Cooking Day

It was cooking day for me. I plan it over a week in advance, study the recipes like crazy, make adjustments in my head from pounds to kilos and then I get to work. Today I introduced my team to Baked Potato Soup. We've had a lot of Swedish food lately, a lot a lot, so I was excited to make something more along the lines of Kelsey's favorites. There were quite a few questions of why I was putting bacon in the potato soup but everyone loved it so I don't think they'll be questioning next time : ) You know what I really miss here? Good sandwiches....I really do. Whenever I finally get to the states for a visit with Caleb we'll be hitting up Subway and Panera Bread for all three meals a day. Sprouts, turkey breast, whole wheat bread, light mayo, veggies galore... Hey, on another subject, in 13 days I should be hearing if I got residency or not. Actually I'm expecting not to hear back just then but at least I can send a fax to them on the 13th "demanding" for an answer. Although I may not get it even with that, at least they will send a response back about whether or not they are working on it and when I can expect to receive their response about my request.
Can you believe that in 13 days, 6 months will have passed since I applied?

Sunday, Strand and Sheep

So today is Sunday and these are sheep. (Check two titles off the title above!) More specifically, these are the sheep that we got to know on our way to church this morning. Having to wait on herds of sheep, goats, pigs or cows to cross the street before your car can continue on down the road is quite normal here. Today's herd was different though because of its size. I have never in my life seen so many sheep being herded down a road. I know the picture is hard to see (had to take it from the inside of the car) but as far as you can see down the road is all sheep. And, when I took the picture we were only about halfway past the herd. A lot of sheep. One of the herders saw me snap my picture and yelled out "Okay, take the picture of the sheep!" Meaning "Why the heck are you taking a picture of my sheep?" My response to him? "I've already taken the picture!"

The Strand, good old Strand. What is the Strand? It's an outdoor swimming pool that has been built over a natural thermal spring. They are all over Romania. The pump the water from the ground it's really hot. Like 60 degrees CELSIUS hot on average. It was so hot on Friday that I promised Caleb we could go. It ended up being closed but through the gate I could see people. So, we went to the hotel that is next to the Strand (with a private entrance to the pool) and I told the lady at the reception "Please, is there anyway you could let us in? I promised the kids and they are going to cry if they can't go!" (We had some friends with us as well.) The lady let us in (yay!) and we realized why soon after. They were doing final repairs and only just beginning to fill up the deep end pool. Well, that was perfect for us because the water had only filled up to reach Caleb's knees at the deepest point. For awhile we were pretty much the only ones there. It was really great! My friend and I sat on the dry, not yet filled area, and let our boys run around in the shallow water. Caleb LOVED it. I also loved it because I had a horrible cold and so sitting down and watching him have fun was a relaxing and non stressful way to spend the afternoon. Some people don't like the Strand because of the color of the water : really muddy looking. It is but they also pump enough chemicals in it to make it sanitary that I don't worry so much about lurking diseases : )

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

The Good : Do you see what I'm holding? DO YOU SEE IT? Yes, that would be SHREDDED cheese in a bag. In addition to it being SHREDDED it is a blend of Mozzarella, Edom (whatever that is) and Cheddar! And, I bought it here in Marghita. Okay, why is this something to be so excited about? I miss cheese, I miss milk. I miss these more than anything else. Mainly because I've figured out how to replicate anything else I miss. I don't like the cheese and milk here (for the most part) and so when visitors from the states come they always bring a chunk of cheddar cheese for me. To buy Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese here that tastes like the kinds I grew up with you have to shell out tons of money at a Sams Club type store in the city of Oradea, an hour away, which carries imports. I can't afford it. But now, that's all changed. I bought the bag on Monday and it's already gone. Definitely a GOOD of this week!

The BAD : My apartment flooding 2 days in a row. Definitely BAD. Well, let me explain. The kitchen flooded both days and only the entire apartment (save the bedroom) flooded the 2nd day. So the kitchen technically is the only room that flooded both days in a row. Why? Because all the pipes in this apartment building were made out of plastic and they decided to explode into my kitchen/apartment.

The UGLY : I'm getting used to the holes in my walls. This is the 4th one since I've moved in but the 1st one in the kitchen. There was a little "door" of sorts that flew open when the pipe burst, which is why water even came into my apartment at all. They made this hole when the 1st guy tried to fix the problem. He left it open, I covered it with bags, and waited for him to come the next day to cement it over. He never showed up and while I was singing with the kids at Casa Alba his "repair" burst. Because the hole was open like this and because the bags were thin ones (mainly to keep mosquitoes from flying in), the bags flew off and the entire kitchen got sprayed. Pictures on my wall and refrigerator were ruined, in addition to the apartment filling with water. Must have been a lot of water!

When my owner came over with his plumber after the 2nd Niagra Falls re-enactment, and had fixed the pipe we thought all would be well. The next morning he returned to make a door of sorts over the hole, instead of cement, so if there was a problem in the future they would have easy access. When they started working they realized that the pressure that caused the 1st pipe to burst had been transferred now to the pipe behind it, and that one was beginning to leak. So now they will come Saturday and replace that pipe as well!

He's got talent...

Yesterday Caleb showed me just how talented he really is.
I've named it the "Stuff and Show." It's got its benefits too I mean, c'mon, this is way more fun than just pouring juice into a glass! I honestly didn't tell him to do this, I just turned my back to get more orange slices for myself and when I looked back he was already 2 orange slices in!


Step 1. "Stuff"

Step 2. "Show"

Church and Toddlers

Church and toddlers. Or should I say church and a certain 3 year old who isn't old enough to go to the kid's program yet. The 2 toy cars that Caleb picked to bring with him today of course weren't as good as the 2 toy cars that his friend Dorin had. Then, his friend Dani got ahold of Dorin's toy cars and Caleb thought the world was ending. What happens when Caleb thinks the world is ending? Tears, lots and lots of tears and loud crying.
All of this during the beginning of the communion service this morning at church. He had been so "cuminte" (good) up until that point. And when I say up to that point I mean for over an hour and a half no problems at all! Church services here are generally longer, a lot longer, than any I've attended in the states. I actually like it that way - longer, I mean. It's a nice change of pace to not attend a 'timed' service...
Anyway, at the 1 1/2 hour mark his toy car temper : ) got ahold of him and it just happened to be during the quietest part of the service, for communion. Everyday I see different ways of how God has really designed parenting to be a 2-person team. Today I was definitely wishing for that husband to be there when my patience ran out!

Happy 3rd Birthday Caleb (Yesterday....)

Caleb's 3rd Birthday!

Hospital Duty

Caleb and I haven't been at the hospital much recently but we were able to go a couple of weeks ago. Courtney snapped this one for us. Caleb asked to hold Melinda. God doesn't use the hospital to work on the hearts of just us adults; He's doing it with Caleb too!
Pray for Melinda...she has it rough, really rough. Court, if you want, add a comment to this blog telling more about her situation and others can read more in depth.

Ciutelec

Yesterday was Ciutelec day. We head to an orphanage, they call it an "old people's home," for the elderly and handicapped and do a worship service and then hand out cookies and serve coffee. There were 2 things I noticed yesterday.
1. They looked really old - more old than usual. 2. One of the handicapped adults was different. I've been praying for him. He's usually everywhere, doesn't really know what's going on but is able to get the fact that coffee is served at the end! He's the first to come and shake our hands, only speaks Hungarian and is probably in his late 30's. Over the past few weeks as I've seen him the verses from Luke 8:26-39 keep coming to my heart. No, I'm saying this guy was demon possessed but I think there are some similarities. Both seemed "crazy" by their society right? So last week I started praying that God would do the same to this man as he did to this guy in Luke 8. That this guy at Ciutelec would be healed in his mind, that he would come to know Jesus. I think part of me wanted to challenge God on it. God, if You were able to do this back then - can you do it again today? Or better put, would You do it again?
So yesterday I totally forgot that I had prayed for this. In the middle of one the songs I realized something was different about our time. This man, was sitting so calmly and quietly on one of the benches. His face wasn't showing a state of confusion but of maturity. I don't know how else to describe it.... He wasn't hyper everywhere and up and down and here and there all during the service. He just sat on the bench and listened.
It was at that moment I remembered last week. I think I blanked out of the song for a minute or two as I just thought about that and kind of did a stuttering conversation with God.
Pretty cool though, God...
Who knows what next week will be like - all I know is that this week there was something different.