Of Watermelon and Greetings

Leeds Castle

(Yes, indeed, the real Leeds Castle that wasn't in Leeds).

Dear Dad,

Here is a list of the Top Five Most Interesting Things That Happened Today:

1. A scab on one of Dom's pox came off due to an excess of coconut oil.

2. I learned that Ethan Allen fought in the American Revolution

3. We introduced Nicole to "Midnight Madness", she writes pretty slow while laughing.

4. Nicole, Mica and I laughed over watermelon; that is to say that Mica and I laughed while watermelon almost came out of Nicole's nose--true story.

5. Mica keeps stepping on and knocking Dominic on accident; I think she assumes that since he is closer to the ground he won't really notice.

6. Dominic says hello to you (be sure to turn off the music at the bottom of the page):

I hope you're able to visit some of Tolkeins old haunts while you're in Birmingham.

Who knows you might be inspired to write a fantasy novel as well!

We love you!

Love,

Elena

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Complaining

Dear Dad,

Today the girls decided that after seven hours of sleep, they were done being in bed and woke half of the house.

Yes, it was rise and shine a wee bit early this morning but we managed to make it until nap time.

I (E) took my English Compostition exam today and felt pretty good about the ordeal; this may be due to the fact that I won't know my actual score for a few weeks

but until then ignorance really is bliss.

At the dinner table we were laughing at the way Mom acts when we are at the dentist. While the rest of us are twiddling our thumbs and blandly conversing about floride, Mom is laughing hysterically with the hygenists--it was pretty funny.

We also pulled together a group effort to do the yard work.

Dom served as the distraction, while Mia and Sophie made sure the electronic car still worked (It does).

Dom and I just finished the most recent batch of spinach ice cream (yum!) and now we are brushing teeth.

I hope this wee note finds you well rested and ready carpe diem.

Mia asks for you often and whenever we go to the car she asks if we are going to London.

Sweet dreams!

Love,

Elena

p.s.

We have decided that Dom is part dinosaur and part parakeet; truly, he is that loud, high pitched, and makes funny noises. Mom is still firmly convinced that his eyes will turn green; Nicole does not second that motion.

p.s.s.

The title of this post is the same as the title of the essay that I wrote today--pretty catchy, huh?

Fare Thee Well!

Dearest Dad,

Today you are bound for a plane and tonight you will be sleeping (hopefully) in a sweet hotel by the River Thames.

Today will be full of cleaning, studying, crafting, selling, and tonight we will be nursing a wee, chicken pox invalid.

Although this is your second trip to the UK,

we will still miss you very much, but we are glad that this will only be a ten-day trip. That's about the same amount of time that you were in Vietnam--except that now you will be with English speaking people who follow the rules of the road.

I know that the time will fly for both of us

and that we will soon see you again.

This time we will try to keep a journal of special things that happen, which will debrief you when you get back home.

I hope you have a wonderful time during the conference at Metrolpolitan Tabernacle; take good notes!

Please remember that we love grocery bags, baseball-style shirts (with Brit flag or Underground sign), and pictures!

Don't forget to close your windows and drapes before you sleep.

So, bon voyage, aufwiedersen, and ciao!

I love you.

Love,

Elena

p.s.

I thought the above picture was pretty neat; maybe you could reproduce it sometime while you are there?

Well, perhaps not--that wouldn't help your healing ankle now would it?

Gluten-free Buttermilk Pancakes

My newest adventure has been gluten-free eating. I started it at the end of January this year and have been eating that way ever since. I will explain more in a later post about why I began eating this way.

One of my favorite breakfasts is buttermilk pancakes. I found a basic gluten-free recipe and tweaked it to this. My family was quite surprised to hear that their pancakes have been gluten-free! Most of them could not tell the difference. These are so yummy! I hope you like them too.

· 1 cup rice flour (white or brown)

· ½ cup almond flour

· 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder

· 1/3 cup corn starch or arrowroot

· 3 tbs sweetener

· 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

· 1/2 tsp baking soda

· 1/2 tsp salt

· 1/2 tsp flaxseed meal

· 2 eggs

· 3 tablespoons butter or oil

· 2 cups buttermilk

In a bowl, mix or sift together the rice flour, almond flour, arrowroot, corn starch, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flaxseed meal. Stir in eggs, milk, and butter until well blended and few lumps remain.

Heat a large, well-oiled skillet or griddle over medium high heat. Spoon batter onto skillet and cook until bubbles begin to form. Flip, and continue cooking until golden brown on bottom. Serve immediately with condiments of your choice.

Enjoy!

In Christ,

~Micaela

Day 5: Last Day!

Wow, we seem to survive every year!It's funny when you look back, the time just seems to have flown by. It is always so sad when the time at Teenpact is over yet, relieving that we don't have to sleep on uncomfortable cots, take a shower in moldy showers, and wake up early in the morning (well, some of us do). But the time we had was fun and with friends, even better.

Some lovely gifts from our friends at Teenpact.

Three of us girls ran down to the chapel to play our last pieces of music.

As you can see I am a prodigy child..

...And Lizzie too. :)

Playing with passion.

I love those Yamaha pianos.

On our way out I nearly stepped on this caterpillar.

Lizzie and I on the "the bridge of Khaza-doom".

Pretending to fall.

The final drive home, without A/C. Thanks Lizzie for being such a trooper.

And thank you, for being a patient reader. :)

Love,

Teenpact: Day Four

Serving breakfast

Observing the natives...

Aunt Amparo, Elena, and Nicole

At the lake enjoying the cool water

Swapped babies :)

Two little boys planning their escape...

Down at the chapel

Lunch time!

Talking over lunch

Sophia wearing a flower chain made by Elena

Getting ready for a quick window shopping trip in "downtown" Buda

Outside one of the stores

Caro and Lizzie

Jennifer and Sophia

Anna showing us some new hairstyles

Lizzie buttering away!

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand,

and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings,

knowing that suffering produces endurance,

and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

and hope does not put us to shame,

because God's love has been poured into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5

Day Three: Out to lunch

Day three: out to Lunch. Well, we went out to an Italian Cafe for my Aunt Amparo's birthday! We enjoyed it very much!

Up at the crack of dawn cooking food.

Very tired.

Grandma and Dominic at the restaurant.

Noah, Sophia, Jacob, Mia, and Abby.

"Smile, guys"!

Noah with his new wood gun.

Anna and Emily.

Singing to Aunt Amparo for her birthday!

Trying to get everyone to pose, as you can see its a little harder than you think.:)

Coffee!

Dominic, clapping.

All at Whole Foods. :)

Teenpact: Day Two

Here is day 2 of Teenpact. This is rather dusty news, I know, but we thought we would follow through with posting pictures. For more pictures and a neat blog, visit our good friend Rebecca's. She posted much quicker than we did :).

We fed the kids breakfast and then headed out to Austin to help some dear friends of ours. They are soon moving to Manhattan and so we helped them with some housework.

Caro and Lizzie playing around at their pool.

They rather enjoyed the nice, cool water!

"Stop and smell the roses"

Rebecca high up to clean the fans

Dominic being silly for the camera

Group photo! This is their back porch area.

Mom, Mia, and Ms. Judi

I took a few shots of the girls trying to hold still for the camera. I love these type, when they're looking away but with giggly smiles.

Here is some of the usual fun, Ultimate Frisbee!

Chicken Alfredo for dinner! Lots of pasta to be cooked...

Lots of chicken to be chopped and sauce to be stirred to make a delicious meal.

Jennifer and Anna

All the wonderful kitchen help! In this photo we had just sung Jesus Lover Of My Soul in harmony.