And Yet, Another House Update

A few weeks ago we were talking about our homes. I don't even remember what was said now, but I do remember mentioning my colorful kitchen and Kayren saying she'd like to see pictures. Right after I got my new camera, I took pictures of the kitchen but never posted them. I decided to post a few. When I get home, my kitchen, and the rest of the home will be changed.

Here is my colorful ceiling. It's very strange and was not planned, but I have learned to love it and I am so sad to see it go.

Luckily my cabinets have survived. I think they are original to the house, and I would be sad if they had to be ripped out.

Here are some shots from the day after the fire. The fire started in our bedroom and the next closest room is the bathroom. Look how hot it got in there, the plastic cups started to melt.

Here are our belongings in the yard. This is a very small, small portion of what was thrown away.

I have been feeling very depleted and depressed. I am working on my attitude during this process. At the beginning I was feeling very optimistic, but the last few days my attitude has been negative. I am sad that when I go home, my home will not be the way I left it. Everything will be completely different. I know that I will end up loving it, but this is a decision that has been taken out of my hands. I am nervous because the insurance company will not pay for everything so we have to figure out how to pay for new windows throughout the whole house and possibly redoing the electrical. I am working hard to be very tight with our budget, which is always a struggle for me.

So far our bedroom has been completely gutted, the bathroom and the hallway. The rest of the house has been sprayed with this strong paint stuff to prevent any smoke smell from coming through once it's been repainted. I was excited to see work started in putting our bedroom back together with some improvements. Dan took down an unusual brick wall that stuck out in the bathroom (and I loved). I was upset until I learned that because he took it down, we will now get a double sink. We only have one bathroom, so a double sink will be awesome. This weekend we will also rip out some really nasty paneling going up our stairs, so I am starting to see some improvements that I will love and am working on embracing the process.

Tomorrow we move into a house. A three bedroom, 2 bathroom house. A house that will allow us to bring in our two dogs and two of our cats. I am anxious about this move because we will be living in close quarters with my boss' best friend and I am just hoping that things go well. It's in their family orchard so it will be interesting. Last I heard we will be out of our home until January 31st.

Sorry this has been such a long post. Thanks to those of you that have made it through. I promise that next week I will work on posting on something besides my house!

P.S. I am so sorry the format is so off, I went back to try and change it, but for some reason, it is not cooperating!

I Took a Camera On My Walk Today

(click to enlarge)

A Near-Perfect Day and Promised Pictures

I've had a great day today. Some of you are just waking up but it's already mid-afternoon in England and I'm looking toward to bringing the day to a close. As long as my 2 older kids come home happy and sociable it will have been a near-perfect day.

It started with breakfast with friends. I love this new weekly tradition. Today there were 4 of us and the laughter and socializing with friends was so amazingly therapeutic. I've referenced before my bleak existence in Germany, and days like this stand in such stark contrast. The smile these ladies put on my face lasts all day long.

I got to cuddle with Ian for awhile before he and I walked to school. It's about a 15 minute walk. The clouds are low and heavily grey today. It started misting right as I left the school but didn't actually toss down any significant drops of rain till I'd stepped foot in the door. The exercise was invigorating, the company on the way to school delightful, and the aloneness of the walk back was comforting.

Before I even got downstairs today I checked my email and had a Facebook friend request from a long-lost friend, someone I'd been out of touch with for 5 years. It was great to hear from her, and I hope to stay in touch now. There are definite redeeming qualities about technology, despite how much I wish it was 1800.

I found comfort after yesterday's election disappointment by reading through conservative blogs and listening to my usual podcasts. My mood lifted and nothing seemed as bleak as when I'd first received the election results. I went to see a friend who let me air out my frustrations as well; she's English and doesn't have many pre-conceived ideas about the candidates or the outcomes. It helped me to get it out. Nothing cures me like a good bout of verbal diarrhea.

And here are the photos I promised you all nearly a month ago:

For my birthday I went to see Tim in Maryland. We spent the day in Washington, DC and ended with dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe. I rarely drink and when I do it's generally a glass of wine with dinner. This time I chose a sweet martini that came in a glass I got to keep. Tim says all the pictures he took of me with the drink made me look drunk. This is the best one, and don't worry- I hadn't even taken a sip yet:

When I ordered the drink the waiter asked to see my ID!!!!!! There wasn't a better gift I could have asked for on my 33rd birthday! I thought he was joking and just laughed. But he was serious. When I told him it was my birthday, he waited till after dinner and rewarded me with a free sunday and a trip to the stage where he announced to the whole restaurant that it was my "21st birthday"! He led the whole place in yelling a couple of "Happy Birthday's" at me. It was easily one of my most memorable birthday experiences.

Here are the pics, which are pretty much terrible because Tim was too far away when he took them.


(And now that I've posted my embarrassing birthday pictures, someone might want to nag Heather about posting hers! LOL!)

Cheers!

Election Day 2008

Did you vote yet?!

(photos from my trip to the Capital last month)

I took my completed ballot with me to Maryland and Tim mailed it for me after I left. What a privilege to be able to vote. Don't take it for granted!

Cheers!

Another Update

I hope you guys don't mind if I just keep updating you. Right now the only things I can think to post about are my house and McKenzie.

I hate that I am away from my sister and the baby. I haven't been talking to Bethany much because she says she cries when she talks to me. She's very homesick and I can't get to her right now. It tears my heart out that I'm not with them. The plan always was that I would be there. I did learn that the fluid is definitely going down on her brain. I'm not sure if I shared this or not, but she can hear. They have put a feeding tube into her so that she doesn't have to struggle to eat. The doctors are very happy with her progress so far.

As far as the house goes, I am exhausted and overwhelmed. We are sick of living in a hotel, and starting to get on each other's nerves. I think on Friday we will move into a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house and we are so excited about that. Yesterday we were able to finish moving out of the house so now it's just a matter of letting the various crews do their jobs.

I guess that's about all I have as far as updates. Prayers for McKenzie and are family are much appreciated! Thanks guys!

I Have Internet!

I have internet! My boss let me borrow one of his laptops and I am so excited!

I have so much to tell you but will give you a very quick rundown.

First of all, yes, McKenzie is here! She is in Portland and is doing very well. She had her shunt surgery and already the swelling is going down. We do know that she can hear and that is a blessing. She is moving around and follows the sound of your voice when you talk to her. Unfortunately, due to all my house issues I am unable to be with her. My sister is doing well. She is with McKenzie.

Our house issues are moving along. We will probably be out of our home for 3 months. It's starting to take it's toll on everyone and we are all exhausted. We probably have about an hour worth of work to do tomorrow and then the house will be out of our hands. We actually had to throw away about 90% of our belongings.

Anyway, that's the short of where we are right now. I have to head to bed, but will make sure that I update more later. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Baby McKenzie is Here!

You'll remember that Heather has been keeping us up-to-date on the situation with her sister's unborn baby McKenzie. Well, as of yesterday she is no longer unborn! Bethany's water broke and McKenzie was born by emergency Cesarean yesterday. She was 5 pounds, strong and very alert. She is breathing well despite being 6 weeks early and has been transferred to Portland where she will undergo surgery to begin addressing some of the challenges she faces. Please keep her and her family in your prayers!

Welcome to the world baby McKenzie! And congratulations to mom, dad and the rest of the family. You're all in our prayers.

Update: I just spoke to Heather who said that McKenzie got out of shunt surgery about an our ago and is doing well!

Daring Baker's Challenge: Pizza

I tried to hand-toss the dough, which were the explicit instructions for this challenge, but I couldn't do it! It actually flew off my hand at one point and landed on my chest. No kidding.

I chose my toppings based on the pizzas we have eaten in Europe, especially in Germany and Italy. I even used fresh mozzarella and made 3 of the 4 pizzas very thin like the ones in Europe. I almost poured a beaten egg on one before sliding it into the oven like the one I had in Pisa, Italy-- but my kids vetoed that idea very quickly.





And this was what Ian thought of the cheese-free pizza I made for him:


For a list of more Challenge participants, click here.

And now for the very, very long recipe and instructions, just in case you're interested. It is very good and is now my standard pizza dough recipe. In fact, I've got another batch in the fridge right now!

This includes gluten-free instructions:

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~

Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled - FOR GF: 4 ½ cups GF Flour Blend with xanthan gum or 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup corn flour, 1 cup oat flour, 1 ½ cup arrowroot, potato or tapioca starch + 2 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast - FOR GF use 2 tsp
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar - FOR GF use agave syrup
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.
The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

Or

2. FOR GF: Add the oil, sugar or agave syrup and cold water, then mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

Or

8. FOR GF: On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the number of desired dough balls from the refrigerator. Place on a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with a gluten free flour. Delicately press the dough into disks about ½ inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil. Lightly cover the dough round with a sheet of parchment paper and allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

Or

10. FOR GF: Press the dough into the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough).

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.
In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

Or

11. FOR GF: Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

Or

12. FOR GF: Place the garnished pizza on the parchment paper onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.

Or

13. FOR GF: Follow the notes for this step.

NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.

If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Thank you!

Hey girls! I'm here..for a moment anyway. I just stopped into work to get a few things done.

First of all, thank you! I can't tell you how much your love, support and prayers mean to me. I have not been able to be on a computer much since Saturday. I have been able to check on the blog through Mark's PSP, but I can't do much with that.

We are doing okay. I do need prayer today. I feel like Dan and I are starting to get really stressed which is hard for us. We don't always deal with stress well. Please pray that we continue to have grace with each other through this difficult time.

We are living at a hotel. At first I was really mad about that, but I have grown occustomed to it and actually enjoy it a little. We have a two bedroom suite with huge living area. Someone comes in and makes our beds and cleans up after us! It's really great!

I am drained today. At this point we are finishing up emptying the house. All the contents of the entire house have to be removed. 90% of the items in the house have to be itemized and listed for throwing away. Yesterday I went through our bathroom and I have about 7 pages, front and back, single spaced, of items we had to throw out. Today, it's the kids' rooms. I'm having a hard time with that. The insurance company wants me to throw their whole rooms out and start over. I just can't do that. I have to go through it. So, today it's my precious kids' rooms.

I know Reese told you that I have been without a voice. That has been so frustrating because I can't ask questions or communicate. Yesterday my voice started to come back and I'm so thankful.

People keep asking how are we making it through this and I can tell you that at my darkest moments I realize that I could be barying a child, and then, it's not so bad anymore. My family is safe, our animals are safe. We did not lose any pictures. It could have been much, much worse!

I also know that God is with us, I know that he is uplifting us, providing with amazing friends around us, and sustaining us. We are going to be fine. In the end, I'm hoping for a nicer and safer home, it's just getting through all this terrible junk to get there.

I don't know when I'll be back. I'm coming back to work on Monday. If I can get back on the computer before then, I will. We meet with our General Contractor today and find out exactly how much of the house has to be redone.

I'm not going to go back and proof this, I need to get back to the house. If Reese finds any major errors, she can fix it :)

Love you. Heather

Heather's Reply (See Last Post!)

(Posted with permission)

I just stopped into work for a few minutes... We have a huge meeting at 9:00 a.m. with the insurance agent, adjuster and fire inspector. I am nervous. These guys are trained to talk you into a corner so I am concerned.

At this point there are a few things going on. There is talk from a couple different companies about gutting the whole house. I think we'll find out more today about that. There would be two reasons to gut the house. One is the smell is incredible! The washer was on fire and the plastic just spread throughout the house. The other reason is electrical. If the wiring is burnt throughout the house, then they have to re-wire the whole thing.

If we could have a care package right now, it would include stuff for the kids to do...maybe word finds, puzzles, something to keep them occupied. I'm not sure what all we need right now.

Here is what I'm feeling right now. I really feel at peace. I know that God protected us during that fire. So many terrible things could have happened but we got out of the house, none of our pictures were damaged, our animals are out. This is a huge inconvenience, and at times, totally overwhelming, but our family unit is strong right now. I would like prayer that our unit remains strong.

~Heather

If anyone is interested in sending a care package to Heather and her family, please contact me and I'll get you an address.

An Open Plea To Heather: Please Let Me Help!

Heather and her family are on my mind and heart. I want to help but it seems that the only way I can help is to pray. It's not easy being an ocean and the width of the US away from her. If I was there I would ask to help by running errands, drive her kids around, sort through her smoke damaged belongings for whatever was salvageable, make her family dinner a couple of times a week, answer her phone until her voice returns, make calls to inquire into a place for the family to live until their house can be lived in, do laundry for them, replace necessities that need replacing. I feel so helpless over here.

So, this is an open plea to Heather: please be honest with me if there is anything at all that I can do. Do you need a couple of more nights at the hotel? I have someone who has offered to help with that. If I made a care package for you and your family, what would be in it? Please give us a chance to show our love to you.

I love you, Heather!

Urgent Need: Please Pray For Heather and Her Family

On Saturday evening there was a fire in Heather's house. They believe it was started due to faulty wiring in the house. Most of the family was home and they were all able to get out. I'm praising God right now that no one was hurt!

The back room of their house is where the fire broke out (I believe) and that room is "gutted". The bathroom has suffered severe damage and the rest of the house is black with smoke damage. Here's the miracle: they recently purchased a pellet stove and the pellets were in the back room. They have been told that the reason the whole house didn't burn down is because the fire was occupied with consuming the pellets and didn't have time to turn on the rest of the house.

I spoke to her briefly last night and she said they were in a hotel and everything in the future was up in the air: where to stay, how much of their house and possessions could be saved, how long it would take to get back into their house. I can't even imagine the jolt this would have on a person and a family emotionally, physically, practically. The one thing she was very clear on: God kept them safe and he was still with them and taking care of them. I'm sure she and Dan will need to that continued assurance as the realities of their new situation unfold.

She won't be on the computer, at least for today. I'm not sure when her life will settle down to any semblance of normalcy, but I'm praying it's soon.

When I called this morning to get her permission to share this on the blog, I spoke with Amanda because Heather has lost her voice. She doesn't know why, but thinks it could be from all the smoke she was exposed to. Not like she needed another obstacle...

Please pray for them. They need a long-term place to stay and places for their animals (all of which were saved). They need resources, ideas, friends, holy provision and peace in the midst of all of this, and the kids need peace and a new sense of security. The youngest was at home at the time of the fire and is traumatized. Sisters, our Heather needs us to petition our Heavenly Father for her and her family! Please feel free to leave her comments here as well. I'm sure she'll check in as soon as she can.

Bless you.

7th-7th Picture Meme

I saw this meme on a random blog and have tailored it a bit: it was the 6-6 meme, now it's the 7-7 meme. Here's how it works: post the 7th picture in your 7th picture folder. That's it! Here's mine:

It was August 2005, two months after Ian was born. This was a hot German day and we had just removed ourselves from the car after a long drive with no air conditioning. I drove Tim to a base outside Frankfurt so he could fly to his "deployment" in Florida. Rough, eh? Well, not for him but it was for me! It was one of the top 3 hardest periods of time in my life. But I survived... and so did all of my kids. So, we're good.

If you decide to participate, leave a comment and let me know.

Cheers!