Sleeping on the Job...

Over the past couple weeks it may seem as though I have been neglecting my "blogging duties"-
But rest assured, I was not sleeping on the job....
:)

However, I cannot say the same for this little guy.
Craig was right in the middle of feeding him lunch one day and looked over to find him like THIS:

Poor little guy :)
Tuckered out!

Over the past couple weeks I have had the wonderful opportunity to learn and practice: .PATIENCE.
When your computer battery is dead and your external hard drive, where you store all of your pictures, stops working and you cannot access your pictures from any computer... you can begin to feel frustrated, impatient, trapped and overwhelmed because you can't help but feel pretty helpless- or at least I did.
However, God has taught me a lot and has helped me finally figure out a way to get around it- at least for now until I can hopefully get the external hard drive fixed.
HOORAY!
So I am looking forward to sending LOTS of updates your way...
Thanks for sticking around :)

Still here...

So I guess I was on a BLOG "vacation" for the past week.
Sorry to all of you who faithfully check daily for new updates!

In the process of moving to a new house (still in our language city), no more Wi-Fi- thus shared internet, a dead computer battery, some trouble pulling up pictures from I-photo, etc...
My blogging has been on hold for a bit.
Hopefully this weekend we will be able to figure some of this out and you will have lots of pictures and stories on the way :)



Just wanted you all to know we have MISSED sharing stories with you!
Sending SMILES and HUGS your way from South Asia :)

. CHACHA & DIIDII .

Meet Levi's "ChaCha" and "DiiDii" :)

These two precious folks were the first ones to offer to watch Levi
so Craig and I could schedule our language classes together here in South Asia.
L.O.V.E. T.H.E.M.



Our hearts are a little sad today though-
Yesterday was their final day with us in our language city, and they are moving onto their final destination.

We are so excited for them, but Levi will surely miss his time of laughing with them, Diidii reading books to him, listening to Chacha play his guitar, stealing their toast EVERY day :) and the list could go on.

Good news- we will see them soon, so it wasn't good-bye...
Just "So Long"

LOVE you guys and words cannot express how grateful we are for how much and how well you have loved our little guy.
:)

Chutni with LeeLaa Jii

"CHUTNI" is a word used to describe any "sauce"
However- this specific chutni functions/tastes more like our salsa.

So of course I asked LeeLaa Jii to teach me how she makes it, and she graciously agreed.

Thought I would share our kitchen adventures.
(In case you were bored one day and wanted to make it yourself :)

1.) Place the tomatoes over the burner and allow the flames to singe the skin,
This does two things: allows the skin to be peeled easily, and begins cooking the tomato.

I love spending time in the kitchen with this lady :)

We have to move across town which means we will have a new house helper.
I have grown to treasure this woman, and I am really going to miss her dearly.


Anyways...
2.) Once most of the skin has been singed and the tomato starts to soften-
remove them from the flame, dip them in water, and remove the skin
3.) Take tomatoes and run though the large holes on a "cheese" grater by hand to 'puree'- dump into a bowl

3.) Chop up two green chile peppers
4.) Peel several cloves of garlic and grate them so they are fine.
5.) Dump 1 tsp. salt to the above two while on the cutting board
6.) Take a rolling pin and crush well the above (step 3-5) ingredients together.
*Optional: You may also grate a little ginger as well to add some antioxidants

7.) Peel & finely chop a small onion and add to tomato mix, as well as the crushed pepper mix

8.) Stir & Taste- see if additional salt or other flavoring is needed.
9.) If all is well- Add some baked tortillas to the picture and ENJOY!
Chips & Chutni :)

* If you are reading this post- I would love for you to just take a few minutes to pray for this precious woman who, at this point, does not know the Father's love.
Thank You!

:: CHILLAXIN' ::

" How to Make Chai "

Chai is a daily part of life here in South Asia and we LOVE it!

So much so....
that we thought we would share the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
(The following instructions will be for TWO "small" cups of chai- so adjust the recipe as needed)
*This is also approximately the same amount as a normal coffee mug in America.


STEP 1: Pour ONE chai mug of water into a small pan and heat over med.-high flame

STEP 2: Scoop ONE teaspoonful of "chai patti" (loose tea leaves) into the water


STEP 3: Put two spoonfuls (and then a tad more) of sugar into same pan
We tend to lean toward the generous side when sweetening our chai ;)


STEP 4: Take ONE of these small little "seed" looking things = "Elaichi"
In English it's CARDAMON


STEP 5: Find something hard (here a rolling pin is used) & smash it (like a hammer) to crack it open a little (you should see some loose seeds inside)- Dump it into pan- casing & all.
You could also just pull the shell apart and dump those little black pieces into the pan.


***OPTIONAL: If you can find ginger root- you can grate a little into the chai for flavor
(and its good for ya) :)
OTHER Options- Some people like to add cinnamon, or cloves as well.  Really the opportunities are endless- add whatever you want whenever you feel like experimenting.


STEP 6: Stir & let tea boil (at a medium level) a good 3-4 minutes (so it has time to brew).

STEP 7: Once it has brewed some- Stir

STEP 8: The Add ONE chai mug of milk

STEP 9: Stir & check the color- should be a light brown-ish (similar to below)
*I actually think I should have added a "tad" more milk in the picture below

STEP 10: Let boil for another 2-3 minutes until the "froth" starts to rise up in the pan.
Give it a good stir & turn off the flame (pretty quickly or else it will boil over).

STEP 11: Holding the filter over each mug, pour the chai through until each mug is filled.


STEP 12: Drink it up & Enjoy!
* Even better with some light & yummy sweet biscuits

Now if only we could sit down over chai and chat together.
Instead- we would love, while you are drinking your chai, for you to take
a few minutes and pray for South Asia.

Thanks for taking a "chai break" with us :)

Love to hang with the "G" Gang

As we were traveling after Christmas, we stayed with a W.O.N.D.E.R.F.U.L. family- the "G" gang.
They are a precious family of 6 and are about to add one more tiny member any day now.
So excited for them :)

Craig & I had a such a great time staying up chatting with them while sipping on some Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee and playing Settlers of Catan.
Levi was in his glory with so many other "little" people around to play with.
Even some of the Indian kids came over to say hello! (Top left)

Outside + Dirt + a Ball = DEFINITE Good Time

Thank you "G" Gang for being such wonderful hosts and friends!