Joy: Happy 30th Birthday, Randall! From me & my students!

I hope your day is filled with this many smiles and more!!

Love you,

Your Joy

On the Way...

We are blessed to travel a bit over the holidays.  Especially with our favorite Bulgarians!  On the way to visit Vania's family, we stopped in Batak.  You have got to see this beautiful little town for yourselves.  Until then, here are some pictures...

Been celebrating Stephan's name day today - so fun!

Joy: Our little helper

Vania & I have a very important sewing project we're working on... It's a good thing we have another little helper or else we might not get it done in time :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

"I have always thought of Christmas-time, when it has come round... as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.  And, therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"

- Scrooge's nephew

May we open our hearts, show kindness, and be forgiving & charitable, not just at Christmas, but throughout all of 2013!

Merry Christmas,

Joy, Randall, and Liza

Thanksgiving 2012 - Part 2

Well, though Saturday (our "Bulgarian" Thanksgiving) has come and gone, we are still working on the leftovers.  What a lovely thing.  As we continue to benefit from the long day of cooking and prep, we are reminded of how thankful we are for how God has given us everything we've needed this past year...

Faith - how to live in a place for God when all else pushes you the opposite direction.  We've failed many times, but He's been a great Teacher & is showing us how to have solid faith in Him through anything.

Friends - whether online or in person, we've been so blessed by our buddies!  We are especially thankful that the Djatov's joined us Saturday to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Family - our family is so supportive & shows their love for us even from this far away.  We enjoy our skype sessions, and, now that we think about it, are very thankful for skype!

Food - a very enjoyable thing, but also very necessary.  God has continually provided for us, whether through our jobs/money or through friends being generous in their garden harvest. Thanksgiving was truly bountiful and enjoyable!

And, since we all love a good picture or two, here's a snapshot into our second Thanksgiving this year:

The girls worked the kitchen (since we both love to cook, we were a perfect team!)...

while the boys played some serious Wii on the big screen, working up an appetite.

And, after all the hard work (cooking & Wii), we wined and dined!

We can't communicate well enough how blessed we really are! Thank you, Djatov's, for celebrating with us!

Joy & Randall

Thanksgiving 2012 - Part 1

That's right, this is only Part 1 of 2012's Thanksgiving goodness.  This past weekend, our buddy, Joe, invited us Americans to his village, Lyubcha, to celebrate Thanksgiving... and, boy, did we celebrate!  Not only did we go on a beautiful hike through the mountains, but, with lots of cooperation and "hunting" (in various grocery stores), we had all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes on the table.  It was a great mix of Bulgarians + Americans.

We are so thankful for how God has blessed us with great friends on this side of the ocean to celebrate with.  It makes it not so difficult to be away from home.  Check out some of our pics...

We hope and pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving today with you friends and family.  We miss and love you all.

Joy, Randall, and Liza

P.S.  Look for Part 2 soon...

Joy: Take-aways from first few months of school

1.  Smiling makes kids smile back!  Amazing.

2.  Speaking English is way easier than Bulgarian.  Meaning, with those who speak English, I'm no longer speaking Bulgarian!  It's easier on me and good practice for them :)

3.  Games are pretty darn effective... and fun!  My counterpart made this awesome animal review game & the kids adored it AND were using English.  Hee hee!

4.  Time with friends after work is ESSENTIAL.  Vania, Stefan, and Marty invited us over for "beer and dinner" recently.  'Twas just what the doctor ordered.  Vania made "shkembe' chorba" (tripe) and sauteed chicken hearts.  A year ago, no way would I have enjoyed this, but, that night, I was in the clean plate club!  Yummo.

We're still loving our time here & are thankful for you, our readers!

Joy: Just met my nephew for the first time! I'm sure he said "nice to meet you" in gibberish.

Our evening in Frankfurt: an unexpected surprise.

When we were looking for the most 'economic' tickets back to the States for Joy's brother's wedding, we didn't think we'd end up with a 20-hour layover.  But, sure enough, we glanced over our itinerary a few days ago to familiarize ourselves with it again, and we realized we had a 'short' stay in Frankfurt...

So, here we are!  Just had some delicious brats and sourkraut, German beer, and a gorgeous walk in the center.  We highly recommend ending up with a long layover here anytime!