Saturday, April 07, 2012

So much happening...

(here is my prescription for a tea to help settle my tummy)
 Recovering from a bad bout with the stomach flu, sure can give you a new appreciation for feeling well again! I was out of commission for a few days, leaving poor Brad to pick up "mom duties" as well as juggle his own.  I was so behind on all things "Easter", that I had a sweet friend take Abby shopping for shoes to match her dress and asked if while they were at it- could they please pick up some Easter basket goodies.  Yep- no mother of the year award for me this year, but my husband, friends and kiddos sure rallied and took good care of me.  I am so grateful.


So much has happened in the last few weeks...

:: Mo (Luke's chameleon) is still alive!  We had asked you to pray, and many of you must have.  Although her health hasn't improved much, it also hasn't declined~ and for that we are thankful.

:: Work continues on the new church facility!  The progress is slow, but steady and even though we couldn't get out of our current lease~ we see God's hand in providing more time to finish our new location.
 
:: Another precious baby was added to our congregation!  Meet Hannah Kolensky...
Isn't she just gorgeous!

:: Our home group had a fun night out on the town...attending an International Food Festival together

:: We added new teammates to our team!  Please rejoice with us and begin to pray for Dennis and Cynde Morgan as they begin their support raising and Sonship Discipling.
 


:: We also said goodbye to a dear teammate, Lindsay Kimball.  She finished her term and felt the Lord leading her to return to the States.  She is such a faithful servant and loyal friend, and we will miss her dearly!
Hard to believe that Luke is taller than Lindsay now!

Goodbye party at NCW


Locking up for the last time :(



Well- I hope that catches everyone up a little bit.  We are rejoicing in all that God has been doing in recent days and look forward to celebrating His resurrection tomorrow!
Happy Easter!  He is risen!





Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Spring in Vienna...










Friday, March 16, 2012

March Madness...

March always seem to be really full of fun things...

:: Here is Abby with a few of her friends at the "International Family Fun Night" at their school.  Each classroom represented a different country~ where native food could be eaten, traditional clothing could be seen and kids got "passports" that they could get stamps in.  There were also some cultural performances.  It was a really great night!

:: This week has been Spirit Week, and the kids have had a fun time dressing up each day.  For Abby, today was "book character" day
She chose Violet, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!  She begged to be taken by car this morning instead of by public :)

And for Luke it was "blue and gold" day (school colors)
It was probably a bit over the top, covering his bike helmet with gold paper and gluing a trophy on top...but I love that he has really gotten into dressing up, and is not too cool for it :)

:: And last night we celebrated Brad and Abby's birthdays with our team

Happy Birthday Brad and Abby!




Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Poor Mo...



Luke noticed a few days ago that Mo didn't seem quite like herself.  She wasn't climbing like normal or eating very well.  Then it became difficult for her to walk.  The store owner where we got Mo recommended a vet specializing in reptiles. (This vet is even giving a lecture on chameleons this Friday in Vienna, so she knows her stuff.)

After a blood test and an x-ray, it was determined that she has at least 17 eggs inside her little belly, causing the calcium from what she eats to go to her eggs rather than her bones.  This is causing metabolic bone disease. She also is having trouble with her kidneys.  Right now we are giving her calcium supplements and medicine for her kidneys to function better, but the vet seems to think her chances of surviving are pretty slim.

This is very hard for Luke, who hates to see a fly suffer- let alone a pet that he has saved money for and hand feeds on a daily basis.  It is amazing how attached to Mo we all have gotten. :) Luke has always had a compassionate heart, and he asked me to write this blog post so folks would pray.  So...for the sake of our Luke, would you lift up a prayer for Mo?

Vanilla Scones + Strawberries= Yumminess!

Every recipe I have ever tried from Pioneer Woman is delicious, and her "Petite Vanilla Bean Scones" are no exception.

We are invited to a friend's house for dinner tonight and I wanted to bring a "fresh" dessert.  I also found a big batch of ripe strawberries at the store yesterday, so I thought I would just switch up her recipe a tiny bit...

*make the scones circle shaped instead of triangles
*cut up some strawberries to put on top
*and then drizzle with the vanilla glaze!





Pure yumminess!  We sampled some last night, and it is like a scone-ish version of strawberry shortcake :)

Here is her recipe::

Ingredients

  • SCONES
  • 3 cups All-purpose Flour
  • ⅔ cups Sugar
  • 5 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • 2 sticks (1/2 Pound) UNSALTED Butter, Chilled
  • 1 whole Large Egg
  • ¾ cups Heavy Cream (more If Needed)
  • 2 whole Vanilla Beans
  • GLAZE
  • 3 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
  • ½ cups Whole Milk
  • 1 whole Vanilla Bean
  • Dash Of Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Split the vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise and scrape out all the vanilla “caviar” inside. Stir caviar into cream. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Sift together flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut cold butter into pats, then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. Keep going until mixture resembles crumbs.
Mix vanilla cream with egg, then combine with flour mixture; stir gently with a fork just until it comes together.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and lightly press it together until it forms a rough rectangle. (Mixture will be pretty crumbly.) Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Use your hands to help with the forming if necessary.
Use a knife to trim into a symmetrical rectangle, then cut the rectangle into 12 symmetrical squares/rectangles. Next, cut each square/rectangle in half diagonally, to form two triangles.
Transfer to a parchment or baking mat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes, removing from the oven just before they start to turn golden. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. *(if making small circles- only bake for about 10 minutes)*

VANILLA GLAZE

To make the icing, split one vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the caviar. Stir caviar into milk; allow to sit for awhile. Mix powdered sugar with the vanilla milk, adding more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to get the consistency the right thickness. Stir or whisk until completely smooth.
One at a time, carefully dunk each cooled scone in the glaze, turning it over if necessary. Transfer to parchment paper or the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set completely, about an hour. Scones will keep several days if glazed.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Recent Days and Recipes...

:: On Saturday, I hosted a baby shower for our dear friend, Tabea.  She is due in just a few weeks and we all can't wait to see this sweet little one!  It was a lovely afternoon of fun!


:: Tabea's mother-in-law made the cakes...they were pretty incredible and tasted yummy too!



:: I certainly do not have the cake making skills that Renata has, but I too like making cakes that taste good...

I have made this Cinnamon Roll Cake, two times in the past two weeks (for different events). Yep, it is that good!  I got the recipe from HERE...

:: Another new recipe I recently tried, was for Gnocchi.  For some reason I had never tried Gnocchi- but it was delicious!  Jen passed this recipe on to me and you can find it HERE... Bacon, cream and parmesan cheese!  What is not to like!
 *I used store bought Gnocchi- but made the sauce, and sorry, I forgot to take a picture :(


:: One day I want to make a cookbook of all of my family's favorite recipes...sort of like this. So cool right?


I don't know when I will ever find the time to do it, but I am gong to try to post more recipes on the blog, with pictures ready-set-go, so hopefully one day that will make the process of a cookbook easier.


:: On a random note...I love how Milka always finds the spot of sunshine to lay in :)

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Before, During and After...

He had been saving his money for almost a year... and yesterday we finally took a trip to Toys R Us
(love his smile and how he is almost hugging the box!)

He spent several hours reading the directions carefully, putting it together piece by piece,
until finally it was complete...

Friday, March 02, 2012

Glimpses of Spring...

(taken last weekend on my i-phone)

Today was gorgeous!  I opened my windows and gave our apartment a good cleaning. Next week I think I will do some deep Spring cleaning... HERE and HERE are some good references for how to purge!

Tomorrow I am hosting a baby shower for a dear friend, so it gives me an excuse to have flowers all over the house :) I am also making a yummy pasta salad with chicken, celery, onions, craisins and poppy seed dressing.



Just the simple change in weather is making me love all things that feel "remote-ly springlike"...
like flowers, my newly painted blue door



and a bird picture painted by Abby-girl!  So cute and Springy.


**********************************************************************************
Also, today is our niece's 16th Birthday!  Watch out Florida drivers :)

(Here she is at Christmas re-enacting a "Home Alone" scene with Levi)
Happy Birthday Elisabeth!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Restoration and Renewal

Almost 3 years ago we rented our first storefront for the church.   It was a great place to meet for worship and outreach.  We had our first Christmas service there, 3 English Camps there, our first membership class there.  Luke took his first communion there.  Throughout these 3 years, through many joys and trials, God has grown our congregation to the point that we need to move to a bigger place.  

After much prayer and searching, God led us to another storefront in the same district, right on a tram line, with a much larger meeting room, for the same rental price.  There's a catch though.  There's always a catch, right?   In order to get this place the way we want, there's a lot of renovation work we need to do.  We began working in mid-January and are diligently trying to finish before Easter. In the mean time we're still meeting at our old place.

A couple of decades ago someone thought it would be a good idea to cover up a beautiful historic ceiling with drywall.  (see below)


Daniel, our faithful project manager, thought it would be a better idea to rip the drywall ceiling down and restore the historic ceiling.   (We all agreed!)  


While we were at it, we thought knocking down a brick wall would be a fun thing to do.   Two full dumpsters later, we've still got one more dumpster's worth of debris to go!






It's been great to see so many from the church help out.  Luke's been doing the work of a grown man.  Can you spot him? 


There is a bit of buzz in the neighborhood.  Many people stop to ask what we're doing.  When we tell them we're starting a church here the responses have been all over the board.  Some are very guarded and tell us blatantly that they'll won't be attending, while others have commented that it's a great thing what we're doing.

In a way, the work on our new church facility is a good metaphor for the ministry here in Vienna.    We want to see lives restored and renewed.   People have walls that keep them from God--whether it's alternate worldviews or comfortable lifestyles or maybe just tradition.   He created us, and He's tearing down those walls one by one to restore and renew us.

Please pray for us--  
that God would continue to keep all of us safe
that we'd finish up and move in by March 31
for good relationships with our neighbors and landlord
and most of all, that God would us this space to build his kingdom in Vienna.

For information about how to make a donation to the building project, please CLICK HERE.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Hanging on...



A few days ago I went upstairs to find one of Levi's stuffed animals just barely hanging on...
I had to laugh, because it was just how I was feeling on that particular day.  In recent days I have been a bit weary and sad, having to say goodbye to some dear friends, feeling the weight of a new building project and having a sick kiddo at home.  Nothing that Jesus can't handle...I just wasn't asking for help to carry these burdens.

Then I read this on a friend's facebook status...
"You give and take away for my good, for who am I to know what I need? For You alone see the hidden parts of me that need to be stripped away, and as You begin to refine, I'm learning to let go, to rely on One who walks with me, as hard as it may be, you're teaching me all the while to say, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that's in me bless Your name. Forget not Your power untold, not Your glory or Your fame, for You came to heal the broken, to redeem and make me whole, bless the Lord, o my soul.'" 
 Such a great reminder of his love for me!  Refining hurts and relying is hard at times-but He will heal all that is broken and redeem what is His, just keep holding onto Him.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Bakin and Makin...

We have been baking and eating a lot of sweets in recent days...and hearts have certainly been an inspiration in honor of Valentine's Day!

:: These cookies were a hit and so easy to make :)
(I just used a Devils Food cake mix)




:: Banana Bread Hearts

:: Herz Torte (from the bakery)
:: and yesterday we made Grandma Pearl's "Self-filled Cupcakes"


Here is the recipe...

Self-Filled Cupcakes

1 package of chocolate cake mix
1 8 oz. container of cream cheese
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix cake mix according to pkg. directions. Fill paper cups in muffin tins 2/3rds full.
Cream together cream cheese, sugar, and egg.  Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips.  now drop a rounded tsp. of cream cheese mixture in each cupcake.  Bake as pkg directs. (about 15 minutes)

**********************************************************************************
We had a lovely Valentine's Day, sharing dinner with some friends.  Then the kiddos started getting all crafty... making heart animals and people (thanks for teaching them Sarah Clark!)

and then they took to making things with duct tape that Memoo sent them...
Did you know you could Youtube how to make a pencil case? (too funny)

Here is Abby's pencil case

  And Levi made an i-pod touch case

Hope you all loved on someone yesterday :)

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Another Adventure...

This week the kiddos have NO SCHOOL...it is called "Energy Week", and most Austrians head to the Alps for skiing.  Mainly we have been laying/lying (can never remember which is right) low this week.

But today, Brad is taking the kiddos sledding just outside of the city...
here he is posing for the Best Dad award :)

I found a random video on You Tube and I am assuming that their day will look a little like
THIS!

Looks and sounds fun (yoy!)...but I have laundry, cleaning, cooking and baking to catch up on :)



Friday, February 03, 2012

Recent Days...Randomness

It's finally Friday!  We have been going, going, going and after two fun weekends away, we are staying put this weekend.  It's  really cold here. This was yesterday's temp, and this morning it felt even colder when I took the kiddos to school.  Tonight we are having yummy chicken pot pie for dinner.  Nothing like a little comfort food to make you warm :)

:: We are in the process of renewing our visas.  Always a bit stressful.  Here is Levi getting his fingerprints scanned, something that we all had to do this year.

:: Hofer had orchids on sale for 8 Euros...I couldn't resist

:: Every Wednesday we host a bible study in our home.  I haven't snapped any photos, but imagine us all eating together, discussing the previous Sunday's sermon, sharing, laughing, praying and eating some more!  On a normal night, we have 6 nationalities represented...Austria, The Netherlands, Turkey, Germany, New Zealand and of course, America. Love it!

:: Can't seem to get enough of this band... NeedtoBreathe (I bet they are awesome live!)

:: A friend told be about the app, Phonto for my i-phone, and I think it is pretty cool that you can add text to your photos :)

:: Some of our best friends are returning to the States soon, so we have been squeezing in some extra moments of fun together... last night we spent a few hours at Family Fun!  Here is Evangeline in the ball pit, and contrary to her face in this shot, she actually really liked it!  We are going to miss them soooo much! :(
Welp, that's all I got for now...
Have a great weekend and stay warm!