A Certain Woman in Eastern Europe

Love that "Wiii" game! Austin, Mikhail, Michael and Bryce with Uncle Jack With Jilly & Greatgrandma Jill

Years ago my mother started our favorite Christmas tradition of always playing a good group game sometime after dinner and before turkey sandwiches. My brother says this was the 20th year in a row of the guys beating the girls. This year we played the newest edition of Cranium and we had a great many side splitting laughs during the game. We all had a great Christmas with wonderful presents. I am now looking forward to my Michael and family coming for the day tomorrow. After all the activity mom went to bed in one of her new pair of pajamas and slept all night! Yeah!!

Santa found our stockings and left them filled to overflowing!! Lots of presents under the tree waiting for the family to arrive later today Yesterday mom received this beautiful centerpiece from her daughter-in-law Sherry and the David's cookies from her granddaughter Becky. We are enjoying both a great deal

Kedves Barátaink!Kellemes Ünnepeket kívánunk Mindannyiótoknak és sok áldást az Új Évre!!!Szeretettel,***Dear Friends,Happy Christmas to you all and may blessings for the New Year!!!Lots of love, Christmas Greetings!!! and His name shall be Immanuel, God with us... I pray that this Christmas greeting finds you with increasing peace despite circumstances, increasing hope in your prayers being answered, even if it is not exactly how you imagined and even more important ..... increasing confidence and personal knowledge of the Presence and the Power of Jesus our Immanuel ...God with us , right here, right now. Blessings, Mary Jill

Nice not having to go out in this weather!

Thanks Jack! (and Jim and David!!) - it took all of them! and which of the wonderful brothers was the first to snowplow?

Kathy and mom - note the decorated walker The "olde homestead" I was really surprised with the snow we already had here. This area just missed a terrible ice storm that hit a week ago. Some areas are still without power and now we are waiting for a signifigant storm to move in sometime tomorrow. They are saying by noon time a heavy wall of snow which will drop 6-12 inches by 9pm and will be followed by another storm on Sunday. Today I ran out and did last minute shopping and post office etc. I am glad I brought my boots! We are mostly ready for christmas.

My brother Jack and his wife Debby just arrived back from Florida where Jack was trying to hide out from having to face a "big" birthday. So my sister Kathi and I decorated his house to welcome him home - and left him a card that said "You can run, but you can't hide! :-). Some of you know Jack by his more common name "No rules for kids, Uncle Jack". Well, mom really enjoyed visiting with Jack and Debby and as a result she stayed up until 10.30. Most nights she can only sleep for about 5 hours tops and even then gets up a number of times. That means I get up with her :-). Night before last that was at 1.30, 4, 6 and 7!! So when this morning I realised I had been able to sleep through the night I was more concerned than relieved. I checked my monitor and yes it was working and finally turned on the light to check and see if mom was ...alive. Do you remember the first night your baby slept all the way through to morning? You awake with a start and run in...

Mom has failed noticeably in the 5 weeks I've been in Hungary. Needs help in bathroom - trouble getting in and out of chairs, on and off toilet, etc. Nurses come twice a week plus nurse we had. Monday, my first day here I started slow as the sitter comes Mon & Fri for Kathi and we left her on same schedule this week. So I got to go to Post office for Tammy, the bank, bought cards, out for lunch, stopped to visit Kathi at work etc. Then my brother in law came to put lights on tree and tonight I put tinsel and my brother helped me finish decorating. That was fun. Mom thinks she is living someplace else at times and she is a bit nervous that I will not know how to help her. Praise God we got the monitor - she is supposed to call and ring bell so I wake up to hear her and come down to help her in the night. Because of frequent urinary track infections we need to wipe her and keep her clean. She is a pretty good sport about it. She had trouble getting off the toilet last week and sh...

The finished tree - isn't it a beauty? Mom and her best friend Libby supervising. My brother David helped me decorate. My loves tinsel and he reached the top for me. We think this is my first Christmas at home since 1997! The house was decorated inside and out but they saved the tree for me. As we decorated mom asked me to share my best Christmas memories from home. It was a really special time.

it only took 23 hours :-). Did you know that the Budapest Airport (Ferihegy) workers have been on strike? I met a fellow flyer who admired the solidarity of the people in this!! Management says "we won't even talk about it until you return to work." Today is day 6. The biggest problem has been security is only at Terminal 2B, Terminal 1 is closed completely and Terminal 2A has arrivals only. Here was my experience: It was a bit of a miracle so thanks for praying. I went to Term 2A - no one in line at Lufthansa!!! - Got bags weighed (had to repack to only have 1 carryon!!!!) and tagged and got boarding passes but then had to go to 2B to drop bags - Did that - no problem (All between 9.45 and 10.15) (after driving from Debrecen 7am arr arport 9.30) Then the rat maze of line started for going thru passport control! (Think Disney Land on a busy day but a line filled with people who have no respect for your personal space!) :-) . Imagine this, they shut down the ticket/ch...

Blessings and thanks to the Debrecen office of immigration who helped me renew my visa in less than a month's time. Thanks too to The River Church office and Inarcs office of EEO who got my paperwork ready in record time so I could apply for the renewal. The other great news is I got a three year residency permit. It is good through March 31, 2012. It was important to me that I had the visa by Friday, December 12th as I fly out Sunday the 14th to spend Christmas with my family in my hometown of Johnstown. I will then stay with mom for an unknown amount of time. More to come on my new yet temporary assignment in the mission field of upstate New York. Pray too that I won't be delayed by the airport workers strike now going on at Ferihegy Airport in Budapest. Thank you!

Roommates - Tammy and Edith and I checked out a new, fabulous bookstore in downtown Debrecen. It has a wonderful coffee shop with a view. And the lattes... Arden came to visit and we took in the sights of the Christmas Market - the sign above us says in Hungarian "Merry Christmas Debrecen"

Tonight the children in this country put their cleaned and empty shoes in the window sill. In the morning the awake with excitement to see what St. Mikulas has left them. IF they are good they get chocolate otherwise ...sticks.

Welcome to Agi's kitchen. What a great day we had stepping into her life and learning some new Hungarian dishes, too. Here we are making "Arany galuska" and it was even better than it looks!! Especially with the vanilla sauce. Agi's son David thought so too.

What fun to spend time with my Hungarian son and "grands". Meet Hunor and Zsu and big sister Sari and the twins Abel and Vinny. I love Hungarian fellowship especially when it includes a sleepover.

A hay maze at the Christmas Market Dom Ter, Szeged site of one of the markets Christmas Celebration Weeks Nov 25-Dec 24