Three Years Ago...

I wasn't planning on blogging today... I have been thinking about it but actually planning on doing it. Yeah right. But here I am writing out this blog post. Mostly because I happen to finish my homework early tonight and instead of going to bed I checked my e-mail. I had a message from Rachael Stoner. It said...

Remember this. I am so thankful for you :)

Attached was the first e-mail I had ever sent to the Stoner's introducing myself. It will be exactly three years on December 10th that I sent that message and it was on December 20th that I started the application process of joining ABWE. 

Reading over that first e-mail I had sent to the Stoner's, I am kinda impress how well it was written. It was definitely a God-thing. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how much my life has changed in the last three years from moving to France, getting kicked out, going back, moving to Romania, and ending up with my current job as a nanny. 

As I am getting ready to fly across the country to help out my cousin next week, I have really been thinking about decisions and life choices lately. This e-mail was a great reminder that God is in control of everything and he has a much better plan for me then I ever imagined. 

A Year to This Day

This weekend a year ago, I had gotten a message from the Stoner's through a friend saying that Dan's was having health problems and they wanted me to contact them as soon as possible. That call was pretty much life changing. We were in the middle of the last month of camp. I was wore out and tired looking forward to flying back to France in only a couple weeks to see my adorable kids. 

Little did I know that call was going to lead to many more calls via skype with bad internet connections over Starbucks drinks in a Cluj mall. Those calls consisted of the Stoner's explaining Dan's cancer to me and my possible future plans. Over the next month, I made the decision to apply for my Romania visa and see were God would lead me. 

God lead me to stay right there in Romania. It's crazy to think of everything that has happened in just the past year and I am excited to see what else God has planned for life. Even though some days it feels like I am going to be in the same place forever. It's nice to be reminded how far I have came along in the past year. 

God is Able

This morning started out rough for me. I had planned to wake up early and go work out but I couldn't get the car out of the garage and blah, blah, blah.... It was rough but I did make it to the gym. 

On my way to the fitness room I ran into Beth. She is a regular at the y she has been going there for as long as I can remember, she knew I had went to France to help the Stoner's. So she asked me about my time in Europe. I told her how I ended up in Romania working in the orphanages. Beth is adoption from China, so as I told her about my time working in the orphanages. She completely understands but not from my perspective but from a perspective as a little kid. 

Beth was adopted when she was eight. She remembers what it likes to live in the orphanage and hopelessness a child must feel. But Beth was lucky enough to get adopted unlike many others. Beth understood when I told her of my wish to adopt all the kids and to give them hope for a better future. 

Talking to Beth this morning, reminded me of how much I still miss Romania two months later and how God does work miracles. I am sure as a kid growing up in a orphanage, she never imagine that she would be blessed by such an amazing family here in the U.S. So instead of putting God in a box I am going to pray for all the kids I work with for God to move in their lives because 

He can do anything!

Feeling Fancy

I did my hair yesterday. It is sorta a big deal, unless I wear my hair in braids it is usually down. Mercy gave me that black hair band for my birthday in France and I have had it for over a year now unsure of how I was going to wear it. Then I remember all the girls at camp this summer in Romania had their hair pulled back all cute with a hair band and I thought Let's try it. So yesterday morning I asked mama to help me perfect my hair-do for church. I would say it came out pretty good, it might be a popular hair-do for me this summer if I can master it by myself. 

Pumpkin Season!

We had David and Lovi over this weekend. We go to church with them and their parents. Their Dad is actually one of the people in charge of the Baptist Union here in Bucharest which is good to know when you are going through your visa process at the last minute. 

Well anyway the kids were over last night with the Postema's, it was movie and pizza night. David and Lovi got to spent the night. So we headed out to Obor this morning to pick out some pumpkins at the market. I love going to the market. It reminds me of the market in France with the fresh smell of produce. But here in Bucharest, the market isn't ideal for someone like me. With all the people there I and my not so good Romanian skills I would be asking for someone to rob me. So knowing that I took in the smell of the market and thought of all the friendly people at the market in France and how I would go there every Thursday and cherished those memories. 

We bought six pumpkins. Four to paint. Two to carve. Pumpkin carving isn't real popular here. So it's a good thing we only got two pumpkins to carve because David and Lovi, being true Romanians, could have cared less about carving the pumpkins after we had just painted some. So they left that up to Jenny and I. 

As I write this blog post, I have pumpkin baking in the oven just waiting to become pumpkin creamer for my coffee this week and just thinking about it makes me so happy. 

p.s. On a side note, I got to discuss God with the personal trainer at the gym. He is an Orthodox christian. I gave him a Bible today and told him to start reading the book of John. He was really open to what I have to say but he also is pretty firm in his belief. So pray that his eyes are open and that God works in his heart. And that when he ask me questions, God would grant me all the right answers to give him.

I Need a Break

I need a break from packing? Or that's what I keep telling myself. So blogging sounded like a pretty legit excuse. 

I went out with the ladies last night. We decided we wanted a real french experience before we all went our separate ways so at 9 o'clock (french dinner time), we headed out to a local restaurant hoping to have some bread and cheese. 

We definitely had a french experience. The restaurant owner thought we were American tourist and sat us down at the bar and let us taste some of the appetizers. We didn't know exactly what we were trying but it was fun and the owner gave us a really good deal for such a great experience. 

I am gonna miss these ladies when I am gone. It's crazy to think we might never see each other again. I thank God for the high speed internet more and more. 

Paragliding

I finally get to share with you my paragliding pictures. I am so excited! This was one of the best experiences of my life. And I would do it all over again in a heart beat. 

So last week, Lee got a group together from campus and we headed up to Annecy to go paragliding. A couple of people in our group had difficulties and heading up running off the mountain. It sounds horrible but it didn't seem that big of a deal at the time. Consider I still chose to do go paragliding after that happened. 

Sadly my video won't upload correctly so you won't get to experience through the video with me. But I would definitely recommend paragliding to anyone. It was so much fun. And it's definitively on my bucket list to do again. On a higher mountain in a different country :)

"The Waterfall"

Sunday Rachel and I decided to be rebels and skip church. The Stoner's had given me the day off to spend with Rachel and we had heard there was a waterfall up behind Conflans. So Sunday afternoon we headed up to find this wonderful waterfall where we were told we could get in the water. 

We hike up to Conflans and followed the creek all the way up to where it ended on the trail to find a tiny little creek and a little run off. Thinking that couldn't possibly be it we continued to hike up till we ran into a little town ask for directions. Having all the french inform us that such a waterfall didn't exist. 

Luckily at this point, we had ran into Eric and Carlan from the Burundi team who lived at campus with us. They happened to also be looking for this magical waterfall. 

After about three hours of hiking. We finally got a hold of someone from campus to tell us where this waterfall was.... she informed us it was right up the creek and even was kind enough to hike up and point it out to us. And yes, it was the little run off going into the creek. I was very disappointed that I had been hiking for three hours just for this little thing. I am pretty sure we have run offs bigger then this in Wayne county. 

But I got to spend the day with my friend and come away with a decent story. And feel guilt free about eating half a pizza for dinner Sunday night. :)

Saying Good-Bye

Saying good-bye is so hard. And to think I may never see these people again makes me a bit sad so I have been taking every opportunity to hang out with people. Even if it means starting the six hour version of "Pride and Prejudice" at 10 p.m.

To make the most of our time together this weekend. Rachel and I slept outside on the patio. 

She thought it was the greatest thing ever. Me not so much. I prefer the country. Where I don't have street lights shining in my face, where the train station isn't two houses over, and people aren't making noises till two in the morning. 

But it was worth it to spend time with my friend and see the sunrise over the mountains. .... at 5 a.m.

Breakfast at Conflan.

We had breakfast at Conflans the other day. We grabbed some giant pain au chocolates from the bakery on the way up. And watch the world go by as we ate breakfast. Perfect start to the day. If I only had some American coffee to go with it ;)

French Alps

There is a lot benefit from living near the Alps. It's beautiful, peaceful, and just amazing. 

I think all of us were having fun. Enjoying the fresh mountain air and humming the Sound of Music to ourselves. 

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Strawberries are in season! Back home we always go a little crazy strawberries when we go picking with grandma. But since there is no place to pick strawberries here, we buy them from market or the fresh produce woman. Either way we almost always have strawberries in the house. So I tried out a Strawberry Frozen Yogurt recipe the other day and today I tried out some strawberry muffin recipe. yummy yummy. And I got a compliment on these muffins and very very rarely do I ever get a compliment on any of my baking/cooking. So you know they must be real good. 

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 medium banana, divided (mash 1/2 and slice the other half into very thin slices)
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1 egg white, beaten 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
•  1 cup diced strawberries
• 
  

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray muffin tray with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large bowl, stir to combine the flour, sugars, baking soda, & cinnamon. Slice the banana in half and mash 1st half with a fork and cut 2nd half into thin slices (set these aside). Add the mashed banana to the dry ingredients and stir. Add the applesauce, beaten egg white, vanilla and stir until just combined. Do NOT overmix. Gently fold in the strawberries and banana slices. Pour batter into muffin tray, filling about 2/3 of the way up. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Muffins stay fresh and soft up to 7 days in an airtight container. Muffins freeze well.

Recipe from:

 sallysbakingaddiction.com

We just can't get enough of these strawberries :)

Changes.

This week I am a loner. Rachel went back to Holland for a college interview thing so I am all by myself. I guess this is just a taste of what it is gonna be like next fall cause it's hard to believe that I will find someone as cool as her to hang out with. 

I know you have been waiting in anticipation all weekend to find out if the party potty really work. Well the poop has been having trouble making it to the potty. But his big boy pants have stayed dry almost all weekend. I am pretty proud of him. 

Adventure is out there!

If living in a foreign country isn't enough adventure. You might as well sign up to do a half marathon. And that is exactly what we did, Melissa, Rachael and I. October 6th, we will be ready to run the Lyon Half marathon. No big deal or anything. hehe. 

I also got my ears pierced. One just wasn't enough. So I got a second one. And don't worry I don't plan on getting any more piercings. Great News though, they did my piercing right over the freckle on my ear. Freckle no more. Sounds good to me. 

(What do you think, mom? It's just as cool as I told you it would be, right?) My cuff earring is pretty awesome!

The Circus is in Town!

Yesterday I told Rachael part of me wants to go out and do something fun and the other half just wants to lay in bed and read a book. After I had made up my mind to stay in bed and had already changed into my sweats ready to start reading my book when Rachael informs me that she heard the circus was in town tonight. (Just to let you know she told me in French so it took me about five minutes to figure out what she was trying to tell me. It's a work process.) Then I shared the message with Rachel. And we decided this might be the only exciting thing happening in Albertville for a while, so we decided to venture out and check out the circus.  

And oh was it so much fun!

The circus was so much cleaner then the carnival. And you don't have to understand much french to watch a show with animals and dancing Cubans. 

My advice to all: 

The circus is fun for all ages!

The Perfect Little Trail

In my mind it is the perfect trail... a trail to run my long miles, a trail walk and talk to friends with, a trail to remind me of home. 

The trail along the river is so beautiful with the view of mountains and the sound of the river. It reminds me of the towpath back home and it's a nice quiet escape from town beside the many bikers on the path. If I could capture the beautiful surroundings for you I would but I don't think it would be doing it justice. So I thought I would just share with you a picture of Rachel and I on our many walks on the trail. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Chambery - Take 2

Saturday, Rachel, Rachael, and I  headed out to Chambery to go out for lunch and do some shopping. It was tons of fun, filled with lots of cute clothes and yummy food. We ended up being able to go into the Chateau (castle) just to check out an art show we weren't allowed in to the real castle part but just to be able to see a glimpse was pretty cool. I got a few cute new shirts and a dress. So I am sure I will be posting pictures shortly with my new clothes on. 

Have a good hot Wednesday, hope your rain doesn't ruin your day!

Abbaye De Hautecombe

Yesterday was Wednesday so naturally we had it off but it was also a holiday. Celebrating the end of World War II. So yesterday we went out with a couple of the other missionary families, went to go check out a local Abbaye. 

To get to the Abbaye, we had to ride a boat across a lake. 

The view was so pretty.

This abbaye is considered a historical abbaye in France. It has been around since 12th century and was build by a Queen and King of France. 

Even though this abbaye is home to many monks and studying students, we didn't get to see any. We did meet a young American who was taking her vows later to become a nun. I guess that is pretty cool. 

This abbaye mark church number 20 for me here in Europe. I only have 80 more to go to reach my goal of 100. 

Friends & French

Many who know me know that I enjoyed watching the show Friends. I find it very funny. And I ran across a clip of Friends the other day that I feel like I can relate to a lot. 

Oh. How I can so relate to Joey and how I very often I feel like that. I hope you all got a little smile over this video. 

Market

One of my favorite places to go is the market every Thursday morning. To see nice smiling faces of the french people and them not making fun of me when Rachael asked me to try out the little french I know. Sampling the coffee and and the saucisse. And actually feeling like people aren't judging me for being American. It's a nice way to start out Thursday mornings. And having fresh fruit and veggies to eat the rest of the week is a plus too.