Just trying to capture and appreciate my surroundings for the next couple of months...

All I could think of today when I saw her was "Kimberly"
Took me right back in time...

Sunday Hike

Trip

The Stars of the Weekend!

Auntie Anna got quite the following :-)

Olivia enjoyed hanging out with her new Uncle-to-be Paul. He tolerated the flowers in his hair quite nicely.

LOVE this picture...it totally shows their relationship.

Okay, so this one shows their relationship too. :-)

Prayer of blessing over the newlyweds.

The bros. Funny how one just seems to be a larger version of the other.

Cutesy cousins!

Playing with the zoom on my camera at the market.

Sorry you can't see the real, Pennsylvania Mennonite sticky buns that we wolfed down right before we took the picture :-)

Recipe

Just posted a new recipe over on the recipe blog.

I'm a Hypocrite.

I have been surfing around tonight, hoping all my blogging friends have new posts up. Hmmm.

It's just that every time I think of blogging, I really feel like I don't have anything to say. Life is pretty much the same as last time I wrote. Except for the stuff that's going on inside of me, and I'm not sure I'm ready to put it into words. Oh, it's nothing that major...just God working in me, doing His Fatherly thing and correcting me, challenging me, encouraging me.



So here I go back to random things that you might find interesting.



-it's been raining off and on today and it's supposed to freeze again. The kids have been dying to go skating, but there's either 2 feet of snow on the lakes or 1 foot of slush.



-the kids are out of school for the next 2 weeks. Today was Day 1. We cleaned, had a little Valentine's party (without friends since Emilie has been sick all day), went for a short hike, piano lessons, the library, and home for supper. We turned on our electronic babysitter in the basement while Daryl and I cooked our own little love-celebration supper. (P.S. It was the classic Valentine supper: fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp and steak. Oh, and a green salad to unclog our arteries. Yum.)



-we are actually (believe it or not) starting to get excited about living in a giant city. I believe this is because we know it will be short-term, and because we can't really get out of it at this point. I'm debating the pros and cons of living in a big apartment -with an indoor pool- close to all amenities (including Daryl's work), or living in a townhouse with a yard (but a yard that I probably would not let my children play in alone anyway). Hmmm...



- I am starting to think about what kind of homeschooling we will do this coming year. I am SO open to resource ideas. Tell me what you love. Email me if it's too long for a comment. I can't wait to see what kind of things we will have access to next year (families, etc.)



- My most wonderful news of the day is that MY HUSBAND BOUGHT ME A CAMERA! I don't have it yet, but I can pick it up at my in-laws when we go to the states in 2 weeks. I am SO excited!!!



- We had a great jam session with the young adults from our church the other night. I am already thinking about how much I will miss these nights when we leave here. This group is made up of mostly Africans, and let me tell you: They sing. It is not just a jam night, it's spontaneous worship and it is awesome.



Okay, now I blogged. Now I can check all of your blogs with a clean conscience.

(And I might as well wait to post pictures until I have my new camera!)

unrelated.

Is it wrong to make dinner with my earphones in and David Crowder cranked up? Somehow the girls' bickering didn't bother me nearly so much tonight while I did that.

I had to sacrifice tonight and take the middle piece of Wacky cake. Sometimes you have to take one for the team. Hey, I went all week without any sweets.

It's so nice to have library books around again. I found some I've been wanting to read:
Fight Like a Girl by Lisa Bevere is at the top of the pile.

Tonight after dinner Daryl showed the girls lots of random pictures from news websites. I was mad at myself for being so uncomfortable with it. It's just easier to pretend political unrest in Sudan and people freezing to death in northern India aren't happening. God help me.

Daryl and I made Greek Lamb Stew for New Years Eve. It was delicious. I'd never cooked with lamb before and I figured a stew was pretty safe. It cooked up really nicely and made a wonderful gravy. It ha citrus and cinnamon in it. Mmmmm...

I am very excited about going to church tomorrow. I didn't get to go last week because Emilie was still sick. Too bad Daryl is on call. :-(

Kids are to bed early tonight after getting up much, much too early. Daryl's pager just went off so I guess it's movie night for me.

Back

I know, you almost gave up on me.
But I'm here. I'm home. I'm back.

Our trip back to our other city and "home" is history. We were away for 6 weeks.
We...

-reconnected with old friends
-spent many, many hours on the road
-dealt with (and are still dealing with) sickness
-thoroughly enjoyed Christmas with my family
-played outside a lot, which included snowmobiling and sledding
-drank lots of coffee
-ate supper with many, many different people
-got tired of hotels (imagine that)
-listened to hours and hours of Odyssey cds
-enjoyed being guests
-forgot to take pictures
-survived 80 hours in the van
-are happy to be home

Now it is time to think about...

-packing
-listing the house for sale
-sending the kids back to school
-finding a place to rent for our year in limbo
-how to spend my time
-who to connect with in the next 6 months
-what God is putting in my hand today
-keeping my kids openly communicating/processing another move
-settling down for real (only 18 more months, God willing!)
-exercising again
-everything we want to see and do on the East coast

I am so thankful that God has 2011 in His competent hands. As much as I don't look forward to another transition, I have no fear or anxiety. God has proven Himself to us time and again!

Well now. I have all but forgotten about this blog I have. I didn't realize it was so long since my last post.

- lots of mixed feelings in this head/heart of mine these days... we are on our way to our old stompin' grounds...first the city for awhile and then "home" for the holidays.
I am really, really excited to spend time with my extended family over Christmas, and to catch up with friends in the city.
On the other hand, this is bringing up a lot of emotions in me. It feels like these 6 weeks away are the beginning of leaving our home here, since when we get back we will only have 6 months left here. I'm not surprised how hard this is hitting me. Our friends here have become our family.

- and so, packing six people up for six weeks brings its own stress. Pulling the girls out of school means making sure we have school supplies, books, paper, etc. along with things for the little girls to stay busy. I am really, really looking forward to reconnecting with my kids over these 6 weeks. I have determined that our mornings will be ours and ours alone, not to be shared too freely :-)
I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how easy going their teachers were about us pulling them out of school this long (to be honest, I didn't really care what they thought since I think this type of thing can be much more "educational" than sitting in a classroom for 7 hours a day). But they were happy to give them a few projects to work on and to encourage me to make the most of our time together.

- tomorrow I am going to see an orthopedic surgeon about getting a bump on my leg removed. I hit my shin on the side of a canoe when I was 15, and it's bothered me ever since. I have gotten it checked periodically but now I felt (and my doc agreed) that it was time to put it away. It has been bothering me more lately and I will be happy to get rid of it. I am a little anxious about it, but trying to let Jesus carry my anxiety for me.

- I got to sit and sip a London Fog with a dear friend last night. What a breath of fresh air that was. It is amazing to be with someone who is constantly letting God change her and renew her thinking to be more like His (and believe me, her life is not easy). I love being challenged by her.

- I am really anxious for this week to be over so that I can sit and sip coffee with friends and maybe even get in on some Christmas baking with my mommy. I'm ready for a rest.

Menu...a little late

Some of my faithful fans have been asking for my menus...Here is this week's. We don't always do so much vegetarian, but we were still feeling a little full from traveling. :-)

Monday - Baked chicken legs, pasta, Brussels sprouts, broccoli
Tuesday - Chicken chili (with leftover chicken), tortillas, raw carrots
Wednesday - Curried Lentils, Rice, Chapati, cucumber/tomato/onion salad
Thursday - Minestrone, Irish soda bread
Friday - Sweet Potato and Acorn Squash Soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
Saturday - Scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese, spicy black bean cakes
Sunday - Margherita pizza, salad

Contrary to popular belief, I don't always have good menu ideas. Feel free to share what you are making this week!

A Long Week

I am blessed.
I cannot tell you how much this past week has meant to me.

Last Thursday my Pappy died. His death was the result of a car accident that he and Granny were in. We got the news right away of course, but waited until we heard details on the funeral to decide to leave.

We rushed out the door Friday night. I had spent the day doing laundry "just in case". When Daryl got home from work, we decided we would all make the 38 hour trip.

We drove straight through to Columbus and stayed the night with Karla and Kirk. I could not believe how smoothly the drive went. Daryl and I stopped to sleep a couple times, but the girls did amazing. They didn't complain once. They were really set on going to Pappy's funeral and knew the nature of the trip did not allow for complaining! I was really proud of them.

What an amazing event to be a part of. I was so humbled to be a part of such an amazing family. Growing up I had no idea how very blessed I was.
It was so beautiful to be a part of everything - the funeral and burial, eating and praying with extended family, holding Granny's hand and crying together, laughing with cousins, being blessed by "second mile hospitality", and just looking around and realizing how blessed I am.

The trip home was not quite as...peaceful. (You know it's a long trip when the kids ask "How long yet?" Me: 10 hours. Kids: YAY!!!)
But everything went well and we got to spend another day driving with Kirk, Karla and Mayah, and also spent parts of two days with Daryl's family. That was a nice surprise since it's been almost a year since we've seen them.

We arrived home last night around 7pm. It was amazing to walk through the door and realize that my HOUSE HAD BEEN CLEANED!!!
We left the house a complete disaster - laundry (clean and dirty), art supplies on the table, dishwasher full of dishes, kids rooms 2 feet deep with toys and clothes, etc. My dear sisters plowed through it all and my house was spotless, complete with fresh chocolate chip cookies and beef stew ready for supper.
I was blown away!!! (God bless those amazing ladies!)

I have tons of pictures of our visit with Kim and Jose, our trip, etc. So I will hopefully spend some time this week sorting through them and posting them! Don't hold your breath.

Correction.

I forgot to say that I am...

....so SO excited for Kim and Jose to arrive on Friday :-)
(Kim, I really can't believe I forgot to include that!)

Good Ol' Update

For those of you who read this blog to actually hear about interesting topics, you may as well stop reading now. For those of you who read this blog to keep up with me and my family, proceed with caution. You might want to pop a few caffeine pills.

I am...

...sitting in a quiet house. Daryl is having a "sleepover" with his girls in the rec room. We all watched "Up" and ate too many cheezies, and now he is telling them stories (I think he's on the one about the time he ran his snowmobile into a tree).

...feeling better after a foggy, sluggish week. Surrounding my birthday I overdid the sugar a little and I think that may have been the cause. That and the fact that D was working lots and I didn't really take time to care for myself. This week I plan to do better.

...embarrassingly excited about the 25 skeins of wool I have coming in the mail.

...happy to have gone out for real Italian pizza with my man last night. I also bought a new pair of pants (yes, they were new) and had a beautiful cup of Tazo Calm tea at Starbucks. Was a nice evening.

...wondering what God is thinking. Without saying more than I can at this point in time, let's just say our plans for the next couple of years aren't looking quite as sure as we thought.

...happy that my house is decently clean. I think things are under control for the time being. Don't hold your breath.

...excited at the prospect of having friends over for a bonfire tomorrow.

...wondering what to get Emilie for her 3rd birthday. I hate useless trash. Any ideas?

...happy to hear that we get to go out for a (free) dinner with Daryl's work to one of my favourite restaurants (is it okay to call someplace favourite that you have only been to once?). The food is so good there that I don't even care who I might have to sit with and make conversation.

...so, so thankful for my weekly 6am prayer buddy.

...looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow!

(part of) Our Summer in Photos

We loved a visit from my parents (aka: Papa and Grandma)
Things that I don't have pictures of:
-many hours spent relaxing with Papa and Grandma
-incredible whale watching
-a perfect cottage in PEI with the Wilsons
-Jenn's and my henna tatoos :-)
-VBS
-cooking for VBS!
-hours of riding the waves
-swimming lessons
-bonfires
-camping
-etc!

We enjoyed the lakes...
...a visit from our dear friends. Don't we look happy to be together???

...a visit from Hurricane Earl. Here he is, rolling in.

...the lake, again (our fix when we're feeling homesick).
...many games of soccer


...PEI with the Wilsons
...my back patio
...Emilie making music
...camping by the ocean. Do you get what the picture is supposed to look like? I think our poor little friend who was watching was a bit confused.

Reading

I love hearing about what other people are reading, so I thought I'd tell you what I've been up to. I'm always looking for great book ideas that aren't a waste of my time.

I just finished The Robe, by Lloyd C. Douglas. this is definitely an old classic, and a good one. I have known Jesus for a long time, but this book reminded me why I follow Him. It is an excellent novel that is historically and Biblically accurate.

Now I'm into Three Cups of Tea - One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Also a good read so far. It's about a man who, when attempting to reach the summit of K2 in Pakistan, stumbles upon a village. His heart breaks for them and he devoted the rest of his life to building schools in that area. Non-fiction.

Even though I'm not done with that one, Daryl convinced me to start one that he just finished: Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure, by Paul A. Offit, M.D.
Again, good so far. Daryl really enjoyed it.

I picked up Julie and Julia at the library a couple weeks ago and was very eager to read it. I gave it back to the library, happily, and without finishing it. It was extremely crude, and not as much about cooking as I had hoped. In my opinion, a complete waste of time.

So, what are YOU reading???

Daryl got up early one morning and went to the lookoff to watch the sun rise. He actually saw some whales playing but didn't get any pictures. (I'm very jealous of this - I still haven't seen any there!)

My little gardener.

I was amusing Emilie one day when she was cranky by taking self-portraits of us. She got a big kick out of it. :-)

Birthdays

Olivia and her friend A (from school). We went mini-golfing and then home for cake. She really wanted a store bought cake this year so I caved. :-) I must say it was really good.

Olivia's 7th birthday.

Another celebration with their adult friends :-) These ladies are the best East Coast Aunties!!!

Anna-Christina's 9th birthday. She asked for a fancy dinner with her friends. They had a great time. Olivia was the server :-)

(Emilie's new pose whenever she sees the camera)

The centre of our driveway. (My poor camera doesn't do the colours justice!)