Ski Trip

Last Thursday we set out first thing in the morning for our Family Ski Trip.  YAY!!!  Justin and I love to ski.  Last year we took the kids skiing for the first time one day during our team retreat.  So, I couldn't wait for this winter to roll around and give a real family ski trip a try.

I have to say, it was GREAT!!  It's hard to find something that everyone can do together and actually enjoy it.  Even little Lucy had fun.  She is a good little skier, and so are Noah and Callie.

Our trip was going fine.  We caught the 9:30 ferry and ate a little breakfast while we glided cross the sea.

The weather wasn't great as we were driving- rainy and cloudy.  But as we got closer to the mountain, the rain turned into snow.  The clouds got even cloudier!  It made for a bit of a tense ride up the mountain.

Just a short way up the mountain, we put the chains on the tires.  Right after we did that, we passed through a mandatory checkpoint where you can't continue unless you have chains!  But even with chains, we still saw things like this:

That's a bus that had slid off the road, and the traffic jam that it caused.  The roads were slick, to say the least!  But, Justin did a great job and we got to the top without any incident- unless you count the 3 heart attacks and 26 panic attacks that I had in the hour and a half that it took us to get to the top!

But once we were there, life was grand!  The snow was beautiful- two meters deep, the hotel was nice, and we were all SOO excited!

Two meters of snow, and more on the horizon!

The kids loved these HUGE icicles hanging from all the buildings.

We checked in, made reservations for the kids' ski lessons, threw our junk in our room, and grabbed a quick lunch.  Praise the Lord for all-inclusive hotels.  Everything is so easy!!

We got all suited up and hit the rental counter to get fitted for our skis.  Then it was off to the slopes.  Noah and Callie had their lesson together and Lucy had a private lesson.  Justin and I had an hour to ourselves to practice a bit and get the lay of the land.

Lucy getting fitted for skis

When we met the kids back at the bottom of the lift, I was amazed at how much they had learned.  Last year they had a lesson, but at the end of it Noah could ski (really fast) but not stop well, Callie could ski in a wedge until she fell and would freak out, and Lucy could stand up on her skis and go down in a wedge with someone holding her hands while skiing backwards in front of her.  Not the results I had envisioned, so I was a bit frustrated last year.

This year they could all ski- in control- decently!  It was great.  We skied down a few runs all together before the lifts closed.   Lucy was the slowest of all of us, but she was the most consistent, never falling!  They all did so well!

Noah and Callie cruising down the mountain.

Noah having so much fun!

Lucy relaxing after taking off her ski gear.

"Sniffy" (Lucy's dog name) rolling around in the snow after a fun day of skiing.
(Lucy pretends to be a dog about 50% of the time.)

Note to Self...

A right-ordered house isn’t virtuous like 

a right-ordered heart.

-Ann Voskamp

Love

The world tells us a lot about love.  I've come to realize that most of the "love" we see around us isn't really love at all.  This is what the Word says love is:


"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.  If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.  If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

   Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.
   Love never dies."




Happy Valentine's Day!

The snow has mostly melted.  Sunday was actually pretty and mild.  Today is even better, although it is cloudy.

Our babysitter came over tonight so that Justin and I could go on a little Valentine's date.  It was so fun to be out together.  He took me to the yummiest little Italian restaurant.  This restaurant is such an enigma.  The food here is really good, but there isn't much variety.  The people here just love their food and that's it. So, this little Italian restaurant is a rare gem!

After a delicious meal, we had to walk a bit.  So, we cruised the local mall for a little bit before heading home.

It was a great night with my sweetie.  I love Him!!


On Thursday, we are going away for a few days!  I am so excited to get away with my family!!  Pray for fun, safety, and lots of relaxation!!

Oh Fiddle, It's Up To My Middle!

It snowed all night and we woke up to about a foot of snow- more in some places!

Last week it would snow like a blizzard and then the sun would come out and melt it back a little.  So, it didn't accumulate too much.  But, it has been so cloudy and cold that this snow was really able to pile up.  The funny thing is that Justin works about 5 miles from our home and they didn't get nearly as much snow as we did.  We are in one of the higher elevations in the city.  So... lots of snow, at least this year!

The bad news is that the middle schoolers' favorite game is "Pelt the Foreign Lady with Snowballs!"  Now, I was quite the punk in my middle school days.  So I feel like I probably deserve to be pelted a bit.  However, I do dream of buying a pellet gun, flanking the little punks, and shooting them till they cry!

I think next year I am going to fly my dad, quite the sharpshooter, in to protect us as we walk to school!

COLD!

It is so cold here and snowing... again!  I think we've gotten 6 inches today.

I kept making Callie call her friend (who's dad is the assistant principal at their school) and ask if school was canceled.  NOPE!  They never cancelled it.  So, in 20 something years when my kids start to tell sob stories about how they had to walk to school in the snow it will be the truth.  Except it's not uphill and I think it's probably only half a mile.  But still... it's hard getting out in the blizzard to go to school!

In other news our flat is slowly falling apart.  I think it was built about 4 years ago, and now everything is starting to bust.  The roof leaks.  The seal from the terrace is gone so when it rains or snows water leaks inside.  The gutters are leaking into the wall near the terrace and is causing the plaster and paint to buckle and fall off.  The molding around the bathroom door fell off.  Some of the plaster in the bathroom fell off.  The sink pipe busted and sprayed water everywhere in the middle of the night.  We've had two outlets blow up and the circuits flip if you have a few things plugged in at the same time.  A pipe busted (during the day- Praise the Lord!!) on our heater a few months ago.  And, yesterday the other pipe on the heater began to leak.

Luckily, I caught the leak and called a guy to come fix it before it busted, too!  We were without hot water for about 24 hours.  The water coming out of the faucet was so COLD!  I mean it was painful to even wash your hands!  I couldn't force myself to wash my face last night before bed.  I figured if I put that ice water on my face, I'd be wide awake for 10 more hours!

The plumber came this afternoon to fix the pipe.  I asked him to check out the other ones just in case they were close to being junked out, too.  He said they all look fine.  So, we'll see!

Now, we just have to make it until spring when the weather dries up a bit.  Then, this flat is going to keep some handy man very busy for a few days!

February 8, 1994

Today is the anniversary of Justin and my first real date.  We went to Chic-fil-A at the CNN Center and then to an Atlanta Knights hockey game.

Young love was really great.  But, old love is better!

Love is so much more than those early butterflies.  Like that old song says, Love is a Verb.  It's a choice.  A commitment.  A daily sacrifice.  Falling in love with Justin was the best choice I ever made.

I was pretty squirrelly at age 16.  But at least I made one good choice!

Snack Time

Today is my day to make snacks for Lucy's kindergarten class.

I am making little mini banana nut bread muffins, a layered cheese pastry that is really common here, and little chocolate chip cookies.  I am bringing a bag of nuts and raisins just in case they reject my food!  Little kids can be so picky, especially when it comes to something new!

I hope they like it!

**** Update****

The teachers were waiting for me at the door begging for my recipes!  They LOVED my food.  They said that the kids did, too!  I am sooo relieved!  Mom, your banana bread is now an international sensation!

The Super Bowl is gonna start soon.

FROWN!

I miss the Super Bowl... more accurately the Super Bowl parties with funny commercials and yummy food!

Sunday Sneak Peek: Lucy was Bored Edition

Some Important Reading

If you have a minute today, please use it to read about the state of our country.  Things are looking bleak, but we know that God desires to redeem His people.

http://mnnonline.org/article/16374

We are trusting that the place where Christianity began is also the place where is will reign again!

Tiyatro

Last night I had to get the kids out of the flat because Justin had a big conference call for work.  (It went really well, so thanks for praying for him!)  There is a cinema across the street so I took them to McDonald's for dinner and then to see We Bought a Zoo.  It was a good movie (besides a few cuss words) and we all really enjoyed it.

Today I took the kids to the theatre.  The government is has been offering all sorts of plays for free these two weeks of Winter Break.  None of the times have really suited us until today.

We saw one of the most traditional plays in this country.  There are two very well-known characters (they always start out as puppets and then sometimes come to life) and everyone here loves them.  They are very funny and tend to teach cultural lessons and tell parables.  Perfect learning opportunity for us!

We had a really good time and you can't beat the price... FREE!!

This Post is Not About Snow!

Well... except to say that it has finally stopped snowing!

And that our family was sledding outside last night with our friends and did not come home until 11:30!  GASP!




Now, on to other things...

This post of Missy's is fantastic!  Please go read it now.  Maybe it just spoke to my heart, but hopefully it will speak to yours, too!


Will you please pray for Justin today?  He has a big meeting for work tonight.  He is trying to land a deal with Nokia similar to the one his company has with Samsung.  I think he told me it is a 50 million dollar deal.  YIKES!  And I get nervous about dealing with the grocery budget!  HA!!  Remember, Justin's company is trying to diversify!


Our family is going on vacation soon!  We are headed to a mountain about 3 hours from here to snow ski.  I am so excited!!  Please pray that things go smoothly and that we all have a great time!

Still Snowing...