Easter and Thad's photos

Here is our family picture from Easter. The celebration of Christ's death and resurrection was especially meaningful to me this year. As I thought about some of our dear friends who have gone on to be with the Lord, I tried to put myself in the place of Peter and John as they realized their dear Lord had truly come back from the dead. How amazing and unbelievable it would be to see someone you love rise from the dead. I was so comforted as I remembered that our dear friends will be raised from the dead, because Christ raised himself from the dead. Can you even comprehend that?! It's an amazing truth and one I couldn't keep from weeping over this past week.
Thank you Lord for life and for conquering death!

A little photography from Thad

I like the depth on this one with the baby formula in front

A pretty good photo of our kitchen

Photography by Thad

his guitar

self portrait

cooking pot on stove

reflection of the artist's legs in the oven door

Well, when we downloaded the most recent photos off the camera, we found some odd pictures and the culprit who took them.

Enjoy!

Here are some South Korean girls doing a traditional Korean fan dance at International Family Fun Night.

International Family Fun Night

This is my favorite school function! We have the privilege of seeing all the students dress up in their native clothing and some share about their countries in different class rooms. At the end of the evening, many of the kids participate in the cultural showcase. I love seeing the kids perform songs, dances and even play instruments from their homeland.
Enjoy the pictures and know these are the families you are ministering to.

Costa Rica

India

Venezuela

Nigeria & Namibia

South Korea

A little behind on Christmas activities

Here is a video from the VCS choir's performance at St. Peter's Church downtown.
It was beautiful! I couldn't remember posting about it and wanted you to be sure and see part of the concert.
Enjoy!

Another VCS Videography Class Project

This one is starring my good buddy Matt, but I had the opportunity to be a part of the creative process and so the boys gave me a guest appearance. I hope you guys actually like watching these.

My two bottom teeth

I included the top photo because it's cute, but the others showcase the lone two teeth.

Missing My Mississippi

While I feel sure that most of you are dying to get out, those of us who once couldn't wait to leave find ourselves oddly drawn back. We love it here in Vienna, but every now and then we long for the unique beauty of Mississippi. I found this video the other day on youtube and I thought I'd share it with those of you "stuck" in good ol' MS. God has made every place beautiful in its own way, even Mississippi.

Austria vs. Germany

Whenever I really start to miss my friends and family back in the States, it seems that God gives me some really cool experience over here that I otherwise would never have had. Last Wednesday some good friends of ours, the Pachecos, invited me to go with them to see Austria & Germany play soccer in the national stadium here in Vienna. I personally didn't care much for seeing the Austrian team, but I was really excited about seeing Germany.

It was a great game with Germany coming up with a 3-0 win. All of the goals were scored at the end of the field directly in front of us. I know people in the states get really passionate about college football but the level of chanting and singing at a European soccer game really beats anything I've ever experienced at an American sporting event. Here are some videos of the Austrian and German national anthems (jeered and whistled by each set of opposing fans).

This video is of the German fans chanting while the Austrian team was being announced.

7 Things about ME

Ok, so apparently we've been tagged by another blog to answer the 7 things about me.

So here we go:

Mollie :

1. I love staying at home all day long. I don't even have to go outside! There are several days where I haven't made it outside at all!

2. I love doing the dishes!! I could wash dishes all day long and I'm quite a perfectionist at it.

3. My one dream job is to repaint and distress furniture to look antique. Of course, I would have an old barn as my entire workspace and this barn would be on a beautiful property in the country :) ( I currently paint when I can....but to be full time would be amazing!)

4. I married my high school sweetheart and I'm so in love with him. He is an amazing man and I love him more everyday as he promotes me and finds out how I can use my talents in the ministry here in Vienna.

5. My favorite thing to do is play the piano for hours at night with all the lights turned off in the house and only the piano lamp on. Doing this in an empty house is even better because I can play and sing my heart out without anyone hearing. This is when I feel God....

6. I find such enjoyment in organizing and cleaning out boxes or rooms. I love to help others do this and get so excited about completely changing the look of a room or closet. Organizing is healing for me and anytime you need some help.... call me! ( unless of course you're in the States, I won't make it there for awhile :)

7. I like to jump out and scare my kids... hee hee. I'll start hysterically laughing at them to get them to laugh and then make crazy faces at them. Thomas tells everyone this is why our kids are hyper and silly. He thinks it might damage them for life, but I just can't help it! It's so fun!!! :)

Ok that's all!

I tag Erica!

We're Back

Wow, it's been a long time since we've posted! Sorry about that. Here are some updates on the family.

Our boys continually amuse us and they always have something up their sleeves! Thad loves playing with Ian and they chase each other around the apartment for hours. Ian wants to do everything Thad does and can barely stand to eat or take his bottle if Thad is walking around playing.

Recently, I (mollie) started getting up before my children and enjoying some quiet time. This sunrise greeted me one morning and I couldn't resist capturing the moment. I love this alone time to think, read, & pray. It has been my life saver for getting through the day and accomplishing the tasks required. If you don't do this, I highly encourage you to try and wake up with the sun! Your kids will thank you!

Thomas and I are well and thinking through our plans for the year. We desire to come to MS to visit family and friends this summer. Would you pray with us as we make final decisions about plane tickets and such. We want to honor the Lord with the finances He's given us and at the same time honor our family's desires to be with us. Thank you for praying with us!

We'll post more about the students activities very soon. A lot has been going on and we look forward to sharing all of it with you.

Random pictures from the Holiday Season

Mom & Dad at their first castle

Thad deciding that he really doesn't like sledding

This picture speaks for itself

Thomas took me to Venice for my Christmas present

Shock & Awe

Last year we made the discovery that New Years Eve (Silvester) is kind of a big deal here in Vienna. Apparently everyone in the city that is old enough to use a lighter shoots fireworks. This is a city of 2.1 million people so that ends up being a whole bunch of explosions that being around 6:00pm and go for about 7 hours. Things obviously pick up at about 11:30 and are really consistant until 1:00am.

This footage was taken right around midnight. We also had some extra entertainment from some Austrian guys who were across the street in the Lidl parking lot. They had obviously partaken of a large quantity of fermented liquids. This definitely added to the joy of New Years as one or two fireworks managed to go off in the crowd of Austrian guys but thankfully no one was hurt. It sure was fun to watch.

The VCS Office

In lieu of the Writer's Guild strike, all of us here at VCS have been deprived of our favorite American TV show, The Office. This video was the idea of Salil and David, two of my soccer players. They are currently in a video editing class taught by my friend Matt and so this is the first of a series that we will be working on.

All of the "stars" of the episode happen to have a break during the video class block so it enables us to shoot all of the footage. You may not get some of it because it's VCS humor but I think there are enough Office parallels that you should enjoy things.

Christmas

Some more Christmas pictures!

Thad was beating his Dad up with his new sword!

Munchkin Pictures/Video

Here are some Pre-Christmas photos of the boys as well as a video shot by Thad without Mom and Dad knowing.

On the 23rd Mollie took Tom, Karen, and Thad down to the Christmas market at Schonbrunn Palace. I was left with Ian and a grocery list so we bundled up (it was like 25 degrees) and headed over to Merkur in our umbrella stroller. Ian loved it and he just looked so cute that I had to take a picture.
Christmas Eve our friends the Pachecos brought us a Christmas basket full of American goodies. It was an amazing gift that included things we don't usually get to enjoy like Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, Rice Crispy Treats and various other things. Before he left I made delivery boy Oscar take a picture with his buddy Thad.

Finally, we came across this video as we were loading Christmas pictures on to the computer. This is Thad's first major film production and it was accomplished all while no adults were present. We aren't sure how he got the camera in the first place much less how he got it to the video setting and actually took footage. However he did it, here is a small glimpse in the world of Thad. He starts off by looking at all of his Christmas presents, then moves to looking at his reflection in the TV, and finishes looking at Ian and telling everyone what he's doing although apparently no one was listening.

My Parents are COMING!!!!!!!!!!

They'll be here in 3 days!!! We are so very excited to share Christmas and Vienna with them. Also, my Dad will spend his 58th birthday here in Austria! That's pretty monumental and I'd say it's about time he made it to Europe :)

Thad can't wait to see Granddaddy & KK..... especially since his chocolate number 18 can be eaten that day! He has this advent calendar which has doors that hold chocolates. One for each day leading up to christmas and my parents come the 18th...which is the magic number and special chocolate we've been waiting for. :)

Also, Thomas finally shaved his head, which we are all thankful for. It will be funny though as it continues to grow out with blond tips!

So, we have been doing something every night this week! It is such fun going to parties, having cookie exchanges, entertaining students, Christmas concerts & of course the famous markets here during the holidays. It is beautiful here this time of year with decor on every window and chandeliers hung along the Graben downtown. We love it!

In all the excitement and fun, it may be awhile before any posting gets done. So, beware and hold out until January if necessary.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Blondes Have More Fun

...at least that's what I've been told and so I decided to try it out. What actually happened is that I decided to be a guinea pig for a marketing campaign put on by the Senior Class to help raise money for their Senior trip.

The theme was Coke vs. Pepsi, and Ad technique called "False Dilemma." You create a false competition that drives up sales of both products. Aren't VCS kids smart? Here are a few of their videos advertising the competition.

Myself and our Business manager Jeff became the face of the rival cola products with the loser (most drinks sold) having to bleach their hair. Going into the last day I (Coke) was ahead by something like 20 drinks. The Seniors alerted my Freshmen Geography students about this and they promptly pooled all of their money and purchased enough Pepsi to make me lose. The pictures at the top show the results.

The two guys who made the Coke/Pepsi vids were the ones who dyed my hair. They took lots of footage of the process and so when they compile their documentary I'll be sure to post it.

For those of you who are actually enjoying all of these videos you're in luck. In honor of the Writer's Guild strike in the states, and due to a lack of The Office episodes to watch, our VCS video class has decided to begin filming our own version. It will be called Der Office (the O will have the umlaut, two dots, over it). It should be great fun. Hopefully I'll have it up by Friday or Saturday.

It's been awhile!

Here are some pictures of the boys!

It snowed while Daddy was gone!

Well, suffice it to say while Thomas was gone for 2 weeks to the U.S., I stayed in survival mode and did not have a moment to post. Today as I was trying to do the dishes, I had a little T-rex attached to my leg pretending to bite me and slobbering all over me. It was then that I realized, "Oh yeah, that's why I accomplished nothing while Thomas was away!" :)

Spiritual Emphasis Week Videos

Here is a link to my buddy Matt Klein's website. He is the co-star if this sereies of videos with me. Just scroll down on his site until you get to the Spiritual Emphasis Week Videos. You could probabaly find them on Youtube as well.

This was a series that kind was a ton of fun. We kind of made it up as we went and filmed most the day that they had to be shown in Chapel so plot wasn't the main focus. Hopefully you'll find them as funny as we did.

Side Note: Video 3 was filmed the day after the VCS Boys beat the Staff in our annual Faculty/Student Soccer game.

http://www.kleinwelt.wordpress.com/