And we're off!

Please keep us in your prayers as we head to Amsterdam on Friday for a mission trip. We will be gone for a week. The trip will include a lot of narrative mapping (approaching people on the street and striking up conversations to determine more about them as a people group etc...--we are working primarily with the Kurdish refugees--) The team is small with just 6 of us: David, the young marrieds director; Chad and Dena, friends of ours from another Sunday school class; Cynthia, a new friend; and us!

I have included a list of prayer requests below for those who want to pray for us.

Prayer Requests for Amsterdam Team

The details of the trip as this is a first time visit

Us to be unselfish in the midst of travel and unfamiliar places

The flights to be on time

For Chad and Dena connecting in Houston.

For the luggage to arrive at the same time

The families of everyone on the team.

Nathan & Caleb (kids of Chad & Dena) to be healthy and gparents that are keeping them

Margaret’s mom will be alone for the week

The health and “safety” of each person on the team

Chad and Dena

Cynthia

Michael and Margaret

David

Unity for the team

Good weather for ministry

Narrative mapping – Sunday-Wednesday

Sport’s outreach - Sunday-Wednesday

Cook out in the park – Wednesday

Children’s event with New Life - Wednesday

That the team will be sensitive to God’s leading

In conversations during travel

In narrative mapping

To see and meet people’s needs as we can

Divine appointments

Speaking the gospel with clarity

The jobs and co-workers that we are leaving behind

That they can accomplish what is needed

No major problems

Missionary follow up

Trey and Whitney

Rob and Katy

Using the info we gather

Making connections with “interested” people

Discipling any new Christians

Thanksgiving for a church that sends us out!

Happy 4th of July!

Here are few photos of the same 4th of July party that prompted the feta tartlets and bacon wraps.

Another recipe or two...

We celebrated fourth of July in a lazy fashion (I fear the rain did not promote a feeling of irresistable calling to travel the time-consuming trip to a sardine-ish location in the Woodlands where the backs of our trousers would fare the worse, all for the express purpose of catching a glimpse of some lofty explosions.)

However, the trip to the Rathweg's inspired culinary emotions in me.

I tried out two new (ish) recipes and here are the results.

The first was a palate-watering success. (and I fear a bit less original since it is a long-forgotten recipe that my mom used to make when we were younger)

The second--also quite tasty, albeit rather filling.

#1. Bacon wraps--

(made about 36-40 munchers)

as many toothpicks as bacon wraps

about 12 slices of bacon (I used thickly sliced)

2 cans water chesnuts, whole

1 large chicken breast, cubed

1 1/3 or so c. of Teriyaki sauce

about equal or a bit less of water

Put the Teriyaki sauce and water (I used 2:1 ratio with the teriyaki:water and then added extra water because my bacon was not quite covered) in a large pan. Take a slice of bacon. Stretch it a bit and cut it into 3 equal pieces. Take a chicken breast cube (I had already cooked my chicken breast--apparently, my mom would cook it at the same time as the bacon, but I forgot and the chicken would have to be small enough pieces to cook quickly then) and a whole water chesnut. Starting at one end of the bacon, roll the pieces into the bacon and affix with a toothpick. As you roll the bacon wraps, place them in the sauce to marinade a couple of hours.

Broil on High for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

#2 Feta and Pesto Tartlets

(made 18 tarts)

either puff pastry rolled out and cut into circles, OR

(what I used--as available, expensive but easy)

3 pkgs. (6 each) already formed frozen puff pastry tarts

about 3.5 oz. basil pesto about 20 cherry or grape tomatoes

4 oz. feta cheese

basil (I used parsley) to garnish

If you use the rolled puff pastry, add the ingredients before baking the pastry and bake all at once. You must leave half an inch all the way round the ingredients for the puff pastry to rise. If you use the already formed, frozen tarts, bake the puff pastry first according to box directions. Then, remove the "top" of the puff pastry and fill the puff tarts, as you would a pie crust. Add back the "top" as a garnish, if desired.

First, layer a thin spread of basil pesto on the puff pastry base. Then add 3-4 tomatoes, sliced. Then sprinkle feta on the top. Garnish with whatever. Can be eaten warm or room temperature.

Wood at last!!!

Well, one year later... As we are no longer considering a move, we decided it was now time for the wood install. Originally when we purchased this house, we were intending to tear out the berber carpet in the family room and install wood since as we soon discovered, that carpeting was filthy, heavily stained, and poorly patched.

Remember this?

Or this? Or this?

Or this?

Well, we decided it was about time to take care of those stains and many more.

Then, the thought came that we would put wood in the dining room and living room as well because after all, the dining room would be easier to clean that way and the living room, well, it just would look nice.

This brings us up to last year. The search for wood to match the front hall took me near and far but no sign of good quality, relatively inexpensive, matching wood.

That brings us up to this year. We decided on a different strategy. Why not see how much extra it would be to tear out the front hall and powder room and redo with an entirely different wood. That became my strategy. Well, one thing led to another and when I considered redoign every room downstairs except the study (and the master bedroom), I decided the small study might ought to be done in the same matching wood as well...

Which brings us to two weeks ago.

Unfortunately, we had to live like this as we waited for the wood guys to actually show up several missed appointments and days later.

But then, the good news...(and believe me it did not all magically happen, but the fact that I and the cats were holed in our master bedroom for many hours each day for a week does not lend itself to a progressive tale)

We picked out at Brazilian cherry which is rather light here in the pictures but will darken up in the next 3-4 months.

So now the choice. Help! Which one is better? Left (without the rug) or Right (with the rug)?