Hope Christmas in February

Wednesday was exciting.  Our postman regularly delivers boxes to us a few minutes before 7:00am.  Before we had a school kid, that seemed a bit early.  Now we're thankful it's no later or we'd miss him!  Well, this time it was a bit more exciting than a hard-to-find gluten-free grocery items from Amazon.  It was a box from Hope Fellowship Church!  The kids were beyond themselves with excitement as they remembered the treasures they received the year before from Hope. :)  To their disappointment though, we made them wait until after dinner to unwrap the gifts.

I only managed to take one photo, pre-unwrapping.

But in the last four days, I have read around 30 Curious George stories to the kids (the book has eight, so I think I know them all pretty well now).  Nathanael has assembled all of his new 3-in-1 Lego set, and he took his Mack truck to school in his bag on Thursday and Friday.  Eva sleeps with her new ponies and invites them to her countless tea parties every day.  I have been extremely grateful for my new gloves, and Gregory is giddy over his new nerd books (don't ask me what they are, some theological mumbo jumbo).  We have a pile of English books ready to read next, and we can hardly wait until the snow melts so we can go to a park and play wiffle ball!  THANK YOU!!!!

It's so sweet to hear Eva say, "Mom, can we have a tea party with the gifts from Hope Church?"

We feel greatly loved by you all.  Thanks for pouring into our lives and our ministry here.

Come visit us!

All the way from Boston!

Oh my, what a delight to receive a BIG Christmas box from our friends at Hope Fellowship Church in Cambridge, Mass!  Seriously, unpacking and unwrapping all these items was a true highlight of the month for our kids (and for us as well)!  Each item was full of love and sacrifice.  We are so grateful.

Yes, those are Wheat Thins!!!

And three awesome Lego sets!

Sheer excitement over Winnie the Pooh items and, wait for it, an Elsa dress!  (Cue children singing loudly, "Let it Go")

Playing with the new loot

Seriously, folks, we feel so special.
Thank you.

Celebrating our Evangeline

Evangeline's birthday was on a Saturday this year, so we took advantage of the day!  We began with birthday bagels, an extra special treat here as bagels are usually a bit more difficult to find.

Eva loved being sung to and said her own little version of "happy birthday" throughout the day.

She had fun ripping open cards from dear friends, family, and even the Sunday School class at Hope Fellowship in Boston!  And then came the birthday greetings via phone and video and cards from the computer, which of course are greatly appreciated to this technologically savy child. ;) (The horse in these photos was Nathanael's gift to Eva, and they were so sweet giving and receiving this year!)

Of course, this was the big one.

She has tried to climb on Nathanael's balance bike and bike almost every time we've gone out.  We knew it was time, and her face lit up so brightly when she realized this is hers now!

About two minutes later though, she had had enough attention for the morning, and we had about an hour of cuddles and tears for this sensitive, overwhelmed sweetheart.

Ice cream made an afternoon appearance.

And somehow these sweet Saturday moments still occurred in the midst of all the excitement.

Two days later, she was celebrated at Kindergarten and apparently greatly loved the attention, wearing her birthday crown, having Nathanael in the classroom with her for the party, and passing out party favors to each of her new little friends.  (I'm hoping to have those pictures soon to post!)

A week later, the day Grandpa and Grandma arrived, we had her birthday cake (a sunshine cake), and she loved being sung to again, this time with Grandpa and Grandma included!

Celebrating our Five-Year-Old!

On Nathanael's last day as a four-year-old, we went out for ice cream.  We actually sat in the ice cream parlor and ordered special treats!  Nathanael loved it, and Eva handled it acceptably (read: only one or two mini tantrums this time).

We began the big birthday morning with "big green monster eggs" per Nathanael's request.

Then we took him out of Kindergarten early and picked up pizzas for lunch, again per Nathanael's request.  Our kids love pizza.  I can't blame them.  I could probably eat pizza twice a week and never grow tired of it.  Next came cake!

And then fun gifts and cards!  We were so blessed to have family and friends from afar send in cards and gifts and drawings!  This year, Nathanael had a special package from Hope Fellowship Church in Cambridge with drawings from the preschool class there!  He honestly couldn't believe a class took the time to make him birthday cards. :)  Cute.  He also recieved cool drawings from his friend, Josiah, and an elaborate treasure map from Uncle Andrew and Auntie Angie.  Drawings are great gifts for a five-year-old.

Then. came. the. bike.

He loved sitting on it, wasn't so sure about the pedals, and was ready to "give up" for the day after about ten minutes.  It was a start.  We knew it would take time.  We're thrilled that he's excited still and trusting he'll learn in time.

We concluded the day by hosting our church small group, which was really special for Nathanael.  Small group days are some of his favorite.  He loves having people over!  Sharing birthday cake with them makes it even more fun!

Musings on Church Community

Today, Gregory and I helped lead our church in musical worship.  We haven't been able to do this together since Easter two years ago, when I was quite pregnant with our little gem.  This time, our friend Esther joined us in singing.  Last time, our friend Benedict played base.  I had a really special moment this morning, as we were at church running through the songs before the service.  I looked around and saw the people serving in various capacities, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude.  Something about it reminded me of serving in our church community in Boston, at Hope Fellowship and City on a Hill.  It made me deeply miss our friends and community in Boston, but it also was a moment that caused me to see afresh God's great faithfulness to us here in Vienna these past three years.  I am deeply grateful for how God has provided us with a church home and community, for the people which whom we are privileged to serve, for the children with whom our children are able to share life, for how God is drawing us all near to Himself as we share life and serve together.  I love Christian fellowship.  Spiritual community is a great passion of mine.  I am greatly thankful to God to be a part of a community here in Vienna, that although also made up of broken and sinful people, just like me, desires to know God and make Him known.  Today, as I was privileged to serve this community through music, my heart overflowed with gratitude to our great God for so lovingly placing us among these people.  We are being changed, and I pray we are being change-agents as well.  To God be the glory.

Merry Christmas from Hope Fellowship

On Sunday morning, the 21st, just after my sister and brother-in-law arrived via taxi, and minutes before we headed out the door for church and Eva's baby dedication, our doorbell rang.  What a fun surprise to receive a huge Christmas box from our church in Boston!  We opened it on the 24th (when Austrians traditionally open gifts).  I don't know if I can accurately express how much fun it was to dig through and find treasures, to open the gifts, and to simply see such a tangible expression of love and support.  Wow.  It means so much to us.  It also means that we have tons of fresh Hope and Boston reminders all over our home now.  And I simply love that.  It makes me all the more excited to come back next year for a few months!

We feel so loved.  Thank you, dear Hope friends.  We can't wait to see you all in 2016!

Eva's Baby Dedication

Two days ago, we said farewell to the last of our family visiting for Christmas.  I have no idea how I am going to portray the wonderful time together, but I will attempt to capture a few of the highlights here in the next few blog posts.

On Sunday, December 21st, after Uncle Drew and Auntie Carrie arrived, we headed to church for a special event -- Evangeline's Baby Dedication!  It was quite surreal to stand in front of our Austrian church community and commit to raising Evangeline according to God's instructions in the Bible.  We feel encouraged by the church's commitment to join with us in this endeavor.  Our pastor said a few words about Eva's name and the meaning of it.  It was a special time, and it was extra special to have family there.  It made me think back to when we dedicated Nathanael at Hope Fellowship in Boston, and we were blessed to have the King family in attendance for that!

Here we are all dressed up for the special event.

 

Our friend and pastor, Ewald, standing with us to dedicate Eva to Jesus:

\

Hugs with Momma.  She is such a cuddle-bug!

 

Nathanael, holding a percussion instrument, and taking it all in (next to Grandma, of course)

Boston comes to us

We were so blessed to have dear friends from Boston visit us this month!  The time together was incredibly encouraging.  We "get" each other in so many ways, and having young kids together (the joys and frustrations) only adds to that.  We're so thankful for their visit and will treasure the days together for years to come.

We attempted to show them the typical Vienna for tourists while also throwing in our beloved Vienna for families.  I'd say it was a successful time together -- full of fun and laughter and even some tears.

Typical Nathanael, climbing a rock in the center of Vienna

 

In St. Stephan's Cathedral.  I'm sure they were discussing something of immense consequence.

The four littles having fun together in our home

 

Nathanael was "working on his letters" while waiting for his buddy to wake up one day.

(Jet lag is no joke with two little ones!)

The girls, just chillin' while Dad and Nathanael rode bumper cars and the other big brother and parents were riding the Riesenrad

 

 And of course we had to take them on the Prater train.  The boys were getting tired at this point.

 We can't wait to make more memories together!

Favorites from May

 

 

 

 

An Interview with Kim: Our Move

In an attempt to let you all know about our recent move to Kansas, I am copying an idea from a friend's blog -- an interview with myself.

So Kim, tell us why your family moved.

K: Well, that actually goes back a year and a half to our March 2009 trip to Istanbul. Greg was about to graduate from seminary, and we thought we were headed towards a PhD program in the UK. But after visiting Istanbul again, we started considering returning there instead. In June 2009, Greg decided to apply for a job there; it seemed quite likely that we'd be able to move to Istanbul in the summer or autumn of 2010. But in December, we found out that the non-profit to which he was applying was having some major fiscal issues, and they would not have funding for Greg's position for at least two years. We were so disappointed! And at that point, we were only four months from our son's birth. Thus, Greg began looking for a full-time job. We were greatly appreciative of the part-time job he had through seminary (leading the music and worship services at our church in Cambridge), but we knew it was time for a change. With the addition of our son to the family, we knew we weren't to continue our seminary lifestyle (Kim working full-time and Greg working part-time in a job that wasn't meant to be a long-term position for him). So when our apartment lease's end came (end of June) and we had no major breakthroughs in the job search, it was time to make a change.

Why Kansas?

K: My parents live in Emporia, Kansas. We're actually living with them temporarily. They are blessed to have a large home with space for the three of us to move in and spread out without taking over. (Well, sometimes I think Nathanael's stuff has taken over the house, but my mother claims she likes seeing his toys around.) The decision to move here was mostly a financial one. Boston is an expensive place to live while looking for a job; Kansas, and particularly with family, is much more economical for us. Other than finances though, it is a huge blessing to have my parents' help with Nathanael, and they love getting to spend these first few months of his life with him.

What type of job is Greg seeking?

K: Greg is a gifted teacher/trainer/equipper, so ultimately, he is looking for a position which will enable him to use those skills. Additionally, he has a high need for relational components as opposed to mostly task-specific responsibilities. How that plays out and in what type of organization could take many shapes. A couple more obvious options are (1) an associate pastoral role in a church, focused on discipleship and spiritual formation or (2) a Bible teacher at an academic institution.

In what locations are you looking?

K: I have to be honest; our hearts are still in New England. We went there for Greg's studies, but we also felt God's calling to the area beyond his schooling. We love the place and people and would be delighted to return. That said, we will always have our eyes on possibilities abroad; it's simply who we are. And we tend to be drawn towards coastal cities. Finally though, and most importantly, we do acknowledge that we have no idea where God will take us and that wherever that place is, it is the best place for us. Even if it's [insert less desirable location here]. :)

And what about you? Will you be looking for work as well?

K: Good question. I guess it depends on when and how and where everything comes together for us. For now, I am absolutely loving the time I have to simply be Nathanael's mother. He is changing so fast that I would be missing so much if I were working right now. At some point though, I would love to work again on a part-time basis. Quite a few years ago, I got my TEFL/TESL certification and would love to use that, maybe teach a class or two a week. But it would have to be just the right situation to take me away from Greg and Nathanael. We shall see. It may also be the case that I'll need to work part-time to help support the family, depending on where God takes us next. If Greg is working at a church, I would love to have the freedom to engage in a significant amount of hospitality and discipleship, especially with other young mothers, women, and couples.

How have your first couple weeks been living in Kansas?

K: Okay, I must preface this with my current circumstance; I'm sitting in my mom's large kitchen beside a sheet of fresh-from-the-oven big soft ginger cookies. My almost three-month old is sleeping peacefully against my chest, and my husband (who is actually sick right now) is napping on the couch. Doesn't all of that sound wonderful (other than the sick husband part)? So of course, right now, I'm going to say that it's going well.

There are definitely moments when we struggle with how humbling it is to be "living with the parents" in our culture. And though Kansas is a great place (hey, I grew up here), it's not really where or how we envisioned raising our family. We do know this is temporary though, and knowing that helps us on the days when we wonder what we're doing. We do have those days!

On the other side, it's wonderful to have the support of my parents right now. It's nice to share household tasks with my mother. It's amazing to watch Nathanael with his grandparents. It's special to be so near to relatives and be able to introduce them to our son. It's fun to be here to experience some of the traditions in which I was raised. And my parents' church is great; the people are supportive and engaging. We are thankful for all of this.

But we deeply miss our friends and family in Boston...

Saying goodbye at church

One last photo opp with our family

Our moving party in Boston (some of them)

Post-moving-party goodbye with the Fays

I wanted to post some pictures with our community group, but I don't have them yet. So those will come later.