Fantastic Friday 2

It's Friday so lets have a fantastic time.

MY OBSESSION WITH PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:  I love public transportation.  But Belgrade is a little behind other European Capitols. Even the Force can't sway the transportation system:

But things are looking up for Public Transit in Belgrade.  This past week several innovations have been announced for the coming year.  The 10 busiest stops in central Belgrade are going to have electronic signs announcing the arrival time of the next bus/tram.  In addition to the signs, the automated ticketing system will take effect January 1.  This system will increase revenue which may lead to buying more of these:

 This is the newest tram in Belgrade and if the city can buy about 40 more we can get rid of these:

Now that would be FANTASTIC!!!!!


MORE JARS OF AWESOMENESS: I found a few more jars this week (about 30) so Jen and I got to jarring.  We jarred over 50 pounds of tomatoes.  We now have 18 jars of Salsa (can't get it here) and 15 jars of marinara sauce (can get it here but all the jars we jarred cost the price of one).  I was a great help but had to bail out when I was overcome by the onions and ran from the kitchen in tears.

MIKI QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  I am working hard at losing some weight (down 10 pounds) and Miki has become my encourager.  We went to a birthday party where they had PIZZA HUT PIZZA, so I had to have a piece.  On our way from the party Miki said:
Miki: 'Dad I saw you eat that pizza"
Me:  "Yeah but I ate good today and it was one slice"
Miki: "Well you gotta have some fun in life dad"

Hope you had a Fantastic Friday and check Jen's Blog this week for more about our jarring experience.

Fantastic Friday's 1

I totally stole this from Amy our Journey Girl, but I thought I would post every Friday about the fantastic things that have happened in our lives this past week.  It's basically gonna be random stuff in my head, sometimes amusing, and often pointless.  I think sometimes in life we need that, a little humor and some mindless reading.  So with that in mind, here we go. 

Journey Girls:  These are young singles, post college, who work in our company all around the world for two years.  We have one now working with us (Amy) in Belgrade.  And through our training and orinetation grew to love many mores.  Obviously by choosing this time in their lives to pause and do something different, they have a heart to see the world change.  I just wanted to let all them know that regardless of what they think is going on in their place of service they are changing the world.  Here is proof:
On our way to school Miki likes a particular song on my CD (Six Pence None the Richer "Beautiful Scandalous Night" if you care).  I told her for as long as I live that song will remind me of her, so here is the conversation:

ME:  When you get married and leave I'll here that song and cry

Miki: I may not get married
Me: Really, why not
Miki: God may just want me to be a single or a Journey girl like....
then she names all she can thank of

So J-Girls out there, as many of you are wrapping up your term, know you have changed the world one girl at a time and we are praying for you all.

Other Random Miki Quotes from the Week:
"When I grow up God's gonna call me to Paris"
"Daria's a lot like me, we are both bodies at home" (that should be homebodies)

The things we see:
This week while I at was at a cafe, I watched a dad and his pretoddler son interact.  Now let me preface this by saying the dads here spend a ton of time with their kids and it is not an uncommon site to see dads pushing strollers, wearing babies in packs etc.  And this is usually with no moms around.  But this guy was different, he seemed preoccupied.  He gave his son a plastic bag to play with (the kind that suffocate children), then his mobile phone which the boy promply dropped and shattered.  Thinking that was not smart he gave him a water bottle - a glass one.  I was getting a little concerned when another gentleman showed up.  Both men greeted each other then the father gave the late arrival a stack of money - a huge stack of money - so maybe he was preoccupied. 

Hope you enjoyed your first fantastic Friday and we will do it again next week.

Then and Now

Often times when God closes a door or leads us in another direction we rarely return to the previously closed door.  It is as if we forget it even existed (mostly excited God did not open that door for us).   I really enjoy it when God takes us back to those previously closed doors, opens them, and gives us a new set of opportunities.  Just this past week we have seen that with the school that Miki is now attending. 
When we first arrived here, we had to find a school for her and "Naša Radost" was the first place we went.  It is close to K's school so we thought that made sense.  Upon arrival, I was overwhelmed.  It was loud, there were a ton of kids, no one spoke English.  Most of all they were really confused as to why we were there.  After a lady called her son - who spoke English- we were able to communicate and got the information we needed.  As we left I prayed God, please have another place for her, I can not leave my baby girl there.  That same day a neighbor gave us information for the pre school that Miki did attend (it was much smaller and they spoke English).  I was so thankful and glad the door to "Nasos Radost" had been closed.
Fast forward to now.  Miki could no longer go to her school that we loved (Sunašce), for her to go to first grade next year we needed her to go to official kindergarten this year.  So guess where we ended up, that's right, "Naša Radost", and this time it was totally different.
First, when I went back they remembered me.  I had enough Serbian that communication was possible and there main concern was would Miki understand what was going on.  I explained she had been in a Serbian pre school and would be fine.  The registration was relatively simple (with my friend Gradimir's help) and Miki had a great first day.  Jennifer talked with the Director and they are so happy to have us there and would love our help (really Miki's) when they start English classes for the kids in October. God has now provided us two opportunities to impact the community and join in the community we live.  So when those doors close don't forget about them because God may take you back there in his time.
Jen also has a few new posts up this week, click here and check it out.

Things Fall Apart....

This is the title of a great book by Chinua Achebe, about when the European powers colonized Africa.  Other then the title that book and this blog share nothing in common.  This blog is about when over a decade of togetherness becomes every man (or woman) for himself.  Since before Kyleigh was born Jen and I had developed a great crisis management system.  We mostly practiced on our cats (Hayley and Nike).  Coughing up a hairball, puking up something that was not edible for cats etc.,  no problem one of us would clean and the other would get the cat to a better place (bathtub, hardwood floor, just somewhere easy to clean). By the time Kyleigh arrived Jen and were a well oiled machine when it came to vomiting.  For our 7th anniversary Kyleigh crawled in our bed and commenced vomiting.  I caught the puke Jen grabbed towels and not a word was spoken we just took care of business.  For years this is what we did, but last night that came to a screeching halt - the machine just stopped working.  

At 11:45 Miki comes into the living room coughing and crying (Jen and I are sleeping in the living room so our coughing will not wake Wilson).  I hear Miki and hop up before she heads back to our room.  She sees me in the living room and walks over to me.  She is crying and coughing and I thought she had a bad dream, so standing on the rug (that'll be important later) I pick her up to hold her. Just as she settles into the safe embrace of her father, she pukes, not projectile, but just right down my back, all of it.  I froze, I just stood there with warm vomit running down my back, in my shorts, down m legs.  The next thing I know (hours could have passed for the shock I was in) Jen is yelling "Get off the rug, get to the wood floor".  I had snapped, the machine was broken.  I moved to the wood where Miki let out one more warm rush of vomit (I had no idea her stomach was that big).  I am now officially covered in vomit from head to toe.  I abandon the mission, forget all protocol and move into self preservation mode.  I put Miki down on the wood floor and go to the bathroom and shower.  The shower brings me back to reality and I do return to the living room and help Jen.  I had left her in a desperate situation: puke on the rug, puke on the floor, puke on the kid.  In my head warm vomit running the length of your entire body dictates you shower.  I apologize and begin cleaning.  I bathe Miki, (covered in vomit from her bed where we will later find out this all began), dress her, strip the bed and start a load of laundry.  Despite all of this effort the great machine had ceased to work.  Jen and laid on the couches after Miki went back to bed and just laughed at the situation and our lack of preparedness.  I have been in deep thought reviewing everything trying to come up with why.  Is it the stress of living over seas, sleep deprivation from Wilson, am I just selfish? Have I raised my need to be clean above the needs of others (that's probably it actually)?  I don't know.  The best I can come up with is sometimes things fall apart. 

FIrst Day of School - Serbian Style

Today was the girls first day of national school (they have been doing home school since Monday).  Kyleigh was going back to her old school (she has a pretty sweet schedule and will only go to Serbian school every other week since she will be doing full 5th grade home school with Mrs. Stevens).  In fact K was so confident we were in our old neighborhood and she just told us she would walk to school.  When school was out she called and said she was going home with a friend... so this is really gonna be the story of Miki's first day.  But to understand the first day you have to go back in time with me.

MAY 15 - 17 2011

With the help of a friend I go to the school we want Miki to attend and gather all the paper work to register her.  My self and Gradimir (my friend) fill out the forms and gather the necessary documents to enroll Miki.  We also type a letter that asks that his daughter (Daria) and Miki be in the same class (they are best friends).  By the end of May I have been assured that everything is completed and told to com by in July and they would post if the kids are enrolled in school.

JULY 23, 2011

So I get a call from Gradimir that the names of all the kids are posted at the school but he did not see Miki's.  Jen is close to the school so her and K check it out.  First name on the list Микејла Стивенс (Michaela Stevens).  I guess because she is a foreigner, they did not put her in the list alphabetical like all the other kids.  So we are excited she will be at the school we want her to go to with her friends.

 AUGUST 26, 2011

We are out and about and decide to stop by the school and see if we can meet the teacher.  Glad we did because like many things that happen to us, we (I) apparently had missed a few details.  We needed to pay the tuition, and get a medical check up for Miki before she could start.  No problem we can take care of that on Monday. Simple right.... not really, as we were leaving I noticed the bill for tuition had Wilson's name on it (how that go there will always remain a mystery).  So on Monday I had to go to a different place get that corrected, get a new bill, go to post office and pay new bill, take receipt to school, sign the contract, get medical form...... whew that was a busy morning but it did get taken care of.  Tuesday Miki went to the doctor so we thought we were ready for Thursday.

TODAY THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Miki is dressed, we have our Bible time and she is ready to go.  We arrive at the school and stand in a small line (I use the term line loosely, Serbs more or less gather) to turn in the medical form.  Upon our turn we gave the lady the form and then waited, waited, waited.  Miki's name was not on the list. Seriously what is going on.  The lady keeps telling us her name is not on the list and the other parents who have seen their kids name start laying their forms down so they can move on.  I have to admit I was getting a little frustrated.  Then out of the blue Miki's teacher comes down the hall, sees the commotion and says "she is in my class" and away we go for the first day.  All in all crisis avoided.

So if you have read this far you are either bored or really curious about Miki's first day.  She loved it.  She is sharing a locker with Daria,  Her teacher was really nice, she got invited to  a birthday party on Saturday.  IT WAS A GREAT DAY.  Her only complaints... warm milk at breakfast "warm like it just came from the cow" and no doors on the bathroom stalls.