I love Fall

The leaves are turning here, and the air is cool and crisp. But not too cold that I can't go running in short sleeves. I went on a run this morning during a prep period (I felt A LITTLE guilty) and soaked in the sun and the smokey fall smells. My route takes me along the edge of some orchards back in the hills of Diosd, and I really wanted to turn off the road and go get lost among the trees. But responsibility steered me away. By the way, I work through my lunch period, and I put in PLENTY of hours after school, so the prep period is sometimes my only chance for a decent work out.

Last Sunday one of the new teachers, Hannah, who is from Geneva, WI =) made apple crisp for all the other single teachers (which, may I point out, for the exception of one, are all girls) in honor of her dad's birthday. It's his favorite dessert, which he requests in place of cake on his birthday. I know another dad who dearly loves apple crisp, and so I felt an immediate bond with Hannah, a bond that is stronger than the Wisconsin bond. But I wish I could be sitting at "home" eating some apple crisp with my dad right now. That would be the perfect Fall day.

Here's why I haven't written much lately

23rd annual Nike Budapest halfmarathon.

I finished it, anyway! =) I was not feeling very well at all the day before, like I was coming down with a cold or a fever; I was very low on energy. These are not good running conditions. The morning of I almost bowed out of the race, as I was still not feeling well. Had it been just another training day, I would have nixed the run entirely. But this was a big deal and too hard to let go of... And so I ran it, keeping my expectations low for myself, not wanting to push it. I ended up running a 2:06:26 race, which considering my state of well-being was not too bad. Actually, it was about where I was hoping to finish even had I felt great. So I'm pleased. Just think if I HAD felt great! The entrance fee included free admission to the Szechenyi Baths right at the finish line, so Suzanne (one of the school moms that ran it with me) and I made sure we took advantage of that for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. I'm glad I ended up running it after all, but I definately came down with a cold/allergies/who knows what for the next few days. I'm considering it a training run for the Lake Balaton race in November!

The next day the HS soccer team had a game against the ICSB staff. We the staff were hurting for players, but nobody really knew of anybody to recruit. Nobody, that is, except me. Lisa to the rescue! I recruited Esther's (you remember her from last year...former student who got married and had a baby last summer) husband, Norbi, and his friend to play with us, as well as our landlady's son, and then another guy from church. I was able to come through with not just 1 but 4 more soccer players, and Hungarian soccer players at that! It made me feel like I was really a part of the culture and people here; like I know people. It's too easy to become consumed with school-related things and maintain a focus within the scope of all that is ICSB. But I am so thankful for the opportunities I have at church and through my Hungarian friends that pull me outside of that bubble and allow me to get to know more Hungarians and the Hungarian way of life. Esther and Norbi, Jr. also came out to watch the game, and so that was neat to spend some time with them. Little Norbi is not little at all anymore. He's such a big baby! He's walking now; so sweet and adorable. They are doing well.

Speaking of getting out into the community, the outreach team that I'm leading this year went into the city and did their first street dramas on Thursday and Friday. I can't tell you how much excitement there is surrounding this ministry this year. I was asked to head it up back in May, and while I was excited to serve in this capacity, I really didn't know what to expect. I had ideas of what service opportunities I wanted to create for the students, but I didn't have anything very concrete. Then, through my exposure this summer to street evangelism combined with many of the students' same experiences over the summer of doing street in Mexico and elsewhere, the outreach team of ICSB took this natural turn towards street evangelism as one of the key modes of ministry. It's only the 4th week, but it has become the greatest source and outlet of enthusiasm by the students thus far. They were chomping at the bit from the start to get out there and perform the drama and share the gospel. I wasn't able to go with them this week, but I couldn't stand to dampen their enthusiasm, so we recruited some parents to accompany them. I will get an earful tomorrow at school, I'm sure, but I did already get a few reports of success and witnessing God at work through the students. You can click here to read Liz's (my student leader) update on how it went. I'm really looking forward to seeing how God will continue to work to reveal Himself to us and through us this year. You will hear more of this, to be sure! =)

In addition to all this, I've been:

• coaching middle school soccer
• planning lessons like a real teacher should
• getting our car fixed
• co-leading a Bible study for the sophomore girls
• still getting my school room organized
• attending too many meetings
• teaching the planned lessons like a real teacher should
• failing at staying in touch with people back home =(
• relaxing at a quaint Hungarian castle for our staff retreat, and...

TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

I really am bad at maintaining this thing, aren't I. Well, I don't have much time right now to go into much detail, because the craziness of school has started. I'm swamped, even though I was determined to keep my schedule somewhat sedate this year. But alot of it is just the initial push to get everything running smoothly. I hope to slow things down here soon. Anyway, funny thing I saw today: A man who must have been well in his 80's riding a 50's era bike in khakis and a button-up shirt, and he was absolutely FLYING down the hill. I was scared for him that he would fall! But no, he was just getting his morning thrills in, I suppose. I love it.

I run a 1/2 marathon tomorrow. I'm nervous.

Earned Vacation (click here to see more pictures)

I have always wanted to go to Croatia. Well, that's not exactly true. I didn't want to go there back in the 90's when it was all over the news. Since then I learned that everybody goes there for vacation and it's absolutely beautiful, and I have had it on my "hit list" for the past couple years. I didn't think that I would actually be able to go, but then the perfect opportunity presented itself. One of the missions was holding a 2 week conference on the coast, by Porec, (the Iste part, not Dalmation coast). They had a childcare program that was missing 2 people. One of the mothers at the school that I see on a regular basis was organizing the childcare, and asked if Heidi and I could fill in. All expenses paid. Well SURE!! So we spent two weeks on the coast, experiencing what I believe was the perfect balance of hard work and serious relaxation.

We spent the first half of the days and 2 hours in the evening bouncing babies, doing whatever was necessary to keep them happy. The babies were so adorable, and so at first it was so easy and fun. But I am still pretty surprised at how tired I got from it all. I was fortunate enough to be recruited to take the 10 year old boys out to the beach for an hour everyday, so I had a little change in venue. That definitely helped my longevity; I loved hanging out with those boys. We ended up passing up the beach after a while and just played soccer or football. They were so fun. The second third of the day was free time, and we spent it however we wanted. That usually meant sleeping on the beach. We were so exhausted by early afternoon. Anyway, the time was filled with lots of cute babies, relaxation, time in the sun, meeting wonderful people, lots of sightseeing, and for me some sweet time for meditating on God.

I have been reading through Isaiah, and during the time in Croatia I experienced such a sweet time of fellowship with God. I loved meditating on who He is, as the only true God, the Creator who has all the power; He doesn't answer to anyone. He is just; He administers that power righteously, and so mercifully. Here are some favorite verses from the time:

"All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field....The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever" (40:6,8)

"Even from eternity I am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand;
I act and who can reverse it?" (43:13)

"Is there any God besides Me,
Or is there any other Rock?
I know of none" (44:8b)

"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heaves by the span,
And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scale
Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of dust ont he scales;
Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its beast enough for a burnt offering.
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless." (40: 12-17)

This is my God! =) Why do I fear man? "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs somewhere). Understanding who our God is instills in us a regard for Him that goes beyond a sense of respect. It's a sense of awe and overwhelming gratefulness if you know Jesus and know that God sees you as His own. It is a sense of terror if you do not have the security of Jesus' blood covering you. Anyway, it's been really amazing to get to know my God more and more through the book of Isaiah. I have heard it quoted almost every Sunday of my life (please acknowledge hyperbole) , but I never understood it as a book in its whole.

I'll end with this video, that has nothing to do with Isaiah. It's just too cute. Little Chase, our 2 year old, loved to sing. But he was very much a boy and would tighten up his fists and shout the words at certain points in the song. This is a tired version, but still adorable. Enjoy. Also! Click on the title of this blog entry to go see more pictures of Croatia.

here's where I've spent a big chunk of my summer so far

So somewhere I had the brilliant idea of holding swimming lessons for the missionary families that are also staying around for the summer. I think I was missing my old gym job and all the crazy things I would get into over the summers in Chicagoland. So, with the help of a couple moms, I struck a deal with a guy who owns a campground 5 minutes away. I guaranteed him business if he would give me a reduced entrance fee for the kids. He was really nice, and I think happy to have this exposure. This campground is one where you'd set up your camper on the back of your truck, not one where you would pitch a tent. It's right in the middle of the next town over, but obscured by lots of trees and parks. Anyway, it has a decent sized pool, really perfect for the swimming lessons. The first day I was really nervous, because I hadn't actually been in the pool, hadn't checked the depth, but I had hear that it was really cold and too deep for most kids. Sure enough, the first day was a flop. I froze for 2 hours, and none of the kids really wanted to be in the pool. It was the end of the cool season, it had just rained, and the pool had just been filled up. The water was below 80 degrees, I'm sure. Nobody wanted to be there, me included, and the little beginners couldn't do anything other than hold onto the edge anyway. I was so miserable and felt like the whole thing was a huge failure. It was a time of helplessness where I had no power to change things, but knowing a God who does, I went to Him. And sure enough, in His goodness he brought about a great success in the swimming lessons. We had only perfect weather from then on, which warmed up the water nicely and made it actually desirable to be in the pool. I bought some water noodles for the beginners, and they were my saving grace for not being able to work with them one on one (I had average 4 kids per class). They felt totally confident with these noodles to be on their own so we could work on the various skills all at the same time. And the moms loved the proximity to home and the opportunity to hang out for a bit by the pool and socialize.

I certainly have been enjoying this preoccupation, in spite of the work that it turned out to be. I'm recognizing more and more my tendency to have big ideas that I think would be so easy to implement, but then as I attempt to make them a reality I realize sometimes it takes so much more than originally thought. I once told my parents when I was 8? that we needed a pool in the backyard in Grand Junction, CO. They didn't think I was serious. I got frustrated, because, really, how hard can it be? Just did a hole in the ground, line it with cement, and fill it with water? When I told them that they just laughed. But I still think like that. Really, how hard can it be to hold swimming lessons in the summer? ...at a pool I'm not familiar with owned by people I can't communicate with, at a pool where kids can't touch, when subject to weather, to kids of so many skill levels, when I have to contend with the crowd of campers that want to swim, too. Because I'm deficient in thinking everything through, I'm so thankful for people that help me think through things. Izabella, Anne, and Jennifer were three moms that were a big help. Two heads are better than one, that's for sure! Sometimes four heads are even better.
Anyway, like I said before, it's turned out to be a big success, thanks to God. It's been fun to get to know these families more. And I forget how wonderfully cute little kids are! I love high schoolers, but it has been refreshing to be with these little kids. They actually listen to what I'm saying! And do it! =)

Night at the museum, cont.

I'm so glad I did it. I was so exhausted when we were finished, at about 1am. It was nice to have free public to take us between the museums, but they went in the most inefficient routes, where we could have walked back to the car and been half way home by the time the bus finally brought us around to our stop. I could have organized it so much better... =).

Okay, so, what we DIDN'T see were Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson. Sad.

What we DID see:
The mirror image art museums, one modern, one more traditional. Both overrated. There's so much modern art that should not make it into museums that you would have to pay for. And the other museum was filled will more frescoes and madonas and pieta's and annunciations. I have seen so many of them that I'm afraid they've lost their fascination. I acknowledge their beauty and the amazing skill behind the works, but I would rather spend my time elsewhere. Is that so sad? I still loved the musuem, however, for it's beautiful architecture and detail. It's a beautiful building. It's a work of art in itself. And then the Modern Art Museum held my favorite exhibit of the night. It's a "project" by Hungarian artist Antal Lakner, and it consists of these devices that you can use to stay strong and healthy in our convenience-ridden society. For example, he made a device (comes with a carrying bag) that you attach to a subway holding post and stand on a stationary surf-board, so that you basically surf your way to work on the metro. It could work! I got to try the prototype =). It's just ridiculous, which is his intent. The picture of a guy in his suit coat doing this on a metro with a totally serious look on his face was hilarious. He also developed "elevator stretching", pictured left. But my favorite was a portable pommel horse that you would place on the escalator and do hand stands and other pommel horse exercises as you were passively taken down to the next floor. So funny.

We also saw the transportation museum. Lots of steam engines and motorcycles from the past. I thought of Grandpa and Great-Grandpa Blomquist. We saw the natural history museum, which would make for an ideal venue for a Biology class field trip. And we saw the House of Terror, the museum set up to comemmorate the time when Hungary was reigned by Hitler and then Communist Russia. This museum is a hard one to go through, but there's so much documentation and footage of all the horrors that went on that it makes it much more real and personal, not just something of the history books. It is appalling, the capacity for evil that exists in man's heart. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your work of renewal!

Over all, it was just such a beautiful night, and there were bands playing and fire twirlers attracting crowds. Everybody was out. I expected to hear a lot of English, but surprisingly (or maybe not so) I heard mostly Hungarian. Good times.

Of course

Of course the clouds give forth a torrential downpour an hour after I water the plants outside... We haven't had rain for days, and the plants were looking pretty pathetic. They really needed water. And so I did, filling up a 2 liter plastic bottle and running back in to the house every 3 min. to fill it up again. I did that at least 6 times. And then an hour later it pours. Wish I had gotten that rain memo.

At 10am it was already close to sweltering heat, easily in the 80's. And I'm sure I haven't seen the worst of it. I remember Paula telling me how miserably hot it was to stay in Budapest over the summer, but I'm hoping and praying that last year was just an exceptional summer.

night at the museum

I haven't been sleeping well recently, and I'm sure it's in part due to the fact that I was dog-sitting for this adorable little white ball of energy, who slept in the same room as me (she wouldn't have it any other way). Even though she stayed in her cage, just knowing there was another creature in the room and one that was noisy allowed only for light sleep. Not to mention that she would wake up at daybreak, 5am. And so I would wake up then, too. In fact, even though last night I was luxuriously back in my own bed in a quiet house with the curtains drawn and a pleasant breeze blowing through the open window, I woke up at 5:15. It's Saturday. I'm on summer break. I can afford to sleep in. I was mad and so stubbornly tried to make myself fall back asleep, but to no avail. I generally enjoy getting up early to get a head start on things, but not when I could really use the sleep more than the productivity. And not when I'm planning on staying up until midnight or later tonight.

Last year Budapest started an annual "museum night", where all the museums are free from 6pm to 2am. They provide shuttle buses to cart you around the city between museums. I feel like I have been to many of the museums already, but there are many more to see, apparently. So I am joining up with Justin and Michelle Custer, the other members of the science dept. at ICSB, and a fellow runner that I met recently, Jen, and we're going to check this out. I'm excited, but I have heard the lines are terribly long...we'll see.

I have to say, the good thing about getting up at 6am is that I can get so much done and it will only be 11am by the time i'm finished. With Paula and Heather packing up and moving out and me living between two places, there was a lot of chaos that I came back to after dog-sitting. But I have already cleaned up so much and organized so much and just about everything is back in its rightful place. I feel much better about myself.

Sverige!

I visited my roots at the beginning of this month. My aunt and uncle are on sabbatical in Stockholm and hosted me for 4 fabulous days. I got there the day of the King's birthday, so I was able to get in on the ceremony at the Palace. It was fascinating! I have to say, though, that my highlight was running through the royal and historical park behind Glenn and Kathy's apartment. It was big and beautiful, surrounding an inlet 12k around, which I ran! It was such a special time to hang out with them in this place that I've heard so much about and feel such a connection to. I loved it there.
Please check out the photos at the following link (copy and paste it into the address bar), OR just click the title "Sverige"and it will take you directly there:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39270&l=40ed0&id=601541014

I have a niece!

Click the title of this post to see pictures of my new niece, Lorien Adele! I just realized this, but we have the same initials for first and middle name. Awwww! I am thrilled for Sarah and Charlie and Joshua, and for myself, too =). I can't wait to meet her!

(if it doesn't work to click on the title, go to the link in the right margine titled "My Lil' Sister's Blog")

Sweet People!

This is Gábor, our landlord, and his family, the people talked about in the last post. From left to right, Kriszti who works with us at ICSB, her husband Gábor (the III), Gábor the II and Elszö his wife, Dora with Lýdiá and her husband Belász. Dora and Gábor the III are twins. They all are just the sweetest people! We have experienced the goodness of the Lord through these people in so many ways.

Boldog anyák napját!

Happy Hungarian Mother's Day!

I didn't find this out until halfway through the day, but today is Mother's Day here in Hungary. (Interestingly, they don't have Father's Day at all here). We were invited by our landlords to join them for church and a meal afterwards. Our landlords are the sweetest people, and they are really more like family than people we do business with. Their daughter-in-law, Kriszti, works as an OT at my school, and she is the one that told us about this place. She and her husband, Gábor, are fluent in English. Gábor's twin sister Dorá, who just had a baby, and her husband Belász, are also fluent in English. So the 9 of us congregated at the Baptist church down the street where they attend, and then after the service we all went to our landlord's house for a meal. This was no ordinary meal by my standards, but apparently this happens every Sunday for them. Here's how it went:

appetizer: "pig cheese" on bread with a slice of pepper. Okay, so pig cheese is only cheese in the way it looks encased. It is actually all the leftover parts of the pig, including the tail, ears, nose, and whatever else is not used for the oh-so-many things you can make from a pig. I seriously had to make myself think about anything BUT what I was chewing on. But now I know what pig cheese tastes like... not bad tasting, but I will never again eat it, know what it is!

1st course: chicken vegetable soup. So tasty and healthy
2nd course: beef stew on speatzle (dumpling noodles). Also very tasty. cucumber salad on the side.
3rd course: pork loin stuffed with kilbasa (sausage) with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies
4th course: homemade chocolate cream torte and coffee

They almost had to roll us out of there. It was all so good! The Hungarian kitchen is quite gourmet and complex, at least at Elszö's. I love these people. More than anything it was just so fun to sit around and talk, having the young couples be the buffer between Gábor and Elszi's lack of English and my roommates and my lack of Hungarian. We all had a great time, and nobody really wanted to leave 4 hours later. I am so blessed. God and His people are so good!


On a different note, I have lots to catch up on, I know! Be patient. This is crazy time at the end of the school year with every weekend holding some sort of event or obligation, so my time is being drained even faster than usual. Nonetheless, I have neglected this blog unnecessarily, and I intend to get caught up soon! So stay tuned. Coming up: Orphanage Trip, Travels, and more!

best of times, worst of times

I ran my first race in Budapest today! It was a 12k (7.2 mi), and I ran it in 1:04. I haven't been very consistent in my training, especially after being sick all winter and having to contend with weather up until now. So, when I clocked 8.8 minute miles for 7.2 miles, I was very pleased. I was so nervous beforehand, especially since I can't really communicate with people here still, or not very well, anyway, and before the race I had no idea where anything was or how they had things set up. But I made it to Margit Island, the site of the start and finish, with plenty of time to spare, so I just wandered around and figured everything out before hand. The race itself was hard but therefore so good. We ran all through the city, so there was plenty to see along the way. A TON of people were out and about, as it was a gorgeous, sunny day, just a little cool, perfect for exercising. Many people were present for the races, (well over 1,000 people participated in the 12k), but so many people were just out to enjoy the parks on Margit. I ran by some guys fully suited out in American football gear, shoulder pads, helmets and all, running plays. I don't know how necessary the gear was, as there were only 6 of them...they weren't playing against each other, no tackling going on... But everyone and there dog was out to take in the sun. I loved it. And I ran across some little old ladies selling tulips on the way back to my car, so I brought home a bouquet of red and yellow for our dining room table. Just a perfect Sunday afternoon!...

...until I started doing my taxes. Granted, the deadline is almost upon us, but don't think that I haven't done anything up until this time. I have tried to work on them, but constantly run up against a wall, if not 6. I tried again today, and I want to throw something through a window I'm so frustrated. How in the world are you supposed to file when: you live in a foreign country for most of the year, but less than 330 days, but your income is from a US source, but you're not employed by an organization, but you are not self-employed either? Furthermore, you need to file a Wisconsin return, but you're a nonresident who worked in Illinois, and your permanent address is now in Kansas? It's so complicated that the spiffy software put out by the spiffy online tax filing services can't even handle it. They are making me print something out and mailing it in... The day started off great, and will end on a very bad, low note. I hate taxes.

crazy kids

In Biology class we are studying plants. I was trying to come up with a good review assignment that would tie in all the various vocab words that they are learning regarding structure and types of plants. The night before I had NO idea what to do, but as I was falling asleep I had a brilliant idea pop into my head, which I carried out the next day in classes. I had my students make up a plant. I told them to imagine they were in an unexplored area of the rain forest and came across this crazy plant. They had to draw it, name it using binomial nomenclature, label it using all our vocabulary words, and then describe the plant using the vocabulary words as well. I wish I could scan some of these in, but as I can't I will just tell you a few of them, as they are hilarious.

Mason, and avid basketball follower, "discovered" Lebronus jamius, an angiosperm with red and gold flowers in the shape of a '23'.

Robert discovered Flyus swattus, a flowering plant that looks like a fly swatter and catches flies. It is a carniverous plant.

and my personal favorite...the iPodus, discovered by Tina. It is also a flowering plant in the shape of, you guessed it, an iPod. It's outstanding feature is that it actually plays music! to attract bugs.

Okay, so it was somewhat of a silly assignment, but these kids are just so funny. And I was sick of grading multiple choice worksheets...

Magyarul

So I'm taking Hungarian lessons, and we had a lesson on telling time today. I'm thankful for my Czech experience for many reasons, but I was especially thankful this evening when instead of saying "it's 10:30" we had to say, "It's half of the 11th hour". That's how we say it in Czech. I caught on quickly to that much and was ahead of the class because of it. That was easy. But in addition to saying things backwards (because of course, that is obviously the backwards way of saying it), Hungarians will tell time in reference to the quarter hour, regardless of what time it is. If it's 5:12, they will say "in 3 minutes it will be 1/4 of the 6th hour". If it's 9:52 they will say, "it's 7 minutes past 3/4 of the 10th hour"... Isn't that crazy? It's so complicated and uneconomical. Your brain has to work HARD just in order to know what time it is. My brain is working hard just in order to remember what I'm supposed to be doing right now...

It's not bad. It's just different.

It was a good day

(the title is for Paula)

I say it was a good day, even though nothing great happened. I was just dreading it, but everything proved to be just fine, actually good. I taught my classes, which I still feel so underprepared for on a constant basis (proves to be very draining), but they were fine. Then I judged the middle school science fair projects for 3 hours, which I was originally dreading but found myself really enjoying. Then I went on a walk with Izabella in our beautiful 60 degree weather we're having right now, carrying on a heart-to-heart conversation that I found really encouraging. And the day was topped off with breakfast for dinner with the Welshes. I am surrounded by such sweet, godly, amazing people. God is so GOOD! And I am more and more aware of my need for Him every hour.

Why doesn't the media report on good things happening around the world?

I have many reason why I resent the media. I don't have time to thoughtfully articulate them all here, but I have stumbled accross a link that epitomizes their bias and agenda. There ARE good things going on in the world. Even by G. W. Bush. It would be a nice change to hear about them. What the media withholds is as influential as the bent with which they do "report". While this isn't a full story, it makes a good point. Scroll down and read the comments, too. I found the comment by David Newton especially insightful. Click on the title of this entry to go to the article.

The Great Pumpkin Cookies

So my absolute favorite cookie out there is the chocolate chip pumpkin cookie. Growing up, my mother would traditionally make Choco-dot pumpkin cake for my birthday, seasonally appropriate for November. I still love that cake! The combination of pumpkin and chocolate is just amazing. Well, I stumbled upon a pumpkin cookie recipe about 4 years ago and I knew we were bound to become very close friends. I changed it around a bit (not something I always try to do to my friends...) so that it was healthier. The amount of butter and sugar in the original is way more than necessary, and you don't even miss it in the final product. Pumpkin itself is sweet and bakes into something soft and chewy and delectable. BUT, I had to incorporate CHOCOLATE. The original recipe with just the icing is also very good, but you can't get any better than the heavenly combination of pumpkin and chocolate. You cannot go wrong with these cookies; everyone loves them. And so I give you my recipe. While there is no truly healthy cookie out there, this is certainly a much healthier alternative to regular chocolate chip cookies, providing lower calories and more vital nutrients than their predecessor. Indulge below:

Lisa's Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup dark brown sugar

¼ - ½ cup butter

15oz canned pumpkin

1 egg

1 tbsp. grated orange peel

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 c. or more =) dark chocolate chips

Cream sugar and butter in a large bowl. Add pumpkin, egg and orange peel and mix together. Add dry ingredients slowly and mix. Drop by teaspoonful on ungreased cookie sheet and bake in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

Iced version, also very delicious:

Ice with frosting after they are cool. (If adding chocolate, don’t ice at all)

Frosting

1/4 cup margarine or butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

1-2 T milk

Heat margarine in med heat until light brown. Add other ingredients until smooth consistancy.

Dependence is a good thing!

I have been greatly encouraged recently through the following passage by C.H. McIntosh:

"Now nothing can be more fully blessed than the position of hanging in childlike dependence upon God, and being entirely content to wait for His time. True it will involve trial; but the renewed mind learns some of its deepest lessons, and enjoys some of its sweetest experiences, while waiting on the Lord; and the more pressing the temptation to take ourselves out ofHis hands, the richer will be the blessing of leaving ourselves whollydependent upon One who finds infinite joy in blessing us.

"How little Jacob knew, in the opening of his history, of this blessed mind!How little was he prepared to wait for God's time and God's way! ---he much preferred Jacob's time and Jacob's way He thought it much better to arrive at the blessing and the inheritance by all sorts of cunning and deception than by simple dependence upon and subjection to God, whose electing grace had promised, and whose almighty power and wisdom would assuredly accomplish all for him.

"But oh, how well one knows the opposition of the human heart to all this! Any attitude for it save that of patient waiting upon God. It is almost enough to drive nature to distraction to find itself bereft of all resources but God. This tells us in language not to be misunderstood, the true character of human nature. In order to know what nature is, I need not to travel into those scenes of vice and crime which justly shock all refined moral sense. No; all that is needful is just to try for a moment in the place of dependence, and see how it will carry itself there. It really knows nothing of God, and therefore cannot trust Him; and herein lies the secret of all misery and moral degeneration. It is truly ignorant of the true God,and can therefore be naught else but a ruined and worthless thing. The knowledge of God is the source of life---yea is itself life; and until a man has life, what is he? or what can he be?

"This is a true picture, so far as Jacob was concerned; but it only gives us one side, and that the gloomy side. Blessed be God, there is a bright side likewise, for God had to do with Jacob; and in every scene of his life, when Jacob was called to reap the fruits of his own plotting and crookedness, theGod of Jacob brought good out of evil, and caused His grace to abound over all the sin and folly of His poor servant.

"When Jacob had made all his prudent arrangements, we read, "And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day." This is a turning point in the history of this very remarkable man. To be left alone with God is the only true way of arriving at a just knowledge of ourselves and our ways. We can never get a true estimate of nature and all its actings until we have weighed them in the balance of the sanctuary, and there we ascertain their real worth. No matter what we might think of ourselves, nor yet what man may think about us; the great question is, What does God think about us? and the answer to this question can only be heard when we are "left alone with God."

"Hence, though Jacob is called to tell out his name,--to own that his nameis "Jacob," or a supplanter, he received for himself the name of "Israel,"or "prince," which was a great step in advance."

And I serve the same God Jacob served!

Christmas 2007

The entire family met in Lawrence, KS, for Christmas 2007. Words cannot describe how special a time it was to have everybody there. So fun. The snowstorm of the decade blew through early on, and so we had lots of cold and snow to make for a true Christmas.

Here we are, in all our glory and splendor! and Mom and Dad are matching again...they're so cheesy like that! =) They actually didn't plan that at all. They're just basically two versions of the same person. That's how solid they are.

Most of the festivities took place at Sarah and Charlie's house.

Stacy and Noah wait patiently for their turn to open presents =()

Pyro Pete promptly palliated the penetrating cold by building a fire.

This kid loves books. Cars and trucks were semi-entertaining, but looking at books (or playing chase) was far more fascinating for the Joshers.

See what I mean?
Babi and Dedo relishing the duties of grandparenting.

Here we are getting ready for some serious sledding. Erik is especially intent.

Brian and Jake making the climb after a run