out of my comfort zone...

its amazing what God does as soon as I come back to Him...this is absolutely crazy...I have been here in Vienna for 3 years now as of March 2nd and not once have I really done an outreach to the city for God...honestly, Ive been selfish and have only been living here to please myself. Well tonight I went to cell group-and the whole group mixed with the guys group and they decided we were going to go to the city tonight to pass out sandwiches and pray with people. I almost dropped from my chair and seriously I almost went home because I was just not in the mood. Then I kicked myself and thought about the times in Peru when it was so scary to go up to people and pray with them, but afterwards it was so rewarding...I havent done anything like this in years...there are a lot of alcoholics and drug addics in every city (even in one of the safest cities in the world Vienna!) and it just turned me off because they are unpredictable...so we split off into groups of mixed guys and girls and passed out sandwiches. I have to learn more of the "spiritual words" in German-but I tried my best using the rest of the German I can speak...It was the most selfless thing I have done since I have lived in Vienna. Amazing...I tell you something...I came back home tonight a totally different person...I feel like I am finally doing something here for God...but sadly it has taken 3 YEARS!...now Im thinking back to those days in Peru and the Dominican Republic...oh how fun...those were the days:)

I have been out late everynight this week...along with working long days, parents meetings...and it almost kept me from coming to cell group tonight...but I am so glad I didnt let my exhaustion convince me not to go...tomorrow night I will definitely be inside at home and relaxing:)

Guten Nacht! Tschüss! Danke Gott für alles!

crazy monday:)

crazy how right after you post something-it happens! well this morning Vienna woke up to a WHITE WORLD! so random!...it snowed and they didnt even expect snow! ok its all melted now but I have to say that was really a nice sight...it got me out of bed in the morning faster than I normally would when Christian told me to look out the window! :) ok so I had my snow...next weekend we will go skiing for sure now...and then the warm weather can come!:)

next crazy thing...after i finished writing the blog yesterday about how it would be great for Christian to join a cell group at church-he came to me last night and said he wanted to take a step out of comfort and maybe join a group!...I mean everytime I think God is not listening to me, I get put in my place! because he definitely heard me yesterday!

next thing, I met my new friend Cheree at starbucks tonight...we talked for over 3 hours! she is a great girl and tons of fun! Vienna always knows when there are americans around in the city because the people can definitely all hear us!

church...

so jealous of the snow in Maryland! This is the second big storm in 2 weeks! ahhh! Last year I was sick of snow by February...and this year we are craving it! The weather is so crazy here that even the mountains are half green!...can you imagine the Alps green? We were going to go skiing this weekend and we had to cancel our trip because we didn't want to ski on a patch of snow down 2 slopes that are open!...

we went to church today and I actually felt like I knew more than just the same few people we have always known. I saw the girls that I met last week at the cell group...and instead of leaving right after church we rambled on and on like the good old days I used to do!...of course Christian was bored though listening to the girlstalk...hmm I have to find him a good guys group. Maybe the mens cell group...but please pray for that because this kind of church is totally new for the Austrian culture. They grew up with Roman Catholic churches their whole lives...so everything is really a big shock for them. He is getting more and more into it and I am proud of him, but there is still more to go! Our church is doing the "40 days of community" study together by Rick Warren. All the cell groups are reading the book too. Our pastor is so awesome! They just let the Lord lead the service everyweek...there is not a strict time limit and sometimes it goes on for 2 1/2 hours! and today the worship leader started singing one of the songs in German! it was so great and really great for Christian to hear it in his own language!

Power of Prayer:)

Tonight was my first night at the ladies cell group...it brought tears to my eyes just to be with such encouraging people again. They acted as if they had already known me giving me hugs and just so sweet and friendly. I am so thankful for this group and I know this is an answered prayer. I got some phone numbers of some really great girls and we are going to start to go out for some fun...I need this more than anything right now:)

My big brother reminded me a week ago about the power of prayer and how he became a Christian. When I first became a Christian and my brothers were not, I was really shy about it around them...they knew I was becoming involved in a church and youth group, but I never told me anything about it. The only thing I did was pray for them. After years of fullout college partying my brother came to a realization his senior year of college that he has had a lot of fun in college, but what is he going to do next. Thats when he became a Christian at his University campus ministry...he had no idea I was praying for him. I never thought the praying would do much. We had a talk one day that we both will never forget...we were in the basement of my house and he told me he had given his life to Christ...and I told him I had been praying for him. It was the first time in my life I had ever seen my brother have tears running down his face. He was so touched just by the fact that his little sister would pray for him...I never thought it was a big deal and I always felt guilty for not doing more...anyway, this was just on my heart today on my way to work and it reminds me how I need to pray more and remember the power of prayer!...

baby baby!!!!!!!!!!!!

haha...I know what your thinking as soon as you read that blog title! Wrong! Not me!...I just found out my lifelong friend who I grew up with had her baby 3 weeks early! ahhh I can't believe it!...just after the big snowstorm and right before they were going to have a babyshower in school! Well I think she is crazy anyway for working until almost the due date!...but anyway, the funniest thing is the name she picked...Leslie Ann Spenser...beautiful name but if anyone knew the story behind it they would die...When my friend Kristin and I were little, our families would go every summer to Ocean City maryland...well we always had bad ideas and got ourselves into trouble one way or the other...she was older so I trusted her. We told our parents we were going to walk around the beach a little bit...but she gave me the crazy idea that we should walk all the way to 100th street!...well we didnt know how far it really was and how long it would take for us to get there but we went anyway...so 2 1/2 hours past and our parents sent out the police and lifeguards looking for us...well they would never have found us anyway since the lifeguards mixed up their signals and named us Leslie and Karen...at one point I remember hearing those names being yelled-but thought hey thats funny they are looking for two girls and their names are close to ours-but we went on anyway!...well once we reached 100th street there wasnt really anything cool like we thought there would be so we walked back...we ran into Kristin's dad on the way back and oh was he mad!...that story will never be forgotten...they thought we had been kidnapped! Leslie and Karen...the story lives on and is now passed down to the next generation to her baby! haha!...I can't believe it! I think we won't be able to tell that lil girl why her name is really Leslie! ahhh I'm so excited for her and I can't wait to see pictures!

Weekend with a friend! :)

My lifelong friend Demetri came to visit us for the weekend! He drove up from Budapest, Hungary which is just 2 hours away...Christan and him met for the first time and we had a blast all together and went all over Vienna........and now we are exhausted!!! Thats a picture of us on one of the main city square pedestrian streets!

Fasching!

Our Fasching (Carnival) party at school on Friday! :)...this is my lovely 2nd grade class!

The Vienna Opera Ball!

the biggest news in Vienna now is that Paris Hilton is here for the Opera Ball! haha! She was in the shopping mall today to sign autographs where I used to work at the kindergarten last year! Our kindergarten was upstairs from the mall! Today is the beautiful, famous opera ball at the Staatsoper (State Opera house) and every year the man (Richard Lugner) who owns the shopping mall and who is the richest man in austria invites a hollywood star to come be his date for the ball. Last year was Carmen Electra and one year was pamela anderson...lovely huh? he must like the wild gals! haha! anyways, they might broadcast some of it in the U.S., but I am not sure...but it is so beautiful! You can check out some pictures at... http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/ click on english, then near where it says wiener opernball it will say "videobeispiel"-click on that and then you can watch a beautiful video and hear the Vienna waltz music! ahhh so elegant!

...this week has been so crazy at school! With Valentine's day, birthdays and tomorrow is our Fasching (carnival) party, everyone is exhausted including the kids...Fasching is really fun and its an even bigger in Germany...everywhere it is decorated with bright colors and people get dressed up in funny costumes all throughout the city...they have parades, shows and tons of parties...I'm going to be a hawaiian hula dancer at school tomorrow for our party! haha!

This weekend a childhood family friend, who now lives in Budapest, Hungary which is only 2 hours away is coming to stay with us for the weekend. Its so funny because we grew up as nextdoor neighbors as children on our great street full of kids and we always had fun neighborhood parties...it was a great neighborhood and you could never find one like that in snobville-potomac where we moved to! well anyway, 18 years later we are neighbors again! I can't believe it! He will be working in Budapest on a 2 year contract! I am so excited to have a piece of home nearby! His name is Demetri and he is dying to meet Christian because he had a part in how Christian and I met too...Demetri was the one who invited me to come tour Prague with him and his friends for a weekend...so I went up to meet them for the weekend and on the train ride home was when I met Christian...he was not able to come to our wedding so this is a really big deal now he gets to meet the guy I met on the crazy train ride home!

Please snow come soon!

I really want snowww!!!...I just saw on cnn the weather report for Maryland and the east coast and I am so jealous! Normally everyone here is sick of snow by February...but I think it has snowed 2 days this whole winter! But I don't want it just to get snow days, I want it cus its sooo perddyyyyy and fun!...too bad we dont get any snow days off school and work here-cus everyone here takes public transportation and its too easy to get around! grrr!


I am in such a daze this week...If it weren't for Christian, I think I would never wake up ontime in the morning everyday...then today in the morning on my way to school I missed my station to get out at on the subway because I was in lala land dreamworld! arrghh!...I have two new twin boys in my class now! They are so cute and sweet! and it makes life easier that they can speak such good english! You know what I really love about teaching overseas?...is the fact that the kids and parents are so laid back, trusting and the kids just "love" all over you! while I am reading a story, some of them curl up by my leg or play with my shoes or just give random hugs during the day...hmm I guess thats why I am sick a lot though! its just nice to know that the parents trust you so much here! I was pretty drawn back away from them at first because I was so used to the "rules" like what I had during my student teaching in the U.S...but now I have learned that the people want me to show love and care to their children here and its okay to hug them back. :)

Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow!

Hey and I love Kim's comment about coming to visit me here! Please come! That would be my dream to have the people I love in the place that I love! You are always welcome!...and you will have to come and explore the other places around too! :)

and one more thing...

and also...it puts a lot of pressure on Christian, because he is so worried about making sure that I am happy here always. Its so sweet of him-but it makes me feel bad...If I made Christian move to the U.S., I would probably feel the same though because I would always want to make sure he is not homesick and unhappy. My mind has been going in 20 million directions in the past weeks...this is crazy!

friends...

Ok I think I am already addicted to this blogger thing...it gives me such a comforting feeling just to write out thoughts and feel like somebody in this world is listening! Thank you for writing me comments and you have no idea how good it makes me feel. If there is one big thing I am homesick about its having close friends! For Austrians, english is their second language and sometimes its so exhausting to talk in either "slow and clear english" or in german...its not just like talking to a friend because its hard to explain things sometimes...it has really put a drag on me the past months. I love living in this beautiful european city so full of life...but I need more friends! The problem also with living overseas is that when americans or english speakers do come, they are only here for so long and then they are up and out again! I really hope and pray that this summer when we move into our new apartment building that alot of young couples will be moving in as well...

Ice skating!

This weekend we went ice skating...and I love ice skating in the city! It's so beautiful in front of the rathaus (city hall) and burgtheater to go ice skating! The Austrians are so good at winter sports!...we saw 6 year old figure skaters! I wasn't surprised though since the kids here learn how to ice skate as soon as they go to school. We go on a school field trip once a week in winter to go ice skating! Those kids are so lucky to get off school to go ice skating! The whole culture here is just more laid back...the schools are laid back and people are laid back...after work everyday the city is full of people going out with friends for coffee, etc. They don't just go home and sit! For that the Austrians are really cool!

It was a great service at church today. The people there are so caring and real. There are more nations represented there than you could imagine, but it gives the church such character! A young womens cell group is starting and that is an answered prayer for me, since the other groups were a bit "older" for me...I like older people too, but this one will be better and I can relate more I think. The girls are really sweet and I am excited to form some positive friendships...my other girls here are fun and great-but not always the best influence:) ha ha!

Tomorrow I go back to my lil kiddies at school...I am going to be dead tired after a whole week off!

too quick...

ok this week long break is going way too fast! ahh its already Thursday!...but I guess I should be thankful that Austrian schools have so many breaks! We get a whole week off for semester break and everyone hits the ski slopes!...but we are not going skiing. Christian does not get the time off work, so instead I am enjoying my free days doing the things that I've been wanting to get done for months! We will go skiing later this month hopefully...well that is if we ever get some snow! I think Maryland is colder and has more snow than here in Vienna! Last year it snowed everyday of the whole winter I think! Crazy weather...

I just realized that in a few weeks on March 2nd, I will officially have been here for 3 years in Austria! I'm shocked...!!!

When we met...

This is where our love story began...on a train while I was in europe traveling from Prague to Vienna... This stranger asked me where his seat was and I told him I had no idea...next thing I know he is sitting next to me talking my ear off for 4 hours...and then I decided to meet this stranger in the city a few nights later! I never would have guessed that this stranger would be my future husband! Not to mention I was having an ugly day when we met...sometimes I hate to show this picture to people because I still think I looked terrible...but hey thats a good lesson in life...even on your ugly days, maybe someone else in the world thinks that you are beautiful!...I still ask Christian everyday how he could have been attracted to me!

Hello!

Hello! I found half of the world on myspace.com, so I'm now looking to find the other half of the world on here! :) Since I live so far away now, I would love to get in touch with everyone again!