lord has been teaching me what it means to really pray consistently, meaningfully and unselfishly. There were hours on end during the days that Sophie spent in the NICU where I was left to ponder while I watched her sleep. I kept thinking how this was not how I pictured things being after her birth and how helpless I was in the midst of her sickness. Yet, in retrospect, I needed to go through that experience. I needed to remember that there was a God so much bigger than me, and He wanted the control. He wanted to know if I really trusted Him. It felt very Abrahamish/Isaacish. Yet, also, as I sat and watched her, I was able to look around me. There were babies there SO much worse off than Sophie...some babies were completely quarantined and others were no bigger than a few pounds. I found myself praying often for them. It broke my heart to see parents crying and to know, deep down, that some of those children would never leave that room. I found myself feeling deeply grateful that Sophie's infection wasn't worse, but simultaneously selfish because my daughter was okay while these other children were suffering. Talk about learning compassion and empathy the hard way. All I could do was pray. Wait...that was the best thing to do...lift these little lives up to the Creator and know that if some of those children never made it out of that room...they're now in a place ten billion times more wonderful than this temporary earth.

Wow, I didn't mean to make this post so somber-sounding. I mean it all as a good thing...a wonderful lesson that the Lord has patiently taught me. And as I look at the picture I framed of Sophie with all her breathing tubes...I hope never to forget it.

Thanks for listening all...

me

P.S. Isn't she cute!

Absence Makes the Heart...

After an extended vacation from blogging, I've returned. I'm sure everyone is thrilled to have some extra Internet reading to do. :)

This was an interesting summer for me. I traveled back to the US for 6 weeks while Beth stayed in Vienna. It was difficult being away from her, especially considering the pregnancy.

While I'm certainly happy to be back with her in Vienna, the transition back was difficult in its own way as well. We really do miss our family and friends in the US. It's not something you can allow yourself to think about too often, and I try to hedge against it as much as I can most of the time just because it's easier to deal with when it's muffled. But while I was back this summer I really enjoyed spending time with folks, and this isn't something that can be ignored.

So, thank you to those of you who spent time with me while I was back. It was a great encouragement, and a reminder of how amazingly blessed we are to have family and friends like we do. I've said it many times, but the love and support we receive from friends and family in the US is overwhelming. We love you guys.

P.S. Many, many, many heartfelt thanks are in order for each person who helped supply us with much-needed baby clothes and other items/accessories. We were so well-supplied that I had to leave some things in the US for my mom and Beth's mom to bring with them in October! So, thanks for your generosity, and for seemingly always finding new ways to bless us. Again, you guys are a great encouragement to us, and you are very much appreciated!

Discipleship

We had a meeting this past week at VCS to talk about the concept of discipleship among our high school students, particularly the high school guys. I have a heart for discipleship, so I was really excited to be a part of the meeting.

My interest in the idea of discipleship started during my days at Northwest Nazarene University (NNU), where over time I found myself "discipled" largely against my will. I describe it this way because when I first arrived at NNU in 1999 I wasn't keen on Christ. In spite of my upbringing, which was blessed by the prayers and love of an incredible family (particularly my mother), I wasn't all that interested in following Jesus because I thought the cost was too high. I was selfish and comfortable, and didn't like the idea of Jesus rocking my boat with all his parables and impositions.

But while at NNU I learned more about the life and person of Jesus through exposure to the culture and values held by the university and my peers--I was indirectly discipled over time.

I think this is kind of a unique thing, and not something easily replicated. I never experienced a one-on-one discipleship relationship, but through rubbing elbows with genuine Christians my own age I became increasingly aware of the differences between my life and theirs, and the Lord used this as a means to pursue me and mold me. My experience doesn't match the typical model for discipleship, but that just goes to show that the Spirit is really the one who does the work, not us (a truth for which I am most grateful).

Since that time I've seen a variety of views and approaches used for discipleship. I've worked with middle and high school church youth groups, helped lead a YoungLife club and Campaigners group, been a part of small group Bible studies and accountability groups, been involved in Christian book studies, and even had a couple of secular jobs focused on working with and developing youth. Now I find myself in a position where much of that experience is blended in my role here at VCS.

The interesting thing to me is that I can look back at my own experiences and still feel completely inadequate. And that isn't just false humility talking. The only thing I know about discipleship is that seeing Jesus lived out in the lives of people is what made the difference for me. In that way, I see every day here as an opportunity for discipleship, and hope to have some small impact in the lives of these students through living my life in honor of Christ.

Please join me and our staff in prayer as we seek to disciple these kids. And may VCS be a place where Jesus is glorified not just directly through our chapel times and Bible classes, but indirectly through the lives of all our staff and teachers.

Valentine's

It's Valentine's Day, easily the most polarizing stop along the year's calendar.

For all the despairing, desolate hearts out there I offer this comical reprieve.

For all the star-crossed lovers, I leave only this Haiku:

Cupid's bow strikes true.
Five years ago--love's first kiss;
still my Valentine.

So long, aughts

Beth and I stayed home and did nothing for New Year's Eve, and it was glorious. Vienna, for some reason, is crazy about New Year's. There is simply NO WAY the fireworks that people buy here would fly in the US--it's like people are setting off dynamite. This year, the people in the apartment below us, on the ground floor, were lighting off firecrackers that were literally making our windows shake. On New Year's, Vienna is a veritable Baghdad.

Anyway, I'm at the office at the moment, prepping myself for an all-nighter at the school. The Student Union, a seemingly cooler/hipper version of Student Government, has organized a "Silence Retreat," where a group of kids spend multiple hours in solitude, quiet, and prayer. Beth and I are part of the adult team in charge of monitoring the event--should be a fun time. At the end of the night the group comes together to talk about their time and process their thoughts. I think it's a pretty neat idea, and it's cool to see some of our students (about 15 or so) step up to organize, lead, and participate in the event!