So for Mother’s day we went out to a market and I picked up a couple things for myself, thanks Trav. đ
I love them! So pretty and I’m somehow bringing them to Poland with me…we’ll see how it goes.
Beautiful huh.
It’s just a beautiful huge mug, that I’ll use for flowers or soup. The other thing I got was an oil holder thingy.
For Mother’s Day we went to downtown Portland and went to the Rose Gardens (which are beautiful!) and then down to the Saturday market that is also open Sunday. I thought that was sorta funny.
Tons of pictures comin’ your way….
Felt really wierd to be making cinnamon rolls early in the morning…but I said I would do them and so I had to. I would have liked to have had a crazy breakfast in bed…but we woke up kinda late and had to get going for the day.
They were amazing! I will always add dried cherries instead of raisins to my rolls. Sooo good.
It was such a beautiful day! I could not have asked for it to be more perfect. There was a moment when I was looking around, seeing Trav and Emma playing/exploring together, felt the sun and I thought…’this is a perfect moment’. I want to always remember those times.
Another perfect moment captured on film…or I mean on our memory card. (that phrase just doesn’t sound as good) This is a favorite picture of mine…thanks Trav for taking it. I love snuggling/tickling her.
I relly hope that she has a mischievousness about her. It would be cool to see that part pasted down. But do I really know what I’m hoping for? Probably not.
The arch was so beautiful and amazing. It was huge!!!!
They have this really cool amphitheater and there were tons of families there having picnics. We joined them. Emma liked people watching and watching the other kids going crazy. She just cared to take her shoes on and off. She’s a little shoe obsessed.
This look is priceless. I am so happy to got it on the camera. đ
Like I said earlier we went to the Portland Saturday Market after that.
The inner princess in me wanted him to make me a crown that was pink and purple. I could always say it was for Emma…
We ended up eating Hawaiian food. And thus feeding my obsession with Hawaii even more. I NEED to go. And soon, I don’t think I’ll ever live closer than I am now.
Moving to Europe and all, I think a lot about their culture and traditions. So when I saw these archs and then the date I laughed and took a picture. So old huh. đ
And that was yesterday. Or at least a few hours of it. I was able to pick up a few things at the market and will take pictures/post of them today. We went to a BBQ after the downtown adventure (which they had amazing steaks! Thanks Corey!) and then saw a movie and hung out with Trav. Just the two of us, it was nice. And today I’m finishing with getting a mani. đ Yay! What a treat, I never get them.
Hope you enjoy your Monday. peace out.
My mom fully lives up to her name, Queen. She is that mom that made things from scratch, had homemade cookies waiting for us when we got home and constantly told us how much she loved us. This mom, is for you…
Mommy,
If we were in the same town I would take you out and we would spend our time laughing, crying over trials and more than likely stuffing our faces with cheesy biscuits from Red Lobster. I wish we were together on this beautiful day. I’m hugging and kissing you from way down here.
I wanted to thank you for growing me up to the woman and mom I am today.
~Thank you for having my favorite homemade cookies waiting for me when I got home from school, it was such a special memory for me. And it wasn’t the cookies, but the fact that I knew you knew it was special to me and you do it.
~Thank you for reading and snuggling with me in bed.
~For all those night times you would stay up with me praying till I fell asleep. You gave me a godly example of how to stand in the gap for my children, no matter what time it is or how tired I feel.
~You showed me that traditions are also what make families moving forward in hard transitions. All the moves we made growing up, I could always depend on the familiar snack trays and Christmas Eve presents.
~For all those times you had me come and help you volunteering to help homeless and those who are under privileged. Benevolence is a huge part of who I am today and I will help out those in need.
~Because of you I love to cook. You make amazing food and encourage me to try new things.
~Because of you I have fond wonderful memories of Pizza Hut, glasses of ice and of course…Pepsi. đ
~Because of you I have a pride in my German heritage and love the language, culture and food. Ich liebe dich sehr viel mutti.
~Because of you I saw your passion for missions and that sparked my interest and curiosity to see the world. You made it possible for me to be open to the idea of being a missionary- God used you as an instrument.
Thank you mom for who you are and know that all the times when it felt like you might have failed- you didn’t. You have been God’s tool. I know you might feel like you haven’t done all that your heart is passionate for. The feeling you have that you were made for something more and special is true.
You have children who love and respect you. Happy Mommy’s day Mutti…I am very proud to tell people you’re my MOM not sister. đ
If I were there I would give you lilacs to bring fragrance to your house and Emma would probably give you a kiss to her Moma showing her love to you.
Love,
Your daughter
LOVE YOU MOM!!!! HAPPY MOMMY’S DAY!!!!!
Midnight. Good movie, lots of tears. I love period movies and this onen didn’t dissapoint. See it. You’ll love it. LADY JANE.
Peace out.
Just some pictures from lunch.
Snacking is my specialty. đ
I took some time to take pictures of our beautiful day today.
Did you know my favorite color is green? LOVE it!
no idea why… but the picture of the grass is dream y to me. Love the different shades of green.
and finally when I was coming in I saw a little man who was up to no good! Kitchen counter is off limits…or I guess if only we are around.
We’re going to the Portland Saturday Market and I’m so excited! I’ll bring my camera and take as many picts as the camera will let me. Enjoy your Saturday!
Oh and no I haven’t forgotten to make the cinnamon rolls. Tonight baby…
I’m making these tomorrow with dried tart cherries. Haven’t made them in a while and I’m finding them to be a little familiar and nurturing. I think making food, particular desserts, is comforting. Just not eat them- I’m not a big sweet tooth. Confusing? Honey welcome to my life. When life gets frustrating and I am trying to make sense of things I tend to make sweet treats.
And don’t get me wrong, life right now is crazy, not unbearable- but hard, yes. Nothing that a nice hot cinnamon roll can’t fix. It’s the familiarity of the recipe and the ingredients together that make me remember the world will not stop turning just because things don’t make sense to me or I’m trying to figure out myself in this thing called life. (I’ve always had a flare for the dramatics- or so my friends and family say- but don’t believe them)
Go ahead and make them with me, let me know how you like them. By the way, they don’t taste like typical rolls, but more like biscuits.
Better pictures to come tomorrow. With cherries!
Yesterday was a hard day. I was stressed out over a doctors appointment just trying to confirm it and long story short it never happened.Whatever. I’m working at not allowing those moment to give me stress…thus a stress headache. Didn’t work yesterday…had a headache all day long. So much so that last night I went to bed at 8pm and didn’t wake till almost 8am. I can’t believe I slept that long. It was glorious. Too wonderful for words. 12 hours of sleep…*sigh…so good. I guess my body really needed it. But stupid Ibuprofen didn’t work at all…time to choose a different med.
I woke this morning in a good mood, no headache like yesterday, and so I decided to make crepes for breakfast. A sort of celebration. I am deciding today will be a good day.
Emma loves them and since they don’t take too much time to make…I made them. Regular old crepes. No special zest or flavors or anything special. Just milk, flour, eggs and a bit of sugar. Amazing how common normal things make one’s day.
I grew up in a house where we put corn syrup on our crepes. Trav nearly gags when he sees me pull out the bottle from the pantry but ‘to each his own’, right?! He can use his nasty grape jelly (which is the worst jelly ever made). So this morning Emma and I had wonderful plain crepes with corn syrup. Such a great start to the day.
I let Emma help stir, because she’s become obsessed with wanting to help me in the kitchen. Only a little flour fell out. She’s a natural with a whisk in her hand. đ
Heck, I even have energy to clean. Which is INCREDIBLE. It does help that today the sun is shinning… Who cares if we have a high chance of hail, wind and rain this afternoon. Maybe I should make a sour cream coffee cake in my new Bundt pan! Oh so excited! (Lamo I know, but hey, humor me) I might even watch Persuasion.
A couple days ago I made Carrot Cupcakes. And I believe it will be the last bunch of cupcakes I EVER make with a mix. Yuck. They look pretty, but they tend to fall apart and aren’t that tasty. I think the biggest ‘Yum Factor’ is the cream cheese frosting I made. And oh is it yum…
I have a book of cupcakes but I realized that I’m not a cupcake girl, but a bundt cake girl. So I’m going to try some cupcake recipes and pour it into bundt pans and we’ll see how it goes. Should work out just fine I think. Now I just have to get ride of them. And since Trav isn’t a sweet dessert person (he’s mainly just a choco-holic) it’s going to be up to me.
Not sure I’ve written about this before. I have a HUGE passion for sign language and the deaf community. Doesn’t matter if I’m in the states, Rome or Krakow, I see deaf people everywhere. And it excites me!
Funny story: So we were waiting at the Roman Colusium waiting to get in and do the tourist thing when I saw 3 people in front of us signing to each other. The best part was they were using ASL! (American Sign Language) I lean over to Travis and our friend that I understand and it’s so wonderful that I become entranced and begin to verbally tell Trav and our friend what is being said. I AM VERBALLY EAVESDROPPING!!!
As I’m leaning over still, I’m interpreting out loud, ‘ There is a girl behind us that is saying everything we’re signing’ GULP. Travis starts to laugh, I freeze and my eyes get huge and I am soooo embarrassed! Why didn’t it occur to me that there would have to be a hearing person in the group?! I should never have done that and I so learned my lesson. lol But man, that was a memory for me that I wish I could erase!
Polish sign language is generally kinda similar but enough differences that I would have to start with a new blank slate. I am very passionate about PSL (Polish Sign Language) The tough thing is that I’m going to need to learn Polish and have it very well understood before I learn PSL. So it’ll take time. Excited tons, but I’m gong to learn patience for sure with this.
Here is a link to see some Polish Sign Language with English Subtitles. Enjoy!
Had a really hard day today. It seemed like there were ups and downs… but more downs than ups. Emotional. I feel myself wanting to raise that protective wall and not let things, people or emotions hurt me. As if they haven’t so far. They have to in order for me to want to put up that familiar wall.
I must say to family that I am well and so is Emma and Travis. I am just realizing some areas in my life that need serious TLC. The way my wounds are affecting others makes me sad, frustrated and over all out of control. Which is the truth but now I am just accepting it.
Denial is a beautiful thing until you see it’s wake.
I think this picture is a perfect example of how I’m feeling. It seems that my cargo of past wounds, patterns and roots of issues are now not allowing me to do what I am made to do.
Which I need to daily remember. I am called to encourage, smile, listen actively, love, challenge people, teach, speak out and be confident in my ability to hear God.
I would appreciate your prayers. Right now I’m about to leave for our college group and have dinner and a movie. We’ll see how long Emma lasts.