Facebook

By Amy

OK, so I'm often one that's behind the times.... That's clear in the clothes I wear, my hair style (or lack there of), my choice shoes, my knowledge of actors and movies, and in many other areas too, I'm sure. So, talk to me about facebook....

In my opinion, it seems like just one more thing to keep up with, and one more thing that pulls for my attention. I already have a hard enough time reading my friends blogs and updating my own blog. But, every time my sister-in-law emails us, she tells us we "have to get on facebook!" So, I'm wondering, what's the big deal? How time consuming is it? Is it really that much better than a blog? Should I do both blog and facebook? What do you do and what would you recommend?

Flashback: 10 down & 60 to go!

by Amy

On June 19 of this year, Brad and I celebrated ten years of marriage! And, as cheesy as it sounds, I can honestly say, I love him even more now than I did ten years ago. I remember when Brad was pursuing me, I lived in Texas and he was in Colorado. That meant we spent a lot of time on the phone. I don't remember all the things we talked about, but anyone who heard us on the phone remembers hearing me laugh. I don't know what he used to say to me, but it was funny! Ten years later, he still makes me laugh. We have so much fun together; I love being with him! I love watching him play with our kids. I love remembering our past and thinking of our future together. I love learning how to live in a new culture with him by my side. I love how he loves his Savior and is faithful to point me to the cross. I love that he makes me feel safe. I love his humble, teachable heart. I love how he's quick to listen to me, quick to forgive and slow to become angry. Oh, how the list could go on and on.... Let's just say, I praise the Lord for giving me ten years of marriage to Brad and pray he gives us at least sixty more!

Flashback to Five Dragons Park

By Amy

This summer we have enjoyed cooling off at the Five Dragons Park. It's a pretty nice park with several areas with some shallow water for the kids to play in. (This is the same park Peter and Alex wanted to visit on their birthday.) Earlier this summer we were there on a beautifully clear, sunny day. So, I got some super cute pics of our kids. There was also a local newspaper reporter there and he got some fun pics of our kids, too. So, the next morning, when Brad went to drop the kids off at their preschool, the teachers had a copy of a newspaper with a picture of my boys on the front page. It's pretty cute! Too bad, I don't have any idea how to find it online and paste it here!

Flashback to the Beach

by Amy

I'm sorry I've been a slacker blogger lately. It seems like we've been hopping from one thing to another all summer long. I have tons of posts floating around in my head, but haven't had a chance to get them on the blog. So, I'm going to start a series of flashbacks....

A few months ago, Brad had some meetings at in a beach town about 3 hours away from our home. So, I decided to take the kids and go play while Brad worked. It was tons of fun! Before Brad's meetings began, we spent one day playing at the beach. It was a little too cool to play in the water for very long, but the kids had a blast in the sand.

Then, another day, I took them to a zoo/amusement park place. Even though zoos over here are not nearly as nice as American zoos, they're still fun. The kids really enjoy getting to see some animals, being outside and running off some energy. It's also really fun to see what types of animals are deemed "zoo-worthy." In the past our kids thought it was funny to see dogs -normal, everyday house trained dogs from the US - in cages on display in our local zoo. This time Alex was super excited to see a real raccoon. He has a little beanie baby raccoon name Ringo that Grandma gave him. Other than Peter, Ringo is Alex's best friend. So, he was thrilled to see a real raccoon!

My sweet daughter of course, was thrilled to find bunnies. We bought some grass for 25cents and the kids got to go in and feed them. Alex and Savannah really liked it when the rabbits hopped up to them, but Peter was content to sit on the sidelines and watch.

Then, I told the kids they could each have 20 local dollars to spend on whatever rides they wanted in the amusement park. A ride typically costs 10 local dollars each, but since it was a slow day, we were able to talk them into giving the boys "buy-one-get-one-free" tickets. So, they got to ride on four different rides.

Savannah remembered visiting this park over year earlier when my parents were in town, so she wisely held on to her money and spent it all on one "ride." She basically put on a harness that was attached to some bungee cords. Then, she would jump on a moonwalk-type-thing and bounce really high! She got to jump for about 15 minutes. Last year, she barely got off the ground, but this year she went flying! My little girl's growing up!

On our last full day there, I took the kids to an aquarium. It's actually really nice. We had been there two years earlier, and were happy to go back. They had a great polar bear exhibit, a fun show with dolphins, penguins, and other fun things. But, like most places here, when they tried to translate their signs into English, something was lost in translation....

They also had some fun little things set up for pictures. I'm not exactly sure who they're supposed to be....

I love this pic of Peter! What a nice smile!

Our time at the beach city was really fun I really enjoyed that time with our kids and am thankful for the special memories we made!

Sorry, completely wrong...anyone else?

From Brad.

After dinner we typically have our family devo time. Recently we've been reading "Leading Little Ones to God" to our kids (we love it). We came to the section where Jesus was arrested and brought before Pilate.

The book says "Pilate asked, 'What bad things has He done?' Nobody could think of even one bad thing Jesus had done." So I stopped and asked the kids, "Why couldn't anyone think of even one bad thing Jesus had done?"

Now, it isn't unusual to get strange or wrong answers from time to time, but typically we can pull some truth out of the attempt and encourage our kids in trying to answer our questions. However, at this time, Alex responded, "Because Jesus is so powerful..." I thought, good start, keep going kid. "Because Jesus is so powerful, he blinded them from knowing or remember all of the bad things Jesus did!" Well, ummm, let's see...No Alex, sorry, completely wrong...please never, ever say that in public. Anyone else? :)

Do you like cake?

by Amy

I love cake - I love a moist chocolate cake served warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Mmmm! It doesn't get much better than that (especially if there's peppermint icing involved!) And, I have a really great recipe that's super easy, so I thought I'd pass it on....

It's called A Darn Good Chocolate Cake, and it comes from the book The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. (It's a GREAT book! I'd highly recommend purchasing it!)

1 box of Devil's Food or Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

1 small box of chocolate pudding (3.4+ oz.) (about 2/3 cup if you happen to buy pudding in bulk like me :) )

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream (add 2 t of white vinegar to 1 cup of heavy whipping cream - just in case you live overseas and can't buy sour cream, like me!)

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Place cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, water and oil in a large bowl. Beat thoroughly with mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Grease you pan and bake at 350. The time will vary depending on the type of pan you use. Look on the back of the box for guidance. She recommends 45-50 min. for a bundt pan. You can tell the cake's ready when it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and it just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. **Be careful if you test "done-ness" with a toothpick. There will be melted chocolate chips through out the cake that can fool you into thinking the middle of the cake is not done.

Ice the cake with your favorite icing, drizzle with a ganache or glaze, or serve plain. Any way you cut it, it's delightful!