Dear Dad

Dear Dad,

Well, you finally hear from me. I hope you are having lovely time our motherland. We have been busy with our little things, now that we are back home. We left Grandma's at 7:35... pm. So our four hour trip wasn't what it was cracked up to be, being cramped, long, and hungry ( The ice cream place in Brenam, Scoops, was closed). Oh but I had a special surprise in the Virtuous Daughter Magazine that I get and I'll tell you when you get home! Also it was very nice to wake in my own bed! Pity it isn't like that for you :(. These past days I been able to get my schoolwork done, in spite of these sleepy rainy days. And I am 3 Modules away from finishing my science, and 2 chapters away from finishing my history! Yesterday we went to the Frye's for Charlotte's violin lesson with Mica. I felt quite like a birdwatcher; at Grandma's we found a bird's nest with baby birds! And yesterday I saw a robin, a house sparrow, and a cardinal, just hanging around the window boxes.

Oh, how could you resist!

Nate!

The birds nest at Grandma's.

Right before we left.

Love,

Caro :)

P.S I realize that you probably won't see this till you are here.

Oh, well!

To The Very Lovely and Most Beautiful Nicole

{Nicole and her Precious}

Dear Dad,

Nicole sent these photos that she took yesterday--isn't she stunning?

The majority of it is from the inside, which is constantly being refined and made more beautiful.

She really is a fine fellow and I am so grateful to have her as an older sister,

best friend, and sister in Christ

(And no, as sentimental as that sounds, there are no tears this time :)

{Sophie running for the plunge}

Also, here are some photo's of the Girlies while they are swimming (Note Mia's floaties).

{Mia the Sitting Duck}

{Sophie's fabulous standing-on-the-water ability}

I hope these brightened your day!

All photo's are courtesy of Nicole and her iphone.

Love,

Elena

p.s.

Mom REALLY misses you. very much.

p.s.s.

Have you tried any more odd food yet?

God Save the Queen and Happy Independance Day

Dear Dad,

It was a grand suprise to get your call today.

I was half expecting a salesman!

You'll have to tell us what it is like to spend Independance Day in our mother country;

would it be appropriate to visit the grave of our last monarch?

I'm studying the American Revolution for my next exam and we are in the middle of "John Adams",

so England has been in our minds lately :)

Tomorrow we plan on listening to some sessions of the Sufficiency of Scripture Conference, then perhaps cleaning some more. Not very patriotic but we figured there were plenty good-hearted rednecks out here to be patriotic for us.

I'm hoping there will be some good fireworks by the water.

The house looks so wonderful!

We've re-arranged nearly every room except for Grandpa and Grandma's room; you ought to see it, it's like a whole new house.

Well, I can smell the popcorn and Mica plans on making more spinach ice cream tonight (!!).

I have been seriously craving some carrot cake like the one Nicole made for Dom's birthday, and this time I want to make it with almond flour so Mica can also enjoy the yummy goodness.

If this turns on your carrot cake craving as well, we can make some when you come home (!!).

Hope you're able to enjoy a cup of English tea tomorrow.

I love you!

love,

Elena

p.s.

Sorry, nothing to put in this section today, except that we have been giving Kate a spoonful of coconut oil (Natural dog health experiment of Mica's) in her supper dish

and she has been LOVING it.

p.s.s.

Oh, and I had a wee bite of the human-like dog treats (I know, I know)that we bought Kate--very bland.

Busy Ducks

:: Parliament ::

Dear Dad,

We are here safe and very wet, at Grandma's house; I don't think it has stopped raining since we've arrived.

It would be wonderful to be a duck right about now!

Yesterday we rearranged and cleaned the entire house and today Mom is priming the "Pepto-Bismal" room while the rest of us have been doing little odd jobs about the house.

Mica and I are looking forward to waking up to the color of fresh linen instead of the sickening pink.

We are watching a very interesting old movie with Emily.

It has "Melanie Wilkes" from "Gone With the Wind" in it; we really like it so far.

Tonight we are planning on going to Aunt Gaby's for dinner tonight, then tomorrow we'll be going into Austin.

This time here is going by so quickly!

I'm sure it is for you as well. We can't wait to hear about what you are doing and see pictures.

I love you!

Love,

Elena

p.s.

I finished my first knitted baby bootie today--it's pretty cute :)

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