Up on a hill

Last week the weather was absolutely glorious. We decided to go to a playground that is only about 15 minutes away from my mom and dad's house. However, you are going up hill the entire time. Max was a champ and walked the entire way on his own. I really did not expect him to do otherwise because he loves to walk. When we got to the top of the hill, we were in for a surprise. Not only was the playground awesome, but you could see down into the city. The playground was surrounded by a green meadow that would provoke some to start singing, "The hills are alive..." Our day at the playground was a perfect day. We were surrounded by hills, fresh air, and I got to see my boys enjoying the Austria I love.

EXTRA, EXTRA Read all about it

It is official. Will is now mobile. He started crawling yesterday.

Life is never going to be the same again.

Light

Last night I had the priviledge of sitting in on a prayer meeting I have heard about for the last four years, but one I have never been a part of in person. The group consists of men and women who gather together to pray against human trafficking and for its victims; especially those in Vienna. It was an encouraging meeting on multiple levels. For one, I was struck by the diversity and normalicy of the people involved. I kind of had it in my mind that the people praying and going out into the streets at night would be rugged and tough. To a certain degree I am sure they are. Yet, from the outside most of them looked liked moms. (Please don't take offence to this comparison. I think moms are some of the toughest people out there. But sometimes you would not guess it just by looking at them.) But maybe that is exactly what the ladies out on the streets need.
Also, it was amazing to be in a group of people who were passionate while they prayed. It wasn't passion for the sake of passion, but rather a passion that showed total dependence on God to move and work in a very dark and dangerous world.
Finally, it was amazing to see how God is opening doors throughout Europe for his people to become beacons of hope and restoration.

All this to say, we live in a very dark world full of tragedies, but God uses normal people to be lighttowers for a restless sea, gentle candles in a world of violence and lanterns in a maze of dispair. The light comes from him. All we have to do is shine.

Fall Afternoon

Today the weather was absolutely perfect. The air was a little crisp, but the sun was warm. We spent part of the afternoon eating delicious food, and walking around a pond in the Vienna Woods. Max and I charged up a hill, and he then enjoyed throwing rocks into the water with Opa. Will enjoyed eating some of Opa's soup, and being snuggled by Omi.

Date in Vienna

These first few pictures are from St. Stephen's Cathedral. Joey and I climbed the South Tower. An ancient stone staircase winds it way up to the highest lookout point. I believe the first stone for the tower was laid in the 14oos. This was also the tower the gigantic bell was in. However, during WW II, the tower caught fire, and the bell plummeted to the ground. Something new that I learned is that the bell is made from left-over canon balls from when the Turks invaded Austria in the 1600s. The shingles on the roof of the cathedral make various patterns, including the Austrian Eagle.

These are a few pics from inside St. Stephen's.

This guy is the artist that did a lot of the work inside the cathedral. Instead of signing his work, he would sculpt himself into his pieces of art. Often, you can find him looking out a window.

One place I wanted to take Joey was the Estherhazy Keller, which is an old wine cellar in down town Vienna. The Estherhazy family was a royal Hungarian family that helped the Habsburgs take control of Hungary. They have a palace surrounded by vineyards east of Vienna, and this wine cellar only serves wine from their vineyards. I love this cellar because of how rustic and far underground it is. It is dark. It smells of wood, wine, candles and old Viennese cooking. The roof is a low brick arch, which basically makes the main sitting area a long brick tunnel. We were surrounded by the silence of the underground world, and the soft melodious whispers of the Viennese dialect.

This is the Ruprechtskirche. It is the oldest church in Vienna, dating all the way back to A.D. 740. However, most of what is now standing is from the 11th Century. I like it because of its simplicity. In all of my time in Vienna, I have never actually been inside. So, maybe this time around, I'll get to see what is behind the ivy and dark walls.

Austria

So we have been in Austria for a week and a half now. Sorry it has taken a while to get on here again. I'll try to post some pics regularly from now on. I am still trying to figure out our new camera though, so some of the pics I was excited about, just have not turned out as well as I hoped.

Our time in Austria has been very different than expected. The flight went so well. The boys slept or were happy then entire way over. I couldn't really ask for more. Max was excited to fly, but even more excited to have his own personal TV to watch cartoons on. Will got a bassinet that we were able to hook onto the wall in front of us, so once he went to sleep I just layed him down, and he was out for a few hours.

The first night in Vienna was rough because of jet lag. We were hopeful going into the second night that the boys would do better. However, it turned out that Max caught a stomach virus on the plane. He was VERY sick for three days so we couldn't do very much. Luckily, Joey and I decided to go into the inner city on a date the second day we were there. I'll be writing about what we did and saw later on. It was good we went when we did because everyone in the house ended up catching the stomach virus by Thursday evening. Friday is a blurr. All we really did was sleep. Saturday morning, Joey flew back to the States.

So our first week was very different than expected, but we are slowly but surely doing those things we were dreaming about, e.g., riding the U-Bahn, busses; eating the most delicous bread in the world; going to the zoo; visiting with friends, etc.

More to come.

Anticipation

I'm the type person that loves the anticipation of something great. I was the kid who liked opening presents slowly. I loved to save presents as long as I could so the anticipation would build. Now I am eagerly waiting for our departure for Vienna. I have many things yet to do, like taking the boys to the doctor because they both have colds with green snot; packing our bags; cleaning the house. You get the point. But this evening I find myself paralyzed by the anticipation. Joey is working so it is just me and the boys. I have all of this energy that is looking for an outlet, but not really the opportunity to do much of what needs to be done (because the boys didn't nap.) I considered going to Starbucks for a Chai because it works wonders on my nerves. But I can't do caffeine this late in the day. Will would never sleep then.
All that to say: Saturday departure, please hurry up and get here. (But wait until I'm done with all of the things I need to do.)

Philbert

Last night we had soft tacos for dinner. Max looked at the tortilla on his plate and said, "My pancake's name is Philbert!"