Reb Ribbon and All

In August of last year we lost our dog Ollie. We were extremely sad. He had been a great dog. We had him for five years, since he was six weeks old. We have been travelling a lot so we didn't get another dog right away. Besides, we couldn't just replace our Ollie. In the following months, we still missed Ollie. Every time we had bones left from beef stew, we remember how much Ollie would have loved to chew on it, but mostly go bury it.

By December we were ready for a new dog and Sam had a breed in mind. He wanted a Great Pyrenees. I wanted a Great Dane and the kids wanted another Jack Russell like Ollie. After reading about several kinds of breeds and thinking about our needs we (Sam and I) chose a Great Pyrenees. The kids thought we were still thinking about it. After searching around we found a farmer who had a litter of Christmas puppies for a very reasonable price. Sam and I snuck away to check out the puppies. The first thing I saw when we pulled up was their great big daddy guarding the cattle and the mother, Sugar, guarding the sheep. They were beautiful animals and very social, yet sober. The puppies all came stumbling out, they were barely six weeks and still a little unstable. I was so excited. We wanted a dog that had been socialized some, we wanted to be able to see the parents and we wanted to raise it from a puppy.
Great Pyrenees are working dogs. They were breed to be flock guardian dogs and they do a very good job. We know that safety is of the Lord, but it is nice knowing we will have a family dog that likes to protect her family if need be and is social as long as she knows there is no threat. The ad in the paper said something about "fluffy ball of white fur". And that is just what she was; cute and fluffy, and a little shy at first.
Sam and I picked her up on Christmas Eve and she cried all the way to my brother’s house, where she stayed the rest of the evening. She was happy as long as my little niece held her. Sam and I picked her up after the kids were in bed. We gave her a bath, which really stressed her out and put her in her kennel in a nearby building. Sam got up at 3:00 am to check on her and she was crying. He ended up sleeping on the floor next to her to keep her from alerting the kids. In the morning we got them over to my mom and dad’s house as quickly as possible. As soon as we had unwrapped gifts, Sam announced he had forgotten my gift and jumped in the van to go get it. It is a short mile down the road. The children commenced to playing with their new toys and looking at their new books and things.

Then in comes Sam with the yet to be named, very young, very stressed out, but extremely cute puppy complete with red ribbon. The kids were very surprised and very excited.

Heidi started out quite shy; in fact she spent most of Christmas day sleep under something. She was still unstable on her feet at this point and it was so tempting to just carry her around. It didn't take her long to start to come out of her shell. She is adjusting to our family very well and is even doing well with all the travel and new places.

People Are the Most Important Thing

I can really get caught up in the doing. List must be made. List for home schooling. List for moving. List for grocery shopping. List of books I want to read and the important "to-do" list. And then, after you have written the list you must do the things on the list, so you can check then off the list. It is important to accomplish things. The children's education is important, we will be moving and everyone must be fed. Usually they like to be fed 3 times per day, go figure. I love home making. I could be very happy at home for a very long time. I love to stand at the counter and chop up vegetables, glancing outside the window to see the children playing. I'm social or I have developed the ability to socialize with other people, I even enjoy it, but I would be happy in my own little world. I could walk through a store and be so involved in my own little world that I completely miss the people around me, many of which are hurting.

So you can see reaching out to others is not my strong point. It is something I work at. It is not hard for me to put myself aside to "serve" my family. And I don't mean serve them, as in weight-on-them-hand-and-foot and cater to all their needs. I mean, using my time in doing things to make my home sweeter, to help them become the people Gods wants them to be. Things like read to them, cook for them and with them, study with them, read the scriptures with them, let young ones "help" me when it's really not convenient, make German chocolate cake from scratch on their birthday and greet them warmly even when I'm tired. For my husband and children this is not hard, but when it comes to others I often find myself lacking.

It's not because I don't think this is important. I think reaching out to your church family is an important way to encourage one another and reaching out the world is a commandment. In my Bible it's written in red letters and it is the last words spoken by the Savior before he ascends to heaven.

My sweet husband is the exact opposite of me. He is constantly on the look out for people to minister to in anyway possible. If he had his way, we would have company three times a week. I do regret we have not had people over more, those that have come, didn't seem to mind the small quarters we now occupy. If Sam finds someone at the store hurting or even willing to talk, he sets everything aside and spends the time needed with that person, even if it means the ingredient he was sent to fetch sit in his cart, while I push supper back and wonder where he is.

So it has gone on now for 14 years, me understanding and admiring his gift of reaching out and him understanding my focused mind and tendency toward solitude. He tries to ask me or give me notice before he invites someone over and I try to be more flexible when it comes to "serving" others. I try to make sure my Bible reading is not an item on the list to be checked off and that I put people on the list a lot more.

If there is one thing for which I feel ill prepared, it is being in a foreign culture and bringing people into my home. I found myself thinking of this often. I have images of a home were others are welcome at all times. I know this seems ludicrous to some, especially those in the ministry here in the States. You have to "protect" your family and your time with your family. I hear that, I do, I think it is tempered with wisdom. Still I can't get away from this thing, this calling, this "word from God". God has it worked out already, because I can't imagine how to work it out. I can't make a list for it. I can't make a schedule for it. God knows exactly what we need to do to reach out to the city of Jerez, I just have to be willing to step out of myself and follow his direction.

There is a place for quite refuge, for alone time, but it seems the modern day mantra of "I must take care of myself" has been terribly, humanistly distorted. Really our Bible teaches, and the example we are given in the life of Christ, is a life of dying to self. It is so easy to get so caught up in this world that we forget it is very temporary, solely a pilgrimage.

Our family is reading through the Bible together this year and it is giving all of us such broader picture. I encourage everyone to join us. It's still only January.

The Adventure, Part 2

Means Family, Beaver Creek, CO 2009

I know it may seem as if we have been on one huge vacation this year and we have been able to see some really neat things along the way, but the truth is we have very few "down days". The "down days" we do have we spend catching up on administrative things and cramming in as much home school as possible. I have lost count of our miles. I think it is somewhere around 30,000 and we have meetings and mission conferences straight through Feb 2010.
Then we were in Colorado and the mountains were calling. I had completely forgotten the amazing calm, peaceful quiet of a landscape blanketed in snow. Then a few people sent money they wished us to put towards some special family time. We were able to get a hotel in Beaver Creek for a great price and rent our equipment from the MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) at Fort Carson. We rented equipment for the entire family for next to nothing. Vail/Beaver Creek Associates gives amazing lift ticket discounts for the military. I intend to write them a thank you letter, because not a lot of people do that anymore and it really made the difference in being able to ski or not for us. So with the money provided and some deal hunting we were going to be able to take our kids skiing at Beaver Creek! I was in complete disbelief. It is something Sam and I never thought we would be able to do for our kids and God provided this opportunity at the end of a rather long year.

Powder!!  We almost didn't make it over the pass.

Enjoying the view the first morning.

The View!  Can't you imagine "swishing" as Hannah calls it.

We had planned on taking Haden up with us in the Kelty baby backpack as we have done in the past, but Colorado law has changed and prohibits that now. So, we decide to try some skis on him. While Sam got skis for Haden, I went ahead and took the older four up the small beginner lift, which is still pretty high. I wasn't sure if I remembered how to ski and I was going to have to get four beginners done the hill. We had worked on ski familiarity the day before and Sam had taught them how to stop (which is important), so I thought we should be ok. We got on and off the gondola ok and our skis back on. Then the kids looked down the mountain and panicked a bit. They started falling all over the place. As soon as I got one up and going, another would forget how to stand up. Where is my ski instructor? How did I end up on the mountain with four first time skiers? I was trying really hard to remain calm, but was pretty sure I was going to have to scoot them down on their rear ends. Sam got Haden’s skis and then up the hill he came. By the time he caught up with us we were about 1/3 of the way down and three were doing much better, but Lena was really starting to lose hope.

Please stay in a wedge and follow me!

Sam to the rescue, with Haden in tow!  This is Haden's only run this trip. :)

Haden didn't mind skiing as long as Dad was securely holding him, so Sam coached Adelina down while holding Haden and I took the other three down. After that all four of them just took off! Sam and I took turns staying at the bottom with Haden trying to get him used to his skis, while the other went up with the kids. After a bit we decided Haden would be better off at childcare. It broke all our hearts that he couldn't be with us, but he had a great day playing inside. At the end of the day the kids had smores on an open fire, mountain side, while Sam and I went for one more run that was a bit more challenging. We had skied from the time the lifts opened, until they closed. What an adventure!

The first day we just used the gondola and the beginner slope, but the second day we used the chair lifts.  I was really concerned about getting four children on the chair lift, but it went really smoothly.

Ski bunnies and lil' bro.

Now Sam and I enjoy skiing, as you read in the last post, but we didn't know what the kids would think of it. We were just excited to be able to have them on the slops with us. THEY LOVED IT!!! They are not your average children. They have been able to hike, rappel, camp, travel, hunt, and much more. In short they have a lot of experience under their little belts. We thought they would enjoy skiing the way they enjoy other things in life, with enthusiasm. But this was completely different. They loved it! I mean really loved it. When I suggested stopping to grab a bite to eat the first day they only wanted to keep skiing. I made them eat a little of course. As we sat to eat, Samuel declared he was almost as good as daddy.  That is just too good! ;) They really were becoming good skiers and in just one day.  I can’t even explain how much they enjoyed skiing. It was like dolphins enjoying jumping out of the water as high as they can. I have never enjoyed skiing so much myself. Watching the kids have so much fun was almost more than Sam and I could stand. Little 7 year old Lena would ski down the mountain singing at the top of her lung a song Sam taught her on the lift.

"Please help me I'm falling

Down the mountain again.

Close all the lifts quickly

Before I do it again.

All my friends say skiing,

Is the most fun of all...

I'm not so sure,

Oops, I'm going a' fall."

--by Sam's Aunt Joanne

(Sang to the tune of an old country song called “Please help Me I’m Falling”)

Lena singing down the mountian with me in the back ground.  Not bad form. :)

We knew we were a little “road weary”, but we did not realize how much we needed a few days with just our family. God is so good, He stretches us, and then He brings us in his fold to refresh us. My only regret is not having the video camera. The second day we skied all over the mountain from top to bottom. Sam led a lot and I bought up the rear. So, I got to see all my little skiers following their daddy down the mountain. It came almost as naturally as breathing for them, even on the steeper slopes. My skiing wasn’t too bad this year either.

In case you're wondering if Sam's still got it.  He did several jumps for us, including a back scratcher and cruzed down a double diamond at top speed. 

An Amazing God Given Adventure...but First the Back Story

In 1982 when Sam was 11 his Uncle Chet took him on his first ski trip. They skied at Beaver Creek in Colorado the second year it was open! You can call me a ski snob, but I am pretty convinced BC is the best place on earth to ski. Sam and I also think any day you get to ski is a great day, but more on that later. The next year Sam's mom saved up and took the whole family. Uncle Chet helped make it possible by helping with accommodations. So, started a ski tradition and many wonderful memories with cousins. Sam skied Beaver Creek without missing one season for the next 15 years. Even the year of Desert Shield/Desert Storm he was able to make it back to ski. What a contrast, the heat of the desert to a winter wonderland.  In fact, the top pictue is of Sam during his Marine Corp days. He doesn't have any ski poles, because his wrist is broken.

When Sam got out of the Marine Corp he tried out to be ski instructor and despite 12 years of bad habits he made the cut and spent an entire ski season out at Beaver Creek. For the next several years he returned between semesters and during spring break to instruct. One of those years, I drove out with Sam's family and joined them for ski vacation. I got to learn to ski and watch Sam work all at the same time. It was so much fun to be in his beginner class. As you can imagine, Sam is very good at teaching. After we married, we drove out together. Sam instructed and I worked at the children's ski school. What wonderful memories we have of that beautiful place.

Our first Anniversary picture taken by a sharpshooter photographer at the base of the mountain.

Our last year at Beaver Creek was the 1996/1997 ski season. We finished college, moved to Germany, and had five children. A few weeks before Sam deployed to Iraq in 2003 we were able to take a ski trip to Austria. The kids were small. Hannah and Josiah, ages 3 and 4, were able to go to ski school, but Samuel and Adelina were very young. We had a great week, mostly just thankful we could spend it with Dad before he deployed. We enjoyed the snow, sledding, lots of hot chocolate and a little skiing.

What a fun chapter skiing has been in our lives, but it is something we have never had the opportunity to share with the children.

Here is a picture of us.  We had skied and sledded at a small local hill near our friend's the Elkin's house near Hohenfels, Germany.  You can see how small the children were.  Sam is wearing his ski instructor uniform.

Is Your Husband Down with Your Crazy Diet?

Believe it or not yes! He just came up with a raw almond butter recipe and he's making super healthy chocolate shake right now. Recently a friend ask how to begin moving towards healthier eating habits with a resistant family. I am brain storming on some practical ideas and recourses.

One of the first things to do is drink water. It's not a huge thing and everyone will feel better instantly. Really, you would be surprised, just like a cool drink of water from God's Word does wonders for a parched, defeated heart, water will rejuvinate and revive. So go throw out all those sodas and flavored drinks. Now not only are you taking a good first step towards good health, but you are saving money by not buying all those drinks. Unless, of course, you're living in a country were you have to buy bottled water like we do in Mexico. So no more Dr. Pepper--you know who you are.

And Other Food Stuff.....

Starbucks Espresso Truffle

We’ve combined Starbucks espresso with our premium European-style cocoa blend used in our Signature Hot Chocolate and steamed milk, and topped it with whipped cream and a touch of chocolate powder. This sophisticated beverage delivers rich chocolate flavor with a velvety mouthfeel balanced with a smooth coffee flavor.
Sounds wonderful and yummy and it’s one of Sam’s favorites, although he never buys it. It cost a whopping $4.

My Truffle Mocha
One pot strong coffee-Starbucks uses expresso, so you could make the extra effort and brew expresso, but it turned out great with strong coffee.
Maybe three tbsp, I didn’t measure, will measure next time-Xylitol
Maybe three tbsp, again didn’t measure, taste and add more if you like-Coaco powder
Cream or milk….mmmm….enough to make it a tad creamy.
Top with whip cream, barely sweetened with xylitol, I whipped my from heavy cream in the blender on high.
Sprinkle coaco powder on top
I put the fist 3 ingredients into a pan and warmed them to almost boiling. Poured it into coffee cups leaving a little rrom on top for whipped cream and sprinkled with coaco powder. Tasted like the starbucks drink!
This drink cost over $4 at Starbucks and I made a whole pot for under $2. It is too sweet for me to drink very often, but on occation it is awesome. Oh and the xylitol is good for you and it’s made with sugar at Starbucks.

Thai Bubble Tea/Food Blog

I am sorry I have taken the food blog off for right now. I don’t have internet access enough to keep it going. I hope to resume it when we get to Mexico, along with plant a garden. We are still shooting for 50% or more raw. We juice almost every morning. It is very rare we eat anything cooked before lunch and our lunches are raw most of the time.

Here’s a fun treat, Bubble Tea. We made it with a packet this time, but it is easy to make with black tea, sugar or xylitol and cream or milk. Cook large tapioca pearls according to directions. Place in bottom of each glass. Fill with ice and pour tea mixture over pearls and ice. If you make it with green tea, xylitol and farm fresh milk it’s actually pretty good for you! A very fun treat. Oh yes, you need to grab some of the extra fat straws when you’re at the Asian market.

We have an obsession with coconut right now. We put coconut oil in everything and on everything. It is a super food, I mean amazing stuff. It actually clears bad cholesterol out of your system, it helps fight disease, and a mired of other things. It is even one of the best things to use on your hair and skin and since you shouldn’t put anything on your body, you wouldn’t out in your body I use it as my face and body lotion. It also works as a natural sun screen. It kept us all protected in the hot AZ sun this summer. We put it in our veggie/fruit shakes every morning and it makes them creamy and yummy. It has to be cold pressed. I hear Wal-mart is carrying cold pressed coconut oil now. I order mine by the gallon. Sam has had borderline high cholesterol for the past 2 years. This year after coconut oil and all our raw diet the doctor was floored by Sam’s blood work and physical. He said he was the healthiest patient he had seen in a long time. Then when he looked at the change from last year he was really floored. Sam had dropped his cholesterol 80 points or more! The doctor actually wrote down our green smoothie recipe.

Young coconut milk is also an amazing food. It actually can be used as a universal blood transfusion, being identical to blood plasma. It will balance electrolytes better than Gatorade ever thought about. So if you’re feeling a little run down grab some young coconuts when you get your Bubble Tea Ingredients at the Asian Market. I’ll try to put a tutorial on here for opening them soon.