Renewing a residence permit and Celebrating Saint Nicholas

A little bird (*cough, cough* Deborah *cough, cough*) informed me that it's high time I recommence with blogging.  I am so grateful for her willingness to push me a bit.  For over a year now, I have intended to "catch up" with blog posts from after Evangeline was born.  At this point, I am still hopeful to do that.  Until then, I think it's time to simply begin with today.

This morning, in half an hour, Gregory and I will pack up Evangeline and head to the government office in charge of renewing residence permits in our district.  They remember us every time we come (about twice a year); there are not very many Americans living in our district.  We will wait in multiple lines, attempt to keep our 18-month-old from too many loud outbursts (key word: attempt), hope we're seen before lunch, and pray that the official who receives our paperwork will not find too many issues.  We expect at least one; we have NEVER had our paperwork accepted here without the officials finding something to deny.  Hopefully, the "one thing" this time won't require too much of a disruption to life in the next few days.

Here's our sweet Eva's picture this year:

On Thursday, Nathanael's preschool will celebrate Saint Nicholas, the 4th-century saint with a reputation for secret gift-giving, in preparation for the Eve of Saint Nicholas on December 5.  Nathanael asked me yesterday if we celebrate this holiday in our family, basically wondering if he'll get a surprise gift from Saint Nicholas on Friday.  It is sometimes difficult to know what holidays to keep from the States and which to adopt here in Austria.  We were able to make Thanksgiving special as a family, but it was a completely normal day and week here in Vienna.  To our kids, it's just a random big meal with other Americans whom they rarely see.  And this week we have a holiday that is a big deal for children in Austria.  The preschool builds up to the celebration, and all the children look forward to it!  And yet we don't do much with it in our family...yet.  Maybe that will change one year.  This is only our fourth Christmas in Vienna.  We are still adjusting and adapting and trying to figure out how to do this cross-cultural living thing.