Dear Loved Ones,
Thank you to all who have written emails this
week!! I loved hearing from you! And thank you for your support and prayers.
We pray for you too and know that The Lord is aware of you and loves you.
I just asked the kids their highs and lows for the week, and I think that they
sound more and more cheerful as the weeks go by. How blessed we are to
have each other and these missionaries to serve with. We love them.
Really quick, though, I want to say that James
pointed out last week that this blog's photos make it look like we are always
so happy and things are going perfectly. Just dandy! So let's be honest.
When people are mad at each other, or when there is teenage attitude, or
when we are overwhelmed with some of our responsibilities, or SO tired, or when
someone is sad and doesn't even know why, I don't take a photo. That wouldn't
go over too well! Anyway, just know that. We aren't always out on a
lovely walk, smiling and getting gelato:)
George
Highs:
1. The first high was this building we went
into at the zoo. It had turtles and little fish and one big fish.
It was like a jungle. I LOVED the hippos. I loved the place with a
room where you throw in a coin into an elephant statue monster.
(Do you see these parrots? I said
goodbye in czech as we walked away, and one of them said it back to me!
In Czech! Na'sledanou! (no idea how to spell it))
2.
Swimming laps with dad.
3. I liked getting the mini basketball hoop.
(we’ve had it for years, but now it’s very anchored to the wall in his room)
4. Playing with my brothers.
5. I was happy that my dad gave me a
blessing and after he gave me a blessing I knew I would be alright and that my
ear would feel better. I love my family so much.
Lows:
My ear. It doesn’t feel better. (ear
ache, probably headed to the doctor tomorrow.)
Hyrum
Highs:
1. One of my highs was getting the mini
basketball hoop hung in my room so then I can play basketball in the winter and
in the summer if I want.
2. Seeing the Nike store because they had
Sparta shoes. (we live right by the Sparta stadium and hope to see a soccer
game someday over there)
3. I really liked the zoo. The
zoo was so fun. And the good thing is, it’s huge, so the next time
we go, we can see the next ¼ of it.
4. I really liked church
today. Church was really fun. I’m getting used to it so I
learn a bit more of the lesson every week.
5. I think now I’m becoming a master of
tying bow ties. (he is asleep now in his bed in pajamas and a bow tie)
Low: Being sad on Charles
Bridge. I was tired and I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to exercise with mom,
Wilson, and George, and we were on the bridge at 9:00 p.m.
Wilson
Highs:
1. Charles
Bridge for family night.
2. I
liked watching mission impossible. (the first mission impossible has lots of
scenes in the first part that are filmed in prague)
3. I
liked going to Trebic with dad cause we got to see a talent show put on by
members from different branches. This one guy had dad mix up the rubiks
cube and he took it back and matched the sides up within the next 15
seconds. He holds the record in the Czech republic for fastest rubiks
cube time in a competition. (11 seconds)
4.
Game night with the Mendenhalls (the senior
couple in charge of Young Single Adult family night, game night, and lots of
other activities in the YSA center on the floor below our apartment.) My
favorite game was Qwirkle. I also loved the waffles!
5.
Face timing cousins.
6. Prague
zoo, my favorite animal was the hippo because it swam right up to the
glass. It was beast.
7. The elders and the young single adults
surprised us by setting up our basketball hoop, I loved playing on it!
8. I
also loved that now my mini basketball hoop is up on the wall.
9. Going
to Wenceslas Square.
10. Surprising
Elder Prymak for his birthday. Sister Munro’s Australian cake was
amazing.
11. I
liked going swimming with Dad and H and George. We swam laps. And
messed around. And used the coolest hair dryer in the bathroom
afterwards. (fluffy hair when they got home.)
12.
I liked when you and dad went on your date because hanging out with my
brothers and sister was super fun. We had snacks and played games and
watched a movie.
13. Playing
phase ten with siblings.
14. Hanging out with the elders.
Lows:
1. Basketball
hoop backboard is breaking.
2. Boredom.
I miss having a back yard where I can just go outside whenever I want. I
miss the Popp’s backyard too.
3. I
miss family dinners on Sunday. I miss my friends.
4. Embarrassment
in church (he won’t tell me what happened. He is not ready to laugh about
it yet. I totally understand!)
Evie
Highs:
1.
Shopping with Sister Munro.
2. Playing tennis with mom.
3. Going
to the zoo.
4. Charles bridge
5. Plzen
with dad.
Lows:
Language barrier.
Various frustrations.
James
Highs:
1. Spiderman
(a 5 year old in the talent show Wilson talked about) and the great members in
Trebic. It was like a mormon “dan in real life” gathering. But better.
2. Watching
a baptism in the same small lake I baptized in as a young missionary.
3. Seeing and speaking to the members in
Plzen.
Lows:
Lots of kilometers in the car. (he travelled so much this week, absolutely loved seeing the missionaries in different places and teaching with them, but isn't as fond of the actual drive)
I am so thankful for how Ev, Wilson, H and George
have adapted to big city life. They are working on becoming street smart,
and being good listeners. So much of their safety depends on listening to
me and how they watch the signs around them. Public transportation is a
pretty serious thing, and they are learning that they can't goof off near tram
tracks or subway tracks or even while on the train or it could be really bad. I
guess you'd have to know how crazy they were on our drives in the land rover to
appreciate how different this is for them to have to be well behaved:).
And then there's the whole other thing of super inappropriate billboards and
photos, that are found probably in every big city, and I see my kids look the
opposite direction or just turn their back to whatever is the shocking image.
I love these guys so much.
This is a little part of the city
bus/tram/metro map that I used to get us to the zoo. I never prayed
before I went to the hogle zoo in salt lake, but I am telling you, I totally
prayed before our trip to the zoo on multiple trams and buses. We never
even got lost!
A variety of pictures from the week:
Nicki Gray, this one is for you. A little
sweets shop near wenceslas square.
James is working on transfers for next week,
where he considers who is going home, who is flying in, who needs to change
cities, who needs to change companions, who is going to get a new leadership position,
who is going to train a new missionary, what branches need extra support, etc.
His mind is pretty focused on this board/the missionaries. I know he will
be so inspired as he puts this puzzle together every transfer. The Lord
loves these missionaries! (actually the church has an app that James has been
using on his ipad to make moving around the missionaries easier. it
really helps when you have to start all over. can't you just picture
james working the transfer digitally?) Cute Sister Munro,who is the
office secretary, just made these missionary cards for our kids so they, right
in the mission office, can be on dad's board.
James and I celebrated 18 years of marriage this
week! I love this old photo from his mission here in 1990-92. And
Dorien, I still love this frame you gave me!
I love watching him balance
mission life and being a dad
I love it when he cooks.
I
love him in his p-day socks.
I love when he speaks czech.
Here he is walking behind me on a path toward a lake where the lady he is
talking with was about to get baptized.
And I love that he is my mission companion.
First day as companions at the mtc in June:
Sarah Denison and Nicki and Lance and
Rachelle and Sarah Wells and Whitney, Evie is carrying on your tradition of
making yummy treats for us on Sunday afternoons! No chocolate chips here,
so she just busts up milka chocolate bars. And no brown sugar, but they
still turn out awesome.
More from the baptism in Hradec Kralove, such a
beautiful setting that reminded me of Brad Kilpatrick's outdoor baptism.
Missionaries, including those who taught
the woman that was baptized, singing a beautiful "come thou fount of every
blessing" in czech as a musical number at the baptism.
So here is what my kids do a ton. After
daily chores and reading, if I am taking care of my household stuff and helping
missionaries with medical issues, the kids play on screens, watch movies, etc.
I am not wishing for school to start because I really like having them
around, and it's awesome to involve them with missionary work and seeing the
city sometimes, but I feel like they are on screens a ton. I didn't
realize how much we used our back yard and the Popp's back yard and our front
yard until we moved here. And they had cousins and friends to play with
and grandparents to visit. Beside us on one side is the Indian Embassy.
On the other side is the Spanish Embassy, and then the Israeli Embassy
with armed guards out front at all times. Then there's a ginormous park,
with all kind of trails and walkways, where we go once in a while if I have
time to take them. But honestly, my kids have sat around, indoors, more
during the past 2 weeks than maybe ever! Can you tell I'm feeling guilty?
I know we are still transitioning and new here, but I am just trying to
figure out how to do it all. Thank goodness for Legos and art that help
break up the screen time.
Sunday evening walk. The church is behind
the kids. Can you see James in the background, coming home from his office
across the street?
Sunday walk
Sunday walk past the chinese embassy. Sam Stewart, when I took this picture, your cousins were telling me all sorts of stories about you speaking chinese on the basketball court. Such fun times at the mccompound!
Evie thought you would like this street, Grandad:
My name tags in Czech, Slovak, and English:
Years ago, the Woods brought this bell home from
Talmage's mission in Polland and we have hung it on our front door ever since.
I brought it in my carry on, on the flight over, and hung it here the
first night. Every time a tram down on the street makes our apartment
rumble, the bell rings. And when someone opens the door to visit, it
sounds like home!
Ok now it is Wednesday night even though I put
most of this blog down on Sunday. It has been a crazy few days.
I'll finally post this. Happy Pioneer day everyone! Shelli!
Eat some corn on the cob for me at Joan's party and tell everyone that we
just had dinner with the cravens and that we love all the fetzers so much ok?
Love you family and friends!!! Have a beautiful day wherever you
are! Love, the mcconkies
