Amanda's Missions Musings

We had a car wreck!

2009-01-17T06:37:00.001-08:00

Our broken car that we towed back to our house to sit there!

We are a bit shaken up and I am a bit bruised up but we are rejoicing that we are all okay. A deer ran out in front of the car that was in front of us and that car hit its breaks and then we hit ours but nothing, it was too late we hit and got jerked around. The car in probably a total loss and we will not be recover any money. Please pray that God will work it out like He always does. I can not explain how grateful we are that we are all okay. Thank you so much for your prayers, I am sure they are what has kept us safe. We have a lot to do this week to get ready to go to the US and we now have not car so not sure what we are going to do? I will try to keep you all informed!

My King

2008-12-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

He really is my KING and He never stops amazing me! He has supplied like He said He would and still I am amazed and in awe of HIM! Merry Christmas my KING! I leave you all with this wonderful and uplifting video. Rejoice with me as you watch and remember your King on CHRISTmas.

Christmas Cookies

2008-12-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

We had a really good family time tonight! We watched Narnia and then made our annual Christmas cookies. This year it was a little more fun because the kids could be more involved.

Here is a finished product of one that I made with extra dough

The "boys" decorating the cookies

of course it would not be family time if someone does not cry!

rolling and cutting out our cookies

Jordan just made a mess and ate the dough! She loved it!

I hope that you are busy making family memories with your children and enjoying every moment of these precious times. Did I mention that Christmas time is my favorite time of year! LOL

Our Tree and some decorations

2008-12-12T13:08:00.000-08:00

I hope this post finds you warm and toasty wherever you are in the world. I thought I would show you some of our Christmas decorations and our tree. Notice the fake fireplace/heater next to the tree. It really does keep the room warm, behind all those curtains are windows so it stays cold in there in the winter and hot in the summer, but it sure is a beautiful view to sit and look out at! We made Christmas cookies tonight and they turned out great! I have some pictures to show you and I will send them in the next post.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2008-11-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

We have experienced something very new for us, SNOW on the day after Thanksgiving! Being from Louisiana I have only seen it snow a handful of times there and it is usually in January or February, if at all. We went to the store and while we were in there is started to snow and by the time we came out the parking lot was covered and the boys were throwing snowballs they had made from the top of our car. The snowflakes were sooooo big and beautiful. I have to say that I was a little nervous on the car ride home because one spot we were at must have been a little slick because when Jon applied the breaks ever so lightly we wobbled and wiggled a little back and forth, good thing we were almost at a stop at the red light so we were not going fast. So instead of breaking we just downshifted and the rest of the ride home was fine. These pictures are of the kids when we arrived home. Jordan is just too cute she wanted to say that she had some snow but she kept saying, "look I got a snowman" :) Soooo precious. We have all of our Christmas decorations up (which is not a lot, at least not to my normal liking like we had in the states). It all looks great and the kids had a blast. They talked Jon into getting colored lights for the tree (we have always had white because he prefers it that way). I did not really care on way or the other about the lights, I grew up with colored lights but I also like the elegance of just the white. I can see why the kids like the colored ones though, it is more kid friendly tree this year. Hope you all enjoyed your day of shopping and resting or whatever you do the day after Thanksgiving. I did feel a little sad about missing the time with my mom to shop but I have to say that when it snowed I felt a lot better. There is definitely give and take about living in a foreign country. I do not get to go out shopping but I get to have SNOW!!!!

Thanksgiving Traditions

2008-11-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

Well, if you know me then you know I am really big on traditions. I guess that comes from being a part of a family that was big on traditions. It makes you feel like you are a part of something and the memories of the year before can be brought back again because we are doing the same things that we hold dear. Well, this year things are a little different for us. We are an ocean away from family and the things that we are used to on Thanksgiving. We had Thanksgiving dinner with just us, Jon, and I and our three children. It was really nice. Although I did all of the cooking and it took all morning, I felt accomplished when we sat down to a wonderful meal and my husband says, "this is the best Thanksgiving meal I have ever had". That means so much to me. The kids and I made a Thankful Tree. We gathered real leaves and then made ones that we could write what we were thankful on. This is a new tradition and one that we will be doing again next year! I found a website that showed what pilgrims and Indians would have looked like and lived in and ate. The kids had fun with that. I hope that all of you had a wonderful day and enjoyed old traditions and started new ones.

Catching up

2008-11-26T14:18:00.001-08:00

We got a box in the mail today from my mom (thanks mom). She mainly sent it because I needed some thyroid medicine from the states and was running out but she always fills it and stuffs it as much as she can and the kids love opening them.

Jordan sporting her new "priness" stuff from Grammie!

(Notice the pj bottoms and socks) We got the packages this morning!

Logan eating a fruit by the foot he got today!

Hayden showing off the new car that he got in the box!

We took the kids to a duck pond at the base of the mountain to take their pictures today for our annual Christmas card and they loved it. It is cold here so that was funny for us because normally when we are taking out pictures for our Christmas cards it is hot and we are sweating in our outfits!

After getting some good shots (which I will post at a later date) we went shopping for the Thanksgiving dinner supplies! I will be making cornbread dressing for the first time (my mom makes to best ever, it is my grandmother's recipe that we have been having for Thanksgiving/Christmas since I could eat! It will be different this year because it will just be our little family around the table sharing what we are thankful for and eating a grand meal. I think the thing that I will miss most is the day after Thanksgiving shopping sales. I know you say that sounds funny but I am not so sure it is the shopping or the sales but it is the special time that I share with my mom that I am missing the most. We will just have to make up for it when she comes to visit in December!! Yep my mom, dad, sister and Brad (soon to be brother in law) are all coming on Dec. 26th. I am soooooo excited. I really do miss my family a bunch. They are so much fun to be around.

Well anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving no matter where you are in the world. There is so much to be thankful for. I know that I have been blessed beyond measure!

Long time to post

2008-10-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

Well, hmm again it has been too long between posts. I do have a new blog though were I post my digital scrap artwork with freebies and links to a store that I sell kits in. You should go check out my new blog here.

In other news we went to a friends farm to help him harvest apples a few weeks back. When I say harvest I mean we, the whole family, was there from 9 am to 5 pm. We were on our knees picking up apples that had been shaken out of the trees. We harvested a total of1 and a half tons of apples!!! Our farmer friend presses them and makes fresh juice that he sells. He was able to press 800 liters from the apples we picked. Another family, the Bells was also there. We had a good time but our legs and back were sore for days :)

I was also able to go to an Opera premiere of Madam Butterfly. It was my first time ever attending an Opera. Yes, it was in Italian and the word's were put on screen in Slovene but it was still wonderful. My good friend Mateja's husband Robert works at the theater with the choirs and her son Zak was actually in the Opera as Madame Butterflies son. He is only 8 and he did a great job. I really did feel out of place though with tv cameras and high society people like doctors and people such as that all around. It was a unique experience that is for sure.

We had two friends over for dinner on Thursday of last week, both of who are lost. Jon got to witness to Edwin again and he is without excuse before God and now we just must wait on the Holy Spirit and Edwin's heart to be softened. I got to have an hour conversation about spiritual things and the Bible with Nina. She has been burned by the Catholic church and is skeptical of anything religious. She is really a post modernist because her view of things is that if I believe that a rock is my "god" then who am I to say that it is not. She said that whatever it is that helps you to be a better person is okay. I am praying that God would melt away the hard shell over her heart. I gave her some literature and one of my english Bibles. I think that she was touched that I would give her something she knows I value so much.

Last night, Sunday, we had our friends the Bells over to watch the cowboys game live. It was our evening and Randy Bell has bought the season. We had chili, cornbread and carrot cake. We had a great time with them although we were sick at how they played. During the game right after half time I was just sitting there watching the game and all of the sudden. I started to choke on what I guess was my own spit! I did this once last week as well but was able to get it out last week. Last night however I did not ever get it out because I had a horrible nights sleep and I woke up with my chest really tight and feeling horrible. I am not sure what is going on. I do feel that satan is attacking us and using my health. Jon is worried about me so he is doing the only thing he knows how, fasting and praying. I feel so humbled that my husband is taking me before the Lord in such a way.

On another note, the boys are going to start going to school two days a week for a couple of hours. You have to know somebody to get around all the red tape and my friend Mateja wanted to get the boys in school so they could be around Slovene kids. Pray that it will be a good experience for them and they will learn the language.

Sheep Shearing Contest

2008-10-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

Well, what more can I really say!! They have an annual sheep shearing contest and we happen to know a top sheep shearer in Slovenia. His name is Ron Metts and that is him in the middle in green in the picture shearing a sheep. They had sheep and goats for the kids to look at and pet and music and cotton candy that we paid 3 Euro for. We had a good time with fellow missionaries and our Slovene friends.

Oh and the picture at the bottom is just our resident clown Hayden who thinks he is looking pretty cool with his spiky hair, too cute!

pictures

2008-10-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post the pictures that I wrote about, so here they are!

Fall Colds

2008-10-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

Well, all three of the kiddos have colds. It started with Jordan. One morning we went to get her out of bed and with mouth breathing she pointed to her nose and said, "my nose broke". We had a real long laugh at that. She could not breathe through her nose and she saw that as her nose was broken. Then the other two started getting stuffy. Just a regular old cold but Hayden has had fever for the last two days. He is the one that always gets a fever. Logan is coughing a bit at night. It is funny how the same germ can affect them all differently. I took the above pictures a few weeks ago. We were having our noodle lunch and this bunch loves them. Of course Logan did not want his picture taken while eating.

On a different note, our dryer is broke and we are having a repairman look at it. We are not sure how much it will be to fix. If it is too much we will just have to buy a new one. We do not want to pay a large amount to pay for a broke one when we can buy a new one for about the same. Pray that this all works out. I like having my dryer and not worrying about the weather to hang clothes in and waiting for them to dry. Just little things but they make life a lot easier on a homeschooling mom.

Homeschooling is going a lot better. We have reward system that if they accomplish tasks at certain within a time limit they get a bean and at the end of the day they can use their beans to trade for candy. Logan loves it and was done with school before lunch and is begging me to let him to schoolwork on Sat. Hayden was sick so I am not sure how it will work with him when he is well. He watched tv on the couch all day.

Fall is here and with it is such lovely weather. My Slovenian friends however think that my children are sick because of the weather and my children not bundling up like snow bunnies all the time. Just a cultural thing around here. It is funny though. :)

My first one on one Bible study!

2008-09-25T01:13:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Robert and Mateja. Mateja has become a very good friend. She is very sweet and I have come to enjoy her company very much. She is not a believer in the true Gospel but she does believe in the God of the Bible, she is Catholic. I am using her belief in the Bible to witness to her. I gave her a Bible and she began to read it on her own. She brings her daughter to Tae Quan Do on Wednesdays and the boys are now attending it also. I mentioned to her on Monday that she should bring her Bible and I would bring mine and we would compare the English and the Slovene. To my surprise when I showed up to Tae Quan Do she asked me if I had my Bible. We opened them up and had a Bible study right there at the table. People were looking and wondering what we were doing and we were intently studying the Word of God. She ate it up and is very interested. I am so very excited that God is using me!!!! I have never felt this way about ministry. I am more of a firm believer in getting among the lost than ever before. How can we sin them if we do not know them. God has broken my heart for her and I am crying out to Him for the salvation of her soul. Please pray with me and for me that she will see the truth and I will be affective in giving it.

Hayden's Birthday

2008-09-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hayden had a wonderful birthday and a very big birthday party. We had a mixture of American missionary friends and some Christian Slovene friends and some non Christian Slovene friends. We have made new friends that do not know the Lord personally. They know of Him but do not know Him. They are very Catholic and worship Mary (Maria) very heavily. Mateja and I have become fast friends. We spent last weekend at their home for their 8 year olds birthday party and they came here this weekend. Next weekend we have been invited to their home again. I am very glad to have met them because their son Zak (Jauque) and Logan have become fast friends also. This is the first friend Logan has made. There really have not been any boys his age up until this one. They seem to play very nice together as well and are already talking about sleepovers. I hope you enjoy the pictures that I have left you. Tomorrow I will put a slide show up with all of the birthday pictures. For now I am off to bed. It has been a very busy and hot day.

Jordan's 2nd Birthday

2008-09-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

I thought you would enjoy seeing pictures from Jordan's 2nd birthday. She enjoyed her presents very much and did not enjoy us singing happy birthday (hmm I wonder if it was our singing)! She is a precious gift from God and a delight to have as a child. God sure knew what He was doing by putting her on the end of our little family (it is like the cherry on top). I am really tired after a very long day of homemade cooking and decorating and wrapping presents, plus the heat is getting to me (the news said that it was going to be an "Indian Summer" the next few days), so I am going to head to bed right now and try to cool down and get rid of this never ending headache that I have had for several days now. It really was a great day and I am so glad that I get to share the pictures with you.

Tired

2008-09-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Hello all, I am sooooo tired. I am making myself write in my blog because I have been slacking again! We had a get together for Jon's 36th birthday on Friday. It was great and we had a lot of fun with friends and a full house. Thursday was our ninth anniversary and we went out to the city center and ate. It was very nice and we have been reflecting on our past nine years together and I have to say that they have been quite wonderful. I do not think that there is any other man on this earth that could make me any happier! Ok back to why I am sooooo tired! Well, Jon got sick Friday during the middle of the night. He started running fever and aching all over. It has been that way ever since and he has had severe chills and stomach issues. Jon has not been this sick in a very long time. He would wake up shaking. I feel so bad for him. Not sure if it is a virus or food poisoning, all I know is that he feels really bad. I hope that he feels better soon. I do not mind picking up the slack but I am not getting much sleep. :) Please pray for him and me and the boys (they are starting the school of mommy)!!! I will try to keep you all up to date. He is feeling some better today. Well, I am off to put the kids to bed (it is 8pm and I have been staring at that clock wanted to put them to bed since 6:30 but it was still light out and I couldnt get away with it, the kids are too smart). I usually read at night but I do not think that I will be able to keep my eyes open tonight.

Katja

2008-08-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

This is Katja. I tutor her in English every Tuesday at 1pm. She is 15 and a very sweet girl. She is Catholic and I am praying for her salvation. I have given her reading assignments and they are Christian stories and books. I have given her a daily bread to read everyday as practice and I have given her a tract in her language and a picture one. I will continue to tutor her throughout the school year. Please pray for her and for me as I find new ways of communicating the gospel to her.

KIDS

2008-08-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

This is what I found one day when the boys had been playing in Hayden's room, not to mention the bathroom, the rug in Hayden's room, the wall downstairs where someone had touched it. It is fake blood and it was very difficult to remove! Needless to say I was not happy but I had to laugh and take a picture to document it. They are so silly and very messy sometimes.

Storm

2008-08-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

We had a storm last week that kept me up to the wee hours of the morning. It hailed twice for five minutes each at least. The lightening lit up the sky. Everyone else in the house was asleep except me. I snapped this picture during one of the times it was hailing. Tornadoes are not common to Slovenia but a friend said that there was one and she saw pictures on the internet that people had took of it. I am just glad that it was not near us.

Busy

2008-08-16T02:39:00.001-07:00

I have been busy these last few days working on Geoffrey's and Jessica wedding video. It is sad that I will not be able to be there but at least I feel like I am a part and helping out by doing this video for them. All of the engagements and weddings going on with my siblings it has made Jon and I sit and have a remembering party about our courtship and marriage. This month will be nine years! We have grown up so much during that time. God has brought us closer and stronger in Him. It is only by the grace of God and His leading in our lives that has made our marriage a success. I look ahead at my siblings marriages and I know that there will be some trying times and some growth that God will do in their lives as well. I am so excited to see them grow and mature and start their own families. Here is one picture I have done comparing the two of them at their toothless stage in life :), too cute. I am enjoying doing this video for them!

More water park pictures

2008-08-08T05:19:00.001-07:00

Terma Ptuj

2008-08-08T05:08:00.000-07:00

Hello again, We were so glad that everyone was feeling better we thought that we should take the kids to do something fun this summer before anyone else got sick LOL! So we loaded everyone up after lunch and went to the thermal water park/spa in Ptuj (the oldest city in Slovenia by the way). we thought that being Thursday it would not be that crowed but we thought wrong. We drove up and there were so many cars and so many people. I do not like crowded places and most of all not crowded swimming places. I have to say though that I did not feel so self conscious here. I was by far the most clothed person there. Not that they were unclothed they just had two piece swimsuits even if they were really old and really over weight. Not to mention the speedos LOL. Poor Hayden could not figure out why all the men were wearing ladies bottoms!!! Ha Ha. We had a good laugh at that one. It was a very good day and we had a lot of fun. That will be a family memory that we will cherish forever. I even went down one of the slides!!! Me being the mommy lathered down the kids with sunblock but forgot about me and Jon. Needless to say we are red and I am a lobster. The kids are fine though. It feels so nice for things to be getting back to normal around here. Thank you for all your prayers. We needed them and they helped.

Park Pictures

2008-08-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, Hayden is better and I have the pics to prove it. We took them to the park Wed. and we had a wonderful time. We walked around down town. I found a bathing suit and it fits!!! Sizing over here is a bit weird and it takes a lot of luck to get the right one! We even stopped for ice cream on our way to the park (we have to walk there). It used to seem like a lot of walking, but now it doesnt seem so bad. HMMM, I must be getting used to all the walking. I was a beautiful day and we were all happy to be out of the house. We also had dinner at McDonalds with a friend that we are witnessing to named Edwin. He is a Columbian who was a Catholic and now is coming to church with us when he can. Keep him in your prayers.

sick kid!!!!

2008-07-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, This post finds me very drained, I hope that it finds you doing well. Hayden our 5 year old has been very ill. Sunday night on the way home from church Hayden said he was really cold and that his head was really hot, "mommy I think I have fever". My response was honey I dont think so. He had been fine just minutes earlier. We got home and I went to feel his head just to appease him and he was on fire. I checked his temp and it was 104! YIKES I had no idea why because he had no other symptoms. I gave him some medicine and sent him to bed. Alot of waking up and a restless night continued. The next day he continued to have a high fever of 104. He now said that his throat was starting to hurt. So I look and he has white stuff on his tonsils. So I think he has strep. However he started to get ulcers all over his mouth so I started to researech online. I came across hands, foot and mouth disease, a virus that starts out with a fever and then you get blisters all in your mouth and then on your hands, feet and sometime even your rearend. So I looked him over and he had a blister on his hand and on his rearend. It has followed the virus to a T. He has had fever of 104 for three days. Today it has started to go down. His throat is horrible and his mouth looks diseased. He is in so much pain it is hard for him to eat. He has been such a trouper though. I am taking him to the doctor tomorrow in hopes that there is something that they can give him for the pain. It is very contagious so I will probably be in the house in quarintine for a few more weeks!!!! I am praying that the other two do not get it and even worse me!!!! I will keep you informed. Also Logan got 26 mosquito bites yesterday and he is allergic so they looked like he had the plague. Even though Hayden is sick and we are stuck in the house the kids are crazy and have a good time.

Romance

2008-07-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let everyone know that I have a very sweet husband. He planned a date for us this past Sat. Our first one in Slovenia. We havent had one in 6 months LOL. I have to say that it is by far the best date that we have ever had. He surprised me and did all the planning. He started preparing me for the date the night before by sending me and e-card and leaving a cologne sprayed letter, with special made stationary, on my pillow. The next morning I had another e-card. That evening he picked up our baby sitters and I was lead to the car and given a long stem red rose and another special made card. All of this was soooo sweet and I have to say that I cried a little the night before because he was sooooo sweet. We went to see a movie, and it was really good. Then we went back to our car and I was presented with a long stem white rose and another card. We drove down to the river and walked along the river and he took pictures of my like I was some kind of model. It was fun. We got back into our car and drove to an Asian restaurant. It was sooooo delicious and they kept bringing more food. I was so stuffed when we left. A funny thing was when we got back to the car Jon had left the lights on and the battery was dead. Being a standard though I just pushed it a little and Jon popped it and we were on our way. When we arrived home I was given a yellow long stem rose. It was a wonderful evening!!!!! I can not even begin to express how much I appreciated the time we had together. I wanted to share our wonderful evening with all of my wonderful friends and family. Oh and I leave you with some pictures.

God at work

2008-07-14T11:47:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday (yesterday), we hosted the church in Maribor at our home. I was supper excited and nervous to see who would show up. We did alot of preparing and praying. The end result was a tremendous turn out and the Holy Spirit working in some lives. We had 35 adults in attendance and about 10 or more kids. All together between 45 and 50 people in our house. This was the biggest group that the church has ever had. One Slovene lady (a friend of mine named Yolanda) said that God is using us in this country already. We had two of our unsaved friends attend. Jon even got to talk with one in depth about his testimony after the services. Please pray for Edwin. He is a native Columbian who has been in Slovenia for a few years. He was raised Catholic but is not happy with them. He is receptive to the Gospel, please keep his name lifted up before the Lord. Our landlady also came, her name is Vojka. She was a little shy around everyone and seemed uneasy. The Lord is working in her heart. I am also tutoring a 15 year old girl named Katja in English. She failed her english class in school this past year and they give them three more chances to take a test during the summer. She took one and failed it horribly. My friend Yolanda referred her to me and I had 4 lessons with her before her next exam. I really did not think that she would pass but she worked really hard and she passed. Her family was soooo excited and grateful. They bought me a basket of potatoes from their garden. I am continuing to teach her throughout the summer. One of the assignments that I gave her is to read the daily bread in english everyday and underline words she did not understand. Also to write down what it meant to her so that we could talk about it. Please pray that the Scriptures will not return void. She is a sweet young lady. If you have hung on and read this whole blog you deserve a medal!!! Thanks for reading and staying in touch. We love you all and are so glad to see God working in the lives of people that we have met.

Bible School

2008-07-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Hayden's little friend with glasses from Bible school's name is Donny. They had a blast. Here are some pictures to prove it!!!

Hey everyone, sorry I am behind on writing. Things have gotten really busy around here. The kids just got through going to a Bible school that the church we attend put on. They had some workers come in from a church in New Mexico. The kids had a great time. I am so thankful that they got to attend something this summer.

Blood test results

2008-07-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ok so I went to the doctor today to get the results of the blood test I had taken a week ago. The drum roll please.....it is not my thyroid! At least I do not think it is. I still need to call my doc back in Shreveport to confirm that my count has not gone up. I am however low iron anemic. Which would explain me being soooooo tired and even the hair loss and the tingling in my fingers and the dizziness. I just do not know how I became anemic. I eat meat people, everyday!!!! I am not really happy with the doc because I feel like I really did not get much information or help. I got a prescription for iron for a month but I have read that it takes at least three months to build your iron back up. Well, anyway I thought that I would update you all, who actually read this, about my health situation. We have had such a busy couple of weeks!!! I am soooo drained. We are hosting the church here in Maribor at our home this Sunday and are expecting a few of our "contacts" to come. Please be in prayer for their salvation. Some names to lift up to the Lord are: Vojka, Tihomil, Aljaz, Alja, Vlasta, Natasha, Katja.... these are a few of the people that we come in contact with alot and are not believers. Some are Catholic, some new age, and some are Atheist. Thank you for your prayers and loving support. It means so much to hear from you all :)

Baptism

2008-06-22T04:54:00.000-07:00

These are a few photos of a Baptism of two of the people in the church that we attend. We had to go to a neighboring town to Baptize them because their is not a place for them to do it here. It is very hard for people in this culture to submit to Baptism because of the pressure from their families. They view Baptism as a denouncement of the Catholic faith. Some families have disowned their own family over this. These people have been saved for some time but finally are taking that leap of faith. It was such a blessing to see and we had a wonderful day of worship and fellowship with these fellow believers.

Cool things at the mall

2008-06-22T04:46:00.000-07:00

A week ago we went to the mall one Sat. and to our surprise they were having some things going on. I took some pictures of them. There was a sand sculpture and a sand pit for kids to play in and a man carving an ice sculpture to the music of AD DC. The music would get faster, he would get faster. The kids thought that this was really cool because he had a chain saw and it was loud. This coming week there will be a festival down town that we will go to. It has booths set up with people selling things and food. It should be fun.

Tuesday

2008-06-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

Okay so I am a little behind on my posting, so shoot me LOL. I had a wonderful day Tuesday. I for the first time got to go to a missionaries ladies prayer meeting. There were seven of us and we had a wonderful time talking and praying together. It really uplifted my spirits. I have met some wonderful ladies that I am sure will become great friends. We are quit an international group. There is a German single missionary, who was hosting us by the way name Judith but pronounced Udith, a Russian lady whose husband is American, an Australian lady, who just got back a few weeks ago from a six month furlough, a German summer intern who is originally from Russia but moved to Germany when she was seven, and finally me and Joan are American and Baptist. It was so wonderful to talk with these ladies because they have the same experiences that I do although they have all been here at least for two or three year all the way up to 9 years I think. I wanted to share my wonderful experience with you so these ladies were gracious enough to let me take their picture although they wanted to hide from the camera, I wonder why we women do that? Have a great Sunday everyone.

Pictures

2008-06-19T05:36:00.001-07:00

I thought that you would want to see some pictures of our last week. I have become camera happy over here. Jon calls me his little Chinese woman because I am always sticking a camera in their faces. Hayden is usually in every picture but for some reason this week he is not. He must have been outside playing.

Cherries!!!

2008-06-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

Cherries, cherries everywhere, so many cherries so many to spare!!!! We have several cherry trees in our yard, yummy. We have two sour cherry trees and three sweet ones. The sour cherries are what we use in pies and things like that. This past Sat. it was going to rain again and knock all of the ripe cherries off the tree so Jon got a ladder and picked some cherries. I had to find out what to do with them so, I went on the internet to find a recipe for homemade cherry pie and cherry pie filling. I found what I was looking for and went off to create my newest creation in the kitchen. I pitted the cherries, then cooked them, added sugar and gelatin to thicken it. Yummy pie filling was my finished product, I didnt have time that day to make the pie so I put them in the fridge and on another day I made my pie crust, which was surprisingly easy. It turned our great and I had some dough left over so Logan played with it like playdough. That gave me another idea for another day Ha Ha. I put my pie together and baked it and it turned out great!!! The next day I made the kids homemade playdough and Logan had a blast with it. I never knew how much I would enjoy cooking!!! Really, I used to hate it but I really enjoy making wonderful things for my family to eat.

My Husband

2008-06-14T15:47:00.002-07:00

My husband, the Father of my children! How can I express how grateful I am to God for bringing us together to create a family. There are not enough hallmark cards or even homemade ones, which he got this year (4 of them), to say what you mean to me. Our kids could not design a better dad. I am so glad that you are passing on your wisdom to them and our faith. You are a wonderful leader of our home. Thank you so much for your countless sacrifices that you have made, for playing games you hate just to be with the family, for reading the Bible to our family even when they can not sit still. Thank you for the example you are to them. I hope that our sons will grow up to be a father just like you. I love you sweetheart. I hope that you have a wonderful day today. Love, Amanda

Card for Dad

2008-06-14T15:47:00.001-07:00

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This is the card I made for him!

My Dad

2008-06-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Wow,
Tomorrow is Father's Day and I just have to tell you a little bit about my dad. You see he is the best dad in the world and I do not want everyone to be jealous but I do not take my extreme blessing for granted. He has passed so much wisdom on to me and he is the first man I have ever loved. He always took the time to show us that we were special and important to him. He was the first man to ever give me a dozen roses, on my sixteenth birthday, and the first man to write me a poem (Ode to Amanda)! He showed me what I wanted in a husband and father of my own children and because of his example I think I have that. So today I want to say thank you for all of the wonderful things you have given me LIFE, LOVE, WISDOM, AND HAPPINESS! Thank you for teaching me about the Bible and passing on your faith to me. I love you so much and hope that you have a wonderful day. Love your first born, Amanda

Family Fun Friday Nights

2008-06-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

We have created this tradition here in Slovenia called Family Fun Friday Nights. I make homemade pizza, very yummy, we play games as a family, such as uno, battle, guess who, and pass the pigs, Jon is our chocolate chip cookie baker, from scratch, and then we all watch a family movie. The kids love it so much that they will not let us forget about it and all week long they are saying "is it Friday yet" or "only so many days until Friday". I am so glad that they enjoy it and we do have a blast. Here are some pictures from our special night.

Attacks

2008-06-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

We have been bombarded by satan today. His attacks have not gone unnoticed. Well, to start off, my thyroid is off or something else is wrong. My hair is falling out, my fingers are tingling, I have insomnia, and I am extremely tired. Those are all signs of having a malfunctioning thyroid and I am already on medication so it must be off. I have to find a doctor to go see and hopefully not have to wait 5 months because all medical treatment is socialized so they kinda want to see the people who are dying first. So Jon is worried about me and I am a little bit but not too much.

Today we are on our way to Graz, Austria to visit friends and try to get our car fixed (battery kept dying, we had to push start it like 6 times in the last couple of days). We are heading out of town and Jon rear ends a guy. To Jon's defense it was clear and they guy looked like he was going to go. I know that an Angel was in between our cars because there was not a even a scratch on either vehicle. The guy said no harm done and didnt even call the police which is almost unheard of around here. God's protection and your prayers in action. Well, we have been going back and forth to Graz for the past 4 and a half months and never has there been anyone at the border. Today, of course you guessed it, there were Austrian police checking papers. We had our passports and then they had them but we did not have the car registration and it is in another missionaries name, long story, we can not get it in our name until we have visas! Oh, yes I know you are saying visas!!!! At this time I am sooooo nervous that they are going to hall us off to some imigrations office and deport us. We have been here for longer than the three months you are supose to be for tourism. They asked so many questions and finally they let us go. Yep, you got it God's protection and your prayers in action yet again. So you see, satan has tried to get us thrown out of the country twice in one day. It just makes me even more determend to stay and fight. Please realize how important you all are in this picture, PRAYER. Without you praying for us we may not be able to fight. Please continue to hold us up in prayer. The attacks today were merciless, I am so glad that I serve a God of mercy who has chosen to protect us in all of this. So much could have happened that did not. Thank you so much and Thank you my wonderful Saviour who watches over me and my family.

Inspired

2008-06-05T03:17:00.000-07:00

This video is a heart clincher. A good friend put it on her blog and I am so glad that she did. It really touched my heart. We can and do make a difference in this world. Take the time to watch the video and let God speak to your heart.

Funny music video by preacher's wives

2008-06-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Sunday

2008-06-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

Today was a really great day and I feel very refreshed. I really enjoy our little house church that we attend. I feel that these people really love God and desire to know Him more. I love singing with them, even though I do not understand the words that I am singing I know the tune and I know what the song means. I can read the words because Slovene is relatively phonetic. There is just something about singing and praising the Lord with fellow believers that makes me happy. Just thought I would share that with everyone and give you some pictures to look at of my beautiful family :) Yes we were eating our dinner outside because it is hot!!! LOL and isnt Jordan's new swimsuit adorable? It is hot enough for her to run around in that, funny huh?

NO OBAMA

2008-06-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

You really need to watch this video. I am afraid for my country and praying that people see things with clear eyes.

A game of tag

2008-05-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have been tagged by my sweet friend Tina Ebert (http://eberts4missions.multiply.com/journal/item/98/Im_it). I love games so here it goes.

Here are the rules:
*Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog
*Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird
*Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
*Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

1. My middle name is Jolene
2. I rebel against structure
3. I love to digital scrapbook
4. I did not know how to cook very good 4 months ago, now I am an expert and love it (LOL)
5. I secretly still love baby dolls and barbies
6. I am a horrible sick person (a baby)
7. I love to read to my children

I have tagged my good friends Tina Ward (http://learning2b.blogspot.com/), Krista Caldwell (http://learning2b.blogspot.com/), Katherine Ward (http://lifeisshort-katie.blogspot.com/), Okay I dont have anybody else that has a blog that has not already been tagged so that is it for me. I would list Becky Liles, Stephanie Ballinger, and Tina Ebert. I read all of there blogs but I dont have anyone elses.

Fun in the HOT HOT SUN

2008-05-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

The pictures speak for themselves. The kids had a blast today playing in water, in our packing tubs. What you will do when you are hot and have no air conditioning. It is a record breaking 93 degrees today!!!! YUCK!!! I miss winter or at least the cool Springtime. Well, enjoy the pictures of our cute kids. :)

More Pictures

2008-05-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

We have a lot of cherry trees in our back yard. I just thought that it is so neat that we can go outside and pick a snack off of our trees. YUM

Phone Photos

2008-05-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

I thought today would be a good day to add some photos that I have taken over the last two weeks with my phone. It is a stormy day and just one of those days you feel like cuddling with a blanket and reading a book. Jordan is sick, she is running fever and has a runny nose. If the fever doesnt clear up by Thursday I will have to find a doctor to take her to. I am also putting together a 500 piece puzzle. It is an anne geddes picture and it comes with puzzle glue so that I can frame it when I am finished. Have a wonderful day everyone.

boys and school

2008-05-14T04:18:00.000-07:00

My patience is really being tried and i didnt even pray for it J/K. I wish I had patience when it comes to schooling the boys it flies out the window. I have truly wanted to throw a book, pencil or anything around me at times. I have to go to another room and cool off just so I do not yell at them. I remember when I was young and I had homework and my dad yelling at me because I just didnt get it. Yikes, I thought he was so mean when he did that, at least now I understand the frustration of not being able to get something across to your children that they need to know. In my defense they do know how to push my buttons and they just can not seem to resist doing it. I must be a gluten for punishment because I am going to continue to do school with them through the summer! I dont want to be rushed to get things in so I want to be able to take it slow and also take breaks here and there when needed, such as when we have visitors and when we want to go somewhere or I am sick. I dont know if it is just me but I am having the hardest time with getting them to read. They hate it. They love to be read to. I read them a chapter out of a chapter book every night and they love it. They just do not like reading things themselves. Well, I press on and pray constantly. I now have a new found meaning to the verse "pray without ceasing" because when I cease I loose my cool. It is so much easier to teach someone else's kids, they go home with them. As always, keep me in your prayers.

Missing my mom

2008-05-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

I am missing my mother today, more than on Mother's Day even. I do not know why or what triggered it, well I guess I do. I received a card and a book and bookmark from my mother for Mother's Day. I really just want to hug her right now. I miss her sense of humor. Her advice and the calm way she always knows how to make me feel better. I know I am rambling but it has always helped me to write when I feel down. It gets it all out and even sometimes helps me to cry it out. I know I will be fine and I love it here, I just miss my mama. If I could have her here this would be the most perfect place on earth. I wish I would have not been so stuburn and in a hurry to grow up. I wish that I would have taken the opportunity while I had it to enjoy having a friendship with my mother. Somehow when you are a teenager things are just so unclear and fuzzy. Now that I am grown and have kids of my own things seem so much clearer. I guess that is why the say hindsight is twenty twenty. You can always see the past so much more clearly from the future.

2008-05-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is the card I sent to my mommy for mother's day. I miss here alot. She has become one of my dearest and closest friends. I am so thankful to have her in my life. Thanks mom for all you have done for me and your family. Your sacrifice has not been in vain and has not gone unnoticed. I love you!

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Bikes

2008-05-08T13:00:00.001-07:00

Well, we finally broke down, and now we are broke Ha Ha, and bought the boys bikes. They love them I can barely get them off of them. We got one of those seats for Jordan to sit in on Jon's bike, my bike was not big enough for it.

A very Slovene and really European thing to do is go bike riding. So Sunday we went on a big adventure. We went for a bike ride through the back acres of our property on dirt roads. This led us to a lake that we have walked to before, like a two mile walk. Then we went further on the real road. It winded through a little village. We went up three inclines, my legs remember those! Then we come to a very busy part of the city of Maribor. Jon kept saying that it was not much further to get home from this way. Well, Jon was wrong, he has since apologized so all if forgiven but at the time I was not too happy. Anyway when all is said and done everyone is very tired and very sore but all of us loved it and will be bike riding together more often.

With bikes and boys comes bruises and bumps. Hayden, being the middle/mischievous child that he is, tried to ram Logan's back tire with his bike. Too bad for him that it backfired and he went flying face forward into the blacktop. He has lost one of his front teeth and the other was loose, I say that because he came running in with blood flowing from his mouth. Yep you guessed it, it knocked the tooth so loose that it was dangling. I reached in with a paper towel under the preface that I was just going to clean it off and grabbed it right out. Hayden was not too happy about me misleading him but he was happy that he got to leave his tooth under the pillow. He is soooo cute. I had to take some pictures so I could show everyone.

New Hobby

2008-04-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-20T03:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-19T02:17:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-17T02:12:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-13T03:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-13T03:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

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My scrapbook

2008-04-10T05:01:00.001-07:00

Ear pain and olive oil!

2008-04-09T04:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-08T03:14:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-05T03:59:00.000-07:00

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 :)

2008-04-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2008-04-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

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!!

Daily Devotion

2008-03-31T04:53:00.000-07:00

Although we do not have a church to go to here I am becoming closer to God than I have been in some time. I pondered about this a lot yesterday. I think that for me church and "ministry" have been a crutch of sorts to me. I went to church listened to preaching and responded to the messages but something inside of me was slowly dying. It was my relationship with God. I know that you can not loose your salvation but you can have a bad relationship. Just like if my husband and I did not talk or relate to one another on a deep and intimate level. I needed to have a deep devotion to my Heavenly father. Well, being here and the fact that we do not have a church has made me search deeper for God in my daily life and activities. I am enjoying them so much and my spirit is awakening inside me. It is hard to admit that a missionaries wife, who has come to a foreign country to tell others about Christ has not felt the spirit moving in her for some time. Dont get me wrong I have always loved God and said my prayers and tried to read the Bible. I think that it is my motives behind it that is the difference. I am truly seeking God's presence. I need His presence. I can not get a false sense of security from fellowshipping after church with other believers. I have to rely on God to fill my cup spiritually. I am so grateful that God has brought me to this place to not only preach His Gospel but to renew our relationship.

Adjusting to life in Slovenia

2008-03-29T09:23:00.001-07:00

Phew, I just got back from a hour walk. It was quiet long. We, meaning Jon and I and all of the kids, went on a hike to find the "lake". When we got there it was more like a big pond but it was worth the walk. It is in the upper 50's today and the birds are singing and there is a nice breeze outside. All the snow as melted and the buds on the trees are still budding and turning green now. The sweet smell of the flowers fill the air and the bees are happily buzzing all around. We always find neat things on our walks. Today we found a bone, it was big enough to be a deer bone or a big dog bone. The boys thought that was neat. Of course Hayden our resident whiner started complaining half way there. He skipped lunch so he was hungry. All they way back he whined but everyone else seemed to enjoy themselves. Our neighbor, Aljaz, who is 21 took us to the lake. We have developed a good relationship with him. We gave him a Bible and he is reading John. Jon also has presented the Gospel to him very plainly. Please pray for Aljaz.

We had the great privilege to be invited to eat a special Easter Lunch with the neighbors, our landlords, The Lesniks (pronounced Leshnick). There is a little squiggly thing above the s to make it the sh sound. Slovenes by nature are not very open but these people have invited us into their lives and treat us like family. My children call the mamma, Voka, Bobitsa (pronounced bobitza) which means Grandmother. She seems to really like having children around. She buys them candy and special treats. The Tuesday after Easter was Mother's Day here in Slovenia. Of course my family did not celebrate it but Aljaz brought me over a red Carnation. It was very sweet. This family though they do not know it are a confirmation to us that God has brought us to this area. They are being used to be a blessing to us and at the same time God is working on their hearts. Please continue to pray for us as we are these peoples Bible and pray for them that their hearts will be softened and open to hear the Gospel.

Homeschooling is going much better. Being world travelers we are now studying the globe and continents. This is interactive between me and them. Then they have a curriculum on the computer that is very good at making them think. I am also using their school work that they were in America, ACE. I use it for handwriting practice and reading. I have also started to read chapter books to them, thank you mom. She sent me some. We are reading The Lost Boys, Dark Wind Cave. They love it. They beg me to read more when I get done with a chapter. We have alot of discussions about nature on our hikes. All in all it is going great.

On Friday we have implemented family fun Friday night. I make pizza, when I say make I mean I make my own dough and sauce and bake it myself. It is really fun. We bake cookies and play games. Last night we played pass the pigs. The boys love it and Jordan kept trying to snatch the pigs! Then we all watch a movie together. I love this night. It is becoming very special. We also have started doing nightly devotions with the kids. We have been doing it for over a week now and it is going really good. We have established some really great routines over here. We have not been able to do that in so long because of traveling on deputation. So it feels really good.

The Euro is up!!!! Please keep that in prayer also. It makes things really tight. It is trading at 1.57 to 1 dollar for us right now. It has gone up .20 cents in the two months that we have been here. If everyone will lift up their voices to God I know that it will make a difference. Thank you all so much for being my support system. It is so nice to hear from you from time to time. I do not feel homesick all of the time but i do have those days.