"We'll give you all the glory, we'll give you all the glory, we'll give you all the glory, Christ the Lord"

So, it's about 1pm here. I woke up around 9am to find about four inches of snow on the ground. And it honestly has not stopped snowing since i woke up. It is still falling now. What an amazing phenomenon.

I spent the first 2 1/2 hours awake reading. I am in the middle of "The Solitaire Mystery" by Gaarder. It's quite fascinating. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys reading the fantastical, the simple, and the philosophical- all in one.

Then i spent a little time in Oswald Chambers daily readings. And today i read something that inspired me to write this blog. Some history...... Michael and I have been in prayer for many months now tring to discifer what the Lord wanted us to do next. By this i mean, next year. We have the opportunity for many things in our life, not having children yet. We have thought of many things. Of course, many of these things sound exciting. Of course, there are posivitve and negatives to each option. (examples.... more education, being far away from family yet again, postponing children, being adventuresome.) And honestly, we do not know what we are going to do. All options are good. It is not a matter of obediance- good versus bad. It is discernment- good versus best.

Honestly, i have been irritated with the Lord recently because what we have found is that through prayer we merely increase our options, not decrease them. It's getting closer and closer to our decision-making time everyday, and everyday another idea pops in my head.

Good 'ol Oswald made some great sense to my troubled brain this morning. He said "Are you trying to find out what God wants you to do, more than find out how much He loves you?"



I think this is the most natural of responses in decision making- to search for what God WANTS, instead of search for Him. And for a couple months, my mind has been in this self-prison, wandering aimlessly, waiting, not understanding my answer for peace was merely loving Him back.

So, now it's New Years Eve and i am sitting in a quiet computer room, looking out the window at a snow covered world, another day closer to our decision for next year. And now, i am still lost. But my peace has returned. I am listening to some worship and want to write what is bringing me peace now, just smiling and loving Him back.

"Holy is the Lord, God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
Holy is the Lord, God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
The earth is filled with His glory

It's rising up, all around
It's the anthem of the Lord's renown
It's rising up, all around
It's the anthem of the Lord's renown

And together we sing
Everyone sing..."

a fellow sister, kate

To the best wife ever...

Happy Anniversary baby! Thanks for the best year of my life. I feel so incredibly grateful to have shared so many life-defining experiences with you in such a short amount of time. And it's only the beginning...

We're currently at Andel's Design Hotel in downtown Prague (check out the link - by far the coolest hotel website I've ever seen). We decided to get out of the flat and be spoiled for a few days. While we do feel a bit out of our element, being at a swank and very trendy hotel, we figured that we could swing a couple days of splendor since we didn't have to pay for train tickets anywhere. Gotta love the in-town getaways.

By the way, I do indeed have the best wife ever who knows me too well. She recruited the help of the Stevenson's and Alpert's stateside to get the best Christmas present for a music lover such as myself: the i-river ihp-120 mp3 player. Now, I don't like to brag, but this is my Red Rider B.B. Gun and Nimbus 2000 all rolled into one. Get this: 20 giga-bytes (which translates to roughly 6-7,000 songs), AM/FM tuner, digital voice recorder, real-time mp3 encoding, file storage and, well, you get the idea (if you don't, trust me, you'd be jealous). I can carry my entire music collection in a device that's little bigger than a cell phone. I know I sound like a pompous gadget dork, but it's only to say that I was completely blown away. It's something I would have never bought for myself, but will certainly enjoy. Thanks for the thoughtfulness, Kate.

Christmas and new babies and weddings and anniversaries and engagements....

It's been a busy month. This morning around 5:30am, michael and i took steph to the airport to return to England. It was great having her and we will miss her. (we love you babe!)

But on our return, i think we realized how tired we were. We started a load of laundry, turned on "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (thanks to the Alpert's) and fell back asleep for another couple hours. It was splendid.

And tomorrow we are off to celebrate our anniversary. It's been a year, thats crazy. And many exciting things are happening all around us. Of course my brother and new sister in law got married and are loving on their newborn, Christmas and New Years will fly by, and (we got word last night) our friends got engaged two days ago.

So, Congradulations to Stacy Harter and Aaron Stockton of Joplin, MO who will officially be hitched around this time next year.

What fun! Hope your Christmas was delightful. Please know we miss all of your faces and really wish we were there.

Love, forever- Kate

Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Merry Chrismas and a Happy New Year

Well, it's about that time. We're spending most of the day in the kitchen preparing for our mini-feast this evening (though the girls keep kicking me out). Kate, Steph and I will enjoy a quiet dinner, then continue the long Alpert tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve. Tomorrow we'll join about twenty other Americans at our good friend Kelly's to celebrate our Savior's birth. There are a few English-speaking Christmas Eve services here in Prague, but as today is the Czech Christmas (they celebrate the 24th rather than the 25th), the metro does not run, which leaves us a bit isolated. Nevertheless, we're going to have our own little reading of the Christmas story, sing some songs and make some mulled wine. We miss you all dearly and will be thinking of you. Someone give a hug and a kiss to all of our nephews and tell them that we love them!

Today is Saturday. Our break has officially started.

School is out for two weeks, beginning again January 5th. This week my best friend Stephanie Belt flew in from England. She is studying at Capernwray, a Torchbearers school. So she is here to spend Christmas with us. She is leaving on Friday.

Then the following weekend we are celebrating our first anniversary!!! Very exciting. We are not traveling but we are doing something special. The thought of traveling over the break seemed exhausting for us, so we decided against it. I guess we are still in the honeymoon stage when seeing one another seems more exciting than traveling to Paris!

Anyway, so those are the Alpert family Christmas break plans. Hope you are all enjoying time off with families. We will be spending Christmas Eve here, I get to host a dinner and make tons of food- what fun. And then Christmas Day, we will sweep Steph with us away to Kelly's house where all of our American friends will be spending Christmas.....the all inclusive day of dinner, white elephant exchange, and the Charlie Brown Christmas movie.

Please know we miss you, especially families and friends. We love you too.
Love Katie

P.S. Congradulations officially to my little brother Matt and as of Friday evening, his new wife Jill Stevenson. (and the beautiful baby Jack)

P.S.S. I envy all of you who are going to see LOTR- Return of the King. I am very jealous. Don't tell me anything, it comes out in Prague January 15!!!

So it's the last day of school before the Christmas break and the teacher's lounge just turned into a pub. Our headmaster brought in about eight bottles of Bohemian Champagne and gave a short speech (even mentioning the birth of Christ) and before I knew it I was toasting with 30 other teachers. So, for the recap, it's 10:30 am, I'm operating on an empty stomach and I just had two glasses of champagne thrusted into my hand (no sooner do I finish one and they give me another). So, Kate just got here and missed the festivities. Now I'm off to class. Cheers- It's the last day of school!!!

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night to a screaming wind shaking our windows. I got up and peered through the curtains to see a world of white...and the blizzard continues. As I sit in the teacher's lounge of a four-story building on a busy urban street, I can only see sheets of snow falling outside my window. How incredible. It's been well over a decade since I've lived in a place that's been consistently white in the winter. It makes commuting a bit interesting, but I wouldn't trade it even for a Taco Bell bean burrito right now.

By the way, we went to the Christkindlesmarkt (Christmas Market) in Nurenburng, Germany this weekend and filled our bellies with hot wine. We also continued an Alpert family tradition by buying a new tree ornament for the year. As much as we miss our family during the holiday season, we realize that we're not exactly getting the short end of the stick by being stuck in a snow-covered Central Europe for a beautiful white Christmas. Photos to follow soon.

Moment in time....

So last night was the staff Christmas party. It was at this place called 'Koliba' which, on the inside, looked like Noah's Ark. It was huge and tall with wood beams and was oval shaped. The cooks made food in the center which sent piles of smoke through the opening in the top. There was a live classical ensemble that played Czech and Hungarian folk music. In otherwords, it was the nicest place we have visited in Prague, and probably for the only time.

For an opening ceremony, it is a tradition to share a small drink together for a toast. (We happen to have a pretty 'slick' headmaster) So our toast was none other that three year old Plum Brandy. Plum Brandy is 'it' basically.

And as we stood there....with about 50 staff members of our school (three who speak English), listening to the famous folk music, in this 'ritsy' place, about to shoot a small amount of three year old Plum Brandy, Michael and I had a "Moment". It's one of those moments when you look at one another and ask..."How is the world did we end up here? Where are we? What are we doing?" We just smiled and laughed at one another, for both of us were thinking the same thing.

It is those moments that let me realize I am merely a small part of this big puzzle. I don't know the divine reason why Michael and I were there last night, let alone at this school, let alone in this country. But I can rest in the fact that I don't need to know. I can laugh with my wonderful husband and know that even though we are 'mentally' lost sometimes, we fit in the perfect place of this puzzle.

So, to all of you who have helped us get here, or still are, to those who are praying or loving us from afar.... please know nothing else than this- we might not fully realize every reason that we are supposed to be here, but we are smiling and toasting our Plum Brandy and resting in our ignorance.

~Love Katie

You know that ocular moisture that you get when you're walking into a heavy, cold wind (huh-huh, you said 'ocular')? You know what I mean, when your face is chilly and your eyes are starting to dry out, so they kick in a little extra fluid from the faithful tear ducts. Well that happened to me on the way to work this morning, and it was so damn cold that the single tear FROZE to my face before it got halfway down my cheek. Hope ya'll in Texas are enjoying your 70 degree winter.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.....

Yes, folks. The first snow of the season happened yesterday into this morning. Of course, today it is bright and sunny here in the city of Prague, so everything is melting- but there is a joyous sound in the air. (or maybe in my head)

The big Christmas tree in the center of the city is lit, decorated, and attracting thousands of visitors everyday. The Christmas market is running. (In Europe, a Christmas market takes place in cities all over the central countries.) They are little booths run by families, merchants and small businesses. They sell anything from fresh gingerbread, to paintings of the city, to dolls, or to the famous sell- Svařené Víno. This is my new favorite. It is translated 'mulled wine'. It is basically boiled red wine, mixed with secret ingrediants that are similar to a really potent cider, and given to people for an inexpensive amount in a decorative mug. Very Fun- standing in the festive Christmas market, decorated with all the trimmings. Even a small ice skating rink was built from the ground up about 5 feet for the season. The city is buzzing!

So, in the season of Christmas shopping, mulled wine, crazy family, ridiculously busy shopping centers, and love- I hope you are as excited about the season as I am. And I wish you joyous days and a patience spirit in Walmart.

Thinking of you all,
Katie

P.S. We have a Cafe Coze (English youth Praha Club) this Tuesday in which we will be singing Christmas songs, and talking about the meaning of Christmas. Please pray for some great conversations with our students, some walls to be breached, and confidence for the teachers to be open about the Father we all live for.

It's Christmas time in the City....Soon it will be Christmas day

So, it's official... a new life has been blessed into the world with "Stevenson" blood. There is something fun about that thought.

Jill and my brother Matt gave birth to Jonathon (not sure on the spelling) Tuesday evening, the 2nd of December. He was 7 lbs! Jill, my heart goes out to you. But both are fine. My brother, last I heard, was exhausted but well. So, God be Praised! Another life, brought into this world by Him and Him alone.

Thank you for your prayers about this new family. Keep them in your thoughts. What fun! I am an aunt- again.

Love katie

Happy Birthday to my main man, soon-to-be father, Jack Lee. Love ya buddy!

The perks of the urban life...

So yesterday Kate and I bought new public transportation passes. Until now, we had been buying monthly passes, which seemed to be the most cost-efficient, until yesterday!! We decided to splurge and buy 3 month passes. They were 1150 crowns a piece (which averages out to roughly 32 bucks American) and entitle us to unlimited rides on trams, busses and the metro for the next 90 days! I don't know what gas prices are like in Texas right now (or, worse yet, California), but I think we're getting a bargain. The only downside is that I'm afraid I'll forget how to drive. I've already forgotten the annoyance of trying to find a good parking spot.