Prague Days 3, 4, 5 and 6 (May 2018)

Thursday-  Today we toured the Jewish Quarter of Old Town.  It was a view into the life's of the Jewish people that living during WWII.  The tour included 3 synagogues and a cemetery.  The cemetery (oldest  housed over 85,000 bodies.  Originally there were about 12,000, but as more died and there was no place to bury them, they buried bodies on top of bodies.  The headstones and crooked and close together and the ground is heaped high and uneven.  No longer do people even have headstones marking where loved ones were buried.  It is said that in some places it is 12 people deep.  Jewish people do not believe in moving bodies once they have been put to rest, so this is why it has stayed this way.

Stops along the tour of the Jewish Museum included: Old Jewish Cemetery, Pinkas Synagogue, Maisel Synagogue, Klaus Synagogue and the Spanish Synagogue.  These along with the Old New Synagogue are some of the only remnants of the original Jewish Quarter.

The most humbling part of the entire experience was in the Pinkas Synagogue.  Someone lovingly and I'm sure painstakingly has written the names of all those Jews that were killed or died during WWII.  The names, locations of origin and birthday date and death date or date of exportation are recorded.  These names cover the walls.  There is also a small exhibition housing the work of Jewish children that were in the concentration camp, Theresienstadt.

There was a women that taught the children drawing and how to express themselves through art.  

After leaving the Jewish Quarter we did a walking tour of Old Town using Rick Steves book.  Then we headed to the River to walk along the river back to the hotel.  While we were walking we saw some people Zorbing and decided to try it out.  Basically you are put in transparent plastic orb and pushed out onto the water.  Then you attempt to stand and roll on water.  Of course David kept moving the tube and I could not stand up.  It was hilarious and we were laughing so hard.  We had to exert so much energy to try to keep ourselves up and to maintain balance.  By the end of 10 min we were exhausted and sweaty.

Thursday night we joined with many of the individuals from the conference for a dinner at the Zofin Palace.  We sat with a internal medicine physician and nurse perfusionist, Hannah, from Poland.  We also met Shruthi during this dinner.  Shruthi is PICU dr in Gainesville, FL, originally from India.  She also happened to be staying at our same hotel, The Corinthia, and David had recognized her from when we checked in.  The food was delicious and the entertainment amusing, but way too loud.  The entertainment was Havelka's Sisters performing swing music from the 20-40s. 

Friday- David spent part of the day at the conference, so I headed out without him.  I had not gotten off the train at the Muzeum stop, so I checked it out today.  It was the perfect stop.  It dropped me off right in the middle of New Town and St. Wensaclas Square.  I pulled out my handy Prague book and after reading the temporary exhibit discussing the history of the Czech Republic, I did a walking tour of New Town.  

The exhibit about the countries history was enlightening.  Within my lifetime these people experienced communism and the oppression from it.  Only in the late 1980's/early 1990's were they no longer under communist rule.  During less than a hundred year period they felt the effects of war and communism and hate.  

Along my walking I came across an international festival with a group of singers and dancers from Poland.  I thought about the strong traditions from some of these countries with their music, dance and native dress.  The United States doesn't really have this.  

I wandered on and headed across the Charles Bridge and dropped down into Little Quarter.  There is a park that I walked along before heading back to the hotel.  

Friday night we took our last trip to walk around Vysehrad Park.  We ran into Shruthi at the Vysehrad Cathedral.  It ended up being NOC (Night of the Churches), so all the churches around Prague were open and free to the public.  

Saturday- We checked our of the Corinthia hotel, so I headed downtown to check out another hotel and another part of town.  We decided to stay in the same area we were in, but move to the Holiday Inn.  We are in a quiet part of town and the downtown area is really easy to access by the metro.  

David headed to the conference for the last day and ended up winning an I-Pad for having the best pediatric oral presentation.  Yeah for David!!!

Saturday night we headed back down town to explore the city and night and to take in the Charles Bridge and lights of Prague Castle.  Around 10pm we met up with Shruthi and headed back to the hotel with her.  At our stop, we ended up talking for at least an hour or two.  We talked with her about the gospel and some of our beliefs.  Shruthi is Hindu, but she said she has similar beliefs and we talked about connecting with people.  She said meeting us was the best part of her trip.  She is such a genuine, good person.  You want to be around her because she eminates goodness.  We will definitely keep in touch with her.

She spoke about the Mormons she has met in her life and how they are all kind.  She works with a PA and a nurse and has a set of senior missionaries that live in her building.  Her network of Mormons is expanding and I'm pretty sure it's expanding for a reason.  I do not think it was a coincidence that we met.  God is in the details.

Sunday- We woke up early and went to church.  I love that most every place we have ever traveled, we have been able to find a church to attend.  There are a lot of Expat's and English speaking visitors, so they have Sacrament and Elders Quorum/RS translated into English and Sunday School is separated into an English class and a Czech class.  The Sunday School teacher was teaching for the first time.  He had a very organized/prepared lesson.  He looked like a lifelong member, super clean cut, wearing a suit and tie, white hair.  But, David and him spoke later and he learned that he is a convert of less than a year.  We talked with him and heard his story about joining the church.  He was able to be baptized along with his fiance by his father on his father's 75th birthday.  His dad had been trying to get him to join the church for years, so it was really sweet to hear how it ended.  He's hoping to go through the San Diego temple with his fiance in the fall and hopefully get to attend General Conference.

I also chatted with Andrea for a while.  She is living in Prague for 1 1/2 years while she teaches English to business men/women.  She is hoping to travel to other locations teaching English while she has a few years before her son gets married and has kids and her mother needs her.  She's from Cleveland, OH.

After church we napped at the hotel and the headed back downtown.  We took the metro to the bottom of Castle Hill and then took the #22 tram up to the top of Petrin Hill.  We walked up to the tower, walked around the park, ate Kielbasa and then then took the walk down to Prague Castle.  The views were incredible and it was a great way to end Sunday.  We did a final walk across the Charles Bridge and around Old Town before heading back to the hotel.

Monday- Day trip to the countryside in Northern Prague along the Germany border.  Hrensko and Pravcicka Brana

St. George Girl's Trip (2/21/2020-2/23/2020)

Over my birthday weekend 8 of us girls along with Brooks headed to St George to relax at play and Collyn’s parents vacation home.
Collyn Kirry
Greta Griffiths
Adrianne Murdock
Julie Hall
Annette Knight
Emily Benton
Kirsten Corbett

Hot tub
Movie
Indian food
Burgers and brussel sprouts
Rain
Run with Adrianne
Stupid human tricks
Talking and laughing
Relaxing by the pool

Brooks 6 months check-up (3/5/2020)

Height 25.59”
Weight 15 lbs, 4.9oz

Superman during tummy time
Rolled over once from back to tummy on 3/4/2020.  I missed it after 20+ min of working on it because I’d walked out of the room.  Megan saw him do it.
Laughs, squeals, says, “mmmmm” when hungry.
Naps 3x/day for about 45 min each.  Sleeps from about 7pm until 6:45am-7:15am.  Wakes up 3 times to eat.
Plays is exersaucer and high chair now.  Reaches for everything.
Still needs help to sit up.
He let his brothers know if he doesn’t like something they are doing by screaming at them and arching his back.
Laughs when Porter throws a tantrum.

Coronavirus (CoVID-19) 3/13/2020

Things have been getting a interesting around here.  Back in December a new strain of the coronavirus started in Wuhan, China.  It caused many illnesses and deaths and has been spreading since then.  Cruise ships were quarantined off the coast of China, hospitals were overloaded and makeshift facilities were built.  The virus has spread from there and is now over much of the world.  The US declared a state of emergency and it is now being called a pandemic.  I have definitely never seen anything like this in my lifetime.  In some ways it's hard to grasp the nature of the disease because we have not been impacted personally or seen the physical effects of it.  Some people are panicking and others think people are letting this get out of control and making a big deal out of nothing.  Over the last few weeks I have turned to the church to see what guidance and direction comes from the Prophet.  In my lifetime, I have never seen the church or the Prophet be swayed by the persuasions of the world.  I feel like this time is no different.  Near the end of 2018, the church introduced the Come Follow Me curriculum and the focus of home centered, church supported worship.  As we have been told that sacrament meetings will be temporarily suspended, I can't help but recognize the timely inspiration to prepare us for such a time as this.  I am excited to be home with my family and to get to worship together.  Also, we've been told to have food storage and emergency items on hand.  Now we are facing the possibility of quarantine and stores are depleted of essentials.  I am thankful for the guidance given by our living Prophet.  He truly is the mouthpiece for the Lord.  If we head his counsel, we will not be led astray.  He will help to lead us home. 
I am looking forward to the time with my family.  I feel like David and I are prepared physically.  We went a couple of weeks ago and spent $1500 plus restocking our supplies and our food storage.  Now I hope I am prepared spiritually. 
There have been several things that happened these last few days where I have felt a swell of gratefulness for my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the spirit has reaffirmed that this is Christ's church.  He is the cornerstone.  There is no need to fear if we look towards Him and recognize that God is in control.

On a lighter note, Brooks is sitting up by himself!!!  Way to go Brooksy.  I love that sweet, sweet boy. 

Porter has been telling "your momma" jokes.  I don't love hearing them, but the other day Mason said the funniest thing.  We were sitting at the dinner table and Porter said, "donkey poop".  Then out of the blue Mason said, "Your momma's donkey poop."  It was actually pretty hilarious.  David, Meg and I had to hide our snickering.

Update on all the boys (2/4/2020)

It has been too long since I've really written a good update on all the boys, so here we go. 

Porter-  He has gotten really into basketball since we got our basketball hoop and he's been playing on a basketball team.  He plays almost every day.  His favorite people to play with are Meg, David, Ash and his friends.  He thinks I'm annoying and I cheat....  I do not cheat.  We found him a new piano teacher and I'm so excited to have him back at it.  She seems to be a great fit too.  She's introducing the use of the metronome which is hard for me and Porter to get used to.  But, I think it'll be great for Porter.  Porter still doesn't love school.  He was invited to join a discovery group once a week with some other kids and he was excited about this, but it doesn't enjoy it as much as he did his group from last year.  Porter has started bearing his testimony at church on Fast Sunday.  We never know what he's going to say, but his testimonies have always been spot on, clear and have inspired other people.  I love that he enjoys to do this.  He still loves constantly doing something like playing board games, playing with friends usually football or basketball, talking with adult guests at our home that he likes, going on bike rides and reading.  Unfortunately we found out at his last dentist appt that he had 3 cavities, so that was a bummer.  For a few days after that he was really good at brushing, flossing and using mouth wash.  When he had his cavity filled we were really nervous, but he did tremendous.  Way better than myself or the dentist expected, but Dr Pettit really wanted to make sure it was a good experience for him and it was.  Porter has started typing Come Follow Me on his own and types up his own thoughts are summary of the reading.  I know he will love the scriptures as he does this.  Porter has confidence in all that he does. 

Jonas-  It is sad that we only have half a year left until Jonas goes to school.  I'm not really sure what Mason, David or I will do.  Mason and him are the best of buds and play all day long.  Jonas has started reading with is preschool and I love watching him learn to sound out words.  He is growing taller and is so strong.  His spirit is strong and he is able to articulate simply the truths of the gospel.  Just tonight he sang me the sweetest song that he made up as he went along.  It was about how he loved me and he would be sad if I died, but that if I did die I could live again because of Heavenly Father.  I wish I had recorded the entire song because it was precious.  Jonas has also started to learn some football and basketball.  He is so thrilled anytime he does something new or for the first time.  The first time he made a basket, the first time he made it all the way across the monkey bars, etc.  The other day we were playing at the playground and he kept working at the monkey bars until he got it and he practiced over and over again until he was faster and faster.
Jonas used to get discouraged when he'd practice writing if he didn't think his letters looked good, but his writing is so good now and he doesn't get discouraged anymore. 
Jonas continues to be a devoted friend to Ollie and is not concerned about getting more friends.  His prayers often consist of thanking Heavenly Father that he could play with Ollie or saying he missed playing with him, etc.  Jonas also gives the best compliments.  The other day, out of the blue, he looked at me and told me I was beautiful.  Melt my heart.  He also loves to give hugs and pinch your back while he's doing it.  He thinks it's so funny.  He also still gives kisses on the lips which is pretty tender. 

Mason-
A couple of weeks ago we found out Mason had to get glasses and last week we were able to pick them up.  They are adorable and he must notice a difference because we have no problem getting him to wear them all the time.  Usually he just takes them off for playing rough. 
Mason is growing tall and skinny.  He is fiery and knows what he wants and is not afraid to tell you.  He makes me laugh often.  He likes "tittles" (skittles).  If I ever need a helper, he's always the first one to be right in on the action.  He still needs to be potty trained, but he told me he would do it when he's as tall as Porter.  He does pee/poop on the toilet sometimes, but it's whenever he feels like it. 
When Mason gets mad, he'll say, "I'm not going to play with you ever again."  Obviously he's bluffing, because not much later he'll be playing again.  David and I both love to snuggle him and sometimes David needs a nap and he'll take Mason in the room with him and they will snuggled up together and go to sleep.  Mason is not scared of much, but sometimes he does appear shy.  But, let's be honest, he's not a shy kid. 

Brooks-
He's almost 5 months!  I love this snuggly little boy.  The past few weeks I feel like he's started to do a lot more.  He loves to grab his toes and roll to the side.  He's getting so much better at tummy time, but he still doesn't love it for that long.  If I put him in his bouncy seat, he will pull himself up so he's sitting upright rather than reclining.  I always think he's about to tip out.  He is ticklish and his giggles are the sweetest.  He is starting to love dad and Porter more too.  He started clasping his hands together a lot and now grabs at toys.  Brooks is becoming more interested in food and the other morning he was sitting on my lap and pulled my cereal pull off the table onto both of us.  He was not happy about the cold milk.  Neither was I.  He's still only had bananas and avocado, but he's definitely getting more interested in food. 
We're getting a little bit more of a predictable schedule during the day, but he still wakes up a lot at night.  But, I'm happy to see his sweet smile and kiss his squishy cheeks. 
I'm also pretty sure he likes to dance.  I hope so, the other boys all love to and they often ask Alexa to play different songs.