from scratch

When we moved to Asia 7 years ago I remember being at a loss for how to cook in my new surroundings. I had never really made anything before that didn't call for some sort of instant something. Whether it was an instant spice mix like taco seasoning, or biscuits you can cook out of a can. It took me about 2 years to fully embrace my new life in the kitchen. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but now there are things I would never consider NOT making on my own. Things like homemade bread, tortillas, pitas, and biscuits to buttermilk and sour cream and many things in between.

Another benefit of living near 2 markets is that there is never a shortage of fresh fruits and vegetables in our house. We always have some sort of fruit cut and in a container for snacks as well as an assortment of veggies ready to go. Because we eat so many veggies we also eat a LOT of salads. Since cheese is so expensive we do not put it on a salad, but something I love putting on my salads are croutons.  Of course you can't get a box of these either, but once a month I make a bactch from my left over bread collected throughout the month. I keep a ziplock bag in the freezer and when the bread is about to get old, or we come to the last piece I stick it in the freezer bag. When the bag gets full I take it out and cut all the bread into squares.

I throw all the bread cubs in my frying pan, and drizzle extra virgin olive oil in the pan making sure that all the croutons get a drizzle. Then I sprinkle salt and the best ingredient is the Italian seasoning (which I can now buy at my grocery store). I then keep stirring the bread cubes until they are all lightly browned on both sides. 

I transfer all the croutons into another freezer bag and pull them out to top a salad. It adds great flavor and Preston even likes to eat them for a snack. So there you go. No excuse to throw away old bread or buy prepackaged croutons. 

making memories

When you decide to move overseas at the age of 24, you don't think about what it is like for the family you leave thousands of miles away. Last week my parents came to visit us. It was the first time they had come since we moved overseas 7 years ago. I loved watching Preston make memories with them. 

 We took them to all of our favorite local places. They enjoyed the food and touring around our great big city.

 Mom and dad got to be the first grandparent to meet Isabella.

 I was so proud of them for eating anything we introduced them to. They even said they would eat it again. :)

 I think their favorite fruit was the dragon fruit. I only wished I had introduced them to it on the first day instead of half way through the visit.

It was always interesting to see if dad could fit in the tiny chairs at coffee shops or noodle places. I loved that my mom and dad got to see a little piece of our life in Hanoi. It was so much fun having them. There just isn't anything like your parents telling you how proud they are of the person you have become! I only wish we could see each other more often.  The hardest part about family visiting is having to say good bye.

Mom and Dad thanks for a GREAT visit! We miss you already!

To infinity and beyond...4th birthday party

Happy Birthday to my special boy. He wanted to have a buzz lightyear party, so thanks to pinterest I found a lot of creative ways to make that happen. We set up a photo booth for all the kids to have fun dressing up as  a character and taking pictures behind the etch a sketch. 

For the food table I made a watermelon rocket. It was supposed to have melon balls put back in, but they didn't come out as nice, so we just displayed the melon rocket  in front of the sliced melons. 

 The above cake was a pinterest idea. It came from here. It is layered chocolate cake surrounded by kit kat bars held on by icing and filled with little chocolate candies on top.  I knew I wouldn't get it round, so I went square.  Notice the 'moon' pops (4 of them) around the cake.

 For games we found a free printable Toy Story bingo game. The kids loved it and Preston tied for 1st place. It was a fun way to gather the friends and get them in the party mood.  For bingo chips we took the pieces from our connect 4 toy story game.

 We also made a life size Mr. Potato head out of cardboard. We used this for 2 games. The first game was a bean bag toss. We had cut a hole out behind the nose so when we removed the nose everyone got 3 trys to get their beanbag in the hole. Everyone had a GREAT time. Prestons friend Andrew won this game.

 Next we took off all the Mr Potato head parts and blind folded each child. They each got a turn placing the face parts back on the the Mr Potato. We then took a picture of each child with their recreated Potato Head.

Preston wasn't very excited about being blind folded, but loved seeing what his potato head looked like when the blind fold was off.

 Finally I had spent days making a pinata with a balloon and newspaper. I would mix flour and water into a paste and then take little strips of newspaper and put it all over the balloon. I think I got 4 layers on it. I would recomend giving this project a week, I only had 3 days, so it wasn't as dry as I wanted it to be. When it was finished I used the rest of the wrapping paper we had to decorate the outside. I filled the pinata with candy and trinkets. All the kids had fun beating it and Tim managed not to get hit by any of the zealous kids.

 Preston used his woody hat to collect his pinata goodies.

 We all sang Happy Birthday and he blew out his candles. Afterward he opened up his presents. The kids all had fun and so did we.

 To Infinity and Beyond

Before we knew it the day was over and we were exhausted. 

Our Amazing Family Christmas

 My 2 kiddos ( I love saying that) 

 Every night after dinner during Advent we lit our advent candle and put a new advent ornament on the tree. Preston was so excited to light the 4th candle and then the Christ candle. When the new year came and I was cleaning up the decorations Preston looked at me distraught and said, "you are going to throw away the Christ candle?" He just couldn't believe it. :) I have so many fun memories of Tim telling the new story and Preston telling the stories from days past. It really set the tone for the whole season.

 On Christmas eve we had a dessert party. I baked all week and even tried my hand at cake pops. My mom and Tim's mom both sent/brought candy melts so I could make this happen. I wanted to test them out for our dessert party, so I knew if I wanted to make them again for Prestons birthday days later. I don't like chocolate so Tim was the tester, and he said they were great. I learned a few tricks and am sure next time they will be even easier to make.

 The table was set with cake pops, ginger snaps, kringla (thanks GRAM), snicker doodles, regular chocolate cake, special K bars, veggies and fruit. It was yummy and for me would be the last of the baking I did for a while.

 We also went to the Int'l church for a candlelight service and afterward got our only family picture (can you believe it)

 Isabella looked so cute in her Christmas dress from my Aunt and sweater from Amanda Pennington.

 My little boy was not so little any more and it made the season even more fun watching him grow with anticipation for the day we would celebrate the birth of our Savior. I couldn't help but to remember that 4 years earlier we were in Thailand on Christmas eve. I was 4 days overdue and we spent the evening with the Himstedt house Aussie style.

 Christmas morning arrived and I made a cherry kringla for breakfast, thank you pinterest, and a sausage egg and cheese casserole. We skyped in with our families and of course reviewed all of our advent stories.

 Preston received a new train part for his Thomas set and while I cooked Christmas dinner, Tim and Preston put the track together and played.

Among a number of dishes, I also made turkey. It turned out lovely, and with the leftover carcass I made turkey stock. DELICIOUS!

We had a great day celebrating the birth of our Savior with friends. At the end of the day we were tired and full. I love the slow pace of life in Asia, we don't get all the holiday craziness that happens in the states. I love that my children will always remember Christmas as being a time to reflect on the coming of our Savior. It is a much quieter time of reflection and filled with great food and wonderful friends. This year of course seemed extra special.   As we told the story of the little baby born unto us over 2000 years ago, I got to hold my sleepy baby girl born just over 2 months earlier.

I pray your Christmas was as magical as ours!

taking inventory of my heart

A good thing about blogging, like journaling, you can look back and see where you have come from. Reading this post from Sept caused me to take some time to reflect on what a different place I am in today as opposed to 1 year ago. looking back

On Dec 21st of last year I wrote this post and at the end of it I wrote, " My prayer and HOPE for 2011 is that where I have sowed in tears I would reap with joy." That has never been more true for my year.

As you know In January of 2011 I wrote a few goals for myself. One of them was to stop focusing on the child I so dearly wanted and to really appreciate the child God had given me (Preston). I dug in full time to my Vietnamese study and really all around I knew it was time to pick myself up and move on with my life.

Little did I know that 1 month from that post I would be writing this post. I still remember the day I took a pregnancy test more out of a routine before I started my final fertility treatment. I remember getting a positive and just crying long sobs because I felt like it was some cruel joke. I remember feeling so forgotten by God for so long and then in the same breath so undeserving of such a gift.

It took me until about half way through my pregnancy to rejoice in the miracle. I felt so guilty that still so many friends were still praying for their miracle.

Now 1 year later Im staring at the face of my 2 month old daughter and tomorrow will be celebrating my sons 4th birthday and I am left with just one thought. THANK YOU GOD!

Thank you for my 2 kids...thank you for your unconditional love...thank you for this miracle!

So it is with a happy heart that I go into 2012 excited for all that the year holds. Excited to feel more and more at home in the culture we are living in.