A year in the life of...

A year ago we were hanging out in the hospital in Klosterneuburg, Austria...the bells from the 300 year old monastery building (although the location has been a monastery since the mid 1100's!) rang as our baby girl opened her eyes for the first time to look around and explore her world...looking back on this year she has had quite a beginning...here are some highlights.

- Austrian birth certificate
- Visit to the consulate to get US citizen born abroad certificate and passport
- Staff retreat into the Austrian Alps...9 days old. Dedication service with all our ICSV family
- First rock show - Switchfoot
- Trip to Czech Republic for her brother's baseball tournament
- First international plane trip with mommy to the US right before Christmas
- First long distance train ride (to Prague)
- Second rock show (and running the merch table with mommy) - Good Weather Forecast
- First move (2nd apartment)
- Second long distance train ride (to Innsbruck)
- Trip to Croatia
- Second international plane trip to visit family in America for the summer
- First Angels game (second Angels game the next day- in a suite!)
- First Johnstone family vacation at Welk resort
- First swim in the Alte Donau
- First Birthday!

It's been a great year. We are so blessed to have this beautiful little girl be part of our family. Her personality is an absolute gift and we're looking forward to see how God is going to use her in the future. Check out the video below showing her first year...set to the song that served as the inspiration for her name,

Comments

Who are these kids at ICSV...

Hi everyone... The first week and a half of school has been absolutely amazing! We have had some great opportunities to begin building lasting relationships with the students that God has brought to Vienna to be educated at the International Christian School of Vienna. Rebecca has been adjusting well to her role as secondary secretary. She is learning quickly the many demands of her new role and is doing quite well in supporting us teachers and the rest of the staff. Rebecca hard at work I have been really enjoying my classes. I have a total of 43 students spread out over 4 periods. The students I have represent 14 different home nations, with many of the students who are "Austrian" are first generation, so they are of other nationalities as well. I have also had the opportunity to begin working with the soccer team...again, many nationalities are represented on the field, truly an international squad. Here are some pictures of the team training at the local club...

and baby makes four...

that's right...our little family will soon become a foursome. We have found out that Rebecca is 6 weeks pregnant! There is definitely "something in the water" as all the families that live within our block have recently had a baby or are currently pregnant. Our baby will be the 6th baby born to ICSV staff in a span of less than a year (first one was born in early November and we will be welcoming our new addition in September). So, kind of unexpected, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless!

The day that changed our lives...

Today (Nov 10) is Justin's birthday. Obviously, the birthday of your child holds a special meaning. Over the course of the last three days, I have been reminded of how exciting a birthday truly is. His excitement reminds me of the excitement we felt in anticipation of his birth, and, I think the excitement that God feels as his children enter into relationship with HIM. Justin seems to think that we will forget that today is his birthday. I base this on the simple fact that he has reminded us no less than 5 times/day since Sunday. I'm not sure exactly why, he hasn't quite been this excited about his birthday in the past; maybe it has something to do with this being the first birthday in Austria...I'm just not sure. But the joy that he carries (and expects from everyone around him) in anticipation of this day is a bit infectious. As many of you are aware, Justin was born in the middle of our senior year in high school. We were so emotionally unprepared (being so youn...

Johnstein!

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