We’ve been in Croatia for about 4 weeks now, and I’m amazed that it’s already well into January! Though our transition has felt slow, we’ve come far in regards to settling in.  Before I go further, there are a few key pictures I’d like to share from December that I didn’t post.

            My family met for Thanksgiving in Massachusetts. During that long weekend my sisters, mother, and I took a trip to our old hometown of Cortlandt Manor to visit our old schools, home, and my father’s grave. It was the 10^th anniversary of his death and a time to reminisce on the years past and talk about the changes to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

      After Thanksgiving my younger sister Kari went back to New York, Jodie and Jeff (and kids) left to Maryland to prepare for their move to Vienna (they are there now), and we left for California. It was a sad goodbye because it is unknown to us all how our long distance family will look and strive to stay connected (we’re thankful to live in an age with computer cameras and vonage phones). I have many great memories from that holiday. 

            In California, Makayla and Brian housed us for two weeks as we intensely prepared to move to Croatia. During our time there we were shopping, visiting friends, finishing my final paper, and packing. With no time to spare our stuff was hauled off in a huge truck (of course there is a story with that too, but there’s no time to write), and I prayed a blessing over our belongings as it departed (praying to see it all again . Since then, our moving company has had complications and it has been delayed in LA, but we are told it will arrive in Croatia the first week of February. Overall, those two-week were uniquely crazy (similar to before our wedding), which made our friends even more invaluable to us as we shared those weeks with them.

 

           

 

 

 

 Makayla and Brian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      The climax of our stay in California involved my graduation ceremony. Hrvoje and I were a bit of a whirlwind to get up to APU in time for commencement, with our car loaded for the airport and Ema crowded in the back of our rental SUV… but we made it and I enjoyed sitting for an hour in my cap and gown, reflecting on my past years in graduate school. The moment walking across that stage was brief to get my ‘diploma’, but it was a ten seconds I was thankful to have because I had all but given up on the idea a year and half ago when Ema was born (see entry for Hrvoje’s graduation).

 

            After the commencement ceremony, we went to a hotel next to LAX since our flight to Croatia left early the next morning. The flight was long and difficult, particularly since we started the journey over-tired.  But now that we’re here it seems like a big blur and memory I wouldn’t mind forgetting….

 

        

 

    Once we arrived in Croatia we took several days to adjust to the time zone and reconnect with Hrvoje’s family. We were able to move into our apartment immediately because we had a bed and working bathrooms upstairs awaiting us (we didn’t have working kitchen right away so we ate with Hrvoje’s parents). Since we’ve arrived we bought some furniture and appliances, so the house is starting to feel more like a ‘home’. It was a wonderful moment for me to cook in my own kitchen, and I hope to never forget how I cherished something so simple that night. Here is a picture of the building we live in. We live in a two-floor apartment above the apartments of Hrvoje’s parents and his brother’s family (all three are joined by a stairwell in the back of the building). We share a common yard with a garden, grass, and large gated driveway. We’re in the suburbs between the cities of Split and Trogir, and we’re so thankful for the quiet neighborhood and our open, spacious apartment that was built over this past year!  

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 Lara and Ema

 

 

   Ema has loved playing with Lara (Hrvoje’s 9 year old sister) and Roko (our 2 ½ year old nephew), both who live below us. I want to introduce them to you now because they will surely be on this blog over the months and years to come….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

     After New Year’s we were sick and housebound for days, but we are all feeling better now. We have a car that we love, a silver Opel Astra, and I being able to drive around will add a new dimension to our lives. Looking back on these past weeks I know we’ve needed a slower pace and time to feel ‘normal’. Right now, in my apartment I’m feeling at home, but still am struck continually while we’re out that I’m in a foreign country. 

    My favorite part of Croatia, is of course the sea. We are about a five minute walk from the water, so here are some pics of us enjoying a sunny day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       Perhaps the title should say, “We Coming!” if you’re reading this from Croatia. There’s so much to say in this blog… here goes!

       These past few weeks I’ve felt like I’m just holding on for a somewhat wild ride. We are preparing to move to Croatia! Since we returned from New York and Michigan, we have been sorting, packing, and organizing ourselves as we saw God orchestrate and provide the final funds needed to go. We’re at my mom and Ron’s house until Dec. 4th, and we’ve been working on shipping boxes to California. So shortly after Thanksgiving we’re going to California to sort through our storage unit and repack it (making an inventory) for a shipping company that we hope will come Dec.11th to ship it all to Croatia. Since clothes, toiletries, baby items, etc. are more expensive in Croatia, we’re trying to think ahead to what we’ll need this next and shop whenever we get a chance (plus Christmas shopping . From California we’ll go to Croatia…! When this is real to us… we are SO excited!

      In the evenings I’m finishing my final psychology class for my masters, which is going well and somehow I’m getting it done with minimal stress. I will finish my class while we’re in California and graduate in the Dec.13th APU commencement ceremony! All of this seems like too much all at once sometimes, but playing with Ema during the day is so destressing…. if you ever need stress relief: tickle a toddler, jump out from behind coaches yelling ‘roar!’, play with playdough, sing “My Favorite Things” song from the sound of Music several times a day, and of course…. snuggle.

         Here is a picture of Ema and I sorting through baby clothes- her wardrobe from the past 16 months. We’re shipping all this baby clothes because, in case you haven’t heard, I’m pregnant and due June 26th! We’re very excited to have another little person in our lives. It was wonderful to get an ultrasound this past week because we saw the baby with little arm and leg buds moving and it became so real. We’ve been doing a lot each day and I don’t have many pregnancy symptoms…. so it was a joyful reminder that the next member of our family is with me right now, moving all over the house with me. We have a lot of girls clothes going to Croatia…. we’ll see if we’ll use them!

  I’m sure you can image how ‘helpful’ Ema has been these days of packing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Closure…. I don’t think I’m doing that very well because I don’t many moments of reflection to process this transition. I hope this Thanksgiving will be more focused for me in that way. One thing that helped was having Anna and Stephen visit because we had a wonderful time sitting over meals and coffee talking about life. We had three days to visit with our friends who came up from Charlestown. Here’s a few pictures taken on the grounds of Tanglewood right before it started to rain. 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Anna is a close friend from my years in Maryland. They’re actually moving back up north to Washington, D.C. soon from South Carolina! Changes and transitions are in their lives as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Lastly, I wanted to post a little video of Ema. She loves to talk on the phone and she’s been singing with me now too. Here’s a moment of her being the social girl that she is with her ‘friends’ on the other line. I  apologize that it is so dark.

        Here’s a big ‘catch-up blog’!

        We’re in Michigan right now, though this is the end of a month long trip that was mostly spent in western New York. This may be our last long fundraising trip because we’re almost able to start packing for our move to Croatia. This isn’t official yet of course, and we aren’t able to make a moving date because we’re not fully funded. But we’re close… I’ve given up ‘protecting’ myself from disappointment and have been all-out hoping to leave in December. Unguarded… trying-to-plan-for-the-move-that-isn’t-definite-yet…. hope. We have reason to hope though, because this past month has been very encouraging and fruitful. We have much to celebrate! 

       I turned 30 a couple of days ago and concluded that I don’t feel any different yet. I’m ready to embrace this new decade of my life and I’ve actually only heard good things about the 30’s. I celebrated with our friends (Josko, Bethany, and Jen) here in Michigan by going out to eat and I savored every bite of Bethany’s cheese cake. We actually celebrated over several days since we had left over cheesecake. 

    We also had our 5th wedding anniversary! Hrvoje and I have had an amazing five years together- from Maryland, to Croatia, to California, Massachusettes, and then this year of nomadic travels. I feel like he is home for me because we recreate it where ever we are. I’m thankful to have a safe haven in our marriage.

     Ema didn’t dress up for halloween since we were celebrating my birthday (for the 2nd time . She did learn how to twirl and spin while we’ve been here, so she wore a ballerina two-two very appropriately to the restaurant. When we got home and gave out candy to the trick-or-treaters, she cried when they left the front door. She wanted to join the party outside!

       Also, her latest words have been ‘no no no’. She says this to herself while pointing at things that she can’t touch. We don’t need to repeat it because she does!

        I’m also taking an online class through Capella University to finish my masters degree (hence this blog has been neglected). It’s a Lifespan Development course that I’m enjoying but look forward to being done mid December.

    These pictures are from October in Massachusetts, but they’ll have to do for now

     Besides the leaves turning color (which makes me so happy), spending time with my family this past weekend, and working from ‘home’ between this past support raising trip and the next one (we’re going to New York and Michigan next week)… nothing incredibly exciting has been happening. Unfortunately I don’t have the insight to write about what’s happening in the world or American right now (like politics or the economic crisis). This blog is definitely not intellectually stimulating… but for those interested in our 14 1/2 month old… I thought I’d give you a little glimpse into life with Ema (again). She started copying me and moving her clothes around with this laundry basket. 

     Driving through and across New York this past month made me proud to call myself a ‘New Yorker’. I think New York is a very beautiful and I enjoyed many mornings in the car on the way to our next meeting looking out the window at the countryside. We were in many cities and small towns on this trip, and we stayed for almost two weeks in a little town called Cuba (we never did figure out why it’s called Cuba, but we did learn that many towns in NY have names from around the world… Rome, Athens… there are more but I can’t think of them now, you’ll just have to believe me).

      While we were in Cuba Ema learned to walk! She took her first steps on August 27th, and two days later was walking across the living room with us cheering her on. It is so exciting to see her learn how to walk! Now she’ll walk into the kitchen from the other room, say ‘hi’, show me a toy, and I just look at her and think… how did you get so big! Here’s a clip of her first day walking.

     We have finished this trip encouraged. Of course we have to wait now to see what will come of our work, but God did bless several meetings already and we are getting closer. Honestly, what was the most encouraging thing was knowing that people are praying for us. We saw some ‘coincidences’ that we know were God helping orchestrate key meetings. 

Here are some pictures of us from these past few weeks.

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      There’s not too much to do in a hotel room with a one year old. Ema and I are entertaining ourselves with our computer camera. I know the quality of these pictures is poor but I thought I’d share them anyway. We’re almost done with our three week trip and will update soon with better pics. 

Ema loves her baby….

 

  

Say ‘Hi’ under the wonderful florescent desk light…

          As we were driving in western New York yesterday, Hrvoje and I noticed a faint yellowish tint in the trees. Autumn is on the way, I can sense it! Yes, we’re on the road again. After our time in Indiana this July, we were in Massachusettes for several weeks. We enjoyed a sense of routine for about two weeks this summer, which we needed for Ema’s sake (and our own). She actually was sick for at least a week with an ear infection and a fever that came and went for days. We took her to the pediatrician several times and were thankful to be near ‘home base’. She is cutting an upper tooth but it hasn’t appeared yet, and had a diaper rash that just wouldn’t go away (the magic ointment that finally worked was a combo of A&D mixed with Neosporin to kill the bacteria).

      Here is my little tribute to those who have inspired me this summer. After being in Indiana, I felt like the human form of a blob from sitting for three weeks in classes and having snacks. So, after walking and exercising several times with my sister Jodie, Hrvoje and I kicked ourselves out of lethargy. We were able to take turns running or walking each day, which in turn inspired us to eat better. My friends Elizabeth and Andrea are also training for major races (go girls!), and they have inspired me that I too can jog again! I can’t tell you how this has been one of the highlights of my summer. Just simple exercise… go figure… so Jodie, Elizabeth, and Andrea- I’m cheering for you and thanking you for inspiring me to be healthy!

      I had a horrible moment this summer that I’m hesitant to share… but I will in hopes that someone may find comfort if this happens to you as well… I locked the keys in the car when I went to Target, but to my horror Ema was still in the car! Thankfully she was sleeping the entire time as I ran into Target and had a worker call the police. It was not a hot day and Ema was still fast asleep, but I waited right next to her window peering in to see if any sweat was forming on her little brow. When the cop arrived he called a lock smith near by, who came and opened the car through the window.  When the door was opened about 10 long minutes later, she awoke and was pleasantly surprised to see people around the car! I would have a fallen apart if she was awake and crying inside… that is one of my worst nightmares. I thank God for protecting me from emotional melt-down because I can sense that His hand was over me and Ema! The cop and lock smith said, “Oh, this happens all the time…”. I don’t totally believe them but they did make me feel a little better. 

        We have many meetings in western NY these next few weeks. We’ve been in Syracuse and Rochester, and will eventually be in Elmira and Buffalo, with many stops between these cities. Ema has been great during our meetings because we’ve brought a little bag of toys with us. She literally says “Hi” to people now, and really loves other children. She even cries when we say good-bye to her new found friends after she gets to play with others. Dropping her off at a church nursery is getting easier and she’s in her glory when we go to a park (what child isn’t)! She’s walking by holding onto one of our fingers, and Ema loves her ‘baby’- a little doll that we got at Cracker Barrel. She kisses the baby and hugs it whenever she gets it. Ema is so fun to watch! I’m not able to download any pictures right now, but when we get back we’ll update with some pictures.

My final words for this blog is to quote from Paul when he was describing God to the Athenians. I am comforted and thankful for God’s sovereignty and design for my life. He really isn’t far- I love that.

      ”From one man he made very nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17: 26-28

         A year ago we were in the Pittsfield hospital getting to know little Ema as our newborn, wrinkly baby. Now, though we’re always getting to know her, I can glance at her little face or notice her movements and pretty much know how she’s doing. A lot changes in one year!  We enjoyed celebrating her birthday with her aunts, cousins, grandparents, and even her great grandmother and aunt Dale from Long Island came to visit. She didn’t ‘dive’ into the cake as most would picture a one year doing, but rather picked up a piece, examined it, and tasted a little to see if she’d like it. Here are some of my favorite pictures of Ema over the last two days!

   Ema at the pool- and she loves those sunglasses!

  

Ema the Traveler- flying from Indiana to Massachusetts. She just discovered the tray in the this picture.

  It’s a small thing- but I was excited to make her birthday cake- so here it is… with the #1 sitting on top. Maybe next year she’ll be able to blow it out alone.

     The day before Ema’s birthday was the official oath ceremony for Hrvoje’s naturalization process. It was the final step to become an American citizen! We drove two hours to Worcester, MA in order to have him sign in at 9am. Then we waited until 12:30pm… yes, 3 1/2 hours for the judge to come (thank Jodie for watching Ema at home!). In that time about 725 people were registered and seated (all their paper work in order), so that when the judge arrived the theater/auditorium was packed with people from all over the world who were joining Hrvoje in becoming a US citizen. The entire process took about 20 minutes as they raised their right hand and repeated the oath, then we all said the pledge of allegiance. People cheered and waived their little American flags, but that was all the emotion in the room. I thought it would a beautifully moving ceremony… and it may have been if it was a smaller group. The best part was riding back home with that citizenship certificate in hand. What a long process we’ve been through to get to this point- after years of visas, then the green card hoops to jump through…. Hrvoje did an amazing job researching and with the paper work as he’s completed the entire process by himself (I’m so proud of him). It’s hard to believe the paper work is over- and today we applied for his US passport. When that comes in the mail or when Hrvoje votes for the President  then it will be a reality. Here’s our recent American citizen….

          Someone said that we have been ‘drinking from a firehose’, which I thought was an applicable description for our past few weeks. We have been in Indianapolis for a three-week training held by the agency we work with. Everyone there is going to be working overseas (some are going to Africa, other European countries, Asia, and the Middle East). Overall it was a great experience. We feel a little more prepared to go to Croatia, though at the same time we realized how much more we wish we knew… there’s always so much more to learn (which is true of everything I suppose). My favorite aspect of the three weeks was the social aspect of being in classes with people again, group discussions over what we learned and read, and dinner with other families. 

      Ema had many ‘firsts’ while we were there, most including eating various foods for the first time. She mastered this phase of pulling-to-stand using the dresser drawer in our room. Now she’s creeping along the couch, taking a cautious move to a near by coffee table,  and she loves holding onto our fingers as she ‘walks’ around. Our plane ride back to New England tomorrow will be interesting now that she wants to crawl or ‘walk’ around… anything but be held! I was inspired while in Indianapolis to learn more about editing and working with videos, for the ultimate purpose of staying connected to those partnering with our family and work in Croatia. So the video clip below is of Ema, but I was trying to piece together three different clips and add a few effects. It’s a start… and I need a new title for it… my brain was fried when I put it together.

 

By the way… I love corn on the cob. Yummmmm!