New Hobby

I have recently gotten into this thing called digi scrap, which is digital scrapbooking. I love it!!!! I love getting some of this creative energy out. It is going to take some time to learn all of the skills I need but Jon is teaching me and I am a fast learner. I thought I would post an example of a scrap page I created and a sticker as they are called to put on myspace or wherever. I think I am going to start making some for some friends too.

Its Twins

I would like to introduce two of the newest member of our family Jimmy and Michael (or Mikey).
We just added them today after much begging and pleading from our two boys who named these new family members by the way. They are so tiny and round and really hairy. They are hamsters. They are really friendly. I had to hold them twice and they didnt attempt to bite me. They really are cute. I am not sure if they are boys but they have boys names!! Ha Ha

Slovene Friends

We had a really good day yesterday. We had a Slovene family over for lunch. They are believers and go to a house church here in town, that we go to on Sunday nights. I enjoyed the day with them and learned so many new Slovene words just being around them. Their children who are 7 and 3 do not speak English. So they were speaking to their children in Slovene and I would ask what a word meant and I learned alot from that. Yolanda and I were both pleased that our children could play in spite of the language barriers. Children do not need language to connect. This family was so sweet, they brought a bike that was their daughters so our children would have something to ride. So they now share a bike and they are so happy to have one. It is on the small side but it is surprising what kids will like when they do not have anything.

weeds

I have a new appreciation for these "flowers". Dandelions here in Slovenia are considered a delicacy. They are not considered weeds like in America. They look so beautiful in a field. The Slovenes use the leaves as salad. They will go out and gather them in the field and wash them, mix them with oil and vinegar. Then they cook potatoes, chop them up and mix it all together. Just thought I would share what I see when I look at the field behind our house. Jon took this picture and added the verse this morning and I really like it.

Garbage

Okay, I have been pretty positive about everything so far here in Slovenia but there is one thing that I can not stand. The compost!!! I know it is good for the environment and all but it is disgusting! I gag every time I empty the bucket into the special biodegradable garbage trash can. It smells so bad!! I have to put all of the food items, left overs, stuff left on plates, peelings, you get the picture. No garbage disposal here. :( Thought I would share although you may not have really wanted to know that :)

Back to Elementary

Well, I have officially learned how to count, in Slovene that is. It really feels like I am back in grade school learning the basics. The good in all of it is that I can relate to my children who are in grade school learning the basics. It is difficult to learn something new, a totally new concept. I get frustrated sometimes while I am teaching, not understanding why they are not getting a concept that is clearly presented. I find myself today sympathizing with them. I am going through a cd and workbook at home while I am in the process of finding a sitter. I do believe that I will continue working in this book even while attending language school. I do not think that I can learn to much. Slovene is a difficult language. Just a little taste I will write the number 29 (devetindveanyst) literally nine and twenty. They put the last number before the group of tens. I am going to get confused with this one I just know it. I found myself so proud to be able to count, no matter how clumsy I sounded.

I have TMJ and declaired TKO

Just a little humor to brighten you day. I was having some pain in my jaw the other day and I said something about TMJ to Jon and he said ,"does that stand for To Much Jon?" We both laughed really hard and I said something like I do have too much Jon. Logan said hey you have more of us then you do of Him. I said you are right I am TKOed! I explained that it stood for Tolat Kid Overload! It was really funny and we all had a good laugh.

Wonderful friends

We had a most wonderful day with our friends. We had Danny, Krista, Nathan, and Micah over for lunch. We grilled hamburgers and had a wonderful time just hanging out. There is nothing like having other American friends that are going through the same things that you are. I had been sick for a week so having company was really great. For dinner we had been invited over to our other American friends house, the Bells. It was a great time of fellowship as well. I am so thankful for these people in our lives.

I am going to be interviewing potential babysitters soon so please pray that God will direct us to the right one.

A little bit of humor

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My scrapbook

Ear pain and olive oil!

Well, I still have the ear pain so yesterday I decided I would try a home remedy. I heated up some olive oil, laid down and had Jon put a few drops in my right ear. It was not very pleasant. I do not like things in my ear. I laid there for about 30 minutes, it didnt seem to help and when I got up it ran out of my ear. Later on yesterday I was still hurting so I decided to take on of the antibiotics that I have on hand. I hope that it helps because the pain and the dizziness are really disrupting my life. I really do not want to go to the doctor. I guess it is a combination of the language barrier and the unfamiliarity that I feel with their customs, combined with the fact that we have to pay out of pocket and the devalued dollar to euro is really hurting out pocket.

It is a really beautiful day here in Slovenia today. Very sunny and the wind is blowing. It will get into the upper 60's today. Jordan is enjoying looking out the big glass doors in our living room at the falling flowers. Our trees have these pretty white blooms on them and they are falling to the ground in the wind. Our boys have been outside all day. They have not even come in for lunch.

One of those days

Well, yesterday was just one of those days where everything seems to go wrong. I called my mom in the afternoon to update her on my ear pain, which is still here, and she informs me that a good friend of ours, a fellow missionary, Dan Miller has shot his foot with a riffle. The thought of a friend suffering in a remote clinic without pain relievers was very sad. I prayed for him and his family. While I was on the phone with my mother Jordan spilled coke on my laptop and it seemed to be fried!!! I was almost panicked about this one because my laptop is my lifeline to the outside world. I am a stay at home mom in a foreign country I need my lifeline. Jon was gone to teach and I still had to cook so I tried to wipe it off and put a fan on it to dry it out. While dinner was cooking I went to change out the laundry and found that Hayden had left a thing of Indian face paint in his paints pocket that I had overlooked. It got dried and the clothes were a complete mess. Well, my computer works, praise the Lord, but it is not void of all harm. The mouse pad no longer works. I had an external mouse already and it works so I am okay. :) I had to stop and think about things and the thought that came to mind was "at least I do not have a hole in my foot"! It does help to look at what is good and blessed instead of what is not good and discouraging. This picture is from our car ride home from Ljubljana Friday. We seem to have a good time in the car. I guess we did so much of it on deputation that it has become comfortable. :)

Our trip to Ljubljana

I know this is the second post today but cut me some slack I am behind. I have been in bed for two days because of severe dizziness. I past out on Friday night and could not sit up or walk around because I was so dizzy. I have alot of ear pain too. Anyway back to my current post. We went to Ljubljana on Friday to the embassy. It was kinda funny, a little bit of America locked up behind a fence. Even the toilets were from America!!! We took the kids to explore the city. A lot of walking and remembering the last time Jon and I were in the city. Three years ago on our survey trip to be exact. It was nice to be able to share this experience with our children. We had a great time. We gave them some money to buy a souvenir. We went to McDonalds the kids favorite place and they even got to get ice cream as a dessert.

Toothless

My baby boy has lost his first tooth!!! He is looking so different lately. The little boyness is slowly slipping away. He is becoming a little man. This is our first major event to happen in Slovenia. They do the toothfairy thing too. Although Hayden is smart and caught mommy when she was getting Logan's tooth but he still want the money! Ha Ha I just wanted to share this special day with everyone.

The faith of a child

I remember when I was a child and everything just made sense. I just believed in things, they were so real and I had so much passion. Well, not to say that I have lost all of that because the inner child is still there but there is nothing like the faith of a child. It does us all good to remember the faith we once had and to try to find the inner child in us again. Here is a very touching video to help remind us.

An uneventful day :)

Okay so today was a pretty uneventful day. The kids did school and got done rather fast. It rained outside a little. The internet people came and tried to install a faster connection. We went to the store to buy groceries and spent way to much for the exchange rate to allow :). So you see not much to blog about today. However my sister had surgery today to remove her tonsils and she is 21 so it is a little bit more painful for her than a kid. She is such a trouper though. She is at home recovering. I prayed for her alot in the past few days. I dont like not being able to be there for her but our mom is better than anyone in the world about taking care of people. !!!! I miss my mommy when I am sick that is for sure!!!!!! Tomorrow we go to the capitol to the embassy to get fingerprinted so the FBI can tell them that we do not have a record on them. Pray that we get our visas soon. I am not worried about it because it is in God's hands but it would feel nice to have them :) Time for me to get in bed. It is kinda nice to have a nice peaceful uneventful day!

Little creepy crawly things!!!

Today I experienced a lot of drama. It came in the size of a pen head and was found on my daughter. I was getting her out of her highchair after lunch and giving her a look over to clean off stray food left behind and I see a small spec on her neck under her chin. I try to wipe it away and it doesn't move. So I lean her back to give it a closer inspection and guess to my wondering eyes did appear!!!!! No, not tiny reindeer , I found a tiny creepy crawly TICK!!!!!!! After calling for Jon and more inspection I went next door to borrow some tweezers and some alcohol. I had already looked online and it said to take it out with tweezers and do not stick something hot on it and do not put oil on it. My neighbors insisted that oil was the thinkg to do. They said that their doctor's do that, my confidence in the medical field here has dropped somewhat. Well, they did not have any tweezers so I had to try their method, which did not work by the way. Then finally another neighbor found some tweezers and the little creature was pulled out, much to Jordan's disliking. What a morning!!!!! I found out from my neighbors that this area is tick infested and that we should buy some tick repellent. So now I must thoroughly inspect my children after playing outside, even in hair and will most likely have many more dealings with these little creepy crawly things. Needless to say I will be on edge looking for any sign that Jordan is not feeling well for the next couple of weeks. Pray that she stays healthy!!