This is true today

The part about the eggs is true today. I was so excited to make brownies on this lovely Sunday afternoon, and got some of the ingredients in the bowl. I reached in the fridge to get an egg, and there were none. Hehe. Oops.

I think I'll take Kaylee for a walk up to the little tiny grocery store in our village and see if they have eggs. I doubt they will, but hey...it's worth a try.

Caleb and my parents are gone, and it would take about an hour and a half for me to go down to the grocery store in town and back, plus I don't know what I would do with Kaylee. I think I need a driver's license. Or a bike that doesn't have popped tires.

Soon

Exactly 12 days from now, my brother is getting married to beautiful Lara. 12 DAYS!! 

And in 5 days I will be done with my 3rd year of high-school. Uuf. I have lots of finals this week, and I just keep having to remind myself...soon...soon, it will be over. And soon, lots of happy times will be here. And school will be behind me for a little while. Ah, I can't wait for that.

I am so excited for Tyler and Lara's wedding. It's going to be unforgettable. I am trying to soak in the anticipation though! It's half of the fun.

Countryside

 I'm soaking in these sunny May days. Thanks God for creating such beautiful places!

Delightful salad dressing

It's a tradition now for dinner: Mom makes the meat; I make the vegetables.

Maybe it's because I'm more of a veggie-lover to start with; maybe it's because it's always been simpler for me to make that instead of the meat. I don't know. But that's how it works in this house these days. And I love it.

I have this thing for making salads-- because you don't have to have a recipe, and you can put any combination of things together. Plus, you can eat lots of it, because it's really healthy, and not as filling as meat. Perfect.

I don't always put a dressing on my salads, but when I do, I want it to be something special, something that will really compliment the salad, not overpower it. I'm pretty picky about homemade dressings, and there aren't many pre-made dressing options here in Czech. But, today, I found fresh cilantro in the grocery store, which inspired me to make this...

Lemon-lime cilantro dressing
(adapted from this recipe)

It was so good!! Definitely need to remember this recipe. And I need to learn how to grow my own cilantro.

Ingredients:
1 small clove garlic
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root (I used a pinch of ginger in powder form)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/3 cup packed cilantro leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
Blend everything together in a high speed blender until smooth. Pour over a delicious salad (Note: Don't pour all at once- this recipe makes enough for a really big salad. You wouldn't want soggy lettuce or an overpowering dressing on your precious salad!)

Inspired to make

While we were in Israel, we had a "date night" (or, in our case, a family night!). We could choose any place to go to for dinner. Where did we choose?

Doesn't look like much yet? It's a frozen yogurt shop on the Ben Yehuda street in Jerusalem (I couldn't actually find the real name of the place- people just call it Fro Yo, and in one place on the internet, I found Aldo's...no idea though!) You can choose any ingredients that you want to put in your frozen white yogurt, and then they put it all through a machine, and you've got a unique, delicious creation all of your own!

Maybe to Americans this seems pretty normal...you have places like Pinkberry. Do they let you choose your own ingredients? (There probably are places that do...I just had never seen this before! So genius)

My choice? (Of course, a thought through, intentional flavor. Haha.)
: Frozen cherries, bananas, dates, and glazed pecans (I think there was one more thing, but I can't seem to remember what!)

 

So this made me wonder if I could make this at home in my Vita-Mix? It'd be fun to do a dessert for dinner night one summer evening! I need to remember to try it!

And just to clarify, that's not ALL we had for dinner...but we did have it first. Teehee. The stylish little burger place we wanted to go to was closed until 7! Ah well- dessert first was fine with me!

P.S. I definitely would recommend these two places I mentioned if you ever go to Jerusalem! They were awesome! Both of them can be found on the Ben Yehuda street. 

Sorry the picture's a little crooked! But hey, you get the feel for the place.

To Mom

Mom,
Thank you. I can never say that enough!

Thank you for the times you sit and talk with me in the kitchen. Thank you for driving me to and from school every day. Thank you for every single picture you took. Thank you for all the cakes, pies, and cupcakes you make so willingly for birthdays (that's a sacrifice, I know!). Thank you for cold cokes from the gas station. Thank you for listening when I need someone to talk to. Thank you for being such an amazing wife to Dad. Thank you for being so present at home. Thank you for always pointing me to God, and teaching me to rely on Him.

You are so loving, intuitive, and joyful. You are a prayer warrior. You are caring. I love that even other people get excited to tell you new news, because they know you'll celebrate with them! I admire your ability to adapt to new situations so quickly. You have embraced new cultures so well over the past 25 years!

Those are just a few things that I love about you. But most of all...

I love that you're my mom.

Happy Mother's Day.

Love, Claire

I think you look beautiful here!

And of course, you're just as beautiful today!!

Encapsulated

Israel memories still run through my thoughts every day. How can I let something like that go by in just one blog post? Nope, can't let that happen.

One of the first days that we were in Israel, we hiked a short trail to the top of Mt. Arbel. It was hot. I mean, the make-your-head-hurt and gotta-have-lots-of-sunscreen-on hot. It's a good thing it was a short hike, because it would have been exhausting in that heat for too long. (Makes me really appreciate the Jews traveling across Israel to get to Jerusalem in Bible times! Wow!)

When we got up there, we sat down, and as we were looking out on the Sea of Galilee, the wind picked up. And then the dusty clouds rolled in. The air cooled down. We could see waves forming on the sea. I think this is the strongest wind that I've ever been out in!

So out of no where, a storm had come, all in the matter of about 15 minutes.

From our position on the mountain, the change was great-- cool off, get some relief from the heat. But it made me think: "What if I was out on the water right now?"

I don't think I'd be very calm. I'd probably be like the disciples. Scared out of my mind, wondering how Jesus could sleep through all this, second-guessing myself for even going on the boat when Jesus asked if we could cross to the other side.

Mark 4:35-41 (NLT):

³⁵ As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” ³⁶ So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). ³⁷ But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

³⁸ Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
³⁹ When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
⁴¹ The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

Jesus had power even over this storm! He still has power today over the things we fear most! When we are tumbling under the waves, when we don't have any control over our circumstances, he does.

The Sea of Galilee (*on a different day)