It's All Grace

a journey with the Thomason family

Sunday School Speaking

Something amazing happened today: I heard Titus speak Czech. Now, before we get really excited, I will say he was just saying Czech words, not phrases. However, this doesn’t really make it any less amazing in my mind because of what was going on in Titus’ brain. Here’s the story.

During Sunday School this morning I stayed with Titus in his classroom. The kids were doing some kind of activity where the teacher was asking them questions and she was going around in a circle and they were responding. When she got to Titus, I heard him say something and we couldn’t really understand it. I said to him, “what was that, buddy?” He said it again and I was still unclear. Then the teacher said, “Ohh…tři, čtyři, pět” which means “three, four, five” in Czech. Even though Titus couldn’t answer or didn’t understand what was being asked, he had made the switch in his brain to answer in whatever Czech he could–in this case it was numbers. It was literally the first time I had ever heard him attempt Czech numbers or words in response to someone speaking Czech to him. A little later the kids were playing a game where one person thought of an animal and the kids had to guess. I was impressed by Titus because he figured out what they were doing and tried guessing an animal. He said, “krokodýl” nice and loud which means “crocodile.” His guess wasn’t right, but I was amazed at the process in his mind. It’s a fun process to watch him grow and learn.

I didn’t get any photos today, but I did get a little timelapse video from Titus’ Sunday school class. Usually they have a little drawing activity and so I got some footage of all of the kids at their tables. You can watch it below.

Sunday School Timelapse from Shay on Vimeo.

As for the rest of the day we had a great lunch at home with some fresh croissants we got at the store. Steve and Judy spent a lot of time just hanging with us today which was a lot of fun. I just love the questions they ask and they have been a huge encouragement to us. We’ve talked of books, ministry, life, parenting, missions, and anything in between. It truly has been such a joy to be with our “family,” that is our extended church family from the States.

Tonight we decided to have a quick dinner with Steve and Judy at McDonald’s in Poland. We ended up going to Poland because there’s a new McDonald’s just inside the border, about 7 minutes from us. But when we got there it was actually not even open–that is, it’s so new it’s still under construction. So instead of going back in to Czech we drove a little further into Poland toward another set of Golden Arches. I’m so glad we did because our drive home was right around sunset and it was stunning. Rain had been falling this afternoon, but the sunset peeked through the clouds while we drove and we were in awe of God’s amazing creation. A photo wouldn’t have done it justice!

There are some plans tomorrow do a little shopping with Steve and Judy in the morning after we take Titus to school. Right now I’m planning on staying home for the morning to get a little work done, but hopefully we’ll find something fun to do in the afternoon. They are only here two more days so we’ve gotta pack our time in and see what else we can show them! There’s also a rumor that Bethany and I will be taking a date night which just sounds really fun. Until then…goodnight!

April 26, 2015
Party at the Zoo

We enjoyed an incredible day today at the zoo with our friends, celebrating both Titus’s 5th birthday along with Gabe and Alex (twins) who turned 4. The weather couldn’t have been better and I’ve even got a little redness on my arms and neck to prove the sun was out. The day started at 10:00 at the zoo and we stayed until a little after 2:00. We brought cupcakes and met a bunch of other families “near the goats” inside the zoo. Everyone joined in singing happy birthday to Titus and then we did another round of singing for Gabe and Alex. After cupcakes and singing everyone headed in to the park and we mostly lost the other groups because we grabbed lunch with our kids, but we still had a great time with Steve and Judy and just walking around enjoying the animals. I got a ton of photos, so here they are!

Let’s pause here a moment for a little story. Above is a photo of Titus eating a hot dog during lunch. Shortly after he was playing on the playground behind him. He had brought a toy car with him that he got for his birthday and was taking it up and down the slide. But then he started crying and came over to use saying he lost his car. I asked him what happened and he said, “That big boy took it.” I asked him which kid and he pointed, so I walked up to the kid and said, “Kde je auto?” or “Where is the car?” He immediately said, “Nevim! Nevim” or “I don’t know. I don’t know.” We walked around and looked for a while, but were unable to find the car. I consider it a lost cause and even if the boy had it, I wasn’t going to dig through his pockets to get it. But that didn’t sit well with Bethany so she walked over and asked the same questions, except she found another little girl to help her talk to the boy. Finally, after a few minutes the boy went to his backpack and gave back the car. I joked that Bethany was in “mom mode” there for a minute and no language barrier was going to get in the way of her getting that car back!

Ok… back to the photos

Titus’ friends Beni and Caleb got him gifts that we opened in the parking lot just before we left. Beni had been talking about it all day and was so excited to give Titus a present. It was really sweet and both Caleb and Beni were asking Titus, “Is this the best day ever?!” It was fun to see them all so excited about Legos and Spiderman and Titus was really blessed. Thanks everyone for making it such a special time for Titus and our family!

April 25, 2015
Titus’ 5th Birthday

We celebrated Titus’ 5th birthday today, although it the real party isn’t until tomorrow. This was the first time that Titus had school on his birthday so I felt like it was just a little weird that we kind of had to wait until he was out today before we could celebrate. We were all up this morning and we got to tell him happy birthday, but then we were quickly out the door to get him to school. Afterward we enjoyed opening up some of the many presents that were sent to our family from our friends in California and delivered by our friends, Steve and Judy. So, in a sense, it was like a party for all of us! Boxes of Kraft Mac-N-Cheese, brown sugar, yellow mustard, books, toys, chocolate almonds, etc. were all inside this jam packed suitcase! Thank you to our friends who blessed us in this way. You are awesome! Some families even sent individual packages which Titus loved opening. Here’s a few photos from that.

Then we went outside to play some baseball and bubbles in the yard, as well as take a little tour of our landlord’s garden which is blooming a lot right now. I was too busy playing with the kids and hanging with Steve and Judy to capture any photos, but I think it was worth it. We all ended up napping in the afternoon and walked to dinner at a local place we really like. Titus wanted to have pizza on his birthday so he was able to get a big pepperoni pizza at the restaurant which he enjoyed. Afterwards we came home and had birthday cake dessert and opened a few more presents. I did manage to get some photos of that. Here you go!

Along with some imported whiffle balls, Titus scored a ton of Legos! I spent a lot of time this afternoon helping him build the little cars and trucks he got and I’m considering building another set he got while he’s asleep because hey, who doesn’t love Legos!? During the day we just enjoyed spending time together and talking with Steve and Judy who are here until Wednesday. They are such a blessing to us and I just appreciate their heart to come here and be an encouragement. We’ve really enjoyed their company and look forward to a few more days together. They’ll be joining us tomorrow at the zoo and hoping it will be a lot of fun for everyone.

April 24, 2015
School Photos and Friends From Afar

What a day! It’s just before 10pm here and I’m sitting her with a smile on my face. I’m looking over some of the photos I got from today and am just thankful for God’s grace and excited about the next few days. Here’s a little summary of the day:

First, we had to divide and conquer this morning because we found out yesterday that it was picture day at Titus’ preschool. Bethany had a doctor’s appointment (baby check-up) this morning at the same time that picture stuff was going on at the Titus’ school, so I stayed home with Titus and Avery while she went to the doctor. I got the kids all dressed and we walked to Titus’ school around 10 to get ready for pictures. I didn’t know if they were doing just a class photo or individuals, but we were ready for anything! It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside, and they ended up doing just a class photo outside under a beautiful blooming tree. Here’s a few photos:

I spent some time watching the other boys interact with Titus and also watched Titus’ reaction, but I can confirm that language is still a battle. The other kids are trying to talk to him and he’s still confused about what they are saying. I also noticed that they were kind of copying him, but I don’t know if they were being mean or just playing? It’s so hard to tell. At one point Titus hand his arms out like an airplane and was spinning around. The other kids joined him and were saying, “Ja jsem Ty Ty! Ja jsem Ty Ty!” which I understood as “I am Ty Ty! I am Ty Ty!” (the kids call him Ty Ty, not Titus). I just assume they were being silly? Speaking of silly, here’s Avery walking home today staring at her own shadow.

This afternoon we finished cleaning up the house in preparation for our friends, the Severances, arrival! Steve and Judy are from our sending church in California and Steve is one of the pastors. They actually flew to us from being in Israel the past week or so. They had a flight from Israel this morning, a cab ride from the Prague airport to the train, a 3.5 hour train ride to us, then a short car ride back to our town. Needless to say, they are troopers! We picked them up from the train station around 5:30pm tonight and it was such a joy to see them. We ended up taking them to a nearby mall for dinner and coffee and just had a sweet time catching up with them. It’s seriously such a joy to see them and we’re so thankful to Placerita for sending them to us for the next few days. Here’s a few photos from tonight. The first is of Avery and Bethany playing a little clapping game while we were waiting for the train to arrive, the second is one that Titus took of us with Steve and Judy at the mall, and finally there’s one of the kids playing at the mall’s play place.

Tomorrow is Titus’ 5th birthday! The smell of a baking cake is wafting through the house as I type and we’re excited to a do small celebration with him tomorrow. On Saturday we’re headed to the zoo for a more formal party, so we’re all looking forward to that. I’m excited about what the next few days hold!

April 23, 2015
Speaking of Titus

While saying goodbye to Titus at his school this morning he said something interesting. I had glanced in to the room to see what the other kids were doing and I saw a few boys had lined every green army guy they could find in formation. I said to Titus, “Look, dude! Army guys!” He’s been playing with army guys a lot at home so I thought for sure he would be excited too. But instead he glanced over at them, turned back towards me, and calmly said, “Dad, those are for the Czech boys.”

I didn’t quite understand it until Bethany and I talked this afternoon after she had picked him up. In a broken Czech/English conversation, Bethany had discussed both our kids with Titus’ teacher today. First, they had to talk about some paperwork needed for Avery when she starts preschool in the fall, and then just some quick things about Titus. Bethany understood a really simple Czech sentence from his teacher when she said, “Titus is better.” The context of that conversation was regarding his understanding Czech and we assume she’s just really saying, “Titus is getting better at understanding Czech.” W’re thankful, but that’s just language. A little later at home Bethany was asking Titus about his day and said, “What did you do at school?” He said, “I did nothing” in kind of a down tone. “Did you play outside?” “Yeah” he said, and added “but that big boy wanted to push me.” Hhmmm… I wonder if Titus’ comment in the morning is related to the one in the afternoon?

What’s interesting is this is the first time Titus has really expressed any kind relational issue at school (that I’m aware of). As in any kind of community environment there are going to be little things like this, but our biggest desire in it is to shepherd Titus through it. First we want to make sure he’s acting in an appropriate way towards his classmates and secondly we want to help him understand how he should respond to those who might sin against him. In the case of the army men, I wonder if it’s something related to him not being able to speak Czech? Maybe the kids feel that distance and separation from Titus (and likewise Titus towards them) as they can’t always communicate. I know I feel that tension every day as I go the gas station or get groceries! And in the case of the boy pushing him, this sounds like a classic schoolyard moment. I’m not saying the other kid is a bully or anything, but I know I had my share of mean moments at recess (in fact, one time I deliberately kicked a soccer ball at another kid I didn’t like and we both were sent to the principal’s office). Nevertheless, even in these “little” things I want to be able to help my son think, and think rightly about situations. As his fifth birthday approaches in just two days it’s a reminder that he’s only getting older. I would do well to remember Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

April 22, 2015